July 22, 2008
That would be great news.
Read it here.
July 12, 2008
Often times we think of manhood as embodying the great physical traits of strong men such as Samson.
There’s a strength of character that is much more important for us to possess.
Man should not be all brawn and no brain.
A Biblical man should know his Bible.
You say, “well, that’s a given.”
Perhaps.
We take altogether too much for granted, though. We often expect people to know things simply because we know them. Everyone must learn, however. Knowledge and wisdom do not come by osmosis.
That being said, we men must be in the know when it comes to Scripture.
It is demanded of us.
It is not commanded by God that we provide the children with name brand clothes.
It is not commanded that our wives drive the best vehicles.
It is not commanded by God that we work like a dog to attain the ever elusive American Dream.
It is required that men know God’s Word.
We must know it if we are to pass its truths down to the next generation and train them to trust God.
Ps 78:1-8
Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
KJV
Just musing…
July 11, 2008
It seems that the folks at stoptherod.net have problems with logic, or with honesty.
They refer to extreme cases of abuse (here, here) and use them as “reason” to oppose all corporal discipline of children.
Why is this either a problem with logic or with honesty?
It is a problem with logice because it is stereotyping all who discipline their children physically as wild, reckless child abusers. It is a generalization that is unfounded. It is not reasonable to assume that all who physically discipline their children beat them black and blue, or kill them. The majority do not. The majority never has.
If it is not a problem of logic, it is a problem of honesty. If they do think clearly and logically regarding the issue, it means that they deliberately desire to portray all parents who physically discipline their children in a bad ligh. If they are thinking logically about the issue of physical discipline it means that they WANT those who read their sites to believe that all who utilize calm, compassionate, corporal discipline are actually demented criminals who use, abuse, and ultimately kill their children.
It is not for me to determine which issue is the underlying cause of their fallacious attacks on Biblical child rearing and discipline. I don’t know their hearts.
I do know that they have erred.
Those parents that I know who use physical discipline with their children would be the first to cry out against such an outrage as is seen in the links above. We are calm, compassionate, God-fearing lovers of our children. We correct them, but do not punish them. We discipline them, but we do not damage them.
We declare that there is hardly a punishment that is too harsh for those who beat their children black and blue, or even kill them.
We believe in balance, and we believe in obeying God in a balanced way. Thus we discipline our children, but we also hate abuse.
I wonder what they believe at stoptherod.net ?
June 5, 2008
As I said in an earlier post, a rejection of the doctrine of Creation as revealed to us in the book of Genesis is also the rejection of the foundation for morality.
If there is no Creator, who makes the rules? Why should there be any rules at all? Perhaps we should all do whatever feels best to us. Maybe anarchy is a good thing. Who knows, if there is no foundation for morality and no absolute on which to build.
Jesus did not feel this way. When confronted by the Pharisees about their version of no-fault divorce, He said “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matt 19:4-6) KJV In other words, Jesus held three things to be important:
1. The authority of Scripture
2. The validity of the Creation account in Genesis 1 & 2
3. That special creation by God is the basis of morality.
After all….if we have a Creator we were made for a purpose.
If we were made for a purpose that purpose would be revealed to us.
If that purpose is revealed to us it will contain instructions for living; hence morality.
Just musing…
May 29, 2008
The book of Genesis gives us the basis for marriage.
You see, the truth is this: we may speak of “thousands of years of Judeo-Christian ethics” as the basis for our need to keep the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in matrimony. The problem is this, however: those who want to redefine marriage have no allegiance to Judeo-Christian ethics. Their ethic is a post-modern relativism, so that truly has no bearing on them in their minds.
Too many Christians have walked away from the truth of the first three chapters of Genesis. They have sought to accommodate evolution in different ways. Having done so they have effectively deleted the force and relevance of the morality of Genesis 1-3. Why? Because if the Creation account is not true, neither is the institution of marriage that the Creator gave to His human creatures.
It is indeed as simple as that.
This culture war did not start with homosexuals wanting to be married. It started with modernists who want to compromise Scripture in a desire to accommodate pseudo-scientific fallacies such as evolution. Thus we have the day age theory, theistic evolution, and a smorgasbord of other theories. In the end, we should accept the historical account that was given to us by the ONE Who MADE all of this.
Oh, I know, I (and all others who believe in Biblical Creation) will be viewed as ignorant country bumpkins, and possibly even dangerous people. The true danger lies, however, in the fact that, if we deny, reject, or change Genesis 1-3, we are loosed from our mooring and are drifting in a sea of social change without any guide.
Yes, the real culture war began back in the nineteenth century when ministers capitulated to Darwinism. It blossomed in Germany in their universities and seminaries and ultimately led to the Holocaust. If only there had been enough Bible-believing Christians in Germany in the 1930’s the Holocaust may not have happened. Immorality and violence blossom in the absence of Biblical morality and ethics, though. As Germany went, so goes the USA, it seems.
How sad that we refuse to learn from history.
Just musing.
May 9, 2008
Wenchypoo said:
“Michelle Duggar (from the TLC show in 2006) is pregnant with child #18…I don’t know what’s worse–this or the FLDS breeding! Both kinds are draining our social service system dry. Remember–the dad is a real estate broker, so you just KNOW he’s not making any money right now.
I wrote about this family back in 2006.”
I say, “from the waste basket indeed.”
I don’t know Wenchypoo’s stand on the issue of pro-life issues. Perhaps Wenchypoo is pro-life. I do not know.
What I do know is that we are all very interested in people giving us the right to make our own choices. On the other hand, however, when a person makes a choice that we don’t like, we make unfounded assumptions and accusations. We do not know that the Duggars accept government assistance. It is most likely that they do not, as they seem to present themselves as having a no debt lifestyle. That lifestyle is one of responsibility, not liability. In other words, they would be most likely to view it as improper (to say the least) for them to accept government aid.
There is also an assumption that Dad makes no money. Dad (if I recall correctly) is also an attorney, so he is not totally dependent on real estate. Interestingly enough, I dare say that there’s a fair amount of money coming to them from the Discovery Channel. They seem to have a re-direct on the Duggar’s web page right now.
In the end, my question is this? Why cannot these people be left to make their choices? IF she were aborting all of these children hardly anything (if anything at all) would be said. It seems that the freedom of choice is reserved only for those who do not have Christian values and ethics.
Just musing…
April 10, 2008
Read this wise column here.
A MUST READ for all parents.
February 28, 2008
Apalling news that has just reached us.
From the Family Research Council
FRC.ORG
Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood
A shocking set of recordings was released this week that could prove disastrous for Planned Parenthood’s ties with the African-American community. Lila Rose, a pro-life student and reporter at UCLA, launched an undercover investigation aimed at exposing the racism of the nation’s largest abortion merchant. With the help of an actor, she contacted Planned Parenthood clinics in seven states, inquiring if they would be willing to accept a donation earmarked for the abortion of black babies. The results were jaw-dropping.
Rose was appalled to discover that every last clinic agreed. Not one employee objected or questioned the request, even when the actor insisted that the purpose was to “lower the number of black people” in America. When the caller phoned an Ohio branch, he was told that Planned Parenthood “will accept the money for whatever reason.” Read the outrageous transcript from the Idaho clinic, which is also available with Rose’s other recordings in a montage at http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK08B57&f=WA08B46.
Actor: …I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don’t want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids.
Planned Parenthood: Yes, absolutely.
Actor: And we don’t, you know, we just think the less black kids out there the better.
Planned Parenthood: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable… This is the first time I’ve had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I’m excited and want to make sure I don’t leave anything out.
February 15, 2008
That is the question asked at “The World From Our Window.”
My experience tells me that there are two three reasons why young people are leaving church:
1. They are seldom given a good, Biblical foundation for their faith. There is so little expository preaching that presents Biblical truth. There is so much more hobby-horse preaching in “fundamental” churches than there is true, relevant, Biblical preaching. Young people may not always be able to articulate what is wrong, but they sense there is a problem when doctrines and practices are not supported with Scripture, but rather with emotions. We MUST give them something to believe in!
2. Insincerity. How often do young people hear their pastors speak of how we should love one another, but do not see them practice it? Pastors and church leaders must take heed to themselves (1Tim 4:16) so that they can see their errors and deal with them instead of living and acting as if they are above correction. There is so much abuse that people take at the hands of leaders who are insincere. It is no wonder that many young people leave. Young people are idealistic and expect their leaders to practice what they preach.
3. Their home life. Simply put, many parents do not walk according to Biblical truth. Mom isn’t the submissive person she should be. Perhaps she’s a whining snivel, or a domineering person. Maybe Dad is not a true servant leader. Perhaps he’s abusive and domineering and justifying it as “headship.” Many parents tolerate things in their homes that are not acceptable, Christian practices. Many parents allow TV shows and music that are vulgar to be played in their homes. Often the parents are the ones watching the filth.
It’s time for God’s people to clean up their act! Pastors and church leaders need to repent of getting fat off the offerings of God’s people while not ministering to them as they need ministering to. We ministers should give attention to Scripture and preach it. We should also live it. Fathers and mothers should repent of their carelessness, apologize to their children, and put the pieces back together so that they can have a godly home where their children are trained to glorify God. Much can be done if we will all work together.
Just musing…
November 28, 2007
Tim Challie’s mother guest blogs on divorce.
I am continually amazed, then re-amazed, at the carnage of divorce. I see this in Heather, a beautiful and godly friend of my youngest daughter.
Every holiday is a time of balancing all the family pushes and pulls for a child of divorce. No matter what uneasy solution a child arrives at, it does not satisfy everyone, and the child herself is ultimately blamed for causing unhappiness. In this case, ongoing pressure is placed on Heather to warmly embrace the woman who willingly displaced Mom when Dad decided to trade her in for a newer model several years ago. Mom was left bitter and potentially destitute—without even medical insurance; certainly no current skills with which to provide for herself.
Dad goes on to a life of increased wealth as he marries a young, childless woman immersed in the corporate world. Do you challenge Mom about her bitterness? When? How? Do you refuse to acknowledge Dad’s new acquisition as a relevant part of your life? When? How? And all this comes to a head at holiday time. You have to make specific choices that externalize your thinking on the matter.
Who will I eat Thanksgiving dinner with?
Christmas dinner?
I have prayed and agonized with Heather over these things. I generally encourage her to give her mother the best of every holiday—it may not be a bad thing for Dad to live with the consequences of his actions. Still, there is no truly satisfactory outcome in this situation. It is too broken.
I came up against this again last weekend as I spoke on the phone with an old friend from Washington. She and her husband have both been divorced in the past. They experience holidays, of course, from the perspective of the parents. That is, with many tears. She said they both had been crying for days—crying for too many absent spots at the table, too many war wounds in their young. They are at the receiving end of the choices their kids make for holiday time.
I pray for you, my children, that you will all see with the eyes of eternity—that through the trials and tribulations of life—specifically marriage—you will never have the shade of a doubt that, from all eternity, God planned for you to be with the one you have pledged to be faithful to. Guard your hearts and never allow the slightest strain of, “Well, maybe”, or “What if”, to enter your minds. Your unconditional commitment to your marriage, based on a total conviction of God’s sovereignty in bringing you together, is its greatest strength!
