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Author Archives: barrydean

Grandmas, granddaughters, and fireflies

Yesterday, July 4th was a big day here in Nebraska. For further evidence just see the picture of our local granddaughter Livy (short for Olivia) nestled up against Grandma after a fun filled 4th of July. Livy fought a surprising fight against Mr. Sandman but in the end the evidence speaks for itself. You can’t hear it but she is actually sleeping to the sound of neighborhood fireworks in the near distance.

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.. (Proverbs 17:6)

Grandmas are pretty special too.

I have also included a video of something my sweet wife dearly loves to witness. The lighting of the fireflies across the lawn in the summertime. I shot this as we were sitting on our front porch. The video is a little grainy, but the fireflies can easily been seen.

6 Comments

Posted by barrydean on July 5, 2008 in Family, fireflies, granddaughters, Grandma, grandparents, Olivia, Personal

Music review Tuesday – Shinedown

01 Jul

This is the third time I have reviewed an album by this American hard rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band is Shinedown. The band Shinedown has to be one of my favorite new bands of this decade right behind Alter Bridge. The two bands have toured together. What a dream concert that would be to see. The lead vocalist, Brent Smith, whose vocal range would make any rock singer want to give up and try another line of work, names his main influence with Otis Reading. The band has been noted for having had one of their songs performed on American Idol. It was performed by the only one who could do the song “I Dare You” any justice. It was none other than Chris Daughtry before he went on to fame and fortune. Since my last review two band members, bassist Brad Stewart, and guitarist Jasin Todd have left Shinedown. Drummer Barry Kerch is the only remaining original member besides Smith. The new line up includes new guitarists Nick Perri, and Zach Myers, along with new bassist Eric Bass.

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Posted by barrydean on July 1, 2008 in Music Review, Shinedown, The Sound of Madness

Step back, take a deep breath

27 Jun

and weigh it against the scriptures. That continuation of this post heading is from one of the rare critical comments I found as I researched “The Shack” by William P. Young. This is the newest book being heralded in the Christian community. For the most part this book is getting rave reviews. Just yesterday (June 26th) the book received 10 reviews and all but one were given the highest mark (5 stars) by the reviewer. The book has been as high as #7 of the top selling books on Amazon.com. The book is hugely popular. It currently has over 680 reviews, with 527 of them ranking it 5 stars.

As a Christian I have seen many books get heralded as the next new great thing to bring you closer to God. To mention a few: “The Purpose Driven Life”, “The Prayer of Jabez”, “Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper”, “Wild At Heart”, “The Ragamuffin Gospel”. Each of these were gobbled up by the Christian community. Are we that desperate and thirsty to know God outside of His word? Do we abandon everything we know or don’t know about who God is as written in scripture? Someone explain to me why we latch on to what a man has written above what is found in the God breathed scripture. Why do we not step back, take a deep breath, and weigh the book against scripture?

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Posted by barrydean on June 27, 2008 in Christian books, Dr. Albert Mohler, Mark Driscoll, The Shack, The Trinity, Theology

Which path are you on?

24 Jun

A new report published yesterday (June 23rd) by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life indicates that people from all major religious categories believe that their religion is not the only path to eternal life, and that there’s not just one correct version of their faith. The report is based on a massive national poll commissioned by the organization last year. According to Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, “What most people are saying is, ‘Hey, we don’t have a hammerlock on God or salvation, and God’s bigger than us and we should respect other people.'” Rev. Reese is partly correct. God is definitely bigger than us. But we should respect Him and His word given to us.

This report is nothing new. Anyone who cares about the direction our culture and nation are going in relation to religion or more importantly the gospel of Jesus Christ has seen this coming for a long time. This direction is right out of the post-modern textbook. The church of today continues to water down the message Jesus Christ commissioned us to give to the nations. And as we cowardly buckle under the pressure to not just tolerate other religious views but accept them as well, we will continue to see this tolerance of an anti-gospel grow and grow. We will also see more intolerance for those of us who will not, by the grace of God, allow our spine to become like rubber and accept this notion. This accommodation that flies in the face of John 14:6, as Jesus emphatically states:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is the essence of the gospel. Jesus came to this earth and lived a sinless life. He came to die for the sinners. He died on the cross and took on the wrath of God that was due to the sinner. He was raised again on the third day and before he ascended back to heaven He gave us a commission to take what we know about Him to all the nations. We cannot compromise that. So which path are you on? The narrow one that leads to truth and Christ or the supposed many other paths to heaven and eternal life?

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Posted by barrydean on June 24, 2008 in eternal life, gospel, heaven, John 14:6, post-modernism, Preaching, tolerance

Music review Tuesday – 3 Doors Down

23 Jun

Those guys from Escatawpa, Mississippi are back at it again. If you aren’t a big fan of their music you might not know who I am writing about. The band is 3 Doors Down. The band that rocked a song about the only substance that can kill Superman with “Kryptonite”. The band who decided that the drummer Brad Arnold should be the lead singer in the band because no one else would. He has since come out from behind the drum kit and is the band’s front man. The band whose debut album in 2000 became the 11th best selling album in that year. The same band who in October of 2002 performed live on the flight deck of the USS George Washington as it made a port visit to Lisbon, Portugal. After that day lead singer Brad Arnold stated that he had never felt more insecure. He was just sure that at 22 years old he would be seen as a kid by those on the ship. Much to his surprise he found out that the average age of the sailors on the ship was 19. This same rock band who have broken the typical liberal rock band mold have always been supportive of the troops as they fight to defend our nation. But a little more about that later in the review.

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Posted by barrydean on June 23, 2008 in 3 Doors Down, Music Review

Don’t go there!

13 Jun

Today, while searching for Puritan quotes I came across one that really hits home. It is from Irish writer Richard Steele. I love how some of these guys look like aging 80’s rock stars. (see image to right) Anyway on with the quote. It is from Steele’s writing “A Remedy For Wondering Thoughts”.

The belief that God is everywhere should persuade us to sin nowhere.

We should not delude ourselves into thinking that because we are alone physically or in thought that we are outside of God’s reception. God’s is with us. Christ is in us. Wherever we go, God is there. So a word or actually a phrase to myself and other brothers and sisters: Don’t go there!

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Posted by barrydean on June 13, 2008 in Puritan, quotes, Richard Steele, sin

Who can charge God’s elect?

11 Jun

It’s been a while since I have posted anything. I have been a little sidetracked since the passing of my mother a few weeks ago. To be honest I have been having a hard time coming up with something to write about since attending the memorial. I had forgotten how natural it is to write about the things of Christ. As a believer in Christ and His gospel it should be at the forefront of your daily thoughts. Yesterday my son from Tennessee called to speak with my wife and I and in my conversation with him it naturally turned to the things of Christ. One of the many things we discussed were the promises to the believers found in Romans chapter 8. In particular verses 33 and 34. Two short verses with powerful implications for the believer. In verse 33 the apostle Paul poses the rhetorical question:

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?

Much like what we read in Job, Satan stands in heaven accusing those that belong to God. How can he accuse? He does so because we still continue to sin. But as I mentioned above, Paul’s question is rhetorical because the believer should know full well that the punishment for our sins, past, present, and future, were satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Believers have not done anything to save their selves from the deserved punishment. For if we did, wouldn’t Satan’s accusations be credible? But thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ that our sins were paid by Him and the rhetorical question has an answer. This is found in Paul’s proclamation in the next verse.

It is God who justifies.

If it is God who justifies the sinner through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ, what leg does Satan have to stand on as he accuses? It is God who justifies the believer, His own, His elect. What this means for the believer is since God justifies, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer. In other words the sinlessness of Christ is attributed to the believer and God declares us righteous. If we have the righteousness of Christ then the accusations of Satan are null and void. He cannot make a charge against God’s elect. I am so thankful that God is the one who declares me righteous through Christ’s death and resurrection, and not something that I earn. God, who is rich in mercy and grace, is the only one who can declare you free from all charges. Forever!

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Posted by barrydean on June 11, 2008 in Justification, righteousness, Romans, Theology

Memorial Day 2008

26 May

“We pray and we resolve to keep holy the memory of those who have died for our country and to make their cause inseparably our own.”

President Ronald Reagan
Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1987

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Posted by barrydean on May 26, 2008 in Memorial Day, Ronald Reagan

Prayers have been answered – an update

23 May

Although we will miss her, my mother went home to be with Jesus Thursday morning May 22nd. She is absent from her worn out earthly body and now present with our Lord. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for our family. God is so faithful and I delight in His eternal righteousness. I just wanted to share a verse of hope for those who have ever exprienced the death of a loved one who is a believer.

1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

2 Corinthians 5:1-11

And one more verse found at the end of Psalm 16.

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Holy Scripture speaks of this joy in the presence of the Lord and what is being prepared and waiting for us in heaven. If you have an unbelieving family member, please be steadfast in your prayer for them. May God draw them to Himself and grace them with the salvation only found in His Son Jesus Christ.

Mary Katherine Mauney Schneider: January 13th, 1940 – May 22nd, 2008

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Posted by barrydean on May 23, 2008 in 2 Corinthians 5, Family, Mother, Personal, Praise, Prayer

Prayer request for my mother

21 May

Here is a personal request going out to those who read my blog. My sister called me this morning with some awful news. Our mother collapsed and fell unconscious in her home sometime last night. She was discovered shortly after by a family friend, who called 911. She was taken to the local hospital in Ohio where they diagnosed her with pneumonia. She has since been life-flighted to a wonderful hospital in Cincinnati where they are treating her for among other things blood in her lungs. My mother’s body has been battling lung cancer for the past couple of years and she had been doing very well. Isn’t it ironic, lung cancer and she never smoked a day in her life? The latest news from the hospital this afternoon is that her doctor told my sister and her husband that percentages are against her recovering at this point. Please be in prayer for my mother. She is a believer in a sovereign God and she would tell you that she is in His hands. But also pray for my sister as she is not taking this new development well. Pray that she put her trust in the sovereignty of God as well.