Theological Thursday

BECOMING REAL CHRISTIANS 

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me & set me free.” Ps. 118:5

“Here you learn that praying, reciting your troubles, & lifting up your hands are sacrifices most pleasing to God. It is His desire & will that you lay your troubles before Him. He does not want you to multiply your troubles by burdening & torturing yourself.”

WORTH REPEATING 

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Ps. 118:8-9

“God alone has the word of comfort & the fist for help, regardless of the size & the number of troubles & enemies.”

Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.

LCMS president issues statement on abortion legislation

"January 22 was the 46th anniversary of the US. Supreme Court Roe V. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand. To mark the date, the governors of New York & Illinois took actions extending & promoting access to abortions in their states.

        "In response, LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison released a statement highlighting the Synod's commitment to respecting the sanctity of life at all it stages. The statement reads, in part:

        "We live as citizens in this world, & we seek to be obedient to our nation's laws. We thank God for our leaders & for this great land He has given to us & for its precious freedoms & opportunities. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod advocates strong citizenship & active participation in government. We obey the laws of our land & encourage those around us to do so.

        "We are, however, bound by our conscience to speak against those laws that are unjust &, especially, those laws that violate God's law & the natural law that binds all mankind. Abortion & other means through which humans kill humans violate these natural & moral laws that form the foundation of society.

        "Therefore, we stand against these actions & against all laws that sanction abortion or the taking of innocent life." [From LCMS Reporter, Feb. 2019]

Whatever Wednesday

A Trip Down Memory Lane + Challenging Temps + Democrats

We are in the midst of a bitter cold spell, & it looks like more of the same thru next week. Does this make me wistful for Hawaii? We lived in Hawaii from 1993-1997. [I returned to Nebraska in January 1997, to help develop Lutheran High Northeast in Norfolk. I wouldn't advise moving from Hawaii to Nebraska in January.]

Before we moved to Hawaii, it was suggested that we would miss the seasons. We did not. It was suggested that we would miss snow. We did not. The temperature was never warmer than the low 90s; never lower than the low 70s. So, yes, we miss the weather in Hawaii. [We don't miss the high cost-of-living.] 

Which brings me to todays:

Leckband Temp Challenge

Based on a check of accuweather.com @ 6:41a.

#1, Norfolk, NE, 4/-19 wind chill
#2, Lincoln, NE, 9/-18
#3, Ventura, IA, 5/-13
#4, Beatrice, NE, 11/-10
#5, Eagan, MN, 8/3
#6, Balmiest Leckbands, Garrison, IA, 13/6

A related tagline from Drudge (2/27)

"March to start with Arctic outbreak"

Democrats

"A moral catastrophe unfolded on the floor of the U.S. Senate on MON. Forty-four Democratic senators voted against legislation that would have required doctors to give the same care to infants who survive abortion procedures that they would give to any other infant. One after another, Democratic senators took to the floor to smear the bill as an attack on women's health care, a baseless criticism that they failed to substantiate. In the process, they revealed their belief that allowing unwanted infants to perish after birth constitutes a form of women's health care."
--"Why Did Senate Democdrats Refuse to Protect Infants?", by Aleandria Desanctis, National Review Online 2/27

COMMENT:  This is why I would be unlikely to ever vote for a Democrat for any office. At least with a Republican there would be some chance of legislation protecting unborn--and now born--babies. Democrats are the party of abortion rights, & they don't care about the health of women. They care about the money they receive from abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, & the support they want from fellow haters of unborn children.
        Having said all this, I don't hate Democrats. I pray for them.

Tedious Tuesday

Leckband Temp Challenge

When I saw the temperature when I got up this morning, I thought Norfolk had a legitimate shot at finishing #1. Alas, it was not to be. We have a surprise winner this morning--one that we haven't seen in recent memory.

Ratings based on accuweather @ 6:30 a.m.

#1, Lincoln, NE, 2/-17 wind chill
#2, Ventura, IA, 1/-15
#3, Norfolk, NE, 0/-11
#4, Beatrice, NE, 4/-9
#5, Garrison, IA, 8/-12
#6, Balmiest Leckbands, Eagan, MN, 0/-1

"It's how we believe in 2019 . . . 

"It's how we live. What a ball we have there. Do as you like:  no rules, no truth, no responsibilities toward others, save such as secular law enforces, mildly & selectively enough. It's no wonder gross & creepy adults, whether wearing a clerical color or not, figure this or that young person is mine, all mine, to seduce & traduce. Rules? What rules? Ancient beliefs, ancient teachings? Who cares! This is today, not A.D. 1300." ["The Non-Church of Me First," Bill Murchison, Townhall 2/26]

Mental Health Monday

I seem to be feeling a little more upbeat this morning. My nurse practitioner upped the dosage of one of my anti-depressants; maybe this is helping. The weather certainly doesn't seem to be working in my favor. It was -4 when we got up this morning, & today's high is predicted to be in the single digits, with a similar forecast for tomorrow, only colder. [I decided to forestall a Temp Challenge until tomorrow morning, when Norfolk has better odds of a #1 ranking.] On the other hand, it's sunny this morning.

Taglines

I check the Drudge Report pretty much every morning. Usually the taglines tell me everything I care to know, although I do follow the links sometimes. Here are some of this morning's taglines [I didn't bother to check out the articles.]

• Weed killer in wine & beer?
• Ocasio-Cortez: People shouldn't reproduce due to 'climate change'
• Green snow falling in Russia shakes Putin popularity
• Wyoming to open 1-student school

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing

"It's way too early for Christmas music--people in the year 75 BC." [From "Laugh Lines," Reader's Digest Dec/Jan '18-19]

Surreptitious Saturday

Deer Hunting + Cockroaches + Cow-tipping + Dieting

There Is No Place Like . . . Mississippi

"Woman, 101, kills two deer with single shot. A 101-year-old hunter in Mississippi is still at it & even dropped two dear with one shot. Veteran hunter Bertha Vickers made the twofer during her first successful hunt at age 101 . . . After missing four this season, the Morgantown resident said she was determined to bag a deer.
       "Vickers spotted one deer from her hideout, but she remained patient & was rewarded. 'I decided to wait for a bigger one,' Vickers said. 'Before long a bigger doe came out & I shot Then I saw two deer on the ground It shot plum through both of them.'" [Norfolk Daily News, 1/29]

Texas

"A mushy end for the love bugs at the El Paso Zoo. Not in the Valentine's Day spirit? The El Paso Zoo let people name cockroaches after ex-spouses, former friends or anyone else on the nope list. Then on THU, the cockroaches were fed to various zoo animals as part of their meals. The zoo's Facebook page features dozens of graphics showing pink hearts & black cockroaches labeled with various names or initials of people's exes. [Omaha World Herald, 2/15]

Oklahoma

"No more 'cow-tipping' shirts at Oklahoma airport. The mayor of OK City has succeeded in his mission to rid the city's airport of 'cow-tipping' T-shirts. Mayor David Holt said the shirts reading 'Nothing Tips Like a Cow' have sold out & won't be restocked. Airport spokesman Josh Rya said FRI that 'the joke has run its course.'" [OWH, 2/23]

Dept. of Shameless Joke Stealing *

• "You know you're getting old when you get that one candle on the cake. It's like, 'See if you can blow this out.'"
• "Just burned 2,000 calories. That' the last time I leave brownies in the oven while I nap."
• "The only difference in my life when I'm on a diet is instead of saying 'I ate nachos,' I say, 'I accidentally ate nachos."
• "How much mint do I have to muddle into this mojito for it to count as a serving of vegetables?"

* Courtesy of Reader's Digest, Feb. 2019

Theological Thursday

SHOWERS OF KINDNESS 

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” Ps. 118:1

“God is good, but not as a human being is good; from the very bottom of His heart He is inclined to help & do good continually . . . God unceasingly showers the best upon us. He is the Creator of our bodies & souls, our Protector by day & by night, & the Preserver of our lives. [Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.]

CHRIST CRUCIFIED

"St. Paul understood, & we should, too, just how far-reaching is the cross of Christ. We tell the world that because of Jesus' death & resurrection, we have eternal life in heaven. Absolutely! Every chance we get--including every sermon! But the cross means more to us than just heaven. What the cross has really done is reconcile us to God by removing the sin that separated us from Him. And when we're back together with God--who is all-powerful, all-knowing & all-loving, so that He can do what's best for us, know what's best for us & wants to!--we have everything, right now, that's really best for us, right now. That's preaching Christ crucified.

       "Everything. That's really good for us. That means it's the cross that gives us a job. It's the cross that gives us clothing & shoes, food & drink, house & home, & you know the rest The cross gives us everything we need to support this body & life. In whatever timing & whatever quantity (thick or lean) God knows to be best. He provides. Yes, all those First Article gifts are ours because we've been reconciled to God by Jesus' death on the cross.

       "So we talk about nothing but Christ crucified . . . including all that that means. Like how richly we've been blessed materially. Like how we are the very ones who provide God's material provisions to the poor--because God is providing them also with everything that's truly good by the cross of Christ. Heaven? Certainly . . . & the necessities of this life through us." ["Mercy from the Cross," Carl C. Fickenscher II, The Lutheran Witness, Feb. 2019]

Exploding Pot + Amoral Immigration + Thought for Today

Here are some taglines from the Drudge Report, 2/18. [I wish I would have had time to read the articles.]

• "Senate panel to investigate mtgs between Russia, Obama officials.
• "Pelosi wishes everyone 'Happy Thanksgiving' on Valentine's Day.
• "New problem for legal weed:  exploding pot factories."

Political Potpourri

"By any definition, illegal immigration is amoral. Open borders penalize legal immigrants--who wait years under audit for green cards--in favor f those who cut in line & rush the border. Illegal immigration renders federal law a joke. Sanctuary cities are a neo-Confederate idea of state & local nullification of federal law. Unlawful entry punishes the law-abiding citizen in driving down wages & in de factor exempting of crimes such as felonious identity theft that would ruin the career of a U.S. citizen." ["The Strange Paradoxes of Our Age," Victor Davis Hanson, National Review Online 2/19]

PROOF OF GRACE & GOD’S GOODWILL

“I shall not die, but I shall live, & recount the deeds of the Lord.” Ps. 118:17

“Therefore the fiercer our sufferings are, the greater & more wonderful are the things that are worked in the saints. It is a proof of grace & God’s goodwill when they are disciplined by the cross & affliction.”