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This morning on my drive time and during some down time at work I listened to Kevin Swanson’s election day sermon that he had mentioned on his blog. Listening I was convicted about not being very broken, humbled, for our nation. Kevin painted a picture that included Obama, current events that tied in things that have happened to our nation for the last hundred years. As a nation we are a mess. Its about an hour long. And is a great book end to his two 25 min radio shows on this topic. Those I have linked to from my blog posting on bearded women. I also link to the fascinating book about election day sermons from our nations history that were mentioned on the show.
It was timely as tonight I was reading more of our John Knox book “For Kirk and Covenant” to the family after dinner as we prepare for Legacy’s Reformation party Friday night. While reading what Wilson wrote in the chapter called “ rarely in one man” both Beth and I felt it was very apropos for where we are with the current election cycle.
…It can be easy to think nothing can be done against the forces of unbelieving modernity that we confront day after day. We need someone like Knox, we think, and waiting for that, is like waiting for lighting to strike…
We need him desperately, we think. But apparently not-if we needed him to accomplish Gods purposes here and now, we would have him. The lesson to draw from the life of Knox is not that every generation needs men just like him, and that in spite of this need, God, for reasons known only to himself, persists on giving such men infrequently. Rather the genuine lesson is that God does what he pleases for his greatest glory…
But still we complain- what is God doing now?...
I have picked out a few parts from the book to read at the party.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Where did the money go? 2.8 trillion have been lost since the baal out.
This is concise and clearly illustrates how prices get determined in the stock market or commodities market. It is also the basis for prices in general. Gary North always says that it is not production costs that determine price, but the buyers. I will be using articles like this rather than a textbook to teach my daughters and son economic principles. Textbooks are made for the big purchaser, which is the govt in some form, and they never are critical of the one who gives them the money. They are not stupid. They give the buyer what he wants! This is from Lew Rockwell
Where Did the Wealth Go?
by Michael S. Rozeff
….Crude oil, which was $140 a barrel in July, is $63 in October. Silver, which was $20 an ounce in March, is now $9. A recent inquiry read "Why have crude oil prices...dropped so drastically in such a short and seemingly random period of time?"
What was once wealth is no longer wealth. Where did the wealth go? Why does it disappear so quickly? Why does it disappear when it disappears?....
The general answer to these questions is "supply and demand." This is not very illuminating. For stocks, the supplies are fixed. IBM has virtually the same number of shares outstanding in October, 2008 as it did two months earlier, which is 1.35 billion, but the price no longer is $130 a share. It is $82. A drop of $48 a share on 1.35 billion shares is a tidy sum: $64.8 billion, to be exact.
What became of the wealth? For every share sold, one was bought. But they were bought and sold at declining prices. The house that was bought at $350,000 that cannot now be sold at $275,000 is still there. It is just that the price has fallen.
Stock market wealth has fallen because stock prices have fallen. Why have stock prices fallen? They have not fallen because there has been a shift in supply. There are still the same number of shares of IBM as there were before. There are the same number of houses. The houses do not even have to change hands for their prices to fall.
The fact is that sellers could not find anyone willing to buy IBM shares at $130. The sellers could have refused to sell at any price less than $130, but they did not. Their urgency to sell exceeded the urgency of buyers to buy, so that the sellers gave in and sold at a lower price. And this happened all the way down.
Why? Why have buyers only been willing to take stocks at lower prices and why have sellers been more willing to sell them at lower prices? It is this process that is recording or reflecting the wealth losses. And it is these transactions "at the margin" that determine total market values and wealth. Those who are not trading could have traded, but they did not. Their inaction ratifies the transaction prices of those that do choose to trade…..
Where Did the Wealth Go?
by Michael S. Rozeff
….Crude oil, which was $140 a barrel in July, is $63 in October. Silver, which was $20 an ounce in March, is now $9. A recent inquiry read "Why have crude oil prices...dropped so drastically in such a short and seemingly random period of time?"
What was once wealth is no longer wealth. Where did the wealth go? Why does it disappear so quickly? Why does it disappear when it disappears?....
The general answer to these questions is "supply and demand." This is not very illuminating. For stocks, the supplies are fixed. IBM has virtually the same number of shares outstanding in October, 2008 as it did two months earlier, which is 1.35 billion, but the price no longer is $130 a share. It is $82. A drop of $48 a share on 1.35 billion shares is a tidy sum: $64.8 billion, to be exact.
What became of the wealth? For every share sold, one was bought. But they were bought and sold at declining prices. The house that was bought at $350,000 that cannot now be sold at $275,000 is still there. It is just that the price has fallen.
Stock market wealth has fallen because stock prices have fallen. Why have stock prices fallen? They have not fallen because there has been a shift in supply. There are still the same number of shares of IBM as there were before. There are the same number of houses. The houses do not even have to change hands for their prices to fall.
The fact is that sellers could not find anyone willing to buy IBM shares at $130. The sellers could have refused to sell at any price less than $130, but they did not. Their urgency to sell exceeded the urgency of buyers to buy, so that the sellers gave in and sold at a lower price. And this happened all the way down.
Why? Why have buyers only been willing to take stocks at lower prices and why have sellers been more willing to sell them at lower prices? It is this process that is recording or reflecting the wealth losses. And it is these transactions "at the margin" that determine total market values and wealth. Those who are not trading could have traded, but they did not. Their inaction ratifies the transaction prices of those that do choose to trade…..
Monday, October 27, 2008
Let's go ahead and take Romans 13 as the standard by which the state's justice is measured
God gave a very limited role to the state. As a believer you will only see this as a fact if you approach life believing that Gods word really is the standard. That Jesus really is Lord of more than our hearts. I don't think we go around and deny what Gods word says. With our history stolen from us we just think that its normal for modern governments to do whatever they want. Most of our arguing is our disgust at over the evil , that governments try and promote. One of our modern errors is that we ,who are called believers, think that if someone doesn't claim Jesus as Lord then they are free to just color willy nilly outside the lines.
We are conditioned that when we see injustices, that something should be done to rectify them. Who should that be? Well of course, the government should. In believers being swept along with mans attempt to create utopia, in spite of God never even giving us a hint that this is something we should pursue. (Gods Law makes it clear that God reserves administering perfect justice for himself.) By this method we Christian's have give more and more freedom for the governments to limit our freedoms. All in the name of fairness and justice.
Must We Obey Interior Design Regulations?
Daily Article by Art Carden
...I recently read Francis Schaeffer's compelling A Christian Manifesto, and it argues that there are situations in which we have not just the right but the moral duty to disobey the state....
Let's go ahead and take Romans 13 as the standard by which the state's justice is measured, and assume for the sake of argument that states and state-like organizations are restricted to punishing evil and rewarding good....
Do regulations on interior design punish evil and reward good? Certainly not. One justification for these regulations is that they prevent unscrupulous unlicensed designers from committing crimes against their unwitting customers — say, by recommending venetian blinds that don't match the curtains —......
So what is rewarded and punished in a regime where interior design is regulated? It's actually the perverse opposite of what the state is enjoined to do in the Bible. The state punishes those who do good (those who provide services that customers are willing to pay for at a price they are willing to pay) and rewards those who do evil (those who use the coercive power of the state to prevent people from entering the marketplace and earning a living)....
We are conditioned that when we see injustices, that something should be done to rectify them. Who should that be? Well of course, the government should. In believers being swept along with mans attempt to create utopia, in spite of God never even giving us a hint that this is something we should pursue. (Gods Law makes it clear that God reserves administering perfect justice for himself.) By this method we Christian's have give more and more freedom for the governments to limit our freedoms. All in the name of fairness and justice.
Must We Obey Interior Design Regulations?
Daily Article by Art Carden
...I recently read Francis Schaeffer's compelling A Christian Manifesto, and it argues that there are situations in which we have not just the right but the moral duty to disobey the state....
Let's go ahead and take Romans 13 as the standard by which the state's justice is measured, and assume for the sake of argument that states and state-like organizations are restricted to punishing evil and rewarding good....
Do regulations on interior design punish evil and reward good? Certainly not. One justification for these regulations is that they prevent unscrupulous unlicensed designers from committing crimes against their unwitting customers — say, by recommending venetian blinds that don't match the curtains —......
So what is rewarded and punished in a regime where interior design is regulated? It's actually the perverse opposite of what the state is enjoined to do in the Bible. The state punishes those who do good (those who provide services that customers are willing to pay for at a price they are willing to pay) and rewards those who do evil (those who use the coercive power of the state to prevent people from entering the marketplace and earning a living)....
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Disciple your family
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Thinking a lot lately on how we should be orienting our families, what we should be doing etc. With the church in the house book it was striking that his foundational principles for families are where many of us have come back tooTues night we watched the first DVD from the vision forum 200 year conference. It was the opening talk, laying out broad principles with some finer strokes, for example on what the Phillips family prays for, over their kids. Great stuff.
Having now watched the second one from the series I am drooling to get to the rest. This is just an awesome encouragement. When Phillips shows how large our progeny can expand when a vision is passed on and God blesses…whooo hooo! I prayed for Rebecca to be a mother of millions at her graduation. Thankfully none of her extended family fell over right there. Watching this talk, maybe I was holding back to much in my prayer?
This conference will lay down next to and be reinforced by “the church in the house” book and with what Rob and Mark recently opined, not to mention Ovid & Bettie Need from Virginia when they were with us at camp.
Mathew Henry 300 yrs ago, us today, Ovid and Bettie ,the Vision Forum family, this is a huge spread of time, age differences and geography but the unity of purpose is striking.
Tonight we watched number 4 on brothers and sisters. They have all been great.
These are all from the how to disciple your family series.
DVD’s or CD’s
The ride didnt look this tall when we got on it
The more I look and read the more it looks like we have only hit the iceberg and our boat is traveling and scraping down the side of the iceberg still. Its the ones who didnt see it coming who are first to say we are close to a bottom. The ones who were warning about this economic mess to come continue to be suprised by additional things that they didnt forsee or were aware of.
The government keeps tring to hold economic forces at by as if they believe that they are in control. They do not for a minute see that it was the Fed reserve policys for decades that now have brought us to where we are.
They think thay are the best and the brightest. But they will not acknowledge God and his Law so they have made their plea and by gods word they have been found wanting. They are fools.
Last year I was selling things on ebay and remember saying that people have more money than they think they do. Because this sure looks like it is going to be unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes I encourage you to be saving, ask God to show you how to generate a second stream of income and if there are things around your house that you dont really want. This will be a bad time to try and sell them. But I do think it will be even worse next year.
I get less of a sense that people think this will be over quick. I do think that people are starting to wonder, how bad can it really get?
The good news is that nothing is outside of the direction of Gods hand. That doesnt mean it will be fun. But may we all be more in his image through this time.
The government keeps tring to hold economic forces at by as if they believe that they are in control. They do not for a minute see that it was the Fed reserve policys for decades that now have brought us to where we are.
They think thay are the best and the brightest. But they will not acknowledge God and his Law so they have made their plea and by gods word they have been found wanting. They are fools.
Last year I was selling things on ebay and remember saying that people have more money than they think they do. Because this sure looks like it is going to be unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes I encourage you to be saving, ask God to show you how to generate a second stream of income and if there are things around your house that you dont really want. This will be a bad time to try and sell them. But I do think it will be even worse next year.
I get less of a sense that people think this will be over quick. I do think that people are starting to wonder, how bad can it really get?
The good news is that nothing is outside of the direction of Gods hand. That doesnt mean it will be fun. But may we all be more in his image through this time.
Gun Control
I recently saw the William Shatner and gun control you tube clip. Very different if you havent seen it yet.
Find it here
Find it here
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Chalcedon: God's Law as Man's Environment
Rushdoony and Chalcedon, Praise God for them!
"Because the fulness of man's meaning is discernible only in terms of his Creator and the creative purpose, it is impossible, if man is in harmony with God, for liberty and law to be in conflict. Even as a fish needs water to live in, because it is his environment or law-sphere, and 'liberation' into air would kill him, so man finds true liberty in God's law, his environment...." From Chalcedon blog
"Because the fulness of man's meaning is discernible only in terms of his Creator and the creative purpose, it is impossible, if man is in harmony with God, for liberty and law to be in conflict. Even as a fish needs water to live in, because it is his environment or law-sphere, and 'liberation' into air would kill him, so man finds true liberty in God's law, his environment...." From Chalcedon blog
What the Fed has been doing
Gary North has this posting that is, open to all, on how much the Fed is inflating right now.
It can be seen here
Now Gary has shown other charts where, like before Y2K and after 911, the fed pumped money like crazy, but shortly thereafter they effectively pulled the money back out of the economy which kept inflation for exploding. Gary thinks no way does the Fed keep doing what he is doing now.
The chart is eyebrow raising and when someone is Garys age and who has been a central bank/fed watcher for a long time says..."I have never seen anything like this."
For the past year the Fed/the central Bank has been saying no problem, no problem, and then has engaged in a seemingly endless series of historic never before behaviors and actions you know the game has changed. The Fed and by extension the federal govenment doesnt want the game to change because it has been very lucrative. But you can only engage in bahavior that flys in the face of Gods law so long before you will reap what you are sowing.
It can be seen here
Now Gary has shown other charts where, like before Y2K and after 911, the fed pumped money like crazy, but shortly thereafter they effectively pulled the money back out of the economy which kept inflation for exploding. Gary thinks no way does the Fed keep doing what he is doing now.
The chart is eyebrow raising and when someone is Garys age and who has been a central bank/fed watcher for a long time says..."I have never seen anything like this."
For the past year the Fed/the central Bank has been saying no problem, no problem, and then has engaged in a seemingly endless series of historic never before behaviors and actions you know the game has changed. The Fed and by extension the federal govenment doesnt want the game to change because it has been very lucrative. But you can only engage in bahavior that flys in the face of Gods law so long before you will reap what you are sowing.
From the days when the pulpits were not filled with bearded women
Swanson has done a pair of back to back shows, one promoting McCain (Gary Demar) and one where a Mr Lofton Says no way should a believer vote for McCain.
Both are interesting and a good exercise to try and see what is the foundational principles behind what is being said. What drives the decision?
I think Kevin is correct when he notes that it would appear that we are laying the first layer of bricks of the walls with Nehamiah. We have found the foundation that was lost. We are ceasing the frantic sand castle building.
Mr Lofton mentioned a book of sermons that had been preached in the past called political sermons of the founding era 1730-1805 from the liberty fund. Two volumes in paperback for $22 My wife found me a copy for $7.50 on half.com with $2.50 shipping.
Dont you want to just run down to the christian bookstore and buy it? Yah, I dont think they will have it either. Shoudn't that disturb us? Why wont they have it? We are talking reconstruction from the ground up.
It is a recent discovery that pastors must not mention politicians names. This is a collection of election sermons, pastors guiding their congregation’s on who to vote for!?! the following is a description of the book.
“The early political culture of the American republic was deeply influenced by the religious consciousness of the New England preachers. Indeed, it was often through the political sermon—the "pulpit of the American Revolution"—that the political rhetoric of the period was formed, refined, and transmitted. And yet the centrality of religious concerns in the lives of eighteenth-century Americans is largely neglected. This has created a blind spot regarding the fundamental acts of the American founding.
Political sermons such as the fifty-five collected in this volume are unique to America, both in kind and in significance. This volume thus fills an important need if the American founding period is to be adequately understood.”
Christmas is coming and every pastor should have this set in their library. No I dont think Joel Osteen or Rick Warren have read it yet.
Both are interesting and a good exercise to try and see what is the foundational principles behind what is being said. What drives the decision?
I think Kevin is correct when he notes that it would appear that we are laying the first layer of bricks of the walls with Nehamiah. We have found the foundation that was lost. We are ceasing the frantic sand castle building.
Mr Lofton mentioned a book of sermons that had been preached in the past called political sermons of the founding era 1730-1805 from the liberty fund. Two volumes in paperback for $22 My wife found me a copy for $7.50 on half.com with $2.50 shipping.
Dont you want to just run down to the christian bookstore and buy it? Yah, I dont think they will have it either. Shoudn't that disturb us? Why wont they have it? We are talking reconstruction from the ground up.
It is a recent discovery that pastors must not mention politicians names. This is a collection of election sermons, pastors guiding their congregation’s on who to vote for!?! the following is a description of the book.
“The early political culture of the American republic was deeply influenced by the religious consciousness of the New England preachers. Indeed, it was often through the political sermon—the "pulpit of the American Revolution"—that the political rhetoric of the period was formed, refined, and transmitted. And yet the centrality of religious concerns in the lives of eighteenth-century Americans is largely neglected. This has created a blind spot regarding the fundamental acts of the American founding.
Political sermons such as the fifty-five collected in this volume are unique to America, both in kind and in significance. This volume thus fills an important need if the American founding period is to be adequately understood.”
Christmas is coming and every pastor should have this set in their library. No I dont think Joel Osteen or Rick Warren have read it yet.
From phoenix, I can here the pigs in Washington squeeling
From my way news...
Companies start competing for bailout money By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
The bailout is now the hottest lobbying game in town.
Insurers, automakers and American subsidiaries of foreign banks all want the Treasury Department to cut them a piece of the largest government rescue in U.S. history.
The betting is that many with their hands out will be successful, especially with financial markets in a stomach-churning dive and predictions the economy is about to tumble into a deep recession.
These groups argue that the credit squeeze is so severe and the risks to the economy so dire that their industries need financial support as well.
The Treasury is considering requests from a variety of industries, but has not decided whether to expand the program, officials said Saturday....
Companies start competing for bailout money By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
The bailout is now the hottest lobbying game in town.
Insurers, automakers and American subsidiaries of foreign banks all want the Treasury Department to cut them a piece of the largest government rescue in U.S. history.
The betting is that many with their hands out will be successful, especially with financial markets in a stomach-churning dive and predictions the economy is about to tumble into a deep recession.
These groups argue that the credit squeeze is so severe and the risks to the economy so dire that their industries need financial support as well.
The Treasury is considering requests from a variety of industries, but has not decided whether to expand the program, officials said Saturday....
We never get a version 1.2 of Gods Law. II
This is a follow up to my previous post.
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Gods Law. Right up front in his narative of the world to us. His Law is all about earthly things. "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" So if we have not believed or worked with the earthly things, his law, how much is out of place with....other understandings? I have been confessing for a couple of years now about how many pictures I had hanging up, sideways or upside down.
Mathew Henry from his "a church in the house" in chapter 2 pg 34 makes mention as a part of working with your little church in your house to use "due care is taken to put the laws of Christ into practice." pg 36 "To have the great things of God law and gospel written to you, if you count them as a strange things" That one describes so well how Gods law use to seem to me..."as a strange thing"
If you cannot acknowledge that God has authority to give a binding law on us, if you cannot see that he is sovereign over what he has made, then we will be left with a gooey, lovey, dovey God.
This has been a big key for me, seeing his sovereignty, his authority, which positions me to even begin to see that his Word is over all. "to him who has, more will be given" So much of the modern church I believe has tried for so long to make it work without Gods Law that as time has gone on, we have been in a mode of .."to him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.." ?
Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to live in a state where many of the physical laws of the universe are unknown or not understood. You would have no science to begin with. With the knowledge of these laws we can see the relationships between cause and effect, you can have understanding. You can design machinery that works in harmony with the world around us.
Well the church has tried to design program after program while many basic principles from Gods law are unknown or misunderstood. We can have effects all around us and not see the cause. So much continues from the sheer inertia of the basic humanistic understanding (Hey look, The three stooges are on! ) that we were equipped with while growing up and living as Americans. Those world views will hang onto you forever apart from us acknowledging Gods authority of his word and then bowing before Gods design. Without all of Gods word we will live in a narrow version of the good news. Frustrating.
Mathew Henry, on families, noted on page 29 “church’s are sacred society’s, incorporated for the honor and service for Christ in two ways. First they are devoted to God, and second they are employed for him, so should our families be..” Henry would see them as families, cohesive units, many today in the church might agree about “devoted to God” and might see “employed for him” but the understanding , the context would be as individuals. One way harmonizes with Gods system and one harmonizes with Americana. We might see the affect, but the cause…? Pro 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Vision and the law in the same sentence here, equals “happy is he.” Does that sound "as a strange thing" to you?
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
The world doesn’t need a narrow version of the good news.
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Gods Law. Right up front in his narative of the world to us. His Law is all about earthly things. "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" So if we have not believed or worked with the earthly things, his law, how much is out of place with....other understandings? I have been confessing for a couple of years now about how many pictures I had hanging up, sideways or upside down.
Mathew Henry from his "a church in the house" in chapter 2 pg 34 makes mention as a part of working with your little church in your house to use "due care is taken to put the laws of Christ into practice." pg 36 "To have the great things of God law and gospel written to you, if you count them as a strange things" That one describes so well how Gods law use to seem to me..."as a strange thing"
If you cannot acknowledge that God has authority to give a binding law on us, if you cannot see that he is sovereign over what he has made, then we will be left with a gooey, lovey, dovey God.
This has been a big key for me, seeing his sovereignty, his authority, which positions me to even begin to see that his Word is over all. "to him who has, more will be given" So much of the modern church I believe has tried for so long to make it work without Gods Law that as time has gone on, we have been in a mode of .."to him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.." ?
Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to live in a state where many of the physical laws of the universe are unknown or not understood. You would have no science to begin with. With the knowledge of these laws we can see the relationships between cause and effect, you can have understanding. You can design machinery that works in harmony with the world around us.
Well the church has tried to design program after program while many basic principles from Gods law are unknown or misunderstood. We can have effects all around us and not see the cause. So much continues from the sheer inertia of the basic humanistic understanding (Hey look, The three stooges are on! ) that we were equipped with while growing up and living as Americans. Those world views will hang onto you forever apart from us acknowledging Gods authority of his word and then bowing before Gods design. Without all of Gods word we will live in a narrow version of the good news. Frustrating.
Mathew Henry, on families, noted on page 29 “church’s are sacred society’s, incorporated for the honor and service for Christ in two ways. First they are devoted to God, and second they are employed for him, so should our families be..” Henry would see them as families, cohesive units, many today in the church might agree about “devoted to God” and might see “employed for him” but the understanding , the context would be as individuals. One way harmonizes with Gods system and one harmonizes with Americana. We might see the affect, but the cause…? Pro 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Vision and the law in the same sentence here, equals “happy is he.” Does that sound "as a strange thing" to you?
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
The world doesn’t need a narrow version of the good news.
We never get a version 1.2 of Gods Law.
I was reading in I john with Jamie the other morning and was struck by this passage….
1Jn 2:3-8 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
Which brought me back to what I keep rolling around in my mouth, Gods Law. I have to keep stacking up books to stand on, metaphorically speaking, to embrace this with my mind and heart, with my whole being.
When I think of history, I look at it and think of it as just taking note of something that has happened. Lots of times I look for wisdom or truth that I can bring forward to today and find application. This week I noticed that I would look at my old testament and think history, which it is, and when I would then go through where God lays out his law, it was lumped in with my understanding of history. I am just seeing what I have been doing and it has been a big error for me.
When we go through the Old Testament it is history. But when history intersects with where God Lays out his standard, his perfection , his righteous character and mercy and the infinite, intersects with us in the finite. You have to stop and put your mind into a different gear, you have to realize what God is doing, what it is, that is really happening. When he gives the Law, it is his everlasting truth of himself, being made tangible for us. The Law is a reflection of Gods perfection, equal weights and measures, balanced, wholeness or holy, lacking nothing, it is the perfect standard for any area of life because it measures all against God himself. This is what Gods Law is.
Because the historical narrative of Gods people continues even as God reveals his Law it kind of muddies and hides what God is doing as you get distracted by the goofiness of Gods People. I also have carried around the incorrect thought that Jesus had made it all kind of moot. Yah, yah don’t kill anybody or make idols but the rest had become minutia rather that seeing that it really reflects, who and what God’s character is.
God had maneuvered all of creation to this place where God had chosen a people and brought them out of bondage and they are just 3 months out of captivity when in the book of exodus he reveals his Law to mankind, and as God, only his Law is valid. Because he truly is the Lord of all. He alone has authority. It is put, pretty close to the front of the bible for a reason. We also never get a version 1.2 of Gods Law.
We do get new downloads,patches concerning how we access God through Jesus.
Here is where modern Amergelicals have had a kindred spirit with the Pharasees of Jesus day. Jesus spends a big chunk of his time defending His Law and peeling off what Jewish culture had imposed onto it. The Pharisees and Sadducees had made it “relevant” superseding it with their traditions. I used to incorrectly think that every time Jesus said “you have heard it said…” that he was taking Old Testament Law and turning it into something new. Instead I think every time he says “ you have heard it said…” he is referring to what the Pharisees and Sadducees had been teaching, which was their traditions, by which they made His law, null and void. (I think Bahnsen makes the case for this...)
It is a testimony against me that I am pretty comfortable, I am use to myself figuring it out as I go. Making the best decision that I can. I should get nervous real fast if my mind doesn’t quickly see how whatever choice or direction I’m going should somehow line up at least principally with his word.
Gods commandments when understood and applied will give you a bullet proof worldview. You will not be shaken as you will be standing on the very nature and character of God himself. We need to get this down. Because where God gives his Deut 6 calling to us fathers, it is in the context of his Law being taught.
1Jn 2:3-8 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
Which brought me back to what I keep rolling around in my mouth, Gods Law. I have to keep stacking up books to stand on, metaphorically speaking, to embrace this with my mind and heart, with my whole being.
When I think of history, I look at it and think of it as just taking note of something that has happened. Lots of times I look for wisdom or truth that I can bring forward to today and find application. This week I noticed that I would look at my old testament and think history, which it is, and when I would then go through where God lays out his law, it was lumped in with my understanding of history. I am just seeing what I have been doing and it has been a big error for me.
When we go through the Old Testament it is history. But when history intersects with where God Lays out his standard, his perfection , his righteous character and mercy and the infinite, intersects with us in the finite. You have to stop and put your mind into a different gear, you have to realize what God is doing, what it is, that is really happening. When he gives the Law, it is his everlasting truth of himself, being made tangible for us. The Law is a reflection of Gods perfection, equal weights and measures, balanced, wholeness or holy, lacking nothing, it is the perfect standard for any area of life because it measures all against God himself. This is what Gods Law is.
Because the historical narrative of Gods people continues even as God reveals his Law it kind of muddies and hides what God is doing as you get distracted by the goofiness of Gods People. I also have carried around the incorrect thought that Jesus had made it all kind of moot. Yah, yah don’t kill anybody or make idols but the rest had become minutia rather that seeing that it really reflects, who and what God’s character is.
God had maneuvered all of creation to this place where God had chosen a people and brought them out of bondage and they are just 3 months out of captivity when in the book of exodus he reveals his Law to mankind, and as God, only his Law is valid. Because he truly is the Lord of all. He alone has authority. It is put, pretty close to the front of the bible for a reason. We also never get a version 1.2 of Gods Law.
We do get new downloads,patches concerning how we access God through Jesus.
Here is where modern Amergelicals have had a kindred spirit with the Pharasees of Jesus day. Jesus spends a big chunk of his time defending His Law and peeling off what Jewish culture had imposed onto it. The Pharisees and Sadducees had made it “relevant” superseding it with their traditions. I used to incorrectly think that every time Jesus said “you have heard it said…” that he was taking Old Testament Law and turning it into something new. Instead I think every time he says “ you have heard it said…” he is referring to what the Pharisees and Sadducees had been teaching, which was their traditions, by which they made His law, null and void. (I think Bahnsen makes the case for this...)
It is a testimony against me that I am pretty comfortable, I am use to myself figuring it out as I go. Making the best decision that I can. I should get nervous real fast if my mind doesn’t quickly see how whatever choice or direction I’m going should somehow line up at least principally with his word.
Gods commandments when understood and applied will give you a bullet proof worldview. You will not be shaken as you will be standing on the very nature and character of God himself. We need to get this down. Because where God gives his Deut 6 calling to us fathers, it is in the context of his Law being taught.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Here the reformation must begin
Just started on “A Church in the House” I’m paying attention to how he addresses the men, the fathers. It feels very right to be reading an exhortation that’s 304 years old and that covers the very same endeavor we are about.
In the first chapter he notes it is within the family, with family worship that…”here the reformation must begin”
Here is a message from 1704 that most of the church wouldn’t know what to think of. But for many of us as I read I’m thinking we could be sitting in Mathew Henrys kitchen just having a great time or sitting in the pew at his church going Amen! Think about that.
In the first chapter he notes it is within the family, with family worship that…”here the reformation must begin”
Here is a message from 1704 that most of the church wouldn’t know what to think of. But for many of us as I read I’m thinking we could be sitting in Mathew Henrys kitchen just having a great time or sitting in the pew at his church going Amen! Think about that.
Pull your pants up
Its all about vision. Gods vision and his direction for our families. It might take a generation to come to maturity for both our personal families and the church at large for it to sink in on why God gave specific guidlines for ordering the family. For his own glory and he wants to bless us!
Rob is taking heat from his family, they don’t have a cubbby hole to understand what his family is about. But yes, as his kids mature it will be like blinders falling from their eyes I think. For many of our families it will be this way. Lets pray for one another on this path. You thank God for vision and then beg for mercy on just keeping peace in the house sometimes. We grab the plow as best we can, but then we must rest in that it is the Lord who must build the house.
All this talk about family worship and what we are trying to see restored in the family has gotten me to dig out my “A Church In The House” book. Restoring daily worship to the Christian household, by Mathew Henry( huza huza) and edited by Scot Brown ( no slouch either) If I’m reading 6 books what’s one more, right? No wonder it takes forever for me to finish any. That’s sad, I googled the book and Google goes ”who?” Its at vision forum.
I’m trying to mentally prepare to do a radio show with Rob. Greg, How does ”Pull your pants up” sound as radio show? (Just trying to get some feed back Rob.) This is spillover from our lunch Sunday…Ha! Now that, should’ve been taped!
Rob is taking heat from his family, they don’t have a cubbby hole to understand what his family is about. But yes, as his kids mature it will be like blinders falling from their eyes I think. For many of our families it will be this way. Lets pray for one another on this path. You thank God for vision and then beg for mercy on just keeping peace in the house sometimes. We grab the plow as best we can, but then we must rest in that it is the Lord who must build the house.
All this talk about family worship and what we are trying to see restored in the family has gotten me to dig out my “A Church In The House” book. Restoring daily worship to the Christian household, by Mathew Henry( huza huza) and edited by Scot Brown ( no slouch either) If I’m reading 6 books what’s one more, right? No wonder it takes forever for me to finish any. That’s sad, I googled the book and Google goes ”who?” Its at vision forum.
I’m trying to mentally prepare to do a radio show with Rob. Greg, How does ”Pull your pants up” sound as radio show? (Just trying to get some feed back Rob.) This is spillover from our lunch Sunday…Ha! Now that, should’ve been taped!
We let some of the most stupid stuff stand like it is self attesting truth
Some thinking out loud, sorry if it gets muddled....
With the Baldwin sign in our front yard, the neighboring Christians have been unwilling to take up the bait and ask "why don't you vote for McCain and Sarah?" (she is a modern day Ester you know)
Talked with my sister in Alaska. The Palin issue was perfect to sketch out how different our family is now, where we are going etc.
Most of modern Christianity is reduced to comments like "that's nice"....."okaaaaay."
Just as Americans generically we are unprepared to engage one another in what used to just be conversation. You know, say things like...."Why do you think that?" Society has conditioned most people, to when asked that question, to now just say anything, like "That's just what I think" and everyone else should then yield to your individual choice. So its almost pointless to ask. We just nod our head understandingly and let some of the most stupid stuff stand like it is self attesting truth.
As believers it should always be on the table to come from the "How do you arrive at that from scripture?" angle. Really, we Christians have also been conditioned to "feel" that something like that would be....impolite....none of our business(?)....rude(?) ...intolerant (horrid)....judgmental (God forbid!) We appear to be disarmed with this, everyone gets to decide what the verse means to them mentality. I don't remember it being this way in the 70's but at the same time I cannot remember a specific time when it just became the normal Zeitgeist that it is today.
Our Christianity actually makes it harder for believers to communicate? The level of tentativeness is through the roof I think. We feel a security in our faith but its like everything else is off the table. Like its impossible to know, that which is good and that which is evil as we have shifted the standard off of God and his word and placed it in individual man and what he thinks the word means.
Now this is so refreshing that we have dragged the whole carcass back into church and are now going "what sayeth the scriptures?" as we poke at it! Not to mention fun. Of course we have a different set of issues to deal with. Loving each other as we try to handle the two edged sword in manners that we are not used to seeing. This way layeth the truth though.
Yes, family worship as a weapon of mass destruction. The Gates of hell shall not prevail against our Lords Kingdom.
With the Baldwin sign in our front yard, the neighboring Christians have been unwilling to take up the bait and ask "why don't you vote for McCain and Sarah?" (she is a modern day Ester you know)
Talked with my sister in Alaska. The Palin issue was perfect to sketch out how different our family is now, where we are going etc.
Most of modern Christianity is reduced to comments like "that's nice"....."okaaaaay."
Just as Americans generically we are unprepared to engage one another in what used to just be conversation. You know, say things like...."Why do you think that?" Society has conditioned most people, to when asked that question, to now just say anything, like "That's just what I think" and everyone else should then yield to your individual choice. So its almost pointless to ask. We just nod our head understandingly and let some of the most stupid stuff stand like it is self attesting truth.
As believers it should always be on the table to come from the "How do you arrive at that from scripture?" angle. Really, we Christians have also been conditioned to "feel" that something like that would be....impolite....none of our business(?)....rude(?) ...intolerant (horrid)....judgmental (God forbid!) We appear to be disarmed with this, everyone gets to decide what the verse means to them mentality. I don't remember it being this way in the 70's but at the same time I cannot remember a specific time when it just became the normal Zeitgeist that it is today.
Our Christianity actually makes it harder for believers to communicate? The level of tentativeness is through the roof I think. We feel a security in our faith but its like everything else is off the table. Like its impossible to know, that which is good and that which is evil as we have shifted the standard off of God and his word and placed it in individual man and what he thinks the word means.
Now this is so refreshing that we have dragged the whole carcass back into church and are now going "what sayeth the scriptures?" as we poke at it! Not to mention fun. Of course we have a different set of issues to deal with. Loving each other as we try to handle the two edged sword in manners that we are not used to seeing. This way layeth the truth though.
Yes, family worship as a weapon of mass destruction. The Gates of hell shall not prevail against our Lords Kingdom.
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