Abraham the Strong Father

“For I know him (Abraham), that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”—Genesis 18:19

Abraham set the standard for all fathers to put God first. God rewarded Abraham for his obedience and Abraham became a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth are blessed.”—Gen 18:18

Abraham through the sacrifice of his son, Isaac, blessed the nations. Since Jesus sacrifice, all the nations of the earth, which believe, are blessed through the apple of his eye, which is the church.

Children are you keeping the way of the LORD and doing justice and judgment? That is how you may bless and make happy all God-fearing fathers.

To Make America Great Again we need strong fathers, obedient children, and a church without spot or wrinkle. A nation is only as strong as its families and its churches.

 

Leaving On a Jet Plane

Some of the objection and even resentment of Jesse Duplantis spending 54 million on a jet air plane is a failure of people and Christians in particular to either understand or appreciate basic principles of economics, especially as it relates to capitalism and investment. Folks we are not talking about a zero-sum socialist game, where one person’s gain is another person’s loss. Or as other critics of capitalism put it, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Value is not an arbitrary sum determined by fiat nor is it determined by the labor involved in producing something as Marx taught. Real value is all in your mind. It is how much you want something. And the way to determine how much you desire something is to see what you are willing to trade for it. Jesse wants the plane badly and he claims that Jesus wants him to have it, Jesse is willing to trade 54 million dollars for the desire of his heart.

If two parties trade, both voluntarily, obviously, both parties think that their wealth increased. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have willingly traded. And if both sides think they got more value than they gave up, then, since it is all in their head anyway, they did! And BINGO! wealth is increased.

Jesse or at least his ministry will be richer if he gets the funds to buy his jet. When he pays Dassault Aircraft 54 million, Dassault will think they got the best of the deal in that they would prefer to have the money than the plane or an inactive assembly line and Jesse thinks he got the best of the transaction because he would prefer the plane to the dollars.

Think of all the jobs Dassault is providing for its workers, since Jesse wants his jet. The laborers and technicians now have more money to buy their modes of transportation, perhaps they will purchase some American made trucks.

Think of the job Jesse provides for his pilot and his mechanic to take care of the plane. The hamper where he stores the plane will profit. Jesse claims he will save money by not having to make additional fuel stops by landing in parts of the world where fuel is more expensive.

Jesse’s saving is gain for the American economy and for the gas and oil companies, thus helping to make America wealthy again, which could result in Trump getting reelected. Everybody, is thinker bigger now that we have a builder instead of a socialist who never creates any wealth but merely redistributes existing wealth.

Jesse will be able to travel with his team of musicians and other helpers to his ministry thus providing them jobs and opportunities to be a blessing and save more souls wherever he flies.

I could go on and on concerning the wealth that is going to be created by Jesse getting his jet. So, don’t deny Jesse his blessing; it will create wealth and I will take wealth over poverty any day. Hey, I might end up talking myself into sending an offering. On the second thought, maybe the Lord is saying something about a jet to me; I need to start listening more carefully.

34340994_10156372894558917_1835342746529824768_n

Memorial Service at Arlington

Did you watch the Memorial Service at Arlington with the President presenting the wreath and his moving remarks?

When the President was introduced, he was wildly cheered by the people attending, which I assume was mostly made up of military families. They love the President.

The President paid tribute to Bob Dole (94) and the oldest survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack (106); both stood with the help of attendants and waved. He also honored the fallen heroes, whose families were present.

The son of one of our heroes is graduating from Liberty University and is going to join the armed forces and serve like his father did.

An about 8-year-old boy, who has become a friend of the President, was dressed sharply in a full marine uniform with cap and all. Earlier he had introduced the President to his father at his grave sight in Arlington.

Sara Huckabee Sanders, who is a hero in her own right, loomed behind these families. She takes bullets for the President from the snipers of the press in the W.H. briefings every day. And believe me, she knows how to fire back like a machine gun cutting them down one by one.

The President, as he always does in his ceremonial duties, struck just the right tone. I remember the media and Trump’s other political opponents during the campaign constantly questioning whether Donald Trump, with his politically incorrect and outspoken words and sometimes even personal insults, would be able to handle the official responsibilities of a President.

Candidate Trump assured everyone that he was raised well and knew how to behave when necessary. Those of us who were early on the Trump train knew this and had no doubts.

Reagan was also good in presidential rituals; however, he did not have the unique ability to get off script to connect with individuals and families that Trump has.

President Trump referred to God often in his speech and he reassured the families that their valiant and sacrificial husbands and fathers were “looking down from Heaven” with approval.

After all, did not Jesus say? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”—John 15:13. These men laid down their lives for God, Country, and their comrades at arms.

After the ceremony ended the President, Secretary Mattis, generals, and other dignitaries spent time with the families.

I was disappointed when Fox News continued its inane chatter during the prayer and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I switched to C-Span to catch the end of the prayer and all the rest of the religious aspects of the ceremony. C-Span will be doing reruns of the ceremony throughout the day. I recommend that if you missed it to tune in.

 

Image may contain: 1 person, standing and outdoor

YouTube Video: Bob Dole on why he supports Donald Trump

The Father of the Scientific Method

For science to continue to advance there must be a continued recognition that the physical world is real and that it functions according to natural/physical laws.

The Christian religion has a word view the fortifies the idea that there are physical laws within the universe, that are discoverable and understandable.

Also, Christianity values and rewards truth and honesty, which any true scientist must respect. Thus, the Christian religion, when obeyed, keeps the scientist honest.

Christianity with its emphasis on learning (building the greatest universities of the world) ushered in the age of science; most of the men, who made the early scientific breakthroughs, were men of faith.

32956649_10156345084673917_5643673025074167808_n

Science studies the physical world through the empirical method as instructed by Bacon. It is Christianity which enables us to make sense out of the observations of our five senses.For the future of science and the true religion to be bright; there must be a mutual respect and understanding that both studies under gird each other–when rightly understood. I qualify my remarks by speaking of Christian religion for others religions may well undermine science.

32885999_10156345083748917_8519110478209744896_n

God, Virtue, and Immorality

As Brother Mikhail and I walked through the Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus erected by Mrs. Stanford in loving memory of her husband, I wondered about the faith of Leland Standard. I found the following except from a eulogy of the so-called “Robber Barron.” I enjoy studying the Captains of Industry of the 19th Century some of whom were men of the Christian faith:

“Finally, sir, I may be permitted to say that all his moral nature was based on profound religious convictions. While making no ostentatious professions of religion, and not a member of any church, his mind, liberalized by the reading of modern science and philosophy, yet clung to the primal truths of Christ’s teaching—God, virtue, and immortality. In the charter of the new university he prohibits sectarian instruction, but requires the teaching of “the immortality of the soul, the existence of an all-Wise and beneficent Creator, and that obedience to His laws is the highest duty of man.” After his son’s death his thoughts turned with increasing solemnity to contemplate the vast issues of the eternal life.

Like ancient Cato, as reported by Cicero, he might have said:


Glorious day, when I shall remove from this confused crowd to join the divine assembly of souls! For I shall go not only to meet great men, but also my own son Cato. His spirit, looking back upon me, departed to that place whither he knew that I should soon come, and he has never deserted me.

If I have borne his loss with courage, it is because I consoled myself with the thought that our separation would not be for long.

In whichever of its many aspects we contemplate the life of LELAND STANFORD, as a successful and honorable merchant, as a great chief of industry, as a patriotic war governor, as a Senator of the United States, as a wise and generous philanthropist, he reveals himself as a unique and commanding figure in our country’s history and a noble type of American manhood. ”

Peace to his ashes and honor to his memory!”

31598609_10156337309093917_2775550957805633536_n

Mother’s Day Tribute To My Wife

My father said to his sons and daughter: “It is up to you to celebrate Mother’s Day for she is not my Mother.” Consequently, that is the way I have always looked at Mother’s Day, it is mainly up to the daughters to honor Cindy this day.

Of course, Dad was trying to encourage my siblings and me to honor our mother on her day; he was always kind to her every day.

I do want to say on this Mother’s Day. One of the things I appreciate the most about Cindy is the love that she had for my mother, which was equal to my own. The truth be known Cindy might have been better to my mother than I was. The first few years of our marriage we lived with my widowed mother.

Cindy always encouraged her in the loss of my father. As a care giver Cindy surpassed me, especially when my mother in her last several years suffered a broken hip and certain complications with the new hip. Also, Cindy was helpful in ministering to my mother during the disease that resulted in her passing.

My mother was exceedingly energetic for almost all her life; she was a great influence, example and inspiration to Cindy.

Cindy took notes on my mother’s cooking and learned to prepare all my favorite foods. As I recall, Cindy even took notes before I asked for her hand in marriage, just in case she got a proposal from me. Eventually, Cindy added her southern flair to my favorite dishes and prepared new ones that I enjoyed as much as my mother’s.

After we did get our own home, Cindy was always ready to visit my mother or have my mother visit us. There were no mother-in-law issues. Of course, my mother dearly loved Cindy and helped her mature in Christ and learn to be the lady she became. My mother was a one woman finishing school for Cindy.

Cindy grew up with five step mothers, one of them twice. Thankfully, Cindy had the opportunity to know my father for a few years before his passing, so she was exposed to the stable Christian marriage of my parents. Having known my father, Cindy knew what to expect from me.

 

Image may contain: Cindy Smock, smiling, closeup

Mother’s Day

My mother (1911-1994) was the love of my childhood. When I started school, I insisted for several years that my mother wave to me from our bay window as I walked one block from our home to Fairbanks Elementary School in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The last thing I would say to Mother upon leaving for school with my books in hand was, “Don’t forget to wave.”

On very rare occasions she got busy, so I would wait a few minutes at the corner and if she did not appear, I would run back to the house and remind her of our daily ritual. I don’t remember when or why we stopped waving.

Sadly, with the passing of the years, when I reached the age of accountability, my heart turned cold towards my mother. By the time I was 15, I was living a life of self-indulgence and dishonor to my mother and father. This was a very shameful period of my life.

I remember one terribly inconsiderate Mother’s Day, when my mother lamented at the end of the day that I had not wished her a happy Mother’s Day. How does a boy from such a loving home become so selfish? Saint Paul called it “the mystery of iniquity.”

Thankfully, when I converted to Christianity at 29 years old, my love for my mother was quickly renewed as I learned to walk with God day by day.

Mother has been in Heaven for 24 years. I look forward to the future when we will meet again along “the river of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,” never to part.

Is it any wonder one of favorite songs of this Hoosier boy is, “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away?” My childhood home on South Sixth Street was just blocks from the Wabash River. This nostalgic song by Paul Dresser, which is the state song of Indiana, is also a wonderful Mother Day’s song.

blogblog2

On the Banks of the Wabash

Strange Pick by God

30415625_10156248140813917_3099720851491127296_o

Samson was called by God to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Samson had a lust for wicked, heathen women. He went into a whore in the city of Gaza. Evidently, betrayed by the harlot, the authorities found out he was in the city. So, they locked the city gates and determined to kill Samson in the morning.

But, “Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.”

He carried these weighty gates for twenty miles evidently in sight of both high cities. His exploit was a symbol of Christ’s resurrection, of whom Samson was a type, who being buried in a sepulchre, and sealed and watched by soldiers, broke through the bars of death and the grave, and carried off the doors in triumph; and ascended to heaven, whereby he declared himself to be the Son of God with power. When you think about it, Samson was an extraordinary choice to be one of the premier Old Testament types of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Samson was an aggressive and militant man of faith, who hoped to inspire his people by carrying the doors of the of Gaza gate in their sight for twenty miles but they just became more fearful of the Philistines and hid themselves instead of fighting for their inheritance.

Jesus said, “The gates of Hell shall not prevail against my Church.”

Regrettably, finding men of faith to believe Jesus’ prophesy in each generation is a challenge. Christians have too much of a fortress mentality, believing themselves to be safe as long as they stay within the gates of the Church, instead of taking the offensive and bringing Christ into the Public Square as President Trump has done. The Church should be storming the gates of Hell by taking Christ to the streets, instead of allowing Satan to attack the doors of the Church.

As a result of President Trump’s apparent weakness for loose women and prostitutes in the past, the Democrats hoped they would be able to entrap and slay the Presidency of Donald Trump, whom God has raised to deliver American from the hands of the economic and cultural Marxist (Philistines). But Trump broke through their iron gates and once again has triumphant over his enemies and their many ploys.

Trump is more outspoken and speaking of his faith than many ministers. He does not allow his past sins to make him cowardly and cow tow to his enemies as too many who name the name of Christ do.

Trump, America’s Samson, will prevail against the enemies of God, who are attempting to break up the foundations of our Republic. Just as Samson prevailed in the end over the Philistines and killed more in his death than he did in his life. Trump will be avenged against his foes and bring down the house of the Democrats.

Samson was a strange pick by God, who never seemed to lose his faith in Samson to perform his calling despite his moral failures. Trump seems to also be an odd pick to MAGA by reestablishing Kingdom of God principles in our civic and economic affairs. With the help of an awakened Church supporting the President, America can still see its best days ahead. Donald J. Trump is an extraordinary choice to make America once again a bastion of Christianity and the herald of the freedom that follows Christ.

30440667_10156248140993917_2514288573931323392_n

Roseanne Show and Trump

roseanne-reboot-cast.jpg

I just finished watching the Roseanne Show. I was not impressed. The  daughter and granddaughter have moved in with Roseanne and husband; the granddaughter is a 15-year-old disrespectful hellion. Roseanne does put her in her place.

There was no mention of Trump or politics in general. If the show is going to continue with high ratings, it will have to incorporate more of the Trump theme. The late-night comedians realize the power of negatively invoking the name of Trump to increase ratings. There is even more power in naming the name of Trump in a positive way, especially among working class people, which Roseanne is evidently targeting.

I never watched Roseanne’s first round as the protagonist in her first sitcom. Nor did I ever see her talk show. The only thing I remember was her off-key rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner at a baseball game. He performance was especially disgraceful because she grabbed her crotch and spit after singing the sacred anthem. I remember Bush I was offended at her performance.

 

Paul the Apostle Movie

26196194_10156231002363917_4241200120884764933_n

Tonight, Cindy and I watched the film, Paul the Apostle, which reveals the suffering of the Christians in Rome under Nero thrown to the lions and used as human torches.

I am thankful that I live under Trump, not Nero. Yet, there are those who would compare Trump to the likes of the Roman tyrant. Americans have no idea of tyranny, nor do American Christians suffer anything compared to the persecutions of the foundational church.

We should be thankful that the Christians “by the power of Jesus resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death,” eventually got the upper hand, when Constantine the Great finally ended the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire with the Edict of Milan in 325 A.D. By the end of the Forth Century Christianity was the official religion of the Empire.

In America we Christians are able to practice and preach our religion in relative peace. Under the Roman Empire pacifism was the only realistic way to conquer the Empire. We live in a country which has a Christian heritage and Christians still have a considerable amount of authority.

The Evangelical Church had enough political clout to elect a Trump, who is willing to speak out for Christ and Christian causes. Pacifism should not be a consideration for us; we need to stay armed to protect and maintain our rights and position. We should be militant and aggressive in standing up for Biblical principles governing our precious institutions.

“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth at it is in Heaven.”