Mandy's Mercurial Monologue

"Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. "     --1 Timothy 4:16 (NKJV)   doc´trine    Pronunciation: dǒk´trĭn   n. 1. Teaching; instruction. "He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken." - Mark iv. 2.  2. That which is taught; what is held, put forth as true, and supported by a teacher, a school, or a sect; a principle or position, or the body of principles, in any branch of knowledge; any tenet or dogma; a principle of faith; as, the doctrine of atoms; the doctrine of chances….. (Webster's 1913 Dictionary) We’ve all heard that old chestnut, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe something.” There is a loud voice in the world which says that your faith (believing something ) is more important than your religion ( what you believe) and that doctrine isn’t important. When you hear someone say,

Two Thoughts on Psalm 11 In the Lord I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. (NASB) His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.   Eyelids tell us so much about what a person feels about a given situation and we tend to gauge what they will do next based on facial expression. God sees what is going on, but He doesn't react to things the way

I've been writing some variation of this or another at various sites on the internet all week. I need to say it here, but unless others pick it up and run with it, it's going nowhere against the hurricane of pro-Putin propaganda.     Clearly there are people with money, power and influence who are selling the opposite message. There are misinformed "conservatives" who have been fooled into believing that Russia Today is a non-biased news source and "libertarians" including Ron Paul who are eating up the Russian -state issued talking point and regurgitating them everywhere.   Nationalists did not overthrow Yanukovych. There were some nationalists in the mix; how could anyone keep them out of a popular uprising? The Maidan (pronounced My'-dahn) demonstrators and those murdered there by the Russian-backed snipers were mostly everyday citizens. They became engaged when the Yanukovych government used brutality, and later murder, against those who wer

  I've been so consumed by the events in Ukraine for the past week that I haven't had time to blog. Far too much time and attention has gone into comment threads all over the internet and contending with people from various nations who are ignorant and apathetic.   There are some who would call themselves 'conservatives' or 'libertarians' who see Putin as the "good guy" because of his stance against homosexual and Muslim pressure groups in Russia . They also claim that he has limited abortion. I don't have information on that, but the good he may do in some areas does not constitute a pass on others. To give him a pass where he is wrong is not consistent with a conservative worldview and we must not do it lest we find ourselves promoting a villain.   These opinionated ignoramuses refuse to see that Putin is out of line for interfering with, undermining and threatening a separate and sovereign nation. They are content to see Ukrain

While reading Jeremiah this morning I came across a familiar refrain: Jeremiah 43: 10-12 (NASB)* and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them. 11  He will also come and strike the land of Egypt ; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. I had read it earlier in the year, in Jeremiah 15:1-3 (NASB)* Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go! And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord : "Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword