President Trump’s Pledge to American Workers October 29, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: Dr. Robert Owens, Keep America Great, Make America Great Again, Pledge to American Workers, President’s National Council for the American Worker, Trump Bump
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According to K1FO News President Trump’s agenda is driving an economic resurgence. The President’s agenda is creating more and more opportunities for American workers.
- More than 5.3 million jobs were created between President Trump’s election and his second State of the Union Address alone.
- June 2019 marked the 16th consecutive month that America’s unemployment rate remained at 4 percent or below.
- In early 2019, wage growth for U.S. workers hit its fastest pace in a decade.
K!FO goes on to say, “This high-energy growth environment presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that companies must find more workers with specific skill sets to fill an increasing number of open jobs. The opportunity is that with more affordable, relevant training, many American workers will now have the chance to move into better jobs that deliver bigger paychecks.”
As another step in his effort to fulfill his pledge to make America great again the President’s National Council for the American Worker was established by President Trump in 2018. This council soon launched its flagship program Pledge to America’s Workers. This is a program designed to lead the way in inspiring American entrepreneurs and educators toward the goal of training and equipping people with the 21st Century skills they need to succeed and our economy needs to excel.
By July the program signed on more than 20 companies and business groups. The leaders of these various enterprises committed to hire or train more than 3.8 million workers over the next five years. By 2019, just one year later, over 300 companies and organizations have taken the pledge. Over the next five years this will produce a total to over 12 million new training opportunities for students and workers.
What prompted the President to move in this direction is the well-known skills gap in today’s labor force. In an America recovering its manufacturing base with a booming construction industry, and a consumer market following the stock market through the roof employers are having a hard time finding qualified people to fill their rapidly rising number of open positions. There seems to be a “Help Wanted” sign in front of every factory and in the window of every store, restaurant, and office. After President Obama’s “New Normal” and in the wake of the Trump Bump there are roughly 1.3 open jobs for each unemployed worker.
According to a report by the American Action Forum (AAF) his shortage of qualified workers is projected to cost our economy $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. And this isn’t just a problem for one sector of the economy or a select few entrepreneurs. According to a report by the Association for Talent Development 83% of employers reported difficulty finding workers with the right skills. This tightening labor market provided fertile ground for President Trump’s initiative. Some of the largest corporations in America have taken the pledge including Walmart, Microsoft, FedEx, Lockheed Martin, AT&T, the National Retail Federation, and Associated Builders and Contractors.
As Tamar Jacoby, president of Opportunity America, a think tank focused on economic mobility puts it. “It’s true that there’s been a need to really kick some employers in the pants, basically, or politely get them to volunteer to do more. You can’t fix the skills gap; you can’t train workers for jobs unless you involve the people who are going to hire them.”
Reflecting on the tight labor market that has inspired so many employers to join in President Trump’s imitative Tara Sinclair, George Washington University professor of economics said, “Employers might have been reticent before to [train workers] because it’s spending money on something, and employers want to avoid that where they can.”
As reported from several sources some of America’s largest corporations have taken the pledge and have made specific promises to hire and train thousands of Americans to compete in the economy of the future.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin (LMT) the aerospace giant announced it is investing $5 million in vocational and trade programs and pledged to create 8,000 new jobs for skilled workers over the next five years.
After visiting Lockheed’s facilities Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, advisor and co-chair of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board said, “Through Lockheed Martin’s Pledge to America’s Workers commitment, and the booming American space industry, we are at the forefront of the changing nature of work, from the use of artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing.”
Walmart
Walmart operates more than 5,000 stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. A year after joining the pledge, Walmart (WMT), which pledged to provide training for 1 million people over the next five years, is ahead of schedule, having already trained 200,000 people. Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg said, “If you are confident in doing your job, you’re going to be better at it. You’re going to be better able to take care of customers, it’s going to result in a better experience for the worker, it’s going to result in a better experience for the company.”
FedEx
FedEx (FDX) pledged to train 512,000 workers across the country over the next five years. When he joined the pledge last year, FedEx CEO Frederick Smith, who is a member of the White House’s American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, said, “We are encouraged by the Administration’s commitment to ensuring American workers develop the appropriate skills and have access to the training needed for today’s in-demand jobs and the jobs of the future.”
Hill International Trucks
Hill International Trucks which employs more than 230 workers pledged to hire and train 50 workers over the next five years. Hill International Trucks’ spokesperson Renee Murphy stated, “I think it’s great that the White House has this initiative, especially in our industry and it’s becoming increasingly challenging to find these skilled labor positions. So the more training and partnerships that we can have out there between businesses and schools, I think the better.” He went on to say, “The Company is investing $95,000 per technician over the next five years.”
This is just a sampling of what’s been accomplished. While the nation’s headlines and talking heads are consumed with the propagating a smoke screen for the on-going coup attempt President Trump and his team continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. The unprecedented accomplishments of America’s blue-collar billionaire may be buried under an avalanche of fake news but no one can hide the renaissance that’s taking place in the lives of working Americans. And though the denizens of the swamp may think they’re making progress in the attempt to reverse the results of 2016 the landslide of 2020 should re-focus the lens of History.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event October 25, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
When:
Friday Oct 25 4 PM – 8 PM
Saturday Oct 26 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday Oct 27 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
National Cattle Congress
Mc Elroy Auditorium
257 Ansborough Ave
Waterloo, IA 50701
Dr. Owens has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
By Grace You Have Been Saved October 22, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: Dr. Robert Owens, forgiveness, Mercy, sowing to the flesh, sowing to the spirit, to love is divine, walking by the spirit, we are one in Him
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When I think of my neighbor I pray for justice. When I think of myself I pray for grace.
Grace is defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we’ve done to earn it. We all need grace to be saved from the greatest sinner to the greatest saint. Quoting the Old Testament Paul put it this way, “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”
Extending grace, mercy, and the forgiveness it demands isn’t just a good idea. It’s what God requires of us. Remember we reap what we sow. If we sow to our flesh of the flesh we’ll reap corruption. But if we sow to the Spirit of the Spirit we’ll reap everlasting life. Refusing to forgive is of the flesh. Forgiveness is of the Spirit. And we get to choose which one we’ll do.
We’re called to walk as pilgrims in this world remembering that as born-again children of God this is not our home. We have a home in Heaven with God in Christ Jesus. Trying to live this out day-by-day soon teaches us that it’s easier said than done prompting us to ask, “How then shall I live?”
One quick answer is we should forgive others as God in Christ Jesus forgave us. This is nothing more or less than a natural outworking of Christ’s command that we love others as we love ourselves. Of course loving others so completely isn’t always easy. So often other people do things we wouldn’t do or things we think others shouldn’t do. Not that we should turn a blind eye to sin but we should certainly open both eyes to the idea that there’re many ways to please God and He’s well able to lead each of us into the best way for us to do it.
It all comes down to love. We need to ask ourselves, “How does God love us?” Did He wait until we were perfect? Did He wait until we quit making mistakes? Did He wait until we were sin free?
If we won’t forgive others we aren’t dealing with them from love. Instead we’re judging them. Jesus is the judge and we should leave that job to him since we never get it right anyway. It’s easy to say we love God. But how can we say that we love God when we won’t love our brother? How can we love our God who we can’t see when we don’t love our brothers who we can see?
If we’re really filled and motivated by God’s Spirit we’ll have His nature. We’ll reflect Him much as a mirror reflects our own image. We can reflect that nature not just in our personal circle of friends but also into the wider world. Imagine how much greater the leadership of our nation, our organizations, and our churches would be if instead of constantly criticizing those whose thoughts and beliefs differ from ours instead we devoted that time and energy to praying for them? If we as the born-again Church of Christ turned our criticism into intercession we would see the most effective changes possible shining like a bright light after a dark night.
It comes down to this: by grace we have been saved so we should extend grace to those around us. To love as we have been loved. And to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are one in Him so let’s go forth and be one with each other.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event October 21, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
When:
Friday Oct 25 4 PM – 8 PM
Saturday Oct 26 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday Oct 27 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
National Cattle Congress
Mc Elroy Auditorium
257 Ansborough Ave
Waterloo, IA 50701
Dr. Owens has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event October 17, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.add a comment
When:
Friday Oct 18 4 PM – 9 PM
Saturday Oct 19 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday Oct 20 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
Westfair Fairgrounds
22984 Highway 6
Council Bluffs, IA 51503
Dr. Owens has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
MAGA Raises For American Workers October 16, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: 1%, 99%, American wages, Dr. Robert Owens, Trump deregulation, Trump tax reform
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“If it bleeds it leads” is how the old saying concerning media attention goes. And with the anti-Trump mob smelling blood in the water all we hear is “IMPEACH!! IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!!!” as if repeating this mantra over and over will make their dream of reversing the results of the 20916 election come true. And because of this obsessive compulsion to control the narrative the good news concerning America’s economy is buried below the fold on page 57 of the classifieds.
However, as is always the case eventually the truth comes out. President Trump, the blue collar billionaire, who sacrificed living the dream to living in a fish bowl filled with sharks, continues to work with little fanfare and less credit to improve the lives of American citizens.
As an example let’s look at the wages of American workers. According to the Pew Research Center as of 2018, “despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago.” Of course this report in 2018 was chronicling the findings from 2017 as the nation began to stir after years of the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama managed decline model.
Even as the relentless and furious attempt to reverse the 2016 election continues the positive changes initiated by President Trump are fighting through a log jam of phony charges and kangaroo hearings to benefit the citizens of our great republic. Today it’s morning again in America as the Trump Bump gathers steam bringing concrete benefits all of us.
On July 24th the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published its annual revisions to personal income data. This download of data included a pleasant surprise. There was a notable increase in disposable income and employee compensation.
These revisions showed employee compensation rising 4.5% in 2017 and 5% in 2018—some $4.4 billion and $87.1 billion more than previously reported. The trend has continued into 2019, with compensation increasing $378 billion or 3.4% in the first six months alone. Wages and salaries were revised upward to 5.3% from 3.6% in May year over year. And in June wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 5.5%, which is a rocking 4.1% after adjusting for inflation.
The BEA also revised overall personal income up by 1.7% for 2017 and 2018 and transfer receipts down 0.7%. What does this mean? It shows that Americans are earning more and relying less on government.
As an example of Americans becoming more self-reliant we can look at the precipitous decline in the number of people who require food stamps to maintain a healthy diet. According to Fox News, “The latest intel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) affirms that the amount of food stamp beneficiaries reached 40,083,954 in March 2018. The foregoing number is the lowest since February 2010. Experts have moreover attributed the decline to crackdowns on fraud within the food stamp program, coupled with President Trump’s economic improvements.”
In addition the BEA report also offered a revision in the personal savings rate. The government’s estimates were increased by $217 billion for the first two years of the Trump administration and are now $1.3 trillion, which means Americans are saving more of their earnings.
The BEA report continued uncovering more positive information concerning savings. It revised the personal savings rate upward to 8.1% from 6.1% in May, which is much higher than the roughly 5% before the last two recessions. This should make the current economic expansion more sustainable since consumption isn’t based on increased household debt consumer spending is increasing as wage growth grows due to a tight labor market.
Just think for a moment about how the liberal media endorsed President Obama’s “New Normal” as the reason worker incomes weren’t growing faster during the previous administration. Then came Trump: and today employee compensation has increased by $150 billion. That is more in the first six months of 2019 than in all of 2016. Let this comparison sink in. It is even more pronounced when we look at the first two years of the Trump Presidency: compensation increased 42% more since Trump’s inauguration than in 2015 and 2016 combined. This completely discredits the claim that the economy is merely continuing the same trajectory since 2017.
This all flows as naturally as water over a cliff from President Trump’s two pronged plan to revitalize America.
First there is the on-going effort to scrap the economic strangulation of regulation. According to the Washington Examiner, “Deregulation explodes under Trump, 13 regulations killed for every new one, $33B saved.” This unleashes the entrepreneurial spirits of Americans. Just think about the fact that after decades of promising energy independence while restricting where and how we could drill for oil or dig for coal after just three years of Trump’s “Drill Baby Drill” policies and the removal of oppressive regulations we’ve become the largest producer of energy in the world.
Secondly there is Trump’s tax reform. This has inspired businesses to invest in new facilities and equipment. In the long run this investment will lead to higher worker productivity and wages.
And we are endlessly bombarded with the story that the profits of the 1% are far out pacing the financial benefits of the 99. This doesn’t seem to match a statement found in the Wall Street Journal, “Corporate after-tax profits increased by about $220 billion between 2016 and 2018 while employee compensation swelled nearly $1 trillion. Corporate profits declined 2.9% in the first quarter of 2019 even as wages grew at an annual rate of 10.1%. This sure sounds like an economy that is benefiting the 99%.”
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Owens’ Next Book Signing Event October 11, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
When:
Friday Oct 11 5 PM – 9 PM
Saturday Oct 12 9 AM – 5 PM
Sunday Oct 13 9 AM – 3 PM
Where:
Sioux City Convention Center
801 4th St
Sioux City, IA 51101
Dr. Owens has five new titles published this year.
Bring in a book to be signed or purchase one new. All fifteen of Dr. Owens’ titles will be available. His books include: Five novels in the America’s Trojan War series, America’s Odyssey: You Can’t Go Home Again, America’s Odyssey II: You must Go Home Again, America’s Steel Brigade, and America’s Armageddon. Four books on Political Science: The Constitution Failed, Constitutional Philosophy in Action, Then Came Trump, and Drain the Swamp. Four History Books: America Vol. One: Colonial History, The Azusa Street Revival, The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same (describes how the elites in America use presidential assassinations to create and sustain a secular political religion), and America Won the Vietnam War! A book on Leadership: COGIC History: The Dark Years, and a book designed to strengthen and encourage Christians called Faith. All of these books are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
All of Dr. Owens’ books are available in paperback and kindle at Amazon
Show Me The Money October 9, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics, Politiocal Philosophy, Uncategorized.Tags: 2017 Tax Reform, Corporate inversion, Dr. Robert Owens, KAG, MAGA, tax incentives, Tax Laws
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The Laffer Curve is a theory developed by supply-side economist Arthur Laffer to show the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments. The curve is used to illustrate Laffer’s argument that sometimes cutting tax rates can increase total tax revenue. The Laffer Curve is alive and well in the Renaissance America of President Donald J. Trump. As a matter of fact the policies of the Trump Administration have demonstrated that the Laffer Curve isn’t constrained by international borders.
You see Trump’s 2017 tax reform is delivering on its promise to bring money back to the US from overseas by making America more competitive.
Before this monumental tax reform the US had one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. And on top of that we had a worldwide tax system that compared unfavorably with the territorial systems in 28 of the other 36 countries who are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is an intergovernmental economic organization founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
This worldwide tax system taxed the foreign earnings of US corporations once their overseas profits were brought home. This provided a massive incentive for our corporations to park their earnings from foreign subsidiaries offshore. In the year before Trump’s tax reform US corporations had more than $2 trillion stashed overseas.
Besides this massive reduction in available capital in the US these incentive draining tax policies led many US firms to implement what came to be called “Inversion Transactions.” This means they gave up their status as American corporations and reincorporated in foreign countries often through acquisitions and mergers.
The 2017 tax reform bill President Trump proposed and shepherded through Congress has radically changed all this. This history making law lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and it also allowed US companies to bring money home from their foreign subsidiaries at the much reduced US tax rate. On top of that the bill also made changes to laws which address the ownership and profitability of intellectual property. Under the previous laws there were economic incentives to locate the ownership of intellectual property in low-tax foreign countries. That has now been reversed and American is once again the best place on earth to innovate.
The new Trump inspired program has erased the lure of corporate inversions and fostered an economic environment where the US is once again an attractive and competitive place to host international businesses. And there is even proof in a two real world multi-billion dollar examples: The AbbVie acquisition of Allergan and the new Pfizer-Mylan combination.
According to Fox Business News, “Allergan was previously a U.S. company, but in 2015, it became an Irish company through a merger with Actavis. Mylan also was previously a U.S. company, but in 2015, it became a Dutch company. The adverse U.S. tax rules, coupled with low foreign tax rates and territorial tax systems, made it advantageous for the companies to shield non-U.S. income from the reach of the U.S. tax system by becoming incorporated and headquartered overseas.
AbbVie itself tried to invert in 2014, but the Treasury Department blocked its effort. A recent Bloomberg story noted, ‘A few years ago, this deal would likely have gone differently – Allergan would be the one buying AbbVie.’
The 2017 tax reform changed that. Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), who led the congressional battle for tax reform as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said following the announcement of the AbbVie-Allergan transaction that, as a result of 2017 tax reform, ‘companies can domicile here and stay competitive throughout the world.’”
And as Robert Willens, an independent tax consultant told Bloomberg, “Unlike an inversion where U.S. income is transformed into foreign income, in the instant case, the polar opposite may well occur since, here, foreign income might be transformed into U.S. income.”
So how is this working today? According to Investor’s Business Daily, “They said it wouldn’t happen, but it did: The money companies stashed overseas to protect them from high U.S. corporate tax rates is flooding back in, boosting growth, jobs and confidence in the economy. Thank the Trump tax cuts.
All told, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported, some $305.6 billion returned to the U.S. from overseas accounts. That’s a $1.2 trillion annual rate, and far more than the $35 billion one year before.”
By changing incentive-killing tax laws which appeared to be more like confiscation and the punishment of success President Trump is making America more competitive which is how he planned all along to Make America Great Again.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Can Anyone Say Amen? October 2, 2019
Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: baptized in the Spirit, Dr. Robert Owens, persecution of Christians, spirit filled, victory in Jesus, Walking in the flesh, Walking in the Spirit
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Staring at the carnival mirrors of this life we squint through a swirling mist at the constantly shifting mirage of a fallen world. Things are not as they seem. Good is so often trampled underfoot while evil triumphs. The innocent are sacrificed as the guilty ride roughshod over justice. Walking in the ways of the flesh is stumbling through a maze all alone. Social Darwinism runs amuck. Survival of the fittest is the order of the day as the weak, the poor, and the defenseless are shoved out of the way for the next conqueror as they elbow their way to the fleeting throne that will eventually become their funeral pyre. Allowing our flesh to rule and guide us is walking with our eyes closed in the dark and following the lie that we can be like God creating our own realities through our selfish choices.
There is a better way. Walking with God is walking in the light reaching out for His revelation in His Word which is truth.
As we mature by meditating on the Word of God the things of this world grow strangely dim. Suddenly a light shines through the darkness and the spiritual world which is invisible to the natural man comes into focus. Paul put it best in his first letter to the Corinthians, “The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, ‘Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?’ has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.”
Look at it this way if tomorrow morning when we opened our eyes we saw Jesus standing right there beside our bed physically manifested before us do you think we might have a different kind of morning than normal? Now imagine if He were to walk next to us all day. Everywhere we went He went. Do you think an experience like that might change the way we saw things?
The Lord is with us every day wherever we are and wherever we go because He prayed that the Father would send us the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of God. And we know the Father always hears and answers the prayers of His Son Jesus. Here’s what Jesus said about this, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” He lives within in us. This is the fact of a born-again life. But do we really live this way? Or do we let the mundane sameness of this life gradually gloss over the sparkling joy of our first love? If we will open our spiritual eyes we’ll see through the filthy fog of this world and see Jesus in all the power of His resurrection with us every step of the way.
I’m not saying this’ll instantly convert a vale of tears into a bed of roses. Jesus told us we shouldn’t expect any better treatment than He received at the hands of man, and they crucified Him. Look at Stephen the first martyr. He preached the good news that man can be reconciled with God by confessing Jesus as the Lord and leader of our life and by believing that God raised Him from the dead. This upset the applecart for all the religious leaders who made their living and maintained their power by confining people within the straightjacket of religion filled with rituals and symbols but lacking in a personal relationship with God.
These wolves in sheep’s clothing couldn’t meet Stephen in open debate. They couldn’t contend with the power of God that was so obvious in his preaching. So they manufactured lies and spread false rumors. They stirred up a crowd and then aimed the violence of the mob directly at this man of God. But even while they stoned him he had his eyes on Jesus and while the last breaths were crushed from his tortured lungs he cried, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
We too can live our lives walking, breathing, and speaking in the presence of the Son of Man, Jesus the Christ and there’s nothing the world can do about it. No one can snatch us out of God’s hand. To paraphrase one old song Jesus gave it to us and the world can’t take it away. So abandon the snipe hunt of seeking peace or fulfillment through walking in the flesh and embrace the reality of walking in the Spirit. Heed the words of the Master, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Here’s a prayer I’d like to share, “Father let me see with Your eyes, hear with Your ears, speak with Your words, love with Your heart, and touch with Your hands. Reach through me to those in need. Let the fire of Your love burn so bright in me that when others look in my direction You are all they see.”
Can anyone say, “Amen?”
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens
Dr. Robert Owens Chronicles the History of the Future 