Three books that Uncle Donnie has been into recently are:
The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall,
God the Father, God the Son by Martyyn LLoyd-Jones,
and The Christian In Complete Armour by William Gurnall.
These are three excellent books by authors who have passed on into Glory; you see Uncle Donnie doesn't really trust (and rarely even likes) authors who aren't already dead, and whose works haven't withstood the test of time. It's just a thing with me!
Marshall, in his book, talks about our fellowship with Christ by our being in Christ, and having Christ, Himself, in us forming a mystical union. This union with us leads us to holiness and sanctification (what he calls a mystery) and likens it to two other mystical unions found in the Bible:the union of the Trinity of persons in one Godhead, and the union of the divine and human natures in one person-Jesus Christ. God and man. Good stuff!
Lloyd-Jones in his book, talking about God creating the world, describes three groups
of evolutionists:deistic, theistic, and atheistic. Obviously, the atheistic group
excludes God altogether. The deists saw God as a sort of cosmic clock-maker, if you will. They saw Him as creating the Universe and all within it, and then, upon completion, deciding to sit back and let the Universe, I.e, the clock, tick on its own mechanisms. They say that all the "great changes leading up to man" have happened automatically out of this empowered matter, or, clock.
The theistic group are believers, Christians if you will, who hold to evolutionary concepts. They say that the development of types and species has gone on, but God has guided it and sometimes has had to intervene in the process from time to time. They are theistic only in their believing in and emphasizing the activity of God. Not so good stuff.
Uncle Donnie believes that in the beginning was God, and in six 24 hr. days God created everything...capisci?
Gurnall in his book, delineates four types of faith, only one of which can "quench the fiery darts of Satan". These four types of faith are: historical, temporary, miraculous and justifying.
Historical faith cannot accomplish the goal, for even the Devil himself possesses this very faith{James 2:19}. Temporary faith can't do it either. It displays a goodly blaze of profession and endures for awhile but soon, it disappears{Matt.13:21). Miraculous faith is lacking as well. Judas I. used this kind of faith as he worked with the the other disciples casting out demons and other feats. However, he fell prey to coveteousness and hypocrisy and fell headlong into despair and, ultimately, perdition. Whaddya gonna do?
Even a simple assent to the truths of the gospel does not suffice. Judas I. possessed that kind of faith.
Only justifying faith can quench the attacks of the Evil One. ('Ye have overcome the wicked one'. 1 John 2:13).
"Justifying faith is that act of the soul by which it rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life, and trusts the guarantee of that promise. The language of this faith is I believe on Christ for the pardon of my sins. The word of God directs our faith to Christ and terminates it upon Him. It is called therefore a 'coming to Christ' (Matt.11:28),a'receiving of him'(JN.1;12), a 'believing on him' (JN17;20)" (Volume 3, pg 20, The Christian in Complete Armour. William Gurnell).
Uncle Donnie is thankful for the peace he has in Jesus Christ our Lord(Rom.5:1)
Did I tell you I like "ing" words? Reading...Jesus likes "ing" words. Go and read!
Ciao,
Donnie
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Gentleman Jack and Marinara ala Sopranos
Uncle Donnie had a rough couple of days this week! Betty and I had to take our dog,Gentleman Jack Daniels, to the vet and have him put down. You know,it was time for the proverbial "dirt nap". This was a stressful situation,but Jack's time had come, and he was treated very well by Doc Wilson and his staff at the vet.
Three things about Gentleman Jack stick out in my mind: the first is the Halloween night when my trophy wife Betty dressed him up in a pumpkin costume and had him answer the door to the joy of all the little crumb-crunching trick or treaters. It truly was hilarious.
Next, was when Betty had a bout with breast cancer a few years back. Jack was such a sweet and loyal companion for her when she was all alone at home... He meant a lot to her; he really was her dog. Finally, Jack's value lay in the fact that he was the most lazy animal Uncle Donnie has ever seen. All he wanted to do was four things: eat, sleep, sleep and eat. Although, toward the end of his life, he learned how to bark a little bit. But, it was more like a loud whimper than a real bark. So for all those special times, I gotta say, Thanks Gentleman Jack, you were the man... I mean, dog.
On a brighter note, Uncle Donnie would like to share a quick recipe from the Sopranos
Cookbook. Marinara.
Chop a couple large garlic cloves,
Heat a saucepan and saute the garlic- don't let it get too brown.
Throw in a 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Throw in 2 basil leaves and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Simple sauce, simply delicious, Uncle Donnies favorite.
This kinda reminds me of that scene in the Godfather, when Clemenza says to Mikey, "Come over here, kid, learn somethin'. You never know when you's gonna hafta cook for 20 guys someday. First thing, throw in some water. And then you fry the garlic, throw in the tomato paste, make sure it don't stick. Bring it to a boil, and then you shove in all your sausages and your meatballs, and then you put in a little bit of wine. And then a little bit of sugar, and that's my trick."
Arrivederci,
Donnie
Three things about Gentleman Jack stick out in my mind: the first is the Halloween night when my trophy wife Betty dressed him up in a pumpkin costume and had him answer the door to the joy of all the little crumb-crunching trick or treaters. It truly was hilarious.
Next, was when Betty had a bout with breast cancer a few years back. Jack was such a sweet and loyal companion for her when she was all alone at home... He meant a lot to her; he really was her dog. Finally, Jack's value lay in the fact that he was the most lazy animal Uncle Donnie has ever seen. All he wanted to do was four things: eat, sleep, sleep and eat. Although, toward the end of his life, he learned how to bark a little bit. But, it was more like a loud whimper than a real bark. So for all those special times, I gotta say, Thanks Gentleman Jack, you were the man... I mean, dog.
On a brighter note, Uncle Donnie would like to share a quick recipe from the Sopranos
Cookbook. Marinara.
Chop a couple large garlic cloves,
Heat a saucepan and saute the garlic- don't let it get too brown.
Throw in a 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Throw in 2 basil leaves and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Simple sauce, simply delicious, Uncle Donnies favorite.
This kinda reminds me of that scene in the Godfather, when Clemenza says to Mikey, "Come over here, kid, learn somethin'. You never know when you's gonna hafta cook for 20 guys someday. First thing, throw in some water. And then you fry the garlic, throw in the tomato paste, make sure it don't stick. Bring it to a boil, and then you shove in all your sausages and your meatballs, and then you put in a little bit of wine. And then a little bit of sugar, and that's my trick."
Arrivederci,
Donnie
Monday, June 21, 2010
My Trophy Wife
Uncle Donnie had a great Father's Day! Great sermon at church, great food all day, and six hours of US Open Golf. The only downside was losing a game of canasta to my
trophy wife, Betty. Usually our card games... Well, they're like vinyl foreplay. But on Father's Day it was more like getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick, you know what I mean?
Albert Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well
enough". Uncle Donnie says, "teachers make the best teachers, sheetrockers make the
best sheetrockers,and the best wife makes the best husband"....You can quote me on
that one.
My trophy wife Betty is a combination of Martha Stewart,Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa),Jamie Lee Curtis, and Mother Theresea.I kid you not. Me, I'm more like
Larry Moe And Curly, Abbott and Costello and Pee Wee Herman.... Uh-huh, I meant to do that.
Oh yeah, there's a lotta those great "ing" words we've perfected over the course of our 37 years, me and my trophy wife Betty.
Ciao,
Uncle Donnie
trophy wife, Betty. Usually our card games... Well, they're like vinyl foreplay. But on Father's Day it was more like getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick, you know what I mean?
Albert Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well
enough". Uncle Donnie says, "teachers make the best teachers, sheetrockers make the
best sheetrockers,and the best wife makes the best husband"....You can quote me on
that one.
My trophy wife Betty is a combination of Martha Stewart,Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa),Jamie Lee Curtis, and Mother Theresea.I kid you not. Me, I'm more like
Larry Moe And Curly, Abbott and Costello and Pee Wee Herman.... Uh-huh, I meant to do that.
Oh yeah, there's a lotta those great "ing" words we've perfected over the course of our 37 years, me and my trophy wife Betty.
Ciao,
Uncle Donnie
Saturday, June 19, 2010
A Stone in my Sandal
It's Saturday PM and I just completed one of my favorite "ing" words,mowing.
I love to mow my lawn. Mowing is good therapy; Jesus wants me to mow my lawn and keep it looking good. I think Jesus wants you to mow your lawns, so go and mow.
The Italian word for bad is "male"(pronounced mal-yeh). So, I'm thinking male, bad, and I am a male- Uncle Donnie is definitely a male- so maybe thats why I end up under the bus so much....."You know I'm bad, I'm bad" thank you Mike Jackson. That's right, "we bad, we bad".
Thing is, I got this little problem. It's a stone in my sandal, a little irritation that I gotta get some closure to. Robert Deniro needed this closure in Analyze This, not that I need a shrink or something. (Palmenteri insists that his underling find out what this closure thing is...same movie).
My stone is this:
what is up with so many Evangelicals turning to Rome, embracing (another good "ing" word) Catholicism? I've got nothing personal against my Catholic brethren, we all know Mama Corleone was a devout Catholic. And my own bruddah, I mean
brother, married a good Catholic girl, although I think she was Irish and probably still is. That is, Catholic and Irish. And talk about some great contributions to
or culture, like I'm sure there would be no "Happy Hour" or fish and chips on Friday without these guys; and what about Notre Dame football and DePaul basketball? Don't forget all those weekly parish bingo games!.... All this to say, Uncle Donnie
is not a Catholic-phobe.
So, I'm thinking, maybe all protestants evangelical or not, are merely the minor leagues, you know, training and playing for the day when they get "called up" by
the big team. Is Rome the big team? Where we can say, "I finally made it! I'm a
big leaguer now!" ???
You know, maybe we all started in A ball, where you get Jesus and you learn easy-believism, walk an aisle and learn how to hand out tracts with that
darling little evangelical smile. And then, you get the call to AA ball and you learn
how to not be like other religious groups and you learn how to temper your zeal with a little, "saintly self-righteousness", looking down on others because they either speak in tongues, or don't speak in tongues. What happens next, is the call comes again and you find yourself in AAA ball, where you begin to learn to reject most of what you've been taught. You've lost your first love of the game, you loose the Jesus you found long ago, and you learn to be more formal, more mature, more polished at your game. And now, now you're sure and ready to get the call, the call back to the home team, the big team, the Roman team. You made the journey home....congratulations!
You say, "But Uncle Donnie,this happens so rarely, what's the big deal?"
Uncle Donnie says it is happening all the time.
There are Catholic cable stations with programming, including shows like The Journey Home, where former pastors, teachers and lay-people tell the stories of their journey home to the Mother Church, the true Church Of Jesus Christ.
There are pastors relinquishing their denominational credentials to work in new Catholic start up churches and so on, and so forth, yadda, yadda, yadda... Whaddya gonna do?
Well, that is my problem.....
Maybe I should request a sit-down and see what could be worked out. Maybe I should just give the Catholics a pass and forgeddabahdit.
Whaddya think?
Donnie
I love to mow my lawn. Mowing is good therapy; Jesus wants me to mow my lawn and keep it looking good. I think Jesus wants you to mow your lawns, so go and mow.
The Italian word for bad is "male"(pronounced mal-yeh). So, I'm thinking male, bad, and I am a male- Uncle Donnie is definitely a male- so maybe thats why I end up under the bus so much....."You know I'm bad, I'm bad" thank you Mike Jackson. That's right, "we bad, we bad".
Thing is, I got this little problem. It's a stone in my sandal, a little irritation that I gotta get some closure to. Robert Deniro needed this closure in Analyze This, not that I need a shrink or something. (Palmenteri insists that his underling find out what this closure thing is...same movie).
My stone is this:
what is up with so many Evangelicals turning to Rome, embracing (another good "ing" word) Catholicism? I've got nothing personal against my Catholic brethren, we all know Mama Corleone was a devout Catholic. And my own bruddah, I mean
brother, married a good Catholic girl, although I think she was Irish and probably still is. That is, Catholic and Irish. And talk about some great contributions to
or culture, like I'm sure there would be no "Happy Hour" or fish and chips on Friday without these guys; and what about Notre Dame football and DePaul basketball? Don't forget all those weekly parish bingo games!.... All this to say, Uncle Donnie
is not a Catholic-phobe.
So, I'm thinking, maybe all protestants evangelical or not, are merely the minor leagues, you know, training and playing for the day when they get "called up" by
the big team. Is Rome the big team? Where we can say, "I finally made it! I'm a
big leaguer now!" ???
You know, maybe we all started in A ball, where you get Jesus and you learn easy-believism, walk an aisle and learn how to hand out tracts with that
darling little evangelical smile. And then, you get the call to AA ball and you learn
how to not be like other religious groups and you learn how to temper your zeal with a little, "saintly self-righteousness", looking down on others because they either speak in tongues, or don't speak in tongues. What happens next, is the call comes again and you find yourself in AAA ball, where you begin to learn to reject most of what you've been taught. You've lost your first love of the game, you loose the Jesus you found long ago, and you learn to be more formal, more mature, more polished at your game. And now, now you're sure and ready to get the call, the call back to the home team, the big team, the Roman team. You made the journey home....congratulations!
You say, "But Uncle Donnie,this happens so rarely, what's the big deal?"
Uncle Donnie says it is happening all the time.
There are Catholic cable stations with programming, including shows like The Journey Home, where former pastors, teachers and lay-people tell the stories of their journey home to the Mother Church, the true Church Of Jesus Christ.
There are pastors relinquishing their denominational credentials to work in new Catholic start up churches and so on, and so forth, yadda, yadda, yadda... Whaddya gonna do?
Well, that is my problem.....
Maybe I should request a sit-down and see what could be worked out. Maybe I should just give the Catholics a pass and forgeddabahdit.
Whaddya think?
Donnie
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