Why Us? (Portland Storm of the Century)

Two out of the last three winters we've been in a place that had the worst snow storm they've experienced in 40-50 years.  We lived just north of Denver during the winter of 06-07.  That year, they had a snow storm come through that dropped the most snow in 50 years.  Denver International Airport was completely shut down for 4 days and we saw drifts of snow upwards of 8 feet tall.  There was about 4 feet of snow in the flats.

Right now, we live in the Portland area and we just had the biggest snow storm this area has seen since 1968 over the weekend.  We have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground at our house in Dundee.  People in Oregon don't really know what to do with the snow.  As soon as the first snowflake hit the windshield, people started driving in to each other and in to ditches.

Here are some photos I just took outside our house.  Take a look at the carnage...

Our House

My Sisters PT Cruiser

Our Trash Cans

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm glad that I have Someone to thank for all the blessings I enjoy in my life.  Tell God about five things you are thankful to Him for.  It will make your day better.

Here's a statement I have written in the front of my Bible that keeps me thankful: Forgetting where we came from is the first step to forgetting what God has done for us.

Don't forget.  Be thankful.

1.20.09

The Beginning of an Error

Bad Apple

I have to admit that I have been a big fan of Apple computer products since about 2003.  I have coveted owning a Macbook for quite a long time.  Their products are good and they just work.

However, Apple made a very bad decision this week.  They decided, as a company, to support the No on 8 campaign in the state of California.  If you don't know, Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution and ban gay marriage in California.  Apple, Inc. donated $100,000 to the campaign.  Here is the statement they posted on their website:

"Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8."

Let me say very clearly: The gay marriage issue IS NOT a civil rights issue!  Notice their proclamation that they were "among the first California companies to offer equal rights" to employees and their same-sex partners.  The fact is: Everyone in America has the same marital rights!  It is just as illegal for me to marry a man as it is for a gay man to marry a man.  Every gay man in this country has the same right I do to marry a woman.  We all have the same rights!

By calling this issue a civil rights issue, the proponents of gay marriage are (successfully) equating this battle with the battle for women's rights and racial equality.  The problem is, when women or black people didn't have the right to vote, that was inequality.  A white man had a right that a black man didn't.  A male had a right that a female didn't.

Another tech company you might be familiar with, Google, also came out with their support of gay marriage.  Co-founder Sergey Brin posted this on the official company blog:

"While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love."

Ah, the "love argument."  Sergey is a genius in many ways, but a fool in this one.  People who make this argument never think it all the way through.  What if I said that I want to marry my sister because I love her?  According to Sergey's logic, there's nothing that should stand in the way of that desire.  What if I told you I love my dog and I wanted to marry her?  What if I told you I love 3 women and I wanted to marry all of them?  There are laws against all of these scenarios and, believe me, they'll be the next to go.

These are common arguments offered by those who support gay marriage.  However, with just a little bit of logic, you see how easily these arguments crumble.

Let's just say that I have lost my appetite for an Apple.

Atheist Ads

Please help me understand how this works.  A group of atheists are organizing to place anti-God ads on buses in London.  How do you place an ad against Someone you don't believe exists?

A hilarious part of the linked article states that there is "preferential treatment given to religion in British society."  Wow.  Seeing that Europe is one of the greatest bastions of secular liberalism in the world today, I find that very hard to believe.

Holiness

I'm teaching a lesson in my adult Bible class this Sunday about passing on a heritage of holiness to our children.  I'm going to make this statement:

I know holiness is unpopular in the world.  It's always been that way.  The day holiness becomes unpopular with God's people is a sad and dangerous day.

The thought seriously challenged me and I thought it might do the same for you.

Teaching My Son the Deity of Christ

I was having a conversation with my 3 year old son the other night and I was trying to teach him the deity of Christ.  I think he got a hold of that truth, but he got a little confused by another point.  Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "David, when we pray, who do we talk to?"

David: "Jesus!"

Me: "That's right!  Did you know that Jesus is God?"

David: "Jesus is God?"

Me: "Yes!  When you pray, you talk to Jesus and God because Jesus is God!"

David: "I talk to God, I talk to Jesus and I talk to Mary..."

Me: "No, you don't talk to Mary."

David: "You don't talk to Mary?"

Me: "No.  Mary is a person, not God."

David: "Mary is a person?"

Me: "Yes.  She's a person like Mommy."

David: "I can't talk to Mommy?"

Right-Wing Media Bias?

I have to admit that I don't listen to a lot of left wing TV or radio.  However, I've been giving myself a good laugh every now and then and checking it out.  I don't know if this is a new charge (I've been told it isn't), but I've heard for the first time that the media is bias to the Right.  Barack Obama made this charge in an interview recently.

This idiocy further proves that people on the far Left truly live in a fantasy world.

Having heard this charge, I figured I'd check to see if it was true.  By the way, "truth" is a value the Left has no interest in.  I went to several of the mainstream media web sites to see what headlines they had about Sarah Palin.  She is the most popular figure on the Right at the moment, so I figured she'd be a good litmus test.  Here is what my research uncovered:

• Newsweek.com
• Headline: Bristol's Choice
• Tag Line: Republicans and the illusion of reproductive choice
• CNN.com
• Headline: Pastor: GOP Downplaying Palin's Pentecostal Past
• New York Times
• Headline: To Have (as a Running Mate), and to Hold (Politely)
• MSNBC.com
• Headline: McCain, Palin Criticize Obama on Earmarks
• Tag Line: Palin's home state remains largest per-capita consumer of federal funds

Do you need any more examples?  These are the headlines right now.  I'm looking forward to see how the mainstream media "endorses" the Republican ticket over the next two months.  When I listen to the Left make moronic claims like this, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  These people make up almost half my country!  They are completely out of touch with reality and two of them are running to lead this nation.  Scary.

Abraham's Obedience

This is part of my lesson for my Adult Bible class tomorrow.  It's actually part of a sermon I have preached before called "Faith Equals Obedience."  It puts the obedience of Abraham found in Genesis 22 in an understandable and challenging way.  I'll just cut and paste from the outline of my lesson.  Think on these things...

• The Timing of Abraham’s Obedience (vs. 3)

  • He rose early the next day.

  • God never told him when to do this.

  • Abraham: “I know what God wants me to do, so I’m going to do it.”

  • Abraham’s obedience was immediate.

  • Delayed obedience is disobedience.

  • If God has commanded, don’t sit around and wonder. Obey!

• The Trust in Abraham’s Obedience (vs. 5, 7-8)

  • Remember, God had asked him to do an unthinkable thing.

  • vs. 5 “…I and the lad will go…and come again to you.”

  • He knew what God had told him to do, but he believed God would deliver.

    • He may not have known how…we may not either.

  • vs. 7-8

    • Others around you may start wondering.

    • Abraham believed God would provide.

• The Totality of Abraham’s Obedience (vs. 9-10)

  • No matter what, Abraham’s obedience would be complete.

  • He believed God would provide, but he still built the altar, he still bound his son and he still raised the knife.

  • When God gives you orders, decide from that start that you will follow through to the end.

Time to Panic?

I'm not sure, but if there was ever a time to panic, this would be it.  Do these people seem a little too calm?