Anything Can Be an Idol

Dear Children, keep yourselves from idols. ----1 John 5:21 

Anything can be an idol, and everything has been used as an idol. The most famous moral code in the world is the Ten Commandments. The first commandment is "I am the Lord your God....you shall have no other gods before me. {Exodus 20: 2-3}. That leads to the natural question---"What do you mean by other gods?" An answer comes immediately. "You shall not make for yourseslf an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them." {Exodus 20:4-5) That includes everything in the world! Most people know you can make a god out of money. Most know you can make a god out of sex. However anything in life can serve as an idol, a substitute for God, a counterfeit God. 

We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life.  Idols are good things that become ultimate things. 

----Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Allen Jackson: DJT's Triumph and the Church's Cowardice

An Absolutely Fabulous Book and Myth Buster

IF YOU CAN TEAR YOURSELF AWAY FROM CONSTANT TRUMP NEWS CYCLES, DOGE AND SUPERBOWL SUNDAY,  then I have a sensational book recommendation for you: THE POWER OF NUCLEAR by Marco Visscher. He is an award winning reporter/journalist from the Netherlands who writes extensively on energy and climate issues.  He's what I call a 'real' journalist and myth buster.  Amazon readers give the book a 4.8 rating and it's easy to see why.  

Whatever you think about nuclear energy,  this book will impact your views.  

For now,  that's all I will say but if this recommendation calls you, then run to Amazon, buy the book and read it to the end.  I can't put it down!  Thanks, Marco!

Way To Go, Pete! 51-50

MANY, MANY CONGRATULATIONS, Pete Hegseth, on  winning the vote, with VP Vance's tie- breaking YES, to become Trump's new Secretary of Defense! It's a huge job, one that you're more than up for. 

You will make our fighting men and women fit and prepared again.

Congratulations, Pete!

Now for the Fun Stuff

MELANIA STOOD OUT BIGLY TODAY in a tailored  navy suit and fabulous wide brimmed navy hat that added to the good taste and solemnity of the occasion. All I might add is let's make American women's hat life, fun and fashionable again by following Melania's lead.

 What a great looking dame! 

On the other hand, Lauren Sanchez looked more like a trollop. Does she ever go out dressed modestly and appropriately?

The Trump Inauguration

ALL GLORY TO GOD FOR HIS MERCY on our country! Here, the University of Nebraska choir.

Gutfeld: Congress Beauty and the Beast Moment

The Four Winds of God

The north wind often brings adversity and judgment, the east wind signifies destruction or significant change, the west wind offers relief and blessing, and the south wind conveys warmth and prosperity. Each wind carries God's purposes to accomplish His will, both in the natural and spiritual/supernatural  realms.Jul 29, 2024

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As we continue through this Biblical wind/hellfire conflagration event in Los Angeles, it is worth pondering that the Santa Ana winds are EASTERLY WINDS  (flowing from east to west) originating in the higher elevations of the Great Basin deserts of Utah and Nevada.

So it is heralding destruction and change of epic proportions with more strong Santa Ana winds forecast for early this week.

On a personal note,  I am currently in a small town NW of Phoenix. The winds here have been unusually unrelenting since last Wednesday and are part of the Santa Ana phenomenom. We are about 335 miles from LA.

All most of us can do now in the face of this spreading  inferno is to bow our heads, rend our garments and beg God's mercy.

Genesis 1: First Murders In the Bible

FROM THE GOSPEL COALITION DAILY MEDITATION:

It took only one generation for the human race to produce its first murderer (Gen. 4). Two reflections: 

(1) In the Bible, there are many motives behind murder. Jehu killed for political advantage (2 Kings 9-10); David killed to cover up his adultery (2 Sam. 11); Joab murdered out of revenge, and out of the fear of having his privileged position usurped (2 Sam. 3); some of the men of Gibeah in Benjamin killed out of unbridled lust (Judges 19). It would be easy to enlarge the list. On the occasion of the first murder, the motive was sibling rivalry out of control. Cain could not bear to think that his brother Abel’s offering was acceptable to God, while his own was not. Instead of seeking God so as to improve his own sacrifice, he killed the man he saw as his rival. What is common to all these motives is the assumption entertained by the murderer that he or she is at the center of the universe. Even God must approve what I do; if not, since I cannot kill God, I will kill those whom God approves. Instead of the glorious situation that obtained before the Fall, when in the minds of God’s image-bearers, God himself was at the center, and loved and cherished as our good and wise Maker and Ruler, now each individual wants to be the center of the universe, as if saying, “Even God must serve me. If he does not, perhaps it is time to invent new gods . . . ” Among the shocking elements in the murder of Cain is the stark fact that Cain’s nose is out of joint because he does not have God’s approval. The fatal sibling rivalry lies in this instance in the domain of religion. No matter: once I insist on being number one, I must be number one in every domain. Sad to tell, if the constraints of culture and fear of the penal system restrain me from outright murder, they are unlikely to restrain me from the kind of hate that the Lord Jesus insists is of the same moral order as murder (Matt. 5:21–26). So while the motives for murder are superficially many, at heart they become one: I wish to be god. And that is the supreme idolatry. 

(2) In the Bible, the innocent are sometimes murdered. In this account, Abel is the righteous brother, yet he is the one who is murdered. From this fact we must reflect on two things. First, the Bible is utterly realistic about the horrible cruelty and unfairness of sin. Second, already by way of anticipation, we quietly recognize that if ultimate redress and justice are possible, God must intervene—and the books can only finally be squared after death.

Happy New Year! New Chapter

THIS IS MY FAVORITE NEWS DAILY!  WHY NOT?  It's conservative and based in my second  favorite state---Wyoming! It's upstream from the herd, and like me, covers what's interesting outside that insufferable cattle stampede.. 

Happy Fourth of July!

AND OUR FLAG IS STILL THERE! Seems at times like it's been hanging by a thread, but let's give thanks that it's still flying. Here hanging from a crane repairing the  bridge over the Snake River in Jackson Hole,  Wyoming.  

Pentacost Sunday For Christians

THIS IS A HOLY DAY for Christ's Church. The Bible Project tells us how and why.

Mother's Day Week

GREAT TIME TO BE ALIVE, be a mother and also have a birthday! I thank God for so many blessings!

Sunset and Dogwoods

AFTER TWO DAYS of on and off rain and clouds the sun showed its face late this afternoon in a glorious sunset.

The Other Side Academy Story

IT'S A PATH TO TRUE, LASTING CHANGE WHEN ALL ELSE HAS FAILED.

Almost Spring

Winter Wyoming Sunrise

VIA COWBOY STATE DAILY

Truth About Martin Luther King's So-Called Christianity: He Rejected Christ's Divinity and Resurrection

IN ADDITION, GOOD NEWS:  SCOTUS Poised to end constitutional revolution that's marred US government and its expansion for past 40 years

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KING USED THE PULPIT as a platform to effectively further his social agenda. But King was not a Bible- believing, traditional Christian.

Jesus Commends the Centurion's Faith

 EVERY MORNING I GET AN EMAIL DEVOTIONAL sent by  The Gospel Coalition (click the link and scroll down to subscribe).  There are four Scripture readings per day and at least one commentary.  Today's wonderful commentary is on Matthew 8:5-13 on the faith of the Roman centurion in Jesus:

MATTHEW 8

Why Does Jesus find the faith of the centurion so astonishing (Matt. 8:5–13)? The centurion assures Jesus that as far as he is concerned it is unnecessary for the Master to visit his home in order to heal the paralyzed servant. He understands that Jesus need only say the word, and the servant will be healed. “For,” the centurion explains, “I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (8:9). Why is this such an astonishing evidence of faith? Three factors stand out. The first is that in an age of not a little superstition, the centurion believed that Jesus’s healing power did not lie in hocus-pocus, or even in his personal presence, but in his word. It was not necessary for Jesus to touch or handle the servant, or even be present; he needed only to say the word, and it would be done. The second is that he came to such confident assertions despite the fact that he was not steeped in Scripture. He was a Gentile. What grasp of Scripture he had we cannot say, but it was certainly less than that enjoyed by many of the learned in Israel. Yet his faith was purer, simpler, more penetrating, more Christ-honoring than theirs. The third astonishing element is this man’s faith is the analogy he draws. He recognizes that he himself is a man under authority, and therefore he has authority when he speaks in the context of that relationship. When he tells a Roman soldier under him to come or go or do something, he is not speaking merely as one man to another man. The centurion speaks with the authority of Caesar, with the authority of the mighty Roman Empire. That authority belongs to the centurion, not because he is in fact as powerful as Caesar in every dimension, but because he is a man under authority: the chain of command means that when the centurion speaks to the foot soldier, Rome speaks. Implicitly, the centurion is saying that he recognizes in Jesus an analogous relationship: Jesus so stands in relationship to God, and under God’s authority, that when Jesus speaks, God speaks. The centurion, of course, was not speaking within the framework of a mature Christian doctrine of Christ, but the eyes of faith had enabled him to penetrate very far indeed. This is the faith we need. It trusts Jesus’s word, reflects a simple profundity, and believes that when Jesus speaks, God speaks.

A Fishing Buddy Sends New Years Greetings!

THIS IS A NATIVE CUTTHROAT, caught, measured then released in NW Wyoming by a real pro! What a beauty, MM! 

Please join me in praying to Almighty God for mercy and revival for the terrible downward moral and spiritual spiral in our country as well as the rest of this darkening world. 

Nevertheless,  I send my best wishes for the New Year and beyond to everyone. Thank you for coming by!

Almost Full Christmas Moon

 

Bears Reciting, Repeating at Christmas

1914 Christmas in the Trenches (via ZeroHedge)

By John McCutcheon

Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, I come from Liverpool
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school
From Belgium and to Flanders, Germany to here
I fought for King and country I love dear

Twas Christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France where still no Christmas songs were sung
Our families back in England were toasting us that day
Theie brave and glorious lads so far away

I was lying with my mess-mates on the cold and rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound
Says I now listen up me boys, each soldier strained to hear
As one young German voice sang out so clear

He’s singing bloody well you know, my partner says to me
Soon one by one each German voice joined in in harmony
The cannons rested silent and the gas clouds rolled no more
As Christmas brought us respite from the war

As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen struck up some lads from Kent
The next thing sang was Stille Nacht, tis ‘Silent Night’ says I
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky

There’s someone coming towards us now the front line sentry said
All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side
His truce flag like a Christmas Star shone on the plane so bright
As he bravely trudged unarmed into the night

Then one by one on either side, walked in to No Man’s Land
With neither gun nor bayonet, we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare lit football game we gave them hell

We traded chocolates, cigarettes and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played the squeeze box and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night
Whose family have I fixed within my sights

Twas Christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed, the songs of peace were sung
For the walls they’d kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone forever more

Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, from Liverpool I dwell
Each Christmas comes since World War I have learned its lesson well
For the ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we’re the same

Jesus Christ, From Lowly Birth To Humblest Servant

JOHN 13:  

THE ACCOUNT OF JESUS WASHING his disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17) is narrated to establish several points: (1) Walking on dusty roads in open sandals took its toll. Many homes would assign the lowest of the servants to wash the feet of visitors. On this occasion, however, Jesus and his closest disciples are on their own, and no one thinks to take on the role of the humblest servant—no one, that is, but Jesus himself. The way John marshals the facts shows that, decades later when he is writing these lines, he is still awed by the dimensions of the deed. Jesus knows that it is time for him to go to the cross, “to leave this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1), but he is not self-absorbed. He knows that one of those whose feet he will wash is Judas Iscariot, who, sold out as he is to the devil, is in the process of betraying him. Jesus knows whence he has come, “that he had come from God and was returning to God” (John 13:3). All along he has “loved his own who were in the world,” and now he shows them “the full extent of his love” (John 13:1)—not only the footwashing itself, but the cross, to which the footwashing points (as we shall see). Knowing all this, loving like this, “he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist” (John 13:4)—it is as if every step has been indelibly burned onto John’s memory, and he can play it back, again and again, in slow motion. In the hush of the room, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. (2) Peter balks (John 13:6–11). The exchange that follows is multi-layered. On the surface of things, there is a form of humility that is actually proud. In one sense, the most humbling thing to endure in this setting is Jesus washing your feet. So there is a lesson in humility. But there is something deeper: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7); Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet anticipates, symbolically, the washing that is accomplished by the cross, the supreme self-humiliation that is displayed in the cross. Peter will understand such things only after the events. And then, in a moment of flip-flop enthusiasm, Peter wants a bath, and a third level is peeled back to view: a person who is already clean does not need a bath, but only to have his feet washed (John 13:10). And in some respects the disciples, with the exception of the son of perdition, are already clean. Here, then, is a picture of the “once-for-all” element in the cross (cf. Heb. 9:11–14, 23–26); we do not need a new sacrifice, but fresh confession (1 John 1:7, 9). (3) And always there is the demand to be like Jesus.

Sunday

Grizzly On My Old Stomping/Fishing Ground

Photo by Baylor Beers via Cowboy State Daily. This photo was taken at Togwotee Pass near the Continental Divide. 

IN MY MANY FORTUNATE DECADES living part-time, working and fly fishing on these rivers and high mountain streams, I have seen and encountered more grizzlies than I care to remember. Except for the extreme adrenaline rush that accompanies seeing these beasts up close, these sightings are mostly uneventful, thank God. Today, however, I have lost my taste for running into them at all, not wanting to push my luck. And grizzlies here have proliferated almost exponentially. So my occasional fishing near Togwotee is always with a man, preferably packing heat, who is careful and knows how to proceed in this willowy terrain. It is still one of my favorite places on earth!

Happy Fourth from Wyoming

 MAY GOD BLESS AND HAVE MERCY ON AMERICA.

BORN-AGAIN FOUNDER: The Gracious Conviction of Elias Boudinot. 

Finally, a wonderful video of one of the historical factors leading up to the American Revolution: the failed Stamp Act of 1765,

The Gospel Explained

 By Matt Smethurst @ The Gospel Coalition

 LET'S FACE IT: the word “gospel” gets thrown around somewhat loosely in Christian conversation today—so much so that its weighty meaning can get lost, or at least muffled. To grasp the good news of the gospel, then, we must first internalize the significance of the word “news.” This is, after all, what separates Christianity from every other religion. 

 Christianity isn’t, fundamentally, good advice. It’s an announcement of good news. 

 You don’t need to go to seminary to grasp the gospel. You don’t need to be in ministry to grasp the gospel. You don’t even need to have been a Christian for five minutes in order to grasp the gospel well enough to convey it to others. 

 All you need to understand is that 2,000 years ago, an invasion took place.

 Heaven came to earth in the person of Jesus, and he inaugurated a new kingdom. 

For 33 years, he lived a life of unflinching, perfect faithfulness to God the Father. He lived the life that, try as we might, we cannot live. And because he loves us, he died the death we deserved to die.

 As a believer in Jesus, I can know that on the cross he was treated as if he’d lived my sinful life, so that I might be treated as if I’ve lived his righteous life.

And then Jesus was buried. Until he wasn’t—because three days later, he got up and walked out of his tomb.

READ IT ALL.

Great News, Killdeer Chicks Are Hatched!

 

WE HAD ALMOST GIVEN UP ON SEEING THIS  BROOD OF KILLDEERS EVER HATCH!  Then low and behold,  as of last night three chick's were out of their shells and hopping around.  The fourth was yet  to come.  All are here just in time for the Fourth holiday and we are  thrilled! The loggers are the best guardians of all wildlife on our property and the best 'grandparents' for this little killdeer family.  

Sermon On Alexander Hamilton, American Prodigal

THIS EXCELLENT TALK IS BY DAVID MATTHIS @ Desiring God.

Can You Spot the Little Mother Killdee and Her Four Speckled Eggs Below?

CAN YOU FIND HER? She laid her eggs flat on the ground and now spends her time guarding them with her life. When I walked across the field today, I didn't see her and her precious eggs. Then suddenly the little killdee came out of no where, puffed herself up and peeped at the top of her lungs at me. I was walking on holy ground and had better back off fast! Attack seemed imminent Once I got the message I did what she told me to do. Now four little speckled killdee eggs wait to hatch. Just so you know, the loggers and their huge trucks are the most protective of the little killdee family.