QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I often hear Palestinians say that Israelis are trying to Judahize Jerusalem. That is like saying Americans are trying to Americanize Washington (D.C.)"

Bejamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister

HEY, MOE! HEY, MOE! HAPPY 114TH BIRTHDAY!

     It was on a Sunday, on the nineteenth day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord 1897, in Brooklyn, New York, that Moses Harry Horwitz was born.
     Ofcoarse, we all know him just as "Moe."

HAPPY 177TH BIRTHDAY TO THE "PRINCE OF PREACHERS"

     It was on a Thursday, on the nineteenth day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord 1834, in Kelvedon, Essex, England, that Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born. His second birth took place on a  Sunday, on the sixth day of the month of January, in the year of our Lord 1850, in a small Primitive Methodist chapel that he took refuge in from a snow storm that day.
     Spurgeon would go on to become one of the most well known preachers of his time in Great Britain. His sermons would be cabled across the Atlantic to the United States to be printed for American readers.
     He would also become a leading defender of historical orthodox Christianity. Because of his stands against theological liberalism and modernism, he was censored by the British Baptist Union. One of the leaders who brought charges against him was his own brother. Many believe that the physical ailments that that would bring on his relatively early death at the age of fifty-eight were first brought on by emotional tolls of being ostricized for standing up for the truth of the Word of God.

Their Finest Hour

     It was on a Tuesday, on the eighteenth day of the month of June, in the year or our Lord 1940. Hitler's war machine was successfully taking over one country after another on the European continent. Two days earlier French Marshal Philippe Petain announced on the radio to the general French public that his intentions were to ask Hitler for an armistice with Germany. In the month of August in the previous year, Stalin's Soviet Russia had signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler's Nazi Germany. The United States naively believed that she could stand on the sidelines while the rest of the world was being plunged into a new dark ages. In all of this, Great Britain stood alone.
     These were dark times for the old empire who's motto was that the sun never set on it. But, now she had a new secret weapon in her new (well, not actually in age) prime minister. Through his speeches and unwavering resolve, Winston Churchill would help to give the British the courage that they would need to fight against Hitler's blitzkrieg.
     It was on this date that Churchill would deliver his "Finest Hour" speech before the British parliament and on the radio.

High Low

What the Bible says about God:

Isaiah 6:3

     And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (ESV)

Isaiah 6:3

What the Bible says about mankind:

Romans 3:10-12

     as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
     no one understands; no one seeks for God.
     All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:10-12

"Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves."

John Calvin

Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion

Book 1, Chapter 1, Section 1

     In the past few weeks, many Christian websites and blogs have been abuzzed with properly correcting the type of universalism that has been espoused by Rob Bell in his new book Love Wins. In his new book, Love Wins, Bell basically denies the Biblical and historically Christian doctrines of hell. Bell questions the varacity of the teachings that God will send all those, who in this life, do not put their trust in the salvific work of Jesus Christ to an eternal punishment in hell.
     Bell's main flaw in all of his book his starting point when it comes to the attributes of God. He starts off with stating that God's main and overarching attribute is love:

"First, I believe that Jesus's (sic) story is first and foremost about the love of God for every single one of us."

Rob Bell

Love Wins

Preface: Millions of Us, pg. vii

     The Bible has God's holiness as the attribute that all others come under. God is love, but God is also holy, and His love is based on His holiness. God is perfectly righteous, and there is hint of evil or wrong in His character.
     The reason that we humans can not truly understand the holiness of God is because we are fallen creatures (c.f. Genesis 3). We sin because it is part of our nature and we are unaware of how far down our sinful natures are capable of taking us.
     Almost all wrong doctrines and world religions come from man's wrong views of God and of ourselves. We are not able to see holy God is, and how sinful man is.

SELAH

     The only place that we can learn about the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man is in the Bible. That is also the only place where we may learn of our need for, and the provision of a savior through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

MSNBC Host Makes Rob Bell Squirm: "You're Amending The Gospel So That It...

Poor Martin Bashir. His attempt in getting straight answers form Rob Bell was like trying to nail Jello to the wall.

MY NAME

1 Peter 3:15

     but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (ESV)

1 Peter 3:15

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Juliet

Romeo & Juliet

Act II Scene II

     If you have received any e-mails from me, or noticed the way I sign most things, when I am able to, I sign my full name. There are reasons that I do. First, I have come to really like the name my parents gave to me at birth. This does not come from any since of egotism, but from the knowledge of what my first and middle name means. Second reason is that I have also found out that I can use my name as a witnessing tool.
     No, one can really fault poor Juliet, in her teenage naivete, did not have thew knowledge that names have meanings. Both my first and last names have Hebrew origins. My first name is really a question, and the last can be seen as the answer to that question. It also can be used to share the Gospel. Let me show you how.
     In the Hebrew, Michael is a question: Who is like God. In Luke chapter eighteen, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus and addresses him as "good master." Jesus' questioned him on why the young man called Him "good", and that only God can really be called "good." Romans chapter three points out that all have sinned against God, and that there are none of us are "good." God is the only one that is perfectly holy and righteous. We have all willingly strayed from God, and need a Savior to atone to God for our sins.
     Now, here is where the answer comes into view. In the Hebrew David means "beloved." In Scripture, who one who is referred to as God's beloved? The answer can be found in Scripture like Matthew 12:15-21:

 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (ESV)

     The beloved of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. (c.f. Mat. 3:17, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35) Jesus is also the one who is like God because He is God, and the One who was sent as the Redeemer of all who would put their trust in His saving work on the cross.

     Romans 1:7 also refers to believers in Christ as "beloved of God." Believers are beloved of God because He identifies them with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Your servant in Christ

Michael David Hotard

SELAH

     There are many things that we can use when we converse with those around us that can lead into our sharing the Gospel with them. Think about it.

    

    

You Are In Danger

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S GREATNESS

SPURGEON QUOTE

The Church of God, in a very special manner, calls Jesus "our Lord," for there is not, and there cannot be any head of the Church except the Lord Jesus Christ. It is awful blasphemy for any man on earth to call himself Christ's vicar and the head of the church, and it is a usurpation of the crown rights of King Jesus for any king or queen to be call the head of the church, for the true Church of Jesus Christ can have no head but Jesus Christ himself. I am thankful that there in no head to the church of which I am a member save Jesus Christ himself, nor dare I be a member of any church which would consent to any headship but his.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"Jesus Our Lord"

sermon no. 2806

Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

MACHEN QUOTE

But if any fact is clear, on the basis of this evidence, it is that the Christain movement at its inception was not just a way of life in the modern sense, but a way of life founded upon a message. It was based not upon mere feeling, not upon a mere program of work, but upon an account of facts. In other words it was based on doctrine.

J. Gresham Machen

Christianity and Liberalism

MACHEN QUOTE

"If all creeds are equally true, then since they are contradictory to one another, they are equally false, or at least equally uncertain"

Christianity & Liberalism

John Gresham Machen

1923

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY, AND EAT MOR CHIKIN

     It was on a Monday, on the fourteenth day of the month of March, in the year of out Lord 1921, in Eatonton, Georgia, that Samuel Truett Cathy was born.
     Mr. Cathy is the founder of Chick-fil-A. His first restaurant opened in the year 1967 in Greenbair Mall in Atlanta, GA. His restaurants still practice the policy of being closed on Sunday so that its employees are able to attend their church services and spend time with their families on that day.
     Mr Cathy is a member of the First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA, and also has taught Sunday School there for over 50 years.
     Happy 90th birthday Sam Cathy!

PANEM ET CIRCENSES

NEWS ALERT!!! - Lindsey Lohan to appear in court today!

NEWS ALERT!!! - Charlie Sheen goes wacko!

BREAD AND CIRCUSES

     The above well known phrase was first said by the Roman poet Juvenal (ca. 100 AD). He was then referring to the Roman government's practice giving free wheat to Roman citizens, and providing entertainment to its citizens through events like the circus games. This was the basic plan of Roman politicians to win over votes by giving free food and entertainment.
     Today, we have a federal government that is spending like a drunken sailor (oops. I must apologize to all drunken sailors. They, unlike the United States government, spend their own money.), and at any moment might be forced to default on its loans. We have a President who defied court rulings, thrown aside the U.S. Constitution, which he swore to protect, and acting in the role of a de facto dictator. The Middle East is on fire with revolutions that could see radical Islam in control of those countries.
     In all of this, what is most of the mainstream media focusing on? The daily goings on of the celebrity. What is the average American concerned about? Who will be the next American Idol?
     Most of us are trifling in trivia while the world is falling apart around us. Here is the worst part of it. Most American Christians' lives are focused on the minutia of things that have no eternal value.
     As Christians, we have the Gospel. We have the answers to the questions that most people around us are not asking, and will not ask on their own unless they are confronted by what should concern them the most. Without Christ as Lord and Savior......they are PRESENTLY (c.f. John 3:36), and will, if they do not repent to God a put their trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ on their behalf, have their end under the eternal wrath of God in the Lake of Fire (c.f. Revelation 20:15).
     We who truly have put our trust in Christ, can not be distracted by the trivial of this world. We need to be about the work of being the heralds of the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

SELAH

EPHESIANS 5:13-16

     But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,
     for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
     Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
     making the best of the time, because the days are evil.

EPHESIANS 5:13-16

MACHEN ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

    
This is a long qoute from Prof Machen's book, but it is well worth reading all of it.


      It might seem as though with such laws obscurantism had reached its lowest possible depths. But there are depths lower still. In the state of Oregon, on Election Day, 1922, a law was passed by a referendum vote in accordance with which all children in the state are required to attend the public schools. Christian schools and private schools, at least in the all-important lower grades, are thus wiped out of existence. Such laws, which if the present temper of the people prevails will probably soon be extended far beyond the bounds of one state, [which will] mean of course the ultimate destruction of all real education. When one considers what the public schools of America in many places already are--their materialism, their discouragement of any sustained intellectual effort, their encouragement of the dangerous pseudoscientific fads of experimental psychology--one can only be appalled by the thought of a commonwealth in which there is no escape from such a soul-killing system. But the principle of such laws and their ultimate tendency are far worse than the immediate results. A public school system, in itself, is indeed of enormous benefit to the race. But it is of benefit only if it is kept healthy at every moment by the absolutely free possibility of the competition of private schools. A public school system, if it means the providing of free education for those who desire it, is a noteworthy and beneficent achievement of modern times; but when once it becomes monopolistic it is the most perfect instrument of tyranny which has yet been devised. Freedom of thought in the middle ages was combated by the Inquisition, but the modern method is far more effective. Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them then to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist. Such a tyranny, supported as it is by a perverse technique used as the instrument in destroying human souls, is certainly far more dangerous than the crude tyrannies of the past, which despite their weapons of fire and sword permitted thought at least to be free.

J. Greshem Machen

Christianity and Liberalism (1923)

R.C. SPROUL QUOTE

"You are required to believe, to preach, and to teach what the Bible says is true, not what you want the Bible to say is true."

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: OUR TRINUNE GOD

Luke 3:21-22

     Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
     and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am pleased."

Luke 3:21-22

     One of the most unique, and misunderstood, doctrines of Christianity is that of the Trinity. Classical Christian doctrine teaches that we serve one God, and within that one God there are three distinct and eternal persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
     One of the first criticisms that is often heard against this doctrine is that the word "trinity" is not anywhere in the Bible. This argument is a canard, and can be easily dispelled. It is true that the word "trinity" is not in the Bible, but the Trinity is seen through the Bible (clearly in the New Testament, and hints of it in the Old Testament). Luke 3:21-22, cited above, is a an example where all three members of the Trinity can be seen in the account of the earthly life of Jesus.
     Throughout it's history, the Christian church has been confronted with many misunderstandings of what the Trinity is. Some of these misunderstandings have led some to herecies to which the church as a whole had to come together to address and denounce.
     Some have attempted to describe the Trinty through visual illustration that we see around us every day. There is the example of the chicken egg: 1. the shell 2. the albumen 3. the yolk. There is also the example of the experiment where scientist took a drop of water, put it in a vacuum tube, brought the temperature inside of the tube to a certain level, and observed that the drop of water was able to be water, ice, and steam at the same time. These types of illustrations can be very tempting in our trying to explain or teach the doctrine of the Trinity to another, but they should be avoided because there is no earthly example that can be used to try to understand what the Bible is teaching when it reveals the Trinity to us. Some of the illustrations that are often used could lead to a heretical understanding of what the Trinity really is.
       The Christian church had to face one of these herecies in the third century in the teachings of Sebellius, a theologian. Sebellius taught that God had manifested Himself in three modes of a single devine Person. He taught that God manifested Himself as Father in the Old Testament, Son while Jesus was on the, earth, and Holy Spirit during the Church age. It is similar to me saying that I am a son, a husband, and a brother, but that is nowhere close to what the Bible teaches on what the Trinity is. Another name that has been given to this teaching is "modalism," the idea that God has had three faces or has worn three masks. This herecy has led to another heretical teaching known as "Patripassionism," the idea that God the Father died on the cross. Again, that is not the Trinity. Why do I focus on this herecy? Because, it is still taught in some cults that claim to be Christian. One of these where it can seen is in the teachings of ths "Oneness Penecostal" movement, and in the beliefs of one of their leading voices, Bishop T.D. Jakes. See if you can tell the subtle hint of Sebellianism in the "Belief Statement" of his church, The Potter's House, on the section about God:

     "There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and existing in three manifestations:  Father, Son, and Holy Spitit."

     Again, this doctrine must be taught with care. A wrong understanding of this crucial doctrine can mean a difference between orthodoxy and herecy, and a difference of heaven and hell. Why is this so? Becuase, if we have a wrong view of God, and we are worshipping an idol of our own imaginations. (c.f. Romans 1:23) The last time I looked at my Bible that was a violation of the Ten Commandments (c.f. Exodus 20:3).    

A FAREWELL TO "THE DOCTOR"

     It was on a Sunday, on the first day of the month of March, in the year of our Lord 1981, in Ealing, a suburb of London, England, that David Martyn Lloyd Jones quietly slip from being asleep to being with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
     In his early years, LLoyd-Jones was a medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and in 1921 he became an assistant to the Royal Physician, Sir Thomas Horder.
     For two years he struggled with the since that the Lord was calling him to preach. In 1927, Llloyd-Jones returned to his birthplace of Wales, and married Bethan Phillips. That same he accepted his first invitation to be the minister of a small church in Aberavon, Wales. In 1939, he would move to London to become the associate pastor of Westminster Chapel alongside G. Campbell Morgan. Morgan would retire as pastor of Westminster in 1943, leaving Lloyd-Jones to be the sole pastor of the church.
     During his years of ministry, he became a champion of the historical doctrines of Christianity against the liberalism that was becoming common in many of the Christian denominations.
     Because of his earlier years of being a medical doctor, and his reputation as a Christian theologian, many have referred to him simply as "The Doctor."
His many books are still in circulation to be bought and read. Audio of many of his sermons can be heard on websites like Youtube, or can be dowload to a mp3 player from websites like Oneplace.
     D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a great jewel of the Christian church that was given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ that should not be forgotten of set aside. Through his many books, writings, and sermons he can still speak to the church today.

CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALISM

     A few months ago I downloaded J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism into my Kindle reader. A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a podcast that I had downloaded into my Kindle of the Wretched Radio program. During that particular podcast, the host, Todd Friel, mentioned some aspects of Machen's book, and qoute some parts of it. He also reccomended that every Christian should read it. Well, that reminded me that I already had, and prompted me to start read it. I am glad that I did.
     Christianity and Liberalism was first published in 1923, but it's contents are very relevant for the Christian of 2011. I agree with Mr. Friel that every true disciple of Christ would benefit from reading this book. Many of the challenges that Prof. Machen was facing in his, liberals with the church who are trying to undermine the central doctrines of historical Christianity, are the same challenges that Christians face today.
     One of the main points that Prof. Machen makes in his book is that this is not a battle beweet "conservatives" and "liberal," but it is actually a battle between believers and the unbelievers, who have crept into the church. It is a battle for the heart and soul of the Gospel. In his introduction to the book, Prof. Machen defines the battle in this manner:

     "It is this problem which modern liberlism attempts to solve. Admitting that scientific objections may arise against the particularities of the Christian religion -- against the Chrisian doctrines of the person of Christ, and of the redemption through His death and resurrection -- the liberal theologian seeks to rescue certain of the general principles of religion, of which these particularities are thought to be mere temporary symbols, and he regards as constituting 'the essence of Christianity.'

     It may well be questioned, however, whether this of defense will prove to be efficacious; for after the apologist has abandoned his outer defenses to the enemy and withdrawn into some inner citadel, he will probably discover that the enemy pursues him even there. Modern materialism, especially in the realm of psychology, is not content with occupying the lower quarter of the Christian city, but pushes its way into all the higher reaches of life; it is just as much opposed to the philosophical idealism of the liberal preacher as to the Biblical doctrines that the liberal preacher ha abandoned in the interests of peace. Mere concessiveness, therefore, will never succeed in avoiding the intellectual conflict. In the intellectual battle of the present day there can be no 'peace without victory'; on side or the other must win.

     As a matter of fact, however, it may appear that the figure which has just been used is altogether misleading; it may appear that what the liberal theologian has retained after abandoning to the enemy one Christian doctrine after another is not Christianity at all, but a religion which is so entirely different from Christianity as to be long in a distinct category. It may appear further that the fears of the modern man as to Christianity were ungrounded, and that in abandoning the embattled walls of the city of God he has fled in needless panic into the open plains of a vague natural religion only to fall an easy victim to the enemy who ever lies in ambush there." (emphasis added)
    
     I am still in the middle of reading this book. To be honest, admist other things, I sometimes find myself in the middle of reading up to five books or more at the same time. That is just a personal note about myself.
     In the coming weeks I will be sharing you some parts and aspects of Prof. Machen's polemic work. I will also be sharing aspects of Prof. Machen's life that I have learned about and is relevant to the writing and main theme of this book.
    
     Oh, one important note. Since I am reading this book on my Kidle, my references to the book will not have any page numbers.

SELAH

Jude 1:4

     For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated  for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:4

    

CHURCHILL QUOTE OF THE DAY

A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.

GREASE: A CELEBRATION OF THE 60'S SEXUAL REVOLUTION

     Your first thoughts might be, "Wait a minute. Grease was set in the 1950s. How can it be a movie that celebrates the sexual revolution that came about in the 1960s?" It is true that Grease was set in the 1950s, 1959 as a matter of fact, but the whole concept of the movie was a throwing off of the values that were still culturally held by most Americans in the 1950s for the ideas of the sexual revolution of the 1960s. This is seen in the movies title song itself.

I solve my problems and I see the light
We gotta plug and think, we gotta feed it right
There ain't no danger we can go too far
We start believing now that we can be who we are

Grease is the word
They think our love is just a growing pain
Why don't they understand, It's just a crying shame
Their lips are lying only real is real
We start to find right now we got to be what we feel

Grease is the word
Grease is the word, is the word that you heard
It's got groove it's got meaning
Grease is the time, is the place is the motion
Grease is the way we are feeling

We take the pressure and we throw away
Conventionality belongs to yesterday
There is a chance that we can make it so far
We start believing now that we can be what we are

Grease is the word
Grease is the word, is the word that you heard
It's got groove it's got meaning
Grease is the time, is the place is the motion
Grease is the way we are feeling
This is the life of illusion
Wrapped up in trouble laced with confusion
What we doing here?

We take the pressure and we throw away
Conventionality belongs to yesterday
There is a chance that we can make it so far
We start believing now that we can be who we are

 

     The first two line speak of the generation that came into being young adults in the 1960s believing that they were the first ones to have a clear understanding of what really truth in the world around them. They believed that all the generations that came before them had messed everything up, and had no wisdom to convey to them. A common catch phrase of the youth in the 60s was, "Do not trust anyone over thirty years old." (Their lips are lying only real is real)

      There ain't no danger we can go to far.

      The young adults of the 60s really believed that there not going to be any consequences to their setting aside of any morals of the past. Free love. Have all the sex you want with whoever you want. Take whatever drugs you want. Drop out of life. Live like a bohemian. Everything will turn out okay.

We take the pressure and we throw away
Conventionality belongs to yesterday

     Unfortunately, much of the culture of the 1950s in America was about personal comfort, fitting in (being conventional), and "keep up with the Jones." The morality of pop culture and most Americans of the 1950s could be explained from a line in the Christmas favorite Santa Claus is Coming to Town:  "Be good for goodness sake." (We will look further at this when we examine some of the television programs of the 1950s) It was a type of "moralism" that was separated from the Gospel. This was partly what the youth of the 1960s were rebelling against. Unfortunately, they also rebelled against the truth that is found in the Bible.

     Through most of the movie, Olivia Newton John's character represents the innocence that many remember the 1950s for. She is also attracted to the "bad boy" character that John Travolta plays in the movie. Many harken back to the 1950s as a "time of innocence," but the seeds of what would come to full bloom in the 1960s were planted in the 1950s and before.

     One song in the movie has Stockard Channing making light of Olivia Newton John's character's innocence:, Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee.

Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity
Won't go to bed till I'm legally wed, I can't, I'm Sandra Dee
Watch it, hey, I'm Doris Day, I was not brought up that way
Won't come across, even Rock
Hudson lost his heart to Doris Day
I don't drink or swear, I won't rat my hair,
I get ill from one cigarette
Keep your filthy paws off my silky drawers.
Would you pull that crap with Annette?
As for you, Troy Donahue, I know what you wanna do
You got your crust, I'm no object of lust,
I'm just plain Sandra Dee Elvis,
Elvis, let me be, keep that pelvis far from me
Just keep your cool, now you're starting to drool
Hey, fungu, I'm Sandra Dee

      Later in the movie, Olivia's character sings the same song about herself, but with a twist.

Look at me,
There has to be something more than what they see
Wholesome and pure,
Oh so scared and unsure, a pawn then,
Sandra Dee Sandy,
You must start anew,
Don't you know what you must do
Hold your head high,
Take a deep breath and sigh
Goodbye to Sandra Dee

 

     How does her character start anew? In the last scene of the movie, she appears, to every one's surprise, in a black tight fitting outfit and smoking a cigarette. Clearly a sign that her character has opted to cast of her innocence.

     This same theme is further explored twenty years later in the 1998 motion picture Pleasantville, where two modern teens (portrayed by Toby Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) find themselves trapped in a 1950s sitcom. Through the sitcom, the 1950s are portrayed as black and white with no excitement or life to it. Color come to the town of Pleasantville through "sexual liberation". 

     We live in a world now that tells us that true freedom and hapiness can be found by throwing away the sexual mores of the past. We are told that monogomy was a concept forced upon us by those who would want to control us. None of this is true.
     Contrary to the belief of most people today, "sex" is not a dirty word to God. Sex is a gift from God. It is a gift that is to be used in its proper place. It is to be between one man and women who come together in the covenant of marriage for life. Sex is not just a biological function either. There also are emotional and spiritual aspects to it.
     The main reason that sexual sin is to be avoided is not because of the negative physical  consequences that could come out of it (AIDS, Herpes, out of wedlock pregancies, etc), but because it violates the holiness of God.

SELAH

     True freedom comes through placing one's trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    

THE ARTS: A MEDIUM OF PHILOSOPHY

     Contrary to what most people believe today, the arts (literature, motion pictures, television, music, etc.) are not neutral when it comes to promoting the worldviews of the artist to the consumer. As a matter of fact, it is usually the medium in which the philosophy/worldview of the artist is conveyed and promoted to the consumer. It is true that most of us do not watch a motion picture, or listen to a song with the intent of getting part of our worldview or philosophy from it. This is usually true on the consumer's part, but quite a different story on the part of the artist. Whether we wish to face the facts or not, most of what we see, hear, or read is not produced for entertainment purposes only.

     Most of the general population will never read the works of any of the major philosophers, but the ideas of those philosophers will generally find their way into the general thinking of the person on the street. The average American today has probably never heard of Friedrich Nietzsche or the philosophy of nihilism, but many of the same Americans, unknowingly, live their lives in accords to the philosophy of nihilism. How have the philosophies of the academics trickled down to mainstreet America? Through the arts.

     Today I will begin a series of post that will look at some of the products of pop culture, and examine the philosophies and worldviews that are being promoted through these works of art. I will also be comparing how those philosophies to what the Christian worldview has to say about the areas of life these works of art have addressed.
     The word "philosophy" in the Greek means to be a "friend/lover (philos) of wisdom (sophia)." In the Bible, throughout the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman who is crying out in the streets, and the reader is admonished to be a close friend/lover of this wisdom. Now, the wisom that is referred to in Proverbs is not the abstract idea of wisdom (that is always searched for, but never really found) that has been promoted by the ancient Greeks and most secular philosophers since. The wisdom that Proverbs refers to is the concept of wisdom that was taught by the ancient Hebrew. It is a prictical wisdom. It is a wisdom that effects the every day life. It is the wisdom that comes from accepting and putting into one's life the things that are commanded by God in the Bible. It is a wisdom that has a true understanding of who God is, and who we are in the light of that truth. In that light, Christians are the true philosophers.
     So, grab a chair, some popcorn, becuase we will first be off to the movies.
   

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: JESUS WILL EITHER BE YOUR SAVIOR OR YOUR JUDGE

Luke 3:16-17

     John answered then all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
     His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Luke 3:16-17

     John the Baptist was referring here to Jesus Christ, who was about to begin His public ministry. John's preaching and baptizing were centered around the doctrine of repentance.
     When most of us here the word "repent", we immediately have in our minds the idea of a turning away from our sins. That is part of the solution. In the original Greek language of the New Testament, the word for "repent" is metanoeo. The word carries the idea of a person changing their own mind about a subject.
     What is it that we are to change our minds about?  The Bible shows that in our fallen state that we all have wrong views about God and about ourselves. Having a proper understanding of ourselves and of God has eternal consequences. In in very first sentence of Book One of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin puts it in these words:

"Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves."

     The wisdom that Calvin refers to can only come from the Bible, God's Word.  So, what does the Bible tell us about the true nature of God and of ourselves?

     First, is that God is infinitely holy, righteous, and just. (c.f. Isaiah 6:1, Exodus 9:27, Deu 16:18). There are no moral flaws in God.

     Second, is that we are all fallen people who have sinned against a holy God (c.f. Romans 3:23), and deserve the payment of death (Roman 6:23). None of us have anything to offer to God in our so called "religious/spiritual" offerrings to God (c.f. Isaiah 64:6). That as fallen sinners against an infinately holy we deserve the eternal judgement and wrath of God (c.f. Romans 1:18, Ephesains 5:6).

     Third, that God has made a way that fallen sinners can be reconciled unto Him and still remain just and righteous. God sent His Son, live a righeoues life and die on a cruel Roman cross, and take upon Himself the wrath of God that should have been put on wayward sinners (c.f. John 3:16). The only way that any of us can be made reconciled to God is by putting their complete trust in the finished work of Christ on their behalf (c.f. John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

     The Bible also tell us that Jesus in not only Savior, but as the Second Person of the Trinity, he will also be judge (Revelations 19:15).

     John the Baptist was tell his listeners that Jesus will either be their Savior or their Judge.  Look at the wording:

Holy Sprit = is given to those who put their trust in Christ

wheat = the saved, those who trust in the completed work of Christ for their salvation

his barn = God's abode, eternal life with God

fire = the judgement of God

chaff = the lost, those who have rejected salvation through trust in what Christ has already done and are trusting in themselves to gain acceptance with God

unquenchable fire = the eternal punishment of God where a person ends up in Hell and then the Lake of Fire

     We all have a choice to make. Either Jesus will be our Lord and Savior, or He will be our judge. There is no avoiding it. One day each one of us will stand before Him in His court of law (c.f. Hebrews 9:27)

SELAH

     If you are reading this, and have never repented to God, and put your trust in the finished work of Christ for your salvation, today can be the day that you should do so.

Romans 10:8-9

     But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

     because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:8-9

Doctrinal Discernment - Mark Dever

HAPPY BIRTHDAY R.C.

     It was on a Monday, on the thirteenth day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that Robert Charles Sproul was born.
     Dr. Sproul has been a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Mississippi, and Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderale, Florida. In 1994, Sproul was a vocal critic of the document Evangelicals and Catholics Together.
     R.C. has been the author of many Christian books. His best know work amongst Christians today is The Holiness of God. He has also in recent years written a number of children's book with Christian themes. Among theses are:  The Prince's Poison Cup and The Priest With Dirty Clothes A Timeless Story Of God's Love And Forgiveness
     Dr. Sproul is now Senior Minister of Preaching and Teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida. He can also be heard on his Renewing Your Mind Ministries either on radio or podcast.
     The focus of R.C. Sproul's teaching and preaching is to restore a true understanding of the holiness and sovereignty of God in the modern Christian church.

HAPPY 72ND BIRTHDAY R.C. SPROUL!

   

THE EXECUTION OF LADY JANE GREY

     According the the Julian Calendar, it was on a Monday, on the twelfth day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord 1554, that the nine days Queen of England, Lady Jane Grey, was beheaded at Tower Hill, an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, and went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Lady Jane was about the age of eighteen when she died. Before being executed, and after she placed her head on the chopping block, her last words were the same as the last words of Jesus, as recounted in the Gospel of Luke:

"Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!"

     In her youth, Lady Jane was able to receive a comprehensive education that included studies in Latin, Greek and Hebrew as well as contemporary languages. It was during these lessons that her tutors would lead Lady Jane to a true knowledge of Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Lady Jane would become a serious student of the Bible, and was able to read it in the original languages.
     When King Henry VIII died, his only son, Edward VI, assumed the throne of England at the age of nine years old. King Edward and Lady Jane were cousins. There was an attempt by some, including Jane's father, to have Edward marry Jane, but nothing came of it. During Edwards short reign of six years, he would make changes to the Church of England that were more of a religious nature than one of a political one as his father, King Henry VIII did. Edward, like his cousin Jane, was a true evangelical Christian. Unfortunately, for England, Edward would died at the age of fifteen.
     After Edwards death, there was an attempt to keep Henry VIII's oldest daughter, Mary Tudor, from ascending to the throne of England. Many Protestants knew that if Mary would become queen, as a devout Roman Catholic, that she would attempt to place England back under the rule of the Roman Pontiff. Jane's father, and other men of high positions in the court and government, unknown to Jane, carried out a conspiracy to put Jane on the throne in order to keep England a Protestant nation. Some of these men, like her father, did this move just for self gain. Lady Jane did hold the throne for nine days. Mary was able to gain enough support from the people and officials to gain her place on the throne of England. Lady Jane's reign, and the conspiracy were quickly over.
     As her cousin, Queen Mary had no desire to see Jane executed. Even though, as a devout Roman Catholic, she did not agree with Jane's protestantism, she had great affection for Jane. Mary's counsel advised her though that as long as Jane lived that she could be used as a rallying point for any further rebellions to overthrow Mary's reign on the throne. With a heavy heart, Mary agreed that Jane should be executed.
     Before Jane would be executed, Queen Mary attempted to convince Jane that she should return to the Roman Catholic Church. As an attempt to do this, Mary sent the church scholar John Feckenham to convince Jane of the "errors" of her ways. It has been reported that after one of his debates with Jane that Feckenham was to say, "She should be my tutor than I hers." Lady Jane never did waver in her faith, or deny her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

SELAH

Matthew 10:32-33

     So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
     but whoever denies me before men, I will deny before my father who is in heaven. (ESV)

Matthew 10:32-33

HAPPY 144TH BIRTHDAY TO LAURA INGALLS WILDER

     It was on a Thursday, on the seventh day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord 1867, near the village of Pepin, in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin, to Charles Phillip Ingalls (01-10-1836 to 06-08-1902) and Caroline Lake (Quiner) Ingalls (12-12-1839 to 04-20-1924), that Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born. She had three sisters, Mary Amelia (01-10-1865 to 10-20-1928), Caroline Celestia "Carrie" (08-03-1870 to 06-02-1946), Grace Pearl (05-23-1877 to 11-10-1941), and one brother, Charles Frederick, who died in infancy.
     When she was a young child, her family would settle in what was the Indian Territory near Independence, Kansas. Her novel, Little House on the Prairie, would be based on the experiences of those years.

HAPPY 199TH BIRTHDAY TO CHARLES DICKENS

     It was on a Friday, on the seventh day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord 1812, that Charles John Huffam Dickens was born.

     Dickens would go on to become an accomplished English novelist. His novels contained social commentary about those who were part of the underbelly of Victorian society (i.e. the poor, orphans).

     Many of his novels have been adapted to the motion picture screen.

REAGAN QUOTE OF THE DAY

There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.

HAPPY 174TH BIRTHDAY TO THE EVANGELIST

     It was on a Thursday, on the fifth day of the month of January, in the year of our Lord 1837, in Northfield, Massachusetts, that Dwight Lyman Moody was born. His second birth took place in April of 1855 when his Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball, led him to the Lord.
     Moody would go on to become a evangelist who would preach in America and in England.  Out of a growing Sunday school congregation that needed a permanent home, he started a church, the Illinois Street Church, in Chicago, Illinois.
     After the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, Moody would become more fervent in his personal witnessing to anyone that he would come across in his daily life.
     On January 22, 1886, Moody proposed to his congregation the formation of the Chicago Evangelization Society, for the training of gifted men for the purpose of reaching people with the Gospel. After his death, it would be renamed the Moody Bible Institute.

SELAH

Romans 10:15

     And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Romans 10:15

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY TO "THE GIPPER"

This is posted today due to February 6th falling this year on a Sunday.

     It was on a Monday, on the sixth day of the month of February, in the year of our Lord 1911, in an apartment on the second floor of a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois, to John "Jack" Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan, that Ronald Wilson Reagan was born.
     What can I say about a man who had such an impact on the United States and the world. He was my Commander-in-Chief when I served I the United States Navy from December of 1984 to January of 1988.
     On the 100th anniversary of the day of his birth, I believe that the best way of remembering President Reagan is hearing something of his on words.
     On January 11, 1989, he gave his farewell address from the Oval Office of the White House. Below is a video of that address. After hearing it, you might say like I did, "We miss you Mr. President. We wish you were hear today to lead us through these difficult times."

Reagan " The Shah of Iran Was Our Best Ally "

Are we about to make the same mistake in Egypt? Just asking.

HAPPY 204TH BIRTHDAY TO GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE

     It was on a Monday, on the nineteenth day of the month of January, in the year of our Lord 1807, at Stranford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, that Robert Edward Lee was born. His father was the famous Revolutionary War hero, Major General Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III.  Was was a descendant of Colonel Richard "the Immigrant" Lee I (1617-1664), who arrived at Jamestown in 1639 at the age of twenty-two, and was appointed Attorney General of the Colony of Virginia on the recommendation of Sir Francis Wyatt, the first Governor of the Colony of Virginia. The Lees were one of the first families to settle in the Colony of Virginia.

     Lee entered the West Point Academy in 1825, and did not incur any demerits during his four-year course. Upon graduation in June 1829, he was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Lee would go on to distinguish himself during the Mexican-American War. Lee then would be appointed as Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point in 1852. In October 1859, Lee was given command of detachments of militia, soldiers, and United States Marines, to suppress and arrest the abolitionist, John Brown, and his twenty-one followers in their atempted rebellion and seizure of a federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. In 1861, during the first days of the Civil War, Lee was Abraham Lincoln call Lee to the White House with a request that he would be the Commander of the Union Army.  Lee would respectfully decline the offer. He could not see himself fighting against his home state of Virginia.

     Even though Lee did not agree with the secession of the Southern states from the Union, he would go on to serve as the Commander of the Confederate Army out of a sense of duty to his home state of Virginia.

     It was on a Thursday, on the thirtieth day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord 1831, in Arlington House, the home of the bride's father, that Robert Edward Lee would marry Mary Ann Randolph Curtis, great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, and step-great-granddaughter of George Washington. They would go on to have seven children together:  George "Boo" Washington Curtis (September 16, 1832), Mary "Daughter" Curtis (1835), William "Rooney" Henry Fitzhugh (May 31, 1837), Eleanor "Agnes" (1841), Robert "Rob" Edward, Jr. (October 27, 1843), Mildred "Milly" "Precious Life" Childe (1846). After her father died in 1857, Mary would inherit Arlington House. During the height of the Civil War, the mansion and the surrounding lands would be illegally confiscated by the United States government, and would later be made into Arlington National Cemetary.

     Lee had opposed the institution of slavery, and would free the slaves that came to his wife with her inhertance of Arlinton House at the passing of her father.

     After the Civil War,on October 2, 1865, Lee would become the President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia.

     Robert E. Lee was a devout Christian who had a chararter that was beyond reproach.  He has come to be admired and beloved by both Northerners and Southerners.

     On August 5, 1975, at 2:12 p.m, President Gerald R. Ford, at a signing cermony of Senate Joint Rsolution 23, that posthumously (and "long overdue" in the President's words) restored the full rights of citizenship to to Lee.

     In was after 9 a.m., on a Wednesday, on the twelfth day of the month of October, in Lexington, Virginia, that Obert Edward Lee went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

    

SELAH

Psalm 95:12

     The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon

Psalm 95:12

Not Your Cause, but a King and a Kingdom

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: THE FRUITS OF REPENTENCE

Luke 3:10-14

     And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?"
     And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise."
     Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "teacher, what shall we do?"
     And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do."
     Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."  (ESV)

Luke 3:10-14

"We are saved by faith alone, but not by faith which is alone"

Martin Luther

     In America, many claim to be a "Christian". Turn on the television, and you will see a young teen pop star make the claim that she is a Christian. The next time you see the same pop star she is pole dancing on a music awards program, or she's singing a racy song titled, I Can't Be Tamed. Somehow, there is a major disconnect here. They are all over the place. The person who claims to love Jesus, but is not an active member of any local congregation, or has even stepped into a church for years.  The person who is a member of a local church, but has no conviction about owning the local liquor store.  The unmarried couple, that has no intentions of marrying each other, who are living together and claiming to "love the Lord".  I could go on giving many other such examples, but there is something majorly wrong in each one that I have given. So, what is the problem here?

The Answer:  NO CHANGED LIVES

     In the just previous verses of the same chapter of  the Gospel of Luke (7-9), John the Baptist warns the religious leaders that they needed to show evidence in their lives that they had truly repented toward God and have come to salvation.  Their later hostility toward Jesus Christ was sure evidence that they never did, nor had any interest in doing so.
     2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that a true disciple of Jesus Christ is a new creation of God, and that the old life has passed away.  Anyone who has ever truly repented toward God, and has come to trusting the finished work of Christ as their only hope for being accepted by God, will have a changed life.
     Zacchaeus, the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10), is a perfect example of this kind of change.  When Jesus went to the home his home to dine, and salvation came to the home of Zacchaeus, the "wee little man" was willing to do even more than what the Law of Moses required to right wrongs that he did to those around him.
     Does this mean that a true Christian never sins? It does not mean that at all.  The first chapter of the First Epistle of John clarifies that issue.  The Christian will never reach any sort of level of sinless perfection on this side of eternity.
     There is a well known common saying amongst the true disciples of Jesus Christ.  It goes something like like this:

"I know that I am not the man I should be, but thank God I am not the man I use to be."

     SELAH

2 Corinthians 13:5

     Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!  (ESV)

2 Corinthians 13:5

    


    

Joseph McCarthy on Democrats

Senator MCCarthy's words ring of even more truth today.

DAILY MUSINGS

   I have no idea where these things kept.  Maybe, in a basement under the hospital we born. Perhaps, in some secret goverment building where the Ark of the Covenant is kept.  I have come to the conclusion that when we are born we each come with a fourty-year warranty.  Why do I say fourty years?  Because, that is when the parts start breaking down.  First, the headlights begin to grow dim.  Then, the chassis begins to weaken.  After that, the hydraulic system does not flow as well anymore. 
   The bad news is that none of us are allowed to have an extended warranty. 

AN AMERICAN LION ROARED NO MORE

   It was on a Monday, on the sixth day of the month of January, in the year of our Lord 1919, that the former twenty-sixth President of the United States of America, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt went to be with his his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
   He had a larger-than-life personality, and he enjoyed life to the fullest.  In his lifetime, he was a member of the New York State Assembly, a rancher in the Badlands of North Dakota, appointed by President Benjamin Harrison to the United States Civil Service Commission, New York City Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary to the Navy, co-founder and leader of the First U.S. Volunteer Calvary Regiment "Rough Riders" during the Spanish-American War, Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States, President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner, big game hunter in Africa, leader of his own political party, the Bull Moose Party, and explorer of the jungles of Brazil.
   Roosevelt's influence on American culture is very broad.  It was he who saved the sport of American football.  In its early years, many thought that the sport was too brutal, and should be made illegal.  As President, he convinced the representatives of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale (The Big Three) that the rules of the game should be change so that it would not be so brutal.  He developed the National Park Service that saved millions of acres of America's natural beauty.  He was the inspiration for the teddy bear and a comic book super hero, Batman.  He has been attributed to coining the phrase, "Good to the last drop" after having a cup of coffee that came from the Maxell House Hotel.
    As a child, Theodore was weak and an asthmatic, but through determination and self discipline, he trained his body to be healthy and strong.  One proof of this fact came to past on October 14, 1912 when Roosevelt was shot by a local saloonkeeper, a Mr. John Shrank,  in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during a campaign stop for the office of the presidency.  The bullet went through a steel case for his glasses and a single folded copy of his fifty page speech into his chest.  Roosevelt was admonished to go to the hospital, but he decided to give his speech since he saw that he was not coughing up blood.  He did go to the hospital afterwards so that doctors could check the wound, but it was deemed to dangerous to remove the bullet.  The bullet remained in his chest for the remainder of his life
   Roosevelt once said:

"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering."

   By that standard, President Roosevelt, we will never forget you.

SELAH

Proverbs 28:1

   The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1