These remorseful words were spoken by Oskar Schindler, a fictional character from the film Schindler’s List. Oskar Schindler was a businessman who used his wealth to rescue Jews from concentration camps. In one of the final scenes of the movie, Oskar realizes how many more Jews he could have saved with the money that he wasted. He figured 10 more people could have been saved instead of buying a car. 10 humans, saved from the ovens.

“The good is the enemy of the best” as Voltaire is so persistently misquoted as saying. It’s true though. Good and best are mutually exclusive. They do not play nicely. The good would be a new car. The best would be more Jews saved from genocide. But that seems so easy! Of course, we would all chose to save people from live cremation than buy a car. But remember, Oskar didn’t know beforehand that his money would be needed. He didn’t think about the future.

We young Americans have been gifted by God with an amazing amount of blessings. The master of the house has invested in us talents (time, money, freedom, knowledge), and he is hoping to reap a profit. Will we settle for two fold, or tenfold? Good, or best?

Keep your mind on the years and decades ahead. Plan accordingly. Invest your time and money in things that will not perish with this earth. Lay up treasures in heaven. Live your life so that looking back on it you will not cry with remorse: “I could have done more….. But I didn’t!”

Yes, that’s right. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus couldn’t stand “RINOs” and “DINOs” in the spiritual sense. Today, he’s not fond of…what I refer to them as…CINOs: Christian in Name Only. A look into Scripture shows that Jesus wasn’t shy about his feelings towards those who profess the faith, but believe and behave quite antithetically to the faith. In Revelation 3 verses 15 through 16, Jesus said “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Vomit? That’s a pretty strong condemnation! Can you imagine such strong language from Democrats and Republicans about DINOs and RINOs? People would accuse them of not being “inclusive.” But Jesus knew where he stood on people who like to live within the dreaded gray and he didn’t minced words. He point blank said that “many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”(Matthew 7: 22-24) Jesus was basically saying that “simply saying you’re a Christian or going through religious mores doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m an authentic person and true believers have an authentic relationship with me.”

Let’s look at modern America and see if Jesus would vomit the majority of Christian Americans out of His mouth. According to a Gallop Poll taken in 2007, about 82% percent of Americans identify themselves as “Christian.” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has broken down the three major religions of America to be Evangelical Protestants with 26.3%, Catholics at 23.9% and mainline Protestants coming in third at 18.1%. Whether all Christian Americans are active church members is irrelevant for me to make my point. If over 70% percent of Americans are calling themselves “Christian” or are identifying themselves with Christianity, then why is every important institution of our culture crumbling? From education to government to marriage to family and even sadly, the Church, America isn’t doing so well. Our divorce rate is high, the family is crumbling with fatherlessness being the case in too many American homes and our government from the local, state, and (of course) federal level has lost its way.

Contrary to what people like Bill Maher would like you to believe, Christianity is not a religion seeped in emotionalism and irrationality. Seeking knowledge and understanding is very important to living an ever-evolving and victorious Christian life. The Bible implores Christians to seek knowledge and understanding because knowledge and understanding are from and of God. (See Proverbs 2:6; Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs 4:7; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 Peter 3:15)

Having knowledge can be enlightening because how can you DO better if you don’t KNOW to do better? The Bible warns that people perish for the lack of knowledge. So when you consider that over 80% of Americans consider themselves Christians, yet our culture is anything but, one must ask, why? Is it because Christian Americans lack the knowledge of The Holy Bible? After all, The Bible is not only a spiritual book but a practical book for life’s issues. Just read the book of Proverbs! If every Christian who has accepted Jesus Christ into his or her heart, believes Him to be his or her Lord and Master were to read, meditate on and apply the basic principles of The Bible to their lives, wouldn’t we see a difference in our culture? Especially if over 80% of the citizenry consider themselves Christians? I have some ideas to why there seem to be a discrepancy with the supposed faith of the majority of Americans and the physical manifestation of that lack of faith in our culture. I will talk about that in my next blog.

But back to this…Now that the 2010 election is over and the Tea Party movement galvanized more than ever, there is a strong urgency within the Republican Party to purge RINOs out of their ranks. “The party has lost its way,” they’ve said about the Republican Party and why they lost big in 2006. They’re working on regaining the trust of the American people and getting back into the White House in 2012. Meanwhile, Democrats want to purge their DINOs as well. They want democrats who will not waver from the party’s belief in taking from the rich and giving to the poor in the name of “economic justice” and advocating for reproductive health by forcing tax payers to pay for elective abortions through Obama’s healthcare plan…among other things.

But in my opinion our biggest problem is the problem of CINOs. If more self-proclaimed Christian Americans were to actually invest some time in learning about their faith and not marginalize it or water it down, we would see a greater improvement in our culture and government, than if both parties play partisan politics as usual. If more self-proclaimed Christian Americans lived out the Christian faith, divorce rates would decrease. Husbands and wives would know how to work together for the sake of their kids and preservation of their union. We wouldn’t vote for or put so much stock in politicians who are so eager to do everything for us because our dependency would be on God, and WE would feed the poor as the Church is commanded to do. Not the government. We would know the clear roles of Church and government and take care to vote for the person with correct, godly principles into office. We would be less self-absorbed and our abortion rates would decrease substantially. We would be an entirely different America indeed.

Approximately 27 million people are in modern day slavery. 800,000 of these people are taken across national lines every year. They are taken away from their families and everything they know. But even worse, many women and children are forced to do unspeakable acts, and will almost never return to freedom.

Back in May of 2010, Russia made dramatic cuts to its human trafficking help programs. These programs assist women to escape and provide them with assistance once they get out. Right now, Russia has only two centers to help trafficked women. The government of Russia has not taken substantial action to stop this slavery.

Many women unknowingly sell themselves into slavery by accepting jobs, which turn out to be forced prostitution. Parents also, give away their young girls, to people who promise to give them jobs. Human trafficking must not continue. It is a horrifying violation of the rights of individuals and a desecration of human life.

Russia has been known for their problem with trafficking, and centers here send women all over Europe and the rest of the world. Russia’s lack in regulations against this have affected other nations as well. The United States must take action against the trafficking of humans.

We must push Russia to do so—both diplomatically as well as by example. As a nation, we cannot stand for the enslavement of human beings, and must always work for freedom and the acknowledgement that all people are “endowed by their creator certain unalienable rights”. We must end the indifference to modern-day slavery, and take action.

For want of the nail, the shoe was lost; for want of the shoe, the horse was lost; for want of the horse, the soldier was lost; for want of the soldier, the battle was lost; for want of the battle, the war was lost.

There is a common and erroneous mindset that one must attain a position of rank before effecting lasting change. I have seen this illustrated especially in the realm of politics.

Politicians seek offices when their previous political involvement has been negligible or non-existent because they think that is the best way to make a difference. While it is important for good people to run for office, the idea that a position is a prerequisite to influence is wrong. What can be done from where you are?

I remember hearing my state representative speak of how when he first entered the House, he began standing up to the powers that ran everything and was promptly sent to the lowest committee in the House. Their solution? Make compromises, sometimes on important issues in order to gain a more prestigious committee assignment so that he could serve his state “in a thousand honest ways.”

The Bible makes it very clear: those who are faithful in the least will gain more. It is not those who set out to attain a position of prestige that are remembered for having a positive influence on the world around them.

Perhaps the greatest event in the history of the world is that which we are celebrating this time of year: the coming of Christ, and His redemption. Did He come as the great and mighty King and overcome sin and the world by His might? Certainly He could have, but He chose to come in the humblest of circumstances: to be born of a virgin, to live a life of poverty and service to others, and finally to die a brutal and vicarious death. Certainly not what the world would consider a great success. Yet what He accomplished changed the world.

So what about those politicians? After all, what can you do if you have no power? How about being faithful in the least? What about excelling where you are? Why not give your all to make that committee the most efficient and fiscally responsible even if it is the smallest? What can you do from where you are? Compromising may get you a more prestigious position, but your effectiveness will be proportionally squelched.

This does not apply just to politicians. Men who are truly great in any field are not those who aim to be so, even for the best of reasons. Rather, greatness comes to those who abandon personal ambition, and throw themselves wholeheartedly into their tasks, however small. Who knows how an insignificant job well done may affect the world?

Make sure your nails are in place. The victory depends upon it.

“He who would give up freedom for temporary security deserves neither and shall lose both.” — Benjamin Franklin

Now we all want to feel safe when we get on a plane, but the raw fact is that groping grandma is not keeping us safe and neither is taking essentially nude pictures of innocent americans. A high ranking Israeli security official has said that he could easily get more than enough explosive past a body scanner or a pat down to blow up a 777. So why wont these new procedures work? And what can we do that will.

We are Defending Against the Weapon.

Weapons will change. since 9/11 no one has tried to hijack a plane. I mean think about it when has any terrorist attack been successfully accomplished a second time. None that I can think of. so why are we trying to stop the thing that are no longer being used. the way we are carrying out security is similar to banning guns to stop murder. Great but someone who is going to commit a crime will find a way to do it.

Terrorist will find the loop holes.

When they can’t hijack plane they will hide bombs in their shoes, when that quits working then they put bombs in their underwear. This is a never-ending viscous cycle.

We Are Not Using Our Brains

This is gonna be hard, but I implore you, use that amazing brain God gave you. Is the 80 year old grandmother as likely to commit an act of terror as a 23 year old foreign exchange student from Yemen. Do these two people deserve the same treatment.

How We Can Do Better

Use Profiling.

GASP. ‘He’s a racist.’ I am not . that is a flat out lie. why is profiling such a bad word anyway. Think about it in WWII we   said ‘hey that guy is german, he has a Nazi arm band, oh and look he is pointing a gun at me i think i will shoot him.’ We didn’t shoot the french too ‘just in case’! what is wrong with saying ‘that guy looks suspicious I think I will check him extra carefully.’

Use Tactics that work.

Can you think of a bigger target than Israel. I can’t. they have a comprehensive profiling system they have never had a major plane based terrorist attack. We should include something like this in our system.

Use Air Marshalls

Put four armed police officers on every plane. that would cut down dramatically on attempted terrorist attacks.

What do you think? Do you have any great ideas for security? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

In the nation of Burma, the cry for freedom escalates as one woman steps out of the doorway of imprisonment, into a crowd longing for liberty. Under military regime since 1962, the people of Burma continue to strive for freedom. People wept at the sight of this one woman, whose voice echoes above all the rest in the battle for rights.

Her name is Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy advocate against the despotism of her nation’s rulers. She has been kept under house arrest for over 7 years. Suu Kyi’s courage rallies thousand together to fight for justice. The fight for freedom, once started, spreads like wildfire.

In 1999 her husband, Michael Aris, died from cancer. She could have left the country to see him, but did not because she thought the Junta regime would not let her back in.

One woman, undaunted by the threats of a tyrannical government, is receiving attention from many world powers. She’s drawn attention to the situation of her people. Many people say that one person cannot make a difference; I’d like to counter this.

Thomas Jefferson said, “One man with courage is a majority.” One person can start the chain, which then multiplies again and again. While in America, we do have many freedoms, it takes work to protect them. As Winston Churchill said, “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

On Febuary 22, 1732 a baby was born who would play a key role in another birth, that of a nation. He would become the first President of that nation. His, and many others, life work would become the first (and as yet the only) world super power. The only nation (other than Israel) to be founded upon God’s holy word, as well as having the same Constitution for the longest time in all of history. (A side note, do you realize that our Constitution was written by lawyers, soldiers, planters, educators, ministers, physicians, financiers, and merchants? A very wide swath of the nation’s people were represented.) George Washington had a very different start in life than what you might think for a President.

When George was young, only 6 years old, he wished to attend Appleby School. This never happened for young George, but he did attend school in the colonies. Gentlemen were expected to be fine horsemen, as it was a necessary mode of transportation. Mrs. Washington took it upon herself to teach the lad. By the time he was eight years old he was his father’s messenger.

Lawrence and Austin, George’s two older half brothers (George’s father’s first wife died) had arrived at the colonies after attending Appleby School and enjoyed teaching their younger brother how to behave like a gentleman. George attentively soaked in their (and others) teachings of genteel behavior and drew from that training for the rest of his life.

When eleven year old George’s father died, so did his hopes of attending Appleby School. He did inherit Ferry Farm (one of the Washington estates), yet it was not fully his till his twenty first birthday. During this time he thought and worked to be in the British Royal Navy, but his mother refused to allow him to leave. At sixteen he worked for Lord Fairfax as a chain man surveyor, this was his first paying job.

Flash forward…Young years to come…

<—RedArrow—<<<