Setting Up Kings Without God’s Consent
They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. Hosea 8:4,12
As I was reading through Hosea recently, I came upon the verses above. To say that they gave me food for thought is an understatement indeed. The traditional way of thinking in our nation is that if we have a governor, president, congressman, senator or other public figure that it’s “God’s fault”. After all, He is the One Who sets up kings and rulers, is He not? Interestingly enough, at the time the words above were written, kings normally received their kingship by inheritance – there was little chance for public opinion to be expressed under normal circumstances. And yet, although there was no “democratic process” such as we enjoy in modern times, they DID choose men to rule over them – and men who were not according to God’s plan or design. Today we are ruled by a constitution. Within that constitution the means of selecting rulers is spelled out clearly and the responsibility and power of government is both spelled out and limited. How much more responsible are we today for the rulers we choose than those who lived thousands of years ago! Read the rest of this entry »
Judged by our words!
Jesus said, “For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). Swearing and bad language have become extremely pervasive among all ages of people today. Young people in our public schools, of both genders, take the name of God in vain in their ordinary conversations. When their attention is called to it they do not even understand what they have done. They simply dismiss any attempted explanation and continue doing it. They are doing what they hear adults doing in their homes and almost everywhere else. Read the rest of this entry »
Observations Of Self While Preaching Through The Gospels
Of all the sins that beset mankind, hubris is the hardest to self detect. It is one of the logs that blots out our vision and does not allow us to effectively restore site to those blinded by specks in their own eyes because of the way it pokes and jabs at the one we are attempting to help.
Recently (over the past three months or so) I’ve been preaching through the Gospels. Not in a systematic way, much less chronological. Rather I am browsing around, sampling here, cogitating there, looking at the teachings of Yeshua, the Anointed One – the Holy Son of God Almighty. He came down and lived amongst men, humbling Himself to the point of arriving as a squalling newborn in a smelly stable, laid down to sleep in a feed trough by his young mother. Indeed, as if that ignominy were not enough, his mother bore the shadow of scandal on her young shoulders and in the months preceding His birth many murmured about her growing belly and scoffed at her unlikely story of having been visited by an angel of the Almighty. The first to hear of His coming were a band of lowly shepherds who were watching over their flocks in the nearby hills. They trooped into town to see the sight that had been announced to them and witnessed the veracity of the angelic messenger’s words. But who would take the word of a bunch of ignorant men from the hills? Read the rest of this entry »
The Center Of God’s Grace
“The Center Of God’s Grace” – thus reads the “location” description for my profile on an internet forum I infest. It was chosen because that is where I strive to live. Right smack dab in the middle of His will for my life. Unfortunately at times I stray for a bit, but as soon as I realize it back to home I run.
It has been stated that “the center of God’s will is the safest place to be.” and I wholeheartedly agree with this statement – with a couple of observations. “Safe” is a relative term. And the context of this statement indicates that if we are in the center of God’s will we will be safe – but His will is different from our own and His perspective is VASTLY different from our own. To many, “safe” implies good health, comfortable housing, plenty to eat and the ability to wander around to one’s heart’s content free from concerns of physical harm befalling one’s self. This view, however, is different from God’s view.
The IZH Baikal 46M
This year a friend gave me an IZH Baikal 46M target pistol. It is a 4.5mm (.177 caliber) Russian built pistol. It’s made of blue steel and wood – the way God intended pistols to be made. 
And I am tickled pink with it – now. At first I was a bit underwhelmed. Accuracy, even from a rest, left a lot to be desired. It’s designed for 10 meter competition and I was unable to get decent groups at that range. Well, I’ve never been one to worry about design limits in my pellet guns. The Gamo CFX had the scope rail removed, the front sight base replaced, the rear sight removed and a Mendoza rear sight fitted to it. A pin sight was fitted to the new aluminum block front sight base and a Charlie Da Tuna trigger replaced the stamped steel factory one. And then it got pressed into service for a 50 meter rifle. So it was natural for me to want to press the 46M into service at 25 meters – but it wouldn’t group right at 10.
Revival
Revival. We hear the word a lot in the religious world. We are told over and over again that we need “revival”. Now I tend to be a bit contrary in my way of thinking. I’m slow to jump on the bandwagon and I tend to prefer to have my OWN bandwagon (preferably without drums unless they are accompanied by bagpipes) than to join in on one that’s headed the wrong direction or is badly out of tune. So here’s my thoughts (at least some of them) on the topic of revival.
First, I took a look at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary. It’s a great resource and one I find myself turning to again and again. I just wish I had a copy of one of the old Noah Webster dictionaries printed back in the 19th century as they were not yet full of so much politically correct garbage – but I digress. 
Have you been washed?
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7
The apostle Paul wrote the words above to Titus – one christian to another. As we examine these verses we see an assumption that a christian will change from what he once was to something new. He wrote, “At one time we were” – then goes on to speak of new birth, a new beginning, a new way of living. Why then do so many of us struggle with attitudes and actions that are appropriate to the old way of living? This struggle is nothing new.
Some thoughts on marriage
This afternoon I was going through my e-mail and came upon the following quote:
“The most important consequence of marriage is, that the husband and the wife become in law only one person… Upon this principle of union, almost all the other legal consequences of marriage depend. This principle, sublime and refined, deserves to be viewed and examined on every side.” –James Wilson, Of the Natural Rights of Individuals, 1792
This got my cogitation gears to turning and soon I flipped (clicked) to Genesis.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, ‘ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Some Thoughts On Pornography
Pornography, porn, dirty pictures, “art”, nasty movies, “eroticism”, freedom of expression… what is it all about? What is, after all, this thing called “pornography”?
The word “pornography” is derived from the greek language. The etymology is as follows:
- Greek pornographos, adjective, writing about prostitutes, from porné - prostitute + graphein – to write
But, what does that mean for us today? And why am I writing about this topic? Today the term “pornography” relates not just to “writing about prostitutes” but also to pictures and videos of women who’ve no more morals than a prostitute. And this “industry” is having a negative influence on our society. Read the rest of this entry »
It takes more than big dreams
A lot of folks want to dream big dreams of doing big things for God. But then they don’t want to allow Him to take care of the little things in their lives. Especially in the area of surrendering to Him every aspect of their existence and allowing Him to mold their minds according to His Will.