Friday, May 30, 2008

Fire a Salvo!

My goodness! I've always wanted a good online magazine that I could read that's chock full of interesting articles and worldview talk. I think I've found it. It's called Salvo magazine. You may check it out here. A well lived faith requires a well thought-out life and worldview. And from the articles I've read it's been just what the doctor ordered. The Drudgereport has gotten away from its core vibe: unashamed, hip, breaking news the MSM were always afraid to report. Now, it's soooo National Enquirer. Screeching headlines of freaks and freak accidents. Awash in politics, the perverse, the doomed and the gloomy. I feel so nasty and fearful having read a page of it these days. And for those who've just become estranged from this wild world and long for the sanity of sound mindedness, there's Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark, Raving Mad. Their website can be found here. First Things magazine is always a staple, of course. Happy reading!


Ah, I long for presence of the Messaiah! Baruch Hashem! Soli Deo Gloria!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

John Milton, Star Gazing, etc.

John Milton
This year is the 400th aniversary of John Milton's birth. I don't think I ever read better verse than I read in Paradise Lost. I was only twelve, but became utterly fascinated by the concept of God, Lucifer, eternity, the kingdom of Heaven and the sequence of events leading to Creation and to the Fall of Adam and Eve. Made me even think for a millisecond that Lucifer had an argument. A millisecond, OK? (lol) Though some have criticised him as a "sensuous Puritan", Milton's influence was far and wide - felt even by Malcolm X! Mr. Rosenberg's article was an enlightening Tuesday morning read. And Paradise Lost is a highly recommended literary classic.


Star gazing
It is amazing what you can do with astronomical software. I also came across a very interesting website about the Bethlehem star and one man's quest to find it and the results of his findings. Do I believe in it? The star that is. Oh, yes I do. Approaching this from the standpoint of an abiding faith in the scriptural account and from pure unvarnished science, I'd say the case this lawyer makes is pretty compelling. It is entirely plausible for the Grand Designer of the universe to also use physical means to herald the arrival of His Son into the world. Check out the website here .


etc.,
My son is on a youth baseball team here in Atlanta that is probably one of the best in the country for his age group. I have been his coach since he was able to walk. I (we) are pretty competitive. OK, I take that back - we're very competitive. And I enjoy coaching him. But what has been hardest for me is to let him go and let others coach him who are uniquely qualified and gifted in this regard. To be a dad and a coach is very, very, hard. How Earl Woods did it with Tiger has to be - by itself - a singularly phenomenal accomplishment. So there was this guy, Tom Farrey, who interviewed me and my son for his ESPN story about youth sports a couple of years ago. The theme was, "How Young is Too Young?". He started out talking about Tiger Woods and his development, but his beef was against what modern youth sports have become. Among his many arguments was the belief that parents had taken over youth sports in large numbers around the country and were introducing competition at a premature stage of childhood development - the results of which we Americans may not like in 10 to 20 years. All good points. Though I am quite sure he's not right on every point, he's worth checking out. He has now written a book (which I have not yet read) that lays out his case with more detail.

Soli Deo Gloria! Baruch Hashem!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Challenges, etc.

Are you "going through" it? Yeah, me too. Been in the Wilderness for a while now. But I read a very good devotional that might be of some use. It was for me:

Fred, wake up and smell the roses!

Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

An ancient story is told of the Queen of Sheba. She sent two wreaths of roses to Solomon, one real and one artificial, to test his reputed wisdom. She defied him to detect the genuine from the artificial. Solomon at once directed that some bees be brought into the room and of course, they immediately flew to the real flowers and thought nothing of the counterfeit.So it is with us as believers. When we find ourselves overwhelmed, surrounded, being attacked from every side with the bees of revile and persecution, it simply means they recognize that we are the real deal!
Our beautiful aroma attracts those scary bees but the Lord, in the end, "Where,[oh bees], is your sting?"

Fred, rejoice when the bees come around! Don't lose heart! God has the victory!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Israel turns 60

Israel. The land and the people of God. That says a lot. God said he loves her and will never forsake her. The people of God who only in the past 100 years were allowed to return to the land of their fathers constituted a government in 1948. And on May 8th (or 12th) celebrated its 60th year of existence as a nation. And they went though Hell - almost - to get there. And the story is not over yet. Keep a close eye on the headlines.

Yet there are those - friend and foe - who will deny to the end that A) the Jewish people of today are the descendants of the Jewish people of old and B) that the Jewish people have exclusive rights to the homeland of their fathers. The "friends" group are wrong because of their theology. The foes are wrong because they have imbibed the spirit of Antichrist. I wrote a paper on this topic years back which I will put on this blog soon. But for now I submitted this comment to a Jan Markell column that appeared on yesterday's Christian Worldview Network.


"The Israel of our day are the descendants of biblical Israel. Only the spiritually and historically ignorant cannot see it. Same persecutions, same hassles, same drama as before.

I am African-American. Chris Rock once told a joke that nowadays in America being "Black" is in. Everybody wants to be Black. Kinky hair, braids, collagen lips, and so forth are in. It's hard to tell the real from the wanna be's until they start hanging Blacks again. Then we'll know who the real Black folks are.

In that bit of dark humor was an analogy that applies also to Israel. The reality is that the people over in the land of Israel - claiming to be Jews - are getting the same harsh treatment from the world as they ever did throughout history. Same struggles, same hatreds.

Down through history they've been persecuted, pogromed, holocausted, jihaded, and diplomatically pressured to be somebody other than who they are. From Aelia Capitolina to Eretz Yisroel, Jerusalem has been the center of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish attention, too. You have to ask why this is.

I also think that all you Preterists, Partial Preterists, and Amillenialists are in the same boat as the Pre-Millenialist Evangelicals you condemn. Your theology (and eschatology) may very well be dead wrong.

Me? I just examine history and wonder who would WANT to be a Jew living in Israel except the real Jews. "
Wherever the real Jews are, persecution is sure to follow - until He comes again - to rescue them and us.

'Nuff for now. Baruch Hashem and Soli deo Gloria!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Interesting devotional from Tabletalk

This entry in Tabletalk magazine from Gene Edward Veith is interesting. Hadn't really given serious thought to the seven deadly sins as variations of misplaced love. But when you think about it, if I love food more than I love myself, I'm bound to be a glutton and obesity is sure to follow. If I love me more than all others, pride will not permit me to accept that I have an obligation to laud others before self. Anyway, you may read here:

Mother's Day is around the corner and I must admit - more than anything else - to having not taken enough time out of my busy schedule to see my elderly parents. One day they'll be gone, and I hope won't have any regrets about having not visted them enough. (Excuse the double negatives!) But I'll catch them this weekend, Lord willing.