Lifestyle and Politics – Auriesville Tubthumper

Guiness and Hearing Loss- Part 7 for your health

New Study Suggests Guinness May Stop Hearing Loss

Irish Around The World July 20, 2017

While this is not my material and I am simply repeating it here I thought it a good addition. In the early posts about how and why Christians were consuming this beverage they did mention health reasons. This article just came out and seems appropriate to save. If you imbibe in a Guiness or two once in a while you will appreciate the benefits you are getting.

New research indicates that drinking a pint of Guinness a day can actually prevent hearing loss.

We heard before that Guinness has many health benefits and how its high iron content might combat hearing loss.

The new research, published in the Journal of American Medicine indicates the benefits of Guinness. Previously, Guinness was given to patients in recovery, now the iron in the iconic Irish drink, is to prevent hearing loss.

The research at the Pennsylvania State University found that high level of iron in our bodies helps prevent hearing loss.

The research was conducted on over 300 000 patients and the results speak for themselves.

Over 30% of the worlds population is anemic, lacking iron and is on the way to hearing loss.

The researchers at Pennsylvania University found that the lack of this valuable mineral can cause damage to the cochlea, nerve pathways and cause problems with the middle ear bones.

The study also showed that Iron supplements do not help due to DNA damage to the blood vessels. This all clearly shows that Guinness can be the answer to this increasing problem.

Although I do not recommend getting drunk with Guinness or any other alcoholic beverage it might actually be good for us, as we get more iron this way. As the ole advertising slogan indicates ‘Guinness Is Good For You’, a pint a day can lead you to better hearing.

And I think a pint a day is ok. But leave it at that.

Don’t forget, “everything in moderation.” As always , I wish you the best in the Lord.

The Tubthumper

Gotta Serve Somebody, God Fearing Beer Drinking- Part 6

There is a line of the Guinness genealogical path that has been deeply committed to God. It’s the descendants of John Grattan Guinness who was Arthur’s youngest son. It has continued through the years and spurred a book written by Frederic Mullally called, “The Silver Salver: The Story of the Guinness Family.” The book almost makes the rest of the clan look like rogue pagans. In reality, however the family was pretty much a God fearing Guinness story all together. The Reformers changed the artificial lines between what was sacred and what was secular and showed that men were sent into the world by God to use their God-given skills to His glory. This Protestant work ethic can be found all throughout the Guinness line beginning with the greatly reformed and faithful original Arthur Guinness and on through his descendants. They looked at their craft of brewing as being done as a holy offering because it was a craft they pursued within the service of the Lord. They certainly never saw themselves as secular. They looked upon themselves as having a calling. They were in God’s ministry of industry and trade. They performed the work with the Reformation ideal that everything they did was done for God. They strived to please God with all they did.

There was of course a line of Guinness’s that were in-fact missionaries and ministers but we shouldn’t look at them as any more connected to God than the others. The great truth of Christianity is that a banker or a baker can serve just as important a role for God as a priest or pope. So the Guinness story has a base of Christianity and shows that spirituality was involved in their success. It was the center of all the good they have done in the world.

I would like to introduce the youngest son of the first Arthur. To make a long story short he grew up and joined the army. While John Grattan Guinness was in the army and in foreign lands he heard the Christian truth from men that he admired. He heard it from military men that fought mightily by day and worshipped Christ by night. They shared their faith with Captain John Guinness while together and John wrote home that he had become “born again.” John married and he and his new wife became one as husband and wife and also in spiritual matters. John returned home in 1824 sick and exhausted after a number of difficult and trying years. His wife returned with him but died two years after. John tried to work in the family business which was also in the whiskey business at the time. Having become an evangelical he was now a teetotaler, drank no alcohol and believed all men should do the same so John resigned from his position at the brewery.

John met a widow named Jane Lucretia D’Esterre who also had a rough past and had found faith in Jesus Christ during a sermon at St. George’s Church in Dublin. The love between the two them became a cure for wounds life had hit them with. They married in 1829 and the first five years a happy life. In 1835 when John was 52 and Jane was 38 they had a son together. His name was Henry. Henry Grattan Guinness was a gift from God while his parents were in their later years. He became such a man of God and full of faith that he would be mentioned with the likes of Dwight Moody and Charles Spurgeon as one of the greatest preachers of the day. He had a soul searching life as all young men do but when Christ found him this is what he wrote, “The future was lighted with hope. The gates of glory and immortality opened to my mental vision and there shone before me an interminable vista of pure and perfect existence in the life to come. It was the marriage of the soul; the union of the creature in appropriating and self-yielding love with Him who is uncreated eternal love.” He was a man on fire for Christ. On his 21^st birthday he wrote in his diary, “my only passion is to live preaching and to die preaching; to live and die in the pulpit; to preach to perishing sinners till I drop down dead.” He became such a great preacher that in 1857 he was preaching at Moorfields Tabernacle in London which had been George Whitfield’s home church. He went on to preach in France, Switzerland, Wales and Scotland bearing much fruit. He eventually returned to Dublin with much acclaim. It was a Guinness who was now drawing national acclaim during a time when all the well-known, “Protestant preachers of the time were weighted against each other like professional boxers.”

Henry became one of the best known preachers in the world. He had incredible success in the lands north of Ireland and then he toured through the United States. It was a time when the U.S was troubled over slavery and states’ rights. He preached 9 sermons a week for many months. Exhausted he returned to England for some rest and while preaching at a church he met Fanny Fitzgerald. They were married on October 2, 1860. Although he felt he was now with his soul mate the following years were difficult and lined with turmoil and opposition. This was during the time when he took an antislavery and anti-alcohol stance. Still he preached on while travelling the world.

There was turning point in the Guinness family as Henry joined Hudson Taylor and trained missionaries in England to join Taylor in China. They began training school called Stepney Institute. The school later became known as the East London Institute for Home and Foreign Missions. Before long the support was so strong that land and buildings were donated to become Harley College. The college was so successful it became a model for Moody Bible College in the United States.

Henry became an accomplished author as well. He wrote the best-selling book, “The Approaching End of the Age in Light of History, Prophecy and Science” as an answer to Darwin. His work earned him the Doctor of Divinity and also resulted in is being elected to the Royal Astronomical Society. He wrote more than 20 books and among them was, “Light for the Last Days,” published in 1886. It was a prophetic writing that came true and he also in that writing predicted the 1948 event when Israel once again became a nation. Henry was not alive to enjoy the pleasure of the role his writings played because he died in 1910 as a very revered man. Henry’s children all went on to do great things for God and the long line of the faithful Guinness’s would continue. The grandchildren yielded Christian ministers, missionary medical doctors, Christian schoolmasters, Royal Air Force chaplains and missionaries to Asia to name a few.

How is it that ten of Arthur Guinness’s children would have a birth-line of devoted Christians that would move nations due to their faith? Could it have been something that began within the very first Arthur Guinness’s heart? Could it have been fostered by those early Sunday schools? Whatever it was and is, it continues through time. A historian wrote, “The Guinness family had the brewers and the bankers, but neither of them could match, in adventurousness and energy, the deeds of the ‘Grattan’ Guinness’s, spurred as they were not by materialistic ambition but by a deeply felt, inherited faith in what they believe to be the civilizing power of the Bible.

This will end my review of “The search for, God and Guinness.” Once again I recommend you read Mr. Mansfield’s book and fill in the details.

Sorry for the length of this one, but in closing this last post reminded me of Bob Dylan’s song of which I will include his lyrics here:

“Gotta Serve Somebody”

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock’n’ roll adict prancing on the stage
Might have money and drugs at your commands, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord you might even own banks.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be working in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

The Guinness’s chose to serve God. Who do you serve?

May God be with you and bless you,

The Tubthumper

PS: One last post added by surprise. CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE FINAL.

Righteous Wealth Works Wonders, God Fearing Beer Drinking #5

As the saying goes, a man becomes the company he keeps.

Just the same, a company becomes the culture they create.

Whatever is regularly affecting the lives of its workers becomes an indication of what type of noble accomplishments the company will make. The Guinness culture changed the lives of its workers, helped eradicate the poverty in Dublin and served as a model for other companies on how to care for their employees. The culture of faith, kindness and generosity at Guinness taught men how seek ways to serve their fellow men and turn harshness to joy.

In 1990, Dublin was overcrowded and starvation and disease was rampant. It was the point in time that the culture propagated by Guinness moved out to the streets of Dublin and allowed men to serve the streets of a city that was dying. Guinness was able to demonstrate what good their righteous wealth can do.

Dublin was rife with filth and disease. It had become a cesspool, people were living in squalor, sickness and had all the vices known to man. It had the highest rates of contagious diseases and the highest death rate in all of Europe. There was an epidemic of smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, typhus, whooping cough, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever and tuberculosis. These diseases were spreading at an unprecedented rate. Most of the misery and sickness was caused by the overcrowding which came about by the hordes of immigrants swarming to Dublin in 1840’s to escape troubled lives in their own land. So the poor, weak and sick people were all corralled into the city of Dublin. A majority of the agony, pain and sickness was self-induced. These people in Dublin that were extremely overcrowded regularly dumped their sewage into the same river that served as their source of drinking water.

There was also the revered Irish tradition of waking the dead and this played a major role in spreading the diseases around. (This was the process of laying out the body of a departed relative in the house where they lived and died. All of the family and quite a few of the deceased one’s neighbors and friends would gather at the house. The body was usually laid out in the parlor of the house or living room. There would be lots of food and plenty of drink to be consumed. People would come and socialize and remember the departed person’s life. This wasn’t a time for tears to say the least, it was quite a party and hardly resembled a funeral. It was the traditional Irish way of celebrating one’s life and ensuring that they had a good send off. A proper Irish Wake was pretty wild in the old customs of that period.) It was common for the body of a loved one to lay for as many as four nights. The mourners exposed themselves to whatever it was that killed the deceased. One historian called Dublin, “A city of the damned.”

Doctor John Lumsden had just become the chief medical officer at the Guinness brewery. He was an extraordinary man, devoted Christian with a calling that would allow Guinness to effect the lives of thousands, change Dublin for the good and break new ground in corporate social responsibility. Doctor Lumsden wanted to serve his fellow man and alleviate suffering in Dublin. He figured out that if he could change the housing and living conditions he could really make a difference. He talked the Guinness board of directors into letting him visit every home of the workers and their relatives. This was 2,287 employees and 7,343 dependents. The board supported him and they found that over 35 percent of the homes were actually inhabitable. The descriptions were wrenching and I encourage you to get Mansfield’s book to read the details. It was much worse than you can think as a modern citizen. The Doctor outlined a large list of goals and tasks to eradicate the squalor.

The Guinness board convened on 1901 and eagerly followed the Doctors recommendations. What an amazing benevolent move for the Guinness firm. They absolutely adopted the vision that Doctor Lumsden put before them and approved the funding although they knew the cost was enormous. It is an amazing show of the desire that Guinness had to fulfill a legacy of compassion and generosity. The result of the labor, compassion and expense was that Guinness acquired a reputation of caring for its employees that was second to none. The company earned that reputation in the city that was named the deadliest city in Europe.

For his work in all he did to serve society, Dr. Lumsden was knighted by King George V, which was very well deserved.

Doctor Lumsden had the vision, but he could have never done it alone. He needed the strength of a culture of social concern, love of mankind and generosity. He needed a vehicle, wise and wealthy men to stand in battle with him and help him save human lives. That is what Guinness gave to him. That is what Guinness and the doctor gave to the people of Dublin. That is just one small example of what kind of good righteous wealth can do.

If you missed the last post you can jump back there and read it by clicking on the Mansfield book.

Come back for the next post when we learn about the Guinnesses for God. In fact you can CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE NEXT POST.

Till then, may the Lord richly bless you,

The Tubthumper

Beer Brewing and God Fearing Beer Drinking – God and Guinness #4

Moving to Dublin

This is a continuation of what has become my summary of Stephen Mansfield’s book; The Search for God and Guinness. A biography of the beer that changed the world.

To go back and read the last post click HERE.
It was 1759 when Arthur Guinness moved to Dublin. That was the very same year the first president of the United States got married to a girl named Martha. He was thirty-four years old at the time. Arthur moved to an old brewery located in the western part of Dublin called St. James Gate. It was a brilliant move given the intention of the government to link Dublin with the River Shannon and Limerick which would put the end of the canal right at his doorstep. Another amazing thing he did was to negotiate a low nine-thousand-year lease. Have you ever heard of someone with a nine-thousand-year lease? Twenty years later in 1779 his beer was so good and his reputation so intact that Guinness was named the official beer maker for Dublin Castle which was the British Governments headquarters for Ireland.
Arthur married Olivia Whitmore on July 17, 1761. Olivia was young, wealthy and an absolutely beautiful woman. She put Arthur into contact with the Dublin society and raised them to a status he could never have done alone. Arthur and Olivia would go on to have ten children. They had six boys and four girls. This set up a long dynasty of the Guinness family of beer makers. By the time Arthur Guinness passed away in 1803 the little brewery he started would become the largest business in all of Ireland.
It is not just the beer he made however, that makes the grand story. It is the story of how he knew that making his beer was a calling and a purpose given to him by God. He knew it was his calling to do good in the world through his occupation.
Let us take a look at who was a godly influence on Arthur’s life.
When the old Gaelic society collapsed and the change to Protestant Ascendancy occurred Ireland was ruled by a small representation of English Protestants. As Arthur rose up in the Dublin society he was a protestant that was outspoken toward anti-Catholic laws and he often challenged the ruling class traditions whenever morality was the basis. He was brought up with values from his parents and he was also influenced heavily by John Wesley. Wesley preached at the church that Arthur attended. It was St. Patrick’s Cathedral and was loaded with the calloused souls of wealthy attendees. Arthur had the opportunity to meet Wesley often through the contacts of his wife’s family and the parties which both he and Wesley attended. It is said that Wesley was unimpressed with Arthur Guinness or with the church as he called it a fledgling evangelical church over in Ireland. There is no way to know the degree of connection between John Wesley and Arthur Guinness but what became clear is the degree that Arthur lived out the values of Wesley. One of these values was that the gaining of wealth was to allow the Christian man to “give all he can to those in need.” Arthur lived that value by the way he treated his workers and contacts. Another project Arthur took on confirmed his faith and also his desire to do good. Arthur Guinness was the founder of the first Sunday schools in Ireland. He did this while it offended the Roman Catholics and others and this speaks volumes about his devotion to the Sunday school movement and to fulfill his calling to do good in the world. None of this would have been possible without his success and skill at brewing beer. Many causes he supported went on to great success. The Sunday schools were all over Ireland, Mead hospital which he supported was a great success and other good causes he supported were thriving.
When Arthur Guinness passed away on January 23, 1803 his children would go on to lead the Guinness Brewery to newfound heights. The causes Arthur supported of caring for the less fortunate for the greater glory of God would be carried on by the family. His beer making skills still carry on as well with over ten million pints a day of Guinness stout consumed around the world.
Come back for the next post on more of what the Guinness culture has done for the world and to the glory of God.

May God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

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GOD FEARIN BEER DRINKIN, Pt 3

Egypt

There never was and probably will never be a culture that integrated beer into their religion like the Egyptians. They consumed beer as part of the temple rituals and they offered beer up to the gods as a sacrifice. The Egyptians had gods for each and every stage of the brewing process. There were so many gods it was hard to keep them apart. The Egyptians believed that Isis, the deity of nature gave beer to mankind. They also believed that Hathor, the goddess of joy, invented the processes of brewing. They also had Menquet, “the goddess who makes beer” and her inscription was on the temple of Dendra. In Egypt it was all about beer. Beer was revered so highly as a holy substance that a god was necessary for each act of a human connected to the process. To give you an idea as to how important beer was in the Egyptian world there was one Egyptian myth that credits beer with saving all of mankind. This is the story: Ra, the sun god was being plotted against by mankind and he dispatched the goddess, Hathor to defeat his human enemies, however, later Ra recalled the fierce wrath of Hathor and so he took pity on mankind. Ra brewed up a huge amount of beer, likely over seven thousand jars and he dyed it red to spread over all the vast fields where it would reflect like a mirror. Hathor passed by the fields on her bloody mission and stopped to see her reflection. She then stooped down and drank some of the beer. She became intoxicated from the red beer and forgot her intentions and thus mankind was spared.

Let us put the mythology away and understand that Egyptians made one of the most important contributions to beer in history. They were the very first to explore the health benefits of the brewed concoctions. They came up with over seven hundred prescriptions that include beer as a medicine in the Ebers Papyrus. (The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus dating to c. 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor, (Thebes) in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers. It is currently kept at the library of the University of Leipzig, in Germany.) It was so important that barley brew was seen as early as 3000 BC in the ‘Book of the Dead’ because it was necessary in order to get to the afterlife. This is precisely why beer vats were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs by archeologists.

One interesting point to make is that beer was not drank from a glass. It was drank from a large vat through a reed. Cups and glasses were inventions developed much later. So when men drank beer they brushed a heavy layer of floating grain mash aside, pushed the straw down into the vat and began drawing the lower liquid up through the reed. I’ll bet that was some thick and bitter stout.

The fascination of the Egyptians over beer came to shape the course of western brewing. The Egyptians taught brewing techniques to the Greeks who in turn taught it to the Romans. Herodotus, the Greek historian wrote a detailed treatise on beer in 460 BC and the value of beer as part of a healthy life was lectured by Sophocles, the father of theater. The Romans captured the brewing skills and passed them on through the course of western civilization. By the first century there were over two hundred types of beer being brewed throughout Europe. The Romans believed that beer gave them strength and energy. Beer was drank by the soldiers before battle and the Roman athletes put it down by the gallons. This could be the reason the Latin word for beer is cerevisium, which means “strength.”
The Christian influence:
The brewing of beer also existed in the British Isles long before the Romans had it. It is not recorded how it made its way there but this is important to remember as I will be addressing the production of beer in Ireland.

It is very interesting the arrival of Christianity and the Christian influence over the empire with its controversies regarding alcohol never diminished the Romans love of beer. For early Christians, the consumption of alcohol was not an issue and drunkenness was the sin, as taught by the apostles. Beer and wine, when used in moderation were welcomed by the early Christians and were used as a part of daily life. Christians did oppose the drunkenness and immorality that came from excess consumption. Historians have noted that the positive Christian perspective actually encouraged the brewing. It was as much as sanctioning the temperate love of beer and welcoming in the beer as alternative to high alcohol drinks.

Beer was a big part of life as Christians captured the Roman world with their ideals and carried the Gospel to non-Roman lands. As an example, St. Patrick introduced the Christian Gospel to the pagan land of Ireland back around the turn of the century. Mescan, who was St. Patrick’s personal brewmaster was always at his side. So yes, beer did play a role in winning Ireland for Christ.

Another way we see the importance of beer to medieval Christians is how many patron Saints of beer are celebrated by the Catholic Church. Right at the top of the list is St. Arnold who said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer cam into the world.” St. Bartholomew was the patron saint of mead drinkers. Mead drink is fermented with honey. St. Brigid was a famous Irish saint form a leper colony and he asked God to turn bathwater into beer so the lepers could taste the brew. Apparently God did so, according to the Catholic Church and that is why Brigid received his sainthood. St. Columbanus came upon a pagan gathering that was about to sacrifice a keg of beer to the gods. Columbanus preached and the result is that the idol god was sacrificed instead and the beer was revered and thanks given to God before consumption. All of these saints and their stories are part of the medieval worldview.

When the Roman Empire was born beer was there. The Emperor Charlemagne loved his beer and insisted the quality and availability be improved throughout his domain. St. Gall, Charlemagne’s chief brewer is known throughout history for his ministry among beer-loving Celts.

The church gradually became the primary brewer and wholesaler of beer in society because of Charlemagne’s reforms and the eager work of the monasteries throughout the Christian world.

Join me next time for more on the Christian beer influence and the Monks brewery’s in the monasteries.

God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

Click here to continue to the next post on God and Guinness.

God Fearin Beer Drinkin, Pt 2

One of the first buildings the Pilgrims constructed was the brewery. Gregg Smith wrote, “Their critical shortage made a brewhouse a priority among the structures built that first winter in Plymouth. The need for a brewery was immediate. The lack of beer caused them the most displeasure.” When the Puritans made the trip to New England in 1630, a decade after the original Pilgrims, they were sure to have plenty of beer in supply. On just one ship, the Arbella, they loaded 42 tons of beer. A ton is 252 gallons, therefore no less than 10,000 gallons of beer was consumed by the Puritans on the journey. As soon as they arrived to the new city they called Boston the building of the brewhouse was a high priority.

Keep in mind the Puritans, preferred to call themselves “the godly”. The 17th century English Puritan preacher Thomas Watson used “the godly” to describe Puritans in the title of one of his more famous works, ‘The Godly Man’s Picture.’
Certainly beer was not the most important point of the Pilgrim adventure or the Puritan settlement. But it was there, it was beloved and it was needed. Beer was such a priority that it shaped a lot of decisions made by those forefathers. Beer helped to shape entire civilizations and effected critical decisions. We must consider the role that beer played within the civilization of man.

You might be thinking about how they brewed all that beer back then and how it tasted. Of course the beer of then was not as refined as the beer now but the basic process for brewing beer is relatively simple. Using a grain, usually barley, you wet it to allow it to germinate or sprout. When it sprouts it is quickly dried and has become what is called “malted’. The malted barley is then roasted and the length of time roasted will determine the color of the beer produced. This roasting is important for the dark beers and stouts. The malt is then mashed (or soaked) to convert the natural starches into sugars for fermentation. After this process more water is added to wash the sugars off the grain and this liquid is then called “wort”. Now the wort needs to be boiled, the dried hops get added for flavor along with whatever spice, fruit or other flavoring is desired. Once the hopped wort cools they add some yeast which creates the alcohol and carbon dioxide and magically, now they have the sweet, hopped water known as beer.

Who Discovered it?

The first making of beer likely occurred as a wonderful accident and to find out more we must trace the beginning of mankind. Our first ancestors likely came from the land called the “Fertile Crescent” between Egypt and the Mediterranean coast. It was called the “Fertile Crescent” because its soil was fertile and rich in nutrients and a perfect place to grow wheat and barley. (Or anything else for that matter.) Remember my earlier statement that this beer origination was likely some kind of mistake or a series of mistakes allowing for discovery. That’s how most of our great things of today were discovered. Not only did man need to learn how this stuff of mashing and fermenting happened but they also needed to make jars to contain it. That is why we often discover ancient huge vats and jars. I can imagine someone leaving grain out and getting it wet, it dried and baked in the hot sun, rain again causing the wort and then natural air-born yeast causing fermentation. Can you see this person finding a foaming jar of bubbly stuff and giving it a taste? Then they liked it and figured out how to repeat that process and experiment through curiosity to determine the time honored method of beer production.

There was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania that developed a theory that beer did develop this way an also caused man to change his hunter-gathering ways to production of grains. His name is Solomon Katz if you care to look this up. His main focus was that without beer man would never have become civilized. He claims they began making cities because they needed to be in the same place to have a stable environment to produce this alcoholic beverage of sorts. He points to the fact that civilization literally means “living in cities.” He believes beer is the primary reason man moved from the wild into cities. That’s all I want to say about Mr. Katz as his story is a story in itself and a rabbit trail I don’t wish to follow. Many others have followed the same logic over the years and whether true or not has little bearing on my focus.

Another thing they neglected to put in the history books is that beer was regarded as a sacred drink in the ancient world. It’s not hard to see why they might have thought the process of beer brewing is a miracle and a gift of the gods. In the Jewish and also later in the Christian worldview it was a blessing from the creation of the one God. Everyone agreed the brewing of beer was a sacred cooperation with the cosmic forces of the universe. As an example, the oldest recipe for beer known to mankind is found in the poem called, “The Hymn to Ninkasi,” which is an ode to the Sumerian goddess who lived on mythical Mount Sabu. “The mountain of the tavern keeper.” And what about the word “booze”? It is said that the modern word “booze” came from the Nubian’s exceptional skill at making beer and their word for the tasty brew, bousa. ♦

Of all the ancient peoples, however, it was the Egyptians that really put the breweries on the map, so to speak. They made beer the “heart” of their religion and had a strong myth tied to the brewing process and gods for every stage.

Come back for the next post and we can look at these Egyptian beer gods a little closer.

To jump to Part 3 just click the beer glass….

God bless your day,

The Tubthumper

♦ Stephen Mansfield, In Search for God and Guinness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) p 6-7, 14.

GOD FEARIN BEER DRINKIN

As I begin writing this blog entry I remember a very humorous television session. I think it was on the Ellen Degenerate show. There was a live call with a 90 something old lady and out of the blue (live) she said, “Well Ellen, I love Jesus but I love beer too.” It put people into stitches, me included. But hey, there is some seriousness to her lament
I will be writing many words about beer and the makers of beer. It will likely be 20,000 words or more and I hope you will stay with me. I hope you will be as intrigued as I.
This began as a thought to write about Arthur Guinness and how he used his beer brewing business for the cause of Christ in Ireland. Once I get into the Guiness story you may want to consider it a primer on a best selling book by Stephen Mansfield, “The search for God and Guinness.” Before I do that I must give you some background on the history of beer and it’s relation to Christianity. I think you will be surprised and amazed. If not anything else you will be the benefactor of a wonderful history lesson.
My disclaimer is this: Do not use my writing as an excuse to become intoxicated and drunken with beer or wine. I am not providing any justification or permission to drink. Drunkenness is sinful and bad for society as a whole. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (Ephesians 5:18) My purpose is to open the eyes of everyone to a great story of how God uses the wealth of men and the things of men for his purpose. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) If you stay with me until the end you will see this clearly.

If you have followed my blog you already know I am not stranger to controversial issues. So it shouldn’t surprise you I am taking this one on. I read Christian magazines and blogs continuously and often the subject of drinking comes up. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen writers take on the question of whether or not Christians should be drinking alcoholic beverages. It is not my purpose to take on that particular question today. I will give you my opinion however, regarding the subject of beer and then move on with my topic.
I do not believe it is a sin to have a pint of stout (beer) once in awhile with your meal at a restaurant or at home with your family. I do believe it is a sin to over indulge in it and become drunk. I believe drunkenness is a sin and that is what the Bible addresses. “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:10) I can point to over 100 verses within God’s word on this subject and all point to abuse and drunkenness. With that said, my position is that if you have trouble with self control then you should definitely abstain and avoid it at all cost. As a friend of mine says, “I am weak-willed and easily led.” If that’s you then be forewarned and do not partake. Secondly as a Christian, I would never do anything to cause a brother to stumble. What that means is to never have anything present or be doing anything among any brethren that could cause them to sin. We want to be sure we are of the same mind. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” (Romans 14:21)
So just to be clear, it is not the beer that is the problem. It is the abuse that is the problem. I can’t put it into any better perspective than one of our great reformers and forefathers that also drank beer. Martin Luther wrote, “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?” Yes, Martin Luther had a love of beer too. I won’t bother to call for a vote among men as to whether to abolish the beer and wine or to abolish the women. It might be a close vote.

Let’s begin the history trail of beer. You might be stunned, as I was to find that beer played a humongous role throughout the centuries within Christianity.
The Pilgrims
Let’s start with the Pilgrims and the Mayflower back in 1621 when they landed at Plymouth. They were standing guard because they knew natives were watching them. It must have been unbelievable to them when one native walked out of the woods and approached them. The native was almost naked with just a small loin cloth covering his private parts as he shouted “Welcome!” in clear English. They must have been even more surprised when this native asked them if they have any beer. Wow! He asked for beer! That’s right, you won”t find it in the grade school textbooks that one of the first of communications with this native was about beer. But it was. You can find it yourself within, ‘Mourt’s Relation’ and ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’ which are two primary sources for information on the story of the Pilgrims. So don’t just take my word for it. The native’s name was Samoset and he mastered the English language traveling with English ships up and down the coast of New England. Not only did he learn the language but he also developed a keen taste for English beer. When the Mayflower left the shores of England John Alden saw to it that it was loaded heavy with more than enough beer to make the trip. As it turned out the supply was running low when they landed and to them it was a dangerous threat. For the Pilgrims beer was more than a refreshing drink on a hot day. They believed it had great medicinal quality and like most people then were afraid to drink the water and instead drank beer. It was believed all the water was unsafe but beer was pure and healthy. They didn’t understand yet that the boiling of the beer along with the alcohol that kills the germs was what made it consumable and could also do the same for water.♦
We need to keep in mind that the Pilgrims represented Godly people. They risked their lives for religious freedom. The risk they took which caused death and sickness hardly explained enough was a religious and spiritual, not a political agenda; moral and theological principles were involved, and from their perspective, there could be no compromise. That is why they boarded the Mayflower.
Visiting the first paragraph of the Mayflower Pact we see, “In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, by the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc.”

These were godly men that were also committed to beer production and consumption.
Join me for the next segment on the beer story among Christians. You will be glad you followed along… To jump to part 2 just click the glass of beer…

May your day be filled with God’s blessing,

The Tubthumper

♦ Stephen Mansfield, In Search for God and Guinness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) p 4-5.

What’s the Cost of Happiness, P2

The Cost of Happiness, part 2.

Inflation numbers are out on covetousness and the news isn’t good.

This is all about us and our neighbors. We are not to covet what our neighbors have and all people are our neighbors. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Can you hear it, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, “OUR NEIGHBORS”, it is that of “our neighbors” that we are to leave alone because it is theirs. It is the things of our neighbors we are not to lust after. To covet means to lust for, so do not covet what God has given to your neighbors.

Our Lord warns us with a parable about a rich man who was very foolish. He was trying to pile up the wealth to stay ahead of the Jones’ but what he didn’t know was that his life was to end that very night and he was focusing on the wrong thing. From Luke 12:16-21: “The ground of a certain man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

So that covers it: Covetousness makes us treasure up for ourselves things on earth for which we will have no need. Then we don’t lay up any treasure in heaven toward God. Covetousness deceives us regarding our values. We place more emphasis on ‘things’ and miss the blessings of living for Christ and for others (our neighbors).

What about happiness? There is no other real source of happiness but God; and he is able abundantly, and willing to impart consolation to his people. As it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”

Happiness, joy and satisfaction depend on what we do and how we respond to things around us and what life dishes our way. The truth is that it is not possible for human relationships or material items to fulfill all of one’s needs. There is only one source of fulfillment and satisfaction which is a relationship with Jesus, God’s Son, the Anointed One. He is and has all that we will ever need.

Don’t let the “keep up with the Jones’ mentality of our culture distract you from the source of true happiness. “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, Philippians 4:12-13.

Happiness comes as we put our focus on the Lord. ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”, Deuteronomy 6:5.

God is the source for all good things. ^“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, Godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness”, 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

It is good to have enough to keep ourselves out of poverty. And prosperity is a desirable thing. We cannot give without having something to give and I believe that the more we give the more we receive. It is balance we need. Do not lose focus on where the true wealth comes from.

Happiness does not come by gratifying our own desires but by bringing gratification to the Lord and fulfilling his desires. And as the Lord’s requirements are met, our needs will be taken care of, just like He promised in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God Bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

What’s The Cost of Happiness?

What is the price of happiness?

It just went up! When I got to the office the other day and fired up my trusty company issued computer there was an article in my lotus notes folder that caught my eye. It was about the price of happiness and was written by a fellow Certified Financial Planner.

I knew where the article was headed before I even started reading it. I knew it would focus happiness on “having things”. I have been a Certified Financial Planner for many years. I have been a Christian for many more years. I value my credentials as a Christian more than the Financial Planner credentials.

So the article went on to say “The Jones’s are alive and well, and keeping up with them just got more expensive.”[1] The price of happiness just went up.

This is where the article really strikes a nerve. It went on to say, “According to a 13-country survey by Skandia International, the global average income needed to be really happy is just under $162,000, compared to the mere $75,000 suggested by a Princeton study just a few years ago.

Ahha, so you say that in order to be happy, I mean “really happy” you need to have an annual income of $162,000. Wow! What do you think of that? Hear ye, hear ye, all you peons that have incomes under $162,000! You my friends are simply unhappy and will remain so until you get that income up there. Happiness lies in having all that money you know. Of course this guy went on to say that it also depends on where you live and that if you live in Germany you can be happy earning a measly $85,781 per year. If you live in Dubai however, you are unhappy if you have an income less that $276,150. He often calls these posted numbers as “happiness incomes”.

What a sad sign this is! I am not surprised to see it though. I am accustomed to seeing this worldly and paganistic thought pattern that seems to prevail in the industry in which I have been working for several decades. I have often referred to it as the “shark tank” or “snake pit”. It is obvious from the start this is coming direct from the pit and there is a need to look to the Word of God and the “Parables of Christ”. That is where the real answers are.

Warning! Warning! This author says it’s not just some interesting statistics he is looking at but we need to look out because this is might well be a warning sign for many Financial Advisors.

It gets more succinct as he tells us, “the amount of income needed to feel “really happy” tends to track the per capita GDP, lending credence to the idea that the amount of income needed to be happy is not an absolute number, but a relative number compared to those around us.” He is indicating here that if the person living next to us is wealthy and we are a bit under the average wealth on our street we are unhappy and until we match the income and assets of our neighbor we will continue to be unhappy. This is the covetousness that Jesus Christ warned us about so many times. It is also the last one of 10 commandments, “THOU SHALT NOT COVET thy neighbours’s house, THOU SHALT NOT COVET thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:17).

So he says this can lead to unrealistic expectations of their retirement lifestyle with risks to both the client and the advisor. The client will have unsustainable spending or frustration over not being able to live a lifestyle comparable to their friends or peers creating unhappiness. Now that is the first thing I agree with. It is correct they will have unrealistic expectations. Anyone that puts the material price on happiness is unreasonable and mislead. I know that money makes life easy for people but I also know lots of unhappy millionaires. Remember the Lord telling us how hard it is for a rich man to get to heaven, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Next came a warning that for the advisor, the risk is in being blamed for their client’s financial failure. That is not likely to happen with me. I always leave the client with reasonable expectations and I always share my personal values with my clients. My suggesting would be for advisors to check their values or maybe to get some.

To his credit this guy did go on to talk about dong comprehensive planning and identifying exactly what it is that will make the client happy. He reminded us to be working through a formalized process of identifying and documenting our client’s life goals to hopefully keep them from pursuing the shiny new toys that can distract them from their ultimate goals.

However,

No one will have happiness while being lured into the SIN OF COVETOUSNESS, which is forbidden by the 10th Commandment. To break this commandment will set us up for more trouble because it is the mother sin that breaks all the commandments. The 10th commandment embraces all the other commandments because the breach of each one grows out of the heart of covetousness that every man and woman possesses by nature.

Continued…. Click here to go to the conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] Keith J. Weber, CFP®, CPRC, is a speaker, author and founder of Weber Consulting Group, LLC.

Day after Election, conclusion:

November 7, 2012

Yesterday was a big day in the United States.[1]

Reflection: Yesterday was a big day in the United States. Whether you are happy with or disappointed in the outcome of the presidential race or any state and local races, we have a lot to be thankful for. We should be thankful for the right to vote and have a say in our electoral process. We are thankful for people willing and eager to serve in these pressure-filled positions. As contentious and polarized as our campaign seasons can be, we have a 200+ year tradition of peaceful transitions of power. We may not realize how remarkable that is until we look at the coups, revolutions, and other violence that has occurred in other nations throughout history and around the world even today.

We have heard and read (and maybe even ourselves said) some pretty nasty and divisive things about the candidates, our fellow citizens who happen to hold different political opinions, and even the electoral process itself. If we have not already, it is time to put mean-spiritedness and alarmist attitudes aside. If your candidate won, let’s acknowledge that he will not solve all our nation’s problems or perform miracles of any kind. We need not act like the nation narrowly avoided disaster. If your candidate lost, let’s acknowledge that our nation will not crumble under someone else’s administration. The world is not coming to an end. As citizens of God’s kingdom, let’s acknowledge and remember that God is at work in the world no matter who leads our country, and that God loves and wants health and peace and plenty for all the people of the world. We are part of something much bigger than one nation, and we work on behalf of a much greater cause.

Today and going forward, let’s remember to pray for our country, our leaders, and all who work to make a better world.

Let us pray:

Eternal God, Who has sought Your people across the generations, we open ourselves to Your presence in this moment of newness for our country. We pray for peace and prosperity in our land. We are grateful for the freedom in which we have been able to choose a leader. We are glad to praise You on this day that

stirs hope for some, which brings disappointment for some, but which is a time for acknowledging Your goodness by all. For our country — Lord, hear our prayer.

We are thankful for all those who offered themselves for offices of service and vision, and for all public servants. Give them discernment. Give them wisdom. Give them vision. Grant them the patience of cooperation. We pray for [losing candidate] and his family, that they will mourn the loss with integrity and move confidently forward in whatever work you call them to do.

We pray for President Obama and his family, that they will celebrate their victory with humility and serve in faithful stewardship of this high post. Grant him a sensitive heart, a clear mind, a willing spirit, and an active courage. Help him serve wisely with both caution and risk, and always to Your glory. For our leaders — Lord, hear our prayer.

God of all the nations, You have called all people to lives of righteousness and justice, peace and wholeness. But we confess that sometimes we have cared more for lofty places than we have for places of service. We confess that sometimes we have worked more for power than we have for purpose. Help us be humble enough to work together with those with whom we disagree for sake of the common good.

Keep ever before us the broken places of our life together, places of despair and disappointment. Set our ears to hear the cry of the poor. Set our eyes to see the needs of the sick. And blend us with all people of good will, both in this place and beyond, to be a light to the world, bringing freedom to the oppressed and hope to all in need. For our hearts — Lord, hear our prayer. We ask all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[1] From Ministrymatters.com

Election Day! Please vote…Let us pray.

We confess that the servants who are chosen are there with Your approval.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God…. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (Romans 13:1,7)

Oh you whose name is the LORD, You alone are the Most High over all the earth. You are the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, and from You proceeds every good and perfect gift.

Oh God, to us belongs open shame, because we have sinned against you. We know that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but you have said that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lord, we are confident that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. Though our sins have been like scarlet, let them be as white as snow; and though they have been red like crimson, let them be like wool; that being willing and obedient, we may eat the good of the land. You, Oh Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You. You are a God gracious and full of compassion, longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. Oh God, put the fear of you in our hearts, so that we may not turn from you. Let us continue in the fear of the LORD every day and all the day.

Father, please intercede in this election today through Your spirit. Help our people to make the choice that moves our land closer to You. Father please guide and protect our country and our people. Lord, we live in a nation that is free to elect those chosen for public office. We confess that the servants who are chosen are there with Your approval. Let us faithfully support those elected to office today, giving honor to their position. Let us help them fulfill the obligation and responsibility for our nation. With prayer and understanding, let us unite ourselves to the one purpose of living a life in which “In God We Trust.”

We praise you, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Lord, you have assured us that whatever we ask the Father in Christ’s name, you will give it to us. In God We Trust!

We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Only 1 day to go, pray for the Election!

Day 39, November 5, 2012

We cry out to You with hearts that need Your blessings.

Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, [that goeth] not out of feigned lips. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Hold up my goings in thy paths, [that] my footsteps slip not. (Psalm 17:1-2, 5)

Praise You Jesus, Lord Almighty! Let us now lift up our hearts, with our eyes and hands, to God in heaven. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

Oh God, we are ashamed and blush to lift our faces to you, our God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. You have graciously assured us that those who conceal their transgressions will not prosper, yet those who confess and forsake them will obtain mercy.

Dear Lord, truly our hope is in you. Deliver us from all our transgressions. Oh, wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin Oh Lord. We know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us.

We thank You, Oh Lord for Your grace and for the blessings you provide. You give to all life and breath and everything. You are our creator and our source of strength. We acknowledge Oh God that all we have comes from You. Thank You dear Lord.

Lord, we cry out to You with hearts that need Your blessings. Give us wisdom to make the right decisions that will bring honor to You. Purify our hearts Oh, Lord. Let the words that we speak draw us closer to Your presence. We recognize, Oh God, that You are in control of all things. Help this nation to hear Your voice, protect us from evil, and lead us in the path of righteousness.

Place Your hedge of protection around this election tomorrow dear Lord. Direct the outcome Oh God, that it may glorify You. Show our people the choice to make. Direct our paths Oh, God.

Do for us far more abundantly than all that we are able to ask or think, according to the power at work within us and supply all our needs according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Only 2 days left to pray for the election.

Day 38, November 4, 2012

May our weakness be Your strength and our purpose in life be to honor You.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Dear Father we praise Your Holy Name. Lord You are Holy, the only God and Your deeds are wonderful. You are strong. You are great. You are the Most High. You are the Almighty. You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth. We praise Your name, Oh God.

Father, we confess our sins before You. Forgive us Lord for our “me first’ society. We have pushed you out of our lives and made decisions without You Lord. Forgive us for our lack of morality as a people. We talk lately about the financial deficit of our nation but there is another deficit not heeded. Lord we have a deficit of morality. Forgive us Father for our morality deficit. Heal our land Oh, God!

Lord, we thank You for our blessings. We are grateful for that which we have. We are not sorrowful for that which we do not have. We have more than others, less than some, but regardless, we are blessed with what is ours. We thank You for allowing us to be born in this nation. We thank you for our democracy and the ability to vote for our leaders. We thank You, Lord, for our freedom that our forefathers fought hard to obtain and pray that it will be protected and upheld throughout our land. We thank You Father for the ability to go to the church today of our choice.

Please protect us Lord from anything that might threaten these freedoms we have. Lord, we lift those before you that are still suffering from the damages caused by the hurricane. We pray they all are granted relief and protection quickly. Father we pray for one another and we pray we will all show love for one another. You have commanded us to love our neighbor, Lord. And our neighbor is anyone in need.

Your Word has given us counsel on how we should relate to and act toward one another. May we be steadfast and immovable in our commitment to You and to one another. Father, please let our roots go deep into Your Word to praise and glorify Your name. May our weakness be Your strength and our purpose in life be to honor You.

In two days Father, our people will cast votes for one man or the other to lead our nation. Dear Lord, we pray for Your direction. We pray that through Your spirit the people of our nation would know the right choice. We pray that our land would move toward You, Oh God. Lord, protect and heal this nation, the United States of America. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Help us to listen to Your counsel.

November 3, 2012

Help us to listen to Your counsel.

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:7-8)

Dear heavenly Father, we praise you this day, Lord. You are the Almighty, the great I AM; the Three-in-One; Holy and Worthy of all our praise and adoration.

Father, forgive us for we have sinned. Forgive us for our unbelief and for being out of Your will. Forgive us, Lord for any offenses committed. We ask forgiveness for any acts of arrogance, pride, haughtiness and control. Forgive our people and our land for any hatred, racism, jealousy and evil acts committed. Forgive the idolatry, for putting things more important than You, Oh God. Forgive our land for the adultery, lust and pornography. None of us have been excluded, Lord, for we know Your Word says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Oh God, please heal our land.

Thank You for Your love, Oh God. You have loved us even when we turn away from You and when we do not listen to Your voice. You never have and never will give up on us. Thank You for Your love. We have hope and we have faith, Lord. Thank You for the hope You have placed in our hearts. If it weren’t for the hope we have, we would be a miserable people. Thank You that our hope for a better life is always before us. Your Word says that faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. Thank You for our hope in Your Word which is our assurance that You are in control.

Lord, please protect and help those in the ravaged areas of Hurricane Sandy. Please grant a speedy recovery. We pray Father for those families that have lost loved ones and possessions. Father, we humbly ask for Your blessing. We ask for Your blessing on our nation and we ask for Your blessing on the election in three days. Protect and heal our nation, Lord. Help us to listen to Your counsel when we are alone with You. Speak to our hearts each moment, for You are the anchor of our souls, and we will rest in Your presence. It is You alone we desire, and nothing or no one else can take Your place.

Dear Lord, we feel the evil of instituted class warfare and divisiveness on our people. By Your Spirit, bring down the “walls of partition between us;” rid what divides us from person to person, from congregation to congregation, state to state, county to county and neighbor to neighbor. Unite Us, Oh Lord, In Your Love. It is in the name of Jesus Christ we entrust our Nation, the United States of America, into Your care. AMEN.

Day 36, 4 more days praying for election.

November 2, 2012

Teach us the way that we should go and help us to walk in Your truth each day.

A Prayer by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first act of a President after receiving the Oath of Office:

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and follow their fellow citizens everywhere.

Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy Glory, Amen. January 20, 1953

Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. (Psalm 86:11-12)

Father, we praise You Lord. We worship You, Oh God. You are our God and You are the Almighty God. You are the great creator of all things and the master of all things. You are the vine, Lord, we are the branches and we praise Your Holy Name.

We confess our sins, Oh God. We confess our personal sins and we confess the sins of our nation and our people. Father please forgive us for we have not born the fruit of the vine. We have not done enough Lord and we have left You out of our lives, our government and our leadership.

We thank You, Oh God for the blessings You have given. We thank You for Your Almighty grace. We thank You for the United States of America.

Lord, please help those suffering as a result of the hurricane along our east coast. Protect them from further harm and grant them Your grace dear Lord. Protect the many volunteers that have responded to help the victims and work to recover the area. Help them to cope with the devastation, Oh Lord.

We pray for our nation and ask that You heal our land. Please protect our nation, the United States of America during our election in 4 days, Father. Protect us from voter fraud and theft of votes. Protect the many countless volunteers that are working to secure all the votes and protect the voters. We ask for Your Holy Spirit to intervene and allow each voter to know and to make the right choice. Lead our nation back toward You Oh God.

We hunger for Your Word. Teach us the way that we should go and help us to walk in Your truth each day. As President Eisenhower prayed, teach us and our leaders Oh God, and grant them and us the power to discern clearly right from wrong and govern our actions accordingly.

May Your praise always be on our lips and may You fill our hearts with the joy of Your love and blessing. You are a gracious and loving God whose mercy is new every morning. We thank You and we love You, Lord, and we ask these prayers through Jesus Christ, Amen.

5 days left to pray for the election.

Day 35, November 1, 2012

Your light shines over all who choose to call You Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34: 1-3)

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 1:25)

Dear heavenly Father, You are the Creator of the universe and we praise Your blessed and holy name! You alone are the provider of all things and with You all things are possible. Lord, if we say nothing, the rocks will cry out Your magnificent name. You are a marvelous God, and Your light shines over all who choose to call You Lord.

Forgive our transgressions, Lord. Forgive us for seeking to serve the created rather than the Creator as Your word says in Romans 1:25. Send a river of conviction throughout our Country and convince each and every heart to seek to be washed in Your forgiving love and return to You in pure and holy worship.

In Genesis 18, we recall Abraham pleaded for fifty righteous souls to be found and then finally for only ten righteous souls among the people to avert total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We shudder and plead for the protection of our land from complete ruin because of unrighteous living. Forgive our transgressions, Oh God. Flood our minds and souls with conviction that if we do only one wrong against You, Lord God, we break our relationship with You. Draw us to be washed in the Blood of Jesus as we humble ourselves and pray, seeking Your Face, and turning from our evil ways of all wrong in our lives that You might heal our Land.

Thank You, Oh Holy God, for tending to our voices in one accord today as we intercede on behalf of our Nation. Thank You for restoring us to being “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Thank You that we will once again be able to call upon You and say, “God Bless America” because we are assured You will do so because America is truly blessing Your Holy Name.

We call upon You on behalf of our Nation, the United States of America. We ask You to have mercy and grace upon her people. We humbly seek that You do not turn Your face away although so many have turned from their roots of our forefather’s founding our Nation upon Your principles. We call upon You, Lord, for Your grace and protection on this election November 6, just 5 days from now. Help us Oh God and heal our land.

It is in the name of Jesus Christ we entrust our Nation, the United States of America, into Your care. AMEN.

6 Days left to pray for the election

Day 34, October 31, 2012

There is nothing to fear because You, Lord, are in control of all things.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. (Psalm 27:1-3)

Oh God, Almighty, King of Kings. As King David prayed, “Praise be to You, O Lord, God of our father Israel, rom everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.”

Father, with such a great deal facing each of us in the economy in which we live, may we not be overwhelmed with prices, politics, and propaganda that we forget You. Too often we have forgotten You and left You out of our lives. Forgive us, Lord.

We are thankful Father, that You never forget us. Thank You for telling us, “I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” And also, Lord, “that no greater love is there than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Father, we know that we need not be concerned about our future. As You said through Jeremiah, “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. We don’t know what this means for us on a day-to-day basis, but time will tell. Whatever it is, Lord, we can be assured that it is good, because You, Oh God are in control.

Dear Lord, keep our hearts and minds focused on You and be the center and foundation of every aspect of our daily lives. May we draw together in You with each other, joined so we will be one even as You, Oh Lord, are One with the Father. With You, Lord, we will be a “three-fold cord not easily broken.

The words of Your Apostles and the effect on the early Church profoundly impacted us. We have those inspired, God-breathed words today in our Bibles. May our desire to be impacted by those same Words be stronger in our lives every day. We pray for Your Church, Father. Please place in each heart of each Christian a desire to become a Church United so those in the world will see “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” is truly in You. By Your Spirit, bring down the “wall of partition between us;” rid what divides us from person to person and from congregation to congregation. Unite Us, O Lord, In Your Love.

Lord, today we face many hardships in a time when our faith is continually tested. We know, Oh God, there is nothing to fear because You, Oh Lord, are in control of all things. You are our strength and our defender. Lord, there is nothing too hard for You. Therefore, let us be confident in our faith and bold in telling others of Your marvelous love.

Father, knowing You are in control, we ask for Your mighty hand to be on this election in 6 days. We ask for Your continued blessings on the United States of America. We need You, Oh God and we ask You to please heal our land. We ask all these things through Jesus Christ, Amen.

7 Days left to pray for the election.

Day 33, October 30, 2012

We find rest in the shelter of your love.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalm 36:7-9)

Dear Lord, we come into Your presence today with humility and submission. Father we adore You and we worship You. Father God, you are so awesome. You fill us with regular amazement at your glorious power, your wonderful, unceasing presence, and your ever-surrounding knowledge of our quietest thoughts. You are Almighty God and we praise You.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, forgive us for we have gone our own way. Forgive us for not loving you as we ought, nor loving our neighbors as ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed and in what we have failed to do. We deserve your condemnation. Forgive our nation, Almighty God, for leaving our foundation and walking away from You. Oh, Father, forgive us.

Almighty God, dear Father, we humbly thank You for preserving us from the danger of the night past, and for bringing us to the light of this day, and the comforts thereof. Lord, we pray that we will use this day for Your service and for Your honor and we will bring glory to You. Thank You, Father for all Your gifts so freely bestowed upon us. We thank You for our nation, the land of the free. We thank You for the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea. We thank you, Lord. For Your grace and the many blessings we receive. We thank you, Lord. For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends. We thank you, Lord. For our minds to think, and our hearts to love, and our hands to serve, We thank you Lord. For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play, we thank you, Lord. For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity, we thank you, Lord. For all valiant seekers of truth, liberty, and justice, we thank You, Lord. Above all, Father we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. We praise You Father.

Almighty God, who gave us this great land for our heritage, we humbly ask that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought here out of many different nationalities and languages. Grant a spirit of wisdom to those to who in Your name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to Your law, we may show forth Your praise among the nations of the earth. In our time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the days of trouble, we trust in You to protect us, Almighty God.

We pray for the President of the United States and for our election in 7 days, and all in civil authority. Oh God, Your glory is in the entire world and we commend this nation to Your care, that, being guided by Your providence, we may live secure in Your peace. Grant, Oh God, to the President of the United States, the Governor of this State (or Commonwealth), and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do Your will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve our people in Your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lord, Your lovingkindness is new every day. May we forever trust in You with all our hearts and find rest in the shelter of Your love. The very life we live comes from You alone. Bless us, Oh God, with the light of Your presence and place within us the desire to share Your light so that others may come to know the saving grace of our Lord and Savior.

Help us to love you and our neighbors and to live for Your honor and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

8 Days left to pray for the election.

You have given us a guide for life and asked us to meditate day and night.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:8-9)

Dear precious Lord, we worship You as Creator of all things that have been made. Father, we acknowledge You as True King and Ruler, the one who has given us dominion over this land. We praise You and love You Lord.

We call upon You, Father on behalf of our nation, the United States of America. We need You dear Lord. We ask You to have mercy and grace upon our people. We humbly seek that You do not turn Your face away although so many have turned from their roots of our forefather’s founding our nation upon Your principles.

Forgive our transgressions, Oh God. Forgive us for seeking to serve the created rather than the Creator. Send a river of conviction throughout our Country and convince each and every heart to seek to be washed in Your forgiving love and return to You in pure and holy worship.

We plead, Oh God, for the protection of our Land from complete ruin because of unrighteous living. From the rampant adultery of the married, the pre-marital actions of singles, the ridding of lives before they are born, the greed and puffed-up pride of our hearts, the making Your houses of worship into dens of thieves by converting them to social clubs instead of deep dedication of communion with You.

Father, You have given us a guide for life and have asked us to meditate in Your Word day and night. Place that desire within our hearts, Lord and give us a hunger for Your Word so that we may know You. Lead our nation and our people back to Your Word so that we may honor You through all that we say and do.

We pray now for our Nation’s president, our vice-president, our governor, and all our national, state, and local government officials. We pray for each of them that, whether or not they serve You in spirit and righteousness, Your Spirit will guide them into all truth. We pray for our election in eight days, Lord. We pray for Your Spirit to intercede and protect our land. Help us, Oh God. Heal our land!

9 Days to pray for the election.

You are a wonderful God, let us never forget to praise and worship You.

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. (Psalm 6:3-5)

“I lift these hands, dear God, to You, in praise and thanks for all you do.

You light the path through all my days and bless me with your loving ways…

I lift these hands dear God, to You, in troubled hours when joys are few.

You bear me up on eagles’ wings and see me through each test life brings.

I lift these hands, dear God, to You; please grant me wisdom, patience, too.

Then fill my heart with love and caring, precious gifts you’ve made for sharing.”[1]

Dear heavenly Father, we praise Your Holy name. We adore Your name and Your presence. We lift our hands to Your glory. In the beginning You were God, today You are God and tomorrow You will be God. Forever You shall be our God! You rule the world, Lord and are head of the church, Your body. We praise You Almighty God.

Almighty God, You raised Jesus from death to life for our benefit and crowned him Lord of all. Father, we confess that we have not bowed before him or acknowledged his rule in our lives. We confess as a nation that our people have not acknowledged Your rule. We as a people and individuals have gone along with the ways of the world. We have failed to give You glory. Forgive us and raise us from sin, Oh God. Forgive us and cleanse us Lord, that we may be your faithful people obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank You for the leadership in our lives; for people You have placed to help our journey on earth be more productive and more pleasing. We Thank You for the people in governmental positions in our Nation and communities. Thank You that You are ultimately in charge and You will guide these leaders in their decision making, if they but yield to You. Watch over our election in 9 days and protect us, dear God. We need You, Lord.

Thank You for our church leaders, Lord, as they each help us in our spiritual walk. For pastors who can be most influential in imparting Your truths to us. Thank You also for those who teach Sunday School and those who guide the business of our churches, enabling the church to function smoothly and wisely. For each person who shows us through Your Word how to lead the Christian life, we Thank-You.

O Lord, Let us never forget to praise Your Holy name. You wonderful, Oh God! You are slow to anger and patient, with a love that has no end. Let us bless each day and lift up our thanks in praise for the wonderful things You have done for us. May we forever give honor to Your name, for without You we are nothing.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

[1] Poet – Emily Matthews