Those Who Have Gone Before

We Owe A Debt of Honour

In the early years of European settlement in New Zealand, the missionaries with few exceptions proved a remarkable lot of folk.  The Williams brothers (Henry and William) who arrived in 1823 were prime examples.

Here is Victoria University Librarian, Harold Miller's account of Henry Williams:

Henry Williams was a sailor.  He had served against the French in several parts of the world and had received a wound in a fight off the coast of Mauritius that was to trouble him for the rest of his life.  But he was still young (in his thirty-third year), he had been trained in a hard school and he was possessed by a simple faith; he was the kind of man that Maori chiefs could respect even when they found him hard to understand.  He had none of the Maori gift of eloquence but he had a way that inspired fear; and chiefs who took to human slaughter as to a game found it hard to look him straight in his eye.  "He is a tangata riri (an angry man)," said a Wanganui chief to young Wakefield, "who shuts his tent-door upon us and does not sit by our side and talk kindly to us as you do; but he has the atua (god) upon his lips, and we are afraid of his anger."

Nigeria Tolerates Christians Being Persecuted

Christianity Crackdown

Crisis in Nigeria as Thousands Killed

Thousands of men, women and children have been killed in Nigeria in what the country's Christian community are condemning as “ethnic cleansing”.

By Joey Millar
Express

Last weekend 238 Christians were killed in a number of attacks by militia in Plateau State, [Nigeria] a region in the heart of the country.  Campaigners are warning it is just the latest example of “pure genocide” in a country ravaged by religious division.

A joint statement issued by the Christian Association of Nigeria said more than 6,000 Christian worshippers - “mostly children, women and the aged” - had already been killed this year.  They said: “There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage.

“What is happening in Plateau state and other select states in Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately.”  They said those responsible were being allowed to “go scot free” and said the Nigerian government was wrongly trying to paint the attacks as “farmers/herdsmen clashes”.

Daily Meditation

When Another Christian Hurts You

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

John Piper

What is the basis of our not holding grudges against Christian brothers and sisters who repent?

Our moral indignation at a terrible offense does not evaporate just because the offender is a Christian. In fact, we may feel even more betrayed. And a simple, “I’m sorry” will often seem utterly disproportionate to the painfulness and ugliness of the offense.

But in this case we are dealing with fellow Christians and the promise of God’s wrath does not apply because there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “God has not destined [Christians] for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Where shall we turn to assure ourselves that justice will be done — that Christianity is not a mockery of the seriousness of sin?

The answer is that we look to the cross of Christ. All the wrongs that have been done against us by believers were avenged in the death of Jesus. This is implied in the simple but staggering fact that all the sins of all God’s people were laid on Jesus (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Corinthians 15:3, etc.).

The suffering of Christ was the recompense of God on every hurt I have ever received from a fellow Christian. Therefore, Christianity does not make light of sin. It does not add insult to our injury.

On the contrary, it takes the sins against us so seriously that, to make them right, God gave his own Son to suffer more than we could ever make anyone suffer for what they have done to us.

Italy Has No Fiscal Discipline Whatsoever

European Union Under (Internal) Threats

Recently we raised the question as to whether the present Eurozone can survive.  Clearly the UK's leaving will remove one of the major funding countries within the EC.  When Greece blew up, Angela Merkel was successful in persuading Europe to socialising the debts of Greece in exchange for far more fiscal austerity.  

But Italy's problems are of a different magnitude altogether.  Italy has formed a government which has no fiscal discipline whatsoever.  John J. Xenakis explains why:

Italy’s plummeting financial markets have mostly recovered and appear to be stabilized as the “populist” government that had appeared to collapse early in the week came to power, though with a different cabinet of ministers.

The “populist” coalition is between the left-wing Five Star Movement (M5S), led by Luigi Di Maio, and the right-wing La Lega (The (Northern) League), led by Matteo Salvini. Although the two parties differ on many issues and distrust each other greatly, they decided to form a coalition based on their shared anti-euro, anti-EU, and anti-immigrant policies, and particularly on the fact that they have no fiscal discipline whatsoever.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From Moscow (About The Breakup of the Union)

The UnRoeveling of America

Douglas Wilson
Blog&Mablog

INTRODUCTION:

The American Civil War was actually a war between distinct regions. It was a clash of cultures, a war between the several states. There were certain regions—the border states like Maryland—where the populations within the same territory were truly divided, and where it was not uncommon for one brother to fight for one side and another brother to fight for the other. What we have boiling on the stove now contains the makings of an actual civil conflict, where the disruption that happened in just the border states two centuries ago is happening all across the nation.

With the nomination for the Supreme Court that Trump is poised to make, everyone appears to understand that Roe is on the table. Nothing is certain in terms of specific outcomes, but I would like to argue that if Roe is on the table, then America is also.

MAP READING


Red/blue maps are now fairly common in electoral analysis, and when you look at them state by state, the whole thing can be made to look like a regional conflict. But this is actually a false appearance. That is because, thanks to the Electoral College, we vote by states, and the overwhelming majority of our states follow a winner-take-all system of allocation. The only two exceptions are Nebraska and Maine. This means that when you have swing states, where the election really could go this way or that way (51/49), the whole enchilada goes with the 51. In this kind of analysis, Minnesota and Oklahoma can come out the same color . . . which is misleading.

But if you look at the red and blue breakdown county by county, or even precinct by precinct, the picture changes dramatically. The map I posted here is telling—it is a county-by-county breakdown, but the colors are only apportioned when the presidential candidate won that county by twenty points or more. In other words, you are looking at territory where it wasn’t even close.

A HOUSE DIVIDED:

Now as some may have surmised, I am not a big Lincoln fan, but I do admire his ability to grasp the nature of an inconsistency. Here is a little something from his famous House Divided speech. 

“‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.”

The reason this observation was cogent is that Lincoln was making an application to politics, taking as his illustration something that Jesus took from the realm of politics. 

“And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matt. 12:25).

Lincoln was talking about the momentous doctrine of chattel slavery, and he said that such an issue would be enough to tear the country apart. Now, in the present time, we are being torn apart by two issues that are every bit as important as that one.

Daily Meditation

Rejecting False Assurances

Ligonier Ministries

If we think the Bible teaches universal salvation, we may arrive at a false sense of assurance by reasoning as follows: Everybody is saved. I am a body. Therefore, I am saved.

Or, if we think salvation is gained by our own good works and we are further deluded into believing that we possess good works, we will have a false assurance of salvation.

To have sound assurance, we must understand that our salvation rests on the merit of Christ alone, which is appropriated to us when we embrace Him by genuine faith. If we understand that, the remaining question is, “Do I have the genuine faith necessary for salvation?”

Again, two more things must be understood and analyzed properly. The first is doctrinal. We need a clear understanding of what constitutes genuine saving faith. If we conceive of saving faith as existing in a vacuum, never yielding the fruit of works of obedience, we have confused saving faith with dead faith, which cannot save anyone.

The second requirement involves a sober analysis of our own lives. We must examine ourselves to see whether the fruit of regeneration is apparent in our lives. Do we have a real affection for the biblical Christ? Only the regenerate person possesses real love for the real Jesus. Next we must ask the tough question, “Does my life manifest the fruit of sanctification?” I test my faith by my works. 

Coram Deo

What is your response to the questions posed in this reading: Do you have the genuine faith necessary for salvation? Do you have a real affection for the biblical Christ? Does your life manifest the fruit of salvation?

Passages for Further Study

Psalm 9:14
Psalm 13:5
Psalm 20:5

When All Else Fails . . .

Temper Tantrums

It appears that the Left these days has lost its credibility.  It seems as though any action, any words, any opposition immediately calls down the Left's dreaded indictment: Racist!

Nowhere does this appear more the case than in the United States.  The Left cannot seem to get through a twenty-four hour news cycle without shouting "Racist" at someone, or some thing or other.  "Racism" would appear to be the unforgivable sin.  Once hurled at an opponent there is nothing more to do or say.  It's all over, Rover.  The accusation is the verbal equivalent of taking careful aim and fatally shooting someone.

Take the matter of immigration rules, regulations, and policies.

"Free Speech For Us; Censorship For Them

Why Liberals Have Flip-Flopped on Free Speech

Thomas Williams
BreitbartNews

In a remarkably honest exposé, the New York Times acknowledged Saturday that “liberals who once championed expansive First Amendment rights are now uneasy about them” ever since conservatives realized they should apply to them as well.

The Times cites First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams who noted that whereas the left once led support for First Amendment protections, they are now “at least skeptical and sometimes distraught at the level of First Amendment protection which is being afforded in cases brought by litigants on the right.”

The difference between then and now? Many of the ideas currently being protected by free speech rights run contrary to progressive ideology. Over the last 13 years, the Supreme Court “has been far more likely to embrace free-speech arguments concerning conservative speech than liberal speech,” the Times said.

One law professor at Georgetown, Louis Michael Seidman, who used to defend free speech now sees his prior position as a mistake.

Daily Meditation

When Will I Be Satisfied?

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

John Piper

Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever.

This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

• Nothing has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.
• We lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.
• Our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts.

But if the aim of Jesus in John 17:26 comes true, all this will change.

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating. No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God.

Moreover, our ability to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his Father.

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends. Their love for each other will be our love for them and therefore our loving them will never die.

Napalming Charter Schools

When Success Becomes a Serious Threat 

Sir Toby Curtis has made a plea to all New Zealanders to stand up and speak out against the napalming of charter schools in New Zealand at the behest of the Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins.  

We certainly wish to stand with Sir Toby and join him in speaking out.  Sir Toby Curtis chaired the Iwi Education Authority for tribal immersion schools, was instrumental in establishing Māori broadcasting, and served on the Partnership Schools/Kura Hourua Authorisation Board.  He has had a good deal to do with New Zealand's "toe in the water" introduction of charter schools in New Zealand.

We will reproduce his appeal to Hapless Hipkins:

My preference as a Māori would be to discuss the Government's unilateral decision to close partnership schools Kura Hourua, kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) with them.  However, the Government denied us that opportunity.  It is my fervent hope that through this medium, the Minister of Education might be appraised of the concerns I raise on behalf of many Māori.

In a few days' time a colleague and I will meet the Education Select Committee in support of our submission opposing the closure of these schools and the kura hourua model. But even before the Committee has heard submissions, the minister has terminated the contracts of 10 of the schools.

To compound the injustice, the Government has silenced the schools by holding over them the prospect of joining another state school status.  The arrogance of this is breathtaking. These are schools where hundreds of Māori students are experiencing educational success, some for the first time in their lives.

The large majority of the kura are being run by Māori for Māori, some by Pasifika for Pasifika. All have close relations with their whanau and families who send their children there. Sometimes that's the first time a family has had the chance to make a considered choice about their child's education, and it's the beginning of becoming empowered.

Some of the schools are providing classes for whanau and parents to help them learn how to support their tamariki with their school work. The kids, some of whom had dropped out of school, are going to school and are eager to learn. Iwi have actively invested in the schools.

In my role on the authorisation board for the schools, I've visited every one of them.

Tearing Communities Apart

Cultural Marxism is Marching Into All Areas Of Our Lives

Karl Du Fresne
Stuff


A significant anniversary passed recently with surprisingly little fanfare.  News stories marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx focused on the fawning tribute paid to him by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.

There was a large dollop of irony here, since the modern Chinese communist party is highly selective in its application of Marxism. It has combined Marxist-style political totalitarianism – brutal suppression of dissent and absolute obeisance to the party – with a largely unfettered capitalist-style economy.

As an economic model, Marxism stands totally discredited. The few remaining outposts of communist ideology, such as North Korea and Cuba, are economic basket-cases, as well as notoriously repressive.  And of course Marxism's record has been irrevocably blighted by two of the most monstrous figures in history, Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao – proud Marxists who carried out mass exterminations without blinking an eye.

In view of all this, it's grimly ironic that a form of Marxism not only survives, but is rampant across the democratic Western World.

Daily Meditation

Receiving Assurance of Salvation

Ligonier Ministries

How, then, do we receive assurance? The Scripture declares that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. This inner testimony of the Holy Spirit is as vital as it is complex. It can be subjected to severe distortions, being confused with subjectivism and self-delusion. The Spirit gives His testimony with the Word and through the Word, never against the Word or without the Word.

Since it is possible to have false assurance of salvation, it is all the more urgent that we seek the Spirit’s testimony in and through the Word. False assurance usually proceeds from a faulty understanding of salvation. If one fails to understand the necessary conditions for salvation, assurance would be at best a lucky guess.

Therefore, we insist that right doctrine is a crucial element in acquiring a sound basis for assurance. It may even be a necessary condition, though by no means a sufficient condition. Without sound doctrine we will have an inadequate understanding of salvation. However, having a sound understanding of salvation is no guarantee we have the salvation we so soundly understand.

Coram Deo

Thank God for the testimony of His Spirit and His Word, which provide assurance of your salvation.

Passages for Further Study

Philippians 2:12
Romans 10:10
Romans 1:16

The Shame Of It All

Free Loading Off the United States

There are few things more likely to provoke incandescent rage in the "heartland" of the United States than nations "free loading" on the United States, while criticizing the US left, right, and centre.  

One such provocation is defence.  Since the formation of NATO, the United States has effectively bankrolled the whole box and dice.  There were historical reasons for this--such as the desperate need of European nations to rebuild their infrastructure and economies shattered by World War II.  They simply did not have sufficient funds to bank roll an effective defence capability.  The emergence of the Cold War required that the Soviet Union be contained;  Europe simply could not do it, without the financial support of the United States. 

Those days, however, are long since gone.  It is way beyond reasonable expectation for Europe to continue to expect, let alone demand, that the US continue to bank roll NATO.

"We Are a Christian Country And . . . "

Hungary's Special Responsibility

Edwin Mora
Breitbart London

The Hungarian government has no qualms about tailoring its foreign financial assistance to favor persecuted Christian communities around the world, a top official from the European nation told Breitbart News this week, exclaiming, “We are a Christian country.”

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart’s Amanda House, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, declared that Hungary is focusing on primarily helping persecuted Christians over other groups, noting:

We are a Christian country and we have to emphasize that because currently, under a mainstream liberal media, if you say so you must be very brave. That’s why, very proudly, I want to say again that we are a Christian country and that’s why we have a special responsibility to protect our Christians brothers and sisters all around the world … If we don’t protect them, who will protect them? If you don’t speak in favor of them, who will speak in favor of them?
…
For us, protecting Christian communities is of utmost importance.

Szijjártó expressed disdain towards the Christian-majority European Union’s reluctance to focus its foreign assistance to the Middle East on primarily helping their fellow Christian adherents.

Daily Meditation

Suffering for Righteousness

Ligonier Ministries

Martin Luther’s teaching of “justification by faith alone” was a battle cry for the sufficiency of the merit of Christ and for the graciousness of redemption. His slogan sola fide (“by faith alone”) was merely an extension of Augustine’s earlier credo, sola gratia (“by grace alone”).

What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ is not merit. No one can possibly subtract from or add to the merit of Christ. His merit is capable of neither diminution or augmentation. Our best works are always tainted by our sinfulness. We are debtors who cannot pay our debts, let alone accrue a surplus of excess merit. To interpret Colossians 1:24 in the way I mentioned in the previous reading is to cast a grotesque shadow over the utter perfection and fullness of Christ’s meritorious suffering.

What then does Paul mean by filling up what is lacking? If the lack is not merit, what is it? Paul repeatedly stresses the idea that the church, the body of Christ, is called to a willing participation in the humiliation and suffering of Jesus. For Paul, as with any Christian, it was a singular honor to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. But it is one thing to suffer for righteousness’ sake; it is quite another to suffer for merit’s sake.

Coram Deo

If you are suffering, reflect on these questions: Is it because of your own bad decisions? Is it because of your circumstances? Are you suffering for righteousness’ sake or is your suffering self-inflicted?

Passages for Further Study

1 Peter 4:13
Philippians 3:10
Hebrews 13:12

Progress on Brexit

Finally . . . 

This is great news--at least if you believe in national state sovereignty.  The UK Parliament has finally passed a bill whereby Britain's departure from the European Union--Brexit--becomes the law.  The Queen has given her assent, and so even a fall of the current government will make no difference.  Leaving the EU is now the law in the United Kingdom.

A BILL enacting Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has become law after months of debate, the House of Commons speaker announced today, to cheers from Eurosceptic politicians.  Speaker John Bercow said the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which repeals the 1972 European Communities Act through which Britain became a member of the bloc, had been given the formal royal assent by Queen Elizabeth II.

The bill transfers decades of European law onto British statute books, and also enshrines Brexit day in British law as March 29, 2019 at 11:00pm GMT.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the approval was a “historic moment for our country, and a significant step towards delivering on the will of the British people”, who had voted in a June 2016 referendum to exit the EU.  The bill has undergone more than 250 hours of acrimonious debate in the Houses of Parliament since it was introduced in July 2017.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From Moscow (About Properly Celebrating Jehu)

A Supreme Court Nomination Rannygazoo

Douglas Wilson
Blog&Mablog

So Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of July. This news was received with something like melting-face-consternation by the denizens of the Left, who have been pretty unhappy with Trump so far as it is. . . . For any “principled” conservatives left who object to the whole show on “principle”—and I mean all three of you—we do need to review what the heck has been happening

I want to make a basic distinction that we must hang on to here, which is that there is a profound difference between being invested in Trump’s character, personality, outlook, philosophy, and so on, and enjoying Trump’s character, personality, outlook, philosophy, and so on. Those in the former category have boarded—some early and some late—the Trump train. He’s their man. They believe in him. For all kinds of reasons, many of which I have explained a number of times, this represents a genuine spiritual hazard. Trust not in princes

But those in the latter category have decided that—at least with regard to His providential and inscrutable decrees—God’s commitment to #NeverTrump has been inadequate, and so it is perfectly all right to review everything that is happening, and to take it all into account. Not only so, but if we take it all into account, we will find ourselves enjoying the spectacle. I can’t tell you when I have enjoyed a spectacle more.

Daily Meditation

The Fear That Draws Us In

“Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:20)

John Piper

There is a fear that is slavish and drives us away from God, and there is a fear that is sweet and draws us to God. Moses warned against the one and called for the other in the very same verse, Exodus 20:20: “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.’”

The clearest illustration I have ever seen of this kind of fear was the time one of my sons looked a German shepherd in the eye. We were visiting a family from our church. My son Karsten was about seven years old. They had a huge dog that stood eye to eye with a seven-year-old.

He was friendly and Karsten had no problem making friends. But when we sent Karsten back to the car to get something we had forgotten, he started to run, and the dog galloped up behind him with a low growl. Of course, this frightened Karsten. But the owner said, “Karsten, why don’t you just walk? The dog doesn’t like it when people run away from him.”

If Karsten hugged the dog, he was friendly and would even lick his face. But if he ran from the dog, the dog would growl and fill Karsten with fear.

Now that is a picture of what it means to fear the Lord. God means for his power and holiness to kindle fear in us, not to drive us from him, but to drive us to him.

A Nation From Whom God Has Turned His Face

Our Enemy Is Within The Walls

New Zealand's record on family violence is so bad, we are told, that it makes us one of the worst countries in the OECD.  The matter is complex, deep rooted, and inter-generational. As a nation it appears we have no way out.

The Women's Refuge Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ang Jury says that family violence is a constant in New Zealand society.

It is estimated that responding to family violence accounts for 41 per cent of a frontline police officer's time.  However, the Ministry of Justice victims of crimes survey estimates only about 25 per cent of domestic violence is reported.

Police data reveals the total number of family violence investigations during the past decade has also risen rapidly - a rise Dr Ang Jury, the chief executive of Women's Refuge, says is far outgrowing what could be attributed to just population increases.  [NZ Herald]

The numbers of family violence police investigations increases annually.

Total number of family violence police investigations
• 2007 - 69,729
• 2008 - 73,280
• 2009 - 79,257
• 2010 - 86,764
• 2011 - 89,884
• 2012 - 87,639
• 2013 - 95,061
• 2014 - 101,955
• 2015 - 110,126
• 2016 - 118,910

Any trend observable, do you think?

Canadian Oppression

Free Speech Appears Defunct in Canada

Only "Accepted" and "Orthodox" Opinions Tolerated

Canadian Bus Driver Arrested For Criticizing Homosexuality, Faces Up To 2 Years In Prison

Bill Whatcott

The Canadian attorney general issued a nationwide warrant to catch a man who distributed 3,000 provocative fliers at an event where others proudly wore silhouettes of Christ on their crotches.

Jeremiah Keenan
The Federalist

Last week a nationwide criminal arrest warrant was put out on a 51-year-old Canadian named Bill Whatcott. Whatcott was in the Canadian oil sands at the time, driving a bus to support his family. It was a rough job—temporary work in remote, far-north Canada—but the only employment he could find just then to support his family of four.

Whatcott was wanted in Toronto to be charged with “Wilful Promotion of Hatred against an identifiable group, namely the gay community.” The basis for this charge? In 2016 Whatcott had distributed “safe sex” pamphlets at a gay pride parade.

These pamphlets stated homosexuality is associated with sexually transmitted diseases, including HPV of the rectum, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says is true. The pamphlets also made negative comments about the Liberal party, and stated accusations and facts about several left-wing politicians accused or convicted of various sexual crimes.

For instance, the pamphlets noted that Toronto’s former deputy education minister, who pled guilty to making and distributing child pornography in 2015, had a hand in designing Ontario’s “perverted sex education curriculum.” Government documents show he at the very least oversaw that curriculum’s design, although whether it is “perverted” may be open to debate.

The pamphlets also included Christian statements indicating that unrepentant support for homosexual acts will lead to “eternal peril” but repentance to “the free gift of eternal life.”

Daily Meditation

Avoiding a False Theology of Suffering

Martin Luther’s tenure in the monastery was a time of spiritual desperation. He was tormented by unrelieved guilt coupled with a gripping fear of the wrath of God. Why would an educated man retreat to a barren cell and abuse himself with self-inflicted physical punishment? Why would a believer go out of his way to find personal suffering?

The answer may be found partially, though not totally, in a concept that emerged in church history that equated suffering with merit. Monks fled to the desert to seek rigorous forms of asceticism and self-denial, not only as a form of spiritual discipline to maintain a healthy dependence on the grace of God, but also in quest of sanctifying merit.

A biblical text that was often cited as scriptural warrant for such activity is Colossians 1:24. Paul writes, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” The key words of this verse are “fill up … what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.”

A false theology of suffering emerged that was built on the hypothesis that the meritorious suffering of Jesus, though necessary for the redemption of God’s people, is not complete—there is additional merit that can be added to it by the suffering of the saints.

Coram Deo

Reflect on this truth: The suffering of Christ cannot be augmented by your merit. It is complete.

Passages for Further Study

Colossians 1:24
1 Peter 2:21
1 Peter 3:18

A Relief

Corruption?  It Just Ain't So

On the 23rd of June, under the heading Corruption and Incompetence we published a piece alleging that NZ Cabinet Minister, David Parker was prima facie guilty of a corrupt act.  It now emerges, however, that he was not.  

Columnist Audrey Young reports:

National had legitimate questions for Parker about the background to an exemption for one development at Mangawhai involving settlement funding of two iwi - and Parker more than answered them, which he did so at length, and with reasoned and passionate argument.

What has emerged is that although the Treasury advised against any exemption for any development, it was done after Parker took a paper to cabinet and sought its approval.  It was done on the grounds of not wanting to create a contemporary Treaty of Waitangi breach through reducing the value of returns on a major investment by iwi using redress given to it by historic breaches.

The issue of general exemption for treaty investments was considered but rejected.  The potential reduction in value was not through the bill threatening the development, because it doesn't, but by reducing the pool of potential wealthy buyers for the top-end residential sites.  Parker refused to listen to any private pleadings of any developer during the course of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill banning foreign buyers from buying New Zealand houses.  [Emphasis, ours.]  He made it clear they should make [the pleadings] to the committee.

Oppressive California Law Struck Down

Another Significant Victory In the US

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Tuesday that California cannot force pro-life pregnancy centers in the state to advertise abortions.

National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra concerned a 2015 law forcing pregnancy centers to provide written information advertising how to obtain abortions in the state at taxpayer expense, and requiring those without medical licenses to post disclaimers that they do not offer medical services. The National Institution of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) represented nearly 1,500 pro-life pregnancy centers opposed to the law.

California argued that the law was necessary to prevent “deceptive advertising” by pregnancy centers, echoing a false claim commonly leveled at pregnancy centers across the country by abortion advocates. Pro-lifers responded by calling the requirements “compelled speech” that violated the First Amendment, and which would have dramatic ramifications for free speech and religious liberty if they were allowed to stand.

In a majority opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court struck down the law as a violation of the First Amendment. Thomas rejected California’s argument that “professional speech” was a separate category from that covered in the Bill of Rights, noting that “[s]peech is not unprotected merely because it is uttered by ‘professionals.’”

Daily Meditation

Enduring When Obeying Hurts

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

John Piper

What faith performs is sometimes unspeakably hard.

In his book Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon tells the true story of a group of POWs working on the Burma Railway during World War II. 

At the end of each day the tools were collected from the work party. On one occasion a Japanese guard shouted that a shovel was missing and demanded to know which man had taken it. He began to rant and rave, working himself up into a paranoid fury and ordered whoever was guilty to step forward. No one moved. “All die! All die!” he shrieked, cocking and aiming his rifle at the prisoners. At that moment one man stepped forward and the guard clubbed him to death with his rifle while he stood silently to attention. When they returned to the camp, the tools were counted again and no shovel was missing.

What can sustain the will to die for others, when you are innocent? Jesus was carried and sustained in his love for us by “the joy that was set before him.”

Grace does signify that its objects are undeserving. So I won’t say that Jesus put his hope in grace. I will simply say that he banked on future blessing and joy, and that carried and sustained him in love through his suffering.

Whenever we follow him in this, which we should, that blessing and joy for us is grace — future grace. As a man, modeling for us how to take up our cross and follow him on the Calvary road of love, Jesus entrusted himself to his Father (1 Peter 2:23) and banked his hope on the resurrection and all the joys of reunion with his Father and the redemption of his people.

The US Supreme Court--A Window of Opportunity Just Opened

Momentous Days Ahead--One Way Or the Other

The retirement of Justice Kennedy (81) from the US Supreme Court opens up a door for Trump and the US Senate.  If a suitably conservative justice is nominated by the President and supported by the Senate it is possible that the Court will be weighted towards traditional, text orientated interpretation of the law in the United States for a long time to come.  

We need to remember that the US Supreme Court was deliberately designed to be the third nexus of the federal government (the others being the legislature (Congress and the Senate) and the President and his Federal agencies.  It was always a key check and balance upon the other two branches, keeping them "honest" as it were.

Justice Kennedy has been a festering sore on the Court. The reason is that he was an intellectual and judicial gadfly.  Here is National Review's assessment of his tenure:

Extremist Hinduism

Out!

Radical Leader Demands Christians be Forcibly Expelled from India

Persecution/International Christian Concern

ICC Note: A radical Hindu leader recently called for Christians to leave India or be forcibly expelled from the country. Om Swami Maharaj also falsely claimed  Christians were promoters of terrorism. This hate speech is just part of the increased persecution Christians have experienced in India in recent years. Often, speech like this escalated into outright violence.

06/27/2018 India (MNN) – “Leave, and leave now.” That’s the message one prominent Hindu leader is sending to Christians throughout India.

According to Open Doors USA, Hindu leader Om Swami Maharaj recently accused Christians of promoting terrorism in a video. If believers don’t leave by choice, he adds, they will be forcibly expelled from the country.

“The terrorism charge is a stretch,” says Open Doors’ David Curry, “…essentially, what they’re saying is it’s ‘un-Hindu’ behavior…‘un-Hindu’ and ‘un-Indian’ behavior is anti-state, it’s against the better needs of the state, so therefore it’s terrorism.”

Curry says the accusation is significant because “there are 65 million Christians in the country of India. They’re an important part of the community; they do a lot of charitable work, they add a lot to the fabric of life.”

The charge is certainly troubling, but it’s to be expected. Persecution against Christians has been rising steadily in India since 2014. On Open Doors’ World Watch List, the nation rose from #25 to #11 in three short years.

…

Daily Meditation

A Hiding Place for the Helpless

How abundant is your goodness, which you have . . . worked for those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19)

John Piper

The experience of future grace often hangs on whether we will take refuge in God, or whether we doubt his care and run for cover to other shelters.

For those who take refuge in God, the promises of future grace are many and rich.

• None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)
• He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)
• Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)
• The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7)

We do not earn or merit anything by taking refuge in God. Hiding in something makes no contribution to the hiding place. All it does is show that we regard ourselves as helpless and the hiding place as a place of rescue.

The condition we must meet to have this grace is not a meritorious one; it is the condition of desperation and acknowledged weakness and need.

Destitution does not demand or deserve; it pleads for mercy and looks for grace.

Society's Christian Hangovers

What's Wrong With Cheating?

An interesting article has appeared in the NZ Herald.  If Alice were here, she might call it "curiouser and curiouser".  The essence of the matter is as follows:

More than $2.1 million will be forfeited to the police following a long-running legal battle with an alleged cheating service for university assignments.  In the first case of its kind, a settlement judgment released to the Herald this afternoon comes five years after the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the police first started an investigation into Assignment4U. 

No charges were ever laid, but the police took a civil case under the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act, which has a lower evidential threshold of on the balance of probabilities.  The police case was Steven Li and Fan Yang, linked to companies running   Assignment4U, were providing "cheating services" for students to fraudulently submit purchased assignments as their own work.  [NZ Herald]

We are not sure of the ethnicity of the people involved in the systemic cheating enterprise, but their names suggest a Chinese origin.  We have seen cases over the years where students from various countries, but mainly Asian, have engaged in corrupt practices in an attempt to get passing grades in university or college.  Put more directly, they cheated.  Now an enterprising "firm" has made substantial profits from turning the latent demand into a business. 

A question of great moment is begged.

Myanmar's Unsavoury Export

From the Golden Triangle to New Zealand, With "Love"

Methamphetamine made by armed rebels and gangs in Myanmar jungles coming to New Zealand

Kurt Bayer
NZ Herald

Narco-guerrillas and ruthless foreign gangs in the lawless, remote jungles of Myanmar are cranking out high-purity crystal methamphetamine at unprecedented levels, which top drug experts say is appearing on New Zealand streets.

Safely nestled in mountainous, dense forests, with the Myanmar authorities and army turning a blind eye, and often aided by state-backed militias, high-tech meth laboratories and factories employing world-class chemists are fuelling a US$40 billion regional drug economy.

Record billion-dollar busts in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in recent months – with tonnes bound for wider distribution by organised crime supply networks – has the United Nations ramping up political pressure on troubled Myanmar, also called Burma, and other governments of the so-called Golden Triangle region, to help crack down on the rampant drug trade.

"What we see inside Myanmar right now is massive amounts of really-high-purity crystal meth being produced, and this supply push or oversupply is being connected to high demand across the region, including in places like Australia and New Zealand, which have some of the highest crystal meth prices per kilo in the world," says Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia and the Pacific regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The last three years have seen a "massive surge" in crystal meth production in northern Myanmar, especially from outside gangs moving into the territory controlled by ethnic armed groups, says Douglas, the veteran Bangkok-based UN head of office.  The mass-produced methamphetamine, widely known as P in New Zealand, is typically produced using pseudoephedrine and ephedrine – everyday cough and cold remedy ingredients. Huge quantities of the precursor chemicals are smuggled into Myanmar, mostly from China and Northeast India, the Herald has been told.

Once synthesised into crystal meth, the finished product is trafficked across the country's porous borders before being shifted through established Southeast Asian organised crime networks.

Daily Meditation

Exercising Your Power of Choice

Ligonier Ministries

Does man have a free will? This question is one of the most frequently asked questions of theology. At times, it is not voiced as a question but as an objection to the whole idea of a sovereign God. 

At the heart of the problem is the definition of free will. What are we saying when we assert that man has a free will? Stated briefly, free will simply means that man has the ability to choose what he wants. Such ability requires the presence of a mind, a will, and a desire. If these faculties are present and functioning in a man, that man has a free will.

Free will does not mean that man can choose to do anything he pleases and necessarily succeed. We may choose to fly without the aid of mechanical devices. We can fall through the air by ourselves, but we cannot fly through it. We lack the necessary natural equipment (in this case, wings) to fly. This does not mean, however, that we are not free. It does mean that our “freedom” is limited by our natural physical limitations. My will may be outvoted by the will of a majority or by some higher power. Such conflicting power does not eliminate my freedom but may surely impose limits on it.

One of the most important limits on my freedom is myself. If we examine the workings of the will closely we run into a point of irony that is often overlooked in discussions about free will. The point is this: Not only may I choose what I want, I must choose what I want if my choice is really to be free. Choice is made according to desire. Without desire there could be no free choice—certainly no moral choice.

Coram Deo

God gave you a free will to choose. You choose according to your desires. Will your present desires lead to wise choices for the future?

Passages for Further Study
Deuteronomy 30:19
Joshua 24:15
Psalm 25:12