Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Good out of Evil

Good out of Evil

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Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

—— 1 Chronicles 23:3——

God, and only God, can take an evil and turn it for good (Gen. 50:20). This reality can be seen not only all

Often a helpful Bible study tool!
Often a helpful Bible study tool!

throughout the pages of Scripture, but in the story of history, and our own individual experience. As an example of this, when King David was tempted by Satan to undertake a sinful census of Israel (1 Chr. 21), we see God sharply rebuking David–through the seer Gad–for this sin. This census became political fuel which culminated in the dividing of the Kingdom.

Nevertheless, the good that came of this evil was that we, thousands of years later, actually have a tally of the population of Israel circa 988 B.C.; and we find that Israel’s population (of fighting age men) was around 1,100,000 and Judah’s 470,000.  [Read more…] about Good out of Evil

Murder Only 3% of the Time

Murder Only 3% of the Time

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So the Senate voted to defund Planned Parenthood, and for this we ought lift up grateful praise to the Lord for a small victory. However, you’ll likely see the Twitter-sphere abuzz with how calloused these politicians are to deprive women of their healthcare, when abortions are only 3% of what PP does.

Screen Shot 2015-12-04 at 10.53.37 AM
Dr. Quack says, “See…I don’t ONLY do amputations…that’s only a third of what I do!”

Planned Parenthood claims abortions account for only 3% of their services; this is a profoundly deceptive statistic. This is creative marketing. They also count handing out a condom as one of their services. It’s like a Doctor amputating a patients leg, handing him an aspirin and then claiming that the amputation was only 50% of the procedure. Or as Rich Lowry finely illustrated here: “Major League Baseball teams could say that they sell about 20 million hot dogs and play 2,430 games in a season, so baseball is only .012 percent of what they do.”

Nevertheless, by whatever metric you decide to use…it is intolerable to legally allow the dismembering of an unborn infant and then to also fund it via tax dollars. By Planned Parenthood’s metric a serial murderer could claim that only 3% of his activities were murder, and so if you want to execute him you must be against eating cereal and getting dressed in the morning. Hater…

Go Wrap Some Food in Bacon (A Thanksgiving Meditation)

Go Wrap Some Food in Bacon (A Thanksgiving Meditation)

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Thanksgiving, though not usually thought of as a proper Christian holiday (as it does not commemorate anlightstock_159393_xsmall_user_5740715 event in Christ’s life), is a wonderful opportunity to practice a very Christian principle. The obvious is that this week reminds us to pause and reflect on the things we are grateful for, thus leading us to thank those around us through whom those blessings come. This ultimately should lead us to give thanks to the Giver of all gifts, God Almighty.

But taking this a level deeper, the history of this holiday is rich with meaning; our early American ancestors had a rather rough time settling into the New World. After many trials (famine, winter, disease, death) they finally succeeded (with the help of the Indians) in growing sufficient crops to last them through the winter. They set aside several days at the end of this first harvest to feast in gratitude for God’s provision of their earthly needs.

This holiday has always been associated with harvest, grain, and in agrarian cultures this would obviously lead to gratitude. In our supermarket world, good (and not so good) food is readily available year round. Then, a bad harvest meant a higher likelihood of disease and death; thus, a bountiful harvest would bring a sense of joyous relief and grateful gladness.

As we celebrate this week, do not let it slip past you that Christ arose on the first day of the harvest season, as a first fruits offering unto God (Ex. 23:16). His seed fell into the ground and died, and now is bringing forth a great harvest of souls (Jn. 12:24). Jesus came to begin the great harvest season of redemptive history. He declared the fields of this world are ripe for harvesting (Jn. 4:35), and with his resurrection became the first fruits of God’s great soul harvest. He then sent forth His apostles with the commission to sow the seed of the Gospel and reap the harvest of souls whom God redeemed.

Though now wheat and tares grow up together, our task is not to be disregarded or ignored; but we are to plow in faith, sow in faith, and reap in faith…knowing that soon God will fill the garners of the new earth with His saints, and cast the false sons into the eternal fire of judgement. So, celebrate Thanksgiving this year with great joy and great purpose. Be exceedingly thankful if indeed the Gospel has been sown into your life and brought forth the fruit of repentance. God has been good to us, and the best is yet to come (see Revelation 21-22). So go wrap food in bacon, pour sugary syrup over pecans and bake it in the oven, lift up a cup of creamy hot chocolate, and rejoice mightily in the harvest that will soon be complete! Happy Thanksgiving!

1 Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; 

all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. 

God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; 

come to God’s own temple, come,  raise the song of harvest home. 

2 All the world is God’s own field, fruit as praise to God we yield; 

wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown; 

first the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear; 

Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be. 

3 For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home; 

from the field shall in that day all offenses purge away, 

giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast; 

but the fruitful ears to store in the garner evermore. 

4 Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring thy final harvest home; 

gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin, 

there, forever purified, in thy presence to abide; 

come, with all thine angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home.

 

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As a Thanksgiving gift to you all, Elsje and I tried this recipe last year and substituted the chicken for a turkey. It was rather tasty…and as an added tip, wrap the turkey with Prosciutto. You won’t regret it!

 

Understand the Shaking

Understand the Shaking

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And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 

——Ezekiel 30:26——lightstock_2581_xsmall_user_5740715

Throughout Ezekiel, the phrase (or a turn of it) “they shall know that I am the Lord” makes 60+ appearances. This phrase is used often throughout the whole OT, frequently in Exodus, but in no other book do we find it so oft repeated. It’s striking how often this phrase occurs as you read through Ezekiel, and what’s so fascinating about its repetition is that it mostly occurs right in the thick of “doom and gloom” passages of God’s judgement on Israel, Tyre, Egypt, Magog, etc.

Essentially, we read over & over in Ezekiel, that when we see the tumult, the chaos, the shaking of earthly kingdoms, we are to understand that there is a purpose to all these happenings. They aren’t accidental, erratic, or meaningless; rather they are deliberate, poignant, profound and entirely purposeful. These shakings all occur so that the peoples of the earth “shall know that I am the Lord God.” [Read more…] about Understand the Shaking

Our Old Rag Collection

Our Old Rag Collection

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I’m reading through a book right now called “Essentialism”, and apart from being a really helpful book, it is also full of several anecdotes, illustrations, etc. One of them has really struck me and stuck with me. There is a term called “sunk-cost bias” and the basic idea of it is that once we’ve invested our resources into something, we tend to have an irrational loyalty to it, despite the fact that the continued pursuit or investment isn’t solvent, is a wasted ventured, or is heading towards disaster.

This is why casinos work so well, because they exploit this irrational tendency to continue to invest in Titanic-sinkingsomething, even though we’re losing money and gaining nothing, simply because we’ve invested in it. The classic example of this was the Concord planes that Britain and France built; it became clear very quickly that these planes cost more to build, run, and maintain than they were worth. The market was never there, and never would be there and still the governments continued to prop these planes along, despite continuing and increasing losses. [Read more…] about Our Old Rag Collection

Book Review: RJ Rushdoony’s “Thy Kingdom Come”

Book Review: RJ Rushdoony’s “Thy Kingdom Come”

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Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and RevelationThy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation by Rousas John Rushdoony
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up Rushdoony’s commentary on Daniel and Revelation and couldn’t put it down. It was a tremendously delightful, inspiring, convicting, and insightful read. It can’t be stated enough that the Christian faith is an eschatologically optimistic one. We all too often have a pessimistic view of end times stuff; it tends to be much doom and gloom, rather than the victory which Scripture describes it to be. I found many quotable sections, and if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably noticed a good deal of quotes from Rushdoony (all from this book). This book would be a helpful introduction to the preterist/postmillennial eschatological perspective.

The first few chapters are little cumbersome and heady, and at a few points Rushdoony displays a lack of charity for differing viewpoints. However, if you believe you’re in the truth, you ought to hold tightly to it, which he does; I would hope for a bit more geniality and winsomeness. Nevertheless, it was truly a wonderful and encouraging read, and I have a hunch I will reference this little volume often.

Rushdoony helps bring clarity to the symbolism of prophecy, as well as showing Revelation’s correct rooting: the Old Testament. We are often confounded by the pictures used in the final book of the Bible, but if we thought in terms of Biblical symbolism, imagery, and how the OT prophets speak we would avoid much of the outlandish ideas about John’s apocalyptic vision!

I’ve attached all the quotes I posted online for your enjoyment, and to entice you to read the book (and follow me on twitter/facebook):

The modern lust in religion & all of life for a battle-free victory is only escapism of the ugliest sort. RJ Rushdoony
— Ben Zornes (@benzornes) September 5, 2015

Acceptance into Christ’s army means not deliverance from battle but deliverance from defeat. RJ Rushdoony

— Ben Zornes (@benzornes) September 5, 2015

The church that seeks the FORM rather than the POWER of life is in full retreat from life & from Christ. RJ Rushdoony
— Ben Zornes (@benzornes) September 5, 2015

One can’t love God without hating all that He hates & all that which opposes Him. Men who can’t hate are beyond love also… RJ Rushdoony

— Ben Zornes (@benzornes) August 29, 2015

Men and nations want to believe in their autonomy, their independence of God; they prefer to see themselves as masters…

Posted by Ben Zornes on Thursday, August 13, 2015

If the church confines its teachings to “spiritual” matters, it must neglect most of Scripture, which speaks to man’s condition in every area of life. RJ Rushdoony

Posted by Ben Zornes on Tuesday, September 22, 2015

For too many people, the purpose of any reading of Revelation is to enable them to walk by sight. They demand a chart…

Posted by Ben Zornes on Wednesday, September 30, 2015

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Book Review: Douglas Bond’s “The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts”

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The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts (A Long Line of Godly Men Profiles)The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts by Douglas Bond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the things I am most grateful to my parents for is that they put Christian biographies in my hand from a young age. It has really made me much of the man I am, and given to me a love for history, and learning from men and women who have “gone before”. Thus, a regular part of my reading diet is biography. I recently went through Douglas Bond’s short biography of Isaac Watts (The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts), and wanted to share several of the gems I gleaned from it.
Ligonier has published a whole series of biographies on godly men called “A Long Line of Godly Men”(http://www.ligonier.org/store/collect…). This is the first one I’ve read, but I am eager to go through more of them.
Bond skillfully makes Watts life, ministry and work very accessible to the lay reader. Watts was born into a rich legacy of faithfulness to Scripture above all else; when he was born his father was in prison, for refusing to conform to the Anglican church. Thus, from an early age he learned from his Father to obey God rather than men. Watts’ father instructed his children: “Do not entertain any hard thoughts of God or of His ways, because His people are persecuted for them; for Jesus Christ Himself was persecuted to death by wicked men, for preaching the truth and doing good; and the holy apostles and prophets were cruelly used for serving God in His own way.”
Further, his father gave the best gift a father can give, a love God’s Word: “Let all the knowledge and learning you attain by other books, both at school and at home, be improved as servants to help you the better to understand God’s Word. The sum of all the counsel I can give you is contained in that blessed Word of God.” Summed up in these two quotes from Watts’ father is really the bedrock that every child needs: first, obey God, no matter the consequences, and secondly, submit everything to the authority of God’s Word.
Watts was an incredible smart and learned man, but for all his learning he aimed to maintain a Christ-centered, Christ-honoring focus. This is a keen lesson which our modern generation must learn: Christ is central. Whenever the center is removed, things fall a part, which is precisely what is happening in our day and age. The answer is not more garbled and senseless worship songs that cater to mushy brains and calloused hearts. Instead, we need what Watts offered the church: sharp truths that cut through our sinfulness and pride, and leaves us in wonder of the marvelous glory of Christ.
Douglas Bond makes a wonderful statement in regards to the need in the church and in the individual believer’s life for Christ centered, Christ exalting worship: “I for one do not want for an instant to be thrilled with emotion, to become a junkie of my feelings, to be enslaved to raw passion— and tell myself it’s Christ with which I’m thrilled. I don’t want a cheat. I want Christ.”
Bond, rightly, recognizes that as the modern church has left off singing doctrinally sound, theologically rich, poetically vibrant, melodically meaningful hymns it has consequently become rather irrelevant to the culture. Ironically, in the modern church’s aim to be “relevant” to the culture it has, in fact, become so much like the world so as to be unrecognizable as a gathering of the people of the Kingdom of Christ. Our songs have become more about us worshipping God, than they are about worshipping God. Watts gave something precious to the church of his generation: theologically rich and poetically vibrant hymns about the glorious Gospel of Christ. We would do well to return to learn a thing or two from Watts and other faithful saints like him, and aim to write lasting hymns for future Christian generations.
Bond summarizes this need well: “As we flounder about in the “liturgical fidget” of the contemporary church, Watts can provide both the theological and liturgical ballast Christian worship so desperately needs. And he can give us an emotional rudder, a means of steering the passions in worship by objective propositional truth feelingly delivered. Without such a rudder, worship is shipwrecked on the shoals of cheap-trick emotionalism generated in much the same way it is at a concert or a football game. Tragically, in place of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in worship to Jesus Christ (Col. 1: 16– 17), raw feelings of having done so may be supplanting the real thing.”
I’d highly recommend this biography to everyone, but especially those who are worship leaders, pastors, or church leaders. It is a rather short and sweet biography, and a very enjoyable read.

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Ben Zornes