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Sanctification by Thomas Charles
From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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2. Deep humiliation of heart.

This is an inseparable attendant of love to God. When Almighty God manifests his own perfections, as they shine forth in Jesus Christ, in such a degree as to fill the heart with ardent love—then we abhor ourselves in dust and ashes, because we have sinned against such a good and holy God. Every bright view we have of God's perfections reflects back on ourselves—and shows to us more than ever the exceeding heinousness of our sins. The angels are said to prostrate themselves before the throne of Heaven, covering their faces—to signify their inability to bear the luster of His majesty; and hiding their feet, to express their sense of vileness in comparison with God's holiness.

But the believer's humility differs much from theirs. He is blinded with tears of grief and sorrow—with contrition of heart and abhorrence of himself. They and he live in the valley of humiliation; but the believer waters his with the tears of repentance. "Standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume." Luke 7:38

O what self-annihilation is there in a godly man, when he has a lively sense of the Divine purity! Yes, how detestable is he in his own sight! He abhors himself as the vilest sinner, and repents in dust and ashes. Job 23.6. Genesis 18.27. When Isaiah saw God's glory, he was ready to faint away, and cried out, "I am a man of unclean lips!" This spirit of an undeserving beggar, with which the Christian is clothed, can never be assumed by hypocrites and pretenders to religion—it being so exceedingly contrary to our nature. But it is the believer's brightest ornament, and serves as a coat of armor to keep off many a fiery dart shot at him by his hellish foes, which would have wounded his inmost soul.

When the sinner falls down at God's feet—He spreads his mantle over him and keeps him under the shadow of his wings as in a strong tower. This man is highly valued by God himself—for He delights in and dwells with the humble and contrite in heart.

Whoever possesses this heart-humility within him, will manifest it in his life and conduct. He will no more show pride, passion, and resentment towards his fellow-creatures. Having learned of Jesus—he is meek and lowly both before God and towards man. Conscious of the manifold transgressions and numerous sins which he has to be pardoned every day and every hour of the day—he can easily forgive his fellow-sinners when they offend him. Sensible of his own frailty—he is tender and merciful to others.

We may safely say, that whatever views and feelings we have, which do not tend to humble us before God, which do not lead as to abhor ourselves, and make us compassionate and tender towards our fellow-creatures—they cannot be from God, but from Satan transformed into an angel of light. "God sees the proud afar off, but gives grace to the humble and meek"—not to make him proud of his attainments, but to make him still more humble, and still more vile in his own eyes.

The believer needs not to proclaim to the world what blessed and glorious views he has, and what happy feelings he enjoys; for these will manifest themselves in his poverty and humility of spirit, if they are from God.

Hence we see, that to grow in grace, and to grow in humility—mean the same thing, and should convey the same idea to our minds.

This humble state may appear to those who are superficially religious—to be gloomy and comfortless. But if we advert to what the Scriptures say of it, we shall find it to be quite the reverse. Though it be a valley—yet it is a valley well-watered with the healthful streams of salvation; and through it, the still waters of comfort flow. Here are the rich green pastures in which the Shepherd of Israel feeds his flock, and restores their souls to the image of God.

What is said of Satan may, with equal propriety, be said of his subjects, "They walk in dry places." But God's sheep have a portion well watered with the upper and lower fountains. In this valley is the well of living waters, and through it the streams of Lebanon flow. Canticles 4.15. Here is the garden of the Lord, enriched with many sweet-smelling flowers. Here is his vineyard, stored with all manner of pleasant fruits, yes, "the fruits of the valley." Canticles 6.11. Here the generous vines flourish, and the fragrant pomegranates bud. It is a land flowing with milk and honey.

Here let sinners come from their dry and lofty places, and drink wine and milk without money and without price. Though the inhabitants sometimes, with David, water their couches with their tears—yet God bottles their tears, and these shall be turned into wine at the marriage-supper of the Lamb! The woman mentioned in Luke 7 was an eminent inhabitant of this valley. So full was she of the waters of life, that she poured them down in streams on the Savior; she washed him with tears—who washed her in his blood! "She loved much"—this expression shows her happiness and the excess of joy which filled her heart. Her comfort was proportioned to her grief—and her joy was proportioned to her sorrow. These go hand in hand in the Christian. If rivers of tears flow from their eyes—they drink also of that river which makes glad the city of God.

Hence it appears, that they and they only, who live in this humble and penitent state, "find pasture" and thrive. It is barren and dry everywhere else—and God's sheep go astray when they leave this valley. If it is good to walk humbly with God, notwithstanding all our eminent graces and high attainments—the contrary must be hurtful to ourselves, and dishonorable to God. If Enoch found Heaven by walking humbly with his God—then those who are encompassed about with pride as with a chain, walk in slippery places, and shall be cast into destruction. The Lord looks upon him who is "poor and of a contrite heart;" but his "face is against the proud."

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Sanctification by Thomas Charles
From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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These views of Christ are necessarily attended with proper views of God. In Christ, as in a looking-glass, we shall see all the perfections of the Godhead—his unsearchable wisdom, superabundant goodness, and infinite holiness, his justice and mercy, his truth and righteousness, and especially his incredible love to mortals; which is calculated to melt down the most stubborn hearts, and kindle them into brightest flames of mutual returns of love. "The love of Christ constrains us." All these perfections meet harmoniously in Christ.

Connected also with these views of Christ, is a sense of the detestable nature of sin. It was sin which made it necessary for the Lord of glory to come down from Heaven and take on him the form of a servant. Sin was the cause of his deep humiliation, abasement, and sufferings. So oppressed was he with its ponderous load, that the blood was forced to leave its usual channel, and at last he groaned and died under its weight. Viewing sin through the cross—the believer abhors it, and regards it with perfect hatred. He therefore diligently strives against it, and strenuously resists Satan, from whose iron chains he could never have been delivered, had it not been for the death of the Son of God.

Meditation on Jesus' sufferings and death produces a hatred towards sin, and a life unto righteousness. For, while the believer seriously considers the sufferings and death of Christ, he undergoes in his own soul some of the bitterness, pain and torture, (though mingled with sweetness) which Christ suffered in a far greater degree. He views the melancholy scene, and utters groan for groan, and sigh for sigh, until his soul is overwhelmed with sorrow and grief—and this produces a kind of death within.

And again, when he sees the mighty conqueror rising triumphant from the tomb, his soul is transported with joy, and ascends with him to the mansions of bliss. Thus we die and live, with and through Christ; and thus we are enabled to mortify sin—(see Romans 6 throughout.) Sin will never appear in its own deformity and horrid nature—until we see it in its effects in the Son of God—until we "behold the Lamb of God" bearing our sin on the cruel tree. Christ crucified, like a magnifying glass, exhibits to view every feature of this hideous monster.

But when we consider the many and great difficulties that are in the way of the believer, while pursuing after holiness, it seems necessary that he should be animated with many and powerful motives, to overpower all opposition. Of these we will allude to some:
 

1. Love is a very strong motive.

Love is the leading passion of the soul. Like a general in an army, wherever it presses, all the rest will follow. Love is strong as death, overcomes all opposition, and surmounts all difficulties.

Love makes all things easy. It is said of Jacob, that when he served a hard master seven years for Rachel, they seemed to him but a few days, for the love which he had for her. Genesis 29.20. And many find it easy to do much for parents, children, and friends, because they love them.

But there is no love like that which a redeemed sinner bears to Him who has loved him and washed him from his sins in his own blood!

Further, love produces the greatest effects when it is mutual. We are willing to do and suffer much to gain the affection of a person we regard, though we are not sure of success. But when the affection is reciprocal, it adds strength to every motive. Now the believer does not love at an uncertainty—he knows that Jesus loved him first. He knows that Jesus loved him when he was in a state of enmity; and that nothing but the manifestation and power of this love could have taught his hard and unfeeling heart to love Him whom he never saw. 1 Peter 1.8. This love therefore affords two sweet and powerful encouragements in his service:

First, A cordial desire to please. Love does what it can, and is sorry that it can do no more. We seldom think much either of time, pains, or expense—when the heart is warmly engaged. The world, who do not understand this heartfelt spring of true religion, think it strange that the believer will not run into the same excess of riot with them. 1 Peter 4.4. They wonder what pleasure he can find in secret prayer, or in reading and hearing the word of God—and they pity the poor mortal who has such a lives thus, and gravely advise him not to carry things so far.

But the believer can give them a short answer in the Apostle's words, "The love of Christ constrains me!" 2 Corinthians 5.14. His ruling passion is as powerful as theirs, which makes his pursuits no less uniform and abiding, though the objects are as different as light from darkness. They love the perishing pleasures of sin, the mammon of unrighteousness, and the praises of men. But he loves God and the Savior and the things of another world.

Secondly, A pleasing assurance of being accepted. If we know not whether what we do will be favorably received or not, we become remiss and indifferent. But it is not so with the Lord's people; for they are assured that he will not overlook the smallest services they may be engaged in, or the slightest sufferings they may undergo, for his name's sake; and this greatly animates them. He has told them in his word, that if they give but a cup of cold water in his name, and for his sake, he will accept and acknowledge it, as if it were done immediately to himself! Mark 9.41.
 

2. Another very powerful motive which animates the believer, is confidence and assurance of success.

The Lord considers the Christian's cause as his own, and has engaged to finish the good work that he has begun. When the children of Israel were marching to the land of Canaan to attack the strongholds of the well-fortified inhabitants, the assurance of success which the Almighty had given them, the assurance of His being with them, and delivering the nations into their hands—made them overlook all difficulties, and encouraged them to attack nations, united together by compacts and interests, each of whom were much more powerful than themselves.

So it is with the believer. Though his enemies are many and powerful, the difficulties on the road great, and he himself but a feeble and weak creature—yet the Lord has promised to be his strength and shield, and however great his danger may be, his strength shall be equal to it. This consideration makes every difficulty vanish. Should the one increase tenfold—yet if the other be increased in equal proportion, it amounts to the same thing. What is hard and difficult for a child—is easy for a man. What is hard for flesh and blood—is easy to faith and grace.

The power on which the believer depends is not his own, nor in his own keeping, but is treasured up in the covenant of grace, or in the Lord Jesus, in whom all fullness dwells—and it is always to be obtained by prayer.

Tempestuous indeed is the believer's passage through this world—yet his life is secured; and he is confident of reaching the happy shore to which he sails, and of entering safely into the desired haven, by and by—and this comforts him in all dangers and difficulties, be the storm ever so alarming.
 

We shall now consider some of the chief BRANCHES of sanctification:
 

1. Love to the Savior.

When the understanding is enlightened to see the amiableness and loveliness of Jesus, and the glorious perfections of the Godhead beaming forth in him—the soul becomes inflamed with ardent love to Him. Nothing then is so delightful, so charming, so desirable, as to dwell on the contemplation of his glories. The soul sees Him as altogether lovely, and the chief among ten thousand. It is therefore enraptured with his excellencies, and feels an inexpressible longing after him.

God's own infinite excellencies render him lovely in his own sight. He being the chief good and possessing all conceivable perfections, He cannot but love himself; nay, it would be contrary to right and justice for him not to be filled with delight on a view of his own infinite excellencies. The more, therefore, a creature loves God, the more he acts in unison with Him—the more conformable he becomes to the Divine image.

The believer also acts from a principle of love. He has no will of his own; but "Christ lives in him". Love to Christ makes the soul embrace willingly what he bids—and being enabled to run the way of his commandments, the believer avoids everything that may displease him. The glory of God is the mark which he holds in view, and the end which he aims at in everything. He considers God as the center of his happiness; and nothing wounds him so much as when he hears God's name blasphemed, or sees his precepts transgressed. He can say with David, "Rivers of waters flow down my eyes, because men keep not your law".

[SANCTIFICATION]

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Sanctification by Thomas Charles
From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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SANCTIFICATION

Thomas Charles, 1838


Sanctification is aimed at by many, if not by most who are religiously inclined. Even the heathen talked much about a virtuous life and a conduct conformable to right reason. But it is understood only by a few.

That holiness, which adorns God's people, greatly surpasses all the painted virtues of the heathen, and all the scrupulous morals of the Scribes and Pharisees. The boasted virtue of the heathen and Pharisees, had its rise in self and terminated in self—they meant no more than to exalt themselves and to quiet their consciences. But the Christian's holiness has its origin from God, and terminates in him—his glory animates the believer, and leads him to the performance of every action by which it can be displayed.

The nature of sanctification, and the means of attaining it, are expressed in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."

It consists in possessing the mind that was in Christ, and a conformity to his image. He is the pattern which we are to copy, and the perfect example which we are to imitate. He has in his own person marked the path to glory; and we are to follow his steps.

He teaches us not only by his word, but also by the example of his life. He says both by his words and by his actions, "learn of me." His word points out the way—and he having trod the road himself, we have the prints of his feet in which we may step. It is a very great blessing to have the holiness of God exactly delineated, and painted in natural colors in his written law—but it is there like a picture, without life and motion. It is a much greater blessing to have his holiness, which is portrayed in the law, living and animated, as it is in Christ. He, as man in our own nature, pure, uncontaminated with vice, holy, blameless and unspotted—is a living law to his people.

Christ is to be considered in a threefold respect; as Man, Mediator, and God.

What he did here on earth, as mediator and God—is not proposed to us for our imitation. As a mediator he was circumcised, fasted forty days, was tempted in the wilderness, offered himself a sacrifice for sins, performed the offices of prophet, priest and king—in these respects he is not to be imitated by us.

Nor is he to be imitated in what he performed as God—in his miracles, in all those actions which manifested a supernatural power.

But as the Son of Man he is a bright example to us, and a perfect pattern of every virtue.

Jesus was perfect pattern of HUMILITY—he who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, emptied himself, and was found in fashion as a man, and took upon him the form of a servant. He placed himself in the lowest station in life, had nowhere to lay his head, nor had even money to pay the tribute required. His parents were poor; his friends and companions were the poor of this world. The afflicted, and those that were distressed and despised by the world, found a friend in him.

Jesus was perfect pattern of MEEKNESS—he was meek and lowly in spirit. When tribute was unjustly required of him, that he might not "give offence," he commanded Peter to discharge it. He was the meek and harmless lamb of God, and deceit was not found in his mouth.

Jesus was perfect pattern of PATIENCE—he endured willingly the contradiction of sinners. Though he was led as a sheep to the slaughter—yet like a lamb, dumb before his shearers, he opened not his mouth, but was obedient even unto the death of the cross. Though he was loaded with reproaches—yet he bore them all patiently.

Jesus was perfect pattern of UNWEARIED PERSEVERANCE IN DOING GOOD—he was continually going about doing good. Persecutions and ingratitude from the objects of his kindness, did not deter or dishearten him in his friendly purpose.

Jesus was perfect pattern of UNSELFISHNESS—he sought not his own advantage or profit, but the good of others.

Jesus was perfect pattern of ZEAL for God's glory, which was so great that it had consumed him.

These and many other virtues, blazed forth with the most perfect splendor and glory in the person of Christ. He represented in his human nature the image of God, in which the first man was created. He possessed and practiced all the virtues of a rational creature, without any defects—so that he is in the fullest manner proposed for our imitation, and is the standard by which we are to form a judgment of our attainments in holiness and the divine life.

But let us next consider the MEANS by which we may attain this most desirable of all blessings. It would afford but a very small consolation to a person cast on a desert coast, where he could find nothing to exist on, to hear that an island, a few leagues off, was well stored with all sorts of provisions, suitable to the necessities of man—unless he was able by some means or other to cross over to that island.

The poor man at the pool of Bethesda found no benefit from the angel troubling the water at a certain season, for he was unable to step in; for while he "was going, another stepped in before him." Nor will it avail us anything, to have received a perfect pattern, unless we be enabled to copy it. It will be no advantage to us to hear of such a happy state, unless it be one to which we can attain. Various have been the means proposed by man's fertile imagination to accomplish this, but all equally wide of the point.

The Mystic will gravely tell us, that there is no avoiding the contagion of sin, or refusing the poisonous cup daily offered to us—but by leaving all society and running into solitary deserts, and associating with the wild beasts of the forest.

The Brahmin and the monk will advise us to afflict and excruciate the body with the severest chastisements.

But all these things have been found inefficient. Let us, therefore, hearken to what an inspired apostle teaches us on this subject: "We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." It is by looking unto Jesus and beholding his glory, that the blessed change is produced in us. Nowhere else does virtue and holiness charm us with so pleasing an aspect, as in Christ—and the more frequently it is viewed with the eyes of the mind, the more the beholder is transformed into the same image.

When Moses had been admitted into a familiar converse with God on the mount, where he spent forty days, the skin of his face shone with such effulgence, that the eyes of the Israelites could not bear it.

Thus it is with those who on Mount Zion view Jesus, the king of glory in his beauty, with unveiled face, by the Spirit of God. The rays of heavenly glory, issuing from Christ, pervade the inmost parts of the soul, and convey new vigor to the spiritual life. The oftener the believer beholds Christ by the Spirit, the more clearly he knows his perfections, of which his holiness is the ornament—and the more clearly he knows them, the more ardently he loves them; and the more ardently he loves them, the more like them he desires to be.

Nay, love is in itself of a transforming nature. You insensibly catch the habits and manners of a person you love, and you are sweetly and imperceptibly cast into his mold—and love itself, when reciprocal, produces a great similitude.

Again, the more ardently a believer loves God, the more frequently and attentively he will seek to behold him; as the more you love one of your fellow-mortals, the more pleasure and delight you find in his company, and the more you regret his absence. In the same way, the soul by beholding and loving, by loving and beholding—gains something by every act, and acquires a new feature of this most glorious image.

Nothing less than the supreme being himself can satisfy an awakened immortal soul. Could we conceive any being above God—then God would not content the soul; for it aspires after the supreme. But the perfections of God cannot be fully known or clearly seen, but in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore the soul flees to him as Moses did to the rock, that it may behold his glory, and bask in his bright beams until his piercing rays pervade its inmost parts, and change it by degrees to his own glorious nature. By this means, a dead and dark soul is enlivened, and becomes exceedingly transparent, bright, glorious and beautiful.

As looking on the brazen serpent expelled the deadly poison and healed the Israelites, and as the bright beams of the sun disperse the thickest darkness—so do glorious views of the lovely Jesus dislodge sin from its mansion, and heal the wounded soul. As our growth in holiness here, depends on the views we have of Christ; so our perfection in the state of bliss, will be in consequence of the brighter and clearer discoveries we shall have of him there. We shall be like him, "because we shall see him as he is"—like him—whom? Jesus himself! O glorious state! O happy condition! Who, considering this, would not cry, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"

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Paul And His Good News
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


St. Paul opens his Epistle to the Romans by declaring that he has been “separated unto the gospel [good news] of God” (1:1). This agrees with Galatians 1:15,16, where he says:

    “It pleased God, who separated me, from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me…”

The last book of the Bible tells of the coming “revelation of Jesus Christ” in glory, to judge the world and reign on earth, but here in Galatians we have “the revelation of Jesus Christ” in Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace. The salvation of Paul, the one-time leader of the world’s rebellion against Christ, indicated God’s willingness, yes His desire, to save sinners. Thus it was appropriate that God should choose him as the apostle of His grace, making the good news known “to all nations for the obedience of faith.”

Let us not suppose, however, that Paul’s gospel concerned only himself or God’s grace to him. Apart from Christ’s payment for sin at Calvary God could not justly have saved Paul — or any of us. Thus the Apostle goes on, in Romans 1, to explain that this good news which God has sent him to proclaim is “concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:3).

All through Paul’s epistles he proclaims salvation by grace, on the basis of Christ’s finished work of redemption:

    “Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

    “Who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (4:25; 5:1).

    “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that… grace might reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord” (5:20,21).

So the message of salvation by grace is essentially good news about Christ and what He has wrought to purchase our redemption.

[Every feature of this hideous monster!]

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From Grace Gems - Free and Public Domain:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
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Every feature of this hideous monster!

(Thomas Charles, "Sanctification" 1838)

Meditation on the sufferings and death of Jesus, produces a hatred towards sin.

It was sin which made it necessary for the Lord of glory to come down from Heaven and take on Him the form of a servant. Sin was the cause of His deep humiliation, abasement and sufferings. Viewing sin through the cross--the believer abhors it, and regards it with perfect hatred. He therefore diligently strives against it, and strenuously resists Satan, from whose iron chains he could never have been delivered, had it not been for the death of the Son of God.

Sin will never appear in its own deformity and horrid nature--until we see it in its effects in the Son of God--until we "behold the Lamb of God" bearing our sin on the cruel tree. Christ crucified, like a magnifying glass--exhibits to view every feature of this hideous monster!

'Anything rather than sin!' is the language of the Christian's heart!

"A bleeding Savior I have viewed--and now I hate my sin!" John Newton

"Look to the cross, and hate your sin--for sin nailed your Well-Beloved to the accursed tree!" Charles Spurgeon

[________________________________The Patriot Post Digest 10-17-2018From The Federalist PatriotFree Email Subscription_______________________________]

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The Patriot Post Digest 10-17-2018
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Last week while speaking to supporters in the Democrat stronghold of Clayton County, Abrams revealed her true intentions30 when she spoke of the coming “blue wave” she believes will restore Democrats to power.

Abrams declared, “The blue wave is African-American. It is white. It is Latino. It is Asian-Pacific Islander. … It is made up of those who’ve been told that they are not worthy of being here. It is comprised of those who are documented and undocumented [emphasis added].” When contacted by The Washington Free Beacon and questioned about what role she believes “undocumented immigrants” (read: “illegal aliens”) will play in the election, Abrams refused to respond.

The most infuriating aspect of all this is the media’s complicity in perpetuating the lies, and its refusal to acknowledge that this whole fiasco was engineered by Abrams31.

The flood of questionable voter applications are the result of efforts by the New Georgia Project (NGP), a nonprofit founded in 2014 by none other than Abrams, with the stated goal of registering minority voters in Georgia.

Abrams’s organization has been the subject of intense criticism since its founding, including from leaders in her own party, who have pointed to her $175,000 salary, the complete lack of transparency by Abrams, and NGP’s history of submitting “fraudulent and invalid voter registration applications to the Secretary of State.”

In 2014, the leftist rag Slate wrote about NGP, documenting, as described by Georgia State Rep. Bert Reeves, the “sloppy, questionable, and invalid voter applications” routinely submitted to the Georgia secretary of state’s office. Even Creative Loafing, a local lefty newspaper in Atlanta, questioned the validity of Abrams’s accusations against Kemp, warning that the voter applications may have been manufactured by Abrams’s group32 in order to justify the millions of dollars she took from NGP’s donors.

When challenged on her habit of submitting inaccurate and fraudulent applications, Abrams smugly responded that Georgia’s election law only “requires that we turn in all application forms we collect, regardless of concerns over validity. It’s the job of the secretary of state to determine the status of the applications. We do not get to make the decisions about whether or not a form is valid or not.”

In other words, Abrams’s organization flooded Secretary of State Kemp’s office with tens of thousands of inaccurate and fraudulent voter applications, knowing full well it would take significant time and resources to review and verify the applications, and then she screams racism and voter suppression when the bogus applications are flagged as “pending” until verified.

Of course, there is a long history of Democrats engaging in voter fraud33 and then fighting any effort to investigate or put in place measures that would catch fraud. Though Democrats always claim voter fraud is almost nonexistent and therefore should not be addressed, the reality is that election fraud is rampant among Democrats34.

Ironically, despite even the leftist ACLU and the just as leftist Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia’s largest newspaper) trying to correct the intentional deception35 lest it damage Democrats’ chances, Abrams persists with the claim of disenfranchisement of minority voters by Kemp’s office.

How fitting it would be if Abrams lost a close race because she convinced her own voters that their votes wouldn’t count.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58892-georgia-democrats-cry-racism-to-mask-voter-fraud

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Hurricane Michael Demonstrates the Need for More F-22 Raptors36 — No F-22s were lost to the hurricane, but the storm illustrates why more planes are needed.
Video: Hillary Betrays Women, Backs Sexual Predator … Again!37 — Bill Whittle explains why she disavows the fundamental premise of workplace sexual harassment.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Ben Shapiro: “Falsely claiming you are Native American for years is bad enough. But releasing a study demonstrating that you are 99.9 percent white — and then claiming that such a study justifies your false claims? What made Warren, an intelligent human being, think such a thing? Only one simple fact: Warren knows, as everyone in politics knows, that the media will cover for nearly any instance of leftist political manipulation. They’ll cover for Warren fibbing about her ancestry. They’ll cover for Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke driving drunk, plowing into a truck and then attempting to flee the scene of the crime. They’ll cover for Arizona Senate candidate Rep. Krysten Sinema saying that she didn’t care if Americans joined the Taliban (CNN’s headline: ‘Krysten Sinema’s Anti-War Activist Past Under Scrutiny as She Runs for Senate’). Democrats have the enviable advantage of being able to trot out nearly any story and be given credibility by most of the mainstream media. Non-Democrats, however, see this game. And every time the media simply parrot Democratic talking points on issues like Warren’s ancestry, they undercut their credibility. Large media institutions have done more than anyone, including President Trump, to destroy their reputations with the American people. Their pathetic behavior over the past few weeks, in the approach to the 2018 elections, shows that they’re doubling down on stupid.”

SHORT CUTS

Upright: “Why are white Americans always so desperate to prove that they have non-white or non-American heritage? ‘I’m a tenth Italian!’ No, you’re not. You’re just American. Which is great! You should be proud. There’s nothing wrong with being a white American.” —Matt Walsh

For the record: “[Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test is] not even close to a slam dunk. She scored on herself! She scored a goal against herself!” —Megyn Kelly

Non Compos Mentis: “Hurricane Michael intensified as it reached the coast. And that’s something relatively new. And the reason for it is, the ocean waters are much warmer than normal, so it’s not getting cold waters churned up to weaken the storm. It just keeps on getting stronger.” —Al Gore

A stopped clock is right twice a day: “Illegal guns are the problem, not legal guns. We have the right to bear arms.” —Kanye West

Belly laugh of the week: “[Republicans] could have voted [Merrick Garland] down. They could have said, ‘Well, for ideological reasons, philosophical reasons, we’re not going to vote for him.’ But no. They stonewalled. And that was such a breach of Senate ethics and the constitutional responsibility of the Senate to advise and consent on nominations.” —ethics prodigy Hillary Clinton

Braying Jenny: “In my view [a border wall is] immoral, expensive, ineffective, and not something that people do between countries. But, in any event, it happens to be like a manhood issue for the president and I’m not interested in that.” —House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

The BIG Lie: “2010 right-wing anger/mobs played a role in dehumanizing Congress, helping lead to [Gabby] Giffords shooting in 2011.” —The Washington Post’s Paul Kane

And last… “If we can prove a fetus is 1/1024th human will Democrats finally protect the unborn?” —Charlie Kirk

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58911-wednesday-short-cuts

Join our editors and staff in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher

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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Oct. 17, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/58915-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.” —Thomas Jefferson (1802)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/58913-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Trump is making America’s economy great again.
Dems are fine with “money in politics” as long as it’s from leftist billionaires.
Georgia Democrats cry “racism!” to mask their own voter fraud.
Hurricane Michael demonstrates the need for more F-22 Raptors.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

IN BRIEF
Trump Is Making America’s Economy Great Again1

Thomas Gallatin

For the first time since 2008, the U.S. economy climbed back to the top, ranking as world’s most competitive economy by the World Economic Forum. The Forum’s report noted, “Economic recovery is well underway, with the global economy projected to grow almost 4% in 2018 and 2019.” This is indeed a pleasant and needed change from Barack Obama’s defeatist “new normal,” which, not coincidentally, began in 2009 — the first year the U.S. was not number one.

The Wall Street Journal further reports2, “America’s vibrant entrepreneurial culture and its dominance in producing a competitive labor market and nimble financial system ‘are among the several factors that contribute to making the U.S.’ innovation ecosystem one of the best in the world,‘ the report said.”

Another significant piece of data to highlight here is the latest report on jobs numbers. Investor’s Business Daily notes3, “August was the fifth month in a row in which the number of [job openings] exceeded the official number of unemployed. The 7.14 million of open jobs in August exceeded the number of unemployed, now at 5.96 million, by about 1.2 million. That’s never happened in the history of the series, which dates back to the end of 2000. Moreover, the number of new hires, at 5.78 million, is also a record.”

In other words, President Donald Trump’s aggressive deregulation crusade combined with the Republicans’ tax-cut legislation is making America’s economy great again.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58912-trump-is-making-americas-economy-great-again

Dems Fine With ‘Money in Politics’ … From Leftist Billionaires4

Jordan Candler

The severe anguish that drove Democrats to torment Brett Kavanaugh’s path to the Supreme Court is rooted in an impervious desire to circumvent the Constitution by way of the courts. Among the handful of cases they most yearn to see overturned is the campaign-finance case known as Citizens United v. FEC, which House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has called “disastrous5.” She wants to see the verdict overturned because “the pocketbooks of the privileged few [should] not drown out the voices of hard-working American families.”

That’s a nice sound bite, and another judicial activist on the Supreme Court would certainly help this and many other leftist causes. Or, as Democrats so often spin it, overturning Citizens United would help to “get money out of politics.” But in truth, it’s not really about the money, per se. It’s about where the money’s come from and where it’s going. Just consider this editorial6 from The Wall Street Journal:

Democrats are still expressing confidence that they’ll retake Congress in November, and perhaps they will. One reason for their optimism is the gusher of campaign money coming their way this year, and notice how you don’t hear liberals complaining about the corrupting power of money in politics. …

The abortion-rights lobby is dumping cash into House races, including a recent $1 million ad buy from NARAL that targets GOP Members in swing districts such as Peter Roskam in Illinois and Kevin Yoder in Kansas. (The GOP agenda “harms and silences women,” the ad says.) Planned Parenthood said last month the group will spend $20 million on voter turnout.

Then there are billionaires like Mike Bloomberg, who is spending $80 million to turn the House and another $20 million to make Chuck Schumer Senate Majority Leader. And don’t forget Tom Steyer, the West Coast impeachment campaigner who plans to spend more than $100 million through various proxies. Mr. Steyer is spending more than $5 million alone for Andrew Gillum, the progressive Democrat running for Governor in Florida.

Bloomberg and Steyer, along with George Soros and Jeff Bezos, are among the archenemies of Liberty7. These billionaire socialists finance numerous leftist causes and candidates who fraudulently espouse a desire to rid politics of money. If you want a perfect example of hypocrisy, look no further. As the Journal concludes, “If progressives win control of Congress, their best friend will have been their supposed biggest enemy: money in politics.” Consequently, Democrats will remain deafeningly silent — unless, of course, the GOP scores another upset in the midterms.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58887-dems-fine-with-money-in-politics-dot-dot-dot-from-leftist-billionaires

Top Headlines8

Another great sign for the economy: Job openings hit an all-time high of 7.14 million in August (CNBC9)
All the ways House Democrats are planning to make Trump’s life miserable next year (The Washington Post10)
Now Democrats want to “expand the House of Representatives” (The Daily Wire11)
Six Democrat scandals the networks are burying this election year (NewsBusters12)
Trump: I’ll cut aid to Honduras unless the caravan stops (Hot Air13)
New lurid claims over how Saudi Arabia’s Jamal Khashoggi was killed (USA Today14)
Google confirms censored search engine “Dragonfly” being developed for China (The Washington Free Beacon15)
Shocker: Google News results favor left-leaning media (USA Today16)
Atlanta agrees to pay former fire chief $1.2 million for firing him17 over religious views (The Resurgent18)
Humor: Tomahawk-wielding Elizabeth Warren vows to take land back from the pale faces (The Babylon Bee19)
Policy: Ben Carson takes on high housing costs (National Review20)
Policy: We must teach college students basic economics (E2121)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report22.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/58910-wednesday-top-headlines

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Georgia Democrats Cry Racism to Mask Voter Fraud26

Louis DeBroux

In news even less surprising than Democrat Sen. Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren’s DNA test showing she is 99.9% white27, the Georgia Democrat Party is using accusations of racism and voter suppression as a smokescreen to hide their own efforts at voter fraud28.

Georgia’s Democrat/Socialist gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has filed a lawsuit claiming Georgia’s Secretary of State (and Republican gubernatorial candidate) Brian Kemp has disenfranchised 53,000 mostly minority voters by flagging their voter applications pending verification under Georgia’s so-called “Exact Match” law.

Where to begin?

First, and most importantly, the law does not prevent anyone from voting. Democrats claim that a simple spelling discrepancy is enough to prevent a voter from casting a ballot, but that is a blatant lie. In fact, the phrase “exact match” appears nowhere in the law.

Georgia law (HB 268) requires the voter registration application address to match the address on file with the Department of Driver Services. If there is a discrepancy, the voter has 26 months to provide the necessary documentation to correct the error and, in the meantime, the voter may still cast a provisional ballot. If the voter information can be verified, the ballot is counted. None of the 53,000 applications in question are removed from the voter rolls. They are put in a category designated “pending” until the identity of the voter is definitively determined.

Democrats point to the 35,000 voter applications that were rejected by Kemp’s office from 2013-2016, which sounds like a lot until one realizes that represents just 0.5% of Georgia registered voters. (For reference, that’s higher than the amount of Cherokee blood in Warren’s veins.)

In reality, the purpose of the lawsuit is two-fold. Primarily, the goal is to push through as many fraudulent voter applications as possible, hoping Secretary Kemp will bow to political pressure29 and violate the law in allowing ballots of unverified voters to be cast (almost exclusively for Democrats). If that fails, then Democrats have established a narrative by which they can claim the election was stolen, minority voters were disenfranchised, and Kemp’s election is illegitimate.

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Ten years into his career, he was touring with the biggest acts and had found his stride as a performer. His popularity soared in the following decade, in part based on his controversial and often obscene remarks. His marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian boosted his populist stock, and he’s become one of the most celebrated cultural icons of young black Americans, among other demographics.

If West is anything, he’s a masterful self-promoter — which is good reason to exercise caution with his “endorsements.” But those who know him say he is, in fact, a “freethinker22” bent on breaking old black molds.

In 2016, West announced his support for Trump and in December met with the President-elect at Trump Tower in New York. Earlier this year, he was roundly criticized for reaffirming his support23 for Trump. While it was controversial for Trump to take this most recent Oval Office meeting, it was also a cross-racial promotional coup. West said he wanted “to discuss multicultural issues … included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.”

In other words, he recognized that Obama’s “hope and change” agenda was all smoke and mirrors.

In last week’s meeting with Trump, West was accompanied by another breakaway Trump supporter, former Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown24, perhaps the greatest football player ever. West said that other celebrities have shunned him. They “tried to scare me to not wear this [Make America Great Again] hat,” he stated, adding, “When I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman — my favorite superhero.”

He told Trump, “You made a Superman cape for me.”

West recognizes that Trump and Republican policies have resulted in, among other economic results, the lowest unemployment rate25 for black Americans in history.

You may recall the controversy that erupted when West, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005, infamously said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” He was asked about that remark in his meeting with Trump, and he said, “I was very emotional, and I was programmed to think from a victimized mentality, a welfare mentality,” adding, “I think that with blacks and African-Americans, we really get caught up in the idea of racism over the idea of industry.”

He explained: “We say if people don’t have land, they settle for brands [like] Polo-sporting Obama. … We want a brand more than we want land, because we haven’t known how it feels to actually have our own land and have ownership of our own blocks. So when you don’t have ownership, then it’s all about how something looks. It’s about the patina. It’s not about the soul. It’s not about the core.”

After they met, Trump noted, “He’s a very different kind of a guy, and I say that in a positive way. Those in the music business say he’s a genius, and that’s okay with me. Kanye West gets it.”

Of course, the meeting was more about show-biz than substance, but when a black rapper with tens of millions of fans steps off of the Demo plantation for a meeting like this, people pay attention.

Democrats couldn’t say much about the meeting without the risk of alienating West’s fans and a core Democrat constituency. So they left the condescendingly racist rants to their black Leftmedia talkingheads — who they figured could get away it.

CNN’s Bakari Sellers declared, “Kanye West is what happens when Negroes don’t read.” CNN’s Tara Setmayer said West was “the token Negro of the Trump administration.” And CNN’s disgraceful Don Lemon summed it up, “What I saw was a minstrel show. … Him in front of all these white people, mostly white people, embarrassing himself and embarrassing Americans, but mostly African-Americans, because every one of them is sitting either at home or with their phones, watching this, cringing.”

But as for getting away with it, they figured wrong.

Conservative columnist and noted black critic of the Left Deroy Murdock immediately called out CNN’s “reprehensible, racist comments,” angrily declaring, “Black Americans who think for ourselves are mocked and degraded with words we last saw under Jim Crow. If President Trump had no black supporters, they would call his circle ‘lily white.’ Now, one of America’s most prominent black entertainers praises and visits the president, and he is trivialized as a ‘token’ who ‘doesn’t read.’”

And NFL legend Herschel Walker went to social media to express that he was “appalled over Don Lemon’s despicable behavior” and questioned “why CNN doesn’t take all three [Lemon, Sellers, Setmayer] off the air?”

What Democrats fear most ahead of this midterm election, especially given their disastrous PR attempt to derail Brett Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS appointment26, is an erosion of black voters’ allegiance.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that Trump’s approval rating among black Americans is at 36%27, nearly double his support28 at this time last year. It won’t take many black defectors from those poverty plantations29 — those who cross party lines or simply don’t show up to vote — to dash the Democrats’ hopes of retaking the House and possibly the Senate next month.

Given the nonstop assault on Donald Trump by the mainstream media and popular culture, it’s hard to imagine the existence of any black Demo dissenters and defectors. But they’re out there — and this is yet another miscalculation of Trump’s grassroots appeal.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

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The Patriot Post® · Kanye v Kaepernick — Breaking Ranks
By Mark Alexander · Oct. 17, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/alexander/58917-kanye-v-kaepernick-breaking-ranks

“We are either a United people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.” —George Washington (1785)
There was a revealing contrast between how the Democrat Party1 and its mainstream media public relations team2 handled the activities of two black men in recent days. Kanye West was labeled a “token negro” for visiting the White House, and Colin Kaepernick was hailed as a cultural hero by Harvard. It provided a stark case study in the Left’s politics of division3. Any black man who threatens that racial divide becomes an immediate target for scorn and ridicule.

Why? Because any break from this orthodoxy poses an existential threat to the electability of Democrats.

Kaepernick was the celebrated leader of the NFL’s national anthem kneelers4 while he was still employed. He received Harvard’s “prestigious” W.E.B. Du Bois medal for, well, kneeling. The award was presented by Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, with Afrocentric professor Cornel West presiding. West teaches courses on W.E.B. Du Bois.

Kaepernick is the mediocre former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who was receiving an annual salary of $19,000,0005. In 2016, he bought into the faux Black Lives Matter6 movement and declared, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He set off a racially charged “protest” across the nation — kneelers of all ages!

For the record, Kaepernick was abandoned by his black biological father before he was born and put up for adoption by his 19-year-old white mother. He was then adopted and raised by a loving white couple in an upper-middle-class suburb.

It is no small irony that he has become a celebrated critic of so-called “white oppression,” especially by “racist” police targeting young black men — but that’s a lie based on a myth7.

Kaepernick’s anger is likely rooted in a deep sense of abandonment by his black father8, and his protest is wholly misdirected.

Most recently, he was rewarded for his “hate America” crusade with a lucrative contract for a Nike advertising campaign9.

According to Harvard, “The Du Bois medal honors those who have made significant contributions to African and African American history and culture, and more broadly, individuals who advocate for intercultural understanding and human rights in an increasingly global and interconnected world.” Right. This from an institution that has most recently been practicing systematic discrimination against students with Asian heritage10.

On receipt of the award, Kaepernick said, “I feel like it’s not only my responsibility, but all our responsibilities as people that are in positions of privilege, in positions of power, to continue to fight for them and uplift them, empower [young black people], because if we don’t, we become complicit in the problem.”

Kaepernick is definitely “complicit in the problem.”

It’s a fitting irony that he’d receive an award in the name of an avowed communist sympathizer. At the height of Soviet oppression worldwide, Du Bois wrote, “Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature. … The highest proof of his greatness [was that] he knew the common man, felt his problems, followed his fate.”

Du Bois, who received a Ph.D. from Harvard and cofounded the NAACP11, also said that Adolf Hitler’s socialist Nazi party reign of evil was “absolutely necessary to get the state in order.”

One of Du Bois’s much better known contemporaries, Booker T. Washington, was a critic of Du Bois’s fomenting of racial division — the same division for which Kaepernick has been honored. In his book, My Larger Education, Washington wrote of Du Bois and other racial agitators with words that are even more applicable to present-day race agitators: “There is [a] class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. … Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays.”

Washington continued: “Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs. … There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who do not want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.”

That describes most of today’s leftist race hustlers12, who have destroyed Martin Luther King’s dream13 of a unified and color-blind nation.

Years ago, before the current billionaire-backed14 Democrat Party’s advocacy for socialism15 emerged, my friend Walter E. Williams, a brilliant black economist who long ago broke with the Left’s divisive orthodoxy, offered this summary of why Democrats are soft on socialism16: “The reason leftists give communists, the world’s most horrible murderers, a pass is that they sympathize with the chief goal of communism: restricting personal liberty. In the U.S., the call is for government control over our lives through regulations and taxation.”

And on that note, a few words about Kanye West’s visit17 with Donald Trump18.

When it comes to the Democrats’ most loyal constituency, black voters — 90% of whom have been lulled into political servitude by the Left — there’s little tolerance for those who venture off the urban poverty plantation6 and dare to challenge the identity groupthink19 that Demos have crafted for black folks. But that’s exactly what rapper-entrepreneur-promoter Kanye West did when he went to the White House for a meeting with Trump, another master promoter. No mystery why these two relate to each other well — they both speak the same language20!

West is a 41-year-old Atlanta native who grew up in Barack Obama’s21 backyard, Chicago. His father was a Black Panther who later became a Christian counselor, and his mother was chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as her son’s manager. As a teenager, he was intrigued by the brash style of the leading rap stars and set his sights on becoming one of them. He received college scholarships, but furthering his education became an obstacle to his rapidly developing entertainment career. One of his popular albums was “College Dropout,” which was about embracing who he was rather than adhering to the social and cultural path he was expected to travel.

The Valley of Blessing

“And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.” (2 Chronicles 20:26)

The name Berachah means “blessing,” and the people of Judah surely had much reason to bless the Lord. The armies of the Moabites and Ammonites, and many others, had invaded their land, and King Jehoshaphat had no forces sufficient to oppose them.

But Jehoshaphat had already led his people back to the Lord, and now he prayed for their deliverance, acknowledging that the Lord was “God in heaven . . . so that none is able to withstand thee.” Therefore God replied, through the prophet Jahaziel, that “the battle is not yours, but God’s . . . stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 15, 17). God then set the invading armies against each other until all were slain, and God’s people were delivered without even lifting a sword. No wonder the people “blessed the LORD”!

The Hebrew word berachah (“blessing”) is used some 68 times in the Old Testament, the first being God’s promise to Abraham when he followed the Lord: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). God’s promise to Abraham has been abundantly kept, though there is much more to come. We, like the people in the valley of Berachah, have much for which to bless the Lord, for we also have seen the salvation of God: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).

Therefore, “bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1). HMM