My Politics

I like his politics!

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My politics

(Letters of John Newton)

The whole system of my politics is summed up in this one verse, “The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble!” Psalm 99:1

The times look awfully dark indeed; and as the clouds grow thicker–the stupidity of the nation seems proportionally to increase. If the Lord had not a remnant here, I would have very formidable apprehensions. But He loves His children; some are sighing and mourning before Him, and I am sure He hears their sighs, and sees their tears. I trust there is mercy in store for us at the bottom; but I expect a shaking time before things get into a right channel–before we are humbled, and are taught to give Him the glory.

The state of the nation, the state of the churches–both are deplorable! Those who should be praying–are disputing and fighting among themselves! Alas! how many professors are more concerned for the mistakes of government–than for their own sins!

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Jo’s Popcorn Balls

My little sister, Jo always makes the best popcorn balls and I remember her making them for Halloween alot of times.
I thought it might be fun for Maddie and her friend to come home from school and have them waiting for them today but I sort of wondered if sister Jo's recipe couldn't be improved upon….
I found out there are a hundred Popcorn Ball recipes and all of them are different. I tried one that looked good to me but it turned out tasteless and really a potential tooth breaker…
I decided to quit fooling around and went back to Jo's tried and true…
It's the best and here it is….

Jo's Popcorn Balls
7 cups popped (white) popcorn
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy saucepan melt together the sugar, water, corn syrup salt and butter. Cook on med. until 250 degrees on candy thermometer. Cook for 1 minute at this temp. Take off heat and add vanilla. Stir into popcorn. Butter your hands and roll into balls. It's hot!
I doubled all this for about 36 balls…
Have Fun…
Thinking of you, Joey!

False Conversions

For several months now I have been facinated and reading about the possibility of being ‘falsely converted’. I am quite confident that this is what my position was for most of my church going life. Even when I wasn’t going to church during my teen and early twenty years and was leading an immoral lifestyle, I still believed that I would go to heaven if I died because I had prayed ‘the prayer’ at some point.
How grateful I feel now that I did not die then, because I would not have gone to heaven! If you are born-again and the Lord has given you his Holy Spirit you do not continue to pursue a life of self-centeredness and self gratification, because the Holy Spirit always pursues and directs you to a God-centered life.

#1 You can believe in God and not be saved.

James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.” (NIV)

#2 You can acknowledge Jesus as Lord and not be saved.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (NIV)

#3 You can speak in the name of Jesus and not be saved.

Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (NIV)

#4 You can drive out demons in the name of Jesus and not be saved.

Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (NIV)

#5 You can work miracles in the name of Jesus and not be saved.

Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (NIV)

#6 You can have a zeal for God and not be saved.

Romans 10:2-3 “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” (NIV)

#7 You can evangelize the world for God and not be saved.

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (NIV)

#8 You can seek to have eternal life and not be saved.

Matthew 19:16-22

16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,

19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ “

20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (NIV)

#9 You can profess to know God and not be saved.

Titus 1:15-16 “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (NIV)

#10 You can follow and serve Jesus Christ and not be saved.

John 6:70-71 “Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)” (NIV)

This list came from a blog called Berean Wife. She has other articles on true conversions vs false which are good also. I hope you will visit her site.

Relationship Goals?

This post is taken from a church web-site. The church is Faith Church in Layfette, Indiana. I know that this church is a Gospel teaching, Christ centered church and I was curious to see what children’s material they used to go beyond the usual man centered teaching that most of us had as kids in Sunday School…
Wow. I was so encouraged and I’ve never quite thought of my own relationships in this way before….let alone teaching it to my children…
Food for thought…
Enjoy.

Step 4: Emphasize the Goal

It can be easy for a child (as well as any adult) to view a relationship as something that exists for his enjoyment. We need to remind kids of the goal for our relationships–the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Bringing glory to God will likely look different with different people. If a child is reaching out to a Christian, bringing glory to God will involve encouraging that individual to grow in his relationship with the Lord. Conversely, if a child is beginning a relationship with someone who isn’t yet a follower of Christ, the best way he can glorify God is by lovingly, patiently, and respectfully encouraging his new friend to trust Christ as His Savior.

Now, some might argue, “That’s pretty craven…teaching kids that they ought to view every relationship in terms of some religious goal. Telling someone that they need to change their beliefs isn’t loving at all. The loving thing would be to accept them as they are–regardless of what they believe.”

From a humanistic perspective, I can certainly understand that point of view. The problem here is that the humanistic perspective isn’t the most important one to consider. God has given us His perspective on the matter in the pages of Scripture.

God has told us that man’s greatest need isn’t food, water, or even air. His greatest need is forgiveness. And God has graciously offered forgiveness to any who will acknowledge his sin and embrace Christ as his Savior. In light of that perspective, the most loving thing we can do for another person is to encourage, persuade, and yes, even urge them to act on God’s offer. That brings glory to God, and we need to remind kids of this goal.

The Holy Spirit’s Role…

I loved this devotional from Alistar Begg and thought it might encourage some today. Probably truths that we already know but if you are like me you enjoy hearing them again and again….

October 12, 2012

The Holy Spirit’s Role

The helper, the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26

This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us not by His personal presence, as He will do soon enough, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Spirit, who is forever the Comforter of the church. It is the Spirit’s role to console the hearts of God’s people. He convinces of sin; He illumines and instructs; but the main part of His work still lies in gladdening the hearts of the renewed, confirming the weak, and lifting up all those who are bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation.

If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. He does not take of His own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If one is the Comforter, the other is the Comfort.

Now, with such rich provision for his need, why should the Christian be sad and despondent? The Holy Spirit has graciously committed to be your Comforter: Do you imagine, weak and trembling believer, that He will neglect this sacred trust? Do you suppose that He has undertaken what He cannot or will not perform? If it is His special work to strengthen you and to comfort you, do you suppose He has forgotten His business or that He will fail in fulfilling His loving task of sustaining you? Don’t think so poorly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is the Comforter.

He delights to give the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Trust in Him, and He will surely comfort you until the house of mourning is closed forever, and the marriage feast has begun.

Back to School

This was Maddie just last year…

Wow! Did she have a good summer, or what?!

Happy Junior Year, Maddie! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

Little Single Days…

Little single days

(J.R. Miller, “Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ” 1890)

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own!” Matthew 6:34

One reason which our Lord gives against anxiety for the future, is that we have nothing to do with the future. God gives us life by days–little single days. Each day has . . .
its own duties,
its own needs,
its own trials and temptations,
its own griefs and sorrows.

God always gives us strength enough for the day. But if we insist on dragging in tomorrow’s cares and piling them on top of today’s cares–our strength will not be enough for the load. God will not give additional strength–just to humor our whims of worry and distrust.

So the lesson is, that we should keep each day distinct–and attend strictly to what it brings to us. Charles Kingsley says: “Do today’s duty, fight today’s temptation–and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking ahead to things which you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them.” We really have nothing at all to do with the future–except to prepare for it, by doing the duties of today with fidelity.

No one was ever crushed by the burdens of one day. We can always get along with our heaviest load–until the sun goes down. Well, that is all we ever have to do. Tomorrow? Oh, you may have no tomorrow; you may be in Heaven. If you are here–God will be here too, and you will receive new strength sufficient for the new day.

“As your days–so shall your strength be!” Deuteronomy 33:25

A Bent Back Mercy

The woman in Luke 13 with the bent back knew she was in need.
She was looking at the ground all the time and probably in a great deal of pain.
She knew she needed help.
She knew each year it was getting worse.
She knew that there was nothing she could do to help herself.
She knew she was wretched, pitiful and poor…(Rev.3:17)
She knew who she was.
She knew, because of her bent back, who she was and that she was helpless.
When Jesus called her over, she went because she knew she needed help.

The poor, pitiful, wretched synagogue ruler didn’t have a bent back tho and so he didn’t know who he was.
He didn’t realize that he needed help.
He thought, like the church in Revelation 3:17 that he was ‘rich and had acquired wealth and did not need a thing’.
He thought that he was ‘saved’ and religious and one of God’s people.
He knew how it went. He was good.
But graciously Jesus told him who he was.
And graciously Jesus did a miracle right in front of his eyes.
And then, graciously, Jesus went on to describe what Heaven is like for him!
But he didn’t care.
Instead the dude gets mad at Jesus for messing with his religion.
He had it figured out and there comes Jesus telling him that he’s still not ok.

Oh what a grace to have a bent over back.

Hike Monte Cristo…

This last Saturday we hiked the Monte Cristo trail once again…
without Ozzy so we went a lot faster.

We went this time with our neighbor friends, Rick and Rachida Gaethle.
Rick and Rachida have 2 boys but we couldn’t talk them into joining us at all!
But Maddie was a good sport and provided the youth for this trip!

The guys provided the much needed protection and lagged behind…
keeping a keen eye on the hillside for wild animals.

Unfortunately for them, we didn’t see anything worthy of pulling the concealed weapon out for…
not even a cranky dog passed by…
Maybe we’ll have better luck next hike.