No iPhone......No Headphones......No Workout

The following post is from July. Charles Spurgeon once....in one of his sermons....referenced a contemporary of his....a pastor of a church of a few hundred. That pastor was in prayer throughout every day....pleading for the salvation of people in his own church.....of whom he had responsibility....and it was taking its toll on the pastor. Spurgeom remarked how much more it effects him as his congregation was so much larger. That sermon may have been Compassion For Souls. I'll listen to it again today....and update this post if that was the sermon. We do not have the preaching today....we just don't. It's the age we live in. The church is very up on liberty and freedom and the Supreme Court and our 401s....and who is or is not a true patriot....but discernemnt on who is or is not a lost soul....even within our own families.....is all but gone. I have Christian friends who do not seemed concerned about the souls of their own children....for in order to live with themselves on this.....without the inner turmoil that the above pastor had....they have assuaged their failures by accepting the gospel of the day....where an adult child with an amiable disposition....and some church in their youth....are in God's hands....no need to worry. I may not be up to date on the errands that need to be done or the tasks I have to do....for there is always a sermon to listen to....with maybe some words to pass on to you....or a book on the false prophet Donald Trump to read....so that I can warn you of how he is destroying the evangelical church....as he destroys everything with which he comes in contact. The following words from missionary C. T. Studd come to mind:

Two little lines I heard one day
Traveling along life's busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, twill soon be past,
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Update: I did listen....as I just this moment finished my walk....and cannot wait to add this....that that is the sermon....and I plead with you if you know Christ as your Savior....to not only listen to it....but to recommenced it to others!

Preface: This morning as I walked in the sun....marveling once again at God's creation....and thankful for being able to enjoy it....and after listening to the great 20th century London preacher David Martyn Lloyd-Jones.....a sermon titled An Encounter With God....(which I highly recommend that you Google)....my mind wandered to England....for it was this small island nation that most magnificently proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in its churches....yes only in certain time periods....but over a span of over three centuries. Overall we cannot even come close to what England's pulpits gave the church. How often we hear on talk radio how we are the greatest nation in the world.....even in history....(somehow forgetting Israel when it was obedient to God)....but 'greatest' in 2020 is nothing to brag about. God used America mightily....militarily....particularly after England succumbed to the temptations of modernism....but we as a people followed suit and fell with a thud. We clench our fists at how this once noble heritage is under attack....and rightly so....but we should tremble and shudder at something even more devastating....as we lost the ability to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ....and to look to Him only as our Lord and our King. There is no longer a cost to discipleship....only a small user fee....that can be renewed every two years at the voting booth.

            It's about a fifteen minute trip for me to the gym....the way I drive....but it took about forty-five minutes today. It's odd....but it's me....I had Breitbart radio on....and the topic with the guest....a Trump campaign official I believe....was on how rumors that many Trump voters would not be voting for him again were untrue. So there I am with....VOTED FOR HIM....NEVER AGAIN in bold letters on the tailgate of my truck....along with the URL for these posts. Knowing that conservatives often listen to Breitbart.....and wanting at least a few of them to see that in front of them was someone that might give some truth to the rumors....I passed up the gym and just drove the interstate for a half hour....until the interview was over.
            So I finally arrive at the gym....mask in hand....but no iPhone....for I had left it at home. It has been at least a year and a half since I exercised anywhere....or walked anywhere....without listening to the gospel in some form on my wireless headphones. I can't imagine working out and not hearing Spurgeon or Martyn Lloyd-Jones or MacArthur or Horton or Alistair Begg or O Palmer Robertson....or Pilgrim's Progress or something about the gospel of grace offered to us. So I got back in the car....and drove home to get my iPhone....and then back to the gym.
            I'm bringing this little anecdote up for one reason. I didn't even choose the Spurgeon sermon....as it just came up next on whatever I had last listened to. It was titled How To Please God....and was preached August 20th, 1885 in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. I thought it might be just the sermon that you need. Everybody needs it....that why I can say that. So....if you are interested...you can easily Google....Spurgeon...How To Please God....and it will come righ

God Told Him...."No Queston" About It....Trump Will Win Reelection

 
            I was a 700 Club member for a number of years in the 80s.....and I recently read Pat Robertson's newest book....I Walked With The Living God....(someone should have talked him out of this title phraseology....but that would probably be like trying to talk Trump out of using Twitter.) His ministry has been at times wonderfully effective as the gospel went out.....and at other times not so wonderful as his personal teachings went out. God gave him great abilities and blessed his efforts....in the beginning....but Pat....as do many if not most of these men....went beyond God....and took matters into their own hands.....and saw themselves as more than they are.....and that's what he did today in the detailed 'prophesy' that he gave on his show.
            Most of it was just typical biblical prophesy....'speculation'....that came out of his own mind....from his own study....nothing wrong with that....but oddly along with it he came out and said that Trump is most certainly going to win this election. Concerning most of the 'prophesy' he said...."I hope I got the word (right)"....which is a typical 'get out of jail' card in case he is wrong....but with the election result.....he says he indeed got that right...."no question!" Now....if Trump loses Pat will do what all these prophets do....as he will find a way to mitigate the situation through damage control. But if Trump wins reelection....which God may indeed have happen....Pat then will use that as evidence that God speaks to him.....for that is what they all do when a 'prophesy' comes about.....which has to happen some of the time.
             Pat Robertson has studied a lot....for a long time....he's smart....and honestly sought God....and his opinion would be valuable for what it is....but what he did today....which he has done often over the decades....essentially nullifies his learned political opinion.....and continues the gnostic tendecies that we see all over the American charismatic church....which has seeped extensively into evangelicalism itself....which culminated in giving us a candidate and then president totally unfit for the office....now running for reelection againat another man totally unfit for the office....but instead of being aghast and turning to Christ for what we have brought upon ourselves....we stay with Trump....a false prophet in his own right.

DISPATCHES

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No Possible Scenario.....There is no possible scenario.....even a very good one....that would excuse Donald Trump on how he has acted on the conronavirus emergency. He attacked good people doing the very best they can under extraordinarily difficult conditions. He set a precedent....in politics....to attack science or anything else...if it does not conform to whoseover's demands. God gave man common sense that says to take precautions.....and he ridiculed that common sense....in an attempt....to get reelected! Have you ever heard him even once asking how someone else might be doing? Did he say one thing about Chris Christie when he was in intensive care? You wouldn't even know that he has a young son if the media didn't tell us.
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It's difficult to put politics aside on issues like this but it can be done. The White House announced today that Sudan will normalize relations with Israel.....making it the third Arab nation to do so.....with others expected. The Trump supporter will not consider this at all....for they do not know what this man is capable of....but readers here might. Israel just announced yesterday that the sale of F-35s to the UAE by the US will be approved. As for Sudan.....their name is taken off of the terrorist list. They in turn put $335 million in an escrow account to pay claims on past terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda. Presdient Trump today asked Benjamin Netanyahu if he thought that Joe Biden could have made such a deal. This is two weeks previous to the election. Netanyahu....who also is in trouble in his country....said that this was a new era of peace. You would think that common sense would demand that all these deals be scrutinized greatly before approved because of the obvious attempt to win an election.....but the power of this man in office is an ongoing onslaught. No one here wants to argue against anything that might promote peace....but a hasty political bought peace can be more dangerous that no peace initiatives. Also today....as a result of this arrangement....Hamas and Fatah agreed to work to unify and end their differences. What we need here is congressional under oath behind closed-doors testimony on every conversation....any fine print that might not be revealaed until later....who was involved in those conversations....and if any pressures were applied to get people on board. For now we need opinions from those in the intelligence community....and others whose life work is in this area....in detail.....and we will probably get them.....but possibly not in the next two weeks.
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Donald Trump's relentless attacks on the family of Joe Biden is beyond hypocrisy and a case study in someone totally devoid of a conscience. I don't think that there can be any other explanation. The Trump history goes way back to the Gold Rush. For a man of Donald Trump's screw tightening-rule bending-contractor stiffing-discriminatory business history.....and happily selling million dollar tower suites to newly made oligarchs....no questions asked....laundering their money for them....money at times with blood on it...and his own Ukraine deal....shows that some major piece of a healthy mind is missing. We on our side are not aware of this Donald Trump because talk radio has long ago purged all that information....thus showing that in us also some major piece of a healthy mind is missing.
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Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall) Jackson is and will always be one of my heroes in life and the Christian faith. Before the war....while a deacon in his Presbyterian church.....his main passion was for starting and growing a Sunday School for the Black people of Lexington, Virginia. He took insults for his efforts....and threats....but he kept this passion until his death. James L. Robertson Jr. relates this in his book Stonewall Jackson, the Man, the Soldier, the Legend....that Jackson was defending his efforts in front of the courthouse against the arguments of a couple prominent members of Lexington society....and shortly after this argument Jackson showed up at the office of one of the men and said...."Mr. Davidson, I am afraid I wounded your feelings this evening. I have called to apologize to you." Upon which Mr. Davidson told him that he himself was in the process of writing an apology to Jackson. Jackson then said.....and this is why I bring this anecdote up...."Mr. Davidson, these are the things that bring men together and make them know each other better." We need to be able to converse in order to know each other better.....and now more than ever....but speaking of those on what we call the Right....of which I have taken residence for decades....our minds have been filled to overflow by talk radio and cable shows....(led by a man who thrives on rage)....with what we consider patriotic ferocity....even a righteous savagery. The other side is no better. Will the conversation....difficult as it may be....ever return?
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Cold War to Hot War?.......The United States is ratcheting up the pressure on China as the US and India just signed a defense agreement. The man who talks all the time about "endless foreign wars".....brought the cold war back with China through its tariff excursions....and now is exacerbating the possibility of hot war by heightening China's problems with India. It used to be that with all the issues we faced with countries that we were at odds with.....that the primary goal was to avoid war. Yes you make tough decisions....you keep the heat on....you prepare for the worst....but always with an eye on the potential calamity of major war....certainly never facilitaiting it's arrival. Today it seems that we cannot see two steps ahead of us. We have military power....and it is being increased....but we have little wisdom.....and that little bit may be deminishing.
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The Latest Story On Trump's Financial Dealings....So Trump built a tower in Chicago and got most of the money from a German bank.....then could not pay it back on schedule. The bank applied pressure....Trump sued....the bank sued back....and a deal was made behind closed doors. We know now that a large some of money....$270 million....was 'forgiven'.....in other words Trump didn't have to pay....and that money would normally be taxed.....but Trump was losing so bad that through tax loopholes he didn't have to pay that. The president said today....."I was able to make an appropriately great deal with the numerous lenders on a large and very beautiful tower. Doesn't that make me a smart guy rather than a bad guy?" Yes...it does make him a 'smart guy' in way.....a Balaam sort of way...."who loved gain from wrongdoing." (2 Peter 2:15)
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Foreign intelligence organizations are always....and certainly are doing it now with Donald Trump....analyzing how American presidents react under stress....and what they are observing is that Donald Trump is showing signs of melting down....and having Howard Dean moments. Higher up the chain....they are looking to see if they might be able to take advantage of a full-fledged meltdown in the last days of the campaign....should it happen....and also if President Trump loses....how might he react to military hostilities in his last two months before leaving. They are also looking at how President Trump might react if he should pull out a miraculous victory. They do all this stuff folks....as well as try to assess a brand new president. Donald Trump had the advantage in 2017 as what they refer to today as....the madman theory....made other nations justifiably cautious....but President Trump has turned on a dime so many times that that is no longer the primary issue.

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Here's a thought.....old-time Democrats....Zell Miller types....Never-Trumpers who utterly refuse to be a follower of Donald Trump....because they know exactly who he is.....Tea Party people who were never fooled.....and that remnant of evangelicals who know what a false prophet is....form a new party if it turns out to absolutely be needed.....and for a temporary name....how about The Refugee Party?
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Brothers and sisters in Christ....how do you square the following with what you know to be true....with what Jesus so vehemently warned us of in Mark 13:37 of the KJV...."And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch"....or as in the ESV...."Stay awake"....or in the NASB...."Be on the alert!" In case you missed it in his nomination acceptance speech....the President said this...."Our opponents....see a wicked nation that must be punished for their sins." Do you realize what he said here....we're not a wicked nation....and there is no punishment coming! He said in that speech that Joe Biden was no savior....and that redemption does not come from them (Democrats)....and that they look to career politicians for salvation. Why would he use these words? I don't believe that Stephen Miller chose these words....for after researching his life I believe that he himself chose them....because this is his mind....the mind of a genuine biblical false prophet. So I ask again....how do you square this? How does Franklin Graham square this after his own father warned us for over half a century....or John MacArthur after he himself so strongly warned us of false prophets? Maybe they did not hear this part of the speech....a very legitimate excuse....but there is no excuse for not knowing how this president has consistently drummed into the minds of the church....of whom they are shepherds.....that our best is yet ahead.....that we are going to keep on winning....rich and strong and proud and safe!
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A quick story first....that I heard from a J. C. Ryle sermon....Bernard Gilpin was his name....Cranmer, Ridley and Latimore had already gone to the gallows....and Gilpin was summoned by Bloody Mary....friends said their goodbyes but Gilpin was known for his oft repeated words..."It is all in God's everlasting covenant....and must be for good." He departed.....but on the way his horse stumbled....Gilpin's leg was broken....and it took weeks to heal before he could travel....Queen Mary died during that time....and the persecutions came to an end. God alone puts leaders in charge....and removes them. If the election were today Biden would easily win....but his horse may yet stumble. These men are unaware of it but are competing to see who will lead America as God's judgments increase. Normally one would expect Trump to be the only choice....but his word is absolutely worthless.....and his mind may not be adled as Biden's appears at times....but it is beset with severe personality disorders that threaten everything that he blithly and frivolously claims to love....such are the judgments God has seen fit to bring to us. A winnowing of the church is coming.....lamps with oil and lamps without oil.....while seven letters have been sent to us.....which we may read.....if we should find some free time on our hands.

Note: That sermon by J. C. Ryle was titled Without Clouds and is wonderful. It can easily be Googled.
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Apparently the New York Times ran an article on how talk radio is "turning millions of Americans into conservatives." I didn't get to read the full article but Rush ranted on it a little today on his show as he was upset that they estimated that only 15 million listen in daily to his show....instead of 20 million. I have been a radio talk show listener for over a half century. I could name a dozen Pittsburgh talk show hosts that have come and gone in that period. For twenty years or more conservative talk radio was a sure and steady source of information to all conservatives. Rush Limbaugh was simply invaluable. Beck was a help....and Hannity was tireless in his efforts....and Levin wrote some of the best books that we had available to us....but Donald John Trump destroyed all of that....as talk radio no longer informs.....it indoctrinates. Some of the facts it gives are surely true....but most of the truth is not there! It no longer addresses the intellect but rather the emotions. The victory was ours in 2016....but inexplicably we then rolled over and have been slaves to the president's lies and pressure tactics and manipulations ever since.
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An Anomaly....as the article on the Drudge Report called it. John Tyler....the 10th president of the United States.....was born in 1790. He had a son....Lyon Gardiner Tyler who was born in 1853.....who had a son .....Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. who was born in 1925....and who died only a few weeks ago.....leaving a brother....Harrison Ruffin Tyler.....who was born in 1928! So the 10th President of the United States....who was born in 1790....has a grandson who is still living.
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Are you suffering today....either physically or spiritually or mentally? Please consider listening to a Light Of The World conference message by Michael Reeves from 2019 titled Take Up Your Cross. It's a wonderful message....and you will be blessed!
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Someone recently asked me....why read 75 books (80 now) on Trump? Well ask any biographer why they would read so many books on their subject? Ask any Christian...why read hundreds of books over a lifetime on their faith....why read and meditate every every blessed book of the Bible dozens upon dozens of times? The more that I read on Donald Trump....the more that I felt I had to warn.....thus this prayer.

"Lord....protect us from the power this man has over our minds....if it be Thy will....and to Thy glory....for he is ravaging Thy church. If it not be Thy will to open everyone's eyes....then winnow Lord....that Thy children might be as one....that we might look only to Thee for strength....call only upon thy name....and seek only thy face.
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Note: I encourage you to take 30 minutes and watch a wonderful video on a man who spent years in jail....not for preaching in itself....but for forsaking the proper way of church services....in the proper venue....allowed by the laws of the king. Just Google....'John Bunyan, The Preacher, YouTube. John MacArthur is at the heart of the issue of holding church services when the state prohibits it. I disagree with him here. This is but one issue....and I could not recommend to you more....his ministry....(gty.org).... and particularly a book of his titled....Christ's Call To Reform The Church. Please order this book...for you won't find it on the shelves of the typical bookstore. (listed right now as only $9.49 on Amazon)
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I can't help things like this. I just finished mowing the lawn and heard the most wonderful message from Scottish theologian and professor Michael Reeves....titled All Things New....The Return of Christ....and have to recommend that you listen to it!

"Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave....."

Preface: The President tweeted that people don't remember the chaos, hatred and discord with Obama for eight years. I posted on Obama for eight years in these posts.....and was right in the middle of it....and it was nothing....nothing....compared with the discord Trump brings! He also put in that Tweet about the "beautiful" White House....the same White House he once called a "dump"....and then lied about it!

              Should Joe Biden win this election....we on our our side will be united once again....this without the divisive and disruptive and and deceptive and destructive Donald Trump looming over everything. Should the Senate be in Democrat hands we will have our work cut out for us....as we have at times in the past....before we en masse surrendered our minds to Trump.
              Should Donald Trump be given a second term....we will continue to have chaos....and most likely another impeachment. He would surely retain his sadistic quest for revenge....but would no longer need anyone but Bill Barr....and he could be replaced if needed. 
              All of this is just part of God's judgment on us. Evangelicalism departed from the gospel enough to elect and then blindly follow Donald Trump. The pandemic....9/11....Barack Obama....all of these things and more have been judgments as sure as were the plagues on Pharaoh's Egypt....and we blew off every one one as did Pharaoh.
              We may get our conservative Supreme Court justice but in the process....because of how we are doing it....we are giving the Democrats an excuse to follow through on anything they can conjure up if they are the ones calling the shots...."Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." (Sir Walter Scott)

The 25th Amendment Did Not Foresee This

             
Preface: I did not listen to the Limbaugh show's Trump rally.....but after reading about it I had to find the audio of where Trump used the F word....and I did. Now folks it's not the word itself....for he uses that every day of his life....but that he would use it on live radio....with Trump nation listening in.....and all the children....where he should know that every word that comes out of his mouth will be scrutinized...not only for content but to see if he is acting irrationally....shows that there are severe mental issues in play....and that he does not have 100% control of his own actions. 


              The Congress wrote it up well....the 25th Amendment....where if the majority of the executive department heads deemed the President unable to perform his or her duties....then the Vice President would assume those duties until the situation with the President was resolved....but what they didn't take into consideration....and understandably so....was what to do if the President became malevolently mentally ill....not just scatterbrained or showing signs of dementia. The impeachment clause in the Constitution was supposed to take care of all issues pertaining to any president that might abuse their powers.
               Here is the problem as we have seen it develop....the said president.....Donald Trump in this case....and in what was not foreseen by those who wrote and signed onto the 25th Amendment....has control over those executive heads. Just about all of President Trump's cabinet secretaries....advisers....doctors....military leaders.....and every high and low level aide....not to mention that some are family....are subject to immediate termination if they have not proven loyal to President Trump....to be loyal to him.....not necessarily the Constitution. Consequently many have been harassed and ridiculed until they resigned....and were then replaced by others with less ethical standards.

              This problem is not something that has suddenly come up. I have books on my shelf written by professionals in the mental health field that over the past few years have warned of Donald Trump's psychological disorders....but they along many other professionals from other scientific fields have been conveniently but designedly written off as Never Trumpers.
              This dangerous to freedom and liberty situation is not new to history....as a dominant personality takes power....purges his opposition....controls the intelligence and chief law enforcement agencies....derides or outright abolishes the press....and thus neuters any protections that may have been in place.
               President Trump's actions are getting worse as his political situation deteriorates. His actions over the months on the pandemic have been at the very least concerning....but those actions as of late have been beyond just reckless. As one Secret Service agent is purported to have said....the President doesn't even pretend to care for their safety anymore.

We Have Our King......Begone Ye Naysayers

 If one would read....and traverse by way of these words the life of Donald Trump....from his childhood days....through military school and college....to his first years working with his father....and step by step the creation of the tycoon tabloid sensation....right up to 2015 and the primaries....and then in essence live with him through those books in his now nearing four years as the President of the United States....one would have to conclude as I and many others have....that it is the exact same person....with no change or maturity....that appeared on the debate stage in Cleveland.

           Every day of his life is in some way either the continuing of a con game or a new one. He has no need of anyone in his grand scheme. His pious comments on his brother Robert seemed contrived....knowing the history of his relationships. He used his father but his mother hardly appears anywhere. He belittled his eldest son....concerned from the beginning that a 'Don Jr.' might be a loser and thus reflect on himself....and Ivanka is primarily in his mind an important asset. People have either recoiled at being near him....or had been lured by the brightness of the flame....only to sooner or later be burned by that flame.
            Those on what we know as the 'Left" read these books....after having lived side by side with him as they laughed at his rise....and now regurgitate at the mere mention of his name. Those of us who proudly claim to be on the 'Right'....have no desire to read about the man who we vicariously live through....who attacks those who had tormented us for decades since the rise of the Clintons....who gives what we perceive to be a legitimacy to our most base human desires... changing us into a likeness of him along the way....and assuaging any guilt that might arise from our greed and hypocrisy....and creeping racism....and disregard for human life in this pandemic....with pious and worthless and pitiful ditties about how we are "one glorious nation under God."
             If this were only the latest reality show in American politics it would be one thing.....but it is not. We in evangelicalism have taken the easy road....through Vanity Fair....bouyed by the promises of making America great again....that same fake spirit of greatness of which God warned the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:16...."I will spit you out of My mouth."
             This same seriously disturbed man who was on that debate stage....who has Putin licking his lips....and whose tariff war may have pushed China's back up against the wall....and who plays with Erdogan....and treats Israel's security as if all that was needed to be done was to pay off their enemies....this man who has no self-control whatsoever....may interpret his repeated escapes from what normally would send a politician to retirement or worse....as some sort of divine mantle placed upon him.....if he hasn't already.

             

Lord's Day Ruminations From A Year Ago

            It appears to me anyway....that the Apostle John was closing in on 100 years old....and still preaching Jesus Christ. There would have been a prefect of the emperor or some such magistrate who may have had mercy on the old man....and just sent him to off to an island to die. (There are plenty of theories while the Bible is silent on the apostle's death) The magistrate was probably confident that at least there would be no more preaching this Jesus by this revered apostle....but John was given....and then penned....on that Island....a book that would be read millions of times over two thousand years. It was the capstone....or maybe just the culmination of God's Word to humanity. So much for sending the old man off to obscurity.

            Billy Graham quite possibly would have labored in near-obscurity had not William Randolph Hearst put out a 'memo' to all his papers to....'puff Graham.'  I wonder where he got that idea? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones....(medical doctor)....frustrated....saw himself helping men get well so that they could continue to reject God....so he chose to attempt to heal their souls instead. I wonder where the Doctor got that idea?
             Elijah had been in a spiritual battle his whole ministry.....and now he knew that he was going to die....oh well....he tried. He once fretted that he was the only one standing up for God's truth....but along came Elisha....to be given a double portion of the spirit of Elijah....working twice as many miracles than his teacher....(that we know of)....but then God may not be done with Elijah?
             It has been said often....phrased differently I'm sure....that if you are not experiencing opposition.....that maybe there is a problem somewhere. Surely....if you are causing problems with the enemy.....then you are getting problems back. How can it be any other way. Spurgeon and Luther....and many others.....had greats bouts of depression. J. Gresham Machen....(don't know who he is....you should find out)....was defrocked....defrocked by his own denomination....for being true to God's Word. Jonathan Edwards got kicked out of his own church! I could go on. This phrase comes to mind....'it comes with the territory.'
            It was December of 1963. My mother took me Christmas shopping in downtown Pittsburgh. It was snowing as I remember. It would be a year until Petula Clark gave us that hit single Downtown. We bought my Christmas presents that night....a 45 rpm record....the Beatles'....She Loves You.....and a hundred and ten pound weight set. (I still have that weight set....I don't throw anything away....much to my wife's chagrin) I have thoroughly enjoyed lifting weights since then.....almost (57) years now....and I go to the gym regularly....early in the morning. 
            I often wake up mistakingly thinking that I'm the only one who sees some of the problems that we have today....but I force myself to the gym....and I walk the treadmill and work the machines....all the time....all the time....with a headset on listening to great sermons from preachers of the last century....and so I wonder sometimes if the entire Christian life is not like continuous sets of ten repetitions....with breathers in between. I surely know this though....when I leave that gym....exercised out....and having just heard the glories and wisdom and power of Christ extolled so magnificently....I can imagine the end of that long line of Christian believers heading towards the Celestial City....and I hurry to pull up the rear once again....and the Apostle John's words from the end of that book might echo in my mind...."He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly, Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)

Afterthoughts....I walk outside today rather than on the treadmill....for instead of having a half dozen silent television screens in front of me....I get to enjoy the wonders of God's creation....the field of cattails that takes me back to my youth in Cheektowaga, New York.....the sometimes billowing and sometimes dark and threatening clouds.....or the clear blue sky. There is one spot where the scent from small blue wildflowers leads me to take in deep breaths as I pass....and there is the steep drop eventually leading to the sometimes green and at other times brown Ohio River....and on the far hills is the nursing home jutting out of the trees....where my mother died five years ago. I think that my favorite part is the long white sidewalk that overlooks all of this.....where on a hot sunny day dozens of grasshoppers will wait for me only to spring away just before I reach them....as if it's a game to them. I use this to pray....every time....for all of God's creatures....and I've missed these grasshoppers the past few days as they would rather not wait for me on a cold sidewalk....but seem to have been relieved of their duties by fall caterpillars inching across at their leisure.

It Was The Plan......It Just Didn't Turn Out Right

    A little puzzle....he wrote for Rolling Stone....lived for a while in Pittsburgh....served some time in jail....and coined the term....'banana republic." He may be most well-known for his short story The Gift Of The Magi. OK....it wasn't the Rolling Stone that we know of....but an obscure weekly from about 1900. O. Henry....pen name....wrote another short story that I find interesting. It takes place in New York City around the turn of the 19th century.

            I've traveled a fair amount around the world....but I haven't been to New York City since the fall of 1965....during the World's Fair! I can distinctly remember the trip up there as two songs....and two songs only....are etched into mind mind from that drive....The Rolling Stones....Get Off My Cloud.....and Barry McGuire's....Eve of Destruction. (I think I could have penned those lyrics) McGuire later became a born again Christian....who is somewhat famous for his children's album....Bullfrogs And Butterflies. We took our young son to see him do his children's concert many years ago....and it was a great blessing.
             Back to O. Henry and his short story....The Cop And The Anthem. He would be what we today call a homeless man. Soapy was his name....and he had a plan every year when it got cold....that he would get arrested....and at least be warm and fed in jail for the winter months. So he once again tried to get arrested....but try as he might he could not....as O. Henry humorously tells it....and in frustration stops in a Christian church....and has a spiritual epiphany....he would turn his life around. He leaves the church....and is arrested for vagrancy....and sentenced to three months in jail.... which he  no longer wanted.
              I came across this short story tonight....believe it or not....while looking for a YouTube of Pat Boone singing....This Land Is Mine....(The Exodus Song). Consequently I watched a segment of a 1952 film on five of O. Henry's stories...titled....O. Henry's Full House....one of which was The Cop And The Anthem....which starred....are you ready.....that famous film pair....Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe! Google it....it's only about twenty minutes long.
              What came to my mind was this.....we live life knowing that we will have to answer to God someday for constructing an interpretation of His Word....around our own desires....an easy believism....a 'cheap grace' as Bonhoeffer called it....or at least we determine not to research it....because we might find what we don't want to find.....that we have to be born again....whatever that is....but it doesn't sound too good...(clue...it's the most wonderful thing in the world)....only sometimes just as we are ready to really see what God's Word tells us....we are called to account by God. Today is the day friend! It's not a very good analogy here....but hey that's my mind.
            

"First They Came For The Communists...."

Preface: The following was first posted on June 22. President Trump today 'authorized' the total declassification of documents on Russian collusion and Hillary's email probe. Please consider this as you read these posts....one from June....and the other from October of 2018. He is attempting to use his executive powers to win an election....to attack opponents. This in itself is cause for grave concern. Whereas it would be most probable that if total justice were served....both he and Hillary would someday be sharing the same prison food....for Donald Trump has never had any disdain for corruption....as he profited by it to a great extent. This is his real mind....and given four more years there is no telling where it might lead him....for there is apparently no one left in the administration....or any who would be brought in.... willing to stand up to him. 

The hated Weimar Republic had to go....that goal....all the main parties agreed upon. Hitler's Nazi party....with its own press....and complete with its own paramilitary Sturmbteilung....(Brownshirts)....(which greatly outnumbered Germany's army)....(and eventually superceded by the SS after Hitler no longer needed the Brownshirts)....but still fell short of a majority in the government....seemed the only choice in getting rid of the Republic. German president Hindenburg ultimately.....after a lot of negotiations in closed door sessions....named Hitler Chancellor....and astonishing to everyone who witnessed it....the next 100 days literally transformed Germany.

            Peter Fritzsche's book....Hitler's First 100 Days....When Germans Embraced the Third Reich....documented seemingly everything going on from newspaper reports and letters and diaries....to songs and theater productions and film. Germany....once torn apart....became united....which is the entire basis of this book....focusing on 100 days....but providing a sizable introduction on how Germany came to where they were in late 1932. Let us hope and pray that America never 'unites' as did Germany after Hitler took power.
            Previous to Hitler's being named chancellor Germany was every bit as divided as we are today....even more.....as they were fighting regularly in the streets. The communists and socialists hated these new 'conservative' parties.....and these parties hated the communists just as much....but one thing towered above all of this.....the Weimar Republic had to go....and now it was finally gone! Something new and exciting and great replaced it! What exactly that was they could not have known in detail....but they did come quickly to believe that Hitler was the one who could lead Germany back to greatness. A patriotism exploded out of the political division. Within those 100 days the Nazis....through that excitement.....seemed to convert most everyone......and therein is the astonishment to historians as they look back on it.
             The Storm Troopers.....the SA....went after the communists first.....and with unbridled vengeance.....murdering and arresting and incarcerating. The red flags that were once everywhere in the communist enclaves disappeared. Then they went after the socialists. Let me segue to Martin Niemoller's famous quote in poetic form.....

"First they came for the the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me."

            This is exactly what happened and Fritzsche's book details all of it....but as these persecutions progressed a remarkable thing happened.....the German people bought into the thought of greatness returning to Germany through National Socialism. They were now united in this nationalistic and ethnic unity. The opposition not only physically disappeared....but disappeared in the general psyche of the people. The people came to love this horror of a man.....Hitler.....and eventually paid a much steeper price than even that of the Treaty of Versailles.
             As I read through this book.....so very slowly....contemplating how the divide between socialism and nationalism was so similar to what we are experiencing today....I saw very clearly the last 100 year agenda of communism in America....not that that was new as I have published on this over the entire eleven years of these posts....but I saw it in contrast to a large but still minority fervor of National Socialism. Just as the Bolsheviks had in Russia....the minority National Socialists.....as opposed to those more moderate....wrangled their way into power....and then purged everyone....even their own who they were not certain of 100% loyalty. Even the Brownshirts....who essentially put Hitler in power....were purged.
            Folks....these are human phenomena.....actions that we humans are very capable of if there is no sure foundation in God. They do not have to share ideologies....indeed they can differ greatly in ideology....and they can differ greatly in degree....but follow the same wide path. Right now we in America are experiencing a similar horror from the communist agenda of the past 100 years. If I seem less aghast than most in recent posts it's because I saw this coming and posted on it for years. We need to make sure that we do not become nothing but reactionaries. We need to be vigilant that a powerful minority does not hijack what conservatism has been in America. We need to do what Germans did not do....see that we had departed from God....humble ourselves....and return to Him with our hope and utter dependence.
            CBN......Pat Robertson's network....has been reporting on a revival of sorts emanating from all the division in America. We need to be very careful here also for a false revival....ecumenical in nature....and an essentially cross-less Christianity can emerge....just as a distorted patriotism can lead to tyranny. 

The following post....A Very Natural Temptation....is from October of 2018....the two prefaces are more recent when I had republished this post:

Preface.....We have to be able to look back at Germany in 1933 to see the mistakes that we are making in America today....and we have to be able to do this without being accused of calling Donald Trump another Hitler. The Marxists today are following the Bolshevik pattern in Russia in 1917....Donald Trump is following too closely the pattern of Germany's national socialists who promised to make Germany great again. Ivana....not Ivanka but Ivana Trump....once told her lawyer that Donald Trump kept a book of Hitler's speeches at his bedside. This caused a stir during the 2016 campaign. Trump was questioned on it and responded...."If....I had these speeches....and I'm not saying that I do....I would never read them"....in other words....'so I read it sometimes....so what?' A friend of Trump's admitted that he did give him a copy of Hitler's collected speeches....My New Order....because he thought Trump might be interested in them. Hitler had a mesmerizing power over people....as evidenced in the reaction to his speeches....causing them to do things they would otherwise not do. Trump has that same mesmerizing power. This does not make Trump a Hitler....but it does also make us do and sanction things we would not normally do....and follow a man with extraordinary powers of persuasion. 

Preface......What we have right now in America is eerily similar to the struggles that Germany was going through in 1933....with the communists fighting the National Socialists for control of the direction of the country. The communist element here in America is obvious. As for the National Socialist element....it is not in the form of the conservative/libertarian/Tea Party/talk radio people that I had been part of for decades....for most of us have long since surrendered to Donald Trump. It has nothing to do with the dominant anti-Semitism of the National Socialists....and its violence is restricted to firing (purging) people who question the President’s supreme authority....and to humiliation and verbal abuse. It is National Socialist in tactics and in both domestic and foreign policy power
                  God is most definitely behind the rise of Donald Trump in American politics....only it is not what you probably think. He has given him to us....that it will eventually be evident to us....that we had clamored for a king....as the Israelites had for Saul....and in demanding that king....we had rejected God. This is what happened in Germany....as National Socialism was going to make Germany great again....and that they would be powerful again. It's a very natural temptation no matter what the ideology.

A VERY NATURAL TEMPTATION

            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 one glorious nation under God....and Donald Trump's god is not our God. I have for decades written various themes on how I love this country....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....to lay aside one's values in order to help your country....especially in times like this as America is being pillaged and plundered....and 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.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

Matthew D Hockenos....Then They Came For Me.

Erwin W. Lutzer's 1995/2012 Hitler's Cross....How The Cross Was Used To Promote The Nazi Agenda.....the forward is by Ravi Zacharias if that makes a difference.

You might also be interested in Hitler's First Hundred Days....by Peter Fritzsche.....reviewed here back on July 14....titled First They Came For The Communists.

CABARET....It would only take a few seconds to Google a YouTube of one of the songs from the 1972 musical film.....this one titled.....Tomorrow Belongs To Me. It's not the music that is chilling and subsequently haunting....it's the visuals. The scene is a quaint German  town in 1931.....where actor Michael York and another gentleman sit talking at a cafe.....when a young man begins to sing. If you decide to view this....watch the faces on the crowd....all of them as the camera moves around.....and notice the slight change in the young singer's face.....at the point where the subject mater of the song gets more serious

"Therefore God Sends Them A Strong Delusion, That They May Believe What Is False"

 It's beyond reprehensible how we treated Dr. Anthony Fauci....but we don't have an ounce of integrity or honesty in politics in America anymore. We may get our conservative justice....but should in no way be proud of how we did it....and if the other side should take full control of the government....they can do whatever they please.....because we are in the process of giving them carte blanche permission. We have been dragged into a swamp worse than the one we were told would be drained.

            Dr. Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 37 years....and we've called him a liar and worse....and he put us to shame by staying calm and just answering the questions put to him. The knowledge in play here with Fauci and Redfield and Birx....and the experience....is equivalent to that of any scientist in any field....but we think that Rush Limbaugh's 37 years experience as a conservative talk radio host is more valuable in the life and death dealings with viruses. The message is clear....forget experience....forget silly things like resumes'.....forget acquiring knowledge and sucker's things like that....just walk into the room and play your hand....bluff....keep raising the stakes....whatever it takes....for this is the new America.
            This is not an isolated example.....as book after book describes President Trump as one who has little use for experts or intelligence agencies or generals or admirals. His expedient and short-sighted methods of governing are becoming legendary.
            This is where I am now folks.....wondering just what kind of power could make Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows forget how he threatened to 'primary' them for not signing on to his fake Obamacare repeal and replace bill in 2017....or turn Ted Cruz into a warrior defender of a man who in as much as accused his father of ties to the JFK assassination....among other persona assaults....or who could lead Franklin Graham in the same mistakes....ten times over....that his father humbly admitted to....or most of all what could make John MacArthur....who has preached eloquently and powerfully against false prophets.....and who has been a teacher and defender of the doctrine of salvation.....fall for a false prophet....and in a phone call from President Trump tell him...."any real, true believer is going to be on your side in this election."
             I had a conversation with a friend on this power that Donald Trump seems to have. We traded examples of people we know and people in the public eye....people who were once rigorous thinkers....nobody's fool....who all of a sudden seem to be much more followers than thinkers.
             Rush Limbaugh seems like an entirely different man that I had listened to for so long. Sean Hannity seems to have turned into a robot....and I remember the day....a few years ago....when Mark Levin all of a sudden abruptly decided that he would no longer critique this president.
             What power could cause conservatism to surrender without a fight....or captivate evangelicalism that should have been weaned on warnings of false prophets?

Note: The verse in the title of this post is 2 Thessalonians 2:11

"Greater Love Hath No Man...."

 I hadn't seen the movie in probably 50 years.....the 1946 multiple Academy Award winning The Best Years Of Our Lives. If you have never seen this film....it follows the lives of three returning servicemen in a small town in mid-America....immediately after World War II ended.

         There was one scene near the end of the almost three hour film....where in a public venue....two of the men are ideologically accosted by a professional miscreant and malcontent.....who rails against America having fought the wrong enemy in the war....and then labels all of our servicemen who were wounded and died in the war.....as "suckers." 
          It's only one issue that I have with Donald Trump....but it's a big one....as he doesn't seem to have any concept of the horror of war....or the value of human life....in spite of all his rhetoric about bringing our troops home. For if this were truly the case....how could he have uttered the absurd comment that invading Venezuela would be...."cool".....as one book reported......or from a different book....again on Venezuela....."That's the country we should be going to war with. They have all that oil....and they are right on our backdoor." How could he be so flippant with Europe's security....or so lightly make statements as...."If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth....in one week.....I just don't want to kill ten million people".....or on John McCain....."He's not a war hero.....he's a war hero because he was captured.....I like people who weren't captured."
          President Trump's actions on China have been reckless.....backing a rat up against the wall....and this for money....for there are no principles involved here on his part....maybe others....but not on his. He showed similar lack of respect for human life with the Kurds....and with his many dealings over the decades with post-collapse money from the former Soviet Union.....with no questions asked. This goes beyond politics....as it is deeply distressing....and I do not see how evangelicals can avoid this as they have all the other disturbing issues

"Therefore....Come Out From Among them And Be Separate"

           What does it mean to be separate.....and to be a peculiar people....as God's Word describes it? Well....you might listen to a J. C. Ryle 1878 sermon titled.....The World....as I did while traveling today. This is the second time I've listened to this message from the nineteenth century London preacher....and I think that I can say with some confidence that you will listen to every word of the hour long sermon.....but all that I want to say here about being separate from the world.....is that one thing it would not be....would be being a rabid Trump supporter....for that is about as joined at the hip to this world as one can be.....and as for 'peculiar'.....if you are a conservative or a republican....and if you do not support this man....then you are peculiar....maybe even thought to be somewhat crazy. Ryle does talk about this politics aspect of separating from the world....as he brings up a lot of specific topics. He'll tell you that desiring or even working for wise and godly leaders is not the problem....and you can determine for yourself what he might call the problem if he were with us today.

For That Is What We Do

 
The following is from September 6th:

           Preface: I very rarely do what I'm about to do.....maybe once every couple of years....but I'm going to ask the reader to consider passing this website on.....maybe even bringing some of the topics into the discussion of their weekly Bible study....or sharing it with their pastor. We cannot be afraid to broach these subjects....for that is a dangerous habit to get into....and we may have already ceded too much of our thinking processes to others....such as talk radio personalities.  If but one person in that Bible study might even somewhat agree with these thoughts....then at least you have put something up for examination.

For That Is What We Do

             A little over a week ago I had a tire blowout on my pickup truck while traveling I-95 during rush hour. I safely pulled over to the berm and changed the tire with tractor-trailers flying by at who knows what speed. After the tire was changed I called my wife over and said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for keeping us safe in the blowout and during the tire change....but I am here to tell you....that I know....that there were prayers being said for me as I changed that tire....even some drivers of those tractor-trailers....and here is how I know that.....

            I am in the habit....and many Christians all over this world are in the habit....of praying for anyone that seems to be in need....a blowout like mine on the side of a busy interstate.....or the sound of a town's fire siren.....or an ambulance passing by with its lights and siren on.....or a medevac helicopter swiftly moving overhead....or a solitary person walking along the side of a busy road....or even two people arguing with each other in a parking lot or grocery store...and often after reading a sad or troubling story in the news....for that is what we do.....we pray for each other....and we pray for others. So therefore as probably hundreds of cars passed by.....with only enough time to get a glimpse of an older man....(70 in my case)....struggling with a tire change in 90+ degree heat....I know that more than a few offered up quick prayers to our heavenly Father.....for that is what we do.

            Segueing here....I write these posts that although some Christians....and pastors....know exactly what I'm saying....and agree....more do not understand....as of yet anyway....or just do not agree....but I know once again....and thank God....that many of those are praying for me....many of whom may have real grievances with me....for that is exactly what I do for brothers and sisters in Christ who I think have made the error on these topics addressed in these posts....for that is what we do....because we love one another....and although we may not always outwardly see this bond that we have in Christ....it is there....and even the most obstinate of us....know very well....and celebrate the fact....that when our Lord returns....which we hope is soon....that any and all differences in which we might have....will be dissolved in the light of His holiness and goodness and mercy and peace....and praise be to God that He has fashioned it this way....that in spite of frailties we might have....it is He that holds our salvation in His hand....safely under the shadow of His wings....until that day when we will see even more clearly how truly faithful and lonsuffering with us He has been!

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 John 4:10.11