The Scripturally Precise Return Of Random Thoughts Tuesday On Thursday

Oh, my head. It isn't quite dizzy, but I could stand a few months of contemplative quiet away from the political geek show. I'm not even watching/listening to the politics yet, and somehow it bleeds into my indifference and gives me a case of the fearful anticipatories. I KNOW it is going to get nasty before peacequiet returns.
A friend lent me a great book by Dr. Charles Stanley which is helping to keep the politics in perspective.
I've been hearing warnings about POMO for awhile now, that post-modern thinking is somehow muddying the consciousness of people (more than usual) so that there is no basis for truth anymore-what I believe is as valid as what you believe which can be the opposite of what she or he believes-that nothing is solid, truth is a metal liquid like Mercury, able to shift in whichever direction it is tilted.
Nah. Truth is God's truth. What He says is the bedrock on which everything stands, even if the post modern world wants to wish Him and His moral laws away. They will be brought to their knees, humbled with the rest of us who already know God. Read Zechariah and Isaiah. Ouch for them, blessing for us.
I don't have hope in Man to do anything more than continually mess up worser and ungooder. We are Devo!
But God is Good, and Patient, and Kind. Tesed.

Really, I'm Not Psychic!

So much for sunshine.

"MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed.

President Barack Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6 two days earlier, deploying the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden last year. Minutes after the president gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe."

I'm as happy as butter that the two hostages are free, but I do have a few questions.

Are we at war with Somalia? Is it legal for us to send military troops to kill kidnappers? 

Enemy soldiers on the field of battle are a given. Terrorists make themselves our enemies. But kidnappers? When did they become a high priority target? If the hostages had been held since October, why wait so long? Why wait until the night of the State of the Union speech?

As I said, I am glad that they are free. 

What makes me question the timing is that line in the story above about President Obama authorizing the mission.

Is that his call? Does he have the authority to send our military into a country with which we are not at war to kill civilians? 

How about Canada? If President Obama can send death squads into Somalia, why couldn't he dispatch Navy Seals north of the border on retrieval missions?

President Bush was called a Cowboy for allegedly going to war without unilateral support. If he had sent OUR military against non-military targets, the Cindy Sheehans would still be screeching about it this many years later.

She and her ilk would offer to be human shields for the impoverished, mis-understood Somalis.

But President Obama they cheer. Go figure.

One more kick: the American woman held hostage, Jessica Buchanan, was born in 1980. This President, who was willing to risk many American lives to rescue her...just this past week affirmed his support for Abortion on the anniversary of "Roe v Wade". Her life was so precious in Somalia, but he would have had no problem with her life being extinguished in the womb. 

Abortion is our GLOBAL shame-that it is 'legal' will never make it moral, and those who protect it will one day stand before God and find out what it is to have Life taken away.

Fret Not, Friends

I assume that in tonight's State of the Union address President Obama will claim credit for every sunny day while blaming Republicans for snow.
He can claim anything he wants, and reality just moves forward without him.
Listening to Wretched Radio last night, I heard Psalm 73 done as a spoken word 'song'-it was great to hear, and it struck me that Psalms 73 and 37 complement each other quite nicely-I read through them today at lunch, and I encourage you to do the same.
Fret not indeed.

Wintertime For Hitler

Bear with me for a few as I head into odd territories, an expidit which has been kicking around in my head for awhile now. (sidenote- you wouldn't want to be in my head-scary architecture)
I believe that satan is a fallen angel, who attempted an uprising in Heaven, sought to be like God. Satan and his minions, fellow fallen angels, are noted all throughout Scripture; there could only be no devil if the Bible were false-since it is true, what it declares is true.
So...satan and his angels fell, and are stuck here. From the beginning he had sought to corrupt the things of God, spoil His Creation.
At the cross, Jesus Christ defeated all of satan's plans by redeeming this dross world, these clay pots of sin we like to call "Us".
But lets start back a few thousand years, after Adam and Eve messed up and started populating the earth.
Genesis 6:1-8

¹Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 
²that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 
³Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 
⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
⁵Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 
⁶The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 
⁷The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 
⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD."

That's quite a chunk, but basically men evolved from sinners to evil nasty sinners who only looked to do evil.
You can find plenty o' books written about "The Nephilim" (noted above-in the middle of the text) which conjecture all kinds of crazy things, such as hybrid demon/men.
Dr. John MacArthur suggests in his study notes that the Nephilim were humans possessed by fallen angels, which I find more reasonable, as we have examples of such possession all through Scripture.
Here's where I get to add a conjecture: that satan and his minions sought to hold all of humankinid in thrall, would have loved to exterminate any thought of God, any mention of Him from the lips of Man.

(Guess how they're doing these days!)

Put in in understandable terms: Imagine if Hitler had won, and his Reich held sway over the entire planet for thousands of years. That's the sort of corrupt kingdom that satan/ the Nephilim were heading. It got so bad that Democrats won the...scratch that...so bad that MAN was totally corrupted, with the exception of one man, Noah, who found Grace in the sight of the Lord.
Think about that. Satan thought that he had won down here, as 99.9999999999999999% of the world was in his control. Overconfident much?
But God has everything under HIS control, always. Noah, one witness, was enough for God to restore humanity. God's Grace on Noah extended to his children with him in the ark, and here we went again, downgraded and growing more evil in each succeeding generation.
We read in Daniel of spiritual conflicts between the forces of God (angels) and the forces of satan (fallen angels), the latter of which hold sway over kingdoms here on earth...for now.
We read in Revelation how the whole thing turns out- satan and all of his icky ilk are tossed into 'The Lake of Fire' and God continues into eternity with His redeemed Creation. Game over. 
I don't fear demons, or satan- they are defeated. I fear God.
In fear of God are elements of right respect and love-just as when I was a child I loved, respected and feared offending my father, so it is with God. May you come to know that fear.

Set Free From The Bean

I thought that this was supposed to be hard.
Yup-I'm off coffee, and was warned that I would have headaches, withdrawal, and an overall feeling of having just run two marathons.
Nope. No nothing-I didn't even hurt a little bit.  I think that after 40+ years of drinking coffee, I must still have so much built up in my system that I can coast.
Rhyme to my reason: Have you ever tried to change something in your life, but found it hard because you have become so used to the way that your life goes each day?
It's like an old garden, where the roots and weeds have overgrown the rows. Hard tilling.
Sometimes, to make progress, you have to turn over the ground, break it up.
I am a creature inhabited by habits-of which coffee had been one of my longest lasting, and most enjoyed. 
But I have found that I can no longer eat like a teenager, so old habits out, new habits in. I have already been
exercising the past few years-which only happened because I made room for it. Now it's a good habit.
With eating right, exercising, and making good decisions, I should last a few more decades, unless the Lord is willing to bring me home. My greatest selfish desire is to be in good health in my later life. I'm doing what I can now to make that happen. 

The Secret To The Secret Of Life

Tonight someone said the most complete word pertaining to our existence:
Contentment.
Specifically, to be content with who we are, what we have, where we are in the world and more.
As a Christian, I am content with who I am, even though I know that God is working in my life to make me more closely conformed to the image of Christ.
I am content with what I have, as it all comes from God.
I am content with where I am, as this is where God has led me.
And more.
Who I am now will be perfected in eternity.
What I have in this world will pass away, replaced by much much better.
Where I will be is in Heaven, even Heaven on Earth, as Heaven is wherever God
resides, and during the Millennial reign of Christ, that will be here, but a much much better here.
How could I not be content?
Here's a funny thing, though. I was looking through a Christian Book catalog today, seeing what the marketplace is doing; there are many Christian books  laying out programs/plans for Christians to be:
Healthier.
Happier.
Prosperous.
With a magnificent marriage.
Better kids.
Free from addictions.
Ready for a global collapse.
A BETTER YOU!
Sexier-what?

Do you see it? What all of these items have in common?
They all focus on the Christian, not Christ.
They all are aimed at improving the life (a morning mist, a hand's span of time) of a Christian through some work/plan/program.

Are we neurotic nellies? Unhealthy, unhappy, not prosperous, with poor marriages and families?
Addicted? Frightened of world events? No?
Then why all the books? Why not simply be content with God?

 

The Ladies Was Good

On another blog which I would blush to mention I was recently joining in a converse about old films being 'colorized'-was this practice evil or good? Is colorization of old celluloid a sin or a blessing?
It was Ted, of course-the Turner in Turner Classic Movies who had bought most of old Hollywood's catalog of treasures.
Technicolor Ted wanted to make old movies palatable for the youth of the world, who had grown up on COLOR TV and COLOR MOVIES.
The outrage! Letters were written to editors (of newspapers-you can look it up), Turner was hanged in Effigy (Indiana) and the court of public opinion sentenced him to six years of being married to Jane Fonda.
But Ted had a point. It's not just my love for TCM that brings me to defend him-I recently tried to share a few movies with a young friend who just couldn't get into them...because they were in black and white.
The Lady sitting immediately to the left of Judy Garland in the picture above is Virginia O'Brien, a comedic actress who made movies better by being cast in them (sort of the opposite of Robin Williams).
She wasn't the titular Lady in "Lady, Be Good" but her song in that movie is it's high point. A close second is Eleanor Powell's dance with a dog. No kidding.

I'm hoping that someday 'black and white' movies and talents such as Virginia O'Brien will be remembered and embraced by future generations.
Case in point-the Lady above, Jessie Ralph, was born in 1864. Think about that-a year old when the Civil War ended. She is delightful in one of my favorite classics: "Double Wedding" with Myrna Loy and William Powell.
They brought all the color needed for that film-red faces in the audience, from fans laughing so much.

Psychic Looks Back At 2012

Just kidding. I was going to parody the December 21st end of cycle that the Mayans allegedly predict, but t'aint funny, McGee.
Why has that date been bandied about by so many non-Mayans as if it might be true?
Sin. Even the most vile sinner amongst us carries the marred likeness of God, as we are made in His image.
His Image, His Morality written on our hearts.
We KNOW that this world is sinful, that there will be a reckoning for all of the evil we see (and perpetrate) every day. We are somewhat surprised that God has allowed this thing to go on so long.
So even sinners are longing for this to end; us forgiven sinners are looking for the better world He has promised us. All others? I hate to think about it.
Lemmings aren't suicidal-they just think that they can fly.

Once More and Forever, With Feeling

It has appeared here before, but this time, with this picture I am remembering a decade. I took this picture on December 31st, 2001. Ten years since, my life has changed dramatically-half my family has passed, I've changed careers, graduated from a business university, bought a house and am now living a quiet life. 
 I change-older, heavier, but in as good a shape as in 2001 when I was working a physical job. I may be chained to a desk now, but the exercise routine I've been working the past few years has benefited me greatly.
I change, but God is unchanging. He has led me through my life; He knew me, that I would be, before the foundation of the world. He not only creates common items such as myself, but He also makes beautiful frozen waterfalls, and puts in our being appreciation for such beauty. Wow.
I am honored to be welcomed as a member of my church-we love, need and pray for each other, and I wouldn't ever want to go back to flying solo. I said that half my family has passed-my church family extends to Heaven, billions of brothers and sisters bound together in Christ. Wow again. I look forward to the Day when we all get together to worship God in corpus Glorious.
If I were to get out the scales and measure the 'good' and the 'bad' of the past decade, it would be ridicualbly weighted in favor of "GOOD". Sure, I've had struggles, and some bad times...but I've also had God watching over me every millisecond of the decade.
Job had more trouble in a day than I've had in my entire life, and yet, in unison, we can say, 
"Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Sympatheologic

Greetings to all pagans or accidental Christians passing by this blog.

Well! Christmas night and all through the!

Don't bother looking up the word adorning this post-"Sympatheologic" is so freshly minted

it's still warm from the mind-oven.

Put simply (for a change), I've been over-inured with attempts to clutch at my heartstrings, make currency of my emotions.

You know what I mean-the Holiday feel good warm puppy stories.

"A man saves 40,000 nickles as a hobby, but gives them to a charity because..."It's Christmas"(tm)!" dunt dunt dah!

"A cat lost on vacation back in 1978, but the 5th generation of its kittens find their way back home to the waiting family on...

(you guessed it!) "Christmas"!"

 Please stop.

Why the fuss, Doug?

Simple. My emotions are mine. I do not want my emotions manipulated with warm puppy stories by media trying to make a buck off of me.

Because it's Christmas. Christmas. Christmas. Beer commercial. Warm puppy. Christmas. Christmas. Car commercial. Christmas. Warm puppy. Vodka. Christmas. Truck. Christmas.

I am not made of concrete and other discrete 'parts'. I do have emotions...I just prefer that they not be abused for the sake of commerce.

Which brings me to the theologic part of 'Sympatheologic'.

God has Blessed me with many friends and family.

They are on my heart, in my prayers. I think I have more sick friends right now than healthy ones. Some are struggling, some few may not see another Christmas.

But all are safe with God.

Right now, today, there have been "Christmas Day attacks" across the globe which have killed some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. My sympathies are with them, their families. They are safe with God.

I have unsaved friends and family for whom I continue to pray. They are...

Homme Brulant

Coincidence? I have, to the right of the page, a promo still showing Cary Grant, Kate H. and Baby, and "Bringing Up Baby" was on TV tonight. As the Dallas Cowboys seem to be playing some high school team, probably on a bet, I've been catching up on the "Crimedy" known as "Castle". And what do I see? A Medical Examiner trying to eat his lunch, interrupted by detectives.
Aaaaannnnddddd my mind reminds me of where I've seen this particular dynamic before: the Philo Vance movies of the early 1930's, with both Warren William and Basil Rathbone (!) as Vance. That Medical Examiner was always fussing about detectives not letting him finish a meal. Coincidence? I think not-I think that the writers/showrunners of "Castle" have done their homework. To remain fresh and new sometimes you have to study the old.
Another example: Pyromaniacs, the Team Pyro blog, weekly posts a blog entry "from" Charles Spurgeon.
It is always thoughtful and wise and classic Spurgeon.
I doubt that I will ever be quoted at all, and here is Charles Haddon with a weekly column 119 years after his advancement to the Front Office.
Coincidence?
No. His work is durable and endurable. His words are as fresh as if he were still in the pulpit today.
I wouldn't ever say that these posts are terribly hard for me to write-I am full of ideas, and, when I can juke left and elude my better judgement for a few steps, I will often dash away and put ideas in a blog post.
Spurgeon seemed incapable of missteps or faulty logic/ideas in his writing. He was GOOD.
He was also a man who had studied Scripture his entire life, who preached only from the Word.
Coincidence?

When The Sun Comes Out, Rainbows Die

I have faith in God to do Right, and faith that Man will do Wrong.
Meaning that the more I see of this sad twisted world, the more I
long for Heaven.
We have an election coming up next year, with not one Conservative candidate
that I can vote for without feeling like I'm abetting a crime.
Romney bet me ten grand that I couldn't write about Gingrich without mentioning his
marita...argh!
Rick Perry? I'd rather vote for Katy Perry.
I could have voted for Herman Cain. Gone.
Likewise, Sarah Palin would have my vote...if she were running.
I don't like having to choose between fourth and fifth choices simply because
my preferred candidates aren't in the race.
Sigh. I can vote for Michele Bachman as a protest vote, though I might still write in
Katy Perry.
Democrats have it worse; they have to vote for the man who attempted to destroy the economy and bankrupt their children. And their children's children...in the name of making America 'fair'.
By which he means unfair towards those who achieve, and 'fair' towards those who do not.
There's a good reason why I continue to look through the Bible, reading passages describing
Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The entire world will be "Fair". Truly fair, and honest, and
there will be no elections. Amen!

The Lost Fourth King Of Israel

Maybe not lost, but surely missing in the New Testament.
Before Bible scholars press the buttons on  their contradiction recognition machines, pointing out that Solomon was the Third King of Israel-Saul, David, and then Solomon...the first and truly only KING of Israel is God.
Then Saul, who messed up bigtime, David, a man after God's own heart, and then Solomon, who made Saul look like a novice in the messing up department.
You might say that God allowed Job to be tested by ruination, and allowed Solomon to be tested by wealth and abundance. Guess who passed the test?
What brought this post into being was a study in Ecclesiastes the other night, with a study note kicking me back to 1 Kings chapter 11. I won't post it here for the sake of time (I'm due for my nap) but in chapters 9-11 of 1 Kings God warns Solomon to keep to the straight and narrow, or he'd be buying troubles wholesale.
King Solomon blew it, allowing the abundance of treasures in this world to pull him away from God.
Not just the 700 wives-headaches, anyone? But he also built altars for his foreign wives to worship their gods.
Thus violating the Prime Directive; here is what God said in 1 Kings 9: 6-9

"⁶“But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 
⁷then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 
⁸“And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 
⁹“And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the LORD has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Adversity wasn't the half of it. After Solomon died, Israel was broken up, with ten tribes heading North to set up their own nation, only to be eventually wiped out.
The believing remnant was later carried off to Babylon; Daniel and company became slaves of infidel kings.
Fast forward to the time of Christ, the New Testament era. All Israel loved them some Moses bigtime, and David was well thought of, but Solomon? The grandest human King to ever sit on the throne, the writer of three books of the Wisdom literature? Hardly a note. Jesus makes mention of Solomon when He states that even Solomon, in all his glory wasn't as well dressed as the lilies of the field made by God.
Will we see Solomon in Heaven? I think so, as even for kings, Salvation is a gift from God, not dependent on works or anything that a man does or doesn't do. No matter how much Solomon (or Doug) screws up, it can't affect Salvation. He or I may arrive in Heaven with no treasures laid up, no extra crowns won by  bearing fruit, living a life pleasing to God, but if we are in, we are in, thanks to the lovingkindness and longsuffering of God. I hope to see you there, too.

Prince Of Peace Makes War

^"33And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 
³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—" Luke 2:33-34

I don't usually stop in the middle of a sentence; look up the rest of the verse for yourself, and see the context, but the point of the post today is in the final word above, 'opposed'.
Opposed doesn't half cover it. Herod the King of Israel started the ball rolling; when the Magi came looking for the Christ, he lost his collective cool-another King? Would he lose his Kingdom to an infant?
Long story short-the Magi found the babe, were warned off of returning to Herod, who sent his soldiers to slaughter all of Bethlehem's male children 2 years and younger.
That's Opposed with a capital 'O'. To no avail, as man and devil can never frustrate the plans of God.
Coming on 2012 and the Lord Jesus Christ is still being opposed by devilish men. My brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are being killed for bearing His name. That Iranian pastor I mentioned a while ago could walk out of prison today (if he can still walk) if he would only deny His Savior.
Opposed. I'll tell you who is opposed, friends. Everyone who does not belong to Christ is His enemy. They (you?) are opposed and defeated.
In His Grace and Mercy He chooses loved ones from the ranks of His enemies and showers Love on them, bringing them into His Kingdom. But only few, and of His choice.
If you grew up in a religious system that swears allegiance to Christ but does not live for Him...guess what?
You are a Herod. You are chaff and not wheat. Goat and not sheep. Stubble to be burned.
Pray that God will extend His Grace to you, shower Mercy on you. Are you opposed to that?