Fizzy lifting drinks

If there is no God, then all that exists is time and chance acting on matter. If this is true then the difference between your thoughts and mine correspond to the difference between shaking up a bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. You simply fizz atheistically and I fizz theistically. This means that you do not hold to atheism because it is true , but rather because of a series of chemical reactions… … Morality, tragedy, and sorrow are equally evanescent. They are all empty sensations created by the chemical reactions of the brain, in turn created by too much pizza the night before. If there is no God, then all abstractions are chemical epiphenomena, like swamp gas over fetid water. This means that we have no reason for assigning truth and falsity to the chemical fizz we call reasoning or right and wrong to the irrational reaction we call morality. If no God, mankind is a set of bi-pedal carbon units of mostly water. And nothing else.

Douglas Wilson

The Seafarer

Great is the fear of the Lord,
before which the world stands still;
He established
the firm foundations,
the corners of the world
and the high heavens.
A fool is the one who does not fear his Lord
-- death comes to him unprepared.
Blessed is he who lives humbly
-- to him comes forgiveness from heaven.
God set that spirit within him,
because he believed in His might.

--from "The Seafarer", an Old English poem found in the Exeter Book

The Watered Lilies

The Master stood in His garden,
Among the lilies fair,
Which His own right hand had planted,
And trained with tend'rest care.


He looked at their snowy blossoms,
And marked with observant eye
That the flowers were sadly drooping,
For their leaves were parched and dry.


"My lilies need to be watered,"
The Heavenly Master said;
"Wherein shall I draw it for them,
And raise each drooping head?"


Close to His feet on the pathway,
Empty, and frail, and small,
An earthen vessel was lying,
Which seemed no use at all;


But the Master saw, and raised it
From the dust in which it lay,
And smiled, as He gently whispered,
"This shall do My work today."


"It is but an 'earthen' vessel,
But it lay so close to Me;
It is small, but it is empty-
That is all it needs to be."


So to the fountain He took it,
And filled it full to the brim;
How glad was the earthen vessel
To be of some use to Him!


He poured forth the living water
Over His lilies fair,
Until the vessel was empty,
And again He filled it there.


He watered the drooping lilies
Until they revived again;
And the Master saw with pleasure.
That His labor had not been vain.


His own hand had drawn the water
Which refreshed the thirsty flowers;
But He used the earthen vessel
To convey the living showers.


And to itself it whispered,
As He laid it aside once more,
"Still will I lie in His pathway,
Just where I did before.


"Close would I keep to the Master,
Empty would I remain,
And perhaps some day He may use me
To water His flowers again."


Anonymous

Toeing the party line

The below is a comment from another blog:

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BrenseyFeb 20, 2012 11:08 PM

"Just because you accept the Lord does not mean that you will automatically make it into heaven. You cannot live your life any way you want to and make it into heaven. You can accept the Lord into your life at an early age, middle age, or old age but then backslide and have to come back and repent and get your life in right standing with Him. If it were as simple as just accepting Him at an early age then everyone would do it and just live how they want.

The Bible says to be either hot or cold and not lukewarm or else he will spue you out of his mouth. Rev. 3:16. You either live for Christ or you don't.

Yes, God is a God of grace but he is also a God of wrath. And everyone who says Lord, Lord will not make it into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of God. Matt 7:21.

I mean seriously, look at all Moses did as far as getting his people delivered from their oppressor and leading them out and to the promise land and because he smote the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded him, he was not permitted to enter into the promise land. He was a great man of God and did so many things for his people through God, but that one little thing he did cost him to enter into the promise land. I mean does this not say anything about what you are speaking of.

I was very appalled when I read your blog. What I got was this if you accept Jesus then you automatically go to heaven, and this is not the case at all. You have to daily beat down your flesh, repent for your sins, and TURN from them.

Yes, Jesus died on the cross for us that we might have eternal life, but that cost comes with a price on our end to live our life like Christ, do the Father's will, and glorify Him in all we do."

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Wrestling with the ideas of grace versus law is what I have spent most of my religious life doing.  The problem with the thinking above is not the emphasis to live like Christ or for Christ.  The problem is making salvation dependent on your performance and ability to live that way after your conversion.  It takes salvation away from the blood of Jesus and places the burden on you.  People who espouse the above view usually set the bar for acceptable performance just below their own performance.  I think if they could see that God can only accept perfect righteousness, then they would abandon their argument.  I think that almost everyone, even cuckoo religious people, realizes that they are not perfect.

What hurts my cranky old man heart is that so many Christians have been brainwashed into this  performance-based, self-righteous version of Christianity.  You'd think I would have more patience, since 10 years ago (or less) I would have written just what Brensey wrote.  But now, I find myself wanting to walk away from all the Pharisees, and just speak to the honest sinners, who are, and have always been, more open to the message of Christ.  Those who understand their helpless state, and instead of wanting to prove their own righteousness, receive the gift of Christ's righteousness gladly.

"God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  Can anyone make a truer statement, or better plea than that?  Just like the publican, we can be justified, thanks to Christ's obedience.  He has done everything that is required.  We must simply believe.

"What must I do to be saved?"
"BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,"—Acts 16:30, 31

If you want something done right...

For our offenses are many in your sight,
   and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
   and we acknowledge our iniquities:
rebellion and treachery against the LORD,
   turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,
   uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
So justice is driven back,
   and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
   honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found,
   and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The LORD looked and was displeased
   that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no one,
   he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
   and his own righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
   and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
   and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. 

--Isaiah 59:12-17

Jehovah Jesus

My song shall bless the Lord of all,
My praise shall climb to His abode;
Thee, Saviour, by that name I call,
The great Supreme, the mighty God.

Without beginning or decline,
Object of faith and not of sense;
Eternal ages saw Him shine,
He shines eternal ages hence.

As much when in the manger laid,
Almighty Ruler of the sky,
As when the six days' work He made,
Fill'd all the morning stars with joy.

Of all the crowns Jehovah bears,
Salvation is His dearest claim;
That gracious sound well pleased He hears
And owns Emmanuel for His name.

A cheerful confidence I feel,
My well placed hopes with joy I see;
My bosom glows with heavenly zeal,
To worship Him who died for me.

As man He pities my complaint,
His power and truth are all divine;
He will not fail, He cannot faint;
Salvation's sure, and must be mine.


--William Cowper

Leviathan

 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, 
   its strength and its graceful form. 
 Who can strip off its outer coat? 
   Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? 
 Who dares open the doors of its mouth, 
   ringed about with fearsome teeth? 
 Its back has rows of shields 
   tightly sealed together; 
 each is so close to the next 
   that no air can pass between. 
 They are joined fast to one another; 
   they cling together and cannot be parted. 
 Its snorting throws out flashes of light; 
   its eyes are like the rays of dawn. 
 Flames stream from its mouth; 
   sparks of fire shoot out. 
 Smoke pours from its nostrils 
   as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. 
 Its breath sets coals ablaze, 
   and flames dart from its mouth. 
 Strength resides in its neck; 
   dismay goes before it. 
 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; 
   they are firm and immovable. 
 Its chest is hard as rock, 
   hard as a lower millstone. 
 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; 
   they retreat before its thrashing. 
 The sword that reaches it has no effect, 
   nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. 
 Iron it treats like straw 
   and bronze like rotten wood. 
 Arrows do not make it flee; 
   slingstones are like chaff to it. 
 A club seems to it but a piece of straw; 
   it laughs at the rattling of the lance. 
 Its undersides are jagged potsherds, 
   leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. 
 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron 
   and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. 
 It leaves a glistening wake behind it; 
   one would think the deep had white hair. 
 Nothing on earth is its equal— 
   a creature without fear. 
 It looks down on all that are haughty; 
   it is king over all that are proud.”
--Job 41:12-34

The debate

"He’s absolutely right on that point, of course. Everyone’s entitled to their beliefs. It becomes an issue when people’s personal moral beliefs become a part of controlling the right of other people to live their lives according to their own values, which is what the religious right wants to do. They don’t want to just be free to live their lives the way they want to, they want to control how you live YOUR life, too, to force you to live (outwardly at least) in the way that makes THEM comfortable, which is where I call bull 'hockey'." - K. Voynar


This is a point of view frequently expressed today.  Here are the assumptions:


1.  All beliefs are equally valid.  
2.  No person has the right to tell someone else how to live.
3.  The religious want you to conform to their code of behavior. 


Here's my take.  I think number one is false, number two is true, and number three is false.  


Out of the three, the first one is probably the hardest sell.  "Isn't it arrogant to assume that your beliefs are the only true beliefs?"  Well, it is impossible not to do that, regardless of which view you take.  If I'm right, my belief is the only valid belief, and if you're right, yours is the only valid belief.  It can't be both.  


For number two, I do not believe that it is my job to tell others how to live.  "But they're sinning, you can't just think it's OK for them to continue doing that?"  Sin.  That is a key element to all of this.  In my opinion, one of the most misunderstood concepts among the churchy.  There seems to be a great lack of understanding of what sin is and what the effects are.  All have sinned, and all are under condemnation.  So we are all in need of the same remedy, and getting the misbehaving kid to quiet down and sit up straight is not the fix.


Number three, I do not want you to conform to my code of behavior.  There is no benefit to it.  Whether you behave like Mother Theresa or Sam Kennison, you can only earn one thing by your behavior, damnation.  I know that sounds harsh, and it is, but there is good news to offset it.  There is a forgiveness and a righteousness that can be obtained apart from your own behavior.  


What I do want, is for unbelievers to come to faith in Christ.  Easier said than done, I know.  But salvation can be found nowhere else.  

Faith

“Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to.”   -- Unknown

Dragons of faith

“For many, the search for Jesus is initiated from experiencing an event in life so powerful, it awakens the dragons of faith; from pain so deep, it calls on the hidden fears of the soul in an effort to survive. For others it means a serious personal life survey that ultimately forces the confrontation with the futility, anesthetics, and despair in their lives.” 
― W. Scott Lineberry, Tragedy and Loss and the Search for Jesus

The Wild Honey-Suckle

Fair flower, that dost so comely grow,
Hid in this silent, dull retreat,
Untouched thy honied blossoms blow,
Unseen thy little branches greet;
  No roving foot shall crush thee here,
  No busy hand provoke a tear.

By Nature’s self in white arrayed,
She bade thee shun the vulgar eye,
And planted here the gaurdian shade,
And sent soft waters murmuring by;
  Thus quietly thy summer goes,
  Thy days declinging to repose.

Smit with those charms, that must decay,
I grieve to see your future doom;
They died—nor were those flowers more gay,
The flowers that did in Eden bloom;
  Unpitying frosts, and Autumn’s power
  Shall leave no vestige of this flower.

From morning suns and evenign dews
At first thy little being came:
If nothing once, you nothing lose,
For when you die you are the same;
  The space between, is but an hour,
  The frail duration of a flower.

--Philip Freneau

Mahaney

Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience to God. --C. J. Mahaney