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).

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.

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

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).

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).

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

Chopin: Winter's comin'. . .

Winter Wind

Chopin - Maggie's Farm#trackbacks

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

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

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

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

The Creator's Moon

Tonight's rare Super Harvest Moon courtesy of our never edited-out Creator.

(from Lucianne.com)

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

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 ---

How long wilt Thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me? (Psalm 13:1)

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.

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.

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)

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)

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.”

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?

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.

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

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.

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).

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)

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"

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.

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).

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)

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).

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.

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)

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!

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 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.)

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).

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

What's in a name?

“A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet”

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).

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).

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).

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.

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!

Tisha B'Av

Roman General Titus destruction of Jerusalem 70 A.D. relief from Arch of Triumph
Tisha 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).

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.)

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)

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).

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).

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).

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)

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).

Character building . . .

"Always do what you are afraid to do."- Emerson