A couple friends of mine turned me on to this display. I thought it was really cool and wanted to share. Take some time to hear Mr. Holdman’s story and check out some of the facts concerning the display. Thanks Ron and Ryan!

Holdman Christmas display

One of the things I really struggle with is the ability to speak in a manner salubrious to satiate conversation. What I mean to say is that I find it easier to speak a lot of little words to get a single thought across when I am convinced that I could accomplish the same task much quicker and more intelligently with less words. One of my favorite men to read is Charles H. Spurgeon, the great reformed Baptist theologian of the middle and late 19th century. I have many of his works and I am always amazed, and often times ashamed, when I think of how prolifically men of that time were able to convey to their readers their points and ideas when compared to the seemingly indelible empty speech of this day and age. The men of the 17th century also capture my attention, whether it be the Puritan theologians, the translators of King James’ translation of the English Bible (and it’s original preface) or the founding American “fathers” of the rebel colonies, they all demand attention and adherence with the wit and power of their words.
We have moved away from this limpid style of language to embrace a horribly crude and suggestive form of speech which, without it, text messaging would be half as less attractive from what it currently is. While we don’t want to speak over or past an individual (that would hamper the learning experience of the situation) we certainly do not want to remain content with ingenuous vocabulary either.
Not to long ago a friend of mine (who is very well spoken) was mocked by an individual who I would consider a base English user, for using in a sentence the word “vernacular”. While I understand this word would not be considered an “average” English word, I would have suspected it to still be on the “well understood” list of English vocabulary. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case any more.
There is nothing more refreshing to me than to hear a young student use words of common speech from a time not to long ago, and while the child might be considered “grown up” by his word choices, I would simply and causally like to propose that the youngster is simply speaking intelligently.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” (Matt. 24:9)

I went to the library today with the family to return some books and DVDs and happened to stop by the “book sale” corner. As always I started looking for Bibles and Theology books. Usually I don’t have much success but today I found a treasure. I came across a KJV Teacher’s Edition Cambridge Bible. I took the Bible off the shelf and began to thumb through it. It was a personal size edition, smyth-sewn in a French Morocco leather. The binding was still intact with no broken stitches. The pages edges were the classical gold-red gilding. There was no markings or underlined verses in the text and none of the pages had more than a slight rip. In the front of the Bible someone had written in ink their name, address, and a date 1924 (I assume the date received). There were no publishing dates to be found, however, in the back I found a stamped marking for the patent of this particular edition as March 8, 1910 (one day before my birthday…different years of course) just 7 months shy of 100 years! A Bible Dictionary was placed between the text and the concordance, a pretty good one at that, and as I mentioned already, the Bible is in excellent condition. The amazing thing for me is that I acquired this gem for the hefty price of $1. Wow!

As I sat in my office and thought about my new “Sword” My mind went to the song I learned as a child ‘Wonderful Words of Life’. As I began to hum the words of that song I found myself wondering how many lives in the almost, 100 years has these Words brought to life. How many hearts were strengthened by a simple phrase in this old book? What wrongs did the Holy Spirit make right by the truths resting on these pages? I began to think more generally about the revivals, reformations, revolutions these words caused. I thought of the governments, and kings/kingdoms God established and toppled because of the words in this book. I thought of Paul as he explained that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). I thought of how God has taught me by the force of His Word as I studied its teachings. What power! What authority! What assurance!

I am in awe as I think of how this book has affected history, nations, men and women. I think of how all the power as contained in the cover of this book, a power that trumps any and every spell book in the world, was mine for the price of a large McDonald’s ice tea. Indeed, these are wonderful words.

So the Wisconsin Public Television channel came through again by amusing me (this time it had nothing to do with politics). I was sold on this guy the moment he started playing, and I am sure many of you will be too. I can’t vouch for the songs (I couldn’t understand them) but the things he did with this thing was quite amazing. Take the next few moments and be…amused.

This was the title of an article by Stephen Mansfield. He is the best-selling author of The Faith of Barack Obama, The Faith of George W. Bush, and Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission. Mansfield writes some pretty amazing things but I wanted to highlight some interesting facts in his writing of Obama and his faith experiences and beliefs.

“He is the first president not born in a Christian home…he is the only president to have once practiced a non-Christian faith.”

“The president is nearly an ideal example of the religious direction of his times…the majority [of American people] believe that there might be many versions of the faith they embrace and that their faith might not be the only path to God. Indeed, Americans are less likely to believe that any single faith is the only path to God.”

“He [Obama] was raised in an atheist’s home…he experienced every type of religious expression, from Jewish to Hindu and native Hawaiian to Buddhist, to name but a few. Then there were the years in Indonesia, where he attended first a Roman Catholic and then a public school, all the while practicing an informal type of Islam at his stepfather’s side. Yes, he prayed at a mosque on some Fridays. Yes, he invoked the blessings of Allah.”

“Obama believes in the divinity of Jesus, yes, and in his resurrection and his grace. But he is not as sure about the meaning of Scripture, and can not comfort his daughters about the afterlife, as he tells us in The Audacity of Hope…he believes in a “living word of God,” one that ever reveals and expands, that comes from unexpected sources. “When I read the Bible,” he has written, “I do so with the belief that it is not a static text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations – whether they come from a lesbian friend or a doctor opposed to abortion.”

“I am rooted in the Christian tradition,” he has said, But “I believe there are many paths to the same place…”

“This is what we can expect – a big tent faith-based presidency, rooted in a non-traditional approach to Christianity yet seeking to draw in nearly every religious tradition. For this, he understands, is how the majority of the people he serves would want it to be…A people almost always get the leader they deserve. Certainly, in the matter of faith, Barack Obama and the American people, today this is as much as ever the case.”

I came across this article response in the Monday, June 1st edition of the USA Today paper on page 10A by Chuck Tamraz of Carmichale, California. This is a response of a reader on an article about North Korea’s nuke test:

“The article “Nuke test puts U.S., Obama on notice” quotes Beijing professor Shi Yinhong’s opinion that the nuclear test last week by North Korea seeks to “show Obama that he has to treat them as an equal counterpart.” But North Korea is not an equal counterpart because its so-called military could be obliterated overnight by U.S. forces. The only reason Kim Jong II can pretend to ignore this fact and practice saber-rattling diplomacy is the continuing protection and support provided by China. Unfortunately, we have become so financially indebted to China that our freedom to pursue a foreign policy in our own best interest is severely restricted. While members of Congress advise the American people to pay off their credit cards, they continue to borrow heavily form China. Until the U.S. liquidates its debts to China, we will be unable to dissuade a petty tyrant such as Kim from threatening world peace.”

I was reminded of what the Scripture says in Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” The way America is in violation to God’s Word even in the “accepted” method of using massive debt will have its consequences. I wish it were true that “In God We Trust”, however, the evidence speaks for itself. We trust in man. So American, we ought not be surprised then, when we become enslaved to them.

Obama: We are no longer a Christian Nation

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed…No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

“We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps finally, staked of the experiment.”