The traditional month of marriage

...not so traditional now.

Taking time away from solving the financial and oil spill crises, President Barack Obama declared June 2010 as National Prostitute, Adulterer, Pedophile and Polygamist month, calling it an important chapter in the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the prostitute, adulterer, pedophile and polygamist (PAPP) community. PAPP Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, PAPP individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors.

Wait. Where did this news feed come from? Oops; Sorry about that. It is a different group of personal sexual choices -- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender -- that the President is recognizing this month.

Sin does not cease to be sin just because a President declares it to be so. Furthermore, "...all sexual behavior – married heterosexual conduct, adulterous heterosexuality, bestiality, necrophilia, homosexuality, pedophilia, coprophilia, polyamory...is chosen behavior...It has nothing to do with unalterable, unchangeable, immutable characteristics...A person's natural state is that of male or female. From there, people choose what kind of sexual behavior, if any, to participate in." (Peter Heck)

Wake up, America!

Psalm 81:16

Ps. 81:16

"Be true to truth, but not turbulent and scornful. Restore such as are fallen; help them up again with all the bowels of Christ. Set the broken disjointed bones with the grace of the gospel. Confident Christian! Despise not weak saints; you may come to wish to be in the condition of the most despised of them. Be faithful to others’ infirmities, but realizing especially your own. Visit sick beds and deserted souls much; they are excellent scholars in experience." -- Excerpt from Honey out of The Rock by Thomas Willcox

Can a pedobaptist church be a valid church?

Bart Barber: "Can a pedobaptist church be a valid New Testament church? To that I would say, eventually not. I conclude from Christ's admonition to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2 that there is a probationary warning period during which a church is sinning in ways that disqualify it from being a church, but during which Christ patiently calls the church to repentance and awaits their obedience before actually 'removing their lampstand' so to speak. I conclude this from the fact that the Ephesian church itself was already guilty, but Christ had not yet removed their lampstand (but was merely warning that He would surely do so soon if they would not repent).

"Pedobaptist churches are in sin against God. They are in sin that disqualifies them from being a valid church. Has Christ yet executed judgment against them, or are they in His probationary period? I don't know how to answer that question. I suspect that hundreds of years is long enough."

From comments on Bart's blog post "Baptist Identity" Influences in My Life

People and politicians

Received in e-mail, original source unknown:
One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, "I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a Thank You card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a policeman comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, "I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week." The policeman was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a Thank You card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, "I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week." The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

That illustrates one of the fundamental differences between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

College for all

As you finish high school and get ready for college:

"The notion that a four-year degree is essential for real success is being challenged by a growing number of economists, policy analysts and academics. They say more Americans should consider other options such as technical training or two-year schools, which have been embraced in Europe for decades.

"As evidence, experts cite rising student debt, stagnant graduation rates and a struggling job market flooded with overqualified degree-holders. They pose a fundamental question: Do too many students go to college?" -- From College for all? Experts say not necessarily by Alan Scher Zagier

Big singing near

May 29 and 30 (d.v.), the spring session of the 110th Annual Southwest Texas Convention will be held at the Bethel Primitive Baptist Church's meeting house, on FM 713, McMahan, Texas. McMahan is a community located between Bastrop and Luling, and east of Lockhart. Click on the link for more info. The Cooper (blue book) will be used.

Flesh and spirit

HYMN 143, C. M.
Flesh and spirit.

What diff'rent powers of grace and sin
Attend our mortal state
I hate the thoughts that work within,
And do the works I hate.

Now I complain, and groan, and die,
While sin and Satan reign;
Now raise my songs of triumph high,
For grace prevails again.

So darkness struggles with the light
Till perfect day arise;
Water and fire maintain the fight,
Until the weaker dies.

Thus will the flesh and spirit strive,
And vex and break my peace;
But I shall quit this mortal life,
And sin for ever cease.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II, 1707

Locum

locum. noun: A person filling in for another, especially for a doctor or clergyman. From Latin locum tenens (holding the place)

Beauty of creation

Sometimes in this busy world we don't take the time to slow down and breathe in the beauty of God's creation. Last night about 9:30 p.m. I went outside at my Mother's house. Her house sits on a hill, and to the south is a creek bottom. The night was dark but a dim light from a hazy quarter moon. Looking down the hill to the south gave something of the impression of a bowl or maybe a amphitheatre. The trees made a sort of semi-circle around an open bit of field, and I could vaguely make them out. Against this backdrop God had dozens of his little lightning bugs turning their lights on and off. The scene made it appear they were in the trees, but I really couldn't tell. A light went on and off here and there, then seemed almost electric at times when dozens would light up almost simultaneously.

What we call lightning bugs are lampyridae, known to many as fireflies. This one little bit of God's creation alone makes us stand in awe. The mathematical impossibilities of just this one creature evolving are mind boggling. And it is just one.

The book of creation

The book of creation.

The book of nature open lies,
With much instruction stored;
But till the Lord anoints our eyes
We cannot read a word.

Philosophers have pored in vain,
And guessed, from age to age;
For reason's eye could ne'er attain
To understand a page.

Though to each star they give a name,
Its size and motions teach;
The truths which all the stars proclaim,
Their wisdom cannot reach.

With skill to measure earth and sea;
And weigh the subtle air;
They cannot, LORD, discover thee
Though present everywhere.

The knowledge of the saints excels
The wisdom of the schools;
To them his secrets God reveals,
Though men account them fools.

To them the sun and stars on high,
The flow'rs that paint the field,
And all the artless birds that fly,
Divine instruction yield.

The creatures on their senses press,
As witnesses to prove
Their Savior's pow'r, and faithfulness,
His providence and love.

Thus may we study nature's book
To make us wise indeed!
And pity those who only look
At what they cannot read.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Goodbye, Andy

Andy Woods Elementary in Tyler, TX is scheduled for demolition in mid June. The school was built in 1956 and named in honor of Thomas Andrew Woods. According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Woods, born in Panola County in 1913, was "a longtime physical education teacher and coach at Tyler's Hogg Junior High." He was "a leader, a positive influence to young men and a notorious practical joker. He ran the Tyler Little League Summer Baseball program for eight years before he died in 1954 at age 42."

What many educators and newspaper publishers probably do not know is that Thomas Andrew Woods was a Sacred Harp singer and served as secretary of the oldest singing convention in Texas -- the East Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention, organized 1855. He was secretary 1940-41. His widow is, I think, still living in Athens, Texas. After his death she married Jackson Owen, also a Sacred Harp singer.

When I saw the Tyler paper article, I decided to put up this little post to honor Mr. Woods. Probably most of the students who had such fond memories of the campus never knew him. (Neither did I; he died 3 years before I was born.)

To the afflicted

To the afflicted, tossed with tempests and not comforted.
Isa 44:5-11

Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what CHRIST the Savior says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise:
Yes, he speaks, and speaks to thee,
May he help thee to believe!
Then thou presently wilt see,
Thou hast little cause to grieve.

"Fear thou not, nor be ashamed,
All thy sorrows soon shall end
I who heav'n and earth have framed,
Am thy husband and thy friend
I the High and Holy One,
Israel's GOD by all adored;
As thy Savior will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.

For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I'll renew,
Thou shalt soon rejoice again:
Though I scorn to hide my face,
Very soon my wrath shall cease;
'Tis but for a moment's space,
Ending in eternal peace.

When my peaceful bow appears
Gen 9:13,14
Painted on the wat'ry cloud;
'Tis to dissipate thy fears,
Lest the earth should be o'erflowed:
'Tis an emblem too of grace,
Of my cov'nant love a sign;
Though the mountains leave their place,
Thou shalt be for ever mine.

Though afflicted, tempest-tossed,
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou canst be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart
All thy walls I will repair,
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear,
What a God of love can do.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Greater, more

Matthew 23:14-15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

v. 14 The greater damnation
Degrees of punishment in hell is what I was taught concerning "the greater damnation". While that could be interpreted that way, there is a simpler possible comparison. Jesus condemns the hypocritical Pharisees, who made much religious show with their long prayers and such. But behind their religious façade lay hearts of evil which had no compassion even for the helpless, such as the widows. If they had the advantage, they would gladly devour their homes, their possessions, their all. In their weakest time with little defense, these hypocrites take advantage of widows. Perhaps, like some modern religions, they offer their prayers to obtain their substance. Whatever damnation they laid on the widows, theirs will be greater. Not that their eternal punishment will be greater than the eternal punishment of others, but what happens to them is greater and more severe than what they did to the helpless widows. Vengeance is God's; He will repay. Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

v. 15 Twofold more the child of hell
Just because one is a Jewish proselyte does not guarantee that one is bound for eternal punishment. Some proselytes gladly received the message of the apostles (e.g. Acts 2:10, 3:5; 13:43). So I don't see how it fits that this is referring to the destiny of the proselyte. They are not "two-fold" more children of hell in their destiny, but in their actions. The converts of the Pharisees learn their teachings, mimic their ways, and accentuate their flaws. So, what is bad in the teacher is worse in the student. Though Saul was not strictly a proselyte (if I understand the term), he was a disciple of the Pharisee Gamaliel. Gamaliel is presented as a fairly reasonable man who opposed killing Christians, prefering to let Christianity die out of its own accord (he hoped). Yet his disciple Saul was exceedingly mad against them. Where Gamaliel was willing to let them slowly die out as a Jewish sect, Saul just wanted them to die. He was quite successful in exterminating many of them (Cf. Acts 5:34-40; 22:3-4; 26:9-11). Is not this what Jesus meant?

God's acre

God's acre. noun: A cemetery, especially one next to a church. [Loan translation of German Gottesacker, from Gott (God) + Acker (field).]

Supreme Court

A week or so ago I heard Michael Savage raving about someone who had brought up the religious/denominational makeup of the Supreme Court and comparing him to Nazis for bringing it up. I, nevertheless, think it is a curious subject. Before discussing it further let me put forward this disclaimer -- in agreement with our Baptist forefathers like John Leland, I do believe there should be no religious test for public office. In spite of that, I still find it interesting that, should Solicitor General Elena Kagan be confirmed to the court as she likely will be, the religious makeup of the Supreme Court will be 6 Catholics, 3 Jews and zero Protestants*.

It is hard to be sure, since numbers vary at different sources, but of these three groups it appears roughly 52% of Americans are Protestants, 24% are Catholics and 2% are Jewish. So if we were just selecting randomly, the majority of the court might likely be Protestant. But, as James Piereson points out in "The Diversity Scam and the Supreme Court," there is "nothing random about the selection process".

Why did the religious makeup of the Court wind up this way? Coincidence? Conspiracy? Camaraderie? Chaos? (God is in control of it all, but what human means has He used in so controlling it?)

It is suggested by Piereson and others that it may be because "elite" law schools have fewer Protestants than Jews or Catholics. "On other important grounds, the Supreme Court appears as a surprisingly monolithic group of justices. Nearly all attended elite colleges and proceeded from there to a few Ivy League law schools. They come from either a few northeastern states or from California. Considered as a group, the absence of genuine diversity on the Court is more than a little stunning." (James Piereson in The Diversity Scam and the Supreme Court) "Our obsession with diversity has produced a governing class of monolithic sameness...Eight of the nine justices (including Kagan) attended either Harvard or Yale Law Schools; the ninth—Ginsburg—attended Columbia. Just three Ivy League law schools have supplied the legal education of the entire Supreme Court. What kind of diversity is that?"

I am opposed to the current mentality that we need judges that are sympathetic to certain groups or viewpoints. A judge should be morally and legally qualified and render verdicts according to the law. As far as the religious angle, you can't really tell much about a person's worldview based on the denominational affiliation (excepting possibly small groups with very tight beliefs). Catholic, Protestant and Jewish legal views range from one end to the other of the spectrum of American public opinion. The current court displays that.

But still, for all the claims of diversity -- we've got to have a woman, a black, a Latina, etc., etc. -- the court has been filled with a pretty tight little group which does not come from across the full spectrum of America, either geographically, theologically, or philosophically. If they judge rightly, it won't matter. Ultimately, they should be highly knowledgeable of the law, and specifically according to the Constitution there should good moral character: "The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour..."

Notes:
*Public media reporting this uses Protestant to refer to any non-Catholic Christian denominations, if I understand correctly. Other than complying with the public understanding on this topic, we do not use the term "Protestant" to refer to Anabaptists such as Baptists, Mennonites, Amish, etc.

Adherents.com provides this religious breakdown of the Supreme Court up to this day:
Episcopalian 35
Other Protestant 28
Presbyterian 19
Catholic 12 (6 of the 12 Catholics are currently serving)
Unitarian 10
Jewish 7
No church 1

President Obama said with Kagan's appointment there would be "A Court that would be more inclusive, more representative, more reflective of us as a people than ever before." How will Elena Kagan’s presence on the Supreme Court make the Court "more representative"?

Space, the final frontier

I never been big on the space program -- even remember when a lot of common sense folks around here the whole thing was fake. But I am intrigued that space veterans from Neil Armstrong (the first man to walk on the moon) to Eugene Cernan (the last man to walk on the moon) oppose the Obama administration's space program. "We have come to the unanimous conclusion that this budget proposal presents no challenges, has no focus, and in fact is a blueprint for a mission to 'nowhere,'" Cernan said.

Good question

In a blog post on prayer and God's will, Cory Page asked the following question: "How often do you take the Model Prayer's phrase 'Thy will be done' and make it a disclaimer instead of a desire?"

The Testimony of Divine Adoption

How happy are the new-born race,
Partakers of adopting grace!
How pure the bliss they share!
Hid from the world and all its eyes,
Within their heart the blessing lies,
And conscience feels it there.

'Tis love unites what sin divides;
The centre, where all bliss resides;
To which the soul once brought,
Reclining on the first great cause,
From his abounding sweetness draws
Peace passing human thought.

Sorrow forgoes its nature there,
And life assumes a tranquil air,
Divested of its woes;
There sovereign goodness soothes the breast,
Till then incapable of rest,
In sacred sure repose.

From The Testimony of Divine Adoption by Madame de la Mothe Guion (translated by William Cowper)

Very interesting

"Hardly any white children can be found in D.C. public schools...when it comes to the spouses they choose, the schools their kids attend, the neighborhoods they live in and the churches they go to, the white liberal elite pretty much replicates the social patterns of the Ku Klux Klan." -- From "Who’s the Bigot, Mr. Brown?" by Patrick J. Buchanan

Might be interesting

The Baptist Commentary

Dossey's Choice Hymn Book, 1836

ENDA the line for decency?

The (so-called) Employment Non-Discrimination Act H.R. 3017 (also S. 1584)

"Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later."

Huh?

An Old Colonial Virginia preacher

"L. L. Gwaltney was a noted Virginia editor. He once told about an experience he heard his grandfather relate. When his grandfather was a small boy, he accompanied his father to the funeral service of an old Colonial Virginia preacher. As he and his father looked at the body of the preacher in the casket, the boy noticed that large scars covered the preacher’s hands. Later the boy asked his father about the scars. His father told him that this Baptist minister had been arrested for preaching in violation of the established church. Because he continued to preach from the jail, a high fence was built in front of the jail window so the people who gathered there could not see him. The people continued to gather to hear him preach. When he preached, he would stick his hands through the bars of the jail to gesture. When he extended his arms through the bars, the guards on duty would cut his hands with sharp knives. He bore those scars to his grave." -- From Chapter 6 of William Powell Tuck's Our Baptist Tradition

Graves on Jesus' baptism

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins...
“Let us clearly understand for what purpose Christ was baptized in the river of Jordan. He came to earth to work out a perfect righteousness for his people--to satisfy the infinite claims of divine justice for all who would that grace receive. It Was this "all-righteousness" he declared he wished to fulfill in his baptism. This he evidently could not literally accomplish by being baptized, else he might have ascended from the water in a chariot of glory to the right hand of the Father. But if he did fulfill the "all-righteousness" he came to earth to accomplish, he must have done it figuratively. We know that it was in a figure he fulfilled it; for the Holy Spirit expressly declares that the rite of baptism is only a figure--"The like figure where-unto baptism doth now also save us;" If baptism is only a figure, whatever it is said to do, or we are said to do in or by it, must be done figuratively. If it saves us, it saves us figuratively. If it washes away our sins, it does it figuratively, i. e., declaratively. If we are by it baptized into Christ, it is done figuratively, as the Jews were into Moses. If we are baptized into his death, we only figure symbolize it. So if Christ did in his baptism, fulfill all righteousness, he must, he could only have prefigured the acts which constitutes the all-righteousness. He set before their eyes, in a vivid figure, the three great acts by which he did fulfill the "all-righteousness" the law required in order that those for whom he appeared might be set free from the divine law, and their redemption eternally secured.” [From Christian Baptism, the Profession of our Faith, by J. R. Graves]

Salvation, by Newton

Salvation.

Salvation! what a glorious plan,
How suited to our need!
The grace that raises fallen man,
Is wonderful indeed!

'Twas wisdom formed the vast design,
To ransom us when lost;
And love's unfathomable mine
Provided all the cost.

Strict Justice, with approving look,
The holy cov'nant sealed;
And Truth, and Power, undertook
The whole should be fulfilled.

Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Pow'r and Love,
In all their glory shone;
When JESUS left the courts above,
And died to save his own.

Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Pow'r and Love,
Are equally displayed;
Now JESUS reigns enthroned above,
Our Advocate and Head.

Now sin appears deserving death,
Most hateful and abhorred;
And yet the sinner lives by faith,
And dares approach the LORD.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Rewriting history

Many people are complaining about the conservatives on the Texas State Board of Education. In doing so they complain of the conservatives having an agenda and pretend the liberals do not. Here is one of the few dissenting voices I've read online:


Who is rewriting history?

More global warming

:-)

Naaman, by Newton

NAAMAN. 2 Kings 5:14
Hallelujah Meter (6.6.6.6.8.8.)

Before Elisha's gate
The Syrian leper stood;
But could not brook to wait,
He deemed himself too good:
He thought the prophet would attend,
And not to him a message send.

Have I this journey come,
And will he not be seen?
I were as well at home,
Would washing make me clean:
Why must I wash in Jordan's flood?
Damascus' rivers are as good.

Thus by his foolish pride
He almost missed a cure;
Howe'er at length he tried,
And found the method sure:
Soon as his pride was brought to yield,
The leprosy was quickly healed.

Leprous and proud as he,
To Jesus thus I came,
From sin to set me free,
When first I heard his fame:
Surely, thought I, my pompous train
Of vows and tears will notice gain.

My heart devised the way
Which I supposed he'd take;
And when I found delay,
Was ready to go back:
Had he some painful task enjoined,
I to performance seemed inclined.

When by his word he spake,
That fountain opened see;
'Twas opened for thy sake,
Go wash, and thou art free:"
O! how did my proud heart gainsay,
I feared to trust this simple way.

At length I trial made,
When I had much endured;
The message I obeyed,
I washed, and I was cured:
Sinners this healing fountain try,
Which cleansed a wretch so vile as I.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Army "disinvites" Franklin Graham to Prayer Day

I found the following news bit interesting. I have never been a fan of Billy Graham, and don't know much about his son Franklin. Recently the army removed an invitation to Franklin Graham to pray and speak at the Pentagon on the National Day of Prayer on May 6. Their reason -- some time after 9/11 called Islam "an evil and wicked" religion.

Here's how a military spokesman, Colonel Tom Collins, reportedly explained it: "We're an all-inclusive military. We honor all faiths. ...Our message to our service and civilian work force is about the need for diversity and appreciation of all faiths." Here's the hypocrisy of the "inclusive" crowd -- they include those who agree and speak the "party line" and they exclude those who plainly speak what they believe to be the truth. Inclusive? Not in a million years.

Did you know?

April is Confederate History Month in some states. There is often a lot of misinformation about the Confederacy and the Civil War.

Did you know?

1. That the Civil War was not a "Civil" one, but a war between two independent nations?
2. That the American Indian nations of Oklahoma fought on the side of the Confederacy?
3. That there were free blacks in the South?
4. That there were free blacks in the South who owned slaves?
5. That many slave-holding planters --like Haller Nutt of Mississippi -- opposed secession from the United States and refused to support the Confederacy?
6. That the Emancipation Proclamation freed no one?
7. That slavery existed in the United States while they were at war with the Confederate States?
8. That slavery still existed in the North after it no longer existed in the South?

Folks don't trust our government

Pew Research Center: Nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they don't trust the federal government and have little faith it can solve America's ills, a survey found.

Where's the beef?

Some of it is with two congress folk from Texas. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and House appropriator Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) earmarked $693,000 for beef improvement research in Missouri and Texas.

This information comes from Citizens Against Government Waste, who released its latest edition of the "Pig Book" on Wednesday the 14th. This book is an annual highlighting of various pork-barrel projects (government excess and waste) in the federal budget. Check out the 2010 Pig Book Summary.

Most of the items in the Congressional Pig Book satisfy at least two of group’s seven criteria:
• Requested by only one chamber of Congress;
• Not specifically authorized;
• Not competitively awarded;
• Not requested by the President;
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding;
• Not the subject of congressional hearings; or
• Serves only a local or special interest.

At the polls

Some of you may have gone to the polls on Tuesday, April 13 (at least for Texans). Here are some more polls:

The AP-GfK Poll "found that people who identify themselves as tea party backers — nearly one in five Americans...tend to be Republican, but more conservative than Republicans in general, the poll found. They tend to see Obama as 'very liberal' and are 'angry' rather than merely dissatisfied with Washington."

"Though former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin draws raucous cheers at tea party rallies, a plurality of tea party supporters see her as unqualified to be president, according to the poll." [The AP-GfK Poll was conducted April 7-12, 2010 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media]

Rasmussen: Ron Paul Polls Even With Obama for 2012

"Pit maverick Republican Congressman Ron Paul against President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up, and the race is – virtually dead even.

"A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters finds Obama with 42 percent support and Paul with 41 percent of the vote. Eleven percent prefer some other candidate, and 6 percent are undecided.

"35 percent of voters now think Republicans and Democrats are so much alike that an entirely new political party is needed to represent the American people."

Silas Mercer

Lucian Lamar Knight wrote:

"Silas Mercer was of Scotch-Irish lineage—a typical Highlander in his rugged molds, both of speech and of character. He came from North Carolina to Georgia some time before the Revolution, but refugeed with his little family to the mountains of his home State for safety when the tide of war threatened to invade the foot-hills. At the close of hostilities he returned to Georgia, where the remainder of his days were spent, making the rounds of the wilderness on horseback and preaching the Gospel wherever he went. He founded the famous old church at Powelton, a landmark of Baptist history; Sardis and Bethesda were also vines which he planted, and, last but not least, the church at Phillips' Mill, where Jesse Mercer first saw the new light, was another stronghold of faith which he added to the kingdom. Rude temples of worship in numberless places sprang into existence at the call of this good man, blooming like wild flowers along the woodland paths; and, if the notes which he sounded were sometimes harsh and stern, it may also be said of him that he testified for the Master until the whole region of Wilkes breathed of the wayside balms of Galilee.

"He established his home on a plantation seven miles to the south of Washington, where he died in 1796, at the age of fifty-one. The place is today known as the Ficklen plantation, so called after Dr. Fielding Ficklen, a subsequent owner; and here in the Mercer burial ground may still be seen the grave of Silas Mercer—one of the most unique figures in the Baptist annals of America." -- From Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends, Volume II, Lucian Lamar Knight, Atlanta, GA: Byrd Printing Company, 1914, pp. 173-174

The graves of Silas and Dorcas Mercer were moved from the Mercer plantation to the cemetery of the Phillips' Mill church in 1976.

Cremation

Russell Moore on Cremation and Christianity

Should a Christian be cremated? Does it matter?

Balm

Yesterday I posted a brief writing on Balm in Gilead by Ken Wimer. Variation of the old refrain "balm in Gilead" has been used with several hymns, including the two below.

There's balm in Gilead,
To make the wounded whole.
There's power enough in Jesus—
To save a sin-sick soul.

The Good Physician by John Newton

1. How lost was my condition
Till JESUS made me whole!
There is but one Physician
Can cure a sin-sick soul.
Next door to death he found me,
And snatched me from the grave,
To tell to all around me,
His wondrous pow'r to save.

Refrain:
There is balm in Gilead,
To make the wounded whole.
There's power enough in heaven—
To cure a sin-sick soul.

2. The worst of all diseases
Is light, compared with sin;
On every part it seizes,
But rages most within:
'Tis palsy, plague, and fever,
And madness--all combined;
And none but a believer
The least relief can find.

3. From men great skill professing
I thought a cure to gain;
But this proved more distressing,
And added to my pain:
Some said that nothing ailed me,
Some gave me up for lost;
Thus every refuge failed me,
And all my hopes were crossed.

4. At length this great Physician,
How matchless is his grace!
Accepted my petition,
And undertook my case:
First gave me sight to view him,
For sin my eyes had sealed;
Then bid me look unto him,
I looked, and I was healed.

5. A dying, risen Jesus,
Seen by the eye of faith;
At once from danger frees us,
And saves the soul from death:
Come then to this Physician,
His help he'll freely give;
He makes no hard condition,
'Tis only--look and live.

[Washington Glass attached this refrain to John Newton's hymn with the title "The Sinner's Cure" in his The Revivalist of 1854.]

Father, I stretch my hands to Thee by Charles Wesley

1. Father, I stretch my hands to Thee,
No other help I know;
If Thou withdraw Thyself from me,
Ah! whither shall I go?

Refrain:
There's balm in Gilead,
That cures the sin sick soul;
There's balm in Gilead,
That makes the wounded whole.

2. What did Thine only Son endure
Before I drew my breath?
What pain, what labour, to secure
My soul from endless death!

3. O Jesus, could I this believe,
I now should feel Thy power;
And all my wants Thou wouldst relieve
In this, the accepted hour.

4. Author of faith, to Thee I lift
My weary, longing eyes:
O let me now receive that gift!
My soul without it dies.

5. How would my fainting soul rejoice,
Could I but see Thy face!
Now let me hear Thy quickening voice,
And taste Thy pardoning grace!
(Number 223 in Harp of Ages)

A Balm in Gilead, by Wimer

“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” Jeremiah 8:22

The prophet Jeremiah looks on the case of the nation of Israel to be deplorable and past recovery. In reality, such is the case of any whom the LORD turns over to their own reprobate minds. For Israel, the judgment determined by the LORD was being overrun by the Chaldeans, and once determined there is no balm in Gilead that can cure the disease of sin, no physician there that can restore what the LORD has purposed for judgment. People trifle with sin, unbelief, rebellion, and idolatry, without realizing that once the LORD gives them over to their own sin, the desolations made are irreparable, and the advancement of the terminal disease cannot be reversed.

Certainly, the blame must be laid squarely on the sinner. God owes no one His grace. However, if a sinner, taught of the Spirit, made to see their sinfulness and lostness should cry out, ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’ the answer is, ‘YES!’ Gilead was a place in their own land, not far off from where they would be taken into captivity. They had enjoyed the privileges of the oracles of God, the revelations of Christ in type, picture, promise, and prophecy, and yet none of it meant anything to them in their blindness and corruptness. They had princes and priests, whose business it should have been to continue to point them to Christ, and yet whose own blindness continued to lead them astray, the blind leading the blind. Whether the preacher or the people following them, if sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, His Spirit is the physician there, for those who are made to know their lostness. Is not the blood of the LORD Jesus that precious balm? It is that blood shed that cleanseth from all sin, I John 1:9. All sin? Yes! Sins before calling, sins after calling, sins of thought, sins of word, sins of deed, sins of omission, sins of commission, sins against light, sins agains the Gospel, sins yet to be committed. Not just some sins, but from ALL sin. That is the only balm for sinners!

By Ken Wimer, from Shreveport Grace Church bulletin, March 28, 2010

One-woman man

Bart Barber makes a cases for one marriage only for a lifetime for bishops/elders.

For example: "I have begun to lean toward a new understanding of the phrase 'one-woman man'...that the phrase means to indicate a man who is married to no more than one women throughout his entire lifetime, no matter what may happen in that lifetime."

Not even a two-party system??

"I believe we have a one party system in this country, called the big-government party. There is a Republican branch that likes war and deficits and assaulting civil liberties. There is a Democratic branch that likes welfare and taxes and assaulting commercial liberties." -- Andrew P. Napolitano, author and judicial analyst

Happy Birthday

....to my little girl.

"Means" Baptists?

I think the observation below shines the light on "means" Baptists, of whatever theology or practice.

"Natural men who 'join' churches forget that the true church is not their’s; that it belongs exclusively to Christ, and He alone governs it according to both His secret and revealed will. These 'joiners' want to help get members, preserve the existence of the church, ordain 'capable' ministers, adorn it in outward grandeur, and vehemently defend it, and all that it does, whether it is Biblical or not. So, in truth, there lies within us all, the natural principle of 'means and measures'. Means Baptists are ever changing in both doctrine and in form, and are exceedingly proud of their progress." – Stanley Phillips, in introduction to "Who are 'Means' Baptists?" by William Middleton Smoot, 1906

The blessed dead

HYMN 18, C. M.
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Rev. 14:13.

Hear what the voice from heav'n proclaims,
For all the pious dead;
Sweet is the savor of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.

They die in Jesus, and are blest;
How kind their slumbers are!
From suff'rings and from sins released,
And freed from every snare.

Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord;
The labors of their mortal life
End in a large reward.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707

More 'social engineering'

According to Associated Press writer David Crary, "...the Census Bureau says same-sex couples in any state who consider themselves spouses should feel free to check the 'husband' or 'wife' boxes on the census form, rather than 'unmarried partner'." In defending this cockeyed policy, Tim Olson of the Census Bureau pointed out that they don't ask straight people to produce their marriage licenses. Perhaps not, but they also do not encourage unmarried 'straight people' to lie about their legal marital status.

Besides all that, most people don't seem to know that the constitutional purpose of the census is to determine how many representatives each state gets in Congress (and by extension, how many electors). It is not to find out how many bathrooms your home has, whether you are gay or straight, how many teachers to hire, or how much money a community gets.

The shortness and misery of life

Hymn 39, Common Meter
The shortness and misery of life.

Our days, alas! our mortal days
Are short and wretched too;
"Evil and few," the patriarch says,
And well the patriarch knew.

'Tis but at best a narrow bound
That Heav'n allows to men,
And pains and sins run through the round
Of threescore years and ten.

Well, if ye must be sad and few,
Run on, my days, in haste;
Moments of sin and months of woe,
Ye cannot fly too fast.

Let heav'nly love prepare my soul,
And call her to the skies,
Where years of long salvation roll,
And glory never dies.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II, 1707

Around a Table

Back when I first discovered the "Around a Table" hymn, it was in a sermon or something and only contained one stanza and no attribution of authorship. I haven't thought much more about it, but today decided that the internet might clear that up. It is taken from a six-stanza hymn by Londoner Elizabeth Rundle Charles (1828 -- 1896). In its entirety:

Around a Table, not a Tomb,
He willed our gathering place to be:
When going to prepare our home,
Our Saviour said-- "Remember Me."

We kneel around no sculptured stone,
Marking the place where Jesus lay;--
Empty the tomb, the angels gone,
The stone forever rolled away.

Nay, sculptured stones are for the dead!
Thy three dark days of death are o'er;
Thou art the Life, our living Head,
Our living Light forevermore!

Of no fond relics, sadly dear,
O Master, are Thine own possessed;
The crown of thorns, the cross, the spear,
The purple robe, the seamless vest.

Nay, relics are for those who mourn
The memory of an absent friend;
Not absent Thou, nor we forlorn!
"With you each day until the end!"

Thus round Thy Table, not Thy Tomb,
We keep Thy sacred feast with Thee;
Until within the Father's Home
Our endless gathering place shall be.

Easter at the tomb

On the radio this morning I heard a report of Easter celebrations in Jerusalem yesterday (April 4, 2010). One of the events described was a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb. The report played a clip of someone attributing their presence at the tomb in Jerusalem as upbuilding to their faith. I'm not sure of the quote, but online I found this statement by a participant from California: "I definitely got just a reconfirmation of things I already knew in my heart, that Jesus Christ lives and that He is my Savior and Redeemer." Another says, "The Garden Tomb creates an experience for visitors that engages them in the reality of the risen Lord Jesus." Nothing wrong with seeing some of this for geographical and historical reasons, but I cannot fathom the need of this to engage Christians in the reality of the risen Lord or to reconfirm that Jesus lives.

Almost immediately upon hearing the news report came to mind this stanza I have loved and memorized from long ago:

Around a Table, not a Tomb,
He willed our gathering place to be:
When going to prepare our home,
Our Saviour said-- "Remember Me."

Blessed are they which have not seen and yet have believed.

The Lord is risen

On Easter many Christians and much of the world celebrate the resurrection. Regardless of the date, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real, a central truth of biblical doctrine, and the hope on which the Christian rests. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruit of them that slept."

Angels, roll the stone away.
Death, yield up the mighty prey!
See! He rises from the tomb,
Glowing with immortal bloom.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Now, ye saints lift up your eyes.
Now to glory see Him rise,
In long triumph up the sky--
Up to waiting worlds on high.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Praise Him, all ye heavenly choirs,
Praise, and sweep your golden lyres;
Praise Him in the noblest songs,
Praise Him from ten thousand tongues.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Let Immanuel be adored
Ransom, mediator, Lord;
To creation's utmost bound,
Let the immortal praise resound.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

By Thomas Gibbons

Proverbial, and other, sayings

"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there -- lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more." -- Mark Twain/Samuel Langhorn Clemens, author and humorist (1835-1910)

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of the shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost." -- Benjamin Franklin, from Poor Richard's Almanac

"If it is said that the rules of modern composition are frequently violated by the old composers, we will only say that old rules are as often violated by the new - and then appeal to the effect of their music to prove its comparative value. Every one knows how much old tunes have suffered by the modern 'improvements' imposed upon them." -- D. H. Mansfield, author/compiler of The American Vocalist, 1854

"In vain men talk of living faith,
When all their works exhibit death.
When they indulge some sinful view,
In all they say and all they do."
Joseph Hart

April 1

This seemed like a bad April Fool's joke, but it is not. On the radio this morning I heard that Judge Scott Jenkins in Travis County had ruled against the Attorney General entering a homosexual divorce case in Texas. The attorney general's office argued a homosexual couple couldn't be granted a divorce in Texas because their marriage is not recognized by Texas law. Perhaps the judge only ruled the AG out because he had already made his decision before the AG got involved. Somehow I wonder. Judge Jenkins was quoted as saying that children are what "we are supposed to be concerned about as lawyers and as judges." Actually as a judge I thought he is supposed to be concerned about interpreting the law.

While trying to find info on this, I discovered that Judge Jenkins is not ploughing new ground. I had not heard this previously, but in Dallas County in October State District Judge Tena Callahan said that two men could divorce in Texas. The Attorney General has appealed that ruling. The Texas 5th Court of Appeals is supposed to hear arguments in this case.

I'm no judge or lawyer, but common sense seems to say that two people who aren't married can't get divorced! Oh, the beauties of judicial activism.

Is this all true?

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary.
No longer voluntary

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program.
Now 7.65%

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year.
No longer tax deductible

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program.
Under Johnson the money was moved to the General Fund and spent

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.
Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed

This e-mail is going around. I know some of it is true. Anyone notice anything that isn't?

Government ponzi scheme

"Yesterday Neal Boortz was comparing the social security system to Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme. The comparisons were amazing. The only difference between Madoff and our intrepid leaders is that he couldn’t force more people to 'invest' in his scheme and it ultimately collapsed under its own weight, but the government can hold a gun to our head and make us keep funding a system which is doomed to fail for the same reason his did. The other difference is that Madoff went to jail and our 'leaders' go to whatever resorts they want to at the taxpayers expense." -- March 30, 2010 on the Predestinarian forum

Open letter

Dear U.S. Census Bureau,

I have received a couple of notices asking whether we've submitted our census form. Please be advised that I will not be able to submit my census information until after April 1, 2010. The form asks how many people are living in our household on that day, and until it arrives I will not know. If you need this form returned before April 1, please have the nearest local prophet call or come by to advise me on how many will be living here on April 1.

Thanks. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,
I. Ken Count

P.S. Our school gathers daily enrollment numbers, so we won't need the census to tell us how many students we have. Thanks anyway.

Right to healthcare?

Some have claimed healthcare as an American's 'right'. I copied from a op-ed the other day one shining the light on this inconsistency (I forgot to copy the author's name). "(T)he government does not compel citizens to attend church in the name of religious freedom. The government does not compel citizens to own a gun in the name of the Second Amendment. And the government does not force citizens to engage in the political process in the name of free speech."

"In contrast, our radically 'progressive' friends are eager to compel every American using the heavy hand of government to exercise their so-called 'right' to healthcare. Should we celebrate the passage of a bill that in the service of non-existent rights actually diminishes our liberty?"

God our Shepherd

PSALM 23, S. M.
God our Shepherd.

The Lord my Shepherd is,
I shall be well supplied;
Since he is mine and I am his,
What can I want beside?

He leads me to the place
Where heav'nly pasture grows,
Where living waters gently pass,
And full salvation flows.

If e'er I go astray,
He doth my Soul reclaim;
And guides me in his own right way,
For his most holy name.

While he affords his aid
I cannot yield to fear;
Though I should walk through death's dark shade,
My Shepherd's with me there.

In sight of all my foes,
Thou dost my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
And joy exalts my head.

The bounties of thy love
Shall crown my following days;
Nor from thy house will I remove,
Nor cease to speak thy praise.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
The Psalms of David, 1719

de jure and de facto

de jure [di joor-ee, dey joor-ay] adverb: By right; by law.
adjective: Rightful.

de facto [dee fak-toh, dey fak-toh] noun: actually existing, esp. when without lawful authority

Insurance and health care

Most people aren't fans of insurance companies. Neither am I. There are other and better options. But they have been made a whipping boy of the proponents of health care reform. Folks need to understand that they work on a simple principle to survive -- they must take in more money that they pay out. Otherwise they won't exist. And this plain and simple formula -- perhasp too plain and simple for politicians -- still exists even when the government becomes a player in health care. Differences are (1) a business cannot make you buy their product; the government evidently thinks it can; and (2) the government can and will keep raising taxes and fees in order to take in more than they pay out.

Dirty little secret

For all the talk by the Democrats about the evil Republicans, the thing that they don't tell us (or at least only speak it in a whisper) is that they have the majority in the House and it was THEIR OWN PEOPLE -- 34 House Democrats voted "no" on the Senate-passed bill -- that they had to drag along kicking and screaming to get the bill passed 219-211.

For all his talk about the sanctity of life -- "a principle that meant more to us than anything" -- Bart Stupak and his coalition went down in a whimper of compromise.

H R 3590; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that the House agree to the Senate amendments
H R 4872; Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010

Deem

"There's an old saying that 'figures don't lie, but liars sure do figure'. Every major Demcare statistic -- from the inflated number of uninsured to the politicized junk-science statistic on the number of Americans who purportedly die from lack of health insurance to the mythical savings that will come from squandering '$940 billion' -- is a single-payer-promoting figment of liberal imagination." -- Michelle Malkin in The Deem-o-crats' towering deception

BTW, yesterday when I first heard that the House Democrats were going to deem the health care passed so they wouldn't have to vote on it, I thought it was a joke. Looks like the joke is on us.

Intellectual property

Back in February, Bart Barber discussed in two posts the subject of intellectual property in relation to sermons, books, religious music, etc. I found this an interesting topic. Some commenters brought up things I would not have thought of, I suppose because their experiences are so different from mine. It also brought to mind a song with a "non-copyright" notice -- "When I See the Blood". On number 49 in Stamps-Baxter's Heavenly Highway Hymns below the title: "Foote Bros., not copyrighted. Let no one do so. May this song ever be free to be published for the glory of God."

A Theology of Intellectual Property
Bart Barber: "It seems clear to me that I need to develop some sort of a biblical theology of intellectual property—some systematic approach to the topic that incorporates both a check against human hubris in exclusive credit for what God has done and an acknowledgement of the commandment not to steal."

Brother Bart openly asks what we should do about some things, like a pastor who copyrights a sermon? Do you believe God guides you and then go a print a book of sermons under copyright? "What happens to God's part" in the matter? What about Christian music?

The route I have taken thus far with the few books and booklets I have produced: I have put copyright notices on them, with the idea of trying to keep someone from recklessly printing them in a changed manner -- not that I am making money on them, am interested in make money on them, or have produced anything original. I wouldn't mind if someone took something I've written and printed it and made money off of it (not that anything I would produce would be a money maker!). In fact I would be glad for it to get wider distribution. The whole idea is to get the truth out to far and wide, isn't it? The only purpose I see for the copyright notice is to keep someone reprinting with doctrinal changes.

Speaking of Intellectual Property
In this one there was some discussion of "turning church work product into personal largesse". Since I have never functioned as an "employee" I had never thought of this. But, for example, one church's "staff manual" declares any work done on church time -- sermons, writings, books, etc. -- are the property of the church. Or as one person put it: "intellectual property developed on someone else's payroll belongs to the entity paying the person to develop it."

Bart's tentative conclusion
"...one has the obligation to protect material from wanton modification and distortion by others, many of whom may not be friendly to the cause of the gospel...Copyrights, however, ought not to be abused in order to claim as one's personal creation that which is the work of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we pastors must beware becoming greedy for 'filthy lucre'."

So I'm wondering if any of my readers have any thoughts about this subject??

DST

I need to apologize. I let the "time change" slip by without complaining about it. Sorry about that. I here and now officially complain!

Not listening

II Chronicles 10:15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God...

Did John doubt?

Below are thoughts by Wayne Gregory on John the Baptist regarding...

Matthew 11:2-3 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

"Did John the Baptist doubt that Jesus was the Christ? I am convinced that John was not doubting, but in his final hours on this earth was still fulfilling his ministry and pointed all his disciples to "the lamb of God."

"Jesus answered the disciples by referring them to the OT record: (Isa. 35:1-6) "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." These and kindred scriptures were the foundation for their faith and hope, not John's testimony.

"No, John did not doubt, but was committing his disciples to the care of the ONE to whom they belonged. This sending of his disciples was not for his benefit, but for the benefit of those he sent. Therefore, when John was beheaded, where did they go? (Matt. 14:12) "And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus." They went to the ONE John had pointed them to. IMHO, John's actions was a great testimony that he believed that Jesus was the Christ; and Christ had greater witness than John - His works.

"If you read all the Lord said about John in the following context, you might come to believe the same thing. As concerns the least in the kingdom of God or heaven, I understand that as later and referring to Christ. That was what John has repeatedly confirmed, 'He that cometh after me...is greater than me'."

By Wayne Gregory

TJ Denson students

T. J. ("Uncle Tom") Denson was an important Sacred Harp singer, songwriter, publisher and singing school teacher. He taught singing schools into the 1930s, even here in Texas. Awhile back his grandson, Mike Hinton, sent me a list of the students of T. J. Denson that he knows about who are still living.

Myrl Jones (1930) TX
Lawson Smith (1934) TX
Lorraine Miles (1930) TX
Julietta Haynes (lived in AL until a couple of years ago)
Lonnie Rogers (1935 - was in the last class T J Denson taught)
A male member of the Denny family - does not sing now - GA (1935)

Lord willing, we will be singing Saturday at the Smith Memorial Singing near Tyler. Myrl (Smith) Jones and Lawson Smith are part of this Smith family who were taught by Tom Denson, and hopefully will be there at the singing. Another former student Myra (Smith) Palmer, passed away in the fall of 2009.

Smith Memorial Sacred Harp Singing

The Smith Memorial Sacred Harp Singing will be held, Lord willing, this coming Saturday -- March 13th -- at the New Harmony Community Center in the New Harmony Community just northwest of Tyler, north of US Hwy 64 on FM 724. We will start singing at 10 a.m.

A map and other information can be found HERE.

Hope to see you there.

Church unanimity

The experience below is an example of an historical occurrence of a church moving in unanimity. Names, places, etc. were removed, but the sense still available, I think/hope.

"When I first came...the churches here practiced unanimity in all cases, except the exclusion of an unrepentant member, in which case he could not exercise a veto by his vote over his own case. It takes only ONE vote to table an issue here. So in effect, the nay vote is a veto.

"...Church...wanted to have electricity in their meeting house so that they could have night meetings...When the motion was made and seconded, and the votes were called for...nodded her head 'No'. The deacon was moderating, and therefore tabled the issue; and went on with other things in their conference. A few months passed, and the dear sister told of her earlier experience, and how her family had taken their Aladdin Lamp to meeting, and what a wonderful service they all had. Suddenly, it crossed her mind: they had done that before there was electricity available. She asked the deacon to bring the issue off the table; which he did, and the motion was passed with unanimity.

"I learned...as a young man, that there was never anything so pressing that it could not wait until all the saints were brought to agreement. And with all my heart I agree with that practice."

Should a church move in unanimity rather than the rule by majority vote?

Religious expression

Judge rules against religious expression

Butte High senior's civil rights not violated by order to remove religion from graduation talk

II Cor. 13:14 in verse

May the grace of CHRIST our Savior
And the FATHER's boundless love,
With the Holy SPIRIT's favor,
Rest upon us from above!
Thus may we abide in union
With each other, and the LORD;
And possess, in sweet communion,
Joys which earth cannot afford.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Praise God for the Furnace

From the writings of A. W. Tozer

"It was the enraptured Rutherford who could shout in the midst of serious and painful trials, "Praise God for the hammer, the file and the furnace."

"The hammer is a useful tool, but the nail, if it had feeling and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent, a brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, to beat it down out of sight and clinch it into place. That is the nail's view of the hammer, and it is accurate except for one thing: The nail forgets that both it and the hammer are servants of the same workman. Let the nail but remember that the hammer is held by the workman and all resentment toward it will disappear. The carpenter decides whose head will be beaten next and what hammer shall be used in the beating. That is his sovereign right. When the nail has surrendered to the will of the workman and has gotten a little glimpse of his benign plans for its future it will yield to the hammer without complaint.

"The file is more painful still, for its business is to bite into the soft metal, scraping and eating away the edges till it has shaped the metal to its will. Yet the file has, in truth, no real will in the matter, but serves another master as the metal also does. It is the master and not the file that decides how much shall be eaten away, what shape the metal shall take, and how long the painful filing shall continue. Let the metal accept the will of the master and it will not try to dictate when or how it shall be filed.

"As for the furnace, it is the worst of all. Ruthless and savage, it leaps at every combustible thing that enters it and never relaxes its fury till it has reduced it all to shapeless ashes. All that refuses to burn is melted to a mass of helpless matter, without will or purpose of its own. When everything is melted that will melt and all is burned that will burn, then and not till then the furnace calms down and rests from its destructive fury.

"With all this known to him, how could Rutherford find it in his heart to praise God for the hammer, the file and the furnace? The answer is simply that he loved the Master of the hammer, he adored the Workman who wielded the file, he worshiped the Lord who heated the furnace for the everlasting blessing of His children. He had felt the hammer till its rough beatings no longer hurt; he had endured the file till he had come actually to enjoy its bitings; he had walked with God in the furnace so long that it had become as his natural habitat."

Retirement and meditation

HYMN 122 L. M.
Retirement and meditation.

My God, permit me not to be
A stranger to myself and thee;
Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove,
Forgetful of my highest love.

Why should my passions mix with earth,
And thus debase my heav'nly birth?
Why should I cleave to things below,
And let my God, my Savior, go?

Call me away from flesh and sense,
One sovereign word can draw me thence;
I would obey the voice divine,
And all inferior joys resign.

Be earth with all her scenes withdrawn,
Let noise and vanity begone;
In secret silence of the mind
My heav'n, and there my God, I find.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II, 1707

One more and I'm through

I generally write on musical and religious topics and not much on politics. But I got charged up hoping we would throw out the representative who a few years chose to run to Ardmore, Oklahoma rather than actually represent us (novel idea, what we elected him to do!). We didn't even get a pinch runner. Here's one final at bat for now and I'll move on to more salient less depressing topics.

Strike one
I'm no political analyst (no shock there), but I was very surprised by two things in yesterday's Republican primary. First, that Rick Perry took the governor's race with not even a run-off. About a year ago the prevailing notion was that Kay Bailout Hutchison would knock him out of the ballpark. But it was Perry who got the home run. Second, that Chuck Hopson won House District 11 without a run-off. A Democrat up until a few months ago, this RINO not only exceeded the 50 percent necessary to stave off a run-off but hammered the two long-time Republican challengers by garnering about 62% of the vote. I think he did it the old-fashioned way -- like George Steinbrenner bought, I mean won, all his World Series for the Yankees. (follow the money)

Strike two
"The Health Care Bill has raised apprehensions in many areas (e.g., the economic costs, the politics of socialism, the growth of governmental powers, etc.); however, very little has been presented of the numerous ways in which the bill is actually unconstitutional. In fact, should the bill eventually pass, several lawsuits are pending over its various unconstitutional aspects," writes David Barton. David has posted on his web site “Potential Constitutional Problems With H.R. 3590” by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Strike three
"Polls showing 74% of Americans think airport body scans will make us more secure are either incorrect or else we have become a thoroughly brainwashed and ideologically lobotomized assemblage of slaves who are happy to chant 'Thank you sir, may I please have another?' with each violation against our Bill of Rights and natural law.

"The fourth amendment guarantees:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

"Full Body Scanning is unreasonable as it presupposes guilt and ignores the aspect of our law that requires a warrant for searches." -- By Mary Starrett in "Keep America Safe - Get Naked." January 20, 2010

OK, I'm outta here.

Find your representatives

"Who Represents Me provides information about current districts and members of the Texas Senate, Texas House of Representatives, the Texas delegation to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and the State Board of Education."

Just plug in your Street Address, City, and ZIP Code and you'll find out "who represents me".

Word today

Word: obnubilate (ob-NOO-buh-layt, -NYOO-)
Part of speech: verb tr.
Definition: To cloud over, obscure, or darken.
Used in a sentence: The polls are opening at 7:00 a.m. In the preceding months, politicians have obnubilated issue after issue for their own benefit.

Word: obnubilation (ob-NOO-buh-layt-shun, -NYOO-)
Part of speech: noun
Definition: mental cloudiness and torpidity; the act of obnubilating.
Used in a poem:
My joy and jubilation
(For I'm a politician)
Is sweet obnubilation.
It's my eternal mission.

Now you may think I'm funny
Since I seem to have plenty--
My friend, I need your money--
I don't mean just a twenty!

It is my fond ambition
To bring you to submission;
I will, for this condition,
Disregard your volition.

Yes, I'm a politician,
And under obligation;
To stay in my position
By sweet obnubilation.

(Ode to a politician, March 1,2010)

The animal world of politics

Donkey -- the symbol of the Democratic party. According to "The Political Arena", the donkey was first used to represent the Democratic party in a political cartoon in 1837.
Elephant -- the symbol of the Republican party. "The Political Arena" says elephant was connected with the Republican party in cartoons as early as 1860. An 1874 cartoon in Harper's Weekly was the important factor in sticking the elephant as the Republican symbol.
Blue Dog -- Blue Dog Democrats claim to be moderate-to-conservative Democrats who are committed to financial and national security. I think they are supposed to be former "yellow dog" Democrats who claimed they had been "choked blue" by their own party.
Rino -- these critters charging the savanna go by their acronym RINO (Republican In Name Only). In general these are Republican politicians whose voting records are contrary to the party platform. Specifically in Texas they are Democrats who saw the handwriting on the wall -- the Republican takeover of state politics -- and jumped ship for political expediency. Chuck Hopson, House District 11, is one such example. Virtually assured he could not be re-elected as a Democrat, he is now a RINO. Those Republicans who support his re-election in opposition to the local grass root Republicans of HD 11 are suspect as well (including Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Sen. Kay Bailout Hutchison, Sen. John Cornyn, Agricultural Ommissioner Todd Staples, State Sen. Kevin Eltife, Rep. Joe Strauss)

It's a dog eat dog world out there (and Elephants and Rinos and Donkeys). Tomorrow's primary will tell who survives.

A question for Texians

...and Republican Texians in particular.
Tomorrow is the primary election in Texas. The Republican Executive Committee has placed five propositions on the Republican primary ballot. These questions are designed to collect the opinions of active Republican voters on these issues.

I wonder what you might think of this one:
Ballot Proposition #5: Sonograms
The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.
YES or NO

Abortion murders should be illegal. Unfortunately they are not. The design of this legislation to require sonograms would be to cut down on the amount of legal abortions. But who is going to pay for this? The doctor, the woman getting the sonogram, or Texas taxpayers?

How will/would you vote on this?

[Note: feel free to comment whether or not you live in Texas or are a Republican. All that is required for you to comment is to have one (a comment).]

The call of God

On another blog there has been some discussion of the call of God, whether it is a call to preach, a call to pastor, etc. With this already on my mind, yesterday while in a Christian book store I noticed a little book on the shelf titled Is God Calling Me?: Answering the Question Every Leader Asks by Jeff Iorg. So I picked it up for a quick scan. I didn't buy it, but found it interesting.

In what might be the heart of the book, Iorg claims that God calls in three ways: 1.) dramatic experiences, 2.) reasoned decisions, and 3.) the prompting of others (or a combination of the three).

Would you agree or disagree with any or all of these three? If you agree with one (or two or all three), what would be your defense of it? New Testament examples?

The greatest work on earth

I recently read a preacher write that pastoring a New Testament church is the greatest work on earth. Is that so? On what authority? Does the Bible teach that?

2/3 Christian

The love of God wants what is good for us.
The wisdom of God knows what is good for us.
The power of God does what is good for us.

Meditating on the above, I began to wonder whether many of us are just "2/3 Christians". How many accept the first two as axioms, yet water down and explain away the third? Yet Paul writes, "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Hate crimes?

Yesterday I read Atheist sign = hate speech. I was already thinking about the subject of hate speech/hate crimes earlier. Recently I have heard it bandied about by "our side". By "our side", I mean those who have traditionally opposed hate crime/hate speech bills and laws. Now they seem to want in on the act, too. I say we need to remain consistent.

With the recent rash of church building burnings in East Texas, the word "hate crime" has been attached to that. Sure they are crimes rising from hate. Most crimes are. But these should not be pursued for special punishment because of what the people were thinking. Burning a church building is a crime, whether done to cover a theft or because one hates Christianity. In this country one is free to not be a Christian or even oppose Christianity. He is not free to kill Christians, burn church buildings, etc. Murder and arson are crimes.

We who oppose the concept of hate crimes don't need to change our tune when we think it might benefit us. We need to remain consistent.

[Notes: 1. This post is no judgment on whether the sign mentioned in the article was appropriately placed. Just that "free speech" is not "hate speech". 2. Two young men have been arrested related to burning the Dover Baptist Church near Tyler.]

Get over it

I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin' "Don't blame me"
They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma's too thin; your daddy's too fat
Get over it (By Don Henley)

Thursday February 18
Beset by financial and tax problems, Joe Stack lashes out by flying his plane into an Austin, Texas IRS building.

Friday February 12
About to lose her job, University of Alabama neurobiology professor Amy Bishop lashes out by shooting six colleagues at a faculty meeting Friday, murdering three.

Every day
Hurting, miserable, sick and in debt, John and Jane Doe drag themselves out of bed, drink a strong cup of coffee, put on a smile and head off to work. They don't blame someone else and they don't kill anyone. May their tribe increase!

In another life, long before Don Henley wrote "Get Over It", I was an Eagles fan. Though not still a fan, the title of this song has something that resonates with me from time to time. It is too abrasive, for we as Christians are called to be compassionate. But all the whining and blaming at times fills us to the brim and with a craving to shout "get over it"!

Many people -- including, perhaps, Joe Stack and Amy Bishop -- think they are alone in their misery. What has happened to me is worse than anything that has happened to anyone else. My troubles are more than I can bear. We've all been there; done that. But it is not true. Life is full of John and Jane Does who are hurting just as much as you and I are, but "got over it". They are those who work in order that they may eat, love their enemies, bless those that curse them, do good to those that hate them, and pray for those that despitefully use & persecute them. They're called Christians.

"Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye...Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." -- Peter, an apostle

God is love

Come, ye that know and fear the Lord,
And raise your thoughts above:
Let every heart and voice accord,
To sing that "God is love."

This precious truth His Word declares,
And all His mercies prove;
Jesus, the gift of gifts, appears,
To show that "God is love."

Behold His patience, bearing long
With those who from Him rove;
'Till mighty grace their heart subdues,
To teach them -- "God is love."

Oh, may we all, while here below,
This best of blessings prove;
Till warmer hearts, in brighter worlds,
Proclaim that "God is love."

By George Burder (1752-1832)

I John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

More music links

General
Public Domain Music is a site of copyrighted MIDI files, and text files of their lyrics, created by Benjamin Robert Tubb -- based on original sheet music sources in the public domain. Looks like there may be some good stuff there.

Sacred Harp
(pictures from Sacred Harp singings)
Crissy 's Public Gallery
Martha Beverly's photostream
Mary W. 's Public Gallery

Southern Gospel
Gospel singing conventions

In a graveyard

In a graveyard. 6s. (February 12, 2010)

1. Gone but not forgotten
Engraved upon the stone
But the stone was broken
And lying all alone.
2. Who here beneath the ground
Sleeps in this silent tomb?
And shall we, too, be found
In such a lonesome doom?
3. Gone and soon forgotten
As mem'ries fade away
Time goes on a-marching
And night replaces day.
4. Lying, unremembered--
Yes, O, how sad to see!
Nay, how glad unnumbered,
If God remember thee!!

On a snowy day a week ago, perhaps I was thinking gloomy thoughts. In this little poem I tried to capture the feeling I once had walking through a graveyard and seeing an old dilapidated stone bearing the testimony "Gone but not forgotten." How incongruous! How depressing! It made an impression on me. I bought some epoxy and put the stone back together.

But, in perspective, it is only sad in nature's realm. In the last verse I try to set aside the human emotion to remember what is of true and lasting spiritual worth.

Today, 164 years ago

On this day, February 19, 1846, the independent Republic of Texas became a state of the United States, with North Carolina native James Pinckney Henderson its first governor.

Our county seat is named after Governor Henderson.

In the news

Mount Vernon Statement
The Mount Vernon Statement "...is an attempt to draft a document that conservatives -- whether they're Tea Party conservatives or social or economic or foreign policy conservatives -- can get behind and begin the process of reclaiming the Republican Party for small-government conservatives," says chairman of Conservative HQ.com Richard Viguerie.

Read it and tell me what you think.

Religious homosexual marriage support
Over 150 religious leaders in Iowa sent a letter to lawmakers, supporting homosexual marriage. The letter can be found HERE. Is 150 very many in Iowa? How many oppose it?

Census fraud
Census fraud example of gov't ineptitude
In addition to this, ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) has signed on as a partner with the U.S. Census Bureau. They have a history of voter fraud.

Austin Plane Crash
Texas Small Plane Crash Might Be Intentional Act, Officials Say

Will a Man Rob God

An internal Southern Baptist squabble has brought to my attention two previously unnoticed papers on the subject of tithing.

“Will a Man Rob God?” (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments

Reconstructing a Biblical Model for Giving: A Discussion of Relevant Systematic Issues and New Testament Principles

These are two parts of the same subject. The first deals with the Old and New Testament verses on tithing, and the second with principles used to support tithing and finally a suggestion for "a more excellent way": or as one of the writers put it -- "...the New Testament contains sufficient guidance for our giving". The papers are written by Andreas Köstenberger (Southeastern Seminary) and David A. Croteau (Liberty University).

A reader at Bart Barber's blog, commenting on the squabble, wrote, "If any good comes from this whole brouhaha, I hope it will be that a few people will read Croteau and Kostenberger's excellent paper." I hope so, too.

No unlimited submission

In 1798 Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which includes:

"Resolved, that the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that by compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes, delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force..."

[Adding an interesting quote: "Politicians are the only people in world who create problems and then campaign against them." -- Charlie Reese]

The wheat and tares

The wheat and tares. L.M.
Matthew 13:37-42

Though in the outward church below
The wheat and tares together grow;
Jesus ere long will weed the crop,
And pluck the tares, in anger, up.

Will it relieve their horrors there,
To recollect their stations here?
How much they heard, how much they knew,
How long amongst the wheat they grew!

O! this will aggravate their case!
They perished under means of grace;
To them the word of life and faith,
Became an instrument of death.

We seem alike when thus we meet,
Strangers might think we all are wheat;
But to the Lord's all-searching eyes,
Each heart appears without disguise.

The tares are spared for various ends,
Some, for the sake of praying friends;
Others, the LORD, against their will,
Employs his counsels to fulfill.

But though they grow so tall and strong,
His plan will not require them long;
In harvest, when he saves his own,
The tares shall into hell be thrown.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Opposites of love

In different places and on different occasions, I have different people prevaricate on what the opposite of love is. Some have made some good points, and have suggested some of the following are opposite of love.

Apathy
Rev. 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Fear
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Jealousy
Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Lust
Proverbs 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Hate
Psalms 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil:
Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to love , and a time to hate

All of the above have some elements that are the opposite of love. While love is a feeling, apathy is no feeling at well. Lust takes an expression of love and consumes it for itself. Cupid, in ancient Greece known as Eros, is the ubiquitous symbol of today's holiday of love. Interestingly, eros, one of the Greek's words for "love", is not used at all in the New Testament.

Although many have suggested other "opposites" for love that have some merit, it seems to me that hate is the word used in the Bible as the most direct opposite of love -- Ecclesiastes 3:8 being an excellent example.

Touch not God's anointed

Recently a stir was created over a prominent Grapevine pastor linked to luxury. Millions of dollars with little or no congregational accountability seems suspicious. But one thing that is disconcerting to me is the fact that some think a pastor or "great Christian leader" can't be questioned or called to account. For example, "Praying for @EdYoung this morning. The world doesn’t like it when we are effective for Christ so they attack. Glad Ed built on THE ROCK!" [From this source; italics mine] I have no problem with this man or anyone who feels led praying for Ed Young. But there is an implication in this statement that Ed Young is only being attacked because he is doing great things for Christ. It couldn't actually be true, could it?

Some pastors and Christian leaders think that they are untouchable -- whether they have insulated themselves systematically, or they are just dictatorial bullies who run roughshod over God's people. Some will smugly quote Psalms 105:15 - "Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm." First, I think this context refers to what God did for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and not preachers at all. Second, just because someone has anointed himself (or herself) does not make him "God's anointed".

As with the Bereans and the preaching of Paul, check things out to see whether they are so. Whether it is doctrines, morals or ethics, no preacher or Christian leader is above biblical judgment. They shouldn't hide behind either "touch not God's anointed" or a "don't worry, folks just don't like it when we are effective for Christ."