Sorry…I couldn’t resist

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Got cooling techniques?

 

Thanks to our friends at Climate-Depot

 

 

Luther on ‘Prayer’ by David P. Scaer

 

 Luther’s view of prayer.

 

 Luther-on-Prayer by David P. Scaer          

 Concordia-Theological-Seminary

I am finding this very helpful as it explains Luther’s view of prayer, in light of Holy Scripture, and the theology of the cross.

I hope you too will find something in it that is helpful to you in your prayer life.

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Anfechtungen, or ‘the dark night of the soul’, is constantly referred to in the piece.

Anyone have some other ways to describe ‘Anfechtungen’?

 

Speaking of ‘Anti-Christic’ religions…

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Know any Mormons? 

Do you ever try and share the gospel with them?

How do you go about it?

 

 

Islamophobia?

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Hardly.

 

Don’t-read-this-from-that-ultra-right-wing-news-organization-ABC

Moral relativism and self-loathing may, in the end, get us all killed.

We’d better wake-up and stop listening to the Leftists.

We have got a real big problem on our hands.

 

No?

 

Robert Spencer speaks about the Ft. Hood murders

I’m not a Michael Savage fan. I agree with much of what he has to say but I do not like his delivery.

I am a big Robert Spencer fan.  Mr. Spencer is an outspoken and brave (he constantly recieves death threats) critic of radical Islam. He has a great web site that is dedicated to informing people about radical Islam and it’s fellow travelers. Please check out Jihad-Watch .

In this interview with Michael Savage, Mr. Spencer will tell us what the hyper-sensitive, moral relativistic, and fearful (of Islam) media will not tell us.

 

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There were many bits of pertinent information in that interview that I thought you had a right to be aware of.

Please feel free to comment, pro or con.

 

“For You”

This is key.                     

 

The gospel is not ‘because of you’, or ‘if you’, or ‘why don’t you?’, or ‘will you?’

The gospel is… FOR YOU!

It is a free gift of God’s grace and mercy. It is His desire to give to you that which you need… authentic life, the forgiveness of your sins, and salvation.

Not because of anything that you ‘do’ or ‘don’t do’.

It is absolutely free to all real sinners who are in need of the Lord Jesus.

It’s a promise from God, and it is FOR YOU!

You are loved! You are forgiven! There is a place for you in God’s house!

 

That’s the gospel.

 

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Do you have a ‘yeah but’? 

If so… you should get rid of it.

 

Lesser Things

You can have them. 

 

Like trying to make yourself look better in the eyes of the Living God. (you can only make yourself look worse)

 

Like worrying about how obedient to God you are. (you’re not very)

 

Like jumping through a bunch of stupid “religious” hoops to keep in good stead with God or you church. (that is just religion, and God hates it)

 

Like focusing on your own “spirituality”. (what in the world is that, anyway?)

 

Is not what Christ has done on the cross, and in your baptism, enough for you?

Is not receiving what the world could never buy, the real presence of the Living God in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, enough for you?

Do you really want to waste time and energy with ‘lesser things’?

Do you really want to say to God, “yeah, that death and resurrection of yours was good, but what about what I’m doing?”

 

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What then ought we be doing?

Surely there is something our Lord would have us do, right?

 

 

450 Scientific Papers Supporting Skepticism of “Man-Made” Global Warming

 

Here-they-are                   

Pick out a few and send them to your kids, the neighborhood kids, or any schoolteacher.

  And then wait for the firestorm of e-mails telling you that you are just a crazy denier, and right wing nut.

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Have fun!

Time to get busy

Are you really sure that you belong to God?

Your baptism was ok (it’s just a symbol of your commitment to God)…but don’t you know that you must do some things to be a Christian?

You need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

You need to really work at not sinning. Where there is sin in your life, you must cut it out. Extinguish it.

You need to forget about worldly things and get serious about studying the Bible and get serious about sacrificing yourself for others.

Are you giving enough to the church?

Are you giving enough to the homeless and the elderly in the area where you live?

Are you focusing enough on the inward person, on your spirituality?

Are you praying enough?

If you think that there is room for improvement in any of these areas, don’t you think that might be a sign that your decision for God was really a lie?  Maybe you were just trying to save your own skin and you really aren’t that concerned about pleasing Christ, or helping your neighbor.

If that’s the case, then you really ought to reconsider if you really are one of God’s children.

We’ll lay it all out for you. We’ll supply you with the proper list of  what you should be doing, and what books you should be reading, and what Biblical principles you should be practicing. We’ll tell you exactly how emotional you need to get, and just exactly the best way to get those ‘feelings’ that will prove to yourself (and others) that you really belong to Jesus.

 Remember, He really knows you and really knows all your most secret thoughts and fantasies. You can fool others, and even yourself…but you can’t fool God.

He knows all about you.

Are you sure you’re living the Christian life?  Are you sure you are even a Christian?

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This is why the Reformation was necessary.

This is why it is still necessary.

What say you?

 

 

 

The Privileged Class

From the Rutherford-Institute

John W. Whitehead
10/29/2009

“I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!…You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it.”—Howard Beale, Network (1976)

Imagine a world exempt from parking tickets, where gym membership is free and health care is second-to-none. In order to receive these benefits, you also only have to work two, maybe three days a week—a time period during which you will be shuttled around in a nice car. The other days of the week you can spend at home with your family. Luckily, every weekend is a long weekend and you won’t have to be back at work until Tuesday evening.

This job description might seem too good to be true, but for our so-called “representatives” in Congress who enjoy incredible job perks ranging from free meals to membership in swank health clubs, all at taxpayer expense, it seems that there is such a thing as a free lunch—literally and figuratively!

Congressional salaries are certainly generous enough, with members of Congress receiving $174,000 a year on average, and people in leadership positions making more. However, for many Congressmen who belong to the so-called “Millionaire’s Club,” this is negligible in comparison to their net worth. (Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who heads up the club, has a net worth of $167.8 million, while Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), at the lower end of the spectrum, boasts a net worth of $5.6 million dollars.)

Incredibly, American taxpayers are underwriting lavish perks for these very same millionaires, as well as their congressional cohorts. The perks being enjoyed by those in Congress have provided comic relief for many a talk-show host, but contrast these perks with the plight of the average taxpayer struggling just to make ends meet, and you’ll find this is no laughing matter.

For example, while veterans were being forced to suffer poor service and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital, politicians were being whisked up to Ward 72 at the very same hospital via a “golden elevator,” where they can enjoy medical treatment surrounded by chandeliers, fine china and original artwork. Should members of Congress or their staff not be able to make the trip to Ward 72, a private, on-call doctor is also on hand at the Capitol. Furthermore, while 47 million Americans struggle without any kind of health insurance, those in Congress receive superb, discounted health coverage which cannot be denied them because of their age or a preexisting condition.

On top of their six-figure salaries and the millions in taxpayer dollars spent to maintain offices in their home state and in the nation’s capital, Congress also enjoys other benefits such as free life insurance, a generous retirement plan for life, 32 fully reimbursed road trips home a year, and travel to foreign lands. Then there are the “extras,” including discounts in Capitol Hill tax-free shops and restaurants, free reserved parking at Washington National Airport, use of the House gym or Senate baths for $100 a year, free fresh-cut flowers from the Botanic Gardens, and free assistance in the preparation of income taxes.

Unfortunately, there’s more. While more than 15 million Americans are currently out of work and the rest of the nation is laboring longer hours for less pay, Congress enjoys a three-day, Tuesday-to-Thursday work week. Believe it or not, since returning to session, the only time the House of Representatives has actually voted on a Friday was when they approved a 5.8 percent increase in their own budget.

Then there’s the way Congress manages the nation’s checkbook, running up deficits and spending outlandish sums of money on pork barrel projects. If you or I were to manage our finances this way, we’d quickly find ourselves out on the streets.

As for abuses of office, they run the gamut from neglecting their constituencies to engaging in self-serving practices, including the misuse of eminent domain, earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracting in return for personal gain and campaign contributions, having inappropriate ties to lobbyist groups and incorrectly or incompletely disclosing financial information.

Pork barrel spending, hastily passed legislation, partisan bickering, a skewed work ethic, graft and moral turpitude have all contributed to the public’s increasing dissatisfaction with congressional leadership. Thus, it is little wonder that a recent CNN poll shows Congress with a 29 percent approval rating. You’d be hard-pressed to find employees with such dismal performance evaluations getting a pay raise of any kind. Conveniently, Congress doesn’t have to worry about that since they voted in 1989 to give themselves an automatic raise every year.

Read-the-full-article-here

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Yes, we ought keep track of these people, examine their work ethic and voting records, and vote them out…but we won’t.

We do get the kind of government we deserve.