Yes, They Were Guilty.

The trouble with youth is that they think that the world did not begin until they were born. "We don't know who _________ is," as one of my students used to say.

I was in college. Liberals were crying that Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty of espionage because Truman and Eisenhower didn't like their political opinions. I admired Ike for sticking to his principles and sending them to execution. Now, their co-conspirator, Morton Sobell, now 90-some years old, has admitted guilt as a Soviet spy.

Why is this important? It is important because very often the past is the key to the present. Those who rebel against authority use the same devices again and again. The guilty attack the witnesses against them, and impugn the honor of those who would hold them to account.

Liberals use the same devices year after year after year. Attack the accuser, call them bigoted and angry, defame their honor, refuse to listen to those who have experience.

"Indeed, Columbia University professor Eric Foner once wrote that the Rosenbergs were prosecuted out of a 'determined effort to root out dissent,' part of a broader pattern of 'shattered careers and suppressed civil liberties.' In other words, it was part of the postwar McCarthyite 'witch hunt.' "

The liberals of the 40's and 50's refused to admit that the United States was in a struggle with the Soviet Union for the very life of freedom and morality. They viciously attacked those who would bring them to account. Their spiritual children use the same devices against those who would defend liberty today.

They did not use argument or lawful procedures then, and they do not use lawful procedures now. They complain, they gripe, they moan and groan, they slander their opponents, they try to dig up dirt to destroy their enemies, and would leave a burnt earth behind them, if responsible people do not say "enough." Thank God there were enough sane people back then who were able to understand what was going on.

This is the misery of the young. Those who refuse to listen to history are bound to repeat it.

Eating Veggies Shrinks the Brain
from The Times of India

"Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage."
-------

Question: are you a vegan because of a small brain, or are you small-brained because you are a vegan? Or does it matter?

1 ¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
--1Tim. 4:1-5

Be sure to check Political Figs

Why They Hate Her.

"The simple fact of her being a pro-life married mother of five with a thriving political career was--before anything else about her was known--enough for the left and its outliers to target her for destruction. She could not be allowed to contradict symbolically one of the central narratives of the left. How galling it will be to Sarah Palin's many new enemies if she survives this assault and prevails. If she does, her success may be an important moment in the struggle to shape not just America's politics but its culture." from the Weekly Standard

==============

Read this article. I have said for a long time that the major issues of our day all have a sexual component. The roots are the the rise of the spirit of anarchy in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Chesterton said that the greatest peril in the future would be from the super rich elite who would insist upon the privilege of engaging in any kind of sexual behavior and practice, no matter how perverse, without experiencing any evil consequences. The destruction of the family would be central to the realization of these goals, for young boys and young girls must be available for the indulgence of the passions of the reprobate.

There are new posts at Political Figs.

RealClearPolitics - Articles - Palin Doesn't Matter, Numbers Do: "The Sarah Palin 'boom' that has so traumatized Democrats and intimidated the press will have little if any impact on the presidential election. People don't vote for vice presidents, they vote for presidents. This race is about John McCain and Barack Obama not Annie Oakley from Wasilla, Alaska. It is also about turnout numbers and the electoral demographics in 2008 which overwhelm any impact Sarah Palin might have on the election outcome."
---------

You remember Bob Beckel, don't you? Of course you don't. He was the architect of the wildly successful Mondale campaign against Ronald Reagan back in 1984. Mondale and Ferarro overwhelmed the electorate by winning the electoral votes of D.C. and Minnesota. I hope the Obama people take his observations seriously. They still don't get the Palin phenomenon. Annie Oakley indeed. Once an Eastern effete snob, always an Eastern effete snob. If anyone actually reads his article, it ought to provide a few extra votes for the McCain/Palin ticket.

I have been so re-invigorated by the McCain/Palin ticket that I might begin writing more on politics. For now, everyone ought to read a most insightful analysis of the McCain strategy by clicking on THIS LINK. The article appears in the Jerusalem Post. I honestly do not know what McCain may be able to do in Washington, but that uncertainty is a whole world better than what I KNOW that Obama will do. Watch this site and especially the Political Figs link on the menu to the right.

Check out Political Figs: click on link on menu to the right.

Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster - Telegraph

Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster - Telegraph: "In his most outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said that multi-national companies were conducting an experiment with nature which had gone 'seriously wrong'.

The Prince, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, also expressed the fear that food would run out because of the damage being wreaked on the earth's soil by scientists' research."
-----------

Following the myth of man-made global warming, we abandon oil for methane, drive up the price of food by turning land to growing fuel instead of food, turn to hybrids to get more yield, which destroy the water tables, which result in man-made famine.

Good for Prince Charles. He might be a food nut, but maybe not. Maybe there is a reason for royalty, after all. At least we should have this debate. The mad, stupid rush for "alternative" fuels may prove to be a disaster of biblical proportions. Why DID God forbid "mixing the seed" in the field? eh? Does it have more than a ceremonial meaning?
See Deut. 22:9-11 and like passages.

Note: I am reviving "Political Figs" and there is a new post there. See the link at the menu to the right.

What Do You Talk About?

I read years ago, when I was a boy, that regular conversation may be a measure of intelligence, and I think it is true.

Stupid people only talk about things; smarter people talk about people; intelligent people talk about ideas. Some people never rise above talking about their cars, their houses, their pets, their gardens. Others only talk about their neighbors, relatives, and friends. They get bored with ideas.

The brightest people I know will speak of these things but can shift easily from things and people to great and lofty ideas about God, truth, and morals. One of the blessings of my circle of friends in church and seminary is this very thing; ideas fascinate them.

But I do not think that conversation is an function of intelligence only; it also has to do with spiritual understanding. Those who reject the great doctrines of Scripture become obsessed with details of things and the failures of people. They miss the lofty and majestic sweep of the ideas of the Bible. Nicodemus was one of these, although a teacher in Israel. "How can a man be born when he is old?" he asked Jesus. To him, born meant born, so Jesus was talking nonsense about being born again.

I hope I am not a snob, but please, just a few sentences about how you fixed your car, repaired your deck, cute things your dog does, or your new appliances--they are of marginal interest to me. A few more sentences about your relatives, children, friends, and neighbors will provide some comic relief or let me know how to pray for you--but please no character assassination, please. I know enough meanness without having you tell all the dirt you know about the people you know. I am interested in some things about yourself, but mostly how you think, not about what you had for breakfast. Not just the troubles or successes you have had, but what you think about them, and what you have learned from them.

Anybody for a discussion on regeneration, the work of the Holy Ghost, or God's care and providence for his people? Or, you name the topic. What about capitalism vs. socialism, or the evils of public welfare systems, or the evils of using slander to govern the church? Hmmmm.

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

Jesus said that. Solomon put it a bit differently: "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity." (Ec 7:6) Lots of noise but only a flash of fire.

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." (Pr 10:11)

Perfectionism

It was a joke during the 60's when the rebellion against the "system" was in full throat. We laughed at those who refused to conform to the prevailing standards of non-conformity. The rebels dressed the same, wore the same long, unkept hair, smelled the same, read the same books [if they read], and insisted on the same music. They cleaned up a little later, in the 70's and 80's, but their non-conformity still was boringly uniform. They even joined churches and forced everyone to conform to their own dippy music and boring informality.

The Bible does indeed call us to perfection. Christ's gifts to the church are for the "perfection of the saints," according to Ephesians 4. Hebrews 13 records a benediction for the church: "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

It is not the purpose of this blog to interpret the above passages or others like them, but to poke a bit of fun at a different kind of perfectionism, the person who abandons a church that teaches a high standard of Christian behavior and accuses the church of teaching "perfectionism."

Strange, isn't it? The church does not measure up to this person idea of what a church should be. His idea of a perfect church is one that does not teach high standards of behavior. Hence, the church is not perfect and must be abandoned. Because the church and ministry will not bow to his idea of perfection, he feels compelled to abandon it and seek a church that will be "perfect." Do you see the irony?

The Heidelberg Catechism, on the question of human authority and institutions, speaks against all forms of perfectionism. Question 104:

Q104: What does God require in the fifth Commandment? A104: That I show all honor, love and faithfulness to my father and mother, and to all in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God's will to govern us by their hand.

Parents should certainly strive for high standards of behavior; governments ought to do the best they can. Churches should strive after conformity to the Scriptures. Every individual Christian must diligently put off the old man and put on the new. We are commanded to "Awake to righteousness, and sin not." [1Cor. 15:34].

But the Bible recognizes the reality of sin and failure. Men are not perfect and even the church that calls men to striving after excellence is not perfect.

The exhortation of the catechism to "bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God's will to govern us by their hand" forces us to abandon the idea that everyone must bow to our wishes.

The government of the church belongs to those who are duly chosen under the authority and constitutions of the churches. The churches are not to be ruled by those who seek to impose their own imperfectionistic perfectionistism and to insist that everyone perfectly conform to their own brand of perfectionism.

Sin, of course, is not rational. People will destroy the peace of the Sabbath by insisting that everyone keep it the way they do; People will destroy the communion of the church by raising quarrels over Holy Communion; People will judge the law by condemning people for things they do themselves, as if the law is partial.

What happened to solid preaching?

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." (2Ti 4:2-5)

Is there a manual somewhere that preachers follow nowadays? I mean, other than the Scriptures.

If there is, the first rule must go something like this: "You must preach the truth, as you see it; you must be tough on evil, but kind and loving. You must make certain that people know that you are not talking about anyone in particular, you are only against evil in the abstract. The evil you speak of must be popular, incorrect wickedness, like racism, pollution, and injustice, and definitely not include sodomy, slander, malice, filthy talking, fornication, and unbelief. Social sins are very much in, and you may preach all you want about those, but stay away from personal wickedness, for that makes people uncomfortable. You must hold your finger to the wind, because truth changes and mores change and you don't want to be talking about yesterday's truth, yesterday's evils, and yesterday's virtues. You must be cutting edge. Most of all, you must not speak of repentance or hell or the wrath of God, for these things make people feel bad. There is good is all of us, and your duty is to connect with the good."

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you." (Jer 23:16-17)

The Beauty of the Gospel Invitation

No sweeter words were ever uttered on this earth than these words by our Lord Jesus:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Mt 11:28 AV)

The weary soul needs rest. The heart burdened with fear and guilt needs rest. The person who is beaten down with weakness and sorrow needs rest.

This is not an invitation for the proud, the strong, the arrogant, or the person who is full of himself. This is for the weary of the earth.

The rest He promises is forgiveness of sins, mercy, understanding, and renewal.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa 40:31 AV)

Promising Liberty

"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

"And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

"And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

"And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." --Acts 19-13-16

--------------------------

The devil will not go away just because somebody tells him to, or pretends that he is not doing his devil-work. Only Christ has authority over the devils and His power reveals that the kingdom of God has come (Mt 12:28). There are many voices crying in the wilderness that are part of the wilderness. They pretend that they can overcome evil, but the evil in their own hearts shows them to be liars.

A man is incapable of banishing malice and ill-will from his own heart. The strong man keeps the city and will not let it go. Ill-will toward our brother is as natural as breathing.

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." --Galatians 5:19-21

Satan keeps his kingdom and rules it with lies and malice, and no one can deliver himself. Man pretends, of course, for the natural man is a great hypocrite and is capable of a form of godliness that denies the power. He calls evil good and good evil, but none can deliver his own soul.

"He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isa 44:20)

Being unable to deliver himself from the power of the devil, how does a man think he can save others? Seven times nothing is still nothing, as the sons of Sceva discovered. They are blind leaders of the blind, clouds and wind without rain, in bondage to their own corruption and promising to deliver others. Deceived and deceivers.

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." (2Pe 2:19)

"Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." (Eph 4:18-19)

"Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (Joh 8:34-36)

It is the Promise of God


Pr 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
Pr 10:10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

Two kinds of empty hearts are described here:

The ignorant man, void of wisdom in the heart: Pr. 10:8 says that the prating fool who is empty of wisdom in the heart will fall. His wisdom is only of the lip [prating fool, roughly from the Hebrew means "fool of lips."] He has a show of wisdom and talks a good talk, but he has only a show. His folly will be revealed and he falls. Pr 25:14 "Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain." There is a great deal of bluster and blow and the foolish are deceived, but the clouds and wind produce no rain.

The man who speaks hypocitically and winks with the eye. He is another kind of prating fool. He speaks one thing and winks to his comrades to show that he means something else. The politician, after the primary is won, moves toward the center, saying things to appeal to the general polulation, but there is always a "wink, wink" [figurative, of course] to let the base know that he doesn't really mean it.

Both types of fools "fall" because their "wisdom" is of the lips only. The offense of the second is probably the worse, because he is deliberately deceptive. But the end of both is the same, utter destruction and ruin.

The effect of ignorance, however, can be the same as that of hypocrisy. In both cases the heart is far from God.

Smelling Your Own Smell

Having no place else to go, the old bum stretched out on the park bench that afternoon. It was a beautiful day in late spring and he was content. The sun was warm and he was soon fast asleep.

A couple of boys came by and spotted the old man and decided they would have some fun. Popping into a corner market they purchased some limburger cheese and carefully smeared some of it on the old hobo's mustache. He stirred and wrinkled his nose, but did not wake up. The boys watched him for a while, but soon got bored and went off down the street.

The old man slept on for about thirty minutes and then stirred and set up. He wrinkled his nose and looked around him with a puzzled look on his face.

He got up and crossed the grass to the sidewalk. Just then a pretty girl walked past him. He sniffed, wrinkled his face in disgust, and muttered something. There were some beautiful flowers growing in a flowerbed next to the sidewalk. He reached down, picked one, and put it to his nose. He threw it away and swore under his breath.

He crossed the street to his favorite bar. Few people were in there at that early afternoon hour and he plopped down on a stool. "A beer," he said to the bartender. The bartender knew he didn't have any money, but once in a while he would give him one on the house. Something about the old bum appealed to him. He poured the beer and slid it down the counter.

The old man lifted the beer to his mouth, wrinkled his nose, and set the beer down.

"Ain't it awful?" he said.

"What's awful?" said the bartender.

"The whole world smells rotten!"

Moral: If everything stinks, you are probably smelling your own smell.


"Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." (Jas 4:11)

The Hearing of Babylon

Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. --Acts 17:18

Have you ever studied the idolatry of the Greeks? Have you ever read the stories of the gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, Aris, Hestia? And Jesus seemed strange?

Nowadays to a great many of the elites in this great nation, educated in elite universities, the Christian faith seems strange also. They can accept the stupidity of evolution, man-made global warming, political correctness, green politics, etc., but forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ seems like babbling.

It isn't the message, though. It's the ears. The babbling is in the ears.

1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

John 10:26, 27 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

John 8:47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

You must believe Moses.

Jesus said it plainly, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" John 5:46, 47

God created the reality, the "isness" of the world, so that there would be something into which His appointed Redeemer would come. You don't get to watch the play if you don't go to the theater.

Creation and history are the stage upon which the drama of redemption in Jesus Christ is performed. But this is where man's problem emerges.

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." He refuses to acknowledge or submit to the God who created the world and all that is in it. He imagines the world as something very different than it is: a world that just "is," that has no purpose, no end, and no Owner. Because of this man dreams that he can impose his own reality on the world, and mold it into an instrument for his wickedness and wicked desires. Paul puts it this way,

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." --Ephesians 4:17-19

Sinful man is blind to the reality of the world. He denies that man as a part of Creation exists and moves by the decree of God like all the rest, so sinful man tries to turn the world into an instrument of sinful desires, doing his business with all uncleanness with greediness. He comes short of the glory of God by refusing to live and use God's world for God's glory.

This is the reason for the Ten Commandments, the Law of God. They define man's sinful rebellion, and show that the world is under the rule of God.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods. If we do not start with the God of Moses, we are blind to reality and living in a dream world.
2. Thou shalt not make any graven image. Only a person who is religiously perverted would bow down or offer worship to a god he created himself. Strange!
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in Vain. If the world exists by the word of God and for the glory of God, He will certainly hold us accountable for everything we say.
4. Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy. If all things and people belong to God and live and move in Him, then man can find his peace only in God. All other searches for peace are futile and illusionary.
5. Honor thy Father and Thy Mother. God is the creator of all reality and used my mother and my father to create my reality. A person who does not honor and love his mother and father cannot love himself, his family, or the God who created him. This is the reason that under the law, cursing or striking mother or father was a crime punished by death.
6. Thou Shalt Not Kill. Man is the image of god, and the unlawful violence against man is blasphemy against God.
7. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. Adultery, Fornication, Fornication, and other sexual sins cheapens the life that has been given us by God. Human life and its generation is not a plaything or a toy to satisfy the wicked lusts of men.
8. Thou Shalt Not Steal. Every man has a fiduciary responsibility for everything that he possesses, even his own life and body. All is to be used for the glory of God. Theft usurps that responsibility, for anyone who steals deprives his victim of the right and privilege to use God's gifts for the glory of God.
9. Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness. Our words and the testimony of our lives are to be in tune with reality, not some dream. Liars of all sorts attempt to impose some strange imagination on reality and do great harm. God hates liars, for every lie is an assault upon Him and His creation.
10. Thou shalt not covet. We are to be at peace with God's creation and His providence for us. This is the only true Sabbath of rest for man, and can be achieved only through Christ: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," are the words of Christ.

Where True Hope Lies

"Cursed be he that setteth light by his mother and his father. And all the people shall say, Amen."

It is the temptation of every generation to think that the world began when they came into it. "Every man is first in his own cause," is the way Solomon put it, for the pride of man's heart is to think that he is smarter, and wiser, and better than his neighbor

There is great wisdom in a little flower that grew in my garden this past spring: One little columbine that has grown in the same spot every year for I do not know how long.

I do not know the history of this little flower. I do not know from whence the seed came. All I know is that one year it grew up there and each year it appears. But I do know: there was such a seed and there was a parent to this little flower.

Columbine comes in other colors, but this one is always white and blue. Something in its genes.

It is wisdom to be in touch with the facts of the world. The earth brings forth "after its kind," is the way Genesis puts it. Dogs cannot breed cats and onions cannot produce columbine. Man can do wonderful things by cross-breeding, genetics, and other tinkering, but it cannot go beyond the material that it has been given--there is always a parent material: only God can make something from nothing.

This is the reason for the Fifth Commandment, the first commandment with promise. There is no promise to those who cannot live with the factness of the facts. It is wisdom to know the root from whence you spring, to accept it, and not long for it to be otherwise.

My father was an unbeliever, who wandered from place to place, never worked regularly, always looking for the grass on the other side of the fence. I never remember being bitter about my parents, but I often wondered how the Fifth Commandment applied to me. It was through the ministry of a minister who spoke at a school chapel--a man whose name I do not even remember--that light came into my soul on this matter. Like so many other biblical truths, the illumination on this subject brought light on many other subjects.

Faith teaches the child of God that he is God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that he should walk therein." But the Bible does not teach that these "new creatures in Christ" are dropped into the earth directly from heaven. No, they are taken from the corrupt clay of Adam and molded to be vessels of mercy according tothe will of the Father in heaven, as Romans 9 tells us. There is no good clay from Adam, only a corrupt clay.

There are always instruments that God uses in the molding of these vessels of mercy and in honoring these instruments, we are honoring the God who made us. "To set light by mother and father" is to despise the work of God in our lives, of which they were the first instruments. To despise magistrate and ministers is to do the same thing. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it:

Q104: What does God require in the fifth Commandment?
A104: That I show all honor, love and faithfulness to my father and mother, and to all in authority over me, submit myself with due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God's will to govern us by their hand.

As a child of God I must realize that there are two major components in the forming of me according to the will of God: one of nature, and one of grace. Nature put me into the world in the first half of the 20th century, in the state of Oregon, born of English, Scots/Irish stock, without wealth, but a pretty good pedigree. The families on both sides thought they were better than the other side, but neither were right: both had "character" issues and closet skeletons. I was made to mind, given a public school education, taken to Sunday School and church, and given a Bible at an early age. That's where the grace comes in. It was much later in life that I came to know that nature could never make me a child of God. That life must come from the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Christ. Nature could only make me a child of Adam, with his nature and attributes.

I read the Bible. I heard preaching two times every Sunday and at the Wednesday prayer meetings. I sent to summer camps and vacation Bible schools. I came under conviction of sin. I never ever doubted that the Bible is the word of God, but assurance of salvation was long in coming to me.

By God's grace I learned to have mercy upon my parents and worked hard to strengthen my ties to them. My father died in 1988, my mother in 1999, and I am very happy to know that I had done all I could to honor them and love them. In honoring them, I had learned that I was honoring the God who brought me into the world and saved my soul by the blood of Christ. Although Dad in particular did not live for the praise and glory of God, yet I his son have been enabled by God's grace to praise and glorify God though my honor of my father. In this way, even my father, who seemed not be be a believer, became an instrument for the glory of God. I loved him very much and realize more every day how much I was shaped by him, some of it good--some of it bad, but all under the direction of my Heavenly Father, whose ways are beyond finding out.

Discontented and bitter souls chaff against their Maker and blame God for their troubles. Because they cannot reach up to God and unleash their bitterness on Him directly, they either turn their anger on themselves in self-destructive ways, or they war with their parents, their ministers, their governors. The war in their souls disturbs all around them and they never find success anywhere. They are the authors of their own discontent, but the havoc is spread around.

When thinking of such things, it is a blessing to come back to the lowly columbine. What a beautiful flower! God did not make it a great tree or a mighty mountain. It blooms for a few days and spreads its seeds and vanishes to bloom another year, perhaps sown in another place, its history known only to God.