Faith

Bartiromo Talks with Sarah Palin
Great interview (though I cringed at the "McCain=Maverick" meme...) Best part comes at the end.

I'm doing a pro-life speech. Four months ago, my fifth child was born with Down syndrome…so I value innocent life. It took many months for me to get my arms around the idea of, first, having a fifth child at my age, but also knowing that my child would have an extra chromosome. But I prayed the whole time, "God, just prepare me, prepare my heart and prepare my family." And talk about confirmation of that prayer, I mean, Trig is just—he is to me—absolutely perfect. And everybody's in love with him, and he's the sweetest little baby in the world.

Still not convinced to vote for McCain, but I could vote for Lapin.

Greeting

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

The children of your elect sister greet you.

ESV, see also NIV or the NASB.
Audio version, KJV on MP3.

Johnny Hart was a faithful witness in his art. He will be missed.

HollywoodJesus has the lowdown (with graphics) on
JOHNNY HART AND THE EASTER CONTROVERSY

B.C. COMICS the 2001 incident

For those of you who do not know Johnny Hart and what took place on Easter 2001, let me bring you up to speed. First let me know introduce you to cartoonist Johnny Hart -the most widely read writer on earth..

***UPDATE***
Related-
Above the fold: Deathbed
29 words or less: Farewell
Daggle: Thanks for the Anteater
Malkin: R.I.P.

Well, duh. Everyone know the answer to that one, right?

Apparently St. Thomas Aquinas has thought through this issue. Ben has also given the matter some thought, and come to the conclusion that God can't do anything. I tend to agree with his premise.

The issue isn't one I've given a lot of deep thought to myself, since I've never really considered God's omnipotence to be contrary to his perfect holiness. The idea that nothing is impossible for God didn't ever cause me to think that perhaps it was possible for God to sin. Leave it up to a perceptive third grader to spot the obvious, though.

How might you respond to this philosophical question if a third grader put it to you? Here's how I'm thinking of approaching it at this point;

1- God is perfectly holy. If God were to become anything less than holy, He would no longer be God. Because of this, God cannot do anything that would make Himself less than perfectly holy.

2- The verses of scripture that speak of God's omnipotence (i.e., "nothing is impossible with God") are speaking of God's ability to perform whatever He chooses to do. Whatever God wills, He has the ability to perform. There is nothing God wants to do that He does not have the ability to make happen.

3- The fact that God cannot sin, or cannot change his nature, does not mean that He is not omnipotent. I really need to flesh this out some more, suggestions are welcome!

Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to mention Larry's take on the question of God's omnipotence:

Bob (the tomato): "With God, all things are possible."
Larry (the cucumber): "Really? Do you think He could turn me into a chicken? 'Cause I've always wanted to be a chicken!"

Well, the Lord, He is my Shepherd,
And I don't want anything,
He makes me to lie down in
The pastures so-o-o green
And the waters where He leads me,
They are so clear and cold,
The Lord, He does restore me,
And He makes me whole.

Well, when I'm in the valley,
And I know that I might die,
I don't have to fear,
And I don't have to cry,
'Cause I know that He is by me,
Right there by my side,
His staff and rod are near me,
I don't have to hide.

Now when my enemies are near,
And right up in my face,
I don't have to fear,
Because you have made a place
Where I can set and rest,
And taste your bread.
You fill my cup to fullness,
And pour oil on my head.

You lead me in the right ways,
you don't lead me astray.
Your paths are full of mercy,
And goodness every day,
And right here in your house
Is where I wish to stay.
Oh Lord, You are my shepherd,
Oh Lord, don't let me stray.
Keep me in Your will, Lord, keep me in your way.

iTurk's blog-ego has been bruised because a well written post on a very serious issue didn't generate nearly the amount of traffic some of his more contentious stuff gets. Do him (and perhaps yourself) a favor and read his third in a series of posts on marriage. For you attention deficit guys out there (aren't we all attention deficit?) here's the money quote;

And that said, men, Paul has much more stern words for you: Love your wives as Christ loves the church, as you would love your own bodies. That is, love her in spite of what you think is sinful or offensive. Love your wives for the sake of sanctifying her. But notice: that’s not a love of attrition where you love her by correction and denial: it is a love of example (Eph 5:2), and sacrifice (1 Cor 15:3), and patience (2 Pet 3:9), and intention (Acts 2:14-41). Christ loves the church by giving himself up for her. What about you? Do you give up a round of golf for your wife, ever? How about even 10 minutes of TV at night?

Bible Story
1 Samuel 16:1-13 (Samuel anoints David)

Key Verse
1 Samuel 16:7(b)
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Key Concept
Our worth to God is not dependent upon any external characteristics we may have.

Object Lesson (Preparation)
Prepare three prizes. Two of the prizes should be of minimal worth, such as a broken brick or a piece of wood. These two prizes are to be wrapped like birthday gifts. The third prize should contain an item of significant value, such as two Sacagawea Dollar Coins. This prize should be stuffed into the bottom of a McDonalds bag that has been kicked around the floorboard of your truck for three days.

Object Lesson (Presentation)
Choose two kids to come forward, allow each to choose one of the three prizes. Emphasize the attractiveneness of the gift-wrapped prizes. To highlight the unattractiveness of the McDonalds bag as a prize, pull out a french fry and take a bite. After gagging a bit, spit the remaining french fry back into the bag. The result should be that the children choose the gift-wrapped prizes while rejecting the McDonalds bag.

---

Followup Observations

1. Max likes broken bricks. He'd rather have the brick than the dollar coin.
2. Max's mom doesn't want him to have the brick. Should have seen that coming.
3. The girl on the third row really likes french fries. Even three day old fries. That have been spat on.
4. Next time (like that'll ever happen again) leave the french fries out.

Kids are cute. This morning I had a second grader read the following verse;

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

It came out as;

...teach a rhinocerous man, and he will increase in learning.

May God grant that I be such a rhinocerous man.

Regarding the importance of evangelism within the context of disaster relief, Pastor Don says

We must accompany our benevolent actions with explanations of hope. Let us do more than provide folks a comfortable home to go to hell from.

When you stock the shelves of our food distribution center, speak of the greater storehouse of God’s sovereign mercy and grace. When you carry groceries to a families car, tell them of the boundless provision of Christ. In this blazing south Mississippi heat, when you offer them precious bottle water, urge them to turn from their broken cisterns that can hold no water, to the all satisfying fountain of living water who is Jesus Christ. When you gut a house, clean a yard, or remove storm debris, share Christ’s almighty ability to remove the grotesque debris of human sin.

There's more. Read for yourself, then visit RebuildLakeshore.com to see how you can help.

ReformedCatholicism.com » Adoring the Eucharist?
Council of Trent - Chapter VIII, Thirteenth Session

ON THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST

CANON VI.-If any one saith, that, in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is not to be adored with the worship, even external of latria; and is, consequently, neither to be venerated with a special festive solemnity, nor to be solemnly borne about in processions, according to the laudable and universal rite and custom of holy church; or, is not to be proposed publicly to the people to be adored, and that the adorers thereof are idolators; let him be anathema.

You know, I'm not out there trying to oppress any godless atheists, yet you would think I'm part of some global conspiracy to kill all the infidel unbelievers. (Note to atheists: that's the muslim plan of salvation, not the Christian one.)

It's not me personally, but by association that the raving atheists are attacking. I'll not link to them, but there are sites out there where atheists are downright militant in their determination to convince as many people as possible that the claims of the gospel are false and that Jesus is a lie. One site in particular makes much of their childish pranks of hiding anti-christian literature around church playgrounds and such. Each literature drop is cheered as a "successful mission," as though these brave souls trekked deep into the jungle to proclaim the truth to a tribe of murderous cannibals.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
ESV

Thousands of years ago, vast herds of deer roamed the hills of central and southern Europe. As bands of nomadic hunters spread across the continent, they became dependent upon these animals for their sustenance. As these bands of nomads became more settled, and established villages and towns, veneration of the deer increased. Legends were formed, and worship of the great deer god Venille became abundant.

One village, on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea, engaged in full fledge Ven worship, with special ceremonies and sacrifices performed annually. Every year, around the month of November, the men of the village would leave their families and enter the woods. They would be gone for weeks at a time, making sacrifices to the deer god. In return for these sacrifices, Venille would slay her own offspring to provide the things the men needed to care for their families. These gracious gifts that came from Venille through the sacrificial death of her offspring were known as Veni-son.

Alright, here I am... Fixin to do some seriously overdue, majorly important paperwork, in desperate need of a severe case of Procrastidistractination, when I hear in the background Raji Abuzalaf's "Gloria." Bammo, it hits me- for three years now, I have owned the BEST Christmas CD EVER, and yet have never even blogged the thing. So, here it is, check it out...

Raji Abuzalaf is an independent artist, and all of the tracks are his own making. There ain't no "North Pole Nick" happening here, guys- This is through and through a CD that proclaims the coming of Messiah.

"Gloria" is great, and is certainly one of my favorites. A close second is "Joseph's Lament," from the perspective of Joseph, done in the style of blues.

This guy is independent, but deserves big label promotion. If you're stuck on what to get your last fifteen friends for Christmas, do the paypal thing and get this guy's CD. C'mon, it's not like you're gonna buy a t-shirt or something for Christmas!

Sample lyrics here