Independence Day!

Today I happened to visit Cyberbrethren where he has posted the article Festival of Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth in which he includes this wonderful artwork displaying the visit of Mary to Elizabeth:



Since he did not give the information crediting the author, I cannot give it at this time either.  But it filled my heart with joy to see this representation of this blessed event.  This artist truly portrays these women as the Holy Spirit moved them to know and respond to the salvific activity that the Lord was working in and through them.

Upon seeing this artwork my heart was immediately moved to pray, “Oh Lord, how dear Mary must have needed this visit and this encouragement that You provided her through this encounter.  Such an unusual and heavy burden she bore as the one through whom You came into the world to save us.  Yet this is the joy that You give to those in whom You are at work to save and to bring Your kingdom to mankind!”

I considered these things and thought that this truly is a fitting graphic for July the 4th as the Independence Day celebration.  For this surely is the true independence that mankind should happily celebrate.

I find it amazing that according to our sinful nature we look for independence with the mindset that we must set ourselves free from being dependent.  But as this wonderful graphic displays, truly joyful independence is being set free to be dependent upon the One who truly loves us and provides all good things for us from above.  Like a newborn babe, happily dependent upon mommy and daddy for all good and joyful things, so the regenerated believer in Christ Jesus is happily dependent upon the one true God, having been baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit to live in the perfect and holy Communion of the Lord forevermore.

Christ came into the world to set us free from dependence upon the things that prevent us from partaking of this blessed dependence upon our loving God.  For only in trusting Him do we realize the true freedom that our hearts long to know.

God grant us a happy and blessed Independence Day!

+ + +

Freedom Banned in Washington

CATO Institute has an article entitled: Freedom Banned in Washington.  The article shares that in Washington DC there are limits to what a person is allowed to use on vanity license plates.

FREEDOM is one of the banned words.

Apparently a person can use the method below to test various words to learn whether or not the words are permitted.

(embeded code for tag test deleted due to conflicts with IE)

Try it here.

Indeed, Freedom is not permitted.

I tried a number of others that would surely be more controversial and those particular ones were deemed to be OK.  But Freedom is not OK.

Try it yourself.

Among a few others that I tried that turned out to be banned are:

LOVE
GRACE
DAUGHTR
BELIEVE
NO
YES
MY
JES
JUSTICE
SALVATN
SATAN
UP
BOO
WOW
OMEGA
BUM
NUT
CRAZY
BLUE
EVE
CRIB
GAS
FROG
BUT
DEACON
SERVANT
(but Slave is OK)
CRUD
STAR
MUDDY
QUACK
BLOOD
SWEET
JET
GUN
JOKER
DRUGS
IRISH
SCOTCH
BRITISH
MEXICAN
LAMB
WIN
DORK
SHEEP

All Things Are Permissible

     In the post below, Tattoos, another statement is made in the referenced article that should be examined more carefully:

But at the end of the day, having a tattoo does not impact one’s salvation. As always, salvation is a matter of Christ’s work on our behalf. The verse that comes to mind for the question of Tattoos is one that comes to mind for a lot of similar issues, “All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial. All things are permissible, but not all things build up.” (1 Cor 10:23)

     Is the pastor’s point correct?

     When St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that all things are permissible or lawful, is he saying that these things Do Not Impact a person’s salvation?

     In the verses that immediately precede this verse St. Paul says:

     Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? (1 Corinthians 10:18-22)

     While the pastor rightly says that salvation is a matter of Christ’s work on our behalf, does this mean that the choices that we make in our lives Do Not Impact a person’s salvation? Does this match what St. Paul says of the Holy Communion?

     In this pastor’s admonition to the inquirer concerning tattoos, he applies 1 Corinthians 10:23 as though it applies only to the issue of how we act regarding the weak in matters of adiaphora, things of indifference.

     But what made the thing that St. Paul specifically addresses in this passage a thing of indifference? St. Paul addressed the purchasing of meat in the marketplace that came from pagan sacrifices. This meat came from animals that the pagans had slaughtered as sacrifices to their false gods, and the leftovers were sold in the marketplace. To those who purchased it without thought to the false gods, it was just another piece of meat.

     However, for some of the newborn Christians, this would be perceived as partaking of the sacrifice to the false gods. Since many of these new converts had previously worshiped these false gods, this would be a terrible stumbling block for them. Those who were not recent converts would not be troubled by this for themselves and could purchase and eat this meat without a troubled conscience. But for those who were weak so that their consciences were troubled, such an action would be sinful to them for they would be acting not from faith but with doubting. This would indeed Impact their salvation. On this St. Paul writes to the Roman saints:

     Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:22-23)

     If a person does something that the person fears may be wrong, the person is acting contrary to faith. By this, even if the action is not actually in itself sinful, acting in this way the person acts in opposition to faith.

     Does the merit of Christ cover or remit such sin? Yes, most certainly it does. However, is a person who acts in opposition to faith relying upon this remission or turning away from it to something else?

     Thus we need to be very careful in all matters. We need to be continually partaking of the pure means of grace so that we rest in the assurance of receiving the merit of Christ and resting securely in the remission of sins that He purchased for us. If this is where our hearts are secured, we won’t even trouble ourselves with questions over whether or not to cover ourselves with questionable tattoos and the like. Rather, we will be rejoicing in our baptismal grace and identity and doing the things that naturally flow from them. In such a mindset there is no question of what is good and salutary.

     For those who have tattoos, they should not be judged by others on account of them. Rather, they should be embraced according to their identity in Christ that they received in their baptism. But for those who are contemplating tattoos, pastors should direct them to the means of grace where the saints hear themselves proclaimed God’s holy and beloved children, recreated into the image of God. With this as their mindset, who will even entertain marking themselves with anything else?

+ + +

The Painful Reality of Going Green

This week I had the pleasure of meeting a very sweet gentleman of a few more years than myself.  We worked together for a couple of days on the same property where a couple of large trees, one damaged and one dead, needed to be removed.

We had many opportunities to converse.  In the sharing he told me of many hardships that he has faced in his life.  One of these was the terrible tornado that devastated the town of Greensburg, Kansas in May of 2007.  Before and after Aerial Photographs can be viewed at Greensburg, Kansas - Two Aerial Photographs - Before and After the May 2007 Tornado.  Here they are for a smaller viewing:





This gentleman had just re-roofed his house.  In the roofing process he decided to storm proof the house.  He ran 3/8 inch logger chain up the studs and over the rafters, anchoring the entire house to the ground.  His house was the only house standing in his block after the storm.  The only damage to his house was from the roof of another house striking the peak of his roof and from a two by four that was driven through one of the walls.  Otherwise his house was in perfect condition.

However, when he applied for a permit to repair the very minor damage, the city would not give him a permit and made him tear down his house.  They were Going Green and were not allowing any homes to be left standing.  They had to be rebuilt with the new GREEN regulations.

So this man lost his home to the Green movement.  His house and property were stolen from him by the government through the false claims of eminent domain.

Furthermore, the people were not allowed back into the town to salvage their belongings.  This man had a couple of Snap-on rolling tool chests full of tools in his shed.  The shed and tools were bulldozed into the street and stolen from him.  Also all of his appliances and supplies were stolen from him by FEMA and the EPA.

He lost everything.

How does destroying a home so that a new home with all new lumber and concrete and steel and appliances equate to being conservation minded and environmentally friendly?

How is it just to take a man’s belongings from him without any compensation whatsoever?

Wikipedia’s reporting at Greensburg, Kansas shows that in 2000 there were 1,574 people, 730 households, and 453 families residing in the city.  According to the 2010 census there were 777 people, 355 households, and 212 families residing in the city.

How many businesses would have rebuilt and how many homes would have been rebuilt without the new Green requirements?  Since the people were not given the choice, we will never know.  However, the town is now less than half the size.

According to Five Years after Being Destroyed by Tornado, Greensburg, Kan. Rebuilds - Greener and Better, the town’s population was 1,400 in 2007 before the tornado (obviously an estimate).  This report also estimates about 900 currently, a little better than half.

The article declares:

“When we first started talking to people about rebuilding and going green, nine out of 10 people came right back to us with, ‘I’m no tree hugger!’” according to Daniel Wallach, a Kansas businessman and one of the major driving forces in Greensburg’s return. “And now look at us. It’s just incredible.”

To whom does he refer when he says: “And now look at us.”?

“Only thing we had left was each other,” said Bob Dixson, who would become mayor of Greensburg one year after the storm. “You see everything wiped out, and you just pull together.”

Really?  What about those who did not want to be forced into new debt and merely wanted to rebuild the town as it had been?  What about those who did not want their town taken over by FEMA and out of town big money?  What about those who were forced out and lost their property, not because of the tornadic destruction but because of eminent domain usurpation?

In the days and weeks after the storm, with the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Team in town and offering aid, there were a few discussions about how best to rebuild Greensburg. But at the time, not many people wanted to hear it.

And what of those who did not want to hear it?  What of their voices?  What of their vote?  What of their right to rebuild according to their own plans?

Whose town did Greensburg become?

Who pressed the new Green life upon Greensburg?  What does Green really mean?

For those who own construction interests and the new Green technology, Green means mega $$$.

For lovers of liberty and justice for all, it means that the United Nations Agenda 21 is being implemented in full force.  It means that the freedom to own property and use it according to one’s own best interest and goals is obliterated by those who use government to control others.

How many times have tyrants used this same kind of rhetoric to wrest control from the people?  How many times have the people been persuaded to surrender their liberty and freedom and rights in the name of progress and rebuilding?  Is this not the exact manner in which Hitler and those like him have risen to power?

This pattern begins small, like with a tiny town of 1,400, way out in the middle of what is counted as nowhere.

Here is Greensburg:









My new friend had a home there.  He worked hard and invested to make his home lovely, strong, and safe.  His work and investment paid off.  His house survived the storm.  But it could not survive the government.

Now he lives in Wichita where he had to purchase another house of lesser value than the one that he had.  His home in Greensburg was wiped out by the Green agenda.  How long till this spreads to Wichita?  How long will his home, and mine, be safe from the Green agenda here in Wichita?

My Matryoshka Doll

If my gaze out of the window is well timed, I can see my wife returning from her morning walk.  In the winter she bundles herself with layers of clothing so that she looks like a matryoshka trudging through the streets.  When she returns to the house she removes layer after layer until finally my sweet and tiny little wife lady appears.



Wikipedia has an article entitled Matryoshka doll, with an explanation and various varieties of the matryoshkas displayed.

In times past I always had heard these called Babushka dolls.  Their correct name, however, is said to be matryoshka.

I suppose that we could say that in a way we all are matryoshkas.  We all have layers that we build up around ourselves so that the person deep within cannot be seen without peeling away the layers.  This can actually be understood from two perspectives.

From the one perspective we tend to cover up the person that we don’t want to face.  That person is the Old Adam of the sinful nature.  We try to cover that person with attempts at good works and pretense.  We try to cover our failures at being good with layers of prayers and devotions and offerings and tithes and other forms of worship.  Some people try to escape their awareness of self through drugs and alcohol or through food or sexual activities or pornography.  Some become workaholics, trying to stay too busy to take notice of the person underneath, striving for the sense of success that evades them no matter how much they achieve or acquire.  Some turn to psychology and psychiatry for help.  And some turn directly to the influences of the devil and the world and just let the monster loose.

The other perspective is one that a person cannot find for oneself.  It is a gift.  It is poured out from heaven through the waters of Baptism.  St. Paul calls this the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.  He also refers to it as the adoption of sons into God’s kingdom as those who have been crucified with Christ to sin and raised with Christ as a new creation in the new life in God’s Holy Communion.  St. Peter calls it the answer of a good conscience through the power of the resurrection. 

In this wondrous heavenly activity enacted on earth through His Church, God drowns out the old sinful nature and brings forth a new and beautiful person who is regenerated with the faith of Jesus so that the person is restored in the image of God that sin corrupted and caused to be lost.  From this perspective the person comes to God with a very different approach.  Now the person peels off the layers of pretense.  This is done through honest confrontation and confession of one’s sins.  The power to face these honestly is this “good conscience” that St. Peter says is generated in us through the power of the resurrection applied to us in our baptism.  Having heard the sweet words of the Gospel we know that in Christ our sins are forgiven us.  This knowledge empowers us to come to God honestly confessing the sins that weigh upon our hearts so that we may hear Him assure us that for Christ’s sake our sins are forgiven us.  In Baptism God makes this declaration and imputation to us once and for all.  But since we need to hear it again and again on account of the sinful nature that still inheres in us, God commands us to come to Him continually with our confession so that we may hear His absolution.  Furthermore, He has given us His called servants within the public office of the ministry.  He has authorized them to speak for Him concerning His Gospel within this holy public office.  This way we can hear from a man standing before us that God does indeed forgive even the sins over which we still struggle in our hearts and minds and spirits.

In the divine service a corporate liturgical confession of sins precedes all else that follows the invocation.  In this way we confess our sinfulness and hear God’s blessed absolution and are empowered to come all the way to His Table of His Holy Communion without fear or doubt.  There He gives us the very body of Christ into which we are made to be one with Him and with one another.  There He also gives us the very blood that is shed even from eternity for the remission of our sins.  He gives us His blood over and over so that we are renewed in this life of forgiveness and renewal into His Communion to live freely by grace through faith.

When this is the way in which we walk and live, then we see through all of the layers of our pretense, all of the layers of guilt and iniquity, so that we then see the beautiful child of God that exists purely by God’s gracious decree in our baptism.  Then we live in the freedom that God declares for us, the freedom of our declared righteousness or justification by grace through faith.  Since this is ours purely by God’s work for us and in us through His own ordained means of grace, all cause for doubting is eliminated.  Then we live in the freedom of God’s grace through faith.

For this reason especially I find the little matryoshkas to be joyous little figures.  I also have this special reminder each time that I see my sweet matryoshka wife return home and peel away her layers of winter protection.



+ + +

Do We Really Need Moore Control?

Do we really need Moore control in our lives and over our citizenship?  Do we really need more governmental control over our freedoms?



It is reported at Michael Moore Takes To Twitter To Demand Stricter Gun Control that Michael Moore (and a number of other Twitters) has made a number of twit remarks concerning the recent Newtown tragedy and the need for Moore gun control laws to counteract the Constitution.  He does not believe that the American people should be allowed to govern themselves concerning their ownership of private property, particularly not private ownership of guns.

The Inquisitr report reads:

Michael Moore has taken to Twitter to call for tighter gun controls after a shooter killed 27 people – including 20 children – at a Newtown grade school.

The Bowling for Columbine director tweeted:

    “Too soon to speak out about a gun-crazy nation? No, too late. At least THIRTY-ONE school shootings since Columbine.”

He later added:

    “The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy.”

Other reported Twitters said:

Gun control is our only road to freedom. Freedom from the fear of senselessly losing children. I'm so saddened. WE NEED LAWS NOW.

- - -

Gun control is no longer debatable- it's not a 'conversation'- It's a moral mandate. '

I really do not know quite what to think of Michael Moore and other Twitters like him.

Could it be that they really are genuinely concerned citizens with good intentions who simply do not think through to the conclusions of their presumptions and demands?  Could it be that they are not really seeking to undermine the Constitution and the rights of American citizens but are simply very simple-minded people who have never learned to think logically and realistically?  Is it possible that they really are so irrational as to believe that making public policies actually effects any kind of change and solves problems?

Perhaps.

For the sake of learning and thinking, let’s consider this from that perspective.

In what areas do people who think this way acknowledge and even demand that privacy be respected and the respective actions of individuals be treated as rights?  What are some of these areas?

• Irresponsible/Casual Sex
  
• Abortion
  
• Alternative Sex & Lifestyles
  
• AIDS/HIV & other STDs
  
• Pornography
  
• Welfare & Foodstamps

What are some of the areas where people who think this way reject a right to privacy and a right to act according to their own decisions?

• Gun Ownership
  
• Home Schooling
  
• Open Practice of Christian Faith
  
• Banking
  
• Health Care & Insurance
  
• Income and Business
  
• Property Ownership & Use

Amazingly, people of this mindset praise Islam as a religion of peace while condemning preaching of the Gospel as HATE SPEECH.

How is it that with a topic like gun ownership and use, people of this mindset call for more governmental control of the guns that are not misused but often defend those who misuse guns?

Why do they defend murderers, seeking to prevent them from facing the death penalty, even though these abusers enacted the death penalty against others?

Why do they want to give more control of guns to the government, the same government that still has not answered for “Fast and Furious”?  How many people have died from the guns that this controlling government secretly and illegally supplied to known criminals and abusers of guns?  Is this not the same controlling government that is giving guns to known Jihadists and al-Qaeda terrorist groups?  Where is the logic in entrusting control of the guns to this irresponsible (or worse) government, and to take control away from law abiding citizens who have proven their responsible ownership and use of guns?

How is it that someone like Michael Moore can say, “The way to honor these dead children is to demand strict gun control, free mental health care, and an end to violence as public policy,” while saying not one word regarding the 137 children who are killed every hour in America through abortion?

Here are the statistics as reported at Abortion Statistics:

• 234 abortions per 1,000 live births (according to the Centers for Disease Control)
  
• Abortions per year: 1.2 million
  
• Abortions per day: 3,288
  
• Abortions per hour: 137
  
• 9 abortions every 4 minutes
  
• 1 abortion every 26 seconds

20 children are murdered by a person in a random occurrence and the Moore-like reactionists begin to call for taking guns away from people regardless of how responsible these gun owners have proven themselves to be.

Yet with a child being murdered ever 26 seconds in America these same Mooreites do not even consider demanding that abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood be held accountable and have their licences revoked.

1.2 MILLION children are wiped out in an ongoing bloody massacre EVERY year!  Three thousand two hundred eighty-eight every DAY!

Where is the outcry?

Where
IS
the
OUTCRY?


Where is the demand for the government to control or to stop this?

How is it that the things that they defend are harming the people and the children of our country and that the things that they attack are often the very things that benefit the people and the country?

I myself am not a great lover of guns.  I’m not even a strong proponent of self-defense.  Yet I certainly am able to understand why our Constitution was written with the right for these built into the Bill of Rights.

How is it that those who react to an incident like the Newtown tragedy never seem to report or respond to the cases where law abiding and gun carrying citizens have saved the lives of themselves or their families or even others from the attacks of people with nefarious motives?  Why is it that the media rarely if ever report such amazing and heroic stories?

Why is a teacher who is shot and killed trying to herd the children into a closet while 20 children are left undefended is counted as a hero, but a teacher who desires to carry a legal handgun so as to be able actually to defend the children and prevent most of them from being harmed is counted as an monster to be controlled?

If that dear teacher who herded the children into a closet had a handgun perhaps she could have shot the perpetrator and minimized the number of children who died.

Would that not be equally heroic and perhaps even better than 20 dead children plus 6 dead adults?  Or what if the principal and other administrators were so prepared and properly trained in the use of arms? What if instead of calling for the government to rob citizens of their right to bear arms if the call was for proper instruction in the ownership and use of guns to protect neighbors and children?

The writers of the Constitution deliberated these matters very carefully.  They themselves fought for the rights and safety of others.  Michael Moore and most Twitters are not known for investment in careful study of matters and then reporting the wisdom from it.  They do seem to spend a lot of time with Twits and Tweets and their flashes of brilliant logic.  Surely such 140 character comments outshine the laborious endeavors of those who drafted the Constitution.

How many times have such people come to the aid and defense of their neighbors?  With what means would they defend anyone?

Ah, of course!  They would whip out their cell phones and begin texting!

By the way, has anyone given thought to the number of people killed or injured because of some Twitter texting as compared to the number of people hurt by those who legally owned guns?

Furthermore, which has caused more harm and damage to America’s citizenry:

Gun ownership
or
Bush’s bailout and Obama’s stimulus?

Pushing yet further, which has caused the death and injury of more women:

Gun ownership
or
abortions?

Shall we push it farther?

Which has caused more harm and deaths for American people:

Gun ownership
or
Pharmaceuticals?

The logic employed by those who are calling for gun control, which really means gun ownership restriction, is not consistent with reality.  It is a reactionary response at best.

Calling for more government mandated mental heath control is even more illogical and even dangerous.  If one considers the increase in erratic behavior of the dangerous kind that has occurred as more psychological and psychiatric and mental health measures have been implemented, there is no reason to believe that these are actually bringing improvements to the mental health of the populace nor that they are reducing incidences of violence.  To the contrary, the evidence indicates the exact opposite to be true.

So what then is the answer?  What do we need?

We need for a change in focus among the citizenry.  We need for the people to remember that they are responsible for their own lives and actions.  We need for the people to turn from dependence upon government and the many other fallible sources of security so that they again look to the things that make for true security and peace and hope and blessedness.

Moore and his ilk are not really so far off from the rest of us.  We all tend to look to exert control in our lives and especially over the things that we find troublesome, unacceptable, and unpleasant.  We seek control for ourselves.  But we especially seek control of others.

Sadly, the more that we seek to have control, either by our own authority and power or through government or other authority, we actually make matters even worse.

A powerful example of this is the horrible atrocities committed by those who proclaimed themselves to be Christian authoritarians.  Those who presumed to be God’s controllers committed some of the most horrific crimes against humanity.  This is because they sought to be in control rather than to submit to that which effects the true beneficial control.

There is only one source that provides the control that benefits all alike.  That is the peace of God in Christ Jesus.  The peace that God’s love works among us is the only control that brings true unity and harmony.  When the love of God in Christ is what holds us and keeps us and guards us, then we love even as we are loved.  Then we look to neighbor with the same love that we have for ourselves. Then we do not seek to control neighbor, but to serve neighbor.  And neighbor, also motivated by this same love of God, seeks to serve us.

More guns are not the answer.  Neither is more governmental control of guns or of anything else the answer.  The more that we empower the government to control, the more that the problems are increased.

The evidence for this is not hard to find.  Consider the mistreatment of the American Indians, the importation of human slaves from Africa and other parts of the world, the mistreatment of Chinese immigrants, the Japanese internment, the prejudicial treatment of various races toward one another, the perpetual banking and monetary abuses.  We have suffered the proliferation of wars both here and throughout the world.  Do we, the average citizens, even know how many conflicts our military personnel are involved in throughout the world right now?  Where does the list of abuses of power by the government’s elite end?  The more power entrusted to these leaders, the more power that they exert.  The more power that they exert, the more that abuses will occur.

Michael Moore and those like him seem to imagine that those who abide by the law should be restricted and even punished in order to gain control.  This is because they do not believe that people can live peaceably together without this kind of coercive control.  The more that this is considered, the more absurd it seems that in order to protect the people from guns, they seek to employ guns to reduce guns.  And so the abuses against the innocent are multiplied.

However, when we, the people, act with the responsibility of our own vocations (callings), acting with loving response to the needs of those around us, these abuses diminish.  When we look not to those who rule with regulations and laws and force and taxes and fines and imprisonment, but turn from them to the One who rules through gracious care, forgiveness, love, and peace, then we see a lifestyle develop among us that flows freely and without coercive control.  In fact, it does not develop so much as it is nurtured and generated.  And the more that it is nurtured and generated among us the more that we desire it.

This is the way of God’s Holy Communion.  This is His good and gracious will.  This Advent season is the perfect time to stand back and reflect and see what God proclaims as His salvific will and plan.  Then, we are well prepared to approach with open hearts and minds to behold it in the Christ Mass.

If only Michael Moore and the world would stop busying themselves with twittering and facebooking and texting and seeking to control everyone, and allow themselves to see and hear what God gives us in the birth of the babe born in Bethlehem.

As for me and my house, this is where our hearts find peace and security.  Neither guns nor the control of guns can grant this.  Mental health mandates cannot accomplish this.  Declarations of public policy cannot bring this to fruition.  Nevertheless, the Lord does grant it freely and without end through the means that He has ordained.

It is truly amazing to remember that His plan is brought to us through a gentle virgin who delivered the Savior into the world in austerity.  The ultimate victory was accomplished through His self-sacrifice, yielding Himself into the hands of wicked men.  His reign is not by force but through the comforting promises of the Gospel, through which peace guards the hearts of those who receive it.  Those who abide in His kingdom gladly and willingly subject themselves to this way of peace, moved by the faith and love that His love generates in their hearts.

In the Christ Mass the Gloria in Excelsis that has been omitted during Advent shall return and the saints shall sing joyously with the angels and all the hosts of heaven:

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men!

May Michael and his friends come to know this glorious and joyous good news in their lives, too.

+ + +

Intriguing Images

Here are some intriguing images from Indian Libertarians's Photos:



























As for myself, strictly speaking, I am not a Libertarian.

I do not believe that true liberty can exist without it being given from above.  Liberty does not exist in a fallen world unless the hearts of people are first changed so that they love their neighbors as themselves.  This requires that people love themselves.  This requires that they know love themselves.  This knowledge is a gift from the one who is love.

Love must first rule over all in order for true liberty to be realized by and for anyone.

Where love does not stand over all, tyranny raises itself and tramples all.

Love is a bondage in which true freedom is realized: freedom to love and live in love.

To break from this bond in an attempt to live freely is to bind oneself to everlastingly lovelessness and the fear of abuse.  This is to make oneself both an abuser as well as the abused.

Government and governance are not causes of tyranny and abuse.  Those who usurp this role are the causes of tyranny and abuse.

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. (1 John 4:18)

For all who live in the subjugation of God’s love, there is no fear of punishment nor torment.  Where God’s love rules, those who are ruled live in the happy freedom of loving and being loved.

Such is the governance that exists in God’s kingdom of righteousness and holiness.  In His kingdom the Law is nothing more than a declaration of His holiness which is shared by all.

It is only when His rule of love is not acknowledged that the Law takes the form of something to be feared, because then the Law has a sharp edge that cuts and pierces, as well as the blunt force of the hammer that crushes and mangles and destroys.  Then fear of the consequences of disobedience arise.

When these laws are enforced by ungodly rulers, then fear of abuse also arises.

Such is the world in which we live, because the holy fear of God that casts out all fear is not observed.

People generally do not understand how fear of God can cast out fear.  And so they redefine fear as something else, such as, respect.  But true respect flows from perfect fear, love, and trust.

As an example, consider the force that we call gravity.

Ordinarily we give it little thought, even though we fear it.  It is a powerful force that can destroy us.  It causes us to experience what we call weight.  It allows us to propel ourselves on account of the friction that it produces between our feet and the ground or our tires and the pavement.  It keeps us from floating off into space.  It holds things in place.

But if we fall, it causes us to accelerate toward the ground so that we receive injury.  If we go deep enough under water it causes us to be crushed.

We fear it because it is powerful and so we also respect it and live in accord with the manner that it requires of us.  But we cannot live safely without it.  While it restrains us in certain ways, it also gives us freedom to live and act within the parameters that it establishes for us.  Most of the time we do not even notice the restraining functions of this invisible force, simply enjoying its benefits to us.  We ordinarily do not act fearfully concerning it and are even glad to experience its power in our daily activities, even though we many not consciously consider it.

In many ways, true and holy fear of God is like this.  For those who truly fear God, love and trust are inseparable aspects of this relationship.  When the triune God is known in connection with this trinity of relational aspects, life is experienced in its fullness and perfect freedom is enjoyed.  Through this God rules the heart with grace, mercy, and peace.  For those who truly fear, love and trust Him above all things, this is true even now, even while tyrants rule and abuse and pillage and plunder, but through lawlessness and through abusive laws.

Thus, while Libertarianism has worthy points, I am not a Libertarian.  I rather confess and walk and live in the way of bondage to true freedom and love.

+ + +

Happy Independence Day! Finale?

The Declaration of Independence from the tyrannical lordship of centralized banking under King George and the Bank of England is what is celebrated on this day ever since 1776.  Born from this Declaration and the final triumph of the “American Revolution” was the Constitution of the United States and its Bill of Rights.

However, those whom the founders of this nation and their followers overthrew did not surrender.  They continually worked to regain control of the colonies throughout the world.  While England was no longer overtly controlling the world, the controllers of England continued to exert their influence.  For the real tyrants have always been the bankers, and they have learned very powerful and subtle ways of controlling people and societies and nations and governments.  In 1913 their final foothold was established which has been extended throughout the world.

But monetary control was not enough to gain absolute control.  Thus the United Nations was formed and with it eventually the UN Agenda 21.

The John Birch Society on its informative posting “Agenda 21: How Will It Affect You? ” offers the following explanatory video.  It is very informative and well worth viewing.



This video is very polite and quite unoffensive.  Yet is does give a good start to understanding the real agenda of the globalists.  A search on Agenda 21 will result in many additional sites supplying information.

This year the city of Wichita had no listing of fireworks being offered.  What does this mean?  Fireworks are displayed after baseball games and for the River Festival but not for the celebration of the birth of this nation in which innumerable blessings and liberties have been enjoyed by many.

Yet my wife and I both observed that it seemed that more fireworks were purchased and used this year in Wichita by the individual citizens.  Is this significant?  It was my perception that people are sensing the erosion of our freedoms and are nostalgically clinging to this celebratory exhibition at an individual level.  Is it a last hurrah, or perhaps a hopeful cry for restoration of what has been stolen from us?

But the Fourth of July celebration of Independence Day is not really about fireworks, but what the fireworks represent.  And what do they represent?  They represent the shared beliefs that unified and motivated men to stand for those who would otherwise be enslaved to tyranny.  They believed in the God of the Bible who declared His Holy Will for mankind.  While they did not all truly believe in this God as He reveals Himself through the Holy Scriptures, a.k.a.., The Bible, they did believe in the existence of the Scriptures as the revelation of the Creator of the World and of mankind.  They believed that this God not only created the world but also ordered it and actively preserves it and rules over the nations through both good men and evil men, working both to the good.  They believed that this God established families and extended families and governance, all under His proclaimed family and that in this governance that the strong should protect the weak and their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  These men believed this so strongly that they everlastingly declared : “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Ultimately, this is what has been lost in America.  Some would say that all gods are alike, but no god is even remotely like the God of the Bible.  God’s like Allah do not motivate men to sacrifice themselves for the weak and the poor and the stranger.  Only the God of the Bible, even when He is known impurely and incorrectly, only this God changes men’s hearts in this way.

Once upon a time, America was a land united through belief in this God and His ways, and the entire world benefitted from this unity.  Certainly America has not lived up to this rich and laudable heritage, as many evils have been done in America and by Americans and their government.  Yet innumerable blessings and protections also have occurred.  For these it is truly appropriate to give thanks and to celebrate.  It also is due cause for standing together once again and overthrowing the tyrants while it can still be done through the voting booth.

+ + +

Progressivism ≠ Evolution

I’ve been very busy and emotionally taxed and so I have not expanded the discussion from the post immediately preceding this one: “Progressivism in Churches”. However, two very pointed comments were offered, both of which are worthy of further evaluation.

My atheist Internet acquaintance and perhaps even friend gave an opposing comment while my brother in Christ gave a supporting comment.  In order to make this further examination of the issue easier, I will include the two comments here.

Canadian Atheist said...

     NA, religion either evolves with society or it dies. Christianity is dying. Young people are leaving the church in droves, women are as well. Pretty much every Christian sect is losing numbers well below the increase in population. Mormonism is a significant exception. Atheism and agnosticism are growing at a phenomenal rate and has already engulfed most of Europe.

     My latest blog post looks into this in a bit more detail. I invite you over to have a look. :)

Gary Cepek said...

Paul,

     Your post's presupposition is that a person's faith is personal, yet it's origin and maintenance is not of the person himself, but through and only through the Means employed by YHWH Theos. No individual is capable of Christian faith, even though every individual is capable of reason. Therefore faith exists only where YHWH Theos' Means are taught and applied as He has given them. You observe that the exercise of human reason in understanding and applying what faith believes moves them further from the faith.
This presupposition is unreasonable but totally Biblical.

     Canadian Atheist observes that religion either evolves with society or it dies; particularly this is true of Christianity. His observation is reasonable but totally un-biblical. He correctly stands by his reason. That's because faith is not reasonable.

I have points of clarification and correction to declare in response to both comments, even though I am actually in agreement with Gary, even full agreement.  I do have points of clarification, however, for Gary’s points.  I also have some friendly points for my Canadian friend’s comment.

Gary’s point that faith is not reasonable, is true from the perspective of the fallen and corrupt reason with which we approach what we observe and try to examine these things.  But faith is not truly unreasonable.  It is actually reasonable to the very highest degree.  For the first two people, those who were created in the image and likeness of God and walked in the fullness of knowing Him in His Holy Communion, faith made perfect sense.  Faith and trust in their loving Father was the only reasonable perception.  Before the couple chose to enter into the knowledge of Good and Evil, they knew only the goodness of their Father and His will.  They had no false notions of free will, because their wills were truly one with God’s will.  And so they were truly happy and content.  They basked in the true freedom of the unity of their wills with the perfect will of God.  They knew no deviant ways.  For them there was only the one way, and it was perfectly good.

But then came the tempter to them and they turned from the faith in which they had been created to look to a deviant way of thinking.  They looked to the way of Evil.  They then became one with Evil and became separated from Good, for Good is of God.  Their response was unreasonable.  They chose to walk away from the freedom and light into the bondage and shadows of darkness and confusion.  Never again would they be free to live without having to consider whether their actions and choices are good or evil.  Never again would they be free to look to their reflections and see themselves as God had created them.  Now they experienced shame.  Now they experienced self-doubt.  Now they experienced fear of every sort.  Now they tried to hide from themselves and especially from the One who is truly Good.

But even now, faith is still genuinely reasonable.  Even the pseudoscientists have to admit that faith is good, although they know not where faith originates nor upon what it clings.  But faith is entirely reasonable.  It makes perfect sense, that is, when one encounters that which is to be believed and trusted.

For example of the use of reason regarding faith:

     And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.  (Acts 17:10-12)

It is this reasoning that is regenerated in the heart from above that becomes the new will and the new mind and the new life of the regenerated believer and of the believers together as the Church.  They embrace one Way.  They hear the one Truth.  They share in the one Life.  They know of one Baptism, one Lord, one Faith.  They partake of one holy meal together.  They are inhabited by the one Spirit.  They are made to be one body together, the body of Christ, the Church.

My Canadian friend speaks from a perspective of atheism and agnosticism.  Agnosticism is a-knowing, or without knowledge.  Atheism is a-goded, or without god.  These are really one in the same, the religion of the world.  These actually include all of the religions of the world, save the true knowledge and Communion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Canadian speaks from the perspective of the world, which includes most who imagine themselves to be Christians.  Sadly, there have never been very many true Christians in the world.  The Scriptures always speak of the true Church as a remnant and a tiny flock.  Thus, the witness that is observed in the world is usually a corrupt and false witness.  Therefore, the observation that religion must evolve to survive is falsely presumed.  After all, this is what is observed in most of the churches and church bodies.

But this notion of surviving through evolving is entirely untrue, even for the worldly religions.  This can be seen most clearly when one realizes the fact that what is really described is not evolution but devolution.  When a religion is compromised to conform to society, that religion devolves until it completely disintegrates and is absorbed into the ways of the society.  The identity that was once clearly proclaimed and professed and lived is eventually lost.

This notion of setting aside the things that differentiate the religion from the rest of society as a move toward survival is like saying that a planet that breaks up into smaller pieces when colliding with an asteroid is survival.  Far from survival of the planet, what occurs is total disintegration into an asteroid belt.  It is no longer a planet.  The planet has ceased to exist.  It works the same way with religions.

This is even more pronounced with regard to those who profess to be the Church.  When churches and church bodies surrender their doctrine and practice, breaking up the unity of the faith and communion, they cease to be the Church.  The true Church, the true body of Christ, does not die.  However, the pieces that become separated from the body do die.  They are no longer untied with and alive in Christ.

Sadly, very few people ever even recognize the true Church on earth.  This is as the Lord Jesus explains to Nicodemus in John 3, when He says that no one can perceive the kingdom of God unless he be generated from above.  Faith is that through which the kingdom of God is perceived.  How can one who has not been regenerated recognize the kingdom of God?  How can such an unregenerate person speak concerning things of the kingdom of God, the body of Christ?

This is made worse by the fact that there are many churches and church bodies that falsely represent the true faith.  They do not hold to the pure Word and the pure Sacraments.  Thus they turn the life of the Church into a life of seeking to follow rules and regulations.  The freedom of living by grace through faith is never taught or embraced.  The God of mercy and grace is presented as a God of judgment and condemnation.  Even His great sacrifice of His own life on the cross is presented as something other than an act of grace.  The Sacraments are made to be demands for commitments and decisions and obedience.  Prayers are perverted to be means of obtaining favor rather than the communication of favor.  Works of every kind are piled up as requirements for acceptance by God, even though He has declared that His works are what bring us near to Him and keep us united with Him.

As this legalism becomes more and more prevalent, those who claim to represent the Lord and the true Church become more and more obsessed with control.  The Gospel becomes discounted as the power of God unto salvation, and various traditions and rules become the safeguards.  Then these “leaders” seek to have the power to enforce these.  They grasp after power, including secular power.  Then they enact atrocities like have occurred under the papacy, and under the Calvinists and Puritans and others.  Witch hunts and heretic trials are enacted.  People are tortured and murdered, all supposedly in the name of Jesus, even though He strictly condemned such ways.

How through these things would anyone looking on even begin to perceive the true Church, the true kingdom of God?  Who would learn of the God of grace from such monstrous actions?

This is not the way of the true Church.  The true Church is gathered by the Holy Spirit to the pure Word and the pure Sacraments.  The saints congregate with the sole intention of hearing the Gospel of God’s grace in Christ proclaimed and the absolution pronounced and the Holy Communion to be administered.  These saints seek no glory or power for themselves.  They gather to examine themselves, to confess their own personal miserable condition, so that they may hear again God’s gracious answer.  They have no desire to cast judgment at others, for they are concerned with receiving remittance of their own guilt and sins.  They rise up rejoicing and praising God for His goodness.  They come as one to the Holy Table to receive the very means of their salvation and new life, the body and blood of their Savior God.  They share together in this gracious life and they go home and to work displaying this in their daily lives.  They seek the good of their neighbors and countrymen, not from obligation, but from love.  They share the good news through which they have been regenerated to this new life.  They seek to protect the helpless in whatever ways that they can.  They obey the laws of the land out of love for their fellow man, knowing that good order benefits everyone.  They endure ridicule without returning evil for evil.  They love and bless those who persecute them.  In as much as is in their power, they live in peace with all men.  All of this flows freely from hearts filled with the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

But this is not the way when the churches compromise the doctrine and practice that has been handed down by the apostles.  When the churches look away from the pure means of grace and begin to modify themselves to be more like what people seek in the worldly circles, this peace that is provided through the pure means of grace disintegrates.  As the unity disintegrates the life and identity of the churches disintegrate.

Throughout history, such unity and communion has been rare.  Compromise is the prevailing way.   But where the saints count the pure means of grace to be more important than anything else in the world, there the true Church still thrives.  There God still is with His beloved and they share together in the Communion of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Whether it be a gathering of two or three, or a gathering of thousands, there the Church thrives and enjoys all the blessings of heaven and everlasting life and hope and joy.

Thus I grieve to observe the many who turn away to the ways of compromise and disintegration of the life and faith of the true Church.  Yet I also remain confident and unmoved and filled with ceaseless joy in knowing the faithfulness of the Lord in preserving His Church on earth until the day of the final consummation.

+ + +

Another Two Local Small Businesses Bite the Dust

Two of the local family owned trash haulers in Wichita have been gobbled up.

In February Lies was consumed by Waste Management, an enormous company based in Texas.

Lies Trash Service sells to Waste Management

Waste Management buys Lies Trash Service

This past month Sanitation Services, LLC sent flyers to the customers of Haggard Trash Service, informing us that they purchased Haggard.  For now, at least it is still a locally owned company.  Nevertheless, the flyer indicates higher prices.

Small businesses are disappearing more and more rapidly as the government at every level increases the regulations and taxes (often disguised as fees).  But the enormity of the new rules being imposed is oppressive — stupid, pointless rules that have as the ultimate objective the obliteration of private and independent enterprise.  The small businesses, which provide the more personal and comprehensive services, cannot bear the burden of the big impersonal corporations who receive many incentives from both local and federal government as well as charging higher prices while paying less taxes.

Such has become the way of America and the world.

The United Nations Agenda 21 is being imposed with daily greater aggression.  With the addition of the National Defense Resources Preparedness Order signed by the Obama on March 16, the potential for presidential usurpation of all resources has been made official.  Some are trying to minimize what this means, but the handwriting is on the wall.

- - -

UN Agenda 21

Obama's Executive Order Authorizes Peacetime Martial Law

- - -

Attack Dogs used on a High School Walkout in MD

Has this been in the news? It is the first that I have seen of it.

Dogs used on a HS Students. Four Arrested For “Thought Crimes"



From what I’ve been reading elsewhere, the nutrition is indeed a cause of concern, especially with the “pink slime” and other toxic additives that are being used in government school lunches.

While I don’t know enough about the various issues of concern to these high school students to attempt to address these issues, the fact that the government has this much control over the populace horrifies me. I never realized the extent to which this reaches until my wife began working for the government schools and began talking about the laws that she daily encounters.

Growing up I never realized what the truancy laws were. I never realized that the parental excuse and doctor’s written excuses were needed because I was being held hostage by the legal system. I always thought that this was merely part of the requirements of being a responsible student. I had no clue regarding the fact that missing class was a crime for which my parents would be held accountable.

A few years ago when I became aware of this I was truly horrified. I was deeply shocked to realize that this has been in force for all of my life apart from my awareness. I was very troubled to realize that this depth of mind control and social programming has been forced upon us for such a long time.

What is more is that the government schools are a farce and a joke. They are inefficient. They demand more and more taxes of the populace and accomplish less and less. This was as true when I was a youngster as it is today.

I was blessed to attend our church’s parochial school through the sixth grade. My first year in the government school was like a general review. The next year we were made aware of the advanced classes and I began learning something again. But there was also the continual bombardment of false information, especially in the history and social departments. I was being taught that the way to get laws changed is to challenge them by breaking them so that they would be reviewed by the courts. This was called civil disobedience and was the only real means taught for changing laws.

Thus these kids in Maryland first think of a walkout rather than talking to their parents and discussing the ways of addressing these issues through the school board and through demanding changes in legislation. Thus the government first teaches the students to be “activists” and law breakers, to cause civil unrest, and then arrests them for doing as they have been taught to do. That principal ought to be fired for his duplicity. The police chief also should be fired for promotion of terrorism.

Most importantly, the truancy laws should be overturned. The citizens should not be required by law to subject themselves to educational tyranny. If people do not want an education, or they simply do not want to be forced into government social modification programs, they should be free to seek their own means of education or even to remain ignorant if they so choose. Most of all, the entire populace should not be forced to pay for these social modification programs that always demand more money.

I often feel bewildered by the fact that the government’s religion is forcibly taught to the nation’s children and most people express no real objection. The result is that true freedom has been nearly entirely obliterated.

Just think, if parents decide that they do not want their children to be subjected to the government’s required (accredited) curricula, the government sends its enforcers to take the children from the parents. If a citizen does not want to support the government’s enforced indoctrination programs and refuses to pay the required program fees (property taxes), the government confiscates the citizen’s home and property. Parents who want to educate their own children must receive special permission from the government and must use the government’s curricula.

If the children object and stage a walk out, the government enforcers are sent with tasers and clubs and guns and attack dogs to hold them hostage.

Yet the people blithely ignore these government reeducation/indoctrination concentration camps and imagine that the freedom envisioned by the founders of this nation still exists. And this is just what is observed in the government enforced education system.

Is it time yet for us to become concerned?

This information does seem to shed some light upon what the usual candidates for office support with their support of the Federal Department of Education and “No child left behind.” That is for sure, no child is left behind, they all are dragged off together to the same locked down facilities. Well, at least we can take comfort knowing that the Obama, Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum have consistently pressed for more taxes to support the Department of Ed. Surely we can count on them for more of the same.

Ah, what a relief!

+ + +

This makes me sick!

This truly makes me sick, and angry!

Veterans Outraged Over American Flag With Obama Image



The US flag has very deliberate design and meaning. The thirteen stripes stand as a perpetual reminder of this nation’s beginning. It was formed by thirteen individual states, representing the people of those states, coming together to form a union of states of people. The stars represent the growth of this union of states, now composed of 50 states standing together, yet still separate states representing the people. These stars represent us, the people, standing together in the unity of the solidarity defined in the constitution.

To replace this with one individual is to overthrow all that the flag represents. It is to overthrow freedom: liberty and justice for all. It is to supplant liberty with tyranny. This is the way of those promoting tyrannical dictatorships.

It is saddening to observe that anyone in the US would do such a thing as this.

But, in a nation where treaty upon treaty with the American Indians was violated and where slaves were imported and held hostage and where legal and loyal immigrants were taken to concentration camps without cause and more than 56 million innocents have been brutally murdered, perhaps it is not surprising that something like this will occur.

The list of usurpations seems endless. From the illegal theft of our money supply by the FED and the subsequent creation of the agency of illegal confiscation of income and property to the creation of agencies that prevent free use of property to the FDA that prevents sale of wholesome foods and promotes toxic food additives and drugs. Who can even list the number of abuses?

Yet still, that anyone would do as the creators of this flag have done, shocks me.

- - -

Oppose Dangerous Global Internet Treaty

The pace is really picking up. It is no wonder that people, including myself, feel as though it is impossible to keep up and stay informed regarding all of the actions the government is enacting against us.

See Oppose Dangerous Global Internet Treaty.

It is frightening to see how Obama and his administration along with most of the Congress of both houses is stepping up the pace for the world government takeover and simply steamrolling over our Constitutional rights.

Time is short.

I have heard some say critically both in past elections and currently, that voting for someone outside of the mainstream establishment would cause gridlock.

My response is to sigh and say, "How wonderful!"

My opinion is that the best thing we can hope for is that an absolute gridlock in Washington DC would develop so that the rascals can't do anything whatsoever. I believe that one of the best things we can hope for is a president who will veto everything the Congress passes. Just put someone in office and give him a big rubber stamp that says, "No! Absolutely no!"

Let him use that rubber stamp until it is worn to a nubbin.

- - -

Is America Asleep?

Is America asleep? Are the people of America in a coma?

Here is a video that shares facts that should be of grave concern to every American, and for that matter, to every person in the world.



This sort of reporting is uncommon, but very much needed.

Are people paying attention to what is happening? Are people considering where these things are leading? Does this make your spidey sense tingle? Does this raise the hairs on the back of your neck?

Is anyone in the government acting on behalf of the people? Is anyone fighting to protect the people?

Here are two sites sharing the names of the senators and house representatives and how they voted regarding the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act:

Senate Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

House Vote On Passage: H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

As these reports show, very few of the elected officials voted against this act.

Is it time for the American people to react to this? Is it time for the American people to change their voting criteria?

If anyone is interested in what the current candidates for the office of President say regarding this issue, well, the Democrat incumbent has taken his stand. How about those contending for nomination among the Republicans? Ron Paul already voted “No.” He continues to speak out vehemently against this act and others as being unconstitutional and tyrannical. How about the others? What do they say? Shall we let them tell us?



The three who speak in this video clip from their debate make their positions quite clear.

In case Santorum seems ambiguous, he does seem to try to avoid clarity. So here are a few more places where he speaks, in case you need to hear more.

SCARY Rick Santorum WAR Pro-Life Liberty Freedom NDAA

Santorum question on NDAA at Rivier college

Santorum on the NDAA

A search on this topic will provide many more links. But when one cloaks his views with ambiguity, that in itself is an answer. One’s voting record is harder to conceal.

In the following video an excellent evaluation is made regarding how this position relates to the US Constitution and what it was written to protect. Romney’s debate answer is highlighted and then Gingrich’s statement of his position is also included.



This individual has done a very good job of setting before us what is at the heart of this issue and why Americans should be concerned.

As a preacher of the Gospel this is an issue that concerns me powerfully. This is as Pro-Life as issues can be. This is directly connected to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” My neighbor is not only the person who agrees with me, but also my enemy. My neighbor is not only found on my street or town but every person in the world. This law empowers the government to act tyrannically in every part of this country as well as throughout the entire world. It empowers the president and the military to condemn someone as a terrorist or enemy combatant and to make that person disappear, without witnesses, without a subpoena, without any due process.

The upcoming election gives the people of America one more chance to stand against this tyranny. Will another opportunity remain beyond this one? Considering the acts against the Constitution perpetrated in previous administrations and the unabashed violations of the current administration, what will another four years bring if Americans do nothing?

More and more people are talking about open revolution. People are talking about arming themselves for armed revolt. Bloodshed will surely be the result of such actions.

The time for action is now, not later. The appropriate and godly action is through the electoral process. Once the Constitution has been overthrown the time for action is past.

This is especially true for Christians. True Christians do not rise up with arms against the ruling authorities. They defend their neighbor even with force against common thugs, but not against the ruling authorities. They cry out against that which is wrong, even if it brings persecution of frightening proportions, but they do not take up and usurp the power of the sword.

The Lord Jesus made this unmistakably clear on the night of His betrayal with His admonishment of Peter. Earlier in the evening Jesus asked His disciples whether they had any swords, and they answered that they had two swords, to which He replied, “It is enough.” (Luke 22:38) Two swords obviously are not enough to fight against the authorities, but only to keep violent criminals at bay. But in the garden, when the temple guards were sent by the Sanhedrin, Peter drew his sword and the Lord Jesus chastised him sternly, and then healed the man’s ear that Peter had cut off. Even in defense of the Lord Jesus against the tyrannical and ungodly Sanhedrin such acts were forbidden.

Later the same is observed in the actions of all of the disciples. Never did they take up arms against their persecutors. Never did they resist the ruling authorities, except to defy their demands that they stop preaching in the name of Jesus. They suffered being arrested and imprisoned. They suffered being beaten and scourged. They suffered false accusations. They even suffered being unjustly executed.

Armed resistance is not the way of those who trust the Lord. This is the way of the world, of unbelievers. Those who believe the Gospel and trust the Lord their God obey the laws even when they are unjust. They only disobey when the laws demand that they personally enter into sin through obedience to these unjust laws. But regarding themselves, they suffer the injustices done to them, appealing to what is just in the laws, calling upon the authorities to do what is right. They cry out against injustice done to their neighbors, but do not resist with force.

Those who argue against this argue against the Lord Jesus in whom they claim to trust. Those who deny this deny the Lord Jesus, whom they claim to follow.

After the resurrection and ascension of their Lord and after His outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, never again did any of the apostles rely upon the sword for their protection. Ever after they relied upon the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

Taking up the sword is not an act of courage but of cowardice. A coward is afraid to endure injustice and will do whatever is necessary to avoid suffering injustice for oneself. This was Peter’s reaction in the garden. He was unwilling to suffer the injustice by which the Lord Jesus proclaimed that He would win salvation for all of His enemies. Peter opposed this after his great confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. He did not understand it as Moses and Elijah discussed it with Jesus atop the mount of Transfiguration. He did not understand it in the garden. He did not understand when thrice he denied even knowing his Lord, once even with cursing. But after Pentecost, he was changed. Now he had the courage of the Love of God at work within him. Now love ruled so that even as his Lord suffered injustice with courage and mercy and forgiveness, so also did Peter.

Peter died a torturous death. But the Gospel that he proclaimed spread throughout the entire world.

Today there still remain a few who actually believe this Gospel. They hear the Holy Spirit’s call and are gathered by Him to the precious means of grace. They rejoice in God’s goodness and look to their brethren, to their neighbors, and even to their enemies and persecutors with the same love as they receive from their Lord. They lovingly cry out against what is wrong and energetically cry out with the goodness of the Lord for all. They enthusiastically proclaim God’s mercy and grace and peace and love in Christ.

Frightening times are coming upon us. We need to be absolutely certain of the faith by which we shall endure. Whether or not now is the time that the prophesied worldwide tyranny is manifested, we need to remember the Gospel of our salvation and the hope that it gives us. This Gospel empowers us to receive and to give love freely, without fear.

+ + +

Disturbing Notion of Religious Freedom

This article disturbs me: Restore Religious Freedom in America

While I agree 100% that what is being foisted upon us in this outrageous regulatory program of the administration is wrong and should be overturned, I find it disturbing that the “religious” imagine that doing so will restore religious freedom in the country. I find it disturbing that they seem to be oblivious to the usurpations of freedoms that span many decades.

For example, I remember when the LC-MS bowed down to certain changes in the IRS code so that the church body actually changed its definition of “ministry” and “minister” so as to keep certain income tax exemptions for teachers. So then, teachers, both male and female teachers, suddenly became ministers, a term previously only used for males connected with the pastoral office. This gave stimulus for many successive new definitions and understandings.

As I have learned regarding the ways of conservatives I have coined a phrase that seems to fit their mantra: “Compromise is absolutely unacceptable until it becomes expedient.”

Who can even count the compromises that have been made by the religious in the name of expediency.

As further example from my former church body, I did a search of the LC-MS web site using their internal search engine, searching for “501 c 3.” Here is the first screen of choices that was displayed.

In my perception the following recurring mantra is powerfully explanative:

We accept Visa, MaterCard, American Express and Discover.

Is this what is really meant by “religious freedom” that must be defended?

After all, has not the biggest ruckus arisen in connection with the regulations that require paying for these abortifacients and such?

If the real concern is the issue of compromising doctrine and especially practice, why did the mainline churches make the other compromises without hardly batting an eye? Why do the church bodies currently promote “fraternal” insurance and financial groups that already provide coverage for abortions and same sex relationships and such?

Why is this important? If I agree that the government is not to interfere with religion, that government is not to sanction and even promote and pay for abortifacients or even contraceptives, why speak with concern about the discontinuity of the religious groups crying out in this matter but not others? Why not simply praise them for this action?

The issue of concern is what is being compromised and lost. The issue of concern is the pure Gospel and the pure administration of the means of grace. The issue of concern is that the true definition of the very power of God unto salvation is being reduced to something that has no power to save and help and heal.

If the pure Gospel is compromised and thereby lost to the churches, what else really matters? Why even bother having churches if the pure Gospel is sacrificed on the altars of expediency?

What positive difference does it make to prevent a baby from being sacrificed to the gods of lust and avoidance of inconvenience and fear and responsibility, if in place of the Gospel they are given a worthless substitute?

Dear pastors and Christians, preach the Gospel as it is given from heaven and it won’t matter whether the government demands coverage for abortions and contraceptives and abortifacients. If the Gospel is preached truly and the Sacraments are administered rightly so that people truly hear and believe the Gospel, the demand for these unholy things will fade to nothing. People who truly hear and believe the Gospel love life and babies and honor marriage. If the Gospel is truly preached so that people live by faith, who will ask for these contraceptives even if insurance does cover them?

Moreover, if the churches were truly united in this Gospel so that the Church was clearly seen standing as one, what politician would dare even to suggest such things let alone to impose them forcefully upon the Church or even upon the populace? Then such a politician would never be elected.

Christians should not cry out as though they are being betrayed by their politicians. They should not cry out as though the politicians are betraying the Gospel. Rather they should look in the mirror and be converted again. Then the freedom that the Scriptures teach would be more than a slogan or political talking point.

+ + +

“Big Brother” Energy Control

Surely this is not new to most people, but it deserves to be mentioned.

Yesterday yet another mailing arrived urging us to “Join the partnership where helping you save money, helps all of us save energy!” Naturally, this mailing came from one of the big corporations that also continue to pretend to be “saving trees” by sending mailings about “going green” by allowing them to control my account electronically without paper mailings.

The program being promoted is called WattSaver®. The key information is found in the footnote:

*WattSaver works like this: On the hottest weekday afternoons from June through September, demand on Westar Energy’s system is at its highest. At these times, we may cycle your central air conditioner or heat pump on and off in 15 minute increments in a coordinated effort to reduce energy demand. These cycling events will normally last about four to six hours or less. During that time, your thermostat will display “SAVINGS” and the system fan will continue to circulate air throughout your home or business. Cycling events will occur infrequently and only on weekdays — never on weekends or holidays. You may choose to not participate in a cycling event once per month.

Like good little automatons we are expected to volunteer and believe that this is for the sake of “saving energy.” These “thermostats” are to be connected to the Internet. What else will be monitored through these “thermostats”?

Should this be cause for concern?

Let’s see, to what other forms of monitoring our personal information and persons are we already subjected?

• all cell phone and traditional phone calls are monitored for both contacts and conversations
  
• all phones can be utilized as listening devices
  
• all modern cell phones can be utilized as tracking devices (GPS)
  
• all Internet searches are tracked and recorded
  
• all web sites and blogs are monitored
  
• all e-mail messages and chat messages are monitored
  
• all banking transactions are monitored
  
• all non-cash (and most cash) purchases are monitored
  
• all health care and medications are monitored
  
• all accredited educational activities are monitored
  
• all driving activities are monitored through traffic cameras
  
• most newer automobiles are monitored through various tracking devices installed both for govermental and banking agencies
  
• all tax deductible donations are monitored
  
• all incorporated groups, including religious organizations, are monitored
  
• all transportation by air, sea, train, bus is monitored
  
• 
  
• and the list goes on . . .
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Do people not realize that with these Internet controlled thermostats that total control over heating and cooling is entrusted to whomever gains access? What if a “virus” shuts down the system? What if . . .?

Do people really want to surrender control of these matters to someone in India or Malaysia or wherever? What will customer service be like when the thermostat goes haywire?

Do people really want to have TSA or Homeland Security or FEMA tuck them into bed?

The sad thing is that even though I refuse to volunteer to have such a thermostat installed in my home, most Americans will volunteer, especially since it is “free.” Oh yes, “free,” as in everybody pays. But since the majority will volunteer, they are actually volunteering me, because once these are installed in enough homes and businesses, they will be declared to be mandatory for all.

- - -

* here is a definition of automaton, just in case this is a new word to you, especially definition #2.
- - -

Simul Iustus Et Peccator - Saint/Sinner Juxtaposition

Simul Iustus Et Peccator means simultaneously saint and sinner.

Throughout my own daily struggles as well as observing the struggles of others who profess to be Christians, I am realizing to a greater and greater degree how hard the struggle over simul iustus et peccator really is. The Saint/Sinner conflict is very much real. Rightly understanding this juxtaposition is very important to understanding the tension of life as a Christian in a fallen world.

This conflict makes it hard to hear so as to be moved to a better understanding of God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus. It hinders us from hearing the clarity of both the Law and the Gospel applied to us so as to move us into the life of the freedom of God’s grace.

This is a universal problem. This is the struggle that all of us Saint/Sinners encounter continually. St. Paul describes this from his own experience as a war within himself. It is a battle that only God can win for us. In fact, He already has, but His victory has to be applied to us in such a way as to make His victory what we realize in our hearts, spirits, and minds, in our total soul/being.

Acknowledgment of the Saint/Sinner juxtaposition is not an excuse for sin, but rather is an explanation for the ongoing struggle that the saints experience in their lives.

We are sinners from our conception because of the separation that Adam chose for us all. There is no escaping this. As long as humans are born into the world this will continue. But God has intervened by being born as the God/Man, Christ Jesus. He took our sin-death and rose from it so that through Baptism we would be regenerated as members of His holiness, made to be communicants of His very body.

The Gospel is the power through which He accomplishes this for us. When the Gospel enters us and enlivens our heart and soul through faith in His mercy and grace in Christ, we are declared to be saints, God’s holies. We are converted from sinner to saint.

But the Old Adam remains in our flesh. The spirit has been freed, but our sinful nature that has been flushed from our spirit still inheres in our flesh. It will remain until our bodies die, or until they are transformed at Christ’s return. Until then, our sinful nature is still at work in our members (our bodily existence).

The Law stands before us and reminds us of this. The Old Adam loves the Law, so long as he is the one wielding it. Then he can use it as he chooses. He loves to tell others that they need to change their abusive ways. But he does not like it when it comes back to himself.

The saint has no use for the Law, except to see God’s holiness and glory. The saint hears the Law and turns away to Christ, confessing sinfulness and the need for forgiveness and healing.

But the sinful nature does not want forgiveness. The sinful nature wants to pretend that it only needs help rectifying one’s wrongs, as if doing better was the goal.

The devil loves this. Then Satan comes forward and shows the saint his sinful nature and continual failing to live in perfect accord with the Law and says: “Ha. You see! You’re not really a saint after all! You’re really just a God damned sinner!”

And according to one’s own actions, one can only despair. For even one’s own conscience makes the same undeniable accusation. This is why the divine service begins with us confessing this very thing.

Seeking to obey the Law cannot make us righteous and cannot lift the burden from us. When we seek to live by the Law, we place ourselves back under the Law.

But when we walk in spirit, our spirit, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit in our baptism, turns entirely from the Law to Christ and sees His righteousness poured out through His body in the preaching and through His blood in the Holy Supper. In the Supper we actually partake of His body so that we know that we are united with Him in His body and that in His blood His righteousness is given to us as our sins are forgiven us so that we rise up as saints, purely by His grace.

St. Peter explains that through Baptism we are given the good conscience before God so that we may live in His Holy Communion. This is our answer to the Old Adam and to the accusations of the devil and our flesh.

We cannot find peace through attempts at obeying the Law. Such attempts always bind us again to the requirements of the Law. But walking in spirit our spirit hears the continual calling and urging of the Holy Spirit who speaks to our spirit and even calls out on our behalf, Abba! Pater! (Both Hebrew and Greek words for Father).

In this way the Lord gives us the freedom to live in His love. And yes, we see how the Lord has loved us and continues to love us and we then love one another as He has loved us. But we don’t approach this as a goal. We don’t seek this as something to obey. Rather, this is now our identity. We love as the outflow of God’s love at work in us.

But our sinful nature rebels. Our spirit truly desires to love, but the Old Adam rises up in hatred and vengeance. The Old Adam does not forgive his abusers. He wants them to pay. So he drags out the commandments to show that they are guilty. Then he tries to show himself as one who tries to obey. But the Law never loses its capacity to show sin and so the person is again under the Law.

But the Holy Spirit is faithful. He searches the saint’s heart and speaks to the spirit and turns the person again and again to the Gospel, the promise that in Christ we are declared righteous and free. And so the saint eagerly looks to the next offering of the Lord’s body and blood and receives the renewal in God’s grace with a thankful heart. Then love again prevails and the peace of God guards the heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

This is why understanding the Saint/Sinner juxtaposition is the answer to living in love. For when we preach the Law, we realize that we need to hear it first for ourselves, so that we are eager to hear the Gospel. Then, when we preach the Law to others, the Gospel will be our motive with them, too.

Christ is our obedience. He is our righteousness. He is our Life. He is our Love. In Him we are justified and sanctified and converted.

When we seek to make ourselves or others better through the preaching of obedience to the Law, we turn away from the Gospel. But when we preach the Law to ourselves and others as that which shows us God’s holiness which can be ours only through the Gospel, this changes how we perceive and deal with both ourselves and others. It sets us free to live in God’s love and to love by His love.

+ + +