Rush Limbaugh: RIP

 The news of Rush Limbaugh's passing yesterday was the end of an incredible era that greatly shaped my view of politics and place in the conservative movement. I was saddened to hear of Rush's passing because of how much I appreciated his steadfast dedication to the greatness of the American experiment and liberties endowed by God. Admittedly, there were seasons I would listen more than others, especially during Obama's two terms, because conservative radio is always better during liberal tenures than GOP. HA! Yet I digress, Rush was not a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination. Due to chronic back issues he became addicted to oxycodone and ended up in rehab. He was married four times, pushed boundaries, and rarely apologized; yet his reputation as a generous, kind human being was unquestionable, especially in private. Rush introduced me to the great minds of conservatism William F. Buckley Jr., Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, and Walter Williams just to name a few, and fellow conservative radio voices like Mark Levin and Mark Steyn. He was an entertainer, a provocateur, and a master of the conservative mind. His talent, "on loan from God" as he loved to say at the beginning of every broadcast,  was undeniable by even his greatest antagonists. He essentially started the modern alternative media model all by himself, while keeping the radio industry going seemingly all alone as well. He was the Great Maha Rushie and I was a proud Dittohead for many years. I pray that Rush's confessed faith in Jesus Christ was genuine and true, and that his talent was humbly returned to his Maker yesterday morning. I am incredibly thankful for Rush being a Happy Warrior, who could laugh at himself as well as others. Rush's death is a loss to all, even to those who despised his thoughts and opinions. Rest in peace, Rush. 

My Cup Overflows (Psalm 23 part 3)

 

From the Pastor:

Psalm 23:5-6

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Forever.

 

So far in this Psalm David has taken us from green pastures with still waters to deep, dark, and deadly valleys to now a banquet table overflowing with goodness and mercy from the Lord. This Psalm truly does a remarkable job of taking the believer through the experience of coming to our Great Shepherd in saving faith, navigating the realities and difficulties of a fallen world, to worship and joy in the presence of our Savior. Nothing from the believer’s experience seems to be left out, and this is important for us to see and understand especially as we arrive at the end of Psalm 23.

David himself had gone through many dark valleys, and with the Lord’s guidance, come out the other side worshipping God for His care and protection. Whether it was an encounter with a lion or bear, his inspiring acceptance of Goliath of Gath’s challenge, his struggles with King Saul, his fights with the Philistines, or even his own personal and family struggles; David was all too familiar with dangers that lurked in dark valleys. However, through these experiences David also knew very well the exhilaration and joy that came after these times that drew him closer to the Lord and led him to worship Him with overflowing joy and gratefulness. David knew in every circumstance that it was God who had delivered him. He knew that it was only by the Lord that he had any success, and Jesse’s baby boy was sure to give God all the credit for His faithfulness to this simple shepherd boy.

We do not know with any full certainty which of the many events in David’s life might have led him to pen this particular Psalm. Whether it was the encounter with the giant of the Philistines or one of the many others, but undoubtedly, he has come through and is enjoying a celebration even in the presence of those who had doubted, despised, and rejected David. In this last section of the Psalm David is seated at a banquet table, where it appears, he is the guest of honor. Seated there among all the other guests, it is David to whom the host comes and anoints him with oil, a sign of blessing and honor in eastern cultures. Much like Jesus would be anointed with oil, not by the host of a feast mind you, but instead by a woman who had experienced the saving grace of the Lord as was glad to not only anoint his head with expensive oil, but his entire body all the way to his feet. Likewise, David paints a picture of being so greatly honored and reminds fellow believers that they have been anointed with God’s Holy Spirit, poured out by the Master on us, as a sign of His love and grace. This anointing also covers us from head to toe, and the sweet-smelling aroma of God’s Spirit will never fade from His children.

There in front of David is set a cup which he describes as overflowing. Picture the host now pouring wine into a fine goblet. He is displaying his extravagance to his honored guest. He wants his guest to know that all that he has is his and even more. No matter how expensive the wine might be, it is nothing for the host to lavish it upon his guests. Their cups overflow in abundance as a sign of the overflowing love and care the Master has for each and every one us. There is no limit to the love of our great Heavenly Father. What he pours out upon His children He does so in great abundance. There is no vessel that can hold his mercy and grace. There is no limit to His love.

David knows that now, no matter what he may encounter, the goodness and mercy of the Lord will be with him always. Even if there are more dark valleys, the Lord will be with him. Even in his own errors and sins, the grace and kindness of the Lord are close at hand. “All the days” of his life David knows the outpouring of the Lord will be upon him, and that ultimately this will lead to David’s eternal dwelling in the presence of Lord forever. Oh believer, take heart that our worship here is but preparation for the eternal worship we will enjoy in the presence of the Lord forever. Yet, non-believer, realize that rejecting the Good Shepherd will leave you unprotected, uncovered, empty-handed on that last day. There will be no joy everlasting, but instead only pain and sorrow. Turn now to the Great Shepherd. Come to Christ and know the fullness of forgiveness. Know the greatness of His overflowing love and mercy. Know that one day we will dwell in houses not made by human hands, but in a place prepared by God the Father for the inheritance of His children. And there we will live forever and ever without end.

 

The Age of Sophistry

 According to Meriam-Webster's dictionary sophistry is "subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation." In other words it when a person takes a truth but manipulates its claim to advance a falsehood. An example from our current history would be something like, "Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner, therefore he was an immoral man in all areas of life." The truth stated is that Jefferson was a slave owner, however the conclusion that "therefore he was an immoral man..." is deceptive reasoning based on that fact. Jefferson may have been immoral in other areas of his life, but one cannot make the claim that he was immoral all the way through on the basis of his view on slavery alone. Why not? Because the issue of slavery in his day was not viewed as the way it is in our day, first of all. But also because, it stands to reason that just because a person may have moral failures in one area of life does not mean that they have not contributed greatly to society or the common good in other areas. As a matter of fact, as I have written in other spaces, even the Bible is filled with stories of men who sinned greatly at times, but were still used of God in mighty ways for the good of His people and for the progressing of redemptive history. Yet the use of logical fallacies and the claims of moral superiority based on the manipulation of facts has only increased in our present age. 

We live in an age of relativism. Whether it is Truth that is described as relative or morality, the intelligentsia of our day want to keep the ability of "knowing" loose and vague. This is most obviously recognized with the idea of gender fluidity, fluctuating sexual preferences, and historical revisionism that is taking place all of the country. One story sums this up pretty well when you simply look at the actress Ellen Page who recently came out as transgender. Before she has come to that realization she had come out a few years earlier as lesbian, and now she was coming out as transgendered. Since coming out as a man, she has now divorced her "wife", but without an explanation so far as to what this might mean for her sexual identity. This story also relates to historical revisionism because as soon as Ellen decided she was now Elliott, all mentioning of her past changed to support that claim. No longer had it been Ellen Page, star of the movie Juno, now it was Elliott Page. However, logically and historically it was not Elliott Page who has stared in Juno, it had in fact been Ellen. Confused? Of course! 

Yet, when truth or events do not align with those who control the narrative, suddenly things become a little more concrete. You must wear a mask if you want to stop the spread of Covid-19. You must bow the knee to the LGBTQ agenda. You must recognize the privileges that your color, gender, or economic background have afforded you. And you certainly cannot think for one second that our past election may not have been completely up to snuff or you certainly deserve to be cancelled from polite society! It is all sophistry! Illogical thinking leads to illogical behavior leads to illogical realities. The only thing one can be sure of today is that if you dare speak out on the inconsistencies and the irrational nature of the messaging today you will be pushed to the margins of public square. 

Those that practice such sophistication do so for the purpose of painting certain groups with a broad brush so that their voices no longer carry weight among the public discourse. Take for instance the awful riots at the Capitol on January 6th, although it was only a handful of people relative to the size of those gathered storming the Capitol building, it was later described as essentially everyone there, all Trump supporters, or even all Republicans that had engaged in the terrible activities of that day. Now, compare that to the events of the previous summer when protests turned to mob violence and riots nation wide. How where those events covered by the same media (CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, NY Times, and other leftward leaning outlets)? "Mostly peaceful protests..." Sophistry in action. 

From the pulling down of statues to the removal of names on buildings, all of the actions of the media (those mentioned above), mobs, and leftist have attempted to take one tiny shred of truth and turn it into something completely false. Take for instance the story that kicked off all of the summer riots, the death of George Floyd. No one defended the actions of the police officer that knelt on Floyd's neck till he died. No one pretending that his actions were acceptable, and yet even though everyone was agreed of what the truth presented lies, false information, and incomplete accounts of events flooded the airwaves and the internet. This could have been a moment of unity, and instead it was used as a weapon for divisiveness. This is what those that peddle in such behavior seek to do today. They want to appear wise, but in reality they are foolish. They may not see how wrongheaded and misguided they are because they are surrounded by voices, friends, and colleagues who serve only as a sounding board to reinforce such attitudes and behaviors, however the truth is much more objective than they even realize and pretty soon their folly will be made clear. 

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:22 "Professing to be wise, they became fools..." This is the fate of those who seek to use pieces of truth to perpetuate lies. Their folly is always evident to those who are truly committed to truth seeking. Nothing will be hidden from plain sight on that final day when all things are laid bare before the Almighty God of the universe. The very one to whom all truth is derived is from whom all falsehood flees. The fool will be found out, and how humiliating will it be for him when the God he has so vehemently denied proves to be real, but so does the truth he so desperately suppressed. On that day the age of Sophistry will come to a screeching halt. No more will people be deceived, the truth will out, and those who have denied its power and clarity will receive their just reward. 

The Valley of the Shadow of Death (23rd Psalm part 2)

From the Pastor:

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

In the hill country of Judah there were deep valleys known as “wadis”. These valleys were dried out river beds that were difficult to navigate not only because of their topography, but also because they were dark areas that let in little light. Due to this fact they became a place where dangerous people would lurk, or sometimes they would be a place for dangerous animals to lay in wait for unsuspecting prey. At other times sudden rains may lead to them becoming flashflood areas filling quickly with rushing water. None of these scenarios present us with a pretty picture of the valley David begins this next section of the Psalm with. Yet, this is the very point the Psalmist is trying to make.

Last week we saw how the Good Shepherd goes to great lengths to care for His sheep. The LORD nourishes His sheep with exactly what they need when they need it. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s love and tenderness for His children. However, verse four takes a turn to another very important reality of life in a fallen world. It is not all rainbows and rose gardens. Life in a fallen world can lead to danger and loss at any time. Whether problems come from natural disasters, acts of violence, or simply the results of bad decision making; our lives can change moment to moment in all of the situations. That fact has hit many of us very hard in this last year. This pandemic has been another reminder of the frailty of human life in this fallen world. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a) Perhaps, you did not need Covid-19 to remind you of that fact, yet for many it seems to have come for that very reason. We are not entitled to or guaranteed from God one more breath than what He has ordained for us. He has numbered our days from the end to the beginning, and all that He has ordained is right.

However, the purpose of the Psalmist in contrasting this hard reality to the joys of the previous scene are not to scare us, but to assure us that even in the dark times and in the dark valleys our LORD is with us. The Good Shepherd NEVER abandons His sheep. As a matter of fact, our Great Shepherd became the sacrificial lamb on behave of His sheep, suffered death, and defeated death through the resurrection so that they do not have to fear death. The Psalmist may not have had the fullness of the Gospel in view when he penned these words, but he trusted God enough to know that even in the hard times the Lord was with him. In David’s life he has faced bears, lions, and even a giant! Yet, he always trusted that the Lord was with him, shepherding him as David shepherded the sheep of his father’s flock. That is reality the Psalmist is pointing us towards.

No matter where we go in this world, if you are a child of God, the Good Shepherd is ALWAYS with you. In life and even in death the Lord is with you. You will not have to cross Jordan alone! You will not have to face any earthly tragedies alone. The Lord is always there to comfort and guide you every step of the way. His Word is there to nourish our souls and His Spirit is there to comfort us, just as the rod and staff of a shepherd guides and protects the sheep. Oh, believer, please be assured as you read this that God is with you. He will never leave or forsake you. He will never abandon you. He will walk with you through all of life’s valleys and He will bring you safely home in the end. I pray that you are comforted and strengthened by these words this week. God bless you and may His peace rest upon you. Amen.