Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Home...
Well, I'm home after a stay in the hospital for a hip repair. It is so good to be home with Max and Bailee worrying over me. Wayne is giving shots, cooking (or serving as so many are helping out with good food) laundry, and overseeing my every move. Every day goes better.
We're in different waters, but good to be home.
We're in different waters, but good to be home.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wait . . .
"They also serve who only stand and wait."- John Milton
In 2 Samuel King David divides the spoil with those who were too exhausted to continue on the fight and were used to hold the line and wait. The main contingent complained when it came time to divvy up the stuff. David directs the stuff to be divided equally.
I suppose a matching analogy would be Paul's picture of the One Body of Christ where the smallest member is worthy of honor.
Call no man cheap for whom Christ died.
Jesus Christ gives value to all.
In 2 Samuel King David divides the spoil with those who were too exhausted to continue on the fight and were used to hold the line and wait. The main contingent complained when it came time to divvy up the stuff. David directs the stuff to be divided equally.
I suppose a matching analogy would be Paul's picture of the One Body of Christ where the smallest member is worthy of honor.
Call no man cheap for whom Christ died.
Jesus Christ gives value to all.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The foundations are out of course. . .
To the gods or judges of the earth:
"They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course" (Psalm 82:5).
"They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course" (Psalm 82:5).
Saturday, December 4, 2010
A meeting in the air. . .
Notice they go out to meet Him.
They heard He’s coming.
It’s a planned thing.
I Thessalonians 4 says we have a rendezvous with the Lord in clouds in the air.
I Cor. 4:5 says, ‘Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.'
(Pastor Richard Jordan, from Lisa Leland.)
They heard He’s coming.
It’s a planned thing.
I Thessalonians 4 says we have a rendezvous with the Lord in clouds in the air.
I Cor. 4:5 says, ‘Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.'
(Pastor Richard Jordan, from Lisa Leland.)
A young earth?
The Population Genetics Modeling Program Software Mendel's Accountant can simulate, with unprecedented biological accuracy, the result of this accumulation:
Assuming a population size of 2,000 individuals, assuming that each mother has six children, and using the rate of 60 mutations per generation in the algorithms, the simulation shows the extinction of the human race after only 350 generations. This also assumes that natural selection would have been effective at removing the least fit from the population every generation.
If this result is anywhere close to correct -- that humanity's genetic mutations would have led to extinction within 350 generations -- how could that possibly fit within evolution's long ages? But if the total age of the world is about 6,000 years,(4) as is consistent with biblical history, then mankind has been here for fewer than 300 generations(5). Thus, the latest and most accurate research into human genetics confirms a straightforward reading of the biblical account of origins and human history.
References
1. Pennisi, E. 2010. 1000 Genomes Project Gives New Map of Genetic Diversity. Science. 330 (6004): 574-575.
2. Kondrashov, A. S. 2003. Direct estimate of human per nucleotide mutation rates at 20 loci causing Mendelian diseases. Human Mutation. 21 (1): 12-27.
3. Vardiman, L. 2008. The "Fatal Flaws" of Darwinian Theory. Acts & Facts. 37 (7): 6.
4. Beechick, R. 2001. Chronology for everybody. Journal of Creation. 15 (3): 67- 73.
5. In reality, the number of generations since creation is smaller, since the average generation time among pre-Flood peoples was 117 years, not 20. Factoring this in yields about 231 generations from creation to 2010 A.D.
http://www.icr.org/article/5722
(Of interest, eh?)
Assuming a population size of 2,000 individuals, assuming that each mother has six children, and using the rate of 60 mutations per generation in the algorithms, the simulation shows the extinction of the human race after only 350 generations. This also assumes that natural selection would have been effective at removing the least fit from the population every generation.
If this result is anywhere close to correct -- that humanity's genetic mutations would have led to extinction within 350 generations -- how could that possibly fit within evolution's long ages? But if the total age of the world is about 6,000 years,(4) as is consistent with biblical history, then mankind has been here for fewer than 300 generations(5). Thus, the latest and most accurate research into human genetics confirms a straightforward reading of the biblical account of origins and human history.
References
1. Pennisi, E. 2010. 1000 Genomes Project Gives New Map of Genetic Diversity. Science. 330 (6004): 574-575.
2. Kondrashov, A. S. 2003. Direct estimate of human per nucleotide mutation rates at 20 loci causing Mendelian diseases. Human Mutation. 21 (1): 12-27.
3. Vardiman, L. 2008. The "Fatal Flaws" of Darwinian Theory. Acts & Facts. 37 (7): 6.
4. Beechick, R. 2001. Chronology for everybody. Journal of Creation. 15 (3): 67- 73.
5. In reality, the number of generations since creation is smaller, since the average generation time among pre-Flood peoples was 117 years, not 20. Factoring this in yields about 231 generations from creation to 2010 A.D.
http://www.icr.org/article/5722
(Of interest, eh?)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Perfect in weakness...
Whatever God requires of us He provides.
You think?
"My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh...casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3,5).
Hard when you're hurting.
You think?
"My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh...casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3,5).
Hard when you're hurting.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thoughts on Thanksgiving
Thoughts on Thanksgiving | The Doctor Is In
Thanksgiving tells us that we have a higher purpose, a calling which draws us toward the divine, in order that His highest purposes are fully served. It tells us we are hopelessly handicapped in our pursuit of this noble calling, waylaid in wanton selfishness and frivolous foolishness, distracted from our goal by baubles and the banal. Indeed there is little hope of restoring our vision but by grace, by the gracious hand of God to guide, empower, and correct us. It is in this extraordinary reality that true gratitude is found, that we who have hated the good have, in spite of ourselves, been called back home, in forgiveness and with vision restored, to be made useful and purposeful again, to be made new.
This grace empowers gratitude, for it opens all things, both good and bad, to the possibility of redemption. For the good we may be grateful, not merely that it blesses us, but that it enables and empowers us to serve and give to others. Our trials and liabilities, too, become tools by which we may reassess and redirect our lives, growing in empathy for the suffering of others, and in trust in the inscrutable goodness and wisdom of God, who uses evil for good. Our thanksgiving is a celebration of freedom — the freedom to transform all things, whether good or evil, to the higher purposes of God.
Let us, then, be truly grateful this Thanksgiving, for the grace of redemption, the hope of transformation, and the mercy shown to us through Him who is most gracious.
Thanksgiving tells us that we have a higher purpose, a calling which draws us toward the divine, in order that His highest purposes are fully served. It tells us we are hopelessly handicapped in our pursuit of this noble calling, waylaid in wanton selfishness and frivolous foolishness, distracted from our goal by baubles and the banal. Indeed there is little hope of restoring our vision but by grace, by the gracious hand of God to guide, empower, and correct us. It is in this extraordinary reality that true gratitude is found, that we who have hated the good have, in spite of ourselves, been called back home, in forgiveness and with vision restored, to be made useful and purposeful again, to be made new.
This grace empowers gratitude, for it opens all things, both good and bad, to the possibility of redemption. For the good we may be grateful, not merely that it blesses us, but that it enables and empowers us to serve and give to others. Our trials and liabilities, too, become tools by which we may reassess and redirect our lives, growing in empathy for the suffering of others, and in trust in the inscrutable goodness and wisdom of God, who uses evil for good. Our thanksgiving is a celebration of freedom — the freedom to transform all things, whether good or evil, to the higher purposes of God.
Let us, then, be truly grateful this Thanksgiving, for the grace of redemption, the hope of transformation, and the mercy shown to us through Him who is most gracious.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The small c . . .
Keep experimenting, and don't be afraid to combine the verbal with the visual. Don’t capitalize your I’s all over the place (or, at the very least, don’t let it swell your ego when you do.) -e.e. cummings, 1894 - 1962
So, let's not give c the capitalization it usually garners from its prey. It's serious, but it's not all.
So, let's not give c the capitalization it usually garners from its prey. It's serious, but it's not all.
Day by Day
Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear. - Lina Sandell Berg, Swedish
Not sure my Father's wise bestowment is the cancer I am now taking chemo for...just getting me more ready to leave this body or hope for the redemption of my body 'cause we all live in a ruined world where sickness happens.
You think?
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear. - Lina Sandell Berg, Swedish
Not sure my Father's wise bestowment is the cancer I am now taking chemo for...just getting me more ready to leave this body or hope for the redemption of my body 'cause we all live in a ruined world where sickness happens.
You think?
I read your book....
[General Patton outmaneuvering Rommel whose campaign in North Africa earned Rommel the nickname "The Desert Fox.")
Patton: [referring to Rommel's book, Infantry Attack)
"Rommel... you magnificent ******d, I read your book!"
General Patton beat Rommel by understanding his methods, by reading his book.
Infantry Attacks
We too have a foe to defeat. We also have a Book on how to deal with him, and an understanding that he lost the war by the cross of Jesus Christ.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
He rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him. - Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress
The little word is TRUTH. Where do you find the truth? In the Bible where Jesus says He is the Truth. Alleluia!
Patton: [referring to Rommel's book, Infantry Attack)
"Rommel... you magnificent ******d, I read your book!"
General Patton beat Rommel by understanding his methods, by reading his book.
Infantry Attacks
We too have a foe to defeat. We also have a Book on how to deal with him, and an understanding that he lost the war by the cross of Jesus Christ.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
He rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him. - Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress
The little word is TRUTH. Where do you find the truth? In the Bible where Jesus says He is the Truth. Alleluia!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
RESURRECTED BODIES
[In] the Millennium, our resurrected, glorified bodies, like Christ's, will no longer be part of the physical universe and will thus be changeless and timeless, able to be seen, then vanish, and to pass through closed doors and walls. "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them...but they were terrified ...[thinking] they had seen a spirit....[H]andle me, and see," said Christ, "for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Lk 24:36-43).
Paul informs us, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44). We don't know what that means except as it was demonstrated in Christ's resurrection. --Dave Hunt
Paul informs us, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44). We don't know what that means except as it was demonstrated in Christ's resurrection. --Dave Hunt
Monday, November 15, 2010
The religion of man...
The Bahá'ís: What is the Bahá’í Faith?
Posted by: Van Grungy Nov 15, 06:31 AM:
Esperanto speaking* 'new world order' believing. Do your own homework...you will see why you should worry about the Baha'i influence on world events...especially the UN connection.
*Esperanto - An easy-to-learn and politically neutral language that would serve as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.
(Well, we do know from the Bible that a return to Babel(Genesis 11) is coming on the earth under the influence of the "evil one". It is the coming of the one-man, the anti-christ, who will control the whole world. Amazing how the events of the world are pointing to this time, isn't it?)
Posted by: Van Grungy Nov 15, 06:31 AM:
Esperanto speaking* 'new world order' believing. Do your own homework...you will see why you should worry about the Baha'i influence on world events...especially the UN connection.
*Esperanto - An easy-to-learn and politically neutral language that would serve as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.
(Well, we do know from the Bible that a return to Babel(Genesis 11) is coming on the earth under the influence of the "evil one". It is the coming of the one-man, the anti-christ, who will control the whole world. Amazing how the events of the world are pointing to this time, isn't it?)
Babylon rebuilt?
Quote from Christopher Hitchens: "...the discovery of oil around Baghdad has transformed the material basis for political control. "There's a petro-chemical reason for federalism now. If the oil laws were enforced properly by province, it could be as rich as Kuwait. The Saudis and the Iranians don't want a revived Iraqi oil industry because it will undercut them. You could have a modern Middle Eastern country or a parties-of-God failed state."
The Bible prophecies seem to clearly indicate that a literal city of Babylon will be the center of the Middle East world. Yes, Babylon, the spiritual head of a false religious system, but also a literal city.
Maybe the catalyst will be oil. We all need it, and it seems that Iraq (Babylon) has it. You think?
The Bible prophecies seem to clearly indicate that a literal city of Babylon will be the center of the Middle East world. Yes, Babylon, the spiritual head of a false religious system, but also a literal city.
Maybe the catalyst will be oil. We all need it, and it seems that Iraq (Babylon) has it. You think?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Depths. . .
"Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD" (Psalm 130:l).
Depths = Strong's, Hebrew 4615, ma'amaq, a deep.
A pastor likened the word depths to the sound a mama camel emits when seeking its young in the wilds of the desert. That low, lowing gut bellow. Growing up on a farm perhaps it is a bit like the lowing given out when the cows come into the barn for the warmth of the hay and community of each other.
A cry of "help"...shelter me.
The cattle are lowing the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
The world was sitting in the depths of darkness, when He was born...out of the depths of despair, He came.
Depths = Strong's, Hebrew 4615, ma'amaq, a deep.
A pastor likened the word depths to the sound a mama camel emits when seeking its young in the wilds of the desert. That low, lowing gut bellow. Growing up on a farm perhaps it is a bit like the lowing given out when the cows come into the barn for the warmth of the hay and community of each other.
A cry of "help"...shelter me.
The cattle are lowing the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
The world was sitting in the depths of darkness, when He was born...out of the depths of despair, He came.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Titles of Jesus in John chapter 1. . .
Word (v. 1);
God (v. 1);
Creator (v. 3);
Light (v. 7);
only begotten Son (v. 18);
Lamb of God (v. 29, 36);
Son of God (v. 39, 49);
Messiah (v. 41);
King of Israel (v. 49);
and Son of Man (v. 51).
Wow!
God (v. 1);
Creator (v. 3);
Light (v. 7);
only begotten Son (v. 18);
Lamb of God (v. 29, 36);
Son of God (v. 39, 49);
Messiah (v. 41);
King of Israel (v. 49);
and Son of Man (v. 51).
Wow!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The will of God in Jesus's day . . .
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
"And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).
Praise to the Lord, the God of everlasting life!
"And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).
Praise to the Lord, the God of everlasting life!
Monday, November 8, 2010
I am He. . .
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called
Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things.
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He" (John 4:24-26).
The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called
Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things.
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He" (John 4:24-26).
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Marion Visser
VISSER - Mrs. Marion L. Visser, aged 90, is now in the presence of her Lord and Savior and was joyfully reunited with her beloved husband Andy in Heaven on Saturday, October 30, 2010. Marion had a sweet, gentle spirit and was a loving, generous and selfless woman. - GR Press obituary
Pastor Andy loved Marion and always called her his "sweetheart". She was a warm and wonderful woman.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
I'm blessed!
"Blessed is (s)he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the (wo)man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity" (Psalms 32:1,2).
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Growl & Giggles
What growls and giggles?
My 9 month granddaughter, Amelia.
Grrrrrrrr & a giggle from the depth of her little soul. She is also a hugger.
Blessed, that's me.
My 9 month granddaughter, Amelia.
Grrrrrrrr & a giggle from the depth of her little soul. She is also a hugger.
Blessed, that's me.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
In memory of Andy Visser
It's Real
O how well do I remember
How I doubted day by day,
For I did not know for certain
That my sins were washed away.
When the Spirit tried to tell me,
I would not the truth receive;
I endeavored to be happy
And to make myself believe.
Refrain
But it’s real, it’s real!
O I know it’s real
Praise God, the doubts are settled,
For I know, I know it’s real!
When the truth came close and searching,
All my joys would disappear,
For I did not have the witness
Of the Spirit bright and clear.
If at times the coming judgment
Would appear before my mind,
O it made me so uneasy,
For God’s smile I could not find.
Refrain
When the Lord sent faithful servants
Who would dare to preach the truth,
How my heart did so condemn me
As the Spirit gave reproof!
Satan said at once, “Twill ruin
You now to confess your state;
Keep on working and professing,
And you’ll enter Heaven’s gate.”
Refrain
But at last I tired of living
Such a life of fear and doubt,
For I wanted God to give me
Something I would know about,
So the truth would make me happy
And the light would clearly shine,
And the Spirit gave assurance
That I’m His and He is mine.
Refrain
So I prayed to God in earnest,
And not caring what folks said.
I was hungry for the blessing;
My pour soul—it must be fed.
Then at last by faith I touched Him
And, like sparks from smitten steel,
Just so quick salvation reached me.
O bless God, I know it’s real!
Words & Music: Homer L. Cox, 1907 (MI?DI, score).
O how well do I remember
How I doubted day by day,
For I did not know for certain
That my sins were washed away.
When the Spirit tried to tell me,
I would not the truth receive;
I endeavored to be happy
And to make myself believe.
Refrain
But it’s real, it’s real!
O I know it’s real
Praise God, the doubts are settled,
For I know, I know it’s real!
When the truth came close and searching,
All my joys would disappear,
For I did not have the witness
Of the Spirit bright and clear.
If at times the coming judgment
Would appear before my mind,
O it made me so uneasy,
For God’s smile I could not find.
Refrain
When the Lord sent faithful servants
Who would dare to preach the truth,
How my heart did so condemn me
As the Spirit gave reproof!
Satan said at once, “Twill ruin
You now to confess your state;
Keep on working and professing,
And you’ll enter Heaven’s gate.”
Refrain
But at last I tired of living
Such a life of fear and doubt,
For I wanted God to give me
Something I would know about,
So the truth would make me happy
And the light would clearly shine,
And the Spirit gave assurance
That I’m His and He is mine.
Refrain
So I prayed to God in earnest,
And not caring what folks said.
I was hungry for the blessing;
My pour soul—it must be fed.
Then at last by faith I touched Him
And, like sparks from smitten steel,
Just so quick salvation reached me.
O bless God, I know it’s real!
Words & Music: Homer L. Cox, 1907 (MI?DI, score).
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Yoga, power of the serpent?
From far north of India—way up in the jungles where outsiders very seldom get—and they came to an ancient temple and in the temple on one of the walls was sort of a fresco, worn out, but you could distinguish—a woman, a serpent, and a tree. They are together—a woman, a serpent, and a tree.
And in this particular temple they worshiped the serpent, and he asked, “Why do you worship the serpent?” “Well,” they said, “he’s our savior. He’s the one who came to rescue us, to deliver us.”
You know in yoga, for example, yoga is depicted as a raft of serpents, cobras, that takes you across the ocean into the Promised Land, into … the power within yoga, kundalini, serpent. - from The Berean Call, Dave Hunt
Kundalini -
(Yoga is being pushed by all the medical therapies...seems there must be another way to exercise the body than the religion of the serpent. - Linda)
And in this particular temple they worshiped the serpent, and he asked, “Why do you worship the serpent?” “Well,” they said, “he’s our savior. He’s the one who came to rescue us, to deliver us.”
You know in yoga, for example, yoga is depicted as a raft of serpents, cobras, that takes you across the ocean into the Promised Land, into … the power within yoga, kundalini, serpent. - from The Berean Call, Dave Hunt
Kundalini -
(Yoga is being pushed by all the medical therapies...seems there must be another way to exercise the body than the religion of the serpent. - Linda)
Friday, October 22, 2010
It's not supposed to be that way. . .
I don’t know if he’ll make it. A friend—a recovering drunk—once told me that sometimes you only get saved by dying. It’s not supposed to be that way. You’re supposed to help them and then they come to Jesus and then they’re better.
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Ceaseless
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Ceaseless
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Why say ye not...
Why say ye not a word of bringing back the king?
Why speak ye not of Jesus and His reign?
Why tell ye of His kingdom and of its glories sing?
But nothing of His coming back again?
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (The Acts 1:11).
"Ye men of Israel...He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts. 3:20-21).
"...the patriarch David...therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne...therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:30,36).
Why speak ye not of Jesus and His reign?
Why tell ye of His kingdom and of its glories sing?
But nothing of His coming back again?
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (The Acts 1:11).
"Ye men of Israel...He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts. 3:20-21).
"...the patriarch David...therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne...therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:30,36).
More love to Thee, O Christ . . .
Let sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love, O Christ, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!
(Elizabeth Prentiss)
They say pain draws you closer to the Lord. I do know that after the pain it has sharpened the awareness of Christ. Not sure it is the same.
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love, O Christ, to Thee,
More love to Thee,
More love to Thee!
(Elizabeth Prentiss)
They say pain draws you closer to the Lord. I do know that after the pain it has sharpened the awareness of Christ. Not sure it is the same.
3rd world economy. . .
A couple years ago, Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint quoted a Christian Chinese worker in a factory that made Christmas lights. The question was, should American Christians be buying product made in such a sweatshop condition.
The answer? Please do. This is the only way we have of making money to support ourselves.
(Read article and comments to decide if you should shop at Wal-Mart.)
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Following in our footsteps
The answer? Please do. This is the only way we have of making money to support ourselves.
(Read article and comments to decide if you should shop at Wal-Mart.)
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Following in our footsteps
Thursday, October 14, 2010
They are without excuse...
Ask Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, if having cancer has changed his view of religion or God. "If anything, my contempt for the false consolation of religion has increased since I became aware that I probably don't have very long to live" he replies.
Hitchens Brothers Agree To Disagree Over God : NPR
"For the invisible things of Him (God) from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
The Bible puts it pretty straight. Mr. Hitchens is without excuse in whatever is blocking the simple message of God's love to the world found in Jesus Christ. Could it be pride?
"Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom" (Proverbs 13:10).
Hitchens Brothers Agree To Disagree Over God : NPR
"For the invisible things of Him (God) from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
The Bible puts it pretty straight. Mr. Hitchens is without excuse in whatever is blocking the simple message of God's love to the world found in Jesus Christ. Could it be pride?
"Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom" (Proverbs 13:10).
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Not by might. . .
"This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6b).
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sin leaves only a seared conscience. . .
We talk about God’s love as if it can be separated from His hatred of sin.
We forget that God despises sin because He loves us. That sin is the off-mark path, the self-begetting delusion, the alluring mirage across burning sand that leaves us where there is no water, no respite, only a seared conscience.
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Away from love
We forget that God despises sin because He loves us. That sin is the off-mark path, the self-begetting delusion, the alluring mirage across burning sand that leaves us where there is no water, no respite, only a seared conscience.
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Away from love
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Run with horses?
“If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5)
And like Jesus said, if we cannot be trusted with small things, who will trust us with the real riches (Luke 16:11)? And if we do not stand firm in our faith in a day of relative ease, how will we stand at all when the fiery testing comes (Isaiah 7:9)?
The signs all around us are worrisome. I wonder what kind of world my grandson will grow up in. I hope he will be ready to run with horses. - Andrea Seu
WORLDmag.com If you have raced with men
And like Jesus said, if we cannot be trusted with small things, who will trust us with the real riches (Luke 16:11)? And if we do not stand firm in our faith in a day of relative ease, how will we stand at all when the fiery testing comes (Isaiah 7:9)?
The signs all around us are worrisome. I wonder what kind of world my grandson will grow up in. I hope he will be ready to run with horses. - Andrea Seu
WORLDmag.com If you have raced with men
Saturday, October 2, 2010
God of hope. . .
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:13 King James Version
Friday, October 1, 2010
A bit of Herman ----- Melville, that is . . .
"The truest of all men was the Man of Sorrows"
Something Wonderful: A Rose Among Thorns @ AMERICAN DIGEST
Something Wonderful: A Rose Among Thorns @ AMERICAN DIGEST
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Past, present, future . . .
Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future is contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is redeemable. --Eliot
This is what Jesus Christ does in a life. He works back through our past and forgives and heals. He is in our present by the Holy Spirit as our Helper and effectively works in our daily lives conforming us to His very image. He is in our future with eternal glory.
Oh What A Savior!
Once I was straying in sin's dark valley,
No hope within could I see,
I searched thru heaven and found a Savior,
To save a poor lost soul like me.
Chorus:
Oh what a Savior! Oh Hallelujah!
His heart was broken on Calvary,
His hands were nail scared: His side was driven,
He gave his life blood for you and me.
He left the Father, with all His riches,
With calmness sweet and serene,
Came down from heaven and gave His life blood
To make the vilest sinner clean.
Copyright 1948 By Marvin P. Dalton
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future is contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is redeemable. --Eliot
This is what Jesus Christ does in a life. He works back through our past and forgives and heals. He is in our present by the Holy Spirit as our Helper and effectively works in our daily lives conforming us to His very image. He is in our future with eternal glory.
Oh What A Savior!
Once I was straying in sin's dark valley,
No hope within could I see,
I searched thru heaven and found a Savior,
To save a poor lost soul like me.
Chorus:
Oh what a Savior! Oh Hallelujah!
His heart was broken on Calvary,
His hands were nail scared: His side was driven,
He gave his life blood for you and me.
He left the Father, with all His riches,
With calmness sweet and serene,
Came down from heaven and gave His life blood
To make the vilest sinner clean.
Copyright 1948 By Marvin P. Dalton
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Creator's Moon
Tonight's rare Super Harvest Moon courtesy of our never edited-out Creator.
(from Lucianne.com)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
If God is God then worship Him...
ValiantForTruth Wrote:
If God is God then worship Him, but if baal is god then worship him. The baal of our culture is radical naturalism that has finally arrived at a doctrine of creation without a Creator. This is no less idolatry than bowing down to wooden idols.
But I must add that like the baal worship of old, this is no joke. Generations of young people are being sacrificed to appease this false god with its empty promises. The culture is disintegrating into lawlessness and relativism because the god of autonomous reason and neo-science says that the self-revealed God of the Bible is nothing but myth. But Christ says that He is the truth, and the empty tomb testifies to the truthfulness of His words.
When men suppress the truth, they are without excuse. They bring upon themselves the same wrath that has destroyed the cultures that have gone before us who rejected their heritage in Biblical Theology.
Townhall - Atheism: What a Joke
If God is God then worship Him, but if baal is god then worship him. The baal of our culture is radical naturalism that has finally arrived at a doctrine of creation without a Creator. This is no less idolatry than bowing down to wooden idols.
But I must add that like the baal worship of old, this is no joke. Generations of young people are being sacrificed to appease this false god with its empty promises. The culture is disintegrating into lawlessness and relativism because the god of autonomous reason and neo-science says that the self-revealed God of the Bible is nothing but myth. But Christ says that He is the truth, and the empty tomb testifies to the truthfulness of His words.
When men suppress the truth, they are without excuse. They bring upon themselves the same wrath that has destroyed the cultures that have gone before us who rejected their heritage in Biblical Theology.
Townhall - Atheism: What a Joke
Monday, September 20, 2010
Winning is not everything?
"I'm supposed to be a different person now that I've won a slam. Everyone says so. But I don't feel that Wimbledon has changed me. I feel, in fact, as if I've been let in on a dirty little secret: winning changes nothing.
Now that I've won a slam, I know something that very few people on earth are permitted to know. A win doesn't feel as good as a loss feels bad, and the good feeling doesn't last as long as the bad. Not even close. -Andre Agassi,
L. The things of this world do not bring lasting happiness. I have felt exactly what Mr. Agassi says about winning. A loss holds a much greater sway upon the soul than a win. Perhaps it is the same thing as taking for granted a beautiful day with people you love with good food...versus a day of pain and trouble which makes you cry out to God ---
Now that I've won a slam, I know something that very few people on earth are permitted to know. A win doesn't feel as good as a loss feels bad, and the good feeling doesn't last as long as the bad. Not even close. -Andre Agassi,
L. The things of this world do not bring lasting happiness. I have felt exactly what Mr. Agassi says about winning. A loss holds a much greater sway upon the soul than a win. Perhaps it is the same thing as taking for granted a beautiful day with people you love with good food...versus a day of pain and trouble which makes you cry out to God ---
How long wilt Thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Absentee . . .
Momma's first birthday in heaven.
I am longing to be sitting with you enjoying conversation with a really "good" cup of coffee.
Happy 93rd Birthday, Mother.
I am longing to be sitting with you enjoying conversation with a really "good" cup of coffee.
Happy 93rd Birthday, Mother.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Deadly War against DDT
The Deadly War against DDT - Article - National Review Online
Millions of lives lost and so many more suffering. Surely accountability to those who have allowed this to happen must be revealed. I do know that justice will one day be realized with the coming of the Just Judge, Jesus Christ.
"(God) hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead: (Acts 17:31).
In the interim, we weep.
Millions of lives lost and so many more suffering. Surely accountability to those who have allowed this to happen must be revealed. I do know that justice will one day be realized with the coming of the Just Judge, Jesus Christ.
"(God) hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead: (Acts 17:31).
In the interim, we weep.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
CALVARY'S LOVE
"If I am content to heal a hurt slightly, saying "Peace, peace," where is no peace; if I forget the poignant word "Let love be without dissimulation" and blunt the edge of truth, speaking not right things but smooth things, then I know nothing of Calvary love." - Amy Carmichael, Missionary to India
AND YET
Have I been so long time with thee
And yet hast thou not known Me?
Blessed Master, I have know Thee
On the roads of Galilee.
Have I been so long time with thee
On the roads of Galilee:
Yet, my child, hast thou not known Me
When I walked upon the sea?
Blessed Master, I have known Thee
On the roads and on the sea.
Therefore then hast thou not known Me
Broken in Gethsemane?
I would have thee follow, know Me
Thorn-crowned, nailed upon the Tree.
Canst thou follow, wilt thou know Me
All the way to Calvary?
(Amy Carmichael)
AND YET
Have I been so long time with thee
And yet hast thou not known Me?
Blessed Master, I have know Thee
On the roads of Galilee.
Have I been so long time with thee
On the roads of Galilee:
Yet, my child, hast thou not known Me
When I walked upon the sea?
Blessed Master, I have known Thee
On the roads and on the sea.
Therefore then hast thou not known Me
Broken in Gethsemane?
I would have thee follow, know Me
Thorn-crowned, nailed upon the Tree.
Canst thou follow, wilt thou know Me
All the way to Calvary?
(Amy Carmichael)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Do something!
"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." -Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
What's wrong with the world? I am.
WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Sultans of snoot
The reason Glenn Beck resonates with many evangelicals is that he’s using Alcoholics Anonymous language, which derives from Christian language. We should recognize the tribute he is paying to biblical anthropology but we should not be taken in by Beck’s theology. For example, Christians know that we become righteous by imputation (Christ’s obedience in God’s sight replacing our failure), but Mormons trust in infusion (we become godlike).
For a quick look at some Mormon concepts, see 2002 article from WORLD.
Beckites need to be careful not to think of themselves as virtuous and their opponents as vicious. The Christian understanding is different: All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God.
When The Times of London newspaper nearly a century ago invited G.K. Chesterton and several other eminent writers to contribute essays on the theme, “What’s Wrong With the World,” Chesterton’s response was brief, profound, and biblically correct: “Dear Sirs, I am.”
The reason Glenn Beck resonates with many evangelicals is that he’s using Alcoholics Anonymous language, which derives from Christian language. We should recognize the tribute he is paying to biblical anthropology but we should not be taken in by Beck’s theology. For example, Christians know that we become righteous by imputation (Christ’s obedience in God’s sight replacing our failure), but Mormons trust in infusion (we become godlike).
For a quick look at some Mormon concepts, see 2002 article from WORLD.
Beckites need to be careful not to think of themselves as virtuous and their opponents as vicious. The Christian understanding is different: All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God.
When The Times of London newspaper nearly a century ago invited G.K. Chesterton and several other eminent writers to contribute essays on the theme, “What’s Wrong With the World,” Chesterton’s response was brief, profound, and biblically correct: “Dear Sirs, I am.”
Good intentions. . . Good enuf?
Townhall - When Good People Do Bad Things
Good intentions cause most of the world's great evils.
If you really want good to prevail, the key is wisdom, not the heart.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).
The quote below from Eliot seems to have truth in it too, but it is a lot more sinister about the human intention or rather no intention, just grandiosity of self.
"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them" - T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965)
Which do you think is more true of the human condition?
Good intentions cause most of the world's great evils.
If you really want good to prevail, the key is wisdom, not the heart.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).
The quote below from Eliot seems to have truth in it too, but it is a lot more sinister about the human intention or rather no intention, just grandiosity of self.
"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them" - T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965)
Which do you think is more true of the human condition?
Froth on, Fool. . .
Again,especially for Stephen Hawking:
"Froth On, Fool!"
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1).
In The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity. (I want to know where gravity came from? -Linda)
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise; just to know, "Thus saith the LORD."
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking, life and rest, and joy and peace.
(- Louisa Stead)
My heart goes out to Mr. Hawking, for not knowing the lovely Lord Jesus. What a Friend, what a Savior He is to me. . .and could be to him. Mr. Hawking has been in a wheelchair for many years and cannot speak except for mechanical intervention. Let's pray for him, that he would come to a knowledge of the truth found in the Lord Jesus Christ, before it is eternally to late.
"Froth On, Fool!"
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1).
In The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity. (I want to know where gravity came from? -Linda)
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise; just to know, "Thus saith the LORD."
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking, life and rest, and joy and peace.
(- Louisa Stead)
My heart goes out to Mr. Hawking, for not knowing the lovely Lord Jesus. What a Friend, what a Savior He is to me. . .and could be to him. Mr. Hawking has been in a wheelchair for many years and cannot speak except for mechanical intervention. Let's pray for him, that he would come to a knowledge of the truth found in the Lord Jesus Christ, before it is eternally to late.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
A firm foundation . . .
Faith in rescuing » GetReligion
They sang the hymn, How Firm a Foundation:
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand
They sang the hymn, How Firm a Foundation:
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Truth does exist. . .then where?
"Only scientists and engineers today embrace what the philosophers and literists of yore did: that truth exists independent of humanity and that it is cognizable by reason, discoverable by rationalist inquiry and individuals and society alike are better for discerning it."
(Quote from reader's response to a university professor of humanities moonbat*. *Moonbat = the term references the moon much in the same way that "lunatic" refers to the insanity-causing powers of the full moon (luna = moon). )
Objective truth can be found in a KJV Bible. If not, we'd all be better off going fishing, than spend any time with it, or as our Apostle to the Gentiles said about the truth of Christ's resurrection,
"...if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. But now IS Christ risen from the dead...since by man came death (Adam) by man (Jesus Christ) came also the resurrection of the dead" (I Corinthians 15:17,20,21).
And that is some objective truth to think about.
(Quote from reader's response to a university professor of humanities moonbat*. *Moonbat = the term references the moon much in the same way that "lunatic" refers to the insanity-causing powers of the full moon (luna = moon). )
Objective truth can be found in a KJV Bible. If not, we'd all be better off going fishing, than spend any time with it, or as our Apostle to the Gentiles said about the truth of Christ's resurrection,
"...if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. But now IS Christ risen from the dead...since by man came death (Adam) by man (Jesus Christ) came also the resurrection of the dead" (I Corinthians 15:17,20,21).
And that is some objective truth to think about.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Envy
Envy – one of the seven deadly for a reason.
"Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him" (Matthew 27:17-18).
"Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him" (Matthew 27:17-18).
Six feet under . . .
"Oh, how small a portion of earth will hold us when we are dead, who ambitiously seek after the whole world while we are living!"
- Philip of Macedon, king, father of Alexander the Great (382-336 BCE)
- Philip of Macedon, king, father of Alexander the Great (382-336 BCE)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Ground Zero Musk
FORGOTTEN PROPHETS: August 2010
"Since this is our country, and we make the rules, and abide by them faithfully, it is for us, not some other, to interpret our meaning. So, yes, we have and allow, and demand and tolerate, freedom of religion. But we limit it for the general welfare."
"... it is a moribund* society indeed that does not strive to preserve itself."
*moribund = "about to die," from Fr. moribund (16c.), from L. moribundus "dying," from mori "to die"
"Since this is our country, and we make the rules, and abide by them faithfully, it is for us, not some other, to interpret our meaning. So, yes, we have and allow, and demand and tolerate, freedom of religion. But we limit it for the general welfare."
"... it is a moribund* society indeed that does not strive to preserve itself."
*moribund = "about to die," from Fr. moribund (16c.), from L. moribundus "dying," from mori "to die"
Faith
Faith = Greek, pistia, credence, conviction, truth, truthfulness of God, reliance upon Christ for salvation; assurance, belief, believe, faith.
Good faith is defined as "an act of the will informed by the intellect," and any kind of faith requires submission to something higher than yourself.
In the Bible the one word, faith, is the same word used in three different ways. The context of the verse determinds the defination.
Faith - pistia:
1. the act of believing
2. that which is to believed, i.e. the doctrine as a whole
3. the faithfulness or faith of Jesus Christ.
Good faith is defined as "an act of the will informed by the intellect," and any kind of faith requires submission to something higher than yourself.
In the Bible the one word, faith, is the same word used in three different ways. The context of the verse determinds the defination.
Faith - pistia:
1. the act of believing
2. that which is to believed, i.e. the doctrine as a whole
3. the faithfulness or faith of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Unto all longsuffering with joyfulness...
Bear Claw: You've come far pilgrim.
Jeremiah Johnson: Feels like far.
Bear Claw: Were it worth the trouble?
Jeremiah Johnson: What trouble?
(Jeremiah Johnson quote posted by Vanderleun, August 22,2010.)
"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:10 - 14).
Jeremiah Johnson: Feels like far.
Bear Claw: Were it worth the trouble?
Jeremiah Johnson: What trouble?
(Jeremiah Johnson quote posted by Vanderleun, August 22,2010.)
"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:10 - 14).
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bind my wandering heart. . .
When you are engulfed in sin, you are blind. No, not blind, but with tunneled vision. You see only the object of your desire, whether it is a drink or a vengeance or a lover or perhaps something so banal as your own exaltation.
Worse, with tunnel vision comes a queer kind of clarity, a crisp focus. You believe that you now see more clearly than you ever have before. This is a deception; when all you see is a glass of whiskey, you are more apt to notice the glistening drops of water on the rim, the swirl of a cloud within the drink, the way the light strikes its surface. You imagine you see the world with some special sight, but in truth you only see that miserable drink in that dingy bar; you don’t see the sunlight or hear the crying out of the world or notice that you are only a tunnel-blind wretch in a pit, a wretch who imagines he has discovered an exception to the law of creation, which is that sin brings curses.
WORLDmag.com Community Blog Archive Bind my wandering heart
Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear--
Me, the chief of sinners spare?
I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.
There for me my Saviour stands,
Holding forth His wounded hands;
God is love! I know, I feel,
Jesus weeps and loves me still.
(Charles Wesley, Tune: Aletta, William B. Bradbury)
Worse, with tunnel vision comes a queer kind of clarity, a crisp focus. You believe that you now see more clearly than you ever have before. This is a deception; when all you see is a glass of whiskey, you are more apt to notice the glistening drops of water on the rim, the swirl of a cloud within the drink, the way the light strikes its surface. You imagine you see the world with some special sight, but in truth you only see that miserable drink in that dingy bar; you don’t see the sunlight or hear the crying out of the world or notice that you are only a tunnel-blind wretch in a pit, a wretch who imagines he has discovered an exception to the law of creation, which is that sin brings curses.
WORLDmag.com Community Blog Archive Bind my wandering heart
Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear--
Me, the chief of sinners spare?
I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.
There for me my Saviour stands,
Holding forth His wounded hands;
God is love! I know, I feel,
Jesus weeps and loves me still.
(Charles Wesley, Tune: Aletta, William B. Bradbury)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Moon and Mars
Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky Friday, August 27th. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
L. - Evidently this is not true as it's been circulating on the email circuit for many years. I didn't Snope the article as I'm a sucker for planets and stuff and who would lie about that? I guess on Friday, if you can look up about 12:30 p.m., take a look and see for yourself.
But these verses from Scripture are definitely true:
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good" (Genesis 16-18).
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Some "common sense" . . .
Works and Days » With a Wimper or a Bang — or Not at All?
"The United States is so naturally endowed, its Constitution so aptly crafted, and a majority of its population so wedded to a meritocratic, free enterprise system, that recovery, both material and psychological is within our grasp" (Victor Davis Hanson).
Just common sense...worth your while to read.
"The United States is so naturally endowed, its Constitution so aptly crafted, and a majority of its population so wedded to a meritocratic, free enterprise system, that recovery, both material and psychological is within our grasp" (Victor Davis Hanson).
Just common sense...worth your while to read.
Native Americans and the Bible
The short answer is that Native Americans originally came to North and South America as a result of the dispersion at the Tower of Babel.
Native Americans and the Bible - Answers in Genesis
Are Native Americans a lost tribe of Israel?
Evidently the Mormons try and connect native Americans with the Hebrews by language and religious practice. Not a word of this is in God's Book, the Bible. Hold on to your skepticism.
(The above article on Native Americans (A lost tribe of Israel?) does not believe the Biblical view of time and peoples generating out from the Tower of Babel (Young Earth), but put the Indian people in North America around 22,000 years ago. I personally follow the Bible on origins, so am in agreement with the timeline from Babel. But, let's read and use the "little grey cells" as Poirot would say! - Linda)
Native Americans and the Bible - Answers in Genesis
Are Native Americans a lost tribe of Israel?
Evidently the Mormons try and connect native Americans with the Hebrews by language and religious practice. Not a word of this is in God's Book, the Bible. Hold on to your skepticism.
(The above article on Native Americans (A lost tribe of Israel?) does not believe the Biblical view of time and peoples generating out from the Tower of Babel (Young Earth), but put the Indian people in North America around 22,000 years ago. I personally follow the Bible on origins, so am in agreement with the timeline from Babel. But, let's read and use the "little grey cells" as Poirot would say! - Linda)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sennacherib
Isaiah 17:1 "Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap."
A near fulfilment in Isaiah's day (B.C. 726) in Sennacherib's approaching invasion, but the chapter looks forward to the final invasion and battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:14-16).
Sennacherib - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Destruction of Sennacherib is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1815 in his Hebrew Melodies. It is based on an event described in the Bible (2 Kings 18-19) during the campaign by Assyrian king Sennacherib to capture Jerusalem. The rhythm of the poem has a feel of the beat of a galloping horse's hooves as the Assyrian rides into battle.
THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
A near fulfilment in Isaiah's day (B.C. 726) in Sennacherib's approaching invasion, but the chapter looks forward to the final invasion and battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:14-16).
Sennacherib - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Destruction of Sennacherib is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1815 in his Hebrew Melodies. It is based on an event described in the Bible (2 Kings 18-19) during the campaign by Assyrian king Sennacherib to capture Jerusalem. The rhythm of the poem has a feel of the beat of a galloping horse's hooves as the Assyrian rides into battle.
THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!
And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Soul and spirit. . .
Question: Could you please explain to me whether the soul and spirit are the same in the Bible?
Response: First Thessalonians 5:23 clearly states, "I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless."
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the "dividing asunder of soul and spirit."
There is a distinction between soul and spirit and it takes an extremely sharp (i.e., supernatural) instrument to discern it. Consequently, any attempt at human definition must fall short.
The soul is said to include the mind, the will, and the emotions. Jesus, in His humanity, said that His soul was "exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death..." (Mt 26:38. See also Job 10:1, Ps 119:28, Zec 11:8, etc.).
Some might point out that Jesus was also troubled in His spirit:
When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus committed his "spirit" into His Father's hands (Lk 23:46).
As for the human spirit, we know that at death it returns to the Lord who gave it (Eccl 12:7, 2 Cor 5:8, Phil 1:23).
Prior to the resurrection, it is "souls" that stand before God:
(From Berean Call ministry newsletter.)
Response: First Thessalonians 5:23 clearly states, "I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless."
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the "dividing asunder of soul and spirit."
There is a distinction between soul and spirit and it takes an extremely sharp (i.e., supernatural) instrument to discern it. Consequently, any attempt at human definition must fall short.
The soul is said to include the mind, the will, and the emotions. Jesus, in His humanity, said that His soul was "exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death..." (Mt 26:38. See also Job 10:1, Ps 119:28, Zec 11:8, etc.).
Some might point out that Jesus was also troubled in His spirit:
"When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" (Jn 13:21 KJV).It is clear that the spirit addresses issues beyond the mind, the will, and the emotions.
When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus committed his "spirit" into His Father's hands (Lk 23:46).
As for the human spirit, we know that at death it returns to the Lord who gave it (Eccl 12:7, 2 Cor 5:8, Phil 1:23).
Prior to the resurrection, it is "souls" that stand before God:
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God" (Rv 20:4).Although Scripture gives us no exact definitions of soul and spirit, from the verses quoted and many others, we are assured that they are different parts of the makeup of humans.
(From Berean Call ministry newsletter.)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Legacy. . .
Hot Air » How does one become a “worst American?”
2. Rachel Carson and William Ruckelshaus – The banning of DDT has led to 60 million dead worldwide.
1. The Rosenbergs – No Americans have done more to help create the Evil Empire and its sister states (including China) then the Rosenbergs. More have suffered and died as a result of this then I can comprehend.
A good name is better than precious ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1).
2. Rachel Carson and William Ruckelshaus – The banning of DDT has led to 60 million dead worldwide.
1. The Rosenbergs – No Americans have done more to help create the Evil Empire and its sister states (including China) then the Rosenbergs. More have suffered and died as a result of this then I can comprehend.
A good name is better than precious ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1).
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Quisling
Quisling (ˈkwɪzlɪŋ) — n
a traitor who aids an occupying enemy force; collaborator.
After Major Vidkun Quisling (1887--1945), Norwegian fascist politician who headed the puppet government during the German occupation of Norway in World War II; shot for treason after German defeat. First used in London Times of April 15, 1940.
Vidkun Quisling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Synonyms:
collaborator, betrayer, defector, Judas,** snake in the grass, sympathizer, turncoat.
** "And while He yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He: hold Him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took Him" (Matthew 26:47-50).
Friend = Gr. Hetaire, comrade. How touching that the Lord welcomes Judas as friend.
Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.
Words: J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910. Music: Hyfrydol, Rowland H. Prichard, 1830.
a traitor who aids an occupying enemy force; collaborator.
After Major Vidkun Quisling (1887--1945), Norwegian fascist politician who headed the puppet government during the German occupation of Norway in World War II; shot for treason after German defeat. First used in London Times of April 15, 1940.
Vidkun Quisling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Synonyms:
collaborator, betrayer, defector, Judas,** snake in the grass, sympathizer, turncoat.
** "And while He yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He: hold Him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took Him" (Matthew 26:47-50).
Friend = Gr. Hetaire, comrade. How touching that the Lord welcomes Judas as friend.
Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.
Words: J. Wilbur Chapman, 1910. Music: Hyfrydol, Rowland H. Prichard, 1830.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Elul: The Lord Is In Our Fields
Tuesday night was the first night of the Hebrew month of Elul. In this month - the King is in the field. Anyone can approach him. Grace, and absolution are easy for those who draw near - who return.
The month is special in preparation for the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets, September 9) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, September 18). See Leviticus 23.
When Moses ascended Mount Sinai for forty days to receive the Ten Commandments, G-d’s Law, the Hebrews were fearful he would not return and created a Golden Calf to worship. When Moses descended, in anger he smashed the tablets. G-d instructed Moses to again climb Mount Sinai to receive a replacement. Forty days later, during which time Moses asked G-d to forgive the Hebrews’ sin he was instructed that the Israelites repent of their weakness and faithfully observe certain holy days.
The first day of Elul is the second time Moses went up on Mount Sinai, and 40-days later, when Moses returns, Yom Kippur, is when our fate is sealed based upon our acts. We search ourselves for our failings, commit to cease them, sincerely apologize to those we’ve harmed, and create new ways of behavior. The process is called Teshuvah, or return. Elul: The Lord Is In Our Fields - Maggie's Farm
The above post is from Maggie's Farm and from a Jewish religious man. It is interesting to me to see the modern use of these feasts.
A Christian would interpret these verses and these feasts as involving Israel in the future. In taking the contract of the Law, we would say that Israel gave up grace for law. What, under law, was conditional, is under grace, freely given to every believer. Some verses to read: Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 4:1-3; 3:6-25.
Moon touch the earth?
Just amazed to see how things "work out" with relationships gone sour. Like my Mom said, "I wouldn't be surprised to see the moon come down and touch the earth." What a Great God we have! - Lois Greenlund
Lois is my sister...this is from a post on FaceBook after a bad day was replaced with a good day. God shows up and He is effectively working in those who believe (I Thessalonians 2:13), through His Word.
Mother's walk with this God produced great faith...God could do the impossible. It wouldn't surprise her. How about you?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Adios, Gray Lady
"Perhaps one picks up all newspapers in anticipation and puts them down in disappointment. But the New York Times, at no extra charge, also leaves one feeling one lives in immitigably dreary times, and it does so daily. I don’t need it. Cancel my subscription, please. Joseph Epstein" Adios, Gray Lady
I feel this about the newsgathers also...where is the important news?
I am so thankful for our young Pastor, who studies God's Word, and gives us some "real" stuff that is very GOOD NEWS to this sad, dreary world and its inhabitants. (You can hear Pastor Bryan on Grace Life Bible Church web site on right side of this page.)
P.S. Joe Epstein is always worth reading, and if he is off the NYT...well, not good news for them.
I feel this about the newsgathers also...where is the important news?
I am so thankful for our young Pastor, who studies God's Word, and gives us some "real" stuff that is very GOOD NEWS to this sad, dreary world and its inhabitants. (You can hear Pastor Bryan on Grace Life Bible Church web site on right side of this page.)
P.S. Joe Epstein is always worth reading, and if he is off the NYT...well, not good news for them.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Doctors - A "dead parrot" profession?
The Doctor Will See You Now – Or Else! | The Doctor Is In
In Monty Python terms your profession is (was) much like the parrot:
‘E’s not pinin’! ‘E’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! ‘E’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushing up the daisies! ‘Is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT! : )
Let's hope not...my aches and pains are only increasing with increasing age! And all those medical insurance premiums that we paid for through the years are finally going to be needed...hopefully the Doctor will be in.
In Monty Python terms your profession is (was) much like the parrot:
‘E’s not pinin’! ‘E’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! ‘E’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushing up the daisies! ‘Is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT! : )
Let's hope not...my aches and pains are only increasing with increasing age! And all those medical insurance premiums that we paid for through the years are finally going to be needed...hopefully the Doctor will be in.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
What remains. . . death of a child
What no one tells you is that in the months and years to come, people will forget, but you will not. Something in you has died as well, and it awaits resurrection with your child’s body. You will carry this hole in you all your days, and there are no words or heavenly equations to make it good, not so long as you breathe while your child does not.
WORLDmag.com Community What remains
Our first grandchild was stillborn. We do carry him with us every day...wondering what he would be doing...five years ago already. Our last breath will be with the expectation of seeing Jack. That's just the way it is.
WORLDmag.com Community What remains
Our first grandchild was stillborn. We do carry him with us every day...wondering what he would be doing...five years ago already. Our last breath will be with the expectation of seeing Jack. That's just the way it is.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Behavior . . .
The best predictor of behavior is past behavior.
Oh, oh! It seems to imply that one cannot change very easily. Our natural default in life is to our flesh nature, i.e. self. Scripture says to "reckon" ourselves dead to the flesh and "alive" unto the Spirit. It takes a conscious commitment to "reckon," doesn't it?
reck·on
–verb (used with object)
1. to count, compute, or calculate
2. to esteem or consider
3. to think or suppose
To suppose one can control our natural default for a higher law, one that supersedes the lower. In Christ, we can.
Oh, oh! It seems to imply that one cannot change very easily. Our natural default in life is to our flesh nature, i.e. self. Scripture says to "reckon" ourselves dead to the flesh and "alive" unto the Spirit. It takes a conscious commitment to "reckon," doesn't it?
reck·on
–verb (used with object)
1. to count, compute, or calculate
2. to esteem or consider
3. to think or suppose
To suppose one can control our natural default for a higher law, one that supersedes the lower. In Christ, we can.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The sun is waking up. . .
The sun's surface erupted early Sunday, blasting tons of plasma into space -- and right at the Earth. Astonishing new pictures from NASA show the giant flares and clouds of ionized gas erupting from the star.
Monday, August 2, 2010
The "garish sun" . . .
MUSING…within our measure. 2 Cor. 10:13; Eph. 4:13
(Written for The Grace Messenger, August 2000.)
Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night,
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
- Juliet, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Hide me from the day’s garish eye. - John Milton
These are the only two reference to “garish” in the Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 12th Edition. The word “garish” has intrigued me since friend Karlyn and I sang the song, Lead, Kindly Light many years ago. The second verse says:
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path;
but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will.
Remember not past years!
The “garish sun” is in full sway in the August circuit of the heavenly spheres. Psalm 19:6, “…the sun…his going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”
August is the crown of the summer. Its name is from the Latin augustus, root of augeo, meaning of awe, impressing awe, magnificent, inspiring reverence.
In thinking of august reverence, Jesus speaks a parable in Matthew 21 concerning a vineyard. The householder of the vineyard goes away after giving the vineyard to a keeper, and in time the householder sends servants to collect the fruit, but the keepers beat, kill and stone the servants. The householder then sends his own son saying, “They will reverence my son.” They did not reverence the son but “caught him and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.” Jesus indicted those wicked keepers of the vineyard in verse 44 with these words, “…whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” The interpretation of the parable is that God the Father is the householder, Jesus Christ is the Son and the “Stone,” that either, by a broken and contrite heart you will acknowledge, or you will face Him as a "grinding Stone".
Jesus Christ will come back to earth one day. In the Book of Revelation there is a picture of this coming: “…every man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:16, 17).
Oh, the August sun can be garish and relentless. We seek relief from its heat knowing that soon the circuit will bring on cooler days and nights. But when it is our day to stand before Jesus Christ, the “judge of all the earth,” as everyone must one day, there will be no way to assuage the pitiful condition revealed under the heat of His gaze. It would be our worst nightmare if not for our standing “in Christ." In Christ, robed in His perfect righteousness, we can stand, not condemned, but delivered “from the wrath to come” ( I Thess l:10).
Are you “in Christ?” If you put your trust in Him alone, not in a church, not in a sacrament, not in any good work you have done, but Christ alone because of what He did on the cross for you, He will freely forgive you and welcome you and clothe you in His righteousness. Why stand condemned with the garish, wicked world when you can stand “in Christ” in His awesome glory? Why not trust Him now—it will truly be an awesome August for you.
CHANGE OF RAIMENT
Lord Jesus, all my sin and guilt
Love laid of old on Thee;
Thy love the cross and sorrow willed,
Love underserved by me.
The victory over death and hell
Thou, Lord, for me didst win;
And Thou hast nailed upon Thy Cross
All, all my sin.
Enfolded, O my Lord, in Thee,
And hid in Thee, I rest,
Enwrapped in Christ’s own purity,
Secure upon Thy breast.
Had I an angel’s raiment fair
With heavenly gems unpriced,
That glorious garb I would not wear:
My robe is Christ.
- Gerhardt Tersteegen
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
When the mist is in the gloamin'
"Gloaming" invokes such a magical time of day. A time between light and dark, dark and light. Old English from glom "twilight," related to glowan "to glow," hence "glow of sunrise or sunset." Preserved in Scotland and reintroduced by Robert Burns and other Scottish writers after 1785.
“The Heather On the Hill” song from the musical Brigadoon
Tommy:
Can't we two go walkin' together, out beyond the valley of trees?
Out where there's a hillside of heather, curtsyin' gently in the breeze.
That's what I'd like to do: see the heather--but with you.
The mist of May is in the gloamin', and all the clouds are holdin' still.
So take my hand and let's go roamin' through the heather on the hill.
The mornin' dew is blinkin' yonder. There's lazy music in the rill,
And all I want to do is wander through the heather on the hill.
There may be other days as rich and rare.
There may be other springs as full and fair.
But they won't be the same--they'll come and go, For this I know:
That when the mist is in the gloamin', and all the clouds are holdin' still,
If you're not there I won't go roamin' through the heather on the hill,
The heather on the hill.
Brigadoon is a lovely musical. The reviewer says -- When the hectic pace of the modern world threatens to overtake you, consider a brief vacation in the highlands of Scotland...and as one character says, "There must be an awful lot of folk searching for a Brigadoon"--Amazon.com: Brigadoon: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse…
Ah, but consider what the Lord Jesus promises, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16.33). Better than a Brigadoon...this is for eternity.
Conscience
"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions, but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."- Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird
Amazon.com: To Kill a Mockingbird
"For there is no respect of persons with God...For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also being witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another:" (Romans 2:11, 14-15).
Monday, July 26, 2010
Just keep swimming. . .
Abraham Lincoln told this story:
It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!
Finding Nemo said it simpler. “Just keep swimming."
Big Hollywood - What I Learned From ‘Finding Nemo’
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13).
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Afraid of the light. . .
“We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Plato
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Corinthians 4:3,4).
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Corinthians 4:3,4).
Friday, July 23, 2010
Whittaker Chambers review
"Understanding that happiness is not a sufficient purpose of his existence, man recognizes that responsibility for himself and those he loves is the real challenge… "
Whittaker Chambers, God, and Glenn Beck The Daily Caller
A comment from "Liberty for All" on the above article:
But in serving others, don’t we try and make them happy? “Here’s some food and shelter, just don’t enjoy it!” Sounds a little confusing. Calvinism? I prefer Camus’ “Myth of Sysiphus” for inspiration. Keep pushing that rock up the hill, and it’s okay to smile on a job well done, even as it rolls back down. (Obviously Liberty does not understand the tenets of God's Grace very well. I believe that Christians are the only ones who can possibly be happy even in this present evil age, knowing and having hope, in Christ. After all, He said a number of times to us...Be of good cheer, based on the victory He won over sin, flesh and the devil. Alleluia!)
Whittaker Chamber's "Witness" is one of my top reads. I can't think of a book that exceeds his in thought, courage and practice. Also scroll down and find my posting on Sysiphus (April 25th). Existentialism settles for the mundane as you can discern by Liberty for All comment - Sysiphus and Camus may express a way of looking at life, but what a downer! Only Christianity holds out a glorious future and "good hope through grace" for the day.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Looney Tunes
Of course, you realize, this means war! - Bugs B
Grand-daughter and I are into my Looney Tune Golden Collection DVD. We love Tweedy, Bugs, Porky, Sylvester and those little mice. I laugh out loud when she is watching with me. Grand kids are grand companions!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tisha B'Av
Roman General Titus destruction of Jerusalem 70 A.D. relief from Arch of TriumphTisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av (9th of Av) Gregorian calendar: Jewish Year 5770: sunset July 19, 2010 - nightfall July 20, 2010
Tisha B'Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, many of which have occurred on the ninth of Av.
Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.; the second by the Romans in 70 A.D.).
In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.
(I'm going to read Lamentations and cry with Jeremiah at the ruin of sin that man has embraced and is embracing today. And also rejoice in the hope we only find in the LORD,
"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him" (Lamentations 3:22-25).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Green batteries. . .
Obama’s Michigan trip highlights misguided federal push for ‘green’ auto batteries that cost and pollute more than market-driven competitors.
grayzel
Tell me why anyone would think an electric car would be green? Where does electricity to charge the lithium battery come from? Where does the lithium come from? I just have to shake my head at all the stupidity. (Me too.)
grayzel
Tell me why anyone would think an electric car would be green? Where does electricity to charge the lithium battery come from? Where does the lithium come from? I just have to shake my head at all the stupidity. (Me too.)
That Will to Divest
"In American poetry, the contest between glut and starvation is inevitably epitomized by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Between these two, Kay Ryan would of course choose Dickinson."
That Will to Divest by Kay Ryan:
Meaning: once
You've swept
the sheIves
of spoons
and plates
you kept
for guests,
it gets harder
not to also
simplify the larder,
not to dismiss
rooms, not to
divest yourself
of all the chairs
but one, not
to test what
singleness can bear,
once you've begun.
"Kay Ryan, poet laureate of the United States. To a poet like Ryan, nothing could be more of an anathema than bigness. Open 'The Best of It'- there have been great poets devoted to glut, but Ryan belongs to the other."
(I've got the 'will to divest' and have been trying to get at it all year...just can't seem to get a 'round tuit'. Do you have one? - Linda)
That Will to Divest by Kay Ryan:
Meaning: once
You've swept
the sheIves
of spoons
and plates
you kept
for guests,
it gets harder
not to also
simplify the larder,
not to dismiss
rooms, not to
divest yourself
of all the chairs
but one, not
to test what
singleness can bear,
once you've begun.
"Kay Ryan, poet laureate of the United States. To a poet like Ryan, nothing could be more of an anathema than bigness. Open 'The Best of It'- there have been great poets devoted to glut, but Ryan belongs to the other."
(I've got the 'will to divest' and have been trying to get at it all year...just can't seem to get a 'round tuit'. Do you have one? - Linda)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . .
"...I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" ( Philippians 3:8).
Friday, July 16, 2010
Washington. . just a little shake. . .
Was that an earthquake? Yes - wtop.com
But a future Day of the Lord will involve a real shake:
"For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:...In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tips of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth" (Isaiah 2: 12, 20-21).
But a future Day of the Lord will involve a real shake:
"For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:...In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tips of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth" (Isaiah 2: 12, 20-21).
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Jekyll Island
Other attempts were made to resurrect a central bank in America but none succeeded until the creation of the Federal Reserve System at the hands of a well-documented conspiracy. “The situation we are confronted with did not happen in the last few years, but began in 1913 when a group of cunningly deceitful legislators passed the Federal Reserve Act on December 24 at 11:45 p.m., after those who were opposed went home for Christmas,” Veon noted.
“[T]here was an occasion near the close of 1910, when I was as secretive, indeed, as furtive as any conspirator. . . . I do not feel it is any exaggeration to speak of our secret expedition to Jekyll Island as the occasion of the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System . . . ,” wrote Frank A. Vanderlip, one of the men who created the Fed. He went on to become president of New York’s National City Bank, a forebear of today’s Citibank.
Townhall - Jim Marrs - The Necessary Death of the Bank of the United States - Full Article
It is the best course to acknowledge the One (God Almighty - "El Shaddai") who owns "the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). And remember to:
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (I Timothy 6:17).
“[T]here was an occasion near the close of 1910, when I was as secretive, indeed, as furtive as any conspirator. . . . I do not feel it is any exaggeration to speak of our secret expedition to Jekyll Island as the occasion of the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System . . . ,” wrote Frank A. Vanderlip, one of the men who created the Fed. He went on to become president of New York’s National City Bank, a forebear of today’s Citibank.
Townhall - Jim Marrs - The Necessary Death of the Bank of the United States - Full Article
It is the best course to acknowledge the One (God Almighty - "El Shaddai") who owns "the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). And remember to:
"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (I Timothy 6:17).
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Isaiah 14:11,12
Doris Augustsson: Satan som ville sätta sig över Gud! Lusifer var musiker i himlen, men blev nerkastad till jorden tillsammans med sina änglar.
Translation from Bing: Satan who wanted to sit over God! Lusifer was a musician in the sky, but became nerkastad to earth together with his angels.
(It rejoices my heart to see some of the people of my ancestral home reading and understanding God's Word. I'll meet them in heaven one day. - Linda)
Translation from Bing: Satan who wanted to sit over God! Lusifer was a musician in the sky, but became nerkastad to earth together with his angels.
(It rejoices my heart to see some of the people of my ancestral home reading and understanding God's Word. I'll meet them in heaven one day. - Linda)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Eclipse
Pacific July 11, 2010 Total Solar Eclipse.
"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Genesis 1:14).
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
NPR - National Public Radio
The usual NPR news piece consists of a leftie reporter interviewing a leftie politician. Sometimes another leftie will be allowed to chip in with the observation that the other two lefties aren't far enough left. When NPR's well of leftism runs dry in the wee hours, local stations often retransmit leftism from the BBC. A real laugh riot, and we're forced to pay for every glorious second of it
Townhall - National Public Radio: Choosing Sides and Controlling the Terms Of the Debate With Our Money
"And He (Jesus) spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? (Luke 6:39).
Townhall - National Public Radio: Choosing Sides and Controlling the Terms Of the Debate With Our Money
"And He (Jesus) spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? (Luke 6:39).
Monday, July 5, 2010
Plutocracy
MEANING: noun,
1. Government by the wealthy.
2. A country or state governed by the wealthy people.
3. Wealthy ruling class.
ETYMOLOGY:From pluto- (wealth) + -cracy (rule). From Greek ploutokratia,(wealth, overflowing riches).
Seems that's where Socialism ends. Keep everyone poor except the few at the top while they are rich, rich, rich, and getting richer.
A must read is Orwell's "Animal Farm" where the animals start out equal but it all to soon ends with the pigs revising the rules because: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Amazon.com: Animal Farm (9781412811903): George Orwell: Books
Don't envy the rich of this world. Read Psalm 73 and tremble for them.
"...these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches...Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!" (Psalm 73: 12, 18-19).
God instructs us, who live in the dispensation of His grace, to pray for men (mankind) that they may be saved, indeed pray for ALL people is His will, "God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4). Rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, man or women, ALL to be saved, and in this age of Grace it is an open invitation to ALL based upon the atonement of the cross of Jesus Christ for ALL. Good news!
1. Government by the wealthy.
2. A country or state governed by the wealthy people.
3. Wealthy ruling class.
ETYMOLOGY:From pluto- (wealth) + -cracy (rule). From Greek ploutokratia,(wealth, overflowing riches).
Seems that's where Socialism ends. Keep everyone poor except the few at the top while they are rich, rich, rich, and getting richer.
A must read is Orwell's "Animal Farm" where the animals start out equal but it all to soon ends with the pigs revising the rules because: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Amazon.com: Animal Farm (9781412811903): George Orwell: Books
Don't envy the rich of this world. Read Psalm 73 and tremble for them.
"...these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches...Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!" (Psalm 73: 12, 18-19).
God instructs us, who live in the dispensation of His grace, to pray for men (mankind) that they may be saved, indeed pray for ALL people is His will, "God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:4). Rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, man or women, ALL to be saved, and in this age of Grace it is an open invitation to ALL based upon the atonement of the cross of Jesus Christ for ALL. Good news!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The cross liberates the soul
In New York Harbor stands a lady,
With a torch raised to the sky;
And all who see her know she stands for
Liberty for you and me.
I'm so proud to be called an American,
To be named with the brave and the free;
I will honor our flag and our trust in God,
And the Statue of Liberty.
On lonely Golgotha stood a cross,
With my Lord raised to the sky;
And all who kneel there live forever
As all the saved can testify.
I'm so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the ransomed and whole;
As the statue liberates the citizen,
So the cross liberates the soul.
Oh the cross is my Statue of Liberty,
It was there that my soul was set free;
Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross
Is my Statue of Liberty!
© Statue of Liberty - Words & Music by Neil Enloe
YouTube - Ivan Parker - Statue of Liberty
With a torch raised to the sky;
And all who see her know she stands for
Liberty for you and me.
I'm so proud to be called an American,
To be named with the brave and the free;
I will honor our flag and our trust in God,
And the Statue of Liberty.
On lonely Golgotha stood a cross,
With my Lord raised to the sky;
And all who kneel there live forever
As all the saved can testify.
I'm so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the ransomed and whole;
As the statue liberates the citizen,
So the cross liberates the soul.
Oh the cross is my Statue of Liberty,
It was there that my soul was set free;
Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross
Is my Statue of Liberty!
© Statue of Liberty - Words & Music by Neil Enloe
YouTube - Ivan Parker - Statue of Liberty
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The trodden down Christ. . .
The Cross proclaims that God is love, a love that conquers by the shedding of Christ's own precious blood for sinners:
"For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. " (II Corinthians 13:4).
"...the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men"(I Corinthians 1:25).
Who but an omniscient God would have devised such a plan? "Contradiction of sinners against Himself"...thank you, Jesus.
In weakness like defeat"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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:2,3).
He won the victor's crown;
Trod all His foes beneath His feet
by being trodden down.
"For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. " (II Corinthians 13:4).
"...the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men"(I Corinthians 1:25).
Who but an omniscient God would have devised such a plan? "Contradiction of sinners against Himself"...thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Pagan vanities. . .Hammer of Zeus
Greece lightning: Ancient Parthenon lit from above as storm breaks over Athens | Mail Online
Jupiter = Latin for Gr. Zeus, the national god of the Greeks. Mercurius = Gr. Hermes.
"And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker....which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people crying out. and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein" (Acts 14:12, 14, 15).
Sunday, June 27, 2010
More Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers: "Do you have a room?" "Room" = "zimmer" in German. "Does your dog bite?" Just a bit of help with the dialogue.
Does your dog bite? - Maggie's Farm#comments
A must read about dogs is James Thurber's short story, "The Dog That Bit People" -- be prepared to laugh. It is also a superb piece of writing.
Does your dog bite? - Maggie's Farm#comments
A must read about dogs is James Thurber's short story, "The Dog That Bit People" -- be prepared to laugh. It is also a superb piece of writing.
Psalm 93
"The LORD reigneth, He is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith He hath girded Himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: Thou art from everlasting" (Psalm 93:1-2).
The LORD has come to begin His glorious reign over the earth. It is Jehovah the Son. He has a garment of majesty...a visible glory. "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord" (Hab. 2:14).
All this is future, but what a glorious future it will be!
The LORD has come to begin His glorious reign over the earth. It is Jehovah the Son. He has a garment of majesty...a visible glory. "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord" (Hab. 2:14).
All this is future, but what a glorious future it will be!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Lincolnesque
Once on the road Lincoln was stopped by an old woman who informed him that he was just about the ugliest man she'd ever seen. He said, "Ma'am, I can't help my face." She replied, "No, I guess not. But you could stay home."
(Some days, me too!)
(Some days, me too!)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Chauncey Gardiner. . .
Amazon.com: Being There: Peter Sellers Oh, boy...stupid is as stupid does, somebody said -- Forest Gump wasn't it? I found the movie (Being There) agonizing--who could be that naive? And who could not see his naivete?
Peter Sellers is always a hoot to watch though, and in my mind's eye can still see his innocent, simple face as he plays Chauncey Gardiner. The movie is built on the premise that people see what they want, not necessarily on what is real.
The Bible says there is coming a man who will deceive the world. Daniel speaks of him: "And in his estate (the one destroyed in verse 20) shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceable, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries" (Daniel 11:21).
And the Apostle Paul tells us about him: "...that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
People will see what they want...but not see what is real. Let's not be deceived...keep reading the Book of Truth.
Peter Sellers is always a hoot to watch though, and in my mind's eye can still see his innocent, simple face as he plays Chauncey Gardiner. The movie is built on the premise that people see what they want, not necessarily on what is real.
The Bible says there is coming a man who will deceive the world. Daniel speaks of him: "And in his estate (the one destroyed in verse 20) shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceable, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries" (Daniel 11:21).
And the Apostle Paul tells us about him: "...that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
People will see what they want...but not see what is real. Let's not be deceived...keep reading the Book of Truth.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Disaster can be our friend...
From David Warren:
A merciful God allows us to suffer the consequences of our stupidities, including especially our moral stupidities, even in this world. It does not always seem merciful at the time. But just as nature has a way of rectifying her imbalances -- painfully, perhaps, but effectively all the same -- so human nature contains the seeds of recovery. Disaster can be our friend.
davidwarrenonline.com - NEWSPAPER COLUMNS
A merciful God allows us to suffer the consequences of our stupidities, including especially our moral stupidities, even in this world. It does not always seem merciful at the time. But just as nature has a way of rectifying her imbalances -- painfully, perhaps, but effectively all the same -- so human nature contains the seeds of recovery. Disaster can be our friend.
davidwarrenonline.com - NEWSPAPER COLUMNS
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Black Swan Theory
Black swan theory What is fragile should break early while it is still small. Nothing should ever become Too Big to Fail.
No socialisation of losses and privatisation of gains.
People who were driving a school bus blindfolded (and crashed it) should never be given a new bus.
Do not let someone making an "incentive" bonus manage a nuclear plant – or your financial risks.
Counter-balance complexity with simplicity.
Do not give children sticks of dynamite, even if they come with a warning.
Only Ponzi schemes should depend on confidence. Governments should never need to "restore confidence".
Do not give an addict more drugs if he has withdrawal pains.
Citizens should not depend on financial assets or fallible "expert" advice for their retirement.
Make an omelette with the broken eggs.
"If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." (written by Job, chapter 14:14, 1520 B.C.).
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (written by the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 59 A.D.)
Impossible? Nothing is impossible to God! Call it a Black Swan if you want, I call it Good News!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Must I not wonder?
"What good am I, if I'm like all the rest?"
What good am I, if I'm like all the rest
If I just turn away when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry
What good am I ?
What good am I if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say, if I look right through you
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin' sky
What good am I ?
What good am I while you softly weep
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try
What good am I ?
What good am I then to others and me
If I had every chance and yet still fail to see
If my hands are tied must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why and where must I have been.
What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back while you silently die
What good am I ? - Bob Dylan
"I looked on my right hand, and behold, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)
What good am I, if I'm like all the rest
If I just turn away when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry
What good am I ?
What good am I if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say, if I look right through you
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin' sky
What good am I ?
What good am I while you softly weep
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try
What good am I ?
What good am I then to others and me
If I had every chance and yet still fail to see
If my hands are tied must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why and where must I have been.
What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back while you silently die
What good am I ? - Bob Dylan
"I looked on my right hand, and behold, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)
Conservatives and Libertarians
Conservatives believe that (limited) constitutional government is essential "to secure these rights"— to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Libertarians repudiate this insight of the Founding Fathers. They oppose all government, and they repudiate the need for social cultivation of the social bond, for public authority, and of legally enforced rules. They are opposed to the Constitution and to the American heritage. Indeed, libertarians repudiate essential elements of civilization as it has historically developed everywhere. To paraphrase Lord Keynes, they "repudiate all versions of the doctrine of original sin, of there being insane and irrational springs of wickedness in most men. [They are] not aware that civilization [is] a thin and precarious crust erected by the personality and the will of a very few, and only maintained by rules and conventions skillfully put across and guilefully preserved. [They have] no respect for traditional wisdom or the restraints of custom. [They] lack reverence . . ." They are a belated offspring of the eighteenth century Enlightenment, of rationalism in its most virulent form. They believe that we can do away with the perennial tension between the individual and the group by denying the legitimacy of any social authority.
United States v. Timothy Emerson, Potowmack Institute, amicus curiae, Appendix G
Libertarians repudiate this insight of the Founding Fathers. They oppose all government, and they repudiate the need for social cultivation of the social bond, for public authority, and of legally enforced rules. They are opposed to the Constitution and to the American heritage. Indeed, libertarians repudiate essential elements of civilization as it has historically developed everywhere. To paraphrase Lord Keynes, they "repudiate all versions of the doctrine of original sin, of there being insane and irrational springs of wickedness in most men. [They are] not aware that civilization [is] a thin and precarious crust erected by the personality and the will of a very few, and only maintained by rules and conventions skillfully put across and guilefully preserved. [They have] no respect for traditional wisdom or the restraints of custom. [They] lack reverence . . ." They are a belated offspring of the eighteenth century Enlightenment, of rationalism in its most virulent form. They believe that we can do away with the perennial tension between the individual and the group by denying the legitimacy of any social authority.
United States v. Timothy Emerson, Potowmack Institute, amicus curiae, Appendix G
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Freedom...
A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule. -Michael Pollan, author, journalism professor (b. 1955)Nature was cursed in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 3:17). Blame our adversary Satan, who deceived Eve into biting that apple with the result of God's judgment causing the creation to be filled with weeds. We've been at war with the weeds ever since. And with the totalitarian rule of Satan, the 'god of this world.'
The good news is Jesus Christ defeated our adversary at the cross and we can now stand in glorious freedom. There is now an escape from the totalitarian rule of the evil one, and one future day creation will be loosed too (Romans 8:21). No more weeds! Alleluia!
So, as we wait: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). And get out that weed spray!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Exit
Alcoholism is a dark tunnel only the addict would understand. Its initial welcome is heaven itself.
The exit from the tunnel, if there is one, is filled with the hell of many cold turkeys and pitch black despair about everything.
Only God, as far as I’m concerned, can get us out of it.
If you don’t believe in God?
You’ll die from the addiction to alcohol. (- Michael Moriarty, Big Hollywood)
The exit from the tunnel, if there is one, is filled with the hell of many cold turkeys and pitch black despair about everything.
Only God, as far as I’m concerned, can get us out of it.
If you don’t believe in God?
You’ll die from the addiction to alcohol. (- Michael Moriarty, Big Hollywood)
Olivia's Peonies
Olivia's bouquet to her Amma. They are delicate scented, not heavy to make you tire of them. I think they suit Olivia well. I know they suit me.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
History Returns to Europe
Perhaps if everybody ends up about the same, regardless of effort or achievement, then life must be enjoyed mostly in the here and now. Why sacrifice for children, or put something aside for heirs, or worry over a judgment in the afterlife? The more the European Union talks about its global caring, the less likely its own citizens are to have children.
Victor Davis Hanson : History Returns to Europe - Townhall.com
Victor Davis Hanson : History Returns to Europe - Townhall.com
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Things we can't not know. . .
"...there are things we can't not know. We'd have to suppress our conscience not to know those things--and that's exactly what Romans 1 is talking about, that people may suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1: 18-19).
- from The Case For The Real Jesus by Lee Strobel, p. 238 The "Yuck Factor."
The "yuck factor" is when we don't even have to think through certain issues. We know immediately it is wrong. We'd have to suppress our conscience not to know.
- from The Case For The Real Jesus by Lee Strobel, p. 238 The "Yuck Factor."
The "yuck factor" is when we don't even have to think through certain issues. We know immediately it is wrong. We'd have to suppress our conscience not to know.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Never grow old. . .
"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them." ~ Laurence Binyon
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Memorial Day
Washington at Valley Forge
Arnold Friberg, painter of the famous work “Prayer at Valley Forge,” died last week (July 2010) at the age of 96.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Truth. . . death to the ego...kind of tickles. . .
From One Cosmos. He reads books that I would not.
A sample of Gagdad's recent musings:
...it is hopeless to defer to biology as to the nature of Life as such. A biologist knows no more about the nature of life than a watchmaker does about the nature of time.
Or something like this, from a more recent post:
Truth must be sufferered... Why is that? Because to know a truth -- i.e., genuine objectivity -- is death to the ego. But once the ego is out of the way, it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it kind of tickles.
(I've never regretted the loss of perceived truth to real truth. . . although I've never considered it to be like tickles. : ) - Linda)
A sample of Gagdad's recent musings:
...it is hopeless to defer to biology as to the nature of Life as such. A biologist knows no more about the nature of life than a watchmaker does about the nature of time.
Or something like this, from a more recent post:
Truth must be sufferered... Why is that? Because to know a truth -- i.e., genuine objectivity -- is death to the ego. But once the ego is out of the way, it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it kind of tickles.
(I've never regretted the loss of perceived truth to real truth. . . although I've never considered it to be like tickles. : ) - Linda)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Isaac and Christ
Isaac was not a little child when offered by his father, but rather he was precisely the same age as Jesus at His crucifixion. If Isaac was offered right around the time of his mother's death, he would have been about age 35½. This is supported by the fact that Sarah's death is the very next event recorded in Genesis (23:1).
Isaac is called a "lad" or "boy" in Gen 22:5 & 12, but this word (nah'-gar) is exactly the same as used of the "young men" in the same verse; it is used of Joshua in Ex 33:11 during the year of the Exodus, when he was 53 years old. Obviously, then, Isaac need not have been a child.
Isaac carried the wood of his own sacrifice (Gen 22:5), as did Jesus; He was immobilized, as was Jesus. Both actual sacrifices, of ram and Christ, were trapped by horns (Jesus on the ‘horns’ of the cross — an ancient, technical description); and both were crowned by thorns (the brambles, in the case of the ram).
Most Ancient Days: Chapter 6 -- Kings of the Nile: Egypt from Babel to Sodom
Isaac is called a "lad" or "boy" in Gen 22:5 & 12, but this word (nah'-gar) is exactly the same as used of the "young men" in the same verse; it is used of Joshua in Ex 33:11 during the year of the Exodus, when he was 53 years old. Obviously, then, Isaac need not have been a child.
Isaac carried the wood of his own sacrifice (Gen 22:5), as did Jesus; He was immobilized, as was Jesus. Both actual sacrifices, of ram and Christ, were trapped by horns (Jesus on the ‘horns’ of the cross — an ancient, technical description); and both were crowned by thorns (the brambles, in the case of the ram).
Most Ancient Days: Chapter 6 -- Kings of the Nile: Egypt from Babel to Sodom
Friday, May 21, 2010
Behavioral microchips. . .
English: I broke the glass.
French: J’ai caissez le verre.
Spanish: El vaso se cayó y se rompió. (The glass fell and broke itself).
While French and Italian form the responsible, accountable sentence as do other Indo-European languages, Spanish holds over the Arabic passive “not me!” form.
When an infant learns its mother tongue from its mother, these things get programmed into its little behavioral microchips.
Northern Europe and Northern Asia have formed us well.
(from pelaut comments on - Works and Days » Reflections on Small Town American by Victor Davis Hanson.)
Language...the Lord said to let your yes be yes and to let your no be no...and to be accountable. That's the language of what is true and what is not. You think? - Linda
French: J’ai caissez le verre.
Spanish: El vaso se cayó y se rompió. (The glass fell and broke itself).
While French and Italian form the responsible, accountable sentence as do other Indo-European languages, Spanish holds over the Arabic passive “not me!” form.
When an infant learns its mother tongue from its mother, these things get programmed into its little behavioral microchips.
Northern Europe and Northern Asia have formed us well.
(from pelaut comments on - Works and Days » Reflections on Small Town American by Victor Davis Hanson.)
Language...the Lord said to let your yes be yes and to let your no be no...and to be accountable. That's the language of what is true and what is not. You think? - Linda
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