HOLY WEEK, GOOD FRIDAY—I WAS THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Richard Johnson

—If you are a sinner, so were you.

This Jesus, the Christ, Son of Man and Son of God is the lamb God promised us through Abraham. This blood of Christ is the blood of the Passover. The shed blood and suffering of the perfect One on the cross is the gift of life with God forever.  Here’s how St. Matthew describes it in chapter 27:, verses 35-54:

And they crucified Him and parted His garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots.” And sitting down, they watched Him there, and set up over His head His accusation, written: This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.

Passion of the Christ.3.UKDM

Then were there two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand and another on the left. And those who passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself! If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross!” Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver him now, if He will have him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The thieves also, who were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth.

And Jesus died (3)

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”

that is to say, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This man calleth for Elijah.” And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed and gave Him to drink.The rest said, “Let be; let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth quaked and the rocks rent. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the Holy City and appeared unto many.

Now when the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

You may weep tears of gratitude. I promise; you will not weep alone.

Posted in 2013, Defending Christianity, Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

HOLY WEEK, THURSDAY—IN AN UPPER ROOM, THE BODY AND BLOOD OF THE LAMB OF GOD

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Tomorrow we observe greatest act of love in creation. It is known throughout Christendom as Good Friday. Some would say killing anyone on a cross, let alone One who is perfectly innocent, is the opposite of good. These selections of scripture help me explain it. Perhaps they will help you as well.

God will provide Himself a lamb

Let’s start with Abraham, who had been commanded by God as a demonstration of his faith to sacrifice his son Isaac on the holy place, Mariah, in Genesis 22:7-13.

And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” So they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” And He said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked; and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

The Passover: . . . when He seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over . . .

The children of Israel, following God’s command, are spared from the visit to Egypt from the Angel of death to be delivered from Egypt. This is the account from Exodus 12:5-7, 21-32.

Your lamb shall be without blemish . . . and shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses . . .

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, “Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out from the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing as an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when ye come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, ‘What mean ye by this service?’ that ye shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they.

doorpost

And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel! And go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said; and be gone, and bless me also.”

A new testament of new Passover Blood

We are about to observe a remembrance of the blood of the Lamb of God shed for you and for many. “This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Jesus Christ— Matthew 26:17-30

Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, “Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover?”

And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say unto him, The Master saith, ‘My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples.’”

And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they made ready the Passover.

Now when the evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. . .

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom.”

Unique view.Last supper

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives. . . Then Jesus came with them unto a place called Gethsemane . . .

Tears of gratitude are appropriate. You do not weep alone. Be blessed.

Posted in Christian Victory, Defending Christianity, Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

HOLY WEEK, WEDNESDAY, MOUNT OF OLIVES—JESUS FORETELLS HIS SECOND COMING

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Saint Matthew, Chapter 24 and 25 are known as the Mount Olivet Discourse where Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and prophesied. He disclosed certain signs of the end times and, in verses 24:29-31 He revealed His second coming:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Get your mind around that!

Jesus does not say what the sign of the Son of man is but I have never heard anyone dispute that it is the cross. I believe all on earth will see that sign. It is hard to imagine the image He vividly paints. How can we see the glory of “the clouds of heaven.” Notice this Twenty First Century King James version (which I use) capitalizes Heaven whenever the context is that realm where we will dwell forever with God. The context in these verses, for heaven, is created universes, galaxies, and this solar system. Somehow we simply lack the power of mind see His great Glory. What do we make of “[S]ent angels with a great sound of a trumpet?” It seems there are to be uncountable angels available everywhere. He doesn’t say they are all blowing trumpets. He simply says, “[W]ith a great sound of a trumpet.” It is clear we (all His elect) shall hear the trumpet and shall be “gathered” by angels from the “four winds.”

Are you like me? I can’t imagine that level of glory. No one seems to have created an adequate image for us. While this image is totally inadequate, I have found none better:

Great Glory

Posted in 2013, Christian Victory, Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

HOLY WEEK, TUESDAY—JESUS BRINGS CLARITY TO SADDUCEES

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Sadducees were the educated idiots of Roman occupied Israel. They were described as not believing in the resurrection. In other words, we have no spirit that lives beyond the physical death. These days they are called secularists or humanists. The term Secular Humanist indicates they have made a religion for themselves with a creed. America is filled with them today. They occupy seats of power in every facet of our culture. They ridicule Christians and, like the Sadducees, try to put believers on the spot. Let’s see how the Sadducees approached Jesus, presumable still in the Temple where he had gone Tuesday morning, and how he dispensed with them in St. Matthew 22:23-32:

Explains the resurrection

The same day [Tuesday] the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Him [presumably still in the Temple] and asked Him, saying, “Master, Moses said, ‘If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed unto his brother.’ Now there were with us seven brethren. And the first, when he had married a wife, died; and having no issue, he left his wife unto his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all, the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.” Jesus answered and said unto them:

 “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Sadducees of today take heed:

  • Marriage, which does not exist in Heaven, is clearly a covenant between a man and a woman in this life. “Enough said.”
  • God is the God of power. There is no limit to God’s power in this context or any other.
  • God is the God of the living. That would be believers and non-believers in this life and the next. 
Posted in Engaging the culture, Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

HOLY WEEK MONDAY—JESUS ACTS!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Richard Johnson

On Monday, the first day after entering Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple. According to St. Matthew, 21:12-13, here’s how that went:

jesus.moneychanger.stemple

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves, and said unto them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer,’ but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

The Gospels reveal that Jesus’ four day agenda, before celebrating the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, was full. There was much to teach, many to heal and much to reveal. But the first thing He did was go to the temple. Let’s look carefully at His visit.

The first thing that stands out is He assumed an attitude of complete authority. He did not ask who was in charge. He simply acted. Jesus demonstrated this lesson often. Even though we study and often wrestle with His words, we must understand that, when we made that decision to follow Him, we made a commitment to act. Much is expected of some but all can, at least, “tell the love of Jesus [and] say He died for all.”

Then we see He “cast out all” salespeople and apparently bankers. Is He against sales and banking? Although many tell us He was, there is no evidence in His trip to the temple, or anywhere else in scripture, that He sees these services, when conducted honestly are anything but honorable. Honesty in business is a key lesson here. The overriding lesson for the church—for every congregation—is the church is a place for healing, worship and prayer. Period. Again, according to Jesus’ action, He expects the church to be reserved for healing, worship and prayer.

The third thing His action clearly demonstrated is His contempt for and determination to expose the massive corruption of the temple priesthood. The moneychangers were at the temple at the behest of the Sanhedrin because pilgrims were in Jerusalem from countries around the known world for the Passover. The Sanhedrin needed bankers on hand to exchange foreign money before they could gouge the pilgrims for the required sacrificial lambs and doves.

The Sanhedrin raised sheep and doves to sell as sacrifices in the temple. Remember the Angel announced Christ’s coming to lowly shepherds watching flocks outside Bethlehem. “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’” (St. Luke 2:10-12) The sweet irony is those simple shepherds were hired hands. They were watching the flocks of the Sanhedrin. The temple priesthood was in Christ’s sights before He was born.

Finally the buyers were also cast out. Jesus was not against a pilgrim buying a dove, but they were as accountable for their actions in the temple as the Sanhedrin sellers. This should give us a clarity about what our Lord thinks of our victim class and the do-gooders who advocate for them.

Posted in Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

JESUS ENTERED JERUSALEM TO OBSERVE PASSOVER

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Today, March 24, 2013, is Palm Sunday—the first day of Holy Week. But when Jesus entered Jerusalem the day after the Sabbath, there was no Palm Sunday and no Holy Week. Holy Week is the direct result of the work He did that week culminating in His work on the cross and the empty tomb. That purpose only became apparent in retrospect. Keep in mind, the apostles thought everything was lost that fateful Sunday of the empty tomb. The apparent reason to go to Jerusalem was to observe the Passover. It was the same reason that pilgrims came to Jerusalem from across the known world.

Passover this year begins tomorrow, Monday, March 25, at sundown. For Jews in America—and all the Diaspora—Passover runs to sundown Tuesday, April 2. Passover ends at Sundown Monday, April 1, in Israel. Let’s keep Passover in mind as we follow Jesus and His mission in Jerusalem.

His purpose was not apparent as He entered Jerusalem—except to Him. He knew His time was at hand. He also knew what was ahead just two generations hence for His people and His beloved Jerusalem. Read the account from St Luke 19:41-44 with me:

And when he had come near

And when He had come near, He beheld the city and wept over it  saying, “If thou had known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which must be for thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee around, and keep thee in on every side. And they shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children within thee; and they shalt not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

Jesus wept for Jerusalem because He knew its pain, a pain that exists until this day with a Dome of the Rock on top one of the holiest sites in creation and rockets fired at God’s people almost daily. But we should weep because of the pain He bore for us. I heard today on the radio that good people get to Heaven. I guess that’s right. I have just not heard of anyone good enough. But because of Him, because of His gift of salvation in His shed blood, I, a sinner, will be in Heaven washed white as snow. Centuries ago, the Negro slaves in America sang, “you can say He died for all.” That is right. I hope you too weep this week because you have accepted His gift of life and you can say, “He died for all.”

Tomorrow: action in the temple.

Posted in Holy Week and Passover | Leave a comment

COMING TO TERMS WITH MORE FAIRNESS

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Perhaps, like me, you noticed President Obama has led a chorus calling for “more fairness.” I thought this was nonsense. I may have been wrong. What makes “more fairness” hard to agree with is that it is not fair. We all should be able to agree with anyone who calls, not for “more fairness,” but simply calls for “fair” as in, “a fair America.”

Now, that we—all 311 million of us—are in agreement to have “a fair America,” we need to ask a key question—who decides? Who decides? Maybe we cannot answer the question, “who decides?” until we have the qualifications worked out for “the One” to fill that role. It must be only one because many would not each make the same judgments thereby being unfair.

Since it is to be only one; that One must be someone with perfect judgment and infinite wisdom. That One cannot have a natural bias towards any particular identity group such as Hispanics or the unemployed or the disabled. Fairness seems, by definition, to call for the end to any identity group. It actually is beginning to appear that the One must love everyone.

But wait. There must really be two identity groups. One group is for all those who are perfect and the other group includes all those who are not. The One who makes that determination (perfectly every time) clearly must be able to know perfectly everything about each American’s life from conception until now. No wait! It must be from conception until death. I could be wrong but it appears the second group will be much larger than the first. Actually I have never met or heard of anyone who would qualify for the first group—except Christ.

Oh my Lord. There it is right in front of us. The only One who can establish fairness is God—and He already did! It’s just that we have never called it fairness. We call it grace and, perhaps more interchangeably than we know, we call it forgiveness. So now it is clear. Fairness has been with us for about 1917 years. Fair is always available to every American at all times. Holy Week! Fair is available to non-Americans as well. Wow. Wait until the word gets out! Every Muslim on the face of the earth has fairness available and can stop hating everyone. Right here in America, all of the Democrat Party and much of the Republican Party can stop seeking more fairness and get busy on productive work. Abortion will be a thing of the past. All special interests like the lobbying firm for General Electric and The Congressional Black Caucus can disband. That United Methodist congregation can go back to performing marriages. Finally, there will be no further need for this blog, The Patriot’s Trumpet.

On the other hand . . .

Posted in 2013, This Great Awakening, This Present Darkness | Leave a comment

CPAC 2013 LIGHT BURSTS FORTH INTO THIS PRESENT ABYSS—THE UNINVITED

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Richard Johnson

There was an off limits topic or two at CPAC 2013. One is the international threat to civilization, Islam. Readers should understand two things. The first is that, wherever it dominates, Islam darkly, ruthlessly and completely smothers the human freedom we were all endowed with by God. The other is that Islam, through, for example, the Conference of Islamic Cooperation and especially international Jihad, Islam is actively at war with the United States of America.

Why would any mention of this dark force that threatens the very existence of American freedom be kept out of CPAC? There can be only one reason. Two members of the CPAC board, Grover Norquist and Suhail A. Khan.

Norquist set out years ago to bring American Muslims into the Republican Party.  He was very effective. Norquist was trusted by President Bush to bring input from influential American Muslims into the Presidents response to the 911 Islamic terrorist attacks on America. By September 13th, with Norquist’s help, the President visited Mosques 17 times and on the 26September, 15 Islamic leaders were at the White House where the President declared with the media present, “The teachings of Islam are of peace and good.” This was the first of several similar Bush pronouncements. Norquist, who married a Palestinian Muslim named Samah Alrayyes. According to Wikipedia, Alrayyes is a Kuwaiti PR specialist and was formerly a director of the Islamic Free Market Institute and specialist at the Bureau of Legislative and Public Affairs at United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Norquist, who is (or was) a client of pollster John Zogby, a radical Muslim, always defends everything Islamic. Even specific terrorist attacks are somehow not caused by Islam.

You remember American born radical Jihadist Imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki. He was the Imam for the Ft. Hood Jidadist, Army Major Nidal Hasan. He was hunted down and killed with a predator drone in September 2011 by President Obama (who was never called a chicken-hawk). Shortly after September 11, 2001 the Department of Defense brought Al-Awlaki in to consult on relations with Muslins. This apparently happend because of a breakdown in communication between the DOD and the FBI. But who greased the skid in the first place to slide Al-Awlaki into DOD? It was either Norquist or Bush staffer Suhail A. Khan. Kahn sold himself as a moderate Muslim and an American patriot. This is false. Kahn is actively working to replace freedom with Shariah and more in America. According to one of the uninvited, Pamela Geller, “Suhail Kahn is a foremost instrument of this demonization of voices of freedom. The enimedia got into an uproar when I said, ‘Am I saying that Suhal is as bad as Anwar Al-Awaki? He is worse.’”

These two keep anyone who calls America to wake from its slumber and stand up for the defeat of Islam off the program. The rules were tightened even more for 2013. Enter Breitbart Inc. Breitbart rented a room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center and invited the uninvited.

The first speaker was former US Attorney General Mike Mukasey who discussed the threat of “civilizational jihad” and the willful ignorance preventing our political class from confronting it. Mukasey opened weith this great couplet, “I want to thank CPAC for making this panel necessary and Breitbart for making it possible:”

 

Breitbart Chairman Steve Bannon led a panel of conservative stalwarts like Frank Gaffney, Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller. The first panelist to speak was Nina Shea, who works fearlessly to put a spotlight on religious (especially Christian) persecution. This presentation alone was worth Breitbart’s effort:

 

You won’t want to miss a single word from Geller. She hit the bullseye every time she pulled the trigger (a little First Amendment application to the Second Amendment). Her opening example was, “Truth is the new hate speech:”

They finished “The Uninvited” with a lively question and answer session (poor audio quality):

 

Posted in 2013, CPAC, Reclaiming and Restoring America, Remaking the Republicans | Leave a comment

CPAC 2013 LIGHT BURSTS FORTH INTO THIS PRESENT ABYSS—THE NON-ESTABLISHMENT

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Richard Johnson

The Old Man With Ideas and Young Leaders With Vision

A well reported battle is developing between the Washington driven Republican establishment and the people driven Conservative/Libertarian/Tea Parties. That battle burst into the open when Senator McCain went to the Senate floor to Chastise Senator Rand Paul for his filibuster against confirmation of Islamic Jihad friendly John Brennan as Director of Central Intelligence. Senator Paul wanted a firm answer by the Administration on the question, “Does the President have the Constitutional authority to hunt and kill Americans on American soil?”

Senator McCain expressed clear annoyance that a junior Senator upstaging him as he was entertained for media consumption by President Obama. The real reason goes very deep. Senator McCain is a leader among National security Republicans. Senator Paul has a libertarian (if nuanced) skepticism about foreign military involvement. I will comment of Senator Paul’s views later.

The battle intensified this past Saturday as Governor Palin, in a roundhouse criticism of Washington Establishment Republicans took a well aimed shot at Karl Rove. The shot hit the target. Rove shot back Sunday. Both, in my view, were too personal and unnecessary but we got to see the battle lines. They are not going away. I have no personal fight with Rove however I will do my small part every time I can to wrest power and our country’s future from Senator McCain/Graham and Washington.

Many CPAC speakers were worthy of a feature. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are three. A favorite of mine, freshman Texas Senator, Ted Cruz is another. The ones that fill the bill for this post are former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, Senator Rand Paul, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Let’s start with Speaker Newt Gingrich who may hold the record for the longest time in Washington as an outsider. It is no surprise that he came with a big vision for the 21srt Century being America’s best yet. He called it:

Be Pioneers of the Future Not Prisoners of the Past

These are among the profound points the Speaker drove home:

“All across America governors are doing innovative new solution oriented things which Barack Obama is opposing . . . and the contrast couldn’t be more vivid.”

“The whole of Washington, in both parties, are Prisoners of the past.”

“We [Republicans] are not in the business just of balancing the budget as the book accountants of the Liberals, we are in the business of reshaping the budget to liberate the American people and create a better future because a balanced budget with smaller government is more effective and gives people better lives …”

Understand, “there is no red and there is no blue there are 311 million Americans who deserve a [political] party that wants every one of them to have a dramatically better future and that ought to be the Republican Party.”

You may not agree with all but don’t miss any of the vision of Conservatism’s most mature innovative thinker (Newt’s speech begins at the 5:40 mark):

We Need to Jealously Guard All Our Liberties

Senator Paul repeatedly attacked President Obama for his unconstitutional power grab and slid effortlessly into an effective argument against federal spending and on to a powerful warning about our loss of God given rights and freedom, “But you can’t protect the Second Amendment if you don’t protect the First Amendment. If we are not secure in our homes, if we are not secure in our persons and our papers, can we really believe the right to bear arms will be secure? We need to jealously guard all our Liberties.” Senator Paul declared.

Senator Paul won the CPAC Straw Poll. It means nothing. That poll is always rigged by libertarians. But Senator Paul made his mark brilliantly and his brand of Libertarianism is on the rise in America and in the Republican Party. Senator Paul is clearly running for the Republican nomination for President in 2016. While Rand Paul does not share his father’s isolationist views, he is clearly not interested in meeting the worldwide jihad until it gets to our doorstep. We must watch his position on life and marriage. To quote Dr. Ben Carson, “Enough said,” for now. Like the attendees at CPAC 2013, you’ll love and be stirred to action by Senator Paul’s inspiring address:

America is Not the Federal Government; In Fact, America is Not Much About Government at All

You must watch Governor Jindal with a notepad and pen and be prepared to back up and listen again. Governor Jindal hit one pitch after another out of the park. Here is a handful I picked up in the center field stands.

“In our public discourse today, America is pretty much defined by government.”

“Number crunching—even conservative number crunching—is not the answer to our nation’s problems.”

“The truth is this, nothing serious is deemed serious in Washington, D.C.”

“We must turn our focus from managing government to leading America.”

“We must not become the party of austerity, we must become the party of growth.”

“We believe in creating abundance not redistributing scarcity.”

These visions have surely prepared us to clarify our own vision for a renewed, moral, and exciting America. There is much to be done. Let us begin.

Posted in 2013, CPAC, Reclaiming and Restoring America, Remaking the Republicans | Leave a comment

CPAC 2013 LIGHT BURSTS FORTH INTO THIS PRESENT ABYSS—A SIMPLE PLAN TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Richard Johnson

Logic would say that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s closing speech at CPAC 2013 would be the fifth of a five post series. As often happens, events overrode logic. Yesterday morning at the Washington Press Club, the fine Chairman of the Republican Nation Committee, Reince Priebus, delivered a vision for a new Republican brand. Some say the vision is filled with worthy ideas. But Palin said Saturday, “We’re not here to rebrand a party, we’re here to rebuild a country!” So here in the third of five posts is Governor Sarah Palin:

“We’ve come together for a great conversation about the future of our Country.”

“Nearly 8% unemployment [&] .1% economic growth doesn’t begin to tell the story of pain that Americans feel.”

“Never before have our challenges been so big and our leaders so small.”

“[Leadership] also means ending the poisonous practice of treating Americans of different social, ethnic, and religious groups as different electorates to be pandered to with different promises. If we truly believe the words of our other founding document, the Declaration of Independence with its world changing assertion that all men are created equal, then there no Hispanic issues or African American Issues or women’s issues. There are only American issues.”

“If believe in America is more than just a catchy campaign slogan, the we have to believe in America’s exceptionalism and her greatest achievement that no one is guaranteed success but everyone is guaranteed an equal opportunity at success.”

“if we have faith in We the People, if we teach America’s foundation of work ethic and development of our natural resources, if we believe in the charters of freedom that guide us, if we trust in the promise of opportunity that binds us, if we know the Providential hand that made America exceptional and respect the innocent life that He creates, then we will save our movement and then with hard work humility and the grace of our loving God, we will save our Country.”

Posted in 2013, CPAC, Reclaiming and Restoring America | Leave a comment