"Next Lord's Day At The Foot Of The Cross!"

The following was first posted in November of 2012:

         "Next year in Jerusalem!" It may have been a rallying cry at one time but today its meaning  depends on what Jewish person you poll on the subject. The phrase is still repeated in ceremony two times a year at Passover and Yom Kippur. Even after researching it I still don't have a handle on the importance of these words to the Jewish community of today. I bring this up because I do understand how an individual can incorporate a saying into their life that has great meaning....even if only to that individual.
          If we the American people are ever to awaken to our predicament and our culpability in that predicament, I would think that it would have to begin on a certain day. Even if it would turn out to be a long process it would still have to have a beginning!
         One possibility is that that beginning would be in response to a calamity where the American people would finally be shocked into submission to the God they may acknowledge but keep at arms length.....but another possibility might be that God would have mercy upon us without calamity... and this by suddenly awakening our pulpits that have lain dormant for so long? Pastors would have put aside church growth mentalities, easy-believism and "all the world needs now is love ...sweet love" to preach the Christ of the book of Hebrews, and the salvation of the book of Romans, and the worship of the Psalms, and the judgment of Revelation? The Holy Spirit would then work through these awakened pastors on our cold hearts? 
         As this world hurries to judgment and another Lord's Day has passed with no sign of a quickening of the church, I find myself saying again....as I have for years...'maybe....maybe it will be....next Lord's Day at the foot of the cross.'  
         

Waylaid By A Coup

         There was competition but it wasn't really a horse race. Rush Limbaugh led the way followed a ways back by Hannity, followed by his close friend Mark Levin. Breitbart and Steve Bannon was right there with them. Michael Savage lagged behind a bit but was steady. Glen Beck was right up with them all until his horse jumped the rail and started running amok. So there was only five....but that was enough to insure that Hillary Rodham Clinton did not become the 45th President of the United States.
         I knew where I hoped that this team of horses to go after the election but really didn't think there was much chance of it. I wanted them to look beyond Barack Obama and the Clintons and Donald Trump to see that we the American people needed to change every bit as much as the party in the White House. I wanted them keep this battle going but they were waylaid by a coup.
        The Deep State wasted no time in initiating an attempted coup against Donald Trump. Rush Limbaugh....well....God took back the talent that was on loan. The rest held the line for a good while but Donald Trump and circumstances recruited them for full time service on his defense team. Only Michael Savage kept his identity. This isn't the same army that it was. That's often what happens when you win.
         I posted  the following one year ago today.

Your Mission.....Should You Accept It....

         Donald Trump as Time Magazine's pick for Person of the Year was expected. Obviously it would have been Hillary had she been awarded the election. Time Magazine likes to throw a curve ball every once in a while and give the award to a group of people or an idea or even an inanimate object. I'll hear the news on who they picked each year but have never actually read the accompanying article for Person of the Year. Well I shouldn't say 'never have read' for back when there was a legitimate journalistic media in America I did read Time. In fact one of the fondest memories of my high school academics was that we had to read one of the opinion articles from U. S. News & World Report every week and give a report on it.
         Anyway, had not Donald Trump been so obvious a pick then I think that conservative talk radio would have been the ticket and here is why. This mass of kinetic energy that covered the landscape with Trump signs from Easton to Boise (east of Easton and west of Boise...eh...not so kinetic), this army of Minutemen, this patriotic, educated and intellectually armed throwback to Valley Forge would not have survived the winters of our discontents had not conservative talk radio been leading the way.
         This was our Publius, our Thomas Paine, our Benjamin Franklin and our John Locke transmogrified into waves of electromagnetic radiation travelling at the speed of light into every kitchen and workroom and automobile in America. The mainstream media, our betters as they perceive themselves to be, tried to keep the truth from us but utterly failed. We went through basic training all the way up to OCS at the instruction of radio and books and our own Constitution...all synchronized by common sense and reason....rare in the cities but abundant outside of them. The only thing that we needed was a George Washington to lead us. Well...we didn't get him.....but we did get Donald Trump. Considering that you could probably count the George Washingtons that America has had on the fingers of one hand...I guess we could have done a whole lot worse.
         These stellar stars of conservative talk radio that we navigated by through a perfect storm wrapped in a cosmic disturbance that threatened every foundation laid in the latter half of the eighteenth century....these men and women kept the heat on and the powder dry until the battle was won. Their mission now.....a much more difficult mission this time.....should they accept it....is to bring God into the equation...but first they themselves have to realize that God alone rules in the affairs of men.

Lottery From Hell

            The ping pong ball pops up into a tube then rolls down another clear tube where the painted....17....is clearly visible. A voice announces the number and another ball pops up and rolls down....8....then another....58....another.....19.....all across the state people's eyes are darting from one ticket to another.....the fifth ball rolls down the tube....41....that voice as if from from heaven gives the audience a few seconds to collect their thoughts......they either are hoping to at least hit the big ball....for a few bucks....or they may be looking at a few thousand dollars......or maybe even 50 million dollars.....the ball pops up.....rolls down....the last number is staring out and a fair amount of people are high-fiving those around them.....while others are simply ripping up their tickets.
            We in America are playing the Devil's lottery with a somewhat different matrix. There's little of real substance and no eternal value to be won but everything to be lost. Only one 'death' ball is needed to bring calamity to the United States of America. Sixty-nine white-lettered and a few red-lettered balls are in the first tank....North Korea can be the catalyst to catastrophe......Iran can push start it all.....Communist China can light the fuse....that giant bubble market looming overhead like the Goodyear blimp can set off a chain reaction.....an artifical intelligence....aka Satan himself....can be the beginning of the end.....and as for the big ball....Satan has thrown a bunch of weighted 666s into the mix.
             The air valve opened some time ago and then everyone waited with baited-breath.....Donald Trump.....we all cheered.....the second ball rolled down the tube.....Bull Market....more cheers.....the third ball popped up.....Tax Cuts....even more money for us....what a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Christ....Merry Christmas everyone.....but there are more balls to be drawn. Somewhere in that tank there is surely is a ball with Peace and Security written on it.
             We as a people bought a ticket for this game many years ago when we ceased to depend on the Benefactor of all of our blessings....preferring to rely on our own strength. The remaining balls are bouncing off the glass....what's the chances of one of those red balls coming up....apparently not high enough to concern us.
             God watches all of this. He has kept those red balls from entering the tube.....watching our reaction to each ball that pops up.....but this is no game of chance.....Satan is doing everything that he can to bring one of those red balls up.....but God has to take His hand off the machine for that to happen. We are unaware of this.....all we would have to do is plead for mercy for ever buying this ticket.....but we like our chances.....the valve opens once again.....we're waiting to see the color....."anything but red" we chant...."anything but red......baby needs a new pair of shoes!"
         Congratulations......we can all now say Merry Christmas.....but have less understanding on what the birth of Christ meant for us than when when couldn't say it.

Dispatch.....America.....Christmas Weekend

           It's Saturday....Christmas weekend.....and Breitbart's head Steve Bannon is live on the radio for the regular Saturday morning show. With him is another of their regular hosts.....Raheem Kassam. They were on last night....Friday evening of Christmas weekend.....on the weekday evening show from 9 to 12 PM. Apparently there will a Sunday show tomorrow evening.....don't know what hour that is....don't do TV and radio talk on the Lord's Day. They're even broadcasting on Christmas morning and evening.....and I'll be there.......even with our significant disagreements! Rush is probably teeing off right about now......as is the President......with a soiree in the evening.
           What is this fanaticism that produces scheduling such as this. What is it that puts me at this computer in my free time for the past nine years...and just about all my time since retirement.....going to bed about 2 in the morning and getting up at 6 to begin again? I'll tell you what it is.....it's very simple......no great heroism involved here......if you know the level of the threat against the United States at this time.....then this is what you do.  If you think that this is just politics....then a bad tee time might be your biggest concern. To invert this thought.....if you aren't fanatical in defending your family and your country right now......then you just don't know what's going on. If you are a pastor and not warning your congregation....then you also have no idea of what is going on in this world.

Christmas

     Roughly twenty years ago or so I sat down at the computer night after night and pecked away at what would become a short novel...the link for which is to your left. I never even gave it a name and just refer to it as the name of the main character....Isaac Crockett. Isaac is a genuine rock star....and yet a Christian....who surprises his family....his band mates....and the world by leaving the world of rock music. He helps a young woman in distress....time passes and they meet again. She is not very religious.  They fall in love....and the following is from Chapter 22....they're all short chapters....Isaac sees that this young woman has indeed come to Christ. The scene is Christmastime.....Isaac sees Christmas as I see it....I tried to describe Anne's epiphany as what I always imagined Sarah Edwards religious devotion to be....Sarah being the wife of the First Great Awakening's Jonathan Edwards. Either way, Christmas can refer to a holiday, or it can refer to the most glorious day that this earth ever experienced up to that time. This was but one of the reasons that the Puritans rejected it....that glorious day must not be trivialized. What cannot easily be trivialized is reconstructing in the mind what happened that day in Bethlehem a little over two thousand years ago. Surely....even on the other side of the globe....the birds must have sang out....the deer startled at the glory in the heavens.....and even the lions in the African savannah must have roared out a praise to the one who provides them with food.

CHAPTER TWENTY

     Anne and Isaac had spent the day in Philadelphia. It was two weeks until Christmas and the first snowfall of the year had graced Penn's Woods, more commonly known as Pennsylvania. The plan for the day was to meet at Independence Hall, have lunch and then shop until they dropped. Anne didn't need a tour guide of Philly but Isaac served as one anyway commenting in detail on the development of our Constitution and most of those involved in it, also commenting on the faith, lack of faith, deism, Masonry and outright atheism of those to who it pertained. They stopped to take a picture of a statue honoring the Marquis de Lafayette complete with Isaac's commentary on the differences between the American and French revolutions, particularly as they pertained to the religious beliefs of those involved.
     "Isaac?"
     "Yes Anne?"
     "Is it Christmas coming up....or the Fourth of July?"
     "Sorry Anne. I get carried away in places like Philadelphia, Boston, Gettysburg...you remember 'Gettysburg' don't you?"
     "Tooooche' my love. The Civil War brought us together."

     Isaac's opinion of Christmas was more Puritan than Continental. He disliked the merchandising that put people in debt, worried about the children who thought only about gifts and dreaded the pagan influence but was not about to bring these things up.

     "Is Christmastime a special time of the year for you Isaac?"
     Well, so much for ignoring the issues.
     "Anne, I hope to celebrate Christmas and enjoy it as much as I can and certainly hope that I can make it a special time for you...but my heart isn't really into Christmas. I do enjoy the Bing Crosby and Andy Williams type of Christmas songs and I really love the Christmas carols, some of which are nothing short of majestic. I love the snow and getting bundled up and sitting by the fire wondering what chestnuts taste like. I like building snowmen and having snowball fights...so much so that..."
Isaac bent over and started making a snowball, and then another...and another...
     Anne figured out what he was about to do and started running while Isaac lobbed the snowballs at her. He caught up to her, turned her around and held her close.
     "But you know what I love most about Christmastime?"
     Anne thought that a romantic comment was coming.
     "What would that be?"
     "I love it that I have never heard the word or seen a...snowwoman. It must drive the feminists
crazy!"
     Anne wrinkled up her nose and Isaac did indeed then get serious.
     "Anne, I hope that you're not disappointed. I'm not a Scrooge...I promise. Every time that I see a manger scene the holiday comes back into focus. Handel's Messiah must be the most beautiful oratorio ever composed. I can't promise you Santa but I can promise you Angels We Have Heard On high."
     "Oh Isaac, I'm not disappointed. This Christmas is most special to me."
Isaac thought it was Anne's turn for a romantic comment but she looked up to the sky with an angelic smile and said.
     "Can you imagine what it would have been like with all those angels singing? Can you imagine how beautiful their voices must have been. I'm sure that the shepherds must have been frozen with awe! The snow must have been the whitest that it has ever been...and the sky the clearest when Jesus breathed his first breath...the Son of God come down to us...all the earth must have stood still at that moment...even the animals near the baby must have been blessed!"
     Isaac thought about how his Dad described Anne's burgeoning faith as her eyes were still looking up to the heavens. They walked on in silence, hand in hand.

Aardvark To Army

This is a day after Christmas 2017 post:         

           The president was this bald man with a nice voice who used to be a general. The greatest invention ever was The Wonderful World Of Disney...and that whole television set built around it. Davy Crockett was the greatest American ever.....Mickey Mantle the greatest baseball player ever and Elvis Presley the greatest anything ever. The snow would fall by the foot and then the wind would blow it into these giant drifts where all you had to do to make a great igloo was dig into the side of them. Cars had these big fins and model cars had these moons that you could put on the wheels to make them look real cool. Bowling alleys were packed with people and the funnest place on earth. I lived in a mansion....six rooms on the second floor of a three floor red brick apartment building where everyone knew everyone else in the other mansions. This was my 1959 in Buffalo, New York.
          OK I just did an experiment.....I can't remember what I had for supper two days ago....but I remember every minute to a tee of Friday evenings 58 years ago. We had to be home for Walt Disney Presents at 7:30....77 Sunset Strip with Kookie at 9....and The Twilight Zone at 10....but first there was the weekly trip to the Super Market. We had a car back then...it was the last year that we would have one. I would run into the super market and go directly to the checkout counter to see if the latest volume of The Golden Book (Children's) Encyclopedia was on the special cardboard stand.
          I mentioned these wonderful books to my wife many times over the years....occasionally giving the hint that I sure would like a set. Her eyes would roll and she would say....."You'd put them in the living room!" Well, I got that set for a Christmas present this year! Immediately after exchanging presents and cleaning up all the Christmas wrappings I made a cup of coffee....sat in my favorite chair....pushed aside the books I was in the middle of.....Code Warriors, NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union....Soonish, Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything....and In The Garden Of The Beasts, Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin and read one volume through of this dated Children's encyclopedia.
         I looked at the pictures....especially those all over the cover.....for they were all already stored in the back of my mind from almost six decades ago. I could almost feel the cold Buffalo chill and hear the wind outside the window.....actually it was very windy here in Western Pennsylvania.....and I could hear the wind. I'm not sure how much my mother paid for them....I'm thinking 99c maybe $1.99....but she paid it! I contend that no child today could get from their smart phone or extract the joy that I did from these simple books. Oh....and they're going on my living room bookshelf....at least for while!     

Read....And Maybe Weep

Compare if you will the attitude of those who signed the following document to those who lead us today:

Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day

Washington, D.C.
March 30, 1863 Senator James Harlan of Iowa, whose daughter later married President Lincoln's son Robert, introduced this Resolution in the Senate on March 2, 1863. The Resolution asked President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. The Resolution was adopted on March 3, and signed by Lincoln on March 30, one month before the fast day was observed. 

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation. And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion. All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh. By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

Breitbart Listeners

         Steve Bannon is one tough cookie, a dominant alpha male if there is such a thing, and a smooth operator in front of a microphone. What a life he's led....a student leader in college.....Navy officer.....a successful entrepreneur.....lucky as a Lotto winner.....and an Oliver Cromwell type in political battle. He is a force to be reckoned with on conservative talk radio and the halls of Congress.
         Steve has a plan......you and I are part of it. Economic Nationalism is simply letting America be America as it always has been.....let its business community compete on a fair battlefield and we will come out OK if not on top. The people just want to earn their money....keep their money....and spend it on what they want to spend it on. This will be America's new creed (a looming future problem with Christians by the way in its radical tolerance on biblical issues)....and this just happens to be Donald Trump's forte....not only in making money but as president...helping other money men to make money....thereby helping us to make money by working for those other men. It will....according to a Breitbart report from a Charlie Rose interview with Bannon...."unite Americans of all races, nationalities, religions, sexual preferences."
         The problem is that although this is Donald Trump's forte...he has very few other abilities to go along with it, so Steve Bannon has to put every ounce of effort into helping President Trump be successful....let alone stay in office in the middle of a coup. The problem intensifies in that Economic Nationalism is not the primary passion of everyone who put Donald Trump into office. So we....some call us common sense conservatives....some like myself are Christian conservatives....have to be cajoled and actually deceived to a certain extent in order for President Trump to put his forte to good use.
         I used to think that Sean Hannity was the hardest worker among conservatives....then Mark Levin came up to his speed.....but now Bannon has surpassed them both.....he's seems to be everywhere. When he left the White House and said that he was taking the fight elsewhere I didn't know what he meant. I know now. He's going to rally conservatives like Robert E. Lee rallied the Army of Northern Virginia! Oh wait...I can't say that can I....that would make him a racist....he's going rally conservatives like Vince Lombardi rallied the Green Bay Packers.
           Today Steve hosted the Breitbart Saturday show for the first hour...from Tokyo...before Raheem took over. It was tense with Bannon at the mic. If someone stutters a little Bannon is quick to prod the caller to hurry up. It's unnerving to the listener and probably paralyzing to the caller. A dog just barked from a caller's end and Raheem just laughed it off.  I don't like the influence that he has had on Alex Marlow on the radio....gone is the calm probing intellect....replaced by the rat-a-tat-tat Bannon protege. Have you ever seen the Howard Hawks film Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Clift? Bannon is Tom Dunson.....don't even get in his way.....well not quite as tough as the cattle drive boss....but tough enough to instill fear in those who work for him. No one had any say in driving the cattle but Dunson....not his son Matt...not Groot! (you'd have to see the film)
         Considering that we knew little of Steve Bannon before it was was written....Keith Koffler's new biography....Bannon, Always The Rebel....is not only needed but pretty good as a short primer bio. We see a tough kid....a short but successful Navy career....a savvy entrepreneur....documentary filmmaker extraordinaire.....a bold mover and shaker in politics....and a communications titan in the making. We see some faults and failures too. 
         Whereas Steve Bannon's main knowledge of history comes from people like Gibbon and Plutarch and Thucydides, my typical authors of influence would be more Iain Murray and Cotton Mather or even David Barton. Whereas I don't have a clue about Thucydides, Bannon doesn't have a clue about the Puritans....not a clue....and unfortunately not much on the Christian faith either....but that's an intolerant statement isn't it? Steve Bannon's prophets are William Strauss and Neil Howe authors of their 1997 book The Fourth Turning. (I've read the book. It's not an easy read but necessary to understand the strategies of Steve Bannon) My prophets would be God's prophets...and those from Scripture alone!   
         I will give Steve Bannon this....what you see is what you get. He's not hiding anything. Some say of him...you either love him or you hate him....but not with me.....I just like him....but I disagree a fair amount with him. He thinks....as Keith Koffler relates..."Of the two most powerful countries in the world (the USA and China) one country in the next 25 or 30 or 35 years will become a global hegemon." I think that both countries are on their way to at least peripheral involvement in a future battle known as Armageddon. He thinks that the Imitation of Christ is a good book. I think that it is a poor imitation of the Good Book.  Steve's main battles take place on Tuesdays at the election booth.....I think that the battles primarily take place on Sundays.....from the pulpit and in the pew.
         I'm not into a Populist Nationalism.....I'm for a Populist Awakening. Bannon will support or at least acquiesce to Donald Trump in just about everything. I'll support Donald Trump only when he's honest with us.....which is less than 50% of the time.  But hey....reality is reality. Steve Bannon is a man of great importance and influence....while I'm fortunate that you might read my insignificant posts....but here's the difference.....no fourth turning will decide America's fate......God Almighty alone will do that....our political conservatism will not be the deciding factor....only our humility.....and reverence.....and willingness to repent of what we have become.

Addendum: This morning (12/18) Alex referred to Roy Moore in retrospect as a "crap candidate." Had the globalists not attacked with everything they have....Roy Moore would have been a great candidate....so much for leaving no man behind. My feelings on Roy Moore is the same as it was with the Rev. Jerry Falwell. I am not in sync with their fundamentalist...lowest common denominator theology.....or necessarily their political strategies....but both men held their heads high in proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ....and neither compromised that faith in their vocations. Roy Moore was not a "crap candidate." What Alex Marlowe's remarks point to is a very tentative symbiosis between the 'Make America Great Again' faction and the conservative Christian faction in the American political arena.
            God makes nations rise or fall.....He raises leaders in those nations entirely for His purposes alone. He raised Barack Obama up and brought Hillary Clinton down. He raised Ronald Reagan up. Donald Trump is where he is at for a purpose.....of which we do not yet know......but it wasn't as the new 'Christian' book The Trump Prophesies proclaim it to be....that stuff is nonsense.
             For the umpteenth time in these posts of nine years.....God will not be mocked....or used. Politics will not save us.  As I type....Rush Limbaugh is having rapturous deliriums on the stock market. He even commented that it might seem "a little insane" to some in how magnificently prosperous our future might be. How little he knows about God's relationship to man.

------It Should Be Illegal To Have Televisions In Waiting Rooms

         Occasionally I bring a post back from my humor pages.....to highlight them for a few hours for one....and also to show that although these are days that call for extreme soberness....most of my posts are an example of that....there is also a time for healthy venting....in a way....through humor. Televisions in waiting rooms should be illegal. The following are just two of my recent experiences:

         Well, I had another wonderful experience in a doctor's waiting room today. What makes it worse is that I'm not the one who was sick....I'm just the driver....which means I that I'm in the waiting room the whole time. Last waiting room it was Let's Make A Deal that drove me crazy. Today it was some house remodeling and selling show. I have no clue what it's called. I'm sitting here in a trance as I write. The windows don't open or I'd jump.
         Now I have to admit that the primary reason I hate these shows.....I actually never even saw one before....I just knew that I would hate it....the actual reason is that I don't have any abilities in remodelling or anything like that so I have this extreme inferiority complex. I spend all my time in the Bible and analyzing a collapsing nation that will at the very least bring pain and suffering to all those that I love, so I'm totally inadequate at turning the cellar into a family room. I turned mine into a survival bunker. I can spot a communist that's trying to steal your children's mind but I can't spot a bad roof until the rain drips on my computer.
           Unfortunately there are two things in life where you can be an expert without actually having spent much time in research and study and they are religion and politics; so you can devote your life to study but ultimately you will be no more listened to than Joe or Mike who spend all their free time on the golf course while reading three books a year...one of which was written by Bill O'Reilly and another about a seven year old kid's trip to heaven to play soccer with Jesus.
           Anyway, back to the waiting room....I'm watching this guy.....who does dress to the nines by the way.....I watched him take this couple to three houses....whoa....now there are two guys and they look like twins....now I'm doubly inferior! Anyway he took this couple to three houses in an attempt to sell them on one......but the word ''houses doesn't really seem to fit. "How much is it?" they ask......$860,000 is the answer......they don't fall over.....they smile...."That's in our budget!" That's in our budget? That's not in a small nation's budget for an embassy! I wish my total worth was that much.
           I'd settle for EMTs taking my relative out on a stretcher to get out of here. Is this America? I must have been sick the day it won the Lotto. Somehow I get the feeling that this couple wouldn't have the slightest interest in reading my Special Dog blog.

DEATH BY WAITING ROOM

          Wow...torture...I'm sitting in the waiting room of a car dealer while my vehicle is being repaired and the television is 24 inches from my ear (the only seat available.) Governor Pence is being interviewed....no, interviewed isn't the word......interrogated is the word. The encouraging news in this is that I glanced up at the man opposite me and he in turn glanced over to me and just shook his head. One young man has ear buds in....smart man. Another is giving a death stare at the television. He looks an awful lot like Jerry Stiller from the King Of Queens. Hmm...I better not say anything.
         Is this a tweet? It's getting worse....the announcer just said that Senator Lindsey Graham is coming on to give insight on something or other. I guess I'll have to listen to that. I hope there's nothing to that Stockhom Syndrome thing.
         Oh no!......"I'm Hillary Clinton...and I approve this message." Is this worth it? I mean what's a little 'check engine' light?  OK, the political ad is over. I don't care what these folks think of me with my fingers in my ears. Now there's a segment on childbirth. Please...I mean do we throw 'kidney stones' at you all the time. Have you ever seen a television show when the man is behind a door screaming?
         Lindsey is on now.....(who names their son Lindsey.....It can't even be shortened.....Lind.....Linds) ...."Ah thank that Hillary is right awn theece." They're treating Graham very nicely. That's because he's a senior menber of the junior members of the UniParty. The term  UniParty comes from Professor Angelo Codevilla. We essentially have one major political party in the United States...the UniParty...consisting of the senior partner Democrats and the junior partner Republicans.
         I look up at the giant TV over my right shoulder.....I can see the facial pores on the interviewers face. Whatever happened to 'Honey, adjust the rabbit ears while you're up. I can't tell if it's the television or if it's snowing on Bonanza." I don't want to see Joe Biden's hair plugs. Ok, now we're getting better.... a commercial with Morgan Fairchild on it. We...Morgan Fairchild and I...were born on the very same day in 1950. Yeah, we look about the same age!
         I look at my watch......it should be another 30 minutes! I'd rather wait for Godot! I don't know if I can handle it. It's cold outside so I can't take a walk. I'd settle for a rerun of That 70s Show or even Jerry Springer! I could go out to the showroom and buy a new car. Let's see.....30 minutes....$30,000...30 minutes...$30,000....tough decision...
The door opens...
"Special Dog? Special Dog?"
I jump out of my seat "Here....here!"
 "Your car is done....everything's O..."
"That's great....give me the keys....thanks.....bye."

   

------Pack Rat

The following was first posted a week ago   

          My first contact with the Bible as such was at my First Holy Communion while in the second grade in Cheektowaga, New York where I was born nearby at Sisters Hospital and where we lived until my parents separated and my mother and I returned to Pittsburgh where both my parents were born......East Pittsburgh and Braddock to be specific. It was the custom to be given a Bible by the adult standing up for you at your first communion. I was hoping for a big Bible and disappointed in the tiny pocket size given to me.
          My second experience was three or four years after that in the same Catholic elementary school....and not with the Bible itself. Students did not report directly to their class in the morning but rather were encouraged to go to Mass in the new modern church. Catholics were not to eat anything in the previous three hours before communion so we were given a treat of a glazed donut as we got to our classrooms....which I really enjoyed.....and looked forward to. Half the students had to sit in silence while the rest of us dunked our glazed donuts in tea! It may be my fondest memory of my early schooling! I did not own a regular Bible other than the pocket one given to me at my first communion in which the writing was too small to read. I did have a Daily Missal which I treasured. The words themselves did not mean anything to me. The thin....delicate pages....the red Latin phrases....and the bold print on the important words.....that was what mesmerized me.
          My third experience with the Bible was in Catholic high school in Pittsburgh. It was in two paperback volumes.....the Old Testament and the New Testament.....and it was more of a textbook than the Bible as we know it. I admit that I didn't like reading it. I don't know that these experiences would necessarily be duplicated today.....but that is what I experienced.
          My fourth experience with the Bible was probably in the winter of 1973. I commuted to Pitt after getting out of the army and would usually stop in the National Record Mart on Fourth Avenue in Oakland to browse while I waited for the Port Authority Lincoln Coach to come. One day I bought a paperback titled.....Reach Out....The Living New Testament Illustrated. The letters for Reach Out on the cover are superimposed over pictures of smiling young people, and inside there are a dozen or so similar pictures scattered here and there. The effect of that book....small though it was in retrospect....stays with me today. It was the first time I actually read the words of the Bible to see what they had to say. I was moved.....tremendously....only for the moment....but enough to stay with me to today. That book sold for $2.95....and is next to me as I type.
           I was....Born Again....sometime in 1982. My wife had given me a hardback New King James Version of the Bible for Christmas that year. I also have that Bible next to me. There's not a word highlighted....underlined.....or any notes or comments anywhere in the Bible.
           A year later....1983....I went out and bought a leather bound New King James Version called The Open Bible....that also is next to me. My wife was at a Christmas dinner gathering with the neighborhood ladies this evening and told me that they all talked about how their husbands never throw things out. This Bible has assorted color highlighting all through it......underlining everywhere....and tiny notations that I wrote from the first page to the last.
          I have written a number of times in these posts over the years on how the Bible.....the Word of God.....is more valuable than anything else on this planet! None of those words were exaggeration. In fact I'm ashamed that I couldn't write more accurately how wonderful and powerful this great gift given to us is.
           One great American malady today is that.....because of various reason that I won't go into in this post.....we seem to think that our primary knowledge of God comes from simply meditating on Him......in our free time. I was talking to a dealer in precious metals the other day....and played the dummy....because I am a dummy in the specifics of precious metals. That should be how it works friends....if someone has done the homework.....then it should behoove us to at least listen to them....but that's not what we do in America on religion. Nothing has to be learned here......history is superfluous......we just think about God......and come to our conclusions.
           Moses gave the Hebrews the Law that God had given him to give to them. First century Christians had special gifts available to them to guide them while the entire Word of God was being compiled. This is where we go folks....to the Bible! Let others laugh and ignore the greatest gift given to man by God. My hope....and my prayer.....is that you might read this post......dig out that Bible from wherever it is.....and accept this gift. If you do this then you will be the one marking up your Bibles and keeping some extra Bibles on hand to give away at the slightest interest shown by friends or relatives.
          

------What Hath God Wrought

           Conservatives are primarily radio people. Whether in the car on the way to work, or at work if possible, or at home. Take me for example....I have never seen Morning Joe or Mika....only knew who Matt Lauer was from his occasional appearances on Dateline.....really have no idea what a game of thrones is.....and my television has only been on once on a Sunday in the last thirty years and that was somewhat of an emergency situation. That's called freedom folks!
           It's entirely possible that both of my grandfathers were in the building on November 2nd 1920 at dinnertime when KDKA radio in Pittsburgh began election returns in what was America's first commercial radio broadcast....this from the roof of the Westinghouse Electric Building in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.....for both men worked for Westinghouse......on the floor......in the dirt and the grime.
           Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and a few others piloted this fleet through storms and tempests and Steve Bannon came along to pilot the newly cristened USS Donald Trump into harbor....crashing it into the dock sending all the Democrat and Republican chain gang big boss men who were on their way back from a cruise ship junket to Hades to the floor....and they 're still staggering around.
           These ship captains, so to speak, have since, one by one lost their sea legs. Rush has been worthless the entire year.....Hannity not much better.......and Levin lagging of late. Bannon went on to serve on the Admiralty and was replaced by Alex Marlowe who did a yeoman's job of actually bringing the callers into the conversation but Bannon was booted out of the Admiralty....he in turn booted out Marlow who is now selling trinkets is the ship's store.....and now we have no one piloting these ships.....they're all down in the bilge working on getting the pumps running, when they should let others do that while they gather their charts, set a new course and set about getting this fleet out of port.
           Leaders delegate responsibility but they won't do that to us. Do they really think that we are going to sit back while a virtual coup is taking place? Do they think that we don't don't know what this mainstream media is? I'll tell you what we don't know. We don't know what Communism is....and apparently they don't either!
           Right now....at this moment in time....there are precious few genuine conversations or intellectual debate or mental exercises on conservative talk radio. It's all take notes and memorize the daily mantra. Rush is cheerleading.....Hannity's been giving a six-month defense summation......Levin is just yelling at everyone......and Bannon's show is like an infomercial or PBS self-help seminar.

           Gentlemen....Ladies....of conservative talk radio....you adequately lectured....and  taught.....your listening audience on Russian collusion and an assortment of other issues for the entire year. You have zeroed in on the dupes instead of the masterminds.You are being played.....we have got Paul Manafort and Gloria Allred in our dreams, and still not a clue as to what is behind all of this. Here's a bit of advice. Read Paul Kengor's The Politically Incorrect Guide To Communism. It won't tax your mind. It's like a month of sports pages. You will then have an idea of what has gone on and be able to actually help your audience once again. It's time to tell us just exactly what the term 'the Left' means.
            Breitbart people and talk show heads...please pass this post on....prove me right....that we're not just a bunch of lemmings to follow who cannot think for themselves!

------The Roy Moore Trial.....And Tribulation

         In what is highly unusual for me I paid no attention to the results in the Alabama Senate race as they came in. I usually sit at the computer analyzing the county returns. I just checked this moment, around twenty minutes to midnight, and saw that Roy Moore had lost.....as of now anyway.
         In July of 1925 the Scopes Monkey trial attracted the attention of America much like the Roy Moore's candidacy has. William Jennings Bryan argued for the prosecution. Near the end of the trial Clarence Darrow called Bryan to the stand and, in the eyes of the reporters and as represented in the media, totally humiliated him with rapid-fire questions about the Bible that Bryan was not prepared in life to answer. Scopes was found guilty but that only served to stir up the rancor of the northern elites who ridiculed the 'moronic' Christians who actually believed things like Jonah and the Whale. Fundamentalism suffered a serious defeat. William Jennings Bryan died while taking an afternoon nap five days after the trial ended.
           The die was already cast in the Senate Race. Roy Moore was going to be held up to constant ridicule and worse if he took a seat in the Senate. I felt pain for him in even thinking about it.  I prayed for God's will....and that He would protect and bless Roy Moore through it and after it.
          As for America? Alabama....this supposed bastion of Bible Christianity.....well....Doug Jones voters know exactly who he is and what he supports. I knew months ago that even a close race in this Bible Belt state would be very telling on where America truly is today. America was at one time a great nation....until its people in large numbers abandoned the Biblical Faith. Today we are but a remnant wrapped not in the Constitution but in the Humanist Manifesto....utterly divided....and a house divided cannot stand. Communists are singing The Internationale tonight while globalists dance to the Ode To Joy...the Anthem of Europe...from Beethoven's 9th.
          Even with all of this I still wanted Roy Moore to win....to be a Christian vote in the Senate....but whereas the Scopes verdict 'victory' turned out to be a defeat for Bible-believing Christians.....Moore's apparent 'defeat' may turn out to be a victory for Bible-believing Christians. Maybe it will wake some of the pulpits up.....maybe it will turn some Christians back to the Word of God. Either way it is God's will! No....there's no hoedown in Alabama tonight......but maybe a lot more prayer meetings than usual!

America....Free...Free Fallin'

          The following was first posted in January of 2012. I have republished it over a dozen times and even as I read it today my hands comes up to my eyes as if to suppress the forming of a tear. Not because of the words but of what they describe. This once great country, this bastion of freedom and liberty, this defender of the weak whose people over centuries openly proclaimed the glory of God and total sovereignty of His very being over all of creation......this country has been ransacked and pillaged....its heritage plundered and mocked.....and much too high of a percentage of its people dulled and defenseless in their lack of discernment and wisdom.

America.....Free.....Free Fallin'

          Dawn breaks and pull by pull the flag rises until its stars and stripes blend into the red sky. The 21st century America cold front collides with the warm heritage of American liberty. Dark clouds form above the eagle perched atop the pole and the flag snaps as the winds begin another day of adding to the tatters and waiting for the rain that month by month fades the blue and red hues that Americans have savored as the taste of freedom for so long.

          An icy chill settles in the bones of the one raising the flag for he knows that its stars and stripes will be indiscernible before long. He looks down to see if the cracks in the foundation supporting the pole have widened from the tremors that increasingly shake America...they have. He steps back, standing as erect as he can under the burden of seeing his nation collapse, and salutes; a tear forming as he knows that he may be the last to perform this duty. His mind wanders from, first... the drum and piper escorting the newly created flag, to the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's poem, to the charging Union soldier picking up the banner dropped by a fallen comrade in arms, to the lifting of the flagpole on Mt. Suribachi, to the camo flag on the fatigues of the grunt in Vietnam, to the brilliant contrast of red, white and blue with the gray mountain of fallen steel, brick and mortar of the World Trade Center, to the lone flag now raised in the Green Zone of Baghdad.

          In only a few hours cheers and shouts will be heard off in the distance, not for returning heroes, not as a President passes by, not as a war ends in victory but for the beginning of a football game. The Star Spangled Banner will play and be sung by the latest celebrity seeking a national spotlight but not a word of its lyrics will resonate with the power it had since Fort McHenry. We are not as the Roman Empire falling, we are as the Roman Empire beginning whose gods are numerous, whose Caesars consolidate powers given by a populace that only wants another day at the Coliseum. God's hand is being lifted and the exhilaration of choosing our own destiny emboldens us to stare into the eyes of Caesar and say not, "Give me liberty or give me death" but "Give me liberty to choose my own death." All the while the remaining Christians gather in their catacombs wondering if God's mercies on America are over; imploring of Him one more time for America to be a beacon to the nations, a people that not only openly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind but evidence the beneficence, mercy, majesty, power and glory of Him who created the universe and without whom not one molecule would continue to exist.

          It was a marvel and a wonder while it existed in its original form....these United States of America....but now they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. They are a people once different as night and day in their habits and their speech that bonded together as a new entity...Americans, freed from the tyranny of kings, freed from serfdom and most importantly freed from the lie that man is the master of his fate, the captain of his soul, but that freedom, once defended, is now merely petted in the lap of luxury, "Free" as the famous rocker penned..."Free Fallin'." The American Creed, never spoken but always evident, is now but a liberal screed against God, against tradition, and against history itself.

          The sun, obscured throughout the day by clouds, sets in the West. The rain that would normally give life to the fields, runs off of the frozen, barren and lifeless ground. The flag is lowered and gently folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, one of the last vestiges that remain of the fight for independence. No Taps is heard, only the music of the night coming from wherever the revelers gather after the game. The winds die down, no longer needed, for the flag has been taken down, while angels sent by God prepare to blow their trumpets.

....COUSA (Communist Operations USA)......

The following post is from September 20th (before Steve Bannon returned to Breitbart):

         OK.....for the sake of setting up this post...I'm a communist. I despise America and hate God. What's my plan? I want all of those deplorable patriots to be totally consumed with defending Donald Trump! I do not want them even close to looking at what is really happening. I want them passionate.....I want their conservative radio hosts defending Trump three hours every show.....I don't want them criticizing this man or these people will start thinking again! I want Christian pastors telling their sheep that are about to be sheared that everything is fine.....and I want Donald Trump......to be Donald Trump.....for that stirs the pot! So I'm very happy right now for that's exactly what's happening.
        So I will encourage my useful idiots that are literally everywhere to make even more outlandish accusations against this president for that keeps the rabble occupied; but as well as this offensive is going one has to watch his flanks, for there are some things happening that concern me. Not all of the conservative talk show hosts are falling in line. That Breitbart guy Marlowe is a big pain in the butt and that Savage character isn't much better. At least their big cheese Limburgher is doing what we want.
        The other flank is of even more concern. Under no circumstances are these Christians to wake up, for if they do then we will be set back another twenty years. It's utterly impossible to fool these people if they're not kept under control. My dupes are of little use here. All I can do is read the Monday morning briefings and hope that there is no evidence of soberness from the previous days church services. This gospel nonsense spreads like wildfire when that breath from who knows where inflames those embers. A whole region can go up in flames in a few weeks, and the entire country before you can do anything about it.

DISPATCH 11/27 2017 CE.... Attention all comrades!!!! We have a major problem. The American NFL is losing fans in large numbers! What are these men doing on Sundays now? Our National Anthem protest may have backfired on us. Call it off....now! Get these men in the stadiums and in front of their televisions. Also...Limbaugh and Levin were bloviating against Communism on their shows today! What's going on here? Who's not doing their job?
        

Eight Hints For A Stress-Free Life

         It's a pretty natural condition among humans in that we really don't want bad news on what might be in the future. Take me for instance. Maybe two years ago I noticed that a bald spot was appearing in that bald spot zone that appears on the back of some men's heads. It bothered me just a little.....so I haven't looked in two mirrors at the back of head since. Wallah....problem solved.....if I don't look.....it's not getting worse. I have no idea what's going on back there.....and don't tell me. I don't want any emails or texts saying....."IT'S GROWING!"
         So it's very natural also that unbelievers or pretend believers do not want to hear anything about God judging America....but even Christians do not want to hear about it. I don't blame them. If you believe that a rapture is taking us out at any moment then it's not really a big deal.....the worst that can happen is that lifetime membership at the Y will go to waste.....but if you are one that thinks that the saints being taken up comes after a whole lot of tribulation....whether you call it 'great' tribulation or not.....well.....you would probably say...."I'd rather not hear about it....God's in control."
          God indeed is in control. He told Paul to tell the Thessalonians...."in advance"....that there would be some tough times ahead. But then again that was the Thessalonian believers......we're American believers....nothing gonna happen to us other than maybe a big market collapse which means which sets our plans back a little.
           Here are some helpful hints to avoid stress:

1)     Don't read the Drudge Report
2)     Greet each other with a holy...."God bless America"
3)     Remember this adage....an hour of Rush a day keeps the worries away
4)     Make this your hope...next year at the Super Bowl...next year at the Super Bowl...next year etc
5)     Find a church that has a ministry for you....it'll keep you from getting bored
6)     Find a preacher who likes to preach a whole year on the Sermon On The Mount
7)     Show wisdom and humility on your Facebook page....it's impossible to do....but with God all things are possible
8)     Hum that Bobby McFerrin hymn when people like me come around.....'Don't Worry, Be Happy'

We Are Failing Our Children

The following post is from March of 2015. Barack Obama was in office. As bad as this post describes American society we have at least doubled the chaos since then. Conservatives must be either in shock or disbelief. Whatever it is...they haven't yet come to grips with the fact that the American people of today are not the American people of yesterday. We are acting under the assumption that it is merely the American government that has to change. 'Guns don't kill people...people kill people'...that the phrase we use right? Well, governments don't go bad.....people go bad. We have fallen as a people. We are trying to light the wick on a candle made of a substance that gives off toxic gasses and then choking on the fumes.

          These posts are turning into more of a journal and the reason is that this ship of state is so rapidly sinking that the posts seem to be merely recording the events as they happen. There is no order, not even signs of order, developing out of the chaos that has engulfed us. If you cannot discern this chaos then your mind has adapted to it. We have watched so many disaster films over the decades and seen so many movies of dystopian societies that we have essentially rendered ourselves subservient to a world of pulp fiction. To observe what is going on with any kind of accuracy one has to have the ability to stand back, and standing back, ignoring the hype and separating ourselves is something that is anathema to us, for we just don't want to miss out on anything that otherwise we would be observing. Facebook may be the prime example of this. The following are parts of two older posts:

          Edmond Burke once penned these words to an acquaintance, "The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." We in America are, and have been for quite some time, living under a delusion. That being that we are a capable...intelligent people, secure in our liberties and confident of our ultimate preservation as a nation and even as a world power. Yet we have no wisdom; and intelligence without wisdom is as a ship without a rudder.
          We are drifting wherever the winds take us, with no meteorological forecast, no lifeboats, no anchor, no experienced crew and hull breached. Taking on sea water we have thrown overboard the food and drinking water to lighten the load but kept the exercise equipment. If I might paraphrase that Walt Whitman poem:

O Captain! my Captain! Our fearful trips' begun;
The ship is sinking in the mist, and there's no where to run;
The game is on, the song's begun, the people all exulting,
    But O heart! heart! heart!
      O the smiles upon his face,
        Where on the deck my Captain sits,
            His mind in some other place.

We Are Failing Our Children

      There are horrendous exceptions of course, there always were and always will be, but a parent's love and protection for a child is a foundation of human society. We can't even say that it is something that elevates us above the animals for we have all seen heartwarming videos of animals protecting their offspring.
       Those who traveled to America in search of religious liberty and freedom sacrificed greatly for their children... beginning with the voyagers on those three ships.... the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, that weighed anchor at what would become Jamestown in 1607; and American parents have not ceased sacrificing since. How many mothers and fathers have worked two and three jobs and gone without even the basic comforts of life in order for their children to survive and someday live in a land of opportunity, with liberties and freedoms, a land that reverenced and trusted in Almighty God, the giver of all that is good? How many gave up their own goals in life for a new goal, the happiness and safety of those children? We've worried about them and prayed for them and taught them everything we thought they needed to know. Need I go on? We did do these things and continue to do them but ultimately we have failed them miserably!
       I'm writing here about the collective whole of American parenting today, specifically as it concerns our children's future. It's an area that we neglected to protect. We didn't think there was a real danger here. America's enemies worked while we slept. They were patient while we  sought instant gratification. They grabbed leadership in education while we were more concerned about facilities for the sports teams. They became professors while we became financial advisers. They taught in liberal seminaries and read Rules For Radicals while we golfed and read The Godfather. They became activists while we watched television. They took over unions while we filled the stadiums and arenas. They allied themselves with every special interest group that voted while we worked on our abs. They cheated while we played by the rules. They lied while we told the truth. They studied the game of chess while we hopped around on a checkerboard shouting out 'King Me!'
       No, we have failed them! We let them take God out of everything. We'd sooner defend our enemies than the Bible. Our culture is toxic and our reasoning is warped. We believe anything that they say because that's what we have been programmed to do. We reach, as a child in a crib, for every mobile that Silicon Valley extends over us. We can provide our children with any piece of sports equipment they could ever want and chauffeur them anywhere to use it. Their clothing stores have overtaken ours. Then finally we send them off to college, congratulating ourselves on a job well done.
       The love is still there. We would still sacrifice everything, but it is too late, even if we were aware of what has transpired. Our government has become an oppressor, our Constitution is ignored and our user-friendly churches are powerless. We have failed our children. We failed to protect our liberties, even our minds. We failed to protect our Christian heritage. We are undone and have but one hope left but there are no signs that we are anywhere near humbling ourselves before our Creator, no evidence that we are prostrating ourselves in reverence at the mere mention of the name Jesus.

Check Out My Facebook Page.....When Cows Fly

          I have written warning posts about Facebook and social media in general for quite a while. There is a new news item today to go along with Sean Parker's comments from a month ago....described below....this one is at the top of Drudge right now titled....."Former Facebook exec: Social media is ripping apart society." The exec is the former vice president for user growth Chamath Palihapitiya. According to the article he feels "tremendous guilt" for ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. Here's a direct quote...."The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we've created [including the hearts, likes, and thumbs up of various social media channels] are destroying how society works......[There's] no civil discourse, no cooperation; [only] misinformation, mistruth." Sound familiar? I have over two decades of Tabletalks stacked in my basement and received the latest issue yesterday but I think that it is well past time for Ligonier and other excellent Christian ministries to get off of Facebook and thereby send a strong message and warning to Christians.

         I'm bringing this post, and a more recent preface to the post, up to the front to highlight some comments that Sean Parker, the founding and former president of Facebook, recently gave in an interview. The article, on The Drudge Report right now, is titled 'Sean Parker unloads on Facebook "exploiting" human psychology. Parker alludes to his part in a "small group of insider voices exposing and criticizing Silicaon Valley's operations" and also the "rising debate about the power and effects of social networks." He cautions..."It literally changes your relationship with society, with each other...It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways. God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains." In summary and looking back at his part in Facebook he laments..."We understood this consciously. And we did it anyway."

         Well Mark Zuckerberg seems to think that with the church in decline that Facebook might be able to fill the void. It's now being reported that Facebook has two billion monthy users! Hey...I wouldn't worry about it...God has everything all under control....that's the mantra right? We don't have to be overly concerned about anything....don't have to watch out or beware or be vigilant....God's got everything under control....pass the remote. The shepherds did not warn us and we "became food" (Ezek: 34:5) for the social media predators.
         Pastors sure can't preach against Facebook because they have their own Facebook page. What are national ministries gonna do....warn us on their Facebook page? We don't want controversy and we don't want to be warned. We want gentle encouragement or we'll go somewhere else.
         This generation....I'm not talking about baby boomers or millenials or any other ten year grouping....I'm referring to all of us right now....we have not only sat and watched the downfall of America....we ushered it in. We filled our mind with every conceivable entertainment such that it is nearly impossible to have discernment.
         We look at this literal travesty taking place surrounding President Trump as if we had no part in bringing it about. Chaos rules everywhere....not just in the media or some other profession.... everywhere! We are incapable of accurately assessing the damage done to our country. Every navigational instrument on this our ship of state is inoperative. We have no rudder....no sails....no oars....and our captain is out driving golf balls off the stern trying to sink the dinghy CNN .
         Meanwhile, back in port, our pulpits utterly refuse to put up any storm warnings for fear that their congregation might actually wind up thinking on their own and move on to another church that actually discerns the signs of the times.
         God is indeed in control. We are so sure of that that we tuned Him out. He has warned us so much that one would have to wear blinders and cover their ears not to be aware of it. He is at the door and we are in our PJs sitting on the couch watching American Idol. Folks, it's bad and it's going to get a lot worse...put that on your Facebook page and see how many 'likes' you get. The following post is from March:

Visit My Facebook Page......When Cows Fly

         We have a new grandchild.....and he's our first grandchild! When the guys at my work used to come around with pictures of their grandchildren, I'm retired now, I would smile...seem interested in the pics...and make nice comments. I now know what all the excitement was about! But wild horses....wild horses couldn't get me to look at a Facebook page even with pictures of our precious grandchild on it....such is my utter distaste for that social media from it's germination on Harvard's campus to its social media hegemony throughout this world. I'll wait for the Pony Express riders to come in with the mail before I partake of that medium.
          Have you read the story of Mark Zuckerberg and the Harvard twins...whatever their names were...and the Napster guy? Have you read any of the enormous amount of research on the harmful effects of Facebook? And the word 'harmful' is an understatement. Have you ever just sat down and thought about what Satan might possibly come up with if he wanted to somnabulize the entire world? Well, you don't have to...he already did! Have you  considered....even for a moment or two....the potential tyranny for such a monolithic entity that Facebook has become?
          So what can we do? Nothing....sorry to say.....absolutely nothing.....except avoid it....not be a part of it. But alas there are so many good things associated with Facebook! Let me count them.........hmmm.........OK there's nothing good about it. But what about the person who may come across Ligonier Ministries through Facebook where they might never have encountered the gospel elsewhere? OK, so the world is awash in a narcissistic trance through Facebook but a number of people get saved....even Donald Trump wouldn't go for a deal like that!  You are essentially telling me....are you not....that God could not find those people without Facebook?  God whittled 32,000 of Gideon's men down to 300 but this is different...He needs Facebook.
          Hardly a day goes by without a news story coming out on the abuses or inordinate growth of Facebook... or the negative psychological effects. Folks, these are not merely abuses, they are natural outgrowths of the phenomenon, and they will only get worse.
          Time alone will have to prove this out. Actually it already has....but apparently more time is needed! In the hands of a Christian ministry Facebook poses no immediate problem....R. C. Sproul shares the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in a marvelous way.....if only that were the extent of it.....but it's not.....it also encourages people to participation in Facebook....and to bring along their children and friends. In other words it perpetuates the problem instead of identifying it and warning of the many and varied potential disastrous consequences to not only individuals but entire nations and the entire world!

NOTE: If I could only do one thing with these posts I would want it to be leading people to Ligonier Ministries (ligonier.org).....and I try to do that often.....but there is a lesson here in the last paragraph....not Martin Luther nor John Calvin nor Charles Spurgeon nor Jonathon Edwards nor Billy Graham nor R. C. Sproul.....were or are perfect.....nor would they want to be considered perfect.

------Doctor Zhivago------

         There are many great paintings that I have never even seen in books....and obviously many pieces of great music that I have never heard.....but not that many in comparison I suppose.....of great films that I haven't seen sometime in my life. How David Lean's Doctor Zhivago escaped me for so many years I don't know, but since reading Helen Rappaport's two recent books Caught In The Revolution and The Romanov Sisters I had this intense desire to see the 1965 Academy Award nominee for Best Picture. It did not disappoint.
          How this film did not stir up Americans to consider their freedoms and build a defense against Communism I don't know....maybe it did for some. Soviet Russia wouldn't permit the publishing of Boris Pasternak's book from which he was awarded the 1958 Nobel Prize for Literature, or would it permit the filming of the movie in Russia. William F. Buckley thought the book a great anti-communism story.....but other anti-communists didn't like it because it didn't actually promote capitalism. The Sound Of Music beat it out for Best Picture but among the five Oscars won were Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. The screenplay was perfect and the cinematography (filmed in Spain) wonderful.....even on my tiny television.
           But enough of the film as film. Whether it was Pasternak's book or Rappaport's books or any one of a number of other resources, the evil of the Bolsheviks hovers over the reader. The people had a case against the Tsar but the Bolsheviks used them and then Satan used many of them to support a Bolshevik murderous rampage across all of Russia.
           Why is this important? I don't think that I've ever posted a book or movie review without a message behind it. The message here is that deep within human nature is a special kind of violence and a special kind of deceit that if tapped into produces Lenins and Stalins and Hitlers and Mao Tse Tungs.....and will eventually produce an Antichrist. Radical Islam and school shootings and genocides come from this lake of fire. The stench of that noxious body of fire wafts over America like the smoke from those California fires that continue to burn as I write. There is a whiff of sulfur in many of the protests today....and in politics.....particularly the coup against a sitting president that is in progress. It shows up in anti-Semitism.....it was there on The Night Of Broken Glass in Germany.
            Conservative radio talk shows have been mostly keyed on Russian collusion for a long time, interrupted only by terrorist attacks, North Korea, special elections, Al Franken type of stories and the 153 successes of President Trump as World Net Daily labels them. Globalism is mentioned often....we've had a primer....but Communism has not been delved into to the degree that Americans desperately need it to be.....the reason being......to understand why an attempted coup can even take place in America....and just why our educational system....kindergarten through graduate school.....has failed us by producing multiple generations who haven't a clue what real freedom and liberty are and how much was sacrificed to build a heritage that half of us couldn't care less about.
            As bad as this situation is...it gets worse. We.....conservatives....are excited. You can do politics when you are excited but you can't get on your knees. Christians have been taken off course by Donald Trump. They can see neither the extent of, nor the imminence, nor the deserved causes, nor our own culpability in what is only the beginnings of judgment that we are experiencing.
            We have not as yet had a legitimate primer on the Communism that puts people in the streets throwing rocks and spewing hate, attempts to destroy the electoral process through illegal immigration, destroys marriage, has hijacked education that successfully and purposely dumbed-down entire generations, and most importantly either rejects God altogether or attempts to relegate Him to that of a mascot.
            There is reality beyond a stock market and an armada. That reality is that we......all of us with very few exceptions of whom I am not one.... have presumed upon God in one way or another for a long...long...long time. The liberal thinks God is a pushover...if God even really exists....the conservative thinks that God is somehow pleased with our efforts of economic nationalism.....and the conservative Christian thinks that God gave us Donald Trump to make America great again.
            God will wake America up I believe.....but whether that is before or after our calamities overtake us I have no idea....but my prayer....and the prayer of many others.....is that it is before and that it is soon.....if that be His will....for it may not.....but whatever His will.....it is perfect.....and therein is our hope.....and assurance.....and faith.....even if the vivid scenes from Doctor Zhivago of the revolution and civil war.....or the terror of the first-hand accounts from Caught In The Revolution....even if these be what is in store for this nation that once reverenced God and was blessed and used by God to bless other nations.

The following is a post from August 1st on the book mentioned above....Caught In The Revolution written by Helen Rappaport

Caught In The Revolution

          They appeared on page 160....the most demonstrative and frightening words in the book. That book being Caught In The Revolution, Petrograd, Russia, 1917-A World On The Edge by Helen Rappaport, told primarily through the dispatches, diaries and correspondence of American, British, French and others who were present before during and after the February revolution right on through the October revolution to the end of 1917. The first eight chapters takes the reader through the extreme tension of a nation at war with Germany, and an imperial government almost at war with its own people. The violent February revolution had then taken place....huge crowds were in the streets of Petrograd.....a million man march to be specific....and they were now peaceful in the streets. Hymns were  actually sung....God was acknowledged.....but tremors of a greater revolution rumbled. The words that I alluded to above were these:
         "I say! There's an amazing fellow over there on the other side of the Troitsky Bridge, an excited English resident told Negley Farson one day in early April: He's talking rank anarchy! Immediate peace, no annexations, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, world revolution! Never heard anything like it in my life!...Advocates the soldiers coming back from the front and overthrow of the Provisional Government....now! Doesn't he know there's a war on?"

         Lenin had returned.....the extreme radical "maximalist" who had been exiled in Europe......who few knew anything about.....but who had worked feverishly "sowing the seeds of discontent from a distance, via a network of underground archivists across Russia who illegally circulated his seditious political pamphlets...calling for a people's revolution led by a dedicated intellectual elite." All the French ambassador seemed to knew about Lenin was that he was instructing others to "kill all people who have property and refuse to divide." Russia had its revolution....a provisional government was in place....but the Bolsheviks were just beginning to be heard from. Blood-thirsty lyrics were now sung in the streets to the tunes of hymns..."We will pillage! We will cut throats! We will disembowel them!"
         One diary noted on Lenin..."Utopian dreamer and fanatic, prophet and metaphysician, blind to any idea of the impossible or the absurd, a stranger to all feelings of justice or mercy, violent, Machiavellian and crazy with vanity." Another observer noted as the Orthodox Easter approached..."the (church) bells were ringing" and it was as if "the Russia of old (were) rising again with Christ." This would not last. Yet another well-known French socialist observer noted that these..."...were not socialists at all but what we call in France Anarchists and Communards."
         Caught In The Revolution had taken the reader to the the very middle of numerous mobs and violent outburst in the streets during the February revolution. Peace only lasted for a short while before the Bolsheviks stirred up revolution once again, this time against the provisional socialist government. The terrors were returning with an even greater vengeance. One commentator could see the evil in the eyes of marching factory girls..."...placid Slav faces lighted with a look of perfect ecstasy"...and a huge black banner with a skull and crossbones on it as if...flaunting invitation to indulge in all sorts of beastliness."
          July had arrived and the Bolsheviks were looking for their opportunity to overthrow the Provisional Government. The second revolution was starting. One observer noted that unlike the February revolution there was no..."cheering, with people singing and shaking hands..." Evil was noted on the faces of soldiers and sailors lured into rebellion by the Bolsheviks. Satan had taken direct command. The tide turned against the Bolsheviks when it was learned that they were receiving funding from the hated German General Staff. A day of mourning for the dead was held, similar to the one after the February revolution, crosses and icons were seen throughout the throng of mourners. What was noted among the observers was that the new prime minister of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky, was a strong orator but did not seem to have the fanatical devotion that Lenin displayed. An arrest warrant was out for Lenin.
           The Russian army was involved in a terrible war throughout both of these revolutions. The war on the German front had taken its toll when the tsar led them and now it was taking its toll when Kerenesky led them. Many journalists who were present at the beginning were deciding to leave, one commenting...."I see Russia going to hell, as no country never went before." Meanwhile the Tsar and his family, now prisoners, were moved by the Provisional Government to Western Siberia until they could figure out what to do with them. (when the Bolsheviks took over they knew what to do with them...they murdered the entire family. I recommend to you Helen Rappaport's earlier book The Romanov Sisters for an equally vivid and intoxicating account.)
           The various embassies knew that this coming revolution would not be as the last and were preparing evacuation scenarios. The world was now watching with intense interest and new journalists appeared in Petrograd including Somerset Maugham and the socialist American John Reed of whom Warren Beatty fashioned his film Reds. Reed thought that what he was experiencing was "thrilling" and wanted to meet Lenin. One journalist whose writings appeared throughout the book wrote that he was sickened by this American "playing revolutionary."
            Anarchy and misery were everywhere on the streets of Petrograd come October and people were buying revolvers for protection when they ventured out of their house. Peasants in the country were killing landowners. Lenin was plotting in Finland while Trotsky was rallying the Bolsheviks in Petrograd.
            Kerensky had many opportunities but was considered by all observers to be weak. The Bolsheviks simply took over the government in late October but Moscow did not fall as easily.  One observer wrote in November...."These crazy people are killing each other just like we swat flies at home." And yet another observer wrote..."I never knew of a place where human life is as cheap as it is now in Russia." Rappaport supplies this testimony from one of the witnesses..."....a typical example of the mindless, arbitrary violence ....two soldiers bargaining for apples with an old woman street vendor.....Deciding that the price was too high, one of them shot her in the head while the other ran her through with his bayonet. Naturally, nobody dared to do anything to the two soldier murderers who went quietly on their way watched by an indifferent crowd...." Anarchy, murder and hate were everywhere.
          Lenin's first order after taking full control of Russia was to abolish private ownership of land. Freedom of the Press came next. Everyone knew that Russia was lost.....its beauty marred by the empty faces. The embassies had one last Christmas celebration....but there was no joy....only remembrances of what once was.

           

Alice Cooper Too?

Paul begins the third chapter of his second letter to Timothy with this..."But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come..." There is a foreboding sense in the list that he gives of what the "times" will look like in that things will be getting more perilous as time passes. One of those descriptives that Paul gives is..."having a form of godliness but denying its power." There are men literally everywhere today who claim to be very devout, and in a sense that is true, they meditate on and they pray to and they envision God but there is no need for the Word of God in their calculations on what the gospel....."the power of God for salvation".....is. They are God-fearing yet not born again. The following post is a week or so old:

          If you are anywhere near my age....and still have your memory....these names are very very familiar.....Charles Colson....John Dean....John Ehrlichman.....H. R. (Bob) Haldeman....Jeb Magruder....G. Gordon Liddy....E. Howard Hunt....and their are many more. It was Watergate. How many 'gates' have we had since then?
         Colson was known as President Nixon's 'hatchet man.' He was probably pretty despicable. He served seven years in prison for obstruction of justice. The last thirty years of his life he was one of the most respected men in Washington....maybe grudgingly at times.....but still respected as an honest man. How did this happen in the swamp?
         I probably first heard the term 'born again' in 1976. I voted for Jimmy Carter.....read his book 'Why Not The Best'.....shook his hand. I don't think that I even was interested in what this 'born again' stuff was.....not until 1982.....when I was....born again.
        Charles Colson was given a copy of Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.....who died on the very same day of John Kennedy's assassination by the way....and through various means was confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.....and his own sins.....and was.....born again.....and wrote a book by that title.....that I read....after I was born again. He served his time.....reentered society and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ until his death in 2012.
     So what is this...born again stuff? Well, it's not...'stuff.' It is God regenerating a soul.....at His discretion alone....that soul then believes what it has heard in the Gospel of Jesus Christ....believes unto salvation....and is born again.....whereas before being regenerated could not believe unto salvation.....it could only assent to what it had heard. This is why one must search and inquire of God and pray and cling to the robe of Christ until one fully understands.....not how....or even why.....but that one has been born again.
          I'm watching a Christian singer at the piano on Christian television as I type. I had the channel on for no particular reason.....but the beautiful musical compositions caused me to look up....and into the eyes of the woman singer.....she is blind.....and I am humbled beyond what I can express here.
          We have so many theological....doctrinal differences between us....other Christians and myself....and at times we disagree....I don't know about them but I won't let up.....because this is not rocket science......it's words on a page. It has to be worked at but the problem is not in its complexity but in the interference from personal biases. So we'll work at this....until our days are over....or the Lord returns in power and glory....for we share something that can never be undone....we are all born again. We know that we know that we know. We rejoice in the same Savior. We don't just assent....we had our eyes opened....just like this wonderful Christian singer.....whose vision is greater than 90% of this world's people.
          So Charles Colson....this singer Ginny Owens....Jim DeMint....Billy Graham....Martin Luther....Alice Cooper (AKA Vincent Furnier).....Eric Liddell....I'm purposely picking an odd assortment of names the oddest of which is Special Dog.....we are all or all of us had been born again....and we all call to you.....come to Jesus....open your Bible....ask of Him.....He turns no one away!
          Consider this....it will not fail....if you have not been born again.....and you come to be born again....the first thing you will do.....no.....the third thing....the first thing is that you will praise our Savior with every once of your being....the second things is that you will value your Bible as the world's greatest treasure that it is.....the third thing is that you will go to whom you love.....to anyone really.....and look for some opportunity......like I do in these posts.....to relay to them what Jesus said to Nicodemus...."....you must be born again."

Note: One particular dictionary gives two primary meanings for the verb 'must,' In the first it mentions the word...necessity. Therefore one might say.....'I must be born again to be a Christian" as in there is a necessity to be born again to be a Christian, In the second it mentions the word...likely. Therefore one might say...."I must be born again......for I am a Christian" as in....I am "logically very likely" born again since I am is a Christian.  I implore of you not to rely on the second definition.....and to search the Scriptures.

------The Greatest Nation Ever------

          They didn't wear red ball caps at the time but the message was strikingly similar.....'Make Israel Great Again.' Gone was the glory of the Israel of their 'founding fathers.'  From time to time a man would appear who started a revolt.....a Tea Party of sorts....but the establishment would put an end to each and every rebellion.....except one.  It is thus natural to want to restore a nation that has collapsed from greatness whether it be Israel or Athens or Rome or America.
          There is a popular mantra today that I would like to rebut. I heard this phrase as recently as two evenings ago at a Christmas concert....."America is the greatest nation ever on the face of the earth"....or words very similar. Surely you've heard it multiple times.  Limbaugh, Hannity, they all say it at one time or another. I'm with them to a certain point but Israel when faithful and led by God was the greatest nation ever on the face of the earth.....not America. Brothers and sisters...we do agree on this.....or do we?
           Had Israel not divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah....and had they remained faithful to go God....not Assyria nor Babylon nor Persia nor Rome would have ruled over them. America split into to two 'kingdoms' also. As I wrote in the January 2013 post that I added below....."The Democrat Party (populating the metropolitan areas) fell first, taken over by Progressives and then Communists. The Republican Party (everywhere else) fell next, taken over by political machinery without a soul."
           Well, the Israel of old was no more. God's purpose in Israel had reached its fulfillment.....for the time being. Nearly 2000 years would pass until it would even be a nation again. Both Israel and America need to return to their God....which is the same God. Greatness should not have been our primary goal in America....mercy should have been our goal. Until we hang that red ball cap up for good and petition God....as did Samson......for one last feat of strength....we will be on our own.

          The Bible was once an American's most valuable possession. Today it is either an artifact, a talisman for prosperity, or a rather large and bulky ticket one must have in their possession to enter heaven.....should heaven really exist. In reality it is the Omnipotent God's Word to fallen man, the greatest treasure on earth, which brings the greatest joy, draws forth the most ardent love and applies a devastating guilt followed by a torrent of mercy that elicits praises upon praises for mercies undeserved.....all given because of faith, faith alone....in the One who took our sins to a tree on Calvary. If my words seem overly pious or even syrupy, might I suggest that there may be an underlying cause for your hesitance to shout praises yourself; or if the Bible does not literally captivate you as God's very Word to you, you must find out why!

          The following post is political and temporal yes, but only in as much as we are citizens of a nation who God blessed for a purpose, which may very well have completed its course.

All Is Lost....Or Is it.....January 2013:

          It was heroic at times and trying at times but always set apart by a common creed....life as an American in these United States of America. God blessed this endeavor from the beginning as pilgrims left their homelands where tyranny had enveloped even the church, and they saw this new land of America as a new beginning for them and an extension of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the new world. The long distance from the heavy hand of the king of England encouraged them to see beyond being merely a colony or an extension of England to being a nation unto themselves.

          Liberty is a powerful force, and freedom empowers one to reach beyond what would otherwise be available. In the mid-eighteenth century, after the First Great Awakening, the Gospel began to wane as great political minds filled the void and and a secular government.....that nonetheless proclaimed its dependence upon God.....came forth. Economic growth followed as the frontier was conquered but we faced an enormous stumbling block, the separation of two peoples in two different geographic areas over the issues of state's rights and slavery. God's heavy hand of judgment came upon a nation that had forgotten who had bestowed upon it its blessings. We turned to Him momentarily but a brand new frontier of industrial growth drew us away again only this time our educational institutions followed. An already weakened church was at the time under full scale attack from European theological liberalism. God's judgments now began to come upon the entire world in wars and economic collapse. We retained the sense of being American, of being free and of having liberty and defending the liberties of others while the Gospel went throughout the world.....and then we hit our peak.

            We were the most powerful nation on this earth both economically and militarily. We had a creed that bound us together as Americans. We had heroes and causes and confidence. There's a scene in the classic Marlon Brando film The Wild One where a girl asks the young Brando what he was rebelling against. His answer was "What do you got?". This became the hidden mantra of the 60s generation....my generation. Everything was available to us and little of it was good. America found itself in smaller wars, trying to do what it had done before the mantle was gone. We were then a lost generation when a former 'B' actor in Hollywood revived the memory of that which was good in us but the rebellious generation of the 60s had produced our college professors and they in turn trained our media, the source of most information and news. Our creed that once bound us together was being hacked away at. We were not not only ignoring our heritage, we were attacking it, ashamed of it. Old heroes are old news. Heroes today are created for a purpose irrespective of what they might have done....good or bad. We were no longer "one" as a people but groups, each one out only for themselves.

           God had watched all of this. The Billy Graham evangelical became the Ralph Reed evangelical which ultimately became the Karl Rove evangelical. (and today is the make America great again evangelical) Our pulpits, no longer capable of preaching Christ, preached whatever they thought would bring people in. The Democrat Party fell first, taken over by Progressives and then Communists. The Republican Party fell next, taken over by political machinery without a soul. Our country essentially lies in ruins, the demolition notice just hasn't been served. Yet most of the people party on, but that's not unusual, for history is replete with empires that fell while its people were oblivious to its nearing demise.

           All is lost! Or is it? From the vantage point of observation and reality it is. Common sense and truth are utterly impotent in the postmodern mind. The blessings of capitalism became the god of capitalism and then a scourge of globalization. Our culture is in shambles. We have disasters ahead and we may as well know it beforehand. Fill in the blanks on what they might be. God's hand had departed from us long before we even heard the name Barack Hussein Obama. If His will is to awaken us one more time it will not be within a political party but over all the land and upon all those who suddenly see what we have done....and who we have become....a people who have forsaken their God. Should God open our eyes and revive us, there is no power on earth that can stop it. Those on the outside will utterly abhor what they see happening.

          This is our hope. It always has been our hope. Apparently we have to reach bottom to see this and we are not there yet. May God have mercy upon us once again and do so entirely for His glory alone.