Do thou that which is good
2 Kings 10:5
Keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. They are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. The way to lay them is to find bodies for them. When they are embodied in substantial deeds they are no longer dangerous.
William Arnot[1]
[1] Hardman, S. G., & Moody, D. L. (1997). Thoughts for the quiet hour. Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing.
AFTER HELPING DESTROY HIS PCA DENOMINATION, TIM KELLER SHOWS HIS POLITICAL COLORS BY JOINING DEMOCRATIC PART, OBAMA FOUNDATION, AND BILLIONAIRE PAUL SINGER BACKED & CAMPAIGN “ELDER BOARD”.
By Rev Thomas Littleton 7/23/2020
For years those who followed Tim Keller closely have been warning about his true left ward political and social justice leanings. Now even the most skeptical fan of Christianities ” great thinker” can see where he stands and what values drive the man behind the theological mask. Keller’s influential organization The Gospel Coalition, co-founded with D A Carson, is a theologically emergent, politically left of center, social justice (false) gospel movement. No fact to date has confirmed this reality more than his recent surfacing as an “ELDER” for the & Campaign.
Is Tim Keller “the MOST influential Christian of our time”? These thoughts began to be discussed just behind the headlines when Keller announced last moth that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Please pray for Tim Keller and his family and for the many people under his influence in seminaries, pulpits, Christian media and curriculum today. In the sobering reminder of serious illness anyone would begin thinking about their legacy. Those in Christian ministry in particular, should think about not only legacy but the judgement seat where “every man ( & woman) works will be tried and put to the fire of God’s gaze. Tim Keller, like all of us, must think of his life in light of eternity.
If you have been hearing Keller called the “new John Stott” or the “new C S Lewis” or “America’s greatest Christian thinker” then you likely consume far too much unfiltered Christian media. While Keller is a member and teaching elder in the conservative PCA , his political views and those of The Gospel Coalition he co-founded with D A Carson in 2006 betray a far more left leaning man. So whose report will you believe as the legacy of Tim Keller is defined ?
According to a 2018 episode of the ABC program “UNCOMFORTABLE “, one of Keller’s TGC leader’s Colin Hansen revealed that the reason that TGC was founded was to counter the bad political choices of evangelicals like the 2016 election of President Donald Trump. Now we also see that Tim Keller has joined the & Campaign which will be discussed in detail further in this article. & Campaign political objectives focus heavily on preventing the re-election of President Trump in 2020.
Note again that now Tim Keller himself has joined the & Campaign a decidedly left run organization with USELESS EVANGELICAL leader Joel Hunter and Jim Wallis Sojourners leader Barbara Williams-Skinner .along with others ,to serve in the & Campaigns Elder Board
https://andcampaign.org/leadership
The & Campaign is led by a Democratic Party operative Justin Giboney, Obama Foundation Faith Outreach Ambassador to America’s Believer’s Michael Wear and the entire movement is partnered with the American Unity Fund of pro LGBTQ billionaire Paul Singer. & Campaign seeks to combine “Biblical Values & Social Justice” in third way compromise with conservative and liberal believers but has lacked a single truly conservative voice in its leadership.
MORE HERE ON & CAMPAIGN :
KELLER IS NO STRANGER TO THE OBAMA POLITICAL CIRCLES
In 2012 Keller and three other evangelicals met with the newly re-elected President Obama at the Whitehouse. They promised to use their influence to bring the evangelical church toward the middle of the political “isle ” in decidedly Third Way posture. That meeting and the Third Way ideals touted as “Good Faith” are recounted in a book by Keller partners Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman .
Keller’s TGC promoted the book in 2016
THINKING CAPS ON FOR A MOMENT
Keller and TGC repeatedly use their influence to shame believers who support conservative politics and have openly opposed the campaign, election and administration of President Donald Trump. During the prior administration of Barak Obama they openly sought “common ground ” and dialog and promised to persuade evangelicals to come into the political middle. TGC even hired then Obama Faith Outreach coordinator Michael Wear to write and speak for TGC. Keller now joins Wear who continues his work in the Obama Foundation as it’s “Ambassador the America’s Believers”. In Keller’s new role as an Elder at the & Campaign with Michael Wear.Keller continues his close relationship to the Obama political machine and the mystery money behind it.
(Note Keller and TGC ignore that the Obama Whitehouse did more to promote Muslim rights and proliferation than to protect Christians. The Obama administration promoted more anti-family- pro LGBTQ policy including the 2015 “victory ” of the SCOTUS decisions which redefined marriage. By 2015 Obama administration had boosted Title X tax dollar funding promoting abortion from @ $35 million per year to over $530 million per year. President Trump, on the other hand, was the first US President to not only attend but to speak at the March for Life anti- abortion rally in DC. Yet still Keller and TGC are unable to find their “common ground” with the Trump administration while lavishing praise and agreement with the most bloody administration, as far as pro abortion funding, in American history. So we must ask…” How is that possible? “)
The & Campaign is promoting the Alliance for Lasting Liberty as a full fledged partner with “The American Unity Fund”.
The main legislative action the “Alliance” is promoting is the LGBTQ rights bill called “Fairness for All”. (MORE ON KELLER AND HIS LGBTQ INFLUENCE AHEAD )
ALLIANCE PARTNERS
“American Unity Fund (BILLIONAIRE Paul Singer’s organization ) fully endorses the Fairness for All Act. This is the right solution for such a complex problem that urgently needs to be solved. Fairness for All acknowledges that we live in a diverse society. Civil rights should be guaranteed for everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, or religion. Those rights can be fully protected while safeguarding religious freedom.”
“All attempts to remove more traditional religious beliefs from the public square should be opposed. We, like many other Americans, affirm the historic Christian sexual ethic, and we also believe that religious freedom and LGBTQ civil rights are not necessarily in irreconcilable conflict. Faith-based charities, hospitals and colleges should not have to choose between surrendering their convictions and closing their doors. At the same time, LGBTQ people should not lose jobs and housing because of how they identify.”
Keller and & Campaign’s other Theologically mixed partners in the Alliance for Lasting Liberty :
“The Seventh-day Adventist Church applauds the Fairness for All Act’s balanced, principled approach for protecting both religious freedom and LGBT civil rights.”
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormons) commends the introduction of federal legislation that seeks to preserve religious freedom and protect LGBT individuals from discrimination.”
Newly revealed on the & Campaign site are the list of “Elders” offering leadership to the younger crew of political operatives of the Democratic party and Obama Foundation along with a host of young TGC “Urban Church ” activist pastors.
LIBERAL EVANGELICAL FRINGE LEADER JOEL HUNTER
“A longtime bridge-builder who seeks common ground for the common good, Dr. Hunter approaches today’s challenges in a biblical and balanced manner. Cooperation and partnership are hallmarks of his ministry. Together, he believes, we can accomplish more because of our differences than we would on our own—without giving up our unique identities. “People are missing a way to benefit from differences without compromising their beliefs”, Dr. Hunter has said. “Fear and suspicion of differences limit spiritual maturity. Both spiritual and intellectual maturity grow from differences. Contrasts can be used to accomplish kingdom purposes.”
“Dr. Hunter was born and raised in Shelby, Ohio, by a mother who “taught me to always love people who were different than I was.” As a result, he became involved as a young adult in the civil rights movement at Ohio University. He came to a crisis of faith after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr”
BARBARA WILLIAMS -SKINNER
https://sojo.net/biography/barbara-williams-skinner
SKINNER IS MEMBER OF JIM WALLIS SOJOURNERS NETWORK
“Trusted advisor, public policy strategist, faith and community leader, author, lecturer, educator, executive coach, and mentor, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner has made an indelible imprint in American public policy, government, diversity, and community relations.”
“Considered one of Washington’s most influential leaders, especially in the faith community, Dr. Williams-Skinner is included in 2008’s “Presidential Who’s Who Among Business and Professional Achievers.”
“Dr. Williams-Skinner also served on the White House Faith Counsel focusing on the issues of human trafficking. She was the first female Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, and continues to serve as an advisor to CBC Members and to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Dr. Williams-Skinner and her late husband Tom Skinner co-founded the CBCF Prayer Breakfast nearly 30 years ago. She is the mother of two adult daughters through marriage, grandmother of 11, godmother of 7, with countless mentees and protégés across the nation.”
BISHOP CLAUDE ALEXANDER, PASTOR
https://biologos.org/people/bishop-claude-alexander?
BIO-LOGOS PARTNER WITH TIM KELLER AND FRANCIS COLLINS PROMOTING THE MERGER OF SCIENCE AND FAITH -BISHOP CLAUDE ALEXANDER
MORE ELDERS CAN BE SEEN IN THE &CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP PAGE SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEWLY ADDED “ELDERS”
TIM KELLER’S OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WILL DEFINE HIS LEGACY
FAITH AND WORK
Tim Keller is at the epicenter of the “Social Justice” driven economics teachings which promote “common ground for the common good” as a means to disciple university, seminary students and church members in the central ideals of collectivism and communitarianism. The use of Austrian economics and Hayek mixed with liberal 1970s Catholic Social policy and Libertarian political policy produces both a social and political ideology built NOT on the free enterprise and capitalism espoused by the Faith and Work programs and curriculum but driven by broad globalist collectivist principles behind “human flourishing “. A thin veneer of reformed theological wrapping what Keller and others dub a “Theology of Work”..or “Vocation ” seeks to create the appearance of a Biblical basis for the Faith and Work ideologies despite it’s varied sources politically and socially.
THINKING AND FUNDING FROM OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
The Faith and Work IDEOLOGY espouses that the true value of work is found in laboring for the collective common good which produces “human flourishing”. Social Justice is a central value driving the Faith and Work ideals which are introduced into seminary curriculum provided by Catholic think tank Acton Institute and taught to leaders and professors through the Acton University. Keller has spoken at Acton’s Annual fundraisers.
Keller has his own “Center for Faith and Work” at Redeemer Church and speaks across the globe with it and other F&W organizations as well as in the centers at various reformed Seminaries in the Kern Family Foundation funded Oikonomia Network and centers for cultural engagement established on those partner school campuses.
NYC CENTER FOR FAITH AND WORK
OIKONOMIA NETWORK (BOTH IT AND KELLER’S TGC ARE LOCATED ON THE CAMPUS AT “TEDS” IN DEERFIELD ILLINOIS.)
LIST OF OIKONOMIA PARTNER SCHOOLS
THE HISTORY OF THE SPREAD OF THESE SOCIAL JUSTICE IDEALS IN EVANGELICALISM
The history of the spread of these ideals and funding behind them can be found in the book linked below called “The New Evangelical Social Engagement.”
The book was reviewed by Keller’s TGC and it’s Themelios journal for pastors .
NOTE: The book review promotes the notion that the Emergent Movement in the church made the “Social Engagement” transformation possible among a broader cross section of conservative evangelicals . Keller was in fact working at the ground level created by the Emergent Movement with many of its leaders in the 2010 “MISSION SHIFT” .(Much of its website has also been taken down)Remnants of MS ,along with it’s emergent partners, and Keller’s fellow Lausanne Movement leader Ed Stetzer can still be found here:
http://www.missionalmanifesto.net/
FRANKFURT SCHOOL AND TIM KELLER
Tim Keller has subscribed to many Cultural Marxist think tank ideologies from the University of Virginia’s Institutes for Advanced Studies in Culture. The IASC website “about “page boasted it’s own roots in the Frankfurt School and Vienna Circle until these facts were exposed on multiple Christian media outlets.
COMPARE THE PRESENT LINK ABOVE TO THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL ORIGINAL BELOW
https://web.archive.org/web/20170606001257/https://iasculture.org/about
“Our institutional inspiration comes from the close-knit intellectual fellowships of the past (such as the Frankfurt School and the Vienna Circle); our philosophical inspiration comes from a thoughtful re-appropriation of the theologies and classical philosophies which characteristically champion the dignity of the person, the pursuit of the just life, and the flourishing of the human community.”
Tim Keller and the Frankfurt Inspired IASC were involved in the Lausanne Movement “civility ” covenant aimed at third way compromise on issues related to cultural engagement and the LGBTQ issue ,among others, espoused in the “Civilitas” group in January 2015. It’s website has since disappeared but can be found on internet archives.
LGBTQ
BY 2011 APPEARANCE IN A VERITAS EVENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY KELLER COULD NO LONGER PLAINLY STATE THAT HOMOSEXUALITY WAS A SIN IN THIS SECULAR CAMPUS FORUM.
IT IS A PAINFUL 6 MINUTES TO WATCH.
106K subscribers
Revoice caused no small stir in the PCA in 2018. One year later in the June 2019 General Assembly a “committee ” was formed to study the issues behind Revoice and human sexuality and gender to report back the following year at the G A 2020.
A PCA church Memorial Presbyterian had hosted the Revoice event in 2018 with its PCA credentialed, now self proclaimed “Gay Pastor” Greg Johnson. Johnson was given the floor at the 2019 G A and was supported by long time Tim Keller disciple and 12 year staffer for Keller ..Scott Sauls. Also note Sauls was an open endorser of Revoice from the debut of its controversial website and had traveled in 2017 with Revoice founder Nate Collins to plan the 2018 event.
REVOICE EVEN SET UP A “HOSPITALITY SUITE AT THE 2019 PCA GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO CELEBRATE THEIR PROGRESS.
The PCA General Assembly for 2020 was cancelled by COVID-19 so the “Committee Report” was submitted in June of 2020 and the PCA denomination SPLIT within days of the Committee Report . Tim Keller and close TGC disciple Kevin DeYoung and variety of Revoice ideological adherents to it’s APA rooted narrative on Sexual Orientation ,Gender Identity or SOGI shared in the “committee leadership ” positions.
“The Ad Interim Committee Report on Human Sexuality that has been prepared for the 48th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (originally scheduled for June 2020) is now available.”
“The Ad Interim Committee studied issues assigned by the 47th General Assembly in June 2019. The Report will not be officially presented to the 48th General Assembly until its next scheduled meeting anticipated in 2021. Nevertheless, the Committee is making the Report available to the church at this originally scheduled time because members were commissioned by the Assembly to engage in this study due to pressing needs in our church and society. ”
What is the legacy of Tim Keller ? How will his influence in the church be recorded? Depends of who you ask and what information one bases their conclusions upon. The age of the internet has given opportunity for believers to research for themselves and for those who speak up or ask the hard questions to be labeled as “conspiracy theorist” of “making guilt by association” . However Keller has way too many alliances and associations to avoid a reasonable conclusion of guilt in shared values of those with whom he allies. His politics and social policy do not reflect Biblical Values ,as & Campaign projects but reflect upon motives and goals honest /thinking persons cannot help but question and find disturbing ? Who is Tim Keller? Is he Friend or Foe to the church and it’s place in American culture for the future? Time will tell but, given that his circles of influence just SPLIT HIS OWN DENOMINATION , things are not looking good for an honest assessment of Tim Keller and his legacy.
In the end , it is God who judges men’s hearts and weighs us in the balance.
Galatians 6
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”……
via TIM KELLER JOINS LEFTIST & CAMPAIGN — thirtypiecesofsilverdotorg
“What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” (John 13:7.)
WE have only a partial view here of God’s dealings, His half-completed, half-developed plan; but all will stand out in fair and graceful proportions in the great finished Temple of Eternity! Go, in the reign of Israel’s greatest king, to the heights of Lebanon. See that noble cedar, the pride of its compeers, an old wrestler with northern blasts! Summer loves to smile upon it, night spangles its feathery foliage with dewdrops, the birds nestle on its branches, the weary pilgrim or wandering shepherd reposes under its shadows from the midday heat or from the furious storm; but all at once it is marked out to fall; The aged denizen of the forest is doomed to succumb to the woodman’s stroke!
As we see the axe making its first gash on its gnarled trunk, then the noble limbs stripped of their branches, and at last the “Tree of God,” as was its distinctive epithet, coming with a crash to the ground, we exclaim against the wanton destruction, the demolition of this proud pillar in the temple of nature. We are tempted to cry with the prophet, as if inviting the sympathy of every lowlier stem—invoking inanimate things to resent the affront—“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar has fallen!”
But wait a little. Follow that gigantic trunk as the workmen of Hiram launch it down the mountain side; thence conveyed in rafts along the blue waters of the Mediterranean; and last of all, behold it set a glorious polished beam in the Temple of God. As you see its destination, placed in the very Holy of Holies, in the diadem of the Great King—say, can you grudge that “the crown of Lebanon” was despoiled, in order that this jewel might have so noble a setting?
That cedar stood as a stately prop in Nature’s sanctuary, but “the glory of the latter house was greater than the glory of the former!”
How many of our souls are like these cedars of old! God’s axes of trial have stripped and bared them. We see no reason for dealings so dark and mysterious, but He has a noble end and object in view; to set them as everlasting pillars and rafters in His Heavenly Zion; to make them a “crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of our God.”—Macduff.
“I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see—
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand,
And follow Thee.”[1]
[1] Cowman, L. B. (1925). Streams in the Desert (pp. 219–220). Los Angeles, CA: The Oriental Missionary Society.
Ver. 12.—As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. God’s mercy is the cause, the removal of sin the result. The two are commensurate, and are “described by the largest measures which the earth can afford”[1]
Ver. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.—Plenary absolution:—
The doctrine of forgiving love is one of those necessaries of daily life, of which we may say that however frequently it be set before you, you would not tire of it. Therefore, in the simplest manner, we would speak of the great Gospel truth of the forgiveness of sins. Now, in our text which tells of it, notice—
III. Note the comprehensiveness of our text. I do not find any list of sins here. Only these two words, “our transgressions.” I am not skilful in matters of common law, but I remember hearing a lawyer make this remark about a man’s will, that if he were about to leave all his property to some one person, it would be better not to make a recapitulation of all that he had, but merely to state that he bequeathed all to his legatee, without giving a list of the goods and chattels, because in so doing he would be sure to leave some of them out. In one instance, a farmer who desired his wife to have all, recounted, as he thought, all his property; but he actually omitted to mention his largest farm and the very house in which they lived. Thus his attempt to be very particular failed, and his wife lost a large part of the property. Let us be thankful, then, that in our text God speaks in this broad way which takes in the whole compass of enumeration. “Our transgressions”—that sweeps them away all at once. Like as the Israelites saw with joy all their enemies dead upon the sea-shore. Not one of them left. Well might Miriam dance and sing.
The believer separated from his sins:—
(1) That separation from sin is necessary to admission into heaven. “There shall in nowise,” etc.
(2) That the separation here described is the work of God—of His grace, righteousness, word, spirit.
(3) That separation from sin requires active exertion on our part. “Work out,” etc.
(4) That the separation we have been considering is the privilege of only true believers. (N. Macdonald.)
No Eastern or Western poles:—
The distance from north to south is measurable. In every sphere there are north and south poles—both fixed points; and on the earth the distance between them is about twelve thousand miles. So that had the psalmist said, “As far as the north is from the south,” our conceptions would have been thus limited. It is otherwise with the east and the west. There are no eastern and western poles. From every point alike in the circuit of the world, the east extends in one direction, the west in the other. Thus, the traveller westward, for example, might be said to be for ever chasing the west without coming nearer to it. The psalmist himself might not have known this astronomical fact; yet, regarding his words as dictated by the Spirit of God, we are surely permitted to read them in the light of modern science, and so to discern in them the most forcible illustration that can be imagined of the illimitable distance to which God has removed the iniquities of His people. (Cyclop. of Nature Teachings.)
Forgiveness a delightful remembrance:—
Like some black rock that heaves itself above the surface of a sun-lit sea, and the wave runs dashing over it; and the spray, as it falls down its sides, is all rainbowed and lightened; and there comes beauty into the mighty grimness of the black thing; so a man’s transgressions rear themselves up, and God’s great love, coming sweeping itself against them and over them, makes out of the sin an occasion for the flashing more brightly of the beauty of His mercy, and turns the life of the pardoned penitent into a life of which even the sin is not pain to remember. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)[2]
12. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” O glorious verse, no word even upon the inspired page can excel it! Sin is removed from us by a miracle of love! What a load to move, and yet is it removed so far that the distance is incalculable. Fly as far as the wing of imagination can bear you, and if you journey through space eastward, you are further from the west at every beat of your wing. If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it must be entirely gone. If this be the distance of its removal, there is no shade of fear of its ever being brought back again; even Satan himself could not achieve such a task. Our sins are gone, Jesus has borne them away. Far as the place of sunrise is removed from yonder west, where the sun sinks when his day’s journey is done, so far were our sins carried by our scapegoat nineteen centuries ago, and now if they be sought for, they shall not be found, yea, they shall not be, saith the Lord. Come, my soul, awaken thyself thoroughly and glorify the Lord for this richest of blessings. Hallelujah. The Lord alone could remove sin at all, and he has done it in a godlike fashion, making a final sweep of all our transgressions.[3]
[1] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Psalms (Vol. 2, p. 383). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[2] Exell, J. S. (1909). The Biblical Illustrator: The Psalms (Vol. 4, pp. 279–281). New York; Chicago; Toronto; London; Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company; Francis Griffiths.
[3] Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 88-110 (Vol. 4, p. 280). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” – Amos 8:11
Scripture reading: Amos 8:11-14
What if you went to the grocery store to restock your empty fridge and there was nothing there? It’s hard for us to imagine! Well, far worse than a natural famine is a spiritual famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
If an individual or nation responds with indifference and ingratitude to the Word of God, there comes a point when He removes the Word from them. Are you allowing worldly pleasures to choke your love for Jesus? Are you quenching the work of grace in your heart by withdrawing from communion with the Lord? Let this warning from Amos move you in godly fear to repair your walk with God.
What a tragic picture this is! The children of God running to and fro, from sea to sea, north to east seeking the word of the Lord but not finding it. But didn’t God promise that those who seek Him will find Him? Yes, and that promise remains true. The problem is that the Israelites will run everywhere trying to find the word of God except in the place where God promised to speak to them: the temple in Jerusalem. It is like Esau who sought the blessing with tears but did not obtain it because he found no place for repentance (Heb.12:17).
Today, you can be assured of God’s grace for you by responding in faith and repentance. Go to God. Bring your sin and guilt and faithlessness to the cross of Jesus Christ. If you seek God in Christ, you will find Him.
Suggestions for prayer
Confess where your heart has grown cold to the things of God. Pray that He would not remove the Word from you or your loved ones. Seek His help in committing yourself to renewed study of His Word.
Rev. Gary Zekveld is the pastor of New Westminster United Reformed Church in British Columbia, This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional.
— Read on m.youtube.com/watch
— Read on m.youtube.com/watch
Let me be very honest with you: I don’t always feel God’s presence. Sometimes He seems a million miles away. Sometimes He doesn’t even seem real. Can you relate? What do you do during times like that?
I know that feelings are not reliable. They change according to the weather or what’s happening in my life. God’s word does not change. No matter what our circumstances, God is present. He has said, “I will never leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) He is the same compassionate God on good days as He is on bad days.
So, what am I going to stand on – facts or feelings? I must choose, then act accordingly. Let me share with you two exercises that help me lift my mood from despair to hope.
1. Singing God’s truths. One of my morning routines is to spend twenty minutes on the treadmill. About eight in the morning, I grab a hymn book and head for the exercise room. While I’m on the treadmill I sing God’s praises.
2. Repeating God’s truths. I write out a Bible verse so I can read it again during the day. Sometimes I say it out loud and then I add, “This is the truth and I stand on it.”
Some of the verses I use are:
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22,23).
As I affirm God’s truths, my feelings catch on to the message and move over from despair to hope.
Jesus, I thank you that you have said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18) Knowing that you are with me now, I will move ahead with confidence. Amen.
Questions: Have you been struggling with despair? Are you relying on feelings instead of fact? How can you affirm God’s truth in your life today?
By Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission
To read more of Helen’s writings go to http://www.helenlescheid.com
Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/
Contentment and a Broken Ankle
Peace or Panic?
The Gentle Christian How do I embrace a gentle spirit when I have been hurt and/or deceived?
Beauty out of Brokenness
via Feeling or Fact: What Will You Stand On? — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-13
In today’s reading, the apostle Paul says he has learned the secret of experiencing contentment in all circumstances, good or bad. Does it surprise you that he wrote this when he was in prison, unsure of his future?
We’re often discontent even when all is going well. Consequently, we wonder how it’s possible to be truly content during our most difficult trials, especially when there’s no end in sight. So what is genuine contentment? Paul is speaking of a freedom from worry and frustration about everything in life–even unfulfilled desires.
It’s usually when we cannot control or change our situation that we feel discontentment. As long as our satisfaction depends on whether certain things actually work out, we’ll allow circumstances to cheat us out of peace. I’m not saying there’s some spiritual stage where you will never again experience anxiety or frustration. But what matters is how we respond when those feelings grip us.
This is something that the apostle had to learn. Paul endured amazing suffering, from shipwrecks and hunger to unjust imprisonment and beatings (2 Corinthians 11:24-30). He had gone through countless situations that were uncertain, extraordinarily painful, and seemingly hopeless. But he finally discovered that contentment could not be dependent upon his circumstances.
How do you respond when circumstances are out of your control? Do you get angry? Do you try to escape? Does despair make you want to give up? Paul chose to give his anxieties to Jesus in exchange for peace that “surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:7). That same peace is available to you!
By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission
http://www.intouch.org/
Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/
God is Sufficient
God is my Delight
What a Friend we have in Jesus
via The Secret of Contentment — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God
July 25
2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14
Romans 9:1-24
Psalm 19:1-14
Proverbs 20:1
2 Chronicles 14:2 – Did you notice something yesterday? The Chronicler never said whether Abijah did that which was good and right. He mentions a good incident but he omits 1 Kings 15:3-7a. Asa on the other hand, (David-Solomon-Rehoboam-Abijah-Asa) lived up to his great-great-grandfather David’s love for God and sought Him (2 Chronicles 14:4).
2 Chronicles 14:6 – Agitated? Let God give you rest.
Interestingly this is the same phrase used in Joshua and Judges.
2 Chronicles 14:9 – Being outnumbered 2:1 is bad. A million man army came against Israel and Asa called upon the name of the LORD (2 Chronicles 14:10) and the LORD answered! (2 Chronicles 14:12).
2 Chronicles 15:9 – A godly government attracted immigrants to the blessing of the LORD. But, there were conditions for these immigrants – with capital consequences (2 Chronicles 15:13).
2 Chronicles 16:2 – What happened? Asa wasn’t scared by a million man army, but now he’s scared of Baasha of the North? Hanani raised this same question (2 Chronicles 16:8). But unlike David responding to Nathan (2 Samuel 12), Asa was wroth (2 Chronicles 16:10). And to the end of his life, he turned his back on the LORD (2 Chronicles 16:12). Interestingly FiveThirtyEight has an article on how Supreme Court justices go liberal with age – because of peer pressure, reputations, ideological drift, and other reasons.
2 Chronicles 16:9 – Here’s a memory verse to help you hide this word in your heart!
Romans 9:3 – Accursed for my brethren. That is “agape” love. No room for anti-semitism – the Messiah’s own flesh was of the seed of Abraham (Romans 9:5).
Romans 9:14 – Throughout our reading of the Bible this year, it’s stuck out the contrast this question raises. Are we more moral than God? Or do we need to adjust our definition of fairness to His?
Romans 9:22 – Ah the controversial verse about Election. Piper weights in, as does MacArthur and non-Calvinists. Positions on double predestination affect the question – who fitted the vessels?
Psalm 19:1 – And back to Patch the Pirate for this song based on Psalm 19:1:
Psalm 19:7 – Interesting how we go from general revelation (the Creation of God) to specific revelation (the Law of God) so abruptly! Both warn the servant (Psalm 19:11). As Paul says, “thou art inexcusable!” (Romans 2:1).
Proverbs 20:1 – One of the most unpopular verses in the Bible. Alcohol has deceived tens of millions. Seek wisdom!
Share how reading thru the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.
Daniel Whittle shares the account of D.L. Moody, who on his return from England, while conducting a prayer-meeting in Northfield, Mass., gave this illustration of the power of prayer to subdue the most unlikely cases of sin and unbelief:
“There is not a heart so hard that God cannot touch it. While in Edinburgh, a man was pointed out to me by a friend who said, ‘Moody, that man is chairman of the Edinburgh infidel club.’ So I went and sat down beside him, and said, ‘Well, my friend, I am glad to see you at this meeting. Are you not concerned about your welfare?’ He said that he did not believe in a hereafter. I said, ‘Well, you just get down on your knees and let me pray for you.’
“‘I don’t believe in prayer.’
“I tried unsuccessfully to get the man down on his knees, and finally knelt down beside him and prayed for him. Well, he made a good deal of sport over it, and I met him again many times in Edinburgh after that. A year ago last month, while in the north of Scotland, I met the man again. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I asked, ‘Hasn’t God answered the prayer?’
“He replied, ‘There is no God. I am just the same as I always have been. If you believe in a God, and in answer to prayer, do as I told you. Try your hand on me.’
“‘Well,’ I said, ‘God’s time will come; there are a great many praying for you; and I have faith to believe you are going to be blessed.’
“Six months ago I was in Liverpool; and there I got a letter from the leading barrister of Edinburgh, telling me that my friend, the infidel, had come to Christ, and that of his club of thirty men seventeen had followed his example.
“How it happened he could not say, but whereas he was once blind, now he could see. God has answered the prayer. ‘I didn’t know how it was to be answered,’ said Mr. Moody, ‘but I believed it would be and it was done. What we want to do is to come boldly to God.’”
Life can feel like a wrestling match—but Christians need not enter the fight alone. With God in our corner, we can’t be defeated! Hear an encouraging message from Romans chapter 8 on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. When our ministry sells 10,000 copies of a new booklet in the first three months, that’s a good response. If we sell 20,000, that’s phenomenal. Our new booklet, “How to be Free from the Fear of Death,” sold 137,000 in the first three months! That made us realize, because of the coronavirus, many are thinking about their mortality—perhaps for the first time in their lives. So, we made a video of the same name, because we believe it is needed for such a time as this. We pray this blesses many. You can get the tract of the same name here.
I have asked many people if they are afraid of dying. When they say they are, I know they are being honest and humble, and from that point they almost always listen to what I have to say. The reason I know they’re being honest is that the Bible says all of us are tormented by the fear of death all of our lifetime (see Hebrews 2:14,15). Some people dismiss this fear by believing they will be reincarnated and simply come back to earth as someone else. However, the Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) Others believe they will just go to the grave and cease to exist. But God has put eternity in our hearts so we intuitively know there is something beyond this life.
Knowing that we have to die is like standing at the door of a plane 10,000 feet up and waiting to jump without a parachute. It is horrific. But imagine if someone gave you a parachute that you know was expertly packed by someone who loved you. What now is your attitude toward the jump? It has completely changed. Now you know that you’re not going to hit the ground at 120 mph on your face. Rather, you are going to land gently at 15 mph on your feet. Your faith in the parachute has allowed you to control your fears. You are no longer tormented by fear, because you know that the law of gravity no longer has power over you. God has provided a parachute in the Savior. But you’re not going to want to completely trust in Him. . . unless you realize you have to face a law that is far harsher than gravity.
As we look at this law, you may become a little fearful. Unpleasant though it may be, it will be good for you. Think of why you would put on a parachute—it’s because you will have to jump, and the fear makes you want to trust it. Fear in that case becomes your friend. That’s a very important point, so please keep that in mind. Do you know what death is, according to the Bible? It’s wages. Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin is so serious to God that He gives sinners the death sentence. It’s like a judge in a court of law who sentences a criminal to death for raping and viciously murdering three young girls. The criminal has earned the electric chair. This is what he deserves; it’s his wages. Let’s see what wages you will earn.
Do you think you are a good person? No doubt, like most of us, you do. How many lies do you think you have told in your life? Have you ever stolen something, even if it’s small? If you’ve done these two things, then you are a lying thief. Have you ever used God’s name in vain, either flippantly (including “OMG”) or as profanity? If you have, let me ask you if you would ever use your mother’s name as a cuss word. I’m sure you wouldn’t, because that would show you don’t respect her in the slightest. And yet you have used God’s holy name as a cuss word. That’s called “blasphemy,” and it’s very serious in God’s eyes. He promises that whoever takes His name in vain will not be guiltless. One more question. Jesus said that if we look with lust we commit adultery in our heart. Have you ever looked with lust at someone? If you’re normal, you have.
So here is a summation of your court case. You have admitted to being a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. So on Judgment Day, when God judges you by the Ten Commandments, are you going to be innocent or guilty? Guilty, of course.Will you therefore go to Heaven or Hell? The answer is that if you die in your sins, you have God’s promise that you will end up in Hell. The wages you’ve earned is the death sentence. The Bible says that all liars will be cast into the lake of fire, and no thief, no adulterer, and no blasphemer will inherit the kingdom of God.
Does that make you fearful? If it does, that is good. Fear is doing its beneficial work. It’s being your friend, not your enemy, by showing you that you need God’s mercy. You need a “parachute” before you pass on into eternity. It’s also humbling you so that you will be able to understand the good news of the gospel—that God offers you a parachute in Jesus Christ, the Savior. Here now is the good news: The Ten Commandments are God’s “moral Law.” You and I broke the Law, but Jesus paid the fine in His life’s blood. That’s what happened when He died on the cross. That’s why He said just before He died, “It is finished!” In other words, the debt has been paid in full. If you’re in court and someone pays your fine, the judge can let you go even though you are guilty. In doing so, he still does what is legal, right, and just. Does that make sense? Even though you are guilty, you are free to walk out of the courtroom, because someone has paid your fine. The Bible says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God proved His great love for you through the cross. Then Jesus rose from the dead, and defeated the power of the grave.
It is because Jesus paid the fine for sin on the cross that God can dismiss your case. You can walk out of His courtroom on Judgment Day. He can commute your death sentence and legally let you live forever, all because Jesus paid the fine for sin in full on that cross. Does that make sense? He paid the fine, so you can be free from the penalty of death. God has made the way to find everlasting life so simple that a child can understand it. All you need to do is be honest and humble.You simply have to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus alone. Repentance means to turn from sin. You can’t say you’re a Christian and continue to lie, steal, and blaspheme God’s name. That would be to deceive yourself and play the hypocrite. Your repentance must be sincere to be genuine. Then you trust in Jesus alone, as you would trust in a parachute. You do what the Bible says to do—“put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (see Romans 13:14).
Remember, the moment you trusted in that parachute, you knew the law of gravity no longer had any power over you. In the same way, the moment you put your trust in Jesus for your eternal salvation, the moral Law has no power over you: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2) Does that make sense? If it doesn’t, reread what I’ve written until it does because this is so important. It’s where you will spend eternity. It’s the salvation of your soul, which is far more precious than your eyes. So today, repent and trust in Jesus, because the reality is, you may not have tomorrow. If you’re not sure how to repent, here is a model prayer of repentance, given to us in Scripture when King David had his sin exposed: Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:1–4)
Whatever you do, don’t trust in your goodness to save you, as most people do. That’s like flapping your arms when you jump out of a plane. It’s not going to work. You’re not a good person; you’re like the rest of us. Transfer your trust from yourself to the Savior. We trust doctors and pharmaceutical companies when we take pills, cables when we step into an elevator, and pilots when we fly on planes. Doctors can make mistakes, elevators can let us down, and pilots sometimes make deadly mistakes. But God will never let you down. He is without sin, and because of that, the Scriptures tell us that it is impossible for Him to lie. Therefore, trust Him with all of your heart, right now. Please, don’t put it off for another second. Then make sure you pick up a Bible and read it daily, and obey what you read. Prayer is us talking to God, but reading the Bible is God speaking to us, and we need to be swift to hear and slow to speak. May God bless you and keep you.
Sincerely,
Ray Comfort
— Read on https://www.livingwaters.com/how-to-be-free-from-the-fear-of-death/
The gospel that Paul preached to them proclaimed salvation by grace alone received through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. This message is great news for sinners because it reveals that salvation, from first to last, is God’s work and not dependent on anything in us. It eliminates any basis for pride as well as any cause to despair. Those whom God saves are made right with Him not because of anything they have done or not done, but because they have been “called…in the grace of Christ” (v. 6).
Sometimes, what is not said speaks more loudly than actual words. The silence, as we say, is deafening. In the opening verses of his letter to the churches of Galatia, the apostle Paul employs this communication technique to underscore the seriousness of the subject at hand. As he does in all of his letters, Paul begins by identifying himself as the author, naming the intended recipients, and pronouncing a blessing on them (1:1–5).
It is what comes next that is so uncharacteristic for him. Immediately after his introductory comments, and before launching into the body of the letter, Paul writes…nothing. He offers no expression of gratitude to God for them or words of encouragement about their spiritual vitality.
When compared to his other warm greetings (for example, Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:1–5; Eph. 1:15–23; Phil. 1:3–11), what Paul does not say to the Galatians speaks volumes.
He leaves no doubt about the seriousness and urgency of the topic of his letter. His burden is to explain and defend the true gospel of God’s grace. He launches into the subject early and writes with a fiery tone, employing sarcasm, threats, warnings, and rebukes to get his points across.
When the economy was shuttered it was presented as being about lives vs. money, and anyone who had a problem with the closure must have wanted people to die.
Or maybe there was more to it. What follows is a humorous appeal for everyone to tone it down and use reasons rather than empty rhetoric.
The bisexual, pro-choice Bari Weiss, and homosexual Andrew Sullivan (one of the most vocal voices in favor of gay “marriage”) both recently felt the need to resign from the Left-leaning New York Times. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood – the world’s largest abortion network – is scrubbing the name of its founder, Margaret Sanger from their New York clinic. It’s shades of 2 Chronicles 20.
The battle in our culture is in some ways a battle over the dictionary, and what words actually mean. As Calgary’s Chief Constable Mark Neufeld recently noted, “everyone has a different idea of what defunding police means. ‘For some, this is about diverting money, for some this is about dismantling police and for others, it’s about disarming police…’”
ARPA Canada’s Levi Minderhoud has written a thought-provoking series on the Canadian government’s response to COVID-19. You can find the four parts here:
When do we submit to the government, and when do we have to defy it? To find out we need to go to the Bible, and that’s what these two Reformed leaders do. While on first read they might seem to be totally opposing each other, it’s important to understand they are talking about two different situations: church closures and the wearing of masks.
Michael Shellenberger was named one of TIME magazine’s 2008 “Heroes of the Environment,” and is now issuing an apology on behalf of environmentalists as a whole, for their tendency to hype the dangers of climate change.
He’s not Christian and a logical question to ask is, why should we believe this environmentalist over the ones prophesying doom and gloom? He’s more credible because his perspective gets one thing right that the other environmentalists regularly don’t: he is measuring proposals first and foremost for what they would do for people. He recognizes that Man is special, and that has him evaluating how best to preserve the environment in a very different way than those who view Man as being a curse on the planet.
An Ontario videographer is in trouble for being unwilling to video a same-sex “marriage.” Why she declined is unclear, but, from a Christian perspective, are there good reasons to decline to participate in a gay “marriage”? Yes, as the video below notes (one warning: there are a couple of brief visual depictions of Jesus). John Piper also weighs in here.
via Saturday Selections – July 25, 2020 — Reformed Perspective
…but, there will be no media-friendly web site listing the long and lingering effects of the lockdowns…
Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,
It is unlikely that pundits, politicians, and the general public have ever been so obsessed with numbers as they are right now. I speak, of course, of the numbers surrounding deaths and illnesses attributed to COVID-19.
For months now, every new day has brought new headlines about total COVID-19 infections, total deaths, and estimates put out by models claiming to predict how many deaths will soon occur.
These numbers have become the focal points of many politicians’ careers. This is especially true for state governors and other politicians in executive positions who now in this time of “emergency” essentially rule by decree. New edicts are regularly issued by policymakers, allegedly based on an assessment of the all-important numbers. These decrees may unilaterally close businesses, cut people off from important medical procedures, ban religious gatherings, or even attempt to confine people to their homes. Those who refuse to comply may have their livelihoods destroyed.
“The Number” becomes the standard by which all behavior is judged. Will Activity X increase The Number or decrease it? For those who wish to engage in Activity Z, they must first prove that it will not increase The Number. Nothing shall be allowed that doesn’t have a good effect on The Number.
But there’s a problem with this way of doing things: the number in question only tells us about the one thing being measured. If we only have a number for that one thing, then we tend to ignore all the other things that aren’t being assigned a number.
Things get even more lopsided if one number is being continually updated in real time, while other numbers are updated only occasionally.
We can certainly see all of this this at work in the COVID-19 debate. During March 2020 much of the population suddenly became very interested in the latest COVID-19 totals. Johns Hopkins University created a web site to show the spread of the disease, and Worldometer — a site normally only useful for checking the population of, say, Bolivia — began publishing continually updated numbers on total COVID-19 cases and deaths. Models predicting the future course of the disease began to spring up. The ever-rising total deaths number then was compared against the predictions of the models — such as the Imperial College London model predicting more than 2 million deaths in the United States.
This immediately changed the terms of the debate over what measures to take in response to COVID-19. Faced with rising COVID-19 numbers at Worldometer and related sites, and accompanied by news stories asserting hospitals everywhere will soon run out of room, panicky voters began to demand action from politicians.
“Look at that terrible number!” was essentially the “argument.” This was followed by the phrase “do something!” Seeing that their opportunity to seize vast new powers had arrived, health bureaucrats were quick to pounce: “quarantine everyone!” they demanded. “there’s no time to consider the downside.”
Nearly overnight, the only numbers that mattered anymore were the COVID-19 numbers.
When the advocates for coerced “lockdowns” business closures and stay-at-home orders finally prevailed, a minority nonetheless asked: what are the negative effects of these measures?
These people were thoroughly ignored. They didn’t have any continually-updating, media-friendly, easy-to-access numbers on their side.
In fact, the numbers that illustrated the dark side of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders only began to trickle out, any without any online ticker to announce every new case.
For instance, in April, doctors began to report they were seeing more cases of severe child abuse (both sexual and non-sexual) than before the lockdowns. The lockdowns cut children off from relatives and settings that offered an escape from abuse. Moreover, the likelihood for abuse increased as the lockdown put more financial and emotional stress on families. But did child abuse receive much media attention? Certainly not. Child abuse victims have no dedicated website with a number that’s posted daily at CNN or The Drudge Report.
We encounter a similar problem with suicides and drug overdoses .Although there is much evidence that suicides, drug overdoses, and other “deaths of despair ” have increased as a result of lockdowns, these threats to life and limb have received little attention by politicians and media outlets looking to maximize fears of COVID-19. Once again, suicides and drug overdoses have no “daily death toll” relentlessly featured in media stories. These deaths aren’t counted in real time.
Even worse, perhaps, are the measures adopted by state governors that reduce access to essential medical care. As a result of this widespread effort to deny basic medical care to non-COVID patients, hundreds of doctors in May, organized by Dr. Simone Gold, published an open letter to Donald Trump calling for action to end the medical lockdowns. The letter states that the Americans denied treatment under COVID lockdowns includes
150,000 Americans per month who would have had a new cancer detected through routine screening that hasn’t happened, millions who have missed routine dental care to fix problems strongly linked to heart disease/death, and preventable cases of stroke, heart attack, and child abuse. Suicide hotline phone calls have increased 600%.
Further complicating matters is the fact many of the negative repercussions of lockdowns and business closures lead to long-term costs. We know that unemployment brings higher mortality due to a wide variety of ailments, long after the initial period of unemployment began.
Yet the impact of unemployment on mortality and mental health was almost entirely ignored. This was partly due to the fact that unemployment numbers are not updated daily, as COVID-19 numbers are. The fact 40 million Americans lost their jobs during the lockdowns — and more than 20 million remain unemployed today — continues to be treated as a minor affair. Any increased mortality that results will be labeled simply as a “heart attack.” No connection will be made to the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Thus, the Gold letter continues:
The millions of casualties of a continued shutdown will be hiding in plain sight, but they will be called alcoholism, homelessness, suicide, heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. In youths it will be called financial instability, unemployment, despair, drug addiction, unplanned pregnancies, poverty, and abuse.
In other words, there will be no media-friendly web site listing the long and lingering effects of the lockdowns. There will be no list of abused children, the destitute, the suicides, and the victims of drug abuse who couldn’t get the help they needed. There will be no list of cancer patients denied care because their states’ governors decided cancer diagnostics were “elective” medical procedures.
Indeed, so unimportant are the deaths and illnesses uncounted in any any government tally, that politicians are now talking about another round of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns. Los Angeles city officials are threatening to impose new lockdown measures, and at least one county in Texas has implemented a stay-at-home order.
Those who support these measures need only point to the official statistics: “see, we must do something to keep this COVID-19 number from getting bigger!” The number will be there for all to see.
But the child abuse, the suicides, and the cancer deaths? There’s no Worldometer number to point to.
There’s an important lesson here. Since the nineteenth century, government bureaucrats, politicians, and other advocates for more government action have long sought greater use of government statistics as a means of justifying government interventions in the marketplace. In this way of thinking, that which is measured is that which merits government planning.
It’s simply another illustration of Frederic Bastiat’s lesson of “the seen” versus “the unseen.” As with most government interventions, the public is only interested in the easily seen “benefits” of government intervention. All the unseen costs of that intervention are simply ignored. Paying government workers to provide a “service” that almost nobody wants? That “creates jobs.” That can easily be seen and measured. The lost wealth that results from such a pointless endeavor? That’s hard to measure, and can be ignored.
But we’re now learning that, in order to be counted among the “seen,” it’s not enough to just have an occasionally updated statistic. If we want our statistic to receive a lot of attention, it must be easily-found by the public, and be easy for journalists—most of whom lack the skills to engage in serious research—to use. A daily-updated COVID-19 death number, will beat an an annual estimate of drug overdoses any day.
This is partly why the pandemics of 1958 and 1969 received so much less attention – even though the 1958 pandemic remains deadlier than the current pandemic. Those pandemics had no web site, and no concerted media effort to maximize attention paid to a daily-mounting death toll.
— Read on www.zerohedge.com/political/covid-panic-lesson-using-statistics-get-your-way-politics
Ya think?
A new poll from Pew Research finds that 72% of American adults think social media companies wield too much power and influence over politics.
According to a survey conducted last week, just 22% of Americans believe Silicon Valley technocrats hold the ‘right amount’ of political power, while just 6% believe it’s ‘not enough.’
Nearly 9 out of 10 ‘conservative Republicans’ (89%) feel social media platforms have too much power vs. 74% of ‘moderate or liberal Republicans,’ while liberal Democrats are slightly more likely than moderate or conservative Democrats to agree (68% vs. 60%).
Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats believe social media companies wield too much power, but Republicans are particularly likely to express this view. Roughly eight-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (82%) think these companies have too much power and influence in politics, compared with 63% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely than Republicans to say these companies have about the right amount of power and influence in politics (28% vs. 13%). Small shares in both parties believe these companies do not have enough power. –Pew Research
The results echoed a similar 2018 Center survey which found that Republicans were more likely than Democrats to believe social media platforms censor political content, and are biased towards liberal views.
On July 27, CEOs of Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google will appear together in front of Congress for the first time to testify before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, which has spent the last year investigating competition within the tech industry.
Beyond debates about fair business practices, the tech industry has also come under fire in recent months from a host of critics – from President Donald Trump to civil rights advocates and even tech companies’ own employees.
Amid these concerns, Americans favor more, not less, regulation of major technology companies, according to the Center’s recent survey. Some 47% of the public thinks the government should be regulating major technology companies more than they are now, while just 11% think they should be regulated less. About four-in-ten (39%) believe regulation should stay at its current level. –Pew Research
Will lawmakers push for oversight so that Silicon Valley tech platforms stop discriminating along party lines?
July 25.—Morning. [Or February 15.]
“Behold the wicked abominations that they do.”
DURING the reign of Zedekiah, the prophet Ezekiel was upon the banks of the Chebar with the exiles who had been carried away in the days of Jehoiachin. Let us read one of his prophetic visions.
Ezekiel 8
2 I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
Probably the image of Astarte, the queen of heaven, or the Syrian Venus; idolaters have usually had some favourite female idol, and the Romanists have followed closely in their track.
4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
5 ¶ Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6–8 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? (To set up the image of a licentious divinity in the temple itself was enough to move the Lord to withdraw his glorious presence from the temple for ever. Are there not also sins in us which might lead the Holy Spirit to depart from us?) but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. (They practised the degrading worship of the Egyptians, by whom loathsome animals and insects were reverenced.)
11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
These seventy represented the whole nation which had fallen into the basest superstition.
13 ¶ He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house, which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. (Celebrating a most lascivious festival, too wicked to be described. It is terrible when vice is made a part of religion. The popish confessional leads to much the same results.)
15 ¶ Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. (The leaders of the twenty-five courses of the priests had gone over to sun worship! This was worst of all.)
17, 18 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Such provoking sins demanded punishment. We cannot make idols for ourselves without storing up trouble for a future time. Flee idolatry.
July 25.—Evening. [Or February 16.]
“In wrath remember mercy.”
THE divine messenger, who had shown to Ezekiel the sin of Jerusalem, afterwards showed him the punishment of that erring city.
Ezekiel 9
1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. (God has messengers of vengeance, and these are fully armed to effect his terrible purpose. What would become of us if he were to send them forth at this moment?)
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; (Two destroyers were enough for Sodom, but Jerusalem must have six, one at each gate.) and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side (He was among the six, but not of them: he was distinguished by his priestly robe, and from him some hope of mercy might come. Who is this but our Prophet and Priest, the Lord Jesus?) And they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. (To protect it, and avenge the defilements it had suffered.)
3, 4 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. (Our great High Priest keeps the book of life, and seals his own, so that no evil shall touch them. He is best fitted for this work, for he knows them that are his. Mercy’s pen does its work, and takes precedence of the sword of vengeance. Penitence is the peculiar mark of grace: those who sigh and cry on account of sin shall live.)
5, 6 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. (Dreadful words, “begin at my sanctuary.” If the house of God is the starting-point of judgment, where will the ungodly and the wicked appear? Yet see how safe are those whom grace has set apart! Their deliverer goes before the destroyer, and saves his own.) Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
What gratitude filled the prophet’s heart when he saw that he was left; but he was not selfish, he began at once to intercede for the people. Do we attend to this?
9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.
10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
Sin may have become so aggravated that intercession is powerless, for wrath is determined.
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (See how faithful Christ is. Is he bidden to secure deliverance to the righteous remnant? He has so done, and exclaims, “Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none.”)
Though destruction stalk around us,
And th’ avenger marches by,
God’s own power and love surround us,
We are safe, for Christ is nigh.
Holy Ghost, with light divine,
Shine upon this heart of mine;
Chase the shades of sin away,
Turn my darkness into day.
Light up every dark recess
Of my heart’s ungodliness;
Cast down every idol throne,
Reign supreme, and reign alone.[1]
[1] Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (pp. 441–442). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Relaxed, humorous and interesting interview between Barstool Sports Dave Portnoy, and President Donald Trump WATCH:
via President Trump Interview with Dave Portnoy….. — The Last Refuge
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More Countries Ban Muslim Brotherhood
The United States should join them. Then we can begin to prosecute Muslim Brotherhood terror-tied groups like CAIR, MAS, ISNA et al.
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Wife of ABC News Hack George Stephanopoulos Says Parents Should Watch Porno with Their Young Kids
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America in 2020 is a nation that is hopelessly confused, we have removed God from our courtrooms and classrooms and as a result we are like blind men feeling our way through in the darkness. The religion of America is major league sports, it has been that way for some time now, Roger Goodell of the NFL famously said last year that the Super Bowl is the biggest holiday in the United States. Don’t get mad, her’s right. Did you know the word ‘holiday’ comes from ‘holy day’ meaning a day of worship? He’s right about that, too.
Gametime: Attorney General Barr Sets His Sights On George For Subverting Legal System and Causing “Increase in Violent Crime and More Victims”
…Well, most of us thought that George would probably never have a United States Attorney General who would even dare to utter George’s name, never mind to put him on notice that he is on the DOJ’s radar. William Barr appears to be the man with exactly what it takes to call out George, and all of the unrest he is accused of fostering around the nation, and the globe.
Washington, D.C., mandates face masks for the public, but exempts all lawmakers and government employees
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