Remember...

"No greater love has any man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

~ Jesus Christ

The American Revolution and the birth of Freedom

Gettysburg as we fought with each other to determine the nation we would be

Omaha Beach as Americans crossed seas to stop the hand of evil before it could reach across and grab us

Vietnam where Americans died and few knew quite why

Praising God that Americans still fight for our freedom, stemming the tide of that brand of Islam that seeks to strangle that freedom from our nation.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,


 That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly


Scarce heard amid the guns below.



We are the Dead. Short days ago


We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.



Take up our quarrel with the foe:


To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die


We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Worse than a lunatic

Now that 21 May has come and gone, I had hoped that Harold Camping and his ilk would retreat into shamed obscurity. Such is not the case. As with most movie sequels, he doesn't know when to quit. The sequel comes to a theater near you this October. Rather than slither into the shadows in repentant shame, Mr. Camping has kicked the can five months down the road stating in no uncertain terms that the end will come on October 21st.

I could mock him as Rick Reilly did. Or the Huffington Post did. Or Leno. Or Letterman. Or...or...or...Who hasn't mocked Mr. Camping? Who hasn't made him the butt of a joke?

But Mr. Camping is far worse than a cartoon, a buffoon, or a common loon. He's a heretic.

In a day when any knucklehead can start his own blog ("hey?!"), people opine with less forethought than Lady Gaga puts into her wardrobe, and the number of people who are speaking on behalf of God--on what he thinks, what he did, what he does, and what he will do--are legion. It's not just blogs. Every media web-site has their own religious opinionator. Even the Huffington Post added a Religion section. Movies teem with religious themes.

But for all of the talk on behalf of God, how many grasp the gravity of making such serious claims?

If I am going to speak on God's behalf, a) I must know what he's said, b) I must understand it within its given context, and c) I ought to understand how severe a matter it is for me to say, "Thus saith the Lord." Why do I need to be concerned about that?  Two very big reasons.

First, God doesn't take too kindly to folks saying he said something when in fact he said no such thing. That's why James warns

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."  (James 3:1)

Paul goes so far as to suggest that those who preach a gospel other than that which the apostles have preached are accursed (Galatians 1:8-9), wishing later in his letter that such would castrate themselves (5:12, ouch).

God himself made it plain to Israel as he gave them the law that he would send prophets who were speaking directly for him. They would be correctors and encouragers. They would also tell the nation what would befall them should they continue on their present course. But here's the rub. Anyone can say, "Thus saith the Lord." Are we to believe every yokel that comes through the yeshiva? God thought of that and it's one of the reasons for prophecy.

"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams." (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

Does it jive with what God has said? If so, great. God's word is confirmed as his through the prophet. If not--well, verse 5 goes on to make that one pretty plain.

"But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God...So you shall purge the evil from your midst."

So if someone were to proclaim something other than what God's word said in ancient Israel they were to be executed.  Is it a serious thing to say "thus saith the Lord" when in fact God did not saith?

Another aspect of prophecy was in the foretelling of future events. The Lord said

"...when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:22)

The same bad news awaited that guy.

"And the LORD said to me, '...the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'" (Deuteronomy 18:17a, 20)

Do I advocate building a gallows for date-setters? Not at all. In context, we are not Israel. I share the Deuteronomy passages to indicate God's mind on this issue. Jesus Christ also spoke on leading others astray and the consequences for those not careful about their teaching.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." (Mark 9:42)

Teach someone and lead them astray and it would be better for you to be bound to an anchor sans scuba gear and pitched into the deep with no way to hoist the anchor. Serious? Hard to miss that picture especially for those around the Sea of Galilee where Jesus spoke and where many made their way fishing.

The second reason that we should be careful about speaking for Christ is a reason that Mr. Camping and company seem to have ignored or forgotten: you slander the name of Christ. Both Peter and Paul hit on this when they warned

"You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."" (Romans 2:23-24)

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Isn't that what's happening because of Mr. Camping? Peter goes on to describe the end times which will precede the return of Christ. He says that many will scoff saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation" (3:4). Are the Campings of the world part of the reason for the scoffing?

Here's the deal. Christ is coming back. He said so. His historical resurrection testifies to his claims. Despite what the date-setters set, Jesus said no man would know the date nor the hour (Matthew 24:36), though he did make clear we would know the season (Matthew 24:32-25). When those who speak for God speak amiss, they either do not understand what they are doing or they know that they are out of bounds. Either way, the consequences are dark.

Francis Chan on the "controversy" of Hell

I just watched this video of Francis Chan discussing hell in response to recent assertions that God will make sure that none go to hell.  It's ten minutes and worth your time, assuming you have time to consider our ultimate destiny.

Imagine there's no heaven: Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking, the man with perhaps the most active and analytical brain on the planet, has once again stepped beyond the bounds of his own reason. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper (excerpted on Fox News here and in full here), the renowned physicist declared

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Now you might consider me well outside of my intellectual bounds in declaring the doctor downright daffy, but wasn't it a child that exposed the emperor as having exposed himself? Consider me an intellectual child for the moment, if you will, for Mr. Hawking refutes his own assertion.

Huh? Consider. If our brain is nothing but a computer, how did it get assembled? If all is merely machinistic, who assembled this extraordinary machine that is the universe, much less the even more mind-boggling sentient machine that is man? In a universe marked by entropy, things do not move to a higher state of order, especially on the magnitude of the human brain.

Those who advocate for a material universe alone cannot explain the immaterial. From whence cometh consciousness? How does life spring from non-life? We can theorize until we are blue in the face and posit parallel quantum mashed potatoes, but when we look about us into tangible reality, does it make any sense whatsoever? How is it I can imagine a purple elephant when in my mind there is neither purple nor elephant? What of good and evil if all that there is merely is? For the pure materialist, there can be no good or evil.  We just are.

Jean-Paul Sartre, the preeminent existentialist and atheist, could not come to terms with why there was something rather than nothing. Not only could he not get to first base, he couldn't even get up to the plate for why there was a plate versus no plate at all?

In trying to make a play for some kind of morality, Hawking suggested

"We should seek the greatest value of our action."

One has to ask, why? If I'm just a machine, why should I not seek my maximum pleasure? Why should I not do that which makes my engine run the longest?  From whence cometh altruism and philanthropy? What is love? Why should I flop on a grenade to save my chums? That doesn't sound like a very good way to keep my computer running.

In direct rejection of what God has said in his word, Hawking stands upon the mountain and proclaims

"The universe is governed by science."

The choice becomes very stark. Those who try and dance the line between naturalism/materialism and theism find no room to stand.  Hawking makes plain the end of naturalism: there is no God, there is no heaven. God has revealed himself in the cosmos; His fingerprints are everywhere.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1, see also Psalm 148:3-6)

Perhaps the most troubling passage in all of Scripture for those who have stared into the wonder of the heavens or have looked at the miracle of a newborn and spit, indicates that God's wrath awaits those who have seen the wonder of creation and turned their backs.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:18-21).

So I stand with my hand in my Father's hand, and as the emperor strides by, I cannot help but declare, "Papa, he's naked." I look into my Father's face and see a tear roll down his cheek.

QotD: Vice?

Burns

Prager

"The late legendary comedian George Burns was a listener to my radio talk show. When he was around 90 years old, he invited me to his Beverly Hills home. In the course of our two hours together, he smoked two cigars and had a couple of martinis. I asked him what his doctor said about those habits. George looked at me and responded, "My doctor died.""

~ Dennis Prager

Helping husbands

I appreciate you stopping by to read these pond-erances. Your time is limited, and how you invest the 86,400 seconds God gives you every day matters. 

I hope and pray this is a place that helps you hone your mind and your spirit by examining and understanding the world around us through the lens of God's word. Without a reference point, my thoughts have no more weight than your thoughts. Without an external standard to which we can appeal, discussions will deteriorate into screaming or swinging.

In an era where the assault against the family grows steadily more furious, families falter more and more because husbands and fathers do not hold the line. They abdicate their God given charge to lead and to love like men. In so doing, the American family continues to crumble.

In the dark days of Paul's last letter to Timothy, he encourages him to keep on keeping on as the young pastor of the Ephesian church.  Preach the word.  Reprove, rebuke, exhort.  He warns,

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

In keeping with Paul's exhortation to Timothy to be about his business, I have begun a site to spur on husbands in the enormous responsibility to "love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Once a week or so, I will post a prodding from the word of God to encourage us in the rich and wondrous adventure God has given us as husbands.

The site for husbands is called, for lack of originality, "Husbands, Love Your Wives," and can be found at http://www.husbandsloveyourwives.blogspot.com/.

If you find refreshment and challenge there, let me encourage you to pass it on to other men. Challenge other men to love their wives as Christ loved the church, not because you have it completely doped out, but because it is the right thing to do.

"Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(verses cited:  2 Timothy 4:3-4, Ephesians 5:25, Hebrews 4:13)

Conspiracy theory: OBL and Jesus Christ

I have a friend who does not trust the government. At all. Power corrupts, the adage goes, and absolute power nudges it over the precipice.

So now the government--in fact its chief executive--announces that public enemy #1, Osama bin Laden, is fish food.  My friend wants proof.

Why now?

Where's the body?

Where are the pictures?

You get the idea. While not a fan of much that the current administration has done domestically or internationally over the past couple years, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of their comments about this. Two reasons.

First, if he's not dead, all he needs to do is strike the pose to a couple Vogue photographers and the US of A looks like a bunch of dopes. Nothing dispels a rumored death quite so quickly as a pulse.

Second, if there's been a cover-up or some deception, time will erode the camouflage. As Chuck Colson and the rest of the rabble involved in Watergate learned, keeping a lie secret for very long proves next to impossible. Someone's going to blow the whistle; there's just too much money and too much temptation floating about the stratosphere.

Me?  I think Herr bin Laden has joined company with Herrs Hitler, Stalin, tse-Tung (yeah, I'm old school), Amin, and Pot just to name a few.

As this whole "where's-the-body?" thing played out Monday morning, I couldn't help but think of Jesus' resurrection because the same two reasons to believe the Obama Administration work equally well for the first century witnesses who said Jesus rose from the dead. Either he did or he didn't. Pretty hard to fathom an in-between.

So, what happened to Jesus' body? Despite the dizzying array of conspiracy theorists, no evidence has come to bear against the resurrection as reported in the earliest manuscripts from that era (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  Paul, the author of the Corinthian letter, has the boldness to tell them that there are many eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ still alive at that time. You want to squash a resurrection story faster than a bullet through a Muslim terrorist's brain, all you need to do is show the body. Not something anyone ever did.

If the resurrection was a lie, a fabrication, someone would have talked.  Judas couldn't hack the pressure while Jesus was still alive, imagine any of the yellow-spined disciples when their amigos started losing their heads.  Someone's gonna turn states evidence.

"Well, the disciples stole the body."  Come now. What power would there be behind a made-up story about a dude we saw brutally butchered if he were nothing but a cold, grotesque corpse? You want a religion based upon that? You want to suffer a life of persecution and being ostracized from family and friends for that? You want to be martyred for that? Of all the silly theories, the disciples stealing the body is perhaps the silliest.

Paul goes on to argue how absolutely absurd Christianity would be if in fact Christ did not rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). Paul had a dizzying intellect and was a brilliant man. He understood quite well that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, he was a fool at best and a liar from the pit of hell at worst. "But," he declares, "in fact Christ has been raised from the dead" (15:20).

Conspiracy? What did Paul have to gain? He was executed for this conviction. He died penniless and alone. What did Peter have to gain? He suffered the same fate as did all of his apostolic compatriots save John. No conspiracy. They all saw the risen Christ and upon that fact and in that joy they lived the rest of their lives understanding that any pain in this life would pale in comparison to life with Christ here and in the next.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

~ Romans 8:18

Bin Laden is dead. If our government has falsified that in any way, either someone will show a body, living or dead, or time will erode away any veneer and bring the truth to light. The conspiracy theories will be manifest as true or fade away for lack of evidence.  In time.

Neither time nor twenty-first century hubris has dented the evidence for the resurrected Messiah. It is because of the fact that God the Son has been raised to eternal life confirming his sacrifice on the cross as payment for my (our) sin that we can be restored in his relationship to God.

OBL. A dead zealot. Many will hail him as a martyr for their cause and do horrifying things in his name, just as he did in life. Many will be enlisted to follow his path to destruction.

Jesus Christ. A living King. Many have laid down their life for him that others might have life through him.  Today, many can come to know Him and follow him to eternal life.

That's a big difference.

Bashing the hornet's nest: the death of a madman

"Good news for America," says General Barry McCaffery.

Color me skeptical.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm tickled that one with such a vehement hatred of human life and freedom has met justice in this life even as he now in death meets with justice in the next (Hebrews 9:27), but I do not believe that his death will stem the tide of Islamic terrorism against the Christian, Jewish, and secular world.

We hit a hornet's nest with a baseball bat and killed the queen.  Think the hornets will be happy?

Another talking head just suggested that U.S. military action in the Middle East has revolved around getting this man.  That, boys and girls, is the problem.  Kill the queen and the hornets will make another queen.  And what about the hundred and fifty other hornet's nests that surround the house and even infest the house?

Until America and especially American Muslims begin to take a stand against that breed of Islam that wants to annihilate anything outside of Islam, we'll continue focusing on a single hornet's nest and then get stung very badly from places we least expect it (U.S. Army majors, Afghani "allies", etc.).

Consider the man who pushed whatever button required pushing to remove breath from this man's lungs.  He could have a gajillion dollar book deal and movie deal.  He would get ticker tape parades.  He'd be on every talk show and news show in America and Europe.  Problem is that if that man's name ever gets out, he'll have a price on his head and will have to live a life incognito.  Why?  Because bin Laden is not the problem.

During WWII, folks understood that if you took out Hitler, you killed Nazi Germany.  Militant, Koran-reading, Koran-believing, Koran-living Islam has no such figure.  It continues to spread in Europe and the United States, in prisons and in Dearborn.  These folks will not delight in their queen being squashed.

I hope I'm wrong.