"Preparing Yourself Spiritually For The 2012 Election Season" By Reverend Barbara Sexton 'Dear Ones Healing Ministry'

 courtesy   www.ucc.org/news/obama-speech-in-2007-prompts-1.html

UPDATE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/12/samuel-l-jackson-obama-vote-black_n_1271797.html
Dear Ones:
     In my upcoming book 'Entertaining Angels' (due to be released Dec. 21, 2012), I go to great pains to describe how 'insulated' many of us were from 'the real world' as uniform-wearing members of The Salvation Army.
     I was an exception, for  I personally watched 'cable news'...usually CNN.  And when the 'Gulf Wars' were in full effect, I actually asked 'the guys' to scrounge around for a small t.v. set so I could watch the action in 'real time'.
     Ever a fan of the superb technology of the Mossad (responsible for the very best of 'night-vision technology'), I watched tracer rounds and 'hits' directed with surgical accuracy by our finest of U.S. military forces.
     I read the newspapers and kept current on the 'big things' going on in the world, unlike many of my Salvation Army cohorts.
     I knew one young lady, an officer-school candidate, in fact, who 'hadn't read a newspaper in over two and a half years', according to her own reports.
     Judging from her 'lack of knowledge about the world', I would have to vouch that her claim was true....Though, at the time, I could not understand how she could 'exist' that way.
     On the other hand, politics never was something I either stayed on top of or got involved in.  I was 'apolitical' and proud of it to a certain degree.
     But that was actually a foolish philosophy, for Christ, himself, was hardly 'apolitical'.  He gave it to politico-religious leaders but GOOD, at times!
     And Jesus provided sure 'guidelines' for us in terms of 'serving two masters' and 'giving Cesaer his due', so I cannot say that I was not forewarned about what my life would later hold in surprise for me.
     Fast forward to 2007 summertime, June to be exact.  My local church pleaded with me to 'be their voting delegate' and to 'represent them' at the United Church of Christ (UCC) 'Synod 2007' in Hartford, CT.
     "Why ME?", I asked, without a scintilla of false modesty.  I felt their 'choice' was ludicrous!
     I was 'apolitical' (as I've said before), deliberately withholding my political views from the congregation, for I felt them to be utterly IRRELEVENT to my ministerial and counseling duties, such as they were.
     Yet, all claimed that 'I was the woman for the job' without the slightest consideration that I just might be the 'moderate-conservative' amongst them.
     I'm sorry, but if my Salvation Army background and obvious pro-life, pro-right-to-bear-arms and pro-capital punishment (in certain cases) stances weren't a dead 'give-away', I don't know what would be.
     The congregation responsible for my becoming suddenly political knew very well how strongly I subscribe to the tenets of the Bible as my Father in Heaven dictates...Not something the UCC is very notorious for.
     Yet, still they persisted and ultimately I was persuaded to attend SYNOD 2007.
     Let me now cut to the chase with this entire-church UCC 'meeting':  When I 'hit' the Hartford Civic Center, the 'keynote speaker' was one then-Senator Barack Obama.
     All were greeted out front by 'guys in suits and bow-ties', the Secret Service, and lines and lines of tables of 'Democratic operatives' who were 'signing up' and registering voters in bulk.
     I freaked.
     I was incensed to learn that this 'Synod-In-The-City' was nothing more than a 'first campaign speech opportunity' for then-Senator Barack Obama.
     Silly me--I'd actually expected for this to be a 'religious' meeting of sorts, sub-texted by some sociological workshops and an assortment of agenda items for which I would faithfully represent my local church.
     Truth to tell, until this point, I was willing to put my personal opinions aside and 'vote on behalf of my local church (FCC Stamford)' as God so directed me.  The congregation had sent me there to do just that, hadn't they?
     But once I saw all the blatant electioneering (which apparently was not witnessed by many in the UCC at all, for some strange reason!), I welched.
     The Senator Barack Obama and myself belonged to the same 'church', alright, but there was no way, no how I could sanction the rhetoric and actions of one Reverend Jeremiah Wright and company, whom Senator Obama so righteously 'admired'.
     Indeed, it only got worse for me as I returned to Stamford and finding myself in the untenable position of having to 'defend' Wright while entertaining concerns and complaints (from both the congregation and the community)  about the obvious racism in 'Black Liberation Theology'.
     I tried to 'defend things' a few times, and then said, 'to heck with it'.  This dog was not going to fly.
     Since my political awakening in 2007, I have witnessed Wright's 'fall from grace', UCC President John Thomas's 'fall from grace', and any number of truly disturbing and revolting shenanigans eeked out by 'the UCC religious community' under the guise of 'Christianity in action'.
     Well, it's anything but Christianity and so much more like a socio-political machine that certain individuals (I am not one of them, for the record) lodged a complaint with the IRS regarding the UCC's 'tax-emempt' status.
     The UCC 'skated', of course, and Obama resigned from this church.  Since then, a cascade of events has occurred which has rendered the UCC impotent and essentially 'broke'.
     There is no hope of it reactivating itself as the 'political machine' it once was, fighting so hard to get President Obama elected, for the simple reasons that they haven't the money and they are under 'scrutiny' should they ever try to play 'loose and free' with the concept of 'separation of church and state' again!
     The last thing 'they' need to do is to jeopardize their 'tax-exempt status'...again.
     Still, some effects from Synod 2007 persist, one of which is my 'personal politicization'.
      Never again will my 'Christian conscience' be totally divorced from the theater of politics.
     And never again will I ever trust a 'leader' or 'body' (religious or otherwise) engaged in the political machine while daring to claim 'theological superiority' on ANYTHING...for I know such an entity does not exist apart from the grace of God.
     Suffice it to say that I now look upon the 2012 election cycle with a mixture of cynicism, disgust, dread, hope, promise and hope--once again-- for change.
     Click on all the keywords below for full background articles on everything I've written about here, especially those of you in uber-Progressive Liberal Connecticut who are hoping to make 2012 a repeat of 2008.
     That's not going to happen.
     Our eyes are opened now and we are 'still raw' from the Bridgeport 'voter fraud' scandal of the 2010 elections here in the Nutmeg State.
     So while the 'bulk' of the Democratic 'libs' think their day in the sun is a 'lock', that is far from a sure thing this go-round.
     Voters are disappointed and sick and tired of this abysmal economy...and many are totally apathetic.
     In short, 2012 is NOT going to be a repeat of 2008.
"As ever, I say, NOT GOD DAMN AMERICA, BUT GOD BLESS AMERICA"
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com

 

President Barack Obama & Rev. Jeremiah Wright

"Looking Unto Jesus, The Author And Finisher Of Our Faith" By Reverend Barbara Sexton 'Dear Ones Healing Ministry'

courtesy www.wittnessed.wordpress.com

click on this wonderful FREE WALLPAPER and ENJOY!

^"1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."                          Hebrews 12:1-2   (NKJV)

LINK: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012&version=NKJV

God Bless You-Believers and Seekers, alike

Reverend Barbara Sexton

www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com

"Why Are The Fish Dying? How To Get Saved-Part One" By Reverend Barbara Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"

LINK:  http://www.s2smagazine.com/stories/2011/01/2-million-fish-found-dead-maryland
Dear Ones:
      First read below and ask yourself, "What don't I get about Revelation 8:6:13 being relevant to what's happening today?   And when you read it , keep this in mind: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8246678/More-than-1000-turtle-doves-fall-from-the-sky-in-Italy-in-latest-mass-bird-death-case.html for it's only the beginning.
        (Note for Newcomers: The Book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament of the Bible.  Rev 8:6-13 (NIV) means "Revelation chapter 8, verses 6-13, the New International Version which Rev. Barb prefers because it is easily understandable by young and old all over the world.)
     There is no need to be afraid of anything.  But this is definitely a good time to 'get yourself on the road to being saved' if you haven't already done so.  I write this assuming that you may not have that much Bible knowledge, so we'll take it step-by-step, at your own pace.
     Here I provide you with 'my unique version of how to get saved as a Christian' in a simple, easy-to-understand way, without using a 'hard hand'.  Who on earth would want to join a 'religion' that uses threats, taunts, reprimands, coercion, bullying, brutal rules, demands for money and all the other things 'organized religions' (trans: "churches") are so famous for?
     The first followers of Christ who were just regular people and 'seekers' like we are!
     After you absorb what I have to say here, I will provide you with 'the traditional' Scripture passages we Christians use and you can begin some more formal and rigorous 'religious training' if you so choose.
     But the Message of Christ is a simple one...Simple enough, in fact, for a child to understand... and anyone who says otherwise is not being truthful.
     If you are still reading this, certainly you've come so far as to be wondering, at least, what all this Scripture stuff is about and how it relates to life today.
     That's GREAT even if you've been a devout Christian all your life.  No one, ever, cannot benefit from a 'refresher course', a 'reboot', if you will and the Lord rejoices when Believers stand with their 'new' brothers and sisters in Christ.
     I speak to you from my heart and from a unique perspective.  Being born and raised in a Russian family where religion was absolutely forbidden, I was an atheist/agnostic for the first 37 years of my life.  My 'god' was Science. 
     Yet ironically, the more scientific knowledge I gained, the more I came to realize that 'a Grand Designer's Hand' is definitely at work in our universe.
     Life is no 'accident'.  The 'cosmos' is more than just NASA and NOAA and earthquake 'LINKS' and all I'm saying here is that it is a good time to consult the 'ultimate guidebook'--the Holy Bible.
     I've joked that "When these things come to pass, we will have read the Book and now we're 'doing' the movie." 
     We've recently experienced a 'tear' in the earths' geomagnetic sphere, allowing rogue energy, solar and otherwise, to enter and escape said 'hole'.  A ten year old girl just discovered a Super Nova, now possibly existing as a 'black hole'.
     You may have noticed an increase in earthquakes, with new ones occurring in areas previously thought to be 'earthquake-free'.  We've had flooding and and snow on the West Coast of the U.S.A. and hurricanes, tornadoes and storms all over the place.
     Birds are dropping from the skies and we have 'the fish'...all the dying fish everywhere.
     Yes.  Yes, there are 'scientific explanations' for it all, kind of.
     BUT!
     The big 'BUT' is that God has ALWAYS used natural phenomena to 'make His points'!  Archaeological evidence exists that the 'parting of the Red Sea' did indeed happen and was partly due to extraordinary lunar alignments and extreme low tides.
     Egypt's 'plagues'-remarkable by story-telling standards-are now largely explained by natural phenomena ('frogs', locusts',etc)....but oh the timing.
    It's all in the timing.
    And I tell you from the depth of my heart that any of you so inclined to not be part of the world take steps NOW to assure your 'eternal address'.
    1) You do this by asking God for faith, if you think you have none.  PRAY for faith and it will be given to you, I guarantee!  Only God can give us faith, for it is a 'gift'!
    2) Earnestly understand that we humans are all flawed and in need of salvation.  We are all imperfect and perishable.  You, me, all of us.
     3)Turn to God and pledge yourself to Him.  Tell Him earnestly that you BELIEVE in Him.  Humble yourself before Him.
     4) Examine your life and all that is sinful in it...or that you think is sinful...and confess.  Promise God to cease and desist any and all of this sinful behavior and ask God to let you know if you 'missed' anything.  You will immediately start sleeping better at night.  And don't be surprised when you get 'visited' in your dreams as God examines your heart as you sleep.
     5) Start reading or re-reading the Bible and look to 'mainline Christian sources' for specific Bible passages to get you started on your role to salvation.  Read everything you can get your hands on and ask God to guide you to the Truth.  There's no right or wrong way to read the Bible.  Some start with Genesis and read through.  Some start with the New Testament and read through and then back.  Right here we are going to start with a passage relevant to 'current events'.  Choose your own favorite 'translation' based on your own 'market research' or by the recommendation of someone you know and trust.
     6)  Somewhere along the line, get baptized by water by a Christian clergy-person or by any Christian who will to do so for you.  If you have already been baptized by water, ask a minister or even any Christian capable and willing to do so to 'reaffirm' your baptism.  This can be done anywhere, not just in a church and any Christian can do it.  The water need not be from the River Jordon, or anywhere else.  It just needs to be clean and 'consecrated' for Holy use through fervent prayer by the one who is doing the Baptizing.  You needn't be completely immersed, either, just some on the head will suffice.  If anyone questions this, ask them what they say of the 'validity' of the Baptisms we do on preemies in hospital Isolettes baptized with eyedroppers of sterile, consecrated water.  And ask them if those Baptized bedside have 'true Baptism' and you will have you answer.
     7)  After you've earnestly accepted God through Jesus Christ your brother and Savior who died for YOU into your life, confess, be clean, go forth, let the Holy Spirit indwell in you at all times and spread the Good Word (the Message of Christ) yourself.  Don't be surprised if you have some 'demonic' encounters along the way.  'New Christians' are ripe 'pickin's' for a certain amount of time.  Satan WILL try to dissuade you from your new spiritual path.  But rest assured, if confronted with ANYTHING demonic or negative, simply invoke the Power of the Holy Spirit by saying, "HOLY SPIRIT INDWELL IN ME."  To command a demon or anything 'negative' TO GET OUT, say, "I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE ME IN THE STRONG NAME OF JESUS CHRIST NOW!'.  Doing and saying these things isn't always a picnic at the time, but they work.  And the aftermath leads to incredible things. Again-don't be afraid.  Satan is 'loosed' on the earth, but only has a limited number of bad angels (demons) to harass anyone at any given time.  If you put up a strong fight in God, the bad guys will lose interest and move onto easier pickings.  And, don't forget God sends his (good) Angels to protect you, as well, during times such as this, because there really is a spiritual battle going on.
     8) Watch as your life is enriched in all ways.  You will be a blessing to those around you.  As you grow past the initial learnings as a New Christian, you will educate yourself more and more.  In every area of your life, you will begin to discern God's Hand at work where you never did before.  Prepare to be amazed.
     9)  Pray like it's your job, and then pray some more.  You will want to keep a journal, especially if you are at all troubled by #7--Satan and his minions.
   10)  Enjoy your new found faith and revel in it.  Be joyful.  Don't be afraid of anything except being separated from God, for this is the very 'essence of  HELL'!  Attend a church and worship in fellowship with others.  Remember that no one will see Heaven just by doing good works.  You don't NEED to do 'good works' as a Christian, but you won't be able to help yourself from naturally doing so because the Holy Spirit is IN YOU, alive and well and working!
(Please note that some 'religious groups' such as Baptists and Catholics may not necessarily agree with what I say here due to denominational differences.  If you wish to belong to one of these denominations, then you can take what I say above under advisement and then take the steps necessary in order to become a member of the church of your choice.  As far as I am concerned, I know in my heart that the different denominations are like different 'airlines' with different carriers and passenger lists all headed to the same destination.  The early church was 'one united' (with women playing a prominent part with our Lord, ahem) and I've no doubt that it shall be that way at the end of the world, God be Praised!)
      Now, onto today's Scripture Reading.  At first 'blush', what do these passages mean to you?

Revelation 8            The Trumpets

"6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels
Rev 8:6-13 (NIV)
READ THE REST HERE:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%208&version=NIV 
     There's always a 'scientific' reason for what happens in our world, but what happens is purely God's Will.
     The Lord alone will let us know what we need to know when we need to know it and I pray you, my dear Readers, see that!
For You In Christ,
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/









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"Today Dec 1 Is World AIDS DAY: A Reflective Lesson" By Reverend Barbara Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"

http://blog.bioethics.net/2008/12/world-aids-day-how-far-weve-comeand-still-how-far/

Dear Ones:
     You may have 'heard me' say this before; "If HIV AIDS were easily transmissible, I would be dead by  now". 
     I say it because it's true.
     I was 'in' biomedicine in the years immediately preceding the full 'out-cropping' of this horrific disease, during which time I literally handled and processed as many as twenty liters at a time of pooled human blood serum for 'cell culture' at Sloan-Kettering.
    We all knew what we were exposing ourselves to potentially and we all knew what the risks were.
     Prior to the full-emergence of 'AIDS', our main concerns in the lab were the usual blood-borne infectious agents such as hepatitis, reasonably well-understood and accepted 'risks'. 
     My technique was always excellent, but one can never discount the occasional bad-luck, unavoidable 'accident', such as a slip or spill or 'needle stick'. 
     Thank God I never suffered one of those, although in those late-70's/early 80's years I didn't do much praying (or any) for I was yet a proud atheist-agnostic back then.
     Coincidentally, a few years later, AIDS as a 'community concern' was just rearing it's head where I was living in Stamford, CT and a 'new Christian'.
     You can believe that few 'knew' about AIDS and HIV in those days and even 'fewer' cared about it, if they did.  And NO ONE wanted to 'work' with HIV+ patients if they could avoid it.
     But my universe was working with homeless individuals, female prostitutes, male prostitutes and many i.v. drug users. 
      So there was no escaping anything related to that emerging terror known as 'AIDS'.
     In my capacity first as a 'secretary' and then as a Soldier in The Salvation Army...I was there on the front lines. 
     I didn't want to be and I didn't ask to be, but I was immersed up-to-my-eyeballs when 'AIDS' first reared it's head in our area.
     I was there when the first few clinic patients walked into my office for a counseling session, test results in hand and 'collapsed' in grief, misery, fear and disbelief. 
     These poor souls were amongst the first to be diagnosed as 'HIV Positive' and who were struggling to know 'what does that mean'?  And they were amongst 'the first' to be modern-day 'lepers' as far as society was concerned.
     I write about this in detail in my upcoming book 'ENTERTAINING ANGELS' LINK:  http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/01/entertaining-angels-book-by-former_27.html
     You will read about those 'first' heart wrenching months when we began regular HIV testing.  You will read how exposed I was to the body fluids and substances of HIV+ individuals who were 'acting out' due to concurrent psychiatric issues.
     No distinction was made back then between 'HIV Positive' and 'AIDS', but you can imagine where my biochemist's mind was going each time a situation presented itself.
     You will read how I clutched a dear HIV+ lady to myself, resulting in my having a soaked-to-the-skin tear-drenched blouse and slip as I consoled her and she asked me to 'explain her test results'.
     In those early days of AIDS, you will read how I managed to get my own personal physician (a Stamford doctor many of you know!) to volunteer in our Clinic downstairs and how he monitors me to this day.
     And you will read how I 'gave permission' for the very first 'AIDS SUPPORT GROUP' to meet in the 'conference room' across from my tiny Salvation Army office on the first floor on (the old) Beehler Street HQ (Headquarters).
     Finally, you will read about my 'crisis pregnancy work' of many years wherein I was just as likely to 'send a gal for a pregnancy test' as I was to send her for an 'AIDS test' and the agony of waiting it all out. 
     You will read of the shock and disbelief of those early days when few acknowledged, let alone understood, the vagaries of this multi-faceted, multi-formed Human Immunodeficiency Virus in all its 'incarnations'.
     No one wanted to 'be involved' back then.  Everyone was 'afraid' and those who say otherwise are not being truthful. 
     My story needs to be told of the emergence of AIDS in Fairfield County, CT.  The 'early days' of this socio-medical saga must not be forgotten or glossed over, or, worse still, ignored.
     It is a tale of fear turned to hope, and of prejudice turned to compassion.
     And in it lies hope and guidance for dealing with what the future may hold.
God Bless You this World AIDS DAY 2010 & every day
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/



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http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/01/entertaining-angels-book-by-former_27.html

"'ENTERTAINING ANGELS" --A BOOK BY FORMER SALVATION ARMY SOLDIER REVEREND BARBARA SEXTON EXPECTED RELEASE DATE DEC 21, 2012

FIRST LOOK PHOTO 'ENTERTAINING ANGELS'-THE STORY OF A FORMER SALVATION ARMY SOLDIER BY REVEREND BARBARA SEXTON

Dear Ones:

For some time now, I've been telling you about my upcoming book, "Entertaining Angels"-An Agnostic Meets Christ Midlife, By A Former Salvation Army Soldier (that's me) Reverend Barbara Sexton. To say that I've had an interesting and rocky road in my faith journey is an understatement. But God does not leave 'fools' such as myself to their own devices...In my case, He has blessed me with a profound and fecund sense of humor and a good mind, if I do say so myself.

While I will not say that my entire sojourn at The Salvation Army, as a Soldier "Saved to Serve" (ergo the S's on the shoulder epaulets or 'ornamental shoulder pads' on our uniforms) was all pleasant and rewarding, it did have it's 'moments'. I thank God that my daughter was also embued with a great sense of humor,for all that she endured during those years and since with Mama's perpetual quest for spiritual enlightenment.

Here's a FIRST LOOK PHOTO for you to get the idea of what I mean. My charming daughter, Jen, is in the front freely expressing her 'true self'...And what a TROOPER she was and still is! Behind her, left to right, is my C.O. (Commanding Officer, usually a Captain, but in this case a Lieutenant), myself in the middle with dark hair up-do and standing next to me, far right, my sister-in-law at a Memorial Day Parade in Stamford, CT.

I thought you might get a kick out of seeing this photo in all it's glory as I set the stage for my 'big story'. Stay tuned for a December 21, 2012 release date of my book "Entertaining Angels". It's not what you think it is!

Blessings To You,

Reverend Barb Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist--Where Science Meets the Cross!"

'ENTERTAINING ANGELS' --A BOOK BY FORMER SALVATION ARMY SOLDIER REVEREND BARBARA SEXTON EXPECTED COMPLETION/RELEASE DEC 21, 2012

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