Preacher Caleb's Blog

The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands

2009-10-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

On a fairly regular basis I pick up books to add to my counseling collection. A couple weeks ago I added another, The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. The first thing I did when I got home was get on Facebook and ask if any women had read the book and if they did what they thought about it. Here are some of the comments I received:

“I think every woman should read it before the wedding and on every anniversary there after! Excellent!”
“As a woman, it says some stuff that is hard to hear and hard to do. As a guy, [my husband] said that it was dead on in what women need to do for their men. [He] loves the book and I do to. It really showed me how to better care for my man!”
“[I] never read it but always disliked the title--like you're taking care of a dog or houseplant or something.”
“It definitely gets to the heart of the matter, thinking beyond ourself. Like most books, If you can go away with one good thing to implement to make your marriage better.....I think it is worth the cost of the book. I think you can go away with several things from this book.”

The book is written in a very easy to read, and very easy to follow style. The dialogue of the book is largely based on calls Dr. Laura has received on her syndicated radio show, as well as comments and stories people sent to her specifically for this book. I'm not a fast reader and I digested the book in one evening and one morning.

The main idea behind the book as that in a marriage relationship women need to look out for and provide for the needs of their husbands, in a way that only a wife can. This is an entirely biblical idea, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:21). Dr. Laura accurately explains how various cultural influences have led many women to aquire false ideas about what their role is in a marriage relationship. As a result, there are many marriages that are suffering because of wives not fulfilling their role in the marriage. Want details? Read the book.

She deals with topics that we often don't want to talk about in the church. Subjects like Men's feelings, nagging, guy time, and even sex. I've never really understood why we don't want to discuss these subjects (the Bible talks about them), but would rather learn what's appropriate on these matters from TV, magazines, and movies – secular ungodly sources.

There are few negatives I came away with from the book. First of all Dr. Laura occasionally uses language I would not approve of using. Second is the fact that it may be easy to come away from this book thinking that the only problems in relationships are the result of women. It would be easy to think that if only the woman would change her act all marriages would be perfect. This of course is not true. Sometimes the man is the problem and will refuse to change. It does, however, show that even in those situations if you do your part you will be fulfilling the words of God in 1 Peter 3:1. You are creating the optimal atmosphere to persuade him to change without speaking a word of it to him.

All in all I would highly recommend this book to all married women or those who will potentially get married. It's well worth the time, and I believe it could help make more marriages Godly. The result would be a better homes and better churches serving God. If you read it I would love to hear your thoughts.

Evil Doesn't Advertise As Evil

2009-10-16T12:01:00.001-07:00

I haven't yet figured out why we still don't get that evil always tries to look good. If you were presented with a juicy T-Bone or a plate full of maggots the choice for dinner would be easy. But Satan doesn't operate that way—he never has! The ruler of this earth knows what people on this earth like, and he tries to use whatever we like against us. Are we really surprised at this?

It's when you like a person you let down your guard of good judgment; you stop thinking critically. Actions that if committed by a person with a ski mask on and gun in his hand would obviously be taken as evil, are now considered by us to be actions with a good intent all because the guy looks like... you know... something we like. He says what I like to hear. He dresses the way I like him to dress. He smells the way I like him to smell. He makes me comfortable. Now is the time to watch out! Used car salesmen don't wear shirts that say, “I'm here to sell you what you don't need, can't afford, and makes me a big commission.” They don't dress in slouchy shorts, ripped t-shirts, worn out shoes, and forget to do their hair or brush their teeth. They dress like... a person you would like! Beware!

Paul had to warn the Ephesian elders “[S]avage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). Oh they surely were obvious. They stood up on the hill and we could see them coming from miles. All the sheep knew they were being attacked by evil, right? Nope! Well, where did they come from? “From among your own selves” (vs. 30). Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). They look like what we like to see. They look like a harmless sheep. They look just like me!?!? At no time can the Christian lay down his discerning eye; never ever! Especially when it looks good, sounds good, taste good. That's precisely when we know it's time to do a deeper examination.

One of the best paragraphs I've ever read on this theme, I read in a book this last month. It said, “Perhaps the greater disservice of Hollywood movies is their cartoonish villains. In real life, I promise you, the devil will look more like Julia Roberts than Snidely Whiplash. Evil does not arrive with a flashing neon sign: MEPHISTOPHELES! LUCIFER! SATAN! FOR ETERNAL DAMNATION, APPLY HERE. Evil arrives packaged as a winsome movie about a long-legged brunette who manages to marry a rich, handsome bachelor and live happily ever after—all by turning tricks on Hollywood Boulevard! There's a reason Beelzebub is known as the prince of lies.” I'm going to violate a major rule and not reveal the source of this quote because I don't want the source to taint your view of what it says. All I can say is that it's right on.

What does this all mean? I think you are all smart enough to figure it out. If you like something or someone (or anything or anyone), put your guard on high alert because Satan knows you like it. And if you like it he is going to try to use it to destroy you. That sounds... well.. EVIL doesn't it? Now you get it!

He's Baaaaaaaack

2009-10-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

This morning my friend Ron tells me that it's time to start blogging again. He also told me to get a haircut so what does he know? Well I think he is right about the blogging (and probably the haircut too). So Ron... this blogs for you!

It was a long weekend. Wednesday night after class the whole family headed down to Visalia. We stayed at my wife's grandparents house. It was great getting to spend Thursday and Friday with my friend Cliff. While I was down there I also got to train with a great group of guys at Elite Jiu Jitsu in Visalia. Tom Knox is a great instructor and one of the nicest guys I've met in the Jiu Jitsu community. I'm looking forward to trying out some new sweeps he taught me.

Friday night I did the lesson at the Youth Rally. My title was, "Committing to God with Your Worship." The opening part of the presentation was given in five minutes. I had twenty slides that automatically advanced every fifteen seconds; it left very little room from error. It's a new teaching technique that I'm experimenting with. I think it went pretty well. Right after the lesson we had to head home. We rolled into town at 12:30. The problem was that I got a grande caramel frappuccino at Starbucks to keep me awake while driving. It successfully kept me awake until 3:30 in the morning. The alarm went off at 8:00 and we headed out to soccer. I'm coaching Caleb Jr's soccer team (16 crazy 5 year olds). The first drive Caleb took the ball, dribbled around the defenders, and kicked it right into the goal! Dad couldn't have been more proud.

This morning I continued my current sermon series, "Back 2 School." This morning's lesson was, "What is faith and belief?" Tonight's lesson was an introduction to the book of Acts. Every Sunday night before worship we have a fifteen minute bible exercise that one of our elders leads. It's a great program for teaching our little ones (and us adults too) where information is in the Bible. The card he is going over right now is "Events in Acts." The sermons will go hand in hand with our exercise.

Now I'm home, exhausted, and about to start a crazy diet and exercise program with my wife in the morning. Target closes in fifteen minutes so I have to jam over there and get some stuff for our diet. That means I'm finished!

Good Night & Sow the Seed!
Caleb O'Hara

I'm Back

2009-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

OK... So I've been a little behind on blogging (OK... A LOT!). Let's see if I can change that a bit.

Next week I will be speaking at the West Visalia Lectures. I'm addressing two topics: Evangelism in a Postmodern World, and Church Growth God's Way. These are two subjects I've spent a lot of time in so I'm excited, and scared, to be asked to present them. So much to say in so little time. The art of preaching is figuring out what not to say.

Here is the live feed to the lectures below.

Sow the Seed,
Caleb

Day 3 Open Forum Live Blog

2009-02-04T13:42:00.001-08:00

******* Most Recent Posts First *******

- Open Forum has ended.

- Sabroe asks if it's ok to be entertained by people who are offering up false worship. Ralph completely dodges the question. He says that it's not about what they intend from it, but what you do with it. He diverts by making it a question about being entertained by sinful behavior to something else, thus never answering the question. One thing is for sure, Ralph can dance, I guess that tells us his position on dancing :)

- Sabroe is making his way to the mic. I'm scared.

- Elkins is making his way to the mic.... He talks about MDR. He says that Wallace assumed that in 1 Cor 7:15 that if she departed it was for fornication. He says that sometimes there is background to situations that we don't know about. Ralph says that is true.

- More people at the mic about Christian Contemporary Music. Nothing really of note.

- First guy to the mic has questions about “Christian Music.” He has a lot of questions. Ralph basically says we used to not have a problem with it when they had it on the radio when he was a kid. Now they have a problem with it. The whole problem with Ralph's argument is that he is arguing it's validity based on our inconsistency. When did inconsistency ever prove something was right or wrong?

- Is Jesus the Angel of the Lord of the Old Testament. He says that some instances probably.

- Someone wants to know if the flood was global or local and if it is a matter of fellowship. He says that it was a global flood and he is sorta vague about the fellowship question.

- How can we help the brethren study the Bible better and not just study topically. He talks about how when he was a kid they really studied the Bible; his mom made sure. Then he talked about our current culture and wanting everything flashy. He then says we shouldn't dumb things down because our kids today are smart enough.

- The next question has to do with Textual Criticism. He gives a crash course on textual criticism. He then goes into the Textus Receptus and the KJV. He talks about the MSS available were limited when the KJV was put together. He talks about translations some more and he says that he is happy that most people today don't make translations a matter of fellowship.

- Next question has to do with the ESV: Good or Bad? Ralph says he likes it and the Holman Christian Standard. He says he lets his students use it.

- Is it wrong to listen to contemporary Christian worship. Ralph says nope.

Steven's Truck

2009-02-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

We were just informed that Steven Anchondo wrecked his truck. The good news is everyone is ok.

Caleb

Freed Hardeman Lectures - Day 3

2009-02-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

Today we started out with a breakfast sandwich and a soda from a generic grocery store (The food quality is exactly what you are thinking). We got up early today just to make it to hear Jack P. Lewis lecture on Psalm 44. What a man. If only I knew everything he has forgotten I would be well ahead in life. After Jack P. is chapel. No telling what today will bring!

FHU Lectures Day 2 Open Forum Live Blog

2009-02-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

********* Most Recent Posts Listed First ***********

- The forum is over. Ralph did a good job for the day. Time for dinner.

- Ralph goes into a rant on how we are not relevant because we are perceived to be anti-women. He says we are not growing like we are supposed to. What does that have to do with anything? Who gets to declare what makes us relevant or not? Are we really going to use numbers to justify our faithfulness or relevance? If we are merely going to use numbers then we have never been relevant or faithful. Maybe we need to look to a new standard????

- We had the daily Elkins appearance.

- Some guy gets up and makes a statement about women take the authority behind the scenes. It was.... ummmm.... Interesting. Ralph moves on.

- Question about worshiping Jesus and the HS. Ralph says the HS and Jesus are God, therefore they are worthy of worship. I appreciate Ralph mentioning this. This is the core of the question and is often overlooked.

- Next guy gets up and gives a mini-sermon. Doesn't really contribute anything new.

- Someone comes up to the mic and asks about a woman signing to the deaf. Ralph basically says that it's OK because women are better translators. Ralph says she doesn't have a pulpit she just has a place to stand.

- There are more questions about when a woman can speak, address the congregation, etc.... One of the questions has to do with reading the Bible out loud. He mentions that it is all a matter of authority. He is very vague... which seems to be a theme.

- Now a serious of questions on womens role and prayer. Ralph mentions women praying in the home is different than any other setting. The reason being that he learns more about what his family is thinking. The problem is what biblical basis does he get this idea from? You know I feel better when I worship with an instrument, therefore it's ok??? When you get down to it Paul still says “In every place.” This common argument for women leading in the home is funny to me because where is the first place that male spiritual leadership should be upheld? Is it not the home?

- Next question has to do with disfellowshipping a congregation. Ralph says that in scripture disfellowship is done to individuals. Then he mentions that in times of change like we are in we sometimes have to withhold our fellowship from congregations and schools.

- Next question has to do with singing to Jesus etc.... And baptizing in the name of Jesus. Ralph points out that Jesus was worshipped all through his life. He mentions that Jesus was worshipped in the Revelation. Ralph points out Acts 7:59 and Stephen addressing Jesus in prayer.

- The first question has to do with answering the accusation that the Bible just copied from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Ralph gives some of the similarities and differences between the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Ralph says nobody has been able to prove they are dependent. And the Bible is true.

- Ralph opens with the old how much how long joke. When will they end?

- Lipe gives the standard intro and says no more discussion on MDR.

- E. Claude Gardner opens with a prayer.

FHU Open Forum Live Blog

2009-02-02T13:37:00.001-08:00

***************Most Recent Posts First******************

- Open Forum is over. A mainly uneventful event. Not too bad.

- Cliff and I are sick of all the personal stories at the mic. People are not contributing anything to the discussion. Tomorrow's open forum will be Cliff and Caleb hour. We will tell our life stories for one hour. Ralph is being too nice to people. He needs to just cut them off and say this isn't Oprah hour, this is Open Forum.

- Earl Edwards take the mic. HE mentions that some promises that are made should never have been made in the first place and should not be fulfilled. He cites Harod telling his wife's daughter that she could have whatever she wanted and she asked for John the Baptists head. This was in response to a question about divorcing someone you should not have been married to in the first place. The question was arguing that you can't tell someone to leave an adulterous relationship because they would be breaking an oath they made to the new mate.

- There he is! Elkins rides in on the white horse.

- Waiting for Elkins to make his appearance.

- Some more random comments. Nothing to blog about.

- Someone came up to the microphone to respond to Ralph's point about Acts 2. Ralph says he agrees. He is explaining that his point is how much do you have to have demonstrated before you baptize them. He says if someone says he is in sin and won't do anything about it then you don't baptize him.

- Next question is about Daniel 9:27. He is basically saying that it's a tricky passage. I'm not sure I followed him.

- The next question is on team teaching. When can a woman teach etc. The example of Priscilla and Aquila is mentioned. Ralph says Apollos was a private environment. He says that the Scriptures teach that men are spiritual leaders and are to be the teachers.

- The next question is on team teaching. When can a woman teach etc. The example of Priscilla and Aquila is mentioned. Ralph says Apollos was a private environment. He says that the Scriptures teach that men are spiritual leaders and are to be the teachers.

- The next question has to do with if the example of selling the property and giving it all to the church binding. Ralph says no. It was voluntary.

- Second question is regarding weather or not baptism washes away adultery. Ralph says adultery is continuous action. Ralph mentions Acts 2 and the 300. He then asks if the apostles asked them all specific questions about all the sins they were committing. Ralph says there wasn't time to do that in Acts 2. He said what's important is to have an attitude of repentance. He says that they need to do need to repent though.

- Ralph opens up with a question regarding what a woman should do with a husband that is verbally abusive. Basically Ralph says go see a good Christian counselor.

- And Ralph delivers as predicted.

- The Open Forum is about to begin. David Lipe is going to give the standard info about how FHU doesn't necessarily endorse what Ralph says; yadda yadda. Ralph is about to get to the mic. I'm betting he will open with a joke.

Back at the FHU Lectures...

2009-02-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

I'm at the Freed Hardeman University Lectures again in 2009. This year my friend Cliff Sabroe came with me. Today we attended the morning chapel lecture by Jesse Robertson. His text was Psalm 23. At the beginning of the lesson he had the whole audience quote the 23rd Psalm. That was the last time it was mentioned.

After chapel we took a quick stroll through Bader Gym to check out the booths. We didn't spend a whole lot of time in there; too many people. Someone came up with the idea of eating Mexican food so we took off to eat with Alex, David, Ben, Kyle, and Steven. It only confirmed what I have been telling Cliff since we got here, they don't have Mexican food in Tennessee.

After Mexican (or whatever you want to call it) we headed back to catch the 1:30 lecture by Glen Henton. He is speaking on “Preaching Repentance to the World” (Psalm 51). There is much more to come until today is over.

Caleb

Daily Sightings...
- Tom Holland
- Garland Elkins
- Mac Lyon
- Earl Edwards
- Allen Webster
- James Meadows

We are off and blogging...

2008-11-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

I have lots of blog posts back logged… so here we go.

November 4th, 2008 was an important day. It’s the day Michael Crichton died after a private fight with cancer. Most people probably remember him for his famous book turned movie Jurrasic Park. Next on the list would probably be his creation of the TV show ER. He was a well studied individual in many respects. He was even a medical doctor who went to Harvard Medical School. To be honest, I didn’t really know anything about him until recently.

The one aspect I want to talk about is his political science views. In 2004 he wrote a techno-thriller called State of Fear. Having not read the book, only articles about it, I can’t give you a good review. What I can do is point out that everyone agrees the book was about how public opinion, policy, and social order are controlled by a belief in global warming that cannot be backed up by science – even though sceintist claim it is.

In 2003 he gave a speech at the California Institute of technology were he said he was concered about the, “emerging crisis in the whole enterprise of science-namely the increasingly uneasy relationship between hard science and public policy” (http://www.crichton-official.com/speech-alienscauseglobalwarming.html). He set out to argue for the seperation of politics and science. His thesis was that scientist were creating something and stating it as fact in order to control the general publics behavior. And he had lots of facts to back it up.

Now I don’t know of, and I highly doubt, that Crichton ever carried his ideas over to invistage evolution. The reality is that the same arguments that are used to state man made global warming as fact are the same that are used to teach evolution (i.e. scientific conesis, in other words a lot of scientists say so, is that it is true, therfore it is true). I believe that when Americans, and others, wake up and realize they were being lead off by Honest John and Gideon (e.g. scientists) to Pleasure Island (a Pinocchio referrence for those of you who don’t have kids watching Disney movies all the time) they will have to logically reject both ideologies. The question is will America wake up before they all become donkeys? The election of our most recent leaders does not give me a whole lot of hope at the moment.

Caleb O’Hara

I'm Back!

2008-10-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

OK… so I’ve taken a blogging break for the last few days (ok… months). There has been a lot going on that I won’t bore you with. The good news in we are homeowners now! Moved in, but not quite settled. The blog will be updated on a semi-regular basis again. So keep your eyes open!

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O’Hara

10 Years Today

2008-07-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been preaching a series of sermons on the gospel message. The lessons the last two weeks were on the response to the Gospel and the necessity of the Gospel to make a Christian. A couple weeks ago I decided I would preach the very first sermon I ever preached, today. It was a sermon on Romans 1:14-17 – The Responsibility of the Gospel.

There is one really interesting piece to me preaching this sermon today. As I was going back through my brain last night I realized that it was exactly ten years ago today that I preached my first sermon – this sermon! I was sixteen years old and a babe in Christ by only a couple months. The only reason I remember the date is because it was the last week in July when Merced went to Yosemite Bible Camp. That Sunday night I preached in Merced because their preacher was already up at camp (my cousin Jake took my up after evening worship in my grandpa’s Chevy S10). It was a special day for me and the sermon was special to me too.

Wow… TEN YEARS! I really am starting to feel old. It’s hard to believe that God has enabled me to preach the gospel for ten years now. If the Lord wills, I’m looking forward to the next ten. There is no greater responsibility then to be faithful with the faithful message.

Preach the Word,
Caleb

Are You Seeking to Become a Disciple?

2008-07-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

For some time now I have been slowly following the Emerging Church Movement. Time and space are not sufficient here to give a thorough evaluation of what it is, and the whole movement is based on being “vague” so they hate being defined. A man by the name of Brian McLaren really is the top spokesman for this movement (whether he or anyone else would admit it).

McLaren has created lots of disciples from people who have grown up around and/or been associated with the churches of Christ. McLaren has become a keynote speaker at many of our universities and lectureships that are ran by men saying the church has to “change.” How fitting that McLaren wrote a book called, “Everything Must Change.”

I don’t believe I could do justice in explaining the wide impact that McLaren and the Emerging Church Movement have had on the Lord’s church. But there is one area that I want to address. Notice this quote from a blogger who was commenting on a lecture he heard by Brian McLaren:

“Now, notice that [McLaren’s] not calling for isolation from the ‘denominations,’ but engagement. Rather than pull up our tents, we go out into the wider Christian world and call not for a restoration of the forms of the first century church, but for a restoration of a community of people who are seeking to become disciples of Christ.” (http://jphilwilson.blogspot.com/2007/10/brian-mclaren-churches-of-christ-and.html)

The area I really want to emphasis is this, “people who are seeking to become disciples of Christ.” Phrases like we are just “seeking to become disciples of Christ,” or “we are seeking to understand the Kingdom of God” are commonly heard by the emerging church folks.

The question is where in Scripture does it ever speak of “seeking to become a disciple?” You either become a disciple of Christ or you don’t. Jesus told His disciples (were they disciples or just seeking to become them?) to go and “make disciples.” Where did he ever go and tell His disciples (were they disciples?) to go and make people to be seekers of becoming disciples of Christ? Jesus says: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). Did Jesus say to try and carry your own cross? Did Jesus say to seek to come after me? Did Jesus say to seek to become a disciple? What nonsense. You either are a self-denying, cross carrying, disciple of Jesus Christ or you are not.

Add to that Matthew 13:52, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven.’” Did Jesus say every scribe who is seeking to become a disciple, or every scribe who HAS become a disciple of the kingdom! This rhetoric about seeking to understand the kingdom and seeking to become a disciple just shows the shallow depths of this movement. How much further away from the teaching of Christ can you get? All this movement is is another excuse to be your own Lord and be a disciple of self!

Let me summarize it for you like this. This is the gospel according to McLaren, “Go therefore until all the world and tell the Buddhist, Muslim, and devote Pagan, to seek to become a disciple of Jesus while truly just being devout in whatever else you believe.” McLaren says, “If any Buddhist, Muslim, or Devout Pagan wishes to come after me let me seek to deny himself when we wants, take up the cross he thinks he wants to bear, when he wants to bear it, and come after me if you feel like it and to the degree you want to understand it.”

I have more respect for the Buddhist who flat out denies the deity and Lordship of Christ, than I do for these men who claim Jesus and then say that they are just “seeking to become His disciple.” It’s time to get real about this and address it. It’s time for people to stop being disciples of McLaren while trying to become disciples of Jesus, and just make the commitment and be a disciple of Jesus!

Sow the Seed,
Caleb

Homeless

2008-07-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

Well I’m homeless! It’s a long story but we are trying to buy a house and we are facing the nightmare of trying to buy a foreclosure. It’s too complicated to explain here but the main idea is that it is a big mess. Just a couple quick updates:

(1) Go to http://www.focuspress.org/ignite/index.html and subscribe to the new magazine for teens published by Focus Press.
(2) My friend Luis Camacho and I came up with an idea for a new commercial. There is a guy standing behind a pulpit and he says he is going to preach an expository sermon. A member says “Wow, are you an exegete. The man replies, “No but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!”

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O’Hara

They Want to Run Your Life!

2008-06-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

We have exactly one week to be moved out of our rental. Life is crazy. One thing I had to do was give a copy of my social security card to the lender in order to get our loan. Just one small problem... apparently we already packed it! Last night I got on the Social Security Administrations website and you will not believe what I saw. First look at this screen shot of the website and no I did not make this up!

Look closely at the center of the page near the bottom. Yes, you are reading that correctly "Special Instructions for Users Who Are Blind."

So I needed to locate the closest office to me. So I entered my zip cope and clicked that little locate button and this is what popped up:

Yes you are reading that correctly! The web service that tells you where the closest office takes time off too!
So after finally getting the web server to come back to work I found my local office in Manteca, California. I made my way down there. When I got there I got my number and sat down in a crowded room. There were three windows and only two of them had people working at them. My number was A119 and they were currently servicing A116. The wait can't be too long - I thought. While sitting there I listened to one guy scream to another about high gas prices. I also watch a lady slap a girl across the face, a boy spill a milk shake, middle age ladies without teeth complain about the government not taking care of them, and a lady let her kid play with the log in computer which messed up the entire system. It was exciting let me tell you. After an hour and half I finally made my way to the counter. In an hour and a half I watched them only help six people. Six people in an hour and a half!
Yes, this is what happens when you allow a government agency to take over your retirement system. In fact, this is what happens when government takes over anything. As Ronald Reagan said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" How true is that?
This little exercise was a shaking reminder of the devastation that is sure to take place if members of congress get their way. They want to take over the oil refinaries (which they have blocked from allowing companies to build for thirty years). As the congressman from California says in this clip below, they want to socialize oil.

If you think $4.50 a gallon for gas is expensive it will look like a liquidation close out deal when the governement takes over the oil industry. Back to packing.

Caleb

My Roots, My State, My Sadness

2008-06-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of ushers at the European Parliament trying to stop the Irish voice. One thing is for sure, we Irish don't like to be told that we can't be heard. OK enough of that.

So I'm way behind on my blog. Life is CRAZY! I will spare the details and just say that we are leaving for Yosemite Bible Camp next weekend and we have to be moved out of our rental before we leave for camp. And, the closing on our house has been delayed until possibly August 4th. What that means is we have to be moved out next week at which time we will be homeless until possibly August 4th.

On Tuesday nights I have begun a "Digging Deeper" course. It's been going well and I'm really excited about it. We lost a few students after they saw the workload :), but all in all not bad.

The last couple days I have been thinking a lot about all of the homosexual marriage in California issue. As of yesterday California began issuing marriage licenses to people who by the very definition of the word marriage cannot marry. The cultural decay is going downhill rapidly. I really don't know how much more God will tolerate. It saddens me greatly that our society is accepting this. I heard a DJ talking about how “cute” this story was of a homosexual couple in their eighties getting married after 50+ years.

It ought to be no surprise as a biblical view of marriage has been under attack for a long time. God's institution of marriage has been neglected for a long time and the church has even accepted it to a large degree. God's institution that binds a man and a woman together for life, to which Jesus went back to in Matthew 19, is the same one that makes a marriage between two men or two women ungodly. The church has set herself up for this fall by accepting men and women who have been divorced and remarried for a reason other than adultery (God's standard). If we take the position that it's ok because they weren't Christians when they did it what moral standing does the church have to stand against homosexual marriages of nonchristians? They aren't Christians right? So God doesn't hold them accountable. Not only that, all they have to do is be baptized and they can remain in a homosexual relationship because their sin was washed away. I'm reminded of the words of a preacher who means a lot to me, Dan Owen, who once said something like, "The church is in open rebellion against God's laws of marriage." Sad, but true.

OK that's all for now. When I get settled I will blog more regularly.

Caleb

Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less!

2008-06-13T14:23:00.001-07:00

For those of you who are interested....

Half a Million Americans Petition Congress to Drill for Oil Now By: June 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC – American Solutions for Winning the Future announced today that more than half a million Americans have now signed a petition urging Congress to immediately start drilling for oil domestically to lower gas prices. The petition is part of the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” campaign American Solutions launched a few weeks ago.

The petition reads:
“We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices (and diesel and other fuel prices) by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries.”

According to American Solutions’ new research data, 81% of the American people support the U.S. using more of its own domestic energy resources, including the oil and coal already here, to combat the rising cost of energy and reduce dependence on foreign energy sources. This belief is so widespread it is supported by a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
“Hard-working American families are struggling to pay the soaring prices for gas, diesel, food, electricity, and everything else affected by the high price of oil,” said Dave Ryan, American Solutions Executive Director. “The voices of more than half a million Americans are united in demanding that Congress offer real solutions to our energy challenges, starting with taking immediate action to drill here and drill now.”

As the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition drive continues to gain more momentum, American Solutions plans to deliver 3 million signatures to both parties at their national conventions.

For more information about the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” campaign, visit www.AmericanSolutions.com/DrillNow.

I'm Still Here

2008-06-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Lots of exciting things are happening in the O'Hara family. We have an accepted offer and will be moving into our first house by the end of this month. It's going to be a very rushed move as we are moving, cleaning up the rental, and going to Yosemite Bible Camp for a week two days later.

There are many things about which I need to blog as I have taken an extended blog break. Today, however, I need to post this video clip. Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the end of WWII. There are two speeches by Ronald Reagan given on the 40th anniversary that need to be listened to by every single American. So for you all, I post the clip of one and the transcript of another.

Mr. President, distinguished guests, we stand today at a place of battle, one that 40 years ago saw and felt the worst of war. Men bled and died here for a few feet of--or inches of sand, as bullets and shellfire cut through their ranks. About them, General Omar Bradley later said, "Every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero."

No speech can adequately portray their suffering, their sacrifice, their heroism. President Lincoln once reminded us that through their deeds, the dead of battle have spoken more eloquently for themselves than any of the living ever could. But we can only honor them by rededicating ourselves to the cause for which they gave a last full measure of devotion.
Today we do rededicate ourselves to that cause. And at this place of honor, we're humbled by the realization of how much so many gave to the cause of freedom and to their fellow man.
Some who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today. Others who hoped to return never did.

"Someday, Lis, I'll go back," said Private First Class Peter Robert Zanatta, of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, and first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach. "I'll go back, and I'll see it all again. I'll see the beach, the barricades, and the graves."

Those words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zanatta Henn, in a heartrending story about the event her father spoke of so often. "In his words, the Normandy invasion would change his life forever," she said. She tells some of his stories of World War II but says of her father, "the story to end all stories was D-Day."

"He made me feel the fear of being on that boat waiting to land. I can smell the ocean and feel the seasickness. I can see the looks on his fellow soldiers' faces--the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty of what lay ahead. And when they landed, I can feel the strength and courage of the men who took those first steps through the tide to what must have surely looked like instant death."

Private Zanatta's daughter wrote to me: "I don't know how or why I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but I do. Maybe it's the bond I had with my father. All I know is that it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year-old boy having to face that beach."

The anniversary of D-Day was always special for her family. And like all the families of those who went to war, she describes how she came to realize her own father's survival was a miracle: "So many men died. I know that my father watched many of his friends be killed. I know that he must have died inside a little each time. But his explanation to me was, 'You did what you had to do, and you kept on going.'"

When men like Private Zanatta and all our Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy 40 years ago they came not as conquerors, but as liberators. When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongly seized. When our forces marched into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.

We salute them today. But, Mr. President, we also salute those who, like yourself, were already engaging the enemy inside your beloved country--the French Resistance. Your valiant struggle for France did so much to cripple the enemy and spur the advance of the armies of liberation. The French Forces of the Interior will forever personify courage and national spirit. They will be a timeless inspiration to all who are free and to all who would be free.

Today, in their memory, and for all who fought here, we celebrate the triumph of democracy. We reaffirm the unity of democratic peoples who fought a war and then joined with the vanquished in a firm resolve to keep the peace.

From a terrible war we learned that unity made us invincible; now, in peace, that same unity makes us secure. We sought to bring all freedom-loving nations together in a community dedicated to the defense and preservation of our sacred values. Our alliance, forged in the crucible of war, tempered and shaped by the realities of the postwar world, has succeeded. In Europe, the threat has been contained, the peace has been kept.

Today the living here assembled--officials, veterans, citizens--are a tribute to what was achieved here 40 years ago. This land is secure. We are free. These things are worth fighting and dying for.

Lisa Zanatta Henn began her story by quoting her father, who promised that he would return to Normandy. She ended with a promise to her father, who died eight years ago of cancer: "I'm going there, Dad, and I'll see the beaches and the barricades and the monuments. I'll see the graves, and I'll put flowers there just like you wanted to do. I'll feel all the things you made me feel through your stories and your eyes. I'll never forget what you went through, Dad, nor will I let anyone else forget. And, Dad, I'll always be proud."

Through the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any President can. It is enough for us to say about Private Zanatta and all the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades ago: We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.

Thank you.

President Ronald Reagan spoke at 4:33 p.m. at the Omaha Beach Memorial at Omaho Beach, France. In his opening remarks, he referred to President Francois Mitterrand of France.

(http://www.reaganlibrary.com/reagan/speeches/dday_omaha.asp)

Governor are you for or against homosexual marriage? Yes!

2008-05-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Most people who live in California, or who watch news on a regular basis (if you do I’m sorry for you), know that the California State Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the California State Constitution demands homosexuals be allowed to marry.

Homosexual marriage is an oxymoron. At our preachers’ luncheon this week Garry Green, the preacher in Brentwood, was correctly arguing that marriage as ALWAYS been defined as being between a man and a woman to start a family. The state supreme court redefined the word marriage after thousands of years to fit their own agenda.

Now I will be the first to say this does not surprise me in California. California is famous for our left-wing humanist, Marxist, liberal, social evolution policy leadership. What I want to focus on for a minute is our great (it hurts to even write that jokingly) governor. Arnold says his personal view is that marriage is, “marriage is between a man and a woman.” Then he goes on to say that he is going to fight the constitutional amendment that is going to be on the ballot this fall to define marriage as between a man and a woman – figure that one out. Apparently he is going to be fighting against what he believes in. At the end of one of the articles I read the author quotes Arnold and says: “Schwarzenegger said he doesn't think same-sex marriages in the coming months will stir up Californians much. ‘I think life will go on as usual,’ he said.”

Let’s hope Arnold is wrong – way wrong! Now is the time for people who believe in family values to stand up and take a stand. Are we going to let four judges on a bench in San Francisco redefine a word that has had the same definition for thousands of years? Are we going to let the minority of our society participate in an institution that God setup to be between a man and a woman? I hope life will not go on as usual these next few months leading up to the election. I pray the people of California will send a resounding voice to the world that we still stand on the foundations of marriage. Time will tell. It’s time for people to start praying and start voting.

And one last thing… just to let everyone know I did NOT vote for Arnold so I take no responsibility for his actions :)

Caleb

*Information source is http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/16/BASD10NVAI.DTL&tsp=1

Fred Thompson, Postmodernism, and Change

2008-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today I found out that Fred Thompson was going to be writing for Townhall.com. As I read through his first blog post I found his words to be profoundly parallel with the church. Notice what he says in the context of thoughts that have been confirmed to him in the process of the presidential race: “Second, change – whether it “real change,” “bold change” or the “change we can believe in” variety others are selling – isn’t itself an innovative policy or a particularly strong leadership stance…. The challenge for conservatives is calibrating whether the change being proposed is consistent with our principles and our philosophy, and whether that change is appropriate.”

Today people are looking at numbers. They are looking at truth from a pragmatic perspective. They have been sold a faulty premise which has been reinforced blatantly, and many times unknowingly, from the pulpit, eldership, our Christian colleges, and our papers (many of whom would proudly ware the label of conservative). There are others who have bought into an unbiblical worldview of what truth is or isn’t, if it exist, and if it does can I so claim to know it? There is lots of talk about postmodernism amongst the churches of Christ. I hear people chiming in about knowing lots about it or not knowing much of it. I read of people claiming to be for or against it. Recently I read a blog where the author said he had a teacher who said he was against postmodernism. I’m not sure what the teacher meant, I was not there, but there is a way in which the teacher would be correct in what he said.

The fact is we live in a country filled with people who are evaluating truth through the lenses of postmodernism. Is it helpful to understand this mindset? No doubt! But here is the rub. What is one to do when he is faced with a country filled with people who have a particular worldview that is not allowing for the results you want (i.e. the church to be increasing in numbers through the roof in a matter of years)? The following is a synopsis of the progression amongst the Lord's church.

Let's start with when a problem was set on the table. Many of the “big dogs” amongst the churches of Christ began giving blistering lectures at our “big shows” about how many are not “growing” (what that means is increasing in numbers) like we once were so we must “change” something. So how are we going to fix the problem of not growing numerically by leaps and bounds?

First, these men began advocating that we must “change” our methods of evangelism. This went on for some time amongst us. We had programs from the Roman Road, to We Care, to Friendship Evangelism, to Fisher’s of Men, to Small Groups, and this list could get really long but if you have been involved you can make your own long list here. Then the experts went back to the tables to see what the “results” were of their endeavors. The numbers came in and they did not improve. In some cases they got worse. The change the method idea didn’t work.

Second, we were faced with a major fork in the road. We began to question our message. Is it really true that we have the truth on these matters of faith if nobody else is accepting them? The next natural avenue to “change” was doctrine. If the method being “changed” didn’t bring the results then the only thing left to “change” is the message. It was/is rather slow at first. A little change here or a little change there and then it quickly blasts forward into wholesale change of the message.

Let’s bring Fred Thompson back into the picture for just a moment. Pay attention to these words, “change – whether it “real change,” “bold change” or the “change we can believe in” variety others are selling – isn’t itself an innovative policy or a particularly strong leadership stance.” What Mr. Thompson is saying is that careful scrutiny needs to be applied to the source of the conflict because “change” is not in and of itself a virtue. Is there a problem? What is the problem? Is the problem real? If so how do we change to fix this problem? To use some words of Mr. Thompson, the challenge for the Lord’s church is calibrating whether or not the change being called for is founded, and if it is consistent with God’s word and His principals. Here are a couple thoughts.

First, in all the bantering amongst the churches of Christ I scarcely hear the voice that challenges the validity of the “problem.” All of this “change” is based upon the need to bring dramatic increase in numbers. But what if the problem is not really a problem? What if God never obligated His church to be the manufactures of numbers? What if God never said nor implied he was going to judge His people based upon the numbers they produced? What if we CHANGED our understanding and realized that the problem is not a problem?

Second, how do we address the postmodern culture? When the old methods didn’t work we tried lots of new ones. So when that didn’t work we changed the message. But why is it that the postmodern mind is never challenged to change? We are told we must just embrace the postmodern mind – bologna! All have conceded, from Earl Edwards to Rubel Shelly, the reality that the majority of people living in our culture have that mind, but that by no means dictates the necessity to change the MESSAGE to fit the mind. No, rather it means our job is ever before us to challenge the minds of the majority of people in our culture to change!

The task is heavy to take a message to a world that does not want to hear it, but for crying out loud have we read the Gospels? Have we read the New Testament? And have we read the Old Testament prophets and the task they bore on their backs!!! Noah, Elijah, Jermiah, Isaiah, Amos, Jonah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, Paul, and every other spokesman of God in the Bible were prophets of change! Change the message? Never! Change the method? Sometimes. Change the thinking of the culture they lived in? Every single one of them! Was the soil different in different places at different times? For sure. Was their success and pleasing-ness to God based upon their number of converts? Not a single one of them. They were all pleasing to God, without exception, when they held fast and proclaimed His word regardless of the culture they found themselves, and their receptivity to the message.

Is change needed? Yes. Do we need to change the methods? Sometimes. Do we need to change the message? NEVER! Do we need to change our faulty premises? No doubt. Must we proclaim a message to the people in a postmodern culture to change their entire way of thinking? That is the task at hand – to preach the foolishness of the cross to our culture and let God handle the rest.

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O’Hara

Thanks for Showing UP!

2008-05-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the lack of updates!!! Life has been busy. Here is what’s on the plate (1) trying to buy a house (2) training for a 5k on May 24th in Modesto (3) possibly training for the Worlds Jiu Jitsu tournament in Long Beach on June 5th (4) studying to take CLEP tests for 36 units so I can be done with my B.A. from Regions University, formerly known as Southern Christian University, now known as I don’t even know what! Oh yeah (5) and family, God, church, and work – all of which are interrelated for me.

This week was packed with the West Visalia Church of Christ Lectureship which I attended Monday through Wednesday morning. Monday morning I spoke at the lectures. On Friday I attended a funeral in Hughson for the mother and grandmother of some of our members in Ripon. Today was my nephew’s birthday and we headed up to Stockton to celebrate that. After the party we all ate dinner in Ripon and the family went to the park. When we got to the park I ran home (exactly three miles!). WOW – What I week.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in America. I’m preaching on “Thanks for Showing Up.” I got the idea after reading over some Mother’s Day stuff on the internet. NO, I am not using someone else’s sermon outline even though I got the idea from an illustration in someone else’s sermon outline. His sermon, in my opinion, would have been much better had he framed it all around the “thanks for showing up” illustration. Tomorrow we will see how it turns out :)

To all the Mothers out there, THANK YOU! Especially to my mother who has put up with me for over twenty-six years – now that’s a mother!

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O’Hara

West Visaila Lectureship

2008-05-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

I'm still in Visalia at the lectureship. Videos of the lectures are up on the web at http://wvcoc.blogspot.com/. Just be sure not to watch mine. When I get a chance I will update.

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O'Hara

Mi Vida Loca

2008-05-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today is just an update in the life of Caleb BLOG. It’s been an absolutely crazy day. This morning I went to my computer to finish up lots of work and my computer was not working. At 2:10 I FINALLY got it fixed – what a nightmare!

Tomorrow I am continuing a sermon series called “Square ONE: Back to the Beginning.” If you can’t tell by the title they are all lessons out of Genesis. Tomorrow we look at the great gift of freedom God gave man. The beginning reveals the freedom to chose, and yes the freedom to sin. Sin puts its ugly mark on this planet and mankind and God has been in the redemption business ever since. Well that’s the gist of the message.

Immediately following Sunday evening worship we are heading to Visalia, California. First thing Monday morning I’m speaking at the West Visalia Lectureship on “More Like Jesus in Tolerance (Romans 14).” Romans 14 is probably one of the most hotly debated passages in our brotherhood these days and they picked ME to speak on it. What’s the deal? I guess my friend Cliff Sabroe doesn’t like me too much. Yesterday I finished translating the entire passage and now it’s a matter of tweaking and reworking so that my exegesis can become proper exposition. My whole first part of the week will be spent there in Visalia. I’m looking forward to seeing some of my mentors: Denny Petrillo, Hi Jones, and Byron Benitez while I am there as well.

This week I have been grieving the loss of my American Idol Brooke White. Her moral character is something to be applauded. So Brooke, we will miss you. My wife is happy though. Now I can’t talk about her anymore :).

On a final note, last night we went and heard Frank Chesser preach at the East Main church of Christ in Stockton. It was good to see family and friends and Frank’s message on sin was very appropriate. Wayne was looking good and I pray the Lord gives him many more years of service in the Kingdom.

That’s all for now!!!

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O’Hara

Is Jesus the Way or Not?

2008-05-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

The modern "Church Growth Movement" naturally leads itself to this end. Must one come through Jesus to get to the Father? It's a simple yes or no question that Jesus Himself answers (John 14:1ff). Apparently even if the Scriptures say it it's not good enough for those in the Church Growth Movement. It might turn people away, and if people are turned away the numbers go down, and if the numbers go down we must be doing something wrong!!!

UPDATE:

Think About It...

Sow the Seed,
Caleb O'Hara