Thursday, June 27, 2013

Holiness Lost

With the Supreme Court's latest surrender to the Enemy, I look at the path that our country is on and wonder why Holiness is not the hot topic in our nation's pulpits.  The podcast preachers I follow will speak out against immorality, but they say little about "Coming out from them," to be separate... to be pure, Holy, and set apart for the Bridegroom.

Hebrews 12:14 tells us, "to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord..."  So it must be important.

Here's my theory:  If a preacher is being unfaithful to his wife, he probably isn't moved to preach about the evil of adultery.  In the same way, if a preacher is addicted to the worldly media and its entertainment, he probably doesn't feel moved to preach about separation.

If a preacher in America brought up the subject of television's most popular sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, the congregation would probably smile, if not applaud.  This makes it problematic to speak of the female character as a little whore who, I understand, has slept with two of the male characters.  After all, this little blond is adorable and most pew-sitters will overlook such indiscretions in order to be entertained.

Anyway, here's my conclusion:  As long as our preachers and their congregations are willing participants in the Enemy's incredibly influential media, they will be so much like the unbelievers that they will have no influence upon the culture... or their neighborhoods.  They will be personally moral, but because they love to watch immorality, they never attend their thoughts to separation... To Holiness.

It's just not much fun to deny yourself.  Seeking the Narrow Gate is neither entertaining nor titillating.   Laying down worldly idols is a lonely business.  Good luck finding a support group.

Another problem is that Organized Religion in America is so... American.  We pew-sitters want to whoop it up, put on big smiles, and feel good about ourselves.  Concentrating on something at which we are so dreadfully pathetic, separating from America's ugly culture, might be a bummer and might fill neither the building, nor the collection basket.  It hurts our pride to try and repent of this sin and know that we fail every day. 

But if we hope to see the Lord, we must be down for this struggle.  If we hope to inherit the Grace of God... Not the words, "I never knew you,"  repenting of worldliness must be our passion.  We will not be consistent... We will fail daily.   It won't make us popular at work or in the community... or at Sunday services.  But being among "The Few" has eternal advantages.

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Changes in the Christian Home

I visit (check on) my 92-year-old father every day, and lately we have spent our time together talking about his childhood home back in the 1920's.

It occurred to me that in the past one hundred years that the Christian home has changed more dramatically than at any other time since the days that Jesus walked the earth.

In 1913 the Christian home was more "Holy," in the sense that it was more set apart from the world.  The "World" existed outside the front door, well beyond even the property line... The "World" was the bar down the street, or the dance hall in that part of town where Christians did not visit.

But in the 20's and 30's the "World" invaded the Christian Home via radio which changed everything.  In the 1950's the "World" added images to sound through television and a worldly addiction was firmly set into motion.

The "World," the "Enemy" showed great restraint in its use of television with shows like Father Knows Best which glorified family values.  But in the 1960's, once the addiction had poured a firm foundation, the Enemy quickly proceeded to its true agenda.

Today "organized religion" in America seems to have an unwritten agreement with the Enemy.  The Enemy can bring adultery into our Christian homes through television... They can bring stories of godless, sinful characters practicing fornication... They can entertain us with immoral humor of all kinds, and we will not only watch, but we will set our children down in the front row of the Enemy's classroom... Just as long as the actors keep their clothes on... As if somehow that makes it OK

In just one hundred years the Enemy has gained daily access into the Christian home, destroying its once sanctified nature... Daily polluting our hearts and minds, distracting us from the purpose for which we were created.

I believe it would be difficult to overestimate the influence of the worldly media on the Christian home.  Whether child or adult we are being subtly and painstakingly taught the lessons and beliefs of the one who hates our God.

But we Believers in America are among the rich of this world and being rich, we are terribly greedy... Definitely greedy for our entertainment.  We are not looking to deny ourselves but rather to enhance our worldly experience.

For over 50 years the Christian home in America has been absorbing the morality of the enemy for three hours every night... And it shows. 

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

When Bowels Move

Just when you think you've seen everything, you wake up in the middle of the night, switch on your TV, and see a commercial for the Squatty Potty.



The theory is that the human body was fashioned in such a way that squatting was the healthiest position for making poo poo.

Who can argue?

Unfortunately the $24.99 plus S&H price tag is a bit steep for some.

So in the interest of the public's health, Malott's Blog is offering another option.  Yes, for a mere $9.95 we will send you instructions on how to construct your own Malott's Squat-O-Pot with items you probably already have lying around your home.  And, you will be given a phone number which will put you in touch with a knowledgeable expert to explain the intricacies involved in assembly.

And did I mention?  The Malott's Squat-O-Pot is adjustable!

Below is a photo of the finished product.




So take advantage of this amazing offer, and soon you'll be pooping like a pro!

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Saturday, June 08, 2013

Peter Heck Makes New Friends on Left

We had a bit of a controversy here that I wanted to tell you about:

Peter Heck gave the commencement address at our High School last Sunday.  When he finished, the entire graduating class and audience gave him a standing ovation... He sat down, but they remained on their feet until he stood again to acknowledge their applause.

The controversy arose when someone who I assume doesn't like Peter's politics, called WRTV-6 in Indianapolis and quoted Peter out of context saying,  "We don’t need more women as CEOs."

The Associated Press picked it up and... Well, Peter explains on his site:

Excerpt from "A Life of Rebellion" by Peter Heck
 
When I wrote the challenge to the graduating seniors of the Eastern High School class of 2013, I never had any idea that The Today Show, MSNBC, MSN, Yahoo, the Daily Caller, the Huffington Post, and ABC News would care what I said.  As it turns out, after perusing their coverage of my speech, I’m pretty convinced I was right – they didn’t care what I said.  They did care to sensationalize and distort my words for the sake of creating controversy, and thus getting attention.  What high journalistic integrity.
 
After all, it’s kind of amazing when you explicitly state to the females, "If you choose to have a career, God's blessings upon you" that the headline could be written: "Teacher tells girls don't work, stay at home." Good grief.

So, for the sake of providing full context that our illustrious media is not providing to anyone, here is the transcript of the relevant portion of the speech.

Ladies, I challenge you to a life of rebellion. To recognize that your body is a temple that is deserving of honor, not indiscretion. I challenge you to be women of virtue, finding beauty not in how many unprincipled men you can attract, but rather finding beauty in modesty and self-respect. I challenge you to devote yourself to family, to your children.
 
If you choose to have a career, God’s blessings upon you, but I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at…that your greatest role of your life will be that of wife and mother. That the greatest impact you will ever contribute to our world is a loving and devoted investment into the lives of your precious children. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more women as CEOs, we need more women as invested mothers.
 
Men, I challenge you to a life of rebellion. To recognize that manliness is not defined by who bench presses the most, or who scores with the most women. I challenge you to recognize that the measure of a man is found in his character – his honesty, how well he can control his urges, his temptations, his desires...setting them aside for the good of others. I challenge you to find a woman to love, to commit yourself to her and her alone for the rest of your life.
 
I challenge you to be man enough that when a provocatively dressed woman comes on the television, turn the channel. Send the message to your wife that she alone captivates you and she is in competition with no one. You want to be a rebel – that’s a rebel. I challenge you to lead your homes in the pathway of righteousness. Provide moral clarity for your children and unyielding hard work for your wife.
 
So many times I’ve heard others compliment my wife for supporting my ministry, supporting what I do. They have it backwards. I work to support her ministry, what she does in raising our children. And it’s an honor to do so. To solve the problems plaguing our society, we don’t need more men as millionaire entrepreneurs, we need more men acting as fierce defenders of their wives and providers for their children.
 
Please note the instruction to men that we don't need more men entrepreneurs. Oddly, this was not made the headline. What was fairly self-evident to the open minded members of the audience, apparently eluded our always responsible national media.  That, sure we need CEOs and entrepreneurs, but "to solve the problems of our society," we need both men and women to remember their most lasting legacy is what they leave with their children.

I doubt that Meg Whitman would look at her children and tell them that what she's done at work is more significant and important to her than what she did raising and caring for them. That's my point. Home is most important for all of us.

As Micah Clark at the AFA-IN, to date the only news agency I am aware of that has bothered to report this story accurately, stated:
True or False: "You can never invest too much time in your children, but you can spend too much time in the office." If that statement is true, (and it is) what does that reveal . . . other than Peter was right? Besides, all he really said was that the pursuit of career must not crowd out, or overrule, your primary and most important role as a mom or a dad.
 
Those are comments, those are sentiments that I stand fully behind.  God help our culture if others do not.
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I'm very proud of my nephew Peter.  And I'm happy for him.  It's not every day a man is blessed by being persecuted for righteousness sake.

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