spiphywarfare

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  • Curiousity

    What are you curious about?

    I was given th is writing prompt by my blog software. Here we go.

    I’m curious to know what goes on in the halls of the White House under this administration. I’ve never thought of that much before. I mean, of course I did once in a while. What American wouldn’t. This is something different. Our president can’t speak or think consistently, and “he” puts cross-dressers in charge of vital national interests.

    Currently, I am also curious about how the bubbling pot of ginger, lemon, and sugar is going to turn out after I pitch a batch of wine yeast into it (after the bubbling has ceased). Hopefully, after a week or so, I’ll have something tasty.

    I’m curious to hear someone who adheres to scientism as their faith explain how butterflies and their transformation evolved. Did they evolve from caterpillars? Where did the egg come from if there was no butterfly to lay it? How does dissolving into a soup, leaving yourself defenseless, and reconstituting yourself into a creature that can’t really eat enhance your ability to survive?

    I’m curious who will read this and if they have placed their faith in the One True God.

  • Wicked People

    I’m going to toss this out there with the full realization that it may make some people uncomfortable. Much of modern evangelicism wants to talk about only God’s grace and his love. Both are real. Both are amazing beyond our belief. Should he withdraw either of them, we have no hope of salvation. Sadly, the spotlight is often so focused on grace and love that other aspects of spiritual reality lie off-stage, forgotten in total darkness.

    One of those forgotten realities deals with wicked people. Psalm 11:5 (ESV) says:

    The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

    God can’t hate non-existent things. He hates the wicked (Psalm 5:5). Amidst the grace, love, and generally get your feels going talk, it seems we sometimes forget this fact:

    THERE. ARE. WICKED. PEOPLE.
    You probably know some and hesitate to recognize them as such. I say that because, in my fifty+ years, I have only called one, single, solitary person on the that I’ve known personally as “wicked,” and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve done.

    I’ve recently realized I should be open to recognizing folks as wicked – more often and much more quickly. Not doing so leads to harm as much, if not more, than calling too many people wicked too quickly.

  • Trust the Food Science

    Trust the Food Science

    If you are like me, you are old enough to remember when margarine invaded everybody’s homes because butter was bad for you. The tubs of synthetic fats with artificial flavoring never seemed right to me. Same with the egg. I remember as a child when eggs were cut back, not eliminated, from my home because “scientist” said they were too unhealthy due to cholesterol.

    Today, sites like WebMD will inform you that butter has potential cons but also that it can lower chances of cancer, help you eyes, strengthen your bones, and improve your skin. You can even find the American Heart Association now saying that an egg a days can keep the doctor away!

    If you’re not old enough to remember those earlier days, most will have heard the message, “Meat bad.” Everything from it builds up in your gut, to it’s mean and ruins the environment. There is a culture war on meat like so many other things.

    Enter the University of Adelaide from Australia. They have released a study, “Total Meat Intake is Associated with Life Expectancy: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis of 175 Contemporary Populations”​1​ which claims to have been based on “approximately 90% of the worlds population” (p.1834). That’s a big study! I don’t recall reading or hearing any study with a population that large on any topic.

    This study takes a direct shot at what is widely assumed as accepted fact. That is, that vegetarian diets are healthier. Indeed, the authors state, “the suggestion that vegetarian diet improves longevity is questionable” (p. 1834). Rather, they come to the opposite finding, specifically, “meat intake is positively associated with life expectancy at a national level” (p. 1847). It is worth noting they defined meat in accordance with the definition used by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization which:

    is defined as “flesh of animals used for food”, and total meat includes beef and veal, buffalo meat, pig meat, mutton and lamb, goat meat, horse meat, chicken meat, goose meat, duck meat, turkey meat, rabbit meat, game meat and offal.

    (p. 1835)

    They found countries “with greater meat intake have greater life expectancy and lower child mortality” (p. 1843). This news won’t come as a shock to many who approach food in a counter-cultural understanding. If you’ve previously understood that it’s better to eat food as God intended, then this won’t come as any surprise.

    This study is now over a year old, and the push to move away from meats and to life expectancy reducing diets continues. Why is that?

    1. 1.
      You W, Henneberg R, Saniotis A, Ge Y, Henneberg M. Total Meat Intake is Associated with Life Expectancy: A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis of 175 Contemporary Populations. IJGM. Published online February 2022:1833-1851. doi:10.2147/ijgm.s333004

  • Unity, CN, and Body Parts Everywhere

    I sit here writing this wondering if it will actually ever get published or will it end up being another one of those countless posts that remains eternally in the draft stage. However, this has been weighing on me for several weeks now and writing is a form of catharsis for me, even if it is never shared. I wrote a little while back about whether or not I consider myself a Christian Nationalist. The answer there, as here, is, “it depends.” I don’t denounce it, because I see a time coming when the world will make it synonymous with “Christian” whether you like it or not. When that time comes, I don’t want to look back and have set myself up to have my own words used against me.

    That, however, is not the point of this post. In fact, while Christian Nationalism (CN) is what this article is about, it is, in reality, a secondary subject. The point of this post is that it seems to me those Christian brothers opposed to using the title “Christian Nationalism” seem to ignore large swaths of scripture based on what I’ve seen. Disclaimer, as my feelings about CN are not the point, neither is the point of this post to be a gotcha with receipts against specified people yet. The sole point is to remind brothers of scripture and unity.

    It occurred to me that perhaps the best start for this piece might be, “I, Derek, an unworthy believer but by grace a follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Church on Twitter/X, may grace and peace abound with, and between, each of you for the glory of God the Father.” However, it took very little thought to realize that would come across poorly to some. Nevertheless, the Church on Twitter is what has inspired this based on the division that is everywhere.

    I think it only fair here that I briefly comment on The Statement on Christian Nationalism, a draft statement that is the result of efforts by some supporters to come to a working definition of CN. The Statement has 20 articles. I’ll briefly put a list of them below and whether or not I support them:

    • Introduction – agree
    • Article I – agree
    • Article II – mostly agree
    • Article III – agree
    • Article IV – agree
    • Article V – agree but have some question on the last sentence in paragraph two
    • Article VI – mostly agree
    • Article VII – agree
    • Article VII – mostly agree
    • Article IX – Mostly agree (not sure what Psalm 104:15 is supporting there TBH)
    • Article X – agree
    • Article XI – Kind of agree. Too few words dedicated to something complex and important.
    • Article XII – agree
    • Article XIII – could agree depending on what “instruct” looks like
    • Article XIV – agreee
    • Article XV – agree
    • Article XVI – agree
    • Article XVII – agree
    • Article XVIII – agree but think “holy war” should be clarified as not referring to the spiritual realm
    • Article XIX – agree
    • Article XX – mostly agree

    The Actual Point

    God’s Word is full of admonitions to love other believers. It is full of warnings to us that we’re not nearly as smart or wise as we think we are. It provides cautionary words lest we wreck ourselves in our pride.

    Judging Believers & Unity

    We are called to be discerning and to call out those in unrepentant sin (Matthew 18:15-17) and to do it publicly if necessary. We are also to disassociate from those preaching “another gospel” (Galatians 1:8). But that is not the end of it. We’re instructed on other ways to relate to brothers in Christ.

    James 4:11-12 carries an admonition to not speak against on another. It also carries a pretty weighty warning that by judging a fellow believer, you are judging the law. That particular role is reserved for God alone. “Who are you to judge your neighbor” the writer asks. As I said, this is mainly directed to the Twitterverse but any time you start a Tweet with, “Oh, he’s a brother in Christ but…” I might suggest giving yourself some extra time to consider whether or not you are about to place yourself in the role of God.

    It’s a terrible look when one boldly declares some self-assured judgment on a brother whose faith is carried out soundly but differently than theirs. “Who are you?” We are asked this again in Romans 14:4. Who are you to judge another man’s servant? God is the judge, and He will determine whether a believer stands or falls. No number of degrees or initials beyond your name can ever qualify you to make that judgment. If it’s not another gospel but rather an implementation you’re uncomfortable with, reconsider public criticism.

    Body Parts Everywhere

    “For just as in one body we have many members” in Romans 12:4 should be a pretty good clue that your function in the kingdom may be much different than mine. If all you knew was the function of an eyeball and were shown a large toe for the first time, you’d have little useful to say about it and you certainly could not understand it. Why would the church be different?

    1 Corinthians 12:4-6 tells us there are different gifts, different ministries, and different results. Why should I expect my brother living out his obedience to Christ to look like mine? Perhaps, some of those who are already anti-Christian Nationalism are in fact, wrong. They could be right as far as I know. However, it’s obvious to me that they’re frequently attacking a version of it that is not the version espoused by the person on the receiving end of that attack. The wise thing to do when you do not understand something may be to hold your tongue, observe, and learn. There is, honestly, an even better reason not to attack CN advocates.

    Fighting with God

    If you’re opposed to CN, and you are attacking people who you also call brother (I’ve seen it), then please consider Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Our love for one another serves the purpose of informing the world that Jesus was sent by God. It’s an essential belief. Calling someone brother while calling them dangerous, wolves, or racist with no supporting information other than they claim the title of Christian Nationalist is not loving.

    I find myself thinking a lot about Gamalial who had to warn the rest of the right-thinking, acceptable religious elite of his day that if they are not careful, they may find themselves fighting with God. Every time I see someone condemn a CN supporter and they offer no scriptural basis or worse, they misrepresent them, I can’t help but wonder if they are fighting God. Woe to those people if it turns out that the forming CN movement is one that God intended.

    The fact that there were Nazis should not be used to condemn every person ever with German heritage. The fact that Westboro Baptist Church exists should not be used to condemn every church with the name Baptist on it. Likewise, the fact that some people under CN may have held objectionable views should not be used to condemn everything with CN on it.

  • I ate sardines with this!

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    I ate sardines with this!
    Organic pasta made at home

  • How Very Arrogant

    Quote from an article at American Reformer. Is Rick Warren really this arrogant? Am I overreacting?

    Warren has made it plain he considers himself more of an asset to his denomination than his denomination is to him. “We don’t need the Southern Baptist Convention,” he recently told Christianity Today’s editor-in-chief, Russell Moore, during a podcast interview. “They need the 6000 Purpose-Driven churches that are in our fellowship.”

    I mean, I agree that Christ’s Church does not need the SBC. It doesn’t “Purpose Driven Churches” either.

    Christ is King.

    Not the SBC. Not Rick Warren.

  • Feds Doing Fed Things

    The U.S. Capitol police stopped children from singing the National Anthem in the Capitol Building because it might offend someone.

    You can hear them sing, “star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave” before they are stopped. I figured I would post the lyrics to anthem here. That way, people can see what was so offensive that agents of the United State government stopped these children from singing one final line of the United States National Anthem in the United States Capitol. While I’d suggest reading all the words of this more than 200-year-old poem, if you want to skip straight to the offensive part, click here.

    The Star-Spangled Banner

    O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
    What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
    Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
    O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
    And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
    Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
    O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

    On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
    Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
    What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
    As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
    Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
    In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
    ’Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

    And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
    That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
    A home and a Country should leave us no more?
    Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
    No refuge could save the hireling and slave
    From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
    And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

    O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
    Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
    Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
    Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
    Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
    And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
    And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

  • NOT John 14:16

    If you love Me, you will keep My commandments, unless you find yourself working for the government in the 21st Century. Then be private in your faith and support Pagan laws.

    #NotTheBible

  • Joining a Battle

    I can’t help but think that for years, many in this country viewed “getting saved” as something used on the path to Maslow’s Self-Actualization. Something like a box to be checked to truly experience the American dream and get what we want out of this life.

    Maybe that’s why church membership is dropping and people mock Christianity. Christianity is not a group of people who say a specific set of words that cosmic forces must obey in order to secure an eternal resting place. It isn’t going to a church to see what the church can add to your life. It isn’t using God to give you material blessings and health.

    “Ask Jesus into your heart and voila, you’re done.”
    This ain’t it.

    Christianity, rightly viewed, is loving Jesus so much that you are willing to step into the most vicious, consequential, and longest-running war in all creation. Deciding to obey the commands of Christ, which is what those who love him do; could be, and likely will be, the costliest decision any person can ever make.

    Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘A man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

    Matthew 10:34-39

    A sword is a weapon of warfare. Peace, even in your own home life, is not the goal of following Christ or even an assurance Jesus gives us. Rather, he was clear that we have to love him more than anything and lose our life for his sake if we are to truly find our own lives. You have to lose your life.

    For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to make fun of him. They will say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’ Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000? If he cannot succeed, he will send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions.

    Luke 14:28-33

    Want to make Christianity into a source of mockery? Don’t tell people what it truly costs. Get someone involved and proclaim them to be believers then watch as they return to their old ways or drop out. Tell them, “Ask Jesus into your heart and voila, you’re done.” This ain’t it.

    Then, watch them “deconstruct” from a faith they never truly held because they weren’t ready, and they didn’t want to pay the true price of following Christ. He told us that even when we do well, we are to consider ourselves as worthless slaves. That’s a far cry from “God wants you to have your best life now” and other sorts of easy believism.

    And what does it truly cost? A dedication to Jesus Christ that could, though it doesn’t always, cost you Every. Single. Thing. In your life. If it does, and if you are called to pay that price, you have to do it. If it does, I pray God grants you strength, comfort, and joy as you endure suffering for His glory!

  • Low Carb? Ketovore?

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    Low Carb? Ketovore?
    Just some of the foods I've been eating this year