Christ the Lord in the NT

The first argument from the New Testament in proof of the divinity of
Christ, is derived from the fact that He is everywhere called Lord;
the Lord; our Lord. It is admitted that the Greek word kurios means
owner, and one who has the authority of an owner, whether of men or
things. The Lord of a vineyard is the owner of the vineyard, and the
Lord of slaves is the owner of slaves. It is also admitted that the
word is used with all the latitude of the Latin word Dominus, or the
English Master or Mister. It is applied as a title of respect, not
only to magistrates and princes, but to those who are not invested
with any official authority. It is, therefore, not merely the fact
that Jesus is called Lord, that proves that He is also God; but that
He is called Lord in such a sense and in such a way as is consistent
with no other hypothesis. In the first place, Christ is called Lord in
the New Testament with the same constancy and with the same
preeminence that Jehovah is called Lord in the Old Testament. This was
the word which all the readers, whether of the Hebrew or Greek
Scriptures, under the old economy were accustomed to use to express
their relation to God. They recognized Him as their owner, as their
Supreme Sovereign, and as their protector. He was in that sense their
Lord. The Lord is on our side. The Lord be with you. The Lord He is
God. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Thou Lord art good.
Thou Lord art most high forever. O Lord, there is none like unto thee.
I will praise the Lord. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. O Lord, thou art
my God. The religious ear of the people was educated in the use of
this language from their infancy. The Lord was their God. They
worshipped and praised Him, and invoked his aid in calling him Lord.
The same feelings of reverence, adoration, and love, the same sense of
dependence and desire of protection are expressed throughout the New
Testament in calling Jesus Lord. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make
me clean. Lord, save me. Joy of thy Lord. Lord, when saw we thee a
hungered? He that judgeth me is the Lord. If the Lord will. To be
present with the Lord. Them that call on the Lord. Which the Lord
shall give me in the last day. Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour.

Jesus Christ, therefore, is Lord to Christians in the same sense that
Jehovah was Lord to the Hebrews. The usage referred to is altogether
peculiar; no man -- not Moses, nor Abraham, nor David, nor any of the
prophets or Apostles, is ever thus prevailingly addressed or invoked
as Lord. We have but one Lord; and Jesus Christ is Lord. This is an
argument which addresses itself to the inward experience, rather than
to the mere understanding. Every believer knows in what sense he calls
Jesus Lord; and he knows that in thus recognizing Him as his owner, as
his absolute sovereign, to whom the allegiance of his soul, and not
merely of his outward life, is due; and as his protector and Saviour,
he is in communion with the Apostles and martyrs. He knows that it is
from the New Testament he has been taught to worship Christ in calling
him Lord.

But in the second place, Jesus Christ is not only thus called Lord by
way of eminence, but He is declared to be the Lord of lords; to be the
Lord of glory; the Lord of all; the Lord of the living and the dead;
the Lord of all who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth.
All creatures, from the highest to the lowest, must bow the knee to
Him, and acknowledge his absolute dominion. He is in such a sense Lord
as that no man can truly call Him Lord but by the Holy Ghost. If his
Lordship were merely the supremacy which one creature can exercise
over other creatures, there would be no necessity for a divine
illumination to enable us to recognize his authority. But if He is
Lord in the absolute sense in which God alone is Lord; if He has a
right in us, and an authority over us, which belong only to our Maker
and Redeemer, then it is necessary that the Holy Spirit should so
reveal to us the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, as to lead
us to prostrate ourselves before Him as our Lord and our God.

In the third place, Christ is called Lord, when that word is used for
the incommunicable divine names and titles Jehovah and Adonai. It is
well known that the Jews from an early period had a superstitious
reverence, which prevented their pronouncing the word Jehovah. They
therefore, in their Hebrew Scriptures, gave it the vowel points
belonging to the word Adonai, and so pronounced it whenever they read
the sacred volume. When they translated their Scriptures into Greek,
they uniformly substituted kurios, which answers to Adon, for Jehovah.
In like manner, under the influence of the LXX., the Latin Christians
in their version used Dominus; and constrained by the same wide spread
and long-continued usage, the English translators have, as a general
thing, put Lord (in small capitals) where the Hebrew has Jehovah. In
very many cases we find passages applied to Christ as the Messiah, in
which He is called Lord, when Lord should be Jehovah or Adonai. In
Luke i. 76, it is said of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ,
that he should go before the face of the Lord; but in Malachi iii. 1,
of which this passage declares the fulfilment, the person speaking is
Jehovah. The day of Christ, in the New Testament, is called "the day
of the Lord;" in the Old Testament it is called "the day of Jehovah,
the great day." Romans x. 13, quotes Joel ii. 32, which speaks of Jehovah,
and applies it to Christ, saying, "Whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved." Rom xiv. 10, 11, quotes Isaiah xlv. 23,
"We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is
written, As I live, saith the Lord (Jehovah), every knee shall bow
to me," etc. This is common throughout the New Testament, and
therefore Christ is there set forth as Lord in the same sense in
which the Supreme God is Lord. The meaning of the word as applied
to Christ being thus established, it shows how constant and familiar
is the recognition of his divinity by the sacred writers. They
acknowledge Him to be God every time they call Him Lord.
(Hodge v 1 p 495-ff)

Life and Work

Kathee and I read Leviticus 9 & 10 tonight. Some cool stuff:

9:22-24, "Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."

10:1-3, "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’”

So Aaron held his peace"

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1. We've been experimenting with a different route home. Tonight we drove up 2nd Avenue but missed our turn on 11th Street. We got on the back side of Loring Park and missed getting on 394 W. Then we got up on Kenwood Avenue and got all turned around. We ended up taking and hour to get home.
   
2. Roads slippery
   
3. Roger's car was hit in the Normandale CC parking lot. I haven't seen it yet but he is upset about it.
   

---

1. Work: I'm still awaiting final executive appproval for my upgrade activity that is to commence on Friday. I'm not sure why this takes so long but I have to live with it
   
2. I had about half a dozen people sign up for the Acrobat Reader 8 UAT - I would call that "underwhelming"
   

White House 2008 Rankings

Interesting ... updated weekly

The Democrats

The Republicans

Seems about 1 year too early to me!

Senator Biden: Foot in mouth!

Senator Biden just announced he is running for President


Then he made this gaffe!

Biden on Obama

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”


He will soon be gone!

Marketing plan gone bad!

We await news of the lawsuits!

Suspicious devices part of marketing plan

Excerpt:


Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices, which consisted of magnetic, blinking lights, were part of a promotion for the TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger,” Turner said in a statement. It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.

More: 9 Suspicious Packages Planted in Boston


Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.


Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless



"BONEHEAD" comes to mind. I hope that whoever thought up this idea has a fresh resume, because they are going to need it!

Battery failure

If a battery is going to go, it will fail in this kind of weather. We park underground but even underground the garage is cool (not bitterly cold like the 11 degrees we experienced today).


The car barely turned over when I tried to start it. I gave it two tries and it did start.


We stopped at Batteries Plus in Plymouth and had a new battery installed. We had dinner at Quiznos while they installed it.


Kathee and I picked up on Leviticus again (chapters 7 & 8 tonight).


Work: We are targeting about 4000 workstations this weekend and into next week. The last ones are the toughest: laptops that are turned off at night, etc. For one business group we are targeting 800 laptops on 4 days (must be done between 12:30 and 5:00 p.m. local time (another constraint). We had to get all kinds of executive approvals for this change to be authorized. Yesterday I had 3 separate meetings on this one activity. At close of business today, I just needed one more executive's approval.

I attended a 2 hour "Innovation" seminar where our innovation styles were reviewed (each filled out a survey in November. The styles are "Visionary", "Explorer", "Moderator", and "Experimenter". This may be complete "hooey" for all I know. My "style" is "Explorer - Experimenter"

The Messiah in the Prophetic books

In Isaiah iv. 2, the appearance of the Branch of Jehovah is predicted,
to whose advent such effects are ascribed as prove Him to be a divine
person. Those effects are purification, the pardon of sin, and perfect
security.


Chapter vi. contains an account of the prophet's vision of Jehovah in
his holy temple, surrounded by the hosts of adoring angels, who
worship Him day and night. The person thus declared to be Jehovah, the
object of angelic worship, the Apostle John tells us, iii. 41, was
none other than Christ, whom all Christians and all angels now
worship.


In chapters vii.-ix. the birth of a child whose mother was a virgin,
is predicted. That this child was the eternal Son of God, equal with
the Father, is proved, (1.) From his name Immanuel, which means God
with us, i.e., God in our nature. (2.) The land of Israel is said to
be his land. (3.) He is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God,
Father of Eternity, and Prince of Peace. (4.) His kingdom is
everlasting and universal. (5.) The consequences of his advent and
dominion are such as flow only from the dominion of God. In the
eleventh chapter we have another description of the perfection of his
person and of his kingdom, which is applicable only to the person and
kingdom of God. It is only where God reigns that the peace, holiness,
and blessedness which attend the coming of the predicted deliverer,
are ever found. The same argument may be drawn from the prophetic
account of the Messiah and of his kingdom contained in the latter part
of Isaiah, from the fortieth chapter to the sixty-sixth. This Messiah
was to effect the redemption of his people, not merely from the
Babylonish captivity, but from all evil; to secure for them the pardon
of sin, and reconciliation with God; the prevalence of true religion
to the ends of the earth; and, finally, the complete triumph of the
kingdom of light over the kingdom of darkness. This is a work which
none other than a divine person could effect.


The prophet Micah (v. 1-5) predicted that one was to be born in
Bethlehem, who was to be, (1.) The Ruler of Israel, i.e., of all the
people of God. (2.) Although to be born in time and made of a woman,
his "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (3.) He
shall rule in the exercise of the strength and majesty of God, i.e.,
manifest in his government the possession of divine attributes and
glory. (4.) His dominion shall be universal; and (5.) Its effects
peace; i.e., perfect harmony, order, and blessedness.


The prophet Joel does not bring distinctly into view the person of the
Redeemer, unless it be in the doubtful passage in ii. 23. He goes
through the usual round of Messianic predictions; foretells the
apostasy of the people, reproves them for their sins, threatens divine
judgments, and then promises deliverance through a "teacher of
righteousness" (according to one interpretation of ii. 23), and then
the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. The gift of the Holy
Ghost is everywhere represented as the characteristic blessing of the
Messianic period, because secured by the merit of the Redeemer's
death. That He thus gives the Holy Spirit is the highest evidence of
his being truly God.


In Jeremiah xxiii., the restoration or redemption of God's people is
foretold. This redemption was to be effected by one who as declared to
be, (1.) A descendant of David. (2.) He is called the Branch, a
designation which connects this prophecy with those of Isaiah in which
the Messiah receives the same title. (3.) He was to be a king. (4.)
His reign was to be prosperous, Judah and Israel were to be again
united; i.e., perfect harmony and peace were to be secured. (5.) This
deliverer is called Jehovah, our Righteousness. In the thirty-third
chapter, the same deliverance is predicted, and the same name is here
given to Jerusalem which in the former passage was given to the
Messiah. In the one case it is symbolical, in the other significant.


In Daniel ii. 44, it is foretold that the kingdom of the Messiah is to
be everlasting, and is destined to supersede and absorb all other
kingdoms. In vii. 9-14, it is said that one like unto the Son of Man
was brought unto the Ancient of Days; and a dominion, glory, and
kingdom given unto Him; that all people, nations, and languages should
serve Him; his dominion is to be an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. In
ix. 24-27, is recorded the prediction concerning the seventy weeks,
and the coming and work of the Messiah, which work is truly divine.


The first six chapters of the prophecies of Zechariah are a series of
visions, foreshadowing the return of the Jews from Babylon, the
restoration of the city, and the rebuilding of the temple; the
subsequent apostasy of the people; the advent of the Messiah; the
establishment of his kingdom, and the dispersion of the Jews. From the
ninth chapter to the end of the book, the same events are predicted in
ordinary prophetic language. Jerusalem is called upon to rejoice at
the advent of her king. He was to be meek and lowly, unostentatious
and peaceful, and his dominion universal. In chapter xi. He is
represented as a shepherd who makes a last attempt to gather his
flock. He is to be rejected by those whom He came to save, and sold
for thirty pieces of silver. For this enormity the people are to be
given up to long desolation; but at last God will pour upon them the
Spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon me, saith
Jehovah, whom they have pierced, and mourn. This shepherd is declared
to be God's fellow, associate, or equal. His kingdom shall triumph,
shall become universal, and holiness shall everywhere prevail.


In Malachi iii. 1-4, it is predicted (1.) That a messenger should
appear to prepare the way of the Lord. (2.) That the Lord, i.e.,
Jehovah, the messenger of the covenant, i.e., the Messiah, should come
to his temple. (3.) At his advent the wicked shall be destroyed, and
the Church saved. (Hodge v 1 p 492-ff)

McDonald's trans fat-free cooking oil

Cargill to supply McDonald's Corp. with trans fat-free oil

This will be a big improvement (although for Kathee and I - we go to McD's about once a year only)

Reformation 21 Magazine Highlights Charles Spurgeon

The World From Our Window: Reformation 21 Magazine Highlights Charles Spurgeon

A good read

The character of the last days

Are we living in the "last days"?

There is a sense that all of the time since the first coming of Christ are the "last days". Cf. Hebrews 1:1,2 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds"

On the day of Pentecost, Peter confirmed, that this age is called the "last days": Acts 2:17, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,Your young men shall see visions,Your old men shall dream dreams"


Are there some defining characteristics of the "last days"? The Scripture speaks to this:

1. There will be a departure from sound doctrine: 1 Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."
   
2. Men will be characterized by inordinate affections: 2 Timothy 3:1-3, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good"
   
3. Men will scoff at Biblical truth and deny the 2nd coming of Christ: 2 Peter 3:3,4: "knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'"
   
4. Christ deniers and subsititute Christ's will abound: 1 John 2:18-19, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us."
   
5. Sensuality (sexual sin) will abound: Jude 18,19, "how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit"
   

The "last days" will culminate with the coming of Christ - "the revelation of Jesus Christ". When this will occur, no one knows! But it could be soon!

1 Peter 1:3-7, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

Revelation 22:20, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon'. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus"

The Messiah in the Psalms

In the second Psalm, the heathen are represented as combining against the Messiah, verses 1-3. God derides their efforts, verses 4, 5. He declares his purpose to constitute the Messiah king in Zion, That this Messiah is a divine person is plain: (1.) Because He is called the Son of God, which, as has been shown, implies equality with God. (2.) He is invested with universal and absolute dominion. (3.) He is the Jehovah whom the people are commanded in verse 11 to worship. (4.) Because all are required to acknowledge his authority and do Him homage. (5.) Because those are pronounced blessed who put their trust in Him, whereas the Scriptures declared them to be cursed who put their trust in princes.

In the twenty-second Psalm, a sufferer is described whose words our Lord upon the cross appropriates to Himself, verses 1-19. He prays for deliverance, verses 19-21. The consequences of that deliverance are such as prove that the subject of the psalm must be a divine person. His sufferings render it certain, (1.) That all good men will fear and love God because He rescued this sufferer from his enemies. (2.) That provision will be made for the wants of all men. (3.) That all nations will be converted unto God. (4.) That the blessings which He secures will last forever.

In the forty-fifth Psalm a king is described who must be a divine person. (1.) Because his perfect excellence is the ground of the praise rendered to Him. (2.) Because his kingdom is declared to be righteous and everlasting. (3.) He is addressed as God, "Thy throne O God is forever and ever," which is quoted Heb. i. 8, and applied to Christ for the very purpose of proving that He is entitled to the worship of all intelligent creatures. (4.) The Church is declared to be his bride, which implies that He is to his people the object of supreme love and confidence.

The seventy-second Psalm contains a description of an exalted king, and of the blessings of his reign. These blessings are of such a nature as to prove that the subject of the psalm must be a divine person. (1.) His kingdom is to be everlasting. (2.) Universal. (3.) It secures perfect peace with God and good-will among men. (4.) All men are to be brought to submit to Him through love. (5.) In Him all the nations of the earth are to be blessed, i.e., as we are distinctly taught in Gal. iii. 16, it is in Him that all the blessings of redemption are to come upon the world. The subject of this psalm, is therefore, the Redeemer of the world.

The hundred and tenth Psalm is repeatedly quoted and expounded in the New Testament, and applied to Christ to set forth the dignity of his person and the nature of his work. (1.) He is David's Lord. But if David's Lord, how can He be David's Son? This was the question which Christ put to the Pharisees, in order to convince them that their ideas of the Messiah fell far below the doctrine of their own Scriptures. He was indeed to be David's Son, as they expected, but at the same time He was to be possessed of a nature which made Him David's Lord. (2.) In virtue of this divine nature He was to sit at God's right hand; that is, to be associated with Him on terms of equality as to glory and dominion. Such is the Apostles exposition of this passage in Heb. i. 13. To no angel, i.e., to no creature, has God ever said, "Sit on my right hand." The subject of this psalm is no creature; and if not a creature, He is the Creator. (3.) This person, who is at once David's Son and David's Lord, is eternally both priest and king. This again is referred to in Heb. vii. 17, to prove that He must be a divine person. It is only because He is possessed of "an endless life," or, as it is elsewhere said, because He has life in Himself even as the Father has life in Himself, that it is possible for Him to be a perpetual priest and king. (4.) In verse 5, He is declared to be the supreme Lord, for He is called Adonai, a title never given to any but the true God. (Hodge v 1 p 491)

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1. Work: wrangled with change management over activity that is took place next week. Still not resolved.
   
2. Work: I have two communications being published tomorrow: retirement of an old image and Acrobat Reader 8 user acceptance testing to commence.
   
3. Work: I talked with my friend Wayne about Marv and he filled me in on some of the details.
   
4. Roof: I filed a claim with Allstate about hail damage to my roof. Not sure where this will go.
   
5. Mom went out to see Dreamgirls and said it was good. Doesn't look interesting to me.
   
6. Cold here ... and this week to get much colder!
   

Obit: Marvin Schroepfer

My friend Marvin Schroepfer died on Friday. I worked with him in the Program Application Support department for 2 years and I have known him for 10. He had multiple myeloma

Doug D, Pastor Levy's brother in law, also died. The funeral is tomorrow.

And You Think You've Had a Bad Day?

The World From Our Window: And You Think You've Had a Bad Day?

The Divinity of Christ

It is universally admitted that the Old Testament does predict a Messiah, one who was to appear in the fulness of time to effect the redemption of his people, and through whom the knowledge of the true religion was to be extended throughout the world. While it is clearly revealed that this Redeemer was to be the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, and of the house of David, it was no less clearly revealed that He was to be a divine person. He is presented under the different aspects of a triumphant king, a suffering martyr, and a divine person. Sometimes these representations are all combined in the descriptions given of the coming Deliverer; sometimes the one, and sometimes the other view of his character is held up either exclusively or most prominently in the prophetic writings. They, however, are all exhibited in the Hebrew Scriptures, as they all combine and harmonize in the person and work of our Lord and Saviour. (Hodge v 1 p 490)

---

Sunday afternoon:

1. Pastor's message was from 2 Tim 3:1-5, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"
   
2. More garage door issues ... Impala bay door will not close (via door opener).
   
3. We are having Westurn roofing by at 2. They've been up on the roof and their view is the roof needs replacing.
   
4. Brother is coming by sometime between 2:30 and 4 (I think)
   
5. Colleen Tronson of Metro Women's Center to be at 4th tonight.
   

Online shopping for tires

I have 38,000 on my Impala and I am thinking that this year I will need new ones.

I found this interesting:

Size: 235/55ZR17 / Bridgestone Turanza ER300

Vendor	Price
tiresplus.com	$ 239.00
tirerack.com	$ 161.00

I think I will buy them from Tirerack. Shipping is $ 45. I'm going to wait until Fall and see how my tires look then.

Bitter cold day

Today's happenings:

1. Kathee made pancakes for us
   
2. Its about 10 degrees
   
3. I had my every-six-or-eight week buzz cut (by my lovely barber-wife)
   
4. Kathee and I drove back to Bremer Bank up in Brooklyn Park today. A repeat of last Saturday's errand to the same location. I was to be added as a signer on multiple CD's for the non-profit board on which I serve. Turns out that you cannot change signers during the contract period - have to wait until the period between when the CD matures and renews (a 10 day period).
   
5. Petsmart and Target. I looked at kittens while Kathee shopped
   
6. Lunch then I watched Minnesota win in BB
   
7. Roger and I ran a little errand while Kathee was at the grocery store and we discussed his future with the Marines. His six year commitment with the USMC ends May 31st. His options are to re-up or go to I.R.R. (ready reserve).
   
8. Roger took down the Christmas wreath and filled up the water softener with salt
   
9. Roger is cooking tonight for K & I, Nathan and him. He is a Marine Corp cook and does a great job. I look forward to this home cooked meal
   

the angel of Jehovah - Continued

Jehovah and the Angel Jehovah: The other Historical Books of the Old Testament


In Exodus iii. we have the account of the revelation of God to Moses on Mount Horeb. "The angel of the Lord," it is said, "appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush." And Moses turned to see this great sight, "and when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him, out of the midst of the bush . . . . and said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." Here the angel of Jehovah is identical with Jehovah, and is declared to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The personal distinction between Jehovah and the angel of Jehovah (i.e., between the Father and the Son, as these persons are elsewhere, and usually in the later Scriptures, designated), is clearly presented in Ex. xxiii. 20, where it is said, "Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him." The last phrase is equivalent to, "I am in him." By the name of God, is often meant God himself as manifested. Thus it is said of the temple, 1 Kings viii. 29, "My name shall be there," i.e., "There will I dwell." As in the New Testament the Father is said to send the Son, and to be in Him; so here Jehovah is said to send the angel of Jehovah and to be in him. And as the Son of Man had power on earth to forgive sin, so the angel of Jehovah had authority to forgive or punish at his pleasure.

That the angel of Jehovah is a divine person, is further manifest from the account given in Exodus xxxii. and xxxiii. of what God said to Moses after the people had sinned in worshipping the golden calf. In punishment of that offence God threatened no longer personally to attend the people. In consequence of this manifestation of the divine displeasure the whole congregation were assembled before the door of the Tabernacle, and humbled themselves before God. And Jehovah descended and spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. And Moses interceded for the people and said, If thy presence go not with us carry us not up hence. And Jehovah said, My presence (i.e., I myself) shall go with thee and I will give thee rest. This shows that a divine person, Jehovah, had previously guided the people, and that on their repentance, He promised to continue with them. This person, called the angel of Jehovah, Jehovah himself, is in Is. lxiii. 9, called "the angel of the face of Jehovah," i.e., the angel or the messenger, who is the image of God. It can hardly be doubted, therefore, that this angel was the Son of God, sent by Him and therefore called his angel; who in Is. lxiii. is designated as the Saviour of Israel and the Redeemer of Jacob; who came to reveal God, as He was the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, in whom was his name, or, as it is expressed in the New Testament, the fulness of the Godhead; who in the fulness of time, for us men and for our salvation, became flesh, and revealed his glory as the only begotten Son full of grace and truth.

In subsequent periods of the history of God's people this same divine person appears as the leader and God of Israel. He manifested himself to Joshua (v. 14) as "Prince of the host of the Lord"; to Gideon (Judges vi. 11), as the angel of Jehovah, and spake to him, saying, i.e., Jehovah said to him, Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. In verse 16 it is again said, "Jehovah said unto him surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." When Gideon became aware who it was that spoke to him he exclaimed, "Alas, O Lord God, for because I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die." The same angel appeared to Manoah and promised him a son, and revealed himself as he had done to Gideon by causing fire to issue from a rock and consume the sacrifice which had been placed upon it. When Manoah knew that it was the angel of Jehovah, he said unto his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God." (Hodge v 1 p 487 -ff)

So here comes Big Corn

Very, Very Big Corn: Ethanol and its consequences

Good read from the Wall Street Journal.

Excerpt:

The scientific literature is also divided about whether the energy inputs required to produce ethanol actually exceed its energy output. It takes fertilizer to grow the corn, and fuel to ship and process it, and so forth. Even the most optimistic estimate says ethanol's net energy output is a marginal improvement of only 1.3 to one. For purposes of comparison, energy outputs from gasoline exceed inputs by an estimated 10 to one.

A Culinary and Cultural Staple in Crisis

Excerpt:


Mexico is in the grip of the worst tortilla crisis in its modern history. Dramatically rising international corn prices, spurred by demand for the grain-based fuel ethanol, have led to expensive tortillas. That, in turn, has led to lower sales for vendors such as Rosales and angry protests by consumers

The Best Financial Stock for 2007: Wells Fargo

The Best Financial Stock for 2007: Wells Fargo

My bank ... my employer!

The Angel of Jehovah in Genesis

Thus as early as Gen. xvi. 7, the angel of Jehovah appears to Hagar and says, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude." And Hagar, it is said, "called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her [Attah el Roi] Thou God seest me" (ver. 13). This angel therefore is declared to be Jehovah, and promises what God only could perform. Again, in Gen. xviii. 1, it is said, Jehovah appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, who promised to him the birth of Isaac. In ver. 18, he is again called Jehovah. Jehovah said, "Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the time appointed I will return unto thee . . . . and Sarah shall have a son." As the angels turned toward Sodom, one of them, called Jehovah, said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" and, "Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see," etc., and Abraham, it is added, stood before Jehovah. Through the whole of Abraham's intercession in behalf of the cities of the plain, the angel is addressed as Adonai, a title given only to the true God, and speaks as Jehovah, and assumes the authority of God, to pardon or punish as to him seems fit. When the execution of the sentence pronounced on Sodom is mentioned, it is said, "Jehovah rained . . . . brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven." With regard to this and similar remarkable expressions, the question is not, What may they mean? but, What do they mean? Taken by themselves they may be explained away, but taken in the light of the connected revelations of God on the subject, it becomes apparent that Jehovah is distinguished as a person from Jehovah; and therefore that in the Godhead there is more than one person to whom the name Jehovah belongs. In this case, the words "brimstone and fire" may be connected with the words "from Jehovah," in the sense of "fire of God" as a figurative expression for the lightning. The passage would then mean simply, "Jehovah rained lightning on Sodom and Gomorrah." But this is not only against the authorized punctuation of the passage as indicated by the accents, but also against the analogy of Scripture. That is, it is an unnatural interpretation, and brings this passage into conflict with those in which the distinction between the angel of Jehovah and Jehovah, i.e., between the persons of the Godhead, is clearly indicated.

In Gen. xxii. 2, God commands Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. The angel of Jehovah arrests his hand at the moment of immolation, and says (ver. 12), "Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me." And in ver. 16, the angel of the Lord said, "By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah . . . . that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed." And Abraham called the name of that place "Jehovah-jireh." Here God, the angel of Jehovah, and Jehovah are names given to the same person, who swears by Himself and promises the blessing of a numerous posterity to Abraham. The angel of Jehovah must therefore be a divine person.

In Jacob's vision, recorded Gen. xxviii. 11-22, he saw a ladder reaching to heaven, "and behold Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth." Here the person elsewhere called the angel of Jehovah, and who had given the same promise to Abraham, is called the Lord God of Abraham and the God of Israel. In Gen. xxxii. 24-32, Jacob is said to have wrestled with an angel, who blessed him, and in seeing whom Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face." The prophet Hosea, xii. 4, in referring to this event, says, "Jacob had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us; even Jehovah God of Hosts; Jehovah is his memorial." The angel with whom Jacob wrestled, was the Lord God of Hosts. (Hodge v 1 p 485)

He's Got Guts

PEGGY NOONAN: He's Got Guts - In praise of Chuck Hagel

Excerpt:

Mr. Hagel has shown courage for a long time. He voted for the war resolution in 2002 but soon after began to question how it was being waged. This was before everyone did. He also stood against the war when that was a lonely place to be. Senate Democrats sat back and watched: If the war worked, they'd change the subject; and if it didn't, they'd hang it on President Bush. Republicans did their version of inaction; they supported the president until he was unpopular, and then peeled off. This is almost not to be criticized. It's what politicians do. But it's not what Mr. Hagel did. He had guts.

Carter apologizes

Carter apologizes for 'stupid' book passage

Excerpt:

Jimmy Carter has apologized for what he called a "stupid" passage in his book that critics say is a de facto endorsement of Palestinian violence against Israelis

The former president had spent most of the past two months defending his new book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," after 15 board members at his Atlanta-based Carter Center resigned in protest of the book's content.

I apologize to you personally and to everyone here," Mr. Carter said when asked about the passage by a student during his appearance at Brandeis University on Tuesday. After explaining that the passage was "worded in a completely improper and stupid way," Mr. Carter said he has asked publisher Simon & Schuster Inc. to change the wording in future editions of the book.

The questionable passage, which appears on Page 213 of the book, reads: "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel."

Wife clubs big cat with log

When mountain lion attacks, spouse fights back

Excerpt:

Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said. Nell Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.

"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,'" she said. "So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would."

When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.

Relaxing day off

Kathee has been basically working non-stop since the first of the year so today was a welcome day off. (This week ... in 4 days ... Kathee worked more than 40 hours).

We left on our little drive at about 9:30 and this is what we did:

1. We drove out I-94 past Cabelas (where Brother works)
   
2. Stopped in St Joseph to stretch our legs
   
3. On to Alexandria (map)
   
   
   
   1. Wiki: Alexandria
      
   2. We had lunch at the Travelers Inn on Broadway. Excellent
      
   3. We drove out to the Arrowhead Resort in Alexandria
      
   4. Alexandria is the home of the Runestone Museum
      
   5. We saw the field where the Alexandria Beetles play.
      
   
   
4. Next stop was Glenwood, MN (new territory for us!)
   
5. Then back East on Minnesota Hwy 55 to Belgrade
   
6. South on Hwy 71 to Willmar (Wiki)
   
7. East on Hwy 12 to Montrose MN
   
8. North on Hwy 25 to Buffalo, MN www.findbuffalo.com
   
9. East on Hwy 55 to Plymouth and home. We got the car washed in Plymouth
   

The weather was super! In the 40's. (Cold front to come through tomorrow!). We saw an accident on Hwy 55 ... looked like a pickup hit the guard rail. It was on the Westbound side and I did not get a good look (but emergency vehicles were there). Back home by 5.

A very relaxing day!

End of week

Kathee and I have Friday off so today was my "Friday"

1. We left work right at 5 ... home and had dinner
   
2. I had the Metro Womens Center board meeting tonight and was home at 9
   
3. Kathee is working a production issue with her application and she is in the den on a conference call
   
4. Roger is home from work and is eating dinner
   
5. Work ended up ok this week. We finally got our Adobe Reader 8 package out of QA
   
6. I am not going to think about work this weekend
   
7. Received news about a church member who has a health issue. I am praying
   

Jehovah and the Angel Jehovah

On this primary and fundamental revelation of this great truth all the subsequent revelations of Scripture are founded. As there is more than one person in the Godhead, we find at once the distinction between Jehovah as the messenger, a mediator, and Jehovah as He who sends, between the Father and the Son, as co-equal, co-eternal persons, which runs through the Bible, with ever-increasing clearness. This is not an arbitrary or unauthorized interpretation of the Old Testament scriptures. In Luke xxiv. 27, it is said of our Lord, that "beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Moses therefore did testify of Christ; and we have a sure ground on which to rest in interpreting the passages of the Old Testament, which set forth the person and work of the great deliverer, as referring to Christ.



He who was promised to Adam as the seed of the woman, it was next declared should be the seed of Abraham. That this does not refer to his descendants collectively, but to Christ individually, we know from the direct assertion of the Apostle (Gal. iii. 16), and from the fulfilment of the promise. It is not through the children of Abraham as a nation, but through Christ, that all the nations of the earth are blessed. And the blessing referred to, the promise to Abraham, which, as the Apostle says, has come upon us, is the promise of redemption. Abraham therefore saw the day of Christ and was glad, and as our Lord said, Before Abraham was I am. This proves that the person predicted as the seed of the woman and as the seed of Abraham, through whom
redemption was to be effected, was to be both God and man. He could not be the seed of Abraham unless a man, and he could not be the Saviour of men unless God.



We accordingly find throughout the Old Testament constant mention made of a person distinct from Jehovah, as a person, to whom nevertheless the titles, attributes, and works of Jehovah are ascribed.



He claims divine authority, exercises divine prerogatives, and receives divine homage. If this were a casual matter, if in one or two instances the messenger spoke in the name of him who sent him, we might assume that the person thus designated was an ordinary angel or minister of God. But when this is a pervading representation of the Bible; when we find that these terms are applied, not first to one, and then to another angel indiscriminately, but to one particular angel; that the person so designated is also called the Son of God, the Mighty God; that the work attributed to him is elsewhere attributed to God himself; and that in the New Testament, this manifested Jehovah, who led his people under the Old Testament economy, is declared to be the Son of God, the logos, who was manifested in the flesh, it becomes certain that by the angel of Jehovah in the early books of Scripture, we are to understand a divine person, distinct from the Father. (Hodge v 1 p 484-485)

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1. A long day at work. I left at almost 6 and Kathee worked until 7 and took the bus home
   
   
   
   1. Our engineers finally resolved a network issue at one site that prohibited workstation imaging (reads off the network). This enables us to retire our previous image
      
   2. I authored the image retirement notification
      
   3. Our Acrobat Reader 8 package (uninstalls Reader 7 and installs Reader 8) is in QA. It first shuts down Reader it is open (our last iteration did not and failed when the QA team purposely left Reader open
      
   4. We should get signoff from QA tomorrow and then have open UAT (user acceptance testing) beginning Feb 5th.
      
   
   
2. I stopped at Subway for a 7 grams of fat sandwich. I'm a fan!
   
3. I fed the cats and relaxed a bit then picked up Kathee at 4 Seasons Mall at 7:40
   
4. Now watching Mythbusters
   
5. My Brother had an MRI on his back on Monday and got some results back today. I'm not sure of the specifics but he sees a specialist next Friday (2/2)
   
6. My latest snack food - dried dates. I have three beside my chair now.
   

The World From Our Window: Cruise Being Hailed 'The Christ of Scientology'

The World From Our Window: Cruise Being Hailed 'The Christ of Scientology'

My daughter said: Sounds like a "South Park" episode!

If it wasn't so pathetic and demonic ... this would be funny!

3 nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust

Israel faces nuclear Holocaust warns Gingrich

Excerpt:

The Israeli people are facing the threat of a nuclear Holocaust, former US Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich warned the Herzliya Conference held by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, he said, the United States could lose a few million people or a number of cities to a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction.

Gingrich, who addressed the conference via satellite from the United States, said he thought Israel's existence was under threat again for the first time in 40 years.

"Israel is in the greatest danger it has been in since 1967. Prior to '67, many wondered if Israel would survive. After '67, Israel seemed military dominant, despite the '73 war. I would say we are (now) back to question of survival," Gingrich said.

He added that the United States could "lose two or three cities to nuclear weapons, or more than a million to biological weapons."

Gingrich added that in such a scenario, "freedom as we know it will disappear, and we will become a much grimmer, much more militarized, dictatorial society."

"Three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust," Gingrich declared, adding: "People are greatly underestimating how dangerous the world is becoming. I'll repeat it, three nuclear weapons are a second Holocaust. Our enemies are quite explicit in their desire to destroy us. They say it publicly? We are sleepwalking through this process as though it's only a problem of communication," Gingrich said.

Follow the (tainted) money

The Question of Carter’s Cash

Excerpt:

Did Jimmy Carter do it for the money? That’s the question making the rounds about Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, an anti-Israeli screed recently written by the ex-president whose Carter Center has accepted millions in Arab funding.

Even in Carter’s long history of post-presidential grandstanding, this book sets fresh standards of irresponsibility. Purporting to give a balanced view of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict, Carter effectively shrugs off such highly germane matters as Palestinian terrorism. The hypocrisies are boundless, and include adoring praise of the deeply oppressive, religiously intolerant Saudi regime side by side with condemnations of democratic Israel. In one section, typical of the book’s entire approach, Carter includes a “Historical Chronology,” from Biblical times to 2006, in which he dwells on events surrounding his 1978 Camp David Accords but omits the Holocaust. Kenneth W. Stein, the founder of the Carter Center’s Middle East program, resigned last month to protest the book, describing it in a letter to Fox News as “replete with factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments.” As this article goes to press, more protest resignations, this time from the Carter Center’s board of councilors, appear to be in the works.

If there is a silver lining to any of this, it is that Carter’s book has drawn much-overdue attention to some of the funding that pours into the Carter Center, whose intriguing donor list includes anti-Israeli tycoons and Middle East states. Founded in 1982 and appended to Carter’s presidential library, the center has served for almost a quarter century as the main base and fund-raising magnet for Carter’s self-proclaimed mission to save the world.

The Protevangelium

Immediately after the apostasy of our first parents it was announced
that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The
meaning of this promise and prediction is to be determined by
subsequent revelations. When interpreted in the light of the
Scriptures themselves, it is manifest that the seed of the woman means
the Redeemer, and that bruising the serpents head means his final
triumph over the powers of darkness. In this protevangelium, as it has
ever been called, we have the dawning revelation of the humanity and
divinity of the great deliverer. As seed of the woman his humanity is
distinctly asserted, and the nature of the triumph which he was to
effect, in the subjugation of Satan, proves that he was to be a divine
person. In the great conflict between good and evil, between the
kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, between Christ and
Belial, between God and Satan, he that triumphs over Satan, is, and
can be nothing less than divine. In the earliest books of Scripture,
even in Genesis, we have therefore clear intimations of two great
truths; first, that there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead;
and secondly, that one of those persons is specially concerned in the
salvation of men, -- in their guidance, government, instruction, and
ultimate deliverance from all the evils of their apostasy. The
language employed in the record of the creation of man, "Let us make
man, in our image, after our likeness," admits of no satisfactory
explanation other than that furnished by the doctrine of the Trinity
(Hodge v 1 p 483)

---

1. I worked more on my latest database project and made progress. I stayed until 6 p.m. to wrap up today's objectives
   
2. Our Adobe Reader 8 replacement of Reader 7 package passed UAT.
   
3. Kathee worked until 7 and is taking the bus home. Still not home and now near 8
   
4. I heated up leftovers
   
5. I called my Mother and chatted.
   
6. Now watching a little TV waiting for Kathee
   

Rules of Interpretation

Rules of Interpretation

A worthwhile read from the President of the Minnesota Baptist Association

Excerpt:

The Bible must be interpreted to be understood in order to be proclaimed. The simplest Hermeneutical statement is that theology must result from a Grammatico/Historical/Cultural interpretation. The application of the rules of biblical interpretation is known as exegesis.

Exegesis; the application of the laws of interpretation to arrive at the exact concept or idea God intends to convey. (Exegesis makes an analysis. Theology correlates these analyses. Exegesis relates the meanings of text. Theology interrelates those meanings.)

Roe v Wade ... 34 years

CLA Email Alert

News from the front lines of the fight to preserve religious liberty in America, the CLA Email Alert is a free service of the Christian Law Association.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day

The Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortion in America, was handed down 34 years ago--in 1973. That decision has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 48 million unborn babies in America since that time. To put that number in context, the estimated population of the state of California, the largest state, in 2005 was about 36 million; and the population of Pennsylvania, the sixth largest state, was about 12 million. The effect of abortion in America, therefore, has been to symbolically wipe out the entire combined populations of the states of California and Pennsylvania.

This year’s March for Life in Washington, D.C., being held today, centers around protection of the equal right to life for every human being. The call is for no exceptions and no compromises. The theme is intended to reflect the deep concern of pro-life Americans, not only for abortion, but also for euthanasia and embryonic stem-cell research.

In proclaiming yesterday, Sunday , January 21, as “National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007,” President Bush issued the following proclamation :

America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth. National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being.

Among the most basic duties of Government is to defend the unalienable right to life, and my Administration is committed to protecting our society's most vulnerable members. We are vigorously promoting parental notification laws, adoption, abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, and the vital work of faith-based groups. Through the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002," the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003," and the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004," we are helping to make our country a more hopeful place.

One of our society's challenges today is to harness the power of science to ease human suffering without sanctioning practices that violate the dignity of human life. With the right policies, we can continue to achieve scientific progress while living up to our ethical and moral responsibilities.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted, or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected.

Mankind was made in the image of God, and all life is precious to Him. CLA attorneys work daily to keep Christians informed of their rights, the most basic being the right to life. Our nation’s founders recognized this when they affirmed those famous words in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Our founders believed that the first and most evident God-given right was that all-important Right to Life. We as Christians should endeavor to uphold the Biblical values that God Himself established, especially for those who cannot defend themselves.

Christian Law Association handles cases every day which involve our most basic rights. Each year, it seems as though Christians and Christian values are being attacked more than ever before. Yet, because of the prayers of God’s people, the Lord continues to bless us with many victories. Only in Heaven will we learn the true impact which prayer has had on our cases and this nation.

The unhappiest day of the year

I'm feeling great today! The key to joy is to know Christ and live for Him!

Blue Monday: The unhappiest day of the year

Unpaid Christmas bills, nasty weather, and failed New Year's resolutions combine to make January 22 the gloomiest in the calendar.

Dr Cliff Arnall, a Cardiff University psychologist, devised the formula that shows today is the most depressing.

His equation takes into account six factors: weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action.

Taken together they pinpoint today as 'Blue Monday'.

The Divinity of Christ

The doctrine of redemption is the distinguishing doctrine of the Bible. The person and work of the Redeemer is therefore the great theme of the sacred writers. From the nature of the work which He was to accomplish, it was necessary that He should be at once God and man. He must participate in the nature of those whom He came to redeem; and have power to subdue all evil, and dignity to give value to his obedience and sufferings. From the beginning to the end, therefore, of the sacred volume, from Genesis to Revelation, a Godman Redeemer is held up as the object of supreme reverence, love, and confidence to the perishing children of men. It is absolutely impossible to present a tithe of the evidence which the Scriptures contain of the truth of this doctrine. It is to the Bible what the soul is to the body -- its living and all-pervading principle, without which the Scriptures are a cold, lifeless system of history and moral precepts. It seems, therefore, to be a work of supererogation to prove to Christians the divinity of their Redeemer. It is like proving the sun to be the source of light and heat to the system of which it is the centre. Still as there are men, professing to be Christians, who deny this doctrine, as there have been, and still are men, who make the sun a mere satellite of the earth, it is necessary that a part at least of the evidence by which this great truth is proved should be presented, and should be at command to resist the gainsayers. (Hodge v 1 p 483)

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1. I presented to my manager what I had programmed on Friday and he was pleased.
   
2. Kathee and I commencing Leviticus tonight. It's easy to get bogged down in Leviticus, but at 2 chapters a night, we will be through it in 2 weeks.
   

The Trinity - Progressive Revelation

1. The progressive character of divine revelation is recognized in
   relation to all the great doctrines of the Bible. One of the strongest
   arguments for the divine origin of the Scriptures is the organic
   relation of its several parts. They comprise more than sixty books
   written by different men in different ages, and yet they form one
   whole; not by mere external historical relations, nor in virtue of the
   general identity of the subjects of which they treat. but by their
   internal organic development. All that is in a full-grown tree was
   potentially in the seed. All that we find unfolded in the fulness of
   the gospel lies in a rudimental form in the earliest books of the
   Bible. What at first is only obscurely intimated is gradually unfolded
   in subsequent parts of the sacred volume, until the truth is revealed
   in its fulness. This is true of the doctrines of redemption; of the
   person and work of the Messiah, the promised seed of the woman; of the
   nature and office of the Holy Spirit; and of a future state beyond the
   grave. And this is specially true of the doctrine of the Trinity. Even
   in the book of Genesis there are intimations of the doctrine which
   receive their true interpretation in later revelations. That the names
   of God are in the plural form; that the personal pronouns are often in
   the first person plural ("Let us make man in our image"); that the
   form of benediction is threefold, and other facts of like nature, may
   be explained in different ways. But when it becomes plain, from the
   progress of the revelation, that there are three persons in the
   Godhead, then such forms of expression can hardly fail to be
   recognized as having their foundation in that great truth.
   
2. Much more important, however, is the fact, that not only in
   Genesis, but also in all the early books of Scripture, we find a
   distinction made between Jehovah and the angel of Jehovah, who himself
   is God, to whom all divine titles are given, and divine worship is
   rendered. As the revelation is unfolded, such distinction becomes more
   and more manifest. This messenger of God it called the word, the
   wisdom, the Son of God. His personality and divinity are clearly
   revealed. He is of old, even from everlasting, the Mighty God, the
   Adonai, the Lord of David, Jehovah our Righteousness, who was to be
   born of a virgin, and bear the sins of many.
   
3. In like manner, even in the first chapter of Genesis, the Spirit of
   God is represented as the source of all intelligence, order, and life
   in the created universe; and in the following books of the Old
   Testament He is represented as inspiring the prophets, giving wisdom,
   strength, and goodness to statesmen and warriors, and to the people of
   God. This Spirit is not an agency, but an agent, who teaches and
   selects; who can be sinned against and grieved; and who, in the New
   Testament, is unmistakably revealed as a distinct person. When John
   the Baptist appeared, we find him speaking of the Holy Spirit as of a
   person with whom his countrymen were familiar, as an object of divine
   worship and the giver of saving blessings. Our divine Lord also takes
   this truth for granted, and promised to send the Spirit, as a
   Paraclete, to take his place; to instruct, comfort, and strengthen
   them, whom they were to receive and obey. Thus, without any violent
   transition, the earliest revelations of this mystery were gradually
   unfolded, until the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, appears in
   the New Testament as the universally recognized God of all believers.
   

Hodge v 1 p 446-ff.

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Sunday morning at 4th

1. Light fluffy snow ... roads a little slippery
   
2. Pastor back from India & Singapore
   
3. Message from Romans 12:11, "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord"
   
4. Interesting comment on "fervent in spirit": Pastor: "enflamed by the Holy Spirit"
   
5. Doug DoLittle has taken a turn for the worse
   

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1. Kathee and Roger made hamburgers
   
2. Kathee writing final employee review
   
3. I intend to watch football this afternoon
   
4. Roger is studying
   

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Limited vs. Unlimited Atonement

The Trinity

The form in which this doctrine lies in the Bible, and in which it
enters into the faith of the Church universal, includes substantially
the following particulars.

1. There is one only living and true God, or divine Being. The
   religion of the Bible stands opposed not only to Atheism, but to all
   forms of polytheism. The Scriptures everywhere assert that Jehovah
   alone is God. (Deut. vi. 4.) "The Lord our God is one Lord." "I am the
   first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God." (Is. xliv.
   6.) "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well." (James
   ii. 19.) The Decalogue, which is the foundation of the moral and
   religious code of Christianity, as well as of Judaism, has as its
   first and greatest commandment., "Thou shalt have no other God before
   me." No doctrine, therefore, can possibly be true which contradicts
   this primary truth of natural as well as of revealed religion.
   
2. In the Bible all divine titles and attributes are ascribed equally
   to the Father, Son, and Spirit. The same divine worship is rendered to
   them. The one is as much the object of adoration, love, confidence,
   and devotion as the other. It is not more evident that the Father is
   God, than that the Son is God; nor is the deity of the Father and Son
   more clearly revealed than that of the Spirit.
   
3. The terms Father, Son, and Spirit do not express different
   relations of God to his creatures. They are not analogous to the terms
   Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, which do express such relations.
   The Scriptural facts are, (a.) The Father says I; the Son says I; the
   Spirit says I. (b.) The Father says Thou to the Son, and the Son says
   Thou to the Father; and in like manner the Father and the Son use the
   pronouns He and Him in reference to the Spirit. (c.) The Father loves
   the Son; the Son loves the Father; the Spirit testifies of the Son.
   The Father, Son, and Spirit are severally subject and object. They act
   and are acted upon, or are the objects of action. Nothing is added to
   these facts when it is said that the Father, Son, and Spirit are
   distinct persons; for a person is an intelligent subject who can say
   I, who can be addressed as Thou, and who can act and can be the object
   of action. The summation of the above facts is expressed in the
   proposition, The one divine. Being subsists in three persons, Father,
   Son, and Spirit. This proposition adds nothing to the facts
   themselves; for the facts are, (1.) That there is one divine Being.
   (2.) The Father, Son, and Spirit are divine. (3.) The Father, Son, and
   Spirit are, in the sense just stated, distinct persons. (4.)
   Attributes being inseparable from substance, the Scriptures, in saying
   that the Father, Son, and Spirit possess the same attributes, say they
   are the same in substance; and, if the same in substance, they are
   equal in power and glory.
   
4. Notwithstanding that the Father, Son, and Spirit are the same in
   substance, and equal in power and glory, it is no less true according
   to the Scriptures, (a.) That the Father is first, the Son second, and
   the Spirit third. (b.) The Son is of the Father (ek theou, the logos,
   eikon, apaugasma, tou theou); and the Spirit is of the Father and of
   the Son. (c.) The Father sends the Son, and the Father and Son send
   the Spirit. (d.) The Father operates through the Son, and the Father
   and Son operate through the Spirit. The converse of these statements
   is never found. The Son is never said to send the Father, nor to
   operate through Him nor is the Spirit ever said to send the Father, or
   the Son, or to operate through them. The facts contained in this
   paragraph are summed up in the proposition: In the Holy Trinity there
   is a subordination of the Persons as to the mode of subsistence and
   operation. This proposition again adds nothing to the facts
   themselves.
   
5. According to the Scriptures, the Father created the world, the Son
   created the world, and the Spirit created the world. The Father
   preserves all things; the Son upholds all things; and the Spirit is
   the source of all life. These facts are expressed by saying that the
   persons of the Trinity concur in all acts ad extra. Nevertheless there
   are some acts which are predominantly referred to the Father, others
   to the Son, and others to the Spirit. The Father creates, elects, and
   calls; the Son redeems; and the Spirit sanctifies. And, on the other
   hand, there are certain acts, or conditions, predicated of one person
   of the Trinity, which are never predicated of either of the others.
   Thus, generation belongs exclusively to the Father, filiation to the
   Son, and procession to he Spirit. This is the form in which the
   doctrine of the Trinity lies in the Bible. The above statement
   involves no philosophical element. It is simply an arrangement of the
   clearly revealed facts bearing on this subject. This is the form in
   which the doctrine has always entered into the faith of the Church, as
   a part of its religious convictions and experience.
   

Hodge v 1. p 442 - ff

Shields of the Trinity images

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1. Kathee and I had an errand this morning that pertained to an organization that I serve (on the board). I had to get my name on as signer on their accounts. Turns out that there was no officer at the bank branch (in a grocery store) and so we could not complete this. I thought it was very poor service but its not my bank
   
2. We looked at the garage door and the electronic eye is aligned ok. The garage door functioned ok today so maybe the problem related to the extreme cold we had earlier in the week?
   
3. I got Turbo Tax loaded up on my pc and Roger did his taxes.
   
4. Kathee had a great dinner (both boys there) ... shrimp cocktail, steak, squash, potatoes, salad. Very nice.
   
5. Roger and Kathy came by for coffee at 7
   

All round nice day!

Tomorrow: worship at 4th.

Climate Change thought police

Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics

Excerpt:

The Weather Channel’s most prominent climatologist is advocating that broadcast meteorologists be stripped of their scientific certification if they express skepticism about predictions of manmade catastrophic global warming. This latest call to silence skeptics follows a year (2006) in which skeptics were compared to "Holocaust Deniers" and Nuremberg-style war crimes trials were advocated by several climate alarmists.


The Weather Channel’s (TWC) Heidi Cullen, who hosts the weekly global warming program "The Climate Code," is advocating that the American Meteorological Society (AMS) revoke their "Seal of Approval" for any television weatherman who expresses skepticism that human activity is creating a climate catastrophe.

"If a meteorologist can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change, then maybe the AMS shouldn't give them a Seal of Approval. Clearly, the AMS doesn't agree that global warming can be blamed on cyclical weather patterns," Cullen wrote in her December 21 weblog on the Weather Channel Website




AMS CERTIFIED WEATHERMAN STRIKES BACK AT WEATHER CHANNEL CALL FOR DECERTIFICATION

Excerpt:

Well, well. Some “climate expert” on “The Weather Channel” wants to take away AMS certification from those of us who believe the recent “global warming” is a natural process. So much for “tolerance”, huh?

I have been in operational meteorology since 1978, and I know dozens and dozens of broadcast meteorologists all over the country. Our big job: look at a large volume of raw data and come up with a public weather forecast for the next seven days. I do not know of a single TV meteorologist who buys into the man-made global warming hype. I know there must be a few out there, but I can’t find them. Here are the basic facts you need to know:

*Billions of dollars of grant money is flowing into the pockets of those on the man-made global warming bandwagon. No man-made global warming, the money dries up. This is big money, make no mistake about it. Always follow the money trail and it tells a story. Even the lady at “The Weather Channel” probably gets paid good money for a prime time show on climate change. No man-made global warming, no show, and no salary. Nothing wrong with making money at all, but when money becomes the motivation for a scientific conclusion, then we have a problem. For many, global warming is a big cash grab.

*The climate of this planet has been changing since God put the planet here. It will always change, and the warming in the last 10 years is not much difference than the warming we saw in the 1930s and other decades. And, lets not forget we are at the end of the ice age in which ice covered most of North America and Northern Europe.


And now for the Democrats ..... ta da!

Pelosi Creates Global Warming Committee

"I promise to do everything in my power to achieve energy independence ... and to stop global warming," Pelosi said.

Translation: We will raise your taxes!