Not Really a Christian?

Man: Ma'am. Ma'am? Excuse me, Ma'am. Is that your child, over there in the blue t-shirt?

Woman: Why do you want to know?

Man: Well, he's being rather difficult. He pushed a girl off the swing and took it from her, he's throwing sticks at the children going down the slide, and he's not respecting any of the adults who are trying to correct his behavior.

Woman: Well, then he's not my child. In our home, we teach our children to share with other children and to respect their elders.

Man: Uh-huh. ............ Well, the other parents I asked said that he was your son. So if you're the one responsible for him, would you please exercise that responsibility now?

Woman: I'll admit that he somewhat resembles my son -- may even have the same name, birth-date, social security number, and all that. But if he's behaving that way, then he's not really my son.

Man: Well, then who's going to discipline him?

Woman: Oh, I think God will sort it all out in the end.

Man: But didn't God give you that job?

******************************************

Narrator: The woman's name? Well, her initials are M.E.C. I think it stands for "modern evangelical church."

Poems That Don't Rhyme

Do you ever get frustrated with poems that don't rhyme where you want them to? Here's a litmus test for ya:

Spider, spider, on the wall,
Don't you have any sense at all?
Don't you know that wall's just been plastered? --
Get off of there, you dirty little spider!

Or how 'bout this song ...

Matches, matches, M-A-T-C-H-E-S;
Matches, matches, M-A-T-C-H-E-S.
You can strike 'em on wood, you can strike 'em on glass;
Once I even knew a girl who could strike 'em on her shoe.
Matches, matches, M-A-T-C-H-E-S.

Doggies, doggies, D-O-G-G-I-E-S;
Doggies, doggies, D-O-G-G-I-E-S.
Two little doggies were lyin' in a ditch;
The one was a male, and the other was a female.
Doggies, doggies, D-O-G-G-I-E-S.

Don't Hug a Tree-Hugger

Save a Tree -- Don't Wipe!


(Sponsored by P.E.T.A. - People Eating Tasty Animals)

On the Sabbath ...

My general perspective is "Yeah, Sabbath!"

Honestly, I haven't "studied" the Sabbath much in depth or in particular. But, as with many of the beliefs which I'm presently adopting and of which I'm becoming more convinced, observing Sabbath is one that, frankly, I want to believe ... because it seems to be just another of the innumerable blessings that God has graciously given His people. -- Yes, that's right: Sabbath is a blessing!

One other very important qualifier: I believe that the Ten Commandments are still relevant today and to be completely obeyed. I do not believe (as others hold) that God took them away with the advent of Christ and then brought nine back, with the one exclusion being the Sabbath.

"1 - What is the purpose of the Sabbath?"
1. Since Sabbath means rest, my guess is that the purpose is to rest.
.......a. Exodus 20:11 appeals to the Creation and not just to Mount Sinai in justifying this command when it states that God Himself rested on the seventh day and hallowed it after six days of work. -- God rested. God commanded us, including servants and animals, to rest.
.......b. If our faith is truly in God, then we must acknowledge that the reason our six days of work are blessed with fruit (money, possessions, etc.) is because God is graciously blessing our obedience -- not because there is some objective magic formula that states "all work yields product" and God just happens to agree. Thus, it does not follow that if 6 days of work bring more fruit than 5 days of work, then 7 must be even better ... because that then becomes disobedience. -- Trust God with your work, trust God in your rest.
.......c. Jesus Christ is the more glorious manifestation of the covenant, including the Sabbath. Christ is our Sabbath, granting us relief from the weight of sin. He also strengthens us for our kingdom labors, just as rest rejuvenates. -- Hebrews 4:1-11

"2 - What is the relationship between the 'sabbath observance' and 'meeting for worshiping the Lord'?"
2. People normally stop work to eat. We often sit down (a resting position) when we eat. Many in Biblical times reclined as they ate. It is Christ's body that we eat as we partake of communion in corporate worship. From Him we gain strength, not just because He is our Rest but because He is also our Bread (and our Wine and our Oil) -- Psalm 104:15. -- I think this question needs further discussion; I will simply refer you to the other portions of this email for now.

"3 - Is there a valid biblical argument for a Saturday vs Sunday Sabbath observance?"
3. There are Biblical arguments for both (Saturday vs Sunday), but which one is valid? I'd probably cast my vote for Sunday. I've heard arguments for this based upon Christ's resurrection taking place on the first day of the week ... something about the early church transitioning their synagoguing from the seventh day sabbath (from OT times) to the Lord's day (the first week day) -- Acts 20:7, I Cor. 16:2.

"4 - Are we free to observe the Sabbath on any given day of the week?"
4. Generally, I don't think so. But if extraordinary circumstances prevent a normal Sunday observance, then another day might be substituted (as I'm told that Stonewall Jackson did during the Civil War).

Celebrate the Sabbath. Christ stated, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). My Pastor (Wilson) has explained: "God did not create men in order to have someone around who could keep the sabbath. It was the other way around. The sabbath is a servant to man (v. 27), under the authority of God. This brought the conclusion. This does not mean that autonomous man gets to decide that whatever he wants to do is okay on the sabbath. The reasoning must always be biblical, and in submission to the Son of Man (v. 28). But the Son of Man is not as uptight as some people think." The Sabbath is to be enjoyed.

Finally, please allow me to simply describe sabbath observance in our home: We generally observe Sabbath from 6 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday (sort of Jewish, I think, but that's not the only reason why). At 6 pm Saturday, we sit down to a very nice dinner (which my wife has worked hard up to that point to prepare) with tablecloth, our best dishware, wine glasses, hot food including some meat, and a chilled wine. Sometime during supper, we raise our glasses and sing the Doxology (in one of several available forms). We may sometimes have dessert, but not always. After cleanup, we have some family devotions. Then we may play games, wrestle, watch a movie, or some combination thereof. (If it hadn't happened yet, we also get bodies and clothes ready for Sunday's corporate worship; but I really like it when this is done before 6 pm as well.)
.......Sunday goes pretty much as expected. I try to loudly play some Gospel music in the morning to encourage the children up and getting ready for church. It simply begs to be discussed what our approaches and perspectives are about heading to church and worshiping God corporately, including regular call to worship, confession, consecration, communion, and commissioning; but that will have to wait for another time. Our children stay with us throughout the entire worship service; we give them candy during the sermon.
.......We usually have leftovers from the previous evening's delicious meal, so no complaints there. We still try to ensure that Sunday afternoon is a good time.

You Are Like Your Father

Pop in the DVD. See a woman faced with a decision. ONE tells her, “Don’t do it. If you do, you will die.” The Other tells her, “Go ahead and do it. Don’t trust that ONE – he’s a liar. He’s just jealous of his position, because he knows that you’ll become his equal (rather than remaining his subordinate).” Pause the DVD. Let’s consider this: What should the woman do? To whom should she listen?

Is the ONE a liar, as the Other claims? Or is the Other really the liar? Let’s suppose for now that the Other is completely telling the truth. This means that the ONE is a liar. So if the woman listens to the Other, goes ahead and does it, and thus becomes equal to the ONE, then she becomes a liar … because that is what the ONE is, if the Other is telling the truth. Thus, the woman becomes a liar.

Now let’s suppose that the ONE is actually the truth-teller, and the Other is the liar. If the woman still listens to the Other and goes ahead and does what the ONE said to not do, she thus disobeys the truth-teller, follows the liar, and becomes like the Other whom she followed. I.e., she becomes a liar. – In either case, if she listens to the Other (whose logic is flawed), she becomes a liar. She should instead trust the ONE. – Now un-pause the DVD.

The woman eats the fruit and shares with her husband. They follow the liar and become like him. And we’ve had liars ever since.

John 8:44-45 – “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”

Did you know ... about Thanksgiving?

Did you know that the joint committee of both Houses of Congress requested the President of the United States "to recommend to the people of the United States, a DAY of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER ..."?

Did you know that the accompanying proclamation stated "that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions"?

Yeah, really! No joke! Check it out!

New Testament References Old Testament

How many times does the New Testament quote, refer to, or allude to the Old Testament? For a quick look at some introductory answers to this question, click on any of the following links:

Quotations in New Testament Order

Table of Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament, in English

The Relationship of the Testaments: the NT View of the OT

Now, some questions: From looking at and thinking about such content (found at the above links), ...
1) What does this say of the modern views of the Old and New
... Testaments?
2) What does this say of the NT writers' views of the OT?
3) Most importantly, what does this say about knowing the Messiah?
... (Is He only to be found in the NT? Is He only occasionally found in
.... the OT?)
4) What then is the big difference between the OT and the NT?
5) How often does your pastor preach Christ from the OT?

A Character of Its Own

Have you ever heard a movie producer or director on the Special Features of a DVD say that the production sort of took on or became "a character of its own"? Or perhaps you've read an author saying that, in his novel, he had a particular character that was giving him trouble, that seemed to have a mind of his own, as if the author had some difficulty getting the character to do what the author wanted.

I think I understand what these are saying (at least generally, not necessarily from first-hand experience), which led me to wonder, "How is this phenomenon analogous to God's story-telling? Does God's story take on 'a character of its own'? Are there players in His story that don't play out their roles according to His direction?" Of course, your response to this probably depends upon how Calvinistic your perspectives are. Without having spent a lot of time on this, allow me to attempt some answers: It's not. No. Well, not really.

There are two reasons for which I say that such a phenomenon is not shared by God. 1) God is omniscient. 2) God is non-contradictory.

In the cases of the movie producer and the author, they are not omniscient. Although they are responsible for everything that goes into their projects, they don't really know every intricate detail of such projects. They do not possess infinite knowledge even on their very own subjects. -- God does.

The second reason that human authors have more trouble handling their characters than what God does (aside from God's omnipotence) is because of contradictions inherent in (likely all of) us humans. The less like God we are, the greater degree of contradiction in our lives. Human authors sometimes sense this contradiction (and thus reveal it by the afore-mentioned comments) because one part of them says that the nature of a particular character would lead that character to behave in a certain way and thus the book would not end as the author intends, but the desire of the author is to have the character enact a different behavior so that he can tell his story the way he wants. We may commend an author who acknowledges this challenge for exercising at least some honesty, even though he may proceed without appropriately resolving the contradiction. Perhaps this could best be clarified with an example.

Let's say an author writes a story where the main character is evil, executes monstrosities, retaliates against his victims' attempts for justice, and simply walks away at the end of the story. (I would bet such stories abound; my ignorance of a good example likely stems from my lack of enjoyment of such stories.) Sometimes it even seems that we are observing such depressing stories happening in real life right before our very eyes. Some of us even feel that we are experiencing such a story.

The Psalmist even acknowledges this: “I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. … Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. … When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; ….” – Psalm 73:3-9,12-14,16

So where is the inherent contradiction? Well, while the depressed author ends his story with the destroyer walking away, the Psalmist knows that this really isn't the end of the story. Notice that I didn't finish the last verse or chapter of the passage quoted above. Allow me to do so now: “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise their image. … For, lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from Thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works.” – Psalm 73:16-20,27-28

God will vindicate and be vindicated. Justice will be served. Truth, beauty, goodness, love, and life will endure forever. -- Psalm 33:11, 117:2, 119:160, 135:13, 136:1-26, 145:13; I Peter 1:25

Transgender Worship (by Joost Nixon)

It seems that as modern worship has moved toward the front of the church, men have snuck out the back. The executive producer of St. Anne's Public House and pastor of Christ Church in Spokane, WA reveals an interesting connection between these two issues.

(It's in video format because I don't know a feasible way to upload audio to blogger.)

Why I've "Thrown Away" Votes

If, within 8 seconds of someone giving you something, you turn and toss it into the wastebasket, what kind of message do you think that sends to the giver? Answer: That you didn't like it and you don't want it. That's the message I wish to send to the Republican party.

We who compromise our convictions on election day (because we don't want to throw away our vote) forfeit any just cause for criticism when the lesser-of-the-two-evil politicians follows suit.

When we think that the next 4 - 8 years are more important than the next 30 or the last 30, we are too short-sighted.

When we say that our elected officials are representatives "of the people," and when those representatives stink, what are we saying about ourselves? (At least in this, we -- and they -- speak the truth.)

My guess is that, of all of us who are self-proclaimed conservatives, there were more of you who will wish that certain third party or independent candidates could hold office but won't vote for them than there are of us who will wish it and declare those wishes by our vote. In such a case, which group is really letting the other down -- the compromising majority, or the conscientious minority?

We Lift Them Up to the Lord

His hands were trembling the most, though his whole body quivered. He felt so … naked, even in this crowd – especially in this crowd. Never before did the shabbiness of his fig-leaf sewing seem so obvious.

Yet here he stood: not daring to look up, holding something above his head, something that throbbed, sizzled, and oozed. The sizzling and oozing came from the charring ulcer which ate away at it. The black ooze and bright red blood streamed through his fingers, down his arms, and over his body. The blood he didn’t mind so much, but the ooze seemed to sting and kill wherever it touched.

Why was he here? In his condition, this seemed to be the last place he should want to be and the last thing he should ever want to do.

But the pastor had said, “Lift up your hearts.” So here he was, doing just that. But what would God want with a heart eaten away by sin? Wouldn’t He just throw it away? But then perhaps He would provide a new one, a healthy one. But even so, what would prevent it from dying like the first?

That’s when, somehow, he began to realize something about the blood. The blood was not his. It was pure blood, pouring over his body, chasing the black ooze, diluting it, indeed washing it away. And as he glanced down through the wet blur from his eyes, he also noticed that he wasn’t naked either. The fig leaves were gone, and a clean, bright, white robe now completely covered him. “Wha- …, how …? Why?”

“If You, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.” – Psalm 130:3-4

The Name of God -- A Prayer

Psalm 34:3 – “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together.”

Dear Father in Heaven,
.......Hallowed be Your Name. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth!” (Ps. 8:1, 9) “Let them also that love Thy Name be joyful in Thee” (Ps. 5:11). May Your Name defend us (Ps. 21:1). As we “rejoice in Thy salvation and set up our banners in Your Name, fulfil all [our] petitions” (Ps. 20:5). While others trust in horses and chariots, may we always “remember the name of the LORD our God” (Ps. 20:7).
.......May we who have taken the name of Christ not take It in vain but live as faithful members of the respectful, submissive Bride of Christ. May we graciously “have love one to another” (Jn. 13:35), and may we “be made perfect in one” (Jn. 17:23); so “that the world may believe that You have sent” Jesus of Nazareth as our Lord and Savior and Christ (Jn. 17:21), so that all men shall know that we are Christ’s disciples (Jn. 13:35), and so “that all the earth may know that there is a God in” the Christian Church (I Sam. 17:46).
.......By these, may we even of this generation be privileged to see obvious and glorious manifestations of the coming, growth, and spreading of Your kingdom over all the earth and of Your will being “done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10). Then “all nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy Name,” as You have promised (Ps. 86:9).
.......So we pray with Your Son, in His Name, and with gratitude for Your subsequent promise to do just this: “Father, glorify Thy Name” (Jn. 12:28). Amen.

Spiritual or Physical?

They say that bad is already resident within. It is important to not take in anything upon which the bad will feed, grow, and further weaken us. Rather, we should adapt to a lifestyle of purging the bad by faithfully inputting the good. It is never acceptable to pay no attention to what we are putting into ourselves. Of course, a person can become so accustomed to junk that something wholesome seems almost foreign. Compared to the wholesome, the junk is preferred. At which point, a person must be taught, retrained, and disciplined – taught the truth about what is good and bad, retrained to appreciate the wholesome and despise the junk, and disciplined to faithfully follow and mature within this teaching and retraining process.

At this point, someone might ask, “Are you talking about the spiritual life? Or are you talking about the physical body?” To which I could answer, “Yes. I’m talking about them both.” In how many other areas of life may we make a comparison between the two? Of course, this is not an accident or a coincidence since the same God is Creator of both, of all. God created this world such that muzzled oxen teach us about compensating our ministry leaders, our bodies teach us about church relationships, and marriage teaches us about Christ and the Church. Or is it the other way around? Yes, it is. Actually we can and should often look at it from both ends.

So what does our theology teach us about taking care of our physical bodies? I think this is one area where the pulpit has been negligent in its instruction and exemplification. One can understand, to some degree, the preachers’ hesitation. Just look at them.

Another frustration likely stems from the discovery that what was killing us ten years ago is now good for us, and vice versa. So many sources, so much contradiction, – how can anyone say anything about health with any sense of assurance or self-confidence? But this is no excuse for not seeking knowledge and wisdom as for hid treasure. These same challenges exist in the philosophical and theological realm.

Sure, God’s grace allows us to enjoy what He “has created to be received with thanksgiving” (I Timothy 4:3); but that doesn’t mean that we should eat plastic, drink poison, and be blissful in our ignorance. When post-millennial, stake-claiming Christians are suffering and dying from the same diseases as everyone else in the world, where’s the dominion in that?

Lust Ain't No Lady

.......Darkness … and noise. What awful noise! Like howling and moaning, backgrounded by somewhat of a guttural growl. Where am I? How did I get here? What was I doing just befor- … – oh… yeah, now I remember.
.......She had called and said she had a plumbing emergency. She needed me as soon as possible. My family was away for a few days, so I had plenty of time …; and, of course, this wasn’t the first time.
.......Some time back, even before I was married, I had seen her – so full of wonders and pleasures. She seemed to know just how to arouse my curiosity. But when I told her what others had told me, that I had no right to see what she wanted to show me and that she was a deceiving enslaver, she assured me she would let me be the one in control and that I was only satisfying my curiosity about one of God’s great created wonders.
.......Nine months later, he was born, this child of mine and my Desire, my mistress. Somewhat surprised by it all, I hadn’t really thought of a name. Someone had the idea of naming him “Sin.” Not sure where that came from, but I guess it was appropriate enough. So that became his name; although we usually called him everything but ….
.......Well, from his earliest days, he was quite demanding. Of course, it was all harmless enough, so we met his demands. Besides I only met his demands because I wanted to, certainly not because of any fear of him. But as babies do, he grew … and grew … and grew. Isn’t it amazing how your offspring can become so much bigger than you! As much as I hate to admit it, some of the time when I gave in to his demands, it wasn’t only because I wanted to anymore. He simply made it difficult to say, “No.” Oh, I’m pretty sure that I could’ve said “No” to him whenever I wanted.

.......So anyway, my friend had this plumbing emergency, ya know. So I hurried to her house. She must’ve heard me pull up because, as soon as I reached her door, she told me to “come on in.” I saw no signs of an emergency – no water all over the floor, no septic smells – quite the opposite really. Perfume, riding a cool breeze through an open door leading to the basement, from where I heard her voice again. So maybe there was an emergency after all. But if there was, I forgot all about it when I saw her, lying on a beautifully-decorated canopy bed, rose petals and candles all around.
.......I didn’t think we’d been down there for very long when, suddenly, a pounding and smashing was heard through the house. We had hardly time to think about it all when they came tearing down the stairs. Her husband, with a baseball bat in hand, being pushed by … a giant – a giant who looked all too familiar.
.......Great pain! My bare back … he broke it. Excruciating pain! Throbbing heat, pounding through my head. A few seconds – an eternity – I must’ve passed out.

James 1:14-15 – “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Gospel from The Princess Bride

.......A good story is good because it resembles the best story, which is, of course, the gospel of Christ’s kingdom redeeming the world as seen in history. A princess is separated from her Lover, Who promises to come, rescue her, and make her His bride. But the rescue involves swords, disguise, battles with giants, challenging the apparent authority, overwhelming odds, even torture. And alas! the Princess loses all hope when her Rescuer is unexpectedly killed. But can death stop the true love of the Lord Jesus Christ for The Princess Bride?* If we ignore for now some possible irreverence, what semblance of hope, truth, and good character may we find in The Princess Bride in comparison with God’s story?
.......Many men want to know, like Fred Savage’s character in the movie, "Is this a kissing book?" But the storyteller arouses us with descriptions of "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles." Buttercup doesn’t expect to be swept off her feet by one who has always served her. But her discovery of the real meaning behind his expression, “As you wish,” may be compared to the believer’s discovery of God’s passionate intentions manifested through His abundant grace.
.......Then the Man must go away for a while. But He promises, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). Again he assures her, “Here this now: I will always come for you.” When she asks, “But how can you be sure?” he responds, "This is true love. Think this happens every day?"
.......And, sure enough, he does come for her, but not as expected. And though it may seem “inconceivable,” He doesn’t get thrown from a cliff by His enemies. Instead he snatches the princess away from her captors for a short while, only to be captured himself and taken into the Pit of Despair – the Garden of Gethsemane. Life is sucked out of our hero through torturous means; a great cry spreads throughout the world. The last glimmer of hope is provided by the miracle worker, who has reason for a vendetta against the prince of this world. A little time passes; a Maximum Miracle occurs. Our hero lives!
.......However, despite her best efforts and intentions, it seems the princess is bound forever to be separated from her true love because of the “mawwiage” forced upon her by the mal-intending prince. But all is restored when the false-hearted prince is bound, a father is avenged upon the death of the SOB, a successor is named to carry on the redeemer’s work, and the princess bride is reminded that “there is a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. ‘Twould be a pity to damage” hers.
.......So whenever the Bride is tempted to doubt her Lord, saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:4), we will remind her of what he says: “I told you I would always come for you. Why didn’t you wait for me?” And when she says, “Well, … You were dead,” we will again show her that "death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while." After all has been restored and the two lovers are reunited to live happily ever after, it will be told throughout the ages that "since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure, –- this one left them all behind." We will finally be convinced that, however great might be “a nice MLT –- mutton-lettuce-&-tomato sandwich –- when the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe – tht-tht-tht! they’re so perky; I love that,” –- “true love is the greatest thing in the world!”

* - The Princess Bride, written by William Goldman, presented by Act III Communications, produced by Andrew Scheinman and Rob Reiner. (copyrighted 1987 The Princess Bride Limited. MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-3061.)