To Be A Pilgrim

We Christians are pilgrims....we have been born anew....born from above....and we are on a journey. I thought that I would bring the following older post back for the Lord's Day. It would be a very easy Google search if you would like to hear this John Bunyan's hymn either sung by an individual vocalist or from a choir:

          It's just a special little ditty that I often say to my wife in response to her urging me to put down the book or turn off the computer and go to bed to get some needed sleep. The words are very well known….for they are Robert Frost's from Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. Those word are....

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

           

           She's usually gone by the time that I finish that ditty. The words to the following hymn were written by my favorite author....John Bunyan.....and the music by my favorite classical composer....Ralph Vaughan Williams. The hymn.....Bunyan's only hymn.....is "To Be A Pilgrim." It was sung by personal request of Baroness and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her funeral on April 17, 2013 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

He who would valiant be

'Gainst all disaster,

Let him in constancy

Follow the Master

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent

To be a pilgrim

Who so beset him round

With dismal stories,

Do but themselves confound- -

His strength the more is

No foes shall stay his might

Though he with giants fight:

He will make good his right

To be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, thou dost defend

Us with thy Spirit,

We know we at the end

Shall life inherit.

Then fancies flee away!

I'll fear not what men say,

I'll labor night and day

To be a pilgrim.

         

DISPATCHES

There are always plenty of 'What If' books out there....what if so and so didn't die....or what if such and such country had won the war. I never had the slightest inclination to read any of them....for there didn't seem to be any purpose to looking into these questions.....but there are similar questions today that I would be interested in....because there would be a purpose. The questions would be....'what would the economy and America overall look like had any of the other Republican candidates won the nomination and the general election?' Now maybe they could not have won the general election.....but this question isn't dependent on that.....only for example on the 'what if'.....'what would the economy look like if an administration of one of the other Republican candidates had replaced the Obama administration.' The purpose in looking at this is that.....for the economy anyway.....it might have been very similar to today....for business 'regs' would have been changed....and corporate taxes would have changed. Folks....I don't have an answer for this other than that....with the Obama administration gone....the economy would have blossomed with anyone....and for the purpose in looking at this question....President Trump....as he does in everything in life....cheats.....his claims infer that only he is responsible for employment statistics etc.....whereas because of the hype involved in all of this....he may very well have produced the best numbers.....but they all would have been very good! This should be important....as we conservatives have been conditioned to believe that if change horse midstream....the economy will tank again. None of this by the way even considers trillion dollar debt increases every year under this administration.
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THE PULPIT....NOT THE PODIUM.....As long as our pulpits continue to preach pablum......America will continue to be taken by the current towards the precipice of the falls.
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STUNNING ANNOUNCEMENT....."With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office-the presidency of this country.....Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." This was LBJ on March 31,1968. Hopefully it will be DJT sometime soon. The Tet Offensive was two months in progress. Two weeks previous to this Robert Kennedy announced his candidacy to challenge for the Democrat nomination. I was 18 years old at the time....standing at the counter of my favorite hangout....eating a sandwich and swigging a Pepsi....when this unexpected announcement socked the nation.
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OTTO WARMBIER....President Trump is quoted here...."He (Kim Jong-un) tells me that he didn't know about it and I will take him at his word." He said that Kim Jong-un "felt badly about it. He felt very badly." He also said that he has "great respect" for Chairman Kim. Rick Santorum....in commenting on this....said "many of us who like (President Trump's) policies....don't like a lot of the things he does and says....I don't understand why the President does this..." Well Senator....let me explain that for you....only a man who has absolutely no foundational....secure....and sincere belief system whatsoever on anything even remotely related to right and wrong....and truth and untruth....could....on a regular basis.....for years on end....utter statements like this. This is the Christian's champion and bulwark for conservatives.
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VENEZUELA.....here is a quote from Andrew McCabe's book The Threat...."Then the president talked about Venezuela. That's the country we should be going to war with, he said. They have all that oil and they're right on our back door." President Trump would deny the quote....this we know....so I would hope that the media would pressure McCabe for names of those who were present.
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AND WE DID NOT SPEAK OUT: It has been only two years so far of this gut-wrenching contorted confusion and chaos as Donald Trump stumbles along on his own kicking cans down the street. Imagine six more years of this! Imagine six more years of Ivanka and Jared! We and we alone will be responsible for the ascendance of Ivanka and Jared on the world's stage should it happen....for we said nothing! The day after President Trump would win reelection....he would have absolutely no need for us....not even for Rush and Sean and Mark.
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I heard this recently in an Internet sermon and thought I would pass it along to you for your consideration. As Rome was beginning to disintegrate because of....among other things...its inability to assimilate migrants......Jerome's thought was along these lines...."What is the church going to do if Rome falls?".....Augustine's thoughts on the other hand were more along the lines of....."the mission field is now coming to the church rather than the church having to go to the mission field."

God at times moves in marvelous and wondrous ways through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ within peoples and within nations such as America in the early 18th century.....and Wales....and Scotland.....and Pyongyang in the early 20th century.....yes Pyongyang! And there have been many more great revivals.  Should His Spirit move mightily over the Latino population in America in such a way....you would see a wall built by both parties so fast it would make your head spin. Neither party as it now stands wants more actual Bible believing Christians in our nation or in their own party....but may God do just this should it be His will. May His Spirit move upon all of our hearts in ways that bring Him glory! By the way....should God act in such a way then there would no longer be a Trump Party and its Make America Great Again agenda. There is irony here also for if God's Spirit were to move across this land like the wind over wheatfields....then many in our Congress themselves would humble themselves before God....and rejoice in a Savior they previously did not even know they were in need of!

Trump Rally Tonight

UPDATE: President Trump spoke for an hour and twenty-five minutes according to my calculations. What must these rally people be talking about as they return to their cars? They can say things like..."Wasn't he great!"....but there was nothing to get anyone thinking.....nothing intelligent to ponder....there never is. It was mantra....all mantra....and the stands emptied fast. He did allude to the 2016 election as possibly being the greatest ever.....#1. That 's what he thinks folks....he thinks he is the most important president ever....the greatest president ever!  He surprised Sean Hannity yesterday by speaking for about forty-five minutes on his hour long show....and he spoke at a Senate luncheon the other day....in what was called a soliloquy for about an hour straight. In a soliloquy the character usually speaks to himself but in this instance it's a narcissistic ode to oneself. This is all going right past us right now....but the day may come when we see....what we should have seen all along....that there were signs that should have alarmed us.

            I never really watched then candidate Trump's rallies prior to the 2016 election. I wasn't in need of motivation.....and already had a savior.....but shortly after his inauguration....and after it became obvious that he was a charlatan and a con man.....I started watching the rallies......in utter amazement.
           The now President Trump will be holding a rally tonight in Michigan.....and Lord willing.....I will be watching......probably with a book on my lap....to defer to when the lies get too much to take....and I will surely be praying....throughout....that God might open our eyes to who this man is! I would ask that if you watch the rally....which I encourage you to do....that you might pray earnestly to God for discernment....and I'm confident that if you do just that that the toes of the statue will begin to crack....and the gilded metallic shine will tarnish right before your eyes.
           Watch the President strut back and forth on the stage at the beginning.....as the people raise their cell phone cameras.....and the music blares. Two rallies ago I sat and listened to Sympathy For The Devil by the Rolling Stones played before the President came out....and looked at the crowd....many of whom were Christians.....and wondered how many might be frozen in shock at what they were hearing. Thinking back on it now....there probably were not many....for anything can be explained away when you have become a devotee.
           Listen to the words that the President will speak....don't just believe them....analyze them.  Be attentive to gross exaggerations.....and even outright untruths....for they will both be there. Look at the President's face.....see the arrogance....and the narcissism on display. Watch for the vitriol and virulent strain of revenge as it energizes the crowd and enervates the Christian of their ability to be vigilant. Take a moment if you would and think about some common shyster that you may have encountered in your life.....where you maybe even were taken in by him.....and where you vowed that you would never let that happen again. Consider the crowd. Is this a rock concert? Have you ever seen such worship even in your church? Just about all of the boasts that the President will say could be challenged or proven untrue outright but we do not have the power of the airwaves anymore to do this.
            In days past....the fringe element in our society was as a canopy....a small layer out there as the skin of a peach where those who had trouble navigating truth and logic gravitated. That fringe today is as the juicy fruit of a cross section of a that peach....filled with both the radical Left and the now Trumpian Right.
            Rush Limbaugh is losing his mind in his adoration of this man in our....(not this man's)....White House. If I heard him right he just now called....no passionately spoke out loudly as if in an auditorium of revolutionaries who just took over the government....for the President to close the border and pardon everyone....Manafort....everyone! Oddly.....two times in his show....in the short time I've been able to listen today.....he used the term....End Times' ...he's adamant in that we're not in the End Times. He was speaking about the Left's apocalyptic warnings on global warming and things like that....not Biblical End Times....but the terminology still hit home with me for he indeed has no concept whatever on God's judgment on nations such as we are.

Random Thoughts

The following post is from September of 2018. I was just sitting there meditating at the time....pondering human relationships....and decided to put a few of those thoughts in a post:       

             If all that we do is rant about the Progressives....then we are not upsetting the real enemy....they are fine with us ranting on politics. Donald Trump is no real threat to this enemy....nor are the Trumpsters. (nor anything that I might post that does not point directly to Jesus Christ!) The enemy has no love for these Progressives that they merely use....but touch that which is behind the Progressives....and the enemy will come after you. Call out the heretical doctrines of liberal churches....and the sea will remain calm....but if you seek to awaken faithful pulpits....a tempest will arise.  If you leave your loved ones alone in the darkness....they will love you....if you shine the light in that darkness....you will be alone. Generic Bible studies are no threat to Satan's kingdom. Teaching on what it means to be 'born again' will bring blowback. You cannot judge the strength of a church by its size....for size is not even in the equation. There will be times when you want to turn around and go back....times when you are afraid....even times when you are convinced that you are a failure. There is a cost to discipleship....but the rewards are far far greater....one of the most wonderful would be looking into the eyes of someone who has just had those eyes opened to the glories of Christ!

Romans 1:16...."For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Christ-Saturated

           So what is the gospel? More specifically....what is to be preached from the pulpit on the Lord's Day? I myself am decades into this question....and always when it comes up in conversation....I'm told by others that their pastor preaches the gospel....where when I'm familiar with their sermons....that is definitely not the case. If you are really interested in this question....and I hope that you are...I would send you to a Google search on....'what is the gospel, Michael Horton...or R. C. Sproul.' You will find two conference talks on this subject....both a little over 50 minutes.....but your time will have been well worth it.
           I happened to listen to Michael Horton this morning while on the treadmill.....work off calories while listening to the gospel....now that's an exercise routine! I'm sure I heard this talk before....maybe even in person. About two thirds into his talk he made a statement and it immediately resonated with me as to why the actual gospel should be preached from the pulpit every Lord's Day. Horton said while referencing Paul's words in Romans 4:3...."For what does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."....."this is totally counter-intuitive to who we are....and therefore it must be told to us over....and over....and over....and over again!" There it is. This is why the gospel.....not just Christ-centered....but Christ saturated....must be preached to us every Lord's day....for it has been proven by the history of the church....and should be obvious to us in our own lives....that it is within our nature to forget....and to add to the gospel our own works!
           I happen to be a believer that the book of Hebrews is a model....a model of a sermon....just as Jesus gave us a model of a prayer. Christ and His glories are preached over the first two-thirds or so of the letter....and then having preached Christ....the servant of God may expound.   If you get this backwards.....and only give a smidgen of the gospel at the end of a sermon....thus thinking you have preached the gospel....you have put the cart before the horse....and are going nowhere....for you have put the power behind the cart....and being only a smidgen....a few words to send us off....it wasn't much horsepower to begin with.
            

Franklin Graham....Apologist?

            Last summer I posted on what a wonderful experience it was to finally visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. I've also posted many times on the great blessing that God gave the world in Reverend Graham...one such older post is at the bottom of this post. I wrote the following on his son Franklin....whose work with Samaritan's Purse helps so many people around the world. It was posted shortly after he appeared on stage at a President Trump rally in Phoenix. The post is self-explanatory but Franklin Graham has been having a 'tweet storm' of his own since the Mueller report was transferred to the Attorney General for safe keeping....and unfortunately the tweets are not on the content of this wonderful prayer that he gave....they touch the periphery....but lack the power because the focus is on a man....such is the immense power of one hypnotic political leader!  Billy Graham in his later years was self-critical of the extent of his political involvement. Franklin Graham needs prayer on this for discernment.

 If Only Our Pulpits Would Do The Same....August 2017

             It was powerful....it was what we needed....not the Donald Trump pep rally from Phoenix....but the prayer that Franklin Graham offered before the President would be introduced to the tune of the Rolling Stones....You Can't Always Get What You Want. I tried to type the text of the prayer as fast I could....praising God as I typed....for not only the people in the arena would hear these words but who knows how many people that were live streaming the rally. Christians would be hearing these words of repentance that they should be hearing from their pulpits each and every Lord's Day.
            The crowd was quiet as Reverend Graham spoke....I prayed "Oh God thank you for letting us hear these words!" Franklin Graham then walked off the stage as the arena remained hushed. Vice President Pence followed him to the microphone....and within minutes the crowd was once again in unison yelling....USA....USA....USA! As I wrote at the time....the power of that prayer was gone.....but many had heard it......and will offer that same prayer some day in the future....only it will be as chaos reigns....and maybe war.....and not beforehand.....where we could have petitioned God for discernment and vision for what was ahead of us. The following was the best that I could do on that transcript....

             "Our Heavenly  Father.....you've blessed our country more than any nation on earth and we acknowledge that apart for you we have no hope....we come tonight....as a troubled nation....we're broken spiritually....were divided politically....we're divided racially....we are adrift morally..... following whatever direction the wind of popular culture blows....with no regard for your word or the consequences of our disobedience....we ask tonight for your help....our sins have paralyzed us....as a country we have seemed to have forgotten right from wrong....you warned us in your Holy Word the Bible that there would come a time when truth would become a lie....and lies would become truth....we come to you this evening confessing our sins as a nation.....we confess the sins of our past.....of injustice....of pride.....of self-indulgence.....we have failed to protect our young and our innocent.....and we ask for your forgiveness.....we ask that you would unite this country for your glory.....Father we need a shepherd.....I pray that you would be the shepherd of our nation.....you are the God who restores our souls.....your rod and your staff they comfort us....and I pray this all in the name...the powerful name....the name of your son....the Lord Jesus Christ."

The following is my post from February of 2018....the day that Billy Graham died:

"Tell Others That I've Gone On To Be With My Lord And Savior Jesus Christ"

            Billy Graham went to be with his Lord and his Savior this morning. An integral part of America died with him.....maybe the last portion of this once great nation. There was a time friends....when one could not go very long upon changing the dial on the television without coming across a Billy Graham crusade. There were no school shootings as we have today.....and there was some sanity left in society.
            My prayer.....right now as I type.....is that in the days ahead God will somehow press a red hot poker into our collective consciousness as accolades and remembrances are broadcast in the news....that it will not only be the typical prepared testament for a man of Billy Graham's stature.....but that we will as a nation and as a people....fall back....as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is mentioned.....that many.....multitudes even....will be blinded by the light as was Paul on the road to Damascus.....that we will feel the void....that we will be ashamed.....that our ears will tingle as the wax dissolves and we hear for maybe the first time.....that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all creation.....and that we have not reverenced Him as Lord.....and that His warnings to us.....many of which were given by Billy Graham over many decades.....will finally resonate.....and that the Light will penetrate this darkened land.....if only to call us to repentance before Jesus Christ returns in power and glory with all His angels.
            Often at times like this people go out and buy books by and about such a person who has passed. I cannot recommend too highly Billy Graham's last book.....which he knew was to be his last book.....and which I believe was his finest book.....Where I Am: Heaven, Eternity, and Our Life Beyond.....and in which he wrote...."So when my earthly life has ended and you wonder where I've gone, this will be the answer: I will be with Jesus-that's where I Am."

NOTE: SiriusXm is dedicating its channel 145 to the Reverend Billy Graham from today until March 4th!

UPDATE! Channel 460 is the Billy Graham Channel today!
     

   

CNN

         I've related many times in these posts how I don't....and never have....had extended cable television in the home. So I've never seen this famous Morning Joe or Mika....and have no idea who Don Lemon is other than what I hear on talk radio. I know you're probably sick of hearing this story but please let me go on just a bit....Game Of Thrones....no idea....Empire....not a clue. The only time that I ever got to see Tucker Carlson was at the hospital bedside of a friend....although I have watched him on the computer a few times recently. I think that this absence of extended cable news and entertainment channels is one of the reasons....just a small one....that I may see things a little different than most conservatives....and evangelicals. I don't have a lot of these distractions....and I tend to formulate my own opinion rather than lazily just let someone form them for me. (which is what I also recommend that everyone does in reading my posts)  This might eventually be the silver lining in the collapse of conservative talk radio as....'conservative talk radio'....before it merged with the White House Press Corps....for we might start to think for ourselves once again.
          So I get my daily news from the Internet now. Generally it has always been....Drudge....Fox....Breitbart....in that order....but Fox is more of a supermarket tabloid today. I'm not real big on podcasts. I tried ABC News.....CBS...and NBC....but I didn't like their formats at all. So....I pecked out....C...N...N...dot...com. And lo and behold there was a pretty good news piece....a special segment video I guess....where the host visualized minting a new coin....a new term at least....The Mar-a-Lago. You can Google this...."This Is How Many Trips To Mar-a-Lago Would Pay For Budget Cuts"....if you can't bring yourself to peck out C...N...N. It might be worth the effort to view this.

Notes:  MAR-A-LAGO by Laurence Leamer.

'Air-brush' version: Republicans in Congress are talking a lot about investigating the beginnings of the Mueller probe.....I'm all for that too.....first release the full transcript of that Mueller probe.....not a redacted 'cover-up' version. We are not the Stalinist Soviet Union where we 'air-brush' people out of the photos.

We were rightly outraged when Brett Kavansugh was blindsided by personal attacks....but we are laughing at personal attacks on Joe Biden?

Almost Too Wonderful To Comprehend

If the Lord's return is near....and all indications in His Word seem to proclaim it to be....then one should be more vigilant than ever....but we are not vigilant. We have chosen those verses in the Bible that tell us to be at peace.....to the exclusion of those verses that precipitated the need to be told to be at peace....therefore we are in effect choosing more of a peace that the world gives....than that of a Savior and a Captain that will guide us through this storm. These are the words of our Lord "....for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance." (Mark 13:21-23) the following was first posted in January:

            2 Peter 1:12, 13...."Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth being present in you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder."
            How does one not warn....at least friends and loved ones....when one discerns danger....and one's friends and loved ones do not? I guess that the most obvious example of one person 'warning' another would be age and youth....where the parent warns the child....and the older person warns the younger person. The one has lived longer......and has experienced more. It's therefore natural to warn those who cannot know what consequences might be ahead....but Peter wasn't basing his knowledge on his age....even though he knew that he was nearing the end of his life. How can a pastor who throws the word 'beloved' around with abandon....not plead and warn and remind as Peter did?
            A young child can warn a grandparent whose eyesight is failing....of a puddle of water....a student can warn a teacher that he's giving the wrong date for a test....a Christian in the pew can warn the pastor in the pulpit that he is reading the wrong verse....and a janitor can warn a CEO that he does not look well. It's knowledge and observation here that is more valuable than experience and authority.
           The Christian has been given a trove of knowledge that he/she did not have before God regenerated his/her heart...restored his/her vision and hearing....and renewed his/her mind. That is the fact of the matter friends. That's what can make a dishwasher more knowledgeable than a professor....and a citizen more discerning than a president....but more importantly even than the collapse of one's nation....that is what one family member may know that another family member is in need of knowing....that they have been deceived by the world....and the world's church....that they must be be 'born again'....or perish in the judgment. The parent may indeed have more love for their own child....but the Christian friend or loved one may know more of what that child needs the most....the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ.
            I posted the following earlier this year..."I have lived sixty-eight years and some odd months. ( 69 years now) I was able to partake in the America of our heritage.....before that America began to succumb to the same temptations that ancient Israel succumbed to before they were judged by God. I remember our heritage as a nation....and weep at what we have replaced it with. I have given nothing to stop the downward spiral....in fact I added to it. I am but one person....one of many....who God for some unknown reason had mercy upon. Even my warnings are tinged with pride and arrogance....but I continue to warn....for if Jesus felt it to our benefit to warn us....and if Peter felt it necessary to 'remind' again and again....and if Paul warned us....and John warned us....and Christians ministers such as Billy Graham.....just to name one.....of whom I have would have had no right to even stand beside....if they felt....and feel it necessary to warn those that God gave them to minister to.....then we all also have no choice but to at least warn our friends and loved ones....which in reality is all that these posts are....words to hopefully friends....wherever they may live....and loved ones!"


       

DISPATCHES

Mueller Report.....here is what happened....Donald Trump's two year long long diatribe against the Mueller probe was a distraction. It was a straw man that should have been easy to knock down....but President Trump panicked....and some even in the White House wondered privately why he was acting like he was guilty. There is most likely information in that probe that is damaging....very damaging....the final result appears to be a deal of some kind between the intelligence agencies and Donald Trump. The media meanwhile....having believed their own nonsense....and having egg on their face....are for the most part oblivious to the deeper issues here. They deserve their angst.  We on the other hand....having no idea either on what has transpired....are doing a victory dance....over a straw man being knocked down.  It's hard to watch. Let's hope that the cover-up does not succeed....for if it does.....there may be no reining in Donald Trump....as he continues on his quest to make himself what he believes himself to be....a god.
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Attorney General Barr announced that he plans on releasing 'details' and a 'public version' of the Mueller report within weeks. Save your effort Mr. Attorney General....the public has a right to the full report. You are heading to a cover-up if you continue to follow the president's demands....which these surely are. If there are Grand Jury sections that are prohibited by law to release.....then show the full report to a bi-partisan committee of the Congress to verify that.....otherwise you could just say anything and everything is prohibited from release.
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Mitch McConnell is going to call Attorney General Barr before their committee.....the Democrat led House will do the same. The Attorney General needs questioned at length.....so in-depth that breaks will be needed.....on every possible conversation that has occurred so far between himself and President Trump....(and anyone else)....on the Mueller probe. Questions need to be asked even if they seem insignificant. AG Barr needs to be on record....under oath....on every area of this probe....along with a timeline on his decisions.
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Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity....(they are all that I have listened to so far)....are on a mission.....and that mission could have come from no other place. Their words are dripping with venom....their voices strained....revenge is in the airwaves. They are naming names to be purged.....and sent to Siberia. There are ways to go about investigating what happened.....show trials are not the answer.....this is what the other side does.....but then that is exactly what we have become.....thanks to Donald John Trump.
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We have been brainwashed into not reading any books that are critical of Donald Trump....but if you haven't yet shaved your head and put on the saffron robes.....there are two good books that have recently come out. The first would be Mar-a-Lago....Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace by Laurence Leamer. The second is Kushner, Inc.-Greed. Ambition. Corruption. In the first you will get more than a glimpse on what Donald Trump is like. In the second you will see why it was beyond absurdity that Ivanka and Jared....were permitted anywhere near the Oval Office....let alone given the extraordinary power they have.

In And Of Ourselves Only....There Is No Hope

         Breitbart has a good article up right now by their religion correspondent Tom Williams on how about 120 Christians have been slaughtered in central Nigeria over the past few weeks by machetes and guns....yet the mainstream media hardly takes any notice of it.
         Williams gives various thoughts on why this happens....and all of the ideas are legitimate...but my thoughts are on something else. We spend an awful lot of time on conservative talk radio pointing out the absurdities of how so many people in America act and think....and we do need to keep informed of this....but we are long past the point where we should have just acknowledged that our progressive educational system has already destroyed the thinking process of much of America and most of our youth. They can only think with what that which they have been programmed. It would therefore be very difficult to attempt to reason with them.
         It would serve us better to prepare for what we ourselves are going to do in the coming year....than to keep on flailing away at the insanity that we see happening in the news. One way to prepare is to face the fact that America as it has been known and understood for so long....is no more. That's a tough fact to face. We are going to be dealing with people who consider themselves patriotic but haven't even a clue towards what that means. Instead of getting frustrated at this....we have to move on....concerned more with that which is our only hope. We need awakened pulpits....awakened to the glories of Christ....more than political victories.
        The MAGA campaign was defective from the start. The intent was understandable but we were not going to restore any semblance of American tradition when so high a percentage of our own people wanted nothing to do with the America of yesterday. The result has been pure chaos....most of it obviously from the Left but much of it from Donald Trump himself who is expert in the art of chaos.
         Ultimately this what we are witnessing in America today.....and have witnessed over the past ....is a rebellion against God. They won't always come out an admit this but it is at the core of what Democrat vs Republican....or progressive vs conservative has come to signify....specifically on issues such as abortion and gay marriage....but more precisely in acknowledging God as He who gave us our beginning...for a purpose....and sustained us even as we strayed from Him. The 1980s made it abundantly clear that the Republican Party.....because of the evangelical who was the biggest part of their base....as a result of God's moving in so many people over the previous decade....was going to attempt to legislate the morality of Western Civilization that emanated first from the Bible.....as opposed to morality legislated from the postmodern and secular mind....where there really are no stars of truth or right and wrong that one must navigate from.
          There is no hope whatsoever for us apart from a major awakening across the land with the Gospel of Jesus Christ....and this would most certainly not be to make America great again....but to have America a God-fearing nation once again....with the light of His Word to guide us....and strengthen us....in the turmoil that is surely ahead for the world....a turmoil that we have brought upon ourselves....by ignoring His warnings to us for so many decades. You may disagree but God's Word has been very clear on dependence upon Him....just one instance being the last words of the Fahrenheit 71 post of a few days ago....."apart from me (Jesus) you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Note: If you are interested in what it was like in the 1980s in evangelicalism....you can easily Google....'Steve Camp...Revive Us....O Lord'....and listen to him perform a song that he wrote that is very descriptive of where we were at at the time.

Also: If you are perplexed by my comments on our educational system in this post from last night....R. C. Sproul....in this mornings Daily Audio titled What Is Truth....at ligonier.org....begins with comments on just what has happened to our colleges.

We Won The Battle....But Lost The War

            The most intrepid anti-communist American president ever....Ronald Reagan.....and the most audacious anti-communist Roman Catholic pope ever....Karol Wojtyla....Pope John Paul II....took their positions on the world's stage within a few short years of each other. The nascent 'born again' movement of the Jimmy Carter era was maturing into the more powerful doctrinal evangelical movement of the 1980s....where cults were challenged....and the holiness of God was placed before us....thus a battle-royal was taking place in American culture.
             Warren Beatty's film Reds opened in December of 1981.....in it Communism was glorified.....glorified in the horrors of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution....and decrepit lives of the main protagonists of the film that was nominated for 12 Academy Awards....winning three.
             British film Chariots Of Fire came out the same year in direct contrast to Reds.. It told the story of two British runners in the 1924 Olympics held in Paris....the time period then within the two films being about eight years. Chariots Of Fire was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four including Best Picture. 
             On Friday March 5, 1982.....I saw the film with my wife in a matinee performance....and later that evening went out for my normal run.....the temperature was about 30 degrees....and much of the seven inches of snow from two days before had melted in previous day's rain. How do I know all this? These things were logged in my 1982 The Complete Runner's Day-by-Day Log and Calendar. I saw both films at the time....Eric Liddell's life had the more power. 
           There were assassination attempts on both President Reagan and Pope John Paul II within six weeks of each other in early 1981. Almost twenty years to the day after the anti-communist President Reagan left office...the Marxist Barack Obama took office.  Four years after President Obama took office.....and eight years after Pope John Paul II died.....the Marxist Pope Francis became pope. That's how fast things can change.
          Communism.....as has been described many times....and as I've written about in these posts.....is a dialectic in that it is more than willing to change it's outward appearance in order to remain on the course of its final goal....dominating the world. It uses every malcontent and miscreant that it can recruit....follows no rules whatsoever....and lies through its teeth as to its belief in compassion and equality.
          Communism's dupes and fellow-travelers plied their trade very effectively.....particularly in their effect on our educational system.....for it was very patient.....as it has captured the minds of our youth....and you can see the results of this all over America today.....and in the complete and utter transformation of the Democrat Party into a socialist tool.
          It is declared all the time that Communism was defeated in 1989....but this was far from the case. At the time I worried that if the seamy side of capitalism were exported to Russia....and if that filled the void in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union....then we would just be facing a monster of a different stripe.
          As it turned out....Donald Trump was quick to go over there....and that is the essence....or what should be the essence.....of these various investigations going on today. What is the extent of Donald Trump's business relations with Russians....particularly those who filled the void after the Soviet Union fell. There are books galore on this....best sellers....that tell a different story than we have been told....but we conservatives refuse to read those books....for they must be fake news. We have another election....scheduled....and this time....before we nominate....we need to know who Donald Trump is!
          We are trying to greed our way out of this mess.....if I might use that word as a verb. We need wisdom but have only gone after corporate smarts. Donald Trump has never had an ideology. Do you know what that means? It means that he is but an 'empty suit'....bent solely on increasing his own reputation as the personification of immense wealth.

We Can't Fall For Delusions.....Can We?

           Donald Trump is a false prophet that much of the church itself has fallen for. I say this not for one comment that he has made....or even ten comments.....although there have been many and they are continuous....but for the giant image he has built...of which we did the heavy labor. He is everything that we should not want in a president. He is as one of those who Jeremiah would have railed against.....he is a Nebuchadnezzar...."Is not this great America, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" He gives false hope....and false tidings....glad tidings....when God proclaims judgment is at hand....and he does not bring glory to God....but leads many of God's people astray in their vanities.
           Evangelicals....and Christians who actually read God's prophetic word to His people....who might on any given evening settle back and read Jeremiah or Isaiah....or Revelation....or believe it or not....the minor prophets of the Old Testament....and who might meditate on the Olivet Discourse. We know all about false signs and wonders....false prophets....and false miracles....and great dilution in the very last days....but we have relegated these things to something that will be so easy to spot....that others are the ones that have to worry about it. We don't concern ourselves that we might actually be part of those who could fall for these delusions....for we'll recognize them immediately because it will be so obvious....for we are Christians....God's church....so....what are the next games on tap for March Madness? Do you get my drift folks?
            If we want scriptural proof we just go to Matthew 24:24...."For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (that's us)" So there you have it....we won't be fooled....it's not possible for us to be fooled....or might there be something else here?
            Evangelicals might sit down in a group of Christian friends when this topic comes up. Someone might jump in with...."you know...it does sound like it's saying here that maybe....we ourselves....might have to really be observant....extra observant....that Jesus might not be telling us not to worry....but  the opposite....be vigilant....why else would He follow Matthew 24:24 with.....'Behold, I have told you in advance'....and how about verse 26....'If therefore they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth, or, 'Behold, He is in the Oval Office.' do not believe them'." OK....the text says 'inner rooms' not 'Oval Office'....but once again I think you see where I'm going with this.
           If we as a church were thinking with discernment....we would recognize that this age that we live in is not exactly an age where sound thinking abounds....that it's actually the opposite....and that we....though we wouldn't like to dwell on it.....are part of this age.....and susceptible as anyone else. Delusion is here folks.....and Rush Limbaugh is part of it....we're all part of it to one degree or another. This is a time to get sober-minded....and fast!
           It's not as much for political reasons that I write posts on....'release the report' or 'four years only'....as that we do not want a false prophet in our White House....a man who lures us in with claims on how wonderful things are going to be....better than they ever were....and how great he is....and how great we are...."America is one glorious country under God!"....(really?)....when we should be able to look around at the world....at America....and ourselves....in the light of God's Word.....and see that these may be the ravings of a false prophet.
           There may be a winnowing ahead for the church folks....where many Christians begin to distance themselves from Donald Trump....while others fall even further under the spell.

All The President's Men

The following preface....and post titled The President Is Flirting With Obstruction Of Justice....and the two 'notes' afterward....were from late last year. I had mentioned in the past that the Mueller probe was actually helping Donald Trump in a way.....or that he was using it to his advantage.....for it put forward the absurd efforts of the Democrats to prove something that was not existent....obscuring the fact that Donald Trump had conned us throughout the primaries of 2016....and now the redemption from those absurd attacks is making him look like some kind of hero.....and a promise keeping hero to boot. He is neither of these things.....but right now his path to a second nomination is much clearer of obstacles. We have been taken in by a master of deception. The concern from our side....and we are not few....is that we might not get a legitimate debate in the upcoming primary season....and an opportunity to choose a more honest candidate. The opposition is extremely powerful....and holds most of the means of communication. Note this though.....we will not back down....and if all the president's men....are successful at keeping the full transcript of the Mueller probe way from publication....then a third party candidate may be necessary.....such is the extreme quest for power and the total obeisance from what is becoming a blind cult following....this along with the severe psychological issues that the President brings to the table....and the potential of absolute and unbridled power should he no longer need his 'base' at all. I could use your passing these posts along if you agree with them. Thank you

December 2018:

President Trump's latest tweet and photo are beyond the pale even for him. There is something very unnatural and disturbing about the way that he is handling this probe. He is more than flirting with obstruction of justice. Even talking about pardoning Paul Manafort may be obstruction of Justice. A defendant agrees to a plea deal....then he talks to the man who the plea deal is focused around.....then the defendant doesn't do what he said he would do.....then the man who the plea deal was focused around....the President.....says a pardon is not off the table....Donald Trump may have been innocent of any collusion with Russia....we'll find out....but he is making things much worse for himself almost every single day....and talk radio is egging him on.   

The President Is flirting With Obstruction Of Justice

              Courtiers....lords and ladies in waiting....squires....counts and viscounts....viceroys....retired knights....and assorted vassals....these folks follow President Trump from the Winter Palace to the Summer Palace and back again. Although duly elected in a democratic fashion the assemblage of this administration has taken on a monarchical flare as if King Henry VIII were following the hounds on a fox hunt but it's only President Trump following a little white ball on the golf course. It was JFK's administration where 'Camelot' was coined but here it's more of a 'camel lot' where assorted sheiks and caliphs and sultans sit at the Round Table at the behest of Princess Ivanka's consort.....and mime court jester.....Jared.
              Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes seems written for what is going on in conservative talk radio today as the hosts have consistently over two years painted a picture of a president who keeps promises when in reality it has mostly been candies thrown from a gold-plated carriage while the President and Ivanka wave from the windows.
              There are those of us out here who are trying to put the Trump administration in proper perspective....shouting as loud as we can that the emperor has no clothes....but each and every day a rabid Leftist mob shouts "to the guillotine" which gathers all the headlines....and distorts basic decency and reason in the public square in the process.....but most importantly gives Rush & Friends an excuse to avoid and obscure President Trump's utter failures as they rebut the taunts....

Note: President Trump tweeted today that the Mueller probe was "Our Joe McCarthy Era." By inference here....he agreed that Joe McCarthy was what the Progressive dupes of Communism told us that he was....and taught our youth that he was....no problem here with Communism folks! Donald Trump may never have read a book straight through in his life. He hasn't a clue as to what Communism is.....and yet his 'gut' is telling him what to do with North Korea and China. Ivanka probably put that thought into his mind anyway.

Rush Limbaugh's method in keeping the 'base' in the dark as to who Donald Trump really is is to talk for three hours on only topics that can successfully counter President Trump's raging enemies. I listen to it often....it's effective....and it's sad. Simply by ignoring anything and everything in the news that points to legitimate concerns on President Trump basically controls that 'base'.....which may be a base but it's a changing base from that which put candidate Trump into the White House. This is the method with which we criticized the Clinton and Obama mainstream media, This is not honest. In fact it is deception....yet this is what we have become.

And this from yesterday:

THIS IS HOW COVER-UPS COME ABOUT

UPDATE 2: Fox is headlining a piece as "Giuliani cryptically warns person...."  Presumably this is referring to information from the Mueller report. President Trump is also warning people....presumably once again from information obtained from the Mueller report. This means that the President may be selectively picking out information from the Mueller report to release....it also points to the President and his people.....not the Attorney General.....picking what information to release! They are going to ask the AG about these things....under oath! Release the entire report now....before you find yourself in a cover-up!

UPDATE: I'm think I'm going to 'wimp out' today. I don't think that I have the heart to listen to talk radio's interpretation on the events so far in the Mueller probe report release.....my interpretation being that the 'collusion' part has been nothing but a distraction....where what we really need to know is in the details of the report. Ann Coulter got it pretty near right in a tweet...."Hey liberals, Hot tip for you: You want to go after Trump? Point out he hasn't kept any of his promises."  Now that this collusion nonsense is out of the way....at least as far as Robert Mueller is concerned.....nothing short of releasing the report in order for the American public to make up their own mind on what transpired should be acceptable....release it quickly and get this over with before you dig too deep a whole to get out of....for Donald Trump is a destroyer....he brings people down....either by trying to destroy those who he perceives as enemies....or those who just fly too close to his flame.....without turning and fleeing when they feel the heat....are destroyed by that heat.

This Is How Cover-ups Come About

             Well the Mueller report has been turned over to the Justice Department. So the probe has not been completed....just moved to a different venue....and won't be completed until it is turned over to the American public. This has been an odd week.....first President Trump stuns everyone when he said that he wanted the report released to the public....yeah....nothing going on here. Then a letter from last June turns up from Rod Rosentstein to the Congress essentially saying that the written Mueller report....(according to Justice Department protocol....they being famous for fairness)....is only to deal with issues where indictments were sought. I had to read that twice to believe it....and imagined a room full of men sitting around.....and after presented with the idea of giving that potential excuse out.....someone asks if anyone will actually believe it.
              It's been my contention throughout this mess that collusion....as collusion is generally defined....was ridiculous. In that sense the probe itself was a waste of time....but Donald Trump has dealt intimately with Russia for many decades....we need to know if his business relationships with Russia.....which means essentially with Putin himself....and the compatible business ethos of the two men....was enough to inspire Putin to mess with our election process. The history of these business dealings is more important than indictments....therefore....the entire Mueller report needs released to the American public....as was the Pentagon Papers....as was Watergate....and as was Starr's probe of Clinton.
             Michael Cohen testified that Donald Trump has a way about him where he gets his message across on unethical commands....without....purposely without....having to spell them out. There has never been any evidence of impeachable collusion....but there are primaries coming up....we cannot go another election without knowing who Donald Trump really is. It has only been a matter of hours since the report was turned over. We need to give this time to play out....but if that report is not released....unredacted.....with someone from the probe available to Congress to answer questions....then the controversy will grow to twice what it has been up till now....and may wind up as a cover-up!

We Are All Enthusiasts Of Some Sort

             Michael Horton made the comment in a video I watched this morning from a talk he gave a few years back at a Ligonier conference that...."America is a people of enthusiasts." I was on the treadmill at the time....watching the video on my iPhone....with about forty other people around me at 5:30 in the morning....either walking or running a treadmill....doing some variation of mechanical steps....bicycling....or lifting weights.
             We are indeed a people who are enthusiasts. In front of me on that treadmill were about twenty television screens with everything from health to sports to personal success to home remodeling on those screens. Michael Horton's 57 minute talk had an odd title....When The Church Cries "Uncle"...("Sam' That is.)  The title of the conference from 2015 was Christless Christianity. I certainly and heartily recommend that you Google the YouTube but I should tell you in advance....you have to listen to a talk like this with the attention that you would give to filling out those long-form taxes....for you don't want to miss anything....but the results will be well worth the effort.
            So who is this Michael Horton anyway? To me I guess...he will always be this baby-faced theologian....this twenty-something prodigy....this Luther in bluejeans....but I guess he's almost 55 years old today. Time flies as it seems as only yesterday....actually it was over twenty years ago....that I stumbled across this immensely challenging Christian radio program called The White Horse Inn and started subscribing to the magazine Modern Reformation. Anyway....back to....who is this Michael Horton....
            After 37 years in the faith....it is my firm belief that R. C. Sproul was the most important Christian teacher in America....that is how powerful his mind was.....as he went to be with his Lord and Savior a little over a year ago. Sproul was from Pittsburgh....not all that many miles from where I grew up.....we probably sat next to each at Forbes Field at one time or another.....as a matter of fact I remember this older kid sitting next to me once....yakking the whole game....but seriously....I think that Michael Horton is his successor. He's written a ton of books....I've read most of them....and still has that radio program....and that magazine. If you are a college student in a Christian college....then you should be able to handle the rigorous mental exercise of these resources....but beware....imbibing this type of teaching may very well make you a reformer!

whitehorseinn.org
modernreformation.org
        

"The Limbaugh Brothers Saved My Soul"

       Folks....you can Google the title to this post....."The Limbaugh Brothers Saved My Soul"....if you are interested in seeing how far evangelicalism and the gospel can become two different things if one is not careful. This was a call to Rush's show from yesterday.....Friday, March 22. I was listening at the time. It was bittersweet....for this young lady's experience is not dissimilar to my own back in about 1974 when I first opened the New Testament.....and tasted that the Lord is good....but it took me another eight years or so......after putting that New Testament down.....that I finally understood what the Gospel of Jesus Christ was about.
       If you carefully read through this transcript a few times.....you might see that there are some glaring problems here.... and yet hope....from both the perspective of the young lady....and from that of Rush Limbaugh. I'll leave this post up for a while and then transfer it to one of my DISPATCHES posts.....which are short news items that I every once in a while gather up in a single post.
       I've never read any of David Limbaugh's books although I'm sure that they are fine efforts....but the transcript to this call to Rush yesterday might be a good topic for a weekly Bible study or prayer meeting or even conversations when Christians meet in their homes for fellowship....to explore what is good here and what might be problematic.....and how one has to be convicted of something.....in order to realize why one is in need of a Savior....and that as wonderful as those first few moments can be when seeing Jesus in Scripture....that that is only where the real battle may begin.

Claw-Duh-Byu-See....Love That Name

            I don't know a whole lot about classical music.....only what I like. Ralph (Rafe) Vaughan Williams is my favorite composer for daydreaming......Bach for studying....(Aah Bach)......Mozart for trying to impress visitors to our home.....Beethoven when I'm happy.....Wagner (Vahg-ner) when I'm angry....and Claude Debussy simply because I like to say his name....(claw...duh...byu...see....(say it fast)....claw...duh...byu....see...love that!) I still remember a Smothers Brothers skit where Tommy butchered....'Claude Debussy's Clair De Lune.' It took him three tries to get it right. It only takes me two.
            I also don't have any personal friends who are classical music aficionados....or symphony musicians. Actually I don't have many friends at all....but I would imagine that these folks listen to Bach....(aah Bach)....and Beethoven....all the time played by various symphonies. I'm sure that artists in oils take every chance they get to view in person great paintings......I even do that. We tend to go to the great in whatever our interests are in.....which I why I have all eight seasons of Monk and all eight season of Everybody Loves Raymond. I probably should not admit that.
            OK....enough of the facetiousness....in reality I listen to R. C. Sproul tapes almost every other day of my life. Right now I listen to two in the morning while on the treadmill. How could I not read the old books.....and listen to the old tapes of sermons....and read Pilgrim's Progress about every other year....or read Spurgeon's daily devotions all the time.....for these were all gifts to us from God....to know Him better....and how can we not read God's Word every day as if peering through a magnifying glass at a treasure map?
           So.....having expressed this which I think would be natural for those who want to be the very best that they can.....and all the more so when it comes to serving God....how can it be that pastors do not take advantage of these things every day of their life? It saddens me when I hear....which I hear all too often.....that a pastor is always busy puttering around the church. Do they not realize their great responsibility? Why would not a reformed pastor listen to R. C. Sproul regularly.....the same messages time after time if need be.....(I've listened to Sproul's last sermon a half dozen times since he went to be with his Lord fifteen months ago)....or a Baptist pastor listen to John MacArthur to sharpen his discernment?
            We have lost the ability to preach today. Don't believe me? Google Charles Haddon Spurgeon sermons and read a few....or listen to Martyn Lloyd-Jones....or even David Wilkerson....or obviously R. C. Sproul....or Michael Horton. We are only going to be as strong of a church as what we hear from our pulpits. Pray for these pulpits folks.....and the men who step into them....plead to hear the glories that those who came before us heard.....and do this to the glory of God....that we might....in whatever abilities God has given us....expend every bit of energy on them.
       
           

Four Years Only....If We Can Get There

           I understand the support for President Trump. We had just experienced almost a quarter century of nonsense from Leftist dupes since the Clintons first took office. We were stagnant economically and our military was losing ground to our enemies.....while political correctness was taking away our freedom of speech. The Republican elites had proven weak and worthless so many times....and then along came Donald Trump. Taken at face value from the promises made during his campaign....there would no more be....'win the election and then just return to the same ole same ole'....and then the economy took off immediately after the election.....seemingly proving that Donald Trump knew what he was doing.
            So here we are today....two years later....and the candidates that the Democrats are putting up are....what's the word folks....imbeciles....hows that.....they are absolutely nuts.....Warren.....Gillibrand....and the rest....God help us....for if these people are not God's judgment to us then He didn't make little green apples either. It would seem on the surface to be a no-brainer to get behind President Trump's reelection campaign....but appearances can be deceiving....and they are surely deceiving here.
              Let me start off with the bad news....Donald Trump is judgment from God also....not someone sent by God to turn us around....but maybe someone sent to turn conservative Christians around. You see to think that Obama was judgment....and Trump an answer to prayer.....is to think that God sees liberals as evil.....and conservatives as good. Speaking to Christians here....do we really believe that we are better people than liberals? We have both miserably forsaken God....and replaced His Word with our own modern....easy-believism....gospel of goodies....God is love-so we don't have to say we are sorry....MAGA evangelicalism.
             If we can get out of our mind....I'm still speaking to Christians here....that Donald Trump is Jehu or Cyrus....then we would actually be forced to look at the individual....Donald Trump....instead of blowing it off with trite phrases such as...."God uses fallible men....He used Cyrus didn't He?" President Trump is starting to refer to himself more and more often in the third person. This grandiose narcissism is progressing. He put out twenty-six tweets the other day criticizing quite a number of his opponents.....his insecurities are progressing. He's bragged in the past about using chaos to his advantage....and breeds chaos like no one else....we are drowning in it.....and it's only been two years! Rush Limbaugh said only a half hour ago or so that things are going to get much worse after President Trump wins reelection. Folks....America cannot handle this for two more years....let alone six more years.
            Now wait a second....you might say....if President Trump has been so extraordinarily successful....then we  have to take this chance of a possible complete meltdown in society. The problem here is that President Trump has not been so extraordinarily successful. A few months ago I related a story that came out of the White House. Early on....President Trump's economic advisers sat him down and told him how the problem of the national debt would hit no later than the end of his second term. The President's response was...."Yeah....but I won't be here." Now you may question if he ever really said that.....fair enough....but won't someone get to the bottom of it? It's that important.....for if he said that then there is a big problem that relates directly to the good economic statistics of today....that would have.....by the way....been significantly better under any conservative Republican president anyway.
            How about foreign policy. Some were ready to nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after the first reality show with Kim Jong-un....and Jared Kushner is in charge of finding peace in the Middle East. These are impossible situations that President Trump was put in....but his decision-making on them so far is not evidence to ignore his strange decisions and return him to office.
            As of right now....conservatism has taken a big hit. Conservative talk radio....which had been our bulwark for decades in disseminating information to us....has for whatever reason been taken in completely by Donald Trump and therefore almost rendered useless to us. The Trump agenda from the 2016 campaign is no more. If we reelect Donald Trump we would do it on a completely different agenda....a more power agenda. Gone are the repeal Obamacare and the wall and the drain the swamp.
           Add to this President Trump's almost unfathomable consistent  lying....disconcerting tweets....and general breeding of chaos in America....and at the very least.....conservatives who are not on board with this new agenda....and have not put on saffron robes while chanting USA...USA...USA....should be given a chance to express their discontent in the primaries. One more.....'add to this'....the pending Mueller investigation report....and other legal matters....not to mention the daily personal emergencies that may come up....may put us in a position where we have a candidate who may have to drop out in the primaries....with no conservative challenger prepared to take us from there.

Fahrenheit 71

           The temperature in Pittsburgh as I type is about Fahrenheit 71. I phrased the temperature such in recognition of Ray Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451 of a dystopian society where the auto-ignition of paper is estimated to be 451 degrees Fahrenheit. As it relates to this post....at what point do we....in the winter climates of the United States....when the months-long cold and freezing temperatures suddenly change to a wonderfully pleasurable ambiance....at what point do we forget ominous news stories....forget the storm warnings....close our ears to the roar of the falls....and begin to fashion our spring dreams.....(part and parcel of the American Dream)....that we are confident will come to fruition in a glorious summer to follow...."In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns...." (Tennyson, Locksley Hall)
           Well....I nominate 71 degrees Fahrenheit as the temperature....today....forget the chaos....forget what North Korea may be doing....forget the Middle East.....forget the $22 trillion national debt.....forget all that and everything else that might upset our plans.....by golly....if you're a liberal....forget climate warming!
           This is nothing new....it's an inherent weakness in man....that we fail to remain vigilant when things are springlike....but then the reader of the Gospel of Matthew is told...."Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath....for then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be." World War II started at the beginning of winter.....and 9/11 was at the beginning of fall....but Fort Sumter was fired upon in the Spring....a few weeks after Easter....which was early that year.
           Parents....lose their children.....many parents....when they send them off to college....for it is a heady time.....full of temptation....not to mention the professors who lead them away from God. Preseason football and spring training in baseball....and the march for Lord Stanley's cup and March Madness and all down the line....they effectually tell us to take a break and enjoy what the world has to offer.
           The narratives in Matthew (ch 24) and Mark (ch 13) and Luke (ch 21) all tell of such a heady time for the Lord's disciples.....they were leaving the temple mount.....amazed at it....commenting on it....and it was spring....when Jesus brought them back to reality. These three chapters should be a staple in the Christian's reading these days. The mistake that we make....in my observation....is that we limit the Joy of the Lord to be in a springtime....when the greatest joy of all....is when out of the cold and the darkness and the suffering of this world.....Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John...."I am the bread of life....he who comes to me will never be hungry....and he who believes in me will never be thirsty"....and...."I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life"....and...."I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved, He will come in and go out and find pasture"....and...."I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep"....and...."I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."....and...."I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."....and...."I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

     
   
           

"War Is Hell".....William Tecumseh Sherman

            Is America headed for another Civil War? It's very possible. Here are some things to consider right now....before a civil war would start:

            It doesn't matter if the Republicans are the government at the time or if the Democrats are the government at the time.....the scenario would play out similarly either way. Generally the rebel side feels that it has had enough from an overbearing government. Combatants from its fringe element strike first....(a lot of people cheer)....remember.....either party could be in power. The government then must show that it is in control.....and comes down with a heavy hand.....but in the process ratcheting up the stakes. This pushes the rebel side further....and they....encouraged now by the righteousness of their cause.....take the rebellion into genuine warfare. The government now is operating on Marshall Law....mass numbers of people are arrested....and confined who knows where....prisons can't handle this amount of people.
            Here's where you and me come in. It's not a 'north/south' thing but more of a 'city/rural' thing this time....and maybe a Bolshevik thing. Half of the population may still be working with some kind of salary....but with only 10% of the stuffs available to purchase....and at a hyper-inflated cost....if your business is not in selling essentials....you are in trouble....nobody is going to want a condo on the beach....or a 56" television....while the other half of the population will have their jobs on at best 'temporary' hold....which could mean four or five years.
            There's are no more professional sports teams operating.....if its fall....no NFL...not for years to come if that....if it's summer....no MLB. Those guys making tens of millions a year might as well start looking for something to do once the hostilities end.....and at least sell their mansions at a 'fire sale' price.....for nothing is ever going to be the same.
            Before the hostilities began.....the rebels....from whatever party they were from....were beating their breasts......ready to 'get it on'....but....not so much anymore. Food supplies to either the cities or the country are low......electricity and running water is in short supply......and there's no television except that which the government broadcasts.....whatever government that may be....and radio is government content.....no more Rush or Sean or Mark. All the Hollywood people are all of a sudden waking up to realities in life....and no one would care what they say anymore anyway.....if there was any way for them to have their voices heard.....which there wouldn't be.  There's no movie for them to work on for a virtual reality fix. There are no 'safe spaces' anywhere. The only people with guaranteed steady employment are the military....and the Congress.
            Well that's the 'good' scenario.....that's right....that's only half the story....now for the really 'bad' scenario. Forget your pension check....if they ever come back....and forget your 401k....and CD's....that stuff is going to secured for your benefit. Our government and economy were relatively independent the last time we had a civil war.....not so this time. We have enemies now who will strike from all sides when we are down. When the civil war does end....no matter who 'wins'....(in reality both sides lose)....there will now be a world government.....a 'New World Oder' if you will....and it won't matter which side was the government and which side was the rebels....for we will all be slaves now....under one man.....no courts....no justice......no free speech.....no ownership of property.....(except for those at the top of the new world government)....and no freedom of religion.
             Folks....there is a 'right side' and a 'wrong side' today....but that doesn't ameliorate the situation....and even the 'right side' has its problems....for neither side seeks God's wisdom. Both sides in the 1860s thought our Civil War wouldn't last but a few months. We need to understand that in a polarized society such that we have....no election will be the answer.....while either side winning only infuriates the other side more. There is only one answer.....but that usually comes to us only when in the crucible.

I have a question along the lines of the message of this post: I was walking by the radio this afternoon about a quarter after 3 PM....and had the opportunity....so I reached for the power button....and I looked at my watch....Sean Hannity would be on....for a moment I asked myself....as I've done dozens of times before over the past two years....why listen to him....it's two years into this mess and he will be talking about FISA warrants and the dossier....but I pushed that button anyway....and Sean is talking about....FISA warrants and the dossier! How can this be if President Trump himself....the most powerful man in the entire world....had not commissioned......(folks when you sit in that Oval Office something must happen to you....how else could hard core generals and Steve Bannon and John Bolton sit quietly in meetings with Jared Kushner and not ask why he is there)....commissioned Sean....as one of his top three generals.....to talk for as long it takes on the witch hunt.....and the FISA warrants.....and the fake dossier....that's his orders? Rush has his own orders....as does Mark....but back to the 'witch hunt'....(a phrase of which President Trump has tweeted at least once every week....and sometimes five and six times a week)....why....what's the purpose....the info is good....we needed the info....many of these folks are criminals....but every day for two years? Why? The Mueller probe is not going to be erased! Legal or illegal....it's going to come out. So why? Yes the conversation....(but it's not really a conversation....it's scripted diatribe)....does keep all of the heat off of President Trump....and controls the narrative away from his abandoning of his conservative base....but it also just stirs up the crowd more and more. It's not motivating them....they don't need motivated...it just builds on the anger. It gets more bazaar as Sean complains....and I mean he does so with righteous indignation....that other networks ignore or hide stories that would be negative to their candidates....when we do exactly the same thing with Donald Trump! What has happened to our honesty?
         
           

Hope For Another Lord's Day

          Tomorrow is another Lord's Day.....and as usual I will be hoping to hear reports in the following week on things strange that happened in pulpits around America....not gold dust sprinkled from the ceiling....not holy laughter or people falling all over the place....and not some prophet standing up and telling the congregation how Donald Trump was sent by God to make America great again....we've had plenty of this type of nonsense already. No...I'm hoping that reports will come out on how pastors who are normally smiling all the time are laden down with burdens so heavy that they are pleading for God to intervene in America. I'm hoping that some smidgen of discernment was given them in the past week on what indeed is happening to our nation....and what is ahead. I'm hoping that all of a sudden they're not worried about keeping their pulpits for so many years until they can retire....but realize all of sudden that God's hand of judgment is what we see all around us....as we Christians look anywhere and everywhere for relief other than Jesus Christ. I'm hoping that men in these pulpits see a world falling apart in every conceivable way and say....."Come Lord Jesus!" I hoping that these men of whom these words would point to.....would come to see that this is not a job or a profession or even a vocation that they have.....but that they volunteered.....and took vows....to tend to the sheep....to warn them when necessary....that they will be held responsible....and that they choose something that by its very nature....means constant seeking of God's guidance.....constant learning.....constant humbling themselves and seeing themselves a unworthy for such a responsibility....so much so that they can only wonder why God would permit someone as weak as them in such an important position. There are pastors all over America doing these things every day.....and have done so for many years.....if you happen to have one of these men in your pulpit....and you see the strain that has been upon them....and maybe the weariness as churches grow to huge numbers all around them by failing to upset the evangelical upbeatness prevalent everywhere today....then thank God for such a blessing.....and encourage these men.....for you have been mightily blessed.

(Monday morning update:  No reports yet that God's Holy Spirit has begun to move upon the pulpits of America.)

(Friday update: Still no reports that anyone in our pulpits have awakened)

A Day To Remember?

           Are you like me in that you just like to hear people talk who space their words so perfectly that it’s a pleasure to listen to them....and if they happen to be so intellectually gifted that the pleasure becomes a wonderful experience....and if that person is a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ or a teacher of doctrine....then the word blessing doesn’t even do it justice! Well you have all this and more in R. C. Sproul who went to be with his Lord and his Savior a little over a year ago. I’m posting this now because this would be a good day to sample how he had blessed the Christian community around the world for so long. One caveat though....if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ....you may have your world shaken.....for eternity. It’s very simple....just go to ligonier.com....and click on the arrow for the daily audio!

Note: I've listened to R. C. Sproul's 'final sermon'.....given weeks before he died.....at least a half dozen times......most recently this morning. Titled 'A Great Salvation'....it can easily be accessed simply by Googling....Sproul, final sermon.

*****.....Thursday.....today's daily audio.....this is one you do not want to miss! I'll warn you....it's a tear-jerker....but the message may change something within you. Update: This daily audio will be gone by now....but you can easily Google it.....R. C. Sproul....the sacrifice of faith.

One Word.....Israel

             Why am I so critical of President Trump in these posts? I could answer that question in a half dozen posts....or I could answer it in one word. The long form answer would be political in nature....but the short form answer would be more revealing, That one word would be....Israel.
             It may be that Donald Trump does not even realize that he is lying....when he is lying. I say this because this has been a problem with him for most of his life if not all of his life. If this were just political maneuvering that would be one thing....for anyone might change....but if you don't even realizing that you are doing it....or if you do but you don't care....well....that's a much bigger problem.
             Compounding that problem is whether or not Donald Trump has a working understanding on right and wrong. North Korea's Kim Jong-un is about despicable as they come. How does one smile at this man....embrace this man.....banter amiably with this man? Could you do it? It leads to concern that there may be a severe underlying problem here.
             Now back to the main question......one may get away with this type of soulless diplomacy with Kim Jong-un or most anyone....but not with Israel. God has dealt harshly with His biblically historic people....over many millenia....and in His perfect timing He miraculously brought them back to the Promised Land....and as a nation unto themselves....and it also appears that He will shortly bring to a conclusion what His word to us describes as the Times Of The Gentiles.
             It's obvious that God used the United States.....among some other nations.....to secure Israel's ownership of their land today.  So....do them right....and don't do them wrong. Laugh or scorn if you want but I'll believe what God tells us in His Word. This doesn't make Israel right in the decisions that they make....it doesn't put them in God's will now....and it doesn't elevate them above any nation on earth other than that God will determine their future according to His promises.....both of judgment and redemption....the only thing of significance is that they are back in the promised land....and will stay there in spite of what they themselves do....and in spite of what we or anyone else does....but woe to them that are the instrument of God's judgment on Israel in any way.....and that's where President Trump comes in.
          Donald Trump as President Trump may play fast and loose with North Korea or China or Russia or his conservative base or anyone....but not Israel. There is no art of the deal here....no "ultimate deal"....and there's no art of the comeback here. If you cannot tell right from wrong then you should  stay away from this test.....and if you cannot tell the truth in meetings with Israeli leaders....then don't meet with Israeli leaders.
          Evangelicalism on the whole is acting under a false assumption. They assume that Israel is acting in God's will....as opposed to 'existing' in God's will....and that they are faithful to God....and consequently God as He promised will be faithful to them.....instead of God being faithful in His promises to them in spite of Israel not being faithful to Him....just as we are anything but faithful to Him. If we miss this then we misinterpret why Donald Trump was elevated as President of the United States....and we miss how problematic it is that a man who has serious trouble with the truth might deal with an Israel that by the very nature of who they are....may require much diplomatic skill....but nothing even remotely close to just dealing with them in truth.
             On the surface it looks as if President Trump is very strong on Israel....but in 2016 it looked as if he was very strong on many issues where that turned out not to be the case. The President put his son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of finding a peace in the Middle East.....this appointment in itself is more than problematic....and only amplifies the concern.
            Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obviously very confident in President Trump. The two met for the first time....in their official positions....in February of 2017. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that promises were made in that meeting. That is what concerns me. One line from Dionne Warwick's 1968 hit Promises, Promises was...."Oh, promises, their kind of promises....can destroy a life."
           There can be no leeway in this.....no equivocation....and no coded comments such as the President made in August of last year after the embassy was moved....in that Israel...."Will have to pay a higher price." That remark stirred international interest and was never fully explained.

NOTE: Since I'm on the topic of Israel here.....I would like to add this for you to think about. Generally....many evangelicals in America today.....look forward to.....(and that's putting it mildly).....the building of a third temple in Jerusalem....and there may be a daily sacrifice some day on the temple mount once again....but here is where a problem arises. There are some different interpretations within the church on what will happen in the very last of the last days....and this is natural....because we don't have all the answers on these things right now....even though many teachers think that we do.....but we cannot deviate from what we already know for certain from God's Word....the essence of the Christian faith....that there no longer is a need for sacrifice....and worse yet....any sacrifices today would deny Christ's sacrifice on the cross! All the sacrifices in the Old Testament were meant to point to the Lamb of God. You don't have to know biblical prophesy to know this....you only have to know what God has told us in His Word....throughout His Word....on why Jesus was manifested in the flesh. So my advice is to be careful when politics.....Israel and the temple mount for example....enters into our Christian faith.
             

FOUR YEARS ONLY!

           I'll put this in the very common vernacular style of the day......Donald Trump played a game with us for over three years.....as if running for president were no different or no more important than getting Mar-a-Lago at a steal.....or building some tower somewhere. Ok....he got the job....but now he....and many others it appears....thinks that he should get four more years.....which would be six more years of what we have now.....without a review or any debate on who he has been for the past two years.
           Their plan apparently is to scare us with the Cortez woman with the hyphenated name....or a President Kamala Harris or Bernie Sanders so that we don't question things that just don't add up. They think that the President is just going to continue with his pep rallies right up to the nomination and then have a good time in the virtual reality debates.
           All this may eventually happen.....for it is hard for us who want an honest review to get by the broadcast power of Rush Limbaugh.....Sean Hannity.....and Mark Levin....but we're going to try....for when President Trump stands on that stage and says that he did this and he did that.....and he's being backed up on radio....we want someone there on the debate stage saying.....no you didn't do this......and you're exaggerating that....and you had to be dragged into these things.....and you kept piling up the national debt....and expanded the swamp with your own people.
          The new budget announced today adds yet another trillion dollars to the debt. Commentators who are quickly going over the new budget proposal say that President Trump will have added $9 trillion to the debt after his eight years....if reelected.....when President Obama had added $9.5 trillion....and was hammered.....appropriately.....by Donald Trump for it....but to listen to acting OMB director Russell Vought today you would think that promises are being kept.
           We already saw how politics back home was on President Trump's mind while in a summit with a foreign leader....Kim Jong-un. The best thing for America....and for Donald Trump also....would be to announce that he will not seek a second term....for he's going to need every bit of energy and stamina to deal with the issues that will consume us over the next 20 months....and that even is a rosy scenario of what may actually come our way.

Note: Here is somewhat how it works folks....in this relatively new cult of Trump.....but what do I know....I've only been studying cults for thirty-some years. Alex Marlow is the main voice on Breitbart morning radio. He's not up there with the big three.....he's number four.....but then number five....whoever that might be....is a fir piece back....but then what do I know....I've only been a radio talk show listener for a half century. Anyway....Marlow is good friends with Ann Coulter....and at times he can be downright critical of President Trump. Well President Trump welcomed a team from Breitbart to the White House yesterday....and wallah! The magic worked as Alex Marlowe is all starry-eyed today....and will probably stay that way for two or three days. Meanwhile Ann was quoted....finally....in responding to President Trump calling her a "wacky nut job." She said that Donald Trump is a...."shallow, narcissistic, conman."

update: a caller to Breitbart just began with...."Mornin Alex...sounds like your still pretty excited about your visit to the White House." You got that right caller!