Prepper Recon

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Matthew 6:9-13

In the Lords Prayer, Jesus instructs us how to pray. Notice that he says to pray in this manner, not to pray the exact words. In fact, just to be clear, Jesus warns us not to pray with vain repetitions in verse 7. The basic outline for prayer is that we begin by praying directly to our Father. If we can go straight to the source, why would we bother with going through a middle man such as a priest or saints? We’ll talk more about that later. Next, Jesus instructs us to recognize God’s holiness, hollowed be thy name. Then, we recognize his sovereignty, thy will be done. Once we’ve done that, then we may ask for provision, give us this day. I’m guilty of skipping straight to asking for provision or help, especially when it’s a pressing matter, but it’s important to make a conscious effort to recognize who you’re speaking to. Finally, we need to keep a short account with God by asking him to forgive us and to give us his heart so we can forgive others. And finally, we ask for strength to overcome the temptations of life which we all face.

Can we go to Mary to mediate between us and the Father? The Bible is crystal clear on this issue. 1 Timothy 2:5 says “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Mary was surely a very virtuous woman, to be chosen as the vessel which God would use to send his son to earth, but no where in scripture can we find instructions to pray to her. I realize that Jesus first miracle was done at his mother’s request, but that is not justification for defying 1 Timothy 2:5 by praying to her.

Likewise, no where in scripture can we find justification nor instruction to pray to saints. On the contrary, God strictly forbids speaking to the dead. At the end of his reign, King Saul was in a terrible mess and desperately needed the counsel of Samuel, the prophet who had died some time earlier. Saul’s solution was to visit a medium who summoned Samuel from the grave. Samuel came up to deliver a message to Saul, but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Samuel told him that he would soon be joining him in the grave.

So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;  And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicle 10:13-14

Jesus gave us specific instructions on how to pray. In this day and age, we certainly need our prayers to be heard, so my hope is that you’ll continue to study the Bible and learn more about being an effective prayer warrior.

Come back every Sunday for a new Prepper Bible Study! The most important prep of all is knowing GOD. Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die.” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.

Have a blessed day and happy prepping!

Mark

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Romans 1:21

Paul points out the importance of being thankful to God in Romans chapter one. When we don’t take time to say thanks, we become vain in our imagination and our foolish hearts become dark. Looking at the headlines, I’d say we have enough of all of that.

Yes, we talk a lot about being good stewards of the resources that God has given you. I often look for deals on Cyber Monday and have even been known to buy some big-ticket items on Black Friday. However, I don’t risk my life by chasing door-buster deals. There is such a thing as penny wise and pound foolish. And there is no deal so great as to be worth sacrificing the one day out of the year that is dedicated to being thankful for what God has already blessed us with. Additionally, by shopping on Thanksgiving, you reward the bad behavior of the stores and ensure that those retail workers will have to miss their opportunity to be thankful to God again, next year.

Please take this day to stay home and be thankful.There is plenty of time the rest of the year to chase after stuff.

God bless and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark

Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

Proverbs 8:14-15 NKJV

Since we the people are in charge of selecting rulers who will lead with wisdom and understanding, it is our responsibility to find out what they think and how they intend to take our nation into the future.

Last week, we read yet another horror story about an eight-year-old boy who beat his one-year-old sister to death while the mother was out partying at a club. Through the IRS earned income child tax credit, people who pay absolutely nothing into the IRS receive wealth transfer payments via the credit which increases in amount for up to three children. The recipients of the credit, who earn no income and pay no taxes, are usually completely provided for by the welfare state, so the maximum $6,269 credit is free to be spent partying at the club.

Even the idiot Keynesian economists will tell you that if you subsidize something, you’ll get more of it. If the government subsidizes sugar by artificially increasing the market price, farmers will choose to take the economic incentive and grow more sugar. If the government paid farmers an extra dollar per pound for white corn rather than yellow corn, all else being equal, the market would have more white corn. Likewise, when the government subsidizes irresponsible pregnancies, we see more women like the mother of the eight-year-old who beat his sister to death. This woman had no desire, training, nor aptitude to be a mother, but because it has become a government subsidized industry to the tune of $70 billion dollars, she opted to take the economic incentive to have children. So, when we have a government that encourages people to have children like livestock, why are we surprised when the mothers treat them like animals?

You would have thought that the republican candidates would understand this very simple economic and moral principle, but Marco Rubio stated in last week’s Fox Business debate that he plans to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Like many of the other candidates, he also seeks to increase our exploding $18 trillion dollar debt even faster by growing defense spending. The reason the defense issue plays so well with republicans is that they fail to see that our national security issues are not due to a lack of financing. The problem is with our foreign policy. If you hire a monkey with a hammer for $1 trillion dollar to fix your television, a lack of financing is not the reason you’re not getting good reception. Spending $3 trillion on three monkeys with three hammers is not going to get you a better picture on your television. As Rand Paul mentioned in the CNBC debate, when we fight a war, we need to go in hard, do our business, and come home. The nation-building, foreign-aide defense model that we’ve been practicing since World War II is obviously not working; and along with Marco Rubio’s brand of entitlement spending, it has bankrupted our country.

Pray that God will give you wisdom and understanding as you decide who you will select as the republican nominee to hold back the nightmare that is falling on our once-great nation.

Come back every Sunday for a new Prepper Bible Study! The most important prep of all is knowing GOD. Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die.” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.

Have a blessed day and happy prepping!

Mark