September 3, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Here's a good joke.

The Democrats are saying SP doesn't have enough experience to be a heart beat away from the hot seat and the Republicans are saying BHO doesn't have enough experience to be banging the drum.

I'm reminded of two favorite sentences from my favorite political satirist: "The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it" (P.J. O'Rourke).

Or as somebody said, "Assuming that either the left wing or the right wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles."

@#$%

My favorite writers are Frederick Buechner, P.J. O'Rourke, Apostle Paul, and Kurt Vonnegut.

The third one doesn't count because he got lots of help from God.

And I'm gonna need a lot of help from God after confessing the first sentence.

@#$%

I'm reminded of Picasso's response to criticism of his abstractions: "When I was twelve, I could paint like Raphael. It took years before I could paint like this."

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In a book which I wrote but nobody buys even though www.amazon.com sells it so much cheaper than any of those books on the expansive foreign policy experiences of BHO and SP, I said, "If you think you've arrived, it's time to start over."

It's like golf.

When you think you've finally found the secret, you play as poorly as I did on Labor Day.

@#$%

I need Jesus to save me because I'm never quite up to His standards.

That's why we talk about grace being more important than law in the end.

Or as a buddy likes to say, "I sin. God saves. What a great deal!"

@#$%

I thought about that when a pastor in Florida who I really like but who can't stand me wrote to tell me to stop being so judgmental about stuff which I believe is anathema to Christianity as patterned by Jesus and prescribed in the Bible.

I thanked him for reminding me of what I believe as noted in the previous section of this KD.

But my shortcomings should never be considered license or cause to compromise on His standards as, uh, patterned in Jesus and prescribed in the Bible.

@#$%

Humility is knowing we're not as good as momma says nor as bad as my critic points out.

Humility is also praying and working to get better as, uh, patterned by Jesus and prescribed in the Bible.

And that means, as Ernie Campbell always liked to point out, "The Bible is bigger than our favorite parts."

@#$%

For example, people who advocate what is clearly anathema to Biblical Christianity as, uh, patterned by Jesus and prescribed in the Bible and upheld by even mainline denominations need to remember the Bible has always been considered the manual of faith and morality in Christendom even when it contradicts their fallen proclivities and practice.

Likewise, people who advocate, uh, burning folks at the stake whose behavior is clearly anathema to Biblical Christianity need to remember the overwhelming witness of the Bible on discipline is redemptive rather than punitive.

In other words, Christianity is not defined by our feelings but by the revelations of His will in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture.

@#$%

And, fortunately, in the end, that means we're gonna get in not because of how good we are but because of how graciously great He is.

Let me put it another way - a way which really ticks off anal theologians: "You can be right about everything yet wrong about Jesus and you're in a lot of trouble; but you can be wrong about everything yet right about Jesus and you'll live happily ever after."

Thank You, Jesus.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!