Pat Robertson: Rider on the Storm

Pat Robertson is claiming God spoke to him, though he isn't sure he heard God correctly. 

"If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms," Robertson said May 8.

Okay, if God spoke to me and I wasn't sure I heard Him correctly, I'd ask a confirmation or follow-up question. Granted, God may not field that question, but I doubt he'd leave me uncertain of what He said. Then again, I don't believe God speaks to man this way anymore either–the time of God speaking through prophets ended when Christ was born.

Not only is Robertson claiming this, he got even more specific on his show this past Wednesday:

"There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest," he said.

Predicting that there will be storms on the coasts of our country is a gimmie. Predicting no storms would be novel, but to predict that there will be storms on coastal areas is like predicting that the sun may shine in Miami. Making this more confusing is that Robertson claims to have been told this some months ago.

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network has told viewers of "The 700 Club" that the revelations came to him during his annual personal prayer retreat in January.

In the days of the true prophets, God did not expect them to tarry after He had given them a message to share. Unless He instructed them to do so He expected them to share the message with whom He'd told them to share it. So why did Robertson wait almost 5 months to share this message?

Of course, Pat Robertson hasn't shown that he's a believable prophet of God, even if you think God does still speak to man in this way:

Robertson has come under intense criticism in recent months for suggesting that U.S. agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip.

God's people should not be calling for the assassination of foreign leaders, even if they are Commie egomaniac pot-stirrers. Also, we've no idea whether Sharon's stroke was for the reason cited by Robertson or due to something else, like, for instance, because he was/is quite obese and likely ate a poor diet.

If we have storms on the coasts, and we will, Robertson can claim authenticity. A tsunami is a rare thing, and if it does not come to pass I'm sure Robertson can give us some justifiable reason for that, such as God changed His mind, etc. Maybe he could blame Hugo Chavez for that.

Moral of the story: Don't trust anyone on this earth to speak for God. Let God speak for Himself. His words are found in the Bible. What mankind says about God is either their interpretation of the Bible (which could be right or wrong) or their personal opinion. Or, perhaps, they are just making it up for some reason.  

Light week

Sorry blogging has been light lately. I just finished a 58-hour work week (blah!) and haven’t been able to muster much time or motivation to post. I did get one post in, which was on my single day off, but that was it for the week. I’m hoping to be more active this coming week.

Praying for the nation

I hope all Christians pray for the nation in which they live; for the leaders and the people. At the dedication of the new temple, Solomon prayed for Israel. It is a wonderful, robust prayer.

What a beautiful letter

I’m trying to decide between three books I want to order. I should only spend the money for two. Which books are on the list is moot to my point, but I will mention that one of them is “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. The premise sounded good but I knew nothing of the author. I didn’t want to waste my money on a Word-Faith author, or some complete heretic, so I did some Internet recon.

Donald Miller is unorthodox, but I’d guessed as much. He has a fan site and I was reading letters to him and his replies. I came across one letter that struck me as simply wonderful. Here is the letter:

Do you have sons?

I do. Two in fact, ages 8 and 4. My brother (also two sons) sent me an e-mail he’d received from another man with sons. It’s hilarious and I’ll share it here.

Things I’ve learned from my boys (honest and not kidding):

1.  A king size water bed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep

2.  If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite

3.  A 3-year old boy’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant

4.  If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20 ft. room

5.  You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way

6.  The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan

7.  When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh”, it’s already too late

8.  Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it

9.  A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies

10.  Certain Lego’s will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year  old boy

11.  Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence

12.  Super glue is forever

13.  No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water

14.  Pool filters do not like Jell-O

15.  VCR’s do not eject “PB&J” sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do

16.  Garbage bags do not make good parachutes

17.  Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving

18.  You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is

19.  Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens

20.  The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time

21.  The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy

22.  It will, however, make cats dizzy

23.  Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy

24.  80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid

Isn’t that hilarious? Okay, gotta go. I need to see if I have any brake fluid in the garage.

The power of the e-Sword

Yesterday I installed e-Sword, a free software program. To call e-Sword a Bible program would be less than fair. Not only is it that, it’s also a study program for the Christian faith. The basic e-Sword download comes with the King James translation, complete with Strong’s numbers and the words of Christ in red text. It also comes with Strongs Bible dictionary. However, there are a myriad of other files that can be added to the basic program, all of which is free (there are a handful which cost but most are free, including some user-contributed files). Allow me to list the components that I installed with the basic e-Sword program:

Firefox: not just for geeks anymore

I’ve been using Mozilla’s Firefox browser for quite some time. It was love at first sight. Or use. It began with tabbed browsing and culminated with the increased security (versus Internet Explorer), a multitude of plug-ins and other add-ons and the little things that set it apart. I just learned another of those little things a short time ago. Did you know that if you click on a link using your mouse scroll whell button (push down on the scroll wheel) that link will open in a new tab? No more having to right click and decide if you want the page to open in a new window or tab (I almost always choose new tab, so this is a great feature). If you want the page to open in a new tab just use the scroll wheel button.

Purpose of this blog

“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.” {Matthew 25:14-15}

If I died today how many people would I have shared the gospel with? How many lives could be said to have been touched in my service to Jesus Christ? If the Lord has entrusted me with two talents, how many will I return to Him?

I’m ashamed to say I have not served Christ Jesus as I could and should have. The purpose of this blog is to improve that, even if it’s only in a small way. I need to do more than just this, but this is a start and will hopefully glorify the God who saved me from sin and misery.