Easy as Pie

The Truth War

We live in an age wthat has reached a deadly fatigue when it comes to facing the truth...as if the entire nation has apostatized at once. Much is at stake. There is no middle ground-no safe zone for the uncommitted in this war.  The people have elected a perfect reflection of this generation, which is why his words resound so deeply in their hearts. 

 

President Obama:  "But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate."

 

Obama, of course, is referring to homosexuality. Anyone who does not call homosexuality a good a healthy thing is "hateful". Thus, homosexual activists were justifed in physically attacking those who voted "Yes on Prop 8". The ferocity and irrationality of political correctness should give us a clue as to the reality of their goal...to usher every notion of moral and spiritual truth into oblivion.  The Bible says: "Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good." (Romans 12:9)  The church is called an army for a good reason...the enemies of the Truth are relentless.. If it is "hateful" and "intolerant" to defend the clarity and suffciency of Scripture, the lostness of  unredeemed humanity, and the justice of God in condemning sinners, then let me fall and burn along side Polycarp, Ignatius and William Tyndale. Faitfullness to the truth is always costly in one way or another. 

 

President Obama "...far too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another..."

 

 Post Modernists, like Obama, refuse to admit the reality of objective Truth which rightly divides...like a sword. Jesus said, "If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." President  Obama and TV queen, Oprah, would rather promote a truth that is more pliable, altruistic, kindhearted, and ambiguous. Their brand of sophisictacted "Christianity" masquerades as new spiritual humility. It completely rejects authoritative Biblical truth applied to ungodly behavior, wordly life styles, and unholy minds.

 

Jesus said:

 

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."

 

President Obama:  "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being.This much we know."

 This is chutzpah on stilts and steroids. The fact that President Obama was willing to utter these words in a room crammed full of politically-oriented Christians at the National Prayer Breakfast, many of them evangelicals, shows that the rot of redefinition is so far advanced in our culture that he knows he is quite safe. If anyone were to attempt to call him on this, that person and not Obama would be called down by just about everyone for being a troublemaker and small-minded garroter of words. Obama is not about to be challenged for his deft exclusion from this question all those millions of innocent lives that don't count anymore.  How long before his full throttle abortion policies are even questioned by the weeping, joyous throngs who voted for him?

President Obama: "What is sin? Sin is being out of alignment with my own values."

This helps me understand where BHO is coming from–a post-modern, self-centered religiousity. There is no sin nailing Jesus to the Cross. There is no such thing as a blood debt for failing to meet the Holy standards of a righteous Creator and King.  Obama picks the god he wants, that meets his needs and promotes his values. His god is so full of conceit that their is not room for rational criticism.  Of course this is nothing better or higher than old fashioned paganism and idolotry. There are lots of examples of his post modernist thought throughout this piece, but this takes the cake:  He really believes he is the center of the Universe. It's the American way.

 

This is our leader...our Commander in Chief. The head of the greatest nation on earth.  It would do us well to remember the Lord Almighty as He forbid making gods in our own image;

 

"I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me."

 

  Scripture makes it clear that children are never directly punished for the hubris of their parents, but the natural consequences of those sins do pass on from generation to generation. Children learn from the fathers, and their national leaders, and their State employed teachers in school, and the media as it broadcasts lies which undermine Biblical truth. Children immitate what they see. President Obama is the product of two athiest parents who abandoned eachother... and later abandoned him. It should come as no surprise to the church that Obama has been chosen to lead a society which increasingly rejects, abandons and supresses the essential connection between God and the Truth.  Jesus teachings may be too unpopular, too demanding, too much of a threat to our own agendas, and too much of a rebuke...but they are the only way, the only truth and the only Life.

 

My favorite Hymn, my life's anthem...

In Christ alone

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend


In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.'

     What heights of love, what depths of peace,
     When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
     My comforter, my all in all—
     Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.

        Till on that cross as Jesus died,
        The wrath of God was satisfied;
         For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
         Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!

                And as He stands in victory,
                Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
                For I am His and He is mine—
                Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.

                   No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
                   Can ever pluck me from His hand;
                   Till He returns or calls me home—
                    Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

What's your score?

I gave this quiz to the boys this afternoon for fun.

Scores:  Jed (29)   Levi (28)  Wyatt (23)  Waylon (22)

1. Whose bones did the Israelites carry when Moses led them out of Egypt? 

2. How many people were on the ark? 

3.What were the names of Adam and Eve's first two sons? 

4. What tribe of Israel was put in charge of carrying the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle? 

5. Who was the only female judge of Israel?

6. What King saw the writing on the wall? 

7. What King talked with the witch of Endor?

8. What was stored inside the Ark of the Covenant?

9. Who was the strongest man in the Bible?

10. Who challenged the  450 prophets of Baal to a duel on Mount Carmel? 

11. What King built the first temple?

12. Who had a vision of four living creatures with wheels that could travel in any direction? 

13. Who threw Daniel in the lion's den?

14. What was the name of John the Baptist's mother?

15. Who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration along side of Jesus?

16. How many days did Jesus fast in the desert?

17. Who wrote the book of Acts?

18. Who wrote the Book of Revelation?

19. On what island was Paul shipwrecked and then bitten by a venomous snake?

20. Who was the first Christian martyr?

21. Where did Mary and Joseph take Jesus after he was born?

22. What was the name of the angel who visited Mary and told her that she would have a son?

23. Who led the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses died?

24.Who was in charge of the early church in Jerusalem?

25.What disciple had been a tax collector?

26. What man did Jesus raise from the dead in front of a crowd?

27. Where did God tell Jonah to go?

28. Who was in charge of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem after the exiles returned?

29. Who had a talking donkey?

30. Who rebuked King David for adultery and murder?

Answers:

1. Joseph    2. 8    3. Cain and Abel   4. Levites      5. Deborah      6.Balshazzar        7. King Saul

8. The 10 Commandments, a jar of manna, Aaron's staff.       9. Sampson         10.Elijah

11. Solomon      12.  Ezekiel         13. King Darius       14. Elizabeth  

15. Moses and Elijah           16. 40     17. Luke       18. John       19. Malta       20. Stephen

21. Egypt     22. Gabriel      23. Joshua      24.Peter        25. Matthew       26. Lazarus

27. Nineveh       28. Nehemiah     29. Balaam     30. Nathan 

Eternal appetite of infancy

As I watched this beautiful winter sunset unfold over the pond, I thought of G. K. Chesterton...

"A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again," to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again," to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."

I sense a great disturbance in the Force...

When the planet Alderaan is destroyed in A New Hope, Obi-Wan senses "a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced".

 

Surely the election was no surprise to God. The election of Obama was a disaster, though. The people of America decided that permitting the killing of unborn babies without any restriction at all, and the endorsement of homosexual perversion, were not as important as other issues, such as economic concerns, skin color, confused Iraq policy, or whatever motivated people to vote the way they did.

One only needs to look to the Scriptures on the shedding of innocent blood and the woe declared on those who call evil good and good evil to know that God does not view these as secondary matters. Never has the nation as a nation so explicitly disregarded God's words on morality.

Manasseh filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon it. The U.S., in electing Obama, endorsed the shedding of innocent blood.

Rick Warren gives away the store

Who is Bishop Robinson? He was an Episcopal Bishop who was married with two young daughters. In 1987 he met a man while on vacation in St. Croix. He soon left his family in order to move in with his new homosexual lover. In the  summer of 1988 they were joined in a "ceremony" because Robinson said he always wanted to be a "June bride".

 

In response to all the outcry and hate over Rick Warren giving the Inaugural prayer, President Elect Barak Hussein Obama, has also asked Robinson to offer a prayer sometime during the ceremony. Robinson said it was a 'slap in the face" the have Warren on the stage because warren stands by a Biblical definition of marriage as being a union of one man and one woman, but he finally agreed to give a general prayer.

 

According to the Washington Post, Rick Warren issued a statement on the addition of Robinson, saying that Obama "has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground. I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen."   Now I though Warren was a fool for accepting such an obviously pragmatic invitation in the first place. This just confirms it and nails down the lid on the coffin.

 

Douglas Wilson had this response on his blog:

" I know what Warren thinks he is doing. He thinks he is showing up Robinson's small-mindedness, and demonstrating how genuine tolerance is supposed to work. "We evangelicals are more broadminded than you homo-activists are." And that is ironically correct -- homosexual activists usually do have a better grasp of the antithesis than the evangelicals do, and they usually fight with a clearer vision of what things are incompatible. Think of it as epistemological interior decorating -- a worldview version of queer eye for the straight guy. "No, no, no, no. Those don't go together!"

So what Warren is actually doing is giving away the store. Why search for common ground when there isn't any? The issue is not whether Obama needs to be the president of every citizen. Of course he does. That would be true if we ever had a godly and wise president. He would also have to the president of every citizen too, including the homosexuals. But that is not the issue. The issue is whether it is right for evangelicals to approve of the president-elect's actions as he solicits the high profile support of the Bishop of Sodom in order to give his administration a secular and relativistic legitimacy. The fact that Obama is making a play to include the evangelicals in this toxic mix only makes the relativism more potent, not less. As I have noted before, we are getting our place at the table, but why should we want it? What's for dinner? Who's the cook? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a place at the table too -- and they refused it. And they were given a much greater authority within Babylon precisely because they refused the approved Babylonian way of getting there (Dan. 2:49).

Remember when Mother Theresa did the prayer breakfast during Clinton's first term? She turned the mood sour when she said, "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me?" And the Clintons just had to sit there and take it because she was Mother Theresa. It was great.

If only Warren had half the guts of that little old lady, the Inauguration would truly be a ball."

An unsafe God

I think many Christians live such comfortable lives, that the idea of dependence on God is reduced to sentiment. American's are proud of our self-determination.  We demand freedom to choose and then hope that God will bless, or at least understand, our choices.  And, oh...there are so many choices!  Any "risk" we take is a calculated one, from the massive debt we apply for to the wedding contracts we sign. We know there is always a perfectly legal escape clause, a Plan B, a government bailout, or a good lawyer out there somewhere. 

 

Funny thing is, God still calls His people to radical acts of faith that solidify mere sentiment.  They are still counterculture, unpopular, and 'foolishness" in the eyes of the world. But the church no longer wants to be set apart by them. We'd rather be considered smart. We'd rather be liked. We'd rather not risk embarrassing ourselves or the Name.

 

I pondered this as I held what most women hold as their "safety net", my birth control. Men don't understand. It's not their lives, their health, their beauty, their hearts, and their future seemingly at risk. We've been carefully taught through three generations to both fear pregnancy and consider fertility a burden, but also to have one or two children "when we are ready."  Any educated, Christian woman knows that God requires her to decide for herself... when and how many. 

 

It's so automatic that few even stop to ask,  "Does the Author of Life have this well in hand, or is it up to me to alter nature and create month by month barreness for what I've been told is my own good?"  Instead, we clasp hands in a sisterhood of solidarity and say,  "No intelligent woman leave something so critical up to God."

 

 End of discussion.

 

I knew the mantra well. But I also had my Bible in front of me causing me to reflect on how love=life.  I began to wonder if marriage was truly "one flesh" if it is closed to life?  When a marriage is willfully closed to new life, does it appropriately reflect the relationship between Christ and His church?  How many souls am I willing to train for heaven? Did God know what he was doing when He put all these eggs inside my body and set a steady timer..even before I was born?  Would I be willing to bet my life on it?  

 

It's a not really an inner debate about birth control. It's a matter of me knowing...really knowing if God is safe or not. Can He be trusted? That's what it boils down to. 

 

Practical issues like this...uncomfortable, intensely personal issues.... get to the crux of faith if we dare go there. Each of us must choose for ourselves if God is good or not. How we answer that question will lead us down the road to regret or the road to freedom.

 

Somehow, the safest looking road is often the wrong way.

 

“Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

 

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

 

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

 

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

 

 (p. 86, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe")

Advent meditation

George Herbert (1593-1633)

All after pleasures as I rid one day,
My horse and I, both tir’d, body and mind,
With full cry of affections, quite astray;
I took up in the next inn I could find.

There when I came, whom found I but my dear,
My dearest Lord, expecting till the grief
Of pleasures brought me to him, ready there
To be all passengers’ most sweet relief?

 

Oh Thou, whose glorious, yet contracted light,
Wrapt in night’s mantle, stole into a manger;
Since my dark soul and brutish is thy right,
To Man of all beasts be not thou a stranger:

Furnish and deck my soul, that thou mayst have
A better lodging, than a rack, or grave.

"Do not give up meeting together..."

"Do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing...." This verse from Hebrews 10 was taught to me long ago as an exhortation to keep going to church, even when you didn't feel like it. Many young believers find getting up for church on Sunday to be a tough habit to form. Staying up late on Saturday night was typical, so was sleeping in on Sunday morning. But if you were a football fan and the Seahawks were playing at 10:00, you could find a way to schlump over to the couch in your pajamas and eat a bowl of cereal while you cheered them on.

 It gets even harder when you're older, work at your job all week, and have a houseful of kids to feed and dress before you can sit in a pew and worship. If you're a nursing mother, it may be two or three years before you can sit through an entire service without having to leave and feed and diaper somewhere discreet. In my case, it's multiplied five times. That's eight years of making the effort to go to church, without the expectation of being able to participate in corporate prayer, study, and worship. Mind you, that's not a complaint, just an observation. Ministering to the needs of a new soul is, in no way, a burden...but rather a wonderful blessing. It's easy to worship God when you have a little miracle on your lap, staring up at you with wonder and awe and love.

I think I've learned the lesson to go to church when it's inconvenient, and to keep going when I don't get what I want. Motherhood has helped to peel away those selfish layers which insist on being recognized and appreciated for my "talents" and my "gifts". I'm content to lead but would rather be obscure...knowing through experience that once you lead in the church, pride is a constant and subtle companion, especially to daughters of Eve.

Further, I've found that leading in the church almost always involves confrontation. I'm beginning to understand why St. Paul, in his godly wisdom, did not allow a woman to teach or have Spiritual authority over a man. It's not that women can't think as well as men, or that women aren't as spiritual as men. But true Biblical teaching in the church involves authority in confronting false understanding. This is, essentially, the model that Jesus set. He boldly confronted sin and false understanding as he taught. Therefore, as Paul argued by God's good design, a combative and authoritative role is the role of men, and not women. That the American church has largely abandoned confronting sin and error in favor of feel good sermons and entertainment, is evidence of how far marketing principles have gone to replace Biblical principles.

Some friends, disappointed by the church, have given up on the whole corporate thing. They meet in homes whenever it's convenient, much like a dinner group or cocktail party. Others have gotten a little more organized all call themselves the "Emergent church". They despise orthodoxy as a false construct and embrace their own ideas of community, of beauty, and of "being" the church. They focus on the good works they do, rather than what God has ordained through history and his Word in a careful and deliberate approach to sin, sacrifice, atonement, and redemption. Rather than contending for the Truth, they are demanding the right to elevate their own experiences and understanding above those of the Apostles.

I'm struggling with my own limited understanding and tainted motives in church. I've seen too many leaders walking in sin and the discouragement is a weight I just can't seem to shake. In the past 20 years, in five different churches, I've seen adultery, homosexuality, fornication, and pornography in the leadership. Though none of us are perfect, I don't think it's too much to ask for the shepherds of Christ's church to have developed simple self control and the willingness to flee from sexual immorality. St. Paul and St. Peter had to endure beatings and imprisonment. William Tyndale was burned at the stake. But the church today can't seem to produce Pastors who obey Scripture let alone defend it. Because of this, I can't encourage my sons to trust their Pastors, Sunday School teachers, or worship leaders. Too many are charming experts at talking the talk without walking the walk.

It's no cooincidence then, that the verse from Hebrews that says to "not give up meeting together" is directly followed by this harsh reality."If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"and again, "The Lord will judge his people."It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

How do we, as parents, teach our children the discipline of going to church when we can't find a Holy place where they are safe, where their leaders have been purified by Christ, and where such orthodox doctrines of the faith are actually taught and heeded?

 

mild he lays His glories by

 

I'm one of those people who is irritated when stores have all their Christmas decorations up before we even say "hello" to Halloween.  First there are the big, September, "back-to-school" bonanzas, complete with aisles overflowing with school supplies and the newest fashions. Then there is a short and violent burst of Halloween candy and costumes before the long and sparkling haul of the "holiday season".  I normally hate it when they skip Thanksgiving, but not today.

 

I've been truly sick with this whole election. Sick to my stomach, aching head, hard time sleeping.

It's shocking to see so many of my neighbors in Washington passionately embrace death as a solution through abortion on demand and assisted suicide.  It's been awful to see so many thronging around a Freshman Senator from Chicago and worhip him, adore him, laud him, and cry at his feet. I've seen Democrats on Facebook saying that "hope itself" has been born anew in their hearts because Obama has won the White House.  It's as if he is a giant, blank screen on which people project their own dreams and then finally feel alright with the world. He will save them and the whole world will lay gifts at his feet.

 

When I wandered through Wallmart with my shopping cart last night, I saw shelves being emptied of leftover jack-o-lanterns and bags of monster flavored choclate.  But in the back, where the garden department usually resides, there were lights and trees and music playing. The employees had already completely set up and stocked "Christmas-land" and I found myself forgetting all about my shopping list. As I stood there surrounded by the artificial, but none-the-less beautiful, array of red and green and tinsel, I heard music being turned up. It was a carol..."Hark the Herald Angels Sing" sung by a full choir. I stood there with my chin quivering while I quietly sang along, reminded of the One in whom I have placed all of my hope.  Not in a poltical demagogue, but in a humble prince whose promises never fail...and who will return one day to claim His own.

 

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"