Caff-Fiend

I tell ya, sometimes it's fun to be growing older. One of the rites of passage I navigate in this year is getting a physical inspection from a doctor. I've had the physical part, and go back in a few days to get the results of the blood work. No worries-a little bird told me that I'm fine, just slightly elevated this or that, nothing too fierce.
Here's the heres: a lifetime of being a non-smoker, a non-alcoholic are now paying dividends.
Up until 7 years ago, I always had physical working jobs, so 30 years of labor type work help me to maintain some fitness, even though I am now a chaired worker. I foresee being a healthy 80 year old someday, kept busy going to the funerals of my slightly less unfit fellow human beans.
The one virtue (often called a vice) in my life is Coffee. If I were to give up coffee, I might better pass a physical exam, but I wouldn't enjoy Life as much. I enjoy seeing the world through coffee-colored glasses. Ooops-my cup is empty. 30

On A White Horse

"10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10

7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:7

I wondered-why the mourning noted in Zechariah? Why would those who see Jesus returning be mourning?
"they will look on Me whom they have pierced" "they will mourn for Him" the change from 'Me' to 'Him' is also puzzling. Quickly! To the Quickverse! (I have an embarrassment of digital riches on my computer, a full library of Bible study works, commentaries, versions of the Bible, etc.)
The consensus view of Zechariah 12:10 is that Jesus Christ (the Me quoted), on His return, will be recognized by the Jews as the Messiah (the Him noted) they missed 2000 years ago. They will be face to face with the reality that their religion has sent untold millions of their loved ones to hell-and please, if you think I'm gloating, Lu, I'm not. I'd rather see Heaven full and hell empty. But our wishes change nothing.
"and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him." Think about that for a moment.
If what the Bible states is true, if Christians are right about Who Jesus Christ is, at His return the entire world is going to be flipped upside down metaphorically.
All other religions, such as Islam and Hindi pantheism-dust and gone.
All cruel governments which hold people in bondage, from China to Cuba to you name it-gone. Tossed over the cliff of insignificance. Christ will rule from His capitol, Jerusalem.
So it is to be. Amen.

Honor And Blessings Belong To God

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:3-12

Promises Made And Purchases Paid

“22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.
There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. 26And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.””

This is quite a moment in Israel’s history:
They had been slaves in Egypt.
They had been rescued by God through Moses in ways that we absolutely miraculous-only God could do what was done.
God had put in the hearts of the Egyptians the desire to Bless the outgoing Israelites with precious gifts.
So...
They were ‘rich’
They were ‘rescued’
They were...complaining?
Yes. The same Israelites who were being led by God, with a column of fire by night, cloud by day...lacked the faith to even believe that God would take care of them.
No water! No meat! Wah wah wah.
They accused God of taking them out of their lovely Egyptian homes so that He could kill them in the desert...
Talk about a self-fulfilled prophesy!
“7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest.” Psalm 95:7-11
What did Jesus say?
“25“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25-33

Give Him An Out

I haven't done political for awhile, and please, believe me-I don't want to get very mucho politico
now. But this is for our own good.
I'm thinking that President Obama is already looking for a White House exit strategy which won't harm his image. He is bright, smart enough to know that most of America isn't willing to live in HIS ideal of what America should be. We are happier in the America we build for ourselves. President Obama makes the Republicans look like geniuses when they oppose his policies.
I've said before that I doubt that President Obama will run for re-election. Rather than face being defeated as Carter was in 1980, I think he'll make an announcement in the next year that, due to ________ or ________, he will not seek re-election.
Fill in the blanks. Give the guy an out, whatever occurs to you: a promise made to his kids, a health scare for his wife which has made him re-evaluate blah blah blah...whatever.
If you hadn't noticed, aside from Patrick Kennedy there are a number of Democrats getting out while the getting is good. President Obama may find that that is a parade that he wants to get in front of.
If he announces soon, that will give his party time to groom a successor. Possibly one which President Obama would appoint to a 'showy' post, where he or she could emphasize the leadership credentials. I'm kinda positivecertainabsolutelyforsure that his initials won't be Joe Biden.

Roger That, Signal Apha Delta

Roger Ebert has been pinging my Libdar lately, calling for Rush Limbaugh to be horsewhipped (Lu, please-enough with the head nodding!), championing President Obama's Admin of Errors, promoting hate hate hate for every 'Red State' idea of his political opposites. S'okay.
I've enjoyed his reviews for years, and each Friday I usually end up on his blog to check his opinion of the new movies. Fine fun, especially when I disagree with him.
I know that Roger is surviving Cancer with a capital 'C'. He can't speak with his own voice, so, being rich enough to afford such things, he has a voice emulator which gives him the 'voice' of Hal the computer from "2001 A Space Odyssey ". Plenty good.
Roger fights the idea of going gently into that dark night; knowing time is short, he is raging at those he disagrees with. Speaking up before he's silenced forever.
There's an old storyline: someone is close to death, decides to tell off everyone they've ever contended with, really lets them have it, burning every bridge. Then they find out that they aren't dying, and will have to face everyone they hated on. The last sentence never happens in real life.
Roger, thanks for all the great insights into the movies. If it makes you feel better, Rip up Conservatives until you R.I.P. It does them no harm, and it doesn't matter if it does you no good. It might be better to emulate Hazel Flagg from "Nothing Sacred" who showed such Grace in the face of 'death' that she inspired many to Bless instead of hate. But go with what you got. Thumbs up.

Random 613 Thoughts Of A Tuesday

Who brunk the thunk? Or brings you his thoughts free of charge? Yup.
If time is money, and I save you some time...pay up.
I haven't done a Random Thoughts scatter for awhile, and sometimes I need to derail my trains of thoughts; untrained thoughts sometimes go to better places, where rails don't run.
I picked up a movie last weekend which reminded me of how funny 'Funny" can be when done by professionals: "Seems Like Old Times"-Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn do great justice to Neil Simon's script. I liked it better than "Cats".
Now that the dust has settled in New Orleans following the Saints victory, I'm waiting to hear those magic words: "Pitchers and Catchers report".
President Obama doesn't think we like his ideas because he hasn't explained them enough.
We understand. He's been clear. That's why we don't like his ideas.
I'm beginning to doubt that he will seek re-election. Why settle? He could be the head of the Untied Nations someday. I can see him now, standing before the assembled assembly, sword brandished, shouting, "By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!" transforming into He-Man, Master Of The Universe!"
Or he'll just retire to New York and write a book.
Sade performed on the Letterman show last night, sounding quite good. She was the best part of "Absolute Beginners", and I spin her up on my iPod, every once in.
Speaking/writing of...I'll stick with iPod,tanxa. Unless I gain a LOT of weight and height, an iPad would look just ridiculous on my unhip hip. I listen, not look. My iPod holster is adorned/held together with black duct tape; it's served me well through three generations of pod. Selah.

It Takes One To Know One

“Going back to this Dan the Pastor guy who runs the bookshop, do you suppose he's not a real believer, or he perhaps is and is just muddled in the head with bad doctrine and ideas about God?”

A fair question, deserving a fair answer.

He is as much a Christian as I was when I was in those churches for years. 100%-even if he disagrees with me doctrinally.
Someone recently mentioned brother Rand, who once declared his belief that very few Pentecostals are actually Christians. I disagree.
Remember the rhubarb a few weeks ago, when I stated that Salvation is instantaneous, but santification and learning of God is a lifelong process? I am no smarter than Dan, am certainly not more ‘Holy’ or righteous. In my life, I went from being an unbeliever to a believer who fell in among Pentecostals, to being a Pentecostal myself, and then being taught by God through His Holy Spirit of the errors and abuses of Pentecostalism. He moved me out of those churches and now into a Baptist church. That’s been my journey, but not Dan’s…so far.
I believe that God has His own good reasons for all that He does.
With that said, there is a world of difference between a true Christian like Dan who does not agree with my doctrines and false Christians.
How do I know the difference? Judging by God’s Word. Dan and I may disagree on the meaning of some passages of Scripture, but a false Christian will pervert/distort/add to/reject Scripture all while pretending to believe in God.
I pray that God will open Dan’s eyes as He did mine…and if Dan is praying the same about me, that my eyes would be opened to what he perceives as the Truth…I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. He’s a good man, a compassionate brother. You and I can judge the actions, but God sees our hearts.

I'm Trying To Bless You, Sparky!

I have it on good authority that a person can not be bullied into believing in God. No bullying, no arguing, no debate will do the job.
Harangue is a good word-from the thesaurus: berate, lecture, criticize, rant, address, sermonize, scold.
None of that stuff will work. It’s a waste of time, and does nothing more than make people more adamant in their unbelief.
Right as sunshine.
Now to get (ahem)... personal. I’ve been accused of all of these timewasters, these wall builders. I’ve even been accused of “Glorying” over the fact that I’m going to Heaven while others aren’t.
If you only knew.
Look back through the pages of Fine Dry Wit for evidence of my bully scolding, and you will find the same eight words sprinkled throughout: “May God grant you the Grace to believe”.

Jesus said, “44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44

Only those whom God draws will come to Christ. It is that simple. My prayer for my family, my friends and everyone is that God will grant them the Grace to believe. That God will draw them to Himself. Again, swegos.

The Books Of Daniel

Pastor Dan. Dan the Man. Dan operates a Christian bookstore as part of his ministry, and I stopped in today, looking for something. Here's how it went:

"Dan, I'm looking for the John MacArthur study Bible, or any of his books."
"I won't have them in the store. None."
"Really? Wow."
"He preaches against the Gifts, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; Jesus DIED for those gifts! And I won't have him in my store."
"All right."
"He's a good teacher, but..."
I'm thought, how can Dan call MacArthur a good teacher, if he is totally against his teachings?
So I said, "Well, I guess you just pushed me out of your store."
"Okay then. Have a good day. May God Bless you."

He does and He did.
On the shelves of Dan's store you can find all kinds of goofy books- I've mentioned my friend Chrystal's site, "Slaughter Of The Sheep"-the false teachers that she warns Christians against are all over Dan's bookstore. But he also carries Charles Spurgeon, who would be aghast at the ridiculables being perpetrated today in the name of Christ. Or maybe he wouldn't-he had his own Pastor Dans in his time.
Longish story short, I will still visit the bookstore if I need materials, but I won't be asking about MacArthur. Swegos.

Mess We're In

Entropy strikes again-the Haloscan comments are breaking down, and I have to upgrade to a different service. Inter the interim, inter your comments in the inernment comments camp found here: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
Write any sark on the back of an old envelope and put it away in a drawer for your grandkids to find.
Selah

The Mess After The Mess

"US Baptists knew removing kids was wrong"
was the banner headline.
I have no idea why some ten of my Baptist brethren attempted to take kids out of Haiti and back to the United States.
Compassion? Probably-I imagine we'll find out soon.
I've never been on the site of a major catasrophe, but if I had been one of the ten, I think I would have argued for re-uniting the children with any possible relatives, even cousins/aunts/uncles.
Compassion drives people to do many things which, in hindsight, were probably wrong. You may (or may not) have heard of a chapter in our own country's story that isn't much talked about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_Train
If that link doesn't quite work, just google "Orphan Trains"
If you're sending prayers up to God for the people/children of Haiti, I hope that you will join me in asking God to help these Christians who may have some harsher days ahead of them.