My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrati ng this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’

In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

The bailout plan was flushed and the markets took a deep dive into the toilet, and all the lawmakers could do was point fingers at each other.

What they should have done is resign their positions as they certainly have failed to do their jobs. Spending more time blaming the opposite side of the aisle for their own individual failure to do what is necessary to keep this country from plunging into an economic morass.

At this point I do not blame the greed and corruption of Wall Street as much as I blame the stupidity and power-mongering malfecence of Congress.  They have a responsiblity to do the hard thing to protect this nation from further financial damage, instead they decide to bitch-slap each other, point fingers, and leave the American public in the rubble they leave behind.

November 4th is coming up and if I had my way, every Congressperson and every Senator who is up for reelection should be shown the door - regardless of who gets voted in the position in their absence. The time of partisan politics, mud-slinging, finger pointing, and failure to do the job they were elected to do is over.  They need to step up to the plate, swallow hard and do what needs to be done to protect this nation and this economy.

Funny thing is; if this county takes a financial dump, the citizens are the ones who will suffer, loosing jobs, savings, investments, etc.  All the while the congressional members will still be getting paid and leeching off of the american people.

They have only their best interests in mind and they all suck.

The Presidential debate was a yawner…

By my count, Obama and McCain came away dead even. Obama slipped his way around the truth often and Mccain let him do it.  Neither gave us much of anything to latch onto - good or bad, and neither came away giving us (me) the impression that “this is the guy I want in office” or even “this is the guy I cannot abide being in office”

For the most part the debate centered around the economy and foreign affairs and Obama spoke eloquently about the economy although he gave us nothing of substance, and McCain spoke passionately about foreign affairs even though he didn’t blast Obama during the many opportunities he was given to do so…

Up next is the VP debates.  It is my hope that the McCain campaign gets off of Palin and lets her be herself. While I hold no illusions that she is as well versed in many topics as biden, I do know that if she goes in there without the cloud of the traditional GOP worry of someone making a mistake, she will impress and energize many by simply being… Sarah Palin.

Biden has nothing to say that we haven’t heard over the past 15 years. He is who he is and he votes how he votes so there is no secret to him, his record, or what he would do as VP; he would tow the party line, regardless of what the Nation needs, or wants, and he will not waver from that party line no matter what.

I’m hoping against hope that Palin is let loose in the debate and shows the country who she is, what she is capable of and let the people see the real her and the real Biden…  then maybe we can see enough to know who should be in the VP slot.

Times are tough, no doubt.  The financial markets are indeed in trouble and something has to be done.

The issues surrounding this problem are complex; the government (using the taxpayers money) is not equipped, nor should they be, to handle a bail out of the companies adversely affected by thier own greed and short sightedness, but they have to do something.

The markets are self-correcting, we know that, however the far reaching effects of that self-correction will be horrendously damaging to the economy. Not only will major companies fail, but the ripple effect throughout the economy would be devastating to many citizens - lost jobs as mortgage companies fail, lost housing buy’s and building would cost more jobs, the hit to the retail industry that many of us are already feeling would be exponentially amplified. Companies like Lowes and Home Depot would be very hard hit; layoffs, store closures, et al would damage the employment rate even further, and the subsequent loss of income for the average American would spread like a cancer.

So it is clear; something must be done, we cannot simply allow the economy to ‘adjust’ itself unaided.

However, what is also clear is that the operators of these companies which have placed the economy in such dire straights should not benefit from a bailout. CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s (you name the acronym) should not personal benefit from one cent of taxpayer’s money.  Save the companies, absolutely, but hold those responsible for the failures of these companies to a tight leash, and limited, extremely limited, benefit.

We are talking salaries and bonuses. If I run a company and through my efforts of mismanagement, that company teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, I should not expect, nor should I recieve, anything…

I hope and pray that congress takes this idea into consideration when hashing out the details of whatever ill-concieved bail out plan they come up with.  No bonuses for the leaders of these failed companies. No high level salaries for these company officers. Limit them to a reasonable salary if they are staying in place, and put a caveat in the plan to keep those salaries limited until the companies in question pay back every single cent the government puts in their coffers.

Then the idea of regulation comes in….  I loathe the idea of the government regulating the ‘free’ market, but something has to happen, or these greed mongers and inept managers will do the same thing again; acting stupidly out of greed and destroying the lives of our citenzry.

For the majority of this campaign year I have subtly supported Obama’s bid for the White House. As a registered republican this was not business as usual for me, but I normally put my support behind the candidate that I feel will be best for the country, regardless of party affiliation, and I felt Obama’s ‘newness’ and ability to bring about fundamental change in politics would have been healthy for the the nation.

I weighed the pros and cons of the republican candidates and the democrat candidates and through the primaries I quietly held hope and support for Obama.

The tide has turned now however.  Obama’s lock on the idea of change and bucking the system all but evaporated with the two party picks for running mates; Obama chose a well ingrained DC insider as his running mate, effectively destroying all hopes of shaking up politics as usual in DC, and McCain (whom I don’t like a whole bunch) chose Palin, and true ‘outsider’ and someone fresh and unconnected with the status quo.

Simply with their choices of running mates the two Presidential candidates had changed my mind.

Now we are here, after the conventions and the campaign between the parties is in full swing, and I have to tell you that the Obama camp has further destroyed any hope of my believing they are in this race for the good of the country.  Obama and Biden, and the whole dem camp has begun the mud slinging, name calling, lying, issue avoiding, scumbag behavior of the democrats of before.

The Clinton (Gore) camp tried to steal the election from the republicans by taking the will of the people to the Supreme Court, they lost and they have done nothing but whine, lie, and obfuscate ever since.  When Hillary lost the nomination I was so thrilled I was ready to throw my full support behind Obama.  Now in the daily reports of the crap he and Biden keep dishing out I cannot in any sense of a good conscience, consider supporting him for President.

The McCain camp was pretty good at pointing out the non-existent experience of Obama, and his camp retaliated with venom. Rather than address the issues, they conducted personal assaults on McCain/Palin. Rather than explain how they would make things better in spite of, or even because of, a lack of experience, they chose to attack a lady’s family and issue forth filth, lies, and acerbic sarcasm about what has been said and is being said.

When it all boils down to the nuts and bolts I am now faced with supporting a candidate that I didn’t much care for (McCain) and his running mate whom I believe is the breath of fresh air the White House needs, and voicing my strong dislike of a man and his running mate who have proven through their actions and rhetoric that the only thing that is important to them is gaining the White House at any cost and screwing the nation in exchange for that position.

Obama should not be elected president.

Pro 27:2  Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

We’ve all experienced how encouraging a word of praise can be. Most of us can remember a time when a parent, teacher, or employer voiced approval that motivated us to even greater heights.

Yet for many people, praise is nearly as difficult to handle as criticism. Because the Word of God instructs us to be humble (Matt. 18:4; Phil. 2:3), we may sometimes feel confused about the right way to give or receive compliments.

How, then, should we accept recognition?

1. Acknowledge the comment by simply thanking the person. Don’t belittle the words in any way or explain reasons why you do not deserve them.
2. Identify and acknowledge the character quality that led the other person to offer his praise. For example, does he have a discerning spirit, deep compassion, or strong love for others?
3. Share what the encouragement means to you. If someone tells you how he enjoyed your teaching, you might say, “That really motivates me to study harder; I want to be what God desires of me.”
4. When appropriate, deflect the praise to others. For instance, a pastor might redirect kind words about an effective worship service by acknowledging the wonderful staff that works with him. When you rightly praise others, it builds their self-esteem while protecting you from pride.

Both criticism and pride can develop us or be dangerous to us. Our response is the determining factor.

Never forget that God is in control of all the circumstances that surround a believer’s life. God is in control of your life, and involved in all the details.Your suffering has not escaped His notice. Your situation has not somehow been buried in His inbox. He is intimately aware of everything going on in your world, and no detail is too small to escape His attention. The word “oops” is not in God’s vocabulary.

And as we can so clearly see from the book of Job, the devil can do nothing in the life of the believer without the express permission of God.

Okay, you say, but if He’s in control, why does He allow these hurtful things to happen to me and to people I love?

1. Suffering makes us strong

The apostle James tells us:

“When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t treat them as intruders, but as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. . . . you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity, with no weak spots.” (James 1:2-4 phillips)

God allows hardship in our life so that our beliefs will become more real to us, and less theory. We can start living out our faith-life in the real world.

I’m reminded of all the people you see driving SUVs. Most of these fancy rigs have 4×4 capabilities. Some guys take it a notch above that, putting lifts in their rigs, buying those big gnarly tires, and mounting huge lights on top.

And what do they do with these powerful vehicles? They brag to their buddies, and say, “Yeah, just look at this thing. Look at what it can do. I could drive this baby up the side of a building.”

“Well,” someone might ask, “do you want to go out in the dirt?”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how much I paid for this thing? No way! In fact, I was just on the way to the car wash.”

So they never want to actually use that vehicle for its intended purpose?what it was actually designed to do.

We can be that way with our beliefs. I can imagine God saying, “You know, you have a lot of really great beliefs. You talk about them all the time. I think it’s time you started putting some of them into practice. You talk about how you trust Me. You talk about how you believe I can provide for your every need. Let Me put you in a situation where you have no other resources and really have to trust Me for that provision.”

You see, God can allow these hardships and trials and shortfalls in our lives so that we will exercise our faith muscles, and step out on trust alone. We need to transfer our faith from the realm of theory to reality.

2. Suffering can bring God glory

Any fool can be happy and peaceful when the sun shines down from a blue and cloudless sky. But when those qualities shine out from the midst of a dark and destructive storm, that’s another matter entirely.

That, in essence, was the challenge Satan laid before God. “Job follows You because You have blessed him in every way, but if those things were taken away, it would be a different story. He would curse You.”

In order to show the falsehood of Satan’s argument?and to strengthen Job’s faith at the same time?God allowed these multiple tragedies to crash into Job’s life.

The result? Job not only refused to curse God, he actually blessed Him. What a rebuke to the enemy! What a witness to the world.

It is a powerful testimony when a believer can praise God while suffering. Remember the story of Paul and Silas, arrested for preaching the gospel in the city of Philippi? The Bible tells us that the jailer had them stripped and flogged. Then they were put in a dungeon, where their feet were fastened in stocks.

How did they respond? Here’s what the Bible says:

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25 nkjv)

That word “listened” could be translated as listened with great interest. Why? Because they had never heard anybody sing praises to God in such a place. And that’s about the time the Lord sent an earthquake:

“At once the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” (Acts 16:26-28 niv)

The jailer responded by saying, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” In effect, he was saying, “I’ve been watching you guys. I’ve seen how you have taken such terrible punishment without cursing. I’ve seen how you can worship in the worst circumstances, and how you could have escaped but didn’t. All I can say is, whatever you have, I want it.”

Your circumstances may not be as dire as those of Paul and Silas. But people are watching you. If you’re in the midst of a hardship or a difficulty, they’re watching to see if you will really practice what you preach, and live out what you proclaim. The way you handle suffering in your life can bring great glory to God.

Paul the apostle also suffered from an unnamed “thorn in the flesh.” No one really knows what it was, but he spoke of it in his letter to the Corinthian church, and said that he had asked the Lord on three separate occasions to remove it.

But God said no. Even though God had done miracles through Paul, bringing healing to others, He chose not to bring that healing in the life of His loyal servant in this particular situation.

When Paul asked why, God gave him this answer: “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 nlt).

Was Paul discouraged by this answer? It sure doesn’t sound like it! He goes on to say, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (vv. 9-10).

So God can be glorified through your weakness. His light and power can shine through the chips, cracks, and cracks in your life, drawing others to Himself.

The mood is upon me.
Fighting its grasp,
is mere futility;
feeding its thirst,
by my very throes.
Jealousy, gloom, bitterness
swirling in my head,
dizzying me deliciously.
An occasional focus,
to allow a cobra strike,
and relishing the sting,
I’ve visited upon you.
Your words are meaningless,
your assertions useless.
No one can stand,
against me now.

Because the mood is upon me.

Hateful, spiteful assaults,
my locquacious daggers
dropping you, lifeless,
and I gloat sadly
over my fallen prey.
Subjugation of spite,
to allow brief light,
golden, shimmering light,
to touch my mind.
Only to wrap itself
inside, safely away.

For the mood is upon me.

Stolen thoughts of joy,
replaced by dreams.
Bloody in their vehemence,
the slaughter of innocence,
the destruction of youth,
the feel of my hand,
gripping your slowing heart,
in its icy metal clutch.
Smiling, eye to eye,
I squeeze the essence,
from your paling soul,
for no reason other than,
the mood is upon me.

I’m building things,
in which you don’t believe.
Castles in the air,
floating on heart songs,
that remain unsung.
My hands molding statues,
of me’s that will not be.
Sculptures of my dreams,
undreamt and dismissed,
in fear of your laughter.
I’m building fantasies,
on hopes and wishes,
solidly set on sandy dune,
waiting for onslaught of tide.
Vision’s denial to give ground,
to today’s battle for purchase.
Fantasy’s strength shall outlive,
reality’s blustery strike.

The glory of the world,
washes over my well-worn body.
The magnificence of creation,
the total harmony of nature,
the absolute certainty provided,
by the knowledge of life’s continuance,
rages through my soul.

The brilliance of love,
flashes in my sorrow filled mind.
The gentleness of sweet lovemaking,
the urgency felt in passion’s thrust,
the sweet release in climactic lust,
dream states induced afterglow,
ease through my heart.

The glory of the world,
touches magic upon my dying flame.
Flashes of sunlight in the morn,
flickers of flame in campfire night,
tendrils of melody in child’s song,
essence of harmony in lover’s laugh,
bathe my dirty, well-used mind.

The beauty of this world,
comes to me in many ways.
Fathomless, unrelenting ways,
only to look, to feel, to see,
only to open myself, to be me,
only to allow you, a love to be,
to touch me and make me whole.

If being a Christian was illegal, and you were accused of being a Christian, in a court of law, could the prosecutor get a conviction, or could your defense lawyer get you acquitted?

Would you be found acquitted due to lack of evidence?  Would you be found not guilty because there was reasonable doubt?

This is the question I’ve begun to ponder as of late and am reminded of my pet phrase:

Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary - use words.

I have this theory about men and aging. We have two ages: the age we really are, and the age we are in our heads. Most men are almost always about 31 or 32 in their heads — just ask them. Even Mr. Burns from “The Simpsons” is 31 in his head. One of the most universal adult male experiences is of standing before a mirror and saying, “I’m sorry, but there’s been a horrible mistake. You see, that’s not really me in the mirror there. The real me is tanned, throws Frisbees, and kayaks the Columbia River estuary without cracking a sweat.”

The rest of the story…

A great commentary by Kenneth Hemphill…

I listened intently as he patiently asked the following three questions: 1) Are you certain that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? She responded “yes.” 2) Do you believe that the Bible is God’s Word and is sufficient for all our needs? Again she responded in the affirmative. 3) If I show you truth from God’s Word that deals with the issues that concern you, will you obey them immediately and completely? My friend did not elaborate at this point, but the lady began to exclaim that we wouldn’t understand. She pointed to her financial need and loneliness. My friend listened patiently and then started again repeating the three questions.

The implication was obvious. If we pointed her to Scripture which she confessed to be a “sufficient guide” and she refused to obey God’s Word, we had no other advice to give her. It would be like going to the doctor and refusing to follow his prescription.

While you might smile in agreement, let me pose a question: “Is the Bible sufficient for church growth and health?” I’m not suggesting that we don’t need to organize for Bible study and outreach. God is not a God of confusion; He works through orderly strategy. But do we really agree with the Apostle Paul that it is “God who gives the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7)? And if it is God who actually causes true growth, it only makes sense that we find His design for these matters in His Word. We face the temptation of relying too heavily on the next model, method or marketing strategy to grow our church, rather than looking primarily to Scripture for our growth strategy. I believe that if we search the Scriptures and apply their emphases, we will experience the growth and health the Lord desires.

The rest of the story…

Gorical propoganda wins the Nobel Peace Prize over the tangible efforts of a lady who actually saved lives in time of war? What in the world are people thinking?

I’ve been working on a post regarding the “Saturday” Sabbath, mainly as a rebuttal to the teachings of the Seventh Day Adventists and other such cults, and hope to have it ready soon.

It has undergone many rewrites as there is much to be said in this area but I find the tone of my essay be continually harsh.  I don’t want to put across the truth of the matter in such a way as to unnecessarily offend people (although anyone stupid enough to promote such a legalistic, false doctrine should be offended), so I am working it and reworking it.

If anyone has some points to ponder on this subject that they would like me to explore and incorporate, please let me know.  I’m trying to cover all aspects of the debate and something important may get lost in the shuffle.

Recent discussions online have bandied about the idea of sin being a noun, a verb, or an adjective.  Some suggest that sin is a verb and verb alone, some have suggested otherwise.  My understanding of sin as discussed in scripture is that it is a relatively generic term for an action, a state of being, or a thing.

Apparently the greek word translated as ’sin’ means to “miss the mark” encouraging one participant in these discussions to assert that it is a verb and applies only to actions which ‘miss the mark’.

I think the whole idea can be summed up in the idea that sin represents unrighteousness in comparison to the righteousness of God.

Thus we have a few concepts of this unrighteousness and only one really pertains to the whole:

Our state of being.

The fall of Lucifer begins this idea, through his pride he set himself as equal to God and thus rebelled against God, after his ejection from God’s glory he deceived Eve who disobeyed God, and Adam along with her, subsequently placing all humanity into a state of unrighteousness.  This is the condition in which we are all born.  A condition not predicated on what we do or don’t do, but simply a state of our being.  All ’sins’ we commit are a result of this condition, the condition is not a result of the sins we commit.

Scripture is very clear on this concept when it explains that there is none righteous:

Psa 14:2-3  The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity].  (3)  They are all gone aside, they have all together become filthy; there is none that does good or right, no, not one.

Rom 3:10-12  As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one.  (11)  No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God.   (12)  All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one!

The Gospel of Christ Jesus lived, crucified, and raised again speaks directly to this state of being. It is His atoning sacrifice which took upon Him our unrighteousness and killed it for all time on the cross.  It is His resurrection that allowed His righteousness to be imputed to us.  The idea of committing sin after that bestowed righteousness is secondary to the rectification of our natural condition into that condition which God created us originally.

As I look back on what I thought was living
I’m amazed at the price I choose to pay
And to think I ignored what really mattered
Cause I thought the sacrifice would be too great
But when I finally reached the point of giving in
I found the cross was calling even then
And even though it took dying to survive
I’ve never felt so much alive.

And I will offer all I have
So that His cross is not in vain
For I found to live is Christ
And to die is truly gain

by Phillips, Craig, & Dean

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won
For I’ve been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone I’ll overcome
Oh, I could stop and count successes like diamonds in my hands
But those trophies could not equal to the grace by which I stand

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

In Christ alone do I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed
For only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness to my need
And now I seek no greater honor in just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses to the glory of my Lord

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

The ‘big 10’ offers more than just list of what to do or not to do. It reveals deeper conceptual truths that guide us in our walk with God, and a righteous path in this life. It also gives us a method of living that is beneficial, physically and spiritually.

Let us look at these commandments from God and their deeper meaning and applicability:

Exo 20:2 I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

This first contains an essential truth to spiritual/religious righteousness: There is one True God, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. This One is the Lord.

Lord is defined as one who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler. One exercises authority from property rights. God is the creator; all things exist from Him and for Him. His sovereignty and authority over all things is absolute as He alone has the ‘property rights’ for that which is His by His creation.

(3) You shall have no other gods before or besides Me. (4) You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; (5) You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, [Isa. 42:8; 48:11.] (6) But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

This is the commandment against idolatry. It speaks not just to worshipping little statues, but to placing ourselves under the control of anything other than the One True God.

Many things in this life gain control over us, or rather, there are many things that we place in positions of importance in our lives more so than God: Money, prestige, success, sports, drugs, relationships, etc.

God tells us that all things in this life are secondary to Him and His Lordship in our lives. This causes me to think on my own life and my struggle with alcoholism. I’ve been recovered for just over 8 years now, and I remember back to when I was deep in the bottle, it wasn’t that my life was in shambles from drinking that caused me to seek recovery, because for the most part I was an extremely functional alcoholic. But I realized that alcohol had control over my life, everything I did or thought about doing revolved around the idea of drinking. Often times when planning an outing, or going out to dinner, or visiting friends, I thought about whether or not there would be drink available, and sometimes that made the difference in what I did or did not do.

(7) You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

This isn’t about simply cursing using the name of God profanely or frivolously. It speaks to us on a deeper level of respect, love, and reverence. To train a person not to take for granted the name of that which is of paramount importance in their lives teaches that person to demonstrate respect for those things. By commanding us not to treat His name frivolously or falsely, He teaches us to learn respect by demonstrating respect.

( 8 ) [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates. (11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes].

Ah, the ‘4^th commandment’ – that which separates so many who would have us earn our salvation through works and religious observance…

This, in its simplest terms, is an instruction on how to care for our lives and ourselves.

Work is an unfortunate necessity. We must work to earn a living, and often times we must work hard. This commandment teaches us that all work and no rest is a bad thing. We must rest our bodies and our minds; we must take the time to let our physical and mental selves rejuvenate and recuperate.

God demonstrated this necessity for us although I would offer that He needed no rest, but chose to do so. We are not omnipotent, thus we must take the physical rest.

There is also the spiritual aspect here regarding the foreshadowing of the Gospel of Christ. Jesus Christ is our spiritual rest. It is His salvation that provides us rest from the pursuit of righteousness through works which is the law given in the OT.

(12) Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.

Respect and obedience to authority – this is something we learn as children, or do not learn depending upon how one is raised. God instructs us to honor (respect) our parents and this is the first step in teaching a person respect for authority.

In the New Testament, we are told to respect and adhere to the authority of the government, and throughout scriptures, we are admonished to respect and adhere to the authority of God. This respect begins at home, with the parents.

(13) You shall not commit murder.

Wow, so much to discuss regarding murder, what it is and what it is not, and why we should not do it….

Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of another person. It is not simply killing someone, thus government-sanctioned executions do not apply, and accidental killing does not apply, slaughtering animals for food does not apply.

There are many psychological ramifications involved here that I will not go into at this time however, but this idea of ‘not committing murder’ may make an interesting post of its own some day…

(14) You shall not commit adultery.

(15) You shall not steal. [Prov. 11:1; 16:8; 21:6; 22:16; Jer. 17:11; Mal. 3:8.]

(16) You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor. [Exod. 23:1; Prov. 19:9; 24:28.]

I am taking these three together as they all lean towards a central issue: Trust, reliability, and righteousness.

To lie, cheat or steal irreparably damages, or destroys trust. One who lies cannot be trusted, one who cheats on his/her spouse cannot be trusted. One who steals cannot be trusted.

God desires for us to re-become the image of Him, and God has demonstrated to us that He is ever faithful, and ever honest. We cannot become like Him if we do not demonstrate the essential qualities that He possesses.

Additionally, we cannot be the witness, the testimony of His love, wisdom, and faithfulness if we demonstrate the opposite, and if we cannot be the witness to His glory then we are not doing the job He has given us to do.

(17) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s. [Luke 12:15; Col. 3:5.]

Coveting… that carnal desire to have that which belongs to someone else – it is a destroyer of souls. Scripture tells us that the root of evil is the love of money. This is an intricate part of coveting – loving something other than God.

When we covet what are we doing, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally? We are sublimating our love of our Lord with a desire for material things. We are setting the stage for idolatry.

When one becomes covetous, it leads into a downward spiral of other issues. If we want something someone else has, and we want it badly enough we easily fall into lying, stealing, yes… and adultery.

Ultimately, God’s commandments given to Moses to share with His chosen people give us the basic blueprints on how to succeed in life, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Adherence to these commandments will disciple us, keep us from our own naturally carnal tendency to self-destruction, and provide us with a strong witness and ability to share the Gospel of Christ crucified and risen from the dead.

1 Cor. 15:1-4: AND NOW let me remind you [since it seems to have escaped you], brethren, of the Gospel (the glad tidings of salvation) which I proclaimed to you, which you welcomed and accepted and upon which your faith rests, (2) And by which you are saved, if you hold fast and keep firmly what I preached to you, unless you believed at first without effect and all for nothing. (3) For I passed on to you first of all what I also had received, that Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for our sins in accordance with [what] the Scriptures [foretold], (4) That He was buried, that He arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold,

The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. Christ Jesus’ sacrificial atonement for our sins, granted by His grace through our faith. Nothing more, nothing less.

I entreat all of my brethren - follow the commandment of our Lord and spread the Gospel of Christ. Place this goal first and foremost in your hearts and minds, and put the doctrinal debates, the political debates, the social change debates on a back burner. Do not let the concerns of society, or of your particular denomination take the front seat in your Christian life, but strive to make the Gospel your first priority and responsibility.

Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary; use words.

You are not a god
Created by human hands
You are not a god
Dependant on any mortal man
You are not a god
In need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that’s just the way it is

You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
Your are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

You’re the only God
Whose power none can contend
You’re the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God
Who’s worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that’s just the way it is

Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That’s what You are

Artist: PHILLIPS CRAIG AND DEAN Song: YOU ARE GOD ALONE Album: LET THE WORSHIPPERS ARISE (2004)

WASHINGTON - Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” died Friday after suffering a heart attack at the bureau. He was 58.

Statement from Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal:

“We are heartbroken at the sudden passing of Tim Russert. We have lost a beloved member of our NBC Universal family and the news world has lost one of its finest. The enormity of this loss cannot be overstated. More than a journalist, Tim was a remarkable family man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Maureen, their son, Luke, and Tim’s entire extended family.”

The rest of the story….

Mr. Russert’s objectivity in political journalism will surely be missed.

My condolences and prayers to the Russert family…

My friend sofyst had a blog ‘the protestant pub’ which is now defunct.  Unfortunately, someone who is lacking class, connected the address to a porn site, subsequently, every link I’ve ever posted to the pub now led to a porn site.  I’ve spent a lot of time this morning editing numerous posts to break the links.  I hope I have gotten them all, but take heed:

If you see the pub linked to in any post here, simply ignore it…

In an earlier post I talked about the idea of ‘calvinism vs. evangelism’.  Basically I wanted to explore the idea if Calvinism nullifies, or rejects, evangelism.  Let us start by looking at some quotes from Chad Woodburn of Master’s Flock:

Calvinism doesn’t necessarily reduce zeal for evangelism. But it is easy to see how the abuse of the Calvinistic teaching could easily drain people of any urgency and zeal for witnessing…

But, Calvinism is easily used to reduce evangelistic fervor...  There have been many young theology students who started out with a deep passion for evangelism who, when they bought into the Calvinistic beliefs (or began to misuse those teachings), lost their zeal for witnessing. They have echoed the discouraging words that were spoken to William Carey, the great pioneer missionary to India. He was told something very discouraging by a Calvinistic church leader who did not want him to go to the mission field. That leader said something like this: “Young man, when God wants to save the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine.”

One’s general theology can also produce small changes in one’s gospel message. Not only does Calvinism (or its misuse) make a difference in the level of zeal for evangelism that some people will have, but it can also make a significant difference in the message itself. For example, it is questionable whether a true Calvinist cannot honestly say to a lost person, “God loves you and wants to give you heaven as a free gift.” Instead, he has to add a footnote to that saying, “that is, if you are one of those God has already chosen to save.” Why? Because, they do not believe that God wants to give heaven as a free gift to all lost people (including the non-elect lost), just to the “elect” lost.

This snippet goes a long way to explain why there is a belief that Calvinism discourages evangelism (being a self-studied ‘calvinist’, I’ve never understood exactly why people would assert such… until now.)

Here’s the thing; apparently strict Calvinists, or Calvinist doctrine teach predestination and irresistible grace to such and extreme that the idea of spreading His Gospel seems pointless.  While I now understand that point and why those assertions are made, I cannot understand how anyone would come to this conclusion particularly since it is so contrary to everything the bible teaches us about obedience and witnessing.

We are instructed to spread the Gospel. That is simply not a suggestion, or a request, it is a command.  We are to spread the good news of Christ crucified and risen.  Regardless of what we know, or think we know about God’s soveriegnty and the idea of ‘election’.

I’ve had a conversation with myself a time or two about this; “If God has elected people to salvation, then do I need to or not need to witness?  Well of course I do!  God did not hang signs around their necks saying ‘elect’, so I have no idea who is or is not ‘elect’.  Nor do I know if it was God’s purpose for me to point the way for this individual or that individual, or not.”

There was more to that conversation, but I think you get the idea.  Ultimately, I am reminded of operations at my work.  When my company tells me that we will be doing something a certain way, or I am instructed to perform a duty, then my obligation is to do that duty, the way I am instructed, with just as much energy and enthusiasm as I should perform all of my duties.  Until my name is on the sign in the front of the building, or until my company asks me for my opinion, then my job is to embrace the direction given to me and put my whole heart into doing that job, whether I understand all the whys and wherefore’s.

In looking around for some information for this post I came across some interesting commentary regarding Calvinism and Arminiansim.  Some of the commentary I’ve seen touches on some difficulties I’ve had with calvinist doctrine, and the other as well. I’m going to do some research and try to hash out a few things regarding both doctrines and hopefully will gain some interpretive assistance from the Holy Spirit and report back to you regarding what I believe will be a biblically indestructible combination of two paradigmatically opposing doctrines.

I had the opportunity tonight to visit with some old friends. It has been far too long since I’ve seen this group and I very much enjoyed touching base again.  Unfortunately the gathering I attended was to wish ‘bon voyage’ to some of these friends as they make their way back to their former home in Texas.

To Danny and Marla - I wish you and your family well and I pray God’s hand will be on you as you move.

Andy and Pam, Carol and Roy, June, and all the ‘new’ friends I met tonight - God bless you and I hope I will be better at staying in touch…