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

DISPATCHES

BEN SASSE....I posted this in June of 2019....when we needed challengers to a Trump second term. "To Ben Sasse and others....get off your posteriors....your plans on waiting till 2024 are misguided....may be self-serving....and you may very well later regret that you did not speak up sooner. We need you now.....not in 2024!" I posted this in early 2020...."....Senator Sasse is one of the best we have in Congress.....and now the not so good news....even this handful has failed us miserably. In the case of Senator Sasse.....this man is not just an evangelical....he is a reformed evangelical....and not just a reformed evangelical.....a very learned and informed reformed evangelical....and he still failed the test. Yes he is known for opposing Donald Trump....but we needed someone to put his/her own political future on the line and actually challenge this dangerous movement and dangerous man. Our founders pledged their 'their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor' but that is asking too much of even our best today." 

UPDATE ON BEN SASSE....Thursday....October 6.....are that Ben Sasse is about to be offered the job as President of the University of Florida.....and he is probably going to take it if that offer is extended to him. Senator Sasse and I are of the same theological persuasions....although there may be a...."distinction without a difference"....in that he is very heavy in that Christians must join in to make a difference in the culture.....while I agree with that....until the chief engineer tells the captain that the ship is going down. We are going to need our best minds in the Senate....and there are not that many....Sasse's expected decision lowers that number by one....and what do we get out of it.....a 'Gator nation' president.

EASY TO DO JUSTICE....SENATOR....VERY HARD TO DO RIGHT. Wednesday....November 2...Senator Sasse has one more university vote to get by to officially be offered the President of the University of Florida....and that vote will likely pass....and then Senator Sasse would presumably resign from the Senate. Don't do it Ben. Stay in the fight. There's a line in David Mamet's 1999 film the Winslow Boy....I'm sure you've seen it....where Sir Robert turned down the office of Lord Chief Justice....describing it this way...."The robes of that office would not have suited me." The robes of this office would not suit you. Remember this also Senator....likewise from the film...."Easy to do justice....very hard to do right."

RACISM ON THE RIGHT....If there is a video out there of a brawl among black people....or any video where a black person is the criminal or perpetrator....Fox will find it and highlight it at the top of their Internet news site. They know what this populist movement wants....and they provide it....and we evangelicals take the bait....not even questioning that this might not be....fair and balanced....news. This is what Trump has done to us. True evangelicals...not only in general but to a ridiculously high percentage....are not racist....but we are also no longer very smart. The Pilgrim's Progress no longer describes our pilgrimage....a more suitable book title would....Gullible's Travels.

SHIRKING OUR RESPONSIBILITY....In the raging debate today on education....we....evangelicals....have long since forgotten....I'm talking a hundred years now....that we as parents have the primary responsibility of educating our children. Yes this is indoctrination on the part of the Left...but we live in Babylon....something else we seemed to have forgotten....Vanity Fair at the very least. We have come to depend on just dumping our children off at school....and now we don't like what's happening. It is the same in our churches....as it is our responsibility to teach our children our Christian faith....but we have.....also over a hundred years now....come to depend upon just dumping them off at Sunday School. We don't hold the preaching of the pastor up to any level of competence....for we ourselves have no idea what preaching should be....and once was....because we our whole Christian life....just dump ourselves off at a weekly Bible study....fill in a few blanks....then go back to what really interests us in this life....us!

SOCIALISM OR DESPOTISM....Years would pass....a few decades actually....and we watched in utter disbelief how the leaders in the Democrat Party seemed to have lost all touch with reality....this along with its core constituency. Well guess what? Six years have passed and the same thing happened to the Republican Party! It may not be socialism or communism....but with Trump it is despotism bare minimum.....as once again the core constituency has seemingly lost its mind....at least according to the polls. How on earth could they not see who Donald Trump really is? How could Democrats not see who Barack Obama really was? This is spiritual folks. God is judging America in so many ways.

THE 700 CLUB....My daily chores found me in the living room today....adjusting the leg raise on a recliner....so I put the TV on....and the 700 Club. Gordon Robertson and Franklin Graham are two apples that rolled far away from the tree. Franklin I have posted on often as politics....and blindness....has come to dominate the other wonderful work that his Samaritan's Purse does. As for Gordon Robertson....today's episode basically called for the dissolution of the FBI....this not because any reform may be needed....but because the bondage that Donald Trump has on the evangelical mind....(that is Donald Trump the genuine biblical false prophet...."We are one glorious nation under God".....we are not.....he has dropped the "under God" part by the way)....has led them into an undiscerning and dangerous form of Christian Nationalism. These two good men took the bait. Genetics does not guarantee that the son of a great evangelist....will be used to the same magnitude that God used the father....and despite Pat Robertson's multiple doctrinal errors and dalliance with extreme teachings of the Charismatic Movement....he was a great evangelist in his earlier years.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM on the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago...."If they felt that he had something that belonged to the government, they certainly could have asked him and then he would have returned it." He cannot possibly believe that. He also commented on the 10 Republicans who voted for Trump's impeachment....."It makes you wonder what the thirty pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for the betrayal." Ponder that statement if you would....and try to hold back a tear of sadness.

BURN BAGS....Over the past few years alone....Donald Trump has made statements similar to this....boasts as a child might make...."I know more about ISIS than the generals do." We've known for a long time how he was provided one-page briefing materials because that was all he could handle....and recently reports came out that his people found out that they had to add pictures....because words alone were not enough to keep him interested. So his keeping classified materials should not be too much of a surprise....because he could never truly understand national security issues. When I was in the service....(in a few weeks it will be fifty years since I got out).....I had a top secret clearance. Nothing left the compound....and everything that wound up in the garbage can got burned....so if one blew their nose in a Kleenex....It got burned.

TIME (of your) LIFE OFFER: We cannot barter with God over the Lord's Day. It is still either a hedge of protection....and a blessing....and a command....or it isn't. What is in place today is not logically sound....nor is there any common sense to it....

"God....I can't do Sundays after church service....this is too big a family day for us....but what I can do is give you Thursday evening bible study to go with Wednesday evening prayer service.....and....if you get back to me within the next two minutes.....I'll throw in a once a month Saturday morning men's breakfast....I'll also send you a CD of some of your most popular ministers telling some of their favorite NFL stories! So that's Sunday morning church.....Wednesday evening prayer service....Thursday evening bible study....one a month Saturday morning men's breakfasts.....a CD of your most popular ministers telling entertaining NFL anecdotes.....and that's not all.....I'll also send an  84 page booklet of pictures and the testimonies of NFL stars who give you all the praise for their names in the record books!"

Reformation Day....May In Your Life It Be Today

                 We opened a Christian bookstore in our small town....this was twenty-some years ago. Charles Stanley....good man that he is....his books were not represented in the store....nor Charles Swindoll.....nor Dobson nor Pat Robertson....nor Frank Peretti.....nor any of the other popular Christian authors of the day....but only authors whose fundamental beliefs were rooted in the 16th century Reformation. MacArthur's books were there....and John Piper's....and Michael Horton's....and R. C. Sproul's and David Wells and Iain Murray....Banner Of Truth books....and Calvin and Luther and the Puritans. It was a bookstore more of....Reformation Theology.....which would include Luther....than just...Reformed Theology.

               I had a radio commercial made....by and for playing on our local and powerful 50,000 watt Christian radio station. They were very helpful in developing the commercial. It began with the sound of nails being hammered....and then I mentioned Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg. I wince even now as I am reminded that I no longer have a copy of the commercial.
               Many churches all across America will be celebrating....Reformation Day....as we call it....October 31....this Monday....the date on which Martin Luther started that great Reformation. We have a celebration at our church....but I never gave a thought to going....for I am just not into celebrating days like this....for we can fall into a pattern of celebrations and conferences....where time passes and that is all that we do....celebrate and talk about what others did. 
               These posts may not be worth much.....only God knows....but it's all I got folks....eyes to see people who need Christ....and young people living the same life of misplaced goals as I had lived a half century ago....ears to hear the same music of the night....the same stadium cheers....and the same endless laughter from TV sitcoms....and these posts to point people....young and old....to a trusted old path...and ministries such as those of Piper and Sproul and Horton and MacArthur....that can guide us like Bunyan's Great-heart....until our pulpits awaken....should God have mercy upon us to do so....to His glory....alone!

desiringgod.org
ligonier.org
gty.org
whitehorseinn.org

Ten Minute Exercise.....For A Better Heart And Mind

           I think you might like this if you give it a chance. It's a ten minute teaching by John Piper.....using some unique computer gizmos....for lack of a better word. Just Google....John Piper....drunk people make bad soldiers....and it will be right there. More importantly though....it is a needed reminder of God's command to us to stay sober and to stay watchful. It is also....I think....a good template to consider for our daily Bible study.....whereas we are not just reading....but pondering and analysing.

Update: I wanted to add yesterday's....Sermon of the Day....to this post. It's an exceptional sermon for a number of reasons. The title is....The Just Shall Live By Faith....the book....Habakkuk. Just Google Piper's name and the sermon title. You are not going to find a better explanation of the gospel of salvation. So to a person who is only an inquirer....this is for you....but to the Christian....particularly the Christian in America....you need to see how Habakkuk's message is to us in that there is no offer here to repent....for if we do then America will be made 'great' again. This is similar to the prophet Nahum. The 'offer' was made to Nineveh in Jonah....but in Nahum....over a century later. In Habakkuk....God is telling the people to prepare for what is ahead. God's warning to us in America....and in the church in America....goes back many decades. Look at America folks....and make sure that you look at us also....God is telling us what is going to happen...not what might happen.

The Last Convert Of John Harper

This preface is from October 2019.....the post that follows it from March of 2017:

Preface: If you were to take away the prospects of world war....and a worldwide global economic collapse.....and any other man-made or natural disaster that may come about in this violent and chaotic age we are living in.....if you ignore all that and just consider the cultural and technological age with artificial intelligence and drones and the total lack of privacy....you...I don't believe....would be able to look forward in any way to the future. Add to this the war that is surely ahead along with the pending New World Order....and you must....if you are a Christian.....no matter how financially secure you are.....plead for the Lord Jesus to return soon.

          I have a few peripheral fascinations in life and one of them would be the Titanic. I never saw the James Cameron film. Oh I did pay for a ticket and sit in one of the comfortable seats with every intention of watching the movie but I walked out about a half hour into the film as its message started to unfold. I watched the 1958 black and white A Night To Remember when I was a child.....and I watched it again for the umpteenth time last night.
         With a little research I came up with this quote from the main female character in the Cameron film..."....there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me...in every way that a person can be saved." It put in my mind a real life quote from the sinking of the Titanic. I've written about this before. John Harper was a British Baptist pastor and passenger on the Titanic. He was headed to America as a guest preacher with the possibility of accepting a call at a famous American church. He was travelling with his six year old daughter for he was a widower. After he placed his daughter in a lifeboat it is reported that he shouted "women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats."
         It is also reported that as he swam up to other people, and as hypothermia was setting is, he challenged them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a meeting of survivors in Ontario, Canada a few years after the disaster. One man stood up and testified how John Harper swam up to him twice as he was holding on to debris and said "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." John Harper....with no life vest for he had given it to another....sank to his death. The man giving this testimony was rescued by a returning lifeboat. He told the gathering this..."I am the last convert of John Harper." Yes, I walked out of Cameron's film and will never view it.
         I believe that the sinking of the Titanic was a message to Britain and to America. Everyone thought that the great ship was unsinkable. Two world wars followed. The space shuttle Challenger had a multi-cultural crew...male and female...scientist, military and civilian...Caucasian, Asian, African-American...Christian, Jewish and Buddhist. Those iconic pictures of the breakup of the Challenger are still hard to look at.
         We don't seem to learn from disasters of the past but we do sometimes learn when we are in them....and this world certainly has disasters ahead of it. May the church begin to prepare.....and be encouraged with the same words that Paul gave those on his stricken ship.....only to us they point to eternal life...."Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship,"
       

         

"See The Kingdom Of God"....And...."Enter The Kingdom Of God"

                 Two times in three verses....(three individual verses....as the Bible has since been codified into chapter and verse).....twice in the third chapter of John.....Jesus tells Nicodemus that one has to be....born again. That is the meaning but to be more specific in the wordage that our Lord used....and John related....in the third verse Jesus said...."unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God"....and in verse five.....this after Nicodemus questions the language.....Jesus adds...."unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." So...."born again" in one....and "born of water and the Spirit" in the other.....and...."see the kingdom of God" in one.....and "enter the kingdom of God " in the other."

                One could look at these verses...three and five....and say that they mean the same thing.....and they do....but one can also point out that 'seeing the kingdom' could mean something....the same but at the same time different than....'entering' the kingdom.
                There are numerous stories....and books written....and even some movies made....on the testimony of someone.....man or woman....adult or child....who purportedly was taken to heaven.....possibly met with Jesus....and returned. They are all nonsense....at best nonsense....and there are many reasons why they cannot be true....and I have posted on that in the past.....but in this post....I only want to focus on one aspect.
                Believers in Jesus Christ may indeed be different in many ways....personality....intellect....and virtues such as humility. So we may not all respond in the same exact way....but....if one has been 'born again'....or....'born from above'....or 'born of water and the Spirit'.....even though still in this life and in this body.....they are going to....to one degree or another....understand or take take joy in the glories and marvelous light of the kingdom of God.
                In this respect Jesus was saying that if one has not been overcome with the goodness and righteousness of God.....and knowledge of our own sinfulness and deserving of condemnation....in effect 'seeing' the kingdom of God".....then they have not been born again....or born from above....or born of water and the Spirit.
                 Give me one more short paragraph please....this to any evangelical who assumes that they are Christian....'saved'....redeemed....name written in the Lamb's Book of Life....if they indeed have been any of these things....then they would see enough of the kingdom of God that they could not just live life without showing the joy....without giving praise daily even hourly....and without acknowledging their deadness having been made alive....saved.....gloriously saved....and all this of nothing of their own.
                So no....the person who has been born again cannot have been taken to heaven....and consequently describe the glorious light of righteousness....as if it is new to them....for they would have already known it here on earth! If you cannot understand how one can be overjoyed and every new day humbled and thankful afresh for mercies bestowed....then there is a problem....and that is what Jesus was pointing to....one cannot see or understand or have knowledge of the glory of heaven....unless one has been born again....and unless one has been born of water....and the Spirit....they will not enter into the kingdom of God.

Tears......Shed 'Em If You Got 'Em

                 You heard the phrase a lot in basic training....way back when anyway...."smoke 'em if you got 'em." The drill or the march or whatever had stopped for a rest....and the Drill Sergeant would just say...."smoke 'em if you got 'em." Well I have a phrase for the pastors in their pulpits today....it's about tears....the phrase is...."shed 'em if you got 'em." Give us some kind of unction fellas....some emotion....some clue that you know the intensity of the evilness of the day....some passion for the souls in your own congregation....some hope for the return of our Lord where...."He will wipe away every tear from their eyes...." Revelation 21:4

Psalm 126:5...."Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of Joy!" 

At least remind us every Lord's Day....the words beginning the very next Psalm....

Psalm 127:1.... "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."

A Graybeard Sits On His Porch....And Rocks....And Reflects

 "Make no friendship with an angry man,
        And with a furious man do not go,
   Lest you learn his ways,
        And set a snare for your soul." Proverbs 22: 24,25 NKJV

             

                Here is a verse that you may have read in your....'read the Bible in a year' programs....but probably never heard mentioned in a sermon....Isaiah 3:12...."Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path." This is another of my 'graybeard' posts....which are simple reflections from someone with age and experience from which to speak.
                The America of the twentieth century....is gone. This that we have today is something altogether different....but we do not know this. Oh we are quick to point out that we are losing freedoms but we are not able to discern that the America of 1776....and that of colonial America....has already been replaced. You would have had to live the baby boomer life to realize that it is gone with the wind.

                 Evangelicalism....from Billy Graham to the Jesus freaks to the born again heyday of the 70s and 80s to the minor revival of the 16th century Reformation in the 90s....is also all gone. There are a new set of preachers....a new model for the gospel....new spiritual food....new exercises....a new heaven....and a new Jesus...all of which has snuck in on us unawares.
                 We should have been given a clue when we showed no compassion at all during the pandemic...laughing about masks and vaccinations as if we were barbarians. We should have at least noticed how we tore a man's reputation apart....(Fauci)....because we were told to do so. We should have had some pings from our conscience as we could not care less about poor immigrants trying get to a nation were they could get a decent wage for their work.
                  Youth rules us today. That's where the money is....so that is the squeaky wheel that will get all the attention....and therefore wield far more influence than they should have. England is about to have a woman prime minister....(she is already gone)....as may Italy....(she is already in power)....but we do not produce Golda Meirs or Margaret Thatchers anymore....women proud of their heritage....and determined to defend it....but rather women....proud of their gender....and determined to defend it.
                   Just who are our guides today? Well Tucker Carlson is probably the chief pied piper....but talk radio and podcasts lead us where the intellect would not normally lead us....if we had any vigilance at all. As for Donald Trump....might I remind again that I have read over ninety books covering his entire life....I wonder how many Carlson has read....probably NONE....and it became apparent halfway through that reading....that Donald Trump was....is....and will probably always be....a destroyer. He destroys.
                   We are not able to see beyond the fog that has come in from the pit of hell. The church has been judged....I mentioned that in my last post....the next step should the Lord will it would be for Him to begin to blow that fog away by the power of the Holy Spirit....and what we would see is the results of a winnowing....most of the church still lost in pride and selfishness....but also a remnant....realizing that we share equally in the responsibility for what we have become....all of us now humble....seeking only the guidance of our King.
                    As for Trump....I spent years having no ill-will towards this man....hoping only that he would fade away....free to waste his life as usual....no longer as a curse upon us....but as it is he may continue....even resurrected....one of his 'horns' of power restored....or he may not be able to evade justice this time....either way....the world will continue to implode....as there is no longer a warning as it was from Jonah....with time to change....but a declaration as it was from Nahum...to prepare to meet the coming King of Glory....with time only to get our houses in order.

                   

A Threshing......And A Winnowing

               I just came in from walking down the street to watch a tree service pruning a neighbor's tree....trimming it of dead branches....and overgrown branches that were on top of electrical lines. I've pruned trees in my own yard in the past....but what the church is going to experience is not a pruning.....but a winnowing....and before that a threshing....and this is happening right now.
               Boaz slept at the threshing floor in order to protect the grain from thieves. David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan after the plague....for a place of sacrifice to God....Gideon hid from the Midianites on the threshing floor....and Jesus warned Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat. The threshing is a violent separation of the shells and straw from the grain. Winnowing is a wind passing through taking the chaff that was left.

I posted this in July of 2016 under the title....

A Sifting And Winnowing May Be Ahead
              "Most of evangelicalism believes that a good president and a republican congress can, in effect, save us. Those of us on the other side not only know that it cannot save us without national repentance....but without a national repentance a sifting or a winnowing would appear to be ahead! Being ostracized by the Republican Party is nothing....this we know may be coming. Being condemned by a very confident, very practical, very mislead, and very political 'Christian' church is another thing altogether. This would be a very difficult time....confusion would necessarily be everywhere...maybe even "strong delusion." We should therefore heed Paul's warning to us to be watchful and sober....for as he wrote to the Thessalonians..."...the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say 'Peace and safety!' then a sudden destruction comes upon them. (This is exactly what has happened in that strong delusion is surely here along with being ostracized and even condemned as being unpatriotic. Our watershed moment was February 4, 2020....when riding high as the plague was in embryo stage....at the State of the Union....we laughed at God's warnings....and boasted that our best is yet to come)

I've posted on the concept of winnowing quite a few times over the years....this from last October....

A violent windstorm blew away all the dead branches from a tree in our yard..."So what is there to think about on an occasion like this other than the glories of Christ? A few times in the last day I would stand on our patio and look at the tree and the yard....all the dead leaves removed....few to fall until the tree changes color....and think about a winnowing that is surely just ahead for the church....where all those who are not secure in Christ will drop off on their own or be blown away by the great difficulties that are ahead....whatever God has determined that turmoil to be?
               
And this from this past April.....

We should know that a great delusion is coming....if it is not already here....but we should know this also....a winnowing is coming.....where people who we might beforehand be sure are believers.....will turn on Christians.....for practical and political purposes. This is what makes our current blinding involvement in politics so important....that we should at the least be warned....as we are already starting to rebuke Christians who will not automatically follow a political leader or a political cause.

               I really don't know how I can use the word 'mind-boggling' on events anymore....for they are continuous. How the Christian observes what is going on in this world....and is not overcome with the imminence of the return of Jesus.....triumphant....with His angels....in power and glory forever....this I also do not know. It seems a violent threshing must be ahead.....by violent I mean that these 'Christian patriots'....'evangelical patriots' is a more accurate phrase....are not a group that debates anything anymore....their thinking processes paralysed after six years of a bona fide cult leader and false prophet.....perceiving this man....who thrives only on vainglory....to actually care for them.  They are ready for war if need be....at the very least a brutal purge of anyone in their party that utters a peep against their leaders.
              I read their news sources....and listen in on talk radio....and this media today has no relation whatsoever to news sources and talk radio of the past....of which I was a part. It is nothing more than a mob....a posse at times....vigilantes. There is not a day that goes by that I do not pray for God's faithful men in the pulpits....that they might discern the threshing floor....the brokenness that is in the church....and then to gather up the grain....those who are the redeemed....and in their preaching as if to toss them up in the air....and call forth a cleansing winnowing.
             Evangelical pastors on the other hand....far too many of them....want an awakening....not of souls redeemed....but voters redeemed.....not to bring glory to God....but to increase their numbers tenfold....so as to make America great again. As difficult as it is to watch....and to experience....we must take joy in the threshing and the winnowing....for whatever the size of the remnant that will emerge....it will be healthy....united in its love for Christ....not given to fables....or false prophets....or relying in its own perceived strength....but trusting Christ through the maelstrom....knowing that He shall keep the ship intact....bringing it to harbor....for us to be taken up....."caught up together with them (those who have gone before us)....in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."  

1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV

Pennsylvania Politics

                Republican Senator John Heinz died tragically in a plane/helicopter accident in April of 1991. Seven people were killed...among them two young school girls.We were returning from a vacation in Ocean City, Maryland when we heard the news. Democrat Robert Casey temporarily filled his seat with Democrat Harris Wofford until a special election could be held in November. In that election Wofford was at one time down 40 points to Richard Thornburgh....but Paul Begala and James Carville turned that election around....and Wofford won by ten points. That election....even according to Rush Limbaugh....was the beginning of the political strategy that health care was every person's right. Wofford served in the Senate until 1995 when he lost his seat to Republican Rick Santorum.
                 As everyone is acutely aware....Pennsylvania will soon choose either John Fetterman or Dr. Oz to replace Senator Pat Toomey....(I still have a Toomey For Senate sign originally from 2004 in the attic of my garage.) Fetterman's health and ability to serve a complete term is a question in the race....and showed up last evening in the Fetterman/Oz debate. Pennsylvania's governor race is also in the national news....when at present the Democrat holds a substantial lead. So as it stands now...a Democrat governor would if need be temporarily replace an ill Fetterman....if Fetterman should win.
                 As for last night's debate....I wasn't going to watch but received a call more than halfway through it telling me that Fetterman was getting trounced....so I tuned in out of curiosity. The debate was sad to watch....to see any man struggle so with words....even John Fetterman. Dr. Oz is a professional talker....and took advantage of that to an extreme. Fetterman could have said that a stroke slowed his already slow speech down....but that Oz could use a little slowing down with his carnival midway barker speech patterns. Oz was forced into saying that he would support Trump in 2024 if he ran....and he also said in response to a question that he hadn't followed the January 6 hearing very closely. Fetterman....former mayor of Braddock....where my father was raised....could have challenged the good doctor's integrity on both of those counts....but most of all....even after the  disastrous debate....Fetterman could have won the night on the last question....thrown is as a little bit of humor....where a moderator asked both men....the exact words escape me....who they were rooting for in this weekend's big game....the Steelers vs the Eagles....where had John Fetterman said....speech impaired or not...."my mind is on the people of Pennsylvania and America....and not a football game"....he would have shocked every viewer....forcing them to give him some credit on knowing what was important....and what was not important.

   

It Was Honest.... It Was Done Well....It Was Loving....and It Was What We Need Today

Update: Great credit is to be given to John MacArthur....for in his recently held Puritan Conference....he addressed the issue of politics in the church by giving John Piper the stage to present his opinion! You will have to Google this....please do....John Piper and John Macarthur, Puritan Conference 2022.' It is a Q&A with these two men. It was peaceful to listen to...and that surely is what we need. It began with a little loving humor as MacArthur was paying his respects to Piper by saying....slowly and sincerely....that he appreciates everything.....everything about this man....upon which Piper added something like...."appreciate and agree with?"....which brought laughter throughout the large auditorium of mostly pastors. In my post a week or so before the conference began I wondered if John Piper would speak on politics as he believes....or just play the conference game. Well in the Q & A he did boldly give his opinion....and it was challenging....lovingly challenging....and well-received by the group. After the political question the moderator then asked both men about coming persecution in the church....and Pastor MacArthur spoke about ten minutes....basically back on politics....from which Piper....in response....mentioned that Pastor MacArthur had just spoken....about ten minutes....on politics....and gave loving advice....to a man who he obviously loves and greatly respects. This is what we need folks....conversation....difficult at times if need be....but when done in love and respect...a blessing to the church.    

"What About The Puritan Conference?"  

        A month or so ago I posted on the Puritan Conference that John MacArthur's Grace Community Church was hosting. In that post I basically said....'enough of these conferences....if you have nothing to say on the tempest that we are in today." Well they had the conference a few weeks ago....and are beginning to make the sessions available to listen to on their church website. The first day's sessions are up right now....and I listened today to The Big God Of The Puritans....by British theologian and professor Michael Reeves. I posted on and recommended sermons and teachings by Michael Reeves a number of times in the past. You can easily listen to this session by going to....gracechurch.org....scrolling down to Featured Series....clicking on Puritan Conference.....General Session 5.....and finally....MP3

Parallel Dangers

                 Donald Trump's favorite logical fallacy is probably.....poisoning the well. With this method....one merely throws a little bit of poison....a splash if you were a chef....onto the pan. This is done in the preparation stage of debate....where someone might be so helpful to add during an argument or debate...."might I remind you....this man spent time in prison." Having heard this....or been reminded of it....whatever that man might say in defense of his position is....already poisoned to a certain extent. The poison as added by Trump is....fake news....hoax and witch hunt also are effective. All of the books out there on Donald Trump....and there are probably a couple hundred....I've read close to a hundred myself....have long ago been tainted as fake news. So what we have is a life of seventy-six years....filled with con games of all sorts....decades of involvement with Russian monies....absurdities all along the way....lying as easily as breathing....all documented to a great degree....and all ignored.....as fake news.

                The liberal media has its favorite logical fallacies also....obscurantism would be one. Bob Woodward....(I've read all of his books)....very recently and very publicly made the statement that Donald Trump is to America an...."unparalleled danger." It would be an accurate assessment if not for the fact that Joe Biden....if it were not for Trump....could be described as an unparalleled danger. Both sides of our political divide today do yeoman's work in describing the horrors of the other side....while seemingly blinded to the horrors of their own side.
                 God provided a way for the Christian to navigate this storm. It's called discernment.....read His Word....rely on His Word....trust solely in Christ.....stay vigilant.....remain sober-minded....constantly examining our own motivations....and we will see what is going on in this Babylon/Vanity Fair that we are pilgrims within....but we substituted talk radio and Fox cable and podcasts for God's Word....we do not trust solely in Christ....in fact we do not trust at all in Christ....for we did not remain vigilant....we let emotion rule our minds....and we do not examine our habits nor our motivations....and do not have pulpits with men in them who challenge and warn us of where we are....how there are wrong roads to take....and who and what has come against us to deceive us.
                Please consider the following prayer that I bring back week after week....hoping that we in the church might see that many years ago we took the wrong road....a wide super-highway.....to Washington....where we should have taken the narrow road....and the straight road....with rest stops and service areas areas all along the way....to the Celestial City.

Lord if it by Thy will may this be the day that Thy Holy Spirit awakens our pulpits. May this day before see Thy servants....our shepherds.....toss and turn this night....trying to deal with what Thy Spirit is calling them to do. Lord take thy church back to the old paths from which Thy servant Jeremiah instructed us to go. We are besot upon Lord from every direction. We are drowning Lord in a sea of unbelief. We are confused Lord.....in chaos even....so much so that a false prophet has bewitched us....and we followed him.....and he changed us......and took our eyes off of Thee. Thy glory has departed Lord. We meet and offer praises but our attention span is determined by the plans that we had already made for the day....acceptable and honorable plans in themselves Lord....but not acceptable on the day that Thou has given us to renew our strength. Thus Lord Thy glory and Thy power has departed from us. Restore us Lord. Thou has set boundaries on the sea....where it may go no further.....set boundaries Lord on the deceptions of this world....that they no longer overwhelm us. Do this Lord for Thy name sake.....for Thy glory alone. Bring a new day upon us Lord.....where we are once again a peculiar people....where we once again look with great hope and expectation for Thy return. Do all this Lord to Thy glory....may every breath we take be to Thy glory....every plan we make....every thought....every act of repentance....every offering of praise! Bring others into Thy kingdom Lord....use us Lord....fill the banquet hall! May we never lose astonishment Lord on how Thou has had mercy upon us....never forget our past state....our deadness to Thy Word....our hopelessness....and thus always be in remembrance of Thy grace and mercy....and may we therefore never stop praising Thee. Even when our minds are enmeshed in difficult and complicated tasks of the day....may Thy voice be as clear as in total silence....and Thy presence as overpowering as when we first believed!

Buffalo Bills 34....Kansas City Chiefs 25.....(I'm Sure I Would Have Watched That Game)

                It could very well have been 1965.....December 12 to be exact....I was fifteen....the uniforms were near exactly the same....red on one team.....white with blue on the other. The same logos on the helmet....or just about the same. There was one difference in that the quarterback was no longer Len Dawson but....I can't remember his name....the polite young man for the Kansas City Chiefs.....and the other quarterback was no longer Jack Kemp....but....I can't remember his first name....Allen being his last name. I was a Buffalo Bills super-fan back then. Jack Kemp was my hero....then two decades later he was a hero again as a conservative politician! Actually he was a pretty conservative quarterback too.
                The won-loss statistics for yesterday.....the Lord's Day.....were the same as always.....as the same number of teams won.....as lost! The same number of cities are happy today....as those that are not. Pittsburgh is happy. Tampa Bay probably is not. I don't know who won the Kansas City/Buffalo game as I saw these clips on the television this morning as I was having breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
                 I'm talking about my own life here....my own history.....as a Buffalo Bills fan....and then a Steeler Fan.....and a Pitt Panther fan....and a Pirate fan....and a Penguin fan.....so many games shouting in the stands....so many celebrations.....so many curse words....so many hundreds and probably thousands of hours reading about these teams.....what a gigantic waste of that part of my life! Today it is no longer a crown of righteousness....an unfading crown of glory...a crown of life for which we race....but a perishable wreath....and this as we watch someone else race.
                 Can you even imagine.....I know that you can't....Peter and Paul on a rare off day together....where Peter says of the gladiator games that day...."I like that big guy....five cubits and a span"....whereas Paul Says...."Nah....he's too slow!" Or how about John Calvin who thought he would sit on the fence as to Scripture and the Lord's Day....what do you think he would say today about our Super Bowl Sundays and our Oscars....and general all-around family days once the drudgery of church is over?
                 One team is going to kick a ball better....or throw a ball better....or hit a ball better. One pitcher is going to win a lot of games....and then abandon that city for one where he can get more money. "Money.....money.....money"....as Sally Bowles would sing with the Master of Ceremonies.
                 There is a cozy little area in this hotel by the fireplace....and I would have sat there yesterday with a coffee and a book....but someone the night before....in the bar....after the college football game....threw up all over the carpet.....so the hotel closed it off. I can't complain though....for I been there....as I remember my buddy throwing up all over the bar....where I had to clean it up.....this fifty-four years ago.
                  Ah but the Christian life is so much easier today....for God has blessed us with all these things....walk-off homers....last second touchdowns....overtime sudden-depth goals....long putts on the 72nd hole for our Master's golf pool guy to win! But as all these years pass by....we get older....the movie actors are old....the hall of fame players off in obscurity somewhere....the rock stars are still singing....only a couple of octaves lower....the ones that aren't dead already anyway. 
                  There is one big problem though.....for as we near eighty....and everyone smiles as Pap or Pop still roots for his team....how cute....the judgement gets closer each and every game day....where we will have to try to explain.....before the Lord of Glory.....the Alpha and the Omega....and the King of Kings....why for six decades we loved our sports team more than we loved Him!
                

'Bake At Fahrenheit 451....It'll Burn On It's Own'

             Faye Dunaway's character accuses Robert Redford's character in 1975's Three Days Of The Condor....of being a spy....this because be told her that he works for the CIA....and this after he had kidnapped her at gunpoint. Redford's character showed frustration...."I am not a spy....I just read books! We read everything that's published in the world." He told her that he then puts plots and possible codes into a computer to see if it matched anything that the CIA actually did. He was looking for leaks....or real life conspiracies. That was his job.....sit at a desk.....read books....and then go to the computer. As part of the plot he had found a real life conspiracy...reported it....and that is why someone was trying to kill him.
             That scene sticks out in my mind because that's kind of what I do. I read books. Right now I'm in the process of reading a Brad Thor book....three new books on Trump....two new Christian books that just came out....one of which is the impetus for this post....and I'm going through John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress again....for the umpteenth time. I've always analysed things. When in the army I had a top secret clearance....as an analyst....(the lowest level on this kind of work possible.) Most importantly I am in God's Word every day of my life.
             The one Christian book in question that I am reading is standard prophecy fare. I read them anyway....for in amongst the wild speculative authors....there can be some pretty good ones. This particular book is edited and has about twenty contributing authors. Once again a couple of them had something to offer....but a couple of them are part and parcel of a problem today in evangelicalism.
              One of the contributing authors put forth the theory that Covid was a "purposely manufactured disease....to bring America down." Another believes that masks and vaccines are just part of the plan to enslave us. 'Well'....you say....'this is nothing new....we've known and warned of this since it began.' No....this type of thinking is nothing new....but this whole mindset....a disease in itself....needs addressed.
               The Republican Party....and conservatism in general....were already far gone by the time that the pandemic hit in early 2020. The cult of personality having been formed....Jim Jordan...Mark Meadows....Ted Cruz....Mike Pompeo....all these men....and others....once heroes....had been compromised by their failure to stand up to Trump. We didn't burn books that would educate us on who Trump really is....we just labelled them fake news....so that no one would read them.
               Trump led the way....and everyone else....having thrown all honor to the wind....had no choice but to follow....the pandemic had to be downplayed in light of the more important issue of the coming election. Trump was nothing short of a buffoon as he led those Covid press conferences....and the worst part of it all....evangelicals fell head first into this political horse manure....and fought anything and everything the people who actually had knowledge of communicable diseases tried to do....and then in denial....led on by egregious false teachers as mentioned in the above book...they take God's gift of a mind....paste it with talk radio red state wine....vintage 1984....marinate it an hour in the evening in Tucker Carlson's Russian vodka....bake it at fahrenheit 451....and then....having no longer any original thoughts of its own....send it out to evangelize and inflame.  

Comfort For The New Evangelical

               Take heart....do not be concerned....you will no longer be compared to anyone who....'pants for God as a deer pants for water." That is only for people like David. Being 'born again' is only a phrase....a recruitment device that served a purpose in days gone by....a  'state of mind' only in that you were once going one way....and are now going another way. No one is going to ridicule you for religious fanaticism....maybe politics....but not the gospel. No one is going to avoid you because they think that you might corner them to talk about Jesus. There will be no passing tracks or other things to make you uncomfortable. There is no longer any boring memorization. Today we pass on easy to remember talking points....'Hunter Biden's computer'.....'Let's Go Branden'....'Russia Hoax'.....little ditties that are fun to learn. Billy Graham crusades could be threatening back then....'what might he say that might make me uncomfortable'.....no one is going to ask you to walk an aisle. That has all been replaced by big churches....rallies....fun events....and good music. There is basically no doctrine to learn.....nothing that you do not already know.....there is one God....Jesus is God....things like that. Don't worry about someone challenging you about hell....no one anywhere talks about that anymore. The issue is no longer....'are you saved'....but....'are you free'....and the 'Christian' is no longer part of a small group....for there are as many or even more of us as there are of them!

Note: As is my daily habit I worked at the computer in the morning....the result being the above post....and then went about my normal daily chores while listening to a sermon by either some great preacher of the past....or a preacher today who preaches like great preachers of the past. Today it was John Piper's Sermon Of The Day from him ministry website desiringgod.org. As happens so often....the sermon spoke directly to me...or as it was today....it was on the the post that I had just completed. Please listen to this 29 minute sermon....by either Googling....John Piper...God's Great Mercy and Our New Birth....or going directly to his website....click on the menu at the top right...click on podcasts to the left....scroll own an click on subscribe under Sermon Of The Day...(you are not subscribing to anything)....then click on Apple Podcasts....and you are there.

Prayer For This Lord's Day

David's men ate the consecrated bread....and the disciples of Jesus plucked the heads of corn on the Sabbath. There was no problem there. It would be the same today with for instance....heat....someone has to make the electrical power for heat in the winter......as a matter of fact I worked for 37 years in a coal-fired power plant. It would be pretty hypocritical for a pastor to preach against any work on the Sabbath....as he stood in the warmth of the sanctuary. That is not God's intent with the commandment to set the day apart. God severely judged Judah and Jerusalem....and Jeremiah gave one of the reasons....as we find in chapter 17 verse 27...."But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched." Jeremiah had something else interesting to say in chapter 11 verse 13...."For your gods have become as many as your cities..." Throw your....read the Bible in a year....schedule away....and read where God's Holy Spirit leads you. Today in much of America....(Saturday).....it was a complete day and evening of college football....and tomorrow....the Lord's Day....we will make a mockery of Jeremiah's words in chapter 17....and fulfill his words from chapter 11....while so many shepherds of the American church see no problem at all....fulfilling Jeremiah 22:22...."The wind will sweep away all your shepherds...."

Lord if it by Thy will may this be the day that Thy Holy Spirit awakens our pulpits. May this day before see Thy servants....our shepherds.....toss and turn this night....trying to deal with what Thy Spirit is calling them to do. Lord take thy church back to the old paths from which Thy servant Jeremiah instructed us to go. We are besot upon Lord from every direction. We are drowning Lord in a sea of unbelief. We are confused Lord.....in chaos even....so much so that a false prophet has bewitched us....and we followed him.....and he changed us......and took our eyes off of Thee. Thy glory has departed Lord. We meet and offer praises but our attention span is determined by the plans that we had already made for the day....acceptable and honorable plans in themselves Lord....but not acceptable on the day that Thou has given us to renew our strength. Thus Lord Thy glory and Thy power has departed from us. Restore us Lord. Thou has set boundaries on the sea....where it may go no further.....set boundaries Lord on the deceptions of this world....that they no longer overwhelm us. Do this Lord for Thy name sake.....for Thy glory alone. Bring a new day upon us Lord.....where we are once again a peculiar people....where we once again look with great hope and expectation for Thy return. Do all this Lord to Thy glory....may every breath we take be to Thy glory....every plan we make....every thought....every act of repentance....every offering of praise! Bring others into Thy kingdom Lord....use us Lord....fill the banquet hall! May we never lose astonishment Lord on how Thou has had mercy upon us....never forget our past state....our deadness to Thy Word....our hopelessness....and thus always be in remembrance of Thy grace and mercy....and may we therefore never stop praising Thee. Even when our minds are enmeshed in difficult and complicated tasks of the day....may Thy voice be as clear as in total silence....and Thy presence as overpowering as when we first believed!

We Have No Use Whatsoever For These Verses Of Scripture

Preface: It is almost as if all of the verses below were penned with Donald Trump in mind. This alone....should have had us giving him the old heave-ho long....long ago....but we really have no use for God's Word in these verses....as we prefer the monologue of a radio talk show host....that tickles our ears....or the sermon of a podcaster.....or a Fox evening cable personality. We have brought this disaster upon ourselves. God has judged His church.

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self (is there anyone who epitomizes this more than Trump), lovers of money, (or this) proud, (or this) arrogant, (or this) abusive (or this), disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, (or this) unappeasable, (or this) slanderous, (or this) without self-control, (or this) brutal,  (or this) not loving good, (or this) swollen with conceit, (or this) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (or this) having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." 2 Tim 3:1-5 ("avoid such people"....we utterly refuse to heed this command)

"And Jesus answered and said unto them. Take heed that no man deceive you..." Matthew 24:4 (Donald Trump deceived us....but you will never see that if you refuse to read about him)

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:11 (Trump came down that escalator right in the middle of evangelicalism. Ever since then....in every rally dominated by evangelicals....he gave prophecies of America that were the opposite of what God's Word says about a nation such as we are. Well-known Christian authors wrote books in support of this false prophet. Churches have been split apart....and pulpits today live in fear of upsetting their congregations....by telling them the truth.)

"Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, that they may believe what is false." 1 Thessalonians 2:11 (would not Trump's MAGA be such a delusion)

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:15-16a (look back at the fruits of the past seven years)

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world..." 1 John 4:1 (Would not Donald Trump be one)

"For there shall be false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect."   Matthew 24:24  (was not "the greatest economy in the history of our country" just such a great sign and great wonder)

"....for by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Romans 16:18 (This is what we have experienced on a daily basis through Tweets and rallies and talk radio)

"....but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears..." 2 Timothy 4:3 (that's what we have done)

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." 1 Corinthians 14:33 ("fear is power"..."I bring out rage. I always have" Trump)

"...they are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and delusions of their own minds." Jeremiah 14:14 ("Our best days are yet to come")

"...they fill you with false hopes..." Jeremiah 23:16 ("winning winning winning")

"Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." Luke 6:26 (if a congressman supports him....or seeks his endorsement.....Trump will praise them)

"in their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories." 2 Peter 2 (too many examples to list)

"Thus says the Lord GOD, woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing. Your prophets have been like jackals among the ruins..." Ezekiel 13 (Paula White et al)

"For when they say 'Peace and safety' then sudden destruction comes upon them..." 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ("and we're gonna make America"....as everyone at the rally repeats...."SAFE again")

The Apostle John wrote that there already were many...."antichrists".....that had gone out from them. Norman Vincent Peale....went out from the Methodist church....and his teachings greatly affected not only much of America....but the overall church. I would think that he qualifies as one of John's....."antichrists." Wouldn't you? Peale said that Donald Trump was his best student. My point here is that Trump in many different ways....negatively affected evangelicalism....to put it mildly....so he also fits John's description of an antichrist. So pastors....if Trump would turn out to be...."an" antichrist.....would that not change your position a little....as far as warning the sheep?

The Death Of Gravitas

                  John Piper's Sermon Of The Day this morning is a conference talk....from October 7, 2005. What might first come to mind when thinking of the ministry of John Piper is....the joy of the Lord.....and that would be accurate....but even before and above this would be....the absolute sovereignty of God in everything. If you have never heard Piper....this would be a good place to start. You could either go to his ministry website....desiringgod.org....and navigate your way to his sermons of the day....or you could easily Google this message.....John Piper, The Aspects Of God's Sovereignty. 
                  The 1990s saw the publication of quite a few serious and scholarly Christian books taking to task what was happening to the church in a postmodern age. David Wells was one of those authors....and I sold his books in the Christian bookstore that we owned at the time. In fact the bookstore came into existence in part because of the many authors such as Wells and John MacArthur and Michael Horton who were at least giving the church the opportunity to wake up.
                 John Piper begins his sermon....(conference talk)....with this quote from the newly released (2005) book by David Wells....Above All Earthly Powers....Christ In A Postmodern Age

"This moment of tragedy and evil....(9/11)....shown its own light on the church....and what we came to see is not a happy sight.....for what has become conspicuous by its scarcity....and not least in the evangelical quarter of it....is a spiritual gravitas....or weight....one which could match the depths of horrendous evil and address issues of such seriousness. Evangelicalism now....much absorbed by the arts and tricks of marketing....is simply not very serious anymore."

                 Whatever progress was being made in the 90s....had halted....this in 2005....and today....17 years later....we in evangelicalism are at least 17 times more...."absorbed by the arts and tricks of marketing." A ball player....pointing to the sky after hitting a home run....is evidence of our evangelizing. A demagogue....or a demigod....(boths definitions fit)....has become our king....and our books very rarely exercise the mind with gravitas....but are based more on the imagination than God's Holy Word.

A Better Conference Title Would Be.....'Batten The Hatches....Foul Weather Ahead....A Tempest....Lord Be Our Compass!'

                Today is the Jewish Yom Kippur....or the Day of Atonement. It began last evening....the 4th....and will end at sunset this evening....only a few hours after I am typing this....Israel being seven hours ahead of us in the eastern time zone. Today also begins the Puritan Conference at John MacArthur's Grace Community Church in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The three day conference is beginning in about an hour....as they are three hours behind us in Pittsburgh.....and it can be streamed from the church website.
                One might think that I am thrilled at such a conference....being that I have posted quite a bit on the Puritans over the years of these posts.....and even a few decades before I began these posts. We owned a Christian bookstore a little over twenty years ago....and the foundation of it was the great Puritan literature that is available to Christians....if they know what to look for and where to look for it.
               The speakers at the conference are wonderful proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ....most of them I have recommended in these posts....particularly John Piper....but thrilled is not how I would describe my feelings. It is not only the topic of this conference....and most other conferences....but the themes of most denominational synods that I have observed over many years....for what is needed most today is a discussion....a deep and serious discussion....even a debate if necessary....on where this world is at....and where the church is at....and particularly how a genuine biblical false prophet....Donald Trump....came into the church....changed us for the worse.....and is still there....wreaking havoc.
               Pastor MacArthur....who I continue to highly recommend.....gty.org....and whose ministry meant so much to me when I first came into the Reformation....his Grace To You program broadcast on May 8, 2015....was.....Beware Of False Prophets. (you can easily Google this....see for yourself if it does not describe Trump) That radio program....which was a rebroadcast....was forty days before Donald Trump came down the escalator....dressed as a shepherd.....into the middle of evangelicalism....where he proceeded to devour. Fat with the flesh of the saints....purposely belching in front of us to his glee.....he continues to devour today. So no....as wonderful as these messages will be.....the walls have been breached.....the sanctuary invaded.....the dining hall taken over.....and we need hard discussions on hard issues.....and we need them yesterday.

Selective Service

                Fifty-three years ago today....October 4 of 1969....I would have been two weeks into Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There was no longer any 'Twinkie and a Coke' snacks any time I wanted it....which was often.....no weekend beer bashes.....no hair....and no females to take my attention. Those eight weeks....in retrospect....were eight of the most important weeks of my life.
                The army announced yesterday that they fell short of their enlistment goals by about 25%. The other services reached their goals but had to dig deep into delayed enlistments to do it.....so they are already behind as they start the new enlistment year. I had posted on a military draft a few times over the years in these posts. If we are involved in a major war....and certainly a two-front war.....you can expect the Congress to reinstate the draft.....and what kind of draft would that be?
                Women still do not have to register for the draft. Immigrants....an all young men.....between the ages of 18 and 25....(25 for now)....are on paper required to register. As of now there is no student deferment as there was fifty years ago....for the young man gets to finish his semester.....and that is it. Do you really need me to ask you to ponder a draft.....in today's world.....in today's culture.....to see what that draft would look like....and how near impossible it might be to draft for war.....an keep peace at home?
                There are so many issues today that by all rights should keep us in prayer for God's protective hand upon us....this is but one of them. The Christian....man and woman....young and old.....no matter their health....is already a soldier for Christ. All were drafted....chosen....and called....none enlisted on their own. There is needed training....needed supplies and equipment....battles will follow even before the training is complete. There will be wounds....and defeats....but there is a difference here.....in that the battle has already been won. We may continue to struggle on this battlefield....but if we would but look up we could see the cloud approaching in the distance of space.....and if we but cup our hand over our ear we could hear the approaching hoofbeats....of Christ on His white horse....and all His mighty angels....mounted....and swords withdrawn from their scabbards
                

Have You Heard Things Expressed In This Way Before?

                 I've mentioned this on a few occasions. If I can only write as what is on most other Christian blog/websites.....then I would be more or less wasting my time and yours.....for they do what they do very well....and there are thousands of these sites. I see things often from a different perspective....or at least try to explain things differently....and for better or for worse.....that is what my posts are. The following is an example of this....for I am going to comment or opine once again on biblical prophecy....decide for yourself whether the perspective is a little bit different.

                The key for what is going on today in the world is 1948. I would ask you to use common sense and logic on this. Israel is a nation once again....after roughly 2000 years! If you believe that the Lord will tarry in His return for even another forty or fifty years....then think again about Israel's miraculous reestablishment in light of that....as 100 years would then have passed by? It does not make sense. What does make sense is that God gave Israel's return to us as a sign....to get ready.....to prepare.....to get our houses in order.....for whatever the countdown is....it has started....and seventy years would fit in nicely with God's perfect way of doing things.
                The entire nineteenth century stands by itself in utter astonishing events. The Titanic....which many boasted of being unsinkable....sank....quickly....on its maiden voyage.This was a message to us on what was ahead. Consider World War I....and how we responded to it after it ended....with The Roaring Twenties....and then the Great Depression! Do you need more? Hitler comes out of nowhere.....driven by his hatred for the Jewish race....the Holocaust begins.....should this not in itself have woke us up....and then World War II.....and then nuclear weapons!
                 And that is only half of the century! Have you ever considered what life would be like if we go on like this......drones everywhere.....cameras everywhere....more and more smaller countries developing nuclear weapons....handled by crazy dictators.....which is what Putin is? 
                 MAGA....'Make America Great Again'....really? God has been laying us low with judgments.....increasingly.....for sixty years now.....warning us....how far back do you expect to go with MAGA.....1620? Or would it be 1776....a time when the gospel was packed away somewhere....for twenty years later George Washington himself wondered if Christianity would survive in America....or do you think that Reagan's America would be enough to please God?
                 Here's a hypothetical just to consider....would your life change if it appeared likely that we were already....already in what God's Word described as the Tribulation?  For instance if it turned out that the world changing disaster of the pandemic turned out to be what the rider on the white horse in Revelation symbolized....the 'crown' of the coronavirus....and 'bow'....from the Greek toxon....or poison? Would a nuclear war....even a limited tactical one....(a rider on the red horse)....make you look for the Lord's coming more than you may do now? 
                 We are violent to our core....the earth is shaking....and the cosmos is threatening. Have you ever....I'm directing this to evangelicals....have you ever read or studied in-depth how a.....(I'll use the word they use).....'progressive' Christian.....actually uses God's Word? It is frightening.....for they talk and write as if they love this blessed Lord of theirs....when everything else about their belief system denies everything God tells us in His word! This is a present evidence of what God warned us that will come about.
                  One last attempt in this post to generate some serious thought on where we are today....at what point exactly would you actually believe that our Lord is about to return?  What would it take? Spend a little bit of time on this. Take the challenge. And if you can come up with an answer....then ask yourself....be honest here....if you might at that time wish that you knew a little bit earlier.....so that you could warn your loved ones.....and that you yourself might make some adjustments in what is....and what is not important....in this pilgrimage that we travel?

Reagan's Words Ring Hollow Today......Jeremiah's Tell Us Why

                Ronald Reagan first used the phrase describing America in his speeches in 1964....as he campaigned for Barry Goldwater...."The last best hope of man on earth"....and he was consistent....as he uttered the same theme well into the 1980s.....during his presidency.....but we are a different people today. We were once conservatives and liberals with the same goals and hopes....only different methods. We do not all have the same goals today. Nearly half of us today see nothing good in anything that America has ever been. Why are they like this? It is spiritual in nature....for they first rejected God....and He then departed from them. The other half....maybe even a majority of us....use the same type of words that Reagan used....but humility is gone....replaced by a coarse pride....so the words and the thoughts of Reagan are still there....but hollow....being only political banter.

               I posted this in April of 2020...."Jeremiah was given a vision that we read about in chapter 24. In it he sees two baskets of figs....one was of 'bad figs' while the other 'good figs.' Nebuchadnezzar had taken captives back to Babylon....a humbling experience....but these were the 'good' figs....for God would use this to their good and His glory. Those that stayed in Jerusalem and Judah were as us today who will not humble ourselves....but will continue to build that which took us far from God to begin with. Not only have we not separated ourselves from a decaying culture and dreams of worldly greatness....having only fashioned an evangelical niche within it....but now....having a glimpse of the virus subsiding....are determined to build again....greater than ever....apparently having learned nothing."

               The basket of good figs today....as pointed to above....would be those who see what we have become....and what we have brought upon ourselves....and how we have as Christians strayed far off course....but who now say...."Maranatha....come Lord Jesus!"
                The basket of bad figs....also reiterating here....would be those of us who say...."No....we will build America bigger and better....we will build our house even as the Lord's house lies in ruins." Before the parable of the good and bad figs....Jeremiah warned...."The wind will sweep away all your shepherds"....(Jeremiah 22:22)...and it has.....as our pulpits today say "peace....peace.....when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 8:11)