NOTE TO SELF

"The Declaration of Independence dogmatically bases all rights on the fact that God created all men equal; and it is right; for if they were not created equal, they were certainly evolved unequal. There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the divine origin of man." - G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw In America, 1922

I need to finally read some Chesterton.

A CUP OF COLD WATER

I know that these people sound happy. But please do not mistake the election in Iraq as good news.

In the United Arab Emirates, where nearly 12,600 Iraqis registered, voters cheered and clapped as they cast their ballots.

"I would have crawled to vote for my Iraq," said an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

"It is the chance we have been waiting for, for decades," said 60-year-old physician Nazem Kazem Saoodi, who turned up 15 minutes after polls opened.

"Yes, we did it!" shouted Ali al-Kabeer, clapping his hands after casting his ballot and breaking into tears as he hugged his wife who also voted.

Six polling stations were open in Iran, which has the largest number of expatriates registered to vote -- almost 61,000 people.

At a mosque in the holy city of Qom, Iraqis -- men in one line, women in another -- waited patiently to cast votes and voiced their dreams of a new Shiite future for Iraq.

"The future government must be Islamic and pleasing to God," said 35-year-old theology student Samir al-Shamari.

Ghassem, an Iraqi Shiite aged 38, concurred, saying: "The future authority must be an Islamic republic but not resemble that of Iran."

It's amazing what folks will do when the faucet of freedom has been shut off for 50 years, and God allows it to flow again. Thank God! I know it's going to be a violent few days for Iraq. The enemy has been blowing up schools all over Baghdad just in case they are used as polling places. Most candidates are running incognito. It's still worth it, despite what our lefty friends continue to proclaim.

Awesome stuff at this site: http://www.friendsofdemocracy.info/

IF YOU ARE A MAN

It's pretty simple really.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit ad-ltery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with l-stful intent has already committed ad-ltery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30)

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23)

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from s-xual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of l-st like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (I Thessalonians 4:2-8)

What goes through our minds is of primary importance to our Creator. What we choose to meditate on and dwell upon in our minds has serious spiritual consequences. When we disregard the clear requirement to maintain both physical and mental purity, we are disregarding the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have the freedom to create an alternate definition of godly s-xuality.

Guess what, gentlemen? There is no person on earth whose eye CAUSES him or her to sin. There is no hand on the planet CAUSING its owner to sin. Jesus is trying to show us the ridiculousness of our excuses for our sin. The man who severs his hand or plucks out his eye discovers pretty quickly that the impurity and filth in his heart is not suddenly cured. Although immorality is fueled by a natural bodily drive, our bodies are not the SOURCE of sin. It is our hearts that must be removed, and replaced with hearts that submit to our Lord.

There is no substitute for fleeing temptation and casting our evil desires before God in prayer and asking Him to transform us through the Holy Spirit. It is difficult and goes against every inclination of our natural minds. The battle will not be won in an hour or a day or a month or a year. But we must fight, calling on every spiritual blessing available to us in Christ. We must.

The temple of the Holy Spirit can no longer be a repository for s-xual garbage. We can't cleanse it completely under our own power. I must have God's grace both to will and to do His good pleasure. Lord Jesus, help.