The love of Christ, us, and temptation!

John Owen, on how the love of Christ constrains us in temptation -

Did the president smoke real marijuana?

There has been much written on president Obama's recent comments on the dangers, or lack of dangers, of smoking marijuana.

Here is one such article - the president on pot!

I am most shocked by the president comparing smoking marijuana with smoking cigarettes, as seen in the following quote -

"As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,"

I agree that cigarettes are a bad habit; they do harm to the one smoking them, they also do harm to those exposed to second hand smoke, and there are significant cost to society as a whole for the health effects of those who smoke cigarettes. All these are true of smoking marijuana as well. However, I would be much more willing to trust someone who just smoked a cigarette to fly a plane, do surgery or have their hand on the nuclear trigger!

I regret to admit I used tobacco for many years and even more regret that I used marijuana for many years as well. I wasted time, money and hurt my health with tobacco, as I did with marijuana. However, with marijuana I also wasted many hours of time I should have invested in school, work and relationships. Marijuana is also a sin for which I am very sorry. I also made bad decisions while under the influence of marijuana and used it to cover the guilt and shame I had for other sins, rather than facing and repenting of them. Here an article about marijuana use and sin - thegospelcoalition

To compare marijuana with alcohol may be reasonable. Alcohol does much damage to individuals, families and society, just like marijuana. But do we really need one more legal way to hurt ourselves and society?

However, to compare marijuana to cigarettes is absurd and I have only a few possible explanations for why the president would make such a ridiculous comparison -

1. He is the devil's servant and pushing the devil's agenda.  This in fact is true of all who have not been born again through faith in Jesus, so it may apply with or without any of my other theories about the presidents view on marijuana.

2. A purely political motive - the president thinks people on pot will be more likely to vote Democrat and/or to support his socialist agenda.

And for the most generous possibility -

3. The president was sold something besides marijuana, that he smoked as a child, and therefore actually does not know that smoking marijuana really does cause impairment. Could the president be comparing the effects of smoking oak leaves to cigarettes? That would explain his comments.

Regardless of the reason for his comments, the president has essentially opened the door for everyone of every age to feel like smoking marijuana is no big deal and legalizing it can bring nothing but good results.

Deciding to make these comments may be the worst decisions he has made in my opinion, and that says a lot!

Another good video from Wretched!

See the original post and more at Wretchedradio

Is God well pleased with us?

I am preparing a sermon on the baptism of Jesus as I teach line by line through the book of Matthew. It is a labor of love as I seem to never find the bottom of the well, but must stop going deeper at some point, because Sunday will come!

In studying Jesus' baptism and the Father's words to/about Him, "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17b), I was struck by the relationship between Adam, Jesus and us!

All was created "very good" by God, but he was not pleased with Adam/Eve when they sinned. God was often not pleased with Israel, because they too sinned against Him. Remember the gold calf, their failure to enter the land after the first spies went in, and the later removal of Israel from the land by their enemies.

God's disposition toward sinners is not positive -

Psalm 5:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
⁵ The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶ You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. (NKJV)

Now consider what Jesus says about those who believe upon Him -

John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (NKJV - Underlining added for emphasis)

God the Father is well pleased with Jesus and, for those who believe and are in Him, we are the recipients of the same kind of love the Father has for his Son!

God is not well pleased with sinners, but He is well pleased with us if we believe upon Jesus, for His sake and for His glory! 

Thank you Father, Son and Spirit!

 "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Record low temperatures are being caused by global warming, really?

I am not a scientist, I am not qualified to say what affect global warming is having on the earth's climate. However, right after I was joking with my wife this morning that someone will probably blame the record low temperatures on global warming, they did! An expert on one of the national news morning shows suggested that this record cold snap was likely linked to global warming. He could be right, but it makes as much sense as saying -

The high flood waters are due to the ongoing drought conditions.

OR

The obesity epidemic is being caused by a worldwide famine.

OR

The population explosion is due to decreasing fertility rates.

OR

As we see in this record cold being caused by global warming claim - all the data that conflicts with the experts theory, actually proves it to be true!