Homosexual marriage and moral relativism

Rob Bell's in favor of homosexual marriage. Surprised? You shouldn't be.

The former pastor has rejected a biblical view on most issues. His book, "Love Wins," denied a hell for those who have rejected the free gift of redemption from hell through the very expensive death of God the Son on the cross. So to chuck the plain reading of God's word regarding homosexuality should be no acrobatic stretch for him (here).

This is nothing new for those who profess to be leaders of God's people. Long, long ago, God hammered the prophets and religious leaders through the words of Ezekiel.

-- Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing...
-- ...They say, "Declares the LORD," when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word...
-- ...You have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life.

Ezekiel 13:3, 6, 22 

We live in a nation that no longer honors God's word as such. Few in the church adhere to its tenets. Few believe it is his special revelation to his creatures. In fact, if you stand upon God's word, if you truly believe what he has said, if you live your life to honor him and love him in your obedience, you will be mocked, ridiculed, and rejected. The tolerance in America for vocal Bible-believers is wearing thin, and this has caused many church leaders to try and adapt God's word to the culture.

Said Mr. Bell, "I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think … we need to affirm people wherever they are." Affirm away, but I must ask, is it love to encourage and embrace the actions of another if you know such conduct is a direct affront to the God who loves them? As I pled with my dad and my mom as a lad, "Cigarettes will kill you," do I not have a moral responsibility to declare the truth to those careening toward an eternity of torment separated from the God who so loved his creatures that he provided them an off-ramp from that destination?

Every congressman in America may be in favor of homosexual marriage, but that does not make it good or right. Our nation will continue to reject the absolute nature of God's word. I must not. I cannot. If I untether myself from the only sure anchor-point in the universe, the word of God, all becomes relative. 

I believe Mr. Bell is correct. The ship has sailed. America has left its biblical moorings far behind. Without that foundation, marriage becomes a meaningless merging of any number of persons, creatures, or objects. Why can I not marry my sofa?

In reality, though, Love has won. God the Son absorbed the full wrath and condemnation of God the Father on our behalf. Until man takes hold of that gift and lets God reorient him to reality, he still stands in rebellion and in hostility toward God. He stands condemned and his doom is sure, despite his personal enlightenment on issues cultural and political.

We must remain anchored upon the sure foundation. With tears in our eyes we must continue to cry out to our nation, "Please, don't go that way," and point them back to their God and their Savior.

Even if we are the only one left on the dock.

Election!

One of the most craw-sticking ideas in the Bible among believers is the doctrine of election. Most, sadly, find it repugnant.

If you have wrestled with election and God choosing whom he will, let me encourage you to invest 40 minutes to listen to a Bible-infused, Bible-laced message on the topic. You may not like the speaker; set aside your preconceptions and hear what he says. You may not be a fan of the web-site; open your Bible and compare what is being said with what God's word says.

Pause. Chew. Meditate. Think. Pray. And let the God of all bless your soul.

You'll find the message here.

The ramblings of a few deists

Another 4th come and gone. Fireworks. Baseball. Hot dog gorgings (in our case, grilled pizza). I hope that a sizable share of our people took a moment or two to consider what happened 236 years ago when men pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Perhaps they even step-stoned from here to there upon other events that figure so gravely upon our freedoms.


We hear of history being rewritten, and for many, the concern extends to our children. What kind of country will we leave them if they cannot know nor understand the roots of their nation? Most who fear the alteration of our national heritage worry about America's religious underpinnings being erased from our national memory.


Unfortunately, when Party A raises an issue of concern regarding the conduct of Party B, don't be surprised when Party B turns the tables and accuses Party A of being the real point of concern.


Consider the example of rewriting history. The secularists are trying to prune religion from our national tree, right? Oh, no. It's the religionists who are trying to neuter the secular cornerstones that our Founders laid. Or so says a secularist:

"This country wasn't founded on Christian principles, BTW. The founding fathers were, at the very least, agnostic. Archived letters from Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin, etc all espouse a secular state. They all ridiculed what was happening in Europe. It's unfortunate how our history has been distorted to weave religion into its fabric. I'm all for freedom of religion until it encroaches on my own freedom/rights."

Ah, the threat of archived letters. Such an appeal to authority often comes from those who really haven't looked into the authority to which they are appealing. From stem to stern you'll not find a more godly man than John Adams nor a more godless man than Ben Franklin. At the same time, Mr. Franklin appealed often to the powers of Providence and its (his) affects on the affairs of men. Why would he appeal to Thomas Paine to reconsider his ardently secular writings (here)? Why else would he appeal to prayer during the Constitutional Convention (here)?

I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a bye word down to future age... 

...I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.

Ah, Ben, you old dotard, you can't say stuff like that!

Apart from Ben and Tom Jefferson, no other Founder has been so indicted as being an anti-religionist as George Washington. "At best, he was a deist," you will heard cast about. His farewell address to our nation, after two amazing terms as our first president, paints a far different picture.


As he listed the pillars upon which our nation must stand, Washington declared:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness – these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, "where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice?" And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

That's pretty strong language for a guy who presumably--sort of, kind of--thinks that there's an unnameable, unknowable "deity."


Earlier in his address, Washington described the American people, the audience of his farewell address, in this manner:

With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles.

This supports the conviction that when our Founders spoke of religion, they spoke of Christianity, and when Congress was to make no law respecting an establishment of religion, that it was toward giving preference to a specific denomination that the Amendment referred.


How about ol' Thomas Jefferson, the guy who cut his Bible to pieces? Etched in marble within his memorial for all to see (and about which atheists cringe) are these writings of TJ. On the southwest wall:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour. 

On the northwest wall: 

Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively. 

And the northeast wall:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.

And to think that Memorial was erected in the middle of the last century. Consider what it would look like if it were built today and the quotes that would be included. 

A Christian nation? We were. As our nation has rejected the authority of Almighty God in its life, our Constitution and our principle documents have become increasingly meaningless. That is not how it began. Yes, quotes can be plucked out of context. You could make Reagan sound like a communist and Obama sound pro-life. Let none say, though, that our Founders were a secular lot. Based upon much of what they wrote, that's just not true.

Sunrise

If you live in Wichita Falls, Texas, and were outside on the morning of March 13th between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., you got a treat! That happened to be the time I was mounting my 800cc Boulevard for my ride into work, a front row seat to one of the most soul-stirring sunrises I've ever seen.


As I nosed my beast to the east, the sky was already afire with crimsons and golds. The clouds which served as a willing canvas to the Artist's strokes brilliantly displayed these colors upon their curves and edges in hues never captured by man's palette and in detail unreplicatable by a brush. The purples on the periphery will never be seen on Blu-Ray. 

Photo by Peter Duncan

What really made tracking my bike on the highway a challenge was that the vista changed with every turn of the tire. The deep, dark colors gave way to brilliant oranges and yellows as the crescendo built toward the appearance of the sun.


In the next quarter mile, the details began to fade as pastel-yellow light rose like a sheet in front of the purpling clouds.  One of the things I'm not too fond of here in north Texas is that there are no hills or mountains to behold, but on a morning like this, the lack of topography provided an unobstructed view of the horizon. It was then that the sun crept over the rim of the earth looking like the jagged, molten edge of fresh welded steel.


As fast as it began, it ended. The sun had risen and the normal colors of day settled in to Tuesday.


Then I remembered to breathe.


As my ride continued, I wondered about God. How many mornings did he put such works of art on display for his children to delight in and to savor but then received no credit for his work. "Did you see that sunrise?!" I might have exclaimed, but did I thank him that all of life is not gray, that there are these works of art meant for a single moment that he brings forth to us minute by minute, day after day after day?


One of my favorite books is Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (free for Kindle on Amazon). In it he describes how we get jaded by the mundane, but God delights in the repetition of sunrise upon sunrise upon sunrise like a child delights in their daddy doing somersaults:

The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again;" and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition of Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.

So on that morning, one heart-exploding "Bravo!" went up to the One who on my behalf that day told the sun to "Do it again!" 

Just another day: Of twisters and quakes

Tornadoes raked across the United States again leaving 39 dead. Meanwhile the earth rumbles in San Francisco (4.0), Argentina (6.0) and the South Pacific (6.6). It seems like there's a lot more people dying and suffering due to natural disaster in recent years than when I was a kid. Some would argue that we have more information at our fingertips, but back then (yes, well after the telegraph), the news media got things out from around the world in minutes. To me, it seems like the world's amped up.  It's getting the attention of others, too (here).

Few people can witness such catastrophe, either first hand or through the media, and not contemplate God's hand in such events (except for Tom Hanks' character in Castaway).

Some scoff at such as Neandrethal musings. A small percentage of humanity has attained to such a level of hubris that they have removed God from any and all equations. "We're smarter than that now," they declare from their mile-high Darwinian throne as they glower down their noses. The rest of us rightly wonder.

If you declare yourself a Christian, nominal or otherwise, or a theist, it wouldn't hurt to know what the Bible has to say.

Job seemed to have a grasp of God's role in wind and rain:

 “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” (28:23-28)

The songwriters of old had the same idea:

"Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
"He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses." (Psalm 135:6-7)

Jesus credited God the Father as the sender of rain and other celestial happenings:

"For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45)

That leaves the question "Why?" sitting on my soul like a wildebeest. So why did 39 die by tornadoes this weekend? I don't know. These things I do know:

1. I can't indict God of wrong-doing. We lack that little quality of omniscience to hold court against the Almighty. David declared, "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works" (145:17). I have a very limited perspective of things compared to an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, righteous, and holy-in-all-his-ways God.

2.  The world is broken just like man. When man rebelled against God (Genesis 3, in case you missed it), even the earth was cursed. Now, that very place that was to be a haven to mankind has become as friendly as the grizzly bear. Sure it looks cute and cuddly and all that, but! Even the creation groans under the weight of man's rebellion and sin (Romans 8:19-21).

3. Disaster shouldn't make me shake my fist at God but examine the darkness of my own heart. I've mentioned this passage before in this blog (here and here) but it bears repeating. In Luke 13, folks wondered about some atrocities that were making the news around Galilee. Jesus didn't condemn those who died of some greater sin, but he did challenge those who were aware of the events of their own mortality.

"Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3, 5)

On another occasion, Jesus used a natural event in fallen world, a man born blind, to show the glory of God while others were wondering whose sin caused such events (John 9:1-3).

Here's the deal. It's not going to get better. The One who rose from the dead and was taken into heaven will one day return to this earth in the same manner he was taken up (Acts 1:9-11). You'd think the very resurrection of Jesus Christ would seal the deal in the mind of most folks, but in our jaded, CGI-laden, bust-augmented society we have let our thinking become clouded like the minds of Jill, Eustace, Puddleglum and Rilian in C. S. Lewis' The Silver Chair. Before Jesus returns, he has promised that things will get darker and that even the earth will begin to reel as it anticipates his return (Matthew 24:7-8, 29).

And, yes, there will be scoffers.  No surprise. Peter, Jesus' friend, foresaw that very attitude.

I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “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.” ...But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

The time is far nearer now than when Peter first put pen to papyrus. We grieve the loss of loved ones. We comfort those who remain. We help those who suffer out of the abundance that God has provided each one of us. We do not know why disaster has befallen these people.  Certain things we do know and we are responsible for them. And we trust the One who has created us, loved us, and redeemed us at the cost of taking on flesh and giving his life for ours.

At the very least, it should cause us to examine where we stand before a holy and righteous (and good) God.
--------------------------

Note: If you would like to research the problem of evil, suffering and the goodness of God from a biblical perspective, I highly recommend Randy Alcorn's thorough work on the topic entitled If God is Good. He uses the Bible and not his own opinions to come to his conclusions. It's available for $14.99 last I looked through his web-site, cheaper than through Amazon.

QotD: Happy Birthday, Francis!

January 30th marks Francis Schaeffer's 100th birthday. He'd celebrate were he still alive. Instead, he's glorying before the throne of his King.  


If you have never heard of Francis Schaeffer, let me recommend three books, The God Who is There, Escape From Reason, and He is There and He is Not Silent.  You can actually buy it as a trilogy on Amazon (here). He was one of the foremost philosophical minds of our era. You likely have not heard of him because he was an unabashed, unashamed Christian whose conviction about God and the Bible informed every thought he had and every topic he discussed.


In honor of his birthday, a quote from his book, Death in the City, seems apt in our post-postmodern America. The italics are his, the boldface is mine.

Do you really believe He is there? Why is there so much unreality among evangelicals, young and old? What is the final reality? The final reality is that God is really there. The Bible is what it is because the God who exists has spoken it in propositional, verbalized form. But does your Christianity end with something less than God who is there? In the teaching of your courses in Christian schools, do you believe He is there? In your learning, do you believe He is there? Do you really believe He is there, or are you only living in some sort of sociological belief? Are you only making the right theological statements, or do you believe God is there and you live before Him?


If He is really there and if He is a holy God, do you seriously think that God does not care that a country like our own has turned from Him? There is only one kind of preaching that will do in a generation like ours---preaching which includes the preaching of the judgment of God.

QotD: Pascal's Wager, the atheist, and the agnostic

I have heard Pascal's Wager in the past, but it struck me afresh last night as Dinesh D'Souza unpacked it in his book, What's so great about Christianity?

Pascal's Wager considers the existence of God philosophically (really, Pascal directed it toward the atheist, the apatheist, and the agnostic).  He looks to death and considers, what's the risk? Dinesh D'Souza takes it from here (italics mine):

If we have faith in God and it turns out that God does not exist, we have a downside risk: metaphysical error. But if we reject God during our lives, and it turns out God does exist, there is much more serious risk: eternal separation from God.  Based on these two possible outcomes, Pascal declares that it is much less risky to have faith in God. In the face of an uncertain outcome, no rational person would refuse to give up something that is finite if there is the possibility of gaining an infinite prize. In fact, under these conditions it is unreasonable not to believe. Pascal writes, "let us weigh up the gain and loss involved in calling heads that God exists. If you win, you win everything. If you lose, you lose nothing. Do not hesitate, then: wager that He does exist."


The ingenuity of Pascal's argument is that it emphasizes the practical necessity of making a choice. This necessity is imposed by death. There comes a day when there are no tomorrows, and then we all have to cast our votes for or against the proposition on the ballot.  The unavoidability of the decision exposes the sheer stupidity of "apatheism," the pretense that something doesn't matter when it is quite literally a matter of life and death.  The apatheist and the agnostic refuse to choose when there is no option to abstain.  So the refusal to choose becomes a choice--a choice against God.


Pascal also exposes the pose of the atheist who fancies himself as a brave and lonely man facing the abyss. We admire a man who is steadfast in the face of unavoidable adversity. If we knew we were alone in the universe and that death was the end, then there is no alternative but to stand tough in our mortal skins and curse the darkness. But what would we think of a man who stands ready to face a horrible fate that he has a chance to avert? If you are trapped in the den with a hungry lion, and there is a door that may offer a way out, what sane person would refuse to jump through the door? Viewed this way, the atheist position becomes a kind of intransigence, a reckless man's decision to play Russian roulette with his soul.


Atheists sometimes express their bafflement over why God would not make his presence more obvious. Carl Sagan helpfully suggests that in order to dispel all doubts about his existence, "God could have engraved the Ten Commandments on the moon."  Pascal supplies a plausible reason for what he calls the hiddenness of God.  Perhaps, he writes, God wants to hide himself from those who have no desire to encounter him while revealing himself to those whose hearts are open to him. If God were to declare himself beyond our ability to reject him, then he would be forcing himself on us. Pascal remarks that perhaps God wants to be known not by everyone but only by the creatures who seek him.

Dinesh D'Souza, What's so great about Christianity, pp. 202-203 

To welcome the worm

Over the last couple of months, I have posted photos of the Wichita Falls, Texas ten-day forecast on Facebook that looked a lot like today's forecast:

Why would I share such? Perhaps it is my Minnesota roots longing for a 75-degree day to go bike down around the lakes on the southwest side of Minneapolis.  North Texas has no such place where lake dumps into lake ringed by bike paths and naturally growing elms, oaks, maples and pines. Nor does it see 75-degrees between the months of April and October except between 1 and 2 a.m. I remember my undergrad philosophy instructor, Patrick Tower, telling me that "misery loved miserable company." Maybe I just wanted everyone to take pity.

Quite frankly, the area around where I live is facing a dire situation. The heat, yes, has been unrelenting. Couple that with wind that never dies and a ground-quenching rain that last visited some time late last summer and you have a) a tinder box, b) a crop-destroying drought, and c) conditions that crack a house's foundation. If you could think to pray for this neck of the woods--that God would send rain--when you happen to think of me, that would be most appreciated.

As I rode my motorcycle home this afternoon, a decent-sized cloud mass shielded the sun, and praises to God spilled from my lips. When it's 105-degrees, a modicum of shade makes all the difference.  But that cloud got me to thinking of Jonah.

I'll not go into the entire big-fish story (yes, it was a fish and not a whale). Let's skip to the end. Jonah was in the middle of a mood. In fact he was hating life much like I have been hating 10-day forecasts. As he moped on a sun-scorched hillside, God in his goodness sprouted a Miracle-Gro laced plant to grow up and cool the perturbed prophet's brow (Jonah 4:6).

That very same God, to teach Jonah his sovereignty in all things, sent a root-chomping worm that withered the shade-producing plant. Jonah's response? He posted a picture on Facebook of the withered plant and considered death to be favorable to enduring the inferno atop the hill for another day.

God's response: "Son, I bring the shade and I bring the worm. I have my purposes in both, purposes that you do not see. How about coughing up a little praise for the shade AND for the worm?" (a very loose paraphrase of Jonah 4:9-11).

As I type this, my thermostat's on an endurable 77-degrees. I have a kiddie-pool in the back yard to dip into if I need to cool off not to mention the four gallons of ice cream in the freezer and lemonade in the fridge. My God is so very good to me in ways seen and unseen. His word makes clear that he controls the weather (Matthew 5:45). So when we see no rain, when the wind never ceases, and when the temps make the world feel like an Easy-Bake Oven, God's not surprised; he has brought it to pass for his GOOD purposes.

By the time I pulled my bike in the garage, he had given me a repentant heart as well as a cloud-covered ride home. I will continue to pray that he will send the rain and the cooler temps, but I will do so with thanksgiving for his good and for his provision and for his purposes unseen. Though I do not understand all of his ways, I do know that God is always good.

NBC

In case you missed it, NBC successfully neutered the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during their opening segment to the U.S. Open golf tournament this past Sunday (here).  The bit had children reciting the pledge and cut-aways to patriotic images around the D.C. area where the tourney took place this year. When they cut away after "...one nation..." they returned to "...with liberty and justice for all."

When the phone calls began to swamp their switchboard, they fumbled their on-air apology by referencing an omission that may have caused some offense, but the offense was not intended. Ah. Okay.

NBC has done this with intent before (here). Really, this should surprise no one. We are a post-modern and certainly a post-Christian nation. Francis Schaeffer noted that art accurately reflected the heart of a culture or where that culture would go. Find a family on TV whose relationship to the Creator is treated with respect (maybe CBS' Bluebloods where they actually pray before they eat). It's not just our entertainment. We allowed our government to drive prayer from the public schools. What politician will be elected or professor be hired if it comes to light that Christ informs their life in all matters? God has been driven from the American public square.

Call it spiritual entropy. The beautiful package deposited on our doorstep in the late 1700's has been mashed to pieces, not by some hooligan or vagrant, but by us. Jesus Christ is not merely unwelcome, he is not tolerated.

Here's the deal. Whether NBC recognizes it or not, we are a nation under God. In fact, whether or not any nation recognizes it doesn't change the reality that every nation is under God. That is reality. I can deny it until my face turns red, white, and blue, but the God who created the universe and created my DNA created government to be his implementer of justice in the world (Romans 13). I can bow my knee today and submit to him acknowledging him as Lord of all or I will bow my knee one day future when it will be too late (Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 25:46).

Am I surprised by what NBC did? Not really. Saddened, mostly. It breaks my heart to see my country turn its back on the God who has secured for us such freedoms and such opportunities.

It's time to take up the prayer of Daniel (Daniel 9:1-19).

Going to hell

How could a loving God consign anyone to hell?

That is just one of the many indictments that God's creatures lay against him.  It's an oldie, but the perspective is a bit skewed.

Take me for example.  Were I to hurl such an accusation into the cosmos, might not God arch up an "are-you-kidding-me" eyebrow?  In the span of eternity, my existence might cover 80 years, and I'm a bit over half way there.  Even at the end, my life will take part in only 1% of recorded history.

I have been to all but six of the United States, though some of those were only brief stops to a single city.  I've been to eight other countries, nine if you count Canada.  Of those nations, I know none of them intimately.

If I thoroughly read ten books each year, that's only 800 in one lifetime.  I think there are that many Harold and the Purple Crayon stories.

Does it not seem a bit presumptuous then for the creature to shake his puny fist at the Creator and question who is and who isn't going to hell?

Because the idea of ceaseless torment confounds some of us, we dismiss hell.  Often, we dismiss God, too.  We either conform him to our image or reject him out of hand.


The heart of darkness



Then along comes Jared Lee Loughner, killing six and wounding nearly two-dozen, and we pull hell out of the junk drawer and dust it off.  Okay, maybe it's a good place for some, we muse.  Surely Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and their ilk are there.  Of course Tim McVeigh, the high-jacking Muslims of 9/11, and every other Muslim who straps on C4 to self-detonate have joined the eternal damnation club.

Our problem with hell is that we think a lot about it but know very little about it, the magnitude of our own sin, or the wonder of Almighty God.

Some truths for consideration.

• God's righteousness demands justice.  Exodus 34:7, Numbers 14:18, and Nahum 1:3 all declare, and the rest of the Bible upholds, that he does not and will not leave the guilty unpunished.  It is the very nature of God within us that bristles when we hear of a criminal escaping justice through jurisprudent gymnastics.
• God in his mercy aches for his condemned creation.  Man rebelled against God.  Each one stands guilty before him of high treason (Romans 3:10-18).  Most of us just don't look that deeply into our own hearts.  Still, hear what God says, "The Lord ... is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).  Paul writes to Timothy and states that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4).

Here we stand.  All mankind rebellious against their Creator.  It's our way.  It's in our DNA.  It's our nature.  The image of God in man (good) has been marred, soiled, stained.  Seems hopeless.  Not quite.

• God, in love, intervened on behalf of his creatures.  It's the most flashed verse in the Bible.  John 3:16. 
  "For God so loved the world..."  Really, that shouldn't surprise us.  He made us in the first place, the pinnacle of his creation. 
  "...that he gave his only Son..."  Jesus.  God took on flesh to become man.  He lived a perfect life.  No sin.  He took the punishment deserved by us (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10a). 
  "...that whosoever believes on him..."  This is just trusting that his death on the cross took care of every sin you ever committed or will commit. 
  "...will not perish but have everlasting life!"  Bought back from the maw of hell and adopted into God's family to enjoy eternal life and fellowship with him.

There it is.  None have to go to hell.  None.  "Whosoever believes!"  God in his righteousness justly condemned man for his sin.  God in his mercy took on flesh to provide the sacrifice that would forgive mankind of its debt to open the doorway to heaven and eternal fellowship with him.

So hear's the deal.  If we all stand condemned already, but God in his mercy has provided a way of escape, then why should any go to hell?  As already stated, they don't have to.  But God declares, "I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices" (Isaiah 65:2, see also Romans 10:21).

The only reason that remains for man to go to hell is that he has so chosen.  He prefers self and separation from God.  He prefers to go his own way rather than admit the putrescence of his sin and accept the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).

A loving God died on the cross so none would have to go to hell.  The real puzzler is why so few would accept God's lavish mercy.

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."  ~ Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14)

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ~ Jesus (John 14:6)

What to read, what to read...

Flying is a perishable skill.  That's why the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, Snowbirds, and the like practice, practice, practice.  It looks glamorous, but it is gruelling, exhausting, demanding, meticulous, exhilarating work.  I don't speak first hand, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

So I sit and stare at my keyboard.  It looks as though all the letters have remained in the same place.  That's encouraging.  Plunking out a blog entry a couple of times each week does not compare to the demand of flying fighter aircraft inches from one's wingman at g-loads that would put most folks right to sleep.  No, but it is my hope to not put you to sleep either.

So why did I stop writing?  I didn't.  One day simply heaped upon the next for an extended period of time.  I guess it's the same reason we missed Christmas cards last year.  One morning it was September, the next it was February.  Guess it's a little late to send the cards.  Well, here July blinked into November.  Truly, I hope that November doesn't blink into May.

Many thanks to those of you who lurk across these pages and wondered about the silence of the previous months.  When I began these musings three years ago this January, my intent was to look at the world around me through the lens of God's word, the only lens that would provide clarity to the situations of life.  I did not mean for there to be such a distance between ponderings.  Thanks to those who spurred me back to the keyboard.

In the event that these pages stagnate again--no promises--let me recommend a book to you.  I'd never read anything by Randy Alcorn, he's written both fiction and non, but his title, "If God is Good:  Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil," deserved a look.  With the drivel written in the past about why bad things happen to good people, I hungered for a book with a rock-solid biblical foundation that addressed the topics of the title.

I was not disappointed.  Clearing 500 pages, it's a daunting book, but it needed to be so.  Alcorn doesn't shy away from hard questions.  He doesn't sweep them behind the bushes.  Nor does he seek answers from sources that shift like San Andreas' fault.  No, he plumbs and scours the depths of God's word to find sure answers to the essential questions of our existence.

This is not a book that merely wades into dark swamps never to return.  On the contrary, in examining these places, Alcorn had to examine the character and nature of God.  Few books I have read in my life so exalt God outside the Bible as this one does, and it does so by highlighting God's revelation about himself in the Bible.

I mentioned the size of the book.  Yep, it's a big'n.  That said, those 500-pages are broken down into 45 chapters comprising 11 sections.  Each chapter is further broken down in five to ten bite-sized sections.  The way he has broken this book down makes it a very manageable read; don't let its size deter you.

On top of all of this, it's not a pie-in-the-sky, unapplied book.  The book is replete with stories of those who have been through and are currently within the crucible of suffering and tragedy.  Through it all, the faithfulness and the sovereignty and the goodness of God shine like stars in a moonless sky.

If you have nothing to read, let me steer you toward this book for many reasons (by the way, I do not know Mr. Alcorn, nor do any proceeds come back to me).  If you have plenty to read, let me encourage you to move this into the top three of your pile.  It is that good.

And stop back by here.  I hope to not be a stranger to my own blog.  I might even get my Christmas cards out this year.

The deity dilemma

Kathleen Parker proves week in and week out that you don't have to know much to win a Pulitzer Prize.  You just have to write about it well.

The gist of her recent column: we're all praying to the same God because our brains show activity in the same place when we pray to our respective deities.  "If the whole world prays for a common good, will no good come of it?" she chastises.  "Oh ye of little faith."

As I see it, we have but three possibilities for the way things are in reality.

1. There is no God.
2. There is a God, but he didn't or doesn't communicate very well to his creatures.
3. There is a God, and he has spoken with clarity.

Atheists and the lion's share of east Asian religions plop into Category 1.  These folks make the best of it in this life by whatever pathway suits them best.  Here you'll find Bill Maher and Tiger Woods.

Ms. Parker and most of America believe in Category 2.  These folks acknowledge the God-shaped hole within their soul, but they think filling it is like deciding where to eat tonight.  "You in the mood for Texas Roadhouse or tofu.  It doesn't much matter.  It's up to you.  Whatever fills the space, as long as the space gets filled.  God didn't make it very plain, so as long as we're pretty good, we're sure to appease him (her? it?  them?)."  To quote Ms. Parker:

Different routes to the same destination...Understandably, these are not glad tidings to some. Centuries of blood have been shed for the sake of religious certitude. But transcending the notion that only some prayers are the right ones might get us closer to the enlightenment we purportedly seek...In the meantime, it would seem eminently rational to presume in our public affairs that God does not play political favorites with His creation.

Religious certitude.  These folks hold to Category 3, folks like Franklin Graham who Ms. Parker dismisses with her prize-winning prose.  They believe in the One who spoke the cosmos into existence and created man unique above all the created order because he imbued man with his likeness. 

But there are other Category 3 folks.  They shop at Caliphate and Bangs for the latest in C-4 fashions and at Bed, Bath and Beheading for well-honed cutlery.

Category 3A folk and Category 3B folk can't both be right.  Which takes us back to Category 2.  Perhaps Cat 2 folks don't like conflict.  "Can't we all just get along?  I mean, aren't we just talking about minor variations in the God of Abraham?"

Maybe Cat 2 folks are just ignorant.  I don't mean that as an insult.  Maybe they have never read the Koran or the Bible.  Or maybe they don't think the words mean what they say.  Both claim to be divinely inspired and without error.  Considering the insurpassable discontinuities between these two books, they cannot both be right.  If they are wrong on the divine inspiration point, then they are the concoction of a man (or men) who was (were) seriously deluded or had an axe to grind (or wield).  Why would such teachings be worth following?  And if they do contain error in history, what precludes it from containing error in theology?

While they cannot both be right, they can both be wrong.  Or perhaps, one of them is right. 

If God did want to reveal himself to his creatures, it is not unreasonable to think that he would do so.  If he did so, is it unreasonable to think he could do so with exactitude and simplicity?  While I often have trouble ordering my thoughts in an understandable fashion, I would think an omniscient God would have no problem communicating to us through an objective, written word.

Even if he has no Pulitzer.
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"The fool says in his heart there is no God..." ~ Psalm 14:1
"But you are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are true." ~Psalm 119:151

Patriotic idolatry

With the passage of the health care bill in the House, both sides have rightly declared this a turning point for our nation.  One side sees it as a shiny new dawn for our nation while the other sees it as a cold, gray dusk. 

For those like me who love the nation birthed in the blood of the late 18th century, you find yourself in the latter camp.  The days of personal responsibility have ended.  The sun has set upon the rule of law in our land for law has become a lump of Silly-Putty in the hand of the Chief Executor and his league of Lilliputian legislators.  Mold it as you see fit.

What has been done will not soon be undone.  Take a look at the hideous beast birthed by FDR.  It continues to grow faster than Cosby's Chicken Heart and with more destructive power.  Perhaps this monster can be killed before it sees the light of day.  Considering those who sold their soul to bring about its passage, I doubt that.

If you love the idea of a nation founded upon the rule of law and the God-given rights of the people to self-govern, this season of American history has left you gasping and grieving. It has me.  I am forced to wonder, is God trying to wake me up about an unhealthy love for my homeland?  After all, he is a jealous God, intolerant in his very essence of adulterous love.  Have I given misplaced affection to a nation whose founding ideals were of such breath-taking beauty that I failed to give due affection to the God of nations?  Despite the fact (yes, FACT) that her foundation rests upon biblical principles, do I love the thing so much that it has become an idol to me?

Could it be that out of deep affection for his people God is weaning us from an unhealthy and improper love for a land bent upon self-destruction?

I don't know.

I do know that my country continues to move in directions contrary to God's word.  I do know that because of that, I must continue to speak out.  I do know innocent life must continue to be defended.  I know, too, that my first affection and first allegiance are due to the God who gives me life and breath and only his hand will bring those to an end. 

So what will become of America?  Again, I don't know, but I do know the One who knows.  Him I will continue to serve by being the best husband, father, friend and neighbor I can be.  Him I will continue to serve as I strive to be the best citizen I can be. 

The day that will dawn after this chilled dusk I leave to his sovereign care.

QotD: Sane jurisprudence

Imagine a school where you can have the lyrics to "Imagine" (i.e. "...there's no heaven") posted on the walls but where you cannot have "In God we trust" posted for fear of giving students too much God. 

Can you guess the state?  If I didn't already know it was California, my guess would have been one of the three west coast states or the morally festering appendix that is the northeastern U.S.  A teacher was ordered to take down the poster with that soul-rotting slogan on it despite the fact that it's emblazoned upon all our money and despite the fact that the rest of the school is plastered with the images and sayings of Ghandi, Malcom X, and Nirvana.  Here are some of the other heinous, child-corrupting posters math teacher Brad Johnson was ordered to remove from his classroom walls:

• "One nation under God"  (BOO!  Hiss!)
• "God bless America!"  (Ewww, separation, separation)
• "God shed his grace on thee"  (That's as bad as saying "Nih!")

Apparently the judge felt it was too God-y.

Needless to say, the case was appealed.  U.S. District Court Judge Robert T. Benitez fielded the case and nearly came unglued.  A blurb from his decision thereby garners the Ripples "Quote of the Day."

"That God places prominently in our Nation's history does not create an Establishment Clause violation requiring curettage and disinfectant for Johnson's public high school classroom walls. It is a matter of historical fact that our institutions and government actors have in past and present times given place to a supreme God."

~ U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez

You can read more on one judge's Nurse-Ratchet-view of life and one judge's deep breath of sanity here.  Thank you Judge Benitez for letting folks in America know that not every sector of our government has lost its ever-lovin' mind.

Thy will be done

In keeping with rabbinical tradition, Jesus' followers wanted him to teach them to pray.  The Messiah obliged.  He taught them a model prayer.  Many have turned it into a meaningless mantra, but the Master gave them a framework upon which they might build their communication to the God of the universe.  It's an extraordinary prayer which helps the servant of Christ rightly order his life before God and rightly order his life with the world around him.  A couple sections really yank the leash of the self-righteous (i.e. me), and one of them has been throbbing in my temples of late.

Thy will be done.

Translated into 2010 English, "Hey, whatever you want to do is good by me."

Whoa!  Hey--um--whoa!  Thy will be done?!?  You might begin to imagine giving your kid the keys to the car and saying, "Whatever," or maybe telling your boss that you'll take on any project at any time and work as many hours as he needs you to work for the exact same wage.  Do visions of indentured servitude dance in your head?  You mean giving God free rein in your life to do with as he pleases?  Isn't that risky?

To the last two questions, Yes and Yes.

From the day of his first rebellion against God (Genesis 3), man has tried to put himself in the place of the One who created him.  We want to establish ourselves as autonomous in our lives.  We believe we know what's best for us, and frankly we don't need you or anyone else telling us how to manage our beeswax.  That only serves to drive a wedge deeper into the chasm that exists between God and ourselves.

The only solution to that rift is the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross.  Until he comes to reign upon the earth (Revelation 20), we can find reconciliation to God, but even with that, we still struggle against our innate desire to take his throne for ourselves. 

So why bother with "Thy will be done?"  Trust.  As those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, do we really trust him?  Lots of folks like the term "faith," but it has been so abused as to have been rendered meaningless, no more substantial than wishing on a rabbit's foot.  Trust implies acting upon someone or something that has proven itself to us in the past.  A pilot may don a parachute though he has never used one because he has seen them work in the past.  He trusts the parachute to rescue him should disaster strike.  To submit ourselves to God's will indicates a trust in the One who has proven himself worthy of trust.

He says he loves us.  Has he born that out?  "For God so loved the world (there's the assertion) that he gave his only Son (there's the proof of that assertion) that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (there's the call for trust)."  John 3:16.

The pages of the Bible bear out that "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose" in example after example.  It also bears out the darkness that follows those who stand opposed to him. 

What happens, though, if after giving God the reins of my life, I encounter crippling disaster?  And then a few miles later, we get smashed in the mouth with another catastrophe?  Do we take the reins back?  Do we reject him altogether?  Or as Job did, even though disaster befall us, will we still trust God (Job 13:15, 1:20-22)?  Despite his pleas and despite getting an audience with the Almighty, Job never got an answer to the why's of his predicaments.  He received a call to anchor himself to the One who ordered the cosmos.

What will befall me should I cede control of my life to my Creator?  I don't know.  Prosperity?  No guarantees.  Trauma?  No promises.  Will I know a joy and peace heretofore unknown?  Those are promised (joy and peace).  Will I have intimate fellowship with my God?  Yep (John 17:3).

I do know that the world stands in rebellion against God until the day of its restoration through the King of kings.  Because of that, a fallen world can and will strike without warning.  Since God has proven himself always faithful (semper fidelis), I will trust in him today. 

Should the sky darken in the west tomorrow, I pray today that he will give me the strength to continue to bow before him and plead, "Thy will be done."

The intolerance of God

Tom Krattenmaker of USA Today has a cross-shaped burr under his saddle about Christians in prominent athletics. Oh, like most folks, he doesn't mind thanking God here or a little prayer there. No, what has chafed his posterior is that their convictions have gone public. These men and women have the audacity to encourage their teammates, their fans, their coaches to have a relationship with--is anyone looking?--shhh--Jesus Christ.

Krattenmaker sees a conspiracy (ital - mine):

"Far less visible, but worth knowing about, are the infrastructure and strategy of the sports-world evangelicalism that powers these pious displays. Athletes' expressions of Christian faith reflect decades of hard work by evangelical ministries to convert players and "coach" them to use their stature to promote a particular version of conservative Christianity."

Ptooey on that particular version. I guess he prefers a Burger King, have-it-your-way, Christianity. But then, so do many Americans. Not a week goes by when I don't hear someone suggest that the Christian walk depends upon your interpretation as though the Bible were some kind of tabula rasa that you color to your liking.

So distasteful does Mr. Krattenmaker find this, note the language he uses:

"They are also leveraging sports' popularity to promote a message and doctrine that are out of sync with the diverse communities that support franchises, and with the unifying civic role that we expect of our teams."

He's obviously not writing about Nobel Prize winners. So what's he driving at?

"...should we be pleased that the civic resource known as "our team" — a resource supported by the diverse whole through our ticket-buying, game-watching and tax-paying — is being leveraged by a one-truth evangelical campaign that has little appreciation for the beliefs of the rest of us?"

Mr. Krattenmaker's underlying assertion: Christianity that declares damnation for those who reject God's provision has no place within the public sphere. He takes aim at a prominent Heisman Trophy winner and national championship quarterback.

"Certainly, Tim Tebow must be applauded for the good he does working on his father's missions, but he should be seen, too, as one who promotes a form of belief that makes unwelcome judgments about everyone else's religion."

The weighty theological research done by Mr Krattenmaker? Public opinion polls. Seems most folks don't favor the flavor of Jesus-only salvation. When last I looked, God wasn't running for election. He doesn't genuflect to Gallup Polls, Pew Research, or Nobel Selection Committees.

Krattenmaker's problem, and the problem of thousands of liberal theologues who declare many avenues to God, is not with Tebow. They have a fundamental issue with God Himself. You see, it's not Tebow pushing a "Jesus-or-else" message. Jesus is pushing the Jesus-or-else message because that's the way it is. Here's a sampling Christ's "intolerance:"

• I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
• Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. (Matthew 7:13)
• The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Luke 10:16)
• Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the oen who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8-9)

You get the idea.

Now here's the deal. This is not something Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford concocted. Man rebelled against God. Only the Creator could fix the broken creation, and He did so by becoming the recipient Himself of the deserved condemnation. Paul tells the Roman church that God did this that He might be both just and the justifier to bring about the reconciliation of man to God (Romans 3:26). He offers us the free gift of restored life with Him...if we are willing to receive it.

This is not some whacked out sect of Christianity. This isn't the NCAA's crazed, Kool-Aid drinking quarterback club. This is just what the Bible says. As God's primary communication to us, His letter tells of the disaster that looms ahead for all mankind, but it also tells of the Life Preserver that God has provided in the bloody sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The travesty is not that athletes are trying to get folks to wake up to that reality, but that so many like Mr. Krattenmaker and milquetoast ministers have diluted the plain message of redemption and so deluded the masses into believing that God's merely the voice in the drive-thru at Burger King.

We can't have it our way.
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You can read the entire USA TODAY article here.

History: The Mayflower Compact

When the pilgrims arrived on the east coast, they signed one of the first documents of American governance. On the heels of the birthday of our nation's independence, it's a good read.

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc

Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherence of the ends aforesaid; and by the virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

Consider the chosen words.

• "In the name of God..."


• King James as sovereign lord "...by the grace of God"


• "Having undertaken for the glory of God..."


• "...and advancement of the Christian faith...


• They formed their government "in the presence of God"


• They formed it in "submission" to Him and to the government they were forming


• In establishing their government, they understood the need to enact "just and equal laws..."

As our nation dismisses the one true sovereign of the universe from its governance, the one for whom justice is an inherent quality, it will become more difficult with each ensuing day to maintain justice for all much less justice for any.

The God-shaped hole

There is perhaps no greater evidence for the existence of God than the deep longing of the human heart for that supernatural relationship. How is then, when man recognizes that space as "God-shaped" or "God-sized," they try to fill it with anything but?

Parade Magazine, the circular stuck in most Sunday newspapers, carried a cover story about the very talented and very troubled actor, Shia LeBeouf. During the interview (here), he lamented,

"Most actors on most days don't think they're worthy. I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it's a God-sized hole. If I knew, I'd fill it, and I'd be on my way."

Mr. LeBeouf arrived at the interview by bicycle having had his license suspended after an alcohol-related crash that left his hand mangled. Later on he puzzled,

"Why did the love of my life and I break up?...I have no answers to anything. None. Why am I an alcoholic? I haven't a **** clue! What is life about? I don't know."

And so, in despair and frustration the actor buries himself in his work, into booze, and into women. Fame's highways are littered with such talents. Monroe. Joplin. Phoenix. Morrison. Cobain. Ledger. Belushi. Presley. Will LeBeouf follow this reckless roadmap?

Or will he hearken to the One that calls to His creatures that He might bring them restoration? Mr. LeBeouf might try filling the hole in his soul with the Piece that fits.

Stimulus: The physics of our demise, Part III

In the first part of this series, I noted the absurdity of the stimulus (here). In a nutshell, how is that taking ridiculous amounts of my money and your money (where else will the stimulus money come from?) and giving it to incompetent business owners who have already ruined their banks or their auto assembly lines will stimulate the economy? Do the gods in DC know better how to invest my money than do I? NOT-SO-MUCH!

Part two of the series (here) held the government accountable for thievery, legal plunder Fredric Bastiat called it in "The Law." Such conduct runs contrary to God's clear word. Such conduct also removes the responsibility from individuals to care for their fellow man because the government has taken that en masse upon themselves. This, too, is unbiblical.

Couple these two nasties together and you get the imminent demise of our nation.

We're approaching a trillion dollars in government handouts within the last six months. How big is that number? If you were given one hundred dollars every second of your life from your birth until you were seventy-five years old, you'd still be $800 billion shy of a trillion.

I heard a financial adviser speaking this afternoon, and he said that it's better to stimulate the economy now to dimish the long-term pain in getting the crippled companies back on their feet. Here's the problem. He has no clue (nor do Obama, Bush, Pelosi, Reid, etc.) that this "stimulus" will stimulate anything! Again, these CEOs and Boards of Directors have proven nothing but their incompetence and ineptitude; will more money suddenly make them sage and frugal with their money? HAH! Will the economy be stimulated or will the money disappear like the Lost Ark at the end of the only respectable Indiana Jones movie?

Failure brings about a spectacular biblical response. It is called "repentance." I screwed up. MY BAD! Not yours, not his, not government's, not Japan's. Mine. I must make amends. If I am criminal, I must repay. This is good. With regard to our sin, it causes us to realize we can't repay and need a Savior. But in our conduct with one another, we must make amends.

Caveat emptor is another great biblical principle. Be wise with your money! While "a fool and his money are soon parted" is not to be found in the Proverbs, the principle is there in spades. Perhaps I will study where to put my money with a bit more scrutiny next time.

With no one willing to man up, our government continues to grow like a malignancy. The genie is so out of the bottle only a cataclysm will get him back in. Think about this, government agencies wll be getting millions and billions with which to stimulate the economy. That will require government jobs for fiscal apportionment and oversight (wink-wink). Do you really think that any congressman or senator whose constituents will receive that money this year will want to see it cut next year? Do you?

Nobody knows what happened to the money President Bush doled out before he left office. Oh, sure, we know where it went, but what do we have to show for it? Anyone? Jobs? Stock market a-soaring? Any return on our dollar?

And of this money that will be coming out of our wallets for this next syringe full of narcotic, who's getting it and why? Who picks that? The thousand page stimulus bill hit the floor at 11 p.m. and was voted on the next afternoon. No one can scrutinize it that fast. I bet you didn't; I sure didn't. I was asleep. You have a warm fuzzy about that? You shouldn't (not my sleep habits but how the vote went down). Again, will the powerful seek to appease their constituents to shore up their re-election or will they truly seek the nation's good? The only way that will happen is by exposing the "legal plunder" for what it is.

The more the government grows, the more laws we get, the more regulated we are, and the less responsible and free we become. That's where we stand now with folks rejoicing over a hideous beast, birthed from the loins of the legislative and executive branches of our government. Our Founders built a small and limited federal government. We've turned our backs on their wisdom, and with fingers crossed, we hope the beast will redeem us.

But we have created a monster, and it's shaken loose its chains. The future looks dire.

A parable: 4 copper coins

I know the fare of late has been lighthearted. I hope that doesn't trouble you. The things of this world have made my head swim of late. I'm sure I'll address them again before too long.

Nothing like a parable to clear up clouded eyes. So here we go.

One evening, the story goes, a button of a beauty with eyes as black as her pig-tails attended a concert at her daddy’s side, an Irish concert with fiddle and accordion, guitars and penny-whistles. It was like nothing she’d ever heard.

A little past four years old and three feet high, she stood on the floor craning her neck to improve her vantage while all those around her remained seated. Her tiny hand clutched two pennies. The performers purposed to glorify God with their music, and so they did. They traveled to minister, putting food on the table through the offerings of those who appreciated their music. The waif was eager to give them her two cents before she’d ever heard a note.

The music started. Its radiance matched the joy of those making it, and like a delicious contagion, it evoked delight from its hearers. From the little girl broke a smile typically offered only to her mama.

As the melodies frolicked, her face beamed even brighter, and she bent down for her canvas purse, the one with Eeyore silk-screened to its side. After climbing upon her chair with feet dangling far from the floor, she withdrew an expended Altoids can. Inside? Her treasure. She opened it up and pulled out another penny, the third.

Song followed song from mad to mellow and back again as the little girl’s dimples dug deeper and her eyes twinkled brighter. Again she plunged into her pixie purse and extracted the magic tin. One more penny to give for the pleasure that touched her soul.

When the offering plate came around, she lavished it with her four copper coins, bursting with joy that she could give some of what she possessed to those who had given her so very much. They would never know what she gave; that never crossed her mind. She did not seek their affection or their approval. She gave out of gratitude-soaked love.

While her daddy savored the sweet sounds of those anointed musicians, that richness paled in comparison with the oceanic outpouring of love from so precious a pint-sized container. He slid his hand around her shoulder and gave a squeeze.

Oh, to be a dad.