Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, dear reader! What a beautiful day to tackle a current story in the news!
Oh, and speaking of tackle, did you see the video of the USC (college football) punter who instead of punting threw a first down? Talk about faking out the competition! Instead of the player who WAS the punter, a third-string quarterback subbed in with the punter’s jersey and fooled everyone – until he rifled the football. Beautiful.
But speaking of beautiful, there’s the four-time bride Kim Davis, former county clerk in Kentucky. If you don’t remember who she is, back in 2015 she refused to sign the marriage certificates for same sex couples, even though the law had made it legal. After an emotionally-damaged gay couple from Rowan County sued Kim Davis for denying them a blissful union, the courts demanded that Ms. Davis pay the smartly dressed couple $360,000 in damages and attorney fees.
The current story is that Kim Davis is seeking to have the Supreme Court overturn her fine, and by extension, overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. What are her arguments for doing this? WHO CARES? She has no moral ground from which to appeal her case because . . . wait for it . . . she has been divorced.
That’s right, folks. Just because the ravishing Kim Davis found a way to seduce for different men into marrying her (and three to leave), she therefore must have no respect for the legitimacy of marriage and shouldn’t be lecturing others about it.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
So, let’s see if I am understanding this correctly. Let’s start with Kim Davis.
Kim Davis is a confessing Christian. She believes that God made men and women and only men and women should get married. She believes this so strongly that she chose to go to jail rather than go against her religious beliefs and put her signature on a same-sex county-issued marriage certificate.
“But Kim Davis has been divorced three times! She’s now married to her fourth husband!” you protest. Yes, that’s the truth. But does that mean she has no moral ground from which to launch an attack on gay marriage? Does her poor choice in men (or the poor vision and shortsightedness of these men) nullify her religious beliefs? Does her participation in the destruction of three marriages mean that, in actuality, she doesn’t believe what she preaches?
Some say, “Yes!” To those people, particularly those attacking Kim Davis in the media, let me ask YOU some questions.
Do you believe there should be speed limits in our neighborhoods? Then why to you speed in your car?
Do you believe it is wrong to lie? Did you say you never go over the speed limit?
Do you believe we should not objectify women? Then why do you change your appearance to that of a stereotypical caricature of 1950’s feminism?
Do you believe that marriage is just a construct of society, morals and values are relative to context, and sexual deviancy is nothing more than a than a term created by religious zealots? Then why do you judge another person’s moral standards and why is changing the definition of marriage such a big deal?
It’s only me thinking out loud, I suppose. I just don’t understand how one’s substandard living nullifies the standard by which one judges.
Ironically, one of the first evangelists, if I’m not mistaken, was a woman who was married five times and the man she was living with at the time was not her husband (so said Jesus).
Good grief, people. Mormons and the rest of orthodox (technical, not denominational term) are at complete odds on core Theology, Christology, and Soteriology. If you don’t know what those words mean, please don’t act like an authority on the subject. You only expose your lack of knowledge and affirm your ecumenical liberality.
That being said, Mormons are unquestionably conservative and hold to a religion that holds one accountable for their immoral actions. And whether or not they ARE Christian, they CLAIM to be, so that places a target on them. Because of this, all of us are in the same peanut gallery, and more and more shooters are coming to the carnival to play.
The recent shooting at the Mormon church is a tragedy because every human being has a soul, and each one is created in the image of God and is intrinsically infinitely valuable. You just don’t kill people because you hate them. Period.
But there is a growing worldwide spiritual conflict between those who believe hate justifies violence and those of any faith that preaches meekness in any form. The Christian world is NOT WEAK! We are meek. There is a difference. Should we rise up as militants do from other groups and defend ourselves, the cowardly jihadists of the world would either run in terror or die for their demonic causes as the untapped might of our assets were poured out upon their heads.
Remember, Jesus COULD have summoned 10,000 angels to deliver him from the Roman cross to which he was nailed. But he didn’t. When they came to Jesus in the garden to seize him, he didn’t have to allow it. For that matter, in just one humorous nod to the omnipotent power meekly restrained before them, all the soldiers fell backwards when Jesus answered, “I am.” I sometimes wonder if our Lord fought a slight grin when that happened. Those who were wise would have realized He wasn’t being arrested, but going willingly.
At the root of all evil stands the liar himself—Lucifer, Satan, the Devil. And whatever bears even a glimmer of Christ—be it His chosen nation Israel, whose unfaithfulness only magnifies God’s faithfulness, or His blood-bought church—Satan rages against it with a hatred as old as time and as fierce as hell itself. If Mormons want to be included as objects of Satan’s hate, that’s up to them.
Those who shoot children or praying adults in schools or churches, whether Christian, Mormon, or Muslim, are tools of Satan. They can clothe themselves in whatever cloak they prefer—Marine uniform, anarchist black, or Muslim hijab—the impetus for their actions is the Enemy of God. They are all the same. Our enemy is the same.
However, the fatal flaw of our enemies’ strategy is that fear and bloodshed will secure victory. They are convinced violence will void valor, deceit will destroy decency, and terror will trounce the timid. But they, just like those who supposed their chains could bind Omnipotence, are truly impotent. Their end will come. Their progeny will cease.
“Blessed are the meek, for THEY shall inherit the earth,” said Jesus. He also cried from the cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The simple truth is that the proof of who is winning the war can be seen every time the victim says, “I forgive.”
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. —Ephesians 6:12
By way of update, I am still sitting in the team room/break room here in my section of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN. For those of you who don’t know, I twisted my knee pretty badly back in June and haven’t worked a regular day since the 19th of June. All I have been allowed to do is show up and sit in the break room for 8 hours a day.
But as of next week (the 26th of August), Lord willing, all this sitting around will come to an end, and I will be back out on the body shop floor building sub floors for the VW Atlas and Crossport SUVs. My knee still hurts a little, but there’s not much more that can be done short of surgery (and that could prove more harm than good). It all depends on what the orthopedic doctor advises.
As I write this, I am sitting in a familiar place. It’s a place I’ve been to many, many times.
It’s a funeral home.
To be honest, it’s not always been a place of sadness, at least not the kind I’m feeling today. No, many times it’s been quite the opposite, for “precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15
But today is different.
Today I’m attending a “celebration of life” for a man I worked with. It’s a service of remembrance to celebrate the life and legacy of a well-loved individual. But nothing has ever been said about faith, not ever and not up until now.
So what about the next life?
The first song playing is “When I Get Where I’m Going.” It’s quite a sentimental piece that assures the listener that where the lost loved one is going will be wonderful. It’s got theological problems, but that a different issue.
But now there is a preacher speaking, and so far he’s speaking truth! That’s encouraging! What’s the outline? “Stand on the Truth That…”
God is Good
God Loves Us
God Will Help You
Amen, brother! That was certainly unexpected! A solid gospel message was delivered! I’m gonna find out who that preacher is and thank him for being so bold! (I did)
The last song now playing is “Go Rest High On the Mountain.” (Please, if you respect my wishes, threaten to hang anyone who suggests that song for my funeral.)
But where’s the real assurance that will happen? God only knows the heart of a man. The only guaranteed prescription for hope after this life is faith in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Was there faith? There could have been. Possibly. Nothing definite. No testimony to draw from and no mention of anything remotely religious in his life. Only God knows.
And that’s why there’s nothing for me to celebrate, only mourn. Not only is a decent man gone, but that’s it. Nothing else. No hope of eternity, only wishful thinking wrapped up in pseudo-religious country music.
Do you have a hard job? Like, is it physically demanding? Are you usually worn out and too tired to pet the dog when you get home?
Well, I have a job like that. Granted, it’s not as difficult as loading garbage trucks. It’s also easier than performing a Christian funeral for Ozzy Osborn. However, it still takes a lot of effort and energy.
However, since the 18th of June, I have been doing nothing more than coming to work. I sit in the break room for 8 hours. Sitting here is where I am at this moment. It is harder, more draining, and certainly more boring than any physical work I could be doing.
Back on June 18, I was at work at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. I pivoted wrong and twisted my left knee. According to the medical professionals, I have two meniscus tears and a sprained MCL. There may be even more damage to a tendon or ligament, or something. This happened on the job. Workers comp is taking care of everything. The onsite medical and physical therapy staff are also helping.
But here’s the thing: I still have to come to work, even if I don’t work! They are literally paying me my regular hourly wage to sit on my butt and drink coffee. I’ve even been able to do a lot of video editing.
And that’s the hard part of this employer-mandated rest. Sitting here for eight hours every day is making me tired and making me fat. I’m not getting the exercise that comes with working on the line in the body shop. My vision has gotten worse from constantly being on my iPhone in low-light conditions. But worst of all, there’s the paranoia. I just KNOW people are talking about me!
Then again, why am I complaining? As King David asked, “Why art thou cast down, o my soul?” As James prescribed, I should be counting it all “joy.” Well, I don’t know about joy, but I am thankful for a place to work that allows me this opportunity. Even though it may seem silly to those outside my body, the pain in my knee is still bad enough to make me lose sleep. I avoid going up stairs altogether.
So, unlike some bloggers who stop writing and fade away, I’m still here. I may be focusing all my free time on making video content. However, I still find that I have to write out what’s on my mind to stay sane. Just last night I renewed my annual fees for WordPress, so I guess I’ve even more reason to stick around.
Have a great weekend, my friends. Enjoy your health – if you have it. Spend time with your family if at all possible, and then go to church somewhere this Sunday (unless you’re Adventist). If you have some extra time, please check out my YouTube channels. They are called The Humble Horologist and The Humble Word. I’m even posting to TikTok pretty regularly.
Good evening, everyone. Do you want to know what I did tonight? I went to dinner and a movie with my wife! We saw “The Last Rodeo” (an Angel Studios film) and then went to Provino’s, Valerie’s favorite Italian restaurant.
If you are young, enjoy it. Once you pass the 30-year mark of marriage, dating your wife is difficult. Right now, you are up on all the latest trends and hot spots. But when you get older, you get tired and stuck in your ways. New things are uncomfortable; old things are boring. It’s a constant struggle.
However, when it comes to dating your wife, regardless of the age, go where she wants to eat. This is a rule of life. Just do it. Don’t argue.
The Poster
But it was as we were leaving the theater that I saw a poster for a movie now playing: “Final Destination: Bloodlines.”
I laughed, started coughing, told my wife to keep walking without me, and then took a photo of the poster. There was an older man (like 80’s old) standing in front of the poster and I was going to ask him what he thought about it, but he was too busy looking at his iPhone. No irony there, I know.
So what was so funny about the poster? It was the statement printed inside the gaping mouth of a skull. It read, “DEATH RUNS IN THE FAMILY.”
To be honest, I have no idea what this movie is about, other than people who supposedly cheated death dying in gruesome ways. You know, all the ways people die, other than the most common ways like heart attack, alien abduction, etc..
But I have no idea where the tagline fits in. And just for the record, death runs in every family! Ever since the first chapter or two of Genesis, it’s been a thing! Every one of us is going to die, just like our ancestors did.
You could say we all have an appointment with death. Only some of us have a relationship with the One who overcame it.
Yes, this is meant for my fellow ministers of the Gospel. However, feel free to make use of this advice wherever it is applicable.
You may have not given the subject a lot of thought, but if you are new to public speaking or preaching, you may have experienced the struggle to find good illustrations. But don’t worry, that’s OK! Even veteran public speakers usually have at least one or two books of illustrations in their library.
However, it is very important to distinguish between a story, a joke, and a true illustration. They are not all the same. Depending on the context, using one at the wrong time or the in wrong place in your sermon may do more harm than good, if not outright damage.
Comedians like to say, “timing is everything.“ But when it comes to sermon illustrations, timing is not as important as making the truth understandable. The difference a story or a joke and an illustration is that the story informs; the joke elicits a response (a laugh); while the illustration helps to clarify or illuminate.
So be careful. Icebreakers meant to warm up a crowd or not illustrations. In most cases, jokes are not illustrations. A story, unless it helps the listener to better understand or apply the truth that you are trying to communicate, is not an illustration, but a time waster.
Keep in mind that time is irreplaceable. It may be necessary to break the opening tension with a joke or a story that relates to your audience, but understand that you only have so much time to communicate a life-changing truth. The reason rabbit trails should be avoided is because even though what you say might be important or even entertaining, it may not serve to communicate the main point of your sermon. In all likelihood, it will only distract.
You don’t have time for that.
Bovinating: verb: derived from bovine (cow); meant to express in a more elegant way the slang term BS (“You’re just bs-ing me.”). Not to be confused with Bloviate.
You all know the old saying, “If it looks like a duck, etc…it is a duck,” don’t you? When we see something that looks and acts like another something with which we are already very familiar, the most logical explanation for the similarity is to initially assume is that the two somethings are, in fact, alike. They don’t have to be exactly alike to be of the same something, just like a ball is a ball regardless of the size, texture, or chemical makeup. Even my 2 year-old granddaughter, based on her short life experience, is not wrong when she notices a spherical object, points, and yells out, “Ball!”
We carry with us information and definitions acquired through experience, along with developed presuppositions When we observe a buzzing factory, we assume it to be a buzzing factory based on what we already know from experience about building or making things. To describe the factory, then, as something other than what is observable and recognizable as a place of production would require one of two things: either the observer has never seen or had any concept of manufacturing and assembly, or that he is being intellectually dishonest.
One would have to have never tied a shoe, prepared a meal, or completed any task requiring a process to not recognize a factory for what it is. At the very least the observer should be able to recognize the industrial process as being similar to other processes with which he is already familiar: the kind when going step-by-step makes a thing. Therefore, to observe a factory in operation and then declare that the factory, even the whole process of manufacturing, including subcontracting and logistics, is nothing more than an illusion of design and a product of chance is to throw out rationality in favor of a presumed belief.
It amazes me how that one can learn more and more about the complexities (yes, even irreducible complexities) of the human cell and still maintain random chance and time created and honed everything, from the machines down to the software in a factory which purpose is to make a thing.
It is easy to simply claim there is no Designer or Creator behind the unfathomable complexities of human existence. All one needs is the presupposition that no matter what one encounters, it is NOT what it may appear to be. If we first presuppose there is no God, then what may appear to be the result of vision and design can be waved off as only an illusion, a false equation, or the projection of a preconceived delusion acting as a coping mechanism.
However, living in a modern, industrial world, I find it hard to understand how anyone with any amount of intelligence can maintain “natural selection,” copious amounts of time, and blind chance are the architects of anything, much less the preliminary mechanisms and processes which bring about its construction.
I actually work in an automobile manufacturing plant. I have witnessed the entire process of building a Volkswagen Atlas. Even more, I have participated with my own hands in the making of these vehicles. I have been involved in the logistics of securing parts of all kinds and placing even the smallest in precise positions for robots to weld. In order for one functioning vehicle to roll off the assembly line, the things that must take place in the right way at the right moment and in the right amount are just staggering. And we are only talking about a car, not the human body and each cell!
2025 Volkswagen Atlas Peak Edition 
For just a moment, think about that 2025 VW Atlas with all the bells and whistles of a luxury SUV. Imagine it painted your favorite color as it is cranked and driven out the big bay doors toward the staging area where it will be shipped. Should you spend your $50,000 to buy one, you will expect it to perform at a certain level while maintaining its structural integrity. After all, the lives of your family and yourself will depend on it.
Now, imagine that SUV backing into the proving and detailing area once again. Then, imagine it backing up to the automated assembly line where it is once again placed on the moving floor. Keep reversing until the vehicle is completely disassembled, stripped of paint and sealer, even un-welded (if that was possible) and reduced to small stamped pieces of sheet metal that make up the body. Are we done? No.
Credit: plastonline.org
Look around at all the bins full of sheet metal parts, plastic spacers, barrels of sealant, bolts, nuts, and even the box of tiny copper tips for one of the thousand-plus $200,000-dollar robots spot-welding 24/7 according to software monitored 4,000 miles away. How did all that get there? If left alone, would a VW Atlas once again roll out the door? Even in a billion years?
Even more, consider all the things that must take place in the process of manufacturing the individual components. For every piece of that vehicle (about 5,000) there is a company, a business plan, a CEO, workers, machines that must be maintained, and materials which must be ordered and stocked. And then there are the truck drivers and the forklift drivers and the mechanics who keep those machines running and those parts on schedule.
Parts must be made according to specific tolerances. Parts must be assembled in a certain way. People have to do their assigned duties with quality, safety, and integrity. Everything must go a certain way, or else the very integrity of the vehicle could be compromised. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is unplanned and left to chance when literal lives could be at stake.
How long would it take for a brand new Volkswagen to roll off the assembly line on its own? Any answer other than “never” would be absurd. And why is that? Because nothing in the observable world testifies to this being possible. From experience and observation we have acquired enough wisdom to determine two things: first, a car doesn’t design and build itself; and second, an expertly built and functioning vehicle must not be the result of design-less, random chance.
Therefore, it is not irrational, when we observe what appears to be design and purpose, to assume there was a Designer with a plan for how the thing would function. Everywhere else in creation and everyday life we observe the natural rhythms of cause and effect. When we see a jet flying in the sky above us, we take for granted the craft was designed and built in a factory, it’s going somewhere, and that people are on it. Even when a rock hits our windshield, we know something caused the rock to leave the pavement.
It’s only the one who cannot, no matter the evidence, no matter the logic, accept that there’s a Watchmaker in the history of the watch on the shore. He asserts there is no evidence for the Watchmaker; there is nothing about the Watchmaker that he’d like should he exist; that not enough jewels were in the movement to signal true intelligence; and that though it may look like a watch and function like a watch, we don’t know for sure what we think a watch is, or whether it is actually represented in the thing on the shore.
For all we know, the supposed watch somehow came from the depths by some means not yet discovered.
“All we can know for sure,” he would say, “is that there appears to be a thing on the shore with interesting similarities to other observable things, but whatever it is, it is because it is and that’s it. To entertain any other conclusions might lead to inconvenient truths, and we can’t go there.”
All I know is that even though I’m not a biologist, I’m pretty certain I can recognize a duck when I see it.
The ghoulish day is here, so time for a rerun of a favorite, timely post. 🙂
Halloween
This time of year gets on my nerves, and one of the biggest reasons is the proliferation of horror movies. Horror movies don’t scare me that much; they tick me off! They are always full of idiots walking into the dark asking, “Buffy, is that you?”
And what’s worse, so many of today’s horror flicks involve ghostly, demonic hauntings by creepy dead kids. HINT: if a soaking-wet dead girl crawls out of a well and starts climbing through your TV, change the channel (preferably to a Christian station).
The Undead
But what I really don’t understand are the “undead”…zombies… Michael Jackson’s dance partners. Can someone help me understand the logic behind their supposed capabilities and actions?
English: A participant of a Zombie walk, Asbury Park NJ, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
All I know is that the walking dead make absolutely no sense. Consider the following:
Health. Why is it that when I have the flu I feel as good as dead, yet when a zombie is dead he feels more alive than me? If I break a bone I can’t function, but a zombie can have all his bones broken and break into an armored car!
Why is it that zombies can have more energy once their skin has rotted than while they were still exfoliating?
Appetite. Why is it that the walking dead never seem to recognize that their fellow walkers are also human – and edible? And why are humans the only meat worth eating?
Why don’t the walking dead break into grocery stores, butcher shops, and kennels? Seriously, don’t the dead understand that there is far more meat and brains in a cow?! Why eat the farmer???
Blood. I’ve had too much experience in funeral homes to buy the idea that zombies coming out of graves have bright, red, flowing blood. Ever heard of embalming fluid?
Speed. Why can’t healthy people, including clumsy women in high heels, outrun people with muscles falling off the bone? Bones need muscles to function, especially when the function is running.
Even if one tripped over every blade of grass in an attempt to flee a rotting granny, how fast could granny be when her anterior muscles, such as the quadriceps femoris, iliopsoas, and sartorius (not to mention her hamstrings and gluteus maximus) are nothing more than brittle beef jerky?
It’s a matter of simple mechanics.
Minor Practicalities. Speaking of grannies, if old people become zombies do they have to keep their false teeth in order to chew their neighbor? I mean, if one did bite/gum you, would you still be infected if no teeth were involved? For crying out loud, how long does Fixodent last?
Theoretically, if the dentures of a zombie did come flying out after the first bite, could a non-zombie then use them as a zombie-creating weapon?
What is the life expectancy of something that is already dead?
Oh, and when a zombie eats a human, where does the ingested material go? Do zombies have functioning digestive tracts? If not, then how much could a zombie eat before becoming bloated, impacted, and for all intents and purposes worthless as a killing machine?
Do zombies poop?
The Real Undead
To be very honest, I am more afraid of my own stinking flesh than the “walking dead.” I cause myself more problems than any zombie can.
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24)
I can’t outrun my old nature; I must crucify it on a daily basis! If I live in the power of my own zombie-like self, I will die. The only way I can survive is live in the life of Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14).
So, don’t worry about what’s already dead and buried; through the Spirit put to death the deeds of your own stinking flesh, and live (Romans 8:13).
The Recovering Legalist 