Arjay's Weblog

Look At That Beautiful Face...

Drudge Report Headline - November 21, 2008

REPORT:
 Time INC. in "contractual promise" with Angelina Jolie for "positive coverage"

If you look at her face and are able to see beyond the facade one can clearly see the image of the serpent.

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."       Genesis 3:4-5 NIV

She's a looker alright, that Angelina Jolie. Like so many celebrities she has an outward beauty that is mesmerizing and attractive - a true American idol in every sense of the word - perfectly fit for worship. People want to look like her, to wear the same clothes, to have that charisma and that exciting lifestyle.

Christ's words in Matthew seem to fit here:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.   Matthew 23:27 KJV

And from Paul:

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.  Their end will be what their actions deserve.   2 Corinthians 11:14-15 NIV

And along with the good looks, good works go hand-in-hand.  From the article:

In a separate 2006 negotiation with People, Ms. Jolie invited magazine editors — through her philanthropic adviser, Trevor Neilson — to bid on exclusive photos of her and her adopted Cambodian son, Maddox. But she made coverage of her charity work part of the deal.

A little more from Matthew fits well here:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."  Matthew 6:2-3 NIV

As Psalm 115 states regarding idols, those who make them will be like them.

Angelina Jolie's Carefully Orchestrated Image

U2's Bono Serves as Preacher for a Day

In the short piece below, Bono is quoted as saying, "The main thrust of the Scriptures is to meet Christ in working with the poor."

WRONG!  If we follow that logic, those walking closest to Jesus are the very wealthy.  Bono would have all of the "Creekers" believe that our greatest need is to be set free from the bondage of poverty.  Poverty is a symptom.  Polio is a symptom.  Warfare is a symptom.  Dead children are a symptom.  AIDS is a symptom.  Death is a symptom.  The disease is SIN.

Think about this for a minute:  How many millions of dollars have the American Cancer Society or the Muscular Dystrophy Association spent in helping people with their physical problems?  How many of those same people swiftly entered into eternal damnation immediately upon their deaths?  We pat ourselves on the back for dealing with symptoms, and the disease - if not dealt with before our death - makes all of those efforts look rather ridiculous in the end.  I'm not saying we shouldn't do our best to aleviate human suffering, we just have our priorities messed up.  It's like treating a hang-nail on a man who just had both legs blown off by a land mine.

Who loves his neighbor more, the rock star who relieves a man's poverty in this short life of 70 or 80 years or the one who warns that person of the tremendous peril that awaits him should he refuse to accept the free offer of Christ's work on his behalf?  All who reject Christ's sacrifice for their sin will pay in their bodies themselves for eternity.  No amount of good works or charity can overcome the Rock that makes men stumble.  Christ is an imposing figure who stands between us and the Father.  All must go through Him if they want to reach the true safe haven.

People today, including many so-called Evangelical pastors, haven't the courage to address the disease.  We'd rather have our ears tickled by men and women who often make large amounts of money and fame skirting the issue and messing around with peripheral matters.  Lou Gehrig's Disease, diabetes, cancer - these things can only assault us for 100 or so years at most.  Eternity is forever.

Bono's pretty cool and all that, but he doesn't have the medicine that fallen men and women need - the Good News of a Savior who died to satisfy the wrath of a God who is still, in our modern, technologically-advanced age, very angry with sin.  Even Bill Gates and his billions can't earn him enough credits with God to pay for even one sin.

It is very uncharitable to give a man suspended by a thread over the fires of Hell a simple remedy for his poverty or some physical disease which might destroy his body.  Poverty and disease can only last a lifetime - but the punishment of a soul who rejects Christ is a torment which never ends.

The church in America has been so severely compromised by men like Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Robert Schuller and Benny Hinn that one wonders how often one can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ anymore in this nation.  Even out here in this Bible-belt which is West Michigan, it's not an easy chore to find a solid, Christ-centered church.

America may lose many things, but when we lose the Gospel none of the rest really matters that much.

Pray for a modern Reformation.  We are in the midst of the worst kind of famine.

R.J.

U2's Bono Serves As Preacher for a Day

Willow Creek's "Leadership Summit"

Thank you, Sergeant Herrema

Yesterday, Army Sergeant First Class Richard J. Herrema was laid to rest after a service at Hudsonville Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan.  Sgt. Herrema's death has been covered quite heavily in the West Michigan media since he was killed on April 25, 2006 when his unit came under fire in Iraq.

I want to say thank you to Sgt. Herrema.  One day in the future I will get the privilege of meeting him face-to-face and can actually thank him for his service and dedication in person.  I also want to thank his parents, Richard and Mary Herrema for raising such an excellent son.  My prayers go out to them and to all of Richard's family and friends as they grieve for their incredible loss.

Wednesday afternoon my mom called and told me about an article in the Detroit Free Press which mentioned the fact that protesters would be present outside the church.  People from Westboro Baptist Church would march with signs stating things like "God Hates Fags" and "America Is Doomed".  These sick folks believe that God's punishment for American tolerance of homosexuality is dead soldiers like Richard Herrema. 

What these twisted people either never knew or have forgotten is that while homosexuality is a sin - just like fornication or lying or any other sin - God is now allowing the wheat and the tares to grow up together until the day of judgment.  They also seem to have no understanding of Jesus' reply to the pharisees when asked, "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  'Love your neighbor as yourself.'     Matthew 22:37-39 NIV

Fortunately, some fantastic Americans known as the Patriot Guard Riders came to Hudsonville to place themselves between a grieving family and some very misguided people from the state of Kansas.

Below are some links to stories about Sgt. Herrema.  His blood was not shed to appease a vengeful God.  His and the blood of all American soldiers who have died for this great nation is the foundational pillar upon which our Constitution and our fantastic way of life are built.  It is a horrible fact in this fallen world that from time to time, great young men like this must die that we may live.

God's richest blessings upon the Herrema family and all his friends.

R.J.

Hudsonville Rallies Around Soldier's Family

Soldier from Hudsonville is Killed in Iraq

"Reverend" Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church - GOD HATES FAGS

Flier for the Protest of Herrema Funeral - PDF
(refers to Hudsonville Reformed Church as "leper colony"

Patriot Guard Riders

Awards Received by Sergeant Herrema

Bronze Star

Purple Heart

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Combat Infantryman Badge

I know it's wrong, but...

...I busted out laughing when my wife and I first saw the video taken at the Wal-Mart store in the Grand Rapids area, showing consumers being trampled  by other consumers.  I laughed because just a few days ago I blogged that these people "all deserve each other." 

You wouldn't want to get between a meth freak or a crack addict and his next fix, so why would you think it would be safe to place yourself between wild-eyed consumers and their next consumption?  The media whips these addicts into a feeding frenzy starting around Halloween and then the climax builds until 5:00 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving and all hell breaks loose.  Go figure!  Maybe the catchy little "Black Friday" moniker can now be changed to "Black-and-Blue Friday". 

Season's Beatings!!!

R.J.

Wall Street Journal on The 100-Minute Bible

It's sad that we live in a post-literate world.  People are so addicted to video that they have to have it with them at all times; in their cars, on their cell phones and now on their iPods.  It's beyond me why anyone would actually put themselves through the torture of trying to watch anything on a 1.5 inch screen.  But then, when you're an addict and you're jonesing for a fix, you'd sell your firstborn for a peek at the neon god we've made.

If what Johann Gutenberg brought the world with movable type is undone by the likes of Zenith and Sony and Toshiba, what kind of world will it be?  It will be a world filled with people unable to form a complete thought on their own.  It will be a place where a child's only memory of Lewis' Narnia series is one that was formed on the big screen.

So now we have The 100-Minute Bible.  Here's part of the website's description of this great innovation:  "The 100-Minute Bible is primarily intended for people who have an interest in Christianity but not the time (nor tenacity!) to read the whole Bible.  As the title indicates most people will only take 100 minutes to read it, making it ideal for an upcoming rail or aeroplane journey."

Thanks be to God we don't have a Savior who took shortcuts in His dedication to His sheep.  He laid down His life for His own.  Today, if it can't be done while we are busy conducting business or vacationing, it's simply not worth our investment of time.  How sad are we that 100 minutes is all we have for the King of Glory, the God who became man so He could endure Hell on our behalf?  Beaten, mocked, scourged - and 100 minutes is all we have for Him. 

The 100-Minute Bible is an awesome testimony to our hurried, careless and increasingly worthless generation.  Worthless because we esteem His glory so very lightly.

R.J.

Bible to Go
Speed-reading Scripture is  not a new idea.   Is it a good one?

Pastor Kyle Lake's Electrocution

Any of you heard of the Scared Straight program that used to be employed to keep kids out of prison?

I don't know about you but God still scares me.  I think we get a false sense of familiarity with Him to our own peril.  I've been following this story since it broke in the news and it reminds me of the passage in Scripture where Uzzah reaches out to stabilize the Ark of the Covenant and is struck dead:

2 Samuel 6:7-9
The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverant act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.  Then David was angry because the Lord's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.  David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, "How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?"

All we know for sure about Uzzah is that he was struck dead that day.  We do not know his eternal fate, nor do we know the eternal fate of any human being with any real certainty.  God looks upon the heart and sees perfectly and we simply do not.

We cannot package God, we cannot make Him our bestest buddy.  We can only fear Him and be thankful for his abundant mercy toward us, sinners.  He has revealed to us in Scripture those things about Him that He has deemed necessary for us to know, namely concerning our salvation and how it is obtained.

I'm not sure if I am in 100% agreement with Paul Proctor's conclusion regarding Lake's death, but I do think that wise people can definitely learn something from this tragedy - as is the case with any tragedy - Katrina, Rita, earthquakes, etc.

Bad things happen every day, to good people and bad, and like Jesus said regarding the fall of the tower of Siloam, "But unless you repent, you too will all perish."  (Luke 13:5)

Please pray for Kyle's family and ask God's mercy upon those who gather at UBC Waco.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

R.J.

God Sends Shocking Message to Emerging Church - by Paul Proctor

Link to Kyle Lake's Final Sermon

Media Fast - See You Next Week!

Friends and Family,

Several times this summer I have taken what I call media fasts.  I've found them to be a way of cleansing my mind and spirit of all the noise that can bombard me from week to week.

From my teen years I have been something of a media junkie.  My typical day has me reading many Christian and news websites, listening to conservative talk radio between 3 and 6 hours per day (while doing other things), reading the Grand Rapids Press, and watching at least one hour of cable news almost every day.  Quite often watching the news on TV leads to me watching something I would never have planned to watch. 

Having never been through it thoroughly, I have printed out the Heidelberg Catechism and plan to spend the next days studying that.  As one who considers himself "Reformed" I should have at least a rudimentary understanding of that document, the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt.  Surely that will be of more benefit to me than a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.

I've done this twice this past summer with limited success.  Usually by Wednesday the radio goes back on and I'm once again all over the net.  It really takes discipline and it's tough, but I have found that on those days when I find other things to occupy my mind, it is refreshing and even has a calming effect.  I believe the reason for all the noise in our day is created to drown out that still, small voice of God.  Most people today are afraid to be left alone with their own thoughts.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."       1 Peter 1:13

I'll post again on Saturday, September 24.

R.J.

A Living Constitution for a Dying Republic

Today, Saturday, September 17th is Constitution Day, the 218th anniversary of the signing of that great document by the Founders.

All of us, especially those of us who love to post our opinions and thoughts for all the world  to see, should be extremely thankful that we still have the protections that this document affords.  We should also pause to remember how many Americans have given their lives so that we might continue to enjoy and utilize these freedoms.

As a Christian I realize how blessed we are to be able to assemble ourselves in churches, mosques, and synagogues each week.  I am also thankful that we are not forced to do so.  In many countries such as China, Vietnam, North Korea and Saudi Arabia, writing the things we bloggers write or assembling with other brothers and sisters in public can get you beaten, raped, tortured, imprisoned and killed.  It happens every day in countries unfortunate enough not to have a Constitution such as ours.

Do I think we will always enjoy such freedoms in this country?  I really don't think we will.  All the present trends move towards restrictions upon civil liberties.  The "war on terror" has unfortunately been used as an excuse to limit our freedoms already and that's not the sad part.  The sad part is how willing many Americans are to trade precious freedoms for a little perceived security.  Benjamin Franklin, in a Historical Review of Pennsylvania in 1759 said the following:  "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 

In recent years, there has been the thought in the land that the Constitution is a "living document" that must be bent and twisted to take the shape of the current environment.  When I think about this, much the same thing is happening in the American church today.  Post-Modernists and so-called "Emergent" types think that our Bible must be reworked to be relevant to our superior, technologically-advanced culture.  But the beauty of the Constitution and more importantly the Bible is that truth remains truth forever.  Truth that was true six thousand years ago is true today.  We might change, our attitudes and perceptions of the world might change, but in the end we either embrace and abide by these truths and prosper as a people, or we deny them and rework them at our own peril.  Original intent, both of God and the Founders, should always guide us on our journey.

R.J.

The following are some links to various Constitution resources.  The first is an excellent piece by Mark Alexander of The Federalist Patriot.  I have been reading The Federalist for several years now.  Several editons are posted throughout the week and it's a really great source of information and truth.  Veritas Vos Liberabit!

A Living Constitution for a Dying Republic - by Mark Alexander

Celebrate the Constitution - by Joseph Farah

Creating the U.S. Constitution - by Henry Lamb

The U.S. Constitution Online

U.S. Constitution at the Legal Information Institute

Atheist Samples Liberal Christian Kool-Aid

At least from the perspective of logic, I can appreciate what the atheist in this piece says more than I can appreciate what the liberal Christians have to say. 

Jesus, addressing the church at Laodicea, said that He would prefer people be either hot or cold, but lukewarmness (or fence-sitting) he could not tolerate.  In James chapter one, we see that a double-minded man is unstable in all he does.

Liberals are classicly double-minded.  They want to be somehow associated with orthodox Christianity, but they also want to reserve the right to critique and deny those things they somehow can't believe.

Russell D. Moore of the Carl F.H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement shows us in this piece why an atheist position makes more sense than the positions many liberal Christians take.

R.J.

Two Good Columns on Katrina

The following is the text of an e-mail I sent around last Friday, September 2.  Following that are two very good columns by Thomas Sowell and Rebecca Hagelin with much the same subject matter.

For many years I've believed that the United States could never again survive something like the Great Depression of the 1930's.  Simply put, people today just aren't as nice as they used to be.  I do not want to sound racist here, but most of the folks I see on the television in New Orleans are black folks.  We all know the statistics on how many black households lack a father.  I don't remember the number right now, but it's quite high.  Every problem in the black community can be traced back to this lack of fathers, I believe.  Snoop Dogg and rap/hip-hop are very poor surrogates.

Is it any surprise then that instead of trying to care for the women and children stuck in this situation, we see men looting useless electronics items, firing weapons upon those trying to help, and complaining that the Great Nanny, Uncle Sam, isn't doing enough to help them out?

And it's not just blacks.  I see a microcosm of this behavior every Christmas shopping season, when the rudeness factor increases logarithmically as people put their own selfish interests above those of their neighbor.  There's nothing worse than driving in metro Detroit during Christmas.  (It's not a whole lot better here in Grand Rapids)

It's quite scary how quickly things can devolve when "Love your neighbor as yourself" is a long-forgotten way of living.  Americans especially can make it through anything if we pull together.  When we pull apart, it's really scary.  I still remember breaking down crying at the site of Reginald Denny being pulled from his truck and beaten by a violent mob during the Los Angeles riots. 

The day after the disaster, the governor of Louisiana called for a day of prayer.  Every year at Mardi Gras, a sin tsunami engulfs New Orleans and we've heard little from the governor about that disaster.  It's funny - whether one believes it or not, God's Word is true:

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked.  For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."  Galatians 6:7 KJV

"For they have sown the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind."  Hosea 8:7 KJV

R.J.

Rebuilding New Orleans - And America   by Thomas Sowell

Throwing Out the Thugs    by Rebecca Hagelin