Corporate Prayer of Praise and Adoration - April 2010

I will praise you, O LORD, with all of my heart; 
      I will sing your praise before all the inhabitants of Heaven.

I will bow down toward your holy temple 
       and praise your name because of your love and faithfulness, 

because - above all things – you’ve exalted
       your name and your word.

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,
   because they will hear the words of your mouth,

They will sing of  the your ways,
   because of the greatness of Your glory. 

Today, our Father, we rejoice to be a small part of this praise –

we, who were once blasphemers and rebels, now join You in prizing and exalting Your Name and Your Word above all things. 

As the millennia pass, stars fall from the sky and mountains are ground to dust but Your glory, wisdom, righteousness, power, goodness, and holiness will shine as brightly then as the day You created light itself. 

Generation follows generation and the wisdom of man goes with him into the ground, but the words that You have spoken, which cannot fail, stand and stand forever.

The nations foam and rage, the heathen rise up like waves against You, but they do these things in vain.  All together they are like dust on the scales before You.  Your Son is already their King, and they will confess - along with every tongue-  what we are gathered here to confess today: 

Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain and has redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing forever and ever.  Amen.

McCain [Republicans?] in a nutshell -

'a versatility of convictions'

Sons NOT reduced to a crust of bread [Prov6.26]: Training Sons to be Pure in a Pornographic Society

For those who think of pornography as Playboy, there is a culture shock awaiting them. Amateur internet outlets are multiplying at such a rate that commercial pornographers are losing money. When they don't know what to do to solve this problem, it is a serious problem.
The anti-pornography statutes in the United States are tied to local moral standards. The Web honors no local standards. It has no borders. Control has always been at the retail outlets. The retail outlets are now inside the home.
Pornography can be addictive. Unlike most other addictions, Web pornography can be indulged in for no money in complete privacy. There are no immediate negative consequences. As with all addictions, the positive sanctions are front-loaded.
The Web is like having a pusher living at your home. "The first one's free, kid. You'll like it." The rest are free also. And they probably will like it.
So, what is a parent to do?  Here is what I would do.  [keep reading below]

Reading The Judges

There’s a lot of talk these days about bucket lists. Aside from the overt narcissism of it all, I’ll admit that I have found myself thinking along these lines from time to time. One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do is read the O.T. book of The Judges to my sons. Well, it's currently underway. [Another thing recently added to that list is taking my daughter to get her ears pierced … which, Lord-willing, will take place tomorrow. Keep an eye out for the pictures.]

Judges is wonderful because it was written back before society [in its wisdom] decided that the world would be a better place if little boys could just learn to stop using sticks as swords and spend their summer days reading ‘Johnny has Two Daddies’. For some helpful interpretive comments on the book and some more great medieval paintings from stories of the Judges [also painted in a day before the aforementioned societal sensibilities took hold], keep reading below.

The Constitution in Context

Justice Scalia gives us a great explanation of the US constitution and bill of rights in a nutshell – though, to be picky, as we’re seeing, the education of our children can be a potent, if slow, method of indoctrination and tyranny. 

Corporate Prayer of Thanksgiving - April 2010

Give thanks to the LORD, because of His goodness

and His love which endures forever.   

Let those who’ve been redeemed by the LORD say this— 

those He’s redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

 Those He’s gathered from the lands, 
      east west, north and south.

  He lifts the needy out of affliction 
       and increases their families like flocks.

 The righteous see these things and rejoice, 
       but all the wicked shut their mouths.

 Let the wise learn from these things 
       and consider the great love of the LORD.

 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love 
       and His wonderful works for men …

We do, Our Father, remember Your unfailing love, expressed in the bounty we know all around us day after day.  It is from Your hand that we receive the gifts of health, peace, sanity, food, drink, shelter, and so much abundance beyond our mere survival. 

It is You, our Gracious Lord, Who lovingly gives life and lovingly takes it. It is You we thank for the births of our dear children this past year, and it is You we thank for tenderly overseeing the deaths of Your people as a loving Father. 

We thank You for Your provision to us in the formation of this congregation of Saints, and the dear pastor and elders You’ve appointed her. 

And we thank You deeply for preserving and propagating Your Word, for the ability to own, study, and hear it taught and proclaimed today. 

Finally we thank You for the privilege of seeing Your Kingdom advance unstopped and unstoppable, for this and every other blessing we know because of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, in Whose great name we offer this prayer of thanksgiving,

 Amen.

I'm a Sowell Man

A Quote for Tax Day 2010 ...

When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.

--Frederic Bastiat [1801-1851]

The Good Ole' USSA ...

"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. "

- James Madison, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention [June 16, 1788] 

The Problem with Socialism ...

"The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." 

- Margaret Thatcher