The LARGE Cost of Freedom

[bucks better beagles]

Great, wonderful statement of your faith. Your statement: "if I'm wrong I'll return to dust like an animal. Bob what if your wrong, and what if everything the Bible says is true?"

That reminds me of a philosopher name of Pascal who came up up with "Pascal's Wager'. He proposed that if there is a god and he worships it, he will be rewarded. If there is no god and he worships it anyway, there is no harm done. Therefore, it is preferable to worship under any circumstances. Now we could certainly argue about the harm of worship but the only response to this argument is that if you take Pascal's Wager, you should certainly pick the god with the worst hell! It is kind of like hedging your bets. I readily believe in the "dust to dust" concept and am content in my belief.

I applaud your patriotism, your service and your faith. I simply do not believe in the latter. I really enjoy the honesty of discussion and have no intent to offend anyone of faith. As a matter of fact, I greatly admire people of faith who walk the walk. Jesus mentioned hypocrisy by name 21 times in the bible and referred it many more times than that. It is the greatest sin. Too many of our politicians pay homage to the name of Christ but loose with his precepts.

Yours in beagling,

Bob

[bluemouse]

True freedom is being separated from the world and its material things, I am not saying it not good to have nice things if you have worked for them. I am saying that I have peace from the world in Jesus Christ. People have ask me many times how do you know you are saved, its easy to realize this peace through the Holy Spirit if you truly believe in the word of God and accept Christ as your savior. No words can expland it you just know.

[Moore Beagles]

Great, wonderful statement of your faith. Your statement: "if I'm wrong I'll return to dust like an animal. Bob what if your wrong, and what if everything the Bible says is true?"

Bob I was not discribing the way I believe, I was explaining it from the non-believer side.
I know that God is real, he has reveiled himself to me in a personal way, and I sense his presence with me, he leads me, and I try to follow his leading.
I was alot like you at one time, I worked with alot of Christians who didn't walk the walk.
They would discust me because they would preach something, and then do the exact opposite. This kept me away from organized woreship for many years, but I knew there was a Creator. I would talk to him and pray when I was alone hunting. I asked him to reveil himself to me, to remove any doubt. I was not brought up in church, so this was a long hard road for me. Then one day I was Bowhunting, and I fell from a treestand 25 feet high. I had a safety rope on but it was not attached to the tree. As I was falling my the loop in the rope which was tucked in my chest handwarmer pocket caught on a step, the rope stretched and I literally Bungie jumped down to the ground, with only a bruised knee to show for it.
I didn't tell anybody about it for a longtime, I was kinda stunned by the whole deal, but I rethough the whole series of events over and over, and I realized that God was trying to get my attention. A while later my wife and I were going thru a tough time, and a friend invited me to Church. I really didn't want to go but I did it for my wife, after all she's the one who really needed this stuff.LOL We continued to go for several weeks, and I started reading and understanding some of God's word, and when I didn't understand something, I had someone to drill questions to. I starting seeing my own faults and how I was actually was a pretty selfish person inside. I realized that I was in a cursed world because of sin, and I was living the way of the World, and not by God's standards. I heard a message about forgiveness, and how I could really receive forgiveness of sin. I asked Jesus to forgive me, and to make me one of his children, and to change my heart. and I asked him to prepare a place in heaven for me. I sensed a moment of Joy and satifaction that I had never had. Everything about my life seemed so simple, and clear. I started praying everyday and God started changing areas of my life alittle at a time for my own good even if I couldn't see it. I started getting prayers answered, and I learned not to pray only selfish prayers, but prayers for people who I met or I cared about. They would tell me about thier victories, and answered prayers and It all worked to draw me closer everyday with God. Areas of the Bible that I could never understand starting making sense, and I gained in the knowledge of God and his ways. I even had a close friend that had a large tumor on his neck disappear and just melt away. We even became good friends with his Doctor because he said it was the first miracle that he had ever seen. I then started realizing that there is Victory in Jesus in this World and the Next, and the Verse that says God works all things for the good of those who love the Lord; Rom 8:28 I became a Witness, An Eye Witness to God working through me in my life. I even seen my wife come to know the Lord, after praying for her for along time.
I started caring about people that the Old Gregg would have never given the time of day to.
So Bob I didnt mean to tell you my life story, but really its only a tiny little part of what I see God doing in my life and hundreds of others that I know and meet.
When you have good news you can't help but share it, and my prayer is that more people will realize that God really does care for them, if they will only Trust and invite him in.
Thats what faith is all about trusting in something eventhough you can not see it, but you know its there. Its like a marine wearing a bullet proof vest, you never really know for sure if it can save you until you try it out, but when it saves your hide you start appreciating it more!!
Bob I really try to live for the Lord with an Attitude of Graditude, because I have been bought with a price, and that price was Jesus precious blood on the cross.
I'm not perfect not by along shot, but I'm like an old chunk of Coal and with God's help I'll be a Diamond someday.....

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

Jesus mentioned hypocrisy by name 21 times in the bible and referred it many more times than that. It is the greatest sin. Bob

Hypocrosy is no more great a sin as telling a lie. The only sin that is unforgivable is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.....which is the unbelief of or not letting him in your heart.

[bucks better beagles]

Pike Ridge, I agree of course," to deny the Lord thy God" is the only "unforgivable sin". In my study of the bible, I find 'hypocrisy" to be the most often noted sin (mathematically speaking). I am not a biblical scholar by any means but have spent over 40 years of my life in the historical, philosophical and logical study of the great western and eastern religions. Fascinating work to me.

Back to the subject of the original post: the price of what we have achieved in this country in the name of 'freedom' is high indeed and must never be forgotten. It is the treasure that allows us to discuss this issue with dignity, decorum, and respect. It is my hope that we will always enjoy this FREEDOM and remember those who paid the ultimate price to achieve it.

Bob

[bill (flint river )]

darn bob, u are making to much sense. i am just a little gear head trying to survive this mess we are in!!

[ricky murphy]

I posted this because i was amazed at what the sighner's family's suffered.I guess they all really believed in something and was willing to make the ultimate sacrafices.It was the sacrifaces that made me think this was news worthy stuff around our 4th of july celabration.Another wonderment of my is how strong these sighner's constitions were as individual humans.

[Moore Beagles]

I read that John Hancock wrote his name extra large so the King could read his name without his glasses.

[bucks better beagles]

Moore Beagles: I watched a documentary about John Paul Jones last night. This is the guy who, when called upon to surrender his sinking ship to the British, called out, "surrender? I have not yet begun to fight". I think the toughest thing I ever did was stand up and fire my weapon in Vietnam while being fired upon. I cannot imagine the fortitude it took for these few to go up against so many.

Our navy during the entire Revolutionary War, watered only 60 ships while the British had 600 at the beginning of it. That works out to 10 to 1 and there are many other startling statistics for this war. This said, people like John Paul Jones were not the greatest Captains but they were able to get other men to follow them to the death.

Bob