Mar 7 2008

Slaughter in a Seminary


2008_03_06t171914_450x295_us_palestinians_israel_violence.jpgWhile driving home just now I was shocked and saddened as I listened to the news of the beastly slaughter of innocents in Jerusalem. When I arrived at home I clicked on to the Drudgereport and read the gruesome details. A Palestinian gunman shot eight seminarians to death and injured more. A group called “Jalil Freedom Battalions – the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza” has claimed responsibility.

Shots are being fired into the air to celebrate in Gaza, the enemies of Israel are calling this cowardly act “heroic” and Hamas said of it, “This is God’s vengeance”.

Is there any doubt that the murderer and those who are celebrating and praising this wickedness are adherents to the religion of peace, Islam? Just try for a moment to forget history, the biblical narrative of the struggles of middle eastern people, and answer this question. Is there any people on planet earth who are more evil,  wicked, and twisted than those who open fire with an AK-47 on seminary students? It is no more evil than when the same thing happens here in America. Here though it is usually done by someone who was mentally ill, a malcontent who has had social problems, or in some way had given signals that pointed to a disastrous end. The biggest difference is that no one here calls the act of murder “heroic” and believes the shooter was serving God’s interests.

I am not a Zionist, I am a realist. The peace talks are a waste of breath and President Bush’s suggestions are an insult to sanity. Israel can never give enough land, make enough concessions, or in any other way stop the brutality waged against them daily by their sworn enemies. Until they are either driven into the sea or Israel is drowning in the blood of its citizens their enemies will never relent. As long as one Jew is alive those who despise Jews above all else will not rest until they are all dead.

Israel’s Prime Minister has a spine made of rubber. How long will the citizens of Israel sit and wait to be annihilated? The coming weeks will be shocking in my view.

Looking for the Lord from heaven,
Royce Ogle

Feb 29 2008

“..if I should die before I wake…”


Today we buried an associate. A 60 year old woman who had been selling real estate since 1972. Dying at 60 is way premature to this almost 63 year old.

Where is she now? With the Lord I think, I hope, but I don’t really know do I? I shared the very good news with her and she assured me she was “satisfied”. Though in some way I wish I could do more, I suppose I did what I could. I will take her word and find some measure of peace in the knowledge that she had found peace with God.

I have decided that if I must err, (and we all must err) that I should err on the side of the love and grace of God. After all God does love people more than you and I do. And, He has done something remarkable to prove His love by giving His only Son to completely pay for the sins of wicked people. Wicked? Yes wicked!

I don’t hear the word “wicked” used to describe humans much in sermons any more, except for my own. According God’s book, at the center of every man is a spiritual heart which is “deceitfully wicked” and only God can really know it. (Jeremiah 17:9) And, Christ died for the “ungodly”. 

The problem with you and me is that we measure ourselves by ourselves (each other). God on the other hand measures us by Himself. We lose every time!

Christ did not come into this world to condemn it but that people might be saved through Him. I don’t think I will be in the business of condemnation either since I am to be used in His stead in some mysterious way.

I will tell folks the very good news about His love, and how their sin debt has long been paid, and God’s gracious offer is forgiveness of sins and eternal life along with all the trimmings described in the Bible. I will tell them that by simple child like trust they can know the peace of God and have peace with God through Christ. And not by ritual, religion, saying certain phrases, going certain places, and going to certain houses of worship. Nope, only take Him at His word and expect Him to do what He has promised.

Every one of us, saved and unsaved, are flawed human beings. A remedy has been provided for every one of us. His name is Jesus. In the words of comic/song writer/singer Mark Lowery “I catch them God cleans them”.

Each of us contributes one sinner each to the formula of salvation. That is about it. Jesus has done and will do the rest. Have you put your whole trust in Him? You’ll sleep better once you have……”and if you should die before you wake….”

His peace,
Royce Ogle

Feb 7 2008

Choose your liberal


This Saturday Louisiana voters will go to the polls to vote for local candidates and for Presidential candidates as well. I have restrained myself from writing any political commentary on this blog but decided to make an exception this time.

I have never been more frustrated and disgusted with the crop of candidates we have running this cycle. Gov. Mitt Romney, the most hated by the largest, most influential news outlets, is also the most conservative. The Super Tuesday results made it clear that he will not be the eventual Republican nominee. National politics is driven by bloggers, cable news networks, talk radio, major newspapers, and to a lesser degree the major TV networks. With the exception of some talkers and Fox News, all of the above detest any conservative.

My guess is that in November we will be given the choice of voting for Sen. John McCain or Sen. Obama. Of course it could be McCain vs. Clinton but I doubt it. Clinton is already short on funds having to dip into personal funds to the tune of $5 million and having staffers to go unpaid. Clinton’s greatest sin is that she has not been fervent enough against the war in Iraq. Other than that issue there isn’t a nickles worth of difference between the two. Sadly, McCain is not much better.

McCain has the endorsement of most large liberal news papers, left wingers like Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer, and others love McCain who they tout as being “bi-partisan”. Of course in the general election they will savage him in favor of any Democrat. Sen. McCain is a Ross Perot with slightly more common sense. Both have huge egos and both espouse nutty positions on an array of issues.

Sen. McCain says “I will get Osama..”, “I will stop pork barrel spending”, “I will appoint only strict constructionist judges”, bla bla bla, All political election time hot air. If John McCain is a conservative I am a Pygmy astronaut. Again and again McCain has proved that he is a liberal. He can say what he wants but his record is there for anyone to see who cares to check him out. Taxes, immigration, First Amendment rights, and a host of other issues have found the war hero on the wrong side time and time again.

The sickening truth is that the godless left wing nuts are winning. The United States is slowly marching toward Socialism or Communism. More dependency on government, more intrusion of government into our lives, more government approval and empowerment of perversion and immorality and even folks who claim to be conservative Christians are falling in line and by their votes approve the decline of the greatest society in history.

Possibly the best thing that can happen for the short term is to give the liberals both houses of Congress and the White House for four years and then we can perhaps get conservatives back in power and turn the tide of political correctness, amorality, and the mind numbing buzz of left wing idiots unleashed. Sometimes giving people what they think they want is the best way to prove to them it is not what they need.

I have not mentioned Gov. Huckabee because like Dr. Ron Paul he has no chance of winning the nomination. He is a likable fellow but he to is tilted way too far to the left on far too many issues.  He might possibly earn a shot at VP but I seriously doubt that McCain wants a proud Christian on his ticket.

Well, its off my chest. What do you think?

Still hoping,
Royce

Only moments after I posted this, Gov. Romney dropped out of the race. Here is a link to the address he gave as he left the contest. http://thepage.time.com/transcript-of-romneys-speech-withdrawing-from-the-race/ It is one of the best I have ever read.

Jan 18 2008

The Deity of Jesus…part 1


Was Jesus God? Surely the deity of Jesus Christ is one of the essential beliefs of the historic Christian faith. Yet many people who claim to be Christians boldly deny that Jesus was truly God in flesh.I continue to be shocked and saddened by the rampant unbelief of professing followers of Jesus. Not only is Christ’s deity questioned but the resurrection of Christ is debunked by some of these same people.

In the next few post I will present a biblical case for the deity of Jesus Christ. I will not give you my opinion but rather the clear unvarnished testimony of the Word of God. Do I expect everyone to believe what the Bible says? Absolutely not. Perhaps somebody you will see the truth and abandon your unbelief.

Jesus when speaking to unbelieving Jews made this statement. “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:42-47 NIV)

How you respond to God’s truth was the acid test in the first century and it is the same today. Those who do not belong to God reject truth and those who do belong to God accept it. Like those Jews of Jesus’ day who rejected His words, those today who reject His words have a father but it is not God.

Jesus claimed to be God, the prophets said he would be God, His mastery over nature proved He was God, His supernatural knowledge proved He was God, and His resurrection from the dead proved He was God.

If Jesus was God He necessarily then would have to possess the eternal attributes of God. The first of those is His eternal existence. Jesus did not have His beginning in the cradle of Bethlehem. Far from it. What is the record of the Word of God? I will mention a few verses.

The fist and perhaps the most obvious one is in John 1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5 NKJV) Verse 14 makes it clear who is being spoken of in verses 1- 5, “And the Word became flesh and we beheld His glory…”

Not only did Christ precede creation but was also the Creator. For Jesus to be God He could not be “a god” as some of the cults teach, He could not be “created”. No He had to exist outside of time, outside of creation. These words in John 1 leave no doubt to those who are willing to accept truth. Jesus existed before the world was created. The prophet Micah in Micah 5:2 said of Him “… Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting”. Jesus said to the Jews “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58 NKJV) Then in Jesus great prayer in John 17 He said these words of Himself claiming His eternal existence, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5 NKJV)

There are other verses that make the same point. I believe it should be clear to any honest seeker of truth that according to the Bible Jesus existed in eternity before the creation of planet earth and teaches clearly that He lives forever, His life has no end.

Only God is separate from creation, separate from time, not bound by natural law, and has the ability to create by His spoken word. Next time we will examine other texts that show indeed that Christ was in fact God in human form.

His peace,

Royce Ogle