House Votes to Limit Wall Street Bonuses

And this time it doesn't just apply to businesses that were bailed out; it applies to all businesses with more than a billion dollars in assets. If this bill becomes law, businesses in the financial sector that are successful, helping the economy, will not be able to pay their executives what they want. Do Democrats not think that limiting pay might just limit motivation?

Link

Three American Tourists Likely Held by Iran

Link

Venezuela Cracks Down on Free Speech

Link

Chavez is moving closer and closer to making Venezuela a full fledged dictatorship.

Going Down...

Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval - 53% Approve, 39% Disapprove
Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll - 48% Approve, 51% Disapprove

1 Peter 2:4-5

1 Peter 2:4-5

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God
chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a
spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

In verse 4 we are told that while the world may reject us, God has chosen us, considers us precious even. We are then compared to stones building a house; we are spiritual bricks building God’s Kingdom. We do this as a holy priesthood, spreading His truth. We are called to be living sacrifices, dedicating our lives to God through our relationship with Christ. Romans 12:1 makes a similar statement, adding that this is what worship truly is:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship.”

Health Care Bill May Be Moving Forward

Link

According to the article the Senate is claiming to be close to an agreement on the bill that supposedly won't raise deficits, and Dem leadership in the House has convinced the "Blue Dogs" to allow a vote in September.

The article also has an interesting blurb on an alternate bill conservatives has come up with; it's much cheaper but still expensive as hell.

Sen. Hatch's View on the Health Care Bill Compromise Discussions

Senate Health Care: GOPer Not Pleased With 'Bipartisan' Talks

Essentially the Senator is saying the the compromise talks will accomplish nothing because the Democratic leadership won't allow them too. Basically the Democrat's talk of bipartisanship is total BS.

Things Going Bad for Obama?

Blame Bush!

Yeah, that $1.3 Trillion deficit is the reason your health care bill is so insanely expensive and disliked by Americans. It's as though Obama thinks he can do whatever he wants and just blame the Bush administration when it doesn't work. He apologizes for American "arrogance," but meddles in the affairs of governments that actually like us.

Link

1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Peter 2:1

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

1 Peter 2 starts with a simple admonition to live honestly and with content. Similar commands are given in Ephesians 4:31:

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from
you, along with all malice.”

and Colossians 3:8:

“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene
talk from your mouth.”

1 Peter 2:2-3

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may
grow up into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Verse 2 tells us that we should seek spiritual guidance like an infant seeks milk. We need this spiritual “milk” so that we can grow in our salvation, our relationship with God. The value of spending time in God’s Word is unparalleled in this. The importance that God’s Word should hold in our lives is seen in Psalm 119:105,

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

So What Happens When a Pro-American Democratic Nation Impeaches a Leftist President With Likely Dictatorial Goals?

Our government revokes that country's official's visas, obviously. I'm referring, of course, to Honduras, where their Congress voted then-president Manuel Zelaya out of office, their Supreme Court ordered his arrest, and their military removed him from the country. The only questionable action here was the removal instead of prosecution, but the US and other Western nations insist in calling this a coup and punishing Honduras (revoking visas, suspending aid, threatening sanctions).

This is a sovereign nation trying to protect itself from what were likely Chavez-like dictatorial moves. How exactly does the Obama administration get off condemning another nation for trying to protect its democracy? If Bush displayed arrogance in his foreign policy, Obama is now displaying anti-American arrogance.

Link to AP article.

Iraq Seems to be on the Right Course

Gates says U.S. urban pullout in Iraq going well

Health Care Bill May Loose Public Option in Senate

Link

According to the article, the Senate is in negotiations that may replace the public health care option with non-profit plans. Since this was the main concern with the bill, it will be interesting to see how this turns out. What effect this will have on the cost, how much the government will be involved in these non-profits, and how effective they could actually be will be very important questions to ask.

Even if it this change is accepted by the Senate, the House will still of course have to accept it as well. As the current Bill is being blocked by the Blue Dogs, a more conservative option might actually be accepted there too.

Sotomayor Nomination Approved by Judiciary Committee

Link

I doubt her ruling will in any way resemble the Constitution, but it's not like Souter's did either, so it's not really that big of a deal in my opinion. Maybe she'll turn out like Souter in reverse: turning conservative after being nominated by a liberal. A pipe dream, but still, it would be awesome.

A Little Coruption?

Link

It looks like a couple Democratic senators may be looking at some ethics troubles...
Remember that a public perception of corruption was one of the things that hurt Republicans in '06.

1 Peter 1

A while ago I figured out that the best way for me to do devotions was to write them as if it were for someone else; then I figured that if I were writing that way, I way as well make it available for others to read. For the most part it's just summaries, but hopefully someone can get something out of it.


1 Peter 1:1-2

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the
dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for
obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace
be multiplied to you.

1 Peter 1:3

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great
mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

In this verse Peter first praises God, and then begins to tell what God has done for us. The most important thing for us that God has done was the sacrifice made on the cross. This was done out of God’s mercy. There is nothing we could have done to gain salvation on our own; Titus 3:5 tells us,

“he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to
his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

Our being born again gives us hope; we know that we have life after death.


1 Peter 1:4-5

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Verse four goes on to tell us that we have been reborn to an inheritance, one that is eternal. Through our faith, God’s power holds us, keeping us so we can see the fullness of our salvation in the end.


1 Peter 1:6-7

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your
faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be
found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

We should rejoice in our inheritance, even if we are going through hard times. We should in fact be glad when we encounter trials; we are told in James 1:2 to “2 Count it all joy ... when you meet trials of various kinds.” We go through these trials to test and strengthen our faith, so that it can provide in praise, glory and honor to God. The next verse in James tells us that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness.


1 Peter 1:8-9

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you
believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

In verse 8 Paul describes the love of the church in Rome for Christ. We should love Christ in the same way; despite the fact that we cannot see Him, we love, believe and rejoice. This will fill us with unimaginable joy. In John 20:29 Jesus says this of those who have not seen Him, yet believe, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Adding to this joy is the result of our faith, salvation.


1 Peter 1:10-12

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that
was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or
time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the
sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that
they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been
announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy
Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

These verses mention the dedication of the prophets in searching for what was to come; that they looked forward to what we know. In verse 12 the awesomeness of Good News, our salvation, is described as something angels long to just see.


1 Peter 1:13

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your
hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.

In this verse we are told to prepare our minds for action. A more direct translation of this is to gird up the loins of our minds, a command alluding to preparation for combat. We must always be prepared to answer God’s call, as though we were soldiers and lives depended on it, and spiritual lives do. Importantly, this command to prepare our minds is subordinate to the other half of the verse; we prepare our minds for action while pursuing the ultimate mission of setting our hope on the Grace of God, living our lives wholly dedicated to our Lord.


1 Peter 1:14-16

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former
ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your
conduct, 16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Verse 14 tells us that we should not give into the desires of our sin nature (former ignorance), but should be obedient to Christ as children. 1 Peter 4:2 tells us we should live “...for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God,” and Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The latter two verses then tell us why we should live this life of obedience; we follow God, so we are to be holy as He is holy. God has called us to holiness: “God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7). This reason, to act in a way that emulates God, is consistent, recorded in the Leviticus 11:44, “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy...”


1 Peter 1:17

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each
one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

From verse 17 we can see that we need to maintain a fear (respect, reverence) of God.


1 Peter 1:18-19

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your
forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

We were given freedom from the bondage of sin; reclaimed by Christ’s blood. We have been brought from death to life; Hebrew 19:4 says that

“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve
the living God.”

There is nothing more sacred, more precious than that sacrifice that Christ made for us. Because of this great sacrifice we should strive to act in a way that brings glory to God. I Corinthians 6:20 tells us

“for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

1 Peter 1:20-21

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in
the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who
raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in
God.

Jesus, who existed before the creation of the world, came to earth for our sakes, so that we could be brought to God. Christ, who ruled in heaven came to earth to die for us, raised from the dead so that we could have hope in God. Hebrew 2:9 says,

“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely
Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that
by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

1 Peter 1:22-23

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere
brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have
been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living
and abiding word of God;

These two verses describe the love Christians should feel towards each other and the basis for it. We are told we should genuinely love each other as brothers would; that love should be deep, with pure motivations. We are able to have this love because we are born again, new people, living not through our temporary bodies but by the eternal Word of God.
1 Timothy 1:5 says that, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Teaching us that the heart of Christianity is love; God’s love for us, our love for God, our love for others.


1 Peter 1:24-25

24 for
"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of
grass.The grass withers, and the flower falls,25 but the word of the Lord
remains forever."
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

These verses explain the relevance of born again, no longer born of perishable seed but the imperishable Word of God. In the context of eternity our earthly lives are like grass and the “great” things we do are like flowers, they quickly die and pass out of memory. However, in stark contrast to that is Word of God, as God is eternity.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
- Isaiah 40:8

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. - Matthew
24:35

Israeli Citizens Protest Obama

Link

Protesters in Israel are protesting in an attempt to both get their government to stand up to US pressure to stop settlements and get the US government to stop providing that pressure. Once again, the liberal mantra of not meddling in other nation's affairs doesn't apply when it serves their interests.

Obama and Democrats Popularity Falling

According to Rasmussen's Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, Obama's approval rating from likely voters has dipped below 50%, and those who strongly disagree with his performance outnumber those who strongly agree 39 to 30%. Other highlights including 53% in opposition to the health care bill, 54% blame Bush for the economy, and 31% think the nation is heading in the right direction.

Their Generic Congressional Ballot shows the Republican party favored by voters for Congress.

These polls suggest the tide may be turning to favor the Republicans. Great news for them if they can manage not to screw it up, and maybe good news for America (let's hope they actually run intelligent conservatives). 2010 will be interesting.

This Sounds Bad

Swine flu could hit up to 40 percent in US

Hopefully this is a major exaggeration, but still. The panic that will result if this is anywhere near accurate will just make it all the worse.

Gotta Love Censorship

GOP Not Allowed to Say 'Government-Run Healthcare'

Sad News from North Korea

Report: North Korea Publicly Executes Christian Woman for Distributing Bible

This is really sad and disturbing. Makes me glad I live America, but reminds me that not everyone has it as good as us. The people of that country need prayer.

Health Care Bill Looking Better

By which I mean its chances of passing are dwindling.

Democrats see healthcare deal hopes collapse

It's now looking very likely that the Democrats will be unable to push through the bill in the time Obama originally wanted. Rahm Emanuel claims he still expects them to get it through by the end of the year, but every delay will see their political capital decrease, giving opposition a greater chance to stop this monstrosity. Apparently moderate Democrats don't care much for socialized medicine either.

Well This Is Interesting...

Ousted Honduran leader returns home — briefly

This'll be interesting. A socialist President essentially tries to become the permanent leader of his nation (sounds familiar), their congress and supreme court have the military remove him, and "all governments in the Western Hemisphere have condemned the coup." Ah, I love it; the only time liberals see fit to interfere with other nations is when they prevent themselves from becoming a socialist dictatorship.

Maybe Americans Don't Like the Race Card?

Obama rushes to quell racial uproar he helped fire

Really this whole situation is pissing me off. Perhaps the "nation's keen sensitivities on matters of race" are aggravated most when people play the race card for no reason. That Gates guy made a dick of himself when a cop tried to do his job, then turned it into a national controversy; that's the biggest problem with race relations in America in my opinion.