Lord's Day 48
123. Q. What is the second petition?
A. Thy kingdom come. That is: So rule us by Thy Word and Spirit that more and more we submit to Thee.[1] Preserve and increase Thy church.[2] Destroy the works of the devil, every power that raises itself against Thee, and every conspiracy against Thy holy Word.[3] Do all this until the fulness of Thy kingdom comes, wherein Thou shalt be all in all.[4]
[1] Ps. 119:5, 105; 143:10; Matt. 6:33. [2] Ps. 51:18; 122:6-9; Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:42-47. [3] Rom. 16:20; I John 3:8. [4] Rom. 8:22, 23; I Cor. 15:28; Rev. 22: 17, 2

As I reflect on this last year I am thankful at a vast and rapidly increasing number of Americans have learned the reality of the failure of success. It is sad that this new knowledge has come, as broad cross sections of society don’t have a clue of what this means. So how about a few examples.

Healthcare reform as it is now spun is the most apparent case in point. We will do nothing to increase the real healthcare infrastructure. By that I mean no new hospitals, no more doctors and nurses and tangible things like that. Then we are going to insure at least ten percent more people, and save money in the process. Furthermore the federal government is going to provide a cost effective alternative to the greedy insurance companies that are the only crooks in the house.

While we are at it, we are going to save western culture from the onslaught of foreign and domestic Islamic terrorists. But the politically correct definition of this is no longer termed a war, but human induced catastrophes, or something like that. However this salvation can be done by fighting a decade of wars, halfway around the world, with soldiers who thought they were serving their country, but are now legally committed to see these excursions to the end. This while their fellow Americans think of sacrifice as only being able to turn in one perfectly good vehicle in “cash for clunkers.”

But is it too much to ask if you are going to make Afghanistan the hallmark of your war prowess, perhaps early January after your inauguration would be a good time to start a timely review of theater strategies. Then when you get a recommendation from your commander on the ground you can either tell him you support him, he should retire, or these are the tactics you have determined as the best course of action for the United States.

Starting these deliberations once you get a command recommendation and then dithering about a decision for months until early December is absolutely unprecedented in American history. Any statement to the effect of saying that other things were more important than providing safety for American combat forces is completely indefensible and totally dumbfounding. Sadly, I am at a loss for harsher words. Read More...

Tags: health care, Afghanistan, Wall Street, Barack Obama, Bill O Reilly, Glenn Beck, Five Essential Gs, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck

Lord's Day 47
122. Q. What is the first petition?
A. Hallowed be Thy Name. That is: Grant us first of all that we may rightly know Thee,[1] and sanctify, glorify, and praise Thee in all Thy works, in which shine forth Thy almighty power, wisdom, goodness, righteousness, mercy, and truth.[2] Grant us also that we may so direct our whole life-- our thoughts, words, and actions-- that Thy Name is not blasphemed because of us but always honoured and praised.[3]
[1] Jer. 9:23, 24; 31: 33, 34; Matt. 16:17; John 17:3. [2] Ex. 34:5-8; Ps. 145; Jer. 32:16-20; Luke 1:46-55, 68-75; Rom. 11: 33-36. [3] Ps. 115:1; Matt. 5:16.

After I finished Part 9, of this series a couple of weeks ago, I thought I was pretty much through with the concept of Traditional Historic American Values, at least in the journalistic, or even the blogosphere sense. The next day with the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas, changed all of that. First of all it must be said that this was a guerilla attack not a terrorist attack. The only place I have found that reported properly is in James Taranto’s WSJ Best of the Web email. In that respect Major Hasan is to stand trial as a murderer and perhaps for treason. Furthermore I felt that the President’s response and later speech in Texas showed reluctance to address reality that even his best-prepared remarks could not hide.

I was still struggling with how to prepare this last article of the series for Veterans Day when Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my friend Jim, who accompanied me a little over a year ago, to pick up my motorhome in Texas. He stated that he felt so good after finishing Julia Duin’s book on “Quitting Church” that he just had to call and state it was nice to feel he was not alone.

A guerilla attack on American soil, American church leaders so out of touch that they think Christianity is primarily about making one feel good about a progressively psycho world, and we haven’t even gotten into some serious reality.

Hence between the two concepts and real life in general, I was pretty much at a loss on how to begin to finally conclude this ten part series on Traditional Historic American Values. In some perspective we have an American President who feels very comfortable in being everything to everyone, except the military’s Commander in Chief. This is contrasted with a long term Christian man, who for the now considers himself part of a community that has freed itself from the doctrinal sterility of American Evangelicalism. What are this world and this country coming to?

So the President took off for Asia, while his Attorney General took the heat for bringing the 9-11 true terrorists to New York City for a civilian trial. Don’t they understand that these thugs are not covered by the Geneva Convention? Why are they giving them special rights like, lobbyists, investment bankers, and other domestic terrorists?

In Asia he seems to have kissed away his second major goal, the cap and trade energy tax, in favor of his worst fandango, gross deficit spending, all the while continuing to dither on what to do with Afghanistan, a problem much too small to fit within the global concept of financially too big to fail. Perhaps it is that contrast between New York and Washington DC centered special rights – special interests, and Islamists, who believe that they, the too big to fail cronies, all are atheistic infidels, which forces the dithering reality about the consequences.

To use a constructive metaphor, the President seems to be continually trying to shoot himself in the foot, when the proper response would be just to take out his gun and take aim at the bad guys. The problem that he is finding out however, just as with Major Hasan, the President and his guerilla forces are a definite minority. Furthermore virtually all-successful guerilla wars first capture the countryside before moving to urban centers. In this guerilla war, Obama’s progressive base only hold portions of the right and left coasts and Chicago politics, and the great American fly-over is becoming increasingly agitated with what it sees as not just liberal, leftist, or socialist, but communist underpinnings of his social wealth redistribution plans.
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Tags: Ft Hood, Barack Obama, Afghanistan, Viet Nam, treason, Professional Military, traditional values

Lord's Day 46
120. Q. Why has Christ commanded us to address God as Our Father?
A. To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer that childlike reverence and trust toward God which should be basic to our prayer: God has become our Father through Christ and will much less deny us what we ask of Him in faith than our fathers would refuse us earthly things.[1]
[1] Matt. 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13.

121. Q. Why is there added, Who art in heaven?
A. These words teach us not to think of God's heavenly majesty in an earthly manner,[1] and to expect from His almighty power all things we need for body and soul.[2]
[1] Jer. 23:23, 24; Acts 17:24, 25. [2] Matt. 6:25-34; Rom. 8:31, 32.

I have refrained for some time from posting other interesting articles that seemed to grasp the importance of the moment. Part of that was due to the fact that I really haven’t had the resources necessary to do the searching for these unique pearls of journalism. Changing metaphors, more to the point has been the desert in which our journalism has entered, where you can take little at face value, and without resources to understand the back or hidden story, items of interest may turn out to be not as they seem.

Who could have imagined just a short year ago the United States would be facing a “Constitutional Moment?” As a people we had been awaken to the reality that at least financially things were not going too well. But we had just elected the first president of a very diverse physical heritage. Furthermore through his “hope” and enthusiasm we were all at least willing to give Barack Obama the benefit of muted doubt towards his political agenda.

What a difference a year makes. Perhaps for the first time in one hundred fifty years real people are again talking seriously about the principles of the U. S. Constitution. What a miracle that is! The passive consumer addiction to stuff has been muted by real reality and those of us with Traditional Historic American Values are beginning to voice our displeasure on the way the country is heading, both politically and financially. Again what a miracle that really is? Furthermore it is pretty clear what the definition of “is - - is.”

So today I offer you a weekly interview from the Online Wall Street Journal, by James Taranto talking with Seth Lipsky on our “Constitutional Moment.” There is a reason to be optimistic about the future of the United States, it is just that we really are not too much into what and where this “change we don’t really want to believe in” may lead.

Tags: U S Constitution

Since the murders at Fort Hood, Texas last week I have been trying to think of an appropriate way to honor our past, present, and future veterans who have and will faithfully serve this country throughout American history. While eating lunch today, it suddenly became quite obvious. The best way to observe a memorable holiday is to observe it as such. Traditional Historic American Values are founded upon sacrifice of self for others. Liberty and freedom, paid for by our Veterans,will insure that these traditional values shall continue. Therefore there will be no Weekly Column this week in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Next week we will wrap up our Traditional Historic American Values series with Part 10: The Conservative - Progressive Illusion.

Lord's Day 45
116. Q. Why is prayer necessary for Christians?
A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness which God requires of us.[1] Moreover, God will give His grace and the Holy Spirit only to those who constantly and with heartfelt longing ask Him for these gifts and thank Him for them.[2]
[1] Ps. 50:14, 15; 116:12-19; I Thess. 5:16-18. [2] Matt. 7:7, 8; Luke 11:9-13.

117. Q. What belongs to a prayer which pleases God and is heard by Him?
A. First, we must from the heart call upon the one true God only, who has revealed Himself in His Word, for all that He has commanded us to pray.[1] Second, we must thoroughly know our need and misery, so that we may humble ourselves before God.[2] Third, we must rest on this firm foundation that, although we do not deserve it, God will certainly hear our prayer for the sake of Christ our Lord, as He has promised us in His Word.[3]
[1] Ps. 145:18-20; John 4:22-24; Rom. 8:26, 27; James 1:5; I John 5:14, 15; Rev. 19:10. [2] II Chron. 7:14; 20:12; Ps. 2:11; 34:18; 62:8; Is. 66:2; Rev. 4. [3] Dan. 9:17-19; Matt. 7:8; John 14:13, 14; 16:23; Rom. 10:13; James 1:6.

118. Q. What has God commanded us to ask of Him?
A. All the things we need for body and soul,[1] as included in the prayer which Christ our Lord Himself taught us.
[1] Matt. 6:33; James 1:17.

119. Q. What is the Lord's prayer?
A. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.[1]
[1] Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4.

Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:4b-9 ESV

Yesterday was Election Day in the United States, the first sort of national election since the Obama happening last year. The results pretty much signify that the shaking continues and again verifies that this still is a moderately conservative nation. I doubt the vested pundits and the commentators will spin it that way, which means that the shaking will continue for the foreseeable future.

In the open historical Congressional seat in upstate New York, the Democrat won, somewhat upsetting the New Era Conservative, nerdy, accountant type, endorsed by the small tent Republican aristocracy. If it were Texas you could prove the statement, “Don’t mess with Texas!” In the rest of the country a nap or maybe another cup of morning coffee, should be in order.

More significant however was the Republican victories in governor races in Virginia and New Jersey. Neither victory bid well for the Obama Administration focus on remaking America in the image of the early twentieth century Soviet Union. ObamaCare and a Cap and Trade energy tax in the short-term future seem much more remote today that they did a short day ago.

Of course no one knows for sure if that Bolshevik agenda is really the goal of President Obama, but that seems to be the present focus of Glenn Beck and his following. Perhaps a more moderate concept of redistribution of wealth would be a better pursuit to save the country from the greedy capitalists. However that also assumes that there is still some real wealth to redistribute to those who feel that they deserve it.

The greedy capitalists think they deserve the wealth also and it will eventually trickle down to the have nots, just as in the continuing vision of the Reagan Revolution that shifted the role of small business from the innovators and job creators of society to a service sector of consultants and debt leveraged consumers.

The wealth that now remains, really isn’t wealth at all, it is just a spin on “show me the money, and give me my money.” This is definitely a new, New Deal direction for the American Dream.
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Tags: Haggai 2:4b-9, Barack Obama, wealth, capitalism, God, Warren Buffett, gold