Words Of Wisdom

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.

The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity.

Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ?

And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

George Washington - September 19, 1796
Farewell Address

Spurgeon Thursday - A Day of Giving Thanks

"You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very
satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not
 content with what you have, you would
not be satisfied if it were doubled." 

Note: There is no official holiday of Thanksgiving in the United Kingdom. On October 3, 1863, expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announces that the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, 1863. Spurgeon gave this sermon on September 27, 1863. Coincidence? I think not...

POSSIBLY objections might have been raised to a day of thanksgiving for the abundant harvest if it had been ordered or suggested by Government. Certain brethren are so exceedingly tender in their consciences upon the point of connection between Church and State, that they would have thought it almost a reason for not being thankful at all if the Government had recommended them to celebrate a day of public thanksgiving. 

Although I have no love to the unscriptural union of Church and State, I should on this occasion have hailed an official request for a national recognition of the special goodness of God. However, none of us can feel any objection arising in our minds if it be now agreed that to-day we will praise our ever-bounteous Lord, and as an assembly record our gratitude to the God of the harvest. We are probably the largest assembly of Christian people in the world, and it is well that we should set the example to the smaller Churches. Doubtless many other believers will follow in our track, and so a public thanksgiving will become general throughout the country. I hope to see every congregation in the land raising a special offering unto the Lord, to be devoted either to his Church, to the poor, to missions, or some other holy end.

The whole subject seems to give us one or two suggestions as to matters of duty. “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness.” One suggestion is this: some of you in this house are strangers to God, you have been living as his enemies, and you will probably die so. But what a blessing it would be if a part of the crown of this year should be your conversion! “The harvest is past and the summer is ended, and ye are not saved.” 

But oh, what a joy, if this very day you should turn unto God and live! Remember, the way of salvation was freely proclaimed last Sabbath morning, it runs in this style - “This is the commandment, that ye believe on Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.” Soul, if this day thou trustest in Christ, it shall be thy spiritual birthday, it shall be unto thee the beginning of days; emancipated from thy chains, delivered from the darkness of the valley of the shadow of death, thou shalt be the Lord’s free man. What sayest thou? O that the Spirit of God would bring thee this day to turn unto him with full purpose of heart. 

Rekindling the Gratitude

from John MacArthur

The Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to heighten your sensitivity to the blessings bestowed by God. Thanksgiving grabs your attention, shakes the cobwebs loose, and reminds you of all God's most precious gifts. That's one reason Thanksgiving has always held such a special place in my heart. It rekindles in me the kind of God-centered gratitude that our Lord demands and deserves—the kind that should readily be on our lips year round.

To help stimulate that kind of deeper gratitude, my family has adopted a Thanksgiving tradition we've found extremely helpful. Each year after our Thanksgiving meal we gather in our living room and simply recite the blessings of God that have touched our lives. One by one we circle the room, each one of us expressing our gratitude to God for His many physical and spiritual blessings.

Allow me to share with you just five blessings that deeply touch me every year and prompt me to thank God. Perhaps it'll catch and you'll be able to rekindle your gratitude!

You're Saved and You Know It

No work of God's is more beyond my comprehension yet closer to my heart and more worthy of gratitude than salvation. Before coming to know Christ, each of us lived in a self-imposed prison. Guilty, condemned, spiritually blind, and with no means to pay our debt, our destiny was one of eternal separation from God.

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

I apologize for falling behind this week but it's been a very busy month so far, but first I need to open with a prayer of praise: Dear Father in Heaven, your power and Majesty are beyond comprehension, and when you reach down to me, a wretched sinner, and intervene in my life, I truly realize your love. Thank you for relieving me of this pain, I had forgotten how great it is to stand without stabbing agony. Thank you so much for leading me to the overly bubbly nurse who was the instrument of Your healing. Your love and mercy awe me, thank you, I love you.

Wow, just wow. A while ago I mentioned my back pain and it seemed like every medical procedure I endured just made it worse. My surgeon (Dr. Chainsaw) gave up, my pain specialist (Dr. Opiod) tried and only inflicted more pain. Then Dr. O's assistant, Nurse Caffinated, made an astute observation on how I was sitting, asked a few questions, put me on the table, and inflicted incredible pain by moving my leg around. Her pronouncement was "Your back isn't the main problem, it's your left hip." One cortisone shot later and I'm feeling better than I have in what seemed to be ages. I could write about what constant pain does to ones outlook but I will spare you that, I felt it's best to open up with a warm fuzzy because it's been a very strange week and random bits of good news outside of the Bible are few and far between.

Not Fit For The Pulpit Dept Update #1: Disgraced, defrocked, millionaire, former mega-church preacher Perry Noble is NOT a liar, he hires someone to be a liar for him

Not Fit For The Pulpit Dept Update #2: A Lesbian Bishop teaches that Jesus is a bigot filled with prejudices. Her message (which has been deleted from Facebook because it was so embarrassing) shows a complete ignorance about Jesus' mandate from God Himself to preach to the Jews  (Matthew 15:24). And she said these things while talking about it! Her topic was Matthew 15:21-28. It appears that it is the Homosexual FauxBishop that is a bigot filled with prejudices and incompetence.

Not Fit For The Pulpit Dept Update #3 This particular woman does not have the Pulpit in the traditional sense but she is a writer and managing editor of a Christian website is standing on an electronic pulpit and must be held to the same standards you'd hold your pastor to if you're going to read her drivel works. This particular woman mocks VP Pence for following Billy Graham's example.  This is the kind of thing this woman writes and publishes for a living. Would you allow this from the pulpit in your church home?

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

"If there is one part of the Bible that has undergone more scrutiny and abuse than any other, it is the beginning—Genesis. The heated debate over origins has questioned the Creation and ultimately the Creator. So what exactly happened at "Creation," in the "Beginning"?" So begins the description of the newest Christian flavored movie GENESIS: Paradise Lost playing in select theaters on November 13.

Genesis: Paradise Lost promises to be a big screen study of the creation using 2D and 3D formats along with "stunning" visual effects. Commentary in the film is provided by  Dr. Charles Jackson, Dr. Georgia Purdom, Ray Comfort, Ken Ham, and is narrated by Dr. Voddie Baucham. Unfortunately this is sold out in my area. If you get a chance to see it, let me know what you think here in the comments

Discernment - Perry Noble doesn't like it. Nope, not one bit. This article is important, please read it. Think about all the pastors who fall into unrepentant sin and think what is going to happen when they discover that turning to a lawyer is much easier than repenting. Here is Amy Spreeman's report on Perry Noble's crisis manager Hunter Frederick

Trump Derangement Syndrome is veering off the deep end with battalions of witches casting "hexes" at the President of the United States.

Perry Noble news 

John MacArthur attacked! (unsuccessfully)