Even the Cats Miss Arizona

Spring time in Minnesota is depressing.  It seems like forever since we have seen the sun here.  Even the cats are starting feel it.  After a long overcast and rainy day here we came home to find the cats seemingly trying to tell us something, like "take us back to Arizona!"

Article

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is my favorite fiction book.  Though written a long time ago it is  still referred to often.  I ran across this article on Tim Challies blog where the author was comparing Austen's age to our current hook-up, pornified culture.  The whole article is good and worth a read but I  especially liked the end:

"Admittedly, Austen’s world is idealized, yet consider this: who would you prefer your daughter to bring home? 1) a young man whose sexual imagination has been formed by Jane Austen along with Homer, Virgil, The Song of Solomon, Dante, and Shakespeare or 2) a young man who has spent the last ten years of his life fantasizing about women whose images he has objectified and consumed through pornography? Who will make a better husband? A better lover? A better father? That so many of our young men are being shaped by pornography does not bode well for our young ladies or for our society as a whole. If we are witnessing the passing of the gentlemen, there is much to lament. Although the path is difficult and the outcome uncertain, perhaps it’s time for the gentleman to stage a comeback."

Easter Weekend

dying eggs

Matt, Joe and Pete enjoying some sun (finally) on Resurrection Sunday

Reegz and Mom

Earlier in the week Regan brought the kids over to dye Easter eggs.  Then we all went to Regan's house today where we grilled pizza. After dinner the kids shared the story of Jesus' passion.  It was a great day for HE IS RISEN!

Jamie, Levi and Steven

Levi and Liberty telling us the Easter story with the Resurrection Eggs

Matt, Jamie and Mom

my sisters and I

Grandpa Joe and Liberty

Amil Study

RC Sproul is one of my favorite Bible teachers and something I really, really appreciate about him is that he is so fair when it comes to teaching on things he disagrees with.  What I mean is that he does not misrepresent systems, ideas, theologies or people he doesn't like or agree with.  I long to be this way myself and know I fail in it as it is so easy to let emotion take control over truth. God help me!

It wasn't until I joined a Presbyterian church that I first ran into people who do not like John MacArthur and do not think of him as a top Bible teacher.  This was shocking to me and confusing since MacArthur is usually a key note speaker at the Ligonier Ministries conferences (whose president and founder is a Reformed Presbyterian).  Some of the criticisms I heard regarding MacArthur usually had to do with him being a "dispensationalist" and him not being "reformed."  I learned the five points of Calvinism as a babe from MacArthur and so I could not understand why anyone would say he wasn't reformed- he loves the doctrines of God's sovereign grace!  My current eschatology study has taught me a lot not only about eschatology but also covenant theology, dispensationalism, and what it is to be reformed.  I now understand why someone would say MacArthur is not reformed as he does not subscribe to the whole system but I don't know why they give him so much grief for being a progressive dispensationalist- as if it makes him a heretic. Progressive dispensationalism and classical dispensationalism are significantly different.  After listening to hundreds of hours of his preaching over the past 10 years I can tell you he absolutley is not a classical dispensationalist but the critcisms I hear about him are always disinctives of classical dispensationalism.  Either his critics don't understand the difference between the two systems or they're misrepresenting the truth.

Unfortunately the misrepresenting of truth is not only a problem for us sheep but for all people, shepherds included.  Through my current eschatology study I have come to find out that I have been taught misrepresentations of amillenialism and covenant theology from MacArthur.  His teaching on these matters appear to be more emotionally driven than fact driven.  This is unfortunate and makes me very sad as I hold him in the highest esteem.

Anyway, I have been listening to a great study by Kim Riddlebarger on amillenialism which has started to make clear things that were so confusing to me before that I probably couldn't even formulate a coherent question regarding them.  Riddlebarger has been making clear to me how these different eschatological systems can each seem compelling.  It all has to do with your presupposed hermeneutic.  Riddlebarger believes that interpretation of Bible propehcy begins with identifying methodological presuppositions and that the way to determine the best eschatological system is to first identify and evaluate the underlying hermeneutic involved.  He then goes on to compare dispensational and reformed hermeneutics.

Dispensational hermeneutic:

1. Claims to hold to a literal interpretation of prophetic sections of the Bible

2. Recognition of distincitve programs between the Church and National Israel.

*This system of interpretation can be called an "Israel-centered hermeneutic."

Reformed hermeneutic:

Here is where Riddlebarger talks about the analogi fide idea which means "Scripture interprets Scripiure."  (I have heard "Scripture interprets Scripture" my whole Christian life from MacArthur).

1. New Testament interprets Old Testament.

2. Old Testament writers spoke in pre-Messianic terms describing the glories of the future in terms of the age they lived in.

3. New Testament always interprets Old Testament figures in light of their significance- especially in Christ.

*This system of interpretation can be called a "Christ-centered hermeneutic."

Riddlebarger teaches that Old Testament themes are types and shadows of glorious realities that are fulfilled in Christ.  The general thrust of redemptive history goes like this:

(1.) types and shadows to (2.) language used by the prophets describing the glories of the coming messianic age to (3.) the reality of that is found in Christ. This means Jesus is the true Israel, the true temple, the heir to David's throne, etc.

I am really enjoying Riddlebarger's series on amillenialism and considering it very seriously.  I really appreciate that Riddlebarger seems to be fairly representing the different systems and people he is talking about.  He displays great passion and humility in his teaching.  His series can be found on the right sidebar of his blog and is free for download.

Thrifting Booty!

I love getting good deals and I have a great thrift store near my house that I frequent (thank you Regan for introducing me to it!). On top of having really good prices on most things they also have certain days of the week where you can get an additional 25% off!  Some things I have gotten here are a couple of Mexican serape blankets, a couple of table cloths, an electric kettle, an egg cooker, and my favorite pair of jeans.  Recently I have been looking for certain furniture so yesterday when I went (and dragged Matt with me- he hates any store that you have to dig through) we got an amazing steal.  We got a TV armoire for $7- plus we got to take an additonal 25% off the price!  I also got a little bedside stand for my guest room  for $4  (plus 25% off) which I took home and promptly repainted in a southwest color. The armoire is a tad bit too small for our TV so Matt gladly turned it into a home for his humidors.

bed stand before

bed stand after I repainted it

A True Word From Jerry...

FTMDaily Financial News Update: America’s Entitlement Mentality is Killing Our Nation

by Jerry Robinson on April 4, 2011, FTMDaily Editor-in-Chief

There has been much talk recently about the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor in America today. This gap exists for a reason. Let me explain.

Who makes your food? Do you produce your own food? Or do major corporations prepare and package your food and leave it lying in tidy little stacks in grocery stores for you in exchange for your money?

Who creates your entertainment? Do you create your own? Or do you willingly trade your hard earned dollars to the cable company, and to Hollywood studios in exchange for it?

Who provides heat and cool to your home? Do you? Or do you pay utility companies to do it for you?

Who makes your clothes? Do you? Or do you willingly exchange your money for those who do it for you?

Who makes your paper towels? Do you? Or do you willingly exchange your paper money for the convenience?

Who employs you? Do you employ yourself? Or do you willingly exchange your time to a company who is willing to take the necessary risks to produce a good or service of value to society?

We can go on… who makes your cotton swabs, your make-up, your jewelry, your paper, your computers?

Are you catching my drift? What I am saying is that we are the most consumption-crazed nation on the planet.

Do you want to know the secret behind building wealth? It is unbelievably simple. So much so that most people will completely ignore it.

The secret to wealth: Produce something of value that “consumers” will buy. That’s it! There’s nothing more to it. Sure, there are some more creative strategies to implement later in the game, but this sums it all up nicely.

Those who are truly wealthy think like “producers”, not “consumers,” in almost every situation. And those who are broke, and one paycheck from foreclosure or bankruptcy, think like “consumers.”

How many people do you know who actually produce any of the items that I just mentioned above? I guarantee that almost everyone you know consumes exclusively. Those who make the real money in this society are those who produce. Those who are broke in this society are those who opt to consume only, while never producing anything of real value for society.

So why should the “producers” be ashamed? And why should the “consumers” demand their fair share of the producer’s profits? When we take away the profits from the producer, we are essentially taking away his incentive to produce for you.

Broke American “consumers,” who rely on those “rich and powerful” producers to make everything for them, are now claiming that the “producers” have an unfair advantage and that the government should tax them more heavily and give the consumers even more money.

America’s “entitlement” mentality exists at every level of our society today.

Many Americans today believe that they have a “right” to a job, when no such right exists. We are not owed a job. If someone loses their job, that is not society’s problem. It simply means we must get up, dust ourselves off, and find a way to bring value to society.

Many Americans today believe that they have a “right” to healthcare, when no such right exists. We are not owed healthcare at the expense of other people. If someone pays into a faulty system and that system fails, that is not our grandchild’s problem. We should take responsibility for our own generation’s mistakes by confronting those responsible and should not seek to pass the headache on to future generations all in the name of preserving our own lifestyle — and protecting our “rights.”

Many today believe that the nation’s producers (i.e. corporations, employers, etc.) should be  heavily penalized for being rewarded for their innovative inventions and production. Are we really willing to make our own clothes, our own entertainment, our own food, etc? If not, why do we bite the hand that feeds us? If we take away the incentives from the “producer” to keep making your $100 pair of jeans and your $3 roll of paper towels, we will find that we have to actually make things ourselves.

Many today claim that their circumstances, (lack of a college education, born on the wrong side of the tracks) hold them back. You do not need beneficial circumstances to produce something. Put down the video games, the remote control, and invest in a free library card. You do not need a college degree to learn how to add value to society.

Many today, who add little to no value to society, want their “equal share” of national resources. If someone does not add value to society, and instead chooses to give all of their money to those who do, why should they be given special treatment?

This system is broken and cannot continue. America’s entitlement mentality, which has been created by politicians, and encouraged by the population at large, has led this nation down the wrong path. It runs contrary to basic logic and common sense.