CHRISTIANS PLAYING IN THE SUPERBOWL

February 1, 2014

I put up a post recently about my feelings regarding sports in our day. I stated that I probably wouldn’t watch the Superbowl this year. Well, after watching this, and understanding that God puts His people in many places, I will probably watch parts of the game. I understand it is a game with a good defensive team and a good offensive team. I grew up watching Roman Gabriel quarterback the Rams. I think the Christian with his name here is his son. It is nice to know that the men featured here haven’t lost their faith because of the spotlight of modern sports. These Christians sound like humble men to me.

Is a Christian supposed to be offensive or defensive? I think both. We are all witnesses of our faith in Jesus. This puts us on the offensive. At the same time, we must put on the armor mentioned in the Bible. Our defensive weapons are described in Ephesians 6:

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

21 But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

I would like to thank One News Now for posting this video. Enjoy the game.

BTW..I certainly hope your church didn’t cancel its Sunday services because of the Superbowl. HERE is a good post on the subject by Delight in Truth.

CR

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Posted by Chris

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

January 27, 2014
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It’s so nice to be driving down the road and spot something like this. One of our local churches put these up on their property next to a pretty busy highway. I’ve posted three pics of the same thing. One for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. Click on any of the photos to view them closer. I would like to thank Hettie Lue Brooks, leader of the Hot Springs Women of Prayer whom I know had something to do with this. I won’t mention Hettie’s age but she just hit one of the biggies recently and still has more energy than most of the 7th and 8th graders I taught today. I was on my way to a local school to sub and this time I remembered to bring a descent camera.

The only court room that I’m aware of that still has a picture of the Ten Commandments is the Supreme Court.

It’s always nice to see God’s Law in stone.

CR

PHOTO SOURCE

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Posted by Chris

AMBER FLOWERS CHALLENGE DINOSAUR DEPICTIONS

January 26, 2014

This article may be found HERE and is authored by Brian Thomas, M.S.

“Dinosaur dioramas don’t display flowers and grasses—supposedly because they had not yet evolved. But it takes only one piece of the right kind of evidence to disprove a whole paradigm. Amazing amber fossils from Burma (now Myanmar) refute the idea that flowers were absent in the supposed Age of Reptiles by showing the abrupt appearance of fully-formed flowers.”

My comment:

Belonging to two evolution/creation debate forums on Facebook, I have posted materials like this. In previous discussions with evolutionists on a liberal “Christian” website, The Institute of Creation Research was well respected even by Theistic Evolutionists. ICR is a creationist website that promotes the young earth position. Those of you who have read this blog know that I am a young earth creationist. One unbeliever accused ICR of using only materials from their own sources. If you look at the footnotes of this article only 1 of 5 comes from a creationist friendly source. In spite of what some of the evolutionists say, I think there is ample evidence for a young earth. In the end, I believe the creation account by faith. That doesn’t mean that I think we can’t see God in the world around us and in His wonderful creation.

CR

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Posted by Chris

“HAND OF GOD?” JUST ASK MR. NEWTON

January 20, 2014


I am including the entire article from afa.net (found in my links) because I had some problems with a link to the article.

Written by Dr. Jerry Newcombe.

Writing about it for space.com (1/9/14), Tanya Lewis said, “The hand might look like an X-ray from the doctor’s office, but it is actually a cloud of material ejected from a star that exploded.”

She began her piece, noting, “Religion and astronomy may not overlap often, but a new NASA X-ray image captures a celestial object that resembles the ‘Hand of God.’”

But I think religion and astronomy have indeed overlapped far more than people realize. And not just astronomy, but science in general.

There is often a perceived incompatibility between religion and science. I think that is especially true after the rise and acceptance of Darwinism in the late 19th century.

However, it’s interesting to note that essentially modern science was born in a Christian milieu about 500 years ago—with early contributions from the ancient Greeks.

All the great leading scientists initially were Bible-believing Christians. They believed that they were—in the words of astronomer Johannes Kepler—“thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”

They understood that a rational God had made a rational universe, and it was their job as scientists to discover those laws that the Creator had impressed into His creation.

Kepler (1571-1630) wrote, “Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in regard to the book of nature, it befits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God.” The scientists were thus God’s priests, in Kepler’s view.

To the consternation of some unbelievers, Sir Isaac Newton, perhaps the greatest scientist who ever lived, wrote more on Christian theology than he did on science.

Newton saw God’s powerful hand in His creation. He once said, “Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.”

Sir Francis Bacon is credited with having been the inventor of the scientific method—that combination of induction and deduction, of hypothesis and proof (empirical proof). Bacon was a devout Christian.

Bacon noted, “There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error; first, the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the Creatures, which express His power.”

In 1660, the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was founded. This prestigious organization, still in existence today, is the oldest such institution still in operation.

James Moore of the Open University in England notes it was founded in a Puritan college (Gresham), and virtually all its early members were Puritans—at a time when Puritans were a small minority. He said that Protestantism “encouraged the birth of modern science.”

I had the privilege of doing some TV interviews at the Royal Society (for our special on “What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?”—hosted by the late D. James Kennedy).

One of those I interviewed was physicist Sir Alan Cook. He said, “One of the implications of the incarnation is that Christ took human form upon Him, including the power of thinking about things and observing things. It seems to me that an implication of the incarnation is that we, those of us who are able to, have a Christian obligation to study the world as God’s creation.”

I’ve had the privilege of interviewing on several occasions for my radio show Dr. Stephen Meyer, who earned his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science at Cambridge. Dr. Meyer, a fellow at the Discovery Institute, is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Darwin’s Doubt.

I asked Dr. Meyer for a statement for this particular article. He wrote me: “Far from conflicting, the overwhelming scientific evidence of design in life and in the universe—in the digital code stored in DNA and in the fine tuning of the laws of physics, for example—clearly shows that science can—and does—provide support for a theistic view of reality.”

So it comes as no shock to me to see the reported “Hand of God” in the heavens. I believe we see the “Hand of God” even in the study of the heavens, and of the earth.

###

Dr. Jerry Newcombe is a key archivist of the D. James Kennedy Legacy Library, a spokesman and cohost of Kennedy Classics. He has also written or co-written 23 books, including (with Dr. Kennedy) What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? and (with Peter Lillback), George Washington’s Sacred Fire.

My comment:

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth…” Photos like this one give us a glimpse of the majesty of our great and almighty God.

CR

PHOTO SOURCE

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Posted by Chris

THE SUPERBOWL AND THE SHORTSTOP

January 18, 2014
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I rarely put up personal information and actually pulled a post that had information that a family member didn’t want on this blog.

In this case, it is about me and my thoughts about sports and how they have changed in my lifetime. As you can see by the picture above, my Dad put a bat and ball in my hands at a young age purely for fun. He had no expectations that I would grow up to be a major league player. He would, however, spend hours throwing grounders to my brother, sister, and me in the backyard. He used a rubber ball so that we wouldn’t get hurt and it would jump all over the place and could be difficult to field.

I was a very shy young boy. I remember my parents calling me into our kitchen one day and talking to me about joining Little League baseball. I didn’t want to play but my parents were persistent. I found myself at try outs a few weeks later and eventually got a call that, as a 10 year old, I had been put in the “majors.” The team was sponsored by the local VFW.

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When I went to school and found that most of my friends, including a very good pitcher named Kevin McNevin was in the minors I was too naïve to know what had happened. As it turned out, I didn’t get much playing time in the majors and it would have been better if I had played in the minors.

At the same time, being on the team with kids from other schools helped me with my shyness. In my first at bat in the majors, I flew out to left field just 10 feet short of the fence. I didn’t hit homeruns as my little league years progressed but I had a pretty good batting average. The coach started me in center field and by my second year I was a fixture at shortstop.

I spent most of the rest of my baseball years playing shortstop. Baseball was the sport in California in those days and we world practice many evenings at the nearby school. My Mom worked in the “snack shack” selling taquitos and other yummies for each of her boys. I loved everything about the game and particularly my position. I was leadoff hitter a lot of the time which meant my job was to get on base any way I knew how. As shortstop, I had many responsibilities: covering second if someone tried to steal, taking cutoff throws, and taking the majority of the grounders in the infield. We had a good team one year. I think we had four all stars and yet we couldn’t beat the team with the Toothman brothers and Kevin McNevin. I don’t think they ever lost because their pitching was so good.

So what does this have to do with sports today and the Superbowl? As a kid I watched all kinds of sports. I particularly liked the Olympics as I grew older. I watched many of the Superbowls, but lately my interest in most professional sports has diminished. I think I watched 2 college games this year. The last several years, my family has watched the Superbowl for the commercials. I’ve really not been that interested in the games. I enjoy watching high school games more than any other level. Having not attending many games, I’ve never seen a fight at a high school, football, basketball, or baseball game.

It seems like there are more problems in sports than ever. There have always been problems, but as a kid I heard many interviews with players who were very humble. It’s always nice to still see an acknowledgement to God after someone scores a touchdown, makes a basket, or hits a home run. At the same time, the cheating has never been worse. So many popular sports have had issues with performance enhancing drugs. I think we only know the tip of the iceberg.

There is nothing wrong with allowing your kids to play sports. So many of the parents and coaches are, and have always been, way too serious IMO. I was able to tune it out when I was playing, but it bothers me more for some reason now. There are still some very good coaches out there, but I’m tired of seeing a college coach swear at his players until they are blue in the face. Where have the John Woodens gone?

One example of the recent scandals involving a coach was the dismissal of the University of Arkansas Football Coach in the spring of 2012 for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a female employee. Who was the highest paid state employee at the time? It wasn’t a great doctor, or teacher, or farmer, or entrepreneur, or inventor. It was the coach. I know the University brings in millions through its Football program. It doesn’t mean the coach should make millions. These facts show that in many of our sports today our priorities are in the wrong place. “It’s all about winning, baby.” There is nothing wrong with wanting to win. However, in today’s society, some will do anything to come out on top.

Are you going to watch the Superbowl? I only hope that the game is as good as this year’s college championship game. If it is on at my house, it will get turned off during the halftime “show.” It was off at halftime a few years ago when there was some sort of clothing “malfunction.” To be honest, I probably will not watch it. I would rather think of the days when I was a kid. When I heard Jerry West sink a half court+ shot with a few seconds left to win the game, I couldn’t celebrate aloud because I was listening to the transistor radio under my pillow and everyone else was asleep. I fell asleep listening to Vince Scully’s excellent “voice of the Dodgers” on many occasions. There are still some very good stories in sports. At the same time, I never heard the word “steroids” until I was a teenager. I’d rather remember the sounds of the fans, the smell of the taquitos and nachos, the look of the uniforms paid for by local sponsors, the feeling of removing the pebbles “on my turf” so that I wouldn’t get the dreaded “bad hop,” and the friendships I made as a youth.

CR

PHOTO SOURCE

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Check out Dr. Ben Carson’s statement around 13:45-15:30. He seems to agree with what I’ve stated above.

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Posted by Chris

GOOD NEWS ON THE ABORTION FRONT

January 15, 2014

This news was shared on Facebook by Jerry Cox, President of The Arkansas Family Council. We are facebook friends and I have worked with Jerry on a moral issue in our state.

“Arkansas has just been named the third most pro-life state in the nation. Only Oklahoma and Louisiana rank higher. In addition, Arkansas has been named as one of five “All star” states that is doing an outstanding job of protecting women and children from abortion. Here is the story. Thanks to our friends in the Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas is one of the most pro-life places in the nation.”

PHOTO SOURCE AND THE STORY

My comment:

I am happy that my state is one of the leaders in the nation on protecting the lives of the unborn. We have so much work left to do. Please pray for all of the Pregnancy Crisis Centers that are helping young women make the right decisions every day.

CR

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Posted by Chris

TRUE PEACE IN YOUR LIFE

January 9, 2014

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

cr

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Posted by Chris

2013-2014

December 31, 2013

How many interesting things happened in your life in 2013? For me, 2013 was all about new people whom I met. I’ve met some wonderful people in life and through cyberspace. I would like to share my “big moments” of 2013. This not a chronological list.

There are several people whom I met through blogging who have become friends. Chris (Delight in Truth) and Sherryn (The Narrowing Path) are two people whom I respect and have had fellowship with online. Their blogs are excellent. Dawnmarie decided to stop her Christian themed blog this year and has simplified life with “A Little Bit of Sugar.” I have been Inspired by the “Christian poetry of Deborah Ann,” and the life of Gregory and his blog “Through the Eyes of this Calvinist.” Although I’ve known her since college, “Mrs. Acuna’s Blog” was also added to my blog roll this year. “M’kayla’s korner” is another blog added because of its informative content and m’Kayla’s knowledge of false teachings. I have continued to follow Kassey’s “Ponder Anew.” Although we are no longer working together, we keep in touch here and via Facebook.

It would be wrong to leave out Manny’s blog “Cracked Pot.” He has recently posted lengthy articles about Calvinism and he has been on my blog roll almost since the beginning.

Many interesting people were met through these blogs. Austin, whom I met at Sherryn’s blog, and I have been emailing back and forth. These people come from as close as my own state of Arkansas (Gregory) to a friend in Hong Kong (Lest). Others are from Australia, England, Romania, etc.

It was also nice to get reacquainted with Barbara Anable this year. I have known Barbara, who lives in the same city, for years and somehow we lost connection when I changed the theme of the blog. She has contributed posts in both Wings of the Winds.

The blog hasn’t had as many hits since I went with a more Christian theme. That is just fine with me. The “politically conservative” (whatever that is these days) Wings of the Wind that dealt with local and national politics was successful. I am more concerned these days with spiritual matters and will throw in something that relates to politics when I think it is important. I plan on continuing with Christian material and will continue to try and get up 12 posts a month.

I joined a theological discussion group on Facebook.

I joined a creationist/evolutionist discussion group on Facebook.

I really enjoy the theological group, but the origins group gets quite heated at times. If one goes, it’ll be that one.

I also started playing a strategy game online this year. It started as a joke as my son had the game and I gave it a try with a name taken from my middle name: Lavern. My son had called himself Granticus so I became Lavernicus. I have met people from all over the world through this game. It is a real time historical strategy game and I have made quite a few mostly young friends there. I like the game because it has a good filter for nasty words, there is no blood, and it helps keep my mind active. No word searches for me, thank you. I see it as chess. I am an average player. I don’t spend much time there as I’m a busy guy, but it’s the only game I play and have come to enjoy the company of several players. I want to thank them for understanding that I’m a Christian and for listening to me when asked about my faith. Jews and Muslims also play. There are Christians who play. Servant2Lord has his own YouTube channel and has put up a few of my games. Feudal Lord lives only an hour from me whereas Servant lives in New Zealand. Thanks to Gualtiruzzo (ruzzo), Rob, Vladek, Aleric, Kocha Panda (Panda), kingedawg (king), Friedrich Smith (FS), Iron Price, Quetzalcoatl (Quetz), Schoob57, Marco Polo, Shin, bear, Granticus22 and many others whom I will add as I think of them. Thank you for putting up with my Christian discussions as you were organizing games. I hope we both learned something. I plan on not playing as much in 2014 because I must keep up on the changes in the world that relate to my Christian beliefs.

On the home front, if you are still reading this, there have been changes. I am now teaching in a substitute capacity. My son is in college. My daughter got a job working with kids at a church.

There are some things that don’t change. Like the love of God, my wife of 32 years continues to stay the same. I am a very blessed man in so many ways.

That about sums up my 2013. Please feel free to comment and share things that happened in your life this year.

God’s blessings to all…

Chris Reimers

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Posted by Chris

I HEARD THE BELLS

December 24, 2013

Back around Christmas in 2010, I put up these two posts about a story that intrigued me when I heard it.  I have since found out that Mr. Longfellow had some interesting beliefs (Have the revisionists taken him apart, too?) .  However, the words of this song are so inspirational that I felt led to share the story once more.

I HEARD THE BELLS – PART I

I HEARD THE BELLS – PART II

When Brother Dick led the congregation in singing last week, he would never know how his selection of this song would bless me this year.

It is not one of the more popular Christmas Songs, but as I sang the song I did something I don’t always do I’m sorry to say.

I took note of the words.

This song, indeed, fits the times in which we live.

I looked at the bottom of the page and saw that the words had been written by the famous American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I went home and did some research.

I discovered that hymn books remove two of the verses that were originally written by the famous poet.

The verses are removed because they have references to the American Civil War.

Mr. Longfellow wrote the poem on Christmas Day in 1864, when the war had affected nearly everyone in the country.

Unfortunately, the great poet was no exception.

Three months after the war had begun, in July of 1861, tragedy struck the Longfellow family.

Francis Longfellow had just trimmed some of seven-year-old Edith’s hair.  Mrs. Longfellow then decided to preserve some of the clippings in sealing wax.  While melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops of the super heated wax fell on Fanny’s dress.  The hot wax ignited the dress, swallowing the beloved wife and mother in flames.

Fanny ran to Henry in the next room.  Henry grabbed a small throw rug and wrapped it around his wife, attempting to smother the flames.  Unsuccessful, he finally wrapped his arms around his wife in a last attempt to stop the fire.

Henry’s attempt not only burned his face, hands, and arms severely; the effort to save his wife had failed.

Fanny Longfellow died the next morning.

Because of his injuries and his unbearable grief, Henry was unable to attend his wife’s funeral.

Two years later, Charles, Henry’s oldest son, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church.  This happened the month before Christmas in 1863.

It is no surprise there is no entry in Mr. Longfellow’s journal for the Christmas of 1863.

Still grieving over the events of the past few years, Henry put his famous pen to paper on Christmas Day in 1864.

This poem is the result.

Jean Baptiste Calkin added the music in 1872.

Mr. Longfellow heard his words in music for a decade, until his death in 1882.

The words have inspired many, as they have me in 2010.

May God give you a peace that passes all understanding, like He did to Mr. Longfellow, throughout this Christmas season.

Chris Reimers

(Composed on Christmas Day, 1864)

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along th’ unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men

And in despair I bowed my head: “ There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For Hate is strong, and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men

‘Til, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

————————————————————–

“I Heard the Bells” with commentary by Pastor Bill Mitchell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUdAo3N0iEA

“I Heard the Bells” by Rod Kim (Operation Christmas Child)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_IXSiHF4cU

The story behind “I Heard the Bells”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvJdmMG6VWk

Johnny Cash sings “I Heard the Bells”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcP8xvgwucs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJFZ1y_o9p4

This is Sarah McLachlan’s version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn_1-z0d7iQ

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Posted by Chris

POLAR BEAR LOVE

December 17, 2013

Thanks to Barbara Anable for sending in another wonderful video.

cr

I’m reminded of the scripture:

“And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind…and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:25

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Posted by Chris

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