Justification is as simple as A-B-C-D. Justification is an Act of God. It does not describe the way that God inwardly renews and changes a person. It is, rather, a legal declaration in which God pardons the sinner of all his sins and accepts and accounts the sinner as righteous in His sight. God declares the sinner righteous at the very moment that the sinner puts his trust in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-26, 5:16; 2 Cor. 5:21).
But I'm going to give it a try . . .
Here are some 'She Is' statements:
She is smart. Like crazy smart, the most social intelligent person that I think I've ever met.
She is funny.
She looks for ways to make people's special days memorable.
She is absurdly creative.
She is beautiful.
She is compassionate.
She is great at reading a room.
She is financially astute.
She has a great dog.
Random #1 - God providing when I desperately needed a hand. This is going to be a long note . . . I remember walking through Walmart, didn't have enough money to buy my daughter diapers, and finding a $20.00 bill in my jacket pocket, which I had already checked when I left the house. Or once when my daughter really wanted to go out to eat in the Mall and I really wanted to spend that time with her in a sit-down restaurant. She started tugging my hand and with great excitement proclaimed that she wanted to eat at El Chico (local Tex-Mex restaurant located in the Mall). This was going to exceed my budget but I figured I'd order her a kids meal and skip my lunch. We were seated at a booth and while getting settled in our seats, she discovered a $100.00 bill tucked in the cushions. We called our waitress over, told her of our find, and asked who had been sitting in these seats this morning. She said no one had sat at this booth for a two days, they had a leak in their ceiling and had roped off this section. She checked with her manager and he said no one had let them know they had lost any money in their restaurant. At this point my daughter was almost jumping up and down proclaiming that God was buying our lunch. And she was right!
These are just a few of the many times God has showed His hand of faithfulness in my life. My parents paying for most of my daughter's braces when that specific bill exceeded all of our financial options. Strangers paying for funeral costs when my ex-wife's Mom passed away, another time after a challenging season of medical expenses, a group of friends at church pitched together to give us a car! (Which became the car my daughter drove until after she graduated college!) Or that time when close friends, who knew of my struggles after my divorce, provided money for my new apartment's deposit, first month's rent, and even enough to pay off two other pressing financial obligations at the time! The church where I worked allowing me to 'move in' for almost four weeks before I could find an apartment after my divorce. Going to pay my medical bills at the doctor and being told that bill had already been paid! The church where I work paying for a unexpected tax bill due to a mistake processing our medical receipts. Cashier checks appearing in our mailbox, money in envelopes slid under my office door, and this is by no means a comprehensive list! There have been so many times where God showed us His mercy and provision over and over and over! Praise God for His faithfulness!
Random #2 - God moments when I needed them the most. This list could encompass several blogs! I'm thinking about so many times where friends called me to see if I needed to talk, opening up their homes when I felt like there was no safe place to rest, and shared meals when I lacked the resources to purchase groceries. So many cards and letters outlining how God had put me on their heart to pray specifically for my needs, I'm recalling the set of circumstances that God orchestrated to help get my daughter into high school and college. Or the countless moments experiencing God's Creation when He encouraged me, comforted me, or just reminded me of His Power through sunrises, storms, the quiet of a spring morning after a night of steady rain, the companionship of pets, the love of friends and family, and most importantly, His Words spoken through the Bible at just the right moment, with just the right clarity and wisdom.
"So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." - Matthew 6:31-32
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19
God is the ultimate provider. While Scripture does not promise to make every Christian financially wealthy, meet every want, or heal every hurt, the Bible does tell us that God will provide for our needs in a way that is best for us and best for His glory. His provision is just further proof of His faithfulness and grace.
He knows when you lack physical needs. He knows when you are concerned about your next paycheck. He knows, and He cares. These verses about God’s provision are just a small sample of His character. Present your concerns to God in prayer and trust that He will, like a good father, provide in a way that is best.
1) Doubting your salvation. If you are doubting your own salvation this can actually be a sign that you are a believer, or at the very least, on a sincere path to discover God. The enemy is not in the business of causing unbelievers to think about the topic of salvation, and he is definitely not wanting you to start applying your doubts to this situation. To reiterate, this is not a fool-proof test, but in my experience this mostly applies to believers who are struggling in challenging seasons of their life.
2) When is the last time God has spoken to you? I've found that this is a good indicator if you are a believer because of your decision to meditate on what God is saying to you through His Word, His People, and His Church. If you are not reading your Bible, meeting with a small group of dedicated believers, or attending a Bible-believing Church, I think you are at best far away from God and at the worst, not a child of God.
3) Do you pray for others to know Christ personally? If you are a believer, you will rejoice when confronted with news of someone's decision to follow Christ, and will pray for those in your life that you know aren't living a life of faith.
4) Are their fruits of God's Spirit in your life? Do you see areas of your life where God is working, in particular character issues and/or patterns of sin that have held you captive in the past? If you are praying and asking God to help you live a better life so that you can influence and grow His Kingdom that is a good indicator that you are a child of God's.
5) Finally, do you obey God? Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey me." Obedience and seeking to please God is a strong marker that God is working in your life as one of His children. And another characteristic of a child of God is someone who is at odds with this world and its values.
Curious to see where you stand? Post something about Jesus Christ being the only way to salvation and then step back and observe the fireworks. If you love this world, and you are seeking to fill your days with the pleasures of this reality, I encourage you to do a deep dive into the desires of your heart. Here is an insightful quote to illustrate this point, "The early Christians were not fed to wild beasts because they thought Jesus was a helpful life coach or role model." - Michael Horton
The Doubting
There is no more common question in the church than, “How do I know I’m a Christian?” It is a question surrounded by much fear, asked with much longing, bursting from a heart starved for hope. If you have asked that question, I have written this series on assurance of salvation especially for you.
In part 1, I defined assurance of faith. In part 2, I spoke to the Dead and the Deceived. This post, part 3, is for the Doubting and the Delighted.
If this is you, there are ten-thousand wonderful things to say to you. But the first is this: the character of God is steadfast love.
God is a Father who Loves His Children
God is the Father of all believers, and He desires them to be assured of His love. Why does He do this? Because He is our heavenly Father. As a perfect Father, He desires for His children to be assured of their salvation. He is not holding out of us, keeping us at arm’s length, afraid to get too close. He knows literally everything about you—past, present, and future. And He is involved in literally everything in your life. He is loving you, dear child of God, all the day and night. He accomplishes this through many means, but I will cover just three.
In our last post, I defined assurance as knowing you know and believe the gospel, as confidence in the reality of your salvation. That means, when it comes to assurance, there are only four kinds of people:
In this post, I’ll discuss the Dead and the Deceived.
I. The Dead
The dead are unbelievers who do not believe and who know they do not believe. Self-aware unbelievers need to hear one thing: you need to know Jesus Christ—that He lived, and He died, and He rose to save sinners. This the gospel message:
God: He is Creator: holy, just, wise, Almighty, Sovereign. He rules and He reigns and deserves all your love and obedience.
Man: You are a sinner, accountable to Him and yet a rebel deserving His wrath. It is not simply that you have broken a few commands but you have utterly rejected Him as the Lord of glory. For such offenses, you deserve death.
Response: And now, seeing the helplessness of your own state, the irresistible delightfulness and beauty of this Savior, you turn from your sin (that’s called repentance) cast yourself on His mercy (that’s called faith) to save your soul. Salvation is by grace alone (a free gift) alone, achieved by Christ alone (His finished work), received by faith alone (not your good works).
You must believe/trust/depend in this Savior. Knowing stories about Jesus is not enough. Living according to Christian morals is not enough. Being friends with Christians is not enough. Going to church will not save you. Jesus, the Savior, must save you.
You can be forgiven not by becoming a better person, but by making your good outweigh your bad but simply by trusting/believing/having faith that Jesus death is enough. Christ came for sinners. That’s what every dead sinner must hear and must believe to be saved!
I’ve been going to church before I was even born. While I was growing up, my parents took me to the same church every Sunday all the way until I moved out for college. And as I grew up going to church, I doubted my salvation constantly. Most Sundays, at the end of the sermon, my pastor would invite any unbelievers in the congregation to pray a prayer with him—a prayer of salvation—asking Jesus into their heart. I would always pray that prayer, just in case the last time “hadn’t worked.”
But no matter how many times I prayed, and how earnestly I prayed it, if I was honest, I had no peace. Did it work that time? How could I know if I was really saved? I knew Jesus was a real person, that He really rose from the dead, but was I real? Was I really a Christian?
I get the question from Christians a lot: “How can I know for sure that I’m saved?” So often, in fact, that I wrote a book addressing it: Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved. I wrestled with the question a lot, and I was shocked to learn how common my struggle was.
Many Christians experience their spiritual lives as a roller coaster of emotion. Some days they feel like they really understand the gospel, but other days it doesn’t sit right with them—either because of sin in their lives, or unanswered questions, or the fear that “I don’t really know Christ” … or even because of a bad night’s rest! These believers don’t usually doubt Jesus, but they wonder if something is missing. Shouldn’t things be different? More pointedly, shouldn’t they be different?
One of the most important things to do when struggling with assurance of salvation is to surround yourself with other believers. Get in a small group (or something similar) and air your struggles. You can read book after book, but there is absolutely no substitute for sharing concerns with someone who knows you. As we often say at the Summit, “Discipleship happens in relationship.” Your Christian friends can help make the truth of the gospel personal and relevant, helping you discern the difference between a legitimate red flag and a false alarm.
Within our communities, I’ve found two truths that help reinforce the experience of assurance. These aren’t comprehensive, but if we keep these two truths in front of us, then we really can rest in what God has done to save us:
Written By Costi Hinn
This is one of the most common questions a pastor gets asked: How do I know if I am really saved?
Some believe that you just need to say, “I believe!” Others might insist that you hand over a resume of faith plus some good works — including regular church attendance and a giving record to boot.
With the vast majority of opinions being hit or miss, we are compelled to ask, What does the Bible have to say? For those seeking assurance of salvation, that’s all that matters.
Is it a one-time decision or a lifestyle?
The first question needing serious consideration: Is being a true Christian — as in, a “saved individual” — a one-time decision or an ongoing lifestyle? Take, for example, three individuals who make “decisions” to follow Jesus Christ. Now, fast forward ten years and the first of those individuals live in rampant sin but claims, “I am a Christian. I believe. I walked the aisle, prayed the sinner’s prayer, accepted the free gift of grace from God, and punched my ticket to heaven.” Meanwhile, the second individual made a similar decision to follow Jesus, but eventually walked away from their faith and decided not to believe. Finally, the third individual was completely different. Sin was present in their life at times, but not as a rampant lifestyle. They humbly acknowledge shortcomings but could confidently point to the fruit of the Spirit as being present in them (Galatians 5:22-23). Their life is not marked by perfection, but a definite progression in holiness, righteous living, devotion to Jesus, and love for others.
All three made decisions. All three claim to be Christians. Which one is?
The word “saved” has become part of the regular vernacular of Christian churches. We have used it so often that we don’t even think about it any more. We say that “we got saved” at this particular moment or that particular event. We ask others if they’ve been saved. We issue the invitation of whether someone wants to be saved.
It’s a good word. It’s the right word. And it’s a meaningful word if you think a little more deeply about the implications behind it. If we have been “saved,” then it implies there is some kind of danger, and there is. It also implies that we are now safe from that danger, and we are. And it implies that there was some hero that brought us from danger to safety. And there is one of those, too.
But being saved in this sense is obviously different than being saved from a burning building or a circling shark. In those situations, you can observe, with your senses, the danger, the hero, and the state of relative safety you enter into. But with your soul? That’s different, as these are matters of faith.
So how can you know that you have been saved? Perhaps through answering a few other questions.
Faith always implies an object—that is, when we believe, we must believe something. That something I call the “fact.” Now let me give you three Words that will help you understand the Christian life: fact, faith, and feeling. They come in this order, and the order is essential. In this order, you will have the joy and confidence of one who can say, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV).
First, you are saved through a personal faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as defined in the Scriptures. The Gospel refers to the news of Christ’s death and resurrection in order to pay the penalty for our sins and provide a way to eternal life.
Johanna Dunaway, research director at the University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship and professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, says her interpretations of the research on this issue “is that media effects exist, but they don’t work the way people often assume—with media doing all the persuading. Media in all forms respond to audience preferences and behaviors as much as the other way around. Unfortunately, the patterns of information we end up being exposed to still exacerbate divisions.”
She says the blame is tied to the economic model of today’s media landscape. “Underlying media emphasis on the extreme and outrageous is that most digital media relies on attention metrics like clicks and because competition for the public’s attention is so intense. Media outlets face strong economic incentives to publish and promote the most attention-grabbing content,” she says.
Turning our attention back to the 2022 Pew Research study, it is clear that there has been a rise in the shares in both parties who describe their co-partisans in positive terms – saying they are more moral, open-minded and honest than other Americans.
In making us in his image, God created human beings as moral creatures. Our minds are constantly in a moral mode of thinking and reasoning. Our consciences demand attention, and we are continually observing others around us for moral signals.
Our Creator gave us laws, principles, precepts, and commandments that guide us, convict us, and protect us. Christian leaders know to be thankful for the common morality that is revealed in nature and has been recognized in some form in virtually every civilization and culture. We are also thankful for the specific moral instruction given to us in the Bible through the commandments and statutes and laws that frame our Christian moral knowledge.
Furthermore, we must recognize the importance of the moral order represented by the government, which, after all, was also given to us by our Creator in order that we might live in societies of order and peace. If these structures of law and morality did not exist, leadership would be impossible.
Dispensationalist theology is perhaps best known for its distinctive eschatological doctrines, particularly the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. According to this doctrine, this present church age will be followed by a seven-year period of tribulation. Before the tribulation begins (thus “pre-tribulation”), the church will be caught up to heaven where believers will be with Christ until the second coming, which occurs at the end of the tribulation. At that time, they will return with Christ, who will then inaugurate His millennial kingdom (dispensationalists are thus also premillennialists).
About ten days ago, while minding my own business and contemplating how to spend the least amount of money at Wal Mart, I suddenly felt "That Pain". It was like a knife had been injected into my left side, I started to sweat, and then the pain decided to take up a more permanent residence. This caused all kinds of issues, as I'm sure you can imagine, from no longer desiring to eat, to not being able to sleep, to not being able to sit at work and going from a maximum day of around eleven hours to five and half hours (which also, remarkably, correlated with the time I could exist without a pain pill.) Called my favorite urologist who it turns out no longer had me as an active patient, and started the fun process of getting a referral, trying to manage pain that was an unrelenting foe, and then scheduling the CT scans, etc.
But the reason for this blog is this, tracking previous stone attacks, I noticed what to me is a weird coincidence, each time I had an attack of kidney stones, it started in the month of September! September 2002 was my first experience, followed by 2006, 2010, and then 2013. At this point you can imagine my dread that settled on my around the fall season, roughly every four years. But praise Jesus, I've had zero attacks since 2013.
Until now.
September 2025.
Pray for me people, please . . .
http://www.saltandlightmin.org/blog/where-do-i-go-when-i-die
"My friend Ann and I like to talk when we work out at the gym. Sometimes, she’ll pose a question about the Bible, which I love to talk about. Here was her most recent questions:
What happens to us when we die?
I told her that it might be better if I wrote down my answer to that instead of trying to explain it between short puffs of breath.
That was about a week ago and I’m still writing. Since I’ve spent a good bit of time on it, I thought I would just share with all of you.
Before I begin, let me say two things:
WHERE you spend your afterlife is not even remotely as important as WHO you spend your afterlife with. If you confess Jesus as YOUR Savior in the present life you will be WITH Him in the afterlife. (Luke 9:26) The primary difference between heaven and hell is not location as much as the company you will be keeping. Jesus is in heaven. Jesus is NOT in hell.
Because I love the subject of Eschatology, I’ve formulated some ideas about it based on a Judeo-Christian worldview found in the Bible. The Bible frames the way I look at everything. So, this is my understanding (at this point) of what the Bible says about the afterlife.
To begin with, I think that where we go when we die will move around a little bit based on the timeline of human history and then eternity. I will provide my scriptural basis for each phase of this progression. Generally, I believe it will go something like this FOR THE BELIEVER.
-- The Wall Street Journal: September 11, 2025
During recent national traumas we’ve heard the side argument over “thoughts and prayers.” Something terrible happens, someone sends thoughts and prayers, someone else snaps, “We don’t need your prayers, we need action.” They denounce the phrase only because they don’t understand it, and give unwitting offense. (I always hope it is unwitting.)
Prayer is action. It’s effort. It takes time. Christians believe God is an actual participant in history. He’s here, every day, in the trenches. He didn’t create the universe and disappear into the mists; his creation is an ongoing event, he is here in the world with you. When something terrible happens and you talk to him—that’s what prayer is, talking to him, communicating with concentration—you are actively asking for help, for intercession. “Please help her suffering, help their children, they are so alone.” “Help me be brave through this.”
It’s active, not passive. Catholics, when they’d pray over and over or with friends, used to call it storming heaven. It isn’t a way of dodging responsibility, it is (if you are really doing it and not just publicly posing) a way of taking it.
So pray now for America. We are in big trouble.
Four years ago, Max Lucado was sitting with a diagnosis that could have ended his life. Doctors had just informed the bestselling author and pastor that he had an ascending aortic aneurysm, an alarming and potentially deadly condition.
“I spiraled,” the 70-year-old Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, told The Christian Post. “The first three or four days after I heard the diagnosis, I’m not proud of the anxiety level I permitted.”
Then came a moment that changed everything. During a time of prayer, Lucado said he received a vision: God’s hand gently wrapped around his aorta.
“It may sound supernatural or mystical,” he said, “but I can’t deny that God gave me that vision. I believe His hand is on it, and it always was, even when I didn’t recognize it.”
The aneurysm, he shared, has grown only slightly since the diagnosis, and today, he’s grounded in a peace that can only come from God, regardless of what the future holds.
“I do not want to leave my family. I do not want to leave my precious wife. But I’m excited to see Jesus whenever that time comes,” he reflected. “I really am at peace. That doesn’t mean I want to leave. I don’t. But I don’t have a bucket list. My best life is after this life. I’m very, very grateful for that blessing.”
In this Gospel lesson, Jesus reminds us, as he had proclaimed many times before to his disciples, "If you really want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me." And if we listen carefully and deeply to the lessons of today for a few moments, I think we will discover in a very deep way what Jesus means by that, and also we will be aware of the challenge it takes truly to follow Jesus. And first of all, I think it's important for us to realize that in what Jesus is to undergo.
You see, we have to understand that the incarnation, Jesus in his humanness, is totally separate from his identity, and so he's one like us. He had to trust in God just as we do, and he found that very difficult, just as we do. If you listen carefully to that passage from the letter to the Hebrews, you find Jesus described in a way that I think is almost shocking: "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:7-9)
‘Time-alone’ is a sought after treasure. A time to think, read, and ‘do what I want to do.’ The menu is simpler, conflicts are reduced, and no one is around to question decisions made or decisions postponed. We all need ‘time-away’. Time to seek God’s voice, reflect, relax and recover. We ask ourselves important questions and listen for the Spirit’s voice. Jesus was reported to regularly retreat and seek out places of solitude and prayer. However, I am coming to understand the dangerous differences between being alone, loneliness and isolation. Social distancing has consequences.
However, the very first warning in the creation story is “It is not good for man to be alone.” When people are alone, many struggle with burdens, anxiety, addictions and the sorrow of opportunities lost. Temptation knocks. Loneliness can enhance feelings of depression and can flood your mind with accusations and bitterness.
But you know what is worse than loneliness?
Isolation.
During the 60's and 70's, the New York Yankees were frequent participants in the World Series. And even though their greatest player, Mickey Mantle, best years were in the 50's, he had still achieved legendary status by the time I became a baseball fan. My dad would often speak of Mickey's best season that happened in 1954. He won the American League Triple Crown by leading the majors in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (130). Additionally, he topped the league in runs scored (132), slugging percentage (.705), and total bases (376). Mantle also led the AL in walks with 122, which helped his overall offensive production. His stellar performance earned him the AL Most Valuable Player award that year as well.
Most students of history probably recall these basic facts about Abraham Lincoln's oldest son, yet, he is also the equivalent of a real-life Forrest Gump.
Consider just a few of these historical moments that he either witnessed or was directly part of:
Sometime in either late 1864 or early 1864, he was saved from possible serious injury or death by Edwin Booth, whose brother, John Wilkes Booth, would go on to assassinate Robert's father. This event took place on a train platform in Jersey City, New Jersey.
He served on General Grant's staff for almost five months, during which he witnessed Robert E Lee's surrender at Appotomax.
On the night his father was assassinated, Robert had turned down an invitation to accompany his parents to Ford's Theatre due to fatigue after spending much of his recent time in a covered wagon at the battlefront. The president was moved to the Petersen House after the shooting, where Robert attended his father's deathbed.
Lincoln was an eyewitness when Charles J. Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield at the Sixth Street Train Station in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 1881. Lincoln was Garfield's Secretary of War at the time.
He was also present at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, when President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz. Though not an eyewitness, he was just outside the Temple of Music when the shooting occurred.
Lincoln himself recognized these coincidences. He is said to have refused a later presidential invitation with the comment, "No, I'm not going, and they'd better not ask me, because there is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present."
As I write these words I'm reminded of Harold Schweizer’s book, On Waiting. An idea that he proposes is that when we are waiting for something, time is passing us by. Or at least, that’s what we think. But time doesn’t pass us by. Actually, he says, we are the ones that are passing by.
Mortality, the sense that time happens, that we are in time, and that our time will end, is responsible for much anxiety. The writer of Ecclesiastes had the same feeling. All is vanity. It’s all meaningless, because, in the end, we’re all going to die: “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4)
And yet during our march past the constant, watching eyes of time, we are all destined, for at least one moment in our lives, with a confrontation with "The Truth". The truth of our mortality, our helplessness, and our sinful nature measured against the standard of the law of our Creator.
On December 22, 1944, at about 11:30 in the morning, a group of four German soldiers, waving two white flags, approached the American lines using the Arlon Road from the direction of Remoifosse, south of Bastogne. The group consisted of two officers and two enlisted men.
The Americans defending in that location were members of F Company of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The Germans walked past a bazooka team in a foxhole in front of the Kessler farm and stopped in front of the foxhole of PFC Leo Palma, a B.A.R. gunner. The Germans explained that they had a written message to be presented to the American Commander in Bastogne.
They consented to being blindfolded and taken to the American Commanding Officer. In fact, they had brought blindfolds with them. The German surrender demand was typewritten on two sheets. One was in English, the other in German. They had been typed on an English typewriter as indicated by the fact that the diacritical marks required on the German copy had been entered by hand.
We don't get a lot of insight into Jesus in the same way that we know and describe the fellow humans who reside in our circles. I mean, we know that he lived more than 2,000 years ago. And I realize that this is a basic stereotype, but he was Jewish so its probable that he had a long nose and dark hair. He was from the Middle East and spent the majority of his time outdoors so he likely had a dark complexion. But in regard to whether he was he tall, skinny, had brown or green eyes, we just don't know. And at this point we should reach the conclusion that God doesn't feel like Jesus's appearance was of great consequence as well. Because his appearance doesn’t really matter nearly as much as what he did for us does, and that’s why we’re grateful for him.
Yet, we are not without clues . . .
One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on our couch in our living room, with the sunlight dancing through our three bay windows, anchored on both sides by floor-to-ceiling handmade bookshelves, (crafted by my Dad) which of course contained books, our Encylopeidia collection, and our stereo amplifier, record player, and speakers.
Sitting in the exact center of the couch, you could hear the different sounds coming from the left and the right speakers, a pretty new phenomena in the 60's, but one that was soon embraced by most of the music culture. Dad's record collection consisted of gospel, Elvis, Son's of the Pioneers, Henry Mancini, Boots Randolph, Roger Williams, and more. My personal favorites were Elvis and Henry Mancini.
Mancini also composed some of the greatest soundtracks of the time, including Hatari, (my favorite) Creature from the Black Lagoon, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pink Panther, and so many more. The music selection featured in the video is from the John Wayne movie, Hatari, which I highly recommend.
Enjoy!
"Music is a universal language. Or so musicians like to claim. “With music,” they’ll say, “you can communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries in ways that you can’t with ordinary languages like English or French.”
On one level, this statement is obviously true. You don’t have to speak French to enjoy a composition by Debussy. But is music really a universal language? That depends on what you mean by “universal” and what you mean by “language.”
Every human culture has music, just as each has language. So it’s true that music is a universal feature of the human experience. At the same time, both music and linguistic systems vary widely from culture to culture.
Back story, I've always loved to read, and by the time I was eight, I was diving into easy-to-read mysteries, as well as fantasy and sci-fi books. I had started devouring the Lucky Starr science fiction books that were written by Isaac Asimov, though through the first few books in the series he used the pseudonym, Paul French. Another of my favorite authors was Arthur C. Clarke and if my memory is correct, I had read an article in Boys Life magazine where Clarke referred to a movie coming out later in 1968, which was based on some short stories he had written a few years earlier.
That movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
However, despite their closeness, Jefferson and Adams fought often over their political views. Jefferson and Adams were the last surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who had stood up to the British empire and forged a new political system in the former colonies.As a Democratic / Republican, Jefferson advocated for the rights of states, while Adams, a Federalist, supported a strong national government. Both friends ran for president in the 1796 election, and Adams beat Jefferson by just 3 electoral votes. Still, the two remained friends. And after receiving the second highest number of votes, Jefferson served as vice-president to Adams for the next four years.
It was during this time that their ideas about policy-making became as distinct as their personalities. The irascible and hot-tempered Adams was a firm believer in a strong centralized government, while the erudite and genteel Jefferson believed federal government should take a more hands-off approach and defer to individual states’ rights. As Adams’ vice president, Jefferson was so horrified by what he considered to be Adams’ abuse of the presidency–particularly his passage of the restrictive Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798–that he abandoned Adams and Washington for his estate at Monticello. There, he plotted how to bring his Republican faction back into power in the presidential election of 1800. After an exceptionally bitter campaign, in which both parties engaged in slanderous attacks on each other in print, Jefferson emerged victorious. It appeared the former friends would be eternal enemies. And they were enemies for the next ten years.
It is always revealing when reminded of how much of oneself is oblivious to your own thoughts, perceptions and actions.
So to quickly deal with the surmised motive behind my slipping behind the fence of my public facade, I'm still dealing with grief and pain. Grief for a life and love that also I let slip away, no matter the rapidly changing introspections of that period of my life. And to be brutally transparent, so much of the past few years is literally a blur. Some of it can be attributed to me painting over memories in an effort to recast myself in a more favorable light, perhaps. Then, there is a more physical cause, as I'm getting older, memories are becoming more of an hurdle to recall than in years past. And then there is the unknown that hovers over us all. What is the old saying, there are two viewpoints in every relationship and then there is the truth?
Well, I'm not sure I believe that is always the case. Sometimes there is just the truth, and two people trying to navigate their own survival in the vacuum of what used to be.
Guitars – Ry Cooder, Bruce Springsteen, Brad Davis, Randy Mitchell, Tommy Shaw, David Lindley, Mike Campbell and Joe Walsh
Bass – Jorge Calderon and Reggie Hamilton
Vocals – Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, Bruce Springsteen, John Waite, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmidt, Jordan Zevon, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Tom Petty and Emmylou Harris
Drums and Percussion – Don Henley, Jim Keltner, Steve Gorman and Luis Conte
Piano – James Raymond
Saxophone – Gil Bernal
Not only is this one of the best farewell albums ever recorded, I believe it stands as one of the best. Every track is sensational. The musical contributions from the group listed above is jaw dropping. You can hear the effort that every player brought to this project. And yet, the most powerful song on the album has the most simplistic arrangement.
Isaiah 17 gives a prophecy about the destruction of Damascus. In addition to the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos also write of the destruction coming to one of the world’s most ancient cities.
“The burden against Damascus. ‘Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria…’” (Isaiah 17:1-3)
Based on this historical fact and the promises of God, it is the believers’ great hope that when we die our spirit will also go to heaven to be with Jesus. There we will wait for the end of this age and Jesus’ second coming, when God will raise up our physical resurrection bodies to be united with our spirits (1 Cor. 15:51-52). There we will live in a physical new heaven and new earth with Jesus forever.
"The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." - Proverbs 10:28
It truly just seems like yesterday . . .
Genesis | Duke | 1980
With a push of a button, the machine hummed into motion with seamless precision, all the moving parts operating together like a miniature galaxy. The neighbor was hypnotized by the synchronization of the parts, then he asked, “But what does it do?”
“What do you mean?” asked the professor.
“I mean, what does it do? What is it good for?”
“Oh,” said the scholar, “it doesn’t really do anything, but look how wonderfully it works.”
That’s a picture of much of today’s thinking. Scholars have elaborate theories, and we all have lots of opinions, but sometimes we never get around to application. We can accumulate information, explain ideas, and discuss data, but left unanswered is the question—so what?
If I were the Devil
If I were the Prince of Darkness
I'd want to engulf the
Whole world in darkness
And I’d have a third of it's real estate
And four-fifths of it's population
But I wouldn't be happy until I had seized
The ripest apple on the tree – thee
Which is a lot like trying to contemplate our reality without the wisdom of Christ . . .
"We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever." - (2 Corinthians 4:18 | NCV)
Weakness. Powerless. Hopeless. We have or will experience these seasons in our lives, where darkness threatens to overwhelm us in our despondence and suffering takes up residence in our hearts. And just like that moment over two thousand years ago we are faced with a choice, how are we to respond during times of suffering and pain?
Today, we are going to look at the life of the father of Israel, Abraham. A man credited with incredible faith and revered for his place in our heritage. Even so, he was still a man and like us, he made his share of mistakes.
What's interesting is that Abram (as he was originally named) didn’t grow up in a godly home or have a great spiritual influence. He didn’t start with the makings of being the great patriarch of Israel. In fact, Abram came from a godless home in a wicked nation. Not much to start with, which appears in the Bible to be the type of person that God loves to use in a mighty way!
Although the biblical text clearly and explicitly documents Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, some scholars reject the idea that the Hebrews ever dwelt in Egypt. One primary reason they reject this biblical account as fiction is because of a purported lack of archaeological evidence. “The Exodus is so fundamental to us and our Jewish sources that it is embarrassing that there is no evidence outside of the Bible to support it,” wrote archaeologist Stephen Rosenberg in the Jerusalem Post (April 14, 2014).
Is that true? Is there really no evidence outside of the Bible to support Israel’s sojourn in Egypt and the Exodus?
I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
When I was young I remember vividly viewing a black-and-white cartoonish religious tract that depicted the Last Judgement as a vast humanity stand before Jesus, in front of a huge screen, while everyone, including the person currently being judged, witnessed all of that person's sins that he or she committed during their life. This imagery caused many a sleepless night as I sought to imagine, even at my relative innocent age, all my transgressions being broadcast for everyone to see!
Thankfully, that scene is nowhere to be found in the Bible. But there was an element of truth to that belief that it took many years for me to come to terms with. Let's take a closer look at what I believe the Bible teaches about this particular judgement from God.
“Lord, make me pure, but not yet!” This infamous prayer of the young Augustine of Hippo (354-430) reflects the inner conflict of any soul who recognises the virtuous thing to do, yet fears the demanding struggle against human urges and passions. In his Confessions, St Augustine was not afraid to admit his utter powerlessness in the face of sexual temptation. As a young man, he had given in to the attraction of sexual pleasure and took a lover whom he would never marry but who bore him his only son, Adeodatus. He was brutally honest about why he chose to live with this woman: “I had chosen her for no special reason but that my restless passions had alighted on her”.
When Augustine abandoned the Catholic faith of his youth, much to the anxiety and dismay of his mother, St Monica, he never ceased to search for truth, even if his search led him down a few blind alleys. This search was hampered not just by his lack of understanding but by the power of the favorite sin which blinded him. His conversion was delayed because his sin enslaved him and prevented him from surrendering to the truth of the Catholic faith which would, in turn, have meant the abandonment of his old sinful lifestyle. He wrote: “I was bound down by this disease of the flesh. Its deadly pleasures were a chain that I dragged along with me, yet I was afraid to be freed from it”. His friend, the chaste Alypius, tried to talk good sense into Augustine. However, vice is contagious, and curiosity together with Augustine’s ideas began to lead Alypius astray: “For my part, I was a prisoner of habit, suffering cruel torments through trying to satisfy a lust that could never be sated: while Alypius was being led by curiosity into a like state of captivity”.