30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Theology
Tags
Bible, Christianity, Faith, Grace, Grace To You, Jesus Christ, John MacArthur, The Gospel, Theology
John MacArthur preaches on Mark 1:9-11 on the baptism of Jesus and it’s incomparable significance.
30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Politics
Are you one of those American conservatives who listens to Ron Paul when he speaks on subjects such as economics, taxation, the Federal Reserves, and entitlements and thinks to himself, “You know this guys has some really radical and innovative ideas,” and then when he speaks on subjects like the War on Terror, foreign policy and militarism and goes, “This guy is a whacko! How could he want to bring the troops home? Doesn’t he know that we need to defend our freedoms and liberties?” If you are, then this video by Thomas Woods is for you. Please give this a listen. It’s only 9:00 long and it reveals that the history of conservative thought was non-interventionist like Ron Paul and that many of today’s conservatives are really neo-conservatives. We need to recapture the conservative movement for people who hold to the historic conservative ideals of individual liberty and free markets here at home and peace, trade and diplomacy abroad.
[youtube http://youtu.be/SLUoWhWsOWk]
30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Theology
Tags
Bible, Charles Spurgeon, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Grace, Reformed Theology, The Gospel, Theology
“A living dog is better than a dead lion.”—Ecclesiastes 9:4.
Life is a precious thing, and in its humblest form it is superior to death. This truth is eminently certain in spiritual things. It is better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest out of it. The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest development of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Ghost implants divine life in the soul, there is a precious deposit which none of the refinements of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels Caesar on his throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero among the senators; and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight of God superior to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of spiritual things, and men without it are only coarser or finer specimens of the same lifeless material, needing to be quickened, for they are dead in trespasses and sins.
A living, loving, gospel sermon, however unlearned in matter and uncouth in style, is better than the finest discourse devoid of unction and power. A living dog keeps better watch than a dead lion, and is of more service to his master; and so the poorest spiritual preacher is infinitely to be preferred to the exquisite orator who has no wisdom but that of words, no energy but that of sound. The like holds good of our prayers and other religious exercises; if we are quickened in them by the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, though we may think them to be worthless things; while our grand performances in which our hearts were absent, like dead lions, are mere carrion in the sight of the living God. O for living groans, living sighs, living despondencies, rather than lifeless songs and dead calms. Better anything than death. The snarlings of the dog of hell will at least keep us awake, but dead faith and dead profession, what greater curses can a man have? Quicken us, quicken us, O Lord!
30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Politics
Tags
Culture, Election 2012, Freedom, George W. Bush, Libertarianism, Liberty, Mitt Romney, Obama, Politics, Ron Paul
David Frum, in his latest article tries really hard to convince republican voters why they should embrace Mitt Romney as their candidate. Mitt Romney? Seriously? This is what happens when your main motivation in voting is to get the other guy out of office. We saw this in 2008 when people were so sick and tired of George W. Bush that the rallying cry was “anybody but Bush!” And what did we get? Mr. “Hope and Change” himself, Barrack Obama. A socialistic community organizer from Chicago who served one term as an Illinois senator and 2/3 of a term as a U.S. senator. A man whose ideology prevents him from embracing the obvious solutions to fix our country and who made a lot of promises during the campaign only to go on and break nearly every single one of them.
Frum wants us to embrace the same mentality, “Anybody but Obama!!!” And lo and behold, we get Mitt Romney. Romney will do absolutely nothing to repeal Obamacare, nor will he seriously take a look at the entitlement programs that are helping to bankrupt us. His ‘solutions’ to the economic problems we face will be tweaking at the edges, rather than serious reform. We need serious solutions, not band-aid solutions! Romney will just try as hard as he can to kick the can down to 2016.
How about this, republicans? Why not vote for a man who is suggesting REAL solutions to the REAL problems we face? A man who has stood on the principles of individual liberty, peace and free markets for his entire life. A man who understands the problems we face so much more than the “plastic men” (and women) we see on the stage. That man is Ron Paul! You can learn more about the man and his solutions here.
30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Politics
Tags
Andrew Napolitano, Culture, Freedom, Freedom Watch, Government, Libertarianism, Liberty, Politics, The Plain Truth
Judge Andrew Napolitano asks the question: What if we didn’t live in a free country?
[youtube http://youtu.be/DMJV_XGnvKE]30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Theology
Tags
Bible, Charles Spurgeon, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Grace, Reformed Theology, The Gospel, Theology
“Sing forth the honour of His name, make His praise glorious.”—Psalm 66:2.
It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God’s most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of His grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian’s duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that ye can discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of His love to bless His name so long as you live, and His praise should continually be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless Him; “this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise”; and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the fruit which He, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right to expect at your hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the willows, but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant His praise. With every morning’s dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your song. Girdle the earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of melody, and God Himself will hearken from heaven and accept your music.
“E’en so I love Thee, and will love,
And in Thy praise will sing,
Because Thou art my loving God,
And my redeeming King.”
29 Thursday Sep 2011
Posted in Theology
Tags
Bible, Calvinism, Charles Spurgeon, Christian Living, Christianity, Devotional, Grace, Reformed Theology, Theology
“I found Him whom my soul loveth: I held Him, and would not let Him go.”—Song of Solomon 3:4.
Does Christ receive us when we come to Him, notwithstanding all our past sinfulness? Does He never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like Him? Is He the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise Him! Daughters of Jerusalem, extol Him with timbrel and harp! Down with your idols, up with the Lord Jesus. Now let the standards of pomp and pride be trampled under foot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high. O for a throne of ivory for our King Solomon! let Him be set on high for ever, and let my soul sit at His footstool, and kiss His feet, and wash them with my tears. Oh, how precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of Him? How is it I can go abroad for joy or comfort when He is so full, so rich, so satisfying. Fellow believer, make a covenant with thine heart that thou wilt never depart from Him, and ask thy Lord to ratify it. Bid Him set thee as a signet upon His finger, and as a bracelet upon His arm. Ask Him to bind thee about Him, as the bride decketh herself with ornaments, and as the bridegroom putteth on his jewels. I would live in Christ’s heart; in the clefts of that rock my soul would eternally abide. The sparrow hath made a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God; and so too would I make my nest, my home, in Thee, and never from Thee may the soul of Thy turtle dove go forth again, but may I nestle close to Thee, O Jesus, my true and only rest.
“When my precious Lord I find,
All my ardent passions glow;
Him with cords of love I bind,
Hold and will not let Him go.”
29 Thursday Sep 2011
Posted in Politics
A great video from LearnLiberty.org on the concept of freedom and the liberal/conservative dichotomy. Liberals and conservatives argue at the level of individual issues — certain issues are “liberal” issues and other issues are “conservative” issues. Yet when looked at the level of “more freedom” vs. “less freedom,” we see that liberals and conservatives are both in favor of more freedom AND less freedom. In other words, both liberals and conservatives are inconsistent when it comes to issues of freedom and liberty. Put another way, both liberals and conservatives favor a more intrusive government; just for different reasons. Liberals favor more social freedom and less economic freedom, whereas conservatives favor more economic freedom and less social freedom. Freedom is a first principle that should shape one’s views on the issues.
[youtube http://youtu.be/AZ9WOqJG-2s]
29 Thursday Sep 2011
Posted in Politics
Tags
Andrew Napolitano, Conservatism, Culture, Freedom Watch, Government, Libertarianism, Politics, Ron Paul
2012 presidential candidate, Congressman Ron Paul, was on Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano. Check out how the good doctor diagnoses what ails the American republic. This man is truly the best candidate in the GOP field. It’s a pity that he’s not being seriously considered by more American, but then given that his views are so anti-extablishment, there is strong incentive to silence him and marginalize him. We need to get the word out and take back OUR republic!
29 Thursday Sep 2011
Thor
As a huge fan of Marvel Comics while I was growing up, I must say that it is great to see all of these comic book heroes come to life on the big screen. Although, not all of the Marvel movie ventures were hits (e.g., Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, and the 2003 Ang Lee Hulk movie come to mind), others have been huge successes (e.g., Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Iron Man, Iron Man 2). I would rate Thor in the category of “success.”
In 2008, Marvel Studios began producing and distributing their own movies (previously they were produced and distributed through other movie studios) in what is being called the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beginning with Iron Man (2008) and continuing with The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010), Marvel Studios is attempting to create a universe in which each movie shares a timeline and interconnects with the other movies. Each of the aforementioned movies contained “Easter Eggs” after the credits that makes a connection with other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man contained a short scene in which Tony Stark meets with Nick Cage of SHIELD who speaks to him about “The Avengers Initiative.” In The Incredible Hulk, there is a scene where Tony Stark speaks with Col. Ross and tells him “we’re putting together a team.” Finally, in Iron Man 2, SHEILD agent Colson drives to New Mexico where he reports to his superiors that he’s found “it” (“it” being Thor’s hammer). Thor is the latest installment to this cinematic universe.
