Another Favorite Poem

Here is another of my favorite poems. This one is by Anne Bronte. Enjoy!

My God! O let me call thee mine!

'My God! O let me call Thee mine!
Weak wretched sinner though I be,
My trembling soul would fain be Thine,
My feeble faith still clings to Thee,
My feeble faith still clings to Thee.
Not only for the past I grieve,
The future fills me with dismay;
Unless Thou hasten to relieve,
I know my heart will fall away,
I know my heart will fall away.

I cannot say my faith is strong,
I dare not hope my love is great;
But strength and love to Thee belong,
O, do not leave me desolate!
O, do not leave me desolate!

I know I owe my all to Thee,
O, take this heart I cannot give.
Do Thou my Strength my Saviour be;
And make me to Thy glory live!
And make me to Thy glory live!

Tens

Here are the ten books that have impacted me the most in my life, so far.

10. Engaging God's World by Cornelius Plantinga
9. Piety and Philosophy by Richard Rieson
8. Good to Great by Jim Collins
7. The Dying of the Light by James Tunstead Burtchaell
6. Human Accomplishments by Charlies Murray
5. Knowing God by J.I. Packer
4. He is There and He is not Silent by Francis Schaeffer
3. The Glory of God by R.C. Sproul
2. Wisdom and Eloquence by Littlejohn and Evans
1 The Bible by God

The Wrong Path of Federal Courts

Here is yet another example of the courts, specifically the federal courts, being out of control. According to the Associated Press,

"A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the day amounts to a call for religious action.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote that the government can no more enact laws supporting a day of prayer than it can encourage citizens to fast during Ramadan, attend a synagogue or practice magic."

This is what we get when a judge rules on rational, personal conviction and, I will add, an agenda and not on precedent and law. Crabb writes regarding her ruling,

"... that her ruling was not a judgment on the value of prayer. She noted government involvement in prayer may be constitutional if the conduct serves a "significant secular purpose" and doesn't amount to a call for religious action. But the National Day of Prayer crosses that line, she wrote.

"It goes beyond mere 'acknowledgment' of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context," she wrote. "In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience."

Judge Crabb's comments are problematic because as she attempts to remain general and vague what she has done is reveal her true ruling - the secular worldview is the only worldview that is constitutional. She claims her ruling is not a judgment on the value of prayer as long as it serves a "significant secular purpose."

She claims that the government can "no more enact laws supporting a day of prayer than it can encourage citizens to fast during Ramadan, attend a synagogue or practice magic." Really? If that is the case then her ruling is technically unconstitutional as it is enacting a law supporting a type of prayer, that which is secular. It is putting the government squarely on one side - that of the secular worldview. According to Judge Crabb, the government is not take sides in personal matters. She has a huge problem with that statement as the government does take sides in personal matters of all varieties.

Despite the government's attempt to sell us on this idea that the secular worldview is not really a worldview, it is a worldview that is marked by liberal theology and social tendencies. It is one that is marked by a large government and an elitist mentality. This is the dirty little secret that most liberal secular humanists do not want us to know. The liberal social agenda is an elitist agenda with a certain select group of people running the show - them.

Judge Crabb's goals are the goals of the liberal agenda, anything that empowers the individual or takes away from the government's power will be deemed "unconstitutional." Do not take my word for it; do your own study, and you will find the same thing I found.

The federal courts have been going in the wrong direction for many years. This is but one more example of that direction which has never been about the law or even justice. It has always been about power and more of it. Judge Crabb's ruling is not about the constitution of the past, but a ruling about what is now the only worldview that is constitutional today - that of the secular variety.

Mediocrity and the Christian

Is it a sin for a Christian to be mediocre? Well, the question itself brings some tension, does it not?

No one wants to be called mediocre; no one wants to be called average. We all want to be told that we excel in something. We don't need to excel in everything, but in one little thing, it would be nice to know and tell others that we are well above average in something, right? Is that not the way we all think? I will venture a guess that it is.

If that is the way we think then why do we accept this whole idea of mediocrity. As Christians we do accept this idea of mediocrity, and we go one step further - we strive for it. You doubt me? What if I used other terms like tolerance, acceptance, grace and love? Do we use those words correctly or do we use those words to be mediocre?

Am I being too harsh? Maybe, I am way out of bounds on this one? Let's see! A. W. Tozer states,

"You're a believer, you're saved ; you know that but you're ordinary and you have no outstanding abilities or qualities ; not distinguished by spiritual superiority at all ; just following the customary ways of the church. Now, I leave it to you whether it describes you or not but I have observed a lot and I do observe that as well as pray and I find that most Christians are mediocre."

Mediocre, the term, means of moderate or low quality, value, ability or performance. There is nothing excellent or good about being mediocre. Tozer goes on to write about the term,

"Mediocre’ is a word that we use a lot without knowing what it means and mediocre means ‘half way up between the valley and the peak. It doesn't mean half-way between earth and Heaven, it means half way between where we used to be and where we ought to be. Now that's where I would describe the average Christian."

Is Dr. Tozer also being too harsh and judgmental? What are we doing these days that is excellent? We want everything for nothing. We refuse to be held to standards. We can not be inconvenienced. We question everything if it is not the way we think it ought to be. We think we are right about everything. We want our own way. We want to be rescued. We do not want to be held to any standard. And, the list goes on and on...

Why is this? Dr. Tozer believes it is because we would rather be safe than anything else. He writes,

"Christians want to be safe. This generation is the weakest that I have known and the weakest probably that we have ever had since our forefather's landed at Plymouth Rock! Everybody's bleating about security! We're hanging onto the neck of Uncle Sam as a baby hangs to the neck of its mother, whimpering and bleating! We want security but there's no security when you have a cross on your shoulder, my friend."

Mediocrity is easy and simple; everyone can do it. The world is mediocre, but the Christian is not called to mediocrity. The Christian is called to excellence for that is what Christ is. There are many who will doubt Christ as Lord, Savior or Truth. He is all of these represented well in the body of a Christian striving imperfectly to be excellent. It is the Christian that should set the pace; it is the Christian that should be the standard. It is the Christian that should be the example to the world of real excellence.

In the closing, I need to mention Colossians 3:2 because it is a verse that commands us to "set our minds on the things above." Many of us, myself included, have disregarded this verse. But, if we think in the practical reality of what happens when we set out minds on things, we discover a whole new perspective on this verse. When I set my mind on losing weight... I lose weight. When I set my mind of reading a difficult book... I read the book. Can you imagine if every Christian set their mind on the things above in the same way that they set their mind on their golf game, their diet, their job, their recreation and the list could go on and on.... Would the Christian have to worry about mediocrity? I think not.

Mediocrity and the Christian do not mix well nor should they mix well. We have a great calling - one rooted in Christ and always in excellence. Blessings!

A Great Quote

Here is another great quote. What does it say about our country and current political climate? What does it say about education? Blessings!


The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

From where do atheists come?

New Scientist magazine has an interesting article on atheism. The article is interesting on several fronts.

The tag line at the front of the article implies that the majority of people think atheism, not theism, is odd. Oxford, to the surprise of no one as it is the home to Dawkins, is a leader in producing those who ascribe to atheism. While the Oxford numbers are of no surprise, the other numbers are. Read for yourself...

"And while a very small number of Britons typically label themselves as "atheist" or "agnostic" (most surveys put it at about 5 per cent), an astonishing 57.3 per cent of the Oxford sample did."

The article digs into the Enlightenment notion that the more educated we become the farther away we move from a belief in God. Apparently, statistics do not back that notion, thus the recent trend away from the factual and toward the narrative. The entire article is worth a read based on the paragraph below. Did you ever think you would see that paragraph is a serious science magazine? I did not. Enjoy!

"What we need now is a scientific study not of the theistic, but the atheistic mind. We need to discover why some people do not "get" the supernatural agency many cognitive scientists argue comes automatically to our brains. Is this capacity non-existent in the non-religious, or is it rerouted, undermined or overwritten - and under what conditions?"

Another Great Poem

Here is another one of my favorite poems. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) is one of my favorite American poets. The poem was first published in the Knickerbocker Magazine in October 1838. Enjoy!

A PSALM OF LIFE

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN
SAID TO THE PSALMIST

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.