Something better . . .

The whole perspective on trouble, on suffering, on difficulty—its meaning has been radically altered. Instead of destroying me, it’s working for me.

A renewed mind says this has come into my life, not to destroy me, but to be productive.

Not just to take it away, but to use the suffering; give some meaning to it, give me something that might let it do something for me NOW and work for me a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory. That’s talking about eternity being brighter and better because of the (current) suffering.

As opposed to something that comes and steals, it brings gain. It brings the ability for you to KNOW Him in a way you could never know Him. Trust Him in a way you could never trust Him. Grow in a way you could never grow without it.

A passage that focuses on getting people to see this reality is Romans 8:18-28:

[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.[24] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?[25] But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.[27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.[28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

(From Lisa Leland.com commenting on Pastor Jordan's study on 2 Corinthians.)

Albert...at least Felix trembled. . .

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate, 1879-1955)

Consider the Apostle Paul when speaking before Felix the governor:

"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he (Paul) reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled" - Acts 24:24-25

Israel's reality . . .

"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel!"

- Benjamin Netanyahu

Oops! Presumption does another in. . .

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist - -" -last words of General Sedgwick

John Sedgwick - Wikipedia

The Little Mars Rover That Could

Something Wonderful: The Little Mars Rover That Could @ AMERICAN DIGEST

To the rover, Spirit:

It was a big job to ask
of little gears and chips
and shiny foil.
To race alone through nothingness,
to taste the red dust
of a land no soul calls
home.

But, like the little pill bug
that entertained an earthling
with his plodding in the rain,
you rolled on.

But if you stop,
burdened by the dust
or an unseen crack
in the cosmic sidewalk,
who is there to pick you up,
dust you off,
or place you gently
under a leaf?

There will most likely never be a human's bootprint on the surface of Mars; it's now way too expensive and too dangerous for humans to spend so much time in a vacuum full of cosmic rays, and by the time we have the resources and the technology to do it safely there will be no point; robots will have long been doing a better job of exploration, far more cheaply.

But the little rover that could has shown why that is no great loss. We're there with the little guy and will be with all his successors.

Writing in pictures...

"The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pilgrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets." From James Thurber, The 13 Clocks (New York, 1957)

Let's bow our knee today. . .

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

-Philippians 2:5 - 11

Standing by what authority?

Sin is sin.

First, you have to define sin.

Then you have to reveal the authority behind the definition.

Then you have to stand by that authority as unbelievers scoff at your unscientific, reactionary, outdated, bigoted beliefs.

Israel helps Haiti

ISRAEL’S DISPROPORTIONATE RESPONSE

Because of Israel’s long history of enduring bomb and missile attacks the Israeli army (the IDF) is one of the most experienced in the world in treating mass-injuries and using specially trained sniffer dogs to locate wounded persons in the rubble.

The IDF was one of the first on the scene in Haiti last week (sending considerably more troops and doctors than, for example, Britain and France did). Hundreds, if not thousands of Haitians have already been treated (and many life-saving surgeries performed) in the IDF Medical and Rescue Field Hospital, set up in a large tent on a soccer field in Port-Au-Prince. In addition, Israeli forces have located and rescued survivors trapped in ruined buildings, including many who were injured during the collapse of the UN headquarters

Grover

October 16, 1919 - January 9, 2010

Uncle Grover has passed into eternity.

The last of the Anderson boys. Andy, some called him.

When we were children, with his stutter and laugh, he was a larger than life presence as he came from Detroit to visit us at the Linough farm in Ensign during hunting season.

Then in his later years you can still see all the fence posts and wire he put up to enclose the farm after he and Bea retired. Work, work, work...moving around on his four-wheeler.

Mother cured him of his cancer with carrot juice (she says).

He enjoyed life and had many years.

May he have entered into his eternal rest, in Christ Jesus.

Facts

Facts are stubborn things. (John Adams)

Where is the promise of His coming?

I used to expect Jesus to come and save us. Something seems to be delaying Him. (From friend at Forgotten Prophets)

"Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Peter 3:4).

"For this they willingly are ignorant of...the Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

For Jason . . .

Jimmy Piersal on how to diaper a baby:

Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.

Sweet Babe. . .

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle. - Vincent van Gogh -

Our little girl is full-term. She is comfortable and warm, the Doctor says, and not anxious to leave what she knows for what she doesn't.

Even so, the space is getting more confining every day, and the time for exit is imminent. We are waiting to see her smiles. Should be soon.

That's Greek to me. . .

Koine Greek parchment

Unless you understand Koine Greek as well as you do English, when you combine an interlinear text (done by men) and a lexicon (compiled by men) you are using your limited understanding of a foreign language as a substitute for a real translation.

I will not tell you not to learn or study Greek, but remember that there is no good reason to think the result of all this is a better translation than a thorough translation done by real scholars as is the King James translation of the Hebrew and Greek majority text.

I believe the best approach is to take the KJV (King James Version) and read it. Compare one part against another. It is a literal translation, except where a completely literal translation would be clearly wrong.

The KJV translators deliberately left clues throughout the text to indicate the original word. For instance, in the Old Testament if you see LORD in all capitals, the word in Hebrew was Jehovah. The word Lord, with just the first letter capitalized, indicates the word was translated from the Hebrew, Adonai. And God indicates the Hebrew word was Elohim.

None of this takes away the ability to look at a Greek or Hebrew word if you’re so inclined, as many Greek to English word books are available to purchase. A good one is Strong's Concordance, which I use.

Presumption. . .

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me" (Psalm 19:13).

noun = the act of presuming; assumption of something as true; an assumption, often not fully established, that is taken for granted in some piece of reasoning; unwarrantable, unbecoming, or impertinent boldness. Synonyms: audacity, effrontery, arrogance, gall.

Presumption is the lowest form of knowledge.

How do we keep from presumptuous sins?

By letting God's Word, the Bible, be our standard of truth, not our own reasoning.

Who will have all men to be . . .

"...this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (I Timothy 2:3-5).

From Matthew Henry commentary:

God bears a goodwill to all mankind. There is one God, and one only. This one God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. It concerns us to get the knowledge of the truth, because that is the way to be saved.

There is one Mediator, and that Mediator gave Himself a ransom for all. As the mercy of God extends itself to all His works, so the mediation of Christ extends to all the children of men.

We deserved to have died. Christ died for us.

He put Himself into the office of Mediator between God and man.

A mediator supposes a controversy. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God. Jesus Christ is a Mediator to bring God and man together.

(God is so good to us. And His salvation, found in Christ Jesus, so right and available to us all. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33). May we all be rejoicing in this salvation!)

The real person . . .

Beethoven

One key factor that separates man from all lower creatures: man's ability to form conceptual ideas and to express them in words and music and art! We are made in the image of God our Creator and the lover of our souls. The same cannot be said of any other living creature.

This simple fact reveals the futility of searching the world of fossils to find a "missing link" between man and lower creatures of any kind. It is equally futile to search the DNA of man and animals for a missing link. Neither the skeletal structure nor the DNA has anything to do with who the person really is.

Even if the complete skeletons and DNA of Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens, and Ludwig van Beethoven could be discovered, would they hold the key to the genius of these men? Of course not! The real person is a nonphysical being living inside the physical body. This fact is indisputable.

The Berean Call Website! thebereancall.org

Happy MMX . . .

Russians Going To Blow Up Asteroid

The asteroid, Apophis, supposedly has only a 1-in-45,000 chance of hitting Earth. But that's too close for comfort for the Russians so they're planning a mission to steer it away from us.

The US is not sure this is a good idea. All the Russians promise is that it 'won't involve nuclear explosions' and that they 'will obey the laws of physics'.

The Word of God speaks of an asteroid which will fall to the earth during the Tribulation time:

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter" (Revelation 8:10-11).

We are living in the time of God's grace where these trumpet judgments are all future, but as the Lord Jesus Christ is absent and rejected in this world, these days are called "man's day" where man is the measure of all things, and he is the fixer of all problems. It is interesting to see how far man has progressed with the mind and matter God has given him.

P.S.
As we prepare to enter a new year, may everyone reading have already taken the step of trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior, and have appropriated His death as the payment of ALL sins, past, present and future. He truly is worthy to be trusted. And then, a very Happy New Year to all.

New Year's Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve.

Ringing in 2010 we will be treated to a blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color. 'Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a 'hunter's moon' or a 'harvest moon'.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:1,3,4)

Ah, yes, what is man that God is mindful of us?

We are created in His image (Genesis 1:26) and He loves us (John 3:16).

As God is mindful of us, let us be mindful of Him in this new year.

How silently the gift is given. . .

Silent night! holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon virgin mother and Child,
Holy Infant, so tender and mild--
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!
--Silent Night

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But, in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.
--O Little Town of Bethlehem

December 21 - Solstice

The Solstice Seen from Newgrange @ AMERICAN DIGEST

Wonderful Christ

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6

The Case For Christmas

Defense and Confirmation: The Case For Christmas with Lee Strobel

Daystar

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” - Luke 18:8

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near,
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till Thy inward life impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiance Divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day. --Charles Wesley

Mother

"The dying person's spiritual vision often begins even before death," apparently because the two worlds are drawing closer together, so to speak.

It is as if the other world penetrates and infuses this one with a peculiar but distinct energy, something most people can experience when in the presence of the dying loved one.

Thank You Very Much

Thank You Very Much (Part 2) Scrooge (1970)

Weasel

"Here's looking at you, kid."

Casablanca (1942)

Quiet sun. . .

"This lack of sun spots is a genuine issue for concern."

Fences . . .

"I would like to know what I was fencing in and what I was fencing out."- Frost

The Kookaburra song. . .

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see.
Stop, Kookaburra,
Stop, Kookaburra,
Leave some there for me.

(I loved singing this song when a young girl. Don't remember where it was taught but probably in grade school where we would listen to a teaching program on the radio each week and learn new songs. Also our teacher, Mrs. Gustafson, played the piano and introduced many unusual songs. I'm sure I didn't know what the strange words meant. c. 1954ish)

The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a carnivorous kookaburra in the Kingfisher family well known for its laughing call. It is about 18 in. in length and is found throughout eastern Australia and neighboring islands.Its trademark "laugh" is to establish territory amongst family groups. When one bird starts, often others will join in, including nearby birds from rival tribes, which can fill the bush with their calls.

Marion Sinclair wrote the song in 1932 for a contest being held by the Victorian Guides. The competition was for an 'Australian round' song. A gum tree is a name for the eucalyptus tree. There are more gum trees than any other kind of tree in Australia. Gum tree leaves are the favourite thing for koalas to eat.

Measuring oneself. . .

Mozart: [hesitantly] I never knew that music like that was possible!
Salieri: [uncertainly] You flatter me.
Mozart: No, no! One hears such sounds, and what can one say but... ”Salieri."

[about Emperor Joseph II's musical tastes]
Salieri: Actually, the man had no ear at all. But what did it matter? He adored my music.
(Amadeus (1984) - Memorable quotes)

Salieri measuring himself to Mozart falls way short!

Consider a true measure to measure ourselves:

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ...Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;" (Ephesians 4:7,13).

Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Let's set our hearts on that measure.

A goodly heritage. . .

"The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm 16:5-6 KJV).

heritage n 1. something inherited. 2. a condition, lot, or portion acquired by being born (again -to be qualified to inherit).

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman...to redeem...that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts...wherefore thou art a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7).

Childhood fun . . .

"Snap the Whip" by Winslow Homer

I loved being part of "Crack the Whip" as we called it. It almost felt like flying when you were on the end and the whip snapped. We would do it on the ice rink too. Always someone got hurt so finally the "Whip" was not allowed.

Blue Tanzanite

In 1967, the gemstone of the 20th Century was discovered in Tanzania, Africa.

The rich, bluish-purple colored gemstone is now known as the December birthstone.

I think it is the most beautiful of gemstones.

Seeking for Me

Elizabeth "Bette" Majors
September 15, 1915 - November 21, 2009

Dearest Friend,
Faith has now become sight!

Bette played and sang many songs of her Savior, Jesus Christ, but one that is not well known, in fact to me she is the only one who knew this song, expresses her faith and hope. I can hear her singing .... Seeking for Me

Jesus my Savior to Bethlehem came,
Born in a manger to sorrow and shame;
Oh, it was wonderful--blest be His name!
Seeking for me, for me!
Seeking for me! Seeking for me!
Seeking for me! Seeking for me!
Oh, it was wonderful--blest be His name!
Seeking for me, for me!

Jesus my Savior, on Calvary's tree,
Paid the great debt and my soul He set free;
Oh, it was wonderful--how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!
Dying for me! Dying for me!
Dying for me! Dying for me!
Oh, it was wonderful--how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!

Bette is now absent from her body and present with the Lord.

The checklist. . .

So there’s a checklist, formal or informal. I used to put it on them -- go take a look, and anything that’s yours and out, take care of it. Of course they wanted to do a sloppy job. It’s not bad, it’s human. But there’s accountability too.

After they got used to the rules, they’d know that any toy they left lying around, I’d keep for a while. Put it up high, where they could see it but not have it.

Mean? I smile with thin lips, and call it justice.

(taken from Forgotten Prophets)

Thanks To God!

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20)

Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy
From Thy gracious throne above;
Thanks for ev’ry need provided
From the fullness of Thy love.
Thanks for daily toil and labor
And for rest when shadows fall;
Thanks for love of friend and neighbor
And Thy goodness unto all.

Thanks for thorns as well as roses,
Thanks for weakness and for health;
Thanks for clouds as well as sunshine,
Thanks for poverty and wealth.
Thanks for pain as well as pleasure--
All Thou sendest day by day;
And Thy Word, our dearest treasure,
Shedding light upon our way.

Thanks, O God, for home and fireside,
Where we share our daily bread;
Thanks for hours of sweet communion,
When by Thee our souls are fed.
Thanks for grace in time of sorrow
And for joy and peace in Thee;
Thanks for hope today, tomorrow,
And for all eternity!

(August Ludvig Storm, Swedish Traditional Hymn "Tack O Gud" - 1891)

Thanks to God! is one of the most popular Swedish hymns that found its way into many of our evangelical hymnals.

August Storm was born 1862, in Motala, Sweden. He converted to Christ in a Salvation Army meeting and although he suffered a back ailment at the age of 37 that left him crippled for life, he continued his Salvation Army work until his death. The gratitude expressed to God ranges from the "dark and dreary fall" to the "pleasant, balmy springtime," and "pain" as well as "pleasure." There is gratitude, warmth of text and a folk-like quality in the music. Go to http://www.hymntime.com/ (Johannes Hultman score) to hear the melody.

Poppies

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies...

- To Autumn, John Keats

Scientific thought, free or not?

Amazon.com: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed: Ben Stein, Richard Dawkins,

Darwinism leads to Atheism.

Your worldview determines your conclusion to scientific hypothesis.


The way to expose darkness is to turn on the light. Ben Stein turns on the light in the academic community. Well worth your viewing.

Beacons of light . . .

There is no ideal place to live. Every place you go, you are going to find an earth totally contaminated with sin. Children are hungry, people are suffering from war and pestilence -- there are so many heartbreaks.

Some people try to escape the world by moving out to the country. I have found this doesn't work because there is no place to escape from yourself.

We are directed to be beacons of light to this lost world. You can't be a beacon while hiding in a cave.

Economics

Morality represents the way that people would like the world to work--whereas economics represents how it actually does work.

(Freakonomics, p. 11)

Greek Euro Coin

The abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull.

How many people are aware that the Greek two Euro coin depicts a woman riding a beast (Rev. 17:3).

Of infinite value. . .

What is the future? Something that Jesus said to not concern ourselves with. Not urging us to irresponsibility. It's just that towers fall and crush passersby, and armed men come and make victims out of citizens. It's why people believe in fate. I don't believe in fate any more than I believe in the assurance of earthly blessings. God keeps his promises. He just never promised to keep us safe. He deals with eternity.

God is forgiving, but reality is not.

See how it is? We are victims of choices, our own or of monstrous mothers and murderous scum. Victims of happenstance as well, having turned right instead of left, or waited a moment instead of moving. What horrors have we missed, for such choices? Or suffered?

I see people speaking of the future as if it were a real thing. We have to act as if it were. That's what hope is. But always in my heart I hear the sound of stifled sobs, memory of lost loved ones and the triumph of evil. Compassion is easy. Some people bleed it.

In the things that matter we must persevere.

The cat came back. Murdered little molested girls don't come back. Somehow, though, God will find comfort for them, and redress, the wounds to their souls healed, and the price in suffering they have paid will buy them, somehow, comforts of infinitely greater value. I forget this most of the time.

My self-esteem can absorb occasional failure, and learn from it. It makes me wiser, and eventually stronger. That's how God sees his fallen creation. It can be full of failure, and yet, somehow, be of infinite value. Enough, somehow, to be worth an infinity of suffering.

(From Forgotten Prophets, November 17, 09)

Memories

"Why should the old envy the young?

For the possibilities that a young person has?

Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered." -Viktor Frankl "Man's Search for Meaning"

Mother now lives in her memories. She loves being there.

Don't say it is a waste.

Heart to heart, Mother, I hold you in my memories too.

Nature's secrets. . .

John Calvin, from his commentary on Genesis,

"To be so occupied in the investigation of the secrets of nature, as never to turn the eyes to its Author, is a most perverted study; and to enjoy everything in nature without acknowledging the Author of the benefit, is the basest ingratitude."

Bring them in with the truth of the Bible . . .

Youth pastors have to attract kids; at least that's what they are told. A very wise youth pastor said,

"What brings them in keeps them in."

The idea is that if they are brought in by novelty, and if they are brought in by something exciting or bizarre, whatever it might be, that's what they are looking for. We're in a day of advertising, we're in the day of infomercials and all of that,

but

it cannot be applied to somebody who is seeking out truth, God's Word, God himself.

Keat's Eremite. . .

BRIGHT STAR, WOULD I WERE STEDFAST by John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art---
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
No---yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever---or else swoon in death.

Eremite:

An eremite (pronounced ERR-uh-mite) is a 'religious recluse', someone who, from religious motives, has retired into a solitary life. Both eremite and hermit came into English late in the 12th century and were used interchangeably for over 400 years. Hermit is now the more common word. In Modern English, especially since the 16th century, eremite is most often used poetically or to create a certain effect. Time magazine referred to J.D. Salinger as "the eremite of Cornish, N.H." in a 1999 article.

In the poem "Bright Star," Keats speaks of "nature's patient sleepless Eremite." The reference is to an unidentified star which, like a hermit, sits apart from the world. Frost, in "Choose Something Like a Star," refers to the steadfastness of "Keats' Eremite."

Bye, Bye, Birdie . . .

Under the microscope this icon of evolution might not have been a bird at all" (Hotz, "Bye Bye Birdie: Famed Fossil Loses Avian Perch," The Wall Street Journal, page A1, October 23, 2009).

According to the new research, inferences about growth rates made from studies of Archaeopteryx's ancient fossilized bones show it developed much more slowly than modern birds.

Archaeopteryx isn't the only evolutionary icon losing its claim as the ancestor of birds. In recent months we've seen paleontologists increasingly arguing that the entire clade of dinosaurs should no longer be considered ancestral to birds.

As the WSJ article states: There are lingering doubts that birds today are descendants of dinosaurs.

(My granddaughter and I watch the Dinosaur Train on PBS and their latest program just stated that birds were descendants of dinosaurs. Just who can you trust, eh? We'll have to have a talk.) : )

Linear, Cyclical, and Human Collapse

From Defense and Confirmation:

Now that we have combined cyclical and linear concepts into a single explanatory model of history, only one detail remains for the articulation of a complete paradigm.

For accuracy’s sake, the trajectory of linear progression is best illustrated by a downward sloping line. Drawing the line in this fashion sets the Christian view of history apart from other linear progressive models discussed in previous postings.

Unlike the evolutionary or Marxian views of history, humanity is not improving but finding new ways and methods to rebel against God. In Romans Chapter One, Paul summarizes how the reprobate mind works when he reports that human beings are “inventors of evil things.”

For the purposes of illustration, please consider the diagram that is depectied above titled, Law of Human Collapse Diagram.

(Pastor Bryan's articles can be found at www.defenseandcomfirmation.blogspot.com)

Word Faith and Mind Science

Mind science, whether Christian Science, Religious Science, the Secret, or the word faith movement, is active today.

Dave Hunt says these things are in reality, "recycled Hinduism, shamanism, and New Age folly.

One of many huge lies is its claim: 'You create your own reality with your mind.'

This was the serpent's false promise to Eve-the promise of godhood (Gen 3:5).

Embracing that delusion cost Eve and her descendants Eden's paradise-and would have barred mankind from heaven had not Christ died for the sins of the world.

In the 6,000 years since Eden, the serpent's promise has not been fulfilled in even one person's life."

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/art_within_america/the_wreck_of_the_edmund_f.php

November 10, 1975

by Gordon Lightfoot

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side, coming back from some mill in Wisconsin,
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most with a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms when they left fully loaded for Cleveland,
And later that night when the ships bell rang, could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling?

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound and a wave broke over the railing,
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too, t'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait when the gales of November came slashing,
When afternoon came it was freezing rain in the face of a hurricane West Wind.
When supper time came the old cook came on deck saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya,
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in he said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in and the good ship and crew was in peril,
And later that night when his lights went out of sight came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the words turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized, they may have broke deep and took water, And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings in the ruins of her ice water mansion,
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams, the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed, in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral,
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee,
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early.

Hero

Police Sergeant Kimberly Munley.

Principles of God's final judgment . . .

Romans 2

1. According to truth (vs. 2)
2. According to accumulated guilt (vs. 5)
3. According to works (vs. 6)
4. Without respect to persons (vs. 11)
5. According to light received (vs. 12)
6. According to Paul's gospel (vs. 16)
7. According to the inward heart (vs. 17-29)

The true Word of God. . .

The Bible, the true Word of God, gives the only account of the creation of the universe, then reports the only resurrection from the dead, and finally uniquely reveals God's grace in providing salvation by faith apart from works, recognizing the impossibility of attaining God's perfect standard by human effort.

The Lord Jesus Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, gives eternal life to all who trust their souls to Him. --Henry Morris, The God Who is Real, pgs. 100-101

Faith is the substance . . .

For most people, the word faith is simply another term for "wishful thinking." But that's not the way the Bible describes it. According to Hebrews 11:1:

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen."

substance = L. substo; sub and sto, to stand. In a general sense, being; something existing by itself; that which really is or exists; something real, not imaginary; something solid, not empty. equally applicable to matter or spirit. Thus the soul of man is called an immaterial substance, a cogitative substance, a substance endued with thought.

Faith is substance, not a force we can manipulate. And, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10.17).

(Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of The English Language)

The truth is still the truth. . .

A lie is still a lie, even if you’ve been believing it for 40 years; and the truth is still the truth, even if you’ve been believing it for only two weeks.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8.32) KJV

"Jesus saith, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14.6).

The most shocking thing . . .

The words of C.S. Lewis,

"Among the Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He were God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among pantheists, like the Hindus of India, anyone might say that he is part of god or one with god. There would be nothing very odd about that. But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God in their language meant the Being outside of the world who had made it and was infinitely different than anything else. And when you have grasped that concept you will see that what this man said was quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips."

The eternal spirit. . .

Imagine a universe where there is life, and that life ends. What sort of a universe would that be like? A very strange place. First, life would have to have arisen randomly. An impossibility in itself. Randomly I say because a purposeful universe would be directed by intelligence, or God if you will, and God is not capable of creating life that ends.

Animals? Their souls must return to that vast subclass of life that loses its identity when it becomes nonphysical.

The thing that remembers going to the light, but then returns, in near-death experiences? That's not the spirit. That's the soul. Soul is the emotional body, elemental, a sort of ethereal feeling clay that becomes impressed with a shape for a time, which it may retain, but is not a real identity.

We don't have eternal souls. We have eternal spirits.