Riches

A good name is to be chosen rather
than great riches,
And favor is better than silver or gold.

Or so begins Proverbs twenty-second chapter.

As a committed Christ-follower, I could nod my noggin until next November in utter agreement with that principal. The foot and a half plummet from head to heart, aye, there's the rub.

In a time when moths eat holes in IRA's and rust erodes 401k's (Matthew 6:19), the Christian can lose sight of laying up treasures in heaven faster than a pea in the circus huckster's shell game. A little slight of hand a bit of misdirection and I become firmly convinced I'm properly focused.

But the shell is empty. No stuffed teddy bear and I lost my three dollars.

Perhaps thieves have broken in and stolen. No matter. Where are my eyes? Does the loss of my money have me sweating the future or do I continue to trust the one who's got the few remaining hairs on my head numbered (Matthew 10:30)? Oops, that's three fewer.

Don't misunderstand. We must be wise about preparing for the future. Consider the ant (Proverbs 6:6-11) and other proverbial success stories (13:11, 13:22, and 21:5 to name a few). Still, as one gentleman exposed to me in my younger days, if I die a fool, someone else will get my stereo, and someone else will woo my wife.

No other place offers the treasure trove of wisdom like God's word. At a time of fiscal irresponsibility by individuals (we're approaching $10,000 in credit card debt per family), corporations (can you say AIG? the Big Three?), and our own government (we will not see the debt paid off in our lifetime...if ever), I love stumbling upon simple and sage wisdom that echoes biblical truth.

I offer to you a couple of articles that passed my way this week.

1. A bold, fresh bit of stewardship. God's not mentioned but the ruminations are straight out of Proverbs.
2. Bailout, communism & the greed of the common man. Thomas Sowell winds up upon the Big Three automakers and knocks them, our nation's recent socialist tendencies, and our individual greed right on their fragile posteriors. Why do we want to see "The man" fail? He illustrates by highlighting why the American Revolution didn't devolve into class warfare as did the French Debacle.

Let's continue to be good stewards of the dollars we earn and not fretting if our mattress burns or if FDIC proves less sure than we'd hoped. Let's dig for treasure that will be secured by One that even a meddlesome government cannot destroy.

Just another day: Black Friday

The glorious tryptophan haze of yesterday's feast has faded after a glorious night's sleep. No, I did not awake in the wee hours of a chilled morning to save twenty bucks on something I really don't need anyway. Been there. Done that. Not a tradition I long to further.

Here's some of the wackiness that's caught my eye of late.

• HICKVILLE. I live in a town of just over 100,000 folks. A small state school resides here, too. Despite the fact that Islamic nut-jobs have murdered over a hundred folks on the other side of the planet, our local paper covered it on page 9. Some of the stories that preceded it? Harvey Milk. Iraq voting on America's departure in three years. Oldest woman died. Planned Parenthood gift certificates. Police taser naked DUI suspect...in California. I don't live in California. But you wouldn't know it from my paper.


• BLACK FRIDAY grew blacker still. Seems some zealous, me-first shoppers trampled a New York Wal-Mart employee to death in their haste to get-what?- an iPod? Guitar Hero VII? Greed. No, Gordon Gecko, it's not good.
  


• BACK TO MUMBAI. The world cries out against "terror." Terror didn't kill 100+ folks in India. It was not what left none alive in the Mumbai Jewish Center. How much savvy is required to assemble this five-letter puzzle.? Here are those letters in no particular order. See if you can piece it together (I picked a color as close to blood red as I could find).
  

A-M-L-S-I

Here. Maybe this picture will help.

Does the tablecloth (hijab) give it away?

• SAVE THE PLANET. As if the enviro-cataclysmic obsessions weren't bad enough, some folks are asking the UN to develop a plan to deflect incoming asteroids. Sounds great in theory and on the silver-screen, but deflect an asteroid?!? Little ones are of no concern. They fry in the atmosphere. If it's big enough to get through the atmosphere and do some damage, it's too stinking big for anything we've got to nudge it out of the way (apologies to Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman). Imagine Al Gore standing on the Mississippi River Delta holding up his large though not-quite-omnipotent hands trying to hold back Katrina. Can you say, "Absurd." Then there are these:
  


• Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:8-9)


• Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. (Revelation 8:10-11)


• NORTH & SOUTH. Of the border, that is. Things are goofy in Canada. It seems they don't know which way they want the country to go. The current government recognizes the economic crisis in which it finds itself and wants to decrease spending particularly toward political parties and government workers. The opposition threatens to dissolve the government. Just to the north.

In and around the Caribbean, just to our south, Russia continues to cozy-up to kooks like Castro and Chavez. JFK had the spine to stare down Khrushchev. Will Bush for a few more weeks and then Obama have the wherewithal to stand toe-to-toe with Medvedev and Putin as the Neo-Sovs begin to up the military ante in our own backyard? Maybe our leaders consider Russia a "nation of peace." Maybe their just looking to swap some Stoli for a few Havanas and a couple sacks of coffee. Maybe.

Until next time, enjoy your turkey sandwiches!

Thanksgiving tragedies: India

In his seminal work, America Alone, Mark Steyn records a quip he made after 9-11 "...that these days whenever something goofy turns up on the news chances are it involves some fellow named Mohammed." He intended it to be simply a throw-away line, a bit of humor, but there's truth in jest, he realized. He then goes on to list a dozen major terrorist attacks beginning with 9-11 and marching to the present where one of the chief terrorists was, you guessed it, named Mohammed.

It's not the name he's indicting. It's the motivation behind the name. That motivation is Islam and it's hostility toward the civilized world.

Call up any news web-site today and the headline will be about the concerted acts of brutality in India. One of CNN's linked articles had as its title "Who is to blame for the Mumbai attacks?" Wouldn't it have been nice if CNN had maintained this distanced sense of objectivity during the presidential election? I'll give them a hint. I bet one of the dudes' names begins with an M.

Reuters image

Once again terrorist motivated by their Koranic convictions are unleashing their genocidal wrath on things western, things Christian, things Jewish. Early reports had the gunmen checking passports looking for westerners. As of this typing, the butchers have slaughtered 125 people.

A religion of peace?

Ever the expert of international intricacies, Deepak Chopra gagged up his thoughts to Larry King.

The situation is complex, Larry, because it could inflame to proportions that we cannot even imagine. It has to be contained. We now recognize that this is a global problem, with only a global effort can solve this."

(Okay, so far. I am a bit surprised that the Deep-one is only now recognizing it as a global problem. Sorry for interrupting...)

"And you know, one of the things that I think is happening is that these militant terrorist groups are actually terrified that Obama's gestures to the rest of the Muslim world may actually overturn the tables on them by alienating them from the rest of the Muslim world, so they're reacting to this."

(Um, the Muslim terrorists (the adjective and noun seem to be side-by-side quite a lot these days) don't like overtures of peace and cooperation? I think he's right but he has no clue why. Back to the countdown...)

"You know, there's 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. That's 25 percent of the population of the world. It's the fastest-growing religion in the world."

(Oominous and true statistics)

We cannot, if we do not appease and actually recruit the help of this Muslim world, we're going to have a problem on our hands."

Whoa, Nelly! (apologies to Keith Jackson). Look up appeasement in the encyclopedia (dating myself...Wikipedia) and you'll find a picture of Neville Chamberlain or a map of France.

Chopra's recent work on Jesus Christ has further muddied the man's mind. He, like many folks, took Christ's words, especially His Sermon on the Mount,* and conformed them to his own thinking, his own philosophies thereby distorting them beyond any biblical recognition. Chopra's painted a Strawberry Fields Forever Jesus who would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. That's not Him.

And so the world peers in on more murder perpetrated in the name of Allah and wonders "What's goin' on?" The average Joe recognizes the threat and wonders how long it will be before the rapidly growing virus within our own shores erupts into an incurable plague.

Could you pass me a drumstick?

*For an exceptional audio treatment of the Sermon on the Mount, follow this link. The messages that begin "SotM" deal with the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Counterman is currently one-third the way through Chapter 5 of Matthew (the SotM) going through chapter 7.

Verse of the Day (VotD): Thanks Giving!

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:28

Giving Thanks

George Washington, some deist stiff-armer of religion? I don't think so.

[New York, 3 October 1789]

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be--That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in thecourse and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also 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--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

Those nutty deists! Wish we had more like them in office today.

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends and family.

Glory to God in the highest!

The hunt

Parenting seemed easy ten years ago. My eldest was eleven; the youngest, three. Out of respect and honor or fear, all four boys followed the directions of their parents in obedience.

My eldest has since graduated from college. Sons two and three are attending college and son four careens down the road of his first full teen year bouncing off the guardrails. We've slapped two little girls on the tail end of our family bringing the total progeny to six.

The adventures of the last half-dozen years have convinced me that I know little about fatherhood. Like the chaos that must be felt by an offensive guard in the National Football League every time the ball is snapped, I attempt to hold passionately to the blocking assignments that God has given me, but more and more it seems the quarterback gets sacked and we're now third and nineteen. Next play I vow to myself that I will try and hold my man and make way for the ball carrier.

I don't understand the overall gameplan, but I know the One who does. And so I keep blocking.

As the ache for independence begins to pound in the heart of the teenager, more and more their pathway diverges from that of their parents. Sometimes that brings rapturous thrill. Other times we dwell in silent and grievous agony.

Sometimes the roads come back together. This weekend was such a time.

My younger three sons and I ventured south to hunt whitetail deer. I have a dear ("deer"?) friend whose father-in-law has cultivated his ranch into prime deer hunting real estate. The latter, Mr. Jack, has graciously offered his son-in-law, KC, the opportunity to invite some friends to hunt the ranch. We have been richly, richly blessed to enjoy several such opportunities.

This weekend, we knew the greatest success we had ever known. Three of us took 8-point bucks, all of reasonable caliber. For that reason, I've no doubt my sons will savor the weekend.

My greatest joy was being on the same road with them once again. It was sitting alongside my son as he spied his 8-point, a deer I didn't see, and fell it with a single shot. It was seeing my son ride back in the truck with his beast in the back. I got to witness my son, the one who was skunked, rejoice in the success of his father's first deer and in the success of his brothers' kills. It was watching my son dress the gnarliest gut-shot I've seen (not that I've seen many) with the skill of a surgeon. It was watching two of my sons process three deer in an afternoon with knives flying like butchers with another son faithfully feeding the meat grinder.

Since driving home Sunday afternoon, our paths have again begun to once again diverge. I will savor the weekend that my three younger sons stood alongside me on the same road. Like God's glorious rainbow, three 8-point racks hanging side-by-side will jog my all-to-forgetful memory.

(Click the picks to get the up-close-and-personal)














"My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad."

Proverbs 23:15

Obamatheology

Haven't heard about folks railing against folks for wanting evolution challenged in a while.

Fox News posted a piece (here) about a scientist who is coming out with something revolutionary. He's suggesting a combination of science and religion. Compatibility. Kumbayah, all over again.

I'll not use 301 to vent against evolution and all its tentacles but to point out the San Andreas Fault that this guy has picked as his "firm" foundation. (Excerpted from Fox, parentheses mine)

The scientist: "I was raised believing in God, so for me, the onus would be on someone to stop me from believing. There is a certain momentum that is already there."


(Has the man never heard of inertia?)

The skeptic interviewer: "So you're stepping off the page of science?"



(Not required for belief in God or Genesis 1. What most Christians don't grasp is that the one who created science is the One who wrote the book. Trying to conform the Bible to science is silly. God will not be inconsistent between the General Revelation (nature) and the Special Revelation (the Bible) )

The scientist: "Absolutely," he said, but added that he thinks science will soon nail down a definition of consciousness that will make God's intentions more clear.



(Um, it's called the Bible)

A Christian in the White House?

Much about Barack Obama's politics has given Christians cause to shudder, but the Illinois Senator's self-profession the he is a Christian gives the saints hope that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction in his life regarding his position on many issues.

When your Christianity is nothing more than what you say it is, all bets are off. And so it is with the President-elect of the United States of America. Below I have excerpted some of his comments posted at World on the Web. Not many of them are good.

The full interview, which demands our attention for getting these comments in their full (and troubling context) can be found here.

What he believes: “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.”

On whether he considers himself born again: “Yeah, although I don’t, I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I’m not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I’ve got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.”

On how often he attends Trinity United Church of Christ: “Every week. 11 [o'clock] service.”

On his prayer life: “Its’ not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I’m constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing, why am I doing it.”

On who Jesus is to him: “Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher.”

On who he looks to for guidance: “Well, my pastor [Jeremiah Wright] is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for. I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend [James] Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely.”

On the existence of hell: “I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.”

On doctrine: “I think that each of us when we walk into our church or mosque or synagogue are interpreting that experience in different ways, are reading scriptures in different ways and are arriving at our own understanding at different ways and in different phases. I don’t know a healthy congregation or an effective minister who doesn’t recognize that. If all it took was someone proclaiming I believe Jesus Christ and that he died for my sins, and that was all there was to it, people wouldn’t have to keep coming to church, would they.”

On the existence of heaven: “What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.”

On what sin is: “Being out of alignment with my values.”

On being aligned spiritually: “It’s when I’m being true to myself.”

(boldface mine)

(An aside: This is post #300 since I started blogging on the first of the year. Wish the topic could have been brighter. Thanks for the encouragement from those who've tripped through these musings with me)

So what did we vote for?

There's been a video bouncing around the internet the last few days. O'Reilly showed it on The Factor last night. The interviewer asks those who voted for Obama a few relevant current events questions. Who is Nancy Pelosi? Barney Frank? Joe Biden? Who currently controls the House of Representatives?

The Obama supporters bombed. Truth be told, if such a poll were to be taken of McCain supporters, I doubt the performance would be any less pitiful.

We are dopes about our own country. This election highlighted that fact like a supernova. Here's your chance to see how well you understand American civics. Cal Thomas did his column today on the tragic ignorance of the American populace about the nation in which they live.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has fashioned a quiz to test one's civics savvy. The average score of those who have completed a Bachelor's degree? 57%. That's an 'F' if you're keeping score.

But be encouraged, elected officials score markedly lower than the general public.

Give it a whirl. 33-questions. No linking to other sites. See what you know. Then let me know how you scored using the voting buttons in the column at the right. Click here to take the quiz.

(BTW, I don't know everything. 88% - B+ ... I need some brush up, too)

The demise of the Republican party

Kathleen Parker, a columnist who once fancied herself a conservative, has solved the puzzle about why the Republican party imploded this election (here). Ms. Parker seems to think the issue with the GOP is G-O-D. Says the madam,

"To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh."

Oogedy-boogedy? Ouch. I'm hurt.

She seems to think that the Republicans have kow-towed to Christians for too long simply to keep their votes. No, Ms. Parker, the Republican party is the natural place for Christians because it closely holds to principles that jive with the word of God (when its not busy redistributing America's wealth to irresponsible banks or businesses that make mediocre vehicles and that employ a mass labor mafia).

For years socially liberal fiscal conservatives have wanted the Republican platform to lighten up on issues like abortion and homosexuality. The problem with doing that is that based upon recent performance, if the Republicans abandon a strong stand on moral issues, they are fiscally (and tragically) indistinguishable from Democrats.

Ms. Parker's solution begs the GOP to appeal to a wider constituency. In otherwords, she longs for the progressive Republican. Ma'am, they're called Democrats, and they've already made a moral shambles of one party.

She concludes asserting that either the Republicans need to shift or there will be a need for another party in America. What she doesn't grasp is that if the Republicans do shift there will become another party in America. It will be something that holds firmly to conservative, and yes, biblical, principles.

China: A post-Olympic hangover

China's been mighty quiet since Beijing closed down their games. Beyond pouring money into our tottering economy, buying up our banks and government bonds, they've been as quiet as Buddhist temple mice.

I read an article today slapped me out of my Sino-complacency.

You've probably heard about their one-child policy, the one that's created a veritable boom in their abortion industry and in orphanages for infant girls (and little boys born with deformities). The fact the implementation occurred a generation ago has led to all those baby boys growing in marrying age men only to find that there are 40 million more of them than there are potential brides. Self-inflicted societal catastrophe.

That's not what the article was about. No, I'd heard plenty about the former issue. This one had me thinking back to the Holocaust museums I'd visited (can you use so tame a verb about such a place?) in Jerusalem and in Washington D.C. It appears that what they do to their political prisoners makes Gitmo seem like the Ritz-Carlton with room service.

To keep up with the growing need for human organs for transplant, they turned to the logical place a totalitarian state would turn - its political prisons. The Falun Gong, the religious thorn in the Chinese posterior, have been on the giving end of this assembly line. Organs. And lives. Seems to satisfy the Chinese state on both counts.

Read the disturbing article here...and then wonder why you haven't heard about it before now.

Objectivity shmogjectivity

Howard Kurtz has an epiphany in today's Washington Post article (here). You really ought to be sitting down if you plan to read further. Oh, you already are. Well, have you steeled your spine? Try not to flinch. Here it is (cue the screechy Psycho music):

The press has not been objective in its reporting of Barack Obama.

Gasp! Shriek! Cough-sputter. Poor Janet Leigh!

Sorry. Kind of a "no-duh" epiphany. Gives you some idea about the tiny closet in which the press resides. Kurtz exposes example after example of treacly junior high school fawning over our next President, stuff you've likely heard or seen for yourself (and felt like you needed a bath afterward) to make his point.

While I find most of the article spot on, to my mind he has erred with where he believes the press will ultimately find itself. He anticipates an end to this gooey honeymoon, this love affair laced with eros. He concludes:

Obama's days of walking on water won't last indefinitely. His chroniclers will need a new story line. And sometime after Jan. 20, they will wade back into reality.

I don't think so. In the few moments of post-election sobriety, a few journalists recognized the improprieties of "the night before," but no sooner had the ink dried on their piece, they returned to the bar for another shot of Scotch on the Ba-racks with an Oba-martini chaser. Pretty soon all was comfortably numb once again.

Yes, Kennedy had his Bay of Pigs. Considering the unbelievable stuff Obama has survived politically to this point, he'd have everyone believing the Cuban mess was Barry Goldwater's fault.

I pray that I'm wrong, and that we'll see objectivity in the press at some point before 2016.

Assembler

It's an on-line puzzle game. Nothing objectionable. Just trying to figure out how to get a particular shape into it's home location. Give it a try (here).

And then I'll need to beg your apologies for introducing you.

QotD: America? What's it gonna be?

"At home, do Americans want to be something like a European social democracy — or is the old American republic still viable? What about abroad? Sarah Palin put the question in terms of “American exceptionalism”: Do we want it or not? And I like to borrow the words of the first Bush, spoken in 1988, when American “decline” was in fashion, and happily anticipated: Are we to be a “unique nation with a special role in the world”? Or are we to be “another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe”?"

- Jay Nordlinger, Impromptus, NRO

Just another day: The economic summit

I would have included this last night had I known it was taking place. Both of these articles appeared today.

As leaders of the world's 20 largest economies, dubbed the G-20, gather in Washington, some European leaders are pushing for global financial regulation.

-CNN

World leaders at an emergency economic summit are moving to sharpen detection of risky investing and regulatory weak spots, hoping to avoid future financial meltdowns like the one now threatening the global economy.

-FoxNews

Not that many years ago, I could not have imagine the world's economies being so interlinked that the hiccups in the U.S. would ripple across the planet, nor that we would be impacted by the crises of other nations.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius (a day's wage); and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

- Revelation 6:6

Who would have thought that they would get together to try and determine how to stabilize the world markets? It doesn't require the imagination of Aldous Huxley anymore to see the international financial web growing stronger and then requiring some form of user ID to access the financial market.

...and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark...

- Revelation 13:17

It's not just finance, either. National identities were so strong when I was a kid, you couldn't imagine an international figure that would hold sway across the oceans. Mao? Loved in China, hated everywhere else. Brezhnev? Loved in the USSR, hated everywhere else. Nixon? Hated pretty much everywhere (too bad, really). Even the most loved leaders were loathed by a good 50% of the nations.

It seems that things have changed. Notice the international fawning over Vlad Putin. Good grief, he was Time's Person of the Year! The press can't get enough of his beefcake, stud-islav persona. He fishes mountain streams (sans shirt), hunts tiger (with shirt), and knows the martial arts. And he invades former Socialist states without a care knowing that the neutered international community and ham-strung US won't bat anything beyond the diplomatic protest eye-lash.

Who is like (this one)? Who is able to make war with him?

- Revelation 13:4

Putin is not the only man with which the world has fallen in love. Our very own president-elect has smitten the world-wide community. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the majority of nations ached for his election. Before he has done anything of substance, the image of Barack Obama and the eloquence of his rhetoric has earned him international superstardom.

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

- 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

Am I saying Putin is the Antichrist? No. I'm not saying it about the president-elect, either. But both men use biblical language with great panache to advance their cause, but when you delve into their deeds and what they espouse, those positions run contrary to God's word or are just a little bit "off." Note Putin's polish

Time Magazine: What role does faith play in your leadership?

Putin: First and foremost, we should be governed by common sense. But common sense should be based on moral principles first. And it is not possible today to have morality separated from religious values...

T: Earlier you used the phrase Thou shalt not steal. Have you read the Bible?

P: Yes, I have. And the Bible is on my plane.

The rise of such men shows to skeptics and affirms to the saints the truth of God's word. Such prophecies that even a generation ago seemed beyond imagination today are headlines.

Christ will return to this earth in body. The Bible does not equivocate on that. Much will take place before that occurs and most of it will not be pretty. Again, the Bible is clear.

The increased fragility of international economics and the rise of international supermen portend an imminence to all these events.

Stay tuned.

Just another day: November 14th

• FIRE. Does anybody remember when California has burned so readily? It seems that the state's been on fire for the last couple of years. Brush fires typically threaten communities when the Santa Ana's get going. But that's seasonal. The current infernos have seemed relentless. Relentless.
  

• TOLERANCE. Which people group in America cries loudest in its demands for tolerance? That would be the homosexual activists. Why is it that when they try to alter traditional marriage and states one after the other vote to uphold marriage as one man, one woman vile protests break out around the country. Aren't the homosexuals being intolerant to those who hold to God's definition of marriage?


• FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Seems the neo-Soviets will pay a visit to Cuba and Venezuela. If that weren't bad enough, it seems China will send an envoy Cuba's way, too. Bears and Dragons on our back porch. Oh my.


• KUMBAYA. "A website launched Friday with the backing of technology industry and Hollywood elite urges people worldwide to help craft a framework for harmony between all religions." Yikes. Article here. Once again, the Golden Rule yanked out of context, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount ignored, and Jesus exclusive claims to being the only way to the Father dismissed. Pretty dim for "enlightened" people.


• IRA'ss & 401k's. How much have you lost? I've lost a ton. But...
  

  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-20)
  



• LADIES. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State? Guess we'll here celebrations on the left that another woman is serving as SoS. In their minds, that will make the second, Mme. Albright being the first (Ms. Rice does not count...being conservatively minded, she's not a real woman). And the first woman ever to make 4-star general took her oath today.


• MINNESOTA. Oh, the agony! Norm Coleman makes John McCain look like a staunch conservative but compared to Al Franken, old Norm looks like Mr. Reagan. The voting chaos going on in the great white north makes what went down in Florida a few years back seem like a day at Epcot. Exactly how many lawyers is Stuart Smalley employing? Does anybody on the planet find it odd that the discovered votes all tip toward Al? And what's with the name Al anyway? No, you may not call me Al!

I'll not touch the automotive debacle. Let's hear it for unions. Pffftthht!

Good night, and God's peace!

QotD: Econ 101

"Government is force, not eloquence. And force is an attempt to defy economic logic. The consequences are often opposite of those intended."

John Stossel, "The Road to Serfdom"

(A good article for understanding what's coming down the pike)

And on the socialist side of the coin...

"The American worker has produced more per person than at any time, but it hasn’t been shared, and that’s the problem because we have been guided by a Republican administration who believes in this simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards the means of redistributing wealth."

Comrade...oops... Congressman Jim Moran, D-VA

Why we fight

That's the title of one of the best episodes from Band of Brothers (minus about 10 seconds). The title rings apt as Veteran's Day slides into the rear view mirror. A couple of thoughts about our United States military (it may morph into a couple of posts).

First, how can one "support" the military and not "support" the cause? I often hear laudatory words about our military and those who serve from those who loathe its mission and its commander-in-chief. That might fly in the mind of schizophrenic post-modernists, but it doesn't past muster with most folks and certainly not those who take up arms.

Understand this: volunteers make up our military. They haven't been lobotomized at their enlistment. They've not had their brains washed when they took their oaths of office. They serve by choice in support of a cause and under the leadership of their commander-in-chief (that's the President of the United States).

Let's say the U.S. military was conducting Holocaust-type operations with an all-volunteer force (Germany's was not volunteer, though I would contend it doesn't excuse service under such circumstances). Can you really support troops conducting such atrocities? Despite the orders of superiors, each man and woman is an independent moral agent and is held accountable for their actions despite their orders.

Our military is perhaps the most noble military the world has ever seen. From the time of the Revolution through today, the American GI is known by its grace toward the civilian populace of foreign soils. The picture of the USAF Chief Master Sergeant tells the story.

So here's the deal: When we support the military, we support the cause and it's commander. Otherwise we do not support the military.

To be continued...

Cartoon of the Day: 11-12

Pretty well sums up E'08.

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

Cartoon of the Day: 11-11

Thanks to all of those who've served in our nation's military and either fought or supported the fight for freedom at home and abroad. God bless you all!

Cartoon by Scott Stantis

It's a jolly holiday

Does anyone else note the irony that the president who has been in place for eight years and served through one of the worst disasters in our nation's history gets one of the most disgusting films ever made about a president done on him during his term while the incoming president (not even a full-term senator) is being touted for his own holiday?!?

Let the bridge-building begin

Not so much.

President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas.

John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own.

The full story is here.

When Bill Clinton took office some of his initial moves included wickering with the military by opening more positions closer to combat for women. Standby for changes to how the military handles homosexuality and religion (guess which will be considered good and which evil?).

The article indicates that we can expect changes to government funding regarding abortion, too. Those will be my and your tax dollars at murderous work.

Interesting way to build bridges.

Six years

On a wooded hillside behind a church just north of Madison, Wisconsin, rests a beautiful cemetery. At the very top of the hill, at the top of the cemetery, you can look back down the hill over the top of the church and see the dome of Wisconsin's capitol building between the branches of the trees.

During the winter, the trees stand as barren sentinels along the white and frozen hillside. In the summer, the trees sprout foliage so dense and green, the resting place of the dead remains cooler than most any place in town.

The cemetery is most beautifully dressed in the fall. The trees don colors beyond imagination, a final celebration of a year racing to its death.

It's in this cemetery that my dad was laid to rest six years ago today.

Each year since his death, I have walked a cemetery near my home and thought about how God has blessed my life through all that my dad invested into our family and into me. Last year I had the honor of walking that cemetery in Madison. Not so this year. Today I look at my photo and thank God for my dad.

My dad wasn't perfect. None are. But he took me to church every Sunday laying the foundation for my future relationship with Jesus Christ. He remained faithful to my mom through thick and thin, through joy and sorrow. He busted his tail to put food on the table and paid off tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills after the death of his first wife...with no government assistance.

In his final years, his passion for Christ grew the hottest I had ever seen it. Despite being on oxygen twenty-four hours a day, he would leave the O-2 aside each Sunday morning as he taught the word of God to a Sunday school class the truth of God's word, things they had never heard (and haven't since his passing).

Six years. Days go by where he does not come to mind. Others I will think of him often. Then there are days when his absence stings like a wicked Wisconsin wind in the depths of January.

I was supposed to walk that cemetery again today, but due to poor weather in that neck of the woods, I could not make the journey.

As I tap this out, I know a joy that only comes from the promises of God because I know that I will see him again.

The election of an idea, not a color

On Tuesday a man was elected. A man with extraordinary ideas. Ideas that for decades have been thought contrary to American ideals, and greater than that, biblical ideals.

Not only did the man possess radical ideas about America's governance, but the man possessed some radical baggage by way of his friends and associates. These, too, were radical about America.

But on Tuesday, America elected that man.

In the aftermath of the election, I have begun to hear (at long last and too late) members of the media outside Fox wonder aloud about whether such a radical man can be centrist enough for our nation. They have pondered the true influence of bomb-throwers literal, oratorical, and financial like Ayers, Wright, Pfleger, and Rezko.

Do you know what the chief topic of conversation has been this week regarding the election of Barack Hussein Obama? His skin color.

As I sit in my house with its rose-colored windows on this chilled November morning in the heart of Mainstreet, USA, my brow furrows and my lips purse in frustration at the adoration and exultation because a man was elected, a man whose skin is a few shades darker than his opponents (only a few).

In the interest of full-disclosure, my pasty-white skin turns slightly past tan in the summer months. I've walked no miles in African-American skin. So what follows is opinion and observation.

• I've seen white racists. I remember a athletic general manager, I don't remember if it was football or baseball, open the sewer gates of his face and let out some comment like, "I don't know if they'll ever have what it takes to become a GM." The idiot was fired faster than you could say Jim Crow.
• I've seen black racists aplenty. Jeremiah Wright. Louis Farrakhan. Many in rap music. Really, anytime you say someone should get a job, position, college entrance, etc. because they have a bit more melanin than me, that's racist.
• I've seen folks of every skin tone succeed because of ability not because of their hue. Colin Powell as commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Colin Powell as Secretary of State. Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice. And so in my work place.
• I've seen folks fail who were hired because of skin color and not ability. Thomas Sowell, renowned economist of darker hue, lamented that his alma mater, Harvard, in taking quotas based upon color, was creating failure within the black community because it was admitting students who couldn't cut Harvard's mustard. I've seen it in the workplace, too, within an organization that prides itself on colorblindness.

You'd think we'd be past this in post-racial America, but what we've seen with the fawning over Obama is that we are planted firmly within racial America.

And race is an interesting thing. Despite the hue, you may not really be considered a person of color. Consider Clarence Thomas, the first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court. He's a good bit darker than President-elect Obama, but many on the left don't seem to find him "black enough."

"In losing a woman, the court with Alito would feature seven white men, one white woman and a black man, who deserves an asterisk because he arguably does not represent the views of mainstream black America." The Milwaukee Sentinel

Where was the support from the NAACP or Jesse Jackson, where were Louis and Al when Clarence Thomas was nominated to the SCOTUS? Where the jubilation? Where were his defenders when he sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee and had to respond to Anita Hill's fallacious accusations?

Where were the tears and adulation from the left and from communities of color for the appointments of Condoleeza Rice or Colin Powell (not to mention women's groups with the former)?

Does color only matter when it's left color?

In America, any man can rise to any position. A few losers still skulk in the shadows and live with the defective belief that some folks are superior to others or that some folks need help because they look different than others. I had come to believe that my nation had gotten beyond such thinking.

The doting on President-elect Obama's race and the willful ignorance of his substance make me wonder if my windows need replacing.

Baffled

"Honor the king."

1 Peter 2:17b

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for... kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

1 Timothy 2:1-2

Have you ever seen a sculpture outside a government building and no matter how you craned your neck, you could not make heads nor tails out of the work of "art"? Such an event took place during CNN Headline News' entertainment segment.

Host A.J. Hammer and his two entertainment pundits tried to understand what took place on "The View" the morning after the election. In a word, they were baffled. Imagine an elephant stumbling upon a Studebaker on the Serengeti.

Some background. "The View" takes four to six semi-celebrity women, seats the in a semi-circle before the camera, and has them semi-think out loud about the issues of the day. To say it's semi-entertaining would be lying. It's like gawking at a daily train wreck. Here's the hook (there has to be a hook or why would anyone tune in?): Only one staunch (and articulate) conservative resides on this semi-panel. Her name is Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her position is decidedly Christian. It's like the Roman Coliseum every episode, and to spice things up, it seems they bloodied her up during the election.

Well, day after the debacle, Elisabeth announces her support for the new President of the United States. She did NOT endorse anything that ever came out of President-elect Obama's mouth, but in keeping with what the Bible commands, she through her full support behind the president (ever see a prominent Democrat do that? Four years ago? Eight?).

In the clips where I have heard Mr. Hammer speak of Mrs. Hasselbeck (yes, Mrs.), he's perenially dismayed. "How can I thinking individual hold to such daft positions?" seems to be his Hollywood position. Wednesday was no exception. Of course, his two debu-pundits both share his "where'd they dredge this Neandrethal cave wench?" position.

Here's the video as the "world" tries to understand the "foolishness of Christ."

Election 2008: A Christian response

I could write for weeks about how a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ should respond to what took place on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, but I would heap words upon words and never cut so cleanly to the heart as my pastor did tonight.

Let me encourage you to take 25 minutes and 7 seconds to listen how the Christian should respond to our nation's election. You'll find the link here.

President Obama

"The lot is cast into the lap,
but it's every decision is from the Lord"

Proverbs 16:33

I've set a personal record.

For the last twenty-four hours I have neither tuned into any news program nor have I scoured the e-newsosphere for the latest info on what's happening in the world around me. I couldn't. While I had not received any prophetic insight, I felt like it would have been like a lame wildebeest calf separated from the herd and surrounded by a pack of jackals.

Why bother watching that? Why bother searching the web for photos of the carnage?

I'll likely troll the web later tonight. Maybe tomorrow. I'll want to read about what the President said this afternoon. What did President-elect Obama say last night? What about Senator McCain? I still don't know if I'm ready.

In the weeks and months to come, you'll read hear much about what is and what will take place under our markedly different government. Much has changed in a day. Did you see the UT-Texas Tech game? One play Texas had it won, but for a missed INT that will haunt the young freshman for the remainder of his days. The next play, Texas had its national championship wrested from it. All in the span of one play. We are no longer what we were yesterday.

That aside, the Bible is clear:

• We pray for our president - Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all... (1 Timothy 2:1-6a).
• We honor our president - Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king (1 Peter 2:17).
• We trust God - Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God (Romans 13:1).

And so today, we awake, rejoice in the day that the Lord has made, praise Him for His goodness, continue to stand for righteousness (by holding our government accountable while we are still permitted to do so), and we begin to pray for the administration of President Barack Obama.

Peace the night before...

Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.

5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.

13 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;

14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-

15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

(bolding and italicizing are mine)

Band of Brothers

I began watching the HBO epic Band of Brothers for at least the third time. Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks did a phenomenal job taking Stephen Ambrose's historical vision and transporting the viewer into the boots of the men of Easy Company during their duty from jump school to Normandy to the Eagle's Nest.

My heart stirs for my nation as I sit mesmerized.

And I consider the election.

Oh my, vote for the man who knows war, who understands war. This is a dark time.

Photo from the HBO series "Band of Brothers"