Thinking About George Carlin
I have to agree with Butler Shaffer, George was a “stand up Philosopher”. Though he was raunchy, it wasn’t a use of four letter words to personally demean, but rather to gain attention and to ridicule. I seem to recall a comment of Aristotle’s where he said if something is ridiculous, it ought to be ridiculed.
Well, our government long ago entered the realm of the ridiculous. Designed to be a representative republic, it has become a radical democracy where the “majority” tyrannizes the “minority”. Where our representatives become thieves under the guise of “public service”! Where the government works with three objectives: 1) protect itself, 2) increase its power, and 3) dumb down the citizenry via illusion of participation, i.e. “voting”!
George Carlin, bless his heart, spewed ridicule at this illusion. I can well imagine, the “system” did not appreciate his observations or his influence.
How I wish there were a believer on the scene capable of exercising the same impact, via humor, and sans raunch. My suspicion being this model would serve to grab the attention of this next generation, educate them from a biblical point of view without openly banging on the Bible, and thereby raise up a new generation of potential Shamgars!
Without question, the Bible is key to truth; but, our objective is first to arrest their submission to idiot ideas, then educate them.
Well, I can dream, can’t I?
“Here’s to you, George. You remind me of Smedley!”
Pearcey Report
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Been Thinking About the Great Commission
Been thinking:
I find it interesting that none of the apostolic band, nor their delegates make any mention of the Great Commission in their writings to the churches or their associates?
Wonder why?
If it was an Imperative (i.e. command) the Lord Jesus intended til the “end of time”, i.e. the world as we know it, why isn’t it repeated and/or reinforced?
One would think with the changing of the Covenantal order, especially, there would be a re-iteration making it clear the command was incumbent upon each succeeding generation.
But, such is not the case.
Jesus, a son of the Old Covenant (Gal. 4:4), gave the command to other sons of the Old Covenant, though now members of The Church and the New Covenant, while the Old Covenant was passing away (Hebrews 8:13).
These men, through the instrumentality of The Holy Spirit (John 16:13, 14), gave us the final inscripturated words of God, and none of them repeat this command, known as The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).
Instead the focus is on “…equipping the saints for the work of ministry…” (Eph. 4:11) making certain there would be competent and equipped leadership to shepherd and continue the responsibility of the New Covenant church.
These men, I suggest, completed the task, fulfilling the Commission in that generation, and laid the groundwork for succeeding generations of saints in the unfolding aeons to advance the kingdom functioning as Salt, Light, and Leaven.
When one functions as Salt, Light, and Leaven, one has no control over the outcome, in terms of "cosmetic", i.e. what it (the result) will look like. One only has control over how one functions as "Salt", "Light", and "Leaven".
The outcome, result is in the hands of a Sovereign God who works all things after the counsel of his own will!
Nuff said.
I find it interesting that none of the apostolic band, nor their delegates make any mention of the Great Commission in their writings to the churches or their associates?
Wonder why?
If it was an Imperative (i.e. command) the Lord Jesus intended til the “end of time”, i.e. the world as we know it, why isn’t it repeated and/or reinforced?
One would think with the changing of the Covenantal order, especially, there would be a re-iteration making it clear the command was incumbent upon each succeeding generation.
But, such is not the case.
Jesus, a son of the Old Covenant (Gal. 4:4), gave the command to other sons of the Old Covenant, though now members of The Church and the New Covenant, while the Old Covenant was passing away (Hebrews 8:13).
These men, through the instrumentality of The Holy Spirit (John 16:13, 14), gave us the final inscripturated words of God, and none of them repeat this command, known as The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).
Instead the focus is on “…equipping the saints for the work of ministry…” (Eph. 4:11) making certain there would be competent and equipped leadership to shepherd and continue the responsibility of the New Covenant church.
These men, I suggest, completed the task, fulfilling the Commission in that generation, and laid the groundwork for succeeding generations of saints in the unfolding aeons to advance the kingdom functioning as Salt, Light, and Leaven.
When one functions as Salt, Light, and Leaven, one has no control over the outcome, in terms of "cosmetic", i.e. what it (the result) will look like. One only has control over how one functions as "Salt", "Light", and "Leaven".
The outcome, result is in the hands of a Sovereign God who works all things after the counsel of his own will!
Nuff said.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Spiritual Reproduction.
Many years ago, Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, spoke of Spiritual Reproduction in a message to the folk at the Back to the Bible organization of Theodore Epp, entitled “Born To Reproduce”.
I first heard that message in 1965 and never got over its impact. It made sense then, as it does today.
It prompted me to leave my career in USMC and join with the staff of The Navigators for the next 18 years, as I saw it demonstrated in the lives of men such as Ron York, Skip Gray, Harv Oslund, and LeRoy Eims.
The message of 2 Tim. 2:2 resonates in the church of the 21st century as it did in the 1st century, and carries as much weight, as it pertains to the life/health of the local church.
In the 1930s, Daws saw the reality of the immaturity in the local assembly, as manifest in the lives of young believers he encountered in the US Navy.
They were certainly representative of the local church at large and God, in His good providence raised up The Navs, Back to the Bible, and the Old Time Gospel Hour to reach and equip men and women just prior to WW II.
During those years, Daws spoke of “The Need of the Hour”, i.e. equipped men and women for the ministry of Intentional Discipleship.
Well, little has changed since then. In the opinion of this humble servant, the folk within the walls of the local church are still ill-equipped for the work of the ministry.
Worse, they have been systematically dumbed-down, both by public education and self-centered religious experience such that they are not truly “…grieved for the afflictions of Joseph…” (Amos 6:6)
We have been enamored with the idea that government will resolve these problems, forgetting that government is a necessary evil needing to be chained to a printed document, i.e. Constitution/Bill of Rights.
Instead, as the years have unfolded, we have provided the government link upon extra link in that chain, til we find, at the present moment; the chain binds us, and not the government!
IMHO, I would lay the responsibility at the feet of the saints. We have the info of 1 Sam. 8, as it pertains to Government’s impact; yet we refuse to recognize this problem and labor, in the New Covenant, to off-set the impact.
Instead, we sit in the pews or gather at religious conferences and sing “Kumbya my Lord”.
Well, He ain’t gonna “kumbya”
It’s our mess and we need to rectify the problem,
How?
Why do you think He left us a book?
I first heard that message in 1965 and never got over its impact. It made sense then, as it does today.
It prompted me to leave my career in USMC and join with the staff of The Navigators for the next 18 years, as I saw it demonstrated in the lives of men such as Ron York, Skip Gray, Harv Oslund, and LeRoy Eims.
The message of 2 Tim. 2:2 resonates in the church of the 21st century as it did in the 1st century, and carries as much weight, as it pertains to the life/health of the local church.
In the 1930s, Daws saw the reality of the immaturity in the local assembly, as manifest in the lives of young believers he encountered in the US Navy.
They were certainly representative of the local church at large and God, in His good providence raised up The Navs, Back to the Bible, and the Old Time Gospel Hour to reach and equip men and women just prior to WW II.
During those years, Daws spoke of “The Need of the Hour”, i.e. equipped men and women for the ministry of Intentional Discipleship.
Well, little has changed since then. In the opinion of this humble servant, the folk within the walls of the local church are still ill-equipped for the work of the ministry.
Worse, they have been systematically dumbed-down, both by public education and self-centered religious experience such that they are not truly “…grieved for the afflictions of Joseph…” (Amos 6:6)
We have been enamored with the idea that government will resolve these problems, forgetting that government is a necessary evil needing to be chained to a printed document, i.e. Constitution/Bill of Rights.
Instead, as the years have unfolded, we have provided the government link upon extra link in that chain, til we find, at the present moment; the chain binds us, and not the government!
IMHO, I would lay the responsibility at the feet of the saints. We have the info of 1 Sam. 8, as it pertains to Government’s impact; yet we refuse to recognize this problem and labor, in the New Covenant, to off-set the impact.
Instead, we sit in the pews or gather at religious conferences and sing “Kumbya my Lord”.
Well, He ain’t gonna “kumbya”
It’s our mess and we need to rectify the problem,
How?
Why do you think He left us a book?
Friday, June 13, 2008
"God told me"
What do we mean when we say, “God told me?”
The impression being suggested is the communicator has had an “immediate” experience with God, i.e. God spoke with them, as with Moses, “mouth to mouth” (Ex. 33:11 & Num. 12:8).
One might reasonably suggest, on the basis of the evil one’s attack in the Garden, that God’s intended relationship with man, this side of heaven, is to be a “meditated” one.
That is, save for those instances in the progress of revelation’s development, God intends for His people to “know Him, meet Him, follow Him” via the precepts and principles laid out on scripture, when “correctly handled”.
This is not to suggest God “cannot” immediately communicate with his people. God is Free to do whatever He wills, when He wills it!
The question is: What is the normative basis of relationship between God and His peoples?
When the evil one assaulted Eve, he approached the one who had “mediated” information. Adam had had “immediate” contact with God. Nothing in the record indicates Eve to be in the same category as Adam when it came to this prohibition.
Why Adam took the fruit and ate is wrapped up in the eternal counsel of God, maybe to be disclosed to us on the “other side”?
On this side, my suggestion is, our relationshi0p with God is a mediated one, with the medium being the scriptures.
Peter seems to suggest as much in his statement in 2 Peter 1:16-21 and Paul draws out attention to the value of the scriptures in the New Covenant era by citing the value of the what had already been written (1 Cor. 10:11 & Romans 15:4).
Peter declares the value of what has been written, in terms of our continuing experience with Christ in 2 Peter 1:3-11.
It seems to me, we are to take our experiences “captive to scripture” and evaluate them against that standard. I would suggest we are not to seek after an “immediate” experience with God, but rather submit ourselves to His word, and allow it to transform our lives.
If, in the good providence of God, one is granted an “immediate” experience; for God can and will do whatever He pleases, my suggestion is: if this happens to you, don’t tell me about it! Don’t tell anyone about it. Keep it personal and secret. Not even Paul spoke of his unique experience in the “third heaven”! ( 2 Cor. 12:4).
Our daily walk with Christ is via the word of God. Our relationship with Him is a “mind on mind” relationship. Given we have, as Paul says, “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) in the scriptures, our intimacy with Him will be a function of how well we know Him via His “mind”.
“God told me”, ought more properly to be expressed as, “God’s word seems to teach, and I believe I have the freedom in the New covenant to…”
Nuff said
The impression being suggested is the communicator has had an “immediate” experience with God, i.e. God spoke with them, as with Moses, “mouth to mouth” (Ex. 33:11 & Num. 12:8).
One might reasonably suggest, on the basis of the evil one’s attack in the Garden, that God’s intended relationship with man, this side of heaven, is to be a “meditated” one.
That is, save for those instances in the progress of revelation’s development, God intends for His people to “know Him, meet Him, follow Him” via the precepts and principles laid out on scripture, when “correctly handled”.
This is not to suggest God “cannot” immediately communicate with his people. God is Free to do whatever He wills, when He wills it!
The question is: What is the normative basis of relationship between God and His peoples?
When the evil one assaulted Eve, he approached the one who had “mediated” information. Adam had had “immediate” contact with God. Nothing in the record indicates Eve to be in the same category as Adam when it came to this prohibition.
Why Adam took the fruit and ate is wrapped up in the eternal counsel of God, maybe to be disclosed to us on the “other side”?
On this side, my suggestion is, our relationshi0p with God is a mediated one, with the medium being the scriptures.
Peter seems to suggest as much in his statement in 2 Peter 1:16-21 and Paul draws out attention to the value of the scriptures in the New Covenant era by citing the value of the what had already been written (1 Cor. 10:11 & Romans 15:4).
Peter declares the value of what has been written, in terms of our continuing experience with Christ in 2 Peter 1:3-11.
It seems to me, we are to take our experiences “captive to scripture” and evaluate them against that standard. I would suggest we are not to seek after an “immediate” experience with God, but rather submit ourselves to His word, and allow it to transform our lives.
If, in the good providence of God, one is granted an “immediate” experience; for God can and will do whatever He pleases, my suggestion is: if this happens to you, don’t tell me about it! Don’t tell anyone about it. Keep it personal and secret. Not even Paul spoke of his unique experience in the “third heaven”! ( 2 Cor. 12:4).
Our daily walk with Christ is via the word of God. Our relationship with Him is a “mind on mind” relationship. Given we have, as Paul says, “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) in the scriptures, our intimacy with Him will be a function of how well we know Him via His “mind”.
“God told me”, ought more properly to be expressed as, “God’s word seems to teach, and I believe I have the freedom in the New covenant to…”
Nuff said
Celebration
What a joy to join with other saints in the celebration of Harv's homegoing!
What a joy to see those among Harv's fellowlaborers continuing to serve Christ and continuing the ministry of Intentional Discipleship! Harv's life demonstrates the impact of spiritual multiplication.
Praise the Lord for the heritage Harv was privileged to leave, by the grace of God.
The "mighty may have fallen", but there are a host of men and women who continue to hold high the banner!
Hallelujah!
What a joy to see those among Harv's fellowlaborers continuing to serve Christ and continuing the ministry of Intentional Discipleship! Harv's life demonstrates the impact of spiritual multiplication.
Praise the Lord for the heritage Harv was privileged to leave, by the grace of God.
The "mighty may have fallen", but there are a host of men and women who continue to hold high the banner!
Hallelujah!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Shifting Population
Tomorrow I will attend the Memorial Service of a former co-laborer in The Navigators.
This year has seen two of these brothers in the faith (John Ed Robertson and Harvey Oslund) migrate to the land where we will, to a large degree, walk by sight.
Their passing is a strong reminder our tenure on this side of the veil is only temporary and preparatory. Both men loved and served their Saviour with an admirable passion and could testify with the Apostle Paul: they fought a good fight, they finished their course, they kept the faith!
Bless their memory and impact on my life!
This year has seen two of these brothers in the faith (John Ed Robertson and Harvey Oslund) migrate to the land where we will, to a large degree, walk by sight.
Their passing is a strong reminder our tenure on this side of the veil is only temporary and preparatory. Both men loved and served their Saviour with an admirable passion and could testify with the Apostle Paul: they fought a good fight, they finished their course, they kept the faith!
Bless their memory and impact on my life!
Men Of Full Growth
Blog Comment 6/9/08
In the June 9, 2008 Man In The Mirror newsletter, Patrick Morley made the following comment relative to Bible Study:
“…Teach your men:
1. The Bible is for now. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).
2. The Bible is truth. "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
3. The Bible is without error. "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar" (Proverbs 30:5-6).
4. The Bible is effectual. It produces the intended result. "My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
5. The Bible is trustworthy. "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).
Our job as teachers is to explain the Bible, not explain it away. A Great Bible Teacher is not a Great Teacher of the Bible, but the Teacher of a Great Bible. We use Scripture to explain our experience, not our experience to explain Scripture. Without the Bible to guide you, every path not obviously evil will seem obviously worthwhile….”
I couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly. Unless we equip men to wrestle with the text of scripture, they are ill-equipped to follow Paul’s admonition in 2 Cor. 10:3-5, i.e. to take every thought captive to Christ. Being ill-equipped, they will fall into the same category of believers mentioned in the epistle To The Hebrews, those who “…need milk and not strong meat…” (Hebrews 5:11-14)
Reading Christian literature, attending church or small group fellowship is simply not sufficient when it comes to producing believers who are, in the words of the Hebrew epistle, “…those who are of full age…”, i.e. mature, of full growth
Here’s to the development of men who are of full growth!
Proverbs 25:2.
In the June 9, 2008 Man In The Mirror newsletter, Patrick Morley made the following comment relative to Bible Study:
“…Teach your men:
1. The Bible is for now. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).
2. The Bible is truth. "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
3. The Bible is without error. "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar" (Proverbs 30:5-6).
4. The Bible is effectual. It produces the intended result. "My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
5. The Bible is trustworthy. "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).
Our job as teachers is to explain the Bible, not explain it away. A Great Bible Teacher is not a Great Teacher of the Bible, but the Teacher of a Great Bible. We use Scripture to explain our experience, not our experience to explain Scripture. Without the Bible to guide you, every path not obviously evil will seem obviously worthwhile….”
I couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly. Unless we equip men to wrestle with the text of scripture, they are ill-equipped to follow Paul’s admonition in 2 Cor. 10:3-5, i.e. to take every thought captive to Christ. Being ill-equipped, they will fall into the same category of believers mentioned in the epistle To The Hebrews, those who “…need milk and not strong meat…” (Hebrews 5:11-14)
Reading Christian literature, attending church or small group fellowship is simply not sufficient when it comes to producing believers who are, in the words of the Hebrew epistle, “…those who are of full age…”, i.e. mature, of full growth
Here’s to the development of men who are of full growth!
Proverbs 25:2.
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