Psalm 60

I am sitting here this afternoon reading Psalm 60. In light of recent events in Japan this text is quite powerful. Although the text is primarily about Israel, the application I think should be obvious. Here are the beginning verses.

O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;

   you have been angry; oh, restore us.

²You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;

     repair its breaches, for it totters.

³ You have made your people see hard things;

    you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger. 4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,

   that they may flee to it from the bow.

                         Selah

Yet even in the midst of trouble God promises to bring about man's deliverance, and ultimately He has done so in Christ.

The End Is Always Near, But Definitely Not On May 21st

Several days ago I was reminded of Harold Camping's date setting of Christ's return to be May 21 of this year. Of course, we all know this is phony baloney and has been done myriads of times before, including Camping himself in the early 90s. Yet this sort of thing will just keep happening till the end of this present evil age.

In light of recent events in Japan, my concern is for those who would be fooled by such predictions. In the book, The Case For Amillenialism, by Kim Riddlebarger, the author reminds us that earth quakes are part of the signs throughout the inter-advental age (that would be now and between the comings of Christ). That nation would rise against nation, that there would be false teachers and false prophets and so forth.

In Psalm 148, the Holy Spirit testifies to us that God created the heavens and the earth to remain in His purposes and to be established forever. Yet during events such as the tsunami in Japan, we see the holiness of God and of our deepest need. We do not need a social gospel that attempts to save our economy or help make bad sinners into better sinners. Our ultimate need is not to have a better marriage or raise good kids. We don't need a gospel that tries to  make our planet a greener planet or salvation from a fraudulent global warming hoax.

As the Psalmist states in Psalm 102,

For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

Yet the Holy Spirit tells us about the Son,

 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

In conclusion, on the one hand, do not be fooled into self-deception that God's wrath is not being revealed around you because of false teachers and prophets attempting to gather cultic power unto themselves over the people of God. On the other hand, do not miss the plain revelation of God's wrath against sin in this world. As my friend Pastor Paul reminds up on his recent comments about Japan by quoting Luke 13,

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Let us all turn to the only hope for Mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ellen Leverett

There are some people that you meet in this life that you consider a good friend. You may not know the person overly well, and yet you feel as though you do. You may not see that person very often, but when you do, you speak as though no time has passed by. You laugh and tell stories and catch up without the feeling that you're catching up. You feel as close to this person as you would your own brother or sister.

Ellen Leverett was one of those friends. Today is a day where we mourn the loss of that friend. At the age of 52, she lost her battle with cancer and in the Providence of Jesus, He decided to take her this past Wednesday. She has now entered her rest and is most certainly present with our Lord.

This morning's funeral/memorial service was a fantastic testimony to Ellen's faith in her Lord. Her husband and also another one of those "friends" stood up and gave a testimony about her faith in the resurrection of Christ and His people. He then turned and used the opportunity to remind those who had gathered that all must come to repentance and faith in Christ. In Gerald's deepest time of grief, he was still able to remember His Lord and turn to Him for comfort. As in the words of Peter in return to Jesus' question, "Do you want to go away as well?"

Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

To the family of Gerald and Ellen Leverett I want to say publicly how encouraged I am in you perseverance during a time of most difficult struggle. May the Lord our God grant you all an abundance of grace during your time of loss.

New Ice Skating Arena In Dodge City

On a personal note, today I took my two older kids to the brand new Unite Wireless Arena's open house. They both skated for about 4 hours. Here are a couple of videos. I must say, their skating has improved quite a bit. Here is the new complex.



And here are the kids skating.

I met the former New York Ranger, and currently USA Hockey Representative, Jim Johnson. He is attempting to form an actual hockey program in western Kansas. You may read about the the story here in The Dodge City Daily Globe.

I just have to say my family is quite excited to potentially be involved with hockey in western Kansas. It really is the best sport ever.

Liberalism and Death, Clouds Without Water

I remember years ago as a youth and young adult my search for religious truth. I remember going to fundamentalist churches and conservative churches and liberal churches. Now at the time I didn't know and understand the theological differences between churches. I just knew that some had total confidence in their beliefs for some unknown reason and others had mushy gushy answers that meant nothing. In this video clip from the television show ER, I am reminded of the feeling I had while sitting in what I now know was a theologically liberal church. They simply had no answer for the deep seated need I desired to be fulfilled. The only difference between this guy and myself was that he was "running out of time". But the anger he expresses is exactly what I felt.



Even to this day, I have no idea why people like this woman want to "help" people in the religious context. They don't believe anything, and even if they did, they certainly have no basis for such belief. They are as Jude describes, clouds without water.

Preaching at Shallow Water

Once again, I had the priviledge to prwach at Gospel Fellowship in Shallow Water, KS It truly is a blessing to proclaim the Gospel. If you're bored enough, you may listen here.

Caesar Is Lord

Rush played a clip of Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee,

The Fifth Amendment speaks specifically to denying someone their life and liberty without due process.  That is what HR-2 does and I rise in opposition to it, and I rise in opposition because it is important that we preserve lives, and we recognize that 40 million plus are uninsured.  Can you tell me what is more unconstitutional than taking away from the people of America their Fifth Amendment rights, their 14th Amendment rights, and their right to equal protection under the law?  This bill is constitutional, and it protects the constitutional rights of those who ask the question, "Must I die, must my child die because I am now disallowed from getting insurance?"

Apparently, medical insurance has been Constitutional right all of this time (see here). For consistency sake, would not car insurance also be a Federal Right? After all, it was the Left that compared the two to begin this debate. Why stop there? Why not insure every home owner? In fact, don't I need a home, and therefore the government should buy me one?

Whether you are Prolife or Prochoice, if she is going to be consistent, why does she stand with the party that takes away the Fifth Amendment rights of unborn children. So apparently, the Media and the Left get to control the frame of the debate by arguing that it is unconstitutional to repeal Obama Care. So if it is repealed, does that mean she could take the Right to court because the Constitution is being violated?

It is quite ironic that the number of murdered children in this country that could have received proper medical care, the right to due process and the right to life, reached 53 million as opposed to her made up number of 40 million uninsured. But as my friend likes to say, "Inconsistency is the sign of a failed argument."

But all of this only critiques her own inconsistencies. The fact is, the Left can't even begin to justify their assumptions and presuppositions. For instance, why is Caesar Lord? Where did the Right to Life come from? How did the State become the source for the right of insurance or life? Why do insurance companies have to insure anyone?

What is stopping Left-wing owned companies from doing the very things the Left wants the government to do? I have a friend who believes that companies should do business differently by doing things like profit sharing, etc. That's fine. So why not start a business doing just that instead of forcing by law his ideas of how things should be? Why is it just assumed the government has the right to do what the Left wants and force the rest of us by the power of taxation to pay into their giant insurance scheme? (which would be illegal in any legitimate company)

But in all of this, my same friend can't even begin to explain why government has the right to exist. It is just assumed because to attempt to justify his position would bring him to a reality that he must suppress. The answer is simple. God exists, but we don't like God. Since man is an idolater, we must replace God at all costs. In this case, it is with the State.

Quote of the Day

Things are good when you know your wife enjoys listening to things like the White Horse Inn. Today my wife shows me at lunch time a clip of John McArthur's rebuke of Joel Osteen. In it McArthur says something about your best life now.

"In his definitive book, Your Best Life Now, and that ought to be a dead give away since the only way this could be your best life is if you're going to hell.

Lord's Prayer Messsage

Once again I have had the priviledge to preach at Gospel Fellowship in Shallow Water, KS. The message is on the first half of the Lord's Prayer. Click here to listen if you are so bored you have nothing else to do.

Where Sin Abounds by Robert Gonzales

After many interruptions, I have finally finished Robert Gonzales Jr.'s book, Where Sin Abounds. Since I do not have the ability to write a real book review, I won't. Instead I will just offer a few comments both positive and negative.

Robert Gonzales is Academic Dean and Professor of Old Testament Studies at Reformed Baptist Seminary. He contributes to the school's blog and also to the Reformed Baptist Theological Review. His style of writing may raise the bar of our reading level, but never to the point where he loses the reader.

In the positive, although the book at times quotes Hebrew terms which may perhaps scare the reader, the book is a fantastic read for anyone wishing to gain insight into the Book of Genesis. Most commentaries overlook the spread of sin among the Patriarchs while blasting away at the primeval world. But as the first sentence says in the Introduction,

A primary function of Scripture is to impart a proper understanding of sin.

With this in mind Dean Gonzales surveys the depths of sin and its downward spiral in the book of Genesis. The strength of this book is that he does not stop at Genesis 11 simply because the narrative seems to narrow in on one particular covenant family in the history of redemption and break from the earlier chapters. Instead, Gonzales shows the many parallels and surveys the depth of sin in the patriarchal family in a thought provoking and refreshing way. There were many times I found myself saying, "I never saw that before, but isn't that just what I do today!" As Gonzales states on pages 258-9,

But the reader should equally note that the seeds of human sin planted in Eden's garden grow into vines that spread beyond the parameters of the primeval narrative and bear much evil fruit in the patriarchal narratives. Adapting Fretheim's own language, it is striking the extent to which the more emphatic themes of chs. 1-11 are further developed in chs. 12-50, wherein human society in general and the patriarchal community in particular continue to sin and experience God's curse.

He also makes a concluding statement on page 256,

The patriarchal narrative leaves the reader with the impression that not merely humanity but even God's people left to themselves would eventually come to ruin. Only intrusions of divine grace (common and special) or judgment (punitive or remedial) can stem sin's rising tide.

You will learn much about your own sin as you look at the lives of the patriarchs.

The negative in this book is the foot notes. Almost every page is filled with them, and I mean filled. Many pages have more foot notes than the main book. What is difficult is that many of the foot notes are worth reading while many simply offer more technical information. This can be quite frustrating if you are one of those, "I just have to read every word on the page," type of person. Nevertheless, this negative may not actually be a negative for people who love that kind of thing.

All I really can say about this book is that you need to go buy it and read it and enjoy it. It is most certainly worth your time.