The Fairness Doctrine (FD), so called, is being run through the congress... again. I think Nancy Pelosi's face probably hurts from smiling and grinning mile after mile during the president's speech to the congress, the signing of the "stimulus" bill, and...the recent agitation about the FD.
What this means is that if one states an opinion on a public medium (radio, television, etc.) and some ones or one disagrees with what they say, then (now get this)...the opposition must have opportunity to rebut.
If one ponders the peculiar objectives of the Adventist church and the multimedia outlets the church utilizes, it means that the eye in the mind of the Essayist sees something really ugly on the horizon. Just because it's being debated doesn't mean that we will have it shoved down our throats, but...it does mean that some, many, most, or all, of our religious programming could be turned OFF if enough people protest and demand opportunity for rebuttal. Think it can't happen? Keep thinking!
So, for example, if one thinks (in harmony with the word of God) that homosexuality is an abomination, one could be called out and forced to give pulpit-time to a homosexual so they could share their view of marital bliss. Believers, whom the world hates, would most probably be persecuted and/or prosecuted at some point in the [near?] future (or don't we already understand that?). The Democrats are reveling in their ability to leverage just about any legislation they want; and they want a lot. (Lord, whatever happened to the Democrats of my father and grandfather? Deliver us from a manic Pelosi, cadaverous Reed, abominable Frank, a joke named Franken: Pleeease; this is politik?)
When the government gets involved in deciding what is truth and what is not, some one's are doing a whole lot of sculpting on a rough likeness of an image to the beast.
It's coming....watch.
God Bless. e.c.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Peace And Safety!!
I guess you watched President Obama address the joint session of the United States Congress. Perhaps you were impressed; perhaps not. Whichever, it was both interesting and curious to watch the congress and the gallery stand in applause again and again. And today---sort of a morning-after kind of thing---the stock market dropped again.
Are we worried about our shrinking retirements? Those unsanforised* dollars that have, for some, been pared by half! Are we afraid of what might happen to us as the economy contracts the world over? (I know that sometimes I think about what might happen).
Frankly my dear (never mind the rest) we have an advantage: We know what's coming while the world does not. The world worries about a rocket's red glare (excuse the pun) flying East from North Korea in search of Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. Of course perhaps a rocket will fly from Iran to Boston or our nations capital.
Some weeks ago we listened to a pastor who said that he and his wife had prayed, put everything in God's hands and decided to not be afraid. I could post a dozen or more texts of assurance but if we have already decided to be afraid what would be the point? So, here is just one: "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions (rooms); if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also." [John 14:1-3].
Here's a postscript: Don't dilly dally thinking we've got light years of time before Christ returns; we don't.
If you haven't turned your life over to Jesus Christ do it today.
God Bless. e.c.
*Sanford Lockwook Cluett, 1840-1968; invented pre-shrinking cloth to prevent shrinkage on wash day.
Are we worried about our shrinking retirements? Those unsanforised* dollars that have, for some, been pared by half! Are we afraid of what might happen to us as the economy contracts the world over? (I know that sometimes I think about what might happen).
Frankly my dear (never mind the rest) we have an advantage: We know what's coming while the world does not. The world worries about a rocket's red glare (excuse the pun) flying East from North Korea in search of Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. Of course perhaps a rocket will fly from Iran to Boston or our nations capital.
Some weeks ago we listened to a pastor who said that he and his wife had prayed, put everything in God's hands and decided to not be afraid. I could post a dozen or more texts of assurance but if we have already decided to be afraid what would be the point? So, here is just one: "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions (rooms); if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also." [John 14:1-3].
Here's a postscript: Don't dilly dally thinking we've got light years of time before Christ returns; we don't.
If you haven't turned your life over to Jesus Christ do it today.
God Bless. e.c.
*Sanford Lockwook Cluett, 1840-1968; invented pre-shrinking cloth to prevent shrinkage on wash day.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
On A Lonely Island
Tom Hanks starred in a movie where he ended up stranded on a small island, alone, after a plane crash. His only companion during the five years before he was rescued was Wilson; a soccer ball with a charcoal face and coconut hair. Islands can be romantic or they can be lonely.
Seventh-day Adventists are stranded, by choice and by Bible study, on the island of biblical Historicism. Let me explain. Historicism is that view of biblical prophecy which holds that the prophecies (particularly of Daniel and Revelation) describe a continuum of time and events; a straight line of interdependent historically accurate events extending from Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon through to the end of time.Historicists teach from the Bible, and confirm from recorded history, the prophetic succession of temporal and spiritual rulers who blaspheme God, supplant the intercession of Jesus with that of mere men (priests) who usurp the authority of Christ to forgive sins and to intercede between man and God; thus doing away with the "daily" (ministration) of Christ in heaven on man's behalf.
Then there are the Preterists. There is more than one branch of Preterism but we won't bother trimming that tree; we'll just look at the trunk of the tree and call it Preterist. These folk believe that all prophecy has already been fulfilled and that the kingdoms described in Daniel ended with Greece. This of course ignores Rome, both imperial and ecclesiastical and all of her persecutions and prostitution's during the Caesar's and popes. So Rome gets off the hook. Preterists also believe that we are in the millennium and that the only events left to happen are the resurrection of the dead and the return of Christ.
Finally, the Futurists. They teach that Daniel is good down through imperial Rome but that the Antichrist, the slaying of the two prophets, the last week of the 70 weeks, the tribulation, and so on...is yet in the future; thus the Futurism.
Conveniently, both Preterism and Futurism lets Papal Rome off the prophetic hook and the institution of the papacy comes away with clean hands so far as end time events are concerned.
Interestingly, the Jesuits (SJ's) had a hand in these (Frs. Ribera and Rabbi Ben Ezra [a pseudonym, of course]. Most of modern Evangelical Christianity has bought into one of these two prophetic views of Daniel and Revelation.
This explains why, if you watch much Christian TV, you will hear so much about the Tribulation, Jerusalem, Christ setting up His Kingdom in Jerusalem, the Two Witnesses being killed, and some evil guy coming out of Satan's woodwork (the Antichrist) who will work wonders and cure all the worlds ills and finally end up desecrating the (supposedly) newly rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
So here we are, Seventh-day Adventists, [mostly] all alone on our Historicistic island, surrounded by the sharks of Preterism and Futurism. So what do we do? We just keep doing what we've been doing for 150+ years; stay in the doctrine delivered to the saints and preach it louder than ever before.
There are people out "there" who are searching and who are presently "going along" with what their preachers are teaching but only because they haven't heard the message that makes more sense and that does not twist prophecy to fit what they want to believe.
I sharpened my pencil before I wrote this post because I am convinced that it is only a minority (a Remnant, if you please) of Adventists who understand the nuances of these issues and who understand Historicism well enough to be able to be able to defend and teach it in the face(s) of Preterism and Futurism.
"Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman/woman that needeth not be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth." [II Timothy 2:15].
God Bless. e.c.
Seventh-day Adventists are stranded, by choice and by Bible study, on the island of biblical Historicism. Let me explain. Historicism is that view of biblical prophecy which holds that the prophecies (particularly of Daniel and Revelation) describe a continuum of time and events; a straight line of interdependent historically accurate events extending from Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon through to the end of time.Historicists teach from the Bible, and confirm from recorded history, the prophetic succession of temporal and spiritual rulers who blaspheme God, supplant the intercession of Jesus with that of mere men (priests) who usurp the authority of Christ to forgive sins and to intercede between man and God; thus doing away with the "daily" (ministration) of Christ in heaven on man's behalf.
Then there are the Preterists. There is more than one branch of Preterism but we won't bother trimming that tree; we'll just look at the trunk of the tree and call it Preterist. These folk believe that all prophecy has already been fulfilled and that the kingdoms described in Daniel ended with Greece. This of course ignores Rome, both imperial and ecclesiastical and all of her persecutions and prostitution's during the Caesar's and popes. So Rome gets off the hook. Preterists also believe that we are in the millennium and that the only events left to happen are the resurrection of the dead and the return of Christ.
Finally, the Futurists. They teach that Daniel is good down through imperial Rome but that the Antichrist, the slaying of the two prophets, the last week of the 70 weeks, the tribulation, and so on...is yet in the future; thus the Futurism.
Conveniently, both Preterism and Futurism lets Papal Rome off the prophetic hook and the institution of the papacy comes away with clean hands so far as end time events are concerned.
Interestingly, the Jesuits (SJ's) had a hand in these (Frs. Ribera and Rabbi Ben Ezra [a pseudonym, of course]. Most of modern Evangelical Christianity has bought into one of these two prophetic views of Daniel and Revelation.
This explains why, if you watch much Christian TV, you will hear so much about the Tribulation, Jerusalem, Christ setting up His Kingdom in Jerusalem, the Two Witnesses being killed, and some evil guy coming out of Satan's woodwork (the Antichrist) who will work wonders and cure all the worlds ills and finally end up desecrating the (supposedly) newly rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
So here we are, Seventh-day Adventists, [mostly] all alone on our Historicistic island, surrounded by the sharks of Preterism and Futurism. So what do we do? We just keep doing what we've been doing for 150+ years; stay in the doctrine delivered to the saints and preach it louder than ever before.
There are people out "there" who are searching and who are presently "going along" with what their preachers are teaching but only because they haven't heard the message that makes more sense and that does not twist prophecy to fit what they want to believe.
I sharpened my pencil before I wrote this post because I am convinced that it is only a minority (a Remnant, if you please) of Adventists who understand the nuances of these issues and who understand Historicism well enough to be able to be able to defend and teach it in the face(s) of Preterism and Futurism.
"Study to show thyself approved unto God; a workman/woman that needeth not be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth." [II Timothy 2:15].
God Bless. e.c.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
It's OK To Hate! Right?
Are Christians only supposed to "love" or is it OK to hate and maybe even despise?
So what is the first response from our gut or our brain; wherever it is that we make decisions? Probably something like; "I don't...think so..."
Consider this: Twice in the book of Revelation (the churches of Ephesus and Pergamos) Christ speaks of the Nicolaitans and in both instances He says He hates them. Christ commends those in Ephesus for hating the Nicolaitans [see Rev. 2:6 and 15].
Who were the Nicolaitans? Three online sites hold slightly different opinions as to who were the Nicolaitans and what they taught. Consensus is suggested however in the juxtapositioning of the Nicolaitans and Baalam [Rev.2:14].
Nicolas, one of the seven of Ephesus, is suggested as the originator of this spurious doctrine. The thing that God hates, and the thing He commends the church at Ephesus for hating appears to be the corruption of pure doctrine such that there is a blurring of the line between the church and pagan practices; including eating things sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. The latter was the sin of Baalam.
We don't really know much about the Nicolaitans but we know more about Baalam (a onetime prophet of God who, for reward of earthly things, forsook God and His people. To hate the Nicolaitans is, essentially, the hatred of sin, and the adoption of the things of the world in favor of the things of God.
On a further note, Jesus Christ 'despised the shame of the cross' for the joy that was to come from his suffering and sacrifice [Hebrews 12:2].
Now we have the answer: God commends His people for hating sin (not people) that perverts the truth and diverts the vision of His church from Jesus Christ to the things of this world. Hebrews 12:2 suggests it is OK to despise: that is of course if one can, as did Jesus, practice perfect despising.
God Bless. e.c.
So what is the first response from our gut or our brain; wherever it is that we make decisions? Probably something like; "I don't...think so..."
Consider this: Twice in the book of Revelation (the churches of Ephesus and Pergamos) Christ speaks of the Nicolaitans and in both instances He says He hates them. Christ commends those in Ephesus for hating the Nicolaitans [see Rev. 2:6 and 15].
Who were the Nicolaitans? Three online sites hold slightly different opinions as to who were the Nicolaitans and what they taught. Consensus is suggested however in the juxtapositioning of the Nicolaitans and Baalam [Rev.2:14].
Nicolas, one of the seven of Ephesus, is suggested as the originator of this spurious doctrine. The thing that God hates, and the thing He commends the church at Ephesus for hating appears to be the corruption of pure doctrine such that there is a blurring of the line between the church and pagan practices; including eating things sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. The latter was the sin of Baalam.
We don't really know much about the Nicolaitans but we know more about Baalam (a onetime prophet of God who, for reward of earthly things, forsook God and His people. To hate the Nicolaitans is, essentially, the hatred of sin, and the adoption of the things of the world in favor of the things of God.
On a further note, Jesus Christ 'despised the shame of the cross' for the joy that was to come from his suffering and sacrifice [Hebrews 12:2].
Now we have the answer: God commends His people for hating sin (not people) that perverts the truth and diverts the vision of His church from Jesus Christ to the things of this world. Hebrews 12:2 suggests it is OK to despise: that is of course if one can, as did Jesus, practice perfect despising.
God Bless. e.c.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
...Your Call Cannot Be Comple...
A shrill three-note sequenced tone vibrates your ossicles (bones of the inner ear) followed by the even more irritating message; "We're sorry, but your call cannot be completed at this time..."
This morning I was trying to make a call to register (what I felt was a mild complaint about not being able to get a response (in three attempts) from a religious broadcasting network.
First I waded through the menu and elected to talk to the operator. After explaining my trilemma I was transferred to the appropriate department where (of course) the lines were busy, but I thought of that as a 'good thing.' I guess what surprised me was the recorded message that they were not available and I needed to call back between certain hours. In my admitted frustration and growing unsettledness I didn't pay any attention to the hours but hung up...disappointed and not a little angry. Time to pray.
Jenny (our wire-haired terrier) was sitting at the door so we went outside; her for a walk and me for a talk with God. After some explaining and complaining I realized that this was a 640-1240 CONLRAD situation; this was a test, and I was failing.
After I complained to God He revealed (explained) to me that phones fail, calls fail, people fail, intentions fail...but He does not fail.
God sent me a message through my wife when I came back into the apartment. In answer to her---"Where have you been"---question I explained what I was feeling. And her response; "God's phone is never busy." Thank you Lord for Your answer to this small frustration and the peace you sent through Jeane.
God Bless. e.c.
This morning I was trying to make a call to register (what I felt was a mild complaint about not being able to get a response (in three attempts) from a religious broadcasting network.
First I waded through the menu and elected to talk to the operator. After explaining my trilemma I was transferred to the appropriate department where (of course) the lines were busy, but I thought of that as a 'good thing.' I guess what surprised me was the recorded message that they were not available and I needed to call back between certain hours. In my admitted frustration and growing unsettledness I didn't pay any attention to the hours but hung up...disappointed and not a little angry. Time to pray.
Jenny (our wire-haired terrier) was sitting at the door so we went outside; her for a walk and me for a talk with God. After some explaining and complaining I realized that this was a 640-1240 CONLRAD situation; this was a test, and I was failing.
After I complained to God He revealed (explained) to me that phones fail, calls fail, people fail, intentions fail...but He does not fail.
God sent me a message through my wife when I came back into the apartment. In answer to her---"Where have you been"---question I explained what I was feeling. And her response; "God's phone is never busy." Thank you Lord for Your answer to this small frustration and the peace you sent through Jeane.
God Bless. e.c.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
God Wants To Be Alone!
"After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed with pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, 'Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.' " [Rev. 15:5-16:1]
These verses picture a lot of things going on in the heavenly temple, but I was particularly struck by one thing; during the time that the angels are pouring the seven plagues on the earth no one is allowed in the temple except God. Evidently he wants to be alone.
Of course, that started me thinking as best I can in mere human terms: Why does God want to be alone while so much punishment and destruction are being visited on the earth? Those who receive the plagues are lost; there is no second or third chance. The Christ has been crucified, the gospel has been preached, the final call for repentance and salvation has been given and the last person has rejected the call.
So why does God want to be alone?
The best I can understand it (strictly in anthropomorphic terms) is that a father is destroying his children; children he has raised and nurtured; children over whom he has wept and for whom he died.
I have no idea what God is doing alone in His temple but I can think about it from my perspective as a father. Perhaps He is weeping (He has done that before [John 11:35]); perhaps He is in mourning at the loss of so many souls He created. Certainly, there is no celebrating their well-deserved punishment.
What verse eight says to me is that God, indeed, is Love because He wants to be alone to think, as only God can do, about the terrible Personal loss He has suffered, all because of sin and its author.
Pray that we will not give God a reason to mourn over our loss because we have chosen to accept His sacrifice, His Grace, His gift of eternal life, and as our sign of promise (in frail human terms) we serve Him and daily search the heavens for His return.
God Bless. e.c.
These verses picture a lot of things going on in the heavenly temple, but I was particularly struck by one thing; during the time that the angels are pouring the seven plagues on the earth no one is allowed in the temple except God. Evidently he wants to be alone.
Of course, that started me thinking as best I can in mere human terms: Why does God want to be alone while so much punishment and destruction are being visited on the earth? Those who receive the plagues are lost; there is no second or third chance. The Christ has been crucified, the gospel has been preached, the final call for repentance and salvation has been given and the last person has rejected the call.
So why does God want to be alone?
The best I can understand it (strictly in anthropomorphic terms) is that a father is destroying his children; children he has raised and nurtured; children over whom he has wept and for whom he died.
I have no idea what God is doing alone in His temple but I can think about it from my perspective as a father. Perhaps He is weeping (He has done that before [John 11:35]); perhaps He is in mourning at the loss of so many souls He created. Certainly, there is no celebrating their well-deserved punishment.
What verse eight says to me is that God, indeed, is Love because He wants to be alone to think, as only God can do, about the terrible Personal loss He has suffered, all because of sin and its author.
Pray that we will not give God a reason to mourn over our loss because we have chosen to accept His sacrifice, His Grace, His gift of eternal life, and as our sign of promise (in frail human terms) we serve Him and daily search the heavens for His return.
God Bless. e.c.
Monday, February 16, 2009
O' Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
The people of Israel rewarded the prophet Isaiah by sawing him to two [Hebrews 11:37].. Jeremiah was hated because he told Judah that they were going into captivity in Babylon for 70 years. They did. On just one occasion of the wrath of the princes against Jeremiah he was lowered into an old well where he sank into the muck to his armpits [Jeremiah 38:6].. He was rescued. Elijah, after God's victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, ran for 40 days and nights [1st Kings 19:8],to save himself from wicked Jezebel because he was responsible for the killing of 450 of her pagan false prophets at Mount Carmel [1st Kings 18:22]. Stephen, the last man to prophesy to Israel as God's chosen people (when he was given the vision of Christ and said, "Look! I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!") was stoned to death [Acts 7:59].
Jesus Christ condemned the Jews (Matthew 23:37] for their long history of persecuting, killing, and stoning those "...of whom the world was not worthy..." [Hebrews 11:38].
And what of today? What does my church do to its Messenger? Stoning? Not quite....something more sophisticated; more politically correct; more corrosive; more insidious; more inwardly self destructive: We ignore her.
Someone is protesting; "Not me!" And perhaps they are correct but the point of this post is not the individual but the corpus; that is, the body of the church at large.
If a church does not respect the prophets; if the church ignores the prophets, where shall it profit?
God Bless. e.c.
Jesus Christ condemned the Jews (Matthew 23:37] for their long history of persecuting, killing, and stoning those "...of whom the world was not worthy..." [Hebrews 11:38].
And what of today? What does my church do to its Messenger? Stoning? Not quite....something more sophisticated; more politically correct; more corrosive; more insidious; more inwardly self destructive: We ignore her.
Someone is protesting; "Not me!" And perhaps they are correct but the point of this post is not the individual but the corpus; that is, the body of the church at large.
If a church does not respect the prophets; if the church ignores the prophets, where shall it profit?
God Bless. e.c.
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Problem of SILENCE
The parable Jesus tells of "Lazarus and the Rich Man," is the answer to the problem we sometimes have with God's profound silence.
If you recall, there was a rich man who lived sumptuously and when he died he went to Hades (hell) where he was tortured by the flames. A homeless beggar who lived at the gate of the rich man, and whose bodily sores were licked by the dogs, also died. The poor beggar was carried away to Abraham's breast. The rich man begs father Abraham send Lazarus to him that he (Lazarus) may dip the tip of his finger in cool water and cool his burning tongue. Abraham is supposed to say; "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented..." [Luke 16:25]
The parable ends with the rich man begging Abraham to send "him" (contextually, dead Lazarus) to the rich man's five living brothers to "...testify them, lest they also come to this place of torment." [vs. 28].
Next comes Christ's explanation of what we are quick to interpret as the deep and cold silence of God. "Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." Here the rich man protests, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." [vs. 3o].
But he (Abraham) said; "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." [vs.31.].
I presume that the point is clear, but if not; when we (you and I) are deep in trouble of one kind or another, and we earnestly pray for deliverance/healing/restoration, etc., sometimes (more often than not in my experience), God is quiet; very quiet; disgustingly quiet. And in our/my frustration we experience one of several visceral, emotional reactions; anger, frustration, depression, despair.....
The reason this happens is made clear in this parable: We forget to go to the Source of all that God has already said to us, both indirectly and directly, to rediscover profound reasons for faith. Of course, that source is the Word of God.
One of our weaknesses is that we wait till trouble to search the Word. If we were to breathe His word daily, we most probably would not suffer a breathless frustration when trouble strikes (which it will; it always does, sooner or later).
As a side note, everyone should understand that this parable is not an explanation of the topography of Heaven and Hell; right next door to each other where the saved and the lost can dialogue throughout eternity. (Would that be perverted love or what; if God set the saved and the lost in the same neighborhood where the saved could watch their lost friends and relatives suffer, and suffer, and suffer....for billions and trillions of years. NO! We do not serve that kind of a God. If you want to know each part of the Godhead, just look at Jesus and listen to Him speak.
Don't be deceived by spurious and wrongful application or interpretations of God's Word.
God Bless. e.c.
If you recall, there was a rich man who lived sumptuously and when he died he went to Hades (hell) where he was tortured by the flames. A homeless beggar who lived at the gate of the rich man, and whose bodily sores were licked by the dogs, also died. The poor beggar was carried away to Abraham's breast. The rich man begs father Abraham send Lazarus to him that he (Lazarus) may dip the tip of his finger in cool water and cool his burning tongue. Abraham is supposed to say; "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented..." [Luke 16:25]
The parable ends with the rich man begging Abraham to send "him" (contextually, dead Lazarus) to the rich man's five living brothers to "...testify them, lest they also come to this place of torment." [vs. 28].
Next comes Christ's explanation of what we are quick to interpret as the deep and cold silence of God. "Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." Here the rich man protests, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." [vs. 3o].
But he (Abraham) said; "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." [vs.31.].
I presume that the point is clear, but if not; when we (you and I) are deep in trouble of one kind or another, and we earnestly pray for deliverance/healing/restoration, etc., sometimes (more often than not in my experience), God is quiet; very quiet; disgustingly quiet. And in our/my frustration we experience one of several visceral, emotional reactions; anger, frustration, depression, despair.....
The reason this happens is made clear in this parable: We forget to go to the Source of all that God has already said to us, both indirectly and directly, to rediscover profound reasons for faith. Of course, that source is the Word of God.
One of our weaknesses is that we wait till trouble to search the Word. If we were to breathe His word daily, we most probably would not suffer a breathless frustration when trouble strikes (which it will; it always does, sooner or later).
As a side note, everyone should understand that this parable is not an explanation of the topography of Heaven and Hell; right next door to each other where the saved and the lost can dialogue throughout eternity. (Would that be perverted love or what; if God set the saved and the lost in the same neighborhood where the saved could watch their lost friends and relatives suffer, and suffer, and suffer....for billions and trillions of years. NO! We do not serve that kind of a God. If you want to know each part of the Godhead, just look at Jesus and listen to Him speak.
Don't be deceived by spurious and wrongful application or interpretations of God's Word.
God Bless. e.c.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
What Sacrifice?
Today I got a haircut (it had been about eleven weeks since the last one) and while walking back to our apartment I happened to pass a place where women get their nails done. With only a glance I saw six or seven women getting manicures, pedicures, 'fills', and whatever else vanity requires. (Does this sound a wee bit critical? It is.)
Before the next corner my mind turned to the issue of end-times, the work of the Lord and our hope for the finality of the Day of the Lord.
Paragraph two in my thinking was the money spent by Christian's and non-Christian's (men and women) that can be categorized as 'selfishness' and 'vanity'; the same thing, actually.
By the time I got to the crosswalk...hmmm...cross-walk...I was making a personal list of my vanities and selfishness; stuff I buy but don't need; stuff I buy to replace/supplement stuff I already have; 'comfort foods', so called; just stuff that creates a leak in my wallet; a leak that needs to be stopped so the money can be given to the Lord and His work.
Is this some sort of a pious exposition on selfishness that allows me to criticize others (manicures) just so long as I throw in a confession or two? Perhaps, but I'm not aware of it. Television ads urge us to put our trust in Gold; "...there's never been a better time to buy..." But I say, drop the 'l' and put our trust in God.
EW says that the work that could have been done in times of peace and ease will have to be done in times of difficulty. (Don't ask me for the citation because I don't know where it is. I just know that this is a pretty close paraphrase). So, are these hard times? That's a no-brainer! Is Jesus Christ coming soon? Dear God I pray so!
Maybe we who claim to be Christians should search our hearts, wallets, and purses; dig deeper for monies to pour into the work before it's all food for moth's, corrosion, and corruption.
Or maybe we should just sit on our stuff in case we need it during the time of trouble such as never was upon the face of the earth [a paraphrase of Daniel chapter 12].
If this post has offended; sorry about that...sort of.
If this post has challenged; no apology needed.
If this post has motivated; praise the Lord.
God Bless. e.c.
Before the next corner my mind turned to the issue of end-times, the work of the Lord and our hope for the finality of the Day of the Lord.
Paragraph two in my thinking was the money spent by Christian's and non-Christian's (men and women) that can be categorized as 'selfishness' and 'vanity'; the same thing, actually.
By the time I got to the crosswalk...hmmm...cross-walk...I was making a personal list of my vanities and selfishness; stuff I buy but don't need; stuff I buy to replace/supplement stuff I already have; 'comfort foods', so called; just stuff that creates a leak in my wallet; a leak that needs to be stopped so the money can be given to the Lord and His work.
Is this some sort of a pious exposition on selfishness that allows me to criticize others (manicures) just so long as I throw in a confession or two? Perhaps, but I'm not aware of it. Television ads urge us to put our trust in Gold; "...there's never been a better time to buy..." But I say, drop the 'l' and put our trust in God.
EW says that the work that could have been done in times of peace and ease will have to be done in times of difficulty. (Don't ask me for the citation because I don't know where it is. I just know that this is a pretty close paraphrase). So, are these hard times? That's a no-brainer! Is Jesus Christ coming soon? Dear God I pray so!
Maybe we who claim to be Christians should search our hearts, wallets, and purses; dig deeper for monies to pour into the work before it's all food for moth's, corrosion, and corruption.
Or maybe we should just sit on our stuff in case we need it during the time of trouble such as never was upon the face of the earth [a paraphrase of Daniel chapter 12].
If this post has offended; sorry about that...sort of.
If this post has challenged; no apology needed.
If this post has motivated; praise the Lord.
God Bless. e.c.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Good News?
I went fishing for good news this morning but ended up skunked (which in icthyological terminology means, "I didn't catch a thing.")
The U.S. House and Senate are burying our great-grandchildren in indebtedness decades before they are born; the wild fires (arsonist-set) in Australia are expected to extract a toll in excess of 200 lives and thousands have lost everything they owned; the market has found another perigee (low point); Washington state issued a call to amateur radio operators [KE6CXF here] to help locate people who have not yet either been assisted or located; a 92 year-old man in Bay City, Wisconsin?? froze to death because the power company put a device on his electric meter that limited how much electricity he could use; the U.S. southwest is in its 7th year of drought; General Motors will lay off 10,000 salaried workers world-wide by May; Benedict XVI embarrassed Germany (Bavaria, actually) and himself by initially brushing aside the views of a holocaust-denying bishop; Greenland is melting; Iceland is melting (financially and politically); Iran thumbed its nose at Obama by putting a satellite in orbit (which signals, "if we can put a satellite up there we can put a nuclear device in Israel or New York"); FEMA was inept again when they admitted that some of the foods sent for relief after the ice storms in the southeast U.S. might be tainted with salmonella. Shall I go on? I guess not.
I'll close with questions; are these or are these not troubled times? Are we or are we not living in the time of the toenails of the image in Daniel chapter 2? Are we or are we not laboring for souls for Jesus Christ? Is He or is He not, 'even at the door'?
Go Figure!
God Bless (we all need it). e.c.
The U.S. House and Senate are burying our great-grandchildren in indebtedness decades before they are born; the wild fires (arsonist-set) in Australia are expected to extract a toll in excess of 200 lives and thousands have lost everything they owned; the market has found another perigee (low point); Washington state issued a call to amateur radio operators [KE6CXF here] to help locate people who have not yet either been assisted or located; a 92 year-old man in Bay City, Wisconsin?? froze to death because the power company put a device on his electric meter that limited how much electricity he could use; the U.S. southwest is in its 7th year of drought; General Motors will lay off 10,000 salaried workers world-wide by May; Benedict XVI embarrassed Germany (Bavaria, actually) and himself by initially brushing aside the views of a holocaust-denying bishop; Greenland is melting; Iceland is melting (financially and politically); Iran thumbed its nose at Obama by putting a satellite in orbit (which signals, "if we can put a satellite up there we can put a nuclear device in Israel or New York"); FEMA was inept again when they admitted that some of the foods sent for relief after the ice storms in the southeast U.S. might be tainted with salmonella. Shall I go on? I guess not.
I'll close with questions; are these or are these not troubled times? Are we or are we not living in the time of the toenails of the image in Daniel chapter 2? Are we or are we not laboring for souls for Jesus Christ? Is He or is He not, 'even at the door'?
Go Figure!
God Bless (we all need it). e.c.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Check It Out
A friend of ours recently forwarded an interesting notice about Benedict XVI and a (possibly very) significant change he has made in the political governance of Vatican City that signals a return to earlier times; or maybe future times.
Anyway, it goes like this---" In a move that has taken the Italian government by surprise, the Pope has divorced the Vatican from Italian national law effective January 1, 2009. With this move, the Vatican immediately reverts to its pre-1929 status, which means that the Pope now becomes the supreme authority on judging which of the laws enacted by the Italian government the Vatican will choose to abide by or reject.
This ploy has tremendous consequences for the future. According to the January 5, 2009 issue of Newsweek, the Pope firmly believes that "his church [the Catholic Church] is the only one true church". To underline this, the Pope declared last year that the only way for man to gain salvation is through conversion to the Catholic faith. Twice during the last quarter of 2008,Pope Benedict referred to the need for the masses to prepare for the return of Christ, and his influence was behind a failed effort during 2008 to write into EU law as a compulsory day of rest the celebration of Sunday, the renowned sign of global Catholicism. Furthermore, observing the current worldwide economic chaos, he indicated that the only way to establish a sound foundation for global economy is through attachment to a religion meaning the Catholic Church which is "the only one true church".
In addition to undertaking these initiatives, from the earliest days of his pontificate, the current Pope has strengthened Pope John Paul II's cry for Europe to return to its religious and cultural roots inferring that it is the only way that Europe will regain the unity that it once knew---under the old Holy Roman Empire.
Students of biblical prophecy ought to really make a strong connection between all of these recent papal pronouncements, particularly his most recent decision to become judge and jury over Italian law. These acts are all part of a masterful plan—one that European elites have been committed to since the close of World War II, i.e., to resurrect that ancient institution of the Holy Roman Empire.
With a goodly number of committed Roman Catholics embedded within the legal and policy formulation echelons of the European Union, it is guaranteed that the EU20 legislative body [the European Parliament] will now increasingly take note of papal judgments not only on Italian law, but more significantly the laws of the EU.
This latest move by Pope Benedict sets a highly dangerous precedent for Europe. It is one step toward the Vatican encouraging the imposition of a legal system that is destined to not only control the practice of religion throughout Europe, but also to control the lives of the masses [all over the world] to the point of life-and-death issues."
Barbara E. Taylor, Between U.N.Me Designs ,451 E. 58th Ave. Suite 3872 Denver, Colorado 80216-8372O. 303-297-9300H. 970-968-2130
So there it is for what it's worth in your mind and your faith. I am unable to vouch for the authenticity of this report (that is why I included the name and numbers of the reporting source.)
I'll tell you one thing I do know, that I heard with my ears and saw with my one good eye on Fox News; Glen Beck and former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, were talking about the baleful state of things in the U.S. and in the world, and were doing so from a religious point of view...a very religious point of view...a very Catholic religious point of view. Perhaps you do not know this but Fox news is largely Catholic from the standpoint of the religious persuasion of television reporters. Previously (you may recall) their man in Rome (perhaps to be fair and accurate, I should say, one of their men in Rome) was a priest who regularly reported from Vatican City. I haven't seen him in some time.
This may come across as Catholic prejudice and trying to whip up excitement amongst fundamentalist Protestants, or, maybe I'm just reporting a few facts. You decide!
This one thing I know---Jesus is coming soon! Not to Jerusalem (sorry futurists), not to Rome nor any other city in the world. He's coming in the clouds of heaven to gather the saints to the New Jerusalem.
Check it out! [I Thessalonians 4:16-18]
God Bless. e.c.
Anyway, it goes like this---" In a move that has taken the Italian government by surprise, the Pope has divorced the Vatican from Italian national law effective January 1, 2009. With this move, the Vatican immediately reverts to its pre-1929 status, which means that the Pope now becomes the supreme authority on judging which of the laws enacted by the Italian government the Vatican will choose to abide by or reject.
This ploy has tremendous consequences for the future. According to the January 5, 2009 issue of Newsweek, the Pope firmly believes that "his church [the Catholic Church] is the only one true church". To underline this, the Pope declared last year that the only way for man to gain salvation is through conversion to the Catholic faith. Twice during the last quarter of 2008,Pope Benedict referred to the need for the masses to prepare for the return of Christ, and his influence was behind a failed effort during 2008 to write into EU law as a compulsory day of rest the celebration of Sunday, the renowned sign of global Catholicism. Furthermore, observing the current worldwide economic chaos, he indicated that the only way to establish a sound foundation for global economy is through attachment to a religion meaning the Catholic Church which is "the only one true church".
In addition to undertaking these initiatives, from the earliest days of his pontificate, the current Pope has strengthened Pope John Paul II's cry for Europe to return to its religious and cultural roots inferring that it is the only way that Europe will regain the unity that it once knew---under the old Holy Roman Empire.
Students of biblical prophecy ought to really make a strong connection between all of these recent papal pronouncements, particularly his most recent decision to become judge and jury over Italian law. These acts are all part of a masterful plan—one that European elites have been committed to since the close of World War II, i.e., to resurrect that ancient institution of the Holy Roman Empire.
With a goodly number of committed Roman Catholics embedded within the legal and policy formulation echelons of the European Union, it is guaranteed that the EU20 legislative body [the European Parliament] will now increasingly take note of papal judgments not only on Italian law, but more significantly the laws of the EU.
This latest move by Pope Benedict sets a highly dangerous precedent for Europe. It is one step toward the Vatican encouraging the imposition of a legal system that is destined to not only control the practice of religion throughout Europe, but also to control the lives of the masses [all over the world] to the point of life-and-death issues."
Barbara E. Taylor, Between U.N.Me Designs ,451 E. 58th Ave. Suite 3872 Denver, Colorado 80216-8372O. 303-297-9300H. 970-968-2130
So there it is for what it's worth in your mind and your faith. I am unable to vouch for the authenticity of this report (that is why I included the name and numbers of the reporting source.)
I'll tell you one thing I do know, that I heard with my ears and saw with my one good eye on Fox News; Glen Beck and former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, were talking about the baleful state of things in the U.S. and in the world, and were doing so from a religious point of view...a very religious point of view...a very Catholic religious point of view. Perhaps you do not know this but Fox news is largely Catholic from the standpoint of the religious persuasion of television reporters. Previously (you may recall) their man in Rome (perhaps to be fair and accurate, I should say, one of their men in Rome) was a priest who regularly reported from Vatican City. I haven't seen him in some time.
This may come across as Catholic prejudice and trying to whip up excitement amongst fundamentalist Protestants, or, maybe I'm just reporting a few facts. You decide!
This one thing I know---Jesus is coming soon! Not to Jerusalem (sorry futurists), not to Rome nor any other city in the world. He's coming in the clouds of heaven to gather the saints to the New Jerusalem.
Check it out! [I Thessalonians 4:16-18]
God Bless. e.c.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I Think I 'll Take A Nap
Everybody knows the parable of the ten virgins who set out to meet the bridegroom so a lot of detail is not necessary just now. They waited and waited (that's the church over the past 2000 years) but the bridegroom was delayed and in fact He is still delaying His return. The parable applies more to us today than when the story was first told.
So the virgins all "slumbered and slept." Let's face it; we're asleep. All of us are asleep and dreaming we're awake. Eventually the bridegroom arrives, everybody wakes up and you know the rest of the story.
The point here is the plague of soporiferousness that besets the church. Scripture is very clear about the condition of the church when Christ returns. It's laid out in the parable of the virgins, it's repeated in the story of the landowner who goes away on a long trip, who, when He returns catches everyone unawares. It shows up again in the parable of the thief who breaks into the house and gets away with robbery because no one was paying attention. This theme is all over the New Testament including The Revelation. In Revelation 16:15 Jesus says: "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
Thieves don't send advance notice of their break in; "I'll be there the night of the 10th of March!" No, they just show up when the time (for them) is right and we wake up to discover we've been burgled.
Jesus says, "Watch" Watch what? If you will, leave a comment and tell me what we should watch.
Think again on these things.
God Bless. e.c.
So the virgins all "slumbered and slept." Let's face it; we're asleep. All of us are asleep and dreaming we're awake. Eventually the bridegroom arrives, everybody wakes up and you know the rest of the story.
The point here is the plague of soporiferousness that besets the church. Scripture is very clear about the condition of the church when Christ returns. It's laid out in the parable of the virgins, it's repeated in the story of the landowner who goes away on a long trip, who, when He returns catches everyone unawares. It shows up again in the parable of the thief who breaks into the house and gets away with robbery because no one was paying attention. This theme is all over the New Testament including The Revelation. In Revelation 16:15 Jesus says: "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
Thieves don't send advance notice of their break in; "I'll be there the night of the 10th of March!" No, they just show up when the time (for them) is right and we wake up to discover we've been burgled.
Jesus says, "Watch" Watch what? If you will, leave a comment and tell me what we should watch.
Think again on these things.
God Bless. e.c.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Hot, Hot-Hot
It's 88 degrees here in Loma Linda and parts about. I can't remember it getting that hot on the lake all last summer. The problem with Southern California is that summer sometimes starts in February and runs all the way through October--or longer.
Winter usually runs from July through September when the temperatures are usually over 100 degrees. I remember one such "winter" in 1973 when the thermometer topped out at 118 degrees. My cousin drove down from Roy, Washington for a visit while I was in dental school and she spent every day, all day neck deep in water at the old LLU swimming pool behind the anatomy building.
You say you don't get it? Well, winter is usually the most uncomfortable, disagreeable, intolerable time of the year (if you live in North Dakota). So think of humid, 118 degree weather as the extreme and 105 degrees as mean, miserable, unbearable, energy draining, wallet emptying (cost of electricity; $300+/m0. when we lived here); that's winter.
If it keeps up like this we may have to leave this place in March and go home where winter means, Winter, and summer means, Summer--sort of.
Would somebody turn down the AC!
God Bless. e.c.
Winter usually runs from July through September when the temperatures are usually over 100 degrees. I remember one such "winter" in 1973 when the thermometer topped out at 118 degrees. My cousin drove down from Roy, Washington for a visit while I was in dental school and she spent every day, all day neck deep in water at the old LLU swimming pool behind the anatomy building.
You say you don't get it? Well, winter is usually the most uncomfortable, disagreeable, intolerable time of the year (if you live in North Dakota). So think of humid, 118 degree weather as the extreme and 105 degrees as mean, miserable, unbearable, energy draining, wallet emptying (cost of electricity; $300+/m0. when we lived here); that's winter.
If it keeps up like this we may have to leave this place in March and go home where winter means, Winter, and summer means, Summer--sort of.
Would somebody turn down the AC!
God Bless. e.c.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Here I Am, Lord
I love to read Isaiah, and one of my favorites is in the 6th chapter. It happened in the year that king Uzziah died that Isaiah, in vision, saw the Lord sitting on a throne. The throne was high, lifted up and the train of the Lord's robe filled the temple.
Isaiah saw seraphim (a class of angel) that had six wings. Two wings covered his feet, two covered his face, and two were used for flight. There were at least two seraphim because Isaiah says that "...one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.' " [Isaiah 6:3].
The door posts shook when the seraphim spoke and the '...house was filled with smoke.' [vs.4] Obviously something powerful was happening here; so powerful that Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone!" The word "woe" is the Hebrew, oye, [Strong #188] which is a "passionate cry of grief and despair." The word "undone" [Strong 1820] is the Hebrew damah (da-mam) which means, "to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish."
Isaiah thought for sure he was done for because he knew he was a man of unclean lips and he live with a people also of unclean lips [Strong 2931] (tame') (impure). And all this came from only seeing the Lord in His temple because as yet in Isaiah's narrative the Lord had not spoken.
The next scene sees a serphim flying towards him with a live coal in his hand which he had taken (with tongs) from the altar. The seraphim touches Isaiah's lips with the live coal (apparently Isaiah is not burned but something much more interesting takes place). The seraphim says, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." [vs.7].
Remember, the coal came from the altar and Isaiah's sin is purged (Strong 3722) (kaphar) (cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation). To the Essayist, this has all the marks of Christ's role as Redeemer and Sacrifice for our sins.
It is here the Lord speaks. He asks a question. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Isaiah doesn't hesitate; "Here am I! Send me." And the Lord speaks again: "Go, and tell this people....." [vs.9].
You know of course there comes an obvious question; who among us will go, can go, want to go? My wife is reading a book titled, Here I Am Lord; Send Someone Else. I guess that's me. Perhaps it's you. I don't know. But here is what I do know; you and I need a clearer vision of the power and glory of the Lord. When we grasp the meaning of Revelation 14:7, "Fear God and give glory to Him..." we will, like Isaiah quickly respond; "Lord, I'll go. Send me/us/all of us/the whole church..."
"He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world." [I John 4:4].
God Bless. e.c.
Isaiah saw seraphim (a class of angel) that had six wings. Two wings covered his feet, two covered his face, and two were used for flight. There were at least two seraphim because Isaiah says that "...one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.' " [Isaiah 6:3].
The door posts shook when the seraphim spoke and the '...house was filled with smoke.' [vs.4] Obviously something powerful was happening here; so powerful that Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone!" The word "woe" is the Hebrew, oye, [Strong #188] which is a "passionate cry of grief and despair." The word "undone" [Strong 1820] is the Hebrew damah (da-mam) which means, "to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish."
Isaiah thought for sure he was done for because he knew he was a man of unclean lips and he live with a people also of unclean lips [Strong 2931] (tame') (impure). And all this came from only seeing the Lord in His temple because as yet in Isaiah's narrative the Lord had not spoken.
The next scene sees a serphim flying towards him with a live coal in his hand which he had taken (with tongs) from the altar. The seraphim touches Isaiah's lips with the live coal (apparently Isaiah is not burned but something much more interesting takes place). The seraphim says, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." [vs.7].
Remember, the coal came from the altar and Isaiah's sin is purged (Strong 3722) (kaphar) (cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation). To the Essayist, this has all the marks of Christ's role as Redeemer and Sacrifice for our sins.
It is here the Lord speaks. He asks a question. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Isaiah doesn't hesitate; "Here am I! Send me." And the Lord speaks again: "Go, and tell this people....." [vs.9].
You know of course there comes an obvious question; who among us will go, can go, want to go? My wife is reading a book titled, Here I Am Lord; Send Someone Else. I guess that's me. Perhaps it's you. I don't know. But here is what I do know; you and I need a clearer vision of the power and glory of the Lord. When we grasp the meaning of Revelation 14:7, "Fear God and give glory to Him..." we will, like Isaiah quickly respond; "Lord, I'll go. Send me/us/all of us/the whole church..."
"He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world." [I John 4:4].
God Bless. e.c.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)