Good-bye Langley

The following was posted in August of 2019:

Good-bye Langley

              You are an analyst for the CIA. You're 64 years old and set to retire at the end of the year so you have seen a lot in your career....and developed a sense of spotting trouble when something is not right. Today Putin is being pushed in Russia....and he has a nasty habit of pushing back. Hong Kong may explode. The trade wars may back the Communist Party of China into a corner that they will have to fight their way out of. Both Russia and China have fiercely been stocking up on gold. The Mullahs in Iran are more than willing to go to war....along with their surrogates....provided there are other wars going on. Meanwhile.....Kim Jong-un just commissioned his newest submarine and is testing ballistic rocket systems right and left.
              You've got a memo already typed up and ready to push the send button....a worst-case scenario....but no one to send it to....for everybody above you is focusing on Venezuela....on the possibility of a blockade.....for 'humanitarian purposes' of course....certainly not oil. You wonder if you should have included Venezuela to get their attention. You delete the memo from the computer and roll up the printed copy....tossing it the waste can....to be burned later. You decide to vacation out instead of waiting until the end of the year.
             They all shake your hand on your last day. You buy a comfortable cabin in the remotest section of Cook Forest, Pennsylvania where there is no WiFi or cable television. You bring a book that you've always meant to read.....page one....by the time that you have read through the book of Daniel you wish that you had sent that memo....by the time you've finished Revelation you think about....and utter the words out loud of the second thief on the cross....from the Gospel of Luke you believe....for you know no other way to put it...."Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
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Introspection Day

               The winds hit us and they were fierce....ripping apart society and government and family and about everything else. They caught us unprepared because we paid no attention and had no interest in the weather reports from God's Storm Center and chief meteorologists....among them Jeremiah and Daniel and Matthew and Mark and Luke and Peter and Paul and Jude. So we are shaken as we survey the damage....and the sun is drying out the streets enough that we can see the destruction....but what we also do not seem to understand is that we are only in the eye of the ferocious storm. We can do a 360 in the news of this world and see nothing but dark storm clouds circling us. The winds coming out of the southeast will hit us directly....and this as the enormous storm surge may move in like a tsunami as the super blood moon lifts the waves.
                There are some verses in Daniel that we tend to pass over as the prophet was told to close up and seal the words...."till the time of the end....none of the wicked will understand, but the wise shall understand." Apparently we will understand what is happening at the "end." Why the 1290 days....and not 1260 days....and what about 1335 days.....an extra 45 days? There is surely significance here.  
                Does not Revelation 13:18 tell us...."This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man. His number is 666." Does not Revelation also tell us...."Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written, for the time is near" (Rev. 1:3) The time is always to be "near' to the Christian....for we do not know what a day brings.
                 Daniel was told to go his way....and rest until he rises again....Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul the same....as with all of the redeemed who have gone before us....and here we are....fighting not over the influence of the computer and AI....but Hunter Biden's computer....not in humility making our plans....if Jesus should tarry....but purposed that we will make ourselves great again....taking vengeance on anyone who rained on our 2020....We are one glorious nation under God....Our best days are yet to come....State of the Union parade. 
                 Do we even give a morsel of meditation on what the people of the Ukraine are going through as winter sets in. There was a visit to these posts only minutes ago from Bangladesh...and multiple views from Russia. How are our brothers and sisters in China faring....and Vietnam and Poland? I haven't repeated to myself of late Hebrews 13:3...."Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you are also in the body." Surely this is a time in America for introspection....even more than thanksgiving.

Their Words Have No Power......God's Words Do

The following post is from August:                

                 Americans are no longer Americans in the traditional sense of the word. The words freedom and liberty have been so utterly distorted that they no longer have meaning in the traditional sense of the words. Gender has no definition anymore. Capitalism is no longer a sound economic system for growth and prosperity....it is a weapon....a get rich train....a malignant disease by which we all slowly destroy ourselves. Education and higher education are something altogether different than that which not only Americans but all of Western Civilization had known....in fact 'civilization' is being stretched to describe the barbarian tendencies that increasingly dominates today.
                None of these changes could have occurred had not the people changed first. No....we did not turn into Bill and Hillary....and Mark Zuckerberg....and and Joe Biden....and Donald Trump....all at once....but when God lifted His hand of protection from us....it was downhill all the way.
                There is no paper evidence that Benjamin Franklin actually said it....but there is evidence that it was a concern around the times of the formation of our republic.....the saying goes that Franklin said...."When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." True quote or not....it is accurate as the day is long. 
                 When a people are split down the middle....as we are today....neither side can simply dictate how the other side shall live. We have our school boards....they have theirs.....we have our legislators....they have theirs.....we have our media.....they have theirs.
                  What did the Apostle Paul mean when he wrote to the Corinthians...."and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." While doing some research I listened to a progressive seminar....hundreds of people....two authors as speakers....and a panel discussion. In a moment of minor venting I remarked to the person next to me....about the main speaker....."Surely this woman secured a three day pass from hell to speak at the seminar." She was a dean at a well-known and influential....supposedly Christian seminary....and when she was introduced it took ten minutes to list all of her accolades and former positions....and yet what came out of her mouth was pure horror....but as distasteful as it was listening to this....I knew very well that none of her words.....had even a scintilla of power to them. The people present were not converted by her words.....they were there because they previously dedicated their lives to avoid being converted by the only words that in themselves have power....the Word of God....and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
              Similarly when Rand Paul or someone like him spews venom from an exalted Senate seat.....his words have no power.....nor do the words of a Chuck Schumer or Pelosi or Harris or anyone. Mark Levin's words do not contain power. Not even the words of Rush had power within them. The divide in society is by design....of Satan himself.....and neither side is designed to convert the other....but simply to destroy through that division.
              Our pulpits are our source of power....but they have long ago abdicated their responsibility. So in similar fashion....we cannot convert the pulpits.....or even awaken them. Only God can speak the Word where multitudes are awakened. I do not publish all of these posts to convert anyone....but in that if God in His perfect will should decide to bring an awakening upon this lost and forsaken nation....the meager words in these posts might point to the men in the pulpits with whom God does endue....power....in their words. 

I was just going to point you to a sermon by either John Piper or Charles Spurgeon....but instead decided to include this full post from this past April:

                Wow! It's kind of a plebeian exclamation....but Wow! I don't know what else to say. This past weekend I was in a long conversation with other Christians....pouring my heart out on how hard it was to see loved ones....as decades roll on....continue to ignore the warnings and wonderful answers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The conversation depleted me. It was emotional....and today....this morning....I boot up John Piper's sermon of the day....and lo and behold....praise God in his wonderful and mysterious ways....the topic of the sermon is directed to the very pleadings that have been vexing me. I laughed a few times in joy...and almost cried. Would you like to hear that sermon? Is God moving in your heart in this same way....in severe concern for the eternal souls of your loved ones? The easiest way to hear this sermon is simply to Google....John Piper....The Son Of Man Must Be Lifted Up....Like The Serpent....or you can go directly to John Piper's ministry....desiringgod.org.....click on the menu on the upper right.....click on podcasts....click on sermon of the day....click on subscribe....(you are not subscribing to anything)....click on Apple podcasts.....and then click on Latest Episode.

Addendum: John Piper ended the wonderful sermon mentioned above by reading Charles Spurgeon's conversion testimony from his own autobiography. It was Easter Sunday 2001....and my wife and son and I attended a worship service at Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle in London on the south side of the Thames. A film was made in 2010....a docudrama I guess it would be called.....C. H. Spurgeon: The People's Preacher.  I watched it again tonight. The passage that John Piper relates in the sermon is dramatized in the film. It's a wonderful way to spend an evening....learning of the life of this.....The Prince of Preachers. Just Google it and watch. It's only 1:09 minutes.

  

"A Rose By Any Other Name...."

This post is only about three weeks old:

                 I've broached this topic on a few occasions in the past. Might your take on my posts be that I am too syrupy when writing about God or His Word? Possibly you think that it is fake....or maybe hypocrisy....or just overly melodramatic? In a way I could see your concern. Jonathan Edward's wife....Sarah....was very emotionally descriptive in her words....but Jonathan Edwards was more theologian like....so it therefore is possible to be Christian and not be....syrupy. Well I would never deny that but add to it....read Edwards....this is the sweetest New England syrup there ever was....but the tongue does not lick the lips nor the eyes roll in delight. The question is not one of emotion....but of knowledge and understanding.

              Rhetorical question here.....how on God's green earth....can one understand their once lost eternal soul....deservingly lost eternal soul....and also that God....plucking the worst of the worst out of the fire....(us...me)....proclaimed the word and we instantly had a new heart....and then believed unto a glorious salvation....how can we understand this.....not just assent to it but understand it.....and not be overwhelmed from the moment of that new birth until the same God who had mercy upon us....calls us home?
              Logically speaking.....how could that be? Whether syrupy or academic....both would be constant and determined in their overwhelming need to praise God! It would seem that in order for one not to be overwhelmed....one must not understand....and if one does not understand.....maybe one was never plucked from that fire?
              No you do not have to be syrupy.....I don't think that Martin Luther was syrupy....but his understanding of...."the just shall live by faith".....changed the world! Hey....I never got over the 1957 Disney film Old Yeller. I remember treating a friend poorly.....that in 1959....at nine years old....63 years ago....and it still bothers me when it comes to mind. One doesn't have to be romantic to be in love....but I bet the one your in love with would have a preference....and so does God. He is everything....His glory and majesty and beauty may fill our mind....but a trillion such minds could not hold the glory due Him! There I go getting syrupy again....all I ask is that you employ some logic....does the love for God in your mind....only you and God know this....does it logically match what He has done for you? If not....cancel all your appointments today....and start to work on figuring out what is wrong!
               "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"....was Juliet's argument....for it is the sweetness and not the name....and it is Christ's eternal glory....whether sent as a poem or a creed....for the true poem has a creed within....and a true creed is poetry to the ear.

Note: The verse at the top is Psalm 30: 3, 4a.

Would We Rather No Warning At All?

On November 22, 1963 President Kennedy was to give a speech in Dallas....probably composed by Ted Sorensen. That speech....never given....but that still exists on paper....would have concluded with these words...."The righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: 'Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain'." The full verse in the first verse of Psalm 127....KJV....reads.... "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932. We are familiar with that but he also wrote The Doors Of Perception that documented his psychedelic trips on mescaline. He was a famed apologist on most anything anti-Christian. C. S. Lewis of course was the prodigious and profound apologist on the Christian Faith. All three men.....JFK and Huxley and C. S. Lewis died 59 years ago today.....November 22, 1963. The following was first posted in July of 2019:

Would We Rather No Warning At All?

                  The Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade came down on the same day that former President Lyndon Johnson died....January 22, 1973. Watergate would consume the rest of the year. In November Billy Graham held a crusade in St. Louis, Missouri. In one of his nightly messages he thundered about the Babylonian king Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar was dead and his grandson took the vessels previously taken from the temple in Jerusalem.....and all present in that great feast of his drank from the holy vessels. That's when the hand appeared....writing on the wall....as the book of Daniel describes to us. Billy Graham pointed out to the people in the packed arena....once again this back in 1973....that America was becoming as Babylon had been under Belshazzar.
                  Folks....that crusade was over forty-five years ago. I was partying on the Pitt campus at the time. Did I somehow catch that particular night's message? Possibly....as I did spend some time at home....and I did surf the 13 or so channels....but at the time I would not have known the Old Testament book of Daniel from a bottle of Jack Daniels....but here's the thing....what Billy Graham saw in the America of 1973....was absolutely nothing in terms of rebellion to God as we have today! Reverend Graham would continue to preach this message....with increasing fervor....until he went to be with his Lord more than forty-four years later.
                  Was Billy Graham incorrect or premature with his message of judgment forty-five years ago. Was he about a half century too early to give such a message? No....Jeremiah prophesied God's warnings for forty years. Most of God's prophets in the Old Testament did not live to see their prophesies come true....and Billy Graham would never see his beloved nation undergo the full judgment of God.
                   I've had it said to me....eyes rolling....many times....'Oh Special Dog....you've been saying for a long time that God is going to judge America." My usual response has been....'What would you rather have....God judging us without a warning.....without giving us an opportunity to turn to Him....or would you rather have what He has been doing for at least a half century....sending faithful preachers to show exactly how we have turned away from Him....what God's Word tells us will happen....and what we must therefore do?
                   We don't have the Billy Graham Crusades for the unbeliever to stumble upon....and we don't have Christian bookstores anymore....and we are losing these faithful preachers who one by one warned us. In short....our supply lines have been cut. May God open our eyes once again....in the pulpit and in the pew....in time to turn to Him.....to look to Him....and to rely only upon Him in the turmoil that surely lies ahead.

Addendum: God's judgment began in earnest almost immediately after this post of July, 2019....and we were unprepared for something like the pandemic. Talking heads who had only the election year in their mind....led us astray in a number of ways....for we were easily led....not having the wisdom and discernment that should have been available to us from our pulpits.

"And Then We Look...."

Preface: I have had the opportunity to advise a number of people to incorporate into their daily regimen....(Ok....I then relent and say.....weekly regimen)....that they listen to a John Piper sermon....or any sermon from a great preacher of the past...or any preacher today who preaches like great preachers from the past. I've had the opportunity to encourage pastors to also do this. Why wouldn't they? Do they not understand the enormity of their responsibilities and then beg of God for help in this area of preaching? So anyway....there are two ways that you could do this.....the first with Piper or Spurgeon or Martyn Lloyd-Jones or anyone....would simply be to Google their name along with 'sermon YouTube." As for John Piper specifically....it's easy to listen to his daily sermons on his website but I'll make it a little easier by giving you a step-by-step....
1....go to desiringgod.org
2....click on the menu at the upper right
3....click on podcasts
4....scroll down to sermon of the day...click on subscribe...you're not subscribing to anything.
5....click on Apple Podcasts.....and you are there!         

Note: Today's Sermon Of The Day is very powerful....(it is yesterday's sermon now)....perfect for a new believer or one who wonders if they could ever be one. It also can be Googled at....John Piper, Behold, Believe, Be Raised...please do so!        

Note: The voices on the ministry's 'sermon of the day' have been altered and are very fast and at times hard to understand but you can do what I do....that is Google the same sermon....and the voices are normal.

                 There is analysis all over the place on why the Republican Party did not do nearly as well as expected in the recent elections.....and there is probably some truth in all of that analysis....but there is one fact that takes all of it in consideration....and supersedes all of it. It's an explanation that we on our side do not even want to consider.....because if we accept it then we would have to admit that we can put enormous effort into these elections and it will not drastically alter anything. That fact is that half of America simply wants nothing to do with God....or anything that is directly or indirectly tied to belief in God. Nothing is going to change their mind....and we could see that in how John Fetterman won a Senate seat from Pennsylvania despite serious health concerns....and very radical statements when he could enunciate. He should not even have been considered for the positions that he has had and now has....but then neither should have Donald Trump. All that either party apparatus has in elections is with personal attacks and fear mongering and rage in hopes of winning enough of the supposed independent voters out there.
                 Before I give what would be an answer to this situation....I have to warn that we can do nothing on our own....and that there are no escapes by means of politics from judgment.....no matter how successful any election might be. That is our mindset right now....and has been for along time.....but it has become more pronounced in the Trump era. The best that we could hope for is that there would be a general repentance and returning to God in much of America....and that God would once again be with us in our decision-making and in the trials that surely lie ahead.
                 We cannot bring this general awakening about through our own efforts. No prayer march or day of prayer is going to change anything. Only our pulpits can affect the minds and hearts of Americans....and we cannot influence them to do that....nor could they do that if they wanted to. And if they did attempt to something like this on their own it would be so saturated with politics and ideology that it would make things worse. 
                 We cannot call an assembly to change things......but we can call an assembly to say what Joshua said in a similar situation.....to everyone else.....choose whatever you want....we are not going there.....we are humbling ourselves before God.....imploring His strength to return to Him.....and putting all of our hopes upon Him. We will do this as individuals....bringing as much of our family along as we can.
                  And then we look....and then we look....and see if God is moving within America to repentance. Was the statement that we just made that of one person in a small remnant....or was it a part of a much greater movement that God was doing? We are not the Nineveh of Jonah's day. Our days of avoiding judgment are long gone. And America is not God's Israel today as we have been told....for we are Israel only in that we have forgotten God as Israel often had done....and if we return to Him He will guide us and be with us through the maelstrom that for quite some time we have known to be coming.

Addendum: If my above thesis is correct in that half of America wants nothing at all to do with God....(remember the clear warning of Jesus on what happens when a house is divided against itself)....then we have failed to come to grips with America being one half anti-Christian....while the other half also does not please God!  If we can at least see this....then we might be able to also understand why God is judging us right now. If we cannot see this then we would be of the same mindset of the people that Malachi wrote to....who could not understand why God was displeased with them....asking questions  such as....the people speaking to God through Malachi's words...."In what way have You loved us?'...."In what way have we despised Your name?"...."In what way have we defiled You?"...."For what reason [did God not regard their offering]?"....and...."In what way have we wearied Him?".
                 

It May Be Trivia.....But It Was Not Trivial Then

                 The ship's officers on the Titanic were reassigned just before the maiden voyage. A new officer was brought in....the next few officers in line were bumped down a notch....and the lowest officer was bumped off of the voyage altogether. It was brought up in the many inquiries....and there is no certainty on what happened....but that last officer either took with him the keys to the crows nest locker containing binoculars....or the binoculars were his and he took them in the haste of reassignments. Either way it was determined that it was an important fact in the sinking that the lookouts in the crows nest had no binoculars. 
                 Had those lookouts possessed the binoculars needed for their job.....the iceberg might very well have been spotted sooner. I gave our son a powerful monocular as a Christmas present last year....for he likes to travel the world....and he is a duck hunter. I like to take binoculars on vacations to Virginia Beach because of the constant flow of ships out of Norfolk....both cargo and military....and military jets coming in just above the beach. I also like to use binoculars on cosmic events such as Blood Moons and various eclipses and the rare planetary alignment such as occurred this past July.
                 In all of this we are referring to seeing something that is far away....clearer....because of the aid of an instrument of some kind. So how might you perceive the return of Jesus? You are certain of His coming back.....but as to when....well there is no sight of him right now. Friends....brothers and sisters in Christ....you do not need a telescope to see Him....nor even a powerful set of binoculars....you only need a Bible....but you do need a Bible.
                 Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus until He revealed himself to her....nor did the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus gave them the vision to recognize him....when He wanted them to recognize Him. Peter and the other disciples did not recognize Jesus from the boat when they were fishing. Maybe it was too far....but when the boat could not contain the huge catch....they knew that it was the resurrected Jesus on the shore. In like manner....when Israel miraculously came into being in May of 1948....the boat lurched under the load....and we can see who is on the shore directing us.
                 God's prophetic Word has always been there....but at various times in history....others had finally recognized what the words meant....and what the meaning was. That is still the way that it is. Daniel will become clear when we are meant to see it clearly.....as will Revelation.....as will Ezekiel....as will the prophecy in the Psalms....as will the Olivet Discourse....as will everything in God's Word of this nature....but if you don't even look into the Bible....if you have no desire to see.....no desire to know.....or no real hope for Jesus to return....you will never see anything but words.

               
Addendum: Charles Lightoller was the second officer on the Titanic....who stayed on the ship until there was nothing more to be done....and barely escaped in the water. I listened to a interview with him recorded later in life....and one anecdote stood out. He said that he had heard the Lord's Prayer recited throughout his life.....but as he and some others stood on an overturned lifeboat....and after they had watched the Titanic slide into the depths of the sea....the men together said that Lord's Prayer....but as Lightoller described it...."never with such intense earnestness as the surroundings lent to it." May we see in advance that iceberg today....and thus utter all of our prayers....both supplications and praises....with that same...."intense earnestness."

The World Cup......And Our Mid-Term Elections

Preface: The World Cup begins in Qatar in less than 48 hours....just about the time that men will be entering their pulpits here in our Eastern Time Zone. Most of these men live in fear of finding out that they really do not know what is going on in the world. They have not adequately fed the sheep....not in the glories of Jesus Christ....nor man's need to be born again....nor with any warning to prepare for what is ahead of us. Here in Pittsburgh they probably know more of what the Pittsburgh Steelers need than what their own soul needs. This will change....in God's time.....for He is merciful....and many of these men will awaken when they can deny no longer that these are not normal times....but that still leaves us with today. May God begin to have mercy upon us this Lord's Day! May His Holy Spirit begin to awaken pastors and restore in us....the great blessing of the fear of the Lord! May He move in our hearts towards repentance and humility! May He move in my heart....and forgive my many vain and pitiful attempts to warn of that which I also need warned of....and may His judgment....which has already started and continuously increases in severity....come also with mercy and compassion....knowing the weakness of our frame! The following was first posted on July 4. 

The World Cup......And Our Mid-Term Elections                

                It's much bigger than our Super Bowl and World Series and Stanley Cup and NBA championship combined....and it is more passionate on the world's stage than the Olympics. Most of the world calls it....'football'....but we call it....'soccer.' I never developed an interest in the sport....for it was hardly known here when I was a youngster....and our regular sports dominated my life....until I found myself through God's grace to be a believer in Jesus Christ.....this in my early 30s....and since then sports has become just a passing interest. I did not even know that the Penguins.....probably my favorite of the sports.....I didn't know that they were out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs until about a week after they were ousted.....and still do not know the particulars.

                Apparently soccer is big today in American high school sports. There is a scene in my favorite film of all time....Chariots Of Fire.....where Eric Liddell....(who played rugby.....similar to our football....with almost the passion in which he ran)....where he was leaving a church service on a Lord's Day morning....and a young boy ran up to him to retrieve an errantly kicked 'soccer' ball. Liddel....as I recall....smiled and told the boy in his Scottish brogue....'It's not a day for football on the Lord's Day is it?" He then invited the boy and his friends to come to him on another day to play a little football. My concern for soccer with our youth is that because of the other sports.....it was becoming a Lord's Day sport. I don't know how this is today....for our son is an adult.....but our grandson likes playing on his Satruday morning soccer team....and I enjoying watching it when I can.
                The quadrennial FIFA World Cup.....the biggest tournament of all sports....will be played.....(should the Lord will it of course).....this November and December. All of the thirty-two teams have now been chosen.....and the host nation is Qatar.
                On a more national level here in America....this November will be our mid-term elections. About half of the viewers to these posts are from outside the United States. This coming election....Lord willing once again....will have even more passion around it than they will experience in the World Cup. Evangelicals today are more involved in this....and politics in general....than in their own faith. Legislation has become more important to us than exaltation of Jesus Christ.
                China's team did not make the World Cup....nor North Korea's....and Russia has been banned, They won't have the distraction. As for us....we do not know where this world is headed in the next five months....other than continuing its downward spiral. We in the church continue to place our hopes in politics. We do not want to be bothered with the possibility that a genuine biblical false prophet....an antichrist....as the Apostle John labelled them in his letters....has become our chief hope for getting the Congress back....and no sooner than the results of this election are known....Lord willing.....we will be every bit if not more consumed with the next election....for president.
                 Woe are us! We have done more damage than just choosing a mess of pottage over the glorious guidance from God's Word....we disfigured our image as pilgrims and followers of Jesus Christ....and we placed our hope elsewhere....and rallied in another fortress....one of might and power and money....a fortress built on sand....that will not sustain itself when the deluge comes.

Addendum: May I once again recommend to you a sermon from a....preacher from the past....or a man who preaches like preachers from the past....this time John Piper....his sermon of the day on his ministry website....desiringgod.org....of which you can either go there or just Google....John Piper...Sustained By Sovereign Grace-Forever.

Also.....this morning....November 18....John Piper has a wonderful sermon up that you can easily Google at....John Piper, Thankful For The Love Of God.

Mere Kings

The following was first posted on December 5, 2021:

The LORD alone causes kings to rise
He lifts them up out of the dirty street
and moiling crowds
and dusts them off
and puts a crown on their heads
and humbles their enemies
all the while watching what neither the king nor his subjects can discern
that it is but an act of play whose author is God Himself

The LORD also brings kings down
where the fire is snuffed out in the great hall
and the music stops never to play again for this king
as enemies find that breach
and rush the stage
and the scarlet curtain falls...hooks and ropes and grommets and all
as the king exits leaving his crown
slowly rolling till it rests at the feet of he who would be the new king.

"Flee From The Wrath To Come...."

Jonah tried to run away from the task. Jeremiah was not happy either....but God told him...."Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 1:8, 17b) Ezekiel was also commanded in no uncertain terms to warn the people as their watchman. "The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, speak to your people..." If the people were warned and did not prepare then it was on them....but if the watchman failed to warn...."But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes away any of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from Me."

I thought that I would bring back this post from October of last year....the Preface....and Addendum being a little more recent....

Preface: It has been my advice many times in these posts for the Christian to incorporate the Old Testament prophets into their daily Bible reading. Throw the read the Bible in a year plans away. They were useful in the past.....but not today....when God is slowly but surely removing veils on His prophetic word in scripture. You might try this sometime....choose one color of highlighter....and as you read through the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21....and Paul's epistles....and John's letters....and Jude....and even Hebrews and James....highlight any and all verses that pertain in any way to end-times prophecy and waiting for the Lord's return. It will help to show you just how important it was and is to always be vigilant as to the nearness of the Lord's return. The Old Testament prophets are more challenging....and the reader generally needs help from a good Study Bible....but it is even more difficult with Jeremiah....which I want to emphasize here....for it was not compiled chronologically....so if in the past you have done nothing but read through all 52 chapters from your read the Bible in a year plan....and then said....'gee that was fun....I wasn't able to make any sense of that'....try this....to get a taste of Jeremiah....spend time on chapters 4-9....and concentrate on every verse....and try to discern how the warnings might apply to us today. These are just just some personal suggestions....nothing more. The following post is from October of last year:

Flee From The Wrath To Come      

                   So where were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Were they just north of the Dead Sea.....or in the southern part? Did the potash explode....or was it a cosmic fireball? Or were there two cataclysmic events over a period of time?
                  The news story reported today on Drudge is just the latest academic paper to come out....and they are all interesting as this search for Sodom continues. The research in this instance indicates that a fireball must have been similar to the Tunguska event in Russia on June 30 of 1908.
                  Well we know this for sure....the description of the event that is in Genesis is exactly correct. It doesn't include detailed metallurgical and mineralogical findings....but it totally gives God's message.....FLEE...which is the same message for today.....FLEE....flee the yoke of politics that replaces obedience to God....flee these talking heads on radio and television....flee the churches that forgot what the gospel is.
                  The problem is that we kind of like it here....as long as we don't live in the city with the Democrats....but Lot's wife was not in the city itself when she was turned into a pillar of salt. To put this into more palatable language....than fleeing....we have to 'come out from' in terms of not being a part of. We know that we cannot leave the world.....and we know that we have to be salt in the world....but if we are not at least peculiar....then the salt is worthless.
                  Right now people like Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin....not to mention the worst taskmaster of all Trump....they have us in bondage...keeping us from fleeing...and keeping us from Christ. Our entertainments have us in bondage....our sports....our kids sports....our diets....our money....they all tug at us....telling us to join their party....or even their ministry.
                  We need to be reading the Old Testament prophets on a regular basis right now....and the Olivet Discourse as relayed to us in Matthew and Mark and Luke....and Paul's many words on what to look for and what will happen....as well as Peter's and John's and Jude's and James....and the warnings....so clear and so emphatic....of Jesus....but we would be fortunate to hear one sermon a year that gives us anything close to this warning....for that in itself would indicate that we are indeed beginning to...."come out of her..."

Addendum: Well I've posted for the morning....and went out for a couple of hours of cutting grass before the leaves turn color....and as usual have my headphones on to listen to a sermon from a preacher of the past....or a preacher today who preaches like men of the past.....so I searched out and found a Spurgeon to listen to....for God's wrath is never ignored with Spurgeon....and you can listen to it also....by Googling.....Spurgeon.....Flee From The Coming Wrath.

Do You Want Practical......Part Four

Preface: I posted back in July on the topic of the Lord's Day....then I followed that with a second post....and then a third and fourth....and right here I'm bringing all four posts back. It's a lot of reading....and if you like the way that Sundays are looked at today in the church and in evangelicalism....then these posts would not be of interest to you....but if you are one who looks around at America....and knows that something must be very very wrong with the way that we are doing things....you may wind up reading all four posts.  I did not plan on four consecutive posts on the topic of the Lord's Day. I just kept adding my thoughts for four straight days. The bottom line is that we were worried that we would abuse the Fourth Commandment....so we thought that we would keep the commandment in the Ten Commandments....on paper....but really gut it of its importance. It required a little bit of fancy theological wordplay...and really never did make much sense. So it was the last thing we would want to talk about....because we knew that we didn't have a good argument. It worked for a while....but the culture kept adding sports and entertainments to the day....and the time for God kept getting smaller and smaller. It had been among other things a hedge of protection....where we could clear our minds of the world....and thus God would give us much needed discernment....but we cut that hedge down.....and lost the protection.....and America is today....well....you know what it is today. So in effect....it's not just the bad liberals that ruined our country....which we like to claim....but we contributed to it also. We now piously say all the time....'God bless America'.....but there is no way we are giving up our day of family fun and entertainments. There's got to be a Plan B!

PART FOUR

             You will either agree that what I am about to describe is pretty accurate....or you won't. It's a little bit of a hastle....what with three young kids....but you make it into church on time. You smile and share stories with four or five friends as you settle into the pew. The sanctuary is full of laughter. The pastor makes his way to the pulpit which is a signal to begin to quiet down. He smiles broadly....the congregation sings a few hymns....maybe droning worship songs.....and the pastor then gives a sermon that could easily have been written down in a small pamphlet and distributed. There is no power in the worship service....nothing said where you could not read the passage of scripture and determine the meaning for yourself. You won't even remember the sermon topic after a few hours. The laughter is even louder on the way out....and you look at your watch as you head for the car....for there is a big family day ahead.....a blessing from God you tell yourself....even though the world crumbles....and violence continues to rattle the American psyche.
             The family gathering is at your house this week. You change into your picnic clothes in record time....turn on all the pertinent stoves and grills.....put all the drinks in the ice cooler....and get everything done just as your brother or your sister and their families show up....and now it is pure pandemonium for the rest of the day....as the beanbags are thrown....and if you are really affluent....the pool is where the kids splash around all day....as the mothers work on their tan.
             The fathers at one time or another....and depending on the month of the year....gather around the television for the U. S. Open or baseball or the ten hours straight of NFL football. Everything under the sun is discussed....except Jesus Christ. This is what is now our Lord's Day. There has been at least fifty years of God's continuous warnings to us that judgment is at hand....but one by one those faithful preachers such as Billy Graham have died and gone to be with their Lord....replaced by young energetic pastors....and youth pastors.... and directors of this and that....so many ministries that on the church website you would have to wade through a dozen pages of events to even find something vaguely resembling the gospel of Jesus Christ.
              One thing that probably has been discussed or commented on during the day is the political situation. One person makes a comment on how crazy this or that politicy is....then a second takes their turn....and a third and so on. The conclusion of it all is that the next election must be won. No one present at the church or in the family gatherings afterwards seems to have any clue as our own culpability in what has happened to America. Hey....the other people are the bad guys. God has blessed us with this lifestyle....and it is in danger because the other side doesn't see God's blessing in church and family and American hegemony.
              Is this summary a bit too rough? Yes....and it ignores all the faithful congregations meekly gathering around a faithful pastor....but I believe that it is needed because the church is so....in the world.....so unseparated....that we are a big part of the problem. The glory has departed from the church.....Ichabod! It would be good to see even one tear come from the pulpits....one bowed head that doesn't plop right back up with a smile....one evidence of humility that maybe we realize that we ourselves were deceived. 
               We need to wake up in the morning on what we now call Sunday....and purpose to give this day to He who holds our temporal and eternal destiny in His hands. That our efforts would be imperfect is certain....but that there has to be some sort of repentence and humilty is also certain. This would bring a winnowing....but a much needed winnowing....a more sure identification of the remnant....true fellowship over 'hellos' and 'goodbyes' and 'same time...same place....next week.' We might not see the change in the church....God's will shall determine this....but we will see the change in our own vision of a glorious and merciful God....but a God whose judgments are righteous. Do not despise the day of small beginnings

Do You Want Practical......Part Three

                  "The nation needs to have a conversation about".....and...."We need to re-examine"....these were two statements that just jumped out at me as I was reading about only the latest horror to take place in the news. As the years have rolled on....decades really....and I would read the summary of a local or denominational synod....any gathering of religious leaders really.....it might be a convention or conference....looking back....it seems like I was always somewhat perplexed.....and disappointed.....that they never seemed to tackle issues of real need and urgency....the more weightier issues. The norm was....I would read the summary....and wonder why they even bothered to make such a big deal about meeting together.
                 Admittedly I'm never a part of these things....and in retrospect I could have been....I could have at least given a lone voice within a denomination that there are much greater issues that....."we need to have a conversation about".....or...."we need to re-examine." I also admit that these often yearly meetings do address issues that do need to be addressed....so it can be a bit of Monday morning armchair quarterbacking.
                 Well at least I do get involved though these posts....but if I were to attempt to have that voice....I might just recommend that the main topic of the conference or synod would be.....Monday Morning Armchair Quarterbacking! I think the title would be perfect....albeit a little coded....needing explanation. You see....the title here....refers to the problem at hand....Monday Morning.....that obviously following Sunday....the Lord's Day....and 'Quarterbacking'....alluding strongly to the game of football that dominates our Lord's Days....and thus contributes to the decay of not only our nation.....but the church in general.
                 Not only do I not know the exact answers on how Christians are to live their lives on the Lord's Day....I don't know if the answers can be codified....and I think it probably better that they may not be....but what we are doing now....and have been for probably well over a century....is obviously the wrong way.
                 I remember a Hollywood film from about 1960. Kirk Douglas was the star. My memory here goes back to when I was just a kid....so it is not perfect....but it made an impact. The Kirk Douglas character was washing his automobile....on his driveway.....in a community not unlike the community that I live in today. The bad guy in the film.....I remember that much....probably watching through his own living room window....criticized the Douglas character for washing his car on a Sunday. I know that everyone watching that movie knew exactly what the script was saying....'oh those ridiculous religious people....hypocrites....making a big deal about washing a car on a Sunday'....and to make it worse it's the bad guy criticizing the good guy! That was the general feeling of the day on Sundays.....circa 1960....and we do not want to go back to that.
                On the other hand there is the 1982 Academy Award for Best Picture....Chariots Of Fire....of which Eric Liddell's Scottish Presbyterian stance on not running on the Lord's Day....had a lasting effect on me....and therefore in a way is why this post is available for you to read! An odd anecdote just came to my mind....please bear with me. It was the 1982 Oscar ceremony where Chariots Of Fire was nominated for seven awards....winning four. Famed screenwriter Jerzy (Joseph) Kosinski....was announcing who won for Best Screenplay. He spoke slowly and in a slight accent. I just Googled this on YouTube to refresh my memory! He described the book of Genesis as God's screenplay....and then....he said that if successive generations to Moses had....just stuck to the script....instead of adlibbing....then this would be a better world to live. The audience paused for only a short moment....not knowing exactly how to respond....and then they applauded. Kosinski then went on to open the envelope and name Chariots Of Fire as the Best Screenplay winner.
                I could also have titled this post....If We Had Just Stuck To The Script. Either way....on the issue of the Lord's Day in the church today.....denominational or otherwise....we need to have a conversation about it....in our synods....in our conferences....and in our congregations....even among friends....and we need to re-examine how we have handled this controversy....not so much trying to win the scriptural battle....for centuries of this debate have not come up with a clear winner.....but rather looking at America....and all the horrors that have come upon us....and just open it up for conversation....what would America be like....if its faithful pulpits had not given up on this difficult challenge....and instead pointed the congregations to not only God's commandment....and not only the delight in the Lord's Day....but the concept of a....hedge of protection.....a hedge of protection that we once may have had to some imperfect degree....because we were imperfect....but now we are on our own....defenseless....because we never defended God's commandment on the Lord's Day.

                 

The Most Important......Election

                I wrote the following in an August 2021 post...."Even now the 2022 congressional elections are a lock for at least a Republican House majority....that is unless Trump stays around long enough to give the Democrats the impetus needed to get rid of him!"
          There are a lot of reasons for the poor showing of the Republican Party....but Donald Trump is the main reason. That he is still wielding not only power but enormous predatory power....continuing to destroy whatever he touches....a biblical false prophet....and an antichrist as the Apostle John described them....while Christian pastors....supposed shepherds....refuse to warn....points to Trump's ascendance....and crashing in flames....and then resurrection to power.....as being supernatural in its judgment upon us....where God took away our discernment....and let us go our own way....in order that we might see what we have done....and return to Him.
           This of course has not happened yet....may this Lord's Day be the day that the Holy Spirit moves through these pulpits and congregations as strong winds bending the wheat....not flattening us that we might not be harvested....but bringing us low in humility that we might rise in praise....and thanksgiving for mercies extended....not that we might win an election....but that we might...."be all the more diligent to confirm [our] calling and election."

Alien Life

                Drudge has an article out right now highlighting a theory that we may be the only life in existence in the entire universe....because all the others that previously existed.....'filtered'....themselves out....or in other words....destroyed themselves by one means or another.
                The opposite view of course is that there is the possibility for 'trillions' of other life forms out there....the universe being so big.....we just haven't met them yet....'probably'.....as the article adds.
                 God's Word has a different answer. No matter how big this universe is.....God made it.....and Adam had to be placed somewhere.....and wherever that 'somewhere' was to be....the people would eventually look around and say that surely there are other life forms out there!
                 So what about the increasing UFO sightings?  Well....when one seriously considers alien life because of UFO sightings....it has to work effectively against belief in the Bible....God's Word....and possibly even God Himself.
                 Now it is possible for one to say....'no.....I believe in the Bible.....but that doesn't mean that there cannot be life elsewhere in the universe.' They can say that....but it makes no logical sense.....for God's Word leaves no possibility of alien life....none.
                 So what would be the alternatives.....from a Christian viewpoint? Anyone can come up with alternatives on their own....but it would help if one remembers that God also created angels.....and that some of those angels rebelled.....and those rebellious angels would want very much for people....any peoples....to doubt God and His Word. In theory....they would.....if they have the ability....contrive deceptions....and manufacture.....somehow.....UFO sightings....or maybe even visits.

Do You Want Practical......Part Two

               I hesitated to bring this up....but I've mentioned it before....probably the biggest mistake that R. C. made over his half-century long fruitful ministry. Let me digress a little. It would be hard to impossible to describe R. C.'s influence on the church....and on unbelievers....all over the world.....and it began right here in Pittsburgh.....as R. C. was raised only a few miles from where I was raised. He was one of the brightest lights with which God has blessed His church.....and his ministry still flourishes....and I listen in all the time and still support that ministry. Thank you Lord....for faithful men like this!
               Here is R. C.'s major mistake. He was a huge Pittsburgh Steeler fan....and humorously mentioned them....not often....but occasionally....on his Renewing Your Mind program. We have this difference in the church today on the Lord's Day....and in my opinion you can see the result of the church not remaining faithful on the Lord's Day....in the collapse of America. Coincidentally the NFL started its Lord's Day dominance the same year that Hitler came to power....1933. R. C.'s humor....and basically his endorsement of the NFL....surely must have influenced many Christians to pursue sports on the Lord's Day.
                Spurgeon was not perfect....nor Ryle nor Lloyd-Jones. None of the men were nor are perfect. John Piper surely is not perfect....but oh how they blessed us! Ultimately the responsibility for our knowledge of God's intent in the Fourth Commandment....is ours....and if we just pick some famous minister who gives us an excuse to ignore what we are afraid we might find in God's Word....then we are only deceiving ourselves. Someone like myself....may not have missed this particular truth....but I surely missed many other things....so that my even mentioning this in this post is problematic....in that I have to focus on my own mistakes....but nonetheless....the issue is there.
                So how was your worship service yesterday? Might I take a guess? The preacher smiled as everyone came in to the sanctuary....smiled throughout a sermon in which he gave no warnings....or even any indication that this nation is collapsing....or that Jesus and His holy angels are near....then he gave you a big smile once again as you were departing....to wherever....of which he had no interest anyway. We need the Lord's Day back folks.....not in legalism....but to delight in it....and have that hedge of protection back so that our discernment might return.

The Voting Booth Shouldn't Be This Difficult

                Today was the most difficult time in the voting booth that I have ever had in my entire life....by far. I thought about it often.....over months....but when I sat down in the booth I just stared at the ballot for a few minutes....and I only had three choices to make....the fourth race was unopposed. The question wasn't....should I vote for the Democrat....for that was not an option this time....but should I fill in the ovals on all the races....or just some of the races.
                NBC News has a report up right now as I type on the Pennsylvania 17th District....which is my district. Out of 435 congressional districts in America....they chose this one to highlight as having...."national implications." Conor Lamb (D) is our representative right now....a moderate Democrat....and I probably would have voted for him if he was running because we need some Democrats in Congress who are not gone over the edge. A little about Lamb....
                He ran in the primaries against Fetterman....and lost big....58% to 26% or something like that....only days after John Fetterman had a stroke. Fetterman by the way came to prominence as mayor of Braddock Pa.....where my father's family hailed from.....which was also the site of America's most important-little known battle....The Battle of the Monongahela....or the Battle of Braddock's Field as it is also known....this being 1755....in the French and Indian War. It was one of the greatest defeats in British history....a total disaster. General Braddock was killed....more than a third of the men were killed....and only 30% sustaining no wounds. George Washington was present....that's where he had bullets go through his coat.....and Daniel Boone was present....driving a supply wagon...and all this happened on ground that my father later lived on and played upon.
                I won't say whether I filled in those ovals or not....but the fact that a long time conservative republican.....Tea Party evangelical....someone who typically stays up till the early hours of the morning to watch results....and who has opined on American politics and where we are heading.....for many decades.....the fact that he....(that being me).....has to struggle on a simple three race ballot....should surely say something to Republican Party leaders about how far we have strayed from principles and honor....to just polls and endorsements.

We Have A Zeal For God.....But Not According To Knowledge

Please try this little exercise...substitute 'America' for 'Israel'....in Paul's letter to the Romans....to see how we may have strayed as Israel had done....thinking ourselves righteous....and not humbling ourselves before He in whom all righteousness exists. We on our side have a zeal....and we claim that it is for God....but it is us that we are elevating. 

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel....(America)....is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God...." (Romans 10: 1-3 NKJV)

In the book of 1st Samuel we read how Eli's sons....Hophni and Phinehas....thought that victory in battle would surely be Israel's if they took the ark of the covenant to the battlefield. Israel lost....the ark was captured....Hophni and Phinehas died in battle. When Eli heard what had happened he fell over and died. A child was born to the wife of Phineas....and named.....Ichabod....'the glory has departed.' We might also want to remember....as we sacrifice honor and ethics and integrity in order to....'make America great again'....that God pared down Gideon's army to 300 men....to make sure that they knew who gave the victory.

Billy Graham Died And We Fashioned A Golden-Haired Calf To Worship

               Nine years ago today....November 7, 2013....Billy Graham gave what became known as his last message. You can Google it easily if you wish. A friend was over our house the other day....he stops over about twice a month....and we talk about our Savior. He is 78 years old....six years older than me. We have known each other for at least forty years....and I'm being truthful here....when we talk it is as if it was forty years ago. It's not a 78 year old and a 72 year old talking. That is what our blessed Christian faith does to a person....the teeth may still fall out....and the hairline recede....but our hearts do not age....the heart of man I'm referring to here.
               If one is born again....the second life....the eternal life....the true life....does not slowly fade away as the years and decades pass....its eyesight improves....and it doesn't begin to really hope until the physical body ages....when it gets close enough to actually see the river and the Celestial City beyond it. That is but one thing that being born again does. I probably meet many born again people in the course of a week or a month....but I really wouldn't know....for they do not act like it. It's difficult to get them to actually talk about their Savior as if He is real and their salvation is real. I talked to a born again person yesterday....who talks like a born again person. I couldn't have kept them quiet if I wanted. These occasions though are few and far between.
               We have....in evangelicalism....settled for second best. Our pulpits have let us do that....if fact they encouraged us. Do I seem peculiar to you? I certainly hope so....for we are not a peculiar people anymore....we are not set apart....and we are a threat to no one's confidence or well-laid plans. We fit in just about everywhere.....a Trump rally....an NFL game....an Elton John concert....or a pickleball tournament. Billy Graham died....and it's like Moses on the mountain....where he and Joshua could hear the sounds in the camp....a celebration....over a golden calf....only today it's a golden-haired calf.

Billy Graham's Last Message......November 7, 2013

                         It was November 7, 2013.....the 95th birthday of Billy Graham. He was dressed in a blue collared shirt and navy sleeveless sweater....and while sitting in a comfortable chair in his home....he gave what has become to be known as his last message. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association released a beautiful video of this that is about 28 minutes long and can easily be viewed simply by Googling....Billy Graham's last message.
                   Billy himself may speak for about ten minutes....his voice a little halting but clear....and the rest of the video is clips of his life and crusades.....concluding with a song by Michael W. Smith....and a glimpse of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte....and some pertinent information on what the BGEA is doing today. We Pittsburghers travel I-77 often as we head to and from the beach....and Billy Graham's library is right there off an exit....and a very worthwhile and blessed rest from the drive if we would only know of this and take that rest.
                   A lot would happen between that November day in 2013 and Billy Graham's death on February 21, 2018. Franklin Graham has said that his father did not speak much in his last year....that he Franklin would instead speak to his dad. I have at times wondered what went through Billy's mind in that year of 2017?
                   My knowledge on that question ends here....I can only wonder....but that imagination has led me to envision Billy Graham given visions of how this world has decayed....to the point of destruction....just like Billy said for all those decades that it would....and just as God's Word tells us that it would.
                   A false prophet had come down an escalator.....(not through the gate)....right into the middle of the church.....or evangelicalism as it is commonly referred to. Personally....I voted for this false prophet in 2016....not knowing anything about him other than he was rich....narcissistic....golfed....I knew of his three wives....and his long running TV show.....not having seen one single minute of it over the years....and that's about all I knew. Hillary had to lose....that's all I cared about.
                   It didn't take long....only a few months....and I knew that we had a big problem. I started to read about this man that I really did not know. These 90 some books take in all of Trump's life....all the various areas of his life.....some books are for him....some are against him....some were supposedly written by him. What I found out is that Donald Trump is the same exact person today that he was as when he entered the business world. He is a destroyer. He destroys. If he doesn't like someone he will attempt to destroy them....and if someone falls under his sway....or because of greed gets to close to him....they are eventually destroyed.....by the destroyer.
                   The Republican Party today is destroyed. Oh it should take the House back in November....if God should give us this time.....but this was to be predicted right after Biden became president. Only Trump himself could somehow mess this up. His high-profile endorsements are only more evidence of a destroyed party....where men....and some women....throw their ethics in the garbage can....to get that endorsement."
                    Evangelicalism is just about destroyed....having blindly followed the false prophet. We were given years of evidence....almost daily evidence....that this man needed to be rejected by us....but our discernment was....yes.....destroyed. Even today we may stumble over words when talking about Donald Trump....just wishing that he would go away.....but unable in ourselves to admit that we were wrong....and warn someone....anyone....and defend the gospel....and tell this false prophet to go away.
                    So I wonder if Billy Graham....in this mostly silent last year of his....was given a vision of what we had fallen for....and knowing there was nothing he could do....just prayed. I posted on Franklin Graham in 2017....it was a Trump rally....and Franklin had given a wonderful prayer on America needing to repent....but no sooner did he exit the stage.....where the people were respectfully quiet....then the shouts of USA USA USA returned. It was obvious to anyone who could see....we did not want anything to do with repentance....

             

God Will Not Honor This

                Forty-three years ago today....November 4, 1979....Iranian students rushed the American embassy and took 52 diplomats and employees hostage.....a hostage situation that would last for 444 days....and effectively end any chance that Jimmy Carter had for a second term.  I was not aware of what was going on....and would not be for a number of days....because on that day I sat at my father's hospital bedside as he passed away. 
              God causes nations to rise and to fall....as well as kings....and governments....and individuals. The Republican Party right now....as defined by its leadership....and those who have sold their birthright for an endorsement....is about revenge....not to get to the truth....for truth does not matter anymore in either party....but to assuage the guilt of who and what they have become....having in the past few short years left the high ground of integrity....and now with purposed rage....orchestrated by the maestro of rage himself....seek only to inflame and incite....to demonize others in order to take the light off of their own horrible decisions and lack of compassion.
               Believing that their blood-lust honors God....they offer sacrifices that are a stench in His nostrils. God will not honor this. Nor will He honor my efforts....or anyone's efforts....if we harbor hate and revenge in our hearts....and do not stand before Him in humility....admitting our own culpability in what we have become. Taking advantage of the righteousness of obeying God on issues that the other side has stomped upon....these same people who today claim to be instruments of that righteousness....defended the most vile of all offenders....even a false prophet who led the sheep astray....and kept him in office....and now....almost beyond even imagination....they are giving him a pathway to return....so that he can take his vengeance on those who did not bow down to him.

Do You Want Practical......Part One

            

                      It is just one of the changes that we need to see happening in America today.....but it is a major change. We all should know....that even our best ministers of the gospel today are not perfect. We can agree on that can we not? Let me give a couple of examples. John MacArthur is the strongest and most influential minister that we have on the national scene today.....as even the secular media respects his influence. He has spent well over a half century defending the gospel....and warning against false prophets....but even he made major mistakes in the last few years....as he denied there being a pandemic...."There is no pandemic".....and there is this....on May 8 of 2015 his wonderful Grace To You ministry radio program....(gty.org).....rebroadcast an older program titled....Beware Of False Prophets. You can easily Google this and listen to it. It was broadcast forty days before Donald Trump came down that escalator....into the middle of evangelicalism.....but John MacArthur apparently did not spot this false prophet that he warned of....as he famously said this in a telephone call from the president during the second campaign...."Any real true believer is going to be on your side in this election..."

                 R. C. Sproul....the most magnificent preacher in our day on the holiness of God....and the great and vital doctrines of His word.....he made mistakes also. One minor one was this....in celebration of the 500 year anniversary of the 16th century Reformation....his ministry sponsored a conference....but he titled it.....The Next Five Hundred Years. We all understand the intent....and that intent was sound....but a better title would have been....The Next Five Hundred days....for the need for the day was awakening to the nearness of the return in power and glory and judgment of Jesus Christ....not....looking centuries ahead.
                 All of these wonderful men over the many centuries made mistakes somewhere along the line. Even Martin Luther made some astonishingly poor statements in his later years.....but here is one mistake that still effects us today.....by none other than John Calvin....and no I'm not referring to Servetus. Calvin was not able to both....keep the principle of the Fourth Commandment....and yet remove it from what it had become during the dark ages of the church....the consequence of which....is that that hedge of protection that God has given us....that blessing.....of keeping the now....Lord's Day....as a day primarily to refresh ourselves in the Lord Jesus....and delight in the Lord's Day....has been trampled upon.
                 That hedge of protection....for America and its people....has been brush-hogged and replaced with stadium turf! Pastors who their whole ministry have either purposely ignored this hedge of protection....or been ignorant of it....are not going to all of a sudden change their mind....but those pastors who do know that there is a purpose of not only joy but protection in how the first day of the week came into being....need to begin to tell their congregations....and let God protect their ministries....and work on all of our hearts....mine needing it as much or more than anyone else.

 

Blood Moon

Preface: The following post is from May 16 of this year. I bring it back now because the second total lunar eclipse....Blood Moon.....of 2022....will be this coming Tuesday....November 8.....election day. 

Blood Moon Rising             

              As I type this....about 11 at night....a blood moon is starting to form....and should be complete in our area shortly. Did you know that Donald Trump was born on a blood moon on June 14, 1946....and his famous 'down the escalator' announcement of his candidacy was during the 2014/2015 tetrad. I was born in the middle of a tetrad....four consecutive blood moons....or total lunar eclipses.....in my case the tetrad was from April of 1949 to September of 1950. I've always been interested in these type of events in the sky....from eclipses to comets.
              Personally....I believe that God uses these happenings in the sky.....when He chooses to....the star that the wise men followed....whatever that was....is evidence of this. At times it seems as if we are terrified of considering anything not already contained in the Westminster Standards.
              This blood moon tonight may have absolutely no significance at all....or it may. The much ballyhooed and written about tetrad mentioned above of a few years ago.....2014-2015....may have had no significance at all....and then maybe it did. God reveals things to us in His own perfect time.

Update: It was a spectacular total lunar eclipse. Blood Moons as they are called are not rare....but tetrads are. The earth had gone hundreds of years without experiencing one yet five occurred in the 20th century. What made the 2014/2015 tetrad even more interesting was that all four occurred on Jewish feast days.

Pour Your Oil In The Sanctuary Lord

Preface: The Drudge Headlines below are from May 3, 2019....as is the preface below the headlines. I took the screenshot because of our arrogance....and God's warning in Malachi 1:4...."They shall build, but I will throw down." As you will read...the post itself is from November of 2016....just after the election. February 4, 2020 was a watershed moment for America and the church. President Trump was at the top of the world....at his State of the Union Address. Our Republican representatives were celebrating. If there were goal posts....they would have been torn down....as if the coming election was already won. This was Nebuchadnezzar boasting over the great Babylon that he had built. The coronavirus was in its incubation stage....and would tear America and the world apart. This was judgment....and we denied it....and continue to deny it. A month shy of a year later....January 6, 2021....Trump was as if grazing in the grass on the ellipse. Nebuchadnezzar became humbled....Trump became enraged.

Preface: The following post is from November of 2016. Donald Trump had just won the election but something was terribly wrong. Only a year or so earlier we were humbled before our God. What a mess we had made of things. In the aftermath of our rebellion and arrogance we were so close to seeking His mercy.....and then along came Donald John Trump. Only losers humble themselves before God. So here we are today....broken but not humbled....not even aware that we are broken....and further away from God than at the height of the Obama years....all the while proclaiming peace and security and prosperity. The above headlines on Drudge can vanish in an hour....but we choose to focus on what we perceive to be proof of those words from the poem Invictus....

                                             It matters not how strait the gate,
                                                       How charged with punishments the scroll,
                                             I am the master of my fate.
                                                       I am the captain of my soul.

Pour Your Oil In The Sanctuary Lord....November 2016

        Have mercy on us Lord. We took credit for what others had done. We looked over this land of wealth and prosperity and said 'look what our hands have built!'  We took chisel and hammer to the tablets that you gave us and broke them in pieces. We tore up the documents that our fathers had worked so long and so hard to write and said 'they are but fetters and we don't need any directions.' We thus scuttled everything our forefathers put in place for a nation to run orderly, honestly and wisely, and now we stand on the ruins gazing off into the distance often arrogantly but in the case of many....ignorantly....proclaiming that 'we....can make it great again'....without seeking first your mercies and forgiveness.
         We took the day that you commanded us to keep holy and set it apart for our games. We took our children that are precious in your sight and let others raise them who care nothing for you. We bought them toys to pacify them, and when they got bored and demanded more we gave them 'smart toys' that were to be tools of education but turned out to be doors of perception where upon entering they are introduced to the very deceiver that you warned us about.
         We look into a mirror and see nothing.......and then marvel at how there are no imperfections. You Lord have become as a pet, an alabaster statue of a pet that needs little attention other than dusting off once a week. You are placed in a corner whose bareness called out for a knickknack. Your book has long since become outmoded fashion. It no longer fits in with the decor.
         We are blind but a virtual reality has given us eyesight into a new world called Utopia. We have enemies on all sides of us but they wear masks that we compliment them on. In times past we would be considered The Almost Christian but we are unaware of this for the past has been locked up and the key thrown away. We are in need of a mercy that only our pulpits can accurately proclaim, but those pulpits now only soothe, play music and enchant us with witticisms and advice. Thunder no longer emanates above them, glory no longer fills the buildings, grace no longer rains upon the roofs, and angels no longer protect at the gates.
         Pour your oil in the sanctuary Lord that we may sweep out the dust. Do this Lord because the building that we have let become rundown bears your name. Do it for your glory Lord! Have mercy upon us for your glory alone Lord.
         

Divided Tongues

 Preface: The following post is only six weeks old. The denomination that I belong to has a inter-denominational synod scheduled in a few days. Is it possible that the issue of Trump might come up....a genuine biblical false prophet....a wolf that has already devoured most of the sheep....and an antichrist as the Apostle John termed them? I'm inclined to believe that it will not come up....they will avoid the issue. We are a divided kingdom....we are a divided house....we are divided tongues.           

               God had called Jeremiah to warn Judah and Jerusalem to turn back to Him. Jeremiah did so for over forty years.....with extreme opposition the entire time. He warned the king that Nebuchadnezzar was coming....and God was going to use him to punish Jerusalem....so just do what the king of Babylon says and God would still be with them. Well....for this....Jeremiah was accused of being a traitor. The false prophets who said that Judah would ally with Egypt....and break the bondage of Babylon....were wrong. Nebuchadnezzar burned the city and razed the temple....and punished the king with extraordinary vindictiveness.
               God is not calling America today to surrender to anyone....but we have been warned for the same forty plus years. He is though telling us that judgment is coming for what we...all of us in one way or another....have become....(that judgment is already here and increasing).....this as opposed to the same false prophets telling us that we will be greater than we ever were.
                God has....'divided our tongues'....as He may have at Babel. Oh it's the same words we use....freedom....liberty....tyranny....totalitarian....fairness....love....hate....and even God....but two different people will use those words with entirely different meanings.
                There was a high school football coach......way back when....and as I heard it often related to me.....he might at practice shout out....."I want half of you over to this side.....and the other half of you over to that side.....and the rest come with me." Well in that same vein....half of America today defines words one way.....and the other half defines words another way.....but the rest....a small remnant....actually hear God's words....and commands....and warnings.
                 We cannot fend off God's already dictated judgments....through political victories.....or even military victories. Does saying that make me a traitor? I have carried a God-fearing...patriotic banner....for four decades now....but God is very clear in His Word.....it is too late....do what is right within the 'city'....show compassion to the poor and the widow and the sojourner....and put our trust back on Him where it belongs.
                 There is a radical fringe element that has taken over the Republican Party....some of them....similar to the voice of the false prophet to Zedekiah....using God's name the whole time....are refusing to accept the reality of God judging us. The result will be the same. Our trust is to be in God alone....we have forgotten that....may He awaken His shepherds.....and awaken all of us who proclaim His name....and He may then show compassion and have mercy upon us in the turmoil that surely lies ahead.

               

Late Bloomers

                                          

               I'm not a gardener....in fact....none of my ten thumbs are green....but I try. I experimented this Spring with wildflowers....not knowing what to expect....but different flowers would bloom at different times....and the whole thing was enjoyable....but there was this one long stem....one at least thirty-six inches....with some green on it....but that was it. It looked like it might just be a weed....but I kept it. Fall came....and most of the wildflowers were gone....and lo and behold....today....November 1....I see these beautiful flowers had just bloomed on those long stems!
               A friend who lives in another state in the northwest.....had texted me yesterday a picture of a good sized deer that he just got with a bow. He said that he had been hunting on state lands but saw nothing....so just decided to stay on his own five acres....and there it was. I texted him back that there must be a Christian message in that. Possibly that we do not have to go far to find souls that are ready to be caught as fish in a net?
              Well with this picture of late-blooming wildflowers....my mind went to believers who may not....bloom....till later in life. It should surely be a message of encouragement to those who may think that they have wasted too many years....that God can no longer use them....but He is longsuffering....and the blessings are as wonderful....if not more wonderful....at seventy-two years old....(as in my case)....as when we were young. So take heart....so that when our gardener comes He would find you in full bloom!

Update....Wednesday morning....The biggest job by far that I have around the house every year is leaves. I will blow and rake almost every day for about six weeks. I didn't always do it that way for when I was still working....and did not have the time....I would be forced to do all the leaves at once. I couldn't do that today at 72 years....not for strength reasons but for the stress of pushing all of those heavy leaves. Once again this morning....my daily routine turned to the Christian life. We are in essence not preparing for what is ahead of us.....because we neither know the intensity of travail that lies ahead....nor particularly care. We are only into elections....relying on our own powers....putting our hope in broken cisterns. And when those days come in full force....there is going to be a heavy load....a lot of confusion.....name calling....and lashing out....for we did not care that the leaves were falling....or in this case that signs were everywhere to prepare to meet our God. 'Oh we'll take care of that later'....we tell ourselves....'if these be those days'....but we are also unaware of the delusion that will come....and the denseness of the dark....where if possible even the elect would be taken in.  Many then will be looking frantically for oil for their lamps.

Ballot Questions......And A Proposed Amendment

                Well It's Wednesday morning....can anyone testify to a marked change from their pulpits this past Lord's Day.....with America literally reeling? The answer is probably in the negative....for our pulpits have abandoned us....too fearful to warning us or even bringing us to any self-examination.

               Democracy....(constitutional republic or not....the people cast votes)....is only as valuable as the mindset of the people within that democracy....(or constitutional republic)....and right now in America....it has given us either a God-hating Democrat Party....or a God-using and -abusing Republican Party. 

Ballot question 1...."So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them. 'Whom do you want.....'?" The political strategists at the time 'persuaded' the people....." who voted by acclimation...."Barabbas." 

Ballot question 2...."Then what shall I do with Jesus...?" And the people again shouted their vote. The same man they days earlier had shouted praises to....they now demanded crucifixion....democracy at work.

Amendment...."But the thing displeased Samuel when they said. "Give us a king to judge us." God then told Samuel...."Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."

               God has judged us severely....and when the maelstrom comes....and we call out to God....He will say to those who have not trusted in Him...."But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods. O Judah."

Matthew 27
1 Samuel 8
Jeremiah 2