Billy Idol Gets It, Why not Bush 2/2

Take me back home
There is nothin' fair in this world
There is nothin' safe in this world
And there's nothin' sure in this world
And there's nothin' pure in this world
Look for something left in this world
Start again
Come on

It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again.

I suddenly realized that Billy Idol gets it! In this world there is nothing that is fair, safe, sure, or pure. Only that which has come from above, only of Jesus Christ can these comments be made. It is interesting how Idol says, “It’s a nice day for a white wedding. It’s a nice day to start again.” I think to the future marriage supper of the Lamb when Jesus will take us to be his bride, white and pure by the washing in His blood. Truly Christ’s coming was a “nice day to start again.” The sacrifice of Jesus makes it possible for us to approach God with whom we are at enmity without Christ. Now I know Billy Idol wasn’t prophesying. He was merely lamenting that there is nothing left in the world worth anything and it would be nice to start over. It is the lament of those who have no hope, no future, and no life.

So if the man with the rebel yell, a recovering drug addict / alcoholic, sexual revolutionary, materialistic maniac can speak truth, why can’t our President? Instead, George W. Bush takes the stage, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and speaks soft, comforting words to a nation in turmoil and leads us like lambs to the slaughter. Here is what I wish our President would have said:

"Each year, we gather here to celebrate the humble life of Jesus Christ our Lord as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah who said, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I exhort you to remember Jesus and his sacrifice this season. I would say to you what the Apostle Paul said to the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

"As we approach Christmas in this time of war, we pray for freedom, and justice, and peace on Earth. We ask for God to watch over our men and women in uniform who are serving overseas. Their families miss them -- hold a seat open for them -- and pray for their safe return. America's military men and women stand for freedom -- and they serve the cause of peace. Many of them are serving in distant lands tonight, but they are close to our hearts. We pray for this nation also, for its return to Biblical truth. Dr. Abraham Kuyper, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, said in 1897, “One desire has been the ruling passion of my life . . . It is this: That in spite of all worldly opposition, God’s holy ordinances shall be established again in the home, in the school and in the State for the good of the people; to carve as it were into the conscience of the nation the ordinances of the Lord, to which Bible and Creation bear witness, until the nation pays homage again to God.” I pray this would be our ruling passion this year. May God give you and your loved ones peace this Christmas, the peace that comes from knowing His Son. God Bless America.

I guess if President Bush won’t say it, I will.

Book Reviews: Short & Sweet

[FYI: Sorry, January does not exist as a posting month but as a backfill for long articles and the like]

Below is a list of (short) book reviews I wrote to encourage others to read good literature. Our society does not encourage reading, nor independent (and godly dependent) thought. Here is my small way of trying to entrap Christians into thought-provoking and thoughtful books enforcing Biblical truth.

(This list will be added to as reviews keep coming in.)

1. Where in the World Is the Church?, Micheal Horton.
2. Maintaining the Delicate Christian Balance, Jay Adams.
3. The Mystery of Godliness, John Calvin.
4. The Art of Prophesying, William Perkins.
5. The Bible Tells Us So, R. B. Kuiper.

SDG

Christian Tribalism Chapters

Here is the collection of chapters on Christian Tribalism:

1) Resurgence
2) Defined
3) Illustrated
4) Remedied

Red October

This is a collection of my six-part series on the current Iraqi constitution (October 2005). If you are highly emotional about the Iraqi war, then please don't read this (I'd rather offend you with the Gospel). But if you're truly interested in what that constitution states, then read on:

1) Socialism as "Progress Towards Peace"
2) Supporting Islamic Socialism
3) Is Democracy Our God?
4) Federalism Redefined?
5) The Right To Bare Your Arms
6) From Cradle To Grave

My series in referenced as a noteworthy read at a few online resources, here, Answers.com, and at wikipedia.

Christian Black History Month Series

If we are to have politically correct history months, let us at least pick our own heroes!

This series is dedicated to the lost Christian forefathers and mothers of old. May it excite the Christian and bring conviction to the unbeliever.

Black History Month Series:
1. Lemuel Haynes
2. Jupiter Hammon 
3. Phillis Wheately

Second Reformation

There is much talk about reforming the church. Rick Warren of A Purpose Driven Life asserted that a Second Reformation was upon us: “It is not going to be about what does the church believe, but about what is the church doing.” Similarly, homeschooling has been lauded as a “veritable reformation of life." Calls for a reformation continue to clamor for our attention. And they all have one thing in common: they are misguided.

They stress doing instead of knowing, works instead of belief.

Yet in the context of massive and extensive Biblical ignorance, should deeds be stressed at the expense of creeds? 57% of polled “evangelicals” (homeschooled or not) believe there are other ways to heaven. Three to nine percent of Christians, according to ten years of Barna polling, have a Christian worldview!

Creeds and deeds must both exist, but every Reformation, from the OT to the 1500s and the Great Awakenings of early America all began with a return to truth. True beliefs are the foundations for true actions. Actions with false beliefs are no different than Jews offering technically-correct sacrifices to Moloch—or unbelieving Americans helping the poor in the name of their own version of the Mormon religion.

This periodic column will present a clarion call back to the principles and practices of yesteryear. Now is the time for repentance; now is the time for fasting; now is the time to pray for God’s mighty Spirit to bring us to our knees.

Here are articles promoting such a Reformation. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to gather a Second Reformation.

The Year of Calvinism
As the Church Goes So Goes the Culture
Fourth of July & Christianity
Calvinism, History & Homeschooling
When Worlds Collide
American Churches We've Been Had
2012: The Year Evangelicals Owned America

Year of Calvinism

The upcoming series on Calvin will mostly focus on the theology of Calvinism. God used Calvin, but he also used many other godly men who helped deepen the Church’s understanding of the Law and the Gospel. From the Puritans to the Princeton men, Calvinism, or Reformed theology, greatly dominated the early modern period, especially in Western Europe. It began to eclipse in the early 1800s. By then, the fruits of the Reformed faith greatly influenced Europe and England in particular. Socially, politically and economically America was the greatest fruit of Calvinism.

The who, what, when and why of Calvin & Calvinism will be explored monthly in this series. Naturally, those, such as this writer, who are zealous adherents, believe it to be the purest expression of the Gospel. It is with such zeal of triumph, hope and faith in a gracious and sovereign Lord that this series is dedicated to another Great Awakening, a Second Reformation.

Besides various secondary articles, these are the six feature articles for this year:

1. Calvin’s Life and Work
2. Calvinism: The Worldview
3. Calvinism: The Antithesis
4. Calvinism: Consequences I
5. Calvinism: Consequences II
6. Calvinism and the Future

Also: Famous American Calvinists

The Calvin Quincentenary is being celebrated in Paris, Strasbourg, Bern and Geneva.
http://www.calvin500.org/about.html

October Revolution Chapters

“Happy Halloween”—This is the extent of the Reformation in the collective memory of America. The church is not much better. Many Lutheran and Presbyterian churches know little of the Reformation and what it did for America. What would Luther think? What did our Protestant forefathers suffer and die for?—so that we may be ignorant of our past and impotent in our future?

What happened almost 500 years ago was a revolution. A revolution that revived Western Civilization, propelling it into the 21^st century. We are the offspring of Luther, Calvin and Knox—whether we agree with their theology or not.

This is the lost story of the October 31^st Revolution—of how it started and what it meant for the church and society of Europe and America.

For God’s Glory Alone: Soli Deo Gloria!

1) Luther vs. Halloween
2) Religous
3) Economics
4) Science
5) Civil Government
6) Civil Government, Again
7) Personal
8) Postscript