Wednesday, November 12, 2003

New York City!!
Now they say that Jewish and Muslim symbols have a secular dimension but that Christian symbols are "purely religious". What pray tell are they talking about? Why a nativity scene of course. Apparently they may not even be sure that the birth of Jesus even happened like that. It was of course something those nutty first century folks exaggerated to no end.
Why is it that we think we know better what happened 2 millennia ago than do the original eyewitnesses? It seems pretty arrogant to me.
This goes along with what I have long held about religious discussions in the public area. Watch yourself and see if you think I am right. Christianity is treated differently in the public marketplace of ideas. I hold that the reason for this is that it is True. I put forward that a religion that is not wholly True is not a threat. Therefore Christianity that is based on historical, truthful, undeniable facts, is a threat like no other to people in certain places.

Thursday, November 06, 2003

I picked a good time to get back to blogging. This story on FoxNews' website has one of the most outrageous quotes I have ever seen.
"Judicial selection should be based on principle, not on pigment. The president cheapens the process when he substitutes race for rationality or color for capability," Bond said.
This guy is speaking on behalf of the NAACP. It seems like only yesterday that these folks were screaming about letting minorities into Michigan Law School based on the pigment, race, color or whatever else you want to call it. Why do these people make such patently absurd statements like this? The reason is because they have turned skin color into a political classification rather than a racial one. I have literally seen them say that someone isn't black or Hispanic enough?!? What the heck can you mean by that. More and more they are simply being exposed for what they are; bigots of a different stripe.
The problem is this. If politicians do the right thing and cut social programs for the elderly so that their government won't go in a financial hole. Those same elderly voters will go to the poles and make sure they don't get any more chances to do the right thing.
The solution in Germany to combat this. Give children a vote to counterbalance. This would be extremely laughable if these people weren't dead serious.

Wednesday, November 05, 2003

This is too funny to let stand without comment. I saw this on Barbara Streisand's webpage, where I had gone to read her sobbing about the movement of the Reagan movie to Showtime.

Regardless of what you think about Grey Davis, we should all be able to agree that we must now stop this attempted hijacking of the democratic process. Impeaching Clinton ...Florida and the 2000 election ... Redistricting in Texas ... now California... What makes the Right Wing think they can just bully and buy their way into power? If we allow this recall to win, we will be setting a dangerous precedent. In this unfair process, a candidate receiving just 30% of the vote could beat Davis, even if the governor receives 49%. Our governor was elected fair and square just a year ago. He deserves the opportunity to serve out his time in office. So get out there on October 7th and vote no on recall !!!

Apparently the "Right Wing" has been bullying those angels in the Democrat party when they have pursued Constitutional and lawful means to a)redress Clinton's perjury and obstruction of the law, b)stop a runaway Florida Supreme Court that tried to change election laws after the election was finished, c)allow lawmakers in Texas doing what lawmakers have always done in redistricting procedures, d)let California citizens exercise their lawful provisions for recalling a governor that more and more people were growing to despise. Thanks for the laughs Barbara.


Tuesday, November 04, 2003

It has been a time of transition. I started a different blog to keep my ministry partners up to date and neglected this one. However, I am getting so sick of seeing these common sense propositions touted by someone as part of a great "discovery". So I am going to come back to this blog for my commentary on life in general.
Can we by some chance in this country find our way back to the place where we won't be stunned to discover that a)men and women are different, b)kids do better when their parents are paying attention to them, c)insert other commonly held piece of good old common sense here.
It's enought to make you spit.

Monday, July 07, 2003

A must read column by Vox Day at WorldNetDaily today.

Friday, July 04, 2003

I am going to be writing somewhat more frequently for the next month until things get really busy before our move to SD. I am excited this Fourth of July. I am thinking about independence and all that it means. Not just our independence as a nation, but the freedom that God offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is silly for people to say that America is not a Christian nation, because the very notion that has held this nation together has been a deeply rooted truth of the Christian faith. Which is to say that true Freedom and Liberty can only be maintained with proper form and restraint. Our Founders set us up as a nation of laws that restricted our license, doing whatever we want to do, in order to preserve true freedom. For them, license was the antithesis of liberty. We have lost sight of that in our era, aided by a Supreme Court that continues to find new "rights" which amount to nothing more than justifications for the types of "license" our Founding Fathers understood as destruction for freedom and liberty.

I also want to thank John Rabe for his wonderful blog entry on July 2nd which compares the SCOTUS' authority to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. I had not thought of it in that light before, and I couldn't agree more.

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

In an effort to remind everybody where government checks come from, Neal Boortz has written this wonderful column.

Saturday, May 31, 2003

I went a whole month without writing, but it was a busy month. I traveled to South Dakota with my family, because we have felt God's calling in our lives to go and minister in that part of the country. When we got there, God made himself plainly known, and we found the place of service that He has been preparing for us. It is an exciting time but a busy one. I am going to start a second blog for daily ministry information later this summer and will keep this blog going for musings of other sorts (political, social or otherwise)

Monday, April 28, 2003

This time the brief siesta from writing was intentional. I have been spending more time studying and reading the Word of God, known to some as the Bible. I have been spending less time on the computer and watching TV to accomplish this. It is truly wonderful the things that God has done this past week during this time. My faith has grown by leaps and bounds as I have watched God work and speak in my life and through His Word. I highly recommend pushing things that distract you from focusing on God into the background for a week or even just a day and see what He does in your life.

Friday, April 18, 2003

I haven't written in two weeks. It wasn't an intentional hiatus. It was more of a combination of preoccupation with other things and having nothing to say here during that time that has kept me from writing anything. I have been reading a studying a lot. Last night I just finished re-reading a book called "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn. He has quickly grown to become one of my favorite authors and his books continue to challenge me in my walk with Christ and my faith. He has a website Eternal Perspective Ministries. I have been amazed by his heart for God and at his ability to spur others on through his writings. There are many things that we as Christians can get bogged down with. Our favorite doctrinal dispute, or a sin that so easily besets us, but our Lord calls us to focus on Him. When we do this as we should, those things that bog us down will take care of themselves. I have seen people spend days arguing over Calvinist and Armenian positions, or whether the war in Iraq is a just war. That stuff is not important, it is temporary. What is important is that God loved us so much he sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sin, and that there is no other way to get into God's Presence (Heaven) except that you go through the blood of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. That is Truth and Grace.

Friday, April 04, 2003

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Are you feeling a little weary? It's Friday and that helps a lot of people get through the day, but here is better help. God gives strength to the weary. In the New Testament it says, "in our weakness he is strong". So take comfort in the Lord. He gives us strength when we need it most. He never grows weary, and he never runs out of strength.

Thursday, April 03, 2003

Today's More Than Bread:
1 Peter 4:7-11
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

With things going the way they are these days, it is sometimes tempting to think that the end is near, and it may well be. However, that is just more reason for us to be diligent. When you speak or when you serve others, be sure to do it in God's strength and with His mind. That takes prayer and lots of it. It also takes a lot of love.

Wednesday, April 02, 2003

I have seen two different columns today siting one example from Safwan last week as evidence that the Iraqi people don't want to be liberated. First it was Paul Sperry of WorldNetDaily, then Ilana Mercer at the same website, who engaged in this silliness. Listen if you want to voice opposition to the war, fine. That's your perogative. But don't misconstrue the facts. I have read at least a half-dozen accounts of this episode where Iraqis shouted, ""Our blood, our souls, we give to you, Saddam!". Now some of these erstwhile journalist probed deeper and discovered that the scene was being watched by some of Saddam's henchmen. Which simply means these chanters are not idiots. They don't like putting their families in jeopardy needlessly. Some journalist accounts of the same scene mention nothing of the sort, which leads me to conclude that they were a)lazy or b)prejudiced in their reporting. I will be kind and say it was laziness that led them to make this error. But to those who use this as ammo for your opinion columns I say, "Get all of the facts first."
Today's More Than Bread:
John 15:4
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Have you been trying to do things for God lately and seem to get nowhere? Sometimes we try and do Godly things under our own power. We plot out how we can "get the job done", and forget that God already knows how the job will be finished. I am not saying that we shouldn't plan ahead, but I am saying that we had better consult the Planner first. There is an old Petra song in my head this morning that says, "Without Him we can do nothing". What are you trying to do without God's help?

Jeff

Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Here is an interesting little blurb in the news today:

The Dixie Chicks controversy continues with the trio getting some support from former Vice President Al Gore. Gore spoke to a college audience last week on the subject of fewer companies owning more media outlets, and what he sees as the increasing lack of tolerance for opposing views.

According to the Tennessean, Gore used recent attacks on the Dixie Chicks that followed anti-war comments by Natalie Maines as an example. Gore told the audience, "They were made to feel un-American and risked economic retaliation because of what was said. Our democracy has taken a hit," Gore said. "Our best protection is free and open debate."

Record sales have fallen for the Chicks and radio stations across the country banned the trio's music after Maines told a London concert crowd that she was "ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." Maines later released an apology.


Seems to me that the backlash came mostly from the Dixie Chick's fans and that the radio stations were responding to the public mood, not creating it. I don't know how the brilliant man who created the internet missed that, but it would seem he did. Apparently free and open debate doesn't include room for people to express disagreement with his views.
Gong to continue to post the More Than Bread devotionals here each day as well. I am still filling in writing for my sister. I liked the verses from Romans 12 last night so much, I wrote on them. Here is today's:

Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When I was a kid, I watched Sesame Street. Sometimes they had this segment with a song that went, "One of these things is not like the other, One of these things does not belong." I remember how easy it was to pick out the thing that was out of place. We as Christians should be the same way. When people see our behavior, they should say, "That's different" or "I wonder why they did that". The rest of the 12th chapter of Romans outlines some of the ways we will behave when our lives are transformed according to God's will. Take some time to read it today. And be different.

Monday, March 31, 2003

Making up for lost time. Found a good article about our friends in France at FrontPage magazine. You can read it here.

In another totally different matter, I noticed an article about sex before marriage and the Church of England's stand on it. The more I think about this; the more laughable it is. Essentially, you have these people worrying about whether God's views on sex before marriage are outdated. Like in this quote:

"More generally, it is clear that all the media now present cohabitation uncritically as the practical equivalent of marriage, and in this context it is difficult for the Church, perhaps especially at the local level, to present Christian teaching about marriage in a positive and attractive light," the report says.

In his contribution, Peter Grinyer, a reader in Lingfield parish and a member of the cohabitation working party, continues: "The great majority of people I talked to agreed that there is an urgent need for the Church to come to terms with a changed society, and to provide a new, and what some may consider radical, even heretical, understanding of sexual relationships for the 21st century."

Unless the Church was prepared to reconsider its teaching on sex and permit "the exploration and discovery of sexual intimacy" as an important part of a developing relationship, the Church would have little to say on cohabitation that was of value. And if the Church came to be seen as irrelevant in this area, "this risks demeaning and undermining its whole witness and ministry to society", Mr Grinyer says.


I simply cannot figure out where a group of people who profess belief in a God who is all-knowing, would dare to think that He might not have realized how hard it would be to wait until marriage to have sex when we get a little farther along in the history of the world. Just another way for another church to say that God is one thing and then behave like it's not true. If you really want to undermine your witness and ministry to society, Mr. Grinyer, become just like it. When there is no difference to be seen; there is no reason to change at all. Christ called us to a different kind of life altogether. We are not to do things according to the way the world thinks they should be done. As the prophet Isaiah says,
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD .
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
-Isaiah 55:8-9

Instead we are called to live in a way that seems a little odd to modern man, especially in the Western world:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-Romans 12:1-2

Peter Arnett gets fired for "telling the truth" about the war. What did he say? That the war isn't going well for the U.S., and that plans are off track. Tell me this Peter. Where is Saddam Hussein? If you know the answer to that question, and it is a location on this earth, then you have a beef. If you don't know the answer to that and neither do the Iraqi army, then you are wrong.
It has been my priviledge the last few weekdays to fill in again on my sister's daily devotional e-mail. I am going to start posting them here as well, or ask her to since she writes here too. If you would like to go look at past ones, you can visit her Yahoo group. You can even sign up for the group to receive them daily in your email. With that said, here is today's:

Psalm 63:1
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.


How much do you seek God? Do you seek him desperately? Earnestly?
If you have been following any of the war coverage, then you have seen a lot of desert lately. David wrote this Psalm while he was in the desert. Sometimes I don't drink as much water as is recommended. I use other liquids to get me by. I think we do the same thing with God sometimes. We need to seek God in a way that acknowledges that we can't survive without Him. Are you trying to make it by without God, or are you seeking Him earnestly for your survival?

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

I know it is totally unrelated to the news of the day, but it is such a good feeling to pay off debts that are owed. This month has seen my family pay off three separate debts, two credit card balances and a vehicle. The feeling is very liberating and I highly recommend it.

Monday, March 24, 2003

I have been reading some of the war coverage today, and I came upon this thank you letter by Vox Day at WorldNetDaily.

Thursday, March 20, 2003

I know I am not the only person who thinks this, but the Saddam that was on TV after the attack last night, doesn't look like the same guy that we saw before the attacks. Maybe it was the glasses that made him look funny. Whatever it was, I was thinking how great it would be if we had managed to take him out in that first strike. Essentially the war is over just as quickly as it began. Main objective accomplished, thank you and goodnight. There is still more to do of course. Mainly dismantling his arsenal of banned weapons. Some of which were fired in retaliation. I wonder if those people who needed more proof that he had banned weapons will shut up now that they launched Scud missles that they "didn't have"?

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Now I am keeping a closer eye on the news, as I am sure most people are these days. It is hard to figure out why it has taken us so long to get to this point and actually go to war. How long does someone have to lie and break promises before you come to accept that they are predisposed to lie and break promises. In this case it would seem something in the neighborhood of twelve years. Although that doesn't apply to everyone in the world. Apparently there are some eternal optimists out there who are willing to accept the word of a pathological liar and overlook his past indiscretions. You know like genocide, torture of his own people and those kinds of things. I am not a war-loving person. I don't know many folks who just love a good war. Although I can spot one side in this conflict who seems to fit the bill, and I have yet to see a protest in this country against him. Just find me one anti-war protest in this country where they protested Saddam Hussein's uncompromising attitude and defiance of U.N. resolutions starting with a ceasefire 12 years ago to save his sorry behind. I haven't seen one yet, but if you have I would be more than happy to know about it.
God bless our troops and protect them as they bring peace to a land that hasn't know peace for many years now.

Sunday, March 16, 2003

In a show of class, Matt Drudge links to this story from a local newspaper that is an unbiased media outlet I am sure. Since when did objectivity lead to calling names in derision. Perhaps they just don't like anyone reading their paper online.

Saturday, March 15, 2003

I have heard many people say that the anti-war protesters are really just anti-American or worse yet anti-Bush. Well apparently those people are right. Why else would anti-war folk be advocating a war.

Thursday, March 13, 2003

In honor of the vote today in the Senate to ban partial-birth abortions, I wanted to bring to light a great quote that I read yesterday from Kathy Ireland:

"The bottom line is this: If the unborn is not a human being, have as many abortions as you want, whenever you want. It doesn’t matter. No justification is necessary. If, on the other hand, the unborn is a human being, no justification is adequate unless another human life, that being the mother, is in danger." -KI

This gets right at the heart of the debate. When is the last time you heard someone try and justify the importance of having a (fill in the blank with your favorite medical procedure). Now when is the last time you heard someone from the pro-abortion crowd, if you wanna be called pro-choice then please offer some choices, defend a mother's "right" to an abortion. Probably today if you have watched any news story about this Senate vote.
It's really simple. Everytime they launch into an argument about why abortion should be allowed as a "medical procedure" to save the life of the mother or keep a deformed baby from being born or what have you, they are essentially admitting that they know the answer to the question we should all ask.
Is a fetus a human being? If they didn't think so, then they wouldn't be arguing so vehemently about the whole thing. Let's look at some interesting info that you may never have seen before. Did you know that a baby can feel pain in the womb? Have you ever read what former abortion workers have to say about the procedure? And be sure to check out this page which talks about the procedure the Senate was specifically working to end today? Be sure and read it after you read the page about fetal pain, and then see if you don't feel your anger rising at the capricious nature with which some handle this debate.

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Life isn't fair. I thought everybody ought to know. Because apparently some folks missed that lesson somewhere along the way. First I see this commentary by Clark Kellog, talking about how unfair it is for the innocent Georgia players to miss the postseason because of what a couple of bad apples did. Now I see that the Georgia players have been reading this drivel and are trying to make life fair via a court injuction. Sorry boys, sometimes life stinks. As my favorite saying goes, "In this world you will have trouble". You can count on it. So there is no point in whining when something unfair happens. Just learn from it and move on.

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

There are many things in this country that need to be fixed. One of them is the current judicial system. I was reading a story today about the numbers of overturned decisions that the 9th Circuit court had a few years ago. What it boils down to is that all but one of their decisions was overturned. The best defense they had is to point out that five other appeals courts had all of their decisions overturned during the same period. All of which says to me that these courts are apparently incapable of coming to a correct decision based on the Constitution of the United States. If these courts are this inept at interpreting the law, they are in serious need of overhaul. This is probably not the case at all, but rather this is a case where these courts were excerisizing judicial activism (legislating from the bench). Either way, this is a serious red flag about the state of affairs in our current system. And I am not even going to start on the current mess that the Senate has created with its utter inability, thanks to stonewalling from a majority of members in the current minority party, otherwise I would be at this for another hour. Let's just "get under the hood" to borrow a phrase from good old Ross Perot and get it fixed sooner rather than later.