3rd and College

Change in the New Year

2012-01-14T12:38:00.000-06:00

This came in my email last week. I was thinking of doing a prediction post, but I like this one better. ~PL

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

________________________________________________________________________

“My days are like a lengthened shadow, and I wither away like grass. But You, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. (Psa. 102:11-12).

________________________________________________________________________

Change -- it’s the slogan of politicians, the promise of unfaithful partners, the quest of scientists, the dream of inventors. Change is inevitable. While I type this my body will have changed microscopically so that I’m not the same person I was when I started -- having succumbed to the second law of thermodynamics.

But there are some things that will never change in 2012. Here are a few immutable things you can expect to happen this year: First, contrary to our relativistic culture, truth will not change in 2012. Truth by nature is immutable and eternal. If hypothetically all truth was capable of change, then the single truth that all truth changes would be immutable -- incapable of change (Psa. 117:2). Hence, proving the point.

Second, God’s nature, will, and glory will not change this year. Since God can’t increase or decrease, His plans can’t be frustrated, neither His glory diminished by any action or inaction of His creation. ". . . the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." (1 Sam. 15:29).

Third, Jesus Christ as our high priest cannot and will not change. “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “you are a priest forever” (Psa. 110:4). And if a priest, then effectual in being heard by the Father (Heb. 7:25) and sympathetic toward His people (Heb. 4:15).

Fourth, the inability of sinners to please God will be inexorable. Just as leopards can’t change their spots (Jer. 13:23) sinners can’t please God -- never have, never will. All the cajoling of religious authorities, all the charity of benevolent philanthropists won’t change a sinner’s status before God (Rom. 3:10-18) in calendar year 2012.

Fifth, the hatred of your spiritual enemies won’t change in 2012. Expect the accuser to accuse, the world to seduce, and the flesh to oppose. It’s what they do and the forecast is for more of the same.

Sixth, God’s grace won’t change in its sufficiency in 2012. Whether faced with the opportunity to bless (2 Cor. 9:8), or struggling with trials (1 Cor. 10:13), everything you receive will be a mercy from God.

But lastly, there are some things in 2012 that must change: God’s people must change. They must be born again (Jn. 3:7) because they must see the kingdom of God. They must repent of their sins because they can’t perish (Lk. 13:3), and they must believe and treasure Christ (Heb. 11:6), because their pre-ordained inheritance demands their trust and obedience. All these “must” changes never change in how God deals with His children. They’re as immutable as God Himself -- which is far greater than any resolution you can make for yourself in 2012.

HT: Mark LaCour

1-1-12

2012-01-01T19:11:00.007-06:00

A new year. The name January comes from the Roman God Janus, who had two faces facing opposite directions. So we look ahead and hope for good things- or strength for the bad. And we look back and remember the good things- and hopefully learn from the bad. Let’s not boast of our achievements, instead, let us keep growing in the grace of the Lord.

I was thinking of wise, profound words to post, but I’ll instead give you the words of one wiser than I. My brother in Christ and former pastor Bob Jennings had this to say on his blog:

New year? The new year is a reminder of a great day coming when the Lord Jesus will return and make all things new.

Revelation 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Sin, sorrow, and sickness will be gone.

Revelation 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

These words are “faithful and true” but only for those who have had a new birth, John 3.3 – an invasion of the living God into the heart, causing a person to begin to be radically different than he was and different from the surrounding world. He is a “new creation”, 2Corinthians 5.17, and as such, the Christian is a partaker already of the coming universal new creation – all things new. All the more, I’m not sorry I began to follow the Lord Jesus 40 years ago. I’m not sorry I came to Him as a sinner, trusting His sin-payment on Calvary. He is all I have. He is all anyone can have. Everything else gets stripped away.

Snowball fight!

2011-12-06T14:09:00.003-06:00

You’ve been hit!

Welcome to the 2011-12 snowball fight. Since we are getting our first snowfall of the year, let’s have some fun. Copy and paste this and email to anyone on your contact list. The only rule is that the person you send this to you cannot hit you back.

An arrow released

2011-11-26T10:38:00.001-06:00

“Sad” day today. H is moving 70 miles away, to the town of her birth and home of my older two children. She won't be far, but she won't be here. Psalm 127 speaks of children as arrows in a quiver. It is time to let this one go and pray/trust that God will direct her to His chosen target. Since she will be nearby, we will see her often, just not every day. And she gets to spoil the niece and nephew more often as well.

My favorite picture of H as a little girl.

So, P will have to put up with her two 50+ parents on her own. At 17, she thinks she'll be moving out next year, but I doubt it. There are many things involved in leaving home, which she has not yet realized. If she is ready next year, then I will gladly shoot the last arrow from the quiver in God’s will.

Post 101

2011-10-28T20:09:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I have reached a “milestone”: I have 100 posts! To celebrate (which I should have done on my last post, since it was #100) here are not-quite 100 unrelated thoughts.

Since baseball is not a timed game, why is it called a “time out” when the coach wants to talk to the pitcher?
When the “occupy” protesters are done complaining about not having a job, will they refuse to clean up the mess they are making in various city parks, even if they are offered an hourly wage to do so?
And why are they protesting at Wall Street, when it is all the corporations represented on Wall Street that provide jobs? Perhaps they should go to Washington and tell the Congress and President to remove hindrances to jobs, like over-regulation and high corporate taxes.
Why does the President think he needs to go give a speech to promote his economic recovery plan, when doing so costs millions of taxpayer dollars? A word to the press: point out to him that he could cut his own budget by those millions by staying in the White House and speaking from there.
Why do so many people complain about colder weather in the fall, when they were looking forward to it in August?
And why do these same people blame the TV weather person for weather the latter cannot control?
And why does the TV weather person take credit for good weather?
Also, why do TV weather personalities act like nannies? They tell us, “Put on your coat since it is cold.” Or, “Grab your umbrella, it’s going to rain today.” We can decide for ourselves.
Has anyone missed the NBA, since it is not playing ball this season because of a lockout? I didn’t either.
Is it hockey season too? Hmm, baseball ending, hockey starting, football half-way through. It must be October.

Okay, so I only could muster 1/10 of 100 thoughts. But hey, Game 7 is on now.

Thoughts on worship music

2011-10-15T20:21:00.000-05:00

One of the topics that seems to get people going is music in the church. Some churches sing only hymns, some only modern choruses, some only the Psalms. Really, it matters not to me what a church sings, as long as the people enter in to true worship. We sing a mixture of choruses and hymns, and are small enough that individuals request songs during the meeting. Many times, the Spirit of the Lord seems to pick the music, as someone will testify that all the songs spoke to his/her needs of the moment.

Anyway, I have been reading a biography of John MacArthur lately, written by Iain Murray. In it, the Murray has a chapter dedicated to several objections to MacArthur’s ministry. There is even a section on music in the church. I find it refreshing that John MacArthur has a balanced view, not proclaiming that either form of music is best, only that the song leader must remember that many people will remember the words to the songs after they have forgotten the sermon. The author quotes from O Worship the King, written by MacArthur, Joni Eareckson Tada and others. They write,

Like it or not, today’s songwriters are teachers, too. Many of the lyrics they are writing will soon be far more deeply and permanently ingrained in the minds of Christians than anything they hear their pastors teach from the pulpit. How many songwriters are skilled enough in theology and Scripture to qualify for such a vital role in the catechesis of the people? (1)

Earlier in the biography, Murray quotes MacArthur saying, “I am convinced that the downgrading of worship, Scripture, and theology will ultimately usher in serious doctrinal compromise.” (2) To me, that means that if all we sing are Scripture choruses, we miss out on the depths of theology in the older hymns. But by the same token, if we only sing the hymns in a dry, staid manor, we miss out on the emotional aspect of worship the great God and Creator. Try singing “My Jesus, I love Thee” without any emotion. Or, my favorite “And Can it Be” by Charles Wesley in a monotonic way. It cannot be done by one who is in tune with God.

(1) John MacArthur, Joni Eareckson Tada, Robert and Bobbie Wolgemuth, O Worship the King (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2000) pp. 12-13
(2) Quoted in Iain H. Murray, John MacArthur, Servant of the Word and Flock (Edinburgh, Scotland, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011) p.188

Thoughts on how it used to be

2011-09-02T15:41:00.000-05:00

It’s hot. The weather icon on this computer says it is 99°F. It’s September and we are getting a l;ate summer heat wave. It always get hot around Labor Day, doesn’t it? What did folks do in the old days when it got this hot? Surely they endured and took a break in the shade, sipping well water or something.

I guess we are not as hardy as they were. The schools around here that heave not gotten air conditioning are all closing early this week, including where I teach. It was 86° inside my classroom the last few days, and understand it was warmer at the elementary schools. So, we got out at 1:15 yesterday and 11:00am this morning. I remember riding my bike to school, and not worrying about the heat. Of course, I don’t remember if it got to 100° this late in the year when I was young. And there is a lot more humidity here than in Arizona, so if it did get this hot, we didn’t feel it as much. Or we ignored it.

Now I see why schools in the old days did not start until later in September, or even October. Not only was it cooler, but the children were needed on the farm to help with the harvest. Now, their are fewer farms, and the farmers don’t require the extra hands as much.

So, if you are reading this and you are older than 40, tell me something you remember from “the olden days”.

How verbal are you?

2011-07-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

Here is a vocabulary test I tried out, and was surprised at how well I did: Test Your Vocabulary. You get two lists of words- the first tests your broad vocabulary level, with words like; the second your narrow vocabulary. I am in the 45th percentile for adults over 18 years, with a vocab of around 26,000 words. I did not think I was that verbal.

How well can you do? Try it, then come back and brag about (or humbly admit) your score.

HT: First Thoughts blog

Grandson update

2011-07-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

He’s now 5 weeks old. Isn't he adorable?

The power of God in the storm

2011-06-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

We had quite a storm Monday morning. Winds at over 70mph tore through the area, downing many trees, including one in our yard. We praise the Lord we were all well, though we lost a couple hours of sleep, and the electricity was off until this morning, about 36 hours total.

Storms are interesting in their display of the power of God. This one had the strong winds and lightning that seemed to be a constant strobe light. It took me a while to realize the power was out because of all the lightning. All I could think was (and I know it is cliche, but it fits here): AWESOME!!!

Here are a few pictures of the damage and limbs we had moved to the street. We thank our neighbors and their lawn tractors for moving the largest ones.

Are you dressed for the wedding?

2011-06-23T11:56:00.001-05:00

We went to a wedding last weekend. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I have seen (and I have been to a lot of them). A young man came to the wedding dressed in shorts, t-shirt and ball cap. My first thought was that he should realize this is a wedding and not a ballgame or picnic. I know the young man, and have only seen him dressed up on a few occasions, one of them being his own wedding.

My thoughts turned to this passage from scripture:

But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 22.11-13 NKJV)

Concerning the young man above, I'll leave it to others to decide if his attire was an offense, as I know he is dressed for the most important wedding of all. When Jesus returns, and we celebrate the wedding supper of the Lamb, the only garment the King of Kings will allow will be the one He supplies: The righteousness of Christ.

Are you dressed for that wedding?

Presenting...

2011-06-01T18:29:00.000-05:00

A Grandson!!!

Born Tuesday, May 30, 2011 @ 9:45pm, a 8#5oz, 19½ inches gift from the Lord (Ps. 127)

Thoughts on the end of the world

2011-05-25T19:24:00.001-05:00

This came in an email yesterday. Excellent thoughts on the recent miscalculation of a misguided preacher.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (2 Thess. 2:1-2).

Harold Camping isn't the first preacher to be a "victim" of bad math. Jonah had the number of days to judgment correct, but God mercifully extended the deadline. Hananiah shortened the number of years of judgment, and it cost him his life (Jer. 28). But bad "accounting" methods don't produce false prophets -- arrogance does. While Harold Camping and his faulty "math" has exposed him for who he is, don’t think for a second God hasn't used him. Notice a few ways:

First, God has used him to show the world how foolish it is to date the future. It's one thing to "look for the blessed appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13), it's another to circle a date on a calendar and hour on a clock. The former emphasizes our desire to be with Christ, the latter our desire to be seen as someone important with inside knowledge from God.

Second, God has used him to harden people in their arrogance. More than one atheist has patted himself on the back that he's more "enlightened." While he correctly assizes Camping as foolish, he mistakenly generalizes from that foolishness there is no return of Christ at all (2 Pet. 3:3ff.) And God uses Camping's foolishness to harden the atheist with that effect (2 Thess. 2:9-10). Laughing at the "fool on the hill" doesn’t equate to every Christian being a fool. We’re just not on the hill.
Third, God has used him to discipline well-meaning but gullible Christians to always test the prophetic. Rarely is naivete built on immaturity alone, but pride. People giving up jobs, spending their retirement, working/preaching long hours to get the message out is disheartening, but the rebuke should be evident -- humble yourself and listen to others outside your own circle. "The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps" (Prov. 14:15) -- a consideration that requires being teachable from others (Prov. 9:4, 16).

If Noah, a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5), had concentrated his preaching on the 120 years God was to put up with mankind before the flood (Gen. 6:3) the unbelievers wouldn't have been caught off-guard when the flood came (Lk. 17:26-27); and two, he could have "dragged his feet" in building the ark, knowing he had 120 years. He did neither. He left the calendar -- and the math to God. So should we. There’s too much building yet to be done.

To post or not to post...

2011-05-05T19:19:00.000-05:00

...that is the question.
Whether ’tis worthwhile to write, (hoping someone will read)
Or leave things unsaid that no one will see.

There are times when I have time, and times that I don’t;
I just wish that when I have the time, I had something to say;
Instead of thinking of something to say when I have no time.

My dad always said, “The dullest pencil is better than the sharpest mind.”
I know he was right, as I cannot remember what to say if I don’t write right away.

So the purpose of this post is only to say,
“I have the time, but cannot think of something someone else has not said.”

Stay tuned. Exams are coming up at school and I’ll have plenty of time to write after that.

(My apologies to the Shakespeare lovers out there.)

Corrie Ten Boom on the Pretribulation Rapture

2011-03-12T10:33:00.004-06:00

A friend sent this in an email. Enjoy! (For the original post, click the title and go to “Files from Toni” blog.)

Corrie ten Boom Warns Against Pre-Tribulation Rapture False Doctrine.

Many Christians are unaware of the warning written in a letter by Corrie ten Boom where Miss ten Boom warns against a pre-tribulation rapture false doctrine. A Dutch Christian and a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust concentration camps. Corrie spearheaded a rescue operation in Holland that helped hundreds of Jews escape the Nazi extermination camps, and travelled all over the world as an ambassador for Christ telling her story. In her worldwide travels Miss ten Boom met with many Christians abroad. Many in the Suffering Church were enduring persecution just as she had. She met with Church leaders of the underground church in China. There she became aware of what had happened to the Chinese church in 1949. At that time Mao Tse Tung was bringing China into communism. The American missionaries had left the country. Chinese Christians entered into a time of intense persecution.

During that period the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine had been the accepted teaching. But there was a problem. And it turned out to be a serious one. This Biblically unfounded doctrine had not prepared the Chinese Church for witness under trial. Christian believers were interrogated and brutalized under the Red Guard. Many fell away from the faith in those times.

Corrie ten Boom’s story is told through her book The Hiding Place, and the motion picture released by the same name in the 1970s.

Corrie ten Boom went home to be with her Lord April 15, 1983, but her inspiring testimony for Christ will endure.

Following is the letter Corrie left warning against a pre-tribulation rapture false doctrine that Christians all over the world, and especially in

America

need to take very seriously. In this capacity Corrie ten Boom has earned the right to be heard. She is eminently qualified to present this special word of warning to the Western Church.

~~~~~

The world is deathly ill. It is dying. The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world. It is possible for them to do this because they are overcomers.

Christians are ambassadors for Christ. They are representatives from Heaven to this dying world. And because of our presence here, things will change.

My sister, Betsy, and I were in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck because we committed the crime of loving Jews. Seven hundred of us from Holland, France, Russia, Poland and Belgium were herded into a room built for two hundred. As far as I knew, Betsy and I were the only two representatives of Heaven in that room.

We may have been the Lord’s only representatives in that place of hatred, yet because of our presence there, things changed. Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” We too, are to be overcomers – bringing the light of Jesus into a world filled with darkness and hate.

Sometimes I get frightened as I read the Bible, and as I look in this world and see all of the tribulation and persecution promised by the Bible coming true. Now I can tell you, though, if you too are afraid, that I have just read the last pages. I can now come to shouting “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” for I have found where it is written that Jesus said,

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things
and I will be His God,
and he shall be My son.”
This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive – but that we shall be overcomers in the midst of a dying world.

Betsy and I, in the concentration camp, prayed that God would heal Betsy who was so weak and sick.

“Yes, the Lord will heal me,” Betsy said with confidence.

She died the next day and I could not understand it. They laid her thin body on the concrete floor along with all the other corpses of the women who died that day.

It was hard for me to understand, to believe that God had a purpose for all that. Yet because of Betsy’s death, today I am traveling all over the world telling people about Jesus.

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution.

In

China

, the Christians were told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated- raptured.” Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later, I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly:

“We have failed..
We should have made the people strong for persecution,
rather than telling them Jesus would come first.
Tell the people to be strong in times of persecution,
how to stand when the tribulation comes,
to stand and not faint.”

I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.

Since I have already gone through prison for Jesus’ sake, and since I met the Bishop in

China

, now every time I read a good Bible text I think, “Hey, I can use that in the time of tribulation.” Then I write it down and learn it by heart.

When I was in the concentration camp, a camp where only twenty percent of the women came out alive, we tried to cheer each other up by saying, “Nothing could be any worse than today.” But we would find the next day was even worse. During this time a Bible verse that I had committed to memory gave me great hope and joy.

“If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye;
for the spirit of the glory and of God resteth upon you;
on their part evil is spoken of,
but on your part He is glorified.”
I Peter 4:14

I found myself saying, “Hallelujah! Because I am suffering, Jesus is glorified!”

In America, the churches sing, “Let the congregation escape tribulation”, but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone, more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.

Several years ago I was in Africa in a nation where a new government had come into power. The first night I was there some of the Christians were commanded to come to the police station to register. When they arrived they were arrested and that same night they were executed. The next day the same thing happened with other Christians. The third day it was the same. All the Christians in the district were being systematically murdered.

The fourth day I was to speak in a little church. The people came, but they were filled with fear and tension. All during the service they were looking at each other, their eyes asking, “Will this one I am sitting beside be the next one killed? Will I be the next one?”

The room was hot and stuffy with insects that came through the screenless windows and swirled around the naked bulbs over the bare wooden benches. I told them a story out of my childhood.

When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, “Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.”
“Tell me,” said Father, “when you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?”
“No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.”
“That’s is right,” my father said, “and so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in heaven knows when you need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need just in time.”

My African friends were nodding and smiling. Suddenly a spirit of joy descended upon that church and the people began singing,

“In the sweet, by and by,

we shall meet on that beautiful shore.”

Later that week, half the congregation of that church was executed.

I heard later that the other half was killed some months ago.

But I must tell you something. I was so happy that the Lord used me to encourage these people, for unlike many of their leaders, I had the word of God. I had been to the Bible and discovered that Jesus said He had not only overcome the world, but to all those who remained faithful to the end, He would give a crown of life.

How can we get ready for the persecution?

First we need to feed on the Word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it. In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other.

But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting.
The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian’s life.
Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible Nazi concentration camp, that I might have to go through the tribulation also.
But then I read the Bible and I am glad.

When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord, we were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us. That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through. No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes. Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you. For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has He ever left me, or let me down.

“Though He shall slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13:15
for I know that to all who overcome,
He shall give the crown of life.
Hallelujah!

- Corrie Ten Boom - 1974

H.T.: Christine D.

Sensual Worship

2011-02-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

I received this the other day as a daily devotional from Mack Tomlinson. I think it is a good to remember that in worship, we are to please God and not man. Keep that in mind as you peruse this post.

~PL

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual, it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. Hence the antithesis, ‘sensual, having not the Spirit’ (Jude 19). ‘Sensual’ is also translated ‘natural’ or ‘worldly’; the meaning is the same. It does not take regeneration to give the sensual or the aesthetic a religious appeal to the natural man or woman.

In the Old Testament the people of God were, in measure, taught by their senses as God imposed the form of worship. As a check against any misuse of that means of teaching, no additions to or subtractions from it were allowed. But with the finished work of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, a momentous change took place. The church was raised to the higher privilege of worship in ‘spirit and truth’ (John 4:24). She belongs to the ‘Jerusalem which is above’ (Gal.4:26).

In the words of John Owen, ‘the naked simplicity of gospel institutions’ was established in the place of ‘the old, glorious worship of the temple’; Levitical choirs, incense, vestments, etc. — all were gone.

In the words of Richard Bennett, long a Roman priest, ‘The ritual, symbolical richness of the sacramental life of the Church, to a great extent, meets the human need for transcendence.’ It does no more than that.

The observation of W. H. Griffith Thomas, writing on ‘Spiritual Worship’, is true:

"It is the universal experience of Christian people that the more the senses are attracted, fascinated, and occupied, the less room there is for the action of the soul. The teaching of Christian history points very clearly to the fact that simplicity of outward ceremonial has been usually unaccompanied by the reality of the inward spirit of worship."

This is where the neglect of church history and Scripture has serious consequences for many contemporary evangelical churches. In the 1960s, at a time when the churches were losing their hold on young people, it was believed that a new way of renewing contact with them was to be learned from the contemporary culture. Music appeals to all, and why not make use of the new style of music and accompaniments which had become so popular? After all, music has to be neutral, so why not make it an ally?

Some put it more strongly. James Ryle ‘prophesied’ that ‘God is getting ready to anoint Christian musicians with the same anointing that was given to the Beatles’, and he attributed to God the words, ‘I had a purpose, and the purpose was to usher in the charismatic renewal with music revival around the world.’

Few warning voices were to be heard. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was almost alone in the 1960s in England when he warned against ‘the increasing tendency at the present time’ to use music to produce emotion; the justification being that music can make people happy, and when people feel happy they will find Christianity more acceptable. When an older generation sometimes expressed misgivings at the change this thinking had brought into public worship, they were told not to put their wishes before those of the outsiders whom the church needed to win.

Few saw the danger pinpointed by Lloyd-Jones: the impression of music on natural feelings was being confused with spiritual truth: ‘Because it [music] is performed in connection with a religious service or by Christians, people imagine and persuade themselves that they are feeling the truth. But they are not. This feeling has no direct connection with what they have believed.'

With this new departure came a flood of musical innovations into evangelical churches worldwide. The instruments of the old temple worship, as well as others, were restored, and with ‘music teams’, ‘music directors’, public worship has undergone a transformation.

It would be a mistake to say the change has come simply from the initiative of evangelicals. The Roman Catholic Church is no less involved, and in her case the new thinking was not new at all. It was under the Papacy, in the later Middle Ages, that the Church first commonly took up the use of instrumental music. At the time of the Reformation, Erasmus complained of the Roman Church:

"We have brought into our churches a certain operose and theatrical music . . . as I think was ever heard in any of the Grecian or Roman theatres. The Church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes and dulcimers; and human voices strive to bear their part with them . . . Men run to church as to a theatre, to have their ears tickled."

The Reformers rejected the paraphernalia of musical accompaniments, not because they did not appreciate the place of congregational song in the worship of God but, on the contrary, because they wanted its restoration to New Testament simplicity. In the words of Calvin: ‘In gospel times we must not have recourse to these, unless we wish to destroy the evangelical perfection, and to obscure the meridian light which we enjoy in Christ.’ Far from having any right to claim the support of Scripture for what Rome had introduced, he further says: ‘Now that Christ has appeared, and the church has reached full age, it were only to bury the light of the gospel, should we introduce the shadows of a departed dispensation.’

The Church of Rome, in her apostasy, has long exhibited the full outworking of the danger which evangelicalism has been ignoring. But sometimes protest coming from an unexpected quarter broke the silence. Richard Bennett, after finishing his education at the Angelicum University of Rome, served as a priest in Trinidad. After all his years there, he writes,

"Protestant Christians from overseas sometimes came to services, saw our sacred oils, holy water, medals, statues, vestments, rituals, and never said a word! The marvellous style, symbolism, music, and artistic taste of the Roman Church were all very captivating. Incense not only smells pungent, but to the mind it spells mystery. One day, a woman challenged me (the only Christian ever to challenge me in all my twenty-two years as a priest), 'You Roman Catholics have a form of godliness, but you deny its power.' Those words bothered me for some time because the lights, banners, folk music, guitars and drums were dear to me. Clearly I was unable to apply the Scripture to my life where it mattered most."

The change in public worship in evangelical churches is not the harmless thing it is thought to be. ‘So long as there is good preaching’, it is said, ‘we need not be overly concerned.’ We ought to be concerned! An appetite is being fed which in the past has led to the very abandonment of the gospel. When satisfying the ‘natural’ becomes acceptable in churches, the spiritual will not long remain. As the long-time Catholic, and later Protestant martyr, Hugh Latimer, warned, ‘When candles go up, preaching comes down.’

That music has great prominence in modern society is not in doubt. Nor is it the first time that such attention has been given to music in periods of decadence. Horatius Bonar noted:

"In connection with the 'decline and fall' of the Roman Empire, a singular fact has been recorded. — When the arts were declining, — poetry, sculpture, painting, deteriorating, — religion and patriotism decaying, — music was cultivated to an extraordinary extent. Old Romans died music-mad."

Accommodating the churches to contemporary culture may increase numbers (for a time); it has never led to a spiritual awakening. Unless there is a God-given change, it is to be feared that we will see in evangelicalism a developing apostasy.

-- Iain Murray

We would take Mr. Murray's statement further--we see before our eyes apostasy already in evangelicalism; yet the true remnant of the followers of Jesus Christ will continue to seek the Lord based upon the Bible alone, by the life of the Holy Spirit, according to one thing--the pure gospel of Christ.

-- Mack Tomlinson

Aftermath of “Snowpocalypse”

2011-02-02T15:23:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of pics of what the L household has now that the snow has stopped and the sun is shining (and we can see the river again!). The temperature is 16° with a slight wind, so it is still rather cold. But we let the dog out of the basement she has called home since Monday night. On the porch, it feels warmer because of the sunshine and lack of wind. She'll go back to the basement tonight, since it is supposed to drop to -10°.

Niña enjoying the sunshine after a day and a half in the basement.

The view from the garage. Since I had to walk through knee deep snow to get to the shovel, I am calling this the “Frog snow”, since to me it sounds like a frog’s croak is “kneedeep”.

Snow day!

2011-02-01T16:53:00.001-06:00

I am home for the next two days due to a blizzard, the big Blizzard 2011! Here are a few pictures we took this morning, since we really didn’t have much else to do.

So how’s the weather where you live?

A woodpecker outside our kitchen. You can see how fast the snow is flying.

There are houses which you can normally see through the trees about 1/8 mile away.

The river is usually in view beyond the trees about 1/4 mile away.

Is this degree worth two years of your life?

2011-01-28T18:46:00.001-06:00

While driving to work today, I heard a news story that made me wonder. It was the story of Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, a Canandian woman who is the first graduate from a graduate program in studying the Beatles. Don’t believe me? Read about it here. We’re not talking about a semester class on a rock group, but an actual college major!

So, I got to thinking of what kind of career a person with an MA in “Beatleology” might pursue. All I could come up with was museum curator or college prof teaching more young people useless info. I mean, all the problems in the world today and this woman (she’s my age!) wasted two years studying a rock group? And people wonder why the world is in such a mess!

I am reminded of an A. W. Tozer sermon about:

... a certain British peer who had died just a few days short of his eighty-ninth birthday.

Having been a man of means and position, it had presumably not been necessary for him to work for a living like the rest of us, so at the time of his death he had had about seventy adult years in which he was free to do whatever he wanted to do, to pursue any calling he wished or to work at anything he felt worthy of his considerable abilities.

And what had he chosen to do? Well, according to the story, he had "devoted his life to trying to breed the perfect spotted mouse."

Read the whole sermon. You’ll see that Ms. Zahalan-Kennedy is not the first to study something useless.

Seasonal humor

2010-12-21T14:31:00.001-06:00

I found this cartoon interesting, considering all the back and forth about the “reason for the season”.

From World Magazine

November Life and Thoughts

2010-11-20T22:58:00.000-06:00

As I wrote here three years ago, I usually think of death in November. But this year is different. Life is abounding! Above is a miniature rose that i discovered blooming on our rose bush last week when I went out to do the pre-winter trimming. In November! Maybe that is common in warmer climates, but around here, November is the first of several drab months. The leaves have all fallen off the trees or are a dull, brown color, hanging onto the tree as long as possible. The grass is brown or yellow. Even the weeds stop growing. But we have flowers this year. Not only the roses, but violets and daisies.

Another thought: In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we read of Jesus being our High Priest, yet He was of the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe, so the Jews would not accept Jesus as a priest. The other day, I was reading Luke 1, about Elizabeth and Mary. Luke tells us that Elizabeth was a relative of Mary's, and that she was a descendant of Aaron, the first priest. So, by extension, Jesus was a relative of Elizabeth, so He part Levite and of Aaron's family, so He could indeed claim a priestly position.

Are people really so stupid?

2010-11-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't verified this, but it is funny. We got this in a recent email.

UNKILLED HAMBURGER MEAT

Note To All Hunters: This is from a San Francisco newspaper:

To all you hunters who kill animals for food, shame on you; you ought to go to the store and buy the meat that was made there, where no animals we harmed.

I'm still here

2010-10-30T09:42:00.004-05:00

I’m still here, just not as active on this blog as I thought I would be. Life is busy, time seems short, but all is well.

Some tidbits:

Our granddaughter will be a big sister in June.
I like the fact that the World Series has two teams that are not from New York or Los Angeles. Of course, I don’t really care who wins it this year.
I am glad that election day is this week. Not that I am that excited about voting, but the ads will finally cease! Every year they get worse. With all the politicians seeming not to like the negative ads, you would think they could tell their supporters not to air them.
School this year is going fast. Not that I am complaining, mind you.

Since I really do not have much to say, I might as well end this. Thank you for taking a few seconds to stop by. Please leave a message so I know you were here.

Take no thought

2010-09-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

This morning, I read from D.M. Lloyd Jones on the Sermon on the mount. The chapter dealt with Jesus’s statement at the end of Matt. 6 about our “little faith”. Lloyd Jones says we all have faith, but most Christians fall into the “little faith” category, because we don’t take Jesus at his word. We believe on Jesus for salvation, but do not trust him for our daily lives. We worry about “what we will eat, what we will drink and what we will wear,” when He has promised to provide all those things for us. Not that we do not work and earn our living, but that we do not worry (”take no thought”) over these things. That thought gives me comfort, as I listen to the other teachers all worked up about what the new contract will be, whether we will get a raise or what will happen to our pensions (Illinois is millions behind in pension payments). I know my Heavenly Father will provide my every need because He said He would.

Questions from a reader

2010-08-17T22:26:00.000-05:00

This comment was added to the kitchen post below. Since it has nothing to do with the post, I am making it a separate post. Here it is:

Peter your Christian. Can I ask you a question personally? Is it against Christianity to marry another race and if your parents do not agree with the person that you're with is that a sin because it violates one of the 10 commandments? I not as religious as I should be but maybe someone with your faith can fill me in... thanks in advance.. Paul

Paul- I love honesty in questions. The first one is a yes, you can ask.

Secondly, no, it is not a sin to marry another race, or a person from another race. You probably are thinking of the Old Testament, when Israelites were forbidden to marry non-Israelites. This was for religious reasons, as the “Gentiles” did not follow the Mosaic law and worshiped other gods. As New Testament Christians, we are not to marry outside of the faith, but the faith is open to anyone from any race in any nation. So a white from America can marry a black from Africa, as long as the two are believers.

Now, if the parents oppose the marriage, the couple should refrain until something can be worked out. I have known couples that waited, and the parents changed their minds. It is always good to honor the parents. However, if the reason the parents oppose is not based on Christian principles, then there ate allowances for the couple to marry. But there is no set rule. Many variances in Christian practice are cultural or societal. What we do in the US may be something an African or Chinese Christian would not do, and vice versa. And by the same token, I know of some Americans who would frown on interracial marriages because of where they live.

Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

Kitchen: The Final Frontier

2010-08-13T08:55:00.000-05:00

After a long delay, the final step in the kitchen redo has begun! We got it painted, and though it does not look professional, we are all satisfied with the results. Now, the flooring people are here, tearing out the old carpeting and getting things ready for the vinyl floor tiles. Last night, three of us moved all the appliances and other things out of the way. I think an appliance dolly will be a good thing to have when the floor is done.

Stay tuned...

Bob Jennings Journal

2010-08-10T18:41:00.000-05:00

For those who know Bob Jennings, he has a blog now, set up by his son Jerad. He has interesting thoughts relating to his cancer and other things. Go to: http://bobjenningsjournal.com/.

Two ways to spend the "Sabbath"

2010-07-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

I am not a strict sabbatarian. That is to say, I do not believe that Sunday is a Christian extension of the Jewish Sabbath, as many reformed believers do. Let me say that I respect those that hold the Lord's Day in a strict Sabbath interpretation. My post today is not to refute such belief, but give two different stories of how people in the past spent the Sabbath. Both are biographical, so we can say that these events did indeed happen. The first is from Laura Ingals Wilder writing about her father's boyhood in her Little House series, so it is a simplified account for children to understand, and may have some fictional additions. The second is from the autobiography of John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides (modern day Vanuatu), telling his recollections of when he was a boy. Note how each shows the same day of the week in about the same period in history, following the same belief in a "Holy Day" spent in rather different ways.

When writing of her father, Wilder tells of one particular winter Sunday in his boyhood. His father made him and his brothers sit in the parlor after dinner and wait for the afternoon chores. They were not allowed to talk or do anything but rest. He would sit and fall asleep. Of course the boys could not sit still, and who can blame them? The story proves the adage about idle minds being the devil's workshop, as the boys left the house while their father slept and took the toboggan down a very steep hill near the house. Needless to say, they got in trouble afterwards. My thought here is that children cannot be expected to sit around doing nothing and wasting a day, even if it is a day of rest.

On the other hand, Paton tells of his household, and how the children enjoyed the day.

Walking to and from church (a four mile trip each way), "...we youngsters had sometimes rare glimpses of what Christina talk may be and ought to be. They went to the church, full of beautiful expectancy of spirit--their souls were on the outlook for God; they returned from the church, ready and even anxious to exchange ideas as to what they had heard and received of the things of life."

Paton remembers that the conversations were not phony and "did not repel us but kindles our spiritual interest. The talks we heard were ... not the make-believe of religious conversation, but the sincere outcome of their own personalities."

He goes on to tell how at home, his father would relate the message to his mother, who stayed home with the younger children. They would also take turns reading from and discussing Bible passages and The Pilgrim's Progress, as well as learning from the Shorter Catechism in a way that kept the children, rather than turning them away from piety. In other words, they didn't just sit around bored, as Wilder implies from her description.

So, how do you spend your Sunday afternoons? Whether you follow the "Christian Sabbath" or not, biblical discussion with other saints and the family are a good idea, rather than sitting around idly waiting for "the Sabbath" to end.

Why some people trust Glenn Beck

2010-07-19T18:20:00.003-05:00

I noticed this morning while looking at a cereal box why so many people trust Glenn Beck. Could it be the striking resemblance to this favorite icon of Americana?

Of tour guides and the Good Shepherd

2010-06-29T08:27:00.001-05:00

On a recent cave tour I was giving, there was a 10 year old girl who
followed close at my heals the whole time. It did not matter to her
that her mother was stopping to take pictures, or that the two of us
were several feet ahead of the rest. She wanted to stay with the
tour guide so as not to get lost. I was reminded of the Good
Shepherd. Jesus says His sheep follow Him and will not listen to the
voice of a stranger. Now, I was a stranger to this girl, but I knew
the way to go. Her mother was not a stranger to her, but did not
know the way to go.

The lesson: Am I listening to familiar voices that don't really know
the way? Or am I following close to the One who knows me best and is
the only Way?

More progress

2010-06-09T09:45:00.003-05:00

The kitchen work proceeds slowly. Here I am beginning the painting. Notice the tie-dyed shirt. That way I can make a mess and no one will notice!

We also hired a painter to do the outside gable ends. They were white and have needed a paint job for years. While we were at it, we had the painter redo the shutters, which had faded to grey. I include a "before" picture for comparison (taken last winter from a different angle).

Before After

New Kitchen- Phase 2

2010-05-29T21:45:00.003-05:00

The kitchen remodel shows progress. The new cabinets are in:

Here are the base cabinets before the countertop was installed.

Little P having a little fun. Gotta get that girl a hobby!

The finished product. Still need to paint, though.

And a new floor covering!

Someday we'll get the blue plastic wrap off the dishwasher.

New Kitchen - Phase 1 continued

2010-05-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

The kitchen remodel shows progress. Here are a few more destruction pics:

The base cabinets were harder to get out. We needed a plumber to disconnect the water pipes.

The old sink and counter top out in the yard.

More of the wallpaper coming off. Little P counldn't reach that high.

A new kitchen @ 3rd & College

2010-05-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

We are in the process of redoing our kitchen. What we had was here when we bought the house 6½ years ago. Below are pictures from the first step: taking out the old cabinets and working on getting the wall paper off. That part is easy; something we know-nothings can handle. We hired an out-of-work friend to do the the real work.

Before. We are not sure how old these cabinets are, but the ½ inch particle board shelves are bowed.

Here I am taking down the last wall cabinet. I had to improvise as the screw heads were stripped, and I don't have a lot of tools. So I drilled around them and pulled them out with vice grips.

Even 15 year olds like to have fun!

H enjoying a new toy: it is called the Paper Tiger. It has wheels with blades to tear up the wall paper.

Stay tuned for updates.

Mother’s Day

2010-05-08T18:00:00.004-05:00

To any mother who happens by, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. Make sure you tell your children how much you love them. Let them be a major part of your life today, and every day, especially if they are young. And if you still have a mother, call her and tell her you are glad she is your mother and chose to give birth to you. Believe me, women sacrifice a lot to raise children, and their job has not been made easier by modern society.

Cinco de mayo

2010-05-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

Cinco de Mayo was yesterday. As a Spanish teacher, I am now going to point out a few things:

It is not Mexico’s independence day. That is el dieciséis de septiembre (September 16).
It is not even a victory in a war. On May 5, 1862, a rag-tag Mexican force turned back an invasion by a much stronger, better trained French army at Puebla. Mexico owed the French a lot of money and could not pay it back, so Napolean III decided it was time for France to have territory in the Americas again, having sold Louisiana and lost Haiti to a slave rebellion and Canada to the British.
It is not celebrated in Mexico as much as it is in large US cities. It is a holiday in Mexico, but not as big a deal to them. Kind of like Presidents’ Day or one of our other minor federal holidays.

So, why is it that I, as a Spanish teacher of Puerto Rican descent, am asked by my students if we can have a party that day? Because we as Americans like celebrating holidays from other countries. Think of St. Patrick’s Day.

So I listened with interest as the news reported the high school students in California who got in trouble yesterday for wearing clothing with the US flag on it. Isn’t California part of the US? Do we not, as US citizens, have a First Amendment Right of free expression? The students were told their clothing might offend the Mexican-American students. Excuse me? If the Mexican-American students are offended by the flag of their adopted country, then perhaps they need to go back to Mexico. I am glad the superintendent’s office in the school district reversed the suspension the students received. Let the Mexican-Americans celebrate their heritage, as do Germans during October, or Jewish adherents during Yom Kippur or Hanukkah. Just don’t punish American students who want to show a little patriotism, as is their right.

Oh, and if you have a chance, go buy something sold in Arizona, or go spend money in the Grand Canyon State, or write the governor and thank her for doing what our “Representatives” in Washington do not have the guts to do concerning illegal immigration.

Various meanderings of the mind

2010-04-10T15:22:00.001-05:00

Okay, so it has been a long while since I posted here. I probably don't even have any more followers! (Or they have found someone else to read who is more active.) So this post will have a few thoughts on some of my "labels".

Politics- It looks like a lot of Democrats are getting out of Congress. This is good news and bad. Good, because it will mean fresh blood. Bad because the ones dropping out are ones a good Republican (or third party candidate) could defeat, while the Democrats nominated in their places have a better chance of winning. That means the Republicans will not gain as many seats.

Pondering- While the future looks bleak from a human standpoint, it is good to know God is in control.

Peeve- The politicians and the lapdog media that do not want us to see that America is slowly becoming a second rate nation.

Praises- God is in control!!!

Pastimes- Baseball season began last weekend. I just don't get as excited as I used to. Not having a son at home who listened to every Cardinals' game may have something to do with that.
Provoking mirth- April Fool's day came and went without anyone really pulling a major prank on me. But then, I think the current administration believes us all to be fools.
Poetry-

It's Spring again as all can see.
A long winter past, from snow we're free.
The grass is green, the sky blue;
My heart yearns for fresh air true.
But summer draws near humid and hot.
Soon I'll look for a shady cool spot.
Then autumn will arrive and the trees turn red,
Then winter again, and all will seem dead.
So, on life goes, the years pass by.
And then some day, so will I die.
In that day, when in heaven I wander
No bad weather will be there to ponder.

Oh well, I guess poetry will have to do without my efforts. Perhaps that should be under "Provoking mirth"!

The weather outside is delightful...

2010-03-07T20:36:00.001-06:00

It's March! Another Spring is just around the corner. It seems this winter has been longer than the previous winters. I guess it is because we have had more snow than any time in the last 30 years, according to some locals.

Anyway, we are finally getting our January Thaw, though it is over a month late. Wonderful global "warming", eh? Oh, sorry. It is "climate change" now. The pseudo-scientists decided the earth was not warming like they thought, so now they changed the name. And with all the snow this winter, they are trying to tell us the warmer atmosphere has more moisture in it than before, so we are getting so much more winter precipitation. Yeah, right. And the Ice Age ended because early humans discovered fire, which added carbon to the atmosphere and melted the ice. (I made that last one up.) Never mind all the carbon emitted whenever a volcano erupts. Or all the methane from animals passing gas. Or all the CO2 from all of us exhaling. But aren't plants fed by carbon? No problem, then. Just keep emitting carbon and the planet will get greener. And if it all warms up, then we can plan our tropical vacation in Alaska and the tundra will be the new bread basket.

Oh, nice to solve the world's problems. You'll thank me later. I guess I better get my acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize all written and memorized. But what to do with the prize money? Hmm. I wonder if there is any beach front property for sale in Point Barrow.

Thoughts on the Olympics

2010-02-21T21:53:00.001-06:00

Just a few ramblings related to the Winter Olympics:

It’s great to see so many Americans doing well.
It was saddening when the Georgian luger died in that accident. I cannot imaging going 90mph on a small sled!
Can “dancing” on ice be considered a sporting event?
Can we ever watch the figure skaters (or other events) without the constant chatter of the announcers? I want to choke Scott Hamill whenever he groans after a skater messes up. Comment on the replay!
How many times does the announcer need to remind us that “only the first two go on”? It seems like the guy calling the snowboard and ski cross (race between four people at one time) felt like we needed to hear that at least twice every heat.
Why aren’t all the American competitors (except the figure skaters) wearing red, white and blue?
What happened to patriotism? Too many of the Americans either forgot or never learned how to salute the flag during the national anthem.
Seeing all that snow makes me cold. But then, we are getting our heaviest snowfall of the year right now, so I don’t need to watch the Olympics to see a lot of snow!

A short Thank You

2010-01-23T12:48:00.000-06:00

Mrs. L. and I would like to thank whomever it was that sent a gift to Heartcry Missionary Society. At least, it was someone who read my post All I Want for Christmas. And it has to be someone who knows us personally and our address, as the receipt we received in the mail today has Mrs. L's first name.

Anyway, you need not tell us who you are, just receive our Thank You!

More things I wish people would not say

2010-01-23T09:30:00.002-06:00

So, you think I am being OCD about too many adverbs? (See Seven sayings...) You don't know the half. The other day over at Worldmag Blog, some guy was complaining about the use of the noun “Democrat” being used as an adjective when mentioning the political party, as in “Democrat party”. Several others went back and forth with the guy about how it is not a recent usage, and the Republicans have used it for decades. No, I am not going to defend that usage, as I agree with the guy. But how many of us misuse adjectives and nouns and never even think about it? And other misuses of cliches and parts of speech?

Forthwith are a few more things I wish people would stop saying. Mostly these are grammatical miscues.

“I’m good” as a response “How are you?” “Good” is an adjective that describes your character. The question asks how you are feeling at the moment, not what kind of person you are. The grammatical answer is “I’m well” or “Fine.”
“Wall Street to Main Street” This, along with a few variations, seem to be the latest political mantra. I guess it is supposed to show the common people that the politician is one of them, and not some Washington bureaucrat or Wall Street fat cat. Sorry, politicians, but when I hear that line, I want to jump into the TV and scream at you: “Enough with the clichés!” I personally want Wall Street to do well, as my pension and IRA depend on a strong stock market. And aren’t we a capitalistic economy? If Wall Street fails, don’t the rest of us suffer? Now I realize that the hatred is directed at the company managers who get huge bonuses whether the company does well or not. Okay, go after the individual offenders, not the whole system! Besides, around here it is the big box stores hurting Main Street, not the stock market.
“I could care less.” So, care less if you are able. The saying is “I couldn’t (notice the negative) care less,” indicating that the speaker has zero interest in the subject at hand. To say one could care less, means that person has at least some interest.
Using the past tense verb form instead of the past participle and vice-versa. Here in the Midwest, people are prone to confuse verb forms. They say, “I seen you at the store.” Or else “I’ve went to St. Louis often.” I used to correct it whenever I heard it (as Mrs. L. can testify), but now I repeat it to them correctly in a question: “You saw me at the store? Why didn’t you say ‘Hello’?” “How often have you gone to St. Louis? Once a month or more?” Like directly correct them, this approach doesn’t get them speaking the Queens English, but it makes me feel better. One of the worst offenders is someone I work with, i.e. another teacher! He used to mock President Bush for his mispronunciation, yet he constantly mispronounces common words, like “supposably” in place of supposedly.

I guess that is enough conversational peeves I have. Any others you care to share with the few, the proud, the brave readers of this blog?

Seven sayings...

2010-01-08T11:44:00.001-06:00

Okay, I admit. When I was young and immature I was a fan of George Carlin. He was funny, but now I wonder why young people (and even older ones) find gutter humor funny. (Don't get me wrong, Carlin was a genius, and had a few great skits, just too much crudeness for my older, wiser, Christian self.) One his most famous skits was called “The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV”, in which he proceeds to use the foulest language imaginable. Sadly, many of those things are now used in conversation as if they were never thought of as bad words! But I digress...

I thought I would herewith propose seven things I wish we would stop using in writing and speaking. These are not bad, just overused.

Adding Adverbs to Adverbs-- Admittedly, adverbs are necessary, but repeating them or using more than one is aggravating. I cringe when watching the news and a reporter says “very, very”. I realize this happens during “off the cuff” moments, and not in scripted reporting. But why not use that brain that got them through journalism school and come up with another adverb like “extremely”? Why don’t these paragons of intelligence (written tongue in cheek) open a thesaurus in their free time?
Arguably-- Speaking of adverbs, this one has got to go. It’s become the buzzword of bloggers. Whatever happened to the good old stand by words like “definitely” or “in fact”?
Simply-- I know, I am picking on adverbs here. But this word is so overused in advertising. “Simply call 1-800...” is a line that makes me laugh. Calling toll free numbers now-a-days is not a simple task, unless you know how to get around the voice prompts. (I have found that pressing 0 three times usually gets you directly to the customer service line, and you get to talk to a real person!) How many times have I had to enter a ten-digit account number , only to have to repeat it to the representative who finally gets my call? Sometimes this word “simply” is added to instructions that are so convoluted that it takes an engineer to figure it out.
“Deja vu all over again.” Yes, Yogi Berra was a funny guy, and had many of these cute sayings. But it is getting tiresome to have every sports announcer on the planet saying this at least once in every broadcast.
God’s name in swearing-- This was not one of Carlin’s seven, but I remember when I worked in radio, we had to bleep it out if we heard it. Live call in shows have to have a six-second delay in order to give the deejay time to push the bleep button. I wish I could do so for written work before I have to read it. It is terrible that in print “g--d---” is allowed, but the Anglo-Saxon versions of excrement or sexual intercourse are not. No, I do not advocate allowing them, just blanking out God’s name when used in a profane manner.
Profanity-- Not only God’s name, but the f-bomb and other “vulgarities” have entered into the mainstream conversation. I remember when “those words” were not said around women and children, but now it is the women and children using them! Granted, such words are not evil in and of themselves, but in the 1000 or so years since the Normans conquered the Angles and Saxons, the words used by the latter have been frowned upon. Yes, even children used those words in the dark ages before William the Conqueror and his hordes invaded and won the Battle of Hastings. And since the Frenchification of the nobility in England, we do not use them in polite conversation. I guess America is rebelling still against the British nobility by using language the nobles would not use.
Obama-- I had to find a seventh word to keep up with Carlin, so here it is. I await 20 January 2013, the day when he is no longer president.

O, friends, let us simply procure to be very, very careful in our speach, which is arguably one of the hardest things to do.

For unto us a child is born...

2009-12-24T08:47:00.003-06:00

And her name shall be called Sarah Abigail. (What? You were expecting a Christmas post?)

Our first grandchild entered the world Wednesday night (Dec 23) at 23:10CST. She is a 7#4oz, 20" bundle with lots of curly hair, like her mother had. Mother and child are doing well.

And here she is:

Why celebrate Christmas?

2009-12-17T19:52:00.002-06:00

Got this in an email. While I am not much for promoting "Christmas", I promote Christ crucified whenever I can.

Twelve Reasons for Christmas

1. "For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37)

2. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)

3. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

4. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)

5. "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

6. "God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:5)

7. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16).

8. "God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9; cf. John 10:10).

9. "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15).

10. "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed" (Luke 2:34f).

11. "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)

12. "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." (Romans 15:7-8; cf. John 12:27f). [Taste and See, 2002, John Piper]

HT: Mark LaCour

Talking about the weather

2009-12-12T08:28:00.002-06:00

When I Grumble about the Weather

"The Lord has heard all your grumblings against Him!" Exodus 16:8

Does God really hear every discontented word I ever speak? Does He hear when I grumble about the hard winter, about the late spring, about the dry summer, about the wet harvest?

Does He hear when I grumble about the frosts, about the drought, about the high winds, about the storms?

Does He hear when I grumble about my circumstances, about the hardness of my situation, about my losses and disappointments?

If we could get into our heart, and keep there continually, the consciousness that God hears every word we speak, would we murmur and complain as much as we do?

We are generally careful to not speak words which would give pain to the hearts of those we love. Are we as careful not to say anything that will grieve our Heavenly Father?

"I tell you this--that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak." Matthew 12:36

"He who complains of the weather is complaining of the God who ordains the weather!" -- William Law

-- J. R. Miller

HT- Mack Tomlinson

All I want for Christmas...

2009-11-25T17:16:00.008-06:00

...is a 12 bedroom, 12 bath house on a hill overlooking the Caribean Sea in Puerto Rico. And in the three car garage, a convertable, a mid-sized motorcycle and an extended cab pickup truck.

Seriously, with all the greed associated with the modern celebration, I do not think I want anything this year. Every year I am asked (especially by the relative that draws my name) what I want. Every year I cannot think of anything. So I get some article of clothing or a CD I listen to three or four times. So this year, I am asking for donations to one of the ministries or charities listed below. So, if you are the relative who got my name this year, take your pick. Make it anonymous- you don't even have to give in my name.

Heart Cry Missionary Society. This organization finds native missionaries and supports them. From the website:

Our greatest concern is that His Name be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun (Malachi 1:11), and that the Lamb who was slain might receive the full reward for His sufferings (Revelation 7:9-10).

The Wounded Warrior Project, which desires “...to provide tangible support for the severely wounded and help them on the road to healing, both physically and mentally.” They provide things like counseling services for servicemen wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other things like backpacks with toiletries, etc, for their hospital stay.

The Salvation Army. I know it is more of a social than spiritual ministry in modern times, but this organizatoin does more to help the poor than anything Washington does.

Your local food bank. The economy has caused so many to loose their jobs that many former donors are current users.

There are several other worthy causes out there. This year, instead of piling up more useless stuff, why don't we all give to those more needy than we are?

Morning glory to God

2009-11-21T10:04:00.001-06:00

(Photo from flikr )

Last week as I was driving to work, the sunrise was beautiful. I wish I had a camera, or that I was not in a hurry to meet my carpool. What really made it even more wonderful, was that I had just put the first hymns CD by The 2nd Chapter of Acts, and the first one, “All Creatures Of Our God And King” came on, right as the sun popped over the horizon. I was moved by the moment, especially the line: “Thou rising morn in praise rejoice” seemed to be written exactly for a time as this. I wonder if the hymn writer saw a beautiful sunrise and wrote that line. The photo does not quite capture it. It was one of those days when the sky was cloudy except the horizon, so the sun reflected beautiful red and orange light over everything.

Diversity

2009-11-11T21:36:00.001-06:00

I heard on the news the other day that the Illinois governor appointed someone to make sure that there is diversity in state government contracts. Tonight I heard that the Naval Academy had to change who was on the color guard at the World Series so there would be a group representing the diversity of the academy. Every week or so we hear about diversity in the US, or discrimination against this group or that group.

Ah, diversity! That wonderful idea that every race, gender and orientation must be represented in order for something to feel right. Do we really need something like the Illinois Diversity Council, which “...is committed to fostering a learning environment for organizations to grow in their knowledge of diversity”? A council which values leadership “that values diversity and inclusion and stimulates the potential of each individuals to contribute and achieve their goals (sic)” (but not necessarily good spelling and grammar)? Really?

What happened to colorblindness? What would Martin Luther King, Jr., the patron saint of the diversity movement, say about such things? He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” His now grown up children are still waiting.

And so am I. When I get in my car and drive across the Mississippi River, I do not care who owned the construction company who made the bridge. I don’t concern myself that the owner be white, black, male or female. I just want the bridge to be built by the best possible work crew. Now, in Illinois and other places, watch out. The state may have hired a company because the owner was a minority female, since there were already contracts given to the white, male owned companies. So the bridge you are about to cross may have been built by a company with almost no experience in building quality bridges. It just happened to be owned by the politically correct person. I hope your car and life insurance are current!

Driver’s education

2009-10-19T18:53:00.000-05:00

Youngest daughter turned 15 last month. She now has a learner’s permit to drive. Of course, that means dad is a driver’s ed teacher for the next 12 months. So far, no accidents. Just some frayed nerves. Like when she was taking a turn on a gravel road with the rear tires spinning and the nose headed for the ditch. Or when she made a left turn onto a highway and we both forgot to look the second time. There was suddenly a car in the rear-view mirror with one unhappy looking driver.

Thank the Lord for traveling mercies.

Kudos and "Whatever"

2009-10-08T12:45:00.001-05:00

First, I want to publicly (at least as publicly as this blog is) express “kudos” to the junior senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill (Dem). Most of the time I do not agree with her. But she, along with several other senators “called for greater transparency as the health insurance reform debate moves to the Senate floor.” Basically, they want “legislative text and complete budget scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to be posted on a public website at least 72 hours prior to the first vote...” Sounds like a great idea for any legislation.

Now for something light. The other day, the AP (Associated Press) reported that “Whatever”, especially when pronounced “WHAT-ehv-errr”, is the most annoying slang in American conversation. About twice as annoying as “you know”.

It got me to thinking about other annoying speech habits we have. One I have heard a lot recently that drives me batty is “long story short”. It is a shortrened version of “to make a long story short”, which usually is said after the speaker has rambled on and on, telling too much minutiae of the story already.

Saying “No”

2009-09-22T19:01:00.002-05:00

The fool has said in his heart there is no God (Psalm 53.1).

Some commentators I have read say that this verse can be translated as The fool has said in his heart, “No, God.” To me, that means we have all been fools at one time or another. Every time we do not do what God commands, we say “No, God.” Every time we act un-Christ-like, we say “No, God.” When we offend our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we say “No, God.” If we try to do things our way, we say “No, God.”

Let us repent and say, “Yes, God.”

Lest we forget.

2009-09-10T18:27:00.003-05:00

May we never forget what happened eight years ago, 9/11/2001.

In September, 1983, I took my lovely bride to New York to meet my relatives (grandparents, uncle, aunt and cousins). We went up the World Trade Center, even though she was afraid of heights. I convinced her to go up to the observation deck on the roof. It was very windy up there, but the view was wonderful. I asked a ranger how high we were. He said 1365 ft. above sea level, or 1354 off the ground. I was awed by the smallness of everything below, even the Empire State building just a mile or two away. We could not look straight down from the roof, as the deck was some 30 feet or so from the edge. But the 106th floor had a museum of commerce with indoor observation windows. One could sit on a bench and look almost straight down from there. Other than being on a mountain top or the rim of the Grand Canyon, I have never been on land and seen such a view. As seen from there, the people were smaller than ants. The cars on the streets below were miniature toys.

Too bad I cannot take my children there. We went to New York City in 1990 with them, but did not have time to go up the towers. I wish now we had, because the next time we went was in March, 2002. All that was left was the hole in the ground and a lot of rubble.

It doesn't happen often

2009-09-09T09:09:00.013-05:00

It only happens twelve times per century, to be exact. I am referring to the date and time stamp on this post. It happened on morning of January 1 of 2001, then again on February 2 of 2002. Then, every 13 months and one day since then. The last time will be early afternoon on December 12, 2012. Have you figured it out? Look carefully at the date and time stamp. September 9, 2009 at nine minutes, nine seconds past nine o'clock in the morning.

Okay, perhaps is not as obvious to some: 09/09/09 09:09:09, or the moment when the month, day, year, hour, minute and seconds are identical. I say in the morning, because on the 24 hour clock, 9:09 PM is 21:09. 12:12 AM is 00:12.

If I were in that union...

2009-09-04T20:44:00.003-05:00

The news today reported that the Rhode Island governor wants to have state employees go on 12 days of unpaid furlough in order to save the state some $17 million. But the union representing the state workers says no, because that effectively would be a 4.6% or more pay cut. The union has joined in a lawsuit to stop the furloughs. So the governor may have to lay off 1000 workers, starting with the most recently employed. Seems to me the union is not serving those 1000 workers very well, is it. Now I know unions usually take care of their members when they lose their jobs, but does it cover more than 96% of their salary?

Were I one of the chosen 1000, I would be on the phone with the union representative: "Excuse me? Would you mind asking us workers what we want? I think I would rather take the pay cut than lose my job."

Another year of school has begun

2009-08-28T19:03:00.002-05:00

Here goes. Ready or not it is here. Last Monday, the bell rang at 8:10AM, and thus began another year of school. I get Freshman 7th hour this year- 21 of them, along with 8 other students. It is the first time I have 14 year olds in the afternoon for six years. So far so good. They are eager and cooperative. It must be the water. Of course, not the water at the school. The drinking fountain down the hall has rusty pipes, and for the first several days the water came out brown or yellow. Not very inviting.

It is strange starting the year two weeks before Labor Day. But then, we started about the same time this year, but Labor Day is later.

The school schedules early release days for the first week since it is usually too hot in our non-air-conditioned building. But the Lord had other plans this week. Thursday was the only "hot" day (85° and humid). The rest were low 80s, and today was 70! Now that we start our regular schedule on Monday, it will probably get too hot. But looking at the forecast, I guess I don't have to worry.

New blog you might want to read

2009-08-15T20:52:00.004-05:00

My daughter and a friend have started a blog based on one of my favorite subjects: chocolate! Go on over and see Morsels of Chocolate. Now, if they would add coffee to the mix, that would be wonderful!

Health Care and Clunkers

2009-08-05T07:58:00.003-05:00

Then, along comes Cash for Clunkers. I heard an interview on NPR
yesterday that disturbed me. The interviewee was a mechanic at a car
dealership who was about to make an old Ford undrivable. He said
most cars die after ten seconds when the caustic solution is poured
into the oil tank. Then they try to restart the car to make sure
they are dead, and again an hour or so later they try again (I guess
the solution does not always work the first time). The reporter
asked him if he thought it strange that he was destroying engines
when his usual job was repairing them. Of course he thought it so.

This got me thinking about the health care debate. It seems Obama
Care is not going to be good for the elderly, as the President seems
to have meant that they would be given a pill. Hopefully he meant
that his health care plan would make their last days comfortable, and
not that they would get a poisonous pill that would end their
lives. Imagine a few years down the line when NPR interviews a
doctor giving a an elderly patient the pill that will end his or her
life. It could happen. The elderly might be thought of as too old
to continue using health care resources, and therefore only get
terminated. You think it far fetched? Remember Nazi Germany.

ADDENDUM 8-8-2009: Someone sent an anonymous post, which I would rather not accept. I did accept the one below, as Monty signed his name. I will put the link the anonymous poster left (from PolitiFact.com), as it may or may not clear up what President Obama was saying in his "take a pill" statement. I say it may not, because the statement he made "I don’t want bureaucracies making those decisions" can be interpreted as "I alone want to make those decisions." Not that I think he meant that, I'm just saying it could.

Tax the fat

2009-07-29T08:16:00.002-05:00

Health care reform seems to be the cause de jour among the Democrats. And of course, this means finding ways of paying for it (i.e. more taxes). Senator John Kerry has proposed taxing “gold plated” (his words) insurance plans. These are the ones most of us cannot afford, but pay for most of medical costs. My thought? Does that mean Kerry is proposing that federal employees, including the President and Congressmen, are going to be taxed for their health care plans? They have one of the best in the country called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Talk about “gold plated”! According to the website, the program offers “...the widest selection of health plans in the country.” This plan is just what we need, if we are going to reform health care insurance. Let all of us use that plan, and no one would be complaining, except perhaps the Socialists of Congress who want more control over the masses.

Neal Boortz, radio talk show host (yes, I listen to a variety of different view points), proposed the Fat Accumulation Tax (FAT). The more you weigh, the more you pay. It makes some sense to me, since caring for the problems of obesity cost $147 billion last year (Wall Street Journal online). That's nearly 10% of health related costs! Now, many of the overweight in this country are poor, so Uncle Sam would probably step in and not make them pay. But why not make them pay part of their costs, since they are part of the problem of Medicare not having enough money? That would be a sure way of getting them to lose weight!

I like the concept Boortz has proposed, but I believe a better way would be to tax us based on our body-mass index (BMI- a number based on both height and weight). This would be fairer, because I, at 5'11+" and 190lb, am not much overweight. (Using this BMI calculator shows that my BMI is 26.5, which is 1.5 points into the overweight category). However, someone 5'5" and 190 is obese (BMI=31.6-- 1.6 over the obese line). So, make that person pay a higher health care tax to encourage him/her to do something about the weight problem.

However, knowing the current Democratic leadership, they will do everything to make sure no one can fully comprehend whatever plan comes out of Congress.

Living on “less”

2009-07-22T10:20:00.004-05:00

While driving home, I was listening to “All Things Considered” on NPR (I know that makes me a closet Liberal). There was an interview with an actress who plays on TV shows as a guest star or secondary character. The gist was that even those actors are feeling the economic pinch, as fewer opportunities are arising, due somewhat to the trend toward “reality” shows (supposedly unscripted). She said her salary has dropped from around $500,000 to about $70,000 a year. I agree that this is a serious pay cut, but then she complained that she could not live on $70,000. What? That is a lot more than I have ever made! I guess living in LA-la land (Los Angeles, CA) is expensive, but not able to live on twice the salary of a starting teacher? This is evidence that we are a nation which values entertainment over necessities. (See “Bread and Circuses” below.)

What's the hurry?

2009-07-18T09:16:00.002-05:00

I have to wonder why President Obama is in such a hurry to push through his legislative agenda. He said he would have a transparent administration, and let people have time to read every proposal before it becomes law. So far, that has not happened, has it. The "Stimulus" was written and passed within a few days, and it was so long not even the Congressmen read it before voting on it. Now he is trying to get the energy and health care bills passed before the August recess. Yet each one is hundreds of pages long, and will change our economy more than FDR did in his New Deal. Slow down, please!

I really think Obama wants all this done before the 2010 elections, because he knows the average American has a short attention span and will forget the damage the Democrats are doing and reelect them. He also knows that during the summer, a lot of people are not paying attention to the news, because rarely does anything of significance happen between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

I am glad that God is in control, as it appears the US as we have known it is no more. Time to learn Chinese!

Bread and Circuses

2009-06-26T10:32:00.003-05:00

While Rome (the US) burns, figuratively, of course, the Fourth Branch of Government (the mass media) offer us fluff for news. This morning I was listening to the radio while getting ready for the day. Neal Boortz was talking about the Congress getting ready to vote on the energy bill, with all its new fees (hidden taxes) on the middle class. Then came the news on the hour (ABC, if you care, it could have been any of them). What is the top story that took up over a minute of the 5 minute (minus advertising)? Michael Jackson! Do you think we are declining as Rome was?

Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses (Juvenal, Satire 10.77–81).

Great letter on Glenn Beck program

2009-06-22T19:42:00.003-05:00

I listen to Glenn Beck on occasion. Last week he read a great letter from a woman in Arizona who is tired of the two political parties. What she says is fantastic. Here is the first paragraph:

I’m a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Read the whole thing here and an interview he has with the author here.

Lawn woes

2009-06-06T14:10:00.003-05:00

Last week my mower died. It took several trips to various mower stores, but I finally found a push-type lawn mower I can afford. Man, those things cost a lot. My mechanic told me to get a John Deere because they have a Kawasaki overhead valve engine, but all the ones I saw had regular old Briggs & Stratton side valves, and cost $100 more than other brands. I even had a JD salesman tell me they did not reorder the J series because they had too many returned last year. So I got a hardly used Lawn Boy. It even has an oil pump. I need that because I mow an embankment. Now I know why mowers did not last long for me, because when I mow the embankment, only one of the cylinders was getting any oil! Now, off to do the job before the next rainfall.

Something fun!

2009-06-01T08:49:00.011-05:00

Over at World Magazine Blog, several of us have been keeping a fun thread alive for over six months. But alas and alack, it died last night because no one added another word for two days. It is a game of Cyber Scrabble with these rules:

* We’ll start off with the word “Pray.”
* The first player should change one letter of “Pray” and post it in the comment section.
* Subsequent players should work off the last word published in the comment section.
* You can’t add letters.
* You can’t use foreign (or foul!) languages.
* You can only change one letter.
* You can’t repeat a word already used.

I know the list of 2129 words below contains some not allowed in the board game, but they are all according to the rules. If you wish to play along, go for it! I am going to add one word each day until I run out of usable words. In order not to repeat, use the "find" function of your browser (usually under the "Edit" on the menu bar). Or, copy and paste the list into Word or another word processor with a "find" function. If you are stumped for words, do what I do. I go to Dictionary.com.

Let's have fun!

pray, play, plan, clan, clap, flap, flip, flit, flat, blat, beat, seat, seal, peal, pear, peat, meat, heat, hear, dear, deer, doer, dyer, dyes, dyed, died, dies, pies, hies, hits, fits, bits, zits, pits, pots, pats, path, bath, math, moth, mote, mite, site, sire, hire, mire, mere, more, fore, fort, tort, sort, sore, bore, bork, born, torn, morn, corn, horn, worn, wort, wore, lore, lyre, pyre, tyre, tyro, pyro, piro, lure, cure, core, cord, curd, card, bard, bird, bind, wind, wins, wink, wine, line, lone, pone, pong, pond, pony, puny, punt, runt, hunt, hint, hind, rind, kind, mind, mild, mile, mill, till, tilt, silt, silk, sill, will, wilt, welt, weld, meld, melt, molt, dolt, jolt, jilt, hilt, halt, malt, salt, sale, sole, sold, bold, told, gold, good, food, wood, mood, mold, hold, cold, cola, coda, code, cope, cape, care, pare, pane, wane, cane, café, cake, cade, made, wade, wale, male, pale, pace, race, rate, fate, face, fact, tact, pact, part, past, fast, last, list, mist, most, must, bust, bunt, bent, cent, lent, vent, went, wend, send, sent, tent, gent, pent, dent, dint, dirt, dart, cart, curt, hurt, hurl, burl, burn, burd, barm, bark, back, lack, lark, lurk, turk, tusk, rusk, risk, rise, rice, nice, mice, nite, note, rite, rote, robe, rube, cube, cute, lute, late, date, mate, maze, haze, hate, hare, harm, hard, herd, head, heap, reap, real, read, lead, bead, dead, fear, feat, neat, next, nest, best, west, test, jest, just, mush, hush, hash, gash, gush, push, bush, bash, cash, lash, lush, rush, ruse, rude, ride, hide, bide, side, tide, time, dime, mime, lime, like, link, sink, pink, pine, fine, find, fink, fins, pins, sins, sing, ring, rink, tink, tine, mine, mile, mule, mull, bull, full, fill, fall, tall, gall, ball, hall, haul, hail, jail, bail, wail, tail, fail, foil, fool, foot, hoot, toot, moot, boot, soot, root, coot, coon, loon, moon, moor, door, dour, four, foul, fowl, foal, coal, coat, goat, boat, boar, bear, gear, tear, tsar, csar, char, chap, chip, chit, chic, chin, shin, thin, than, that, what, chat, chad, chap, phat, prat, plat, plot, slot, slog, slug, smug, smog, shog, shot, spot, spat, spit, spin, span, spun, shun, shan, scar, scam, scat, scut, scug, snug, snag, snap, swap, swab, stab, star, soar, sour, soup, soul, soil, toil, roil, roll, toll, moll, tool, cool, pool, poll, boll, bowl, rows, cows, sows, sews, news, pews, hews, haws, hags, hams, hats, cats, bats, rats, mats, vats, vets, nets, bets, gets, lets, sets, pets, wets, wits, with, kith, kite, bite, bike, pike, pile, file, rile, bile, bole, mole, role, pole, poke, joke, loke, roke, rose, tote, cote, note, nose, lose, dose, pose, pope, rope, nope, hope, hole, hale, gale, bale, bake, hake, take, tace, mace, dace, lace, lice, tice, tike, hike, mike, nike, dike, dine, done, dome, dote, dope, dupe, dude, duke, dune, tune, tule, tale, talk, walk, wall, mall, mail, maid, said, paid, raid, rail, nail, sail, pail, pain, rain, main, gain, gawn, lawn, pawn, dawn, darn, dark, hark, mark, mare, make, sake, rake, fake, fare, dare, dame, fame, fume, fuse, muse, mute, mure, murk, musk, dusk, desk, deck, neck, nick, pick, pack, tack, sack, suck, sick, lick, luck, huck, tuck, buck, duck, dock, mock, monk, mink, minx, mint, lint, lino, dino, dink, ding, dong, long, gong, gone, hone, none, nine, kine, king, ping, wing, ling, lung, rung, sung, song, tong, tone, cone, come, home, hose, host, lost, cost, colt, bolt, belt, felt, pelt, pert, cert, cere, were, here, sere, Serb, herb, hero, herm, berm, beam, bean, wean, lean, leap, leak, peak, peas, pens, hens, lens, dens, deny, defy, deft, daft, raft, rapt, rant, pant, can’t, cast, cask, mask, task, bask, bank, tank, rank, sank, sunk, dunk, punk, puns, pang, yang, ying, zing, bing, bine, zine, zone, bone, bote, vote, vite, vise, vine, vane, vale, dale, kale, rale, rule, rune, runs, guns, suns, sums, bums, rums, rams, cams, dams, damp, ramp, camp, lamp, lamb, lame, same, tame, tams, tabs, cabs, cubs, hubs, rubs, rugs, bugs, hugs, hogs, dogs, pogs, pigs, figs, rigs, digs, gigs, wigs, jigs, jugs, mugs, tugs, pugs, pubs, pups, sups, sops, sots, tops, tots, mops, maps, caps, saps, naps, daps, taps, raps, laps, yaps, gaps, gape, gaze, raze, rage, rags, zags, bags, tags, tans, tang, dang, sang, fang, fans, fads, bads, bids, bins, buns, bunk, lunk, tunk, tonk, bonk, honk, hunk, hulk, sulk, bulk, balk, balm, calm, palm, pals, gals, gads, cads, dads, duds, buds, suds, subs, tubs, tuba, tube, tobe, tope, tore, gore, pore, port, mort, moat, doat, dost, post, wost, wast, wasp, gasp, rasp, rash, dash, mash, mast, hast, bast, vast, vest, rest, pest, lest, fest, fent, rent, reit, rein, reim, ream, team, teal, teat, teak, teas, seas, seam, slam, sham, shag, stag, swag, sway, swat, swan, swam, spam, spay, spar, slar, sear, rear, roar, road, load, toad, goad, goal, soal, soap, slap, slip, slop, stop, stob, stub, stun, stud, spud, scud, scum, slum, glum, glue, blue, clue, slue, flue, flub, flab, blab, blub, blob, slob, slub, club, chub, chug, chum, crum, cham, cram, gram, grim, grip, trip, trim, tram, trap, tray, fray, gray, grey, trey, prey, drey, dreg, drag, draw, craw, crew, crow, grow, brow, brew, blew, blow, slow, slew, stew, step, stem, seem, seed, seep, keep, peep, peel, reel, feel, feed, heed, heel, keel, keen, been, beet, beep, deep, jeep, veep, veer, seer, beer, bier, tier, pier, pien, lien, linn, lion, pion, poon, noon, nook, look, kook, cook, book, boon, soon, goon, gown, down, town, mown, mows, tows, toys, boys, buys, guys, goys, joys, jays, pays, cays, days, bays, rays, lays, says, saws, paws, jaws, jabs, jobs, joes, foes, roes, toes, ties, lies, lips, hips, sips, tips, tins, tint, tift, sift, soft, loft, loot, loop, coop, poop, hoop, hood, hoed, coed, toed, teed, deed, weed, reed, peed, pend, lend, tend, bend, fend, rend, mend, mead, mean, meal, veal, deal, dean, dern, tern, pern, porn, pork, fork, dork, cork, work, word, worm, warm, ward, wars, warn, barn, tarn, yarn, yard, lard, lord, lorn, loan, loam, roam, foam, form, norm, dorm, doom, room, boom, loom, zoom, coom, coos, boos, boas, bogs, bods, bode, rode, node, nude, nuke, puke, pure, sure, dure, dire, fire, wire, tire, tare, tape, type, tope, lope, lobe, lobs, logs, loge, doge, dove, love, live, hive, hove, move, wove, wave, have, pave, save, sane, safe, sage, sate, gate, gave, game, came, cave, case, cage, page, mage, mane, mase, mise, miss, moss, boss, toss, loss, less, fess, fest, fist, gist, hist, hiss, kiss, kips, dips, dins, dons, sons, sobs, gobs, mobs, toms, tomb, comb, bomb, boob, boor, poor, pour, pout, tout, tour, hour, hoar, hoer, hoes, goes, does, dots, cots, rots, robs, bobs, bibs, dibs, ribs, fibs, libs, jibs, nibs, nips, rips, rims, rime, rife, life, wife, wipe, ripe, pipe, kipe, lipe, sipe, sine, cine, cite, cate, pate, bate, base, babe, bade, fade, jade, hade, lade, lode, mode, mope, moue, roué, rout, bout, lout, loud, laud, baud, bald, band, bond, fond, fund, funk, sunk, gunk, junk, June, jube, lube, luge, lugs, lags, legs, kegs, begs, beds, bees, sees, seek, seen, teen, tees, tens, Bens, Kens, Kent, Keno, kino, kink, Kirk, kick, tick, tics, Tims, aims, dims, doms, moms, mome, some, soma, sofa, soda, coda, coma, loma, lima, limb, limp, gimp, wimp, wamp, warp, carp, harp, tarp, taro, tars, tart, mart, hart, wart, want, wand, land, lane, lake, wake, ware, rare, rave, lave, lava, lama, rama, raga, riga, ruga, yuga, yoga, toga, togs, tobs, toby, Tory, dory, gory, Cory, lory, Lori, loci, lock, cock, rock, hock, pock, puck, muck, yuck, ruck, rusk, busk, husk, cusk, cusp, cush, cuss, fuss, buss, bass, bars, cars, carb, garb, barb, barf, bare, Bari, Bali, Mali, Magi, mags, sags, wags, nags, nabs, Labs, lats, eats, ears, Mars, oars, oats, gats, gabs, dabs, dais, daws, laws, lows, bows, vows, pows, wows, woes, woks, woke, coke, cove, rove, jove, Rome, Nome, name, nape, rape, Raye, rabe, rase, lase, ease, east, oast, oust, rust, lust, gust, dust, duct, duet, duel, fuel, furl, curl, curb, curs, furs, firs, firm, farm, marm, marl, maul, waul, gaul, guar, gaud, gaum, geum, germ, perm, peri, perk, park, pard, para, parr, pars, jars, jams, gams, gums, guts, juts, puts, ruts, nuts, buts, butt, putt, putz, lutz, futz, fuzz, fuze, faze, daze, doze, dole, doll, dell, fell, well, tell, sell, self, delf, dels, gels, delf, geld, gild, gilt, lilt, lift, gift, girt, airt, airs, sirs, sits, nits, kits, kids, lids, Lido, Fido, fids, feds, fees, pees, peer, weer, week, meek, leek, peek, reek, geek, beek, beck, bock, sock, nock, yock, jock, jook, took, rook, hook, hoof, goof, roof, loof, loaf, leaf, deaf, neaf, near, wear, weak, weal, heal, hell, hill, yill, yell, bell, bill, pill, dill, gill, rill, kill, kiln, Kirn, kern, karn, earn, Earl, carl, cark, nark, nary, Navy, nave, neve, nene, gene, gens, fens, yens, mens, mess, mass, pass, pads, lads, lass, sass, tass, tase, vase, vasa, visa, vita, pita, pika, puka, puma, duma, dumb, dump, pump, hump, bump, lump, rump, rums, hums, huts, cuts, cues, sues, dues, hues, rues, ryes, ayes, eyes, eyed, eked, ekes, ukes, Utes, uses, used, user, Umer, omer, oner, over, aver, Acer, aces, Ares, ages, ales, Alps, alms, elms, elds, ends, ands, ants, arts, aits, acts, alts, alto, alas, Alan, Klan, flan, flag, flog, blog, clog, Clow, glow, glop, plop, plow, flow, flaw, slaw, slab, slay, flay, flam, flak, flax, flex, flea, flee, glee, gled, sled, fled, flew, fley, Frey, fret, free, tree, Cree, bree, Brie, brim, brig, grig, grit, brit, bris, bras, brat, bran, brag, bray, brad, bred, bled, blet, blot, clot, clod, clad, clay, cloy, clop, clou, chou, chop, chow, show, snow, stow, scow, scop, Scot, swot, swob, swab, scab, scad, shad, shod, shop, shoe, shoo, shmo, sumo, sump, gump, gamp, samp, simp, sims, jims, mims, mums, tums, tuts, tits, tats, tads, Taos, Laos, naos, nays, ways, wads, weds, Reds, Keds, zeds, meds, megs, pegs, regs, refs, rifs, rins, vins, hins, huns, duns, nuns, nubs, bubs, burs, ours, outs, orts, orbs, arbs, albs, alls, ally, illy, ills, ells, Elks, Elko, Esks, asks, arks, arms, arcs, arfs, ares, awes, axes, Abes, Abel, abet, abed, aged, aced, acid, arid, grid, grin, gein, vein, vain, lain, loin, join, coin, coil, boil, moil, noil, noir, coir, coit, Voit, Toit, twit, twig, twin, tain, fain, fair, pair, lair, laid, laic, lais, lams, yams, yaws, caws, cans, cons, cobs, cogs, cods, cops, bops, bors, bots, mots, lots, jots, jogs, jags, gags, dags, fags, fogs, fogy, dogy, dozy, doxy, dopy, copy, copt, COFT, toft, tuft, tuff, buff, huff, puff, duff, guff, puff, muff, miff, tiff, biff, jiff, riff, rifs, rids, aids, ails, awls, owls, owns, owes, ores, ones, odes, odea, idea, Ikea, ilea, plea, plew, pled, plod, prod, prom, prop, crop, drop, trop, trow, prow, frow, frog, grog, grot, GRAT, grit, gait, wait, whit, whet, when, whew, chew, chaw, Chas, chis, this, thus, thud, thug, trug, true, grue, grub, grum, gaum, GAUS, gars, gays, geys, keys, leys, leds, peds, teds, tews, Jews, mews, dews, dewy, demy, demo, memo, meme, deme, heme, hemp, hems, gems, rems, reps, ceps, cups, tups, tupi, tipi, Topi, tori, tors, mors, mods, muds, cuds, cuda, Cuba, Suda, Sura, surf, turf, turn, curn, carn, Cain, Caen, Haen, taen, Jaen, Jael, jarl, farl, fard, nard, nerd, need, meed, meet, feet, deet, deem, derm, dere, fere, fern, hern, hers, herp, Hera, Bera, Bert, Bern, berg, burg, burp, burr, bury, fury, jury, Jura, Bura, bora, bort, bott, both, doth, loth, lota, rota, rotl, roti, Roth, ruth, rath, Gath, Goth, SOTH, Seth, meth, Mets, muts, muss, muns, mans, Mays, maya, mayo, kayo, Karo, Faro, Fars, fats, nats, SATS, SANS, bans, bams, Sams, Pams, paps, pans, pons, mons, eons, tons, ions, inns, inks, irks, ires, ides, ices, iced, Icee, inee, knee, knew, know, knob, knot, knit, snit, slit, skit, skim, swim, slim, shim, ship, whip, whim, whom, whop, whap, wrap, crap, crab, drab, dram, drat, frat, fiat, fiar, liar, Lear, year, yeas, yean, yead, yeld, held, helm, help, yelp, yelk, Belk, bels, eels, eens, wens, wans, vans, vang, hang, gang, dang, rang, bang, lang, lans, Hans, haps, hops, hobs, nobs, fobs, foss, doss, docs, dors, Dora, Mora, Cora, fora, forb, ford, fold, folk, polk, yolk, yold, wold, wolf, golf, rolf, roff, doff, daff, gaff, guff, goff, coff, coif, coof, poof, woof, wool, mool, Kool, Lohl, koel, Joel, noel, noll, Nell, cell, call, cull, cult, celt, delt, gelt, geat, gean, pean, Kean, keas, leas, yeas, leal, geal, feal, zeal, Beal, baal, baul, Raul, Paul, pall, paly, poly, holy, holt, holm, holp, halp, hasp, hase, hame, mame, mama, mara, Mary, miry, wiry, wary, Gary, Cary, carf, zarf, Zara, Zada, nada, dada, dado, dato, NATO, Nate, Tate, Kate, yate, Yale, nale, Nile, wile, tile, vile, vice, dice, dece, duce, puce, pule, pull, pulp, gulp, gull, dull, lull, loll, lall, lill, sall, sull, wull, woll, woul, joul, jowl, cowl, coll, cole, tole, toke, hoke

Oh, and if you want to see the original thread, complete with comments about what some of the obscure words mean, click here.

ADDENDUM: June 9- I've been busy, so have not gotten to this. New word: JOWL.
Since tomorrow I leave for a short vacation, here are a few more words: COWL, COLL (to embrace), COLE (besides a name, it is a kind of mustard), TOLE, TOKE, HOKE

Current count: 2143.

I'm feeling older

2009-05-18T09:34:00.001-05:00

Last week the phone rang. Mrs. L. picked it up. I overheard her say “Yes, he’s here. Do you want me to get him on?”

I pick up the extension. Oldest Daughter (D1) is on the line. “So, Mr. D1 and I were discussing what to get you and Mom for Christmas and wanted to see if you would like it.” (Or something along those lines.) Must be something big, I think to myself, since they are talking about it seven months ahead of time. “So what is it?” I ask.

Her answer: “How about a grandchild?”

I was surprised. I mean, at her wedding a couple of months ago I had said that I was looking forward to grandchildren, but not so soon! Playing along, I asked “A grandchild? Where are you going to get one of those?”

It was only a little bit before D2 was on the third extension, having overheard my response. She was more than excited. I guess I am too. I’m just feeling a little older, now that my first grandchild is due to be born before the year is over.

Jesus alone

2009-05-08T12:35:00.002-05:00

The other day, I was reading John chapter 16, verse 32 caught my attention: “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (NKJV). We know that being God and Man, that God had to be with Him, so indeed, He was never alone. However, compare that to what we read while Jesus was on the cross, just before taking His final breath, when He cried out: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) It is not a contradiction to say that the Man part of Jesus felt totally alone for the first and only time in His life. Totally forsaken by God, which is what Hell is like, according to some authorities. All for us. Glory to God! I don’t have to suffer the separation from God in Hell because the Son of God experienced that separation for me on the cross. Thank you Jesus!

Three Mountains

2009-05-04T12:18:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Psalm 121. Here are the first two verses from the NASB:

1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

Growing up, we had a view of a mountain range some 7000 ft. higher in elevation. It was a lovely sight, especially in winter when it had snow cap. At any rate, I have always had an interest in mountains, having spent a lot of time in them before moving away from Arizona. This passage caught my eye when I first read it many years ago. At first I thought the second line was a statement, since in the KJV it does not have a question mark. I always imagined a soldier in battle, seeing the enemy getting the upper hand, looking towards the mountains to see if reinforcements were coming. Then I got a NASB as a gift and saw my error. My help comes from God.

There are many references to mountains in the Bible, and one look at a map of Israel tells us why: it is a very mountainous land. While several are mentioned, three come to mind for their significance, either in what happened there, or their symbolism. One can think of Mt Carmel, where Elijah challeenged the priests of Baal to prove which god was real. There is Ararat, where the ark rested and Noah and his family began the rebirth of the human race. But I want to focus on these three: Moriah, Sinai and Golgotha.

We read of Moriah in Genesis 22, when God told Abraham to take his only sin Isaac and sacrifice him "in Moriah, on a mountain which I will show you (vs 2). I believe this mountain is also in Jerusalem, where the great temple of Solomon was built.The event is a picture of God giving His Son as a sacrifice in our place. Rather than putting His wrath for sin where it belongs- on us- He placed it on Jesus. Moriah represents also the sacrificial system established in the Law of Moses and carried on today in the Roman Catholic mass. It does nothing to rid us of sin, but makes us feel good anyway.

Sinai represents the Mosaic Law. "Do this and live," says the Law, but there is no way anyone could ever meet the requirements. Yet men continue to try. How many say that we just need to follow the Ten Commandments to be saved, fialing to read James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all (NASB). What do these people do to atone for their sin when they break one of the commands? Do they also realize what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount about adultery and murder? He says: "...I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart " (Matt 5:28) and "...I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty" (of murder) (Matt 5:22).

Neither Moriah or Sinai, nor all they represent, are anything compared to Golgotha. It was on this mountain that the Lord of all creation, God as man, in the form of Jesus Christ, died once for all sin. "(W)ho, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:6-8) Though I understand it, I cannot explain how the eternal creator would come down to us and give Himself in our place. Charles Wesley said it best: " 'Tis mercy all, the Immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design?"

Celebrate May!

2009-04-22T19:35:00.004-05:00

April is almost gone. May arrives next week with all its importance. Several big days here at 3rd and College. My birthday and anniversary. The end of school for another year. Several religious holidays. In Missouri, state workers and some schools take a day off to celebrate Harry Truman's birthday on the 8th. Then there is Memorial Day, which has been proclaimed the unofficial beginning of summer.

And what month is not complete without its odd festivals. Pella, Iowa, celebrates its Dutch heritage with the Tulip Time May 7-9. It's a great way to see thousands of flowers in one place. My family and I went one year. It was cold and rainy, so there was not much enjoyment. the flowers were droopy because of the wind, and some of the events got canceled, so we did not stay long.

Many other communities around the globe have their special days, too. In a quick search, I discovered that England has two interesting ones. One is the Rochester Sweeps Festival, in which chimney sweeps have a big party with music and dancing. The other I found was the Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England. From what I can tell, people actually win prizes for rolling a round block of cheese down a very steep hill. And this thing has been going on for generations! Sounds like fun. My problem would be eating the cheese instead of rolling it.

So, enjoy May to its fullest. Enjoy the warming temperatures before the heat of summer melts us away. Unless of course, you live South of the Equator, where you are entering the cold season.

Are there any interesting festivals where you live or that you have heard of? Tell me about them.

Passing thoughts

2009-04-06T18:13:00.002-05:00

April has arrived. There were no major “April Fools” jokes around here, other than my son putting an “engagement announcement” on his Facebook page. We played along and emailed him that he needs to tell us such news before “going public”. He wrote back to tell us it was an April Fools joke. I wrote back that now I needed to send another email to everyone in the our address book the truth. He wrote back thinking I was serious. We fooled him! Our daughter had told us it was not real before we ever wrote him.

April is a good month to have a harmless day of jokes, as it is a crazy month weather wise. It was 60 and sunny last week. There were snow flurries earlier today, and tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s. Welcome to Springtime in Missouri. I cannot find it, but Mark Twain is supposed to have said that if one does like the weather here, wait a little while and it will change. While that quote isn't necessarily his, he did say this: “In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” And this, in an editorial: “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”

Two down, 46 to go

2009-03-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

It has been two months since we inaugurated a new president. He has already proven himself a true politician in that he has broken several campaign promises. He said he would vet his appointments and not have any lobbyists. One of his first appointees was a lobbyist. He spoke against wasteful spending in government, then proceeded to sign the biggest spending bill ever, which included a lot of earmarks (if it has to be added at the last minute, it is probably wasteful). He said he would let the public see and review any spending bill for five days before signing, then signed the bill within two days of passage. I could go on, but you all know what the politicians in Washington have been up to. Unfortunately, it is not just the Democrats who are to blame, but most of them in both parties.

I am so glad this world is not my home. No matter who is in the White House, God is in control!

Thoughts from a wedding

2009-03-16T17:42:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending a wedding- my daughter’s! Yes, I was the father of the bride. Many asked how I felt. I honestly cannot say for sure. It was with mixed emotions, as I knew the man she married before she did, and thought he would make a good husband for any young woman. Besides that, Daughter L left home for college four years ago, and has not been a part of the household much since then. Though we all miss having her here. She did honor my desire to see her again the weekend before the wedding so we could watch Father of the Bride.

Times sure have changed since my lovely wife and I wed 27 years ago. I suggested that she keep it simple. I guess it was much simpler than many weddings I have been to, so I will not comment on that further. That said, here are a few thoughts:

Even with a coordinator, there is some miscommunication. No one is perfect, so no wedding comes off without a glitch or two.

No matter how old children get (my daughter is 23) they still are our little girls and boys, in many ways.

Hearing all the great things people said about her during the toasts at the reception made me wonder if this really was my daughter. I thank the Lord that she turned out so wonderful. It was not my doing.

I am also thankful that her new husband is who he is, and trust that he will keep my daughter well.

Okay, now a question about a tradition: Why do we “give the bride away”? God lent her to us, she is His, not mine. So why did I say “Her mother and I do,” when asked “who gives this woman to this man?” Should I not have said “God lent her to us. So who am I to give her to a man?”

(Photo credit: Rachel Greene. Thank you!)

Chicken Little, your services are requested.

2009-02-12T17:46:00.002-06:00

Whew! If we listen to the "Hope and Change" President, we would think economic disaster is waiting in the wings and will strike any minute. (Where's the hope in that?) So let's act now and not worry about the debt we leave to our great-great grandchildren. (Where's the change in that practice? It sound's like the last economic act of the previous president.) In the 1980s, we had Reaganomics, which GHW Bush dubbed as “Voodoo Economics”. This was followed by Bush’s “Read-my-lips-onomics”, in which he promised not to raise taxes, but did anyway. (Granted the Democrats in Congress convinced him they would cut spending if he raised taxes, but they typically did not follow through.) Then we had the socialistic ideas of Clintonomics in the 1990s. For the last eight years, we have been through the cut-taxes-but-increase-spending debacle of Dubyanomics. So, now that the new president got his plan through with dooms-day, the-sky-is-falling rhetoric about the whole economy collapsing, can we call Obamanomics “Chicken Little Economics”?

His Love

2009-02-11T18:19:00.006-06:00

I guess I couldn't find the time for another post the last two days. At any rate, here is the second installment on the Love of God.

Another favorite song of mine that speaks volumes about God's love is called "His Love", but it is not a hymn. It was written about twenty years ago by a preacher named Mark Webb. I cannot seem to find an Internet site that he used to have with his music, so I cannot link to the song. But the lyrics are what caught my attention the first time I heard this song.

Oh the wonder of wonders, that God should love me!
Love a sinner so guilty, so vile and unclean.
To love the unlovely, how can it be done?
'Tis only in Jesus, in His blessed Son.

Long before I ever knew Him, my Lord first knew me.
Before I ever sought Him, my Lord first sought me.
When I was in darkness, His sworn enemy,
He purchased my pardon, on Calvary's tree!

Chorus:
His Love is a mountain, that I cannot scale.
As wide as an ocean, that I cannot sail.
I'll never lay hold of, my mind fully see.
This love that in mercy, first laid hold of me.

Not that I first did choose Him, for that could not be.
Still this heart would refuse Him, had He left it to me!
I'd still fight that battle, that no man can win.
I'd still bar the heart's door, that letteth Him in.

Such richness in a few short verses, and more truth than in many modern songs. We can never attain the salvation on our own merits, and we will never be worthy of God's redeeming love without the blood shed on Calvary. "This is the love of God, that when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" says Paul in Romans. Any child in Sunday school memorizes that verse, but oh, to really know it in our heart!

The Love of God

2009-02-08T19:28:00.004-06:00

This Saturday, the world celebrates Valentine's Day, in which we all give little trinkets to someone we "love", whether it be school children sharing tacky cards with drawings of Cupid and red so-called "hearts" or adults buying chocolates and roses for their beloved. But is this really what love is? Where did it originate?

God.

We are told in the Epistle of First John "God is love" (1 John 4:8) The Bible tells us many ways in which God expresses his love to us, which you can find if you do a search of the scripture. (A good start would be at Bible Gateway.) Then, many hymn writers and other Christian musicians have penned words which express that love as well. This week, I will attempt to post my thoughts on several of those.

One of my favorite hymns is "Then Love of God", which was found written on the wall of an cell at an insane asylum in the early 1900s. The author obviously has all his senses when he wrote it, or else he was inspired by God at the time.

Here are the words:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Refrain

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain

The first two verses define the love of God in as good a way as any definition ever penned outside of scripture. Cyber Hymnal says the last verse is a translation of a 1050 A.D. Jewish poem. I love that verse. Once, I was driving through Iowa on a sunny summer day. The corn was tall and abundant, and the sky stretched out as far as the eye could see. I was reminded of this hymn, thinking of how much writing one could do on such a huge page. Then i though of all the water on earth -- 75% of the surface of the planet! That is a lot of ink!

Oh the wonder of the love of God!

Will the spending ever end?

2009-02-06T12:17:00.000-06:00

As I was driving to work listening to the news this morning, they mention that Republican senators are questioning the $900 billion spending bill when we have huge deficits. Then they broadcast for all to hear a quote from Pres. Obama, saying “There was a deficit when I got here.” Is that his reasoning for spending more, because we are already so far in debt that we will never pay it off, so let’s spend more? I wish I could run my household like that! I would buy a palace, buy that expensive convertible I want, take the trip of my dreams and all the while not even batting an eye at the cost, knowing someone else will pay it off. Talk about change!

I read today that if someone spent $1 million a day since Jesus was born, he would still have over $200 billion to go to get to $1 trillion spent. Can you imagine that? I remember when the government started saying billion and thinking that was an unfathomable number. Now it is a-trillion-here-a-trillion-there-ho-hum-when’s-lunch? We have been so desensitized to the amount of money, that we say “Tax the evil rich” to get what we want. If every “rich” person gave every penny of income to Uncle Sam, would there be enough for this “stimulus” package? I hope the Republican senators are as smart as the House members, and all vote no. Let the Democrats holler partisanship all they want. I hear Obama saying the Republicans need to get on board. That’s bi-partisanship? It is inviting unwilling crew members to board a doomed ship that is already up to its deck in water.

A new President

2009-01-20T18:32:00.006-06:00

So, it begins. Barack Obama is officially the President of the United States (POTUS). Interesting last couple of months since the election. I made a few predictions on the coming term a few posts down in "We’ve only just begun". Since then, Mr O has sounded more like his opponent than himself, making a few proposals that sound like a moderate Republican. As much as I do not want Mr Obama to be president, he is for at least four years. I want the country to do well, so he needs to succeed in recovering our economy.

A few of thoughts:

-- He is only a man, and as such has no miraculus powers. All those promises he has made? Do not be depressed if they don't happen, because many of them will not.
--God is still in control.
--We survived Carter and Clinton, if the Lord wills, we will survive Obama.
--Bush made a mess of the economy, with the help of the Congress while controlled by both parties. Perhaps it is time to either totally redo the Republican party, or work towards strengthening the Constitution or Libertarian parties.
--Write the RNC and tell them to change the rules such that independents and Democrats cannot vote in Republican primaries, thus not giving candidates like McCain the edge.
--Pray! It is a commandment of Paul in the epistles, so it is not something to forget to do.

Personal blogging dead? I doubt it.

2009-01-17T11:52:00.003-06:00

On my usual perusal of World Magazine on line, I found an interesting post about personal blogging “going the way of the rotary dial phone.” So I followed the link to Wired.com. The premise is that writing a personal blog has become “so yesterday”, and now the fad is Facebook or Twitter. I have only gone to Facebook once in my life, and have never visited Twitter. So, here I am behind the times again, along with my email and land line phone. I actually have a cell phone, but I only use it to make and, rarely [hint to my away-from-home children], receive calls. I would rather email someone or leave a voice mail than text, as the thumbs are not made for pushing tiny buttons several times just to get one letter. Usually I don’t get the button pushed fast enough, so I get the wrong letter and have to go back and delete. Or I push too many times and have to repeat.

But I digress. I post this comment to ask my few readers (and those I invited from Worldmagblog, to tell me your thoughts on this trend. Is our society so fad based that we have to go from one form of communication to another, just so we can keep in touch? Are we so technologically bound that we cannot keep a good thing going anyway? Is the day of posting pictures of the family for all to see now going to Facebook and its kind? I have nephews who post family pictures on blogs, and I like them, as I do not have to log in every time I want to see what the latest happenings in their households are. Since I do not live in the same town, I can see how their children are doing with the click of a mouse (1960s’ technology, BTW). If I want to comment, I can use my QWERTY keyboard (1800s’ technology) and post something. And if I actually want to talk to them, or get them some message “for their ears/eyes only”, I can pick up either phone and call (19th or 20th Century technologies), or send an email (1980s) or even get out paper and pen and send a letter (B.C. “technology”), put it in an envelope, get a stamp (1800s) and send it by postman (predates Ben Franklin in the 1700s, but he was the founder of the Postal Service, you know).

Anyway, is the personal blog a thing of the past? Or will those of us who prefer this form keep it going (at least until the Internet providers make it impossible, as the phone companies have done with rotary/pulse tone phones)? Please comment (but don’t let moderation stop you, it prevents the trolls and spammers, who, according to Wired.com article, are the only ones who will read this).

Year-end ramblings

2008-12-30T10:22:00.002-06:00

The end of another year is upon us. This arbitrary calendar date always gets us in either a nostalgic or anticipatory mood. Either we reminisce (Thank you, Lord, for spell check!) about what has happened in our lives over the last 12 months, or we look ahead to what might come our way in the next. Newspapers and magazines remind us of the “top ten” stories, which are nothing more than the editors’ way of rehashing their own opinions on the readers. Radio stations play the “top” songs, or at least the ones that sold the most copies or got the most airplay. I often wonder who chooses these. When I was in radio, many times I didn’t like the “hit” song on an album, but preferred one of the other cuts, so it would get more airplay on my shift. Now, I don’t like buying albums (or whatever they are called now-a-days), as there might be one or two songs I like, and the rest are fillers.

So, what has happened at 3rd and College to make 2008 special? Let’s see. We celebrated a college graduation of our second child (oldest daughter). Now she is engaged to be married in March. How soon before I become “grandpa”? It is scary to think of my children starting married lives.

Daughter 2 turned 21 this year. Another scary thought: I have three children over 21 years of age! They do grow up fast, don’t they?

In the next year, other than the wedding, another milestone will take place: oldest child (the son) will hit the ripe old age of 25! To think I was his age when I wed. Was I so inexperienced as he? And youngest daughter will start high school and be old enough to get her permit to drive. More gray hair as I teach another to drive.

Small things in the great scheme of life, but daunting none-the-less. Lord, help me know and Your will.

Felicitous Salutations for the Winter Celebration

2008-12-01T20:58:00.002-06:00

It’s that time of year again, the hectic time between my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving) and the most over-commercialized event in any society at any time in history (Christmas). What started out as a religious celebration of the birth of Jesus, has become another way to make a buck. Now the holiday returns to its non-Christian origins, though not its pagan ones. No, now the religion is “PC-ism”. Want something entertaining to do this year? Keep track of how many store clerks greet you with the PC “Happy Holidays” or the religiously “unacceptable” phrase “Merry Christmas”. Some stores have policies telling the clerks which to use. However, I have never found one as bad as this one.

We’ve only just begun

2008-11-08T12:18:00.006-06:00

So, the election is over and Barack Obama is going to be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20th. Historical, to be sure. Many questions remain to be answered, and all we can do is pray that God will intervene when needed.

While I am not a prophet, just an observer in this world, here are a few predictions:

Mr. Obama will not be reelected in 2012. Not because he won’t run, but because the economy will continue to fall into the abyss, and he will not be able to get us back to where we were last year. The same would happen were McCain to be president. It is just going to be another Herbert Hoover situation.
The $700 billion for Wall Street, the proposed bail out of Detroit, and the housing crisis will all work together to bring us to a depression, though not as deep as the 1930s. Get ready for it now. Learn to do with less.
Al-Qaida will continue to be our enemy, in spite of efforts by the Obama administration to talk them out of their hatred. There will be another attack on US soil, though not as big as the 2001 attacks.
The rest of the enemies of the US will soon see that Obama is too inexperienced at international affairs. He will try his charm on them, and it will work for a while. But Iran will continue its hatred of us, and will work with Al-Qaida to destroy us, regardless of the Sunni-Shia hatred of each other.
Russia will also take advantage of Obama’s inexperience, and make attempts to regain more of its empire, testing Obama to see if he will negotiate or defend.
There will be a strong 3rd party in 2012 which will cause the two major parties to reorganize themselves so we can tell them apart.

What do you think? The last prediction is more of a hope than anything, as I for one, am tired of the Republicans reaching out, only to find that “bipartisanship” means something else to the Democrats: “Our way is the only way.”

Poem: A Testimony

2008-10-25T10:51:00.006-05:00

Note: This poem is based on a vivid dream that I had back in the 80s shortly before my conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Walking on Sand

1
Sand.
A mountain of sand.
I was walking on a mountain of sand.
I thought, "The sand is firm.
I will walk on
this sand."

While climbing a dune
I thought that though
the sand was firm,
it was also soft to the feet;
It was easy to walk on
the sand.

Suddenly, a hole opened

in the sand.
I fell,
I slid,
I was surrounded
by sand.
I didn't know where up was,
I didn't know where down was.
I couldn't breath
because of
the sand.

I swam.
I tried to swim in the sea
of sand.
The more I swam,
the more I sank.
I couldn't get out of
the sand.

I tried to scream.
But I couldn't.
When I opened my mouth,
it filled with sand.
I was drowning in
the sand.

2
I awoke.
It was a dream.
I had dreamed that
I was drowning in a sea of sand.
But, thought I, it was so real.
I could actually feel
myself being drowned by
the sand.

I thought
"What does this mean?
Why is it so real?
And why did I dream
about sand?"

I couldn't sleep.
I could only think
of the dream
about drowning in
the sand.

Finally I realized
what the dream meant.
All my life I did
what I wanted;
what I thought was right.
I did my own thing.
It was as if
I were building a castle
on sand.

3
In a Book, I have read
of a man who built
his house on the sand.
The foundation was shaky.
A storm came,
with its winds and waves,
and destroyed the house on the sand.
That was my life:
A life built on
the sand.

In that Book,
the One telling the story said,
"He who hears my words
and does them not,
is like the foolish man
who built his house on
the sand."

I had heard that story.
I was living that story.
My actions and thoughts,
both good and bad,
were each a grain
in the sea
of sand.

But the Book tells more.
The One telling the story
told of the wise man
who hears the words
of Him who spoke
and does them.
This is the one
who built his house on
the Rock.
The storm came,
with its winds and waves,
and could not destroy it,
because it was built on
the Rock.

I had heard that story.
But I wasn't living like that.
My life wasn't built on
the Rock.

4
I knew that to build on the Rock,
I needed to change.
But how does one change?
Can one change by doing good
instead of bad?

No, learned I.
One cannot change from
good to bad
any more than a bad tree
can grow good fruit.
One can only be made good
by trusting in Him who said
"I am the Way,
the Truth,
and the Life."
This is how to build
a house on
the Rock.

5
If one bases his life
on the true words
which are found only in
the Book which I have mentioned,
he will live a life of peace.
The storms of life will come,
with their winds and waves,
and his life will stand,
because it will be built on
the Rock.

If one does not base his life
on these words,
his life will be built on the sand.
The storms and trials
of life will come,
with their winds and waves,
and his life will not stand,
because it will not have
a foundation.
It will not be built on
the Rock.

PSL 1997

Remember: God will still be in control on November 5th!

2008-10-15T22:06:00.004-05:00

I saw this over at World Magazine blog today. It is rather important for us as Christians to remember these truths.

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praises to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross for you.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost if they turn to Him.

ISN’T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

What a week!

2008-10-10T19:46:00.003-05:00

Whew! Another day of this week and we will all go crazy.

The economic crisis did not get fixed with the Congressional taxpayer ripoff. Wall Street seems to be getting lower and lower, and Washington seems to get more and more generous with our tax money. Our great grandchildren will be serving the Chinese government before it is all over. I believe that whoever is elected next month will not get a second term, as the economy is probably going to collapse out from under him, and he will leave office in disgrace in 2013, sort of like Herbert Hoover 80 years ago. For that reason only I am thinking a Barack Obama victory will be good.

Along those lines, I am tired of this election year. Each side gets nastier as the days go by. Each side blames the other for the economic collapse, when really, both sides are to blame. Even after November 4th, we will have to put up with campaigning, as those wanting to run in 2012 will begin to make announcements on the 5th (or at least by Thanksgiving). Oy vey!

On the good news front, my daughter announced her engagement to a fine young man Monday. We are all happy for her. Now, do I go buy a suit at the clothing store that is going out of business, or do I wait to see if she wants me to rent a monkey suit. Perhaps I’ll get a suit either way, as that is something I can use for other occasions (like the other three children’s weddings).

“Debates”: More of the same

2008-09-27T09:01:00.002-05:00

So, I watched (and slept) through the presidential “debate” last night. Ho-hum. No wonder my fatigue took over. All I saw were two candidates repeating what they say on the stump. I really do not think either came out the winner, though Sen. Obama sounded better (even though he didn’t have much new to say). The moderator, Jim Lehrer, had a hard time getting them to answer the questions asked. Why do we still bother with these dog and pony shows, anyway? Are any undecided voters swayed by these, other than deciding for the guy they feel looks better on TV? Both candidates last night ignored the question about what they would cut from their plans in order to pay for the $700 billion bank bail out. At least John McCain finally offered up a spending freeze. Later, watching the talking heads discussing the show, mentioned that certain parts of the federal budget are set, and cannot be cut, leaving a small percentage that can be cut (called discretionary spending).

So, what did any of you think about the debate? Was there a clear winner? Does it really matter at this point?

(I respect Jim Lehrer, by the way, as a good journalist who keeps his opinions to himself, unlike many other so-called “objective” journalists.)

Autumn is near...

2008-09-01T19:02:00.003-05:00

And I cannot wait. Yes, the cooler weather is great. But what a fall it is going to be! The presidential election looks like it is going to be electric with Sen. McCain picking Gov. Palen as his running mate. The World Series looks to have at least one of my teams this year, with my favorite Diamondbacks in the hunt for another division crown, and the Cubs, Mets and Cardinals also most likely going on to the post season. Too bad only one of the four can go to the series. I suppose since the Cubbies have waited so long, I’ll pull for them. At least then all the Cubs fans will be happy. (But then, what will Chicagoans have left to hope for?)

Various ramblings

2008-08-08T15:08:00.006-05:00

So, I get on here and see it has been almost a month since I last posted. Therefore, it is time to again put something here so I don’t lose my two or three readers. After all, with 13 million blogs, and only 39 million bloggers, I need to do my part to keep the few dedicated friends happy! (I remember reading those numbers somewhere, but of course my forgetful self forgot the source.)

Here then are a few ramblings on various subjects in my mind.

Have you ever noticed that the “Yard of the Week” that smaller towns have are usually the same yards year after year? At least that is my theory. It is also my theory that the yards are owned by people with a lot of extra time on their hands, or enough money to hire a gardener. I barely have time in a week to mow the lawn, let alone plant pretty flowers and shrubs. If it were not for previous owners planting peonies and irises, our yard would be nothing but grass (or should I say, various weeds and grasses that look nice when mowed). Nor do I have the money to buy all those landscaping necessities (nor time to put them in the yard). I do not begrudge those who have a green thumb and like to use it. Neither do I begrudge them the honor of having their picture in the newspaper and a sign in the yard. As Jesus said, “They have their glory in full.” (I know that is not the context of that scripture, but it fits anyway.)

I believe it is time for the newspapers to honor those of us who keep our yards free of clutter and junk cars, mow the grass when needed and don’t let it get out of hand. How about a weekly “Normal Person’s yard of the Week”?

Speaking of lawns, this summer has been a lot wetter than the last few years. Normally I do not have to mow as much this time of year, as there is usually just a few weeds growing. One recent summer, I did not have to mow from early July to the middle of August, as it was so dry even the weeds couldn’t grow. Last year I had July grass in June (almost brown with green weeds). This year I have May grass in August (thick, wet, green grass).

This week was the Missouri state-wide primary election. I live in a rural, Democratic county. There are so few Republicans, that the GOP does not even run candidates for the local offices! However, most of the voters lean conservative. That is seen in the general election, especially in a Presidential race. You drive through the countryside and see yard signs for Democrats at all levels, except for president.

On the same subject, I am glad there are only a few more months until the November election. I got tired of the Presidential race last November, with all the caucus and primary elections news. Of course, the way it has been the last few cycles, the 2012 campaign will probably start November 6th!

All for now. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to stop by 3rd and College. At least leave me a note so I know you were here. (Since I moderate all comments, you can tell me if you do not want your note published.)

Addendum: At the request of a cousin, here are two pictures of my yard.

Help in time of need

2008-07-12T08:50:00.006-05:00

Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past
(To hear tune of hymn, click on its title.)

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

Last week, this hymn spoke to me in a special way. I was having a conflict with another person at my summer job. I have never been so worked up and anxious about anything at a job. Sunday, I was reading the daily passage from Charles Spurgeon when the local Lutheran Church bells started playing this hymn. The Lord spoke to me, reminding me that He is my help in any trouble. I closed the book, thanked the Lord and trusted Him. Later, at church, the hymns all spoke to my need, as did the message from a guest speaker.

What a God we serve who knows our every need and protects His own from the evil one! The next day at work went better than usual, as the other person was the nicest he has ever been.

Fading Joys, Heavenly Longings

2008-06-23T08:24:00.006-05:00

Today, I begin comments on various hymns I enjoy both for their depth of thought and musical beauty. First up is one by Jane C. Bonar:

Fade, Fade each Earthly Joy

(To here the hymn, click on the title.)

Fade, fade, each earthly joy, Jesus is mine!
Break every tender tie, Jesus is mine!
Dark is the wilderness, Earth has no resting place,
Jesus alone can bless, Jesus is mine!

Tempt not my soul away, Jesus is mine!
Here would I ever stay, Jesus is mine!
Perishing things of clay, born but for one brief day,
Pass from my heart away, Jesus is mine!

Farewell, ye dreams of night, Jesus is mine!
Lost in this dawning bright, Jesus is mine!
All that my soul has tried left but a dismal void;
Jesus has satisfied, Jesus is mine!

Farewell, mortality, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, eternity, Jesus is mine!
Welcome, oh, loved and blest, welcome sweet scenes of rest,
Welcome, my Savior’s breast, Jesus is mine!

Yesterday we sang this hymn at church, which sparked a discussion on whether it is about a recent convert or an older saint. In many ways it is both. The first verse tells of breaking ties and how dark is the world to the Christian. This can be a new believer rejoicing in his new-found life, or an old saint looking back over his life, ready to break the earthly ties and go to meet his Lord.

Verses 2-4 are clearer in showing the thoughts of an elderly saint longing to leave this body of flesh behind and move on the higher and better things.

I see this hymn as a sort of New Testament version of Ecclesiastes. In that Old Testament book, the aged Solomon looks back with regret on how he ruined his life with sinful pursuits, that all he did was vanity and waste. This hymn is more of a aged or dying saint looking back on the earthly life, not with regret, but joy that his godly life is leading him to a heavenly eternity. And, like Paul the Apostle in Philippians 1, he cannot wait any longer to “absent from the body and be present with the Lord.”

Flood of 2008

2008-06-16T08:18:00.003-05:00

We are in the midst of a flood here in NE Missouri. The mighty Mississippi is over its banks almost to the level of the great Flood of ’93.

I am reminded of another great flood. Genesis records the greatest flood ever, one that enveloped the whole world. God sent it because the hearts of men had become wicked. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). So He sent a flood and wiped out all but Noah and his family.

We all know that story. It is one every child hears. But it is a sad story. Think of all the destruction and misery suffered by those not in the ark. Imagine not having any way of escape as the waters rise. Think of watching the ark float away while clinging to the last piece of wood, floating helplessly to death. And yet, all those around Noah had opportunity to be on the ark. He preached for many years while building the ark, warning men to repent of their evil ways. But men laughed at him.

So, what about this year? Once more we are being warned to flee God’s wrath. He promised never to destroy the whole earth with water again. This surging of the waters reminds us that God is still God, and nothing we do can change the fact that man is evil and has no intent of serving anyone but himself. I watch the news and see all the labor going into the sandbagging, and have even helped out in the protecting of property. Some of it is no no avail.

But repentance from sin is never a waste. God’s wrath is abated when we turn away from our sin and look to Him, just as the flood waters are turned away by the levies and sandbags. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8). We can be carried to safety by the ark if we are right with God. The ark is Jesus. Repent and be saved.

The marketplace in the temple

2008-06-04T20:50:00.002-05:00

“Stop making my Father’s house a house of merchandise” John 2:16 (NASB).

So said Jesus when he cleansed the temple of the sellers and money changers. Many today do not realize that were Jesus to enter some modern places of worship, he might do the same thing. I have been to a few large churches and am disturbed by what I see: shops selling books, CDs and other material in the building; or even coffee shops imitating Starbuck’s on Sunday mornings. Another disturbing trend is selling tickets to concerts that take place in a church building. That is what auditoriums and sporting arenas are for. Keep the marketplace out!

(I realize musicians need to earn their living, but why don’t they trust the Lord they claim to serve for their income, rather than using worldly methods of promotion?)

Children ask deep questions

2008-05-17T20:56:00.003-05:00

Well, sort of. Today was my last day of training for my summer job as a guide at a local cave. While deep inside, a child asked if the whole cave had been explored (there are over six miles of mapped passages, but the tour only goes through about a half mile). While the question itself is not deep (and you will pardon the pun about being deep in the cave when it was asked), it is kind of related this I read tonight about the love of God being much more than we can ever fathom. Men have spent years exploring this particular cave, and I am sure have recorded all there is to see in it. But man can never completely know the love of God, even if he spent the rest of eternity exploring it.

It’s Spring!

2008-05-02T18:40:00.006-05:00

The weather outside has finally warmed up. I mowed the lawn for the first time this week. As I mowed, I praised God for the beauty of creation. We have a lot of what most would call weeds in our yard. I have never understood the idea of spraying the grass to keep the weeds away, when the flowers of the weeds add such color to the grass. We have white and purple violets here at 3rd and College, along with another purple flower I cannot identify (botany never was my forte) and the yellow of dandelions. While the latter is a pest when it goes to seed, it does offer a pretty contrast to the green grass. Most of these flowers are ground huggers, so I set the lawn mower a little higher and cut over them (I also waited too long this year, so all the rain caused the lawn to be six inches tall in places, too high for the usual setting).

At any rate, here is a little poem I wrote last spring for you reading pleasure.

In Spring birds sing.
Rain falls; love calls.
Trees green; young men preen.
Sky is blue; love is true.

Farmers plant; birds can’t.
Robins seek, worm in beak.
Rivers roar; geese soar.
Spring is sprung; new life’s begun.

(PSL Apr. 4, 2007)

Thoughts from Leviticus

2008-04-19T10:39:00.007-05:00

I have been reading through Leviticus recently. It has often reminded me of driving through the desert or grasslands of the west while taking a car trip across the country. One sees the majesty of mountains and beauty of forests; the quaintness of farm land and small towns in other parts, but the desert and grasslands are not much for scenery. They are best for making good time — at night. I was told to look for Christ, and not for personal applications, in Leviticus. I think about all I can see is that the multitude of sacrifices described in the book all point to the one sacrifice that cancelled them all. I am not alone in this thinking. Here is this morning’s reading from C. H. Spurgeon’s devotional (italics original):

“Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”—Matthew 27:51.

NO mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power—many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all fulfilled in Him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleamed forth above it. By the death of our Lord Jesus we have a clear revelation of God, for He was “not as Moses, who put a veil over his face.” Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in Him. The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood which was once every year sprinkled within the veil, was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolical rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with his own blood. Hence access to God is now permitted, and is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. There is no small space laid open through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvellous manner by our Lord's expiring cry was the type of the opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion? Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven; He openeth and no man shutteth; let us enter in with Him into the heavenly places, and sit with Him there till our common enemies shall be made His footstool.

Politics, Basketball and Life

2008-03-24T10:37:00.006-05:00

Well, I watched some of the NCAA “March Madness” over the weekend. It is always interesting to watch the small, #16 seed try and defeat the big guys. Never has it happened, yet there is always the possibility. However, a few times the #15 seed humiliates the #2. This year, it was the little school called Belmont almost upsetting the mighty Duke University. Of course, later in the day, another “David” eliminated the “Goliath” it faced, as #13 seed San Diego surprised #4 UConn. Those who follow college basketball know that both Duke and UConn are power houses that usually do well, and that is why they were seeded so high. But of course, those of us who watched or checked later found out that Duke did indeed fall to the #7 seed West Virginia in the second round.

So, what does this have to do with politics and life? Look at the current presidential campaign. Early on, everyone thought that Sen. Hillary Clinton was a shoe in for the Democratic nomination. Then, along came a freshman Senator from Illinois with all his charm, youth and good looks, and she is in the battle of her political life. On the Republican side, the media darling, experienced, senior Senator from Arizona looked for all intents and purposes to be washed out last fall, with little money and a campaign staff that was falling apart. Mitt Romney, the “#1 seed” from Massachusetts, looked to be the nominee. Then along came a lessor known former governor from a small, Southern state, with all his charm and good looks, as well as a funny name. The pundits claim he, Mike Huckabee, stole a lot of the Conservative votes from Romney, thus giving the nod to McCain, who now is the proverbial phoenix, rising from the ashes of sure defeat and claiming the nomination of the Grand Old Party. Sounds a lot like an overtime basketball game to me.

Now, for the final analogy. In life, we are all faced with struggles that look like insurmountable impossibilities. Even our beginning in the womb as an invisible combination of our parents’ DNA seems impossible. In nine short months, we go from a microscopic embryo to a seven pound or so bundle of joy. Then, with the help of our parents, our fragile, helpless selves become growing children, facing the challenges of school and playground, sickness and injury, tests and competitions. Then, before we realize it, we are adults, hopefully ready to take on the world and become “successful” members of society. Somehow, we survive the onslaught and go from a #16 seed to a conquering, victorious #1 Champion.

Now, give glory to the God who made you and helped you through to this point. Even if you don’t know Him, He is there. Don’t believe me? Read this, written by the David mentioned above, who killed the giant Goliath with a stone and slingshot:

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:1-16, NKJV)

God knows you better than you know yourself.

This is the day

2008-02-26T19:58:00.004-06:00

Random thoughts on a winter’s day.

David said: “This is the day the LORD has made. Let us and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) I often have to be reminded of that. Here in Missouri, winter seems to linger on and on. We have days of below freezing with some snow and ice, followed by a day or two of warm (or relatively warm) weather. Of course, it is hard to enjoy the warmth when the forecast calls for another round of winter weather!

I was reading to my youngest the other day, and came across this quote (a father telling his daughter why she should not use improper grammar, even in informal settings): “Language is the clothing for your thoughts, my dear. A thought surely deserves to be dressed in its very best when it enters the world.” I whole-heartedly agree. I find it hard to write an email or IM note without using correct punctuation and grammar. It must be the teacher in me.

The school year is getting long. February and March are always the hardest months. Grey, cold days; long stretches with no holidays; students who give up and let their grades slide. I tell them the third quarter is the hardest, both because of the dreariness of this time of year, and the fact the material gets tougher. They never believe me until a week or two before report cards come out and their grade is not as high as they would wish. I had a prof in grad school who theorized that once a student gets half way though a term, that the grade is pretty much what it will be at the end, and there is not much one can do to change it. Try telling that to an almost 16-year-old who has been told he cannot get his driver’s permit if he has any poor grades!

On politics

2008-02-05T21:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I voted today in the Super Tuesday primary here in Missouri. All I can say is, I am glad God is in ultimate control of the outcome. However, I have a few words to say to my fellow Conservatives disappointed in our choices.

Listen and heed: DO NOT stay home!!! I believe the RNC will learn a bitter lesson this year in being the reason the Dems win the White House. If we stay home, they will continue to give us lousy choices. If we vote in droves for 3rd party candidates or for Dems, the RNC will have to listen, especially if we all send them a letter telling them why we refuse to vote for a Democrat in disguise. Write to the RNC (Republican National Committee) at:
310 First Street, Washington, D. C. 20003
Call: 202.863.8500
Fax: 202.863.8820
Email: info@gop.com

Flood them with requests for real Conservative candidates who stand for the US and those values and issues that got Ronald Reagan elected in two landslides. Otherwise, the Republicans deserve to lose.

Brrrr!

2008-01-19T12:14:00.000-06:00

All I can say is “Brrr!” Today we took the dog to the vet for her annual rabies shot/checkup. The mini van did not get very warm during the ten minute drive. It was only 6°F!

At times like this I am reminded of the first time I ever heard Keith McLeod, a Canadian evangelist, back in 1976. He was speaking from Genesis 3, about the Fall of Adam and Eve. I don’t remember much about the main part of the sermon, but what stands out to me is what he said concerning weather. He said that the Garden of Eden was most likely 75° or warmer, since Adam and Eve were naked, yet comfortable. Since they fell, the weather extremes we experience remind us of their sin. When we are too cold in winter, we should remember the Fall. When it is scorching in summer, we should remember the Fall. (Side note: The next time I heard Bro. McLeod, it was a record breaking -23°F! He joked that it felt warm, as it was -68°F when he left Canada.)

So, this winter as we shiver our way through the cold, let us remember not only the Fall, but the redemption provided for us when Christ Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. Adam and Eve, as far as we know, never knew redemption and forgiveness from God for their sin. That does not matter. The main question is, am I forgiven? Are you?

Peace like a river.

2008-01-12T16:31:00.000-06:00

I have always enjoyed singing the hymn “It is well with my soul”. The meaning of the first verse never really came clear until I moved to my current home. The lines “When peace like a river attendeth my way ...” make a beautiful picture, but I grew up in a desert, far from any flowing river. I now live in a house overlooking the Mississippi River. Every day I see it flowing by. Some days in particular the river is so calm, it looks like glass. Peaceful, soothing.

So, what is the message of the hymn? Mr. Spafford wrote the song while on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier, he had lost his daughters in a shipwreck. He found peace with God in his grief. There really is not a better picture of peace than a calm river. When I sit by the river on a calm day, I am reminded of the peace of God. “It is well with my soul.” Is it well with yours?

Satisfied?

2007-12-31T14:47:00.000-06:00

“I can’t get no satisfaction ... And I try, and I try, and I try, and I try...”
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and Madison Avenue is still trying to get us to buy whatever it is we don’t need but think we want. The buying binge most Americans go through each December is another refrain of the Rolling Stones’ song. Every year, December 26 sees long lines at retailers of people returning those items they did not like, that they did not need, or both. The wrong size/color/style is often the excuse, but I believe most of the dissatisfaction stems from the fact that we are supposed to surprise each other, and many times are not accurate in our guess as to what the other person wants. Why not do what many folks did this year and give a gift card? Then the recipient can pick out whatever is wanted. But will that satisfy?

I cannot say for sure, but I don’t think Mr Jagger ever has gotten satisfaction. The key being that he tried. The Christian believes that we can never be satisfied through our own efforts. True satisfaction only comes from God. A pastor I know puts it this way: We will only be content based on the content of our soul. I think 1 John 2:15-17 sums it up best:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Christmas or Xmas?

2007-12-15T11:06:00.000-06:00

This time of year there is usually a discussion of the use of “Xmas” being a terrible thing. People think we are taking “Christ out of Christmas” when using it. I beg to differ.

In the first place, was Christ ever a part of what we think of as the Christmas celebration? Most of our traditions came to us by way of pre-Christian, pagan European tribes. The date we celebrate is because of the pagan mid-winter celebrations of the birth of the sun.

But those are other issues addressed in other places. My thought is that since Jesus came to Earth to be a sacrifice for our sins, we should always remember His death and resurrection while celebrating His birth. The letter “X” has often been used to signify the cross, so using it now does not take Christ out of the picture, but helps to put His birth in focus of the reason He came: the crucifixion, which saved us from the power of sin in our lives. So, to one and all I say:

Merry Xmas!