Words to Live by (not really) but fun to read

If I exorcise my demons, well, my angels may leave, too. — Tom Waits

 

I don't want to know too much about myself. — Robert Frost

 

[For the artist] there is a stage in which the inner vision seems much richer and finer than any outer manifestation. It has a vast, an enticing aura of implications that are lacking in the object of external vision. — John Dewey

 

All landscapes are imaginary. — J. Edson Hibble

 

In the average Madonna or Apostle the strictly human, fully representational element accounts for about ten per cent of the whole. All the rest consists of many colored variations on the inexhaustible theme of crumpled wool or linen. — Aldous Huxley

 

The reader may even reliably calculate that the time it takes to read a comic strip story to the time it took to draw it is roughly 1:1,000, and I'm not exaggerating. — Chris Ware

 

Two dead ends, but you still got to choose. — Tom Waits

 

Your family are not likely to be among the chief appreciators of your work. At best they may be slightly embarrassed. At worst, entirely horrified. Count yourself blessed if they tactfully refrain from joining the picket lines.* — J. Edson Hibble

 

How about bringin' 'em to so I can knock 'em out again? I ain't quite satchisfied yet. — Popeye  

On the Road

I am off to Columbus for a Pastor's conference.  This is a requirement for me to keep my credentials.  I go every year.  They still credential me.  I got em fooled I guess.

 

The IPHC is a good organization.  Been around 130 years (since the late 1800's). Rooted from the Lutheran reformation and Wesleyan traditions, it's doctrine is solid.  The IPHC is fairly sizeable globally (3 million including all affiliates).  Strongest in South America but with Churches on every continent.  The weakest place for the IPHC is in the USA.  With about 2000 congregations the total membership in the USA is about 300,000.   An average that means average attendance per church in the IPHC is 150 people.  That means of global affiliates and all the IPHC in the USA is only 10%.

 

They are doing good work and I am part of that effort.  Bringing the breath of Pentecost to the Church in America.

 

Not bad marching orders.

 

B Back Sunday

 

Criminality

I have been appalled that the uninsured are charged twice as much as insurance companies ever since I sat on a hospital board and saw my first financial statement ("Opting Out: 'Old Order' Mennonites and Amish Who Shun Insurance Face Rising Bills," page one, June 28). How about a law that requires doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms to charge the same to everyone for the same product or service?

Jerry Jung
Birmingham, Mich.

The Cult of Global Warming (caused by humans)

This Guy in today's WSJ nails it. The Global Warming Religion is exacty like every other cult. Read this:

The Metaphysics and Some Politics of Global Warming

Regarding Bret Stephens's "Global Warming as Mass Neurosis" (Global View, July 1): In 1992, at my 25th Harvard College reunion, we got an accurate forecast of the "ideological convenience" driving global warming alarmism. In a discussion of the Rio Summit on environment and development, one of my classmates effused, "Who would have thought that the environment would bring us world government?" In other words, the advent of world-wide "pollution" controls will lead to world government (which all of us statist Harvard grads eagerly await).

On the other hand, climatologist Patrick Michaels has noted that we merely need to "follow the money" to explain global warming enthusiasm among scientists and academicians: Huge amounts of taxpayer dollars are running down the drain of climate research, and the people raking in the bucks are the same ones spouting the global warming nonsense.

Grant W. Schaumburg Jr.
Boston

Here are the global warming movement's cultic parallels, many of whose characteristics can be found in Walter Martin and Ravi Zacharias's famous 2003 book, "The Kingdom of the Cults":

(

1) Leadership by a New Age prophet -- in this case, former Vice President Al Gore.

(2) Assertion of an apocalyptic threat to all mankind.

(3) An absolutist definition of both the threat and the proposed solution(s).

(4) Promise of a salvation from this pending apocalypse.

(5) Devotion to an inspired text which embodies all the answers -- in this case Mr. Gore's pseudo-scientific book "Earth in the Balance" and his new "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary.

(6) A specific list of "truths" which must be embraced and proselytized by all cult members.

(7) An absolute intolerance of any deviation from any of these truths by any cult member.

(8) A strident intolerance of any outside criticism of the cult's definition of the problem or of its proposed solutions.

(9) A "heaven-on-earth" vision of the results of the mission's success or a "hell-on-earth" result if the cultic mission should fail.

(10) An inordinate fear (and an outright rejection of the possibility) of being proven wrong in either the apocalyptic vision or the proposed salvation.

Finally, since this cultic juggernaut has persuaded (brainwashed?) a majority of Americans into at least a temporary mindset of support for its pseudo-religious scam, Mr. Stephens's label of "mass neurosis" seems frighteningly accurate.

Changing My Gender - NOT

In a conversation with another prophet he said something that sticks with me.

"You can no more stop being a prophet or prophesying than you can change your gender. If someone tries to stop you from Prophesying they are asking you in essence to change your gender".

If you know me, that's an amusing though. Ms Gene.

But, what he said is true. I don't TRY to be a prophet, I don't yearn to be a prophet, I don't even tout being a prophet, I just am one.

Like my gender, I was once a boy, then a young man, now old(er).

In the prophetic I am growing. I don't know prophetically what age I am. I am not a SR prophet even if I am a SR.

I don't see myself as a boy any more. I want to MATURE prophetically so I do fewer stupid things. I want to accurately reflect the heart and mind of God thru what I say and write. I want to say what God says.

I don't always succeed. But to become discouraged or try to stop being a prophet or prophesying is futile. I must cry out.

This is true for every one of the 5 fold ministry gifts. You don't need to have a person validate what you are, you just are. And you can't change it if you carry a ministry gift.

I don't believe you can "develop" another ministry Gift from Ephesians 4. I don't think it's an option. If I were an evangelist I would evangelize as a prophet, if I teach I teach as a prophet and so on.

I am like the Prophet Jeremiah when he said in Chapter 20 in his namesake book verses 8-9:

8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.

9 But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.

lIKE THE PSALMIST:

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 30:11-12

I'm in good company.

OIL GUY ANALYSIS

Past 24 hours Iran test fires 9 missiles to demonstrate they can blow up Israel.

Oil price doesn't budge and drifts lower a bit.

And there's oil bubbling up out of the ground in Northern Iraq


And there are ten reasons why Oil can't get it on any more.

If Iran testing missiles doesn't run the price of oil up then what will?

Hang on to your Amoco hat.

Ten Reasons Why the Oil Bubble is Bursting

• Congressional hearings on oil speculation.
• Bernanke’s comments on the dollar.
• Airlines and autos getting crushed.
• Nonstop media coverage of the “energy crisis.”
• Gasoline subsidies being lifted or limited in Asia and India.
• U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve additions being halted.
• Wall Street analysts’ aggressive upside oil price targets.
• Record decline in vehicle miles driven while SUV sales implode.
• U.S. consumption of oil and oil products down nearly 4% in the first quarter.
• Iranian [tankers] with 28 million barrels of oil sitting in the Persian Gulf betting on higher prices (and/or because of no buyers).

Hat Tip Groovy Green

When T Boone Pickens Gets Behind Industrial Wind Farms Look Out

In case you have lived under a rock for a while you may not be aware of the further industrialization of wind farms. T Boone Pickens is behind it. He is going to get rich selling wind farms to America. Not generating electricity. That's insignificant. This is getting out of hand despoiling landscapes, spending money on foolish ventures, and destroying rural America.

I have for a long time been against wind power as it's practiced on an industrial scale, I'm for it on a micro basis like pumping water or compressing air or generating local electricity for a local use. Small local windmills doing actual work.

Rural Americans are finally rising up against this travesty.

Here is a site that identifies the problems:

Industrial-scale wind energy is widely promoted as a clean and sustainable source of energy. It brings, however, many adverse impacts of its own which are often ignored or even denied. Of most immediate concern for communities targeted for wind power facilities are their huge size, unavoidable noise, and strobe lights day and night, with the consequent loss of amenity and, in many cases, health.

For people concerned with the environment, the negative impacts of the giant machines and their supporting infrastructure on birds, bats, beneficial insects, and other wildlife -- both directly and by degrading, fragmenting, and destroying habitat -- are a growing concern.

Considering these and other impacts, the construction of industrial wind energy facilities cannot be justified in most of the places they are proposed. They do more harm than good.

And another where the comment is made:

Wind turbines don't make good neighbors

- John Zimmerman, an executive of Enxco, in Robin Smith's 'Wind Towers Spark Debate", Caledonian-Record 7/1/03

IF you think you are in favor of environmental issues and believe industrial wind power as is practiced by the huge wind farms is a good thing, one of your views is out of kilter with another. Environmental schizophrenia.

Oil Drops like a Rock and not a peep

In case you want proof of the bias of the media to propagate fear why haven't you heard about the huge fall in oil in the last two days?

To those of us who are market watchers this is no surprise. This had all the indications of a market top.

But ten bucks in less than a week and no bottom in sight is a reason not to believe the Mainstream Media. They don't say a word.

$100?

$80?

$60

I'm guessing between the 60-80 mark. And right on cue, how this will affect banks was all the headlines on the financial news.

Truth that Staggers

This fact is true of most of the Church in America. I got this from Keith Darrels Blog.

The doctrine of justification by faith — a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort — has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be “received” without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is “saved,” but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.

AW TOZER

Maybe we don't know how. Can the blind lead the blind?

And for someone who says we don't need all that emotionalism in the church, how about this from Tozer.

"The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Branierd."

Lord, Let my cold cold heart be moved once more. Valid experience trumps bad theology.

10 "Truths" about picking people for your ministry

I found this interesting but not fully in agreement with all of it.

These ten principles of picking people the right people to be on your team for your church (or organization) according to Craig Groeschel:

1. Character is more important than giftedness.
2. God often uses those others overlook.
3. My wife is almost always a better judge about people than I am.
4. Past success is a good indicator of future success.
5. There is often a reason someone is looking for a job.
6. Teach-ability is non-negotiable.
7. When I’m trying to talk myself into liking someone, it’s best to move on.
8. People from within the organization typically have a huge advantage over those who are from without.
9. One of the best ways to attract better leaders is to become a better leader.
10. We’re all better off when we pray, listen, and obey.

I'm not in agreement with all of them. But they are interesting. One thing for sure, an outside hire fails MOST of the time.

Read the whole thing and look at the comments. Thought provoking.

A walk in the Park with a Ball and a Club

I went golfing yesterday. It was fun and I shot OK for a hacking golfer.

The real highlight for me is this Golf Course (Hughes Creek) is fully planted with native prairie. This time of year it's spectacular. I think native plantings are wonderful when done well. They did it well.

The real highlight was on the 8th hole where one of the most well formed black willow trees that has to be 30 years old stands. It's a beautiful thing to see.

I enjoyed the trees and bushes more actually than the golf game. OK, the golf game was a bonus. Red Mulberries in July was a nice on course snack.

This will never happen on Southwest Airlines

An American Airlines flight canceled because the (union) crew was fearful.

Big Airlines are dead meat and not a minute too soon.

Southwest still runs the best show in America. I wish them well and the only places I want to go is where they go.

United and American "Bu Bye".

Late Sun - Is it worth freezing over

I have always been amazed and amused by the difference in times of sunrise and sunset by latitude and longitude.  There are lots of helps on line that tell you these things.

 

Today in St Charles IL the sun came up at 5:27AM and will set tonight at 8:30PM

 

Today in Fargo ND the sun came up at 5:42AM and will set tonight 9:24PM

 

Today in Texarkana TX the sun came up at 6:13AM and will set tonight at 8:29.

 

There is a pattern here.  The further north you live the longer your day, but the colder your rear end is in winter. 

I do miss those late night twilight hours in Dakota.  It would be dusky till well after 10.  In St Charles it's dark in 30 minutes.

 

So, I don't have a decision.  Just thought I would mention it.

When the oil bubble bursts not all will be well

IF you have dipped in the pool of Gene from time to time you will know that I have been steadfast in my appraisal that high oil prices are fictional and temporary.

When I'm right about something and it comes to pass that doesn't mean happy days are here again. I just means a different kind of chaos.

Oil prices are about to collapse. That will send a new shock thru the economy. Banks heavily invested in high oil prices will go bad. Oil companies, oil exploration, oil conservation, new technology innovation and a hundred other ripples will rumble thru the economy as those ventures stumble. The cure will be in some ways more painful than the disease. $4 gasoline is tolerable if unjustified. $2 gasoline is good but could be damaging long run. It will all work out - unless government gets involved (which it hopefully won't) in the end we'll be OK.

Steve Forbes was on CNBC this morning talking about all this. The interview isn't long. It's worth while. And, just for those who think Gene is nuts, then so is Steve Forbes. I might be, he's not.

He sounds the alarm as well as the hope.

Hang on Bucko, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

winning the war in Iraq

Even though the US press (intent on getting Obama elected) say little about it, the war in Iraq is going very very well.

 

Afghanistan is another circumstance, but repairable.

 

If you can stand the truth, here it is from a BRITISH newspaper.

 

I'll bet if Obama is elected a week after he takes office the US news media will declare victory in the middle east and give all credit to Obama.

 

Why do I even read this junk?

 

Foreigners seem Strange

Peggy and I were watching the Lakeland revival as we often do. It was wonderful (again). During the worship TV shots of the people's faces were shown. They were passionately engaged. As I watched them I said to Peggy, "I wonder if (I mentioned a close relatives name) would even appreciate or understand this?"

She mentioned a couple more and the consensus was they wouldn't get it at all. Not that they are bad or nonspiritual, it's just that this expression of faith is so foreign to them. It's like watching the Ubangi tribe in Africa jump up and down painting themselves with body paint and acting all different from we mild mannered Americans.

We wouldn't understand what they are saying, they speak a different language, we wouldn't understand what they are doing or why and we wouldn't understand why they are so devoted to the ritual of up and down jumping.

Foreigners seem strange when observed at a distance.

When I became a Christian I became a foreigner to much of the world. The longer I walk in this the more strange to outsiders it all seems. And the stranger I seem.

You can't judge or evaluate the Ubangi's. Don't even try. You don't get it. You won't unless you became a Ubangi.

Ditto being a Jesus Freak. You either are one or you aren't. You can't understand it with your reason or analysis. It's all by faith. You can't possibly understand. I won't even try to explain. I'll just invite. It starts by leaving your fear and doubt at the door. God says, "Without faith it is impossible to see, please or perceive him at all".

IF you insist on pure reason you'll never come to faith. You'll die and go to Hell. Tough price to pay for insisting on reason.

Compassion or ...................

Yesterday we had a vigorous session on what real compassion is. It was a difficult time.

The room was tense. It appears that this is a topic people are addicted to doing what feels good, not always what does good.

I don't feel good helping someone continue down a path to hell and dissipation. I think that doing so makes he who sees himself as compassionate feel better about him or herself. There's the addiction part.

Do we in being compassionate have any role in judging to whom we should or should NOT be compassionate towards? Or, do we have a responsibility to be compassionate to anyone anywhere for any reason who is in need even if it is by his or her own intent and action that caused them to reach and remain in need? Where is the capacity for discernment? I think we are responsible for our decisions and compassion without judgment is false compassion.

I am concerned about the body of Christ randomly recklessly distributing material "compassion" to anyone even if it has the net effect of being an enablement and never calling anyone to account.

One man who has a great heart had the misfortune of having dealt with a person in what he determines in hindsight to be an uncompassionate manner. That person who he turned out ended up drunk and froze to death under the bridge last winter.

That is tragic. What would be more tragic is if he had never become a Christian and had been warm, dry and well fed headed for hell. It is my understanding that the man who died had a valid faith in God. So, perhaps in his mercy as God often does he was taken early to preserve his soul while allowing his body to perish.

That was a story of victory not defeat.

What isn't a story of victory is a man or woman who learns to work the system, has no intent in coming to faith in Jesus and in the end goes to hell at the end of his days warm and well fed.

If we as a church have real compassion towards a man or woman we must first have compassion on their lost souls. They are sinners on the edge of Hell. Then, hand in hand with sound intense deliverance from the demons possessing them and with discipleship fully part of the compassion, discipleship in helping these needy people to begin making better decisions, to help them find hope, to help them be reconciled to the Father, to help them come to a living faith filled life and begin to be not need needing but need filling.

True compassion is filling true needs.

In our earlier session the question was asked while thinking of the story of the Prodigal son:

Lets suppose that it's now 5 years after the return of the Prodigal from the Pig Pen. He is still living on the farm with his dad and brother. One day they come to recognize that a hired hand working for them is just like the prodigal had been.

Had left home, squandered his money, become homeless, took any job he could find, living in the barn, needy, hopeless and empty.

If the prodigal were to encounter him, what would be his response? If the older brother were to encounter him, what would be his. If the Father were to encounter him.

What they would NOT do is let him move in with them, live free, feed him and clothe him with no accountability.

My guess is yes they would meet short term needs but would quickly be setting about the task of reconciliation, first with his family if he has one, then with society, and then with God.

Feeding and clothing him while he lives in rebellion only delays the needed reconciliation.

So, to my friend who I will link to this, I love your heart, I'm sorry for you pain and guilt. You did right and so did God (by taking him early). I hope you will consider carefully what real Christian compassion really is. I have worked among the poor in the inner city enough to know that poverty is the result of mindsets society has placed on people. The black and Hispanic people of the inner city of Chicago I have worked with are great at discerning who and why anyone does or does not need help.

They are better at it than we are. We have middle class guilt that causes us to think we need to just throw money or help at people when the real need is a changed heart. We could take a lesson from them in true compassion. The ones that do it best do it from a heart of discernment and with an eye towards changing the heart of the person in need rather than making sure they have a place to live or food to eat.

I know one church (all black) on the west side of Chicago that has as it's charter goal that every person who comes in and comes under the roof of their church and is willing to be discipled will get off public aid, become a job giver and a home owner. I have heard the pastor say that he wants to see every one of his formerly welfare receiving congregation become millionaires. They haven't (all) yet.

The result of That ONE church is a tremendous number of spiritually and financially healthy and fulfilled congregation. Everyone is off welfare within a year, most now own their own home and many own businesses. That's discipleship that meets real needs, not compassion that perpetuates the problem.

We should do the same. This promise, you come under out discipleship, long term and your life will change for the better should be our offer that goes with the bowl of soup we give.

I think we have done more to get in the way of people coming to Jesus than we should. Let's stop it.