365 Days & Counting...

Today is election day in the United States, and 264.25 days from today our nation will gather at pollling stations in each of our 50 states to elect for ourselves a new President. In doing so, we will be electing both the President and his (or her) 2nd-in-command, the Vice President. The new President will then decide on a handful of close, trusted officials to serve on his or her Cabinet. Additionally, it is expected that within the next President's 4 to 8 year term, at least 2 Supreme Court Justices will need to be replaced. This, as time will tell, will be the most important role of America's next President: nominating new judges to the Supreme Court bench.

Let us be wise citizens as we listen over the next few weeks and months to the candidates discuss their principles and policies. And let us be fervent in our prayers as we are now exactly one year away from voting into office the next Commander-in-Chief of this greatest nation on God's green earth!

It's Sunday

I love Sundays...

Corporate worship of God.

Fellowship with brothers & sisters.

Opportunity to minister to others.

Chance to be ministered unto.


Someone once said that the Christian life is like breathing:

You inhale God's Word, prayer, and fellowship and exhale love, mercy, and good works.
(loose paraphrase)

Here are two unrelated portions from Spurgeon, each mentioning "Sundays"...

Churches are not made that men of ready speech may stand up on Sundays and talk, and so win daily bread from their admirers. Nay, there is another end and aim from this. These places are not built that you may sit here comfortably, and hear something that shall make you pass away your Sundays with pleasure. A church in London which does not exist to do good in the slums, and dens, and kennels of the city, is a church that has no reason to justify its longer existing. A church that does not exist to reclaim heathenism, to fight with evil, to destroy error, to put down falsehood, a church that does not exist to take the side of the poor, to denounce injustice and to hold up righteousness, is a church that has no right to be. Not for thyself, O church, dost thou exist, any more than Christ existed for himself. His glory was that he laid aside his glory, and the glory of the church is when she lays aside her respectability and her dignity, and counts it to be her glory to gather together the outcast, and her highest honour to seek amid the foulest mire the priceless jewels for which Jesus shed his blood. To rescue souls from hell and lead to God, to hope, to heaven, this is her heavenly occupation. O that the church would always feel this!
Delivered on Sunday Morning, October 24th, 1869, byC. H. SPURGEON

There are a vast number of people in the world who go to church and to chapel, because everybody else does so. It is disreputable to waste your Sundays, not to be found going up to the house of God, therefore they take a pew and attend the services, and they think they have done their duty: they have obtained all that they sought for, when they can hear their neighbors saying, "Such-and-such a man is a very respectable person; he is always very regular at his Church; he is a very reputable person, and exceedingly praiseworthy." Verily, if this be what you seek after in your religion, you shall get it; for the Pharisees who sought the praise of men "had their reward." But when you have gotten it, what a poor reward it is! Is it worth the drudgery? I do not believe that the drudgery to which people submit in order to be called respectable, is at an compensated by what they gain. I am sure, for my own part, I would not care a solitary rap what I was called, or what I was thought; nor would I perform anything that was irksome to myself for the sake of pleasing any man that ever walked beneath the stars, however great or mighty he may be. It is the sign of a fawning, cringing spirit, when people are always seeking to do that which renders them respectable. The esteem of men is not worth the looking after, and sad it is, that this should be the only prize which some men put before them, in the poor religion which they undertake.
Delivered on Friday Afternoon, June 11, 1858, by theREV. C. H. Spurgeon

Candidate Considertions, Part I

(I titled this "Part I" because I anticipate more blogs on this topic to follow over the coming months.)

I was recently discussing politics with a good friend of mine and dear brother. As one would expect, the topic of the 2008 Presidential election came up. Being that we are both staunch Republicans, each of us was interested in which candidate the other might support in next year's GOP primaries.

We both admitted our unsurety on the matter at the present, however my friend assured me who he would most likely not be voting for either in the primaries, nor the November election if need be: Rudolph Guliani.

I will concede that I understand the reasoning behind this notion: Guliani has a track-record of pro-choice and pro-gay rights advocation. Based solely on these issues, I would rather not vote for the man either.

However, I think we need to think smarter than that. The office of United States President is larger than one or two issues. As soon as February's primary election results surface, we Republicans need to unite together as a party behind the GOP's candidate, whether that be Rudy, Romney, or Fred (sorry Tancredo, Huckabee, Brownback, Paul, & McCain, but I think your chances for the GOP nod are quickly diminishing). If we do not, and instead split our votes between the GOP nominee and any other third party candidate, we are shooting ourselves in the foot.

The recent "threats" from members of the religious right, such as Dr. James Dobson, to disavow itself from the Republican Party if Guliani is the nominee and support some third party candidate is utterly ridiculous and completely ignorant of the broader landscape of American politics. Consider these powerful words from Carol Platt Liebau on the matter:

In short, if the religious right decided to support a third candidate, it would become the biggest loser in a Giuliani-Clinton contest, whatever the outcome. Even so, it is tempting for those opposed to Giuliani’s pro-choice stance to speculate that a Hillary Clinton presidency might shock the country into greater receptivity to policies espoused by people of faith. But it’s worth remembering that similar hopes, coupled with discontent with the presidency of George H.W. Bush, inspired some to vote for Ross Perot in 1992. As a result, America endured eight years of a Clinton presidency – and set Hillary Clinton on the path she’s pursuing now.

And National Review columnist John Podhoretz wrote in a recent post, "A third-party candidacy on the Right undertaken by even a minimally serious person will, it is true, almost certainly doom any GOP chances in November 2008."

Justin Taylor posted these of his own thoughts on his blog last week:

1. I do not want Giuliani to be nominated for the Republican ticket. For those who are convictionally pro-life and want to see justice for the unborn prevail and Roe v. Wade overturned, it seems difficult to support Giuliani's candidacy at this stage when there are other viable pro-life candidates.
   
2. The ballgame changes if the race comes down to a pro-choice Republican vs. a pro-choice Democrat.


3. One has to ask whether or not it can be reasonably ascertained if one pro-choice candidate would be better than the other in terms of the cause of life. The key word, I think, is reasonable. We're not talking infallibility here.
   
4. The next president will undoubtedly get to nominate justices to the Supreme Court. No one doubts that Hillary Clinton will nominate judges with a judicial philosophy at odds with constructionalism and originalism.
   
5. I think there are good reasons to believe that Giuliani would appoint constructionalists and originalists, as he has promised to do--in part because I think he will want to placate the Republican base. (Even if he does this for only one term in order to win reelection, which I think is doubtful, then the next point still stands.)
   
6. One must recognize that if it comes down to Guiliani vs. Clinton, a vote for a third-party candidate will undoubtedly guarantee a Clinton presidency (likely for the next eight years). Read that sentence again. Now read it one more time. I think it's incontrovertible, and I'm not sure some pro-lifers have sufficiently recognized this.
   
7. The irony, then, is that being a single-issue voter on the cause of justice for the unborn can actually lead to increased injustice for the unborn.
   
8. At the end of the day, perhaps we can categorize the two positions as (1) principled pro-life purity and (2) principled pro-life pragmatism.
   
9. It seems that the Religious Right (by which I mean the James Dobson Republicans--the elite evangelical political influencers of soccer moms and the like) are in a pickle: Mitt Romney is a Mormon, Fred Thompson doesn't seem like a Christian, and Mike Huckabee doesn't seem electable. From my seat in the bleachers, it seems like they should pick one and stick with him.
   
10. It is a valid, legitimate point that if the Republicans nominate a pro-choice candidate, then this precedence opens the door for the nomination of pro-choice Republican candidates in the future.

While I may or may not agree with all of Justin's points, I appreciate the fact that he is putting some deep thought into this election race and not taking a lazy or passive approach to choosing our nation's next potential leader.

May we all do the same as we pray for God's will to be done.

I Have Returned

I know, I know...it's now officially been over a month since my last blog post. Sad, but true. I could run off a list of excuses, but that would be both time consuming and pointless.

Instead, I can more easily summarize my absence in a word:

life.

But now I am back and am recommitting to blog at least twice a week (at least through the end of the year.)

Another Smokey Post

One of the first blogs I posted on this site was on the topic of smoking. My basic thesis was that smoking in moderation is not a sin because the Bible does not call it a sin. Instead, our culture has decided that smoking will not be a norm today as it was in the 1st 2/3rds of the 20th Century.

Thanks to a few other blogs, the subject of smoking (and drinking, for that matter) is being rehashed. In light of this occurrence, I simply wanted to redirect people to my previous post and guide them to the newer articles on smoking.

Enjoy!









FIDE-O: Where's There's Smoke There's Fire

Steve Camp: Smokin' In the Boy's Room

Triablogue: What's Wrong With This Picture?

A Godly Man's Legacy

Dr. D. James Kennedy
1930 – 2007

• Founder of a church, an international evangelistic ministry, a radio broadcast, a television show, a Christian school, a pastoral seminary.
• Minister of the Gospel of Christ
• Defender of God’s Truth
• Innovative in Media
• Political Spokesman
• Educational Visionary
• Advocate of Morality and Social Justice

http://65.240.226.104:8080/Life.aspx

Poodwaddle

I came across this very intriguing website recently. Check it out for yourself.

This and That's

Thought I would post a few more links to quality blogs...

Have you ever considered how the cartoon strip Calvin and Hobbes could relate to modern Evangelical Christianity? Read a terrific and insightful post over at the Scriptorium!




Emergent Church Motivational Posters
(You just have to experience this for yourself!)

Hell

Again, Tim Challies posts another quality blog. This time Tim introduces a discussion on a not-so-popular topic in modern society.

It is the topic of Hell.

Although many evangelical churches may shy away from mentioning the reality of hell in today's feel-good, consumer-friendly world, Challies rightfully notes in his blog, "...it is good and healthy to think about hell." He continues with this: "It would not be healthy to think about it too much or to have a long and deep-seating fascination with it, but because God has revealed to us that there is such a place and because He has seen fit to give us a glimpse of it, it does us good to pay attention."

I encourage you to read the rest of his post here. As you think on such a weighty truth as Hell, consider this important reminder:

"Life is short;

Death is certain;

Hell is real;

But Jesus saves!"

My Faith Looks Up To Thee

My Faith Looks Up To Thee

My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day be wholly Thine!

May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,
Pure warm, and changeless be, a living fire!

While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread, be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.

When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!

Words: Ray Palmer Music: Lowell Mason

Random Friday Stories

Woman Chokes Raccoon to Death, Saves Boy

"Man vs. Wild" is not so wild

Everything's Made of Ice at Dubai Bar

[Homo]Sexual Harrassment in San Diego, Firefighters abused in "Gay-Pride parade

Upcoming Marvel Movies

CNN's 'Stardust' Review

Our Failures, God's Mercy

Our church recently retreated to beautiful Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona for our annual summer Family Camp. It was a wonderful weekend of solid messages from God's Word, as well as good food and great fellowship. Pastor Don Lindblad from Kirkland, Washington was our guest speaker for the weekend. Pastor Lindlad's messages were terrific. The weekend's theme was taken from I Samuel 30:6--"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." But to explain that one verse, Pastor Lindblad took us back to chapters 27, 28, and 29.

In these portions of Scripture we see the depression of David, God's beloved [future] king of Israel. We see David fall into such a deep pit of unchecked depression that he becomes irrational and disobedient to God (chpt. 27). We are shown King Saul's sin as he ultimately falls away from God (chpt. 28). We are shown God's providential intervention and deliverance of David (chpt. 29). And in chapter 30 we find David recovered from his depression and encouraged in the LORD.

It is a beautiful part of Scripture that I had never pondered so deeply before that weekend. While it is sad to see David in such a miserable state throughout chapters 27 through 29, we understand through it that unlike Saul, David recovered from his inner affliction. As Pastor Lindblad so astutely pointed out, chapter 28 ends with Saul and his men going out into the night, while the next chapter concludes with David and his men rising up in the morning. The symbolism here is clear: Saul, going out into the night, without the Lord's protection or guidance, would soon meet his end. David, however, is rescued from his despondency by God and rises victorious.

After studying these chapters, we should find praise to God rolling from our lips. Like David, we all can fall into self-delusion, depression, or disobedience. But like David, may we too be prompted to strengthen ourselves in Jehovah. There will always be consequences to our conduct (or misconduct), but to those who God calls His own He will uphold and show mercy.

The following verses are from a 20th Century hymn composed by Christopher Miner, but taken from the very words of David in Psalm 51. We sang this song at our camp and it fit well with our lessons on the mercy of God to sinners who continually fall short.

God, Be Merciful To Me

God, be merciful to me;
On Thy grace I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within;
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess;
Grief and guilt my soul oppress.
I have sinned against Thy grace,
And provoked Thee to Thy face.
I confess Thy judgment just;
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice,
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true.
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music. Words: Richard Redhead. Music: Christopher Miner.

Bourne Ultimatum: Not Your Average Action Flick?

I saw The Bourne Ultimatum last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. For a thought-out review of the film, check out the link below.

Here's a sample from the review:

Some movies are fast paced, but are still full of filler of one sort or another. There is not an ounce of filler in this movie. Everything is important, and requires close attention-- not good for those who have tiny attention spans and are easily distracted. The Bourne Ultimatum does not rely on gimmicks, CG effects, or razzle dazzle. Even its chase scenes seem mostly tame compared to the one near the beginning of 'Casino Royale', for example. This is because you are watching a psychological drama--- Jason Bourne is searching for his true identity, by trying to remember his past. The issue has to do with character development, or in this case character revelation.

Continue reading...

The Pastor's Wife

The topic of caring for one's pastor is dear to my heart.

I am the son of a pastor and his wife. I am grateful to God for my parents and the environment in which they trained me. Having observed and experienced the finer details of a pastor's personal life, the recent blog by Pastor Erik struck a chord with me.

While the role and responsibilities of a pastor are often many and trying, a married minister does not bear the burden of his calling alone. I firmly believe that when a married man is called into the ministry, so is his wife. God created Eve to be Adam's helper. It is understood from Scriopture than wives are their husband's helpmeets in whatever the husband is called to do. The pastor is called to evangelize, shepherd, disciple, counsel, encourage, correct, and love the parishiners within his church. The pastor's wife, as her husband's helper and co-minister of the love of Christ, should involve herself in similar endeavors. In doing so, the pastor's wife encourages her husband by doing the Lord's work along side of him.

With this in mind, churchmembers should be keen to encouraging and uplifting not only their pastors, but their pastors' wives as well.

Pastor Erik begins his post with these words:

I have commented before on the 'burn out' rate of pastors as being somewhat of a crisis in the church. I truly believe that the neglect of the home and family is a big part of the problem. But, the problem doesn't come only from the pastor's neglect of his family, but also from the church's neglect of the pastors families. Pastor's are reticent to call the church to care for their families- it seems self serving and manipulative. But, it is a necessity- if we take the strain upon pastors and their families seriously.

Please read the rest of this post here, and put into action the practical ways to take care of our pastor's wife.

The church pastor wears a great burden upon his shoulders. Bu let us not forget our pastor's better half--the pastor's wife. May we make opportunities to encourage our pastors and their wives and show our appreciation to them for the persevering love which they continually demonstrate to us.

Broken, Burning Bridge

In light of this week's catastrophe in Minneapolis, I want to point you to two important writings on the tragedy. One is from John Piper who lives and pastors near the disaster in Minnesota; the other from Charles Spurgeon. You can access both articles via Fide-o.blogspot.com.

As we think on this sad providence, may our prayers go up on behalf of the surviving victims and affected familes, and more importantly, may our hearts and minds be lifted to to know see and know "the God of all grace" who administers both mercy and wrath. May many people's hearts be moved by the Spirit to understand the dire state of their lives away from Christ and flee to Him for eternal salvation, comfort, and peace.

A Sovereign God for Tumultuous Times

Foreigners slipping over (or under) our borders into America's heartland illegally is scary enough. Add to that the idea of crazed Middle Eastern Islamists sneaking past our border security and quietly becoming a part of everyday American life is even scarier.

Well, that may be exactly what has been happening for some time now.

How many of us have really been naive enough to believe that Mexicans are the only ones crossing the border illegally? Haven't we all understood that illegal border crossing and alien smuggling can lend itself to potential terrorists?

You bet we've known!

Now there is some substantiated evidence coming to the surface showing a smuggling operation involving the trafficking of Iraqis and other Middle Easterners in New Mexico. According to the ABC News blog,

The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.

In light of Secretary Chertoff's "gut feeling" about the raised likelihood of another stateside terrorist attack in the near future, this information is not surprising, just frightening.

We live in tumultuous times. But we serve a sovereign God, creator of the universe, sustainer of our lives. Let us remember to praise Him for His goodness and trust Him always.

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

Live Earth = Lame Effort

I'll gladly admit that I did not pay any attention to what Al Gore and a large handful of popular music artists were doing with this "Live Earth" campaign to focus the world's attention on Global Warming.

But from what I'm reading online, this worldwide concert was a major flop. Why am I not surprised?

Additionally, Boundless explains how completely repulsive the attitude and mood of the whole event was.

What a waste of time, energy, money, and musical talent.

Lame.

498 Years Ago Today...

...John Calvin was born.












Check out James White's brief post on the eventful day.

(Thanks for the FYI, Dr. White.)

When Sinners Say 'I Do'

Paul David Tripp gave a raving review of a new book on marriage entitled When Sinners Says 'I Do'. The title alone grabs my attention, nevermind Tripp's review in which he claims, "It blew me away!"

Sounds like it's worth checking out!

Told You So!!...

Transformers set a new record for a non-sequel movie bringing in over $152 million in the first week! I knew it was a good movie and it definitely deserved its profit!

And to think that my $9.50 contributed to that milestone!
[Pats self on back and says to self, "Well worth it, Dave! Good job.]