Kenny Johnson

William Kenneth "Kenny" Johnson
Son - Brother - Husband - Father - Uncle - Friend
1981 - 2009

This is sad news. My 28 year old son-in-law Kenny Johnson tragically passed away on October 13, 2009 at his home in Waldorf, Maryland. I wanted to share this with all of you to ask for your prayers for his soul and for his family and all those who love him, especially my daughter and young granddaughters. I wanted to create this page as a place where family and friends and all those who love Kenny can leave their thoughts, prayers and memories of him.


Kenny was born May 30, 1981 in Clinton, MD, the son of William F. Johnson, Jr. and Rhonda Marie Simard. He loved everything about cars and racing and was always working on one thing or another. He was an auto mechanic his whole life, working many years at Sears Automotive and he loved racing at Maryland International Raceway (MIR), Budd’s Creek, MD where he won a class trophy.


He loved his two baby girls so very much and they love their daddy still. I remember telling him when Kaylie was born that his whole world was about to change and that he would understand what that meant the moment he looked into those those big beautiful blue eyes under that mop of red hair. And that he did.


I'm old fashioned and was raised that it's disrespectful to wear a hat in someone's house. I remember when Kenny began dating Jean he would always walk in the house wearing his hat and I'd remind him and he would always take it off with a "oops" sort of grin. He meant no disrespect, he just always wore hats everywhere, even inside and it got to be a running joke with him. I would always remind him and once or twice even removing it from his head myself..lol.


Then there was the time he was at the house for dinner. Jean got up from the table and was getting a drink from the fridge and I asked her to grab me a beer. Kenny jokingly said "Get me one too" in a "get me my beer, woman" kind of tone and no sooner than he said that than the chair he was sitting in gave out. Sitting directly across from him, I'll never forget the look on his face for that fraction of a second before it sunk below the level of the table and all we saw was chair parts flying and arms and legs flailing. We laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes and we were just joking about it the last time I saw him for my birthday in August.


Another fond memory is from Christmas day 2001 when Kenny had planned on asking Jean to marry him. We all pretty much knew they were going to be engaged and were sitting in the living room and he was getting ready to ask when Stephanie jumped up and shouted, oh no you don't! She grabbed him, pulled him aside and told him that he better ask me for my permission and blessing FIRST! Kenny asked me if he could talk to me in the kitchen so in we went and he asked me for Jean's hand. I told him that as long as he loves her and promises to take care of her, he of course, would have my blessing.


Kenny is survived by his parents William F. Johnson, Jr. and Rhonda Marie Simard; his wife, Jean A. Johnson; daughters, Kaylie Grace and Jaydin Elyane Johnson; maternal grandmother, Geneva Jaeger; brother, Robert J. Simard, II of Waldorf, MD; sisters, Millisa Ann Blake of Nanjemoy, MD; Crystal M. and her husband Brian Hektoen of Mechanicsville, MD; step-mother, Cecelia Ann Johnson; Godchildren, Joseph and Olivia Scheungrab; nieces, Breanna Blake and Jenna Hektoen; nephews, Frankie and Devin Hardesty and James Doering and his best friends who were more like brothers, John and his wife Stephanie Scheungrab of Waldorf, MD and Michael Hamilton of FL.

Visitation will be Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2-4 and 6-8PM at Raymond Funeral Chapel, 5635 Washington Avenue, La Plata, MD.

The funeral Service will be Monday, October 19, 2009, 11AM at Raymond Funeral Chapel and he will be laid to rest on Monday, October 19, 2009 in the Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Maryland.

Kenny was a good man, a good father and a good friend. He will be missed as a part of our family and will always remain in our hearts. May eternal light shine upon him and may he rest in peace.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Kaylie and Jaydin Johnson Education Fund via PayPal at KayJayFund@yahoo.com or by clicking the button below.

William Kenneth "Kenny" Johnson
Son - Brother - Husband - Father - Uncle - Friend
1981 - 2009

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On School Prayer

Recently a friend on Facebook sent me a message asking me to pray to have the Lord's Prayer allowed back in school again and it made me think about that very issue and I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.

This is certainly a tough topic because it involves the much misunderstood and abused topic of "Separation of Church and State".

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..."

There are obviously two parts. The first part prevents Congress (or the incorporated states) from establishing a "state" religion; the second part (largely forgotten about and wrongly superseded by misinterpretation of the first part these days), states that they cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion. Your religion, no matter what that may be. Public ridicule of other religions or complete rejection of all religion is NOT free exercise of religion, but it may be general freedom of speech if done properly and not in a belittling or provoking manner. People also do have the right to be wrong.

Though some would have you believe otherwise, the free exercise of YOUR religion on public property is not state sponsored establishment or endorsement of religion in any form and neither is a public display such as a nativity, a menorah, public prayer or any other such thing. In fact, the second part (no law...prohibiting the free exercise thereof) guarantees that RIGHT.

What it does do however, and is seemingly lost to us, is teach us two things. First to be tolerant of other people's faiths and second is to be strongly grounded in our own, whatever it may be. If a preacher or an atheist on every corner is such a threat to you as to cause you to question your own faith from block to block, then perhaps the problem isn't with them, but with yourself. If you're firmly grounded in your faith no amount of public preaching or displays will sway you from what you know in your heart to be true so all the public prayer and all the public displays of faith won't change what's in your heart. And so it should be. Isn't that one of the founding principles of Christianity?

Since the First Amendment prevents state endorsement of any one religion or force anyone into or out of any religion, it cannot force school children to pray. But more importantly it cannot restrain the free exercise of religion, even and ESPECIALLY on public property and that means they cannot stop a child from praying if they so choose!

While I do believe that the lack of religion and spirituality in our lives has caused immense moral decay in America, the lack of prayers in school wasn't the cause. The lack of prayer in school is merely a symptom of the lack of prayer in our lives, most importantly in our families.

I believe nobody should ever be forced to pray as prayer must come from the heart and a sincere desire to communicate in our relationship with God through prayer. You can't have a functional relationship with dysfunctional communication. I do agree that children should be taught to pray properly, but it should be by their parents who have a responsibility to train their children well the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Turning the tide of morality in America must begin at home and there will be no immediate results. You must have faith that by planting that seed now and teaching your children well and be being good examples of faith and morality, you are indeed supplying the future America with what is perhaps her most abundant resource; the faith in the American heart.

God's Blessings,
Bob

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American Charity

I recently engaged in a discussion on Facebook over a post called the Conservative or American Divorce Agreement. This link is the same article, obviously not on Facebook, but the text is identical and there are a few versions on the net.

One commenter on the Facebook post is a liberal and the discussion became one based on opinion and emotion rather than fact. Then with a feeble attempt to deflect the argument into "health care" (as they've been told to do), she asked how willing I would be to take in my parents to care for them in their old age. I explained that I would and have already agreed to and that it's only in America that we cast our elderly aside because they become a lifestyle inconvenience. In most European countries and my wife's native Brasil the very thought is repulsive. I made a few other good points and as I was making my last reply I had the following thoughts and thought I should share them with you all.

My reply is as follows:

I'm disgusted at how our nation has been flipped upside down in nearly every way, morally, politically, spiritually, ethically, etc. and how so many have been brainwashed and deceived to "know" that down is up. I don't fault them for trying to believe in helping others, that's a noble and admirable thing to do and something we all should strive to do. But with rights comes responsibilities and their responsibility doesn't end with throwing money at the state to dole out in their name as they see fit.

Meeting our maker when it's our time, I imagine the conversation might go something like this:

Jesus: How many of the least of my brethren did you help in my name?
Liberal: I gave millions in state aid to help those in need and paid my taxes on time!
Jesus: I never saw you.
Liberal: But what about all those that I helped through the state and my charitable contributions?
Jesus: I waited for you to come, but I never saw you. I don't know you. Step to the left.

Nowhere in Matthew 25:31-46 does Jesus say "I was in need of taxes and you filed before April 15th". But He does say "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and that which is God's unto God." (Matt 22:21)

Give money to the state by all means, all of it if you want! But don't think for a moment it is charity for it is not. Since Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), all Love belongs to God and is God's and He so badly wants us to be reconciled to Him. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

God gives us access to Himself and His unlimited Love through Christ Jesus and as conduits of His Love we are called to return it to Him through the very least of our brethren, keeping none of it for ourselves, and in doing so we truly store treasure in heaven! THAT my friends is the test!

Think of God's currency as Love for indeed it is our eternal reward and our treasure in Heaven! He gives us His unlimited Love to "put to work" as did the king in Luke 19:11-26. Did we multiply it through others or did we hide it in fear? Or worse did give it to another to throw before swine as is done with our taxes.

Here's a little flowchart for the visual learners:

God's Unlimited Love--->Jesus--->Us--->Least of our brethren (Jesus)--->God--->Treasure In Heaven!

If we keep any of it for ourselves, we fail and will be set to the left with the goats to our eternal punishment. It is only when you recognize with your own eyes the face of Christ in the least of our brethren that they can then see the face of Christ in you.

As in faith we have an obligation to evangelize to others about the Truth, but once they have the chance to know the Truth and then reject it, well then it's time to shake the dust off our feet as a testament against them. That same principle applies for the truth about America, why we were created and what this nation truly stands for.

The "American Divorce Agreement" while meant in a humorous light is nothing more than shaking the dust off our feet and divorcing ourselves from the evil ways that our nation has embraced to its core. Paraphrasing Matthew 18:9 - If thine nation offends thee, leave it. It is better to enter into life with no nationality, than to have embraced an evil nation and be cast into hell.

In closing I'll leave you with a link to Paul's most beautiful First Epistle to John, chapter 4:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John+4&version=NIV

May you find the face of Christ in another and may they then see the face of Christ in you.

God's Blessings,
Bob

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Third Edition Roman Missal

After six long years, it looks like the Third Edition of the Roman Missal is almost here!

Pope John Paul II issued the long awaited revision to the Order of the Mass (Missale Romanum) in the 2000 Jubilee year and the English translation that began in 2003 is nearly complete. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops have created a new website to introduce you to the new translation including an introductory video by Bishop Arthur J. Seratelli:

http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/

Here's an example of the changes to the Confiteor:

PRESENT:
I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned
through my own fault,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord, our God.

NEW:
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

You will recognize the part where you strike your breast "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault;" as being accurately translated from the original Latin mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa as used in the Tridentine or Latin Mass.

Here you can read examples of some of the changes:

http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/examples.shtml

This promises to be a more accurate and authentic translation from the Latin text and will provide a much deeper meaning to the whole Mass. Check out the new website, the new examples and translations and let me know what you think!

(Personally, I think we should revive the Latin mass worldwide and communion should be taken on the knee, but that's just me!)

CNA article here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16905

God's Blessings,
Bob

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Obama Montana

Sometimes when a cancer is so advanced medicine is ineffective and the only remaining option is a surgical one. I fear we are rapidly approaching the day when the only way save America will be to surgically remove the malignant and parasitic socialist/progressive/liberal cancer that has invaded our nation. The socialist/progressive/liberal eye most assuredly offends America and must be plucked out.

I still hope and pray for a miracle or a non-invasive cure but I'm also realistically preparing to assist should a surgical option be the only option remaining. Be sure you have instruments and keep them sharp.

This is a letter that was passed to me by a friend and I thought it was worth sharing with you all. It will give you an inside look at the workings and machinations of deception and fabricated lies, the very things they are accusing us of doing. That only makes sense because it's the only thing they know.

God's Blessings,
Bob

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.

FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.

Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd.
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)

Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.

So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.

If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.

It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!


Name Withheld

Bozeman, Montana

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Our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

Have you ever wondered why churches are physically designed the way they are? Why are modern churches so different than the churches of old? If you look at many older "ad orientam" (eastern facing) cruciform (cross shaped) churches you'll notice the baptismal font was traditionally placed near the western entrance and the crucifix is always on the eastern wall behind the altar.

Though I have no empirical evidence on hand, I believe it is a very intentional design to remind us of our life with Christ. God provides us with such rich graces throughout our lives but we often forget the meanings and subtle reminders that we have given ourselves. In our own baptism we become Christians and enter into the Body of Jesus Christ. We are called to walk with him all our days and in our baptism we are born into and share in His life, death and Resurrection.

Walking into an ad-orientam cruciform church of old from the west and blessing ourselves with the sacramental of Holy Water at the door reminds us of our own baptism and our first steps into the Body of Christ (the Church) where we share in His life through His words (the liturgy), share in His death and sacrifice of the Mass through the Most Holy Eucharist, and share in His Resurrection as we take what God has given us and go forth into the world to Love and serve God and one another.

The physical church is a real and visible reminder of God's graces and eternal Love for us and she is the embodiment of our salvation history itself!

Our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is at once, many things;

She is the Ark of Noah by which the righteous were saved;
She is the Ark of the Covenant carrying God's law throughout the land;
She is the New Ark and perfect unstained womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary from which was born our Salvation;
She is Christ's Baptism and salvation for all who are entered into it with Him;
She is the Barque of St. Peter outside of which there is no salvation;
She is the voice of the Blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ from which spring forth God's commands of Love and Mercy;
She is the irrefutable witness to Jesus Christ, who Himself came to bear witness to the truth;
She is the Dispenser of the Sacraments, visible signs of God's merciful and loving graces and no less miracles than those shown to us by Christ Himself;
She is the Way of the Cross, bearing the humiliation, scorn and sufferings as Christ was hated;
She is Calvary and the Cross, the altar upon which the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ the Lamb of God was crucified and died so our sins may be forgiven;
She is the tomb where HE was resurrected and where we are all resurrected with Him and from which we go forth to make disciples of all the nations, to Love and serve the Lord through one another.
She is the living Bride of Christ for which HE will return.

The Catholic Church my friends is herself continuing proof of God's Love for each and every one of us and she is as eternal as is God's Love for us, his children.

God's Blessings,
Bob

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Bring Your Gun to Church Day

While it's a nice sentiment, as an Open Carrier and staunch supporter of the 2A, I know with what this pastor is trying to do and to be honest it's both foolish and dangerous. The only times a gun should be unloaded is while in storage, for training and demonstration purposes, for cleaning and servicing or the moment before you reload. If God given innocent life is sacred at all times, shouldn't the tools to defend against evil that would take that life also be ready for use at all times? (See CCC 2263-65)

Pastor Welcomes Gun Owners to Bring Their Handguns to Church
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529276,00.html

Saturday, June 27, 2009
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A gun-toting Kentucky pastor says it's OK to bring weapons to church — at least for one day.

Ken Pagano asked his flock to bring their unloaded handguns — in holsters — to New Bethel Church in Louisville for a celebration of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Consitution [SIC] that guarantees the right to bear arms...

I'll probably get a lot of "emotional" comments for this and I truly welcome the persecution, but the analogy is actually quite accurate: It's an interesting parallel that a church that uses a vandalized and scandalized Holy Bible with books removed, a cross with Christ removed, leadership with the authority removed and an incomplete "Christian" Church with the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ removed, somehow thinks that a gun with ammunition removed is normal.

That is to say that an empty gun cannot defend your physical life anymore than an empty or incomplete Christianity can defend your eternal life.

God's Blessings,
Bob

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Obama, the African Colonial

This is an incredible article I just read over on American Thinker that really lends insight into what is happening to America at the hands of Obama and why.

Obama, the African Colonial
By L.E. Ikenga

"Like imperialists of Old World Europe, the ACP sees their constituents not as free thinking individuals who best know how to go about achieving and creating their own means for success. Instead, the ACP sees his constituents as a flock of ignorant sheep that need to be led -- oftentimes to their own slaughter..."

We're not sheep. We have liberty teeth and a tree that desperately needs watering.

God's Blessings,
Bob

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The Delphi Technique - Controlled Deception

Have you ever heard of the Delphi Technique? I hadn't and came across an article and was intrigued so I began doing a little light research and found some interesting facts and opinions.

This old technique was developed in the 1950's and was sincerely intended as a tool to be used at gaining a consensus from large groups but was rapidly morphed into something quite different. Today it's being used today in both the original and modified forms to provide an illusion of participation and a false sense of enfranchisement. These immoral and highly unethical tactics are employed by people who have predetermined the outcome of those meetings and are merely "steering" you like mindless cattle into what you think is a consensus agreement, providing them with this alleged mandate to do as they will and all the while you think you've done your duty as a good little citizen. It outwardly seems like a democratic process and gives the appearance of participation in democracy, but that is only the mask it wears. It's a public opinion manipulator pure and simple and those doing the manipulating are not interested in your voice unless it suits their ends. Sounds a bit like modern American politics.

I recommend everyone that has ever or plans to attend any form of public meeting, whether school, PTA, HOA, school, community, focus groups, associations, leagues, corporate, anything and everything, to get intimately familiar with these unethical tactics that ARE being used.

Folks, this is not how our Republic works and it's nothing that common sense, passion and strength of purpose can't defeat. Please read these articles and draw your own conclusions. I already have.

If you've ever participated in a meeting that used the Delphi Technicques described in the articles below, I'd be interested to hear from you.

God's Blessings,
Bob

http://www.learn-usa.com/transformation_process/acf001.htm

http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/1998/nov98/focus.html

http://www.vlrc.org/articles/110.html

http://www.iror.org/delphied.asp

http://www.iror.org/delphi.asp

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/wrep0131/wrep0131.html

http://www.carolla.com/wp-delph.htm

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God Bless America or America Bless God?

"God Bless America" - A beautiful sentiment that we Americans commonly say and hear each Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veteran's Day and in numerous patriotic speeches or articles. And so completely backwards and wrong.

This past week while visiting a local country style furnishings store with my daughter I saw a sign that read "America Bless God" and I was instantly taken aback at the simple truth and humility revealed by switching two words. It not only rearranges the sentence but reveals the truth of our place in the "big picture" and puts us squarely where we rightfully belong.

While God's blessings are a wonderful thing to strive for as a nation, just how do we go about receiving God's blessings? Do we just ask and receive as Jesus told us in Matthew 7:7? Is it that simple? Well, yes and no. Remember, the Bible is a whole, not a collection of one-liners to be thrown like daggers in an argument.

If just asking and receiving were all that's necessary, why don't we already have all that we've ever asked for in prayer? Jobs, cars, homes, health, Love, etc? Simple, we're doing it wrong. In our quest to not complicate things, we've oversimplified our faith and apparently lost so much in the translation and perhaps even our way. The way we are to go about receiving God's blessings and what we ask for in prayer IS remarkably simple, but it's not the way we've been told to go by far too many false prophets.

Let's get back to the basics in Sacred Scripture;

In Matthew 18:19 Jesus tells us that two of us should agree on what is asked for, "touching" it. and this can't possibly mean that all we need to do is physically "touch" those things we desire while praying. If that were true all me and my wife would have to do is go to a Ferrari dealer, both of us lay hands on a nice new Ferrari F430 and pray and it will be ours! We should be able to find a nice new home and new furniture and everything we desire in the same way, right? Not quite. If you get the urge, feel free to try it and please let me know how that works out for you.

How then do we "touch" God's blessings in order to receive them? We cannot "touch" a blessing that we have not already received. "Touching it" in this case most certainly does not refer to physical touch but to the whole of our actions that we must do in order to realize that in which we seek, according to God's will, not ours.

Luke 11:9 tells us to seek and we shall find. But what is in the seeking? Seeking is not just asking but it a conscious pursuit, an act of will to find that which is hidden. In John 14:13 Jesus further explains and tells us that we should ask it in His name so the Father might be glorified in the Son.

But again, is it that simple? Can anyone just ask for anything in Jesus name and receive it? Again, obviously not. In John 15:7 Jesus clearly further explains that we can ask and it shall be done only if we abide in Him and His words in us. The picture is coming clearer now.

John 15:16 clarifies that what God gives us is so we may continue to bear fruit but not the fruits of human toils and our earthly passions that we narrowly see and seek, but the fruit of our lives which truly comes from the vine; our labors such as wisdom, charity and Love. God provides us that which we need here on earth but His fruits are those things that we can clearly take with us and are not bound by earthly existence and transcend the human experience such as wisdom, charity, faith, hope and Love.

James 4:1-10 tells us:

"Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, "The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy"? But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you."

Another answer is right there in Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

If we want it and are anxious for it, even in prayer, we shall not receive it.

Now God's revelation of His truth and His Will regarding prayer becomes clearer in 1 John 3:21-22 "Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him." Purity of heart, confidence in God and obedience to Him.

And further along in 1 John 5:14-15 "And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours."

For us to receive anything from God, most especially His blessings whether as a nation or as an individual, we must first keep ALL His commandments (not just the convenient ones, but ALL of them), doing all those things that are pleasing in His sight and according to HIS WILL and then asking through Christ Jesus in prayer and supplication, only THEN shall we receive.

In Matthew 7:6 Jesus tells us "Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces." Why then would God cast his holy blessings before us when today we as a nation trample underfoot His commandments and all those beautiful things He has given us? I would bet my life that God has no cares whatsoever for our pathetic little "Separation of Church and State" especially in light of what it has become. It went from being a wonderful concept by Thomas Jefferson to prevent religious persecution of all of God's people into a device FOR religious persecution against those that do believe in God and the means for removal of God from our society. That surely isn't God's will, but of an evil design whereby we choose the laws of man over the laws of God and even deny Him in the process. Remember, denying God's existence doesn't mean He doesn't exist. It means you are in denial.

One look at today's political scene, the news and especially the current administration's efforts to completely secularize our society by not only removing God from our government, our schools and our lives, and going to the other extreme to support those things that are certainly against God's commandments and His Will such as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and homosexual marriage, and this alleged separation of church and state and it's clear that we HAVE trampled underfoot all of God's commandments and do not keep them. The church is indeed the body of Christ so what then is the real goal of separating church and state?

To receive anything from God, especially His blessings, we must first be worthy of it. As James 5:16 reminds us, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" and that means we must first be righteous in God's eyes, not our own and then may receive.

"God Bless America" is arrogant and proud. "America Bless God" is humble and righteous.
God cannot bless America until America Blesses God.

May each of us find ourselves worthy of God's blessings.

America Bless God,
Bob

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