Almost Part Of Life

Considering my last post, it probably isn't wise to post now about suicide, but when was I ever accused of wisdom?
For the record, I’m not a good candidate-I’m expecting to be alive for eternity, in a glorified body, praising God. This temporary green room of a life, with its ups and downs, isn’t going to win any awards, but it is what it is. Temporary. Livable. Sometimes full of giggles.
So why post about suicide?
Circumstance, friends. There have been quite a few too many people in my area recently who have killed themselves . That touches us all.
Here’s something to consider: God sets the number of our days, just as surely as every hair on our heads is countable. He allots to each of us a finite number of minutes this side of the grave. How we die is not nearly as important as how we live.
Not everyone has the comfort of knowing that God loves them, cares for them, has a Hope ready to carry them through the tough times we inflict on each other down here.
All the more reason to proclaim the Gospel, and let people know that there is a bright future ahead. And also let people know that the present day mess doesn’t have to kill them.
Would a Born again Christian suicide? It has happened. We are human still, and even those who belong to God may find the present life unbearable.
But it is bearable. We continue to live and work and play and wait.

Cheer-o Yourself, Bob

Well. That wasn't interesting. But I'm back. Here's the what: I've had a bit of a hard week and a half. Nothing life-shattering, just hard. It happens to all at times, and it was my turn.
Let's say that my life is broken into three sections. If I have a rough patch in any of the three, the two other parts carry me through. Two parts in a bit of trouble, at least the third would be going well.
Well, all three parts went South this time. Now I'm heading North.
About the title: Bob Benchley wrote about this subject back in the 1930's. And it is as old as man.
Viskas bus gerai.

Temporary Sanity

I may be gone for a bit, but I will continue FDW.

Swans and Ducks

Elihu makes a defense of God to Job and his friends:
“10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.
11 “For He pays a man according to his work,
And makes him find it according to his way.
12 “Surely, God will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 “Who gave Him authority over the earth?
And who has laid on Him the whole world?
14 “If He should determine to do so,
If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
15 All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust.”
Job 34:10-15
Just a note-that last is a beautiful theological statement.

“16 “But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
17 “Shall one who hates justice rule?
And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
18 Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
19 Who shows no partiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands?”
Job 34:16-19
On with our show. I don’t simply cast off any criticism which may be valid. I am as susceptible to mistakenality and blind-eyeness as the next sinner. Believe it or don’t, I actually try to honor God in my life, and in these posts on FDW.
The recent Obama posts with his image being apellated with words such as “hypocrite” and “liar” caused someone to think that I was being un-Christian, or at the very least a poor one.
Fair enough.

“7 “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But with kings on the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
8 “And if they are bound in fetters,
And are caught in the cords of affliction,
9 Then He declares to them their work
And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.
10 “He opens their ear to instruction,
And commands that they return from evil.
11 “If they hear and serve Him,
They will end their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasures.
12 “But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword
And they will die without knowledge.
13 “But the godless in heart lay up anger;
They do not cry for help when He binds them.”
Job 36:7-13

Their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves. Starts with an O, ends with an A.
I won’t try to justify my opinion of Obama by tossing scripture at you. I won’t mention, except in passing right here, the very unkind words Jesus had for the leaders of Israel, and for Herod, the President Obama of Christ’s day.
What I will do is ask you to look at these few verses (or dig in the Bible on your own) and ask yourself, what is God’s opinion of the Obamas of the world?
“But Doug,” you might say, “If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, you should keep your mouth shut!”
No. If someone, even my President, is acting wickedly, is attacking my country, is abusing his power...I won’t shut up. I am calling out Obama to repent, to return from evil, for his own good.
Once upon a time John the Baptist had access to Herod Antipas through having been imprisoned. What did John do? He got in Herod’s face about his personal bidness:
“17For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; 20for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.”
Mark 6:17-20
God is watching.

Boldly

Space….is not the final frontier. Only spatially, in a point A to point Z kind of way. Here’s the here’s:
I’m ancient in dog years, but doing pretty good in Doug years. I watched Stat Trek when it was first on, and hated that it was cancelled, a child’s first disappointment.
A bit later my family is visiting relatives in an urban area, the TV is on and…Star Trek! How is this possible, I ask?
Re-runs, I am told. Oh. The concept of programming being re-broadcast enters my reality.
So now, 18 parsecs from that small world era where I would join Kirk and Spock in beaming down to some alien desert with big paper mache` rocks…J.J. Abrams, (who I suspect was my kindred kid back in my day) has brought it all home. And I’m beaming.

Casablanca Obverse

Oh no, you say-another one of those posts. I know some prefer the politi-bitters, or the theologic cambrianism.
But again, Doug with the old movies full of actors who have been dead lately.
According to the imdb, Alida Valli, pictured above with Joseph Cotton, passed from this world all the way back in 2006. Also according to imdb, she was in over 100 films-I just watched "The Third Man" after having heard about it for quite.
Leave it to say that it was much better because of her work in the movie. If you haven't seen it, or not for awhile, I encourage you to track it down, see for yourself what Cinema used to be.
Endnote: Among the few extras on the Criterion Collection disc is a casual picture from production in Vienna- the director Carol Reed visited by Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan, filming "I Was A Male War Bride" right in the near. Comedy meets Tragedy over tea. How very British.

Coward in Chief

From the A/P:
“U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that she is concerned about the Obama Administration’s "corruption, lack of transparency, poor governance (and) absence of the rule of law."“

Okay-I fudged, but I own up to it. I replaced Afghanistan with the Obama Admin. Supposedly it’s Karzai’s administration which is riddled with corruption, lack of transparency poor governance (and) absence of rule of law.
This coming from Hillary Clinton can be likened to a prostitute jeering at a bride for not being a virgin on her wedding day.
“President Barack Obama won't accept any of the Afghanistan war options before him without changes, administration officials say, amid an argument by his own ambassador in Kabul that a significant U.S. troop increase would only prop up a weak, corruption-tainted government.”
(But he has no such benchmark for Chicago?)
The military commanders have stated that more troops are required for Afghanistan to achieve a positive outcome.
But the Peace Prize President doesn’t want to hear it. So our troops in Afghanistan are in more danger, as they will continue to be undermanned, and undermined by their own Commander in Chief.
Obviously Obama wants to be a Peace time President, and resents being saddled with a war he didn’t want. Pity poor him. Pity poor U.S. as we are ‘being led’ by a non-Leader.
If he doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to face down our country’s enemies-and I’m not talking about Republicans here-then he shouldn’t be President.
I expect him to cut and run while blaming everyone else for the troubles he has brought on our country. I also expect that he will not seek re-election. I hope I'm right.

I'm Not Confused

I know that today is Veteran's Day. I'm a peacetime veteran myself. I was going to forgo commenting on this Day as words seem trite, and with what has happened at Fort Hood, in Afghanistan and Iraq; this day seems more like Memorial Day.
So, no real post. May God Bless you and also Bless the rest of us.

Some Good News For A Change

When the Lord takes up His people in what is colloquially referred to as "The Rapture", it will certainly be good news for Christians. Leaving behind a world of sin, our sinful bodies? Who wouldn't want that?
I can't see if anyone is raising their hands.

"2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
Psalm 2:2-3

We see the leaders of the nations (kings of the earth) seemingly bringing about this prophesy today.
You hear of the proud and OH! so civilized "Post-Christian Europe",
you read of the advances of Islam conquering more and more of the planet,
You see billions of peoples in the gulags of Communist atheism.
The 'tearing apart of the fetters' ? Have you desired to be free from the guilt that Christians keep talking about?
Be careful what you wish for, friends.
When all of those noisome Christians are taken away, with their preaching at and sharing the Gospel with a world that doesn't want to hear it....

11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.
12 “People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD,
But they will not find it. Amos 8:11-12

The context of the book of Amos shows that this famine will take place during a time when God is judging the world.
Just as the Bible is a closed book to those who do not have God's Spirit, during that famine the world will be so troubled, tribulations will be so great that some people will seek God, desire that God will forgive their sins and save them. But the Salvation available NOW will at that time be hidden from them. I know that there will be some who accept Christ in the troubled times ahead...but they will be killed by those rejecting the Gospel.
The good news for you? We're still here. The Christians have not yet left the building. The 'time of the gentiles' has not yet ended. There is still time for you to seek God and His forgiveness.

Those kings of the earth mentioned above? Do you know how that "unfettering" will turn out for them?
"15Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16and they said* to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”"
Revelation 6:15-17
Who indeed?

Post 580! Whoop De Do!

Consider this a rebut from all of the terribles going on in the world.

Oklahoma and Dr Zhivago are very well known, which is why I didn’t give many clues. The other movie is “Very Other”. The tag line is: “The motion picture with something to offend everyone!” and it certainly attempts to do just that. “The Loved One” came out the same year as “Dr. Zhivago”, with two very interesting performances from Rod Steiger.
Of course, Christianity is one of the elements which gets the greatest going over. But it’s a strawman religion that gets set fired to-Christianity as perceived by Hollywood. It misses what should have been an easy target, not that I’m complaining.
Many of the ‘closeted gay Hollywood’ community of the 1960’s appear in this movie, gathered by the director for his own reasons. It goes beyond co-incidence that the chaps are acting together here.
The movie is hilarious, and, when it misses a mark, it isn’t from a lack of effort. Rod Steiger as Mr Joyboy (the character is straight, but the movie?) is worth the price of a rental/purchase by himself, but his mother...
So ends the weakest movie quiz ever. James wins, as the only participant.
If you haven’t seen these movies, I encourage you to seek them out.

Evil Is Like A Box Of

"NO lover of the gospel can conceal from himself the fact that the days are evil."
C. H. Spurgeon in "The Sword and Trowel" August, 1887

Charlie, if you think times were bad back then...

Last night I listened to an interview of Pastor John MacArthur on the subject of what God says about Homosexuality.
I'm going to stop right there for a moment to point out: if you make negative assumptions about MacArthur and the content of the interview based on the subject matter, be careful that your prejudice doesn't rear up, as you would be pre-judging something you haven't heard.
During the interview, MacArthur is posed questions by an associate, and MacArthur makes plain at the outset that he is not offering his opinion. He rightly says that no one's opinion, not even his own, matters. What matters is God's opinion, clearly stated in Scripture.
I would encourage you to seek out MacArthur on the web-I go through iTunes-and listen to that interview yourself. What you hear may surprise you, or confirm your prejudice, if you have any. He makes a very good reasoned response to the query of why Christians get all into the personal business of sinners, why Christians oppose Homosexuality.
I also listened to a sermon from MacArthur on the subject, "The R-Rated Church." Quite.

Who's That?

Who's That?

There's nothing wrong with having a bit o` fun. For your bemusement, from the photo above, name the movies, the actors AND name the characters they played.
If you've seen and enjoyed the movies, do tell. If you haven't...do watch.