I'm Not Moving! My Blog

I had an idea yesterday to move this blog over to WordPress, I've cross posted a few times over there but it was a task that I tended to forget to do and in the end I ended up with the same post in two locations, so I dropped doing that all together. 

There are a whole lot of things I do want to blog about that do not fit in here neatly. Like when a few weeks ago I was fiddling around on my Tecsun PL-660 in the 40 meter band when a station came up "blowing my doors off" on USB and when I looked up his call sign I found that his QTH was in Florida, and here I'm in Colorado getting him 5/9 on a 3 meter sloper! I found out that it wasn't propagation, he had a 2KW amp and an antenna array that covered acres.

That kind of post doesn't fit well into a blog that's been 100% theology, and after a day of playing around I found that WordPress does some things very well, but to do other things will cost a lot of money that I don't have. Such as RefTagger which is a little gadget designed to identify a bible verses in your blog. When it sees that the reference, such as Romans 3:1-2 it will set up the link to Biblia but also give you that little popup that shows a bit of the verse. Here on blogger it's free to add to your blog if you have the skills to set it up. On WordPress you need a business account to set up widgets like that, and a business account is $300 a year. On WordPress it's easy to subscribe to a blog, on blogger it's a serious pain to set that function up (I'm still trying to figure it out). 

WordPress vs Blogger is like Spaghetti vs Lasagna, they both do the same thing, but they do it in different styles. 

So I decided on leaving this blog as it is, to continue my posts here, posts like "What's A Cogic?" while over on my WordPress blog I put my personal updates and other interests, like railfanning, or a movie review, or Joe Biden's latest act of plagiarism. Or AOC's latest brain dump. Or Elisabeth Warren's latest racial identity. Or my granddaughter's latest goldfish. I consider my WordPress blog my garage, all kinds of interesting things will be stored there, things with no rhyme or reason, and no room for a car.

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

This world is not my home I'm just a'passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

You all remember Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib's botched trip to Israel. "I just wanted to see my Grandmother!" Rashida sobbed. The lame stream media made this sound like a congressional junket but suddenly Israel put restrictions on Tlaib only allowing her to see her grandmother. Talib balked at those restrictions and cancelled the trip.

Some of the more humorous bits was that it wasn't a congressional junket, it was just Ilhan and Rashida, and it wasn't Israel who put the restrictions on Rashida, it was Rashida who told Israel in a letter that she was just going to see her grandmother. Israel then made it public that Rashida was only going to see her grandmother, whereby Rashida got angry and said something to the effect of 'if I can only see my grandmother, I'm not going.' However the unfunniest part comes when you realize that the entire trip was sponsored by the terrorist sympathizing organization Miftah, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue & Democracy Now Miss Tlaib is comparing Israel with Nazi Germany, maybe I should risk upsetting Mrs. Tlaib and let her in on the truth: her anger is misdirected

Has the art of self worship reached it's zenith? Or is this just a stepping stone to a Mormonesque "I Am A God!" theater of damnation?

Why was it necessary for God to die for our sins? I'm sure many readers here know, but here is a well thought out outline

Iceland murders babies but worships a block of ice

Top 10 False Teachers that you will find in Evangelical churches

The Battle Against Heterodoxy

heterodoxy
/ˈhed(ə)rəˌdäksē/
noun
deviation from accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs.
"his work was marked by elements of theological heterodoxy"

The definition of heterodoxy is pretty straight up, and we as Christians need to try to avoid heterodoxy at all costs. Heterodoxy is the work of Satan, it's one of his greatest weapons in his battle against God. Satan knows that he cannot win against God so he will try to take as many of us with him as he can.

This creature to the left here is Haresis Dias. She's a 16th Century, satirical depiction of a goddess heresy or heterodoxy, and she contradicts the teachings of Christian Church. This is a pretty good illustration of heterodoxy, she looks kind of nice from a distance but when you look closer you start to see the evil creatures that wrap themselves around her, and I think that's a body of a demon she's clutching, she's got the ears of a donkey, her neck is made of brick, and she has cloven hooves. To battle Heterodoxy, the false teaching itself, our best weapon is Apologetics 

apologetics
/əˌpäləˈjediks/
 noun
reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.

Apologetics is useful against the false teaching itself, when we see a friend getting swallowed up in false teaching we intervene with the truth from the Gospel and use quotes from the great masters. Masters such as Charles Spurgeon:

Who, think you, are the most honest men - those who tell you plainly what the scriptures say concerning this wrath of God, or those who smooth in over or deny it all together?

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

This world is not my home I'm just a'passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Broadcast radio is dead to me. I suppose that my cable system spoiled me with Video On Demand and digital recording. Mrs. WideAwakeChristian and I record all our favorite programs so we can zap commercials (it's easy if you know how to program your remote to leap ahead in 30 second jumps) and I can watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it.

As I've mentioned in the past, Christian radio in this area is almost all charismatic chatter. I would love a station that played All MacArthur All The Time but no such luck, we might get a 1 minute Mac Bite occasionally but that's it. I love Red Eye Radio an 11 PM to 4 AM radio show, but I'm not up at those hours. But I can get the podcast and listen to it in my idea of morning and not have to listen to Glen Beck

There are a couple of MacArthur podcasts but my new favorite Christian podcast is: The Good Fight Radio Show. It's available on the android Double Pod app so it is probably available on iTunes. (I can't be sure, I don't do iTunes, iTunes is for toys) Try this episode on their website, they're discussing our favorite, most dapper inventor of narcissigesis Steven Furtick who claims he is now the gate, a job once reserved for Jesus Christ. Comment on this post on your favorite Christian podcasts and I'll devote an article to Christian podcasting 

The LGBTQXYZ community has a very high rate of suicide and has always has. Seriously. Always. The California legislature has decided to fix this situation by blaming you the Christian.

What Criteria do historians use to get to the minimal facts about the historical Jesus?

Department of Redundancy Dept: Hillsong song writer renounces his faith  (Isn't joining Hillsong a renunciation of faith?)

A Christian from South Korea arrested in Nepal on charges of “attempting to convert” and misuse of visa

The ChiComs have now banned Christian summer camps

And meanwhile Southern Baptists put Lifeway profits ahead of beleaguered Chinese Christians

WWUTT Wednesday - Coexist

I saw this logo a couple of years ago and got the t-shirt. In military jargon "I got the t-shirt" once meant that you did something difficult, but this time I mean literally, I got the t-shirt. I wear my Repent! t-shirt mostly in contrast to those that proclaim their self awarded superior tolerance by decorating their Audies and Mercedes parked in gated covenant controlled communities with the Coexist bumper sticker.

Here in Colorado the Coexist bumper sticker kind of = "I Live In Boulder" which, at the risk of being redundant, is populated primarily by white newagers and leftists. Lately "Coexist" has been replaced by the left's new form of love and tolerance "Trump Is A Racist". Coexist is still out there, bumper stickers are like sins, they're hard to get rid of. (That is a simile, and as you know a Simile is like a Metaphor...☺)

(By the way - what to know how to tell if a white conservative is a racist? Ask them if they'd rather spend the afternoon with 10 black conservatives or with 10 white leftists)

Preachers N' Sneakers

John Gray
He's leading the pack with his ultra rare Red October Air Yeezy Duce

This post is not intended to be satire, it's just sad: two Instagram accounts named “PreachersNSneakers” and "PhrophetsNWatches", both serve to show our "shepherds" leading by example, if there were a biblical example for conspicuous consumerism and self worship.

At these Instagram accounts you can see Steven Furtick in a $300 pair of Jordan 6 Chinese New Year, Steven Furtick in a $600 pair of Air Presto's, and Brian Houston in a $650 pair of Gucci deck shoes. And it's not just sneakers, you can see Steven Furtick in a $400 Gucci ball cap that features a picture of a snake, and Troy Gramling in a $1550 Louis Vuitton t-shirt. Meanwhile over at ProphetsNWatches there is Steven Furtick in that ugly snake hat and a $1,120 Gucci 40mm dive watch with the same ugly snake that's on his ugly hat, Steven Furtick in a $5,090 Paneri, and Carl Lentz stylin' a $37,995 solid gold Rolex Datona.

The Empty Pickle Jar

I love pickles, including the brand shown here, but here in Colorado we get a local brand that is incredible. I will only reveal the names of both pickle brands if the manufacturers donate generously to the WACIRF*. Regardless, I love pickles and if you do too, you can play along at home. Otherwise you're going to have to come up with your own metaphor.

What do you do with your pickle jar when the pickles are gone? if you're like most modern Americans you either toss the jar away or you dump the "pickle juice" out and recycle the jar. Either way you do it, you're wasting a Valuable Culinary Resource. 

When the pickles are gone you have a half of a jar of "Pickle Juice". Think of the things in that liquid: kosher salt, vinegar, dill, garlic, onion, pepper... all potent flavorful ingredients, it's a sin to waste them. My mom was a child of the depression, she and my aunts and uncles were raised by my widower grandfather to believe one important truth: "do not throw good away". Mom always had a jar of pickle juice in the fridge and would get upset if you threw that away. To me a tuna salad sandwich is not worth eating if there wasn't a splash of pickle juice in the mixture. A great salad dressing is simply mayo or Miracle Whip thinned out with pickle juice. And on french fries it's incredible! (not those whimpy fast food fries,steak fries or the big crinkle cut things) 

Feeling adventurous? Slice up a cucumber and put it in the left over pickle juice, and put the jar in the back of the fridge for a few weeks. Surprise - you just made pickles.

On to metaphorical territory**: This jar of pickles is the Bible, it contains the word of God. As you eat the pickles; study the bible, learn the lesson in church, you are enjoying his word. Each bite delicious and refreshing and satisfying. And when you finish 'eating' you still have that wonderful juice that you can use to flavor what ever you do. Look at Chick-fil-A, they use that left over juice to flavor their interaction with customers; "Yes ma'am", "Yes sir", genuine smiles, polite conversation, fast service, clean appearance. They aren't preaching the gospel with words but with actions.

In my town here on the edge of the Colorado prairie (I think I'll call it West Woebegone) there is a McDonalds, Chick fil-A, Taco Bell, and Arbys all in a row, and any night of the week except Sunday you can drive right up to the drive-thru microphone and order your Big Mac or Chalupa box or Beef n' Cheddar without a wait, but if you want a chicken sandwich and waffle fries, you're going to wait. The lines to get in to Chic-fil-A go around the block every night Monday through Saturday without fail while there are no lines at any other store.

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

This world is not my home I'm just a'passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

When will I tire of posting Beth Moore's nonsense? I tired of that weeks ago, but she won't let up, it's almost like every time she opens her mouth she's telling us WatchBloggers "Here! I dare you to show the world that I'm daffy." What is with that girl?

A dance video making the round on social media celebrating homosexual orgasm shows two scantily clad men performing a homoerotic dance in the magnificent sanctuary of Saint Peter Apostle Church in Montreal

Not Satire:* While relentlessly promoting Blood Moon prophecies, Charisma Mag tells witches not to rely on lunar events

The sugar-daddy of woke evangelicalism might be in trouble with federal prosecutors for corruption and the unauthorized diversion of campaign dollars

The leaders of an evangelical ministry based in Montana have resigned following allegations of abuse and misappropriation of funds earmarked to help feed impoverished children.

"If you choose not to tithe, God says you live under a financial curse. He shuts prosperity off as an option for you. I did not say that the Bible says that." - John Hagee (my favorite moon man)

Man says he smokes THC to prepare for Jesus’ return

Spurgeon Thursday - The Importance of Baptism

Sinner, believe on Jesus Christ; hear the whole gospel preached to thee. It is written in God’s Word, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Hear me translate it: He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved. Believe thou, trust thyself on the Savior, make a profession of thy faith in baptism, and then thou mayest rejoice in Jesus, that he hath saved thee. But remember not to make a profession till thou hast believed; remember, baptism is nothing until thou hast faith. Remember, it is a farce and a falsehood until thou hast first believed; and afterward it is nothing but the profession of thy faith. Oh, believe that; cast thyself upon Christ, and thou art saved for ever! The Lord add his blessing, for the Saviour's sake. Amen.

More Moore Means Much More Less

On the same day I published my post on Beth Moore, Pulpit and Pen published their post on Beth Moore. Beth Moore is the living embodiment of Spurgeon's great definition of the word 'discernment';

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

It's that almost part that can get you. That D-Con mouse and rat poison you may set out for unwelcomed rodents is 99.9975% harmless, and 0.0025% deadly, yet that 0.0025% does it's deadly job. I suppose one could draw a parallel between leaven in dough meant for unleaven bread that Paul uses when talking about sin in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 and introducing exegetical errors and extra-biblical revelations into what is supposed to be biblical teaching. 

Here is a story of a pastors wife who sat down and reviewed what Beth Moore had to say and realized she had to part ways with God's Blond Bullhorn

A Pastor’s Wife Breaks Free of Beth Moore: 

A Testimony

BY SETH DUNN · PUBLISHED MAY 31, 2017 · UPDATED NOVEMBER 21, 2018

The following testimony was submitted to Pulpit & Pen for publication:

My name is Lauran.  I am a Southern Baptist from Tennessee.  I walked the aisle to accept Jesus at age 5 but I believe I was truly saved 12 years ago at the age of 21.  I am currently the women’s Bible study leader at our church as well as the pastor’s wife.  I have broken free of Beth Moore.

I grew up attending Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was and is one of the most vibrant churches in the convention; its former (Adrian Rogers) and current (Steve Gaines) pastors have been the President of the Southern Baptist Convention and both served on the Baptist Faith and Message Committee.  At this faithful church, the Bible was proclaimed as God’s inerrant word.  Growing up in a church like that, I was often involved in Bible study.  One of my favorite Bible study authors was Beth Moore.  I was heavily involved in her studies for years.  I have seen her speak live multiple times, done countless numbers of her studies and own tons of her books.  I’ll never forget the day five years ago when my husband informed me that Beth Moore may not be a sound teacher.

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

This world is not my home I'm just a'passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Years ago Snopes used to be a good site to run to if you really needed to know if that cat on Youtube is really playing the piano, or if Prince Charles really did hire a hit man to "kack" Princess Di. But in recent years Snopes has become a left wing apologist bent on erasing history and re-writing it to DNC standards. This is  how far they have sunk into the left-wing morass - now Snopes is fact-checking the Christian satire website the Babylon Bee. Let me repeat that: Snopes is fact-checking a Christian satire website. They're not just saying that "this is satire" (which is what a responsible, adult staffed agency would do) they're knowingly taking the hilarious satirical Babylon Bee stories and actually wasting time and energy to "fact-check" them like they were serious reporting. The previous sentence that you just read is not satire, the alt-left tunnel vision bound Snopes who couldn't find a left damning fact if Faux-cahontas (Fact check that fact Snopes) handed them one is brazenly attacking the Babylon Bee for their right (meaning both conservative AND correct) stance and Christian origins. In response to Snopes inept stammering, the Babylon Bee has lawyered up. Go Bee!

How Mary supplanted Jesus as the Roman Catholic savior. Ok, I know some folks are going to complain about this. Bring it.

Jesus' second advent occurred in Kenya this month.

Spurgeon Thursday - 4 Reasons Spurgeon Died Poor

4 Reasons Spurgeon Died Poor

From: spurgeon.org

Charles Spurgeon could have been one of the richest millionaires in London.

Instead, he died poor.

Unlike his contemporary pastors in London, Spurgeon did not leave millions of pounds to his family after his death. Susannah told a Baptist newspaper her husband only left £2,000 (Nottingham Evening Post, March 31, 1892).

This number is staggering compared to how much money Spurgeon actually earned. In fact, one of the most overlooked aspects of Spurgeon’s ministry is his personal finances.

Let’s see where Spurgeon’s wallet takes us.

The numbers below have been converted from Great Britain Pound (GBP) in Spurgeon’s day to U.S. Dollar (USD) today. Inflation has been accounted for using a standardized consumer price index. As a general reference, one British pound (£) was worth the equivalent of $117.78 today.

25,000 sermons per week = $13,767,693.33

A small sampling of books sold up to 1885:

The Treasury of David = $5,225,472

Morning by Morning = $2,116,800

Evening by Evening = $1,481,760

Lectures to My Students, Vol. 1 = $453,600

Lectures to My Students, Vol. 2 = $226,800

Commenting on Commentaries = $151,200

John Ploughman’s Talk = $2,056,320

John Ploughman’s Pictures = $665,280

Total sales of books and sermons = $26,144,925.33

Remember, this is only a small slice of Spurgeon’s lifetime earnings. He wrote nearly 150 books, published a monthly magazine, and earned significant revenue from speaking engagements in the earlier, more mobile part of his ministry.

Have you ever wondered how much Spurgeon earned for his annual salary?

As a teenage pastor of Waterbeach Chapel, Spurgeon was paid meagerly, the equivalent of $5,443 per year, though $3,773 went to rent (69.3% of his salary):

“They gave me a salary of £45 a year, but as I had to pay 12 [shillings] a week for my two rooms which I occupied, my income was not sufficient to support me; but the people, though they had not money, had produce, and I do not think there was a pig being killed by any one of the congregation without my having some portion of it” (Autobiography 1:253).

After Spurgeon accepted the pastorate of New Park Street Chapel in 1854, his salary increased dramatically due to the money earned from seat rentals (a practice long since abandoned in evangelical churches).

Three months after moving to London, Spurgeon earned enough money to personally pay for his chapel’s maintenance and lighting (Autobiography 2:123). Shortly thereafter, he never again took a salary.

So where did all of Spurgeon’s money go? What were his attitudes towards finances?

WWUTT Wednesday: Beth Moore - Moore is Less

I'm really not crazy about Beth Moore, and it's not all that hair and all those teeth. She is a pretty woman, but her preaching is pretty too.  For example when preaching on Matthew 8:28–34 she spoke of the demon possessed men who were coming out of the tombs:

"before we proceed to the next point, consider a fact revealed in verse 27. The demonic didn't live in a house. He resided in the tombs. I wonder how many people today are living "in the tombs"? I know a woman who is still so oppressed by despair that decades after the loss of a loved one, she still lives "in the tombs."  (Jesus, the One and Only, by Beth Moore, B & H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tenn., 2002, p. 143-144)

These men were not depressed they were actually living in the graveyard, they were probably driven out of their town because of their demonic possession. Is Beth saying that if you're depressed then you are demonically possessed? The point of the text is not about emotional trauma, this is abuse of the text. Maybe Beth doesn't need to properly exegete the text because she believes that whispers in the heart are superior to the text?

"As we study we may see several examples of Him [Christ] posing a question that only He could answer. Christ certainly uses that teaching method with me. Sometimes He’ll cause me to dig through Scripture for a question He seemed to initiate. Other times the question may come as a personalized whisper in my heart: 'Beth, why are you acting that way?' Often my answer is 'I don’t know, Lord! Can you tell me why?' If I really search His heart, sooner or later He’ll give me insight into my reactions," (Jesus, the One and Only, by Beth Moore, B & H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tenn., 2002, p. 47)

For a true believer the law of the Lord is perfect:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. (Psalm 19:7-9)

So if the Word of God is perfect what does it say for "personalized whispers in the heart"?

 The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Now her teaching is (surprise surprise) moving in anti-biblical territory; gifts and other charismatic voodoo, ecumenism, and turning her back on scripture, especially 1 Timothy chapters 2 and 3 and any other related text that falls under the SJW commandments against perceived misogamy. If you want less Moore, read The SBC should say "No more" to Beth Moore

Why So Angry? Maureen Callahan And The Latest Greatest Threat

As we pray for the victims and survivors of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting please keep in mind the family of the shooter Santino William Legan.

Santino Legan lists himself as Italian Iranian on his Instagram account, and the press is bending over backwards to ignore that bit of information. I'm not blaming his muslim background, but there is a chance that he may be allowing his heritage to color his current outlook. I've known several Irish young men who would get drunk and angry over the treatment of their ancestors. My response to one was "Dude, your dad owns 3,000 acres of some of the most fertile land on earth and you earn a fortune working his farm, how are things that happened 100 years ago affecting your life?" His response started with "Shut up you..." and continued with nothing that I will relate here. 

Maureen Callahan recently wrote in the New York Post an article which blatantly tells us that Angry young men continue to be America’s greatest threat (and all this time I thought that Climate Change was America's greatest threat, haven't we been taught that?) Maureen goes on to blame America's latest Greatest Threat on "first-person shooter games, violent pornography, racism, and a fascination with guns and violence", and being a denizen of Gotham (a perfect nickname for NYC) she shows her liberal leftist union pin by blaming the whole thing on Donald Trump. But none of this is the root cause of this latest Greatest Threat.

Although I am relieved that Climate Change is no longer our Greatest Threat and I can go on to eat a farting cowburger without guilt, I am perplexed. If Donald John Trump, America's angriest president, is the cause of these latest shooting rampages, wouldn't Barack Hussein Obama, America's most incompetent president, be the cause of the 37 mass shootings that happened on his watch? He doesn't seem to care that all the Russian Collusion perpetrated by the Clinton campaign happened on his watch too. 

I emailed Miss Maureen and asked her that exact question, and I urge any reader of this missive to do the same (her email link is in the article I have linked). Please be polite, liberals are having a very bad time, after all they have to admit that The Squad is all theirs and their 25 candidates are busy proving that political cannibalism may be their only hope.

Is Maureen correct that "first-person shooter games, violent pornography, racism, and a fascination with guns and violence" are responsible for violent shooters? Partially. 

Pride Month

Did you ever notice that the gay rainbow has six colors and not seven?
Seven is the number of God's perfection, six is the number of man's failure

It's been over for over a month and as we bid farewell to Pride Month, the month that mass media invites everyone to don your incorrect rainbow tank tops and have a gay time, lets reflect on what God thinks about the whole idea.

Yes, God has told us that homosexuality is wrong in both the Old Testament and the New, but He also listed a multitude of sins such as lying, drunkenness, envy, murder, and taking the Lord's name in vain as sins.

The Roman Catholics have even taken the time to separate sins in to two categories; mortal sins and venial sins. Venial sins are sins where the sinner did not fully consent to the sin or did not have knowledge that his actions where sinful. Mortal sins destroy the grace of God in the heart of the sinner if they are committed willingly and with full consent. These sins are broken down into two categories; grave and capital sins. Grave sins are listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 but the RCC adds  sins of anger, blasphemy, envy, hatred, malice, murder, neglect of Sunday obligation and several others to Paul's list. Capital sins are vices and are defined as contrary to the Roman Catholic virtues of holiness. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth (acedia). (source)

Now you know where the terms Mortal sin and Venial sin comes from, because they're not listed like this in the bible. To God, a sin is a sin. It's just that simple: sin is rebellion against God and His word. Only blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, and getting forgiveness is a simple act:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanseus from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Ok, there is a caveat:

Joshua Harris Kissed Dating, Jesus, and His Wife Goodbye

The Christian world is shocked at the news that Joshua Harris has come out as an apostate so soon after announcing that he is divorcing his wife Shannon Bonne.

Now personally I don't have a dog in this fight, I've never heard of Joshua Harris before, I've never read his 1997 book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, nor have I heard any of his sermons. As for his former wife Shannon Bonne, I have heard her song Don't Forget Me and I'm thinking maybe she should concentrate on writing books. (Sorry, I don't like weak and wispy voices on people being passed off as professional singers. Here's a great singer, and here's two outstanding singers. The difference between a singer and a great singer is that a singer just signs, a great singer can be heard loud and clear in the cheap seats and can make it look easy)

But what is the importance of Joshua Harris' book, divorce, and apostasy to us? Other than another sad spectacle, it's an object lesson on flying too close to the sun and flying too far from the Son. Part of me wants to say that his being kicked out of the house is due to his rejection of Jesus, but another part of me wants to say that his rejection of Jesus is due to getting kicked out of the house. And statistically chances are pretty good he really was kicked out of the house. According to a recent study, two thirds of divorces are initiated by women and that 90% of divorces are initiated by college-educated women, and the vast majority of of these divorces are not initiated for biblical reasons at all, the number 1 reason why a woman demands a divorce is that she feels like she's not being appreciated.

Speculating on why they are now divorced is none of our business, but we need to look at this fellow and hold his life going forward up to a magnifying glass to watch what happens. Yes, it is like watching a train wreck, but watching trains wreck teaches us not to wreck trains. Harris has changed his mind on almost everything he had based his life upon; he called his 1997 book "a big mistake", he denounced the purity culture,  he lost his family, then he turned his back on God. I'm not encouraging anyone to pop some corn and grab a cold soda, what I am saying is watch, pity, and learn

16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him. (Proverbs 24:16-18)

What I've been doing at lunch

The Georgetown Loop Railroad
It's where I'd rather be at the moment.

How long has it been since we last talked?

I've been away for a month, but in reality it's been much longer than that.  For the past couple of months work has been really busy. I normally do this blog during my lunch breaks, but work got so busy I was working through lunch breaks. My blogging was merely collecting articles for my weekly Random Bits post.

Then came May Day.

On May first I was talking to my manager on the phone, it was our weekly one on one where we update each other on the week past and the week to come. But my manager Frank had to cut the call short because his manager, Ed, needed to speak to him and Frank signed off with "I'll call you back later". Moments later Ken, Ed's manager, knocked on my office door. My boss's boss's boss arrived in town unannounced to offer me a deal: Take a severance package, or don't take a severance package, either way, go away.

I got reorganized into unemployment

Spurgeon Thursday: Is Your Church Doing Their Job?

Random Bits

"I walk through this sinful world as a 

pilgrim in a foreign country" - CH Spurgeon

Mouths that used to speak out boldly against the Church of Rome have been quieted by the times. It no longer is in vogue to speak of the pope as “the antichrist” or the Catholic Church as the “whore of Babylon”. Now Protestants unwittingly believe that “our differences are not so great”. Ah, that is just what She needs us to think! [Keith Green, The Catholic Chronicles] (source)

Some people may think I'm hard hearted for posting this quote by Keith Green just a few days after the burning of Notre Dame, and maybe my being a history nut may cause you to think that I'm off my rocker for not mourning such a loss. But when I heard of the fire the three thought came to mind:

1. I've seen the Koln Dom and it is Much Cooler

2. When actress Sophia Loren wept over her stolen jewelry director Vittorio De Sica told her "there is one great truth I have learned about life, it is this—never cry over anything that can’t cry over you.”

3. These ornate stone buildings are at best white washed tombs (Matthew 23:27-28) built to honor the Roman Catholic Church, not God, and at worst it is a symbol of hate that historically the French people had for us, the children of the Reformation

On average, three churches a day are vandalized in France

Report shows increased hostility toward Christians across Europe

Investigators believe Notre Dame fire likely caused by electrical short-circuit

People are now claiming to see Jesus in the Notra Dame flames

The St Patrick’s Cathedral arson suspect was arrested at other cathedral in NJ 2 nights previous to his arrest in NYC.

The 'Holy Spirit' told Francis Chan not to tell a Catholic what is wrong with her church

A critical response to Catholic apologist De Maria on Transubstantiation

WWUTT Wednesday - God is a Woman? Some People Actually Believe

Ariana Grande, who once played Cat in Nickelodeon's "tween" show Sam and Cat, is now a singer thanks to the miracle of auto-tune. 

Ariana is not a loving person; in any list of annoying Hollywood people, Ariana is generally in the top five due to her rude, selfish attitude toward anyone around her (donuts anyone?), so the idea of her making up her own god, then playing that role is not hard to imagine. The graphic here is a screen shot showing Miss Grande emulating Rodin's The Thinker, which in itself is hilarious. The photo was taken from is from her 2018 music video God Is A Woman. Ariana Grande's theological argument that God is a woman is summed up in the lyrics of the song:

You, you love it how I move you
You love it how I touch you
My one, when all is said and done
You'll believe God is a woman
And I, I feel it after midnight
A feelin' that you can't fight
My one, it lingers when we're done
You'll believe God is a woman

Can't argue with that, not unless you know the true word of God. Lately it looks like the whole new age movement is involved in the emasculation of God while the left is working hard to emasculate every man ever born. As Pastor Joe Schimel said of the psudo-christian movie "The Shack" 

[The Shack's]“pretentious caricature of God as a heavy set, cushy, non-judgmental, African American woman called ‘Papa’ ... and his depiction of the Holy Spirit as a frail Asian woman with the Hindu name, Sarayu, lends itself to a dangerous and false image of God and idolatry.” 

In a recent bible study in Proverbs 8:1 - 9:12 the question of God's wisdom being portrayed as a woman came up and the whole deal about a Greek goddess named Sophia polluted the discussion. To set things straight, Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom, and it became a popular girls name. The Hagia (pronounced High-ya) Sophia means Holy Wisdom and is the name of an orthodox cathedral now used as a mosque, and God is not a wise woman named Sophia because of Proverbs 8 any more than He is a loud and wayward adultress because of what it says in Proverbs 7

No Bill Young, no Oprah, no Rachel, God is not dead, He is fully alive and fully a Male

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