2021 in Review

January brought us a new regime to replace the old regime. Oh, sorry ... "regime" - "a government, especially an authoritarian one." Immediately there was the protest that was deemed an "insurrection" (although 1) it was not planned and, as such, a stupid insurrection and 2) although most were "mad gun advocates," none carried firearms, making it the supidest insurrection in history and 3) since the only one shot and killed in this insurrection was an unarmed female protester, it would seem to be a lot of things, but not an insurrection). The new president solved the COVID crisis by redefining the unacceptable vaccine that Trump brought to "a gift from the Democrats," so it was now okay (and, later, to be mandatory).

In February the new president committed to rejoin the Paris climate accord that put the U.S. "behind the eight ball" (oh ... that was the phrase the president used referencing Trump's withdrawal ... but the truth is the Paris accord puts the onus on America).

A massive cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for weeks in March. One might think that would be small news, but it turned out to be a major hit to the international supply chain and gave us all a taste of the supply chain failures to come.

Derek Chauvin was convicted on all charges of George Floyd's death in April, followed by his pleading guilty to federal civil rights charges. It was this death that finally got white people declared racist and banned from suggesting that "all lives matter."

August was fun. We watched our "fearless leader" sneak our troops out of Afghanistan by night, leaving hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghans behind to face the "friendly" Taliban government. "We won't hurt you. Beheading is practically painless."

Texas tried to save lives in September by passing the new abortion law that would allow citizens to sue abortion doctors for illegal abortions. Silly Texas ... thinking that a heartbeat inferred personhood. We all know that personhood is conferred by the mother's wish.

There has been more, of course, but the biggest news of 2021 overshadowed most of the rest -- COVID. Our "savior" arrived, actually, in December of 2020, but it was kicked into full swing in January of 2021 -- that vaccine that was going to save us all. It was shown to be 94% effective ... 85% ... okay, 54% effective after six months. Maybe as low as 13%. Better get a booster. Two. Ah, just keep 'em coming. And for reasons no one was seeking, the pandemic got worse once the vaccines were surging. Reality wreaked havoc with what we called "science" from our CDC overlords. "Natural immunity" (that which comes from recovering from COVID) "is only about 3 months ... 6 months ... okay, 16 months at last count." "But, it is certainly not as good as ... well ... okay, it is better than the immunity the vaccine gives." "You will need to quarantine for 14 days ... 10 days ... let's make it 5." "Masks are necessary ... unless you're vaccinated ... well, actually, even if you're vaccinated." "Delta will kill us all. Omicron will kill us all. Wait ... omicron is more like a cold. Our vaccines don't work against that one, so it is essential that you get vaccinated." And, of course, the ongoing, "I did not give money to that Wuhan lab."

Second, perhaps, is the economy. In 2021 our leadership has brought us record inflation, record price increases, and record shortages. Shortages included goods, but perhaps the biggest was workers, including "the Great Resignation" where workers quit in droves. Too many refused to return after the federal aid made them dissatisfied with ... work. In order to counter these problems, our overlords passed a new spending bill adding another couple of trillion dollars to the deficit because spending more of your tax dollars always makes your financial situation improve. "Wages are up," Biden claims, but, adjusted for inflation, they're down (-1.2% in October). "We're experiencing the strongest economic recovery in the world," the president claims when, in fact, it's simply not true. "I've brought unemployment down from 14%," Biden crowed, except that 14% was April of 2020 and it was at 6% by December of 2020. "I've fixed the supply chain issue," the White House claimed although there was a record 84 ships still waiting offshore in California as of November and there are still a record number of empty containers waiting to be returned to be refilled. My concern is that our president appears to be as bad at economics as our young people who think "Money grows on rich people ... and it ought to be mine."

One thing that hasn't changed in 2021 -- the media claims "the public has the right to know," but they operate with the caveat "... what we want them to know" and nothing else. Let's not talk about Fauci's questionable issues. Let's label all questions regarding elections as "anti-democratic" and all questions about COVID as "misinformation." They told us about the horrible story of an SUV that drove into a crowd in Waukesha, Wisconsin, instead of a black driver who had a documented history of hating white people. They told us about the racial inequities in the Rittenhouse case while ignoring the fact that there were no racial components in the accusations. And so on and so forth. The media is our "go-to" for what we believe to be true ... even though they have consistently demonstrated their determination to decide for you what you must believe to be true.

All this is not lost on the Babylon Bee. Don't miss their "Top CNN Moments of 2021 review.

j I leave, then, you with this.

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings [and presidents] and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

And I pray for to have a blessed New Year in 2022. Jesus said, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev 22:20)!

Fact-Checking

Let's be honest. We all do it at some point or another. We look at something in Scripture and ask, "How can that be true?" when it doesn't align with what we "know to be true." We fact-check God's Word against our own beliefs. I'm not talking about the obscure. I'm not talking about the dubious or unclear. If the Bible says X without equivocation and we know it should be Y, we choose to assume that X is wrong and Y is right.

Now, there is no small number of people who reply, "Well, yes! That's what we should ... nay, must do!" But in order to do that, we have to make an assumption. We have to assume that our own beliefs are superior to those of Scripture.

I am often castigated for "conflating your opinion with God's view." How do I typically do that? I read my Bible and it says, for instance, we "are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith" (Rom 3:24-25) and I jump to the conclusion that we are justified by His grace through the price Christ paid ("redemption") in His blood that appeased the wrath ("propitiation") of God. Silly me. That's just a leap. Everyone knows that God just forgives. No tricks, no steps, no requirements. He's just a nice God. He can forgive as easily as Nike does. You know, "just do it." I read that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and conclude that all have sinned and that, in doing so, we've all fallen short of the glory of God. "What nonsense! Sin is not that bad."

It gets worse. I read, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1) and believe that God created the heavens and the earth. "Come on! You know that's wrong. Science tells us the Big Bang did it ... billions of years ago. Genesis is myth." I read "no one does good, not even one" (Rom 3:12) and conclude that actual "good" is rare among humans. "That's ridiculous!" they tell me. "People are basically good. Everyone knows that." Oh, here's a good one. I read, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality¹, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:9-10) and I conclude that the unrighteous, including those on that list, will not inherit the kingdom of God. "Now you're just being silly," they assure me.

So what do I do when what I believe is challenged by what Scripture says? I suspend my belief ... in what I believe. I allow the Bible to fact-check me. When the world -- science, the media, my coworkers, whatever -- say "X is true" and the Bible says, "No, it's Y," I choose Y ... even if X was my original belief. You see, I obviously suffer from pride -- all of us do -- but I don't have sufficient pride to assume that my information is better than God's information. I don't have sufficient arrogance to see myself as ultimate arbitrator of truth. And for that I am accused of "opinion" whereas those who are of the opinion that their opinion is superior to not only mine but to the Word of God are not operating on opinion. Why would I come to that conclusion? Because they're telling me I'm wrong. If it is opinion, it is neither right nor wrong, and your opinion is as good as mine.

I think we need fact-checking. I think we all suffer from mental erosion (Rom 1:21-22), from deceived hearts (Jer 17:9). I think we all need renewed minds (Rom 12:2). And I think we live in a world hostile to the truth (Rom 8:7), so I would expect the world to produce information hostile to the truth. In the end, I suppose, I'm just a skeptic. I'm skeptical about the reliability of the world system. I'm skeptical about the reliability of our beliefs, especially my own. If that makes me arrogant, so be it. I suspect it's actually the opposite, but, hey, that's just my opinion, you know?
________

¹ Interesting side note. Current "scholars" argue that that "practice homosexuality" thing in this text doesn't mean what we think it means. They argue that Paul actually made that term up and it didn't mean that at all. The word that is stuck together there and translated as "homosexual" in some sense in all translations is ἀρσενοκοίτης -- arsenokoitēs. It is a combination of arsenos for "man" and koitēs for "bed" (which, by the way, is the origin of our word, "coitus"). Paul "made that word up" they tell us. But, as it turns out, in the Septuagint -- the Greek translation of the Old Testament available in Paul's day -- uses the exact term "arsenos koiten" in Leviticus -- "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them" (Lev 20:13). Paul didn't make it up. It is the exact term used in the Old Testament in Greek.

Share His Holiness

Hebrews 12 has a difficult passage to wade through. It starts with considering Christ's endurance and talks about the discipline we should expect from God (Heb 12:3-12). It has that particularly jarring (when looked at through modern distorted lenses) part about "The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives" (Heb 12:6). And that "chastises" is literally "to flog, to scourge." "Really?" we ask. But the text doubles down. "But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (Heb 12:8). Well, that's stark.

Perhaps it's this whole disturbing concept that God disciplines and chastises that makes us miss a key element. Comparing God's discipline with the training of our earthly fathers, the author says, "For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness" (Heb 12:10). I don't know what is more jarring -- the notion that God chastises the children He loves or the fact that the aim is for us to "share His holiness."

Maybe "holiness" is a foreign word to us. Biblically, at least. Biblical holiness is not fundamentally "sinlessness," but much more. It is separation. It is "other." It is to be "set apart." Set apart from sinfulness, sure, but in so many other ways. God complained, "You thought I was just like you" (Psa 50:21) because He's not. We are made in His image, but He is "other." No, He is "holy, holy, holy" -- "other" to the ultimate degree. And His goal is to make us ... like that. Paul puts it this way.

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. (Rom 8:28-29)

That, brothers and sisters, is our ultimate aim. We are to be conformed to the image of His Son, setting us apart from the rest. Setting us apart from sin and from death and from sorrow and from loss. Setting us apart from our old selves. The biblical term for this process is "sanctification" (Rom 6:19; 1 Cor 1:30; 1 Thess 4:3, 7; Heb 12:14) which simply means "making holy."

Bring it, Lord Jesus.

The Cracked Mirror

You've known these kinds of people, I'm sure. Could be guys or girls; doesn't matter. You would say about them, "They've never passed up a mirror." They're vain. They have to check themselves out every chance they get. Well, okay, to be fair, not all of them are like that. Some are so concerned that they're afraid that something went wrong between now and the last mirror they passed, so they have to make sure they're okay. But in either case, mirrors are important.

One of the theological puzzles that Scripture doesn't answer for us is the origin of Satan. Oh, sure, we have the "fallen angel" thing, but why? Why did Satan rebel against God? I mean, there he was, the perfect created being in the presence of the Ultimate being. What caused him to fall? I think it's not that complicated. I think that all Satan really needed was ... a mirror. Okay, a metaphorical mirror, if you wish, but I think all that had to happen for Satan to fall was to get his eyes off his God and onto himself. The mirror effect.

It's interesting, then, that it was precisely the approach he used in the Garden. He started with "Did God really say ...?" (Gen 3:1) -- looking at God -- but moved immediately to "You will be like God" (Gen 3:5). At no point, in Eve's evaluation of Satan's suggestion, did she consider God. She only considered "the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise" (Gen 3:6). In a similar vein, James says, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?" (James 4:1). The same thing, isn't it? Conflicts don't occur if we are not concerned about our own pleasures. They only occur when we are our own prime concern. So Paul writes, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Php 2:3).

The truth is we are so ensconced in our self-centered perspective that we generally don't notice it nor are we able to imagine life without it. If someone were to suggest it, we'd likely consider the idea silly ... at best. We are told on every side, "You deserve ..." and "Be yourself" and understand the ultimate good to be "looking out for #1." We've taken up the mirror, cracked as it is, and we like it. We are vain. We will never pass up that mirror. And Jesus calls to us and says, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). We are to be "crucified with Christ" (Gal 2:20). "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24). It would seem, then, that this fundamental self-centered form of living is antithetical to Christian living, isn't it? It would seem that our best option would be to look to Jesus (Heb 12:2 Php 2:5-8).

We Know What We Know

My wife has an elderly lady she walks with at the mall in the mornings. They open every day at 6:00 AM and these two ladies use the opportunity of an empty and sheltered space to get some exercise and fellowship. Except for Christmas. The only day of the year that this mall does not open is Christmas.

We live in a society today that is opposed to "Merry Christmas" in its public interactions. They will say, "Happy Holidays," ignoring the fact that "holiday" means literally "holy day," but, hey, we understand that 1) very few people pay attention to words and 2) consistency isn't a virtue today. But if we're opposed to "Merry Christmas" -- if we're an increasingly "no religion" nation -- then why not open on Christmas Day? No, wait ... if what we do demonstrates what we actually believe, and we actually don't believe in Jesus or God or all that right-wing religious stuff, why are we even taking a holiday on a day still called "Christmas"? If it's all fake, shouldn't we straighten up and fly right and get back to work?

Christmas is just an example. Our current relativism -- "What's true for me may not be true for you" -- has some blatant problems that we're choosing to ignore. For instance, what's with "social justice warriors" among the atheists? On what is this "social justice" based? If "justice" is "that which aligns with what is right" and "right" is a simple, personal choice, what in the world is social justice? On what basis does this society that denies God have for determining "moral" for anyone else?

Social justice is another example of our societal schizophrenia. There are more examples, but that's where we live now. Religion is out, even though religion -- a Moral Lawgiver -- is the only feasible basis for objective good and evil. Still we have our moral outrage that we fling upon whoever happens to violate our own personal sense of right and wrong. "All white people are racist." Without even arguing the point, on what basis do you say that's wrong if there is no universal right and wrong? "It's wrong for the rich to be so rich." Why, if you have no fundamental moral code that has the authority to put demands on others? But we continue to operate as if there are absolutes while deniying the Absolute Himself.

In case you've missed my point, I am not saying racism is right, rich people should get richer, Christmas should not be celebrated, or social justice is not a thing. I'm saying that it's only in God that we find these positions with sufficient basis to say that "it's right or wrong for me and for you." So while our words belie any such fundamental truth, our internal workings affirm it with a vengeance. Which only goes to demonstrate the truth that we know. We know there is a God (Rom 1:19-20). We know that there is a right and a wrong that is outside of ourselves (Rom 2:15). And, clearly, we're blinded to it (2 Cor 4:3-4). Christmas proves it. Moral beliefs prove it. Yes, even "Social Justice Warriors" prove it. And that means we are in real need of the Savior.

Not on the Menu

We're progressive. Maybe not politically. Some are and some aren't. But in so many other ways. We're "movin' on." We're "movin' up." Better and better. So today we can offer technology and pleasantries that our parents never even imagined. Quite a menu of delights.

It is inevitable, however, that when we progress we leave things behind. Progress means there are new things available, but it also generally means that old things are no longer on the menu. So, going with technology for illustration, we used to have refrigerators that lasted decades. We used to have televisions that you repaired rather than tossed. We used to have solid technology. Now we've arrived at disposable technology. That refrigerator, that TV, that computer ... when it gives us a problem we replace it. Fixing it is difficult and, most likely, impossible. "I'm sorry," they'll tell you, "we don't support that anymore." Movin' on; movin' up. But technology was just an example. It's everywhere -- all aspects of life. We think differently, see things differently, want different things, have different opinions, and so on. In not much more than a decade we went from "Homosexual behavior is not a good thing" to "You're a hateful being if you don't think it's wonderful." "I think it is a sin" is no longer on the menu. In some places that once made such behavior illegal they are now making the belief that it's wrong illegal.

In this rush to progress, there is another important item that we appear to have moved beyond. Jesus taught His disciples, "If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt 6:14-15). He told Peter to forgive "seventy-seven times" (Matt 18:22) and went on to tell about the serious consequences of failing to forgive (Matt 18:23-35). Not us. Like so many other aspects of God's Word, we've laid the concept of forgiveness up against the tide of popular opinion -- "what we know to be true" -- and found it wanting. It's a nice idea, maybe, but not very desirable, practical, or even doable. So when this guy gets accused of that transgression, lots of things may happen, but forgiveness is not one of them. When this politician is found to have made a remark 15 years ago that didn't offend anyone back then but certainly does now, forgiveness is not one of the options. Canceled, removed, imprisoned, impoverished for life ... we have a lot of possibilities on our menu to choose from, but "forgive" isn't one.

Now, I get it. The illustration that Jesus gave was of a servant whose debt was forgiven, but then failed to forgive others. If you aren't forgiven much, you may not be very willing to forgive. If you don't know the forgiveness that Christ offers, you may not be very generous with forgiving others. If you see yourself as forgiven, but only for "little things," I get that forgiveness isn't a priority for you. I'm not talking to those people. I'm talking to you believers. I'm talking to you who, like me, believe God's Word. I'm speaking to you who find Christ's death on your behalf to be a great joy and Christ's righteousness laid on you in place of your sin really good news. For you and me, forgiveness isn't an option. It isn't a nicety. It is mandatory. But it also should come from the heart -- be natural (Luke 7:47). Maybe forgiveness is not on our society's menu anymore. It certainly ought to be on ours.

News Weakly - 12/25/2021 (Sort Of)

It's Christmas Day. I'll skip the News Weakly for today and just recognize Christmas. That is, after all, the biggest and best news of the week, of the year, of the history of the world. On this day of the year we celebrate the Son of God taking on human flesh -- being born to a human family -- to live a sinless life, die on the cross for us, and rise again. This was His gift to us -- our one and only chance for salvation from our sin. On this day of the year we celebrate Emmanuel -- God with us. It just doesn't get any better than that. I hope you all give that at least a moment of attention on this day.

Before you go, I have to do a little homily, right? A short one, perhaps. Have you ever thought about Simeon? He appears in Luke 2 after the birth of Christ. It's about 40 days after His birth and Mom and Dad are taking Him to the Temple for the purification rite required by the law. Luke describes Simeon as a "man" -- apparently no special status ... priest, Pharisee, prophet, whatever -- who was 1) righteous and 2) devout and 3) looking for the consolation of Israel. Oh, and he had a special helping of the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:25). He had a promise from the Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah, so one day -- this particular day -- "he came in the Spirit into the temple" (Luke 2:27). There he encountered the Christ. How did he know? It doesn't say. We'll assume the Spirit let him know. He took Jesus into his arms and, it says, he "blessed God" (Luke 2:28). "Now Lord," he started, "You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace" (Luke 2:29). We don't know how old Simeon was. We don't know how much longer he had to live. (Neither did he.) It didn't matter. Simeon was "good to go." He had all he needed. He was fully satisfied. A simple encounter with the "consolation of Israel," the "Lord's Christ," and he could die happy.

How about you? Are you "righteous and devout"? Are you looking for God's consolation? Are you satisfied with Christ? Or is there something more you need to be content? Jesus is God's greatest gift ... all we need.

With that in mind, then, Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve

CNN and other news outlets reported enthusiastically on a medical illustration that showed a black baby in a mother's womb. It highlighted the need for more diversity in medical illustrations. "We need more people of color in medical illustrations," they tout while denying that this is a person. It was a fetus. As such, it had no inherent value, wasn't even human, and, frankly, couldn't have a race at all. Come on, people, make up your minds. (Note: As it turns out, human babies at this stage of life are all basically red or pink. They don't develop skin color until later. Clearly accuracy is not at issue here either.)

On this Christmas Eve -- the eve of the day we celebrate a Baby born to save the world -- this becomes somewhat more significant. In the Christmas story we read of the pregnant Mary visiting her cousin, Elizabeth. According to the story, "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41). CNN et al. would like us to discard this story. Clearly a fetus cannot leap for joy (Luke 1:44) in his mother's womb. Indeed, clearly a baby cannot be in her womb since that would suggest a human being.

So, this is Christmas Eve, the evening before our recognition of the arrival of our Savior, Emmanuel, God with us. Don't buy the lie. Mary carried a baby who was Christ, the Lord. He was God before conception and God Incarnate from conception. No amount of jockeying of words will change that.

Joy to the World - Verse 4

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.

“He rules the world with truth and grace.” Somehow, this seems an understatement. Abraham asked, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen.18:25). The implication is, “of course!” Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus is The Truth. In Isaiah we read, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isa. 9:6-7). We have seen that truth and justice are not the operating mode of America, but they are ever-present in God’s government. He is not merely truthful; He is Truth. He is the essence of integrity.

“Truth and grace,” the song says. We can only begin to sing the wonders of God’s grace. Paul says in Rom. 9:14-16 that there is no injustice in God, but all of salvation is completely dependent on God’s mercy. Paul claims that it is the grace of God that made him what he was (1 Cor. 15:10), a laborer for Christ. In Eph. 1:5-6 we read that God “predestined us to adoption as sons” according to His own kind intentions “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” We know from Eph. 2:8-9 that our salvation occurs by grace, and in Titus 3:7 he merges the two concepts, saying that we are “justified by His grace that we might be made heirs.” Grace, in fact, is the focal point of our lives, according to Peter. We are to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).

The hymn goes on to say, “and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.” First, I’m fascinated by the phrase, “makes the nations prove.” It is this same concept in mind in Rom. 12:2. Paul says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can “prove what the will of God is”. The concept is also carried forward in both the Old and New Testaments. Isaiah quotes God as saying, “To me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance” (Isa. 45:23). Paul echoes the prophet in Rom. 14:11 when he says, “It is written . . .” But in Phil. 2:9-11, he more fully explains the process. “God highly exalted Him (Christ), and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Although we are currently in rebellion, there will not be a rebel on the Day of Judgment. There will only be rejoicing or acquiescence.

What will the nations prove? The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.

We don’t seem to recognize the glory of righteousness. We see the wickedness of sins. We despise the evils we read and hear about on the news daily. But just as we don’t recognize the depths and horror of sin in our own lives, we don’t seem to grasp that righteousness is glorious. Those who appear to be righteous we ridicule as “goody goodies”. We almost revel in our humanity, our fallenness. Who hasn’t said, “Nobody’s perfect?” We all know the phrase, “to err is human.” What is the completion of that phrase? “To forgive, divine.” But the song says we will all prove the glory of His righteousness. Prov. 14:34 says that righteousness exalts a nation. Isaiah says that God makes righteousness the standard by which all else is measured (Isa. 28:17). Elihu warned Job that his righteousness could never exceed God’s (Job 35:2). The Psalms love to proclaim the righteousness of God (Psa. 7:17; 9:8; 22:31; 35:28; 36:6; etc.).

Nor can we comprehend the wonders of His love. Paul’s fervent prayer for the church at Ephesus was “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:14-19). John says that God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). In that statement of love as an attribute of God, we see that all God is and all that God does is tied up in love. That is, in His grace, He is loving; in His wrath, He is loving; in His mercy, He is loving; in His justice, He is loving. Now that is a wonder. Who can comprehend that kind of love, the kind that expresses itself in the midst of hate (Rom. 5:8)? Who can understand a love that cannot be broken (Rom. 8:38-39), that is new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23)? God will make the nations prove, that is, demonstrate, all this.

Joy is to be the way of life for us. Joy should mark our paths. The joy of the Lord shouldn’t be “in our hearts”, but in our lives displayed. We have a King, a ruling Savior, who is adored by nature itself, who will free us from the very essence of sin. We have been saved from slavery to sin! We have a Sovereign who rules with integrity and unmerited favor, who is the highest example of righteousness, and who loves us beyond our comprehension. It is the coming of this King that we celebrate at Christmas. JOY TO THE WORLD!

Joy to the World - Verse 3

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.

“No more let sins and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground.” “Here’s an impossible task,” you might conclude. “Who can prevent sin from growing?” Remarkably, Paul echoes the same theme: “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Rom. 6:12). So what does it mean to “not let sin reign”, or to “no more let sins . . . grow”? To the believer, the one with the new nature (2 Cor. 5:17), we have died in Christ (Rom. 6:2-11) to sin. We are putting to death the flesh (Rom. 8:13). We are no longer cultivating sin, but fleeing it. (Eph. 4:27; 1 Cor. 6:18; 10:14; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22).

Why is this an issue? Because of the depths of sin. In Gen. 3, after mankind took up arms against God by transgressing His Law, God cursed the participants. He cursed the serpent (Gen. 3:14-15). He cursed the woman (verse 16). He cursed the man, and in it he cursed nature (verse 17-19). The thorns that mar the loveliness of the rose are a product of sin. Paul says that creation itself groans under the weight of our sin and decay, joyfully anticipating redemption (Rom. 8:19-22).

We don’t tend to use this language in our discussions. We tend to think of “sins” rather than “sin” as the problem. It is those things we have done to transgress God’s Law that we need to repent of and be saved. But the real problem is not “sins”, because these are just the result of “sin”, the natural state of the human being. Sin is the condition of the flesh into which we are born. Sin is the natural hostility we bear to the Creator. Sin is the Cosmic Treason we harbor that prods us to rebel against our Sovereign. It is this from which we need salvation.

This is in sight when the song says, “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” How far is the curse found? It extends to nature itself, to the thorns and thistles, to death and decay - to our very nature. In this is the great joy brought to the world. The King, the reigning Savior, is bringing release from the curse!

Joy to the World - Verse 2

Joy to the world! The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

“Joy to the world! The Savior reigns.” In America, we have sprung from a stock that says, “We will serve no sovereign.” Above all else, we cling to freedom. So it comes as a shock to us that “the Savior reigns.” This is a difficult concept for us to grasp and even harder to accept. Yet, in light of who the Savior is and what He has done, this ought to be a point of great joy for us. As David says in 1 Chron. 29:11, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” There is no more joyous place to be than in the safe control of the Savior.

“Let men their songs employ.” What does it mean to “employ”? It means to put to work, to use something or someone to accomplish a particular task. This song calls on us to “employ” our songs. Paul calls on us to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19) and “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). Work those songs. Put them to good use, and use them for their intended purpose – the praise of God.

This working of songs to demonstrate the joy of having a reigning Savior is picked up by all of nature. “While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.” This is the same thought in Psalm 96:11-13: “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.” All of God’s creation echoes His praise! Imagine it when the vast crowd in heaven sings praises to God! “After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’“ (Rev. 19:1).

Joy to the World - Verse 1

It's Christmas time. I'm going to do a Christmas carol. Well, actually, I'm going to take several days to sing a Christmas carol. I'm planning on taking four days (four verses) to examine and expand Joy To The World. Let's see what we can learn from a classical Christmas hymn.

Joy to the World!
From Psalm 98, Adapted by Isaac Watts

Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Psalm 98 says, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises” (v 4). “Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord” (v 6).

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is the natural result of the recognition of God’s care for us (Psa. 98:1-3; 100). It is commanded repeatedly (Phil. 2:18; 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16). Joy to the world!

It is disconcerting to hear secular singers belting out this song because of phrases like this: “The Lord is come; let earth receive her King.” Even we who believe have difficulty calling Him Lord and King, but the song calls on us to “receive” Him. This is the same word used in both a positive and negative sense in John 1:9-13. Negatively, “His own did not receive Him” (v 11). Positively, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God” (v 12). Our normal term today for becoming a Christian is to “accept Christ”, but the biblical term, “receive Him”, carries a fuller connotation. When you “receive” a TV signal, it is processed and displayed. When you have a “reception” for someone, it is to honor him. We are to “receive” our King, to open ourselves to Him, to appropriate and display Him, to honor Him.

“Let every heart prepare Him room.” Luke records that when it came time to deliver Jesus, “there was no room for them” (Luke 2:7). Jesus moves only into places that are vacated for Him. For us to receive our King, we must prepare Him room in our hearts.

The last line of the first verse repeats the phrase “and heaven and nature sing.” We live in a world that has divorced science and religion, the natural from the supernatural. We have divided out God and His world, and classified things as secular or sacred. God doesn’t see it as such. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, His detractors told Him to silence His disciples. He replied, “I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out" (Luke 19:40). The language of Scripture includes nature in adoring God (for example, Isa. 55:12). All of nature and all of heaven sing for joy at the coming of the King.

Astonishing

I don't know when she wrote it -- I've found references to it as early as 2004 -- but Leslie Leyland Fields has written this wonderful piece of poetry that I heard for the first time in a choir performance this year. The words are powerful. Thought I'd share.

Let the Stable Still Astonish!

Let the stable still astonish:
Straw-dirt floor, dull eyes,
Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;
Crumbling, crooked walls;
No bed to carry that pain,
And then, the child, rag-wrapped laid to cry
In a trough.
Who would have chosen this?
Who would have said:
"Yes, Let the God of Heaven and Earth be born in this place"?

Who but the same God
Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of our hearts
And says,
"Yes, let the God of Heaven and Earth be born in THIS place."

- Leslie Leyland Fields

Yes, astonishing.

News Weakly - 12/18/2021

I Missed This One
Last week the governor of Oregon signed into law a bill that drops the requirement for high school students to have proficiency in reading, writing, or math before graduation. The story says, "The new standards for graduation will help benefit the state's Black, Latino, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color." The bill was signed without fanfare, but if the ability to read is not necessary in Oregon, I don't suppose posting a story about the bill would matter, right? Oregon has adopted a strange approach to helping students to "thrive in the 21st century."

My Hero
In last weeks ruling, the Supreme Court allowed a Texas abortion law to stand. In retaliation, California Governor Newsom has directed his people to work with legislators to make it legal to sue gun makers, distributors, or sellers in California. (Ironically, he sought to use state law to save lives lost by assault weapons as opposed to making laws, like Texas, that saves babies. Have you compared the numbers of deaths from the two, governor?) Agreeing with Justice Sotomayor who dissented on the SCOTUS ruling, he plans to enact laws that effectively nullify constitutional rights. She was warning, but I think she was his hero. What next, governor? Suing churches out of existence?

When You See It ...
On the right is an actual picture from an actual Christmas concert that I actually attended last weekend. Good music, but I was distracted by this one musician who cut a hole in her mask to blow COVID through her french horn. Everyone knows the virus can't fit through a hole that small, right? Perfectly safe. It's another sign of the insanity we call "anti-COVID measures." As someone pointed out, COVID has been a deadly pandemic. It has killed science, logic, evidence-based medicine, and common sense. May they rest in peace.

You're Kidding
In the news this week was the one year anniversary of the COVID vaccine. One year ago on 12/14/2020 the first vaccines were administered in the U.S. Lots of things wrong here. In that first vaccine, the Dems promised to refuse the shot because it came from the Donald ... until Joe assured us that he produced it. Since then nearly 60% of Americans have been fully vaccinated, some with boosters as well. Some with Dem mandates ... to take that shot they originally refused. We can see the stunning effect by the continually climbing COVID crisis. (The CDC says most omicron cases are among the fully vaccinated.) But not to worry. We can get more equally successful vaccines up and running in no time and save the world just like we've done so far. Happy Anniversary! Now, go get your jab, you slackers.

Something Completely Different
In October in Haiti 17 Christian missionaries (including their families) were kidnapped by a Haitian gang for ransom, $1 million each. Thursday the last of them were finally released (some had been released earlier). Good news. Nothing to ridicule or satirize. Just ... good news.

I'm Confused
The Democrats have been outraged about politics in the past year. Republicans have tried to make voting laws. The Senate, evenly split, has been stymied by "more than majority" rules. And, of course, there's the whole "assault on democracy" thing from January 6. So this story baffles me. Civil rights leaders are demanding that Biden change voting rules before the end of the year. And Democrats are looking to change the rules to allow a simple majority in the Senate to decide on a question. And they want to eliminate the filibuster which works well for the minority side. It seems as if the Democrats are opposed to democracy and are wanting to change the rules so they favor the Democrats while they are opposed to Republicans possibly doing the same. It doesn't sound reasonable to me.

Building Trust
Then there's this piece of news. The flu vaccine for this year, unfortunately, doesn't match the main flu that's going around this year. They tell us this, I suppose, to further encourage us to trust the medical profession and Big Pharma to get it right on ... oh ... I don't know ... this questionable COVID-virus-vaccine-that-doesn't-handle-omicron-but-is-still-our-only-hope?

Satire
In light of vaccine mandates and mask laws and now the banning of natural gas from New York City, it appears that the Statue of Liberty is fed up and plans to move to Florida. Elon Musk called Elizabeth Warren "Senator Karen," clearly a case of a white man attacking a Native American woman. From the North Pole, the story is out that Rudolph has changed his name to Rolanda and now dominates n the female reindeer games.

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.

'Tis the Season

One of the universal things you'll hear in our Christmas songs is how wonderful this time of the year is. You know, everyone is nicer, friendlier, kinder, that sort of thing. I know, the skeptics among us (including me, I suppose) will tell you it's not true, but, still, it's a nice thought. In the ineffable wisdom of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" It's really nice when people ... get along.

It's interesting, in this sense, to read what John wrote in his first epistle.

If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

It's a familiar text, I'm sure. It's about walking in the light. It's about being cleansed. It's all good stuff. But notice that phrase stuck in the middle. "We have fellowship one with another." Notice that it's not a "possibility." It is stated as a fact. Notice that it is preceded by "If we walk in the light." That is, we will have fellowship as a natural consequence of walking in the light.

An ongoing, from-the-beginning problem in the church has always been division. We divide because we've been slighted or because we disagree on doctrine or practice or favorite colors. We divide because we want and don't have. We have division over who is teaching us or who we listen to. "Oh, you listen to MacArthur? Oh, that's bad." (Of course, that can go the other way, too.) Lots of problems. But, according to St. John, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. The suggestion is that, in those cases where we have divisions -- no fellowship -- we are not walking in the light as He is in the light.

Now that makes sense when you think about it. An orchestra tunes all its instruments to a single note on a single violin. A piano tuner tunes a whole room of pianos on a single note from a single tuning fork. In the same way, if we all have the same One to whom we are to tune our attitudes and actions, we would certainly be tuned to each other as well. On the other hand, the farther we get from that singular source, the less fellowship we will enjoy with those tuned to that source. The problem, then, is not the source. The problem is us.

'Tis the season to all be kinder and better and nicer to each other. We can best start that in a way that would keep going if we set out to align ourselves with the Child we are celebrating in this season rather than the myriad of other options we may choose.

Freedom of the Will

Philosophers have banged away at the concept of "free will" for ... well, forever, it seems. "Free will" -- the ability to choose without constraint or coercion. But definition seems elusive. There is "libertarian free will" which requires, for it to be "free will," to be completely without influence (a patent impossibility) and "deterministic free will" that says all of our "free choices" are actually determined by something besides us (and, thus not "free will"). Somewhere in between is the "compatibilist free will" that allows some influence but includes the ability to make choices anyway. So just how free is our will?

The most reasonable conclusion I can come to -- the one most in connection to facts and experience and other info -- is the version that says that we make choices based on our own ideas, preferences, opinions, and nature. Is that completely free? No, maybe not, but it is more free than "You don't get to actually choose anything" (Determinism) or "All your choices are random" (Libertarian free will).

This is all well and good and I find it a usable platform, but then I realize something horrifying. They want to determine our ideas, preferences, or opinions. Are you aware of that? In our time, there are forces at work that want to tell you what to think and what to prefer. Our ideas, preferences, and opinions are dictated to us. They come from the media, the Internet, Facebook, Instagram, blogs (yes, even blogs like this one.), telvision, entertainment ... all those forces bobbing about outside our skulls, knocking to get in. Maybe we lean toward this particular set and reject that particular set, but lean we do because it is poured down our throats. And in the current set of forces, if you don't comply with their current ideas, preferences, and opinions, you will be canceled. There is force behind these influences. Hey, "influences." Don't they even refer to these Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube types as "influencers"? The question becomes less one of free will and more of "Who has your attention?" In former times when media didn't rule and our lives weren't thoroughly immersed in it, there were other possibilities. There were discussions and pondering where we had time and opportunity to think about stuff. No more. The noise doesn't stop. Our music, our entertainment, our news sources, our politics, all of it demands to be let in and to dictate to us our ideas, preferences, and opinions. And, most importantly, we let it. With precious little means of determining "true or false," "moral or immoral," or even "what does that even mean?", we're rushed headlong into "think this way" and "like this over that" and "believe what we tell you" which then inform our choices ... limited to the ideas, preferences, and opinions we've imbibed.

It's true; to some extent this has always been the case. We've always had inputs and been given ideas and been told what to prefer and such. It's the nature of interpersonal relationships and community. But at no time prior to ours has there been such a concerted torrent of effort to manipulate your will as there is today. Facebook and Google intentionally guide you away from Idea X in favor of Idea Y. They innundate you with ads for the "accepted" products and pour the "approved" news over your screens while blocking the rest. We even encourage it, calling other things "misinformation" and "hate" because, well, they've told us so. Supposedly neutral sources like Wikipedia or our ever-popular "fact checkers" turn out to be not so neutral. And you will actually believe that men can have periods and all white people are racist and "Why shouldn't a man who believes himself to be a woman compete in women's sports?" And if you don't, expect consequences. Perhaps severe consequences. Because we're getting manipulated enough to get to the point where we will consider legislating your ideas, preferences, and opinions.

Is there such a thing as free will? Sure, I think so. Without it, it wouldn't matter what we chose. God couldn't hold us responsible if we didn't make any actual choices. Neither could you nor I nor even the law. "Your honor, I was coerced." I think we do indeed make choices without coercion based on our own ideas, preferences, and opinions. The question becomes "Are you going to have your own ideas, preferences, and opinions, or are you going to let someone else dictate them to you?" If free will is a product of your own choices from your ideas, preferences, and opinions, we are surely less free today given the conscious assault on your ideas, preferences, and opinions and the magnitude of that assault. Our free will is less free today because of the fear our culture has imposed if we disagree. When you can be banned, barred, or canceled for holding views opposed to "the allowed positions," you are no longer free. When I am no longer allowed to determine what I believe to be right, true, or reasonable, I am no longer free. And calling the side "tolerant" that makes these our current conditions is the height of foolishness.

Taken for Granted

I heard someone say the other day, "I don't want to take these things for granted." I got to thinking about the phrase. What do we mean by "take it for granted"? What he meant (and most of us, too) is to fail to fully appreciate something. Originally, it meant to assume something without questioning it. But I was thinking down a different path.

Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father" (John 6:65). In Acts Paul was on a ship in trouble, but was told in a dream, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you" (Acts 27:24). In his letter to the church at Philippi Paul wrote, "It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake" (Php 1:29). (That's all kinds of interesting, isn't it? We were granted to believe; we didn't do it on our own. We are granted to suffer; most of us would not see that as a gift. Paul didn't mind seeing both as a gift.) Peter wrote, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire" (2 Peter 1:3-4). (In case you missed it, he used "granted" twice in that sentence.) Apparently "granted" refers to those things that are given -- a gift.

Paul asked, "What do you have that you did not receive?" (1 Cor 4:7). Everything we have is a gift from God. Everything we are and have are granted from God. If we decided to take everything -- from salvation to life to family and friends to skills and talents to jobs to "stuff" and on to everything -- for "granted" in the sense that it is used in the verses I pointed to, perhaps we could become very grateful people. In which case taking things for granted would be a very healthy mindset. God, grant me eyes to see that everything I have is granted, a gift from You.

When Worlds Collide

We use the term "Judeo-Christian" to describe the values that Judaism and Christianity share, but we think of the two as separate. In truth, Jesus was the Jewish Messiah promised to the Jews as God's plan for His people. Paul ushered in the Gentile part of that plan, but, in truth, Christianity is actually Judaism in its original plan. Now, we live in a world that has embraced the concept of a "sexual identity" that can include "gay" not meaning "happy" but "same-sex attraction" and call it "good." In truth, at no time in history has Christianity agreed to that. There isn't a point in Church history that would have concurred prior to the 21st century. Beyond that, historical Judaism also believed that sex between two people of the same sex was a sin. So, the weight of "Judeo-Christian values" from the beginning of time on through the 20th century has always fallen on the side that says that homosexual behavior is a sin.

Of course, it doesn't take a genius to see that times have changed. In 2008, California believed that marriage was the union of a man and a woman and overwhelming had voted that definition into law. The courts threw it out and, by judicial fiat, passed a law that demanded same-sex mirage¹. Later that year, California sought to remedy that problem by voting again to make it the legal definition in California by voting it into the California constitution. Again, the courts threw it out. The most stunning part of that sequence, though, is not the courts or the vote; it's the fact that California in just a few short years became the leading state in all things LGBTxxxx. So the world has shifted radically in an incredibly brief time, as illustrated by California then and now, and Christendom -- that which represents Christian beliefs of the time -- has shifted radically from an unbroken history of one side to a sudden shift to the other. Why? What forces have to be at work to cause such a monumental change?

The real question isn't the "California shift" -- the change we saw in California that is reflected in all of our culture today and much of the world. The real question is in the Christian shift. The majority of the world is sinful people walking according to the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), and to expect more of them would be silly. But we have the Word and the Spirit and the mind of Christ. What would cause Christians to shift from the Word like that? Certainly not the Spirit. He would have arranged that a long time ago. So what has caused this change in the church? Some point to a change in understanding of the Scriptures. As I suggested, that makes little sense. Jesus left us with the Spirit to "guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). In fact, the truth we are supposed to defend is "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). It can't be "new truth." It can be expanded or clarified, but it cannot be contradicted, certainly not this late in the game, or the Spirit is incredibly weak and incompetent.

No, it's not a question of Scripture. It is something else. Certainly those who have made this shift (That's not accurate, is it? "This sea change" might be better.) did so before they got to revisiting Scripture. Oh, they definitely needed to revise the Word to keep on that path, but they didn't start there. It was more like, "Oh, I see ... this is true. Well, if this is true, then that (like the biblical texts on homosexual behavior as sin) cannot be. Well, let's see how we can align those with this." So what is "this"? In 2014, David Gushee wrote a book entitled, Changing Our Mind. It was his explanation about why he changed his mind about LGBTxxxx matters. Regardless of the explanation, the title alone tells how he had to change his mind because prior to that he had a different opinion. Gushee, mind you, is "an ethicist, pastor, author, and advocate." He is the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University. He's not "small potatoes." What changed his mind? According to him, "Reason 1: I came to know and love LGBTQ Christians." That and his collision with culture. In his explanation, he doesn't begin addressing Scripture until "Reason 6" and rejects Scripture where it doesn't integrate with "what we know of sexual and gender diversity through science, life experience, and relationships." David Gushee told The Reformation Project conference, a gathering of "pro-LGBT Christians," "I will seek to stand in solidarity with you who have suffered the lash of countless Christian rejections." That's it, isn't it? That's the sequence. It is not an initial problem with Scripture; it is an initial problem with experience. "My experience (the people I know, the people I care about, the culture I live in, the science I respect, etc.) does not align with Scripture, therefore, I have to realign Scripture to my experience." When worlds collide like that, it is necessary to make one align with the other, and it is generally accomplished by annihilating one in favor of the other. "Pro-LGBT Christians" do not start with "Scripture is right" and go from there. They start with "I feel bad about this" and go from there. Maybe "I feel bad" because they're opposed to culture or "I feel bad" because they know that it causes discomfort to people that they know and love, but always it is from a misplaced sense of love and concern that says, "If it makes someone feel bad, it must be bad."

That's bad ... bad logic. We give our children injections to save them from potentially fatal diseases and it feels bad, but we know there is a higher good. To fail to protect a child that could have been safely protected simply because you didn't want them to feel bad would be evil. God said that "men who practice homosexuality" will not "inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:9-10). That's bad. That's really bad. To avoid telling the truth because they experience pain in the telling is to seek to damn them to try to avoid hurting them. What could be more evil?

I know. You may disagree with the clear, longstanding, unambiguous reading of these texts. You may not find Scripture authoritative. You may believe that God's Word needs to be re-read and analyzed according to the standards of culture and feelings. But that's the same as "Scripture is not authoritative." Or, at least, "Scripture is not reliable." No one in all of time has ever read the texts of the Bible that forbid homosexual sex and concluded "That's not what it means" without first having an extrabiblical reason for doing so. Therefore, those other reasons are the motivation, the higher source, the greater authority, the more reliable "Scripture." When those two worlds collide -- the world versus God's Word -- it takes a confidence in God and His Word to not annihilate God's Word. In that, then, we get a sense of one's priorities by one's response here. And it's not looking good for God and His Word. When we decide to rewrite God's Word because it goes contrary to our world and our feelings, it puts more than His Word in jeopardy. It suggests that God Himself is not reliable, that God's truth changes with time, and that God is lucky to have us along to straighten things out for him. (Note the lowercase "him." It wasn't a typo.)
________

¹ I am not trying to be unkind with the use of the term "same-sex mirage". I need to continually point out that there is a fundamental difference between "marriage" and what we are calling "marriage" when we put the term "same-sex", "homosexual", or "gay" in front of it. I don't do it because it's immoral; I am objecting because they're not the same thing, and I use "mirage" in its place to call that to your attention.

The Tyranny of Equality

Two of the primary components of what "America" has been about are equality and individuality. Now, if you think about it for a moment, it is easy to define "equality" in such a way that "individuality" could not exist. Individuality requires inequality in the sense that if we're all "equal" -- the same -- there is no individuality. Of course, that is not what we mean when we say "equality." We mean "equal rights" and "equal worth" and "equal opportunity" -- things like that.

Or, at least, we once did. Today, without giving it a thought, we've attempted to push toward individuality as the highest value right alongside equality, by which we mean equal. In the racism unrest of our day, one side is saying, "Yes! Equal opportunity!" and the other side is saying, "No! Equal outcome!" "Equal outcome" means "we end up in the same place." "Equal outcome" means "we have the same things." "Equal value" means "we have the same economic wealth." So we are working hard to tear down the wealthy to elevate the less fortunate and ... make us all equal.

On the surface, that may seem fair. In practice, however, it is a form of tyranny. Kurt Vonnegut wrote a short story, Harrison Bergeron, about a future 2081 where Constitutional amendments required that all Americans be fully equal. Since the only way to make that possible is to find the lowest common denominator, anyone in this society with higher capabilities had to be handicapped. People with skills and abilities were artificially disabled so as not to be better than anyone else. It was, to be sure, fiction, but it is the logical conclusion of today's arc of thinking. And it's not purely theoretical. California made the news because they want to change how they teach math to make it more "equal." They plan to hold back gifted students and remove the possibility of individual advancement in the name of social justice -- equality. If we are to be equal, we have to take from those with more rather than attempt to elevate those with less. "I earned it" becomes irrelevant. "I was born with it" is an offense. The ultimate evil becomes those with more than me (and the obvious problem of who "me" is makes "evil" a variable). And, in so doing, we run down the rabbit trail of "equality" that, as it turns out, was originally created by envy.

God, on the other hand, is very clever. He offers equality (Gal 2:28) and individuality (1 Cor 12:14-21). He offers equal worth with differing roles, coheirs with Christ (Rom 8:17) with varying gifts (1 Cor 12:7). He gives us both equal grace and individual attention (Matt 10:30). He does not make us all the same. That would not produce the best results. Instead, He makes us all different in appearance, role, mission, ability, etc. and treats us all the same.

Because of sin, we are producing a drive for equality that is a form of tyranny. "More" and "less" are both wrong. "Same" is the best. Except ... it's not. And we know it. Still we push for it. While God offers something so much more, so much better -- the liberty of equality and individuality in His arms.

Looking Forward to Advent

In the Bible there are lots of things designated as markers, memorials for God's people to remember things that God intended them to remember. They put a pile of stones in the Jordan so they could bring their kids back there, point, and tell them, "Here ... here is where God parted the Jordan for us to cross into the Promised Land" (Josh 4:1-7). A big one was the Passover that they celebrate to this day, a reminder looking back to the Exodus but also to the Lamb of God that would eventually shield them from the Destroyer. Jesus perpetuated that memorial at the end of His life by highlighting a couple of its components -- the bread and the wine -- that pointed to Him, to His sacrifice, to the new covenant God was making with mankind (1 Cor 11:23-26). Passover, then, looked back and looked forward. Back at God's salvation from Egypt and forward to the coming Messiah. And Communion does the same. It looks back at Christ's death and resurrection -- His "It is finished" -- as well as His future return (1 Cor 11:26). It is done "in remembrance" and to proclaim His coming.

I think we ought to be doing the same with Christmas. For us, Christmas looks back. We recall the Advent ("the arrival of a notable person"), the Incarnation (the Son of God becoming carnal -- flesh). We celebrate the miracles -- a virgin bears a son, God takes on flesh, angels sing to shepherds, a star leads followers to Jesus, etc. -- and the events -- the prophecies fulfilled, the visitations of angels, the birth, the shepherds, the magi, etc. -- and it's all good. It's all necessary. It's all important. But I think it's not quite complete. If the arrival of a notable person and the coming of God to our midst 2000 years ago is worth celebrating again and again, I would think the coming of the King in final victory would be equally worth remembering and anticipating. If the Last Supper is a remembrance and "you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Cor 11:26), wouldn't Christmas be of similar value?

One of the key components of Christianity itself is the Return of Christ. We are urged to keep that in mind at all times. Merriam-Webster indicates that "Advent" refers to Christmas and the Second Coming. Paul said that a key part of the gospel is "our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13) and that there would be a crown of righteousness for "all who have loved His appearing" (2 Tim 4:8). The day is coming when the Servant Savior whose arrival we celebrate annually at Christmas will return as the Sovereign King, and that day is our blessed hope. There will be another Advent, the arrival of an important person -- the most important Person. Let's keep in mind this Christmas that the arrival of Emmanuel -- God with us -- will be repeated again with all His accompanying glory. And I am so ready for that.

News Weakly - 12/11/2021

It Just Doesn't Add Up
California made the news because they want to change how they teach math to make it more "equal." They plan to hold back gifted students and remove the possibility of individual advancement in the name of social justice -- equality. Math, some are arguing, is a tool of white supremacists to keep the black man down. It just doesn't add up.

Land of the Scaredy Cats
Playing off the fear of omicron, New York City has now mandated that all businesses in New York City have their employees vaccinated by December 27. Of course, all the vaccine makers are saying their vaccines are questionable against omicron, but that doesn't stop us, does it? We are Americans! We can't be bothered with science!! We've learned the art of terror! You can't take that away from us.

Opposed to Equality
Apparently the House and Senate Armed Services committees are opposed to equality for women. Women have fought hard to be included in all things "male" including military combat. So, as a slap in the face, the Armed Services committees have rejected the inclusion of women in the military draft. Lousy congressionals who think women should be protected, not shot at. Go figure.

Devious
Back in 2018 Deqa Dhalac started going door to door to try to get elected to her City Council ... in Maine. South Portland is 90% white, but she got elected and has now become the first black mayor of the small city as well as the first Somali American mayor, perhaps in the U.S. You have to wonder, though. If 90% of the town is white ... and racist, as we all know ... what kind of devious race-hating plan are they hatching by electing this black woman? Because it cannot be that these people are not systematically racist, right?

Depends on Your Point of View
First, the the story. "Saule Omarova, President Joe Biden’s pick to oversee the nation’s largest banks, withdrew her candidacy." The ol' "just the facts." Now, as to why. Media outlets like Huffpost say it was because Republicans were "smearing her as a communist" (noting, by the way, that some Democrats also opposed her). Other outlets like MarketWatch said it was "bipartisan opposition to her views on banking regulation." Apparently Omarova recently published an academic paper suggesting the Federal Reserve take over banking ... and your money. So, was it "mere politics" or was it principle? Depends on your point of view, I suppose.

At It Again
Fearing the end of the murder of babies, California is preparing to become a "sanctuary" for abortion. They hope to provide travel, accomodation costs, and procedures for women from other states who want to kill their babies. Currently about 15% of abortions in the U.S. are performed in California. They're hoping to become the #1 baby-killers in the U.S. So they will continue to kill babies, but they will not let people throw food waste in the trash. Because throwing away a baby is a woman's choice, but choosing to throw away food waste is not.

And counting
The National Fraternal Order of Police reports that the number of police officers shot and killed reached an all-time high in 2021. I suppose, since it is racist to say that blue lives matter, we'll have to come up with a different explanation than disrespect and disdain from the media and the public.

Oh, Canada
Canada passed a ban on "conversion therapy" this week. Conversion therapy is any effort to change orientation, gender identity or expression, or sexual attraction from the abnormal (statistically) to the normal. (You know what I mean. Please accept my shorthand.) If you offer it or practice it, you can get jail time. If you want it, you can't. It's banned regardless of your own wishes. If you'd like to go elsewhere and do it, you can't. That's banned, too. It might be illegal to quote Genesis 1:27 from the pulpit (no joke). Any wish to change from the abnormal to the normal is based on "myths and stereotypes." That is, you silly folk that believe that male is male and female is female are blinded by myths and stereotypes. The intolerance has shifted to exclude and criminalize any longstanding, traditional understanding from Scripture. Pray for Canada. And Satan's next target in a community near you.

Fake News
The report says that inflation is at a 39-year-high. Wait, no, that can't be right. Biden has turned the economy around from the evil Trump days. He's made life better, not worse. Clearly fake news. (Except, of course, the costs of my purchases for the last several months say otherwise.)

In the "News"
Stories this week include a warning from Biden that if Russia invades the Ukraine, we will evacuate haphazardly and leave billions of dollars worth of weapons behind. Remembering December 7, Genesius Times memorialized, "This day in mostly peaceful history: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor." And New York Mayor De Blasio has unveiled his plan to get more people to move to Florida with his new total citywide vaccination policy. Just a few items in the news this week.

Must be true; I read it on the internet.

The Aim

There are a lot of things we each have to do. Life makes demands we must meet for ourselves and for others in our sphere. It's easy, then, to get disoriented. It's easy to substitute the urgent for the important, to get caught up in the little things and miss the big things ... even, "the point." Even Jesus had lots of things to do. He came to do the will of His Father (John 6:38), to save sinners (Luke 19:10), to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37), to give eternal life (John 6:51), to preach the gospel (Luke 4:18-19), and even for judgment (John 9:39-41). He did it all. But one of His ongoing tasks is one we might miss.

In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, he told husbands to "love your wives, as Christ loved the church" (Eph 5:25). He went on to describe what that love looked like. Jesus "gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:25-27). Now that is quite a task. He died for her. But, wait, that was merely the start. His aim was to sanctify her. How? By "the washing of water with the word," a continual cleansing that makes her more holy ("sanctified"). To what end? To present her to Himself. Further, "that she might be holy and without blemish." A big job. (Oh, and, husbands, that's your job with your wife. Get right on that.)

In thinking about that, I came to an interesting thought. The church -- the bride of Christ ... what was her role? Oh, clearly, she would have requirements, tasks, things to do, lots of things like that. But in this sanctification, what was her role? I don't see it. I don't find it in this text. I don't mean she didn't have one; I just mean it's not here. That is, Christ is undertaking to thoroughly cleanse His bride with a continual washing of the word to make her holy and blameless without regard to anything she does. He's not limited by her cooperation or lack thereof. It isn't contingent on her approval. Christ is doing it. He is doing it Himself. He is doing it for Himself. And He will succeed.

I worry about that sometimes. I'm not as holy as I should be. I'm not the "super Christian" I should be after all these years. I have not "arrived." Am I going to make it? Am I going to get sanctified? What more do I have to do? And here I see my Savior smile and say, "I gave Myself up for you. I will wash you. I will sanctify you. I will make you holy and blameless." And it's a relief. Because from my end I'm not nearly as far along as I think I should be. To know that it's His aim to see to all this -- to know that He's working that Himself -- is a real comfort. Now I can set about doing that for my own wife, eh? Now, let's see ... give myself up in order to wash her with the water of the word so she will be sanctified and holy and blameless. Uh, Lord? I could use a little help here.

Good

I just came across a new idea. No, that's not accurate. Like a used car, new to me. But it was a revelation and a bit of a surprise.

I've argued for a long time that God gives us laws and commands not to kill our fun, but to give us the greatest joy. This new idea is closely related and, probably, quite obvious to most. It occurred to me why the idea is true. It's because what He commands is what we would most enjoy. We just don't know it.

Years ago (40?) we bought a dog from a pet shop. It was a Lhasa Apso puppy, a pedigreed one. We got it cheap because it had been in the pet shop for three months. When we took it home, the dog was not your hyper little dog like most of his breed. He was quiet and timid. Why? Because he had come to believe that that box he was in was "safety" and "comfort" and "life." (We named him "Flash" for the irony of it -- he didn't like to run.) As time went by and he experienced life outside of the cage, he figured out that running around was fun, that being connected to a "family" was a joy, that he was made for this.

That's what I'm talking about. We were not made for sin; we were made to, first, glorify God. We were made to love. We were made for humility and gentleness, generosity and kindness -- we were made for all the virtues God commands and not for all the sins He forbids. He doesn't merely command them because it will be better for us. He commands what He does because it is good to us. Understand what I mean. There is "good for you" and "good to you." You may, for instance, diet because it's "good for you," but we don't really enjoy dieting. On the other hand, what is "good to you" are the things that, to you, are pleasant, enjoyable ... "good." And I believe that God's commands are good for us and good to us. We were made for them, and, like poor Flash, we don't know it until we arrive in it.

I believe that God's commands are in our best interest, but I believe further that we find our highest fulfillment in them. We were made for those virtues, actions, ideas. Even without knowing why, when we are in them, we enjoy it. It aligns with our spirits. There is joy and peace in being what God intends us to be. Conversely, being outside of that condition produces tension and unrest, even if we can't figure out why.

Now, I'm willing to admit that I'm realizing this late and many of you probably already knew it. Still, I thought maybe one or two of you were back here with me and could benefit from seeing that the goodness of God is seen in His commands to us so that we can realize (make real to ourselves) the goodness that He intended for us to be and enjoy. It changes, in my mind, the whole concept of "commands" and turns them into "pleasures." It makes obedience a truly abundant life.

Profit from Terror

Back in April of 2020, The Poynter Institute's Politifact fact-checked the claim that Dr. Fauci stood to lose millions of dollars on the COVID-19 vaccine because he invested in it. "Not true," they concluded. Or, to be more accurate, "There is no evidence that Dr. Fauci is personally financially invested ..." Whew! So it's not a case of "follow the money" then, right?

In March of 2021 The Guardian asked in an article, "Who's making billions from COVID-19 vaccines?" They had a list of companies expecting billions of dollars in sales. In April, 2021, Forbes had a story about 40 new billionaires who got rich fighting COVID-19 (vaccines, tests, antibody treatments, equipment, software, etc.). The richest of these was the president of a Chinese medical products manufacturer who ramped up production of masks and medical overalls for frontline workers across the globe. (My son, who worked for Walgreens, told me, when they finally received masks after the shortage at the outset, that all new masks were coming from Wuhan.) In May, 2021, CNN reported that the COVID-19 vaccine had "created at least nine new billionaires after shares in companies producing the shots soared."

Huh. There's a lot of money in this. But I'm sure there was nothing like that in her mind when the co-creator of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine warned, "The next one could be worse." No, that's not terrorism for the sake of profit. I'm sure of it. Well ... sort of. Like a spin off from the old, "Always leave them laughing," it feels like we're aiming for "Always leave them scared." But that's ultimately up to you, isn't it?

Channeling Jesus

Have you seen this? I had never heard of it until quite recently. Apparently there is a host of people who are "channeling Jesus." For those who don't know, "channeling" in this sense is when you can commune with the dead or spirits and have actual contact and expression. So, if Bob (my fictitious friend) is "channeling Jesus," he would be in communion with Jesus and Jesus would be able to speak directly to him and through him. In one example I found, someone named Jamie was channeling Jesus and his friend was excited to learn that Jesus was "blasé yet casual and British." "He has an accent." On a website named the Golden Age of Gaia, someone named Tina Spalding "brings a message from Jesus that can be helpful to many during this chaotic time." How nice!

Here's the problem. Jesus is God Incarnate. Jesus is not among the dead and is not mere spirit. Jesus is the body of God. So "channeling" wouldn't work in this case. But it gets worse. In this situation, if Tina or Jamie or whomever was actually in direct dialog with Jesus -- if they actually brought a message from Jesus -- such a message wouldn't be merely of interest, just "helpful." It would be authoritative. We should take it as Samuel did when the Lord spoke to Him: "Speak, LORD, for your servant hears" (1 Sam 3:9-10).

A website called The Christ Teachings aims to "help you find the teaching that resonates with your heart" by channeling Jesus. Apparently the whole concept has made the New York Times to include celebrities willing to pay a spiritualist medium $1,111 an hour for her services to channel Jesus. Rest assured, it can't be done. According to the Word of God, "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16), but "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14). If Jesus is "the Word" (John 1:1) and we have the God-breathed Word (2 Tim 3:16-17), "channeling Jesus" is as easy as opening up our Bibles and seeing what He says. If our helpful spiritualist mediums offer something "new and exciting ... and different," you can be sure it is something, but it's not Jesus.

Twisting the Good

We are lovers of Jesus. We are followers of Christ. So we should understand that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). If we understand that to be true, then every good thing in our lives should be seen in that light, right? Do you have a good spouse? He or she is from God. Do you have a good job, a comfortable place to live, a loving family, a good church ... on and on? Gifts from God, all. And more. Do you enjoy a good piece of music or a good meal? That enjoyment is a gift from God. Do you married couples share some warm, pleasurable times together "knowing" each other? That is a gift from God. Do you experience joy when you accomplish something good? A gift from God. Things, people, concepts, pleasures -- all gifts from God.

If we do not think of those things as gifts from God, I suspect the problem is sin. First, it's the work of the devil to blind us to the presence and presents of God. To accomplish this, though, he has done a remarkable job of twisting the good things that God has given us into sin. I suspect you know what I mean. Christians through the ages have struggled with the concept of sex as sinful, for instance. Why? It wasn't God's idea. He gave us pleasure in sex as part of the "two-become-one" concept. It is intended to be part of what unites a married couple, part of the "pleasures" that are in God's right hand (Psa 16:11) for us to enjoy. And what have we done with it? We've misused it. We've abused it. We've taken it and run with it ... as far from God's intended use as we can get with it. We've taken it for ourselves rather than for our spouse. We've taken it for ourselves purely and sought it in whatever place we can without regard to the marriage bed. We've taken a gift intended for good and twisted it into a pernicious, pervasive sin that affects most of us. We've run so far with this sin that we have a hard time seeing the original good gift God intended it to be.

That's just an example. We've done it at every opportunity, it seems. Pleasure over good food has been twisted to gluttony. Joy in comfortable living has been twisted into greed. The wonderful delight of sexual intimacy has been twisted into sexual immorality.

But, you know that. You know humans have a sin problem. So my point is not to complain. My point is to encourage. The truth is that "In His right hand are pleasures." The truth is that Christ came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). One of the key components of the Christian life is joy (Gal 5:22; Rom 15:13; 1 Thess 5:16). God has made us for pleasure. It is Satan that has twisted them to sin. So I'm encouraging you to enjoy the pleasures God has made us for and enjoy them to the full. Sure, there are excesses and errors, but don't allow the wiles of the devil to steal from you the joys of the Lord.

Mine

It seems like one of the first words a child learns. It is certainly one of the first impulses. We believe from birth that things are "mine!" In order to share them we have to be trained, but we still don't relinquish ownership. "You can play with it, but, remember, it's mine!" We believe it is my body, my home, my time, my stuff, even my God. "Mine" comes quickly to our minds even if we learn to guard our lips. And it is the concept of "mine" that produces no end of troubles.

When you boil it down, the primary cause of most anger is the belief that something of mine has been taken. Generally, it's a perceived right. "You can't talk to me that way!" Because I have a right to be respected. "You can't treat me that way!" Because I have a right to be treated well. Hidden, unrealized rights produce real wrath. Even if it's not expressed, the perception that "You are wasting my time," for instance, can make us fume for too long. Because it's "mine." We already know the ramifications of "My body, my choice." It means a baby is going to die. "Mine" can cause a host of problems ... and sins.

Here's the thing. It's not true, you know? It's not "mine." On the surface, some of it may appear to be so. "I worked for it, I earned it, I bought it. It's mine." But most (if not all) of it doesn't work like that. Paul wrote, "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor 4:7). God declares that all things are His (Job 41:11). As Abraham Kuyper wrote, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Imagine what a difference it would make if we ceased viewing "what is mine" as "mine" and started viewing it all as His. Imagine if we saw all that we have and are as a stewardship, possessions of God that we are tasked with managing for a short time here. Think of the impact that would have on relationships. Think how that would diminish so many conflicts that are predicated on "I have a right to _____ and you're taking it away." Think of the shift it would make in priorities and preferences. Picture how that would change the center of our individual universes to orient them around the Owner rather than the steward.

But, don't worry. We won't. We will continue to cling to the irrational "mine" and complain when my "mine" crosses others "mine." We will still cling to what we believe to be ours without any logical reason to assume that the God of the universe has suddenly and unilaterally decided that it is no longer His. And then we'll wonder why life can be so hard.

News Weakly - 12/4/2021

Crime in the Netherlands
A couple in Amsterdam were arrested trying to flee the country after being quarantined for COVID. Possibly the Omicron variant. Perhaps they should have just been shot on sight?

Really, Really
The White House has decorated for the holidays, including recognition for frontline workers during the COVID pandemic. Really? Including those who still won't get vaccinated? No, I thought not.

The Sky is Falling!
It's the end of the world as we know it. Omicron. It's a new COVID variant detected in Africa. Expect to die. Oh, I'm exaggerating? Maybe. But New York has declared a "state of emergency" while the CDC first told us that no cases had been reported in the U.S. but it's breaking news when a single case (of a fully vaccinated traveler) comes up. And the news that home sales are surging is tempered by the fear of Omicron. And the CDC warns that we all need to be shot because of Omicron even though Big Pharma is still working on a vaccine. Moderna isn't sure their vaccine will work at all on the variant. And, oh, by the way, the symptoms appear to be the same (not worse) and there are no recorded deaths. The doctor that discovered it says it's all hype. So, let's all run and hide and get our boosters that Big Pharma is pretty sure won't work on this and experience is equally sure won't work. What's the real fix? Get everyone vaccinated ... over and over again.

Just the Facts
According to the law, Kyle Rittenhouse is not guilty. Not guilty of murder. Legally not guilty of anything as far as we know. But we can't be bothered with facts. Student groups at Arizona State University (ASU) are demanding Rittenhouse be barred from attending ASU because he is a "white supremacist killer." Now, note, Rittenhouse (a white kid) was accused of killing three white guys, not people of color. Note, no charges were brought, let alone proven against him on racism, hate, or anything like it. And, note, ASU says he's not a student there. But those are just facts. We'll have none of those. We're university students! (Apparently the same kind of thing happened at the North Pole.)

When Satire Isn't
The Supreme Court started hearing arguments over the Mississippi abortion law this week. Analysts suggest it could impact abortion laws in all states. It is viewed as a challenge to Roe v. Wade. As the Babylon Bee puts it, "The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on abortion law this week, where they will carefully weigh the pros and cons of murdering babies with metal tearing instruments and high-powered vacuums." Oddly enough, they intended that to be satire.

Filed Under "Coming Soon to a Country Near You"
Germany has limited the freedom of the German people. The story says, "German officials announced a nationwide lockdown on Thursday for the unvaccinated and showed support for making vaccinations mandatory against the coronavirus in the coming months." (Hey, didn't they do something like that before?) It's due to the omicron variant and the waning immunity offered by the vaccine and ... well, let's be honest ... the loss of control government has been able to exert over its people on the subject. But, don't worry, America. I'm pretty sure your "land of the free" will go the way of your "home of the brave" in the same way. We're being carefully groomed to surrender liberty for security even if they have to make stuff up to do it. (Has anyone asked themselves why "100 employees" is unsafe but "99 employees" is safe? It doesn't look like "reasonable.")

Legalized Intrusion
You know how much you hate all those calls from all those telemarketers and causes and the host of others that interrupt your peace? Well, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has updated its rules to allow bill collectors to hound you via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Yea! More clutter. "There isn’t a cap for how many messages they can send." Good times.

Trump Again
In yet another display of hate for the ex-president and his policies, the White House succeeded in reinstating the despised Trump-era "Remain-in-Mexico" rule for asylum seekers. Lousy Trump and his lousy policies. We'll show him; we'll put them back in place. So there!

(Note: In case you were looking here and missed it, my regular "unBEElievable" satire stuff is mixed in above. Have fun looking.)