THE UNDEFEATED

Netflix retitled this film, Sarah Palin: The Undefeated, presumably to discredit it so as few unthinking people as possible would watch it. They don't worry about thinking Americans, we're in the minority. You see, this nation of Kool-Aid drinkers will believe any lie the elitist news and entertainment media feed them, especially if their target speaks openly of her uncompromising Christian faith and the eternal values it carries.

But I watched the film, all five stars worth. Though I commented on it, Netflix will probably never publish it. Who needs honesty, anyway?

An interesting consistency presented itself as I scanned the existing comments; liberals hated the film, and conservatives loved it. While it seemed unapologetically promotional, the scalpel-tongued, elitist media gave Mrs. Palin no choice but to try and counter their lies. And it did a great job of it, showing a Sarah Palin I had never before seen, and the truth of her phenomenal achievements in Alaska.

To her ultimate credit, Mrs. Palin bravely took the politicos' and their media stooges' savage, hateful, character assassination on the chin. Despite the media raping that cost her family and her political career dearly, she came back swinging, to the mid-term liberal politicians' extreme chagrin. By not playing by Washington's rules and demonstrating her character and competence, she has earned, not their respect, but their undying fear and hatred. And that, for the best reason of all: She speaks the truth.

Comment From a nonbeliever

While listening to a Gaither rendition of Leaning On the Everlasting Arms, I became interested in a nonbeliever's comment:

i am not christian and i am not a believer of any other religion. i believe that you live and you die. and as much as i have seen and known that is good enough for me. i am not here not here to make anyone doubt their religion i just anted to say that this song is beautiful and if human beings would start to notice how beautiful this life is that we have and how lucky we are to only get 1 chance at it then maybe killing each other over religion would stop. i love my country more then anything.

To which I replied:

@hom859 You made a beautiful statement of faith in human goodness. We can indeed be good, but it doesn't come naturally, and too often we attach that goodness to selfish motives, which WAY too often look like religion. Hope you don't mind that I copy your comment and my reply into my blog, The Well-Dressed Branch.

I hope @hom859 will search this blog to read my followup comments.

As I said, human religion masquerades as devotion to God, which is sometimes a good thing. But most often we contaminate it with selfish motives and ambitions, which makes it a bad thing — a TERRIBLY bad thing.

Atheists rightly observe history as a series of religious debacles, but tragically, they blame it on all religion. Human religion is nothing short of idolatry, whether it takes the form of self-aggrandizement, veneration of humans — dead or alive — pride in allegedly Biblical teachings and the people or denominations that propagate them, or literal idol-worship.

 James 1:26-27 ESV  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.  (27)  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Religion, by that definition, benefits humanity as no other practice or ideology can. But only God's love can produce that blessed religion, and God's love is only accessible through our Master Jesus Christ.

The World's Longest Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge at night

John Roebling had a dream. He began working on it with smaller scale projects, culminating with his design for the Brooklyn Bridge. But he died before he could witness his dream's construction.

John's son Washington took over the project, completing the actual design work. He invented wire rope (steel cable) to take a structural load far greater than the hemp rope of the period could support. He invented a construction tool called the pressurized caisson, that allowed workers to lay the towers' foundations well below the East River's surface.

Considering the Brooklyn Bridge, architect Louis Kahn wrote, "Great art work is not the fulfilling of a desire, but the making of a new desire. The world never really needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until he wrote it, and now we couldn't live without it. Likewise, we didn't really need (the Brooklyn Bridge), ... but now that it's there, we couldn't live without it.”

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Beethoven

Another bridge took form in an architect's mind long before it was ever needed, a bridge that spanned far more than the Brooklyn Bridge's 6,000 feet. Longer even than the 24-mile-long, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It too was a father and son project, but rather than killing the Father, completing this project killed the Son. And while the Brooklyn Bridge inspired Lewis Kahn's romantic observations, we denizens of the world could not live beyond the veil of death without this Longest Bridge.

Though it is truly monumental, and one way or another its name is on nearly everyone's lips, no one can find it without the Guide. This Longest Bridge is not a structure, but a person: The incarnate Word of God, through whom the eternal Father made our universe, and without whom not one person will survive this short, mortal existence.

Our sin created the infinite gulf between ourselves and our Father God, but his love provided our Way back to himself, his perfect Truth, and his eternal Life(John 14:6). The Bible says of God's eternal Word, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:10-14 ESV)

Yes, the name of Jesus is on many lips, either through praise, or through profanity. We praise him because his love led him to willingly submit to the worst, most degrading Roman torture imaginable; he chose death on the cross to reconcile his creation to himself after we willingly separated ourselves from him through sin. We profane him because most of us refuse to respond to his love with our own love, through obedience to his good news, the gospel of salvation through his blood.

Follow God's gospel to The World's Longest Bridge, and realizing you need him while you still have opportunity, get on. He's waiting, and he's nearer than we think.

DUAL WITH EL DIABLO

I reckon most folks aren’t old enough to remember the 1966 James Garner and Sidney Portier movie titled Dual at Diablo. To spoil it completely for anyone who might go back to the archives to watch the movie, only a small handful survived the battle of Diablo Canyon, until the cavalry arrived to save the day.

Diablo means devil in Spanish, which is an interesting coincidence, considering each of us, whether we know it or not, are at war with el diablo. Each moment of our lives, el diablo stalks us like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Have you never seen the devil? Perhaps you just didn't recognize him. The devil is alive and well in the attitudes that place "Me First!" 

Like the valiant, fictional soldiers who died with arrows in heir backs, many—if not most—of us will die much as they did, attacked from the rear. Yes, the cavalry is on the way, but in the true story, it’s spelled Calvary. And the company of troopers who will save the day is just one man, but WHAT A MAN. He happens to be the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the eternal Word incarnate, and the self-existent, eternal God’s only Son, all rolled up into one Savior.

Only one problem: He, the only perfectly innocent One, had to die as a sinner to save a sinner. That would be me, and you.

Yes, of course we aren't the only sinners in the world, but even if we were, it would have made no difference to the Savior. Being God, he knows you personally, from among all the people who have ever lived. In fact, he knows you so well, you can't hide anything from him. Think of the most secret, darkest thoughts that have occasionally plagued you, or the one thing about yourself that no one knows. That's right; it’s all clear as day to the Savior whose name means God Is Salvation. But as hard as it is to imagine, he loves you anyway. He loves you with a depth and breadth we humans can't begin to conceive, because as the Bible says, God Is Love.

So quit fooling yourself. Though you may have all your weapons at the ready to fight the enemy of your soul, there is no way you can stop him. Your enemy is quieter than an Indian warrior. He is more stealthy than an assassin with a garrote. And if you think all this doesn’t apply to you, he already has you lulled into a complacency deeper than that of Rip Van Winkle.  

If you decide to wake up--which is your choice--you’ll find that Jesus did all the hard work for you; all you have to do is appropriate(that’s, grab hold and never let go) the amazing salvation He offers. Come just as you are, sin and all. No sin is too big for His forgiveness. Even if you’re penniless you have the price of admission, and even if you’re wealthy you don’t have enough money to buy what He offers. Jesus said, I am the Door, and, I am the Way. He said nothing of a gate fee.

If you’re thinking, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” you are wise. Though the redemption He offers is free of charge, nowhere in His word did Jesus say it would cost nothing. When a wealthy man asked Jesus, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus gave him a brief rundown of the commandments, which the guy had followed since his youth. Then, though Jesus knew the young man was sincere, He also knew he was rich in worldly possessions. So Jesus challenged him beyond what he was willing to give. “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”(from Mark 10:17-23) The price was too steep, so the guy shuffled away, dejected.

Whether you’re rich or poor by the world’s standard, the salvation that Jesus bought for you with His life requires the same investment: Everything this world has to offer. Thing is, once your heart stops, somebody here on Earth will smile all the way to the bank with everything you own. And it won’t be you, ‘cause you’ll be d-e-a-d, like a doornail. And the fun you don’t want to give up? When you pass to the other side you will see it for what it is: stupid foolishness. You’ll be like the kid who spent his allowance on candy, and all he got that lasted was a bellyache and cavities.

So, back to Diablo Canyon. The few who lived were those who faced the enemy and were willing to give everything to live. If you want to survive your “Dual With el Diablo,” Give your life to Jesus, and Calvary will come to your rescue.

Mars Needs Moms; fun liberal indoctrination

Mars Needs Moms is a fun, painless way for your kids to get their liberal propaganda. If only I were a social progressive, I could have enjoyed this flick more fully.

The Martians in this film lived in a female-dominated society where the males were the nurturers—and more than a bit flaky. Kids will get such a kick out of all the tightly-fitted Martian glutes that they might miss the intended pro-mom message. And no, I'm not dirty-minded; I just know kids. The bit of toilet humor at the end was cute, and in only moderately poor taste.

As in most  programs aimed at kids, the old people in Mars are the villains, whose single purpose is to spoil everyone’s fun. The old villain, by the way, was the recipient of the above mentioned toilet humor.

Mars Needs Moms provides plenty of action and cheesy-but-fun acting. The fantastic animation and effects often caused me to forget it was animated, and that I was enjoying progressive propaganda.

Goodbye, 2011

It has been a year of change. Only by faith in your promise, O Eternal One, can I call it all good. The one through whom you taught me to love as you love has left me, and is now whole, peaceful and victorious in your embrace.

Eternal Master, you gave your Word to us for our righteous instruction, your incarnate Word to reconcile yourself to your rebellious children, and your Holy Spirit of love to indwell us for your Great Commission. Even so, Heavenly Father, I see in myself and those around me, even in those who claim your Son’s holy name, traces of the juvenile stubbornness and shards of the brittle wickedness that placed between us the infinite gulf of sin.

What grief, our stiff-necks cause you. What pain, our willful sin brings you. Though your wisdom and power move the universe at your command, still you chose in your steadfast grace to love the least worthy of these, your creation, with the intimacy of your Son’s shed blood.

Sovereign Master, I bow my head, my will, before you, longing for your Holy Spirit to complete the good work you began in me, so that I and my brethren can love this dying world as you do. Let 2011 be the last year we your body cringe before the world’s counterfeit power, clinging to our pitiful possessions and our impotent independence. Let 2012 be the year you complete your eternal plan.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Shock and Awe

What It Is

     “Shock and awe” is a military doctrine developed in 1996 to do just that to our enemies through sudden, massive deployment of actual, or apparent, overwhelming military force. Our military leaders sought to suddenly paralyze the enemy by destroying their will to resist, if not their actual ability to resist.
     Public response to that doctrine, however, proved disappointing, as many bought in to the major news media’s negative opinions about its application in the Middle East. Whether or not it actually worked is a mystery to John Q. Public, who knows only what he hears reported.

What It Was

     Oddly enough, the first example ever of Shock and Awe also happened in the Middle East, when God's people Israel finally invaded the Promised Land to eliminate the corrupt, idolatrous people living there. Much of the Bible’s Pentateuch recorded for us that military campaign, and how Israel’s disobedience caused it to ultimately fail.

     That failure cost Israel the holy heritage God promised if they had obeyed. Yet, nothing surprises the Eternal One, who knew before time how he would remedy humanity’s sin. That Remedy, that perfect, loving Sacrifice in the person of God’s only Son after his own kind, became our Way to the Father, our perfect Truth, and our eternal Life.

Christ’s Shock and Awe

     After Jesus completed his perfect work of reconciling fallen man to his Father, he ordered a campaign of shock and awe when he issued the Great Commission to his disciples, and to us.

Matthew 28:16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Shock and Awe, yes, but not as the world conducts its wars. If his church at large had obeyed his commands and followed his teachings over the years since he and his apostles walked the earth, we would have completed turning the world up side down, as the Thessalonian Jews accused the apostles of doing.

Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

     That was Shock and Awe of the spiritual kind, and it cost Christ’s followers dearly, ranging from fines, such as the above excerpt shows, to their very lives. Most of us shudder at reports of the torturous deaths the martyrs suffered, and are unable to imagine ourselves following the same path. If we were able to ask those martyrs how they managed to face their horrible fate they would probably tell us they couldn’t imagine it either … before they faced it.
That Was Then, This Is Now
     We Western Christians will never face such a threat, as long as we continue reducing Christ’s way to formalized religion, participating in some of the world’s more mundane corruptions, and balking at the prospect of facing horrible tortures such as unpopularity, vocational penalties, family scoffing and the like. The tragic fact is most of us are quite thankful for the differences.
     Some of today's more aware brethren pray for revival in God’s church to bring us back to first-century vitality, quietly hoping God will choose someone else for the hard work. Others recognize the potent, poisonous Kool-Aid we cheerfully consume in the name of Christian liberty, and respond by establishing punitive rules and judging all those who fail to measure up. Of course, neither strategy will produce the revival needed to carry out Christ’s Great Commission.
Personally?
     I’m afraid the only solution to these shortcomings will include reaping what we’ve sown, as did God’s stiff-necked people Israel. While that reaping must include severe tribulation, the resulting purge will leave the purified remnant necessary to complete Christ’s earth-shaking orders.
     I both dread and anticipate that time. If I survive until then I hope to face it with God’s Spirit providing the strength to endure, and to carry God's campaign of spiritual Shock and Awe to the needy world, as Christ's Great Commission directed.

A Hypothetical Question

My grand daughter asked me if I would put gum stuck to a public bench into my mouth for a million dollars. Now, what kind of question is that? Definitely hypothetical, as the odds against actually facing such a decision are astronomical.

I refused to entertain her question because it presented me with a false dilemma, and I don't need meaningless questions complicating my thought-life. But she was truly curious about my answer, so I told her someone would actually present that option to another person only in an attempt to degrade or humiliate them. So, reason number two for refusing to answer her question is the disingenuous motivation of anyone who would pose it for real.

Which brings to mind other hypothetical questions I've heard; atheists' queries about the God they deny exists. For instance, “Could God create a rock so big he couldn't move it?”

Though even attempting to answer such a foolish question goes against my principles, I would probably say, “Why would he do that?” Truth is, besides being an attempt to trap a Christ-follower, the question is based on ignorance and/or misunderstanding of God's attributes. One huge problem with such inquisitors and questions is most people who claim to be Christians can't answer them without falling into their trap.

The moral of this little story is: Dig into God's word and fill your mind with it, if you don't want to appear foolish when answering fools.

A Good One

One hypothetical question that really isn’t hypothetical is, “If you were to get smushed the next time you hit the highway (or a truck, or a bridge abutment) in your car, where would you spend eternity?” Yes, this question includes an “if,” but it only brings into the present a situation we will all face eventually, whether it is in a bloody accident, from a heart attack, or at Christ’s return.

God said in his word, (Heb 9:27 ESV)And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (28)so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Anyone who thinks that passage exempts them from facing judgment should think again. Those who are not eagerly waiting for his return will indeed face Christ's judgment.

Procrastinators beware! Unlike some human parents, God never makes false promises. NEVER! And he never gives us a headsup about when our expiration date is coming. I—or you—could face his Judgment Seat in the space of a few missed heartbeats. Is whatever you prize in your life worth risking an eternity of torment? If yes, I have some prime ocean-front real estate in Oklahoma that I can sell you for a song.
Any takers?

Love, For Christ’s Sake!

I get tired of … no, irritated with … no, disgusted with … okay, let’s face it, loveless religion infuriates me!

Not that I practice perfect love; hardly! That’s Christ’s bailiwick. What I can do is just what He told me to do. In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

So, what if we don’t, or won’t love Jesus? 1Corinthians 16:22 says, “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.” I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d rather not be accursed.

And what about the few people who say they don’t believe in God at all? That’s an easy one. Israel’s King David wrote, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” (Psalm 14:1) Trouble is, the folks King David is talking about don’t even know they’re fools, but that’s pretty common for fools.

“Okay,” some will say, “I love Jesus, but there’s a bunch of people I won’t love.” The trouble with that attitude is Jesus told us what He thinks of hatred, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1John 4:20) “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)

Godly Love is Weird

At least, that’s what it seems like for those who don’t know God. That’s because Godly love isn’t a feeling at all, and you can’t just fall in it. But even though warm feelings have nothing to do with it, loving God’s way makes you feel really good.

So, what is this thing called God’s love?

Once upon a time, there was a guy who hated Christ-followers (yes, really), and he travelled all over trying to arrest them and send them to prison. But then he met Jesus, and everything changed. He was the guy who wrote, of all things, The Love Chapter of the New Testament. So here’s God’s description of True Love:

1Corinthians 13:4-7  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  (5)  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  (6)  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  (7)  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It’s as simple as that; if your love is impatient or envious, arrogant or rude, it fails the test of Godly love. If you throw tantrums when you don’t get your own way, or giggle when a rival gets in trouble, you aren’t loving God’s way. In fact, God’s love puts up with a lot, trusts a lot, hopes a lot, and keeps on going even through the rough times.

Not Rocket Science

James 5:9  “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” Though it’s that simple, without Christ’s Spirit living inside, it’s completely impossible! So, first things first; let God take over, and the rest is just hard, but not impossible.

Psalm Thirty-Seven Peace

King David would hardly serve as the prime example of worry-free, restful living. Most of the psalms he authored express his angst concerning this enemy or that. Psalm 37, though, begins with his wise instruction to “fret not.”

Are you worried about the latest e-mailed call to arms or conspiracy theory? In today’s Our Daily Bread, Dave Branon presents a powerful formula for finding peace and rest in these chaotic times.