"Golf Is A Game Of....Honor"....Rush

           I don't have the slightest idea what a game of thrones is.....to change the syntax a little for effect....or an....'Avenger'....for that matter....but I recognize that Donald John Trump....the progenitor of the ubiquitous use of the word....'fake'....is the biggest and greatest fake of them all! I haven't attended a Sunday School class in twenty years....but I know a false prophet when I see one.
           Now if you are new to these posts you are probably shocked and dismayed by these two statements.....but if you are aware of how I like to hyperbolize for effect....you are still probably shocked and dismayed.....because these are two statements that at the very least need explained.
          As for the first.....'I don't know what the Game Of Thrones is....or what an Avenger is.... but I know that Donald Trump is a fake'.....the point I'm trying to make is that a person's discernment....generally.....is going to be proportionate to how much he or she wants to know what is going on. If you are really into entertainments and sports and things like that that take so much time....well....entertainments and sports are where your real discernment and expertise will be....you may wind up knowing everything about the Steelers or the Penguins....but little to nothing about the real Donald Trump.
          On the second point...."I'm not a Sunday School person but I know a false prophet when I see one"....what I'm saying here.....and this is only my opinion....is that Sunday School should be primarily for new believers and inquirers to help them along. We have to leave the nest sometime folks....but if one stays there for the rest of his or her life....studying a few verses a week....filling in a few blanks....it can demonstrate laziness more than a desire to know everything about God's Word..
          I know very well that this post is pushing the envelope.....but brothers and sisters.....the ship is going down! This isn't a collision at sea where you simply limp back to port for repairs. These are 'all hands on deck'....'batten down the hatches'.....'this is no drill'....days that we live in. A major university in the Bible Belt just signed their football coach to a ten year deal for $93 million! Is this a great and glorious nation for God or what?
          I would not blame you for not taking my warnings to heart.....but real men of God such as Billy Graham and Martyn Lloyd-Jones had warned us for upwards of a half century. Were they with us today in this climate of Sodom and Gomorrah....and the Tower of Babel.....they would be warning us with all they were worth!

Note: If you are not familiar with the great London preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones....you can easily access some of his taped sermons by Googling....'Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermons!'

Update: Ironically....or just coincidental....Rush talked on his show today about playing 27 holes of golf yesterday....Sunday....in which he had a double-eagle....but there was just him and his caddy so it doesn't go in the books. He made this statement...."Golf is a game of many things, including honor. And even though everybody who plays the game is considered to bring honor and respect for the rules of golf....except Goldfinger and Oddjob, they didn't, but other people do." I had to wonder after he said this if Rush has even heard about the book Commander In Cheat  by Rick Reilly. He also chatted at length on the show about the television show....Game OF Thrones....which he watches.....so I'm listening to this and thinking that if he didn't golf so much....or watch a series production such as the one mentioned....or analyze football....but rather read books in his spare time.....he might see more than one side of an issue.

Blood....Sweat....And Now Tears

The following post was from this past fall....before the midterms. Since then President Trump has been busy consolidating power to fight off obstruction of justice charges.....squelching conservative dissent through his radio generals.... poking and jabbing everyone who doesn't show obeisance towards him....lying and conning more than ever.....if that was even possible....and all the while Tweeting and visiting his religious retreats....(political rallies)....to keep his followers in a state of heightened enthusiasms:     

          So what do we do now? Our awakening of the 70s and 80s probably began to wane in 1992. The evangelical was riding high at the time....not riding very smartly....but riding high. Tipper Gore's book Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society was very popular in the evangelical community and I knew that it would be problematic when Bill Clinton choose Al Gore for his running mate. It didn't begin in 1992 but the downfall of the United States of America c.ertainly took a giant step with the emergence of the Clintons.
          We were sure that George W. Bush was a Christian.....not a fake like the Clintons and Al Gore....but how wrong we were....for he represents a nominal Christianity that cannot save. We then....as all Americans....were shaken to the core by 9/11....not only by the attack itself but by the overwhelming evidence over the ensuing seven years that there was something seriously wrong in a large percentage of the American public....and then it was proved out as disaster struck in the sudden emergence and election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th President of the United States....but we endured and fought back.....that fight coming to a crescendo as it looked as if Hillary Clinton would succeed President Obama.
          We didn't have any heavyweights to really challenge her....good men....and Carly Fiorina....but no real heavyweights....and then out of the crystal blue sky....peeking through above Jared Kushner's The 666 monstrosity and the Trump Tower came Donald John Trump. The Democrats knew more of who he was for he was really one of them. His celebrity was made in their hood. We just knew him as a brash egotistical billionaire....and thought that we could live with that.
          He touched that within us that was patriotic....but he also mined that part of the soul that was blind and deaf to warnings of the quicksand of power and slippery slopes of greed. Half of us knew that there was a big problem here but there were a few too many of us splitting the primary vote. Still....Hillary loomed on the horizon and once all was said and done with the nomination process we set our attention on the task at hand....and we all celebrated in the wee hours of November 7th, 2016.
          I should be a little bit more specific.....we did have heavyweights but they were in talk radio....and one by one a now President Trump battered them into submission. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity were knocked out in the first round when President Trump bought Ivanka and Jared and others into the Oval Office....and will probably never be the same conservative fighters that they once were. Mark Levin won a couple of rounds while challenging Donald Trump but then suddenly just said....no mas.
          Blood and sweat blurred our vision as to who Donald Trump was turning out to be. The roar of the crowd struck fear into our opponents as the glamorous Ivanka circled the ring holding high the number of the round. The President himself is battered....swinging wildly....confused and delusional at times....but still shouting...."I am the greatest"....as his cornermen leave one by one.
          As for us....the evangelicals.....we're now just like any other fight crowd.....faces contorted as we shout for more blood...."lock her up!"...."lock who up?"...."lock'em all up!" Political bookies have come out of the woodwork with the midterm elections at hand....with each election being billed as the most important ever....demanding that we lay more money down or maybe lose it all. The mob has long since taken over this fight between a God-fearing conservatism and godless communism.


      

Maybe This God Isn't To Be Taken Literally After All

            Oftentimes in warfare....over the millennia but particularly in recent centuries....one side in the conflict....at a well-planned out strategic moment....wages everything on an all-out assault....in fact reports out of Venezuela today have one rebelling soldier saying...."it's now or never.' Sometimes that final assault leads to victory.....and sometimes defeat.
            America has been in a battle of the mind for many decades over the issue of homosexuality. Somewhere in the past few decades the 'gay agenda' as it has become known in some quarters launched that full-scale attack....and now twenty or so years later.....it has won....hands-down. Our government....our Supreme Court....essentially won the day for the gay agenda with it's decision on marriage.
            The only skirmishes left today are over the right of Christians to live their lives according to God's Word on this issue....and raise their children in obedience to God's Word. I cannot use the phrase anymore....'what is at stake'....because it's a done deal....our children are to be led....sometimes under legal restriction....most of the time very subtly....by beliefs that oppose God's Word.
            Entertainment had been at the forefront of this battle for the mind through television shows and movies. Higher education did their part....the liberal church.....which in reality is no Christian church....did their part.....and the evangelical church aided the effort in its failure to preach Christ....thus nullifying the power of the preached Word....and thereby weakening America....while opting instead to fit nicely in the culture.
            Within my own extended family.....and I presume the vast majority of typical American families....those associated with liberal denominations.....and very sadly many within evangelical denominations....there appears to be little to no concern whatsoever with the direction that America has taken. No one seems to care anymore....maybe we ought to rethink some of the things they told us years ago about God's commandments?
            This is old news now. I bring it up in this post as it relates to God's judgment upon America....along with the numerous other 'issues' where we have rebelled against our creator.... against our benefactor and sustainer of over four centuries now....if we were to go back to the very beginnings. This particular issue is by no means the only issue....or even the main issue....in discerning if this is the last generation....or the very last of the last days.....before Jesus Christ returns....but it should at least be a shock to our system.
            The miraculous appearing of the state of Israel in 1948 is the most obvious event.....but a century of war.....with an increasing domestic violence....abortion....terrorism....suicidal technologies....along with a planet heaving under geologic strain....are other evidences....and there are many more.
            Yet....yet....evangelicals on the whole think that if they but keep that GDP up....and keep those mutual funds providing a comfortable cushion....that the decades will just roll on. All the evidence of God moving quickly on the world's scene---is out-right ignored....all the warnings from over a half century coming to fruition---not even analyzed.....all the violence.....all the rejection of God's Word....and all the common sense and logical deduction that tells us that things simply cannot go on like they are....and certainly not as what has been called....'the last bastion of freedom'....collapses from its own obesity brought on by gorging itself on pottage that it had chosen over the fruit of the Spirit---all these things are but as an uncomfortable armchair as we watch our entertainments on the telly....or a big hairdo blocking the view of the field....or a weather bulletin just as the winner of the big award is announced.

American Gospel, Christ Alone

NOTE: I'd like to use this space to recommend to you an approximately 1 hour YouTube called....American Gospel, Christ Alone. There is a DVD these people put out that runs over two hours that can be purchased....and there is a short 'trailer' available also....but what you should check out right now is the YouTube where you will find interviews with some of America's top Christian teachers!
     
           Br

Expect The Unexpected

The following post is about ten months old....while the following preface to that post is about four months old. In this preface I mention listening to Rush Limbaugh....and then praying.....well I had Rush on for about half an hour today before turning it off to post this....and I'm praying again.....for Rush literally worships this leader in our White House....with a political worship I have never witnessed before....and it is extremely disturbing:

          I'm bringing (this post) back now (December 2018) and directing it to Christians in light of who and what Donald Trump has turned out to be. They expected a messiah of sorts.....and considered him a prophet in a way. The 'unexpected' here....(from the following post)....is that it was....Christians....who fell for the deception this time. (the previous time it was Obama)
          The day is half over and as I go from one errand to another I had time to turn on the radio to hear the lead-in music to the Rush Limbaugh show....and I found myself uttering in my mind this short prayer....'Lord...open our eyes to this man (Limbaugh)....is it not he who constantly tells us that the future is the exact opposite of what Your Word tells us? Limbaugh's constant exaltation of Donald Trump is the primary reason that conservatives do not know the schemes and fakery of this man our president.

Expect The Unexpected

         Expect the unexpected. It's really a profound thought. Oscar Wilde used it once and probably many other people. Now if the phrase was just advising one to always be aware that the unexpected could happen it would be one thing....but it's not saying that....for it's saying....expect....or actually believe that the unexpected will happen. Wow....that can boggle the mind if you really think about it.
         OK let's go a little further with this. You have a plan....on anything....this should happen....and that should then happen....and if these things happen then you are confident that your plan will work....(plan your work....work your plan.) But this 'unexpected' is altogether different. One is being advised to actually expect something that is not expected and maybe not even considered as a possibility.
         Let me see if I can come up with an example....OK I've got one....I actually wrote a post about it a few years ago. A young newlywed couple's plans are coming along just fine.  The young man completed college to get that degree and has a good job and then they were married. Their ultimate goal is to buy a nice little house and have a couple of kids....and maybe a little dog....but then December 7th, 1941 came along and all of those plans were put on hold if they would ever even come about.
         The closest thing that I can think about where the Bible mentions something like this would be in that monumentally prophetic 24th chapter of Matthew....."If anyone tells you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'Over here!' do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note: I (JESUS) have told you in advance." I chose the Holman Christian Standard Bible for this for or it uses the word 'Messiah' rather than 'Christ.'
        Friends, this chapter....along with Mark 13 and Luke 21 where Jesus answers the question...."Tell us when will these things be.."....these chapters were indeed for everyone from the day that they were written to today.....but they are especially relevant for us today....for we are in that day where the nearness of the return of Christ is so close that false messiahs and false prophets are....and have been for quite a while....literally everywhere.
        Expect the unexpected....expect the false messiahs (Trump) and false prophets (Rush Limbaugh)....hold everything....everything up to Scripture....be vigilant and more than leery of great signs and wonders should they come about....for anyone can be "led astray....if possible, even the elect."

Who Was Jephthah

The following post is from the beginning of March. I feel that we need to consider Jephthah yet again:       

          The sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD....and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth....and because of this the pagan nations around them.....the same nations that God had previously delivered them from....afflicted and oppressed them for eighteen years.
           It appears from the biblical account in the eleventh chapter of Judges that Jephthah was a real Rambo type. Alienated from his brothers because he didn't have the same mother....he went off by himself....and other black sheep types seemed to gather around him. At this point his brothers and home town didn't seem to care one way or another what he did....as they were more concerned with the Ammonites who were about to wage full-scale war with them.

          OK....The sons of Israel eventually swallowed their pride....and went down to find Jephthah....Rambo remember....to see if He would come back and be their general against the Ammonites. Jephthah at first kind of played with them for while....oh you want me to lead you.....you didn't seem to want anything to do with me before?
          Now Jephthah isn't quite a household name in Christian homes is it.....this in spite of the fact that the writer of Hebrews....in its famous chapter eleven on heroes of the faith.....mentions Jephthah right up their with Moses and Gideon and others. Why? It wasn't because Jephthah was the warrior that he was....and it had nothing to do with what Jephthah would do after the battle....and even in spite of the fact of what Jephthah did after the battle. The sons of Israel were looking at bad odds when they went to Jephthah who answered their request this way...."If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up to me....." I'm going to stop there because herein is why Jephthah's name is recorded in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews....he attributed any victory that might be his....to the LORD!
           There is more to the story of Jephthah and you can read it in chapter eleven of Judges and the first seven verses of chapter twelve. It's fascinating. Jephthah calmly went to the Ammonites beforehand to ask why they were about to wage war. After hearing their answer he very deliberately gave them the true history behind their complaints and finished with this...."I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the LORD, the judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon."
           So you have probably heard this story in Bible studies somewhere along the way.....why bring it up in this post? It's because the story of Jephthah speaks to us today. What did we do when existential dangers started surrounding us beginning about three decades ago? Did we....in this once God-fearing nation....turn to Him as Jephthah did....and attribute to God any victories that He might give? No....we were no longer a people that could do something like that....although for a few weeks after 9/11 it looked as if we might.
          We think that we are going to do this all by ourselves....throw in a few 'God bless America's' and go out to battle. It doesn't work that way....particularly not for a nation once so blessed and so used by God. We would depend on a prince....and not the Prince of Peace. We would depend on a king....and not the King of Kings. We would not humble ourselves...we would make others humble themselves. We would not repent....we would make others repent for what they tried to do to us.
          There's more to this story of what happens when a nation such as America....or England....follows other gods....much more....but I'm going to let you read it for yourselves. Where do you start? Anywhere....in God's Word of course. Open it up with a genuine and sincere desire to find out what God would have us in America do....and we as individuals do....and His Holy Spirit will lead you there. You may need some help from ministries who were placed here just for that purpose....ministries of which time has proven that God's Holy Spirit had first moved upon.
           One last thing.....before the sons of Israel were led to seek out Jephthah....they humbled themselves before the LORD....big time....which is what we need to do in America....and what our pulpits must tell us....every week! That repentance was described here in Judges 10:15,16....(please heed this....for the message is profoundly humbling....and it speaks to us as if our names were written somewhere within)...."And the sons of Israel said to the LORD, 'We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to thee; only please deliver us this day.' So they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer."

ligonier.org
gty.org
refnet.fm
whitehorseinn.org
          

Status Remains...All Quiet On The Western Front

           Tomorrow will be a rare day in the life of the Christian church in America....a once a year day to be more precise....where the cross of Calvary will be preached just about everywhere.....the pulpits have to do this.....for how can you preach a resurrection without first mentioning the cross?
            I am just not in total agreement anyway with the method of constructing sermons where the pastor picks a Bible verse....or verses.....and then explains them in the sermon. God's Word is perspicuous in that much of it is very easy to understand. So to me....what we have here are pastors explaining to us what is right before our eyes. We therefore....over time....rely on the pastor explaining to us what God has already given us.....(His redeemed)....the ability to do....but tomorrow....tomorrow the cross will be mentioned....and an empty tomb....it takes more than perspicuity here.....it takes the saving power of faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ....through His Holy Spirit....and it would have to be the Father's will!
           This once great bastion of common sense....and rational thinking....America....and the Christian church within it....is now but a people of emails or texting or sound-bites or talking points....and it's time for some of us....laity and clergy alike....to step out in faith and break this mold....crush it in a thousand pieces.....and let God's Holy Spirit mold His church once again.
           It's been my hope throughout the ten years of this....electronic pamphleteering.....that God would begin on a Lord's Day.....and shake the timbers of this church.....and move as a strong wind on wheatfields.....all across America.....not revival.....for that's too small a word.....not even an awakening....but a general awakening....a great awakening....where Christians from Bangor, Maine to Seattle.....and from Corpus Christi to Green Bay....fall on their knees....fall on our knees....in humility and repentance at our great failures......and that unbelievers.....showing up for their yearly sermon and egg hunt.....would encounter the Living God.....and fall to the floor under conviction of their need for a Savior....not an ethereal savior who shines nicely hooked to a necklace....but an Almighty Savior.....that blinds us in His light as in what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus.....and a coming King.....with myriads of powerful angels. Ah but that's only my prayer. Let repentance begin to work O Lord....should it be your will....and let it begin within your church....and let it begin with me!

UPDATE....Tuesday.....April 23: I have heard no reports of pastors waking and/or warning their congregations. From the pulpits.....the message of the day remains...."ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT"

What Are These Posts?

           These posts are basically electronic pamphleteering....where I put the thoughts out.... and the reader does with them what they want. I've been doing this so much over the past couple of years that every once in a while I need to add a short summary.....for new readers to have an idea of where I'm coming from....so here is the latest such summary....on the politics end....which pales to the real reason that I put out these 'pamphlets'....God's warning America for what we have become.....and how upon seeing our predicament....we turned to politics to save us.....and not to Him.
            I was originally a Cruz supporter....and even though I never liked Donald Trump as Donald Trump I was totally on board for the 2016 election.....celebrated with all the other conservatives....and actually was one of those who knew that he was going to win.
           The problems started when the dyed-in-the wool progressive...hardened corporate execs.....and opponents of everything conservatives hold dear....Ivanka and Jared....were brought into the Oval Office when they should not even (read Vicky Ward's Kushner, Inc.) have been allowed in the White House other than on personal visits. Then came the fake Obamacare repeal and replace bill where the now President Trump tried to pull one over on us....and then threatened to work against the reelection of the Freedom Caucus....(the only faithful members of the House!)....if they didn't toe the line.
            Donald Trump could not care less about Obamacare or immigration or the wall....or the national debt. (when warned about the debt hitting that critical point in a few years he said...."Yeah....but I'll be gone) He was lazy to useless on immigration until late last fall when the pressure became too much....and now he sounds as if he is passionate about it.....but he's as useless as ever.
            He lies more....maybe many times more....than anyone I have seen in my 69 years.....and he does it naturally....this is a sickness. He has other sicknesses. His grandiose narcissism is also more than anyone I have ever even read about.....with the possible exception of Nebuchadnezzar....and his spirit of revenge and retribution and vigilantism is extremely disturbing.
              Foreign policy has not been good. He totally blew it with North Korea....and I documented it throughout. The economic statistics are good but they would have been good with any of the Republican candidates as president. Yes....his intense motivational aura may have made these statistics better than the rest but he tries to make us believe that it was only him....and that we couldn't do without him. Watch if you would....for how he is increasingly referring to himself in the third person. There is a big problem here!
               I posted many times on my opinion that he is a destroyer! He destroys.....enemies if he can....allies if they get too close to his flame. He totally destroyed the conservative movement and conservative talk radio which is today no more honest than the mainstream media....and he has destroyed the discernment of evangelicals! Donald Trump has positioned himself as a cult leader....with a genuine cult following. I studied cults for the best part of 37 years and know a cult...and a cult leader....when I see one. Donald Trump is responsible for much....not all.....probably not even most....but much of the total go-for-the throat mentality and polarization in American politics today.
            There's much more but I wanted this to be short. Two years has been gut-wrenching.....six more would be intolerable....thus I am for a conservative challenger. If President Trump ever winds up on a debate stage with someone who knows him and what he has really done....then he himself will be done....and not even his Praetorian Guard on talk radio would be able to keep his polls numbers up.

Note: I'd like to expound a little on the comment about conservative talk radio. There is no longer any debate or exchange of ideas on conservative talk radio....the mission now is to defend Donald Trump in any and every way possible. There is still good information supplied on issues such as socialism....but as for President Trump himself....some of the information given is true....but some of it is greatly exaggerated....and some is downright deceptive as the critical element is not allowed. President Trump's failures.....and lies....are totally ignored. I mentioned recently that I would like to see one of America's national monthly magazines do an in-depth article on the call screening process of the main talk shows....as I'd like to see at what level Trump supporters are being played against those of us who are not happy with who he has turned out to be. I would also like to know how much contact the President has with the main talk show hosts. Suppose some conservative steps up and challenges a second term....would these shows give that candidate equal time? The sad part of this....to me anyway....and I chronicled it a few times early on....is that if these hosts had held true to conservative principles....they may had been able to positively influence Donald Trump's habits and methods.

Update....April 19....2100 hrs.....Rush Limbaugh did not host his show today. I missed the first few minutes and thought that there might be a charity outing.....but several news sources are reporting that President Trump jetted down to Mar-a-Lago....(reports are that the cost of his trips may now be $100 million)...and that he and Rush are playing golf with "two friends." I wonder if strategy was discussed?


          

Gift Idea

             It's one of the most enjoyable....and certainly the easiest part of writing these posts....just pointing readers to wonderful Christian resources. If they were to go to a ligonier.org or a gty.org or a whitehorseinn.org then I hope they would never even come back.
             J.C. Ryle and Charles Haddon Spurgeon were two great lights in Great Britain during the last half of the 19th century....kind of like how Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul were two great lights in America in our day! Both Spurgeon and Ryle warned the church of where it was going....(actually all four had)....and both faced opposition.....even great and respected as they were. Spurgeon died in 1892.....Ryle eight years later.
           If I were to look about ten feet to my left from where I am sitting I would see a beautiful framed single page of original sermon notes of Charles Spurgeon. Someone took shorthand of his sermons.....then Spurgeon edited them if necessary with a different color pen.....and then the sermons went around the world! This single page of a March 1890 sermon titled "Christ Precious To Believers" was a gift from our son.
         I listened this morning to a particular sermon of J. C. Ryle's titled Counterfeit Christianity while walking a treadmill. It's about an hour long....but I'm sure that you would be greatly edified if you Googled....J C Ryle, Counterfeit Christianity and sat down to listen to it. Now it's not J. C. Ryle's voice.....that's unfortunate because we all know that the mere presence of a British accent makes us listen more attentively.....but it's still wonderful to hear.
         It's said that one woman in London was converted to faith in Jesus Christ simply by reading one page of a Spurgeon sermon that was wrapped around the butter she bought. I don't doubt that for a moment. So please.....if you are tired of all my political writing.....(I'm tired also)......then go to this sermon adaptation.....I'm confident that you'll never have to return to my pitiful attempts at sharing the Gospel!
         Hey.....how about this.....print this post.....wrap up a candy apple or something nice.....and give it to a friend!

Reminder....SiriusXm temporarily dedicated a channel to Billy Graham after he died in early 2018.....but the response must have been good because they have since made....channel 460....a permanent Billy Graham Channel.

Dark Night Rising

            If we would read the Old Testament prophets with any regularity we would see ourselves....America....in that collage of rebellious tribes. There is nothing new under the sun....a God-fearing nation falls away from its benefactor....and is judged. That's what happened to England....and look at that nation today....and we are a half step behind it.
            If you would survey American evangelicals you would get the opposite picture. Why.....we go on two week mission trips all the time.....we listen to praise music to keep us going on our exercise regimen....and when we win the championship.....we thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the trophy....right on live television!
            Folks....am I being too hard on evangelicals? I'm trying to shake some timbers......and rattle a few cages.....and at least get us thinking again. This is serous stuff.....these are serious times....and we are not taking it seriously. There are some wonderful things being done on mission trips.....but we are in a rut.....the cross is not being preached....while 'born again' has become an archaic term once again. We're not necessarily adopted into God's family anymore....today we just join. Bunyan would call this climbing over the wall to avoid the wicket gate. There's too often no burden on our back at the beginning.....just a backpack with a MAGA hat....Sony headphones and some rockin' Christian music.
             We conservatives all know about Rush Limbaugh's ditty meant to be humorous....."Talent...on loan from God".....but I've cringed every time that I heard that over the years.....and no time more so than the other day.....where he almost defiantly spat out the one-syllable word God......as if it were two syllables....."Gaaaaaaw.....Duh!" (I think this was about ten minutes to the end of Tuesday's show if you want to pull it up on his website)....I prayed again at the time.....Lord....open our eyes to this man....open his eyes....and open my eyes to my own dalliances....for we all have to fight this culture!
             It does not appear right now that God is going to awaken us before we hit rock bottom. There are no signs that I have heard of where pulpits are being awakened....they're snoozing away....but this is to be our prayer every week anyway.....Lord....revive us......not them O Lord.....us....for we are not a peculiar people....we are nothing resembling separated....we are now Trump MAGA people....and we're going to keep that White House by hook or by crook.....and take back that Congress in 2020....and we're going to make or keep or whatever word he's using about America being great again....we're going to do it!
             God may have other plans brothers and sisters.....His Word indicates to us that he does....this isn't the best time ever to "be young and American".....as the false prophet in the White House keeps telling us.....instead.....there may be a dark night rising in our future.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISING

Preface: Few of us conservatives knew anything about Donald Trump during the 2016 election....that's a legitimate excuse. There is no excuse now......for there are more books that I can stack on top of each other showing how he was totally unqualified for the office of  president of the United States....and generally disreputable in his nature....but we wouldn't lower ourselves to reading....fake news....(talk radio trained us well)...so we have absolutely no excuse now.

            It's not that I'm not a fan of the Batman films.....it's more that I don't really know anything about them. After a cursory look at the various films released since 1989 I can't remember seeing any of them. It was reported today that the Trump 2020 campaign removed a recent video on Twitter....(or Twitter removed it).... after objections from Warner Brothers Pictures over the use off the musical theme from its The Dark Knight Rises.
            I Googled the theme music....cute little ditty....never heard it before. What strikes me about this most recent copyright imbroglio with the White House is the title....The Dark Knight Rises....for that is Donald Trump....a dark knight....hero of gullible and mislead evangelicals....champion of the New Trump Party....commanding general of pusillanimous talk radio....and scourge of The Joker and all those other evil nemeses.
            I've posted on this numerous times.....whole books have been written on it.....psychiatrists have weighed in on it....Donald Trump is the consummate liar. In my observances over my near seventy years....I have seen no one who comes even close to him in being able to lie so often....so naturally....with a straight face.....as if there is no such thing in this world as truth....and we ourselves admit this now....even chuckle about it....but disastrously fail to consider that he might lie to us also....which he has! Read Commander In Cheat by Rick Reilly....or Vicky Ward's Kushner, Inc....or Leamer's MAR-A-LAGO....or any of dozens of other offerings....if you get the chance....oh I forgot.....Rush and the others have successfully steered us away from all books or information sources that are critical of President Trump....well in Reilly's book you would see how Donald Trump applies his version of truth....to golf....which is a big part of his life.
              Folks we have had really just a little over two years of the Trump administration so far.....and it has been gut wrenching to watch.....as you never know what this 'fly by the seat of your pants' president will do. It has been chaos everywhere....and now we have a primary season ahead of us.....should the Lord will it....and the New Trump Party  election campaign has gone full-throttle in attempting to stop any legitimate debate on President Trump....with (formerly conservative) radio talk show hosts being the front line of battle....and they want us to obediently....with only one side of the story....OK an additional almost three times the number of years of Donald Trump...2+ down...almost 6 to go! If and when this second term would be secured....we would then really.....let Trump be Trump....where he no longer needs conservatives....thus....'The Dark Knight Rising' as the title to this post.
     



           

"But You Ain't Goin' Nowhere Without That Sheepskin Fella"

           It's a great television commercial if you have never seen it.....Google 'Abraham Lincoln, CLEP'....and the commercial....probably from the 1980s.....should appear at the top. Lincoln.....stove pipe hat and all....is being interviewed by an employment agency. Anyway.....I don't have any formal legal training....."well I've done a lot of reading and studying....sort of on my on"....(that from the commercial)....so I'd like to weigh in on a legal aspect of the full blown attack to throw James Comey and others in jail.
          First of all it bothers me somewhat how our guy.....the President.....gets off scot-free without important records or documents having to be revealed....or White House aides having to testify before Congress....but we get to go full-Soviet on our enemies. Call me old-fashioned but I'm not really into that.
           Here's what I theorize as a possibility on what may have happened......these folks.....Comey et al....obviously worked for the FBI for a long time to get to their exalted positions. They therefore have probably been aware of or even worked on Donald Trump files over the four decades of his business interests in Russia. My guess is that they knew the man that American conservatives did not know.....and I did not know.....(until I read over thirty books on him after it became apparent that he wasn't anything like he told us that he was in the primaries)....and that they acted accordingly to what they knew....and quite possibly acted illegally.
           I'm in no way trying to justify illegal actions.....but possibly explain them.....and more importantly.....address them as to how these future defendants might not be able to build a defense on those actions....because they cannot just explain it like I just did....but would have to provide documentation.....of which they certainly cannot do because that documentation is classified.....so in effect they would be on trial.....but unable to defend themselves.
           Does that make sense? Probably not.....and I don't have a chauffeur's license either! (that also from the commercial)
          

DISPATCHES

I bring the following older post back every few months:

We....conservatives....form many of our opinions on a false premise.....that being that God looks favorably upon America because of who we are. If that were the case then some of the confidence on His protective hand upon us would be justified....but God does not look favorably upon us....for we have long ago left Him for other gods. Our litany of petitions...."God Bless America" and "God bless this" and "God bless that" are nothing but clanging sounds in God's ears....and the aroma a stench in His nostrils. Walter Lord reported in his 1955 book A Night To Remember that the designer of the Titanic once recalled a conference with White Star Line officials where the decorations on the Titanic were talked about "for four or five hours"....but lifeboat capacity....only "five or ten minutes." Folks if the Lord is coming back soon....which by all appearances in His Word He is....then some horrific times are coming soon....and an apostasy....we might want to make sure that the oil in our lamps has not evaporated.

          "For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and
           lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal."
          "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, Because you have rejected knowledge."
          "They will....seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; for He has withdrawn from them."
          "Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the LORD."
          "They have set up kings, but not by Me...."
          "The days of punishment have come....let Israel know this!"
          "They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants...."
          "Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors, Therefore, a tumult will
            arise among your people..."
           "Therefore, return to your God....For there is no savior besides Me."
           "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things...."
             Hosea 2:8, 4:6, 5:6, 8:1,4, 9:7, 10:4,13,14, 12:6, 14:9
           "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes." Psalm 118: 8,9.

          We are walking through the cities of Sodom and Babel blinded by neon and stadium lights. We get few warnings from the church while our Bible studies tend to be true and valuable but unobtrusive as to laying out before us the condition of our own churches or our own modern lives. All of this of course would work against the popular gospel of the day that promises your best life ever. Patriotism and attempts at restoring America to greatness have assuaged any guilt that we are indeed a nation fully in rebellion to the One who we owe our very existence to. (On July 5, 2018 at a rally in Montana....and a number of times since then....President Trump described our nation as...."One glorious nation under God"....a few days ago he told us that "2019 will be a fantastic year...enjoy the ride!" Here in the following is your "one glorious nation under God"....described in a November of 2017 post....some things have changed....but we almost unbelievably are even much worse today! Where are our pulpits?)

God Did not Commission....'Make America Great Again'       

          We have legally killed nearing sixty million babies in the womb since 1973. Nearly half of the American public celebrates this....celebrates! Planned Parenthood continues to be funded by our government after the 2016 election....and even after the Omnibus bill! Recently the Trump administration announced plans to force Planned Parenthood type organizations to either split into abortion and non-abortion entities or lose Title X funding. It will take a few months to see how this plays out. Behind the scenes Ivanka met in 2017 with the president of Planned Parenthood and floated a deal.....split your organization....and do the abortions under another name. Two recent polls.....NBC and Fox....found that Planned Parenthood was the most popular organization in America! And you do not think that God will judge America? 

          The gay agenda began its final blitzkrieg within the past decade and has succeeded in legalizing...which is in effect endorsing....marriage between a man and a man...and a woman and a woman.....which is also in effect officially invalidating and rejecting God and the Bible. Our children are slowly being forced to accept this. We don't even talk about this anymore. And you do not think that God's patience is at an end?

          We have long ago given up our children to what once was referred to as Madison Avenue. In other words nameless people and peopleless corporations are free to raid our youth with the selling of their merchandise that not only subjugates them but indoctrinates them. We now educate solely to provide employees for the ultra rich to become even richer. Whole generations of beautiful young minds have been devastated....devastated in our Deweyite miseducation system. Violent entertainments and the occult are not even frowned upon. School atrocities continue while we refuse to look into the areas that harm the minds of our younger generations. And you do not think that God's warnings are literal?

           Communism, playing upon our lack of discernment and vigilance, not only moved into positions of power in our government, culminating in the Oval Office during the Obama administration, and also our culture in the various protest movements, but were successful in causing ridicule to be heaped upon anyone who was discerning enough to know what happened and actually warn others. We use the term 'the Left' so as not to linked to conspiracy theorists who claim that Communism is behind our crumbling culture....but that term is of little benefit anymore.

           This almost other-worldly globalist species of multi-billionaires may be about to finally get their one-world government, which should be an alarm to anyone who reads their Bible, and yet we laugh at those who actually believe that the return of Jesus Christ in power, judgment and glory is near?

           We are falling-down drunk in our entertainments, drugging our children so as not to disturb our buzz, as our supposed passionate cause for mankind is demonstrated in things like making sure that no one drinks a 32oz Coke. And we consider ourselves wise?

          The America loving immigrant seeking only freedom and liberty, who has blessed our nation since its founding and continues to bless it, is being replaced with many America hating illegal immigrants and yet we fight to give them the right to take what they want....regardless of who has to pay for it... and we actually proclaim that this is compassion?

          Violence is now our calling card in America with 'active shooter' a common term. The words of Jesus describes just such a time as this in the days of Noah as being what the world will be like upon His return, yet we adamantly refuse to even consider that we are under God's judgment?

         The earth is increasingly quaking and the heavens becoming more decipherable in their penetrations of our atmosphere yet we will not put two and two together and consider that God directs the movements of His creation....and that these developments provide clarity on the some of the passages in Revelation.

         Our politicians....with only a few exceptions....dubiously referred to as leaders....have not an ounce of the wisdom that our Founding Fathers had whom we now accuse of being racists. Many of these people, you know who they are for their names are in what is called the 'news' every day, are judgments on us from God, aberrations of what was once called the liberal mind.

         Our financial industrial complex, as I heard one commentator describe it, is choking on greed from its commissions and thus risks everyone's retirement but their own as it refuses to amend its many unethical practices.

         Our shepherds.....aka pastors....most of even the better ones....are soundly asleep as to the nearness of Christ....while the rest haven't a clue of the gospel let alone the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory and judgment....yet we think that our churches are doing quite well thank you.

         Technology has stepped over the line of common sense, propriety and decency. The future of mankind is in jeopardy of being overrun by the most hideous creations of robotic and artificial intelligence, yet we actually consider this to be some sort of progress?

         In essence, things that are good are now called bad....and things that are bad are now called good. Those who proudly sign on to this rebellion against God are quite satisfied while even those of us who know that this is not right refuse to accept any culpability in what we have become and thus have placed our trust, not in God, but in a man....Donald Trump....who constantly prophesies prosperity in direct opposition to men who God has sent us such as Billy Graham.

         Quite Frankly...God has not sanctioned this 'Make America Great Again.' We did not even consult God beforehand on this. He has not commissioned this president....we alone have done this. We will fail just as the Israelites failed when they entered into battle without God's approbation. This is not to say that we should not have voted as we did or attempt the changes that we do. It is rather a clarion call to this man and those around him, to others in America, to us, and to me, to proclaim with every fiber of our being that we have erred, that we have not sought God's direction, that we have not admitted our own culpability, that we are utterly undone....and then to look to Him who holds every molecule in this universe together and implore of Him undeserved mercy....forgiveness....wisdom and strength....and this entirely for the glory of His name alone....of which we have heretofore grossly presumed upon and trampled....and resolve from this moment on to call upon Jesus Christ...our Redeemer....our King...and our Fortress....as our only refuge.

"So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. (Judges 2:14 ESV)

A Very Natural Temptation

I can only imagine the blasphemous descriptives that would come out of the mouth of President Trump if Christians continue to enable him. The minister of the Gospel....not the modern minister of the Godspell....recognizes the nationalized gospel of Donald Trump. The psychologist recognizes the cultic psychological manipulation turned on high when he address his supporters through rallies and tweets....and the historian recognizes the nationalistic fervor that often in history....in many and various religions and cultures....results in disaster as it presumes upon the righteousness of its cause. Donald Trump took our conservative cause....and reshaped it through the art of the deal into the gospel of power and prosperity. The following post is from last fall:

          As we all know the reparations demanded of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles were unbearable for the German population who were fiercely defensive of their homeland and German heritage. The Weimar Republic which came about at the end of World War I was weak....and hated. It wasn't going to last....but what would replace it? The future of Germany depended on its church which was unified in that the German people believed that the state needed its church....and the church needed its state....but there was little unity beyond that.
          A 'German Church' movement developed that entwined itself around the powerful ideology of National Socialism....a movement that was going to lead Germany back into prosperity and power. A 'Confessing Church' movement formed to stop in its tracks the state's intrusion into all church matters....but the Confessing Church itself was divided between those who just wanted the state out of the church....and those who knew that there were big problems with National Socialism.
          Martin Niemoller....you may have heard about him....represented those who at first thought that National Socialism was a great thing if kept in its place. Dietrich Bonhoeffer....you certainly have heard of him....saw the horrors of where this extreme nationalism could go. Niemoller spent years in prison and concentration camps before finally seeing the mistakes that he made before the war. Bonhoeffer paid for his discernment with his life.
          We are getting too close to having an 'American Church' movement.' President Trump again....this time at a West Virginia rally.....used the phrase "One glorious nation under God." We are not a glorious nation....(you have followed the Kavanaugh hearings have you not)....and Donald Trump's God is not our God. Please....if you would take the time to read my post....America....Free....Free Fallin'....composed in 2012 but last posted on September 24th....you would see that I love this our country....and I have written themes like this for almost 35 years....but they will never take the place of or become equal with the gospel of Jesus Christ....and in this we must be vigilant.
          It is a very natural temptation......especially in times like this as America is being pillaged and plundered....to confuse a return to greatness with a return to God. Patriotism can be devotion to justice or it can be devotion to just us. Capitalism can be a God-send....or a god in itself. We are already compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to accommodate 'Make America Great Again'....and it can only get worse as we will seek to be more inclusive of policy that opposes God's Word and exclusive of dictates in His Word....all so that this glorious 'revolution' can continue.

I Thought Rush Blew The Interview....But I'm Probably Wrong

           Foxnews.com has the headline up right now...."Limbaugh fires warning to Republicans who won't back Trump after Mueller Report." I'm not a cable news person....so I had never previously viewed....The Story With Martha MacCallum.....but I watched a clip tonight because the above title was from an interview on that show.
           Actually....I thought that Rush shot himself in the foot with this interview.....but just about every time I think that of President Trump.....I'm wrong.....so I'm probably wrong here also. If you are not a talk radio person this would be a good chance to see what Rush Limbaugh is like because he took over the interview and talked almost non-stop in defense and adoration of Donald Trump.  I honestly thought that he would slow down for the interview....and try to portray himself as objective....but he's been on this rapid Trump defense high for a couple years now.   
            As for one of the quotes in the interview...Rush said....."They love Trump more than they did in 2016." Rush....what about people like me....who you keep on ignoring......who celebrated in 2016 but are now waiting with bated breath for a challenger to send Donald Trump back to where he came from.
            Concerning Hilary Clinton he said...."She needs to be indicted....she needs to go to jail." Rush....what about the middle part....."she needs to be found guilty"? We seem to be taking on the characteristics of vigilantes lately.
            Rush used a well-worn phrase of talk radio hosts...."simply because they don't like him"....this referring of course to Democrats and the media trying to remove Donald Trump from office...."simply because they don't like him"....but once again....Rush....what about us.....I see a man with severe psychological problems.....a man who doesn't have an ideological belief in his head except power capitalism....a man who lies as easily as he breathes....thinks he is the most wonderful person in the entire world....and has a mean streak where if you threaten his ego....he or one of his people.....are going to get you. He does not appear very bright....does not read....or even like briefings.....he makes rash decisions when he is mad....turned the world's problems over to a kid who probably shouldn't be given charge of a Pizza Hut....(Jared)....is what Christians would clearly see as a 'false prophet" if they themselves weren't under the spell....and I could go on and on....so how is this...."simply because they don't like him"?
            Rush also said...."It's the party of Trump right now"....sorry Rush....we are not surrendering....I am not a registered voter in the Party of Trump....and as for the Mueller report....it's in the cover-up stage now....because they won't share the full report....and all your misleading talking points like 'it's all over'....and....'he's been vindicated'....can't change that.
            I also found it surprising that Rush said that the President told this young lady professional golfer all about the 'pee dossier." I think it would have been wise to keep that anecdote to himself.....and lastly....Rush talked about how easy going Trump is on the golf course where its all just a game.....this after a book.....Commander In Cheat.....came out only a couple of weeks ago.
            So.....once again....I thought Rush blew it....but as I said....I'm usually wrong on these things....for the people are too hooked to see that they are hooked....so I'm probably wrong here again.

Psalm 119

            I developed a habit of sorts a few years back concerning the reading of the Psalms. Let me preface this by saying that I have written whole posts on how the wonder....I'll use that word....the wonder of the Psalms evaded me for most of my Christian life. The Psalms were the Word of God....and certainly beautiful....and there were also a lot of memory verses if one wished.....but the wonder and the awe was missing....but now that it has finally hit home.....I find myself in the Psalms all the time....often dwelling on one particular Psalm for weeks and even months.
            So....I'm currently dwelling in the 119th Psalm.....the longest Psalm in the Bible....twice as long as any other.....and the longest chapter in the entire Bible.
          There are about a dozen different words in this Psalm that are used over and over and over again...those individual words meaning roughly the same thing.....for example.....the word statutes is in the 119th Psalm 22 times.....precepts 21 times....commandments 22 times....ordinances 16 times....testimonies 23 times....thy law 24 times.....and thy Word 41 times.
          At first this repeating of words was almost a distraction.....and then it became an attraction where I would look for them and meditate over them.....and now....to me anyway....and I'm sure I'm not alone....they are appearing as part of an overall message....but to whom (?).....some say Solomon.....as David most likely wrote this 119th Psalm.....but surely it's a message to everyone in every age....and to us also in 2019!
         It's as if David.....if it was indeed David.....is warning us....telling us over and over what we must do in these perilous times. So what would that be? It seems very clear to me....live in the Word....dwell in the Word....meditate on the Word.....learn from the Word....for 'salvation' is there....and God's 'loving kindness'....and His 'wonders.'....and His 'law'....and His 'righteous judgments'....and His 'ways.'
        This....once dull and obtuse....to me....Psalm....is now pointed and sharpened and powerful. I had a pastor at one time who lived in the Psalms.....and also preached from the Psalms often....for Christ is everywhere in the Bible....and this pastor would also reference the Psalms often....so I put two and two together....'godly Christian minister'....'reads Psalms all the time'....plus....'I need godliness in my life'....equals....'maybe I should read the Psalms more.'
           This isn't the first time that I posted encouragement to readers on regularly reading the Psalms in their daily Bible study....but I hope that it at least might cause you to meditate a little bit on the structure and the overall message of the Psalm that you are reading.....and how it might pertain to us today. A wonderful book on this would be The Flow Of The Psalms....wonderfully written and researched by O. Palmer Robertson.

Trump Shrugged

The following post is from the beginning of April:             

              There's an article out today titled...."3 Theories on why Donald Trump's lies don't seem to faze him (or his supporters.)" The gist of the three theories is....one....that's just him....who he is....and who has always been....(and this is true).....and two.....that's just politics......and three....the media....that points out his lies....is fake news. The article also posits that Donald Trump lies....just because he can....and because he can get away with it.
              There is some truth in all four but the real reason that his supporters do not care that Donald Trump lies so much is that most of what constitutes presidential tracking poll figures on President Trump is the result of him being placed smack dab on the grid of the radical Democrat candidates for president. They are so bad....so very bad....(which they are!)....that it just doesn't matter how much the President lies....or anything else that he does....the Democrats cannot be given the White House!
              We all know now....well just about all of us....that Donald Trump lies frequently and quite naturally. The article mentioned above begins by relating how President Trump two days ago told the Secretary General of NATO that his father was born in Germany. The only problem is that Donald Trump's father was born in New York City. (Donald Trump does not have....nor has he ever had....any concept of truth....but we wouldn't know this because we have been conditioned to not read any of the dozens of books out there that show this) I just noticed that even Ann Coulter tweeted about this.
              What the average conservative fails to take into account is that if Donald Trump lies to everyone else so much....why isn't it also the case that he lies to them? Well he does.....all the time....all through his campaign.....right up to today....but we just refuse to see the importance of this. Yes we admit it now....even the talk show hosts admit it....and shrug it off.....for the 2020 election has to put Donald Trump back into the White House.
              Let me ask you the reader this question....would you rather have a Democrat Congress and a Republican President.....or a Republican Congress and a Democrat President. In my opinion the less problematic of the two is the latter. Donald Trump's supporters may indeed reelect him....(should God even permit us to go on thinking that we can do this on our own)....for it would be hard to see how Harris or any of the others could win the electoral college....but it's also likely that the person of Donald Trump would result in Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress....(Independents would vote Trump....but vote Democrat for Congress....because they don't really like Trump)
            If a conservative candidate should emerge to challenge the 'promise keeping' claims of President Trump....even if he or she would not win the nomination....the revealing debate would lay out Donald Trump very clearly to Republicans for who he is. He would still win the election....but conservatives would be energized again....for their issues would once again be on the front burner. Should that conservative candidate in the primaries win and send Donald Trump....(and Ivanka and Jared)....back to New York and Mar-a-Lago....he or she would also win the general election....and bring with him or her a substantial majority in Congress....as  conservative issues would again key the election.....not just the holding aloft of the flawed and gilded image of Donald Trump. Four Years Only!

Note: 22 Republican Senators are up for reelection in 2020....while on only 12 Democrats....while the Democrats picked up two seats in 2018.

Also: I haven't even mentioned in this post how if Donald Trump would secure a second term....he would then have no need for conservatives anymore.
     

When In Rome

           Folks.....It's Easter Week....and today is Good Friday....but I had to be reminded of it yesterday. In my youth there would be no playing ball or anything from noon to three on Good Friday....so what happened in my life to bring about the change where I almost passed the day up?
           Well....the first thing that happened was that I encountered the glory and the majesty and the gospel of Jesus Christ....this roughly 37 years ago.....then about ten years after that.....roughly once again....I encountered the full meaning of what happened on Golgotha as it pertained to my sins....and I encountered 'Easter' morning as it pertained to my being forgiven....and I also became aware of what happened in the 16th century Reformation.....and thus the yearly observance of Easter just naturally faded away....replaced by 52 Lord's Days a year....or 52 joyous 'Easter' or 'Resurrection' mornings....but having said that....the other tradition where the majority of Christendom is.....the popular one where Wall Street closes down.....is fine....it's just no longer where I am at.
            Martin Luther had been a priest and a monk for about three years when in 1510....seven years before he nailed his 95 theses on the church door....he made the long and arduous trip from Germany to Rome for the first time. He did what everyone else did in that he knelt on the bottom step of the 'Scala Santa'.....(the 28 steps....or 'Holy Stairs'...that were in the 4th century transported from Jerusalem to Rome....the steps where it is said that Jesus walked up on His way to His meeting with Pontius Pilate)....and he ascended the steps on his knees.....kissing every one....and praying on every one.
            Those famous steps had been covered by wood for the last almost three hundred years....to protect the marble.....but they have now been uncovered.....for a couple of months....so that the people can actually kneel on the marble once again as they ascend. There's no surprise here but I sure wouldn't kneel on them....but I would like to see them....not because there is anything spiritual tied to Jesus....but that there is something....earthly....tied to Jesus. As for the 'spiritual' aspect....I just have to think of my own sins....the grace and mercy extended on one least worthy of grace and mercy....and the righteousness extended....or imputed....to my account....of which I had nothing to do....absolutely nothing.....no kneeling.....no good works....nothing to look back on with pride....only Golgotha....an empty tomb....and a Savior and a King.....there for me....and anyone else who looks to Him.....every day....every Friday afternoon....and every Sunday morning....every morning.....and every evening!

Nebuchadnezzar....Donald Trump....And Howard Hughes

           If I were to guess at what President Trump is doing right now it would be that he is Googling something about himself and greatness. So I'll put a label on this post with just that.....'Trump, Greatness'.....in the hope that he reads it and takes the advice herein.....which would be....get rid of your spiritual advisers for they (most of them....not all) are no better than Nebuchadnezzar's magicians and diviners.....and set aside a mere 28 minutes to listen to a sermon about Nebuchadnezzar who seemed to be very similar to you.....and Howard Hughes for that matter.....men who thought that were so great that they went crazy.
           There would be a lot to learn from this sermon titled "Raising Our Eyes".....which can be found by Googling "Michael Horton sermons"....going to the sermon/audio link....and it's about seven sermons down.
           There is another interesting thing about Nebuchadnezzar's narcissism.....earlier on Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to bow down when the music played.....so we also....however many there are of us.....refuse to bow down to Donald Trump....at the chants....and the jingle of the tambourines. What we want is a modicum of humility in Donald Trump to show that he is not totally crazy.....and a little bit of critical analysis and threats of leaving from his own people would help.
           We are not against this man.....but we in no way want four additional years.....for he is nothing even closely related to the man who campaigned for the White House.....we want him to bow out gracefully.....and thank him therefore for keeping Hilary out of the White House.....and hope the best for him.

Should God Deem It Fitting

The following was first posted in 2012....seven years ago....and we are so much more rebellious than we were even back then! My opinion.....we.....evangelicals.....failed the first test......God warned us for four decades plus and we ignored it.....made light of it....even ridiculed it. The second test....my opinion again....is that if and when the real difficulties start.....will we then humble ourselves before God....or will we continue to deny God's judgment? My guess is that a winnowing would occur....and I think Christians know what I mean by that.

Should God Deem It Fitting

        Should God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, deem it fitting to move upon our collective hearts once again, to convict us as to what we have become, to open our eyes to the ideology that has bewitched much of our nation, there would be no power on this earth that could stop it! The media could not hide nor distort what would be happening. The academics in their ivory towers could do no more than flail their arms. Hollywood would ply its trade to empty seats and celebrities of any and all spheres would be ignored. Left to ourselves we cannot change the direction that our nation is going.
         We usually emphasize the second part of Lord Acton's famous quote "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely" but it's the first part that we are dealing with at this time. Whether it's the media or universities, legislatures or government bureaucracies, or corporations or individuals....power in the wrong hands stifles dissent, governs without accountability and generally bullies its way by using that power to retain that power. We are dealing with an uninformed and easily distracted public. Greed and arrogance filled the void as reverence for God receded.
         We are reaping what we have sown. Pulpits proclaim peace when there is no peace. The cross of Christ is rarely preached. Truth is now but a variable. Our Constitution has become a liability to perceived freedoms, the Bible but a barnacle on our Ship of State. God has stripped us of our suit of armor but in His infinite wisdom we can now kneel and therein is our true power. Christians need first to come together, not for a football game...not to play Apples To Apples... not for pot luck, but to pray.....pray for wisdom and discernment, for mercies unmerited, for humble and wise leaders and all for one purpose, to place the glory at the feet of Him who blessed this nation from its beginnings. And as I have written often, should He refrain from granting us mercy, it would be His will, perfect in every way, with all glory being His forever and ever!

It's Just Slogans Anymore

              It was the Spring of 2001 in Paris. French municipal and cantonal elections had recently been held.....and the next year would see the presidential election....this one to be won again by Jacques Chirac for second term....but Jean-Marie Le Pen had surprised everyone by forcing a runoff. In America....9/11 was a few months away. As my wife and son and I walked the Champs-Elysees....groups of.....I don't know....twenty or thirty......would run up and down the avenue.....shouting slogans......the lead runner holding a large flag....flowing at least with the momentum of their running....the flag the color of their party.....this as best as I remember it anyway....a party color....and slogans.
             That my friends.....is whoever we are or whatever we have become in the Republican Party today....just a color and a slogan. We are just two parties in America running with our flag.....our color is red. It does not matter in the slightest that Donald Trump...our representative....is ethically corrupt. It doesn't matter that in foreign policy it may turn out that he is a dunce......for his words evidence this....but his supporters claim he is just trolling...that's it's actually brilliance. So what is truth here? Well....truth here is in who gets the most electoral votes.....nothing more.....nothing less.
             Everyone.....including me.....had always made a big deal over the difference between the French Revolution and The American Revolution. They fought in the swamp......to rule in the swamp....whereas we held the high ground in our revolution....but that has all changed today.....for we are in the swamp too. Ideas are not exchanged....there's no debate.....just slogans....the two parties keep their people in line....or try to....and money alone determines the size of the net to trawl for the fish.

DISPATCHES

Alex Marlow was on Tucker Carlson's show. Breitbart titled the story...."Marlow and Carlson Talk Left's War To Shut Down Speech"......but what about the New Trump Party's war to shut down criticism....speech....and information....on Donald Trump? We have not influenced Donald Trump one iota since he was inaugurated....although many of us had hoped that he would change....but he has dragged us right down into his own personal fetid swamp of the hypocrite....."How many times have you golfed Mr. President....it's been much much more than President Obama who you took to task all the time for golfing too much. How does that work? You wanted Obama's records....where's yours? What kind of spell have you placed upon the people who trusted you?"

Joke Of The Day: "Hey Rush....have you read Vicky Ward's Kushner, Inc. yet?" Yeah that's a laugh.
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Here is just one of the concerns that I would have on issues such as tariffs on China and twisting arms in NATO. On the one hand we are told by this president that this is the greatest economy ever in our history......and told this again and again.....that's good right......we're doing really good right? So....China is making money off us in ways that are unfair and illegal.....but to pressure this communist nation....that has difficulties both economically and internally....is to push their back against the wall.....thus increasing the possibility of their moving on Taiwan or other risky measures.....the same situation exists with Russia and NATO.....but once again.....it's not....if you believe this president....to help our own sagging economy....for we are told by this man that we are doing the best economically that we have ever done.....so why.....why.....risk pushing China and/or Russia to the brink......for a few dollars more? I'll answer my own question.....it is pure greed and glory seeking.....combined with a total lack of wisdom....nothing more....nothing less....and it is typical of Donald Trump.....but then you would have to read about his life to know something of who he is.....and we don't read 'fake news' do we? We just listen to Rush for all our information....which frees our hands up to do other fun things  in life!
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A few years ago a controversy roiled in Christian circles on whether Thomas Jefferson was or was not a deist.....with one academic writing a few books 'proving' that Jefferson was a deist....and a well-known historian writing his own books where Jefferson was not a deist. I did my own research.....instead of just calling up a radio host to ask them what I should think....and wrote my own posts. My conclusion was that Thomas Jefferson was no deist....what he was was what would be a typical liberal Christian of today......which would be no Christian.....but no deist either. I came to the conclusion by reading what Jefferson wrote. In the famous Jefferson Bible where parts were literally cut out....he was just doing what conservative talk radio is doing today.....with their hero.....Donald Trump.....by simply 'redacting' what they don't want their 'beloved listeners' to know. That's what Jefferson did.....he liked Jesus.....but simply redacted from the Bible what he didn't think that the people should know.
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If I were an FBI agent.....and had read the thirty-some books about Donald Trump that I have read since it became apparent....after his inauguration....an inauguration I celebrated....that there was a problem here....and it looked like the voters might be hoodwinked by his sales pitch.....well lets's just say I'm glad that I wasn't in that predicament.

President Trump Tweeted yesterday...."THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN (We will never forget!)".....this gentleman....our president....has some very serious mental issues....and it would be irresponsible not to at least consider them....not for removal from office but in an attempt for someone in the upper echelons of the White House to confront him on his erratic actions.....but you can see the reaction against those in the White House who even mentioned the 25th Amendment. If you even bring this up....you are beaten down and left for food for the jackals on the (formerly) conservative....and (previously indispensable).....radio talk shows.
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A. G. Barr can keep the redacted summary. If it appears bad....then it could have been worse. It doesn't matter if it is revealing or not....it's not worth the paper that it will be printed on. If the original report is not given to Congress to verify the redactions then it is nothing but damage control....and a cover-up. As time goes by.....should the Lord permit such a luxury....the full report will come out with some other Attorney General....or leaked. Did the A.G. even consider that? Donald Trump had dealt for many decades....with shady individuals in Russia....putting it mildly....and a lot of money changed hands....in light of Putin's actions in the 2016 elections....the probe in theory had legitimacy....for the man in the files might wind up President of the United States!  There may or may not be extenuating circumstances concerning actions taken by some in the FBI.....where they may have had access to information precipitating their actions. That wouldn't make illegal actions OK.....but it would make it necessary that the only way to get to the bottom of this is a full examination of any and all investigations. Unshared information on redactions only exacerbates the problem.

It's not that the typical (formerly) conservative radio talk show host disagrees with the above....for that's opinion....that's fine....it's more that they purposely try to fool the listener....by making blatantly incorrect statements like....."now that President Trump has been completely exonerated." Folks....opinion is one thing but that proclamation is not only outrageously exaggerated....it's totally incorrect....and therefore outright deception.

I have been putting (formerly) before conservative radio talk show hosts lately because conservative issues are gone.....it's all Trump 'in your face' power now....USA hegemony....speak loudly and carry a big stick....forget ethics....forget truth.

Future Question for AG Barr.....how many of your assistant this's...and assistant that's....had access to the original Mueller report? How many confidants did you tell about the report? How many hands did it pass through.....and yet there is no bi-partisan committee in the United States Congress that can be trusted to see the original report? The AG has absolutely no plausible reason for not having the redactions OK'd. The AG might also want to bring back to mind that the problems of a former AG....John Mitchell....may have started out this way.

What remains of the the conservative movement needs a challenger to Donald Trump in the primaries. No one is stepping up....indeed there may not even be anyone. The powers that be....the new Trump establishment....is ramming that second nomination down our throats with the same tour de force that Hilary used on Bernie. Their strategy is to totally ignore us.....keep us out of sight and away from microphones....and act as if we....the only ones still honest on Donald Trump....don't exist. Hey....how about George Conway? Can you even imagine President Trump on a debate stage with someone who actually knows who he is?
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We've heard it all before but the New York Post is reporting that Donald Trump acknowledged in an interview with the Atlantic Magazine that he did indeed think that Ivanka would be good for the World Bank....because she's good with numbers.....and that she would also be good at the United Nations....and that she would be hard to beat if she ran for President......of the....United......States! Oh....that man....there is no end to his nonsense. I wonder what Rush would think about these comments? On the Atlantic Magazine....I have an idea for a major research article that they might consider.....I'd be interested anyway.....I'd like to know everything about how the major radio talk show hosts select....or screen....their callers.  The Atlantic could delve into this new 'science'......interview the people involved.....conduct some experiments....and maybe find some statistics. These four major talk shows....I don't even have to name them.....tell all of us everything that they say that we need to know.....and nothing that they say....we don't need to know. I'd like to know a little more on how they operate.
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President Trump moved an embassy.....in effect recognizing Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

President Trump officially acknowledged the Golan Heights as part of Israel.

President Trump officially acknowledges the interim president of Venezuela.

President Trump officially declared the Iranian Guard as terrorists.

He does all of this at the behest of his hawkish advisers....for there is a clearly defined agenda here....to foment revolutions....(deal with wars if necessary)....gain political points....or bluff enemies into backing down. Our embassy was fine where it was.....and God could care less what man calls Jerusalem....the Golan Heights were as secure as they could be....Venezuela is not part of 'America First'....while a quote from Andrew McCabe's book where President Trump said we should be going to war over Venezuela because of oil should be investigated to see if he actually made it.....(folks I admit that since Donald Trump has nothing going on upstairs except dollar signs and Trump signs....and that this comment was just one of his brain vent releases....but the quote still needs to be taken seriously)....and we all know what the Iranian Guard is.....this is shuffling paper in an attempt to either goad Iran into starting a war....or finding itself in a revolution. All of these things are paper documents that are part of an agenda....and are not necessarily for reasons that they are declared to be.
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Every idiotic statement that this.....A.O.C....or any of them....makes....makes it much harder for conservatives who want a challenger to President Trump in the primaries....for the (formerly) conservative radio talk show hosts fill up their shows with this drivel....to scare us into rallying around our only possible president/savior Donald Trump....filling those three hours with sound-bites from A.O.C......jokes about Biden....and anything else useful to take the attention off of President Trump's failures. A.O.C. et al and even the Mueller probe....has served Donald Trump well....keeping all of his broken promises out of the news and off of the conservative airwaves.
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Christian brothers and sisters....there is no 'golden age'....MAGA....to go back to.....Christ's return....in all of His glory.....with His mighty angels......in righteous judgment..... is ahead of us.....yet we want yet another mess of pottage.
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Democrat candidate for president Pete Buttigieg has made a few statements recently that challenges what the Bible says about homosexuality. What will the Republican Party do? Three decades ago evangelicalism was heavily involved in what was known as the Lordship Salvation Controversy. John MacArthur made the statement at the time that as many as one-third of those surveyed as 'born again' in a 1980 Gallup Poll had fallen for a false gospel that does not save. (this would be Buttigieg's gospel today) The Gallup figure at that time was only 19%. We need to watch closely how this new development evolves....for it will tell where President Trump....and what is left of the Republican Party....are as they relate to their conservative 'Christian' base....and more importantly it will tell where we are as individuals as it relates to God's Word!
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Folks.....it's become unacceptable today....even in the church....to comment on whether this person or that person might in fact be a Christian. This frees the other side up considerably as to preventing any conversation on what God's Word says that the gospel of Jesus Christ is....but we can still make educated guesses on some things.....therefore if I were to hazard a guess as to what percentage of Americans were....Christian....it would be somewhere from 5% to 12%. That's all....that's how compromised the gospel is in this modern age. MAGA would do nothing one way or the other on that figure....or whatever the actual figure might be.
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Jared Kushner's peace plan....(translated.....that's a Middle East plan from the mind and of the person Jared Kushner).....could be released as early as tomorrow night. For what it's worth folks.....here is what is important.....it's not the specifics laid out on paper as much as the will and the integrity of the parties signing that paper. There will always be that element that wants war....and hates even the thought of peace....here is where the signatories will be tested sometime in the future....here is where we need rock solid commitment....and integrity of intentions....void of any concern whatsoever on political or personal ambitions of the signatories. As an aside....the United States signed a peace agreement with North Vietnam in 1973 but did not keep their part of the agreement. The United Nations estimated that between 200,000 and 400,000 'boat people' died in the extended aftermath of the war....and we are dealing with Israel today....with very specific warnings from God....to keep to the highest integrity in such negotiations and its aftermath. So it's not the paper....as much as the people behind the paper.

We Really Need Look No Further Than Our Own Mistakes

The following post is a month old:

I found myself a few minutes ago doing what I find myself doing fairly often. Rush Limbaugh had started his show sounding like he does every day....that of a chief propagandist to a major cult figure. There was an adoration there that shows in the inflection of the voice and sheer obeisance to an authoritative figure as Rush's voice proudly related...(this in relation to the President's constant attacks on John McCain)....separating his syllables for emphasis....how President Trump had once told him...."anytime somebody hits me....I hit them back 10 times harder." What I found myself doing....again....was uttering this prayer...."Lord...open our (Christians) eyes to this man....and the false prophet that he promotes....and this grand delusion that we brought upon ourselves....as we refused to take any responsibility for our collapsing nation.....preferring to blame others.....and then we called this profane man to make us great again....when any greatness that we may ever have had....was only as you saw fit to give....for your purposes.

           How did we come to the point where we blindly follow a leader....a man....and a man so flawed that many of us who voted for him grimace at his antics....squirm at his gut-wrenching tactics....and shudder at the thought of what he would be like if he no longer needed his base? How did Christians fall for this man who is more blasphemous towards God than respectful in his arrogant and meaningless montage of 'God bless Americas?'
            If we had read even a fair amount on who Donald Trump is and has always been....and had actually taken the time to research rather than just listening to talk radio....he would be no champion to any evangelical....he is that flawed.....but we won't listen to nor suffer any debate on who he may in fact be.
           We really shouldn't have to read everything written about Donald Trump to see that we ourselves have made a serious error....as we need go no further than going over our own actions. This should have been a time of humbling. This America that we love....with the future for our children at stake....was collapsing in front of our eyes. We should have been on our knees pleading with God to have mercy upon us....to forgive us our dalliances....and to awaken us.....to humble us....and to hold off our enemies.....both from without and from within....by trusting in His power alone....as did Moses and Gideon and Jephthah....and we almost did that before this past election as Hilary seemed poised to be the 45th president....but then along came Donald Trump.
            We were taken in just as Democrats were taken in by the 'hope and change' of Barack Obama.  We bought into Donald Trump's pied piper routine hook, line and sinker. We might have had a chance to see who he is....and demand a refinement....and some semblance of honesty and transparency....if it were not for conservative talk radio. They should have called this new president out the day that he brought Jared and Ivanka into the inner sanctum of the Oval Office....but they didn't....and little by little....as the deceit became more obvious ....they swept it all under the rug.
            I celebrated with everyone else on our side when Hilary Clinton was dispatched to oblivion. We had passed that test in standing firm against this corrupt political power.....even though we had failed in choosing who would be our best nominee.....and then we faced yet another test.....would we hold this man up to the principles that we had raised for a long time as a banner....or would we be changed as the lure money and power was waved before our face? We failed that test too.
            We should have looked within ourselves two years ago and saw that we chose faith in an earthly prince over trusting in Jesus Christ. We wanted to be a patriot more than a pilgrim. What we need to do now is acknowledge that we made this mistake.....and seek God's mercy upon us....for His name's sake....not for the misplaced hope to make America great again.