Gun News ….

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REASON
Unable to Ban Guns, Lawmakers Want to Weaponize the ATF Against Gun Dealers external site

What’s a politician to do when it’s clear that people will vigorously resist attempts to restrict their lives? Well, you could empower government officials to arbitrarily punish anybody who might help them exercise their freedom. That’s the approach favored by three Democratic members of Congress, who appear to see the path to limiting private firearms ownership in harassing gun dealers and subjecting them to the whims of government officials.

THE HILL
Gun controllers seek to restrict gun rights by targeting financial institutions external site

At first this was a matter of government policy, but now it is coming about by political pressure on private companies.

A Good Friend’s Son…

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Was in a nasty motorcycle accident on I35 yesterday.

Was airlifted from scene.

Is at the hospital I work for. Level I trauma center.

A bit busted up.

I’ve known his Dad since high school and we have been good friends since then. Did a lot of riding with him myself. Until I hung it up 10 years ago. Picked up to many motorcycle crash victims as a Medic.

His Mom almost as long.

Sounds like he will be okay, but a bit of a recovery ahead…

I will be going to see him today when I get to work.

Sigh…..

Dissolving a Partnership

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Dissolving a Partnership

June 14

“So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company” (Gen 13:11).

My friend Danny and I have known each other for many years. Several years ago he was in a teaching session I was giving about Abraham being a great example of dissolving a partnership. When Abraham and Lot realized their families and livestock could no longer live off the same land, there had to be a separation. The question was, how should the separation take place? In the natural, it would be logical that the senior partner would make the decision and get first choice of the land options.

However, Abraham told Lot to choose where he wanted to live. He was totally at Lot’s mercy. Sodom seemed to be the most fertile and logical place to locate. So, Lot chose Sodom. Abraham moved to a place called Mamre.

Danny had come to a decision that the Lord desired him to dissolve their partnership. The partner questioned Danny, “How are we going to divide our accounts?” “That’s easy. I want you to choose the accounts you want and I will take what you don’t want.” This was quite a step of faith for Danny but he felt the leading of the Lord to make this offer.

Sure enough, the partner chose the very best clients they had, and left Danny with accounts that generated less than 20% of the revenue. Danny was surprised, but did not challenge his partner. However, he did have a conversation as they parted ways. “I can see the decision you have made. I can tell you that you have made a very poor decision that God will not bless. You should know that because of your decision, you can be assured that the value of your clients will go down in the coming months.” Danny had no basis to make this assumption other than the story of Abraham and the Holy Spirit’s prompting inside of him.

Months passed and Danny had some lean months. However, over time those small accounts gradually increased in value and the accounts his partner had decreased. It was a profound lesson to Danny and to his former partner.

Sometimes, faith requires total trust in a future outcome you cannot see.

Another pillar of wisdom……

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June 14
Another pillar of wisdom
For reading & meditation: Proverbs 10:9-17
“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” (v.9)

We turn now to look at what I consider to be the second pillar of wisdom – integrity. This theme, like trust, is one that is continually emphasised in Proverbs for, as we shall see, no one can be truly successful in life without integrity. The dictionary defines integrity as: “wholeness, soundness, trustworthiness, uprightness, honesty.” You can see at once that there is a moral quantity about integrity and that morality is an essential characteristic of wisdom. One of the mistakes many people make when thinking about wisdom is to confuse it with learning, intelligence, brilliance or cleverness. How many times do we read in our newspapers of those who have climbed the ladder of success, have been highly educated or have achieved great prominence in the world, only to see them come tumbling down because of some moral indiscretion? Many professional people have a great deal of knowledge but lack wisdom. For example, you see this in the marriage counselor who, in spite of all his credentials, can’t hold his own marriage together; in the economist who goes bankrupt playing the stock market; in the preacher who shocks his congregation by running off with a young woman. Learning, understanding, intelligence and professional training are important – dont hear me demean them – but if we are to be experts in the art of living, as Proverbs sets out to teach us, then we must see that without wisdom the things I have listed don’t count for too much. “The simplicity of integrity is the profundity of wisdom,” says Paul Larsen. How true! How very true!
Prayer:
O God, give me, in addition to trust, a high degree of integrity. I want not only to trust others but I want them to trust me. You know my need and also my desire. Grant me these facets of wisdom. In Jesus’ Name I ask it. Amen.
For further study:
1. What does the integrity of the upright do?
2. What did the people testify of Samuel?