Benefits of a Big Town

'Big City Living' has many benefits!!!

Here is one of them: Being able to take J & M downtown to the All Star Game and the All-Star Fan Fest. We had a great time as 'The Boys' enjoyed a great time downtown. With the Arch in the background, made this picture really special!!!

In East St. Louis...

We took the train 'across the river' to East St Louis. Yes, one would say East St. Louis is more dangerous than Sadr City in Baghdad...(or is at least neck and neck with Detroit)

The boys wanted to see the city from the 'other side' and walk back. Okay. I though about hitting the Blackjack Table at the 'President Casino' while on there, but would be too difficult asking a 'local' to watch the boys outside while I was bankrupting the family finances.

FANFEST

Needless to say, Michael beat both of us at the 'What's Your Call' booth. He was always the first to answer and was 100% in agreement with the 'Call at the Plate'. Well, whose to say the umpire's call was correct?

Doesn't Get Much Better than This

I must say that sitting on the patio watching J & M try to eat ribs, hearing the rumble of the Stealth Bomber flyover and just enjoying watching the boys enjoying all the action was priceless.

However, I must say that by the end of the night, the boys have no respect for our Beloved Leader. When we were leaving, the METRO station was right across the street. As we got ready to cross, out came the police tape and restricted all access to that entire stretch of street. We literally had to walk almost two miles around the entire stadium to get to the METRO station that was 30 feet away. They had to make way for all the security and motorcade.

The boys just couldn't understand why. They were very tired and think our Beloved Leader is very selfish, rude, and thinks he the King. This observation from only a little traffic inconvenience.

That's quite a description. I think that of our Beloved Leader, and my reasoning has nothing with traffic! Just wait boys! Your current opinion will only get more refined the more you read and study...

Spiritual Garbage and Pseudo-Spirituality

This picture above is the end result of listening and adhering to Rob Bell, Brian McClaren, and others who would rather you develop your own 'journey' to 'g'od than to follow the infallible, irrefutable, undeniable Word of God.

This is from Rob Bell and his book "Velvet Elvis"

I was in an intense meeting with our church leaders in which we were discussing several passages in the Bible. One of the leaders was sharing her journey in trying to understand what the Bible teaches about the issue at hand and she said something like this: “I’ve spent a great deal of time recently studying this issue. I’ve read what the people on the one side of the issue say, and I’ve read what the people on the other side say. I’ve read the scholars and the theologians and all sorts of others on this subject. But then, in the end, I decided to get back to the Bible and just take it for what it really says.”
Now please understand that this way of thinking is prevalent in a lot of Christian churches,…but this view of the Bible is warped and toxic, to say the least… The assumption is that there is a way to read the Bible that is agenda—and perspective—free…This perspective is claiming that a person can simply read the Bible and do what it says—unaffected by any outside influences… When you hear people say they are just going to tell you what the Bible means, it is not true. They are telling you what they think it means.(053, 054, emphasis his)

This [canon of the Bible was not settled until the 4th century] is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that “Scripture alone” is our guide. It sounds nice, but it is not true. In reaction to abuses by the church, a group of believers during a time called the Reformation claimed that we only need the authority of the Bible. But the problem is that we got the Bible from the church voting on what the Bible even is. (67, 68)

We must be on the ball and not get caught up on 'self-oriented' faith discussions. It is not about us, but all about God. I'll stick to God's word and leave the interpretation up to the Holy Spirit and his quickening of my spirit as I study God's Word.

Matthew 7:15 – 23 (NIV)”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

"G" versus "g"

Honoring Europe and Standing Before the Throne of Judgement

Sweden rules 'gender-based' abortion legal

An article in "The Local, Sweden's News in Englis" has an article in today's (12 May 2009) edition. Read it HERE. Should we be surprised?

Our Beloved Leader is not surprised, in fact his entire being is wrapped in death from his time in the Illinois State Senate. Furthermore, he wants us to worship this Europe (France, March 2009):

In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's' leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

The Fall of America?

Well, if the world thinks we are arrogant/dismissive/derisive because we look down upon nations who do not value human life, then I am proud to be arrogant/dismissive/derisive.

We cannot take Israel's Covenant and promises as our own, but the Bible can be read and lessons learned about our lives and how we, as a nation, will come to ruin. Israel had been overrun, taken into captivity, destroyed, lead into wilderness, etc because of their straying from God's Word. It has happened to all great nations from the beginning of time. The Bible is clear- all nations will turn away from Him and His ways.

It is Happenning now in America

Ezekiel 22:30

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.

Psalm 106:23

Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

Isaiah 59:16

And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.

Isaiah 63:5

"I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.

Jeremiah 5:1

"Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her.

Jeremiah 15:1

Then the LORD said to me, "Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!

Ezekiel 13:5

"You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD. (NASB ©1995)

'O' Watch

" Oh My ME! Joey Boy Said What?"






We thought Dan Quayle was funny. Well, only the MSM though he was funny because he actually had values, told the truth, was faithful to his wife, and had no 'dirt' for them to find.
But to the MSU, that's besides the point.


Joey Boy is at it again:

"I would tell members of my family - and I have - that I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said on NBC's "Today".




And he didn't stop there!!!

"It's not just going to Mexico- if you're in a confined aircraft and one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft.""That's me. I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, [be] suggesting they ride the subway."

Three More years of Entertainment!

Good for the Goose, not so Good for the Gander?

It seems again that the Media Double Standard is alive and well: Golf Analyst David Veherty was reported by FoxNews this weekend as saying:

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though," Feherty wrote toward the end of his column. "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."
Feherty, a former Ryder Cup player who grew up in Northern Ireland, has gone to Iraq over Thanksgiving the past two years to visit with U.S. troops, and he created a foundation to help wounded soldiers.

"This passage was a metaphor meant to describe how American troops felt about our 43rd president," Feherty said in a statement. "In retrospect, it was inappropriate and unacceptable, and has clearly insulted Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, and for that, I apologize. As for our troops, they know I will continue to do as much as I can for them both at home and abroad."

He apologized later for what he said.


Wanda Sykes at a press dinner where 'Our Beloved Leader' was enjoying a 'worship me' service said:

"Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good water boarding, that's what he needs."

She has not apologized for wishing the death of someone.

Personally, I don't think either one should apologize. They were both making offhand remarks about their underlying political leanings. Verehty was only drudging up an old joke, and only inserted different names. Sykes was using the recent comments (although wrongly) by Limbaugh and turned it around.

Remember, anything done in the presence of our 'Beloved Leader' is acceptable and proved worthy. Just don't insult the 'Beloved Leader's Gestapo'.

Biblical Teaching

The Bible is absolutely true, without error, divinely inspired by God. Period.

We, as Bible-believing Christians, should be thankful that God has used men (and women) of God throughout the centuries to preserve the Tenets of the Faith. This weekend we were introduced to one of most recent men in this long list of faithful.

Dr. Peter Beck, http://www.christianity.com/blogs/beck/11600313/, a graduate of Southern Seminary, who completed his PhD in Church History, was a former member of Parkway Baptist Church. This is where we currently attend church, and continually are blessed by the sound Biblical teaching by the pastor and leadership. Dr. Beck considers Parkway his 'home church', although he is now a religion professor at Charleston Southern University.

He is truly a man of God who is not afraid to 'step on toes' for the Word of God and discernment. This weekend he took us through how Baptists through the centuries beginning with Luther and Zwingli started a movement that is still going today. The reformation did not stop at Calvin and Wesley.

One of my take-home messages was the fact that those theologians from Zwingli's disciples to Spurgeon's detractors had the same issues that the we have had in the 1980s through today. 'Liberals' (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) claim today: 1- Scripture is not divinely inspired, it is biased by those who wrote it. 2- We can fellowship with many faiths to enlarge our 'tent'.

Jesus gives us a very sobering warning that we need to take seriously: Matthew 18:5-14, and Mark 9:42-48. (v. 6)
1. It is better to be dead than to lead one of my 'little ones' astray.
2. Stumbling blocks are part of a fallen world. BUT woe to you if you 'willingly' allow one to come through you! (v. 7)
3. It is better to take drastic spiritual/physical action (cut it off) than to suffer eternally. (v. 10)

Paul many times in his writings warns the leaders to 'be on guard' for 'perverse teachers' (Acts 21). He instructs us to be alert and don't be fooled by these who want to 'tickle your ears'.

EMERGING SYNDROME

Our Generation is now dealing with the Post-Modern Theology and seen in the Emerging Church 'Syndrome':

1. "The Shack": No reverence for Almighty God (who is pictured as a Female), and that there are may paths to God, not one narrow way.

2. Brian McClaren: ("The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line."

3. Josh Reich: "Some of the values of the emerging church are an emphasis on emotions, global outlook, a rise in the use of arts, and a rise in mysticism and spirituality."

4. Tony Jones: "I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state."

Tony Jones, Part Two: "Since then [college years], I’ve become more uncomfortable with the notion that people are inherently bad, prideful, etc. I don’t deny the reality of sin. But I do doubt that human beings are depraved from birth. So, without quoting the Bible, what do you think? Are human beings predisposed to good or evil?"

Whaaaaaa? "Without quoting the Bible?" It's all about TONY and TONY's GLORY, forget God's Glory.

5. Rob Bell: "God has an incredibly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of amazing things." And in Velvet Elvis he writes: "So this is reality, this forgiveness, this reconciliation, is true for everybody. Paul insisted that when Jesus died on the cross, he was reconciling “all things, in heaven and on earth, to God. All things, everywhere. This reality then isn’t something we make come true about ourselves by doing something. It is already true. Our choice is to live in this new reality or cling to a reality of our own making." (p 146)

Bell also states: "This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that “Scripture alone” is our guide. It sounds nice but it is not true… When people say that all we need is the Bible, it is simply not true." (pps. 067-069)

SOLA SCRIPTURA

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17).

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self,… For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 3:1-2; 4:3-4, NASB)

LUTHER, ZWINGLI, CALVIN, WESLEY, BUNYAN, AND SPURGEON

OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Today, when our '5 Sola' Leaders stand up and warn us, we had better listen! When John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Alstair Begg, Mark Dever, and others (now I count personally Peter Beck!) start naming names, we had better listen and dive even deeper into the Bible.

We as parents need to ensure we train up or children so that we are not the conduits of stumbling blocks. Whether actively or passively allow this GARBAGE to enter our homes, God has warned us that it is better off if we were DEAD.

I (and my wife) now take that even more seriously after this past weekend.