Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
I played with matches
Yep, when I was a kid I wasn’t “Smokey’s Friend” – I played with matches. Never did we burn down a forest nor even a house or anything we shouldn’t. But we played with matches. And gun powder, fireworks, power tools, firearms, airguns, slingshots, bicycles, machetes, axes, lead based paint – etc.
And yet, we grew up. All our appendages were intact (in spite of that one incident where we re-enacted a knife fight from a Louis L’Amour novel and someone got their fingers cut) and our hearing wasn’t too badly damaged (I’m only deaf in one ear but can still sometimes hear out of the other – don’t tell my wife) and the only damage to our eye sight was genetic. We rode bicycles without helmets. We played soccer without pads. We played volleyball in the street. We paddled canoes without lifejackets. We climbed trees and chopped them down. OK – THEY climbed the tree and I chopped it down). Skinnydipping, fishing, bee hunting, wasp nest capturing, campfire building, lead smelting, gun building – all these and more were part of our lives. And we lived and grew up and became reasonably stable, sane, productive citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
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Life will kill you
The thoughts below were provoked by an accident in farming country. A well meaning friend responded to news of the accident in a “I’d NEVER let MY kid do that” way. He was raised in San Francisco, far from rural America. And has absorbed much of the overprotection culture inherent in that bed of socialistic “We’ll save you from life” society. Read the rest of this entry »
The Shop
The shop. It sat out back of the house. At first, in our case, it was an old wooden shed that my dad had built for storing our household goods while we were out of the country – back up north on “home service” or “furlough”. When we returned and then built our place the shed first provided living quarters for one of the workers who was helping dig the well and then other such labor. Then when we moved in it was where the generator that provided our electricity and water pumping capabilities was kept. It was full of tools and miscellaneous scrap wood and metal and old bolts and nuts and “junk” that gave us many hours of entertaining occupation as we fabricated one thing or another. Later it was replaced by a brick and mortar building that had proper wiring and a concrete floor that was easier to find things on than the old wooden boards that would let stuff drop through to the dirt below. Read the rest of this entry »
The Giving Of Thanks
Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. Psalm 118:19-21
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:29
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Yes, we are once more at that time of year in which families will travel many miles to gather together to eat large meals and then sit stupefied before the “one eyed monster” hoping their alka-seltzer will kick in soon. Somehow the focus on the giving of thanks has gotten lost in the idea of “turkey day”, “t-day” and televised parades.
And yet, the idea of taking time to give thanks to the Divine Being has been a part of our history from the beginning. George Washington declared a day of thanks and so have many others over the past couple centuries. And it is fitting indeed that we set aside time to give thanks for the myriad blessings we have received. Yet I wonder, will folks remember the blessings received even in the face of the many trials of the year past? Will people remember to give thanks or will we as a people focus only on troubles and supposed perils before us?
As we come to this special day, the fourth Thursday of November, let us not focus only on the food and family traditions – let us focus on He Who gave Himself up for us so that we can stand before the Father in holiness and humility. Let us give thanks to our God and Redeemer for He has indeed blessed us with many blessings in the midst of troubles and trials. May His Name be praised for ever!
A Tale Of Two “Holidays”
Yesterday was “Hallowed Evening”, popularly known as “Halloween”. The celebration of this pagan holiday has gotten pretty big down here in Colombia. Last night as I went to pick up my wife from work I was faced with teeming throngs of “trick or treaters” moving through the downtown section. Along with the little kids dressed up as a spiderman or a princess and other such “cute costumes” there were also great numbers of teenagers and adults of varying ages dressed up as everything from “Playboy Bunnies” (better known as shameless hussies) to “cats” (I’m guessing here, a black nose with whiskers painted radially around it with pointy ears on top and often a long tail seemed to be an attempt to be a “cat” and was a very popular costume this year to judge from the sampling on the street) Anyway, I was having “fun” dodging around and trying not to run over any of the revelers, not even the stoned out ones that begged for a trip to the hospital by their imprudent chemically induced behavior. And we managed to make it through with no mishaps and only a slight elevation of the blood pressure. 
I’ve long wondered why Christians would celebrate this “holiday”. The themes that prevail are dark, sinister and devoted to death, corruption and decay. Look at the “monster” masks, the one that glorify deformity and decay. What about the skeletons, those that celebrate death. And then there’s the “cute little witches” – what’s cute about the occult? Yes, I’m a “kill joy” – when it comes to getting joy from joining in with the camp of the enemy. Why should the sons of light pretend to be sons of darkness – even for one night?
You see, I serve a RISEN Savior. He did NOT undergo corruption and decay. He rose on the third day and lives today preparing a place for those who also turn from death, corruption and destruction to walk in a new life with Him. He came to defeat death. He came to bring LIGHT. He is calling us to also pass from death to life and to walk in the light even as He walks in the light. So why would we want to celebrate death, corruption, decay and darkness? This is something I do not understand.
And then comes another “holiday”. “Christ’s Mass” – popularly known as “Chrismas” – is a celebration of the coming of the Christ to bring new life and hope to those who walked in darkness. Yes, we KNOW He was not really born on December 25 but we DO celebrate the birth of a Child Who came to give His life for us so that we can walk in God’s light. And since we do not know what day He was born, December 25 works as well as any other date. I’ve no problem with that, just as I have no problem celebrating my wife’s birthday on October 30. As an adopted child she has no idea what day or hour she came into this world. A judge said “Let’s call it October 30″ and they did. So now each year we celebrate her birthday on October 30 – even though the real day could conceivably be much earlier or even later in the year. What matters is that she WAS born and this celebration is a celebration of her coming into this world – and I especially celebrate because the Lord brought her into this world to serve as my life partner, no matter what day she was born.
Now that the darkness and corruption of Halloween are behind us, let us turn our hearts and minds to the coming popular festival of Christmas. Let us prepare ourselves to put Christ back into the celebration. Why use some fat guy dressed in red as a symbol of the Savior’s coming? Why use a tree covered with baubles and lights? Let’s let folks know the REAL “Reason For The Season” this year. Let’s make sure folks KNOW that we’re celebrating the fact that Jesus the Christ came to earth as a baby and that He grew into a Man who was MORE than a man, ultimately giving His life as a ransom for many. The manger or the empty cross can equally symbolize the coming of the Christ. Yes, He came as a baby – but He came on a mission. He came to live and die and rise again to proclaim His authority and power and ability to help us too overcome the death and corruption brought into this world by the evil one.
In a way we too celebrate death. We celebrate that the “baby of Bethlehem” came to die for us, allowing us to escape the trap of the devil and to walk in the Light of our Creator. Now as we head towards “Thanksgiving” and then on to “Christmas” let us take time to encourage each other to truly walk as children of the Light. We have much to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the opportunity to live as Christ would live in our place. We are not perfect, but we know He Who can help us to throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. We know that He can help us to live according to His will, in spite of our weakness and frailty. He is glorified through our weakness because He uses us for His glory, first by changing our pitiful lives and then by using us to help change others.
Remember during the upcoming holiday season that Christ is not necessarily glorified through the gifts we give, not that giving gifts is wrong. He is not necessarily glorified through the variety and quantity of fine food on our tables, not that preparing feasts and enjoying them with friends and family are wrong. He is not glorified through the parties and the holiday “rush and bustle” as we try to make it to this party or to find that gift. During the upcoming “holiday season” He is glorified when we put off the old man we once were and as we live in the new life to which He has called us. So, let’s not conform ourselves to the image of the worldly season of greed and emptiness, let us be transformed by renewing our minds so that we can live as Christ would live in our place. Let His light shine through us so that those who see us will glorify our Father above.
As the Apostle wrote:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1-17
Burka Loca
Well, it’s been almost a week since she came into our lives. We’d talked about picking up a pup and checked our local pound. They had few younger dogs to choose from, and of those only two that looked like what we wanted, small non poodle type pups. Well, I picked one out and made arrangements for her to be spayed and then I’d pick her up. When we came by on the appointed day, she’d contracted the parvo virus and didn’t survive. And nothing else in the pound caught our eye. So we went to the neighboring city pound and there we found much better conditions for the animals as well as a way to check them out better, we could actually interact with them in an open yard. There was one little black pup that caught my eye, but she was more than shy, she seemed terrified of people. They had three month old or so pups that looked about ready to burst from their overstuffed tummies, but they had a lot of poodle in them (apparently) and I didn’t want one THAT young either. There was a three legged bitch that kept following me around, but she was much older than we’d thought and I wasn’t sure about my ability to adjust to the needs of a three legged animal. And there was an ugly mutt with a severe undershot jaw and a hairdo that looked like something out of the movie “Gremlins”. But the one that really stood out was a small black and tan bitch about three to four months old that while not overly friendly wasn’t extremely shy either. And when I saw her brighten up at the sight of the folks who cared for her, well that clinched the deal. So we asked for more info and they said she’d shown up with one eye hanging out, apparently abandoned on the street and who knows WHAT happened. But they got her eye back in and she’d healed up well. So we signed on the dotted line and brought her home, with a commitment to take her back for her shots and spaying once she’d overcome the swelling still found around her eye. No permanent damage apparent there, but she also has a hernia. Poor thing, she’s had a rough life, but you can’t tell it now! She does well in the backyard on her own when we’re out, no whining or fussing at all. And when we’re in the house and let her in, she’s right behind us, nipping our heels and letting us know she loves attention. She’s no longer the shy little scrawny pup we picked up just five days ago, she’s really blossomed out and is already gaining weight. Our main worry is that she’ll not be as small as we’d thought, if she keeps growing like this she may outgrow her crate! Anyway, enough for words. I’ll toss in a couple thousand words’ worth below…
It’s been a while…
The last month has been quite busy and I’ve simply not taken the time to post anything. We’ve had plenty of guests and other activities to keep us busy. I did manage a trip to the range when a family stopped in with us for the week. When the lady found out I pack a pistol she almost had a conniption fit. “Aren’t you SCARED? That’s SO DANGEROUS!!!” After some discussion and explanation I finally convinced her to come up to the gun club with us. So we packed up the van and both families and headed up to the range. It was a great day, we had the place to ourselves. I broke out the Crosman 1377 and the East German scoped kids’ air rifle. One thing at a time, starting with a lecture on safety and proper gun handling. Well, things went well. The oldest girl hit well right off with the Crosman. I was impressed. We were shooting up close with only a couple pumps or so and she was hitting the quarter sized bullseye fairly frequently. The son didn’t do that well. The younger daughter did OK and we even got both dad and mom to shoot. Dad had spent some time in the army and did OK. Mom finally got over her nerves and gave it a try.
Then we moved on to the rifle. The stock’s been cut off for kids which makes proper stock weld and such nearly impossible for an adult, but we still had fun. They did better with the scope than with the open sights. Everyone got a chance to try off hand, sitting braced against a stump and prone. The mom only shot off hand and the dad shot offhand and prone.
Then I broke out the PPPPPP. That’s the one that started the whole exercise when the mom found out about it. Ammo’s scarce and expensive but I gave everyone who wanted to try a chance to fire two rounds. Two rounds of 38 spl may not seem like much, but down here it’s a big deal. Again, the older girl shot well. Even with the lousy sights she managed a fairly tight group (can you call two rounds “a group”?) near the center of the target. The younger girl managed to group both her shots just a half inch or two apart – on the top edge of the target paper. I’m not sure what she was using for a sight picture but at least she was consistent! The son again showed less aptitude with the short gun. I don’t recall that the father shot the 38, but the mother did. It took some talking and teasing but she finally consented. One round and I couldn’t see where she hit (I’m guessing she under shot the target). She was “happy” with her shot, she’d shot a “real gun” and that was plenty. But some more joking around and she finally tried the second shot – and nailed the target near the center that time.
I don’t think I made shooters out of the family, but I know I DID give them a different perspective on firearms. And the older girl had a REAL blast – posting pictures of herself shooting the Crosman on her facebook profile upon her return home. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of patience and careful instruction to turn a hostile audience into a more accepting one. Later that afternoon we went up to some thermal springs with them. There they ran into some folks they knew from “back home”. And the formerly hostile to firearms mom told her friends about her trip to the range and “he was very insistent on safety and we had a good time.”
Also this year I’ve started messing around with airguns more. The ‘net is full of modifications for the old Crosman 1377. It was an eye opener to me when I started seeing all the things folks are doing with them. My concern was to find a good rear sight to replace the cheesy plastic hunk of junk that comes on them from the factory. WOW! They offer steel breeches, modified valves, metallic pistons, fancy grips, rifle stocks (tubular, skeleton, thumb hole, ambidextrous, you name it), muzzle brakes, barrel bands, extended probe bolts and who knows what all else. It would be easy to drop several hundred dollars to “trick out” the old Crosman. Well, I ain’t got that kind of money so I won’t be doing it, but perhaps I can pick up a couple of parts while up north and make the Crosman a bit more user friendly.
Also, I got out the old Daisy 120 rifle that’s been quietly rusting in the closet. One of the kids lost the rear action screw years ago and also the rear sight disintegrated. Plastic is NOT a good choice for making certain parts of firearms (or ANY parts for the most part). Rummaging around in the parts bins I found a nut and bolt that would work and the action is now once more fixed in the stock. The chinese “Dremel” came out with a cut off wheel and the screw stud for the rear sight came right off. Then an old Daisy 880 I picked up for parts at a (rare) Colombian yard sale got stripped down. The pumping mechanism is mostly absent. The barrel is a rifled brass tube held inside the sheet metal barrel shroud via the front sight and a clamp on power plant. Hmmm…. I wonder if I could set that up to free float with a metal breech on the Crosman? Time will tell… in the meantime I pulled the rear sight off and measured it up against the 120. Two wide to fit in the groove. Out comes the chinese “Dremel” again with the cutoff wheel. The sight gets stuck in the little vise I finally picked up and work commences… after grooving one side and starting on the other the battery ran down. 
Out comes the hacksaw – it hangs up on the tough steel and narrow kerf from the “Dremel” After some maneuvering around the little ears finally got removed and the edges filed down smooth. Thank God for access to a vise to hold it still for filing. The old 880 sight is now almost affixed to the 120 via a cannibalized screw from the 880. It’s not quite right but shows some promise – now to find a screw that will work, or I’ll just have to tap the hole out to a larger size – if I can find a larger sized screw.
Well, I’ve rambled enough for today. I’d better get busy and get some things done ’round the office and house. I put out some notices that I’m looking for Crosman “parts guns” on a couple of forums. It’d be cool if I could find a couple to play with and bring back with me next month. I’m officially intrigued with the whole Crosman 22XX and 13XX series of pistols.
The giving of thanks…
“Thank you!” – such simple words, and yet so often omitted from our daily life. Humans seem to be ungrateful by nature. Look at the example of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus. Only one returned to say “Thank you!” – even though their lives had been changed incalculably.
Well, today marks the official day of thanks in the United States of America. On this day millions of people will gather with family and friends to eat a hearty meal, watch football and spend time together. And a few of them will even take time to remember WHY this day was set aside. Some will take the time to not only be “thankful” but to remember to Whom they should be thankful and WHY they should be thankful.
Unfortunately, many have sought to undermine our nation’s heritage. Some have built up myths around our heritage – and that’s as bad as the former. And yet, there is much to be grateful and thankful for in our heritage. Our nation was indeed founded by men who believed in our God and Creator. This is particularly shown by the first declaration of a day of thanks as proclaimed by the Continental Congress in 1877.
Thanksgiving Proclamation 1777 by the Continental Congress:
IN CONGRESS
November 1, 1777
FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth “in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.
Oh that our leaders and our nation would turn back to He Who gave us our freedom. Oh that on this day – and always – we would remember to give thanks to Him for the great mercies and blessings He has heaped on us.
The Seven Mountains Of Culture
The following is an excerpt from a newsletter I receive from Herb Pinney in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The following is very thought provoking. How can we as Christians have a positive impact on our world? By being salt and light and yeast – not being clumped up but by being spread out through society. It’s past time for a change in the way we think. I didn’t realize that brother Pinney had this type of vision. It’s similar to what we’re trying to do here in Pereira – reach into the heart of society to effect positive change on many levels. He expresses things very well, especially the need to have a positive impact on all levels of society.
Three decades ago two luminaries of the Christian world got a flash of brilliance from God. Go to the youth of the nation, no matter how they want to earn their living, and capture their hearts and vision of a future with and for Jesus Christ. Two decades before that, I had decided to give up on being the geologist on the moon rocket, and to start shooting higher than the moon for my life’s work. In making that decision to go back to college and prepare to be a workplace minister, working with new and troubled churches, I would be earning the majority of my income in the market place. My deep conviction is that if Christianity does not work in the market place, it does not work at all. I have spent my life in unknown places, making the gospel known as I worked in the business world in Europe and the United States. It has prepared me for what God has in store for me, Agape Christian, and Morning Glory over the next twenty years.
The two shakers and makers that God sent a glimpse to, were Loren Cunningham of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and Bill Bright with Campus Crusade for Christ. The impact of these two men with short term mission’s trips, campus work and the media with the Jesus Film that has now been shown to over 5 billion people, is monumental. The Jesus film has been translated into more languages than any other film and after the Passion of The Christ was shown in Arab countries, the film was in such demand that a million new copies had to be printed in various Arab and 10/40 languages. It was advertised as “the rest of the story.”
The glimpses that these men grasped were that if Christianity were to make an impact in the 20th and 21st century in the whole world, they would have to impact:
- BUSINESS
- GOVERNMENT
- FAMILY
- RELIGION
- MEDIA
- EDUCATION
- ART/ENTERTAINMENT.
Our Bible colleges, and seminaries have had some little impact on main street America. A strong impact in the third world. With the advent of mega churches doing so well in the Christian Churches and leading evangelical groups, still 80plus% of churches in the United States are at a plateau or declining. We are losing our teens that go to secular colleges at a rate of well above 90%. (Christianity Today and World Magazine have both reported that even the Campus Crusade for Christ, YWAM, and many campus ministries from coast to coast are predominantly Oriental, Latino. Anglos are a disappearing breed in Christian organization on campus. The other side of that story are Christian Church Campus houses in secular colleges that are reaching all flavors of the young). Across the nation, Bible College graduates with a ministerial degree are dropping out of the ministry at an alarming rate. I am a friend of our Bible Colleges, I have served on the Trustees of two different Bible Colleges over the years, and count a number of Bible College Presidents as good friends. My children that went to college, went first to Bible College. What I am about to write is nothing I did not say, while in board meetings, and in private conversations with leaders in the Bible college movement. We are missing the boat by not cross training our students so that they are most desirable to industry as well as ministry. I was constantly chided at Ozark Christian College in the 1950s, that “only those that could not get along with a church board and congregation became ‘tent maker’ or ‘market place ministers.’ I was at the top of my class, I would be wasting my time with small churches and the business world.” What I am saying, our Bible Colleges and those of a dozen other Bible believing denominations, have done fairly well with religion, but they have, in most cases ignored the other six areas of impact on culture. In the past decade, Walden Media has worked at taking Christianity in the arts and entertainment. Christian radio and TV are providing media for the choir (most of it non-biblical in my opinion.), Focus on the Family has worked at elevating the family back toward where God would like it to be. We really are, across the board, afraid of business, government, and education. To be bluntly honest, and even preachers ought to be honest once in a while, never before in U.S. history has Christianity had less influence on American culture than it does today. I do not believe that I need to illustrate or prove that point, if you read the news or watch “teleconfusion,” you know what I mean. I just want to make this caveat, there has been a good beginning in the right direction with Pacific Christian College in Fullerton. California, that has elevated to Hope International University, Cincinnati, and Kentucky and other having crossed that line, or others getting their ducks in a row, to cross the University line to have Christian Education for all seven areas of cultural responsibility, we are moving the right direction. But you still read and hear resistance from the old-line Bible colleges that think the only way to preach or witness is from behind a pulpit in a tie and suit.
Dr. Lance Wallnau is an expert in the elevation of Christianity to reach all seven peaks of culture. Let me list them again for you, they are critical: Business, government, family, religion, media, education, arts/entertainment. Dr. Lance writes, “That 3 to 5% of educated people control the national and workplace, agenda for ours or any country. In some third world countries it is even a smaller percent. These people dominate culture and set the direction for everyone else.” It is our goal at Morning Glory to provide Guatemala with a good number of that 3%.
Maybe one out of thousands will rise to this level from the ranks of religion. Once in a great while you have a Billy Graham that is respected but basically ignored by culture. A Mother Teresa that looked President Bill Clinton in the eye and called his attention to abortion, hunger, and illnesses world wide, he smiled and went on to shake the next hand. What you really have are hundreds from the business world that get quoted and followed in Time, News Week, and the like. You have thousands from the education world that are speaking out and being listened to. Nearly the whole country bowed at “the alter” of embryonic stem cell research at the words of Michael Fox and “Superman” Reeves. And then we could mention the influence in Washington D.C. at the words of Nancy Reagan and dancer son about how important to “science” this all is. No evidence, no facts, just emotion from media stars. The battle for Christian apologetics and our world view is no longer being led by us ministers, even the ones of us with a scientific education, it is a battle between highly educated scientists. And other highly educated scientists over the scientific autopsy report on what happened at creation and beyond, it is called Intelligent Design today. (After our 10PM supper last night Melba and I previewed the DVD “The Privileged Planet” by Dr. Gonzalez, astronomer with U. of Iowa. He was denied tenure because of his magnificent proof by our planet’s position and direction by Intelligent Design.) And the educational world is frightened to near death over I.D. They can’t refute it, they must ban it at once, at all cost, before anyone gets to hear the Conner’s report in the trial for public opinion. What I am writing is this, if we Christians want to make an impact on the next 93 years of the 21st century, we need to impact the seven mountains of culture, all seven of them.
Dr. Lance Wallnau went on, “That industry is not necessarily looking for Christian employees. They are looking for highly trained men and women that example Christian qualities in their lives. You know, “no drinking alcohol to excess (a Herb note, if you don’t take the first drink, you will never need to be picked up drunk off the floor. I ran for 45 years with the alcoholic auto world, I never once lost an advantage because of drinking bottled water or Sprite. In fact, a couple hours into the evening, I had all the advantages on my table), non drug users, solid family men and women that are not going to embarrass the company with scandal about sexual relationships that hit the news. Men and women that have been taught the work ethic of honesty, dependability, and who paid attention in class, learned the lessons and were not passed because of pressure from parents, or alumni.” Sounds to me like the average graduate from our Bible colleges and Christian Universities. If they are being properly educated, they can slip right into one or two of the seven mountains of culture and we will have a toe hold on a strong move upward. They can have a world wide impact for Christ. Dr. Lance is a very highly paid advisor to mega churches, multi-million-dollar para-church organizations, governments, business and Fortune 500 companies. He knows that for which they are looking.
Reflections on Fathers’ Day
June 15, 1993 That’s a day that lives in my memory. It’s the day my earthly father passed into the presence of his Creator. 14 years later and I still miss him. He was not a perfect man, but he left me a heritage – a desire to know and live by God’s Word. I’ve done my best to imitate what was good in my father and to improve on that which was less desirable. My prayer is that my own sons will learn to do the same – imitate what I’ve done right and do better than I did where I stumbled.
Here’s a couple of items for Father’s day.
The Evangelical Outpost has a good post on “Family Facts – Fathers’ Day Edition” They also posted the following video there, I’m embedding it here as well. Very thought provoking and well done. “Children see. Children do.” What are you projecting for your children to see?