THINK ABOUT IT          11-16-22

SHORTAGES ARE COMING

Do you remember in early 2020 when they told us that the shortages that we were experiencing would just be temporary?  Of course some of them were, but then more shortages just kept on erupting.  That wasn’t supposed to happen, and now it appears that our supply chain problems could potentially get a whole lot worse.  In just a few short months, we will be three years away from the beginning of the pandemic in the United States.  But instead of a “return to normal”, more shortages are on the way.  And in some cases, they could even be life threatening.

Ear infections and strep throat.

Both are common childhood illnesses, for which the go-to prescription is in short supply, according to a recent nationwide alert from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The warning specifically involves the powder, which pharmacists use to mix liquid Amoxicillin for childhood infections.

This is a really big deal.

Nearly 66% of pharmacies are having challenges obtaining amoxicillin, according to a new National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) survey of 8000 pharmacy owners and managers, whereas 89% are realizing a shortage of Adderall.

Of course we are dealing with lots of other drug shortages at this moment as well.

We truly are in unprecedented territory.

Up in Canada, things are even worse.

The Canadian healthcare system is experiencing an acute shortage of basic painkillers, particularly acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which are commonly used to relieve pain and fever in children during flu season.

Canada’s Association of Medical Assistance in Dying Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) chose this perhaps awkward moment to roll out a webinar for healthcare professionals that advised them to offer assisted suicide to their suffering patients.

So why don’t the Canadians have enough Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen right now?

As I have covered in previous articles, most of the basic ingredients that go into our pharmaceutical drugs come from China.

So if you think that things are bad now, just wait until war with China erupts.

Once that happens, our pharmacies will get really empty and our entire healthcare system will experience a historic meltdown.

As CNBC reports, the price of turkey is up 73% from last year, a pretty astonishing figure. Experts attribute it to the bird flu, which has devastated turkey stocks this year. Apparently, the disease normally doesn’t flourish during the summer as farmers get their holiday flocks together. But, you know, the 2020s haven’t been easy so naturally, the flu hit hard right in the middle of the year when it could do the most damage.

The good news, if you want to call it that, is that you will still probably be able to get a turkey if you are willing to pay enough.

The bad news is that supplies of turkey just keep getting tighter and tighter.

But it’s not just the Thanksgiving bird that’s at risk — it’s your lunchtime turkey sandwich, too. San Francisco delis and butchers are already feeling the effects of the shortage.

“It’s like pulling teeth trying to get turkeys from the companies,” said Sal Qaqundah, owner of Arguello Market, a San Francisco cult favorite for its “world famous” turkey sandwich.

Unfortunately, we are also facing a shortage of butter in the weeks ahead.

Butter is another area where the war and cost of dairy products has affected supply, as the price of the condiment and baking ingredient has gone up a dollar per pound since January of this year, per Eater. Fearing a full-blown butter shortage, the USDA has asked consumers not to rush or panic buy, but simply secure what they need at a given time, per Best Life.

Did you ever imagine that we would be talking about a butter shortage in late 2022?

Things just keep getting crazier and crazier.

And if the diesel fuel shortages eventually get as bad as some are projecting, we could soon be facing severe shortages of countless products.

Our ships, our trains and our trucks run on diesel fuel.

So if there is not enough diesel fuel, we are going to have a real problem trying to fill up our stores with enough stuff for everybody.

A major fuel supply and logistics company is raising a red flag on upcoming diesel fuel shortages.

Mansfield Energy issued the alert Friday stating there was a developing diesel fuel shortage in the southeastern region of the United States. The company speculated that the shortage could be generated from “poor pipeline shipping economies” and a historically low supply of diesel reserves.

“Poor pipeline shipping economics and historically low diesel inventories are combining to cause shortages in various markets throughout the Southeast,” the company said. “These have been occurring sporadically, with areas like Tennessee seeing particularly acute challenges.”

There are a number of reasons why supplies of diesel fuel have gotten so tight.

But the primary reason is the cutoff of Russian imports. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. was importing nearly 700,000 barrels per day (BPD) of petroleum and petroleum products. Most of those imports were finished products and refinery inputs that boosted distillate supplies in the U.S.

The loss of those Russian imports have caused problems for refineries as they struggle to fill holes in their product slates. Refineries do have a small amount of flexibility in shifting gasoline production to diesel production. But it’s a relatively small amount (e.g., ~5% in a refinery I once worked in). That also means that if refiners do shift production, that also potentially creates shortages in the gasoline market.

So why don’t we just produce more ourselves?

Well, thanks to our politicians, the number of refineries in the United States has actually been declining in recent years even as our population has grown.

At this point we simply do not have enough refineries, and this is a problem that is not going away any time soon.

In the months ahead, we aren’t going to completely run out of diesel fuel as some people out there are suggesting.

But supplies may get so tight that it could potentially create widespread supply chain nightmares that are quite severe.

Let us hope that such a scenario does not materialize.

The Washington Post and ABC gave Americans eight top issues they will be considering when making their decision in a poll that showed likely voters split between the Democrats and Republicans.

The economy was cited by 26 percent of likely voters as one of the most important factors, followed by abortion with 22 percent and inflation and threats to democracy each by 21 percent.

For decades, we have been able to rely on our supply chains to continuously fill our stores with mountains of cheap goods.

But now our supply chains are breaking down.

I know that many of you have been patiently waiting for a long time for life to “return to normal”.

Sadly, that isn’t going to happen.  The incredibly bad decisions that our leaders have been making are now catching up with us in a major way, and a great deal of pain is ahead. – Michael Snyder

MORNING MANNA            11-16-22

QUIET TIME WITH GOD

“And Isaac went out to meditate in the fields at eventide” (Gen. 24:63).

The following is a much needed message from the devotional “Streams in the Desert”. Although I’ve had a copy of that book for 56 years I paid no attention to this message for the first twenty years of preaching. I hope you get the message sooner than I did. – HDS

“We should be better Christians if we were more alone; we should do more if we attempted less, and spent more time in retirement (solitude), and quiet waiting upon God. The world is too much with us; we are afflicted with the idea that we are doing nothing unless we are fussily running to and fro; we do not believe in “the calm retreat, the silent shade.” As a people, we are of a very practical turn of mind; “we believe,” as someone has said, “in having all our irons in the fire, and consider the time not spent between the anvil and the fire as lost, or much the same as lost.” Yet no time is more profitably spent than that which is set apart for quiet musing, for talking with God, for looking up to Heaven. We cannot have too many of these open spaces in life, hours in which the soul is left accessible to any sweet thought or influence it may please God to send. “Reverie,” it has been said, “is the Sunday of the mind.” Let us often in these days give our mind a “Sunday,” in which it will do no manner of work but simply lie still, and look upward, and spread itself out before the Lord like Gideon’s fleece, to be soaked and moistened with the dews of Heaven. Let there be intervals when we shall do nothing, think nothing, plan nothing, but just lay ourselves on the green lap of nature and “rest awhile.”

Time so spent is not lost time. The fisherman cannot be said to be losing time when he is mending his nets, nor the mower when he takes a few minutes to sharpen his scythe at the top of the ridge. City men cannot do better than follow the example of Isaac, and, as often as they can, get away from the fret and fever of life into fields. Wearied with the heat and din, the noise and bustle, communion with nature is very grateful; it will have a calming, healing influence. A walk through the fields, a saunter by the seashore or across the daisy-sprinkled meadows, will purge your life from sordidness, and make the heart beat with new joy and hope. “The little cares that fretted me, I lost them yesterday, …Out in the fields with God.” 

DAVID STONE

LAKEWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

HUMBLE, TX.

THINK ABOUT IT            11-15-22

I’m sending this because articles like this speak about issues related to what we are trying to do and reveal what we are up against. Rather than being discouraged we need to be prepared and determined to reach as many as we can. – HDS

Gen Z Has A Religion They Want To Impose… Christianity Stands In Their Way

By Ken Ham

According to the report, “[a] quarter of Gen Z say they ‘have very little tolerance for people with beliefs that they disagree with.’ They don’t believe in unrestrained free speech, with nearly half agreeing that ‘some people deserve to be canceled.’”

According to an executive of the group that conducted the research,

These are progressive people in that they support the freedoms won by earlier generations who changed social attitudes toward issues such as sexuality and equality. Indeed, they are significantly more progressive than their parents and even than millennials on some issues…

But, and it is a big but, young people could be said to be less liberal because they are less tolerant of the views of others than their parents and grandparents — surely a novelty.

Why? Why are so many of today’s young people so militant against those with whom they disagree morally or politically? Because, as I’ve said so many times before, there’s no neutrality! Everyone has a worldview or religion! As the Bible states, people are either for Christ or against.

Those who are “progressive” and “liberal” don’t want equal space for all ideas because they aren’t seeking neutrality. They have a religion (humanism) and want to impose it on others—and Christianity stands in their way. The truth claims of Christianity fly in the face of their religious beliefs of relative morality, sexual “freedom” (really slavery), and “anything goes.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬ – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Equipping Children to Stand Strong

My wife and I have talked before about how different the world is that our grandchildren are growing up in from even the world our children grew up in—not to mention the world we grew up in! There’s always been a spiritual battle raging (since sin entered the garden 6,000 years ago), but the ferocity with which it is raging hasn’t been seen in our lifetimes in the West. 

Children need to be equipped to stand and not fall prey to humanism, one of the many “broad ways” that leads to death.

THINK ABOUT IT

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

Sent from my iPad

MORNING MANNA           11-15-22

GOOD FOR EVIL

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”- Luke 23:34

Several years ago I was blessed when one of our members requested prayer for the man who robbed her husband at gun-point. That speaks volumes about her character! We find it easy to pray for the victim of a crime or injustice, but we seldom think about the needs of the perpetrator. While it is terrible to be robbed and to lose things that are of great value to you, it is worse to be the person committing the crime. That reminds me of the following story.

“Many years ago, Matthew Henry, a well-known Bible scholar, was once robbed of his wallet. Knowing that it was his duty to give thanks in everything, he meditated on this incident and recorded in his diary the following:

‘Let me be thankful, first, because he never robbed me before; second, because although he took my purse, he did not take my life; third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.’”

 There is a great lesson in this for us. Rather than seek revenge or live with bitterness because of an offense against us, let us be thankful that the offense was against us rather than by us.No one sins successfully! Therefore,”See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” – 1 Thess. 5:15 – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

THINK ABOUT IT

By Answers in Genesis,  11-12-22

Would you send your children to an exclusively Muslim school that taught the Koran as plainly written? Try asking your Christian friends or family members this question. Many would respond with a resounding, “No!” But why?

Most would explain it’s because the school’s teachers would invariably instruct their children in what they consider to be a false religion and the corresponding values that emanate from its beliefs. They would recognize that the constant negative influence their children would have to deal with on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis could have disastrous results.

Having your child in that situation would obviously not be an unbiased environment, and having to attempt to counter the indoctrination imposed on that young mind from many hours of that religious education in the small amount of time left over at the end of the day would be extremely difficult even for the most vigilant parents.

Most Christians would concede they wouldn’t expect positive spiritual results and would be very hesitant to try it out.

Misunderstanding Faith and Religion

Of course, despite the fact that statistics continue to show that more than 70% of young people from Christian homes that attend public schools walk away from the faith of their parents, the vast majority of Christians in the West seem to have no problem sending their children to secular, state-run schools for an education.

Why? Seemingly because they deem public schooling as “irreligious,” and not “faith” based. And this is apparently due to a foundational misunderstanding of what faith and religion are.

Does Religion Require Belief in a God?

Most people’s understanding of religion presupposes a belief in a particular god or pantheon of gods, but this is untrue. For example, in an article exploring one of the world’s foremost religions, National Geographic stated, “Buddhism is one of the world’s major religions. . . . Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god.”

Other examples of non-theistic religions would be Jainism and even subsects of Hinduism (which are compatible with atheism), so a religion need not adhere to the concept of a supernatural intelligence. Merriam-Webster’s non-deistic definition of religion is simply “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.”

Secular Humanism Is a Religion

Another very popular non-theistic religion is secular humanism. Although some secular humanists vehemently howl against the accusation, humanism makes overtly religious statements and is even recognized as a religion by the US Supreme Court.

For example, the Humanist Manifesto describes it in the following way:

Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. Humanism believes that man is part of nature and that he emerged as the result of a continuous process. We find insufficient evidence for the belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of survival or fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists we begin with humans not God, nature not deity.

The term non-theist is simply a different way to say atheist, which is defined as “A person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.”

So, the main point of humanism is that it denies God as its starting point, which means the “nature is all that is” mantra they hold to is paramount in their thinking.

What Evolution Means

The evolutionist Kerkut defined the “General Theory of Evolution” as “The theory that all the living forms in the world have arisen from a single source which itself came from an inorganic form.”

And this basic framework is what is taught throughout the West’s state-funded education systems. For example, in a key 1995 statement, the National Association of Biology Teachers (US) said,

The diversity of life on earth is the outcome of evolution: an unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable and natural process of temporal descent with genetic modification that is affected by natural selection, chance, historical contingencies and changing environments.

State-Run Schools Teach the Religion of Secular Humanism

Because the story of evolution has been adopted as the official explanation for our origins, what is actually being taught in state-run schools is the religion of secular humanism, undergirded by the story of evolution falsely being taught as fact and science throughout. All funded by taxpayers, I might add—many of whom are Christians and people of other faiths.

It’s an ingenious strategy that humanists have employed for years now. Infiltrate and control the so-called public education system (which is supposed to be neutral) and impose their religion as “science” to convert millions to their own faith position—and mostly at the expense of their opposition.

To put it bluntly, the West overtly teaches atheism to its young minds and has been doing so for decades now. Is it any wonder we see the outright madness displayed in culture today?

Educators Admit It

Even despite the cold, hard facts right in front of their own eyes (such as the statistic mentioned above), many Christians I have spoken with continue in denial of what our so-called education system has become: a humanist indoctrination center.

And yet many humanists don’t even hide their purpose and strategy to convert young people (especially children from Christian homes) to their faith. For example, here is a writer from the Journal of the American Humanist Association openly admitting that the public education system is their primary mechanism for doing so.

And to emphasize that this “program” was well thought out and implemented long ago, look at this statement from the humanist Charles Potter from 1930!

Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday-schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”

Humanists understood that if you could access young minds while they were separated from their parents’ influence for the majority of their day and institute humanist teachings to proselytize them with their own faith position, then it would outweigh those young people’s religious teaching by more than 10 to 1—literally drowning them in humanistic, religious ideas. And all under the guise of neutrality, which anesthetized parents to the dangers their young people were going to face.

Not only do they promote their own religion, but humanists actively undermine other faiths (especially what was once the most dominant in the West—Christianity) to further their entrenchment and influence.

For example, Princeton University Professor of philosophy Richard Rorty, who likely influenced thousands of young students who moved on to influential positions in culture, said the following:

The fundamentalist parents of our fundamentalist students think that the entire “American liberal establishment” is engaged in a conspiracy. The parents have a point . . . [W]e do our best to convince these students of the benefits of secularization. So we are going to go right on trying to discredit you in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable.

Humanists Have a Mission

Christian parents need to understand that just as they truly feel their faith is of utmost importance and that they would like to see everyone come to have saving faith in Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer, so humanists believe that their faith is what all humans should adopt, as they believe its principles are what is best for the fulfilment of the human race.

However, with no absolute moral standard to uphold, they are certainly not above using subversive tactics to accomplish their goals. An example comes from an article by Bora Zivkovic, who is an online community manager at PLOS ONE (an open-access journal from the Public Library of Science).

In it, he openly admits (and approves of) teaching what he calls known “inaccuracies” to students to convert them to believing the story of evolution. And he begins by cautioning other humanists in their approach in doing so, outlining that they should be patient and deliberate in how they subvert their students’ belief systems.

You cannot bludgeon kids with truth (or insult their religion, i.e., their parents and friends) and hope they will smile and believe you. Yes, NOMA is wrong, but is a good first tool for gaining trust. You have to bring them over to your side, gain their trust, and then hold their hands and help them step by step.

He then admits that lying to young people is acceptable as a means to his endgame.

And on that slow journey, which will be painful for many of them, it is OK to use some inaccuracies temporarily if they help you reach the students.

He discusses how teachers will use the example of how Mickey Mouse was depicted slightly differently over the years as a corollary to how evolution supposedly makes slight changes to creatures during the evolutionary process to teach young children to accept these materialistic ideas, even though he understands it is inaccurate (i.e., untrue).

If a student, like Natalie Wright who I quoted above, goes on to study biology, then he or she will unlearn the inaccuracies in time. If most of the students do not, but those cutesy examples help them accept evolution, then it is OK if they keep some of those little inaccuracies for the rest of their lives.

And how does he justify the acceptance of teaching falsehoods to young people and allowing them to believe such lies for the rest of their lives?

It is perfectly fine if they keep thinking that Mickey Mouse evolved as long as they think evolution is fine and dandy overall. Without Mickey, they may have become Creationist activists instead.

Creation Is Not a Side Issue

Humanists understand that, to impose their worldview, they must attempt to tear down the very concept of the Creator God of the Bible and dominate the origins issue by mandating the story of evolution above all else.

Humanists see the origins issue as vital, even above denying God entirely or entertaining the idea that he somehow used evolution to create. As atheist William Provine stated, “One can have a religious view that is compatible with evolution only if the religious view is indistinguishable from atheism.”

Take Back Your Child’s Education

Christian parents need to see through the deception of believing that so-called public education is neutral. It may have been more so in the past, but those days are long gone. The state-run education centers today are more like a spiritual battlefield than a place where unguarded minds can explore God’s creation and learn life skills.

And unequipped soldiers are often eliminated or captured by the enemy.

It behooves parents to diligently examine both who is teaching their young people and what they are being taught. Scripture has both a positive and negative warning about the outcome of that education—depending on who the teachers are.

Luke 6:40 KJV – “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.”

Humanists tend to reproduce themselves, so stop letting them influence your children.

David Stone

Lakeway Baptist Church

Humble, Tx.

Sent from my iPad