and its Awesome!!! I'll put up pictures. My wife and I are consulting with the Victory Media Arts team in about all the things we can do today.
(Don't worry Butthead, that just means I drove to the old homestead of NH, to visit Cheryl and we'll decide what to do today)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
If You Want To Know Why.....
I distrust government to take over anything...much less something as significant as healthcare here is a classic example.
In 1966, the year Medicare law was enacted, the cost was $3 billion and estimated to be $12 billion by 1990. Actual cost in 1990 for Medicare was $107 billion. In 2007, Medicare spent $468 billion on prescription drugs, hospital care and physician services.
Find your favorite goverment program and find its original estimate and then its actual costs. Were they less? Did those "savings" appear? Were costs held down? I'm guessing not. Government is not qualified or capable of running ANYTHING efficiently.
With numbers of this magnitude you do not ram this down a country's throat in a few weeks and say "yeah close enough on the estimates give or take a trillion...just vote it through"
Of course this just addresses the inefficiency and incompetency of government that most people are aware of. It should be enough to scare the crap out of you. However I wish there was more of an uproar to decry how un-American this whole concept is. People forced to buy insurance or pay a penalty. Business forced to buy insurance or pay a penalty. Whose America is this? Comrade Obama's I guess. I'm waiting for when those small businesses go to a few of their employees and say, "I'm laying you 2 employees off and I'm going to use your salaries to buy insurance for everyone else. Phew..good thing you two can get government insurance now huh? I bet you're relieved."
I want to file charges of governmental rape of Liberty.
In 1966, the year Medicare law was enacted, the cost was $3 billion and estimated to be $12 billion by 1990. Actual cost in 1990 for Medicare was $107 billion. In 2007, Medicare spent $468 billion on prescription drugs, hospital care and physician services.
Find your favorite goverment program and find its original estimate and then its actual costs. Were they less? Did those "savings" appear? Were costs held down? I'm guessing not. Government is not qualified or capable of running ANYTHING efficiently.
With numbers of this magnitude you do not ram this down a country's throat in a few weeks and say "yeah close enough on the estimates give or take a trillion...just vote it through"
Of course this just addresses the inefficiency and incompetency of government that most people are aware of. It should be enough to scare the crap out of you. However I wish there was more of an uproar to decry how un-American this whole concept is. People forced to buy insurance or pay a penalty. Business forced to buy insurance or pay a penalty. Whose America is this? Comrade Obama's I guess. I'm waiting for when those small businesses go to a few of their employees and say, "I'm laying you 2 employees off and I'm going to use your salaries to buy insurance for everyone else. Phew..good thing you two can get government insurance now huh? I bet you're relieved."
I want to file charges of governmental rape of Liberty.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Good Quote
I don't know why this quote struck me today...hmmm
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill
Family Update
We had a decent visit with Zach when he came home on the 4th of July. He was off with his friends for a good chunk of the time but we did snag him for almost 24 hours. He is back in Pensacola of course continuing his schooling. He will go in this section of training until mid-September. After that it’s a bit unclear. He will go to C-School in a very specific job training function but it is unclear as to whether he will stay in Pensacola or possibly go to Biloxi. He won’t find that out until the beginning of September. Zach has been a little incommunicado due to the recent suicide of his iPhone. Apparently barracks hijinx caused the iPhone to dive into the toilet. Zach also moved barracks to the “601” Barracks. He is not happy about that move. It is far away from the “downtown” of the base, does not seem to have as many amenities, and the Chow hall that is close to it is closed on the weekends. Poor Marine….he is going to have to hoof it a little more. He also doesn’t like that they put 4 to a room there as opposed to the H barracks where there were only 3.
Kt is in Washington State with Phil as of yesterday. It is surprising how quiet that makes our house. Kt so far has said the in-laws are a fun bunch. Of course that is if she can even notice they are around when Phil is there. Kt comes home August 3rd. Phil leaves his home to go to Camp Pendleton in CA on the 4th. Want to guess where Kt will want to go for Xmas?? Well that is if Phil doesn’t come to WI of course.
Ike is well…He stays up until 3:00am. Wakes up at 11 or noon. Veg’s around for awhile. Goes to Muay Tay. And when evening kicks in he goes to girl’s houses. I think that defines his whole summer. However in two weeks he will be at Football practice a lot. Yayyy.
Karen and I will be hopping out to NH in a bit for a brief visit. That should be a blast. Everytime we leave NH we push the “pause” button with our friends and then when we return we hit “resume” It makes me sad sometimes. If I were independently wealthy and didn’t need these silly things we call jobs I would love to be settled in New England on a mountain…or even better a mountain lake with a ski hill. It probably doesn’t even need to be New England..but a mountain lake with a ski hill attached…anywhere would probably be nice.
Karen has been singing with the Victory Band for a little while now and will be contributing to the Hallepalooza event this Sunday in Franklin. I'm glad she's back at it.
Kt is in Washington State with Phil as of yesterday. It is surprising how quiet that makes our house. Kt so far has said the in-laws are a fun bunch. Of course that is if she can even notice they are around when Phil is there. Kt comes home August 3rd. Phil leaves his home to go to Camp Pendleton in CA on the 4th. Want to guess where Kt will want to go for Xmas?? Well that is if Phil doesn’t come to WI of course.
Ike is well…He stays up until 3:00am. Wakes up at 11 or noon. Veg’s around for awhile. Goes to Muay Tay. And when evening kicks in he goes to girl’s houses. I think that defines his whole summer. However in two weeks he will be at Football practice a lot. Yayyy.
Karen and I will be hopping out to NH in a bit for a brief visit. That should be a blast. Everytime we leave NH we push the “pause” button with our friends and then when we return we hit “resume” It makes me sad sometimes. If I were independently wealthy and didn’t need these silly things we call jobs I would love to be settled in New England on a mountain…or even better a mountain lake with a ski hill. It probably doesn’t even need to be New England..but a mountain lake with a ski hill attached…anywhere would probably be nice.
Karen has been singing with the Victory Band for a little while now and will be contributing to the Hallepalooza event this Sunday in Franklin. I'm glad she's back at it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
"This Economy"
How bad is the economy??? I'll tell you how bad the economy is . . .It's so bad that . . "
- CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
- Jewish women are marrying for love.
- Even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration aren't paying their taxes.
- Hotwheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
- Obama met with small businesses to discuss the Stimulus Package: GE, Pfizer and Citigroup.
- McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer
- Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
- A truckload of Americans got caught sneaking into Mexico ..
- The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.
- People in Africa are donating money to Americans.
- Motel Six won't leave the light on.
- The Mafia is laying off judges.
And finally...
Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Great news...the guy who made $50 billion disappear will be investigated by the people who made $750 billion disappear.
(Note to Ichabodians...this is a joke. It's not real. It was a joke forwarded in an email from my mother. )
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Kool & The Gang
NM had their annual company show tonight at the Bradley Center. This year Danny Gokey from American Idol opened and then was followed by Kool & The Gang. I have to admit that although the middle of the show was a bit tedious, they are talented musicians and great showmen! I love the brass. You can't really see anything in this photo from my phone but you can at least see the great setup NM puts on each year when all the field agents converge on Milwaukee for "The Annual Meeting". Over 10,000 Agents and their families fly in at their own expense and pay for their lodging to attend. The Field Agent's dues to the Agent association pays for the education seminars, the rallies, and the entertainment for 5 days. The Home Office gets "invited" to participate with the field for the company show as well as participating in the Roots and Wings road race which had 8000 people this year. All in all its a great thing to see and I'm proud to work for a great company like NM.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Squirrel Update
It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing a radical decrease in the bunny, squirrel and skunk population living in my yard. Yes indeed our skunk family has moved out and I have filled in the hole again and it remains covered. My plants do not have any further damage. No bunny holes have been detected. Even the gopher from the yard fell into the water fill hole of the basketball hoop and could not escape and drowned. The neighborhood in general has returned to the critter levels I would expect in such an urban part of the city.
I have finally achieved what I had hoped for…and I’m a bit sad. It would appear that my next door neighbor who lives between me and “Squirrel Man” and has beautiful gardens called the City Dept of Animal Control on Squirrel man. My jewish lesbian neighbors didn’t like the skunks travelling back in forth in the wee hours of the morning when they would walk out of the house to go to work (Thankfully they did not know they were living under my garage at the time.) and that their fences were also being eaten by the squirrels. They didn’t like that Squirrel man left veggies in the back yard for the critters in addition to the corn and feed buffet in the front yard. Of course I had the same complaint but I would never call the city and rat him out. That just seems mean.
But the corn cob altar in the front yard is gone. The corn is cleaned up. I’ll assume the veggies are not in the back yard. I don’t see the crazy flock of poop birds hanging out on the tree behind his house just waiting to move to the tree in front of mine if there is a car underneath it.
So all is right in critter land. Balance has been restored to the urban ecology. However, this 63 year old man, a widower whom I never see with guests and watches TV until 2 in the morning yet is also up at 6:30 in the morning, can no longer do the things that probably brought him some joy. So now I feel bad. Be careful what you wish for…
I have finally achieved what I had hoped for…and I’m a bit sad. It would appear that my next door neighbor who lives between me and “Squirrel Man” and has beautiful gardens called the City Dept of Animal Control on Squirrel man. My jewish lesbian neighbors didn’t like the skunks travelling back in forth in the wee hours of the morning when they would walk out of the house to go to work (Thankfully they did not know they were living under my garage at the time.) and that their fences were also being eaten by the squirrels. They didn’t like that Squirrel man left veggies in the back yard for the critters in addition to the corn and feed buffet in the front yard. Of course I had the same complaint but I would never call the city and rat him out. That just seems mean.
But the corn cob altar in the front yard is gone. The corn is cleaned up. I’ll assume the veggies are not in the back yard. I don’t see the crazy flock of poop birds hanging out on the tree behind his house just waiting to move to the tree in front of mine if there is a car underneath it.
So all is right in critter land. Balance has been restored to the urban ecology. However, this 63 year old man, a widower whom I never see with guests and watches TV until 2 in the morning yet is also up at 6:30 in the morning, can no longer do the things that probably brought him some joy. So now I feel bad. Be careful what you wish for…
Thursday, July 16, 2009
There Once Was A Country
There once was a country that went to war for 7 years. In the course of that war, they borrowed heavily and doubled the national debt in 7 years. To remedy this situation, they decided the solution for this was to raise taxes. They did this by taxing imports and by raising sales taxes. In the accommodation of all these tax increases, bureaucracy required the number of government workers to nearly double as well to enforce the new policies. To empower this new bureaucracy, a flurry of new laws and administrative powers and controls were enacted. The subjects of this country chafed at the new tighter controls and stifling national debt. This represented a change in how revenue had been raised and policy had been enforced for over 100 years. Taxation became a central point of contention to the subjects of this country because it threatened the prosperity and autonomy of its subjects.It is interesting to note that during this time of war the trade balance shifted so that consumers were consuming more imports than they were exporting and that to accommodate this demand credit began to be extended to the consumers very commonly.
An era of peace after the war removed the stimulus of a war economy and brought about a recession in the country. People with debt in all areas of life experienced a credit crunch. The balance of trade still was favoring imports and was rendering the country’s economy more and more dependent on foreign commercial ties and foreign financial policy. That country had tried printing more paper money to finance the large debt but this increased inflation and depreciated the value of the currency. Soon foreign governments did not want the cash anymore. Even as the country’s standard of living rose, citizens in debt grew increasingly suspicious of government motives and interests. In one instance, legal cases were moved from lower courts with juries to federal courts with singular judges to decide their fate because local juries were too sympathetic . Many laws were then interpreted by federal magistrates rather than by local law. Taxes became increasingly dictated from the federal government and slowly the local governments lost their authority to tax and regulate.
After a particularly large abrogation of commonly accepted liberty and addition of a heavier tax, the subjects of this country began to unite against this intrusion into their local economies and started to protest. They petitioned government to repeal the new taxes and restore local authority for their taxation. Groups around the country formed many local protests.
Urban areas were hit the hardest with the taxes. Lots of small businesses were already economically dislocated from the recession and the large supply of cheap imports. The addition of these taxes and regulatory burdens started to undermine the loyalty of the middleclass and businessmen to the government.
In continuing efforts to increase revenue the government fiddled with various taxes including granting national monopolies to certain companies through trade policies and import taxes. The various local governments started protesting these taxes and were refusing to enforce them. The national government stepped up its enforcement and neutered local authority by getting rid of it in certain instances and consolidating power in federal hands and forcing the local governments to comply or be taken over.
When the subjects of this country could not take the intrusion of federal power and intrusion in their lives they finally banded together and threw off the yokes of that Federal government.
Can you guess which country this was and when it occurred? Does it sound familiar? I hope so but for the sake of those from public school I will just say that country mentioned above represents Colonial America from 1756 through 1776.
- As you contemplate a government that in one year will have more than tripled last year’s deficit. ($485 B in 2008, 1.85 TRILLION in 2009)
- As you contemplate a government that has taken over banks and car companies
- As you contemplate a government that is taking over Health Care (tax penalties if you do not provide it, penalties if you do not buy it, taxes to the middleclass and businessmen to subsidize it, rate setting that will destroy private insurance)
- As you contemplate a government that sacrifices its economy with Cap and Trade to solve a “world problem” that doesn’t exist while the rest of the world laughs and says “we just gained a huge competitive advantage. Stupid Americans are handing manufacturing to us on a platter.”
- As you contemplate a government that prints cash to fund its expenditures and threatens the nations fiscal soundness with rampant inflation, high interest rates, and high unemployment.
- As you contemplate a government that taxes the “rich” to give to the “poor” and calls it progressive.
- As you contemplate a government that grows increasingly unresponsive to the will of the people.
- As you contemplate a government that decides policies in federal courts rather than in its local governments.
- As you consider a government conceived in a Christian morality that has abrogated all signs of morality to the point of working against any moral code.
As you consider all these modern travesties consider that the very foundation of this country was formed to protest against them. The hymn title “We all like sheep have gone astray” is a good description of our fall from Liberty. Almost daily I hear another liberty being taken away or proposed to be taken away. I fear Americans will only know that their liberty is gone after it is gone. It literally brings tears to my eyes to think of the liberty we have surrendered away in the name of “social justice”. In reality we are surrendering our liberty in the name of economic equality. This is not what liberty is all about. That’s more what socialism is about. This is the time to stop this liberty decay. Right now I truly hope that history will repeat itself.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Welcome Ichabod Referrals...glad to have you!
Welcome Ichabod Readers. You might want to note the replies I posted to Ichabod down below as I'm sure Greg must have technical difficulties on his site and my posts don't seem to show up. ;-)
The Sermon noted in Ichabod today is available as a PDF here. I think in several ways you'll find the "Secret Shopper's" analysis lacking.
Great Faith Needs Feeding
You can also listen to the podcast here.
Great Faith Needs Feeding - Podcast
Here is the service Folder for that Sunday
July 5th Victory Service Folder
If you are new to Victory of the Lamb I'd suggest going to the website and checking it out first to set expectations. Here is the page to start with
New To Victory..
Here are two posts I made to Ichabod but they were deleted by Greg. I'm only guessing that he deleted them because after listening and reading the Sermons, it didn't jibe well with "secret Shopper's" analysis of the sermon. Transparency really bothers Greg because it goes against his preconceived notion that there is a secret conspiracy. The two deleted posts are below.
*****************************Post #1
Tim Niedfeldt has left a new comment on the post "WELS Members Visit Victory of the Movie Screen:Ano...":
Maybe I can help the "secret shopper" analyze where they went wrong in their visit. I think it was when he said he was looking for more liturgical and his friend said "It's kind of contemporary, but..."
The next point would be that he passed a WELS church 3 miles back. There are in fact 4 WELS churches within approximately 3 miles. We are in fact spaced out like this to fill this gap where no church was. All those other churches are liturgical and two of them mind-numbingly so. I think St. Paul's, Franklin or St. Jacobi, Greenfield would be perfect for you.
I'm thinking if you had gone to the website first you might have known you'd be greeted by Pastor Ben. That it's a casual environment, that we invite you to bring your coffee in to church, that if your kids are squirrely that's ok. You'd also know that Communion is offered every other week. Apparently you are amongst the 20% of people who do not check out a church's website before visiting or I'm pretty sure you would have not bothered to come.
What you could find out from me is that membership is about 85 members with about 40 of those from other WELS congregations. The rest were unchurched or under churched. We have about 120 - 130 worshiping each week. There are about 10-15 people in Adult instruction at any given time.
Here are the links to the mentioned Sermon as a pdf
http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/GetFile.aspx?File=GreatFaithNeedsFeeding.pdf
here is the podcast of it.
http://podcast.victoryofthelamb.com:8080/?p=episode&name=2009-07-13_learning_from_our_father_prayer.mp3
I can't think of a better website to post them than where they are most needed. I urge you to actually read the sermon or listen to it. I think the analysis of the "secret shopper" was a bit thin.
A note to the "secret shopper". If someone says. "hey, you should try the 6:00pm service at St. Marcus Sunday nights...It's kinda contemporary, but..." Don't bother going. I don't think "kinda contemporary" is your thing.
Tim
PS. I will post the link to the service folder for that week as well. It has the songs, readings and order of worship in it and such. I will have to visit a different computer to retrieve that for you. I will post it on my blog as well as here in a little bit.
************************** Post #2
Tim Niedfeldt has left a new comment on the post "WELS Members Visit Victory of the Movie Screen:Ano...":
Here is the link to the service folder for July 5th.
http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/public/upload/07.05.09.pdf
************************** Post #3 I just posted this on a new but related thread...We'll see if Greg can muster the courage to post the comment.
Well, I don't hold out much hope that this will be published as the last two posts were deleted, but I'll give it a shot. I assume that posting the actual sermons and service folder must have been too conflicting to the review.
No one would see that I used the term secret shopper on this site because it was all deleted. However, I used the term because the visitor was church shopping...oh I mean selective fellowshipping. I use the term secret because:
1.) He came to the church looking to find a more liturgical church. He heard about a contemporary church and went there hoping to find what he wanted in a church.(really?? I don't think you need a degree from an Ivy League school to figure that probably isn't going to happen)
2.) He was shocked to not find it that way. (Who would've thought?)
3.) He then decided to write a review for Ichabod on the Church experience. (As if he was an Ichabod reader and had high expectations that VotL would be different than portrayed by Greg?)
I would submit this was just an Ichabod secret shopper mission for a review because so far no one in the Ichabod network has been there. It has nothing to do with marketing. I would work up some other angle on that particular term. I look forward to your creativity.
I would disagree in that I think your frustration really resides in the differences between what you think Lutheranism is and what it actually is. Ichabod's and/or your straight and narrow is so narrow as to exclude most Lutherans. Add in the SJO doctrinal errors and there is very little room for good Lutheranism at all.
I understand you cannot fathom that the Gospel is proclaimed in Word and Sacrament in a contemporary setting. That little box you sit in is fine but it is a self-imposed box. I won't try to convince you otherwise because your buy-in to contemporary Lutheranism is not required for you or for me.
I won't sit around fretting too much about being kicked out. Just ask Greg. The WELS is infected with us..who's going to kick us out. Muahahahahaha!!
Tim
The Sermon noted in Ichabod today is available as a PDF here. I think in several ways you'll find the "Secret Shopper's" analysis lacking.
Great Faith Needs Feeding
You can also listen to the podcast here.
Great Faith Needs Feeding - Podcast
Here is the service Folder for that Sunday
July 5th Victory Service Folder
If you are new to Victory of the Lamb I'd suggest going to the website and checking it out first to set expectations. Here is the page to start with
New To Victory..
Here are two posts I made to Ichabod but they were deleted by Greg. I'm only guessing that he deleted them because after listening and reading the Sermons, it didn't jibe well with "secret Shopper's" analysis of the sermon. Transparency really bothers Greg because it goes against his preconceived notion that there is a secret conspiracy. The two deleted posts are below.
*****************************Post #1
Tim Niedfeldt has left a new comment on the post "WELS Members Visit Victory of the Movie Screen:Ano...":
Maybe I can help the "secret shopper" analyze where they went wrong in their visit. I think it was when he said he was looking for more liturgical and his friend said "It's kind of contemporary, but..."
The next point would be that he passed a WELS church 3 miles back. There are in fact 4 WELS churches within approximately 3 miles. We are in fact spaced out like this to fill this gap where no church was. All those other churches are liturgical and two of them mind-numbingly so. I think St. Paul's, Franklin or St. Jacobi, Greenfield would be perfect for you.
I'm thinking if you had gone to the website first you might have known you'd be greeted by Pastor Ben. That it's a casual environment, that we invite you to bring your coffee in to church, that if your kids are squirrely that's ok. You'd also know that Communion is offered every other week. Apparently you are amongst the 20% of people who do not check out a church's website before visiting or I'm pretty sure you would have not bothered to come.
What you could find out from me is that membership is about 85 members with about 40 of those from other WELS congregations. The rest were unchurched or under churched. We have about 120 - 130 worshiping each week. There are about 10-15 people in Adult instruction at any given time.
Here are the links to the mentioned Sermon as a pdf
http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/GetFile.aspx?File=GreatFaithNeedsFeeding.pdf
here is the podcast of it.
http://podcast.victoryofthelamb.com:8080/?p=episode&name=2009-07-13_learning_from_our_father_prayer.mp3
I can't think of a better website to post them than where they are most needed. I urge you to actually read the sermon or listen to it. I think the analysis of the "secret shopper" was a bit thin.
A note to the "secret shopper". If someone says. "hey, you should try the 6:00pm service at St. Marcus Sunday nights...It's kinda contemporary, but..." Don't bother going. I don't think "kinda contemporary" is your thing.
Tim
PS. I will post the link to the service folder for that week as well. It has the songs, readings and order of worship in it and such. I will have to visit a different computer to retrieve that for you. I will post it on my blog as well as here in a little bit.
************************** Post #2
Tim Niedfeldt has left a new comment on the post "WELS Members Visit Victory of the Movie Screen:Ano...":
Here is the link to the service folder for July 5th.
http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/public/upload/07.05.09.pdf
************************** Post #3 I just posted this on a new but related thread...We'll see if Greg can muster the courage to post the comment.
Well, I don't hold out much hope that this will be published as the last two posts were deleted, but I'll give it a shot. I assume that posting the actual sermons and service folder must have been too conflicting to the review.
No one would see that I used the term secret shopper on this site because it was all deleted. However, I used the term because the visitor was church shopping...oh I mean selective fellowshipping. I use the term secret because:
1.) He came to the church looking to find a more liturgical church. He heard about a contemporary church and went there hoping to find what he wanted in a church.(really?? I don't think you need a degree from an Ivy League school to figure that probably isn't going to happen)
2.) He was shocked to not find it that way. (Who would've thought?)
3.) He then decided to write a review for Ichabod on the Church experience. (As if he was an Ichabod reader and had high expectations that VotL would be different than portrayed by Greg?)
I would submit this was just an Ichabod secret shopper mission for a review because so far no one in the Ichabod network has been there. It has nothing to do with marketing. I would work up some other angle on that particular term. I look forward to your creativity.
I would disagree in that I think your frustration really resides in the differences between what you think Lutheranism is and what it actually is. Ichabod's and/or your straight and narrow is so narrow as to exclude most Lutherans. Add in the SJO doctrinal errors and there is very little room for good Lutheranism at all.
I understand you cannot fathom that the Gospel is proclaimed in Word and Sacrament in a contemporary setting. That little box you sit in is fine but it is a self-imposed box. I won't try to convince you otherwise because your buy-in to contemporary Lutheranism is not required for you or for me.
I won't sit around fretting too much about being kicked out. Just ask Greg. The WELS is infected with us..who's going to kick us out. Muahahahahaha!!
Tim
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
OJ/SJ
Here is one of my favorite references regarding the nature of Salvation by Grace. It is out of the book "A Summary Of Christian Doctrine" by Edward W.A. Koehler pages 78-79 written in 1939 and taken from the second edition published in 1951. Edward Koehler was faculty at Concordia in River Forest, Ill and died in 1951.
PART VI. SALVATION BY THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH THE REDEMPTION IN CHRIST JESUS
1. The necessity of grace. -- All men have sinned (Rom 3:23), and are , therefore, guilty before God (Rom. 3:19), under the curse of law (Gal. 3:10), and deserving of death (Rom. 6:23). Left to himself, it is absolutely impossible for man to achieve his own salvation, for "by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified" (Rom. 3:20). Salvation by the merit of our works is impossible; hence, divine grace is necessary for us to be saved.
2. The certainty of divine grace.--The grace of God is not an imagination or a possibility, but a divinely revealed fact. Moved by His love and compassion for man, God resolved to save him by the death of His Son (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8-10). The grace of God, then, is the moving cause, and the redemption through Christ is the meritorious cause of our salvation. Man, lost by his own works, is saved by the grace of God in Christ. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). "By grace are ye saved through faith...not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation by works is impossible, by grace it is sure. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed" (Rom 4:16).
This doctrine of salvation by grace distinguishes the Christian religion from all other religions in the world. All others teach that, because man sinned, man must make amends and appease the wrath of God. While they differ as to the method and means by which this may be done, theya re agreed in principle that man must achieve his salvation by his own efforts and works.--The Bible teaches that man's salvation is achieved exclusively by the grace of God. Human ingenuity never could have devised the plan of salvation as it is revealed in the Bible (1 Cor. 2:6-10); it runs utterly contrary to our way of thinking; it is "foolishness" to us (1 Cor. 2:14). This doctrine, being the chief doctrine of our faith, marksthe Christian religion to be of divine origin, while all others are human inventions.
3. Definiton of grace.-- In our definition of "grace" we do not include that goodness which God shows to all His creatures (Ps. 145:9), but confine ourselves to the grace by which God saves sinners.
The word "grace" is sometimes used as a gift, quality, virtue , or power which God imparts to man gratuitously (Rom. 15:15; 1 Pet. 4:10). But when we speak of "saving grace," we do not mean anyof these things, nor do we mean an "infused" or a "prevenient" grace, by the proper use of which man is supposed to be able to effect his conversion. The grace by which God saves us is a personal attribute or quality in God, which manifests itself in His attitude toward man and in His promises and gifts, but which is not imparted to man. (Example: We can show our love to our neighbor in various ways, but we cannot impart our love to him.) According to Romish teaching "grace" is not a quality in God, but an infused "quality inhering in the soul" of man, by the aid of which he is to do good and to obtain forgiveness. When the Romish Church says that we are saved "by grace," it means something entirely different from what we mean when we say that we are saved by grace. The grace of God by which we are saved is the "favor Dei," which is that merciful, affectionate disposition, that good will of God toward men, according to which He forgives sins to those who are worthy of eternal death. It is the unmerited love of God toward men (John 3:16; Titus 3:4-5).-- From this concept of grace must be excluded every regard for the merit of man. God's grace is not in the least affected, motivated, or influenced by any worthiness in us; in fact the slightest injection of man's merit and worthiness utterly destroys the concept of grace. "If by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work" (Rom. 11:6). The grace of God and the merit of man are exclusive terms. Man cannot be saved partly by the grace of God and partly by his own merit; it might, conceivably, be the one or the other, but never both. As man cannot be saved by the merit of his works, it follows that his salvation is possible only by the grace of God.
It is a grace in Christ Jesus. While the merits of man are indeed excluded from the concept of grace, the merits of Christ must necessarily be included. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). There could be no grace for sinners with God, unless the demands of His holiness and justice had been fully satisfied by the active and passive obedience of our Redeemer. Hence we may not think of the grace of God apart from the redemption by Christ. God is gracious to sinners only in Christ and for Christ's sake. They who trust in the grace of God, but rejet the vicarious atonement of Christ, trust in something that does not exist, and will some day find God to be a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The grace of God is given us by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4).
4. Attributes of saving grace.--
(a) the grace of God is universal. It is not limited to certain individuals, , the elect, as Reformed theology teaches but it extends to all men. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). "God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4); (Ezek. 33:11). As Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2) so also the grace of God in Christ goes out to all men. But the Bible does not reveal that there is grace and redemption also for the fallen angels.
The fact that only a few are saved (Matt 7:13-14), and that these are saved solely by the grace of God, does not invalidate the truth that God is gracious to all men. Both propositions, that grace is universal, and that grace alone saves, must be maintained on the basis of the Scriptures. If the grace of God did not include all men, no man could be sure of it, because every one must then be in doubt whether God's grace is really intended for him. Neither can any one be sure of God's grace if in any way it depended on his merit, because he could never be certain that he is personally worthy of it.
(b) The grace of God is active. God's grace is not an idle sentiment, but manifests itself in what He did and what He still does for the salvation of men. Because God loved the world, he sent His Son to save the world (John 3:16). "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). By the preaching of the "Gospel of grace" (Acts 20:24), God continues to offer all men the saving benefits of Christ's redemption. All the acts of God, whereby men are brought to faith, justified, sanctified, preserved, and finally saved through faith, are motivated by this grace. "By grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph 2:8)
(c) God's grace is serious and sincere. This appears not only from what His grace prompted, and still prompts, Him to do, but also from the definite statements to that effect. God swears, saying: "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33:11). Christ weeps over impenitent Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and says: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not" (Matt. 23:37). There should be no doubt in the mind of any one that the grace of God is unfeigned, honest, and sincere.
(d) The grace of God is efficacious. The declaration and offer of God's grace in the Gospel possesses inherent power to impress and move the heart and towork acceptance of the offer. The Word of God, which offers this grace, works effectually in them that believe (1 Thess 2:13). As the offer of grace by the governor of the state has power to work in the heart of the convict the acceptance thereof, so the offer of God's grace has power to work in the heart of the sinner that faith by which he accepts it. The reason that it does not always do this, lies not in a lack, deficiency, or weakness of the offered grace, but in the perverse will of man. "Ye would not" (Matt. 23:37). "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51)
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Feel free to borrow this post for your oj/sj discussions.
PART VI. SALVATION BY THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH THE REDEMPTION IN CHRIST JESUS
1. The necessity of grace. -- All men have sinned (Rom 3:23), and are , therefore, guilty before God (Rom. 3:19), under the curse of law (Gal. 3:10), and deserving of death (Rom. 6:23). Left to himself, it is absolutely impossible for man to achieve his own salvation, for "by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified" (Rom. 3:20). Salvation by the merit of our works is impossible; hence, divine grace is necessary for us to be saved.
2. The certainty of divine grace.--The grace of God is not an imagination or a possibility, but a divinely revealed fact. Moved by His love and compassion for man, God resolved to save him by the death of His Son (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8-10). The grace of God, then, is the moving cause, and the redemption through Christ is the meritorious cause of our salvation. Man, lost by his own works, is saved by the grace of God in Christ. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). "By grace are ye saved through faith...not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation by works is impossible, by grace it is sure. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed" (Rom 4:16).
This doctrine of salvation by grace distinguishes the Christian religion from all other religions in the world. All others teach that, because man sinned, man must make amends and appease the wrath of God. While they differ as to the method and means by which this may be done, theya re agreed in principle that man must achieve his salvation by his own efforts and works.--The Bible teaches that man's salvation is achieved exclusively by the grace of God. Human ingenuity never could have devised the plan of salvation as it is revealed in the Bible (1 Cor. 2:6-10); it runs utterly contrary to our way of thinking; it is "foolishness" to us (1 Cor. 2:14). This doctrine, being the chief doctrine of our faith, marksthe Christian religion to be of divine origin, while all others are human inventions.
3. Definiton of grace.-- In our definition of "grace" we do not include that goodness which God shows to all His creatures (Ps. 145:9), but confine ourselves to the grace by which God saves sinners.
The word "grace" is sometimes used as a gift, quality, virtue , or power which God imparts to man gratuitously (Rom. 15:15; 1 Pet. 4:10). But when we speak of "saving grace," we do not mean anyof these things, nor do we mean an "infused" or a "prevenient" grace, by the proper use of which man is supposed to be able to effect his conversion. The grace by which God saves us is a personal attribute or quality in God, which manifests itself in His attitude toward man and in His promises and gifts, but which is not imparted to man. (Example: We can show our love to our neighbor in various ways, but we cannot impart our love to him.) According to Romish teaching "grace" is not a quality in God, but an infused "quality inhering in the soul" of man, by the aid of which he is to do good and to obtain forgiveness. When the Romish Church says that we are saved "by grace," it means something entirely different from what we mean when we say that we are saved by grace. The grace of God by which we are saved is the "favor Dei," which is that merciful, affectionate disposition, that good will of God toward men, according to which He forgives sins to those who are worthy of eternal death. It is the unmerited love of God toward men (John 3:16; Titus 3:4-5).-- From this concept of grace must be excluded every regard for the merit of man. God's grace is not in the least affected, motivated, or influenced by any worthiness in us; in fact the slightest injection of man's merit and worthiness utterly destroys the concept of grace. "If by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work" (Rom. 11:6). The grace of God and the merit of man are exclusive terms. Man cannot be saved partly by the grace of God and partly by his own merit; it might, conceivably, be the one or the other, but never both. As man cannot be saved by the merit of his works, it follows that his salvation is possible only by the grace of God.
It is a grace in Christ Jesus. While the merits of man are indeed excluded from the concept of grace, the merits of Christ must necessarily be included. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). There could be no grace for sinners with God, unless the demands of His holiness and justice had been fully satisfied by the active and passive obedience of our Redeemer. Hence we may not think of the grace of God apart from the redemption by Christ. God is gracious to sinners only in Christ and for Christ's sake. They who trust in the grace of God, but rejet the vicarious atonement of Christ, trust in something that does not exist, and will some day find God to be a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The grace of God is given us by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4).
4. Attributes of saving grace.--
(a) the grace of God is universal. It is not limited to certain individuals, , the elect, as Reformed theology teaches but it extends to all men. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). "God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4); (Ezek. 33:11). As Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2) so also the grace of God in Christ goes out to all men. But the Bible does not reveal that there is grace and redemption also for the fallen angels.
The fact that only a few are saved (Matt 7:13-14), and that these are saved solely by the grace of God, does not invalidate the truth that God is gracious to all men. Both propositions, that grace is universal, and that grace alone saves, must be maintained on the basis of the Scriptures. If the grace of God did not include all men, no man could be sure of it, because every one must then be in doubt whether God's grace is really intended for him. Neither can any one be sure of God's grace if in any way it depended on his merit, because he could never be certain that he is personally worthy of it.
(b) The grace of God is active. God's grace is not an idle sentiment, but manifests itself in what He did and what He still does for the salvation of men. Because God loved the world, he sent His Son to save the world (John 3:16). "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). By the preaching of the "Gospel of grace" (Acts 20:24), God continues to offer all men the saving benefits of Christ's redemption. All the acts of God, whereby men are brought to faith, justified, sanctified, preserved, and finally saved through faith, are motivated by this grace. "By grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph 2:8)
(c) God's grace is serious and sincere. This appears not only from what His grace prompted, and still prompts, Him to do, but also from the definite statements to that effect. God swears, saying: "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33:11). Christ weeps over impenitent Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and says: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not" (Matt. 23:37). There should be no doubt in the mind of any one that the grace of God is unfeigned, honest, and sincere.
(d) The grace of God is efficacious. The declaration and offer of God's grace in the Gospel possesses inherent power to impress and move the heart and towork acceptance of the offer. The Word of God, which offers this grace, works effectually in them that believe (1 Thess 2:13). As the offer of grace by the governor of the state has power to work in the heart of the convict the acceptance thereof, so the offer of God's grace has power to work in the heart of the sinner that faith by which he accepts it. The reason that it does not always do this, lies not in a lack, deficiency, or weakness of the offered grace, but in the perverse will of man. "Ye would not" (Matt. 23:37). "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51)
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Feel free to borrow this post for your oj/sj discussions.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Family Update
This week I am working hard to get ready for Zach and of course Phil to visit. I have FINALLY gotten Ike’s old room cleaned out. The bed will be removed after Zach leaves and we will paint the room a more exciting color. For now though the room is a barren guest room. It probably will not feel homey at all. All the rest of the bedroom furniture is stored in the garage now. Zach arrives Thursday night. He was able to leave his base at noon to catch a flight. Phil is in a different training command (Zach is Aviation Electronics…Phil is an Air Traffic Controller) and isn’t allowed to leave until 4:30 which was not enough time to catch a flight out on Thursday so he is coming in Friday morning.Friday will be an open day where everybody does their thing. At night Milwaukee has their fireworks downtown on the lakefront so I suspect everyone will end up there. Karen and I will most likely join the church group. Kt, Phil, and Zach will probably join Z’s friends.
Saturday is the Franklin 4th of July parade. Victory of the Lamb has a float with the band playing on it. I ride on the float and run the soundboard. There is a tractor behind the float with a wagon that carries the literature and candy to hand out. We hand out like 2000 brochures and invitations to soccer camp and Hallepalooza. Ike helps out with this…he sucks because he knows half the people there. He is such a social butterfly he just knows everyone from somewhere. This is a cool thing to do. It’s a little weird being in a parade though rather than watching it. So many people wave like I should know them…I rack my brain over who they are and they were just being friendly.
After the parade we are heading up to the lake house. I expect there will be about 20 relatives who will be there. I hope to see a revival of King of the Raft and the Bucket game. I think having two marines makes it more interesting. The bucket game is a manly sport where a group of manly men such as ourselves stand in a circle in the lake about thigh high. We then start by the first person choosing a victim and they can pick from an array of bucket sizes and shapes …it just depends which one you think you can cause the most damage with. Then you fill it with water and whip it across the victims chest in any pattern you see fit to try and sting and pummel the victim. Then the victim gets to choose the next victim. It goes on like this until …well…until you feel like not playing anymore. There is no point and there is no way to win. It’s just about how manly can you take the water whippings and how well can you give them. Is there anything more manly than that…short of actual whippings or using baseball bats? Great fun!! I’m sure it will catch on one day. This game does pre-date my existence in my in-laws family so perhaps it has historical roots that your family enjoys.
Sunday we will come home.. I have no plan after that. That’s as far as I’ve gotten. Zach and Phil go home to Pensacola, FL Monday morning.
This last weekend we were at the Lake house as well. No bucket game this time. We actually took K’s parents and my mother up there to be a very quiet and elderly weekend retreat. We tried to pamper the Mom’s as it was their Mother’s Day present. I also mowed the grass, cleaned the moss off the siding, raked pine needles. Fun stuff. I think the lake house is all ready for the party this weekend. My Mother-in-law and Karen put up all kinds of patriotic decorations. Since the two Marines are coming we should have decorated it with like weapons and khaki. Alas it is red white and blue.
Ike has now been to the Muay Tay lessons 5 days a week for a few weeks now. He is doing pretty good. I had him box me the other night and he and Kt went at it last night. He is a quick lil bugger. He got some great hits to the kidney and face. I’m not sure why people enjoy this. Well I just suck and I fell for his fakes every time. So that was enough pain for me. I suspect he will be quite nasty to deal with in 6 months or a year. I suppose he has to live up to his nick name of Jackie Chan.
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