We Named Him "Ginger Cat"

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An old, beat-up, one-eyed cat came into our lives last year, homeless, and malnourished. We already had five cats, who were all born in our house, and we did not need another. I did remember seeing this same orange cat with a big head walking around the neighborhood from time to time over the years. He was now in pretty bad shape, and apparently unable to hunt, or to defend himself. I decided to give him some water and dry cat food before sending him on his way, but by then it was too late. Ginger Cat had won our hearts.

We fed and cared for Ginger Cat and his condition greatly improved. He resumed patrolling the neighborhood, as he had been doing for many years, but our house was now his home, where he was loved and fed. I made him up a place to sleep in the garage for when it was cold or stormy, but mostly he liked to sleep in the cat-cube on the front porch bench. We sometimes found Ginger napping on the living room sofa, or in one of the beds. He was very affectionate, and always up for a "head butt" or a good scratching.  On many mornings, I would sit on the front porch bench with my coffee, and Ginger Cat would snuggle up next to me and watch the birds in the yard.

Last Saturday afternoon, I watched Ginger head out across the back yard on one of his walks around the neighborhood, and I fixed him up a bowl of cat food for when he came back hungry. I put it in a zip-lock bag and set it in the fridge. I don't know why he didn't come back later that day, but it was not unusual for him to stay out until the next morning. The following day he had still not shown up, and I later found out that on Sunday at about midnight Ginger Cat had been attacked and killed by a dog, about two or three blocks away.

We miss Ginger Cat very much, and we treasure the memories of all the good times we shared with this wonderful friend.


"Good Bye, my beloved, beat-up, old, one-eyed friend. I will never forget you."



Photos by Michael Boyd and Rebekah Fusina

Said "good bye" to a friend

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This is Ginger Cat with me on the front porch bench two months ago.

"JUSTIFIED"

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GOD

Have mercy on me

A sinner

Luke 18:13

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Fourth Sunday in Advent 2012

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The Collect

O LORD, Raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle

Philippians 4:4-7:
   ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
   ⁵Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
   ⁶Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
   ⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The Gospel

(John 1:19-28)
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”  They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”  Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”  He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
   
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.  They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.  It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”  These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
(NASB)

Second Week of Advent: Thursday's Reading

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A SERVANT BRINGS SALVATION

ISAIAH 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands,

and give attention, you peoples from afar.

The Lord called me from the womb,

from the body of my mother he named my name.

2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword(a);

in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me a polished arrow(b);

in his quiver he hid me away.

3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;

I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity(c);

yet surely my right is with the Lord,

and my recompense with my God(d).”

5 And now the Lord says,

he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him;

and that Israel might be gathered to him—

for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,

and my God has become my strength—

6 he says:

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

to raise up the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back the preserved of Israel(e);

I will make you as a light for the nations(f),

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth(g).”

7 Thus says the Lord,

the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,

the servant of rulers:

“Kings shall see and arise;

princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;

because of the Lord, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

a. He conquers through preaching.
b. The words are effective.
c. The Lord rejected.
d. Vindicated after death and resurrection.
e. To reconcile Jews with God.
f. He will bring the Gospel to the Nations...
g. ...through the church.

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-Scripture translation: ESV

-Selected reading from Christ in Christmas: A Family Celebration 
(C)1989 by Ligoner Ministries

-Footnotes from  New Geneva Study Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 
(C) 1995 by Foundation for Reformation

 

A National Day of Prayer and Humiliation

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Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day

The following document has often been confused with Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation. Lincoln believed that the civil war was God's judgment on the nation for it's sinfulness. And in an omimous echo of the words of the King of Nineveh in Jonah 3:7-8, Lincoln made this proclamation of a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer.

 

Washington, D.C.
March 30, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

  A Proclamation.  

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

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And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

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And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

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It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

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Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

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All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

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In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

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Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.


By the President: Abraham Lincoln

From: Holidays / tripod.com

HONORING VETERANS OF THE ARMY - NAVY - AIR FORCE - MARINES - COAST GUARD

Click here to see previous Veterans Day posts

"Honesty and the Ninth Commandment"

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Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you. ___Billy Joel

Billy Joel is searching for some honesty. All he wants is someone to believe. Don't we all? Or do we sometimes just want someone to tell us what we want to hear? Are we all too eager to hear promises that only confirm again what we want to hear, whether it is true or not?  Billy Joel has heard the empty promise before, and wants none of it:

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize.
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don't want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies.

In the art of persuasion, how often do we misrepresent the truth in overt or subtle ways. This phenomenon seems to become pandemic during election seasons.

The ninth commandment reads simply, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20). Some concise lists of the 10 Commandments just say, "Do not lie." The Westminster Larger Catechism explains the deeper meaning and implications of this commandment in light of the "whole counsel of God" in the Bible.   

This is the text of the catechism's treatment of the ninth commandment. For ease of reading, I have not included references to the many scripture proof texts here. For study purposes, it would be good to obtain a copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith with Catechisms that has footnotes for all the scripture references. Some editions have the proof texts themselves printed out below the catechism questions.

Q. 143. Which is the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Q. 144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
A. The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbour, as well as our own; __appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbours; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocence; ___a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; __discouraging tale-bearers, flatterers, and slanderers; __love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requires; ___keeping of lawful promises; __studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.

Q. 145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are,

all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbours, as well as our own, especially in public judicature; ___giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; ___passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil;_ rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; ___forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calls for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others; ___speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful and equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice; ___speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tale bearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring; ___misconstruing intentions, words, and actions; ___flattering, vain-glorious boasting; ___thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others; __denying the gifts and graces of God; __aggravating smaller faults; __hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession; __unnecessary discovering of infirmities; __raising false rumors;: __receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense; ___evil suspicion; envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any, endeavoring or desiring to impair it, rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy; scornful contempt, fond admiration; ___breach of lawful promises; ___neglecting such things as are of good report, and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.

The Loveliness of Christ

"...[Christ] is altogether lovely in his person: he is Deity dwelling in flesh, John 1:14. The wonderful, perfect union of the divine and human nature in Christ renders him an object of admiration and adoration to both angels and men, 1 Tim. 3:16. God never presented to the world such a vision of glory before. Consider how the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ is overflowing with all the graces of the Spirit, in such a way as never any of the saints was filled. O what a lovely picture does this paint of him! John  3:34, 'God gives the Spirit [to him] without limit.' "
________John Flavel (from "Christ Altogether Lovely")

Familiar Surroundings

I don't know if it is because of the email that I sent to Blogger, the feedback window where I clicked "extremely dissatisfied" on all buttons, or what, but the "return to classic template" option has reappeared, and I wasted no time choosing it. Maybe Blogger had only intended to temporarily remove it anyway, and my pathetic whining expression of concern was all unnecessary. I am told that some of the new blogger features will not work with the old style template. That's okay. I am planning to create one or two more blogs soon anyway, where the wonderful "new features" will be a welcome innovation.

Not for Stranger in a Strange Land, though. When I first developed this blog, I wanted it to have an atmosphere of tradition and familiarity in it's appearance, as well as the content of the subjects presented in the posts. That includes my choice of the parchment style background, the quotes I have selected, and the simplicity of the layout. "Stranger" in the title is how I often see myself in this "Strange Land" of dizzying changes and instability, where things are constantly not only "new," but "ALL NEW!!!" No; I am not an obscurantist. I am not opposed to innovation and improvement, or progress in general. I like new and improved stuff. But I also believe it is important for there to be some things, as far as is possible, to remain stable, dependable and familiar.

In the areas of politics, culture,  traditions, and religion, I am conservative. I believe it is good that some things in life that are permanent and stable, fixed points in a turning world, (to borrow a phrase). I am the same way in relatively "little" things, as well. A couple of weeks ago, I turned on the car radio and heard Vin Scully announcing the Dodgers game, the voice that has been so familiar to me since my youth. I like the fact they still have "Thrifty" drug store brand ice cream cones (in Rite-Aid) even though they are no longer 5 cents for a single scoop and 10 cents for a double.

So, here I am, back in familiar surroundings and looking forward to getting this blog to start producing posts again. It has been lying fallow for far too long. Maybe having it disappear for a few days was what I needed to get my mind, fingers and keyboard in gear once more.
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UPDATE _ Here is a comment from another blogger who had a similar problem:

Hi,
   I have the same problem. I was tempted by all the "new" stuff to make a
few changes and it seemed like total control was mine since I could see the
changes as I made them and there was some reassuring statement on
the control panel about always being able to go back. But I hate what
happened and want it back to the way it was. Colors shifted, words are
no longer aligned with photos, and my statement about creative commons
is totally gone. Please help, Google Blogger Folks!
Rachel

No Luck

I've been trying everything for hours, but still no luck.

Eddie, I wouldn't mind spending a few hours creating with a new template, as long as it has the same general appearance as the one that got raptured. Parchment style background - same sidebar options - blog list and web site list at the bottom. I definitely don't want the window box  look with the background that remains still while the page scrolls. I have that on Photography by Joseph blog, but I don't want it for Stranger.

HELP

Is there anyone who can help me get my blog's appearance back to the way it was? Same layout, same background, same features.

I did not want, or ask for, a new template or anything.

This is sad.

Declared Righteous Before God

Our final acquittal, that is, our being judged righteous before God, will be solely because of Jesus Christ's living a perfect life of obedience to the Father on our behalf, and His offering Himself as a perfect sacrifice on the cross as punishment for our sins. How is this righteousness appropriated by me? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that I am Justified not by my works or anything that I have done, but by faith - and by faith alone. The only way we can receive the benefit of Christ's life and death is by putting our trust in Him - and in Him alone. This is the Gospel.

Inspired by "What is the Gospel?" by R.C. Sproul at www.Ligoner.org