X-Mas Again
X-Mas Again
In volume 4 issue 6 of ETC we addressed the issue of holy days. As we are approaching Christmas once again, we decided not to send the same issue out. We do, however, have the same convictions, and I've made the decision to summarize them here. Ready? Don't be a Scrooge. I know there is no mandated holy day set down in Scripture for this time of year. I know that the silly heathen have no idea what they are doing. I know that millenia ago the heathen celebrated something else altogether on this day. I know Saint Nicholas has had his life transmogrified in the most wicked way. I know people are suffering. But I also know this - Jesus was born. God took on flesh and dwelt among us. He came in a state of humiliation, so that we in Him might enjoy glorification. And that is worth celebrating.
And for those of you caught up in the way the world does it, be careful. Be wary of distractions, both for yourselves and you children. Be content to imitate Mary, instead of Martha Stewart, or you'll wear yourself out. If you drown the children in the latest must-have toys, and then gently remind them it's about Jesus, they'll just nod their heads, and get back to the orgy of wrapping paper. Take it easy. Though our joy is greater than the world's, we don't manifest that joy with a bigger mountain of presents. Keep the festivities in moderation; keep the joy in the extreme.
If you don't want a tree, don't get a tree. If you don't want to make any eggnog, don't make it. If you don't want to watch the Grinch, then don't watch it. But don't be a Grinch. Rejoice at the amazing truth that He was born, that our God came in the flesh, that He tabernacled among us. Let us keep the feast as we remember that the Bridegroom came to us.
Destination: Moscow
You should know that one of your favorite super heroes, Larry Boy, recently spent some time with that other radical, intolerant, band of warrior poets located in Moscow, Idaho. Wilson, Jones, and company are still preaching the truth, enjoying vintage wines, mocking the pseudo-church and all-in-all having a great time in the process. Not a bad way to build the Kingdom.
It is so refreshing to hang with likeminded folks who fear the Lord so much that they really don't care what the effeminate-religious-boy-men have to say about the way they raise their families, grow their church, teach their children, or spend their Sunday afternoons. The occasion for my visit was the Ministers' Conference they host annually. This year's topic was on the Pastor and his Family. And while the material was mostly familiar the speakers did manage to convict and encourage us all.
Doug Jones pondered the question as to what happened to the generations that followed the Covenantors, the Huguenots, and the Puritans. These great Christian communities and societies vanished after burning so bright. Why didn't they last? How could a people so spiritually powerful not continue for longer than they did? This dilemma is worth our continuing investigation. Doug Wilson exhorted the attendees to be men of wisdom and the Word. As he taught I kept thinking, I have come all the way from Virginia to this huge wheat field called Idaho to hear a guy talk about redundancies like the importance of seeking God's wisdom and being a man of the Scriptures… I couldn't love these guys more. Their faithfulness to the Savior is gloriously apparent. Every time I visit the Credenda crowd, I come away with the knowledge and feeling that I have been in good company.
As the spiritual war escalates, as casual evangelical "friends" become foes, as the newly religious become intolerant of those who have true faith and hold to absolutes, it is comforting to know that there is somewhere in the world where you are welcome at the table, you have a place by the fire, and that everyone knows your name-Christian.
Nattering Nabobs
In our last issue we covered the problem of spin. Since that time, we have
been awash in it. As
we argue in our Apologia column, we have not entered into a radically
greater evil time. As such, beware of the constant refrain, "We will never
be the same." My prayer is that we won't be, that we as a nation will experience
genuine repentance, that we will tear down the altars to the gods of pluralism,
and seek the face of the living God. So far, however, I'm not seeing it. Instead
we have only increased our devotion to the god of the state.
That, however, is not a dramatic change. We were statists on September 10, and we are statists today. We were in danger of terrorists on September 10, and we are in danger of them today. We were aggravating the world with our intrusive foreign policy on the 10th, and we are still doing so now. In short, the sky isn't falling. Five thousand dead civilians is an appalling act of wickedness, but not much different from appalling acts of wickedness that have come and gone before, and those that continue today. We are not at the great pivot of history. Man has not taken a great leap backward; he is merely moving in the same wicked direction, at the same wicked pace. The only difference between the mass destruction of September 11, and the mass destruction of every other day is that the cameras showed us what happened on the 11th.
God hasn't changed either. He still loves His elect; and He still hates the
reprobate. He still governs His world in often inscrutable ways. But it is He
who governs it. Do not be shaken, nor be afraid, for Christ has already overcome
the world. Pray that He would be pleased to send repentance. Pray for the peace
of Babylon. And pray that you will never forget where you have your citizenship.