Introduction: I was reading another Larry Woiwode book and the power of his argument again struck me due to its logic: “If values evolve from traditions and common sense, then when values start clashing, we need a judge or referee, as we do when we turn to a dictionary to define words. Otherwise any individual value is as valid as another. Without an outside guide we’re in Babel, where everybody is talking nonsense, because everybody is using words that have meaning only to themselves, and, as Einstein has pointed out, “It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the basic evil nature of man” (Woiwode, Essays on Literature and Culture, p. 34).  

Illustration: In our discipleship group with our church, I’m currently teaching through Matthew 12:22-32. This is one of the New Testament passages with some of most oft-referenced verses from the lips of Christ, especially about kingdoms divided against themselves, and what happens to them; and about either being with God or against Him (no middle ground); and about calling Christ demonic when He was/is the only fully good/holy person to ever live, etc. And it all got me thinking. The teaching Christ gives in these verses all centers on His upending and overturning the kingdoms of darkness that we sinners establish. And the way people respond to the truth of Christ reveals their nature and allegiance. They’re either for Christ or against Him; they’re either for good or for evil; they’re either humble before the truth or they gnash their teeth against truth. 

Text: In vv. 9-14 of Matthew 12, Christ healed a man with a withered hand. You’d think that would be a time for the Pharisees to rejoice, right? But what did they do? They kvetched about Sabbath extra-biblical oral traditions and work on the Jewish Sabbath. And v. 14 says, “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” See it? No middle ground. They hated the truth. They hated Christ. They hated the Holy One of Israel. Then in v. 24, after Christ had delivered a man from demon oppression, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being satanic, and of course Jesus once again rebuked them and their shoddy theology. 

Encouragement: What Woiwode was writing upon is the same fundamental issue Christ is teaching, namely, that it is the stony human heart that must be transformed by the Spirit of God in order to be in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of light, the kingdom of the holy. Otherwise, we remain sinners displaced from Eden, rebels erecting countless towers of Babel (Gen 11), and you see how that worked out.

You don’t have to check your mind to submit to the power and authority of God and His Word; you only have to check your pride, and that is a lesson it takes God’s Spirit to accomplish. 

First, Tom Nettles remains a consistent scholarly church historian and biographer. Currently I am profiting from his The Child Is Father of the Man: C.H. Spurgeon.

Second, and especially since another anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses arrives October 31st, 2024, I am reading Luther’s Commentary on Galatians. It is, like reading Spurgeon’s writing and preaching, invigorating. How? Because it reveals how vapid preaching is at most churches in our time. We are largely biblically illiterate. And many of our self-styled preachers fare no better.

When I read Luther, I see a mind and heart aflame with the greatness of God and His grace towards particular sinners who are to be redeemed. I see a man consumed by the power of Scripture. No spiritual TED Talks here; instead, it’s 100-proof law and gospel.

Third, A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. This is my first reading of this book. It reminds me so far of an effort towards Hemingway’s short stories about trout fishing in Michigan, but it falls far short. So far, it is okay.

CJ and I took to the woods, trails, overlooks, and more today. Perfect weather. Cerulean sky; small breeze; leaves beginning to change colors; uncrowded trails; friendly fellow hikers, etc. Purchased a couple of hoodies at a trailhead. Saw spectacular sights. Even had my heartrate quicken today as I almost stepped on one of the good snakes. Returned this evening; burned some fallen limbs out back. Three of us went out for subs this evening and saw a brother from church, and we all chatted for a bit. All in all, a very good day. Thankful. Below are some of the pictures from the day:

Below is just a simple picture from a tree that’s in our little town, but I love it. My old iPhone does not do it justice, but as we drove down the hills today into the city to grab sub sandwiches for supper, the way the evening sun hit the limbs, and the way the shadows fell upon the ground, I was once again in one of my little silent worship services I have wherein my soul cries out to the Lord who is beauty Himself and the Author of beauty, “Thank you for this. I see. And I am grateful.”

I was nearing the city after a very long drive on the interstate. Traffic had been horrible. Perhaps it was due to the waves of Floridians fleeing their state due to the terrors of Milton. And to think that the devastation of Helene is not even close to being appreciated or dealt with adequately, at least in terms of efficacy at relief and restoration. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, are unaccounted for in western North Carolina. But that is a different topic for a different day.

I had been driving for hours, but the interestates were jammed with fellow travelers.

As I neared the city, black smoke caught my eye, and I saw a wave of red brake lights washing towards me. I slowed down. Then I spotted the reason. A car had just caught fire. When I arrived on the scene, the car was already on the side of the interstate, roiling in flames. You would have thought the car had been made of kindling.

The smoke was a deep black; it reminded me of some of the scenes from the writer Dante’s epic. Much judgment in Dante is icy, but there’s also smoke and fire.

Suddenly I was arrested–convicted–for my angry attitude. I had been listening to podcasts and news for hours on the road, and had been stuck in traffic, growing more and more frustrated. I was growing more and more angry by the mile. I was crestfallen that my nation I serve as a soldier is borderless, that North Carolinians are offered $750 to rebuild their lives, but illegal aliens enter and are bused to hotels, that this administration writes $8 billion checks in support of Ukraine (with what end state, exactly?), that funding for fiscal year 2025 is on hold for the U.S. military, but somehow Congress continues to be paid just fine, their insurance is just fine, and sheeple may actually vote for open communists and oligarchs to continue taking America down and circle the drain of damnation, more concerned about pronouns and medical castration and DEI indoctrination than actually knowing history, hating communism for what it has always done, and will always do–steal, kill, and destroy?

I passed the car as it continued to succumb to the flames. I switched off the news and podcasts. I could not take it any longer; it was just more of the same. I switched to my music playlist. Suddenly the soulful sounds of Gregg Allman came on. I could feel myself loosen. The ABB was playing “Melissa.” And suddenly I was back to times I’d seen the Allman Brothers Band play it in concert, and my eyes looked in the rear view mirror to see the black smoke continue to rise on the perimeter of Atlanta, and I thought the imagery bespoke lessons of warning for a people rushing headlong into what they do not understand.

DeMar is both prescient and precise in his biblical diagnosis of impenitent sinners’ undoing:

Step 1: Suppression of the truth

Step 2: Intellectual futility

Step 3: Spiritual darkness

Step 4: Incredible stupidity

Step 5: Deification of man and nature

Step 6: Gross immorality

Step 7: Societal destruction

Step 8: Self-denial

The steps correspond to Romans 1:18, 21, 21, 22, 23, 24-28, 29-31, and 32 respectively.

Not sure what more it will take for sheeple to arise from slumber, but the enemy is not asleep, and is assuredly not afraid.

“Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage” (Charles River Editors, Ambrose Bierce: The Life and Mysterious Disappearance of the Famous American Author, ch. 2).

That, dear reader, is a truth bomb.

I finished up afternoon PT. I was sweaty but felt good. I still had a few moments before I had my next appointment. I decided to go through the car wash business where I have a membership. I pulled up to the little gate and waited for the arm to lift. It did, I pulled up to wait my turn to enter the wash. A couple of kids brushed the front and rear of my car with suds mops, and squirted my car with water, and my wheels began to be pulled into the wash.

A moment later I emerged at the other end of the tunnel of suds. I pulled to the vacuum hoses and got out to begin vacuuming my car’s interior. A smiling man walked over to me as I was grabbing the vacuum hose. He extended his hand.

“Sir, good afternoon. I just wanted to thank you for your service,” and he smiled and shook my hand.

“Thank you, brother,” I said. “You prior service?” I asked.

“No. My dad was. This was his last duty station, and he retired here. So I’ve been here my adult years. He was a crew chief on Chinooks in Vietnam.”

We talked and talked about Chinooks, about his dad’s career, and I felt as though we were becoming buddies straightaway, he was so genuine and open.

“I sold cars here for years, but I’ve been around the world with my dad’s career. I was born in Munich, Germany. My sister was born in Frankfurt. I never served, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you,” he said.

“Thank you, brother. That’s very kind. It’s been great ministry, and I too have spent a great deal of time abroad. I know Munchen well. Frankfurt, too,” I said.

“My name’s Mike,” he said, and shook my hand again. “If you ever need anything when you come through this car wash, you just ask for Mike, and I’ll take care of you.”

We agreed it was a deal, and I felt like two minutes of kindness and courtesy fell upon me like spiritual sunshine. As a friend of mine wrote recently, a bit of courtesy goes a long way.

And to Mike’s dad, Chief, wherever you are, you raised your son to be a good man. Salute.

Issue: Sheep without the Shepherd?

Connection to Today: In my years I cannot recall a time where our nation has been more divided and more filled with hostility. Relationships are being destroyed because people are oftentimes at an emotional breaking point. Just over recent days I have witnessed tempers flare over the causes of hurricanes, over how we don’t have money to pay our own nation’s military, but we somehow have billions for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion indoctrination, and of course billions more for Ukraine, and still more for wars in the Middle East. It’s all fun and games, some think, until it comes to your door and affects your pocketbook. Then, it suddenly is real and not just a talking point. People are looking for leadership. And when it comes to character—wise and godly character—may I suggest that it is in short supply? It’s stunning when you look at the quality of the people who are ostensibly in charge of representing us, truly stunning. We are sheep with the wrong shepherds.

In Matthew 9, Christ was continuing to demonstrate that He was and is the true King, the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38 ESV).

Folks, we are to recognize a true shepherd when we see him walk with the sheep, warning them, feeding them, leading, and guiding them in wisdom, and with demonstrable love. But this calls for a discerning people. I do not know how much more vapid many so-called leaders can become. The bar is so low now that we find ourselves in a culture that is more concerned with skin pigment and pronouns than we do with rendering aid to western NC as people are buried under the mud. We need wise, discerning, and courageous shepherds—not giggles and bromides. But to have wisdom, we must know the fountain of all wisdom, and that is God, the ultimate Good Shepherd. 

The Roman Catholic system continues to showcase its rainbow colors …

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/10/07/pope-francis-to-makes-gay-rights-advocate-a-cardinal/

For just a couple of weeks short of a decade, this area was my home. Just know, beloved WNC, I am with you. Many are with you. FEMA and the U.S. government have betrayed you. They continue to mock you via neglect and grift.

Our Christian church body is neither mocking nor neglecting you. We are there, and will continue to be there.

Press on.

Do not lose hope.

Much is being revealed herein.