I've had the most difficult week. I had just switched to the new Blogger when I had an accident and hurt my back. The chaos that ensued afterwards effectively blew the password out of my head.
So on the off chance that anyone was looking here for some spiritual refreshment, particularly with Teampyro off the air, I appoligise.
I've just finished the midnight shift and I'm going to bed. Before I do, I have a request.
My back is still in rough shape so your prayers for my speedy recovery would be appreciated.
Also Libby the Englishmuffin is having a rough pregnancy so remember to pray for her.
Please remember to pray for 2 friends of mine : Tatania, and Greg.
Tatania's husband committed suicide recently and shortly thereafter she badly damaged the ligaments in her right knee and is facing some truly nasty surgery. Please pray for her recovery and for her salvation.
My friend Greg was in a Motorcycle accident and his recovery is taking longer than expected.
That's all for now.
SDG
( P.S. Pray for the troops)
Ray

I've finally switched to the new Blogger. I have been thinking a lot recently about the direction that I wish to take this blog. Aside from periodic reminders to pray for our troops I am going to stay out of politics. It's too open to misunderstanding.
LORD willing, I'm going to take a page from FIDEO's book and work through my own theology.
Posts will vary in length and will come at a frequency of once a week, ( usually more, sometimes less ). Although I plan to may mention this or that theological issue I'm not going to name names. Too many " Christians " seem to think that they are immune to Paul's directive in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 that Christians not sue each other and I'm not going to risk making my family homeless because some backsliding nerdowell decides to throw a legal hissey fit.
Although this is a personal blog, I will submit it's contents to my Pastor if, despite my best efforts a controversy develops and someone wants my head.
I plan my first post for Monday or Tuesday of this comming week.
SDG
P.S. Remember to pray for our troops in the middle east.

Rebooting:

This blog has been undergoing a rethink recently. Politics are no longer going to be referred to.
Unless things, politically, head radically south, I'm just not going to comment. I understand that we all want the comfort of believing our leaders are infallible,( particularly if their opponents do not have two operating brain cells). So I won't draw attention to interesting decisions which Christians should pay attention too( legal precidents can become such a bitch when your on the receiving end).
So everyone can relax. Take a stress pill.
Note: Thanks to everyone that commented on my recent posts. Your comments have been deleted. The language was inappropriate( most of them). As well, I don't think some of the suggestions are even anatomically possible. Note to A. Billings of Montana: No matter how much lube one applies, a NASB Study is not going to fit there.
Peace

Fide-o has posted a debate on the issue of whether or not Isreal is distinct from the Church. As with everything they do, the debate is not boring. It also should serve as a reminder to Pastors to evaluate their own gifts fairly. Simply because you can preach good soul winning sermons doesn't mean that you are qualified to debate the finer points of biblical prophecy such as a topic like this.
You have to have a firm grasp of all the issues involved, the Old and New Testament references , and on this particular topic early Church History as well( The origins of Amillenialism's replacement theology is truly deadly to them if rightly used). In short, debating topics like this requires a firm grasp of the main stream thinking of your opponents Position as well as your own, and don't be afraid to seek out qualified advice as well.
If all this sounds like a work, that's because it is. We are after all talking about Gods' truth. Go big, or stay home. Otherwise, like Pastor Nave, you'll only end up making converts to your opponent's position.
As for myself, I wouldn't touch the topic without six month's lead time, and a compelling reason to do so. As for Pastor Nave, I hope that he realises that getting smoked like this in a debate, doesn't necessarilly mean his position is false, it does mean that he needs to go back to school.
GBA everyone. SDG. And remember those who are, at this very moment, in peril for our freedom.

Blogs I enjoy:

You probably realize that I am addicted to the FIDE-O blog, some of the other blogs that I enjoy are : Reflections on the Times by the always different Carla Rolfe
Pyromaniacs by team Pyro
Albert Mohler
Head of the Moore by James Moorehead
And of course Purgatorio
These are just the main ones, work takes uo more of my time than it used too.
I would also like to remind everyone to pray for our leaders and pray for the troops. The world scene has gotten a lot more interesting.
SDG. GBA.

I'm a five point calvinist. I'm premillenial, but not dispensational. I'm reformed in my soteriology but not my eschatology. I have a baptist view of the sacrements.

Fide-O is back on their new hobby horse. The degree of entrenchment in their language, the stereotypical strawman arguements causes me to wonder how long ago it actually was that they really changed their position.
They are anything but boring, and definitely worth a read. Their arguements are not new, but they do a good job of presenting them. Anyone who can't handle them needs to do more study.

Remeber something about these types of discussions. Both those who do and do not embrace covenant theology, may think that the other side has eye trouble, but we must never assume that the other side has heart trouble. This is an " in family " debate, ( for the most part) and should be treated as such, even if the discussion gets a little cheeky at times.
Sola Deo Gloria,
( Remember to pray for the troops !).

There are some things to consider about the things that President Bush has been asking for to fight the war on terror.
!.) It is true that that many rights were curtailed during WW2, but, WW2 was a war with a definite victory marker( beating the axis powers), the war on terror has no such clear victory point. Theoretically, these powers could be retained by the executive branch indefinitely.
2.) For Christians, the end does not usually justify the means. The fact that our enemies are really evil does not mean that we get to be a little evil, nor does the fact that many of the President's critics are the usual knee-jerk liberal types mean that the President should be given a blank check to abrogate the constitution at will and do the legal back filling later. We do no one any favors by assuming that they are immune to the temptations of power, that's surely one the reasons that we are supposed to pray for those in authority over us.
3.) Because most of Bush's critics have nothing constructive to offer as an alternative does not mean that we should be unconcerned about precedent. Legal rights are not important for the terrorists and criminals of this world, they are important for the odd innocent that may get caught in the legal web. The west has permitted indefinite detention of those suspected of terrorism without trial, and without the same legal rights enjoyed even by Ted Bundy.
4.) Torture is a notoriously unreliableway of gaining information( people end up saying what you want to hear rather than the truth.).


-- But the real elephant in the room that keeps getting ignored that concerns me more than anything else I've said is this:
6) You can limit rights as much as you want but if you do not secure your borders none of it matters. If Ahmed can cross the border with a suitcase nuke then the nation may awake to find that it has sold it's soul for nothing.

We must pray for the U.S. and the people of the U.S.. Their decisions in these matters will set the standard for how Western Goverments judge what acceptable behaviour is for themselves ( She is freedom's standard bearer after all ), but these are decisions that only Americans can make.
A REMINDER : PRAY FOR THE TROOPS!!!!! That's something that all Christians should be able to agree on.