Always Reforming

The commands of God found in the Scriptures are often at odds with our personal inclinations.  This is to be expected; it is the unfortunate reality of post-lapsarian existence.  If you read the Bible and do not find anything insulting to the desires of your flesh, you're reading it incorrectly. For Americans this is perhaps most apparent when we comes to the sections of Scripture that instruct us to submit to our governing authorities.  When we read passages like Romans 13:1-7 , Titus 3:1 , or 1 Peter 2:13-17 , we may feel the natural man rising up against the clear command from God to honor and submit to the authorities, whether civil, religious, or familial, that He has placed over us.  There is nothing mankind loathes more than submission.  Our parents' first sin in the Garden is often identified as pride, but it was rebellion against the sovereign authority of our Creator that truly plunged our race into the darkness of guilt and sin. At the same time, ...

History is the story of cultures endlessly vacillating between tyranny and anarchy.  Mankind has continually sought to find  the delicate balance between these two extremes, but all societies have been and still are comprised of flawed, sinful people, which inevitably prevents this balance from being found.    If, upon rare occasion, this elusive equilibrium is found, it is quickly lost.    The sins and flaws inherent in our societies mimic the extremes of the tyranny and anarchy to which they lead.   Men are greedy and lazy, power-hungry and irresponsible, complacent and rebellious.  Our nations are macrocosms of the individuals of which they are comprised.    For those who claim the name of Christ, our duty, no, our privilege, is to advance the cause of Christ regardless of where our society falls on this political spectrum.   We are to serve Christ as faithfully under oppression as when liberty reigns.   We are to lo...

If you're active on social media, you're aware of the controversy and panic that rules the Internet right now.  From news articles to sarcastic memes to conspiracy theories, many people are acting as if 2020 is the worst year in the history of the world.  We've had celebrity deaths, race riots, and a plague!  Certainly these are signs of the Apocalypse, right?! Today, however, I want to ask one question: "Is 2020 really that bad?" Think about it for a moment.  Consider all that we've endured this year.  Is 2020 really as bad as the Internet would have us believe? No.  It's really not that bad. "You're blind!" you say.  "You're in denial!" you insist. Nah.  Think about it.  What have we experienced in 2020 that hasn't occurred before? A pandemic?  The COVID-19 pandemic has consistently been blown out of proportion due to incorrect assumptions about transmission and the subsequent manipulation of statistics.  Manki...

Race wars.  Rioting.  Protests. COVID-19.  Masks.  Vaccines. Sex trafficking.  Jeffrey Epstein.  Pizzagate. Conspiracy theories have absolutely dominated the Internet in 2020, and they seem to be coming from both sides of the aisle.  Is Bill Gates trying to push mandatory vaccines and depopulate the world?  Are cops starting the riots?  Did the government release footage of aliens?  It seems like each new day brings another major scandal uncovered by Internet bloggers. It would be a mistake to believe that conspiracy theories are a new phenomenon.  In fact, history is replete with tall tales and legends of dirty deeds done by elitists behind closed doors.  The Internet, as it normally does, has simply provided a new platform for the proliferation of such theories.  Much like the printing press, the Internet has given a voice and sense of legitimacy to people and ideas that once languished in darkness.  This ex...

There has been much talk lately about systemic racism.  There have been protests and riots and talks of defunding the police.  From no-knock warrants to knee-to-the-neck techniques, the training and accountability of police departments throughout our nation have come under intense scrutiny.  The multitude is screaming for change, but the movement seems to be tainted by Marxism and anti-Western sentiment.  What are we to think? I'm not here to say whether systemic racism exists.  With the historical and modern examples of injustice against blacks and other people groups, it seems logical to affirm that there is an element of truths to these claims.  On the other hand, not every injustice against a black person is racially motivated, nor is systemic racism the answer to every inequality between different cultures and classes in our society, so we should be careful not to push that narrative past the limits of facts and reason.  This is a conversation t...

Dear Aimee, I don't really know you.  I know of you, but I can't say that we are even really acquaintances.  We're friends on Facebook, but that doesn't really mean much when you have as many Facebook friends as we do.  I don't know that we have ever really interacted online.  Though I am aware of them, I have never read your books or listened to your podcasts. I suspect you are wondering who I am.  I am a member of Genevan Commons.  I am not an admin.  I am not a founding member.  I am not a pastor or an elder in a local church.  I am just a guy who found his face and name, and even the name of my employer, on a website created for the purpose of displaying screenshots from this private Facebook group.  I can only assume that you participated in and/or approved of the creation of this website.  Forgive me if I am incorrect in my assumption.  Furthermore, my name is also featured one of the threads shown in your recent blog...

Feb 3rd, 1959 is immortalized as The Day the Music Died.  The nation mourned and the course of history was altered as the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper tragically crashed.  That day will long be remembered in musical and cultural history.  May 25th, 2020 may prove to be even more significant.  That was the day that George Floyd died at the hands of four members of the Minneapolis PD.  In a year defined by social and political unrest, Floyd's death may prove to be the event that changes our nation, and the world, forever.  Sparking riots and an onslaught of social media virtue-signalling, May 25th, 2020 may go down as The Day Tolerance Died .  Tolerance has been on life support for sometime now.  Liberals are champions of so-called tolerance and acceptance, but they are really fighting for confirmation and reassurance of their worldview.  Dissenting voices must be silenced.  The mainstream media is ope...