I know the example is with beer, but it's still a good example!
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beers and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $ 59.
So that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from every body's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested a plan to reduce each man's bill, and he worked out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Note that the tenth man got the smallest percentage reduction and now paid 61.25% of the total bill, where he previously paid 59% of the bill. While I'm struggling to remain in the middle class with today's soaring energy prices, I realize that I am better off than a lot of folks. I also understand that without the economic opportunity that comes with the investment of the rich people far outweighs the supposed unfair tax breaks they get. Read on. This is where it gets good.
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Unholy Ministers
Unholy ministers
(Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ")
"Watch your life and doctrine closely."
1 Timothy 4:16 Heavenly doctrines should always be adorned with a heavenly life.
Ministers must preach Christ as well in their life—as in their doctrine. They must not be hot in the pulpit, and cold and careless in their lives. The lives of ministers oftentimes convince more strongly than their words; their tongues may persuade—but their lives command.
What is it, which renders the things of God so contemptuous and odious in the eyes of many people—but the ignorance, looseness, profaneness, and worldliness of those who are the dispensers of them. Unholy ministers pull down instead of building up. Oh the souls who their lives destroy! These, by their loose lives, lead their flocks to hell—where they themselves must lie lowermost!
Wicked ministers do more hurt by their lives—than they do good by their doctrine. Every minister's life should be a commentary upon Christ's life!
"Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
(Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ")
"Watch your life and doctrine closely."
1 Timothy 4:16 Heavenly doctrines should always be adorned with a heavenly life.
Ministers must preach Christ as well in their life—as in their doctrine. They must not be hot in the pulpit, and cold and careless in their lives. The lives of ministers oftentimes convince more strongly than their words; their tongues may persuade—but their lives command.
What is it, which renders the things of God so contemptuous and odious in the eyes of many people—but the ignorance, looseness, profaneness, and worldliness of those who are the dispensers of them. Unholy ministers pull down instead of building up. Oh the souls who their lives destroy! These, by their loose lives, lead their flocks to hell—where they themselves must lie lowermost!
Wicked ministers do more hurt by their lives—than they do good by their doctrine. Every minister's life should be a commentary upon Christ's life!
"Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
Monday, April 21, 2008
Kidnapped by the government - Vox Day
Kidnapped by government
Posted: April 21, 20081:00 am Eastern© 2008
Given that Mormon readers will probably recall my past references to a former candidate for the White House as Capt. Underoos, it's not exactly a secret that I harbor little respect for Joseph Smith's little cult. While all of the Latter Day Saints I've ever met have been fine, upstanding individuals, I nevertheless tend to view "The Book of Mormon" as being, for all intents and purposes, the literary and religious equivalent of L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth."
But despite my admitted lack of sympathy for Mormonism, not since the Waco massacre have I been so completely appalled by an American government action. The recent kidnapping of 416 children from their Fundamentalist LDS parents by Texas Child Protective Service agents is a unconscionable abnegation of not only the United States and Texas constitutions, but a rejection of the very meaning of what it is to be an American. For as P.J. O'Rourke rightly declares: "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please."
Contrary to what a disturbing percentage of the voting population appears to believe, "protecting the children" is not a legitimate function of government. The concept appears nowhere in any constitution, and the very idea that the most lethal institution in human history, an institution that has killed more children than any other, can even be used to protect children is inherently oxymoronic. The state does not own the children whose families happen to reside within its boundaries and it does not possess the right to dictate what is and what is not a proper way for a family to raise its children.
Consider this absurd justification for the mass kidnappings offered by Angie Voss, the CPS kidnapper in chief, offered as an explanation for the mysterious preference of the abused women to remain with their supposed abusers instead of availing themselves of government shelters: "This population of women has a difficult time making decisions on their own." If a distaste for decision-making is legitimate grounds for removing children from their mothers, then there won't be a woman in America left with a child to call her own! For what man has not had a conversation that went like this:
"Where do you want to eat?"
"I don't care. ... You decide."
"OK, let's go to that new Chinese place."
"No, I don't want Chinese!"
"Well, what do you want, then?"
"I don't know, whatever you want."
Sound the sirens, send in Ms. Voss and her Sturmtruppen, and seize those at-risk kids!
The disingenuous bigotry of CPS' action is perhaps best revealed by comparing the pregnancy rates of the supposedly abused teenage girls at the FLDS compound with the rest of the teenage Texan population. Voss stated that five of the 416 children were pregnant or had given birth; assuming that half of the 416 are female, that is a pregnancy rate of 24 per 1,000. The Texas pregnancy rate among women 15 to 19 is 101 per 1,000. It's also worth noting that the "numerous" pregnant 13-year-olds hypothesized by one government worker mysteriously transformed into five "under 18s" when Voss testified.
If the family lives of hundreds of American citizens living peacefully can be brutally invaded and destroyed on the basis of a single anonymous phone call that, as WND has reported, increasingly looks to have been a fraud, then every American family is at risk.
How you raise your children is between you and God alone. It is not a matter for the state or anyone else; it never has been. As this mass kidnapping of FLDS children and incredible violation of due process will almost surely demonstrate over time, government is a ruthless and power-maddened institution that is the very last one capable of serving the interests of the children. No conservative and no religious individual should support this outrageous action, even if adult members of the FLDS community are found to have violated Texas law as well as Texas social norms, because to accept this terrible precedent is to guarantee that future violations of family rights will be committed.
And as history has shown, the next time it may not be some weird and heretical Mormons in the government's gun sights, but Jews, homeschoolers or evangelical Christians.
Posted: April 21, 20081:00 am Eastern© 2008
Given that Mormon readers will probably recall my past references to a former candidate for the White House as Capt. Underoos, it's not exactly a secret that I harbor little respect for Joseph Smith's little cult. While all of the Latter Day Saints I've ever met have been fine, upstanding individuals, I nevertheless tend to view "The Book of Mormon" as being, for all intents and purposes, the literary and religious equivalent of L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth."
But despite my admitted lack of sympathy for Mormonism, not since the Waco massacre have I been so completely appalled by an American government action. The recent kidnapping of 416 children from their Fundamentalist LDS parents by Texas Child Protective Service agents is a unconscionable abnegation of not only the United States and Texas constitutions, but a rejection of the very meaning of what it is to be an American. For as P.J. O'Rourke rightly declares: "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please."
Contrary to what a disturbing percentage of the voting population appears to believe, "protecting the children" is not a legitimate function of government. The concept appears nowhere in any constitution, and the very idea that the most lethal institution in human history, an institution that has killed more children than any other, can even be used to protect children is inherently oxymoronic. The state does not own the children whose families happen to reside within its boundaries and it does not possess the right to dictate what is and what is not a proper way for a family to raise its children.
Consider this absurd justification for the mass kidnappings offered by Angie Voss, the CPS kidnapper in chief, offered as an explanation for the mysterious preference of the abused women to remain with their supposed abusers instead of availing themselves of government shelters: "This population of women has a difficult time making decisions on their own." If a distaste for decision-making is legitimate grounds for removing children from their mothers, then there won't be a woman in America left with a child to call her own! For what man has not had a conversation that went like this:
"Where do you want to eat?"
"I don't care. ... You decide."
"OK, let's go to that new Chinese place."
"No, I don't want Chinese!"
"Well, what do you want, then?"
"I don't know, whatever you want."
Sound the sirens, send in Ms. Voss and her Sturmtruppen, and seize those at-risk kids!
The disingenuous bigotry of CPS' action is perhaps best revealed by comparing the pregnancy rates of the supposedly abused teenage girls at the FLDS compound with the rest of the teenage Texan population. Voss stated that five of the 416 children were pregnant or had given birth; assuming that half of the 416 are female, that is a pregnancy rate of 24 per 1,000. The Texas pregnancy rate among women 15 to 19 is 101 per 1,000. It's also worth noting that the "numerous" pregnant 13-year-olds hypothesized by one government worker mysteriously transformed into five "under 18s" when Voss testified.
If the family lives of hundreds of American citizens living peacefully can be brutally invaded and destroyed on the basis of a single anonymous phone call that, as WND has reported, increasingly looks to have been a fraud, then every American family is at risk.
How you raise your children is between you and God alone. It is not a matter for the state or anyone else; it never has been. As this mass kidnapping of FLDS children and incredible violation of due process will almost surely demonstrate over time, government is a ruthless and power-maddened institution that is the very last one capable of serving the interests of the children. No conservative and no religious individual should support this outrageous action, even if adult members of the FLDS community are found to have violated Texas law as well as Texas social norms, because to accept this terrible precedent is to guarantee that future violations of family rights will be committed.
And as history has shown, the next time it may not be some weird and heretical Mormons in the government's gun sights, but Jews, homeschoolers or evangelical Christians.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Abortion as art
Ok - I was sent this via e-mail today and thought it would bring about some discussion. Read the story below and post your thoughts/reactions to it.
Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages.
Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock, saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value.""I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.
"The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body.
The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.
Art major Juan Castillo '08 said that although he was intrigued by the creativity and beauty of her senior project, not everyone was as thrilled as he was by the concept and the means by which she attained the result."I really loved the idea of this project, but a lot other people didn't," Castillo said. "I think that most people were very resistant to thinking about what the project was really about. [The senior-art-project forum] stopped being a conversation on the work itself."
Although Shvarts said she does not remember the class being quite as hostile as Castillo described, she said she believes it is the nature of her piece to "provoke inquiry.""I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."
The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube.
These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, Schvarts' senior-project advisor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.Few people outside of Yale's undergraduate art department have heard about Shvarts' exhibition.
Members of two campus abortion-activist groups - Choose Life at Yale, a pro-life group, and the Reproductive Rights Action League of Yale, a pro-choice group said they were not previously aware of Schvarts' project.Alice Buttrick '10, an officer of RALY, said the group was in no way involved with the art exhibition and had no official opinion on the matter.Sara Rahman '09 said, in her opinion, Shvarts is abusing her constitutional right to do what she chooses with her body."[Shvarts' exhibit] turns what is a serious decision for women into an absurdism," Rahman said. "It discounts the gravity of the situation that is abortion."CLAY member Jonathan Serrato '09 said he does not think CLAY has an official response to Schvarts' exhibition.
But personally, Serrato said he found the concept of the senior art project "surprising" and unethical."I feel that she's manipulating life for the benefit of her art, and I definitely don't support it," Serrato said. "I think it's morally wrong."
Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers."It was a private and personal endeavor, but also a transparent one for the most part," Shvarts said. "This isn't something I've been hiding."The official reception for the Undergraduate Senior Art Show will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25.
The exhibition will be on public display from April 22 to May 1. The art exhibition is set to premiere alongside the projects of other art seniors this Tuesday, April 22 at the gallery of Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall on Chapel Street.
Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages.
Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock, saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value.""I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.
"The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body.
The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.
Art major Juan Castillo '08 said that although he was intrigued by the creativity and beauty of her senior project, not everyone was as thrilled as he was by the concept and the means by which she attained the result."I really loved the idea of this project, but a lot other people didn't," Castillo said. "I think that most people were very resistant to thinking about what the project was really about. [The senior-art-project forum] stopped being a conversation on the work itself."
Although Shvarts said she does not remember the class being quite as hostile as Castillo described, she said she believes it is the nature of her piece to "provoke inquiry.""I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."
The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube.
These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, Schvarts' senior-project advisor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.Few people outside of Yale's undergraduate art department have heard about Shvarts' exhibition.
Members of two campus abortion-activist groups - Choose Life at Yale, a pro-life group, and the Reproductive Rights Action League of Yale, a pro-choice group said they were not previously aware of Schvarts' project.Alice Buttrick '10, an officer of RALY, said the group was in no way involved with the art exhibition and had no official opinion on the matter.Sara Rahman '09 said, in her opinion, Shvarts is abusing her constitutional right to do what she chooses with her body."[Shvarts' exhibit] turns what is a serious decision for women into an absurdism," Rahman said. "It discounts the gravity of the situation that is abortion."CLAY member Jonathan Serrato '09 said he does not think CLAY has an official response to Schvarts' exhibition.
But personally, Serrato said he found the concept of the senior art project "surprising" and unethical."I feel that she's manipulating life for the benefit of her art, and I definitely don't support it," Serrato said. "I think it's morally wrong."
Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers."It was a private and personal endeavor, but also a transparent one for the most part," Shvarts said. "This isn't something I've been hiding."The official reception for the Undergraduate Senior Art Show will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25.
The exhibition will be on public display from April 22 to May 1. The art exhibition is set to premiere alongside the projects of other art seniors this Tuesday, April 22 at the gallery of Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall on Chapel Street.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
No Vague Sentiment
J. R. Miller
"Being Christians on Weekdays" 1912
We are too apt to imagine that holiness consists in mere good feeling toward God. It does not! It consists in obedience in heart and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is to be set apart for God and devoted to God's service, "The Lord has set apart him who is godly for himself." But if we are set apart for God in this sense, it necessarily follows that we must live for God. We belong wholly to him, and any use of our life in any other service is sacrilege, as if one would rob the very altar of its smoking sacrifice, to gratify one's common hunger.
Our hands are God's—and can fitly be used only in doing his work. Our feet are God's—and may be employed only in walking in his ways and running his errands. Our lips are God's—and should speak only words which honor him and bless others. Our hearts are God's—and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections which are not pure.
Biblical holiness is no vague sentiment—it is intensely practical. It is nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling and act—into obedience to Christ.
Heavenly Father; may You use me and may I heed Your call. Let my lips speak truth and may they glorify You. May my hands do thy will and may my heart and mind by undefiled and spotless in Your sight. Guide me Holy Spirit into all truth and teach me thy ways.
Praise God, Son and Holy Spirt!
"Being Christians on Weekdays" 1912
We are too apt to imagine that holiness consists in mere good feeling toward God. It does not! It consists in obedience in heart and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is to be set apart for God and devoted to God's service, "The Lord has set apart him who is godly for himself." But if we are set apart for God in this sense, it necessarily follows that we must live for God. We belong wholly to him, and any use of our life in any other service is sacrilege, as if one would rob the very altar of its smoking sacrifice, to gratify one's common hunger.
Our hands are God's—and can fitly be used only in doing his work. Our feet are God's—and may be employed only in walking in his ways and running his errands. Our lips are God's—and should speak only words which honor him and bless others. Our hearts are God's—and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections which are not pure.
Biblical holiness is no vague sentiment—it is intensely practical. It is nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling and act—into obedience to Christ.
Heavenly Father; may You use me and may I heed Your call. Let my lips speak truth and may they glorify You. May my hands do thy will and may my heart and mind by undefiled and spotless in Your sight. Guide me Holy Spirit into all truth and teach me thy ways.
Praise God, Son and Holy Spirt!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
What are we unhappy about?
I received this in a e-mail and thought I would post it. According to the e-mail credit for this post goes to Jay Leno but SCOPES said not so.....But, I thought it was cool and wanted to put it up.
There is a Newsweek poll that alleges 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence,2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24hours a day, 7 days a week?
Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.
Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens.
They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out?
The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the"Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable''discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable''discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it lead sand they specialize in bad news.
Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.
We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative."
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
Of course if your a Christian, you should never have anything to be unhappy about!!
There is a Newsweek poll that alleges 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence,2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24hours a day, 7 days a week?
Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.
Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens.
They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out?
The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the"Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable''discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable''discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it lead sand they specialize in bad news.
Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations.
They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.
We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative."
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
Of course if your a Christian, you should never have anything to be unhappy about!!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Spurgeon on repentance
I know some very excellent brethren—would God there were more like them in zeal and love—who, in their zeal to preach up simple faith in Christ have felt a little difficulty about the matter of repentance; and I have known some of them who have tried to get over the difficulty by softening down the apparent hardness of the word repentance, by expounding it according to its more usual Greek equivalent, a word which occurs in the original of my text, and signifies "to change one's mind."
Apparently they interpret repentance to be a somewhat slighter thing than we usually conceive it to be, a mere change of mind, in fact.
Now, allow me to suggest to those dear brethren, that the Holy Ghost never preaches repentance as a trifle; and the change of mind or understanding of which the gospel speaks is a very deep and solemn work, and must not on any account be depreciated. Moreover, there is another word which is also used in the original Greek for repentance, not so often I admit, but still is used, which signifies "an after-care," a word which has in it something more of sorrow and anxiety, than that which signifies changing one's mind.
There must be sorrow for sin and hatred of it in true repentance, or else I have read my Bible to little purpose. In very truth, I think there is no necessity for any other definition than that of the children's hymn—
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."
To repent does mean a change of mind; but then it is a thorough change of the understanding and all that is in the mind, so that it includes an illumination, an illumination of the Holy Spirit; and I think it includes a discovery of iniquity and a hatred of it, without which there can hardly be a genuine repentance.
We must not, I think, undervalue repentance. It is a blessed grace of God the Holy Spirit, and it is absolutely necessary unto salvation.
Apparently they interpret repentance to be a somewhat slighter thing than we usually conceive it to be, a mere change of mind, in fact.
Now, allow me to suggest to those dear brethren, that the Holy Ghost never preaches repentance as a trifle; and the change of mind or understanding of which the gospel speaks is a very deep and solemn work, and must not on any account be depreciated. Moreover, there is another word which is also used in the original Greek for repentance, not so often I admit, but still is used, which signifies "an after-care," a word which has in it something more of sorrow and anxiety, than that which signifies changing one's mind.
There must be sorrow for sin and hatred of it in true repentance, or else I have read my Bible to little purpose. In very truth, I think there is no necessity for any other definition than that of the children's hymn—
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."
To repent does mean a change of mind; but then it is a thorough change of the understanding and all that is in the mind, so that it includes an illumination, an illumination of the Holy Spirit; and I think it includes a discovery of iniquity and a hatred of it, without which there can hardly be a genuine repentance.
We must not, I think, undervalue repentance. It is a blessed grace of God the Holy Spirit, and it is absolutely necessary unto salvation.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Not called!
"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world."
William Booth
William Booth
Thursday, April 10, 2008
There must be a difference
There must be a difference
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Matthew" 1856)
"You are the salt of the earth." Matthew 5:13
"You are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14
Surely, if words mean anything, we are meant to learn from these two figures, that there must be something marked, distinct, and peculiar about our character, if we are true Christians.
It will never do to idle through life, thinking and living like others, if we mean to be ownedby Christ as His people.
Have we grace? Then it must be seen.
Have we the Spirit? Then there must be fruit.
Have we any saving religion? Then there must be a difference of habits, tastes, and turn of mind, between us and those who thinkonly of the world.
It is perfectly clear that true Christianity is something more, than being baptized and going to church.
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Matthew" 1856)
"You are the salt of the earth." Matthew 5:13
"You are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14
Surely, if words mean anything, we are meant to learn from these two figures, that there must be something marked, distinct, and peculiar about our character, if we are true Christians.
It will never do to idle through life, thinking and living like others, if we mean to be ownedby Christ as His people.
Have we grace? Then it must be seen.
Have we the Spirit? Then there must be fruit.
Have we any saving religion? Then there must be a difference of habits, tastes, and turn of mind, between us and those who thinkonly of the world.
It is perfectly clear that true Christianity is something more, than being baptized and going to church.
Monday, April 07, 2008
People Get Ready
People get ready...Jesus is coming!
Lord Im ready now
Im waiting for Your triumphant return
Youre coming so soon
This world has nothing for me
I find my peace and joy solely in You
Only in You
I want the world to see that
Youre alive and living well in me
Let me be a part of the harvest
For the days are few
He's coming soon
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own
There will be a day
When we will be divided right and left
For those who know Him
And those who do not know
Those who know Him well
Will meet Him in the air
Hallelujah
God is with us
Those who do not know
They will hear "Depart, I knew you not"
For my friends you see
There will be a day when well be counted
So know Him well, know Him well
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get readyJesus is coming
To take from the world His own
Crystal Lewis Version -
Lord Im ready now
Im waiting for Your triumphant return
Youre coming so soon
This world has nothing for me
I find my peace and joy solely in You
Only in You
I want the world to see that
Youre alive and living well in me
Let me be a part of the harvest
For the days are few
He's coming soon
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own
There will be a day
When we will be divided right and left
For those who know Him
And those who do not know
Those who know Him well
Will meet Him in the air
Hallelujah
God is with us
Those who do not know
They will hear "Depart, I knew you not"
For my friends you see
There will be a day when well be counted
So know Him well, know Him well
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get ready Jesus is coming
To take from the world His own
People get ready Jesus is comin
Soon well be going home
People get readyJesus is coming
To take from the world His own
Crystal Lewis Version -
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wrath to come!
Wrath to come!
(Thomas Vincent, "The Only Deliverer from the Wrath to Come!"
Or, The Way to Escape the Horrible and Eternal Burnings of Hell)
"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thess. 1:10By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.
This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly.
This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!
This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy.
But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!
This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever!
Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."
The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).
The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence
"Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them! Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire!
Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever!
There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Because God is so good He must punish so severely. God hates sin. Because the consequence of sinning against God is so great and so severe, He provided you a way out of this damnation so you would never have to experience the horrible effect of His wrath.
What is the way out?
He, God, humbled Himself and left His throne in Heaven. He clothed Himself in human form and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by man and endured a horrible execution through crucifixion. He died on a cross for your sins, my sins, the sins of the world. They took Him down a buried Him in a tomb. Three days later God raised Himself from the dead so that you COULD have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.
The Bible says you must repent and forsake your sins, put your trust in Christ to save you from God’s wrath, and you will be saved.
Will you do that today before it’s too late?
(Thomas Vincent, "The Only Deliverer from the Wrath to Come!"
Or, The Way to Escape the Horrible and Eternal Burnings of Hell)
"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thess. 1:10By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.
This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly.
This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!
This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy.
But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!
This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever!
Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."
The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).
The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence
"Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them! Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire!
Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever!
There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Because God is so good He must punish so severely. God hates sin. Because the consequence of sinning against God is so great and so severe, He provided you a way out of this damnation so you would never have to experience the horrible effect of His wrath.
What is the way out?
He, God, humbled Himself and left His throne in Heaven. He clothed Himself in human form and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by man and endured a horrible execution through crucifixion. He died on a cross for your sins, my sins, the sins of the world. They took Him down a buried Him in a tomb. Three days later God raised Himself from the dead so that you COULD have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.
The Bible says you must repent and forsake your sins, put your trust in Christ to save you from God’s wrath, and you will be saved.
Will you do that today before it’s too late?
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dear Wife, Farewell
Dear wife, farewell!
(An excerpt from a letter by Christopher Love, to his wife, on the morning of his execution)
My most gracious beloved, I am now going from a prison to a palace! I have finished my work.
I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also!
Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!
Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death, Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!
Are you this ready and sure to go meet your Savior?
Ok - I admit I had never heard of Christopher Love until this morning........so here is a brief bio from Wikipedia:
Love was born at Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1618. He was educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford University, in 1635. After taking the master's degree he was obliged to leave Oxford for refusing to subscribe to Archbishop William Laud's canons.
He went to London, and became domestic chaplain to the sheriff, and took a bold stand against the errors of the Book of Common Prayer and the religious tyranny of the times. He was cast into prison on account of an aggressive sermon at Newcastle, and in various ways persecuted in London.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was made preacher to the garrison of Windsor Castle, where he offended the Church establishment through his outspoken opinions.
He was one of the first to receive presbyterial ordination under the new organization in Jan. 23, 1644, at Aldermanbury; London; and became pastor of St Lawrence Jewry in London, where he was highly esteemed for the eloquence and vigor of his preaching.
He was a strong Presbyterian, the leader of the younger men of that party. In this way he became involved in a treasonable correspondence with the Presbyterians of Scotland to restore Charles II; and, with many others, was arrested May 7, 1651, and chosen to make an example of, to check the Presbyterian agitation against Oliver Cromwell and in favor of Charles II. Love was also a Westminster divine.
He was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill, an event which caused great indignation among the Presbyterian party, which had petitioned, by ministerial bodies and parishes, in vain for his pardon. He went to his death as their hero and martyr. His funeral sermon was preached by Thomas Manton to an immense sympathizing audience.
(An excerpt from a letter by Christopher Love, to his wife, on the morning of his execution)
My most gracious beloved, I am now going from a prison to a palace! I have finished my work.
I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also!
Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!
Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death, Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!
Are you this ready and sure to go meet your Savior?
Ok - I admit I had never heard of Christopher Love until this morning........so here is a brief bio from Wikipedia:
Love was born at Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1618. He was educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford University, in 1635. After taking the master's degree he was obliged to leave Oxford for refusing to subscribe to Archbishop William Laud's canons.
He went to London, and became domestic chaplain to the sheriff, and took a bold stand against the errors of the Book of Common Prayer and the religious tyranny of the times. He was cast into prison on account of an aggressive sermon at Newcastle, and in various ways persecuted in London.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was made preacher to the garrison of Windsor Castle, where he offended the Church establishment through his outspoken opinions.
He was one of the first to receive presbyterial ordination under the new organization in Jan. 23, 1644, at Aldermanbury; London; and became pastor of St Lawrence Jewry in London, where he was highly esteemed for the eloquence and vigor of his preaching.
He was a strong Presbyterian, the leader of the younger men of that party. In this way he became involved in a treasonable correspondence with the Presbyterians of Scotland to restore Charles II; and, with many others, was arrested May 7, 1651, and chosen to make an example of, to check the Presbyterian agitation against Oliver Cromwell and in favor of Charles II. Love was also a Westminster divine.
He was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill, an event which caused great indignation among the Presbyterian party, which had petitioned, by ministerial bodies and parishes, in vain for his pardon. He went to his death as their hero and martyr. His funeral sermon was preached by Thomas Manton to an immense sympathizing audience.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
National Atheist Day
Today, April 1st, is National Atheist Day around the world.
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
The seeds of wickedness
The seeds of every wickedness
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Mark" 1857)
"But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You!'And all the others vowed the same." Mark 14:31
See how much ignorant self confidence may sometimes be found in the hearts of Christians. The apostle Peter could not think it possible that he could ever deny his Lord. And he did not stand alone in his confidence.
The other disciples were of the same opinion. "And all the others vowed the same."
Yet what did all this confident boasting come to? Twelve hours did not pass away before all the disciples forsook our Lord and fled. Their loud professions were all forgotten. The present danger swept all their promises of fidelity clean away.
So little do we know how we shall act in any particular position—until we are placed in it!
Let us learn to pray for humility. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." There is far more wickedness in all our hearts,than we know. We never can tell how far we might fall—if once placed in temptation.
There is no degree of sin into which the greatest saint may not run—if he is not held up by the grace of God, and if he does not watch and pray.The seeds of every wickedness lie hidden in our hearts!
They only need the convenient season to spring forth into a mischievous vitality. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." "He who trusts his own heart is a fool.''
Let our daily prayer be, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Mark" 1857)
"But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You!'And all the others vowed the same." Mark 14:31
See how much ignorant self confidence may sometimes be found in the hearts of Christians. The apostle Peter could not think it possible that he could ever deny his Lord. And he did not stand alone in his confidence.
The other disciples were of the same opinion. "And all the others vowed the same."
Yet what did all this confident boasting come to? Twelve hours did not pass away before all the disciples forsook our Lord and fled. Their loud professions were all forgotten. The present danger swept all their promises of fidelity clean away.
So little do we know how we shall act in any particular position—until we are placed in it!
Let us learn to pray for humility. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." There is far more wickedness in all our hearts,than we know. We never can tell how far we might fall—if once placed in temptation.
There is no degree of sin into which the greatest saint may not run—if he is not held up by the grace of God, and if he does not watch and pray.The seeds of every wickedness lie hidden in our hearts!
They only need the convenient season to spring forth into a mischievous vitality. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." "He who trusts his own heart is a fool.''
Let our daily prayer be, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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