The Case of the Missing Hats…

29 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

No Navy working uniform is complete without its appropriate cover (or “hat” for you not military types), and today as I changed into my coveralls and went to grab my command ball cap, I was stunned to find that all the covers in the office were missing. Mine and my co-worker’s covers were no where to be found. I looked high and low, in every office space we own, in every fanroom we own, and I could only find one cover which me and my shipmate have been passing back and forth.

Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day if I can’t find my cover, and I have a suspicion that some of our most esteemed contractors are to blame since they had taken it upon themselves to enter our space and begin working on a project a day earlier than planned. The mystery goes on, and I will let you know what I find…or don’t find.

Blessings,

Michael

Quality Time Off

28 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

What does a pipe, whiskey flavored tobacco, grilled hot links with spicy mustard & cheese, sandalwood incense, a beautiful winter’s evening over looking the city’s lights, going two days unshaven, and sweet tea all have in common? They are the ingredients to some overdue quality time off. Despite what others may tell you work can be stressful; and sometimes just downright overtaxing. This added to the difficulty of being away from my family during the holidays, I must admit that I have been at my wits end.

The past couple of days, and especially this evening, have been the longed for time I really needed to myself. I’ve had the opportunity to dedicate much needed time to prayer and study, enjoying the small mercies in life, and even had ample time to speak to my wife and daughter over the phone. Truly this has been a time of rest.

It is moments like these when I pause and reflect upon the grace and mercy of the Lord. This Thanksgiving I had much to be thankful for. My wife and my daughter, my job, my victory in the semi-annual PFA, the time of calm and restful relaxation, and -above all- the love of God which has drawn me to Himself.

Tomorrow my week begins all over again, but -thanks be to God- I am ready and well rested for the race that is ahead.

How were your holidays, and what are you thankful for?

Blessings!

Christians, Culture, Loopholes, and a Long Couple of Weeks

27 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.” ~Proverbs 21:30

It has been a trying couple of weeks. I’ve been assaulted by all manner of strange philosophies and ideologies that claim Christ as their core, and yet they seem as far from Christ as possible. As one who associates with a certain subculture, I find it so frustrating to see self-professing Christians use awkwardly interpreted Scriptures to justify their actions and associations, and then stop there. As if they want to move forward in their hobbies and interests and pull the Christian card only when it’s convenient.

As a Side Note: Let me just say this, if you have to search the Scriptures for some loophole to justify whatever it is that you are doing, perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it. I have seen people search for loopholes to justify tattoos, piercings, clothing styles, listening to certain types of music, having a drink of alcohol, smoking, or whatever else it may be that they desire to do. If you are fighting your conscience on a matter, let your conscience win because how much greater is God than your own conscience? Tattoos, piercings, etc. (I’m picking on those because they are the silliest matters I’ve seen addressed) are not for everybody. If you are starting to feel a pang of guilt for considering that cool tattoo you want to get, don’t get it. It might not be for you at the moment, or it may not be for you at all.

What part of LORD do we not understand? Are we not to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship? Do we not know that we are not our own, for we were bought at a price? It as if we are more concerned with being our own unique individual self, than we are about denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and following the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed us with His Blood on Calvary.

Lord, help us. We are so weak, and we are so feeble.

Over the past few weeks I have listened to a man who is more interested in gathering disciples for himself, and convincing others that he has the right answers, than he is in seeking the Scriptures and giving his life over to God. A man who wants so much to be some grand spiritual leader, and yet his fruit bears witness to the spiritual death that is inside of him. And he is so enchanted by his own self grandeur, in love with his idols of education and antiquity, that I can’t help but to be reminded of the Word which says:

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

~2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

And it hurts because we’ve had this conversation, we’ve been down this trail, and that tree looks all too familiar.

Somehow, it seems that Christ isn’t important or exciting anymore. That He has somehow bored us, and now we have to dress Him up in the latest fashions just to keep Him relevant and inviting to ourselves and to the culture around us. It is absolutely ridiculous the idolatry that we have found ourselves in. And more and more as I see the culture around me, and Christians who look more like the culture around me than they do Christ, I’m starting to wonder where did it all go wrong.

When did Christ become not enough? When did the cries of Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria become so offensive and trite that we simply let them fade away? It seems now, that what matters most is that we be inviting and welcoming with a message that reaches out to the community, and -as far as I have seen- more often than not, that message is a watered down gospel cluttered with all manner of gimmicks and funny jokes to make it entertaining and look attractive to a dying world that revels in its own decay.

THE GOSPEL IS AN OFFENSE to those that are perishing. THE CROSS IS AN OFFENSE to those that deny Christ as Lord and Savior. Watering down the gospel, or smoothing off the rough edges of the cross (to paraphrase C. H. Spurgeon), is to rob God. Are we somehow more loving and more wise than our Father in Heaven that we try to take the offense out of that which is incredibly offensive?

Man is wicked and at enmity with God. Man is on a fast lane speeding towards Hell with a smile on his face. Man is making merry to eternal damnation, and unless we tell him how offensive and heinous his sin is to God, and what Christ has done that men might be saved, man will continue happily on his way to an eternity that stops in the full presence of God’s wrath.

I am fearful also, that there are a number of people who call themselves Christians, that have gone to church all their lives, that have done all the churchy things expected of them, who were at every Sunday service, and maybe at various midweek and home services, that will stand before God and hear those terrible words, “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you!” When our lives have no sign of change, when sin is of no importance to us, when holiness means nothing to us, when Christ is a subject we already know all about, when we live like the devil (to paraphrase Paul Washer) shouldn’t we be terrified?

How is your life any different now from before you knew Christ?

The Manhattan Declaration was encouraging, but I’m afraid it is not enough. Spurring us to act in regards to certain moral issues with a piece of paper signed by Christian and Christian-like religious leaders is heart breaking. Why should we be compelled to do that which we should have been doing from the beginning? Should it not be second nature for us to oppose the murder of unborn children? Should it not be second nature for us to oppose the various sexually immoral unions and encounters that we are being pressured into approving? Why does it take a piece of paper to get some of us to act? Why haven’t we already been taking to the streets with the GOSPEL!?

What makes our lives different from the unbelieving? Is there something that obviously sets us apart from the world around us beyond our words? Do our neighbors look at us and know something is different about our lives? Or are we simply content with putting on a t-shirt that says “Jesus” in a logo similar to that of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, instead of putting on Christ each and every day?

I am tired of lukewarm Christianity. I am tired of the “Have it Your Way” fast food gospel. I’m tired of churchianity and a church culture that denies Christ and promotes a life given to moralistic deism.

It is as if somehow our wisdom, our understanding, and our counsel are greater than God’s. Somehow we’ve become more intelligent, more gentle, more loving, and more peaceful than God. And this blasphemy is taking us, and the world, straight to Hell.

Lord, help us. We are weak, and we are feeble.

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.” ~Proverbs 21:30

Manhattan Declaration

26 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

The Manhattan Declaration. Download it. Read it. If you agree, sign it. If you don’t agree, don’t sign it. If you agree, but object to signing it on biblical/moral grounds, don’t sign it. It is up to you, don’t be pressured. Period.

But at least read it, and consider it.

“I Am Not Ashamed of the TRUE Gospel” ~Paul Washer

26 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

“The Greatness of the Gospel” ~Paul Washer

24 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

Quote of the Day

22 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

“The spiritual combat and conflict the people of God have is not only between corruption and holiness, but also between doubting and faith.”

~Anthony Burgess

“Ocean and a Rock” ~Lisa Hannigan

22 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

Calvary Chapel Hanford Follow Up…Part II

21 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

One month and twenty-five days ago I wrote something that stirred up quite the controversy with my past. People were hurt as they missed the very meaning and purpose of my words. Publicly I was taken to task by the pastor of the church of my youth, Pastor Gene Pensiero, where he asked me to call him to discuss the hurtful things I had said.

He kept himself at the forefront of my mind by posting comments on my blog, and opposing Reformed Theology poorly and fervently until that following Monday, if I remember correctly, when I called him as promised.

Our call seemed hopeful. Some frightful things came to light, but I had hope that there was sincerity with Gene, and that I could find peace and reconciliation with that place and their shepherds. Gene seemed to genuinely want to work things out; and I laid down my suspicions that he was merely trying to save face and protect his reputation. Maybe it was because I desperately wanted peace.

After our phone call I did a follow up post regarding our conversation; after which conversations with Gene went quiet. I sent a few emails nudging him to find out if he had gone through a file I sent him -a file which emphasized my experience with Calvary Chapel Hanford and my stand that they turn a blind eye to sin for the sake of peace. I was told that I would receive his comments and thoughts on the matter.

The file contained the last correspondence that my father and I have had with one another in which Gene Pensiero was courtesy copied by four different people during the two month conversation to an email address which Gene had confirmed as valid and functional. When the incident took place, somehow he just didn’t receive anything from the individuals involved in the process. Originally when he told me that he had not seen any of the emails during that time, I found it difficult to believe, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

It has been one month and fifteen days since that email, and it has been one month and fifteen days since I wrote my follow up, and what have I received? nothing. No follow up, no “hey we haven’t forgotten you, Mike.” Just nothing. It seems that when Gene Pensiero’s reputation was given benefit, he was done.

And so, now, I understand…

I was raised by self-glorifying men, who encouraged and enabled sin by turning a blind eye to its practice. Who taught me that a godly and moral outward appearance was more important than a life given over to the Lord; and much more important than dealing with sin. Men who taught me that the best way to understand Scripture is in a way that best fits the cross-shaped box we build for it. Men, who by their moralistic deism taught me that peace was to be had at any cost.

And even today there is no change. I was willingly deceived by the smooth words of Pastor Gene Pensiero because I wanted peace more than anything with those who for years I called family. I allowed my hope to get the better of me, and I set aside the truth of what I went through in eager anticipation of making things right.

I am a fool. Time and again I have to be reminded that it is not mine to make right the wrongs that took place. I cannot change hearts. I cannot convince that self-serving, personally-infallible, personality cult of the truth, because they are blinded to anything that takes them away from what they desire to hear.

Gene did not want peace, but his reputation protected. Nothing I’ve ever said about Calvary Chapel mattered until his reputation was put on the line.

There were things discussed in our phone call that further vindicate the things I have said here today, but I gave my word not to disclose those things here.

Truly, the Lord has seen me safely through so much more than -even now- I realize. Daily I learn more and more of God’s unfailing steadfast love that brings His children through the fire.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Metamorphosis…

16 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

I’m trying something new. Check it out, keep it in prayer, and let me know what you think.

metamorphosiswt11

Families of 9/11 Victims Divided Over Detainee Trial Plan…

15 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

Ed Kowalski, of the 9/11 Families for a Secure America Foundation, said: “To allow a terrorist and a war criminal the opportunity of having U.S. constitutional protections is a wrong thing to do and it’s never been done before. President Obama is wrong to do this.”
~Families of 9/11 Victims Divided Over Detainee Trial Plan

I wonder where the change is that our nation was promised. We have heard long winded speeches that have brought about no substance and no results. Arrogant rhetoric that has time and again put down this people and have turned our vicious and dangerous enemies into victims. I wonder if this man thought he could bring about a world-wide Utopia with a silver tongue, and a self demeaning attitude.

The president is a civil servant. He is placed at the head with the understanding that he serves not himself, but the people. I wonder whose dream he is trying to fulfill; ours or his own.

I have no faith in this man. One who does not understand war. One who does not see with open eyes that we have real enemies banging at our doors looking to hurt us in whatever way they can. With only the weak wagging of a finger, and a disapproving scowl in the direction of our adversaries, he emasculates us before the whole world.

What has happened to my country, and to my countrymen? What has happened to the pride we had in ourselves. How have we have given too strong a voice to a minority who opposes the very values that the majority upholds, and how have we allowed such snakes into the highest of places to represent a majority that they truly don’t represent at all? We have been fooled.

The men to be tried are not U.S. citizens. They are war criminals and should be tried as such. Yet we are quietly standing by as one man tries these madmen under the protection of the U.S. Constitution as if they were fellow citizens with us.

Of Marriage and Divorce…

14 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

1. Christian marriage is an institution ordained of God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, established and sanctified for the happiness and welfare of mankind, into which spiritual and mutual esteem and love, bearing with each other’s infirmities and weaknesses, comforting each other in trouble, providing in honesty and industry for each other and for their household, praying for each other, and living together the length of their days as heirs of the grace of life.

2. Because the corruption of man is apt unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage, and because the Church is concerned with the establishment of marriage in the Lord as Scripture sets it forth, and with the present penitence as well as with the past innocence or guilt of those whose marriage has been broken; therefore as a breach of that holy relation may occasion divorce, so remarriage after a divorce granted on grounds explicitly stated in Scripture or implicit in the gospel of Christ may be sanctioned in keeping with his redemptive gospel, when sufficient penitence for sin and failure is evidence, and a firm purpose of and endeavor after Christian marriage is manifest.

~Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith

I PASSED!

13 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

Okay, so I had to take a slight break from social media in general as I was finishing my first semester with LU. I passed. I’ll be back in a little bit with a new post, and hopefully slide into my normal routine!

Quote of the Day…

9 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Quote of the Day…

7 November 2009 by Michael Brewer

“Let the wife make the husband glad to come home,
and let him make her sorry to see him leave.”

~Martin Luther