Bunni Pounds explains origins of her name

"He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people."
Esther 4:8

Bunni Pounds is a congressional candidate in the runoff for the seat currently held by Jeb Hensarling.  We've never met the woman, but we share numerous mutual friends.  Given that her runoff opponent is a Joe Straus lackey, she's a no-brainer in that race.

In a campaign e-mail, she explains the origins of her somewhat...colorful...name; it's an interesting story:

Friend, Last week in Rusk, I had my picture taken with the Easter Bunny and was thankful again for my name and heritage. For those of you who don't know the story, I was named after Billy Graham’s daughter Ruth Bell (nicknamed Bunny).  My dad was a white coat medic in the U.S. Army during the period of the Vietnam War when he saw a Billy Graham crusade on TV and gave his life completely to Jesus, becoming a born again Christian. My dad always liked to read and when he read about Pastor Graham's family and his daughter Bunny, he thought that it was a cool name. I am still not sure how my mom said yes to this name choice but she did and the rest is history. They named me Bunni with an "i" and named my sister Sunni two years later to rhyme. Today on the day before Resurrection Day (Easter), I am so thankful for my heritage - that I grew up with godly parents who taught me the Bible and that I am loved by a great God who was willing to die for me.  I am thankful for a great country, America, that was founded on our Judeo-Christian values that help foster democracy, entrepreneurship, and freedom for all. Our nation is a light to the world that we can never take for granted. I am thankful for my family who love me unconditionally, Tim, Israel, and Ben, who have gone on this journey with me and believe that I am the right person to represent the people that I have served for over a decade. I am thankful for you - for your prayers, your encouragement, and your belief in a woman named Bunni to be the next Member of Congress for the 5th District of Texas. Thank you and Happy Easter! Bunni Pounds

Bottom Line: Good to know, and we know we weren't the only ones who were wondering....

Billy Graham -- Charlotte 1958 -- The Lonliness of Character vs. the Lonliness of Sin

Wow:

The Prayer in the Garden

³⁶ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Highlights:

• The last 24 hours of Jesus' life were the darkest in the history of the world.

• "Before the triumph, before the crown, before the Kingdom, before the victory, there had to come the suffering, there had to come the Cross." 

• Many times in scripture you find Christ praying all night.

• "Christ wasn't killed by Rome or Israel, the Bible tells us Christ was crucified by you and me; my sins and yours crucified Christ."

• The physical cross weighed 250 pounds.

• Have you helped carry the cross?!?

• Only Jesus could present a sacrifice pleasing to God.

• Moses had to stand alone; Elijah on Mount Carmel had to stand alone.

• The loneliness of character vs. the loneliness of Sin.

• Thousands of our mental problems are the result of spiritual separation from God.

• Rejecting Jesus is the one unpardonable sin.

America's True Intolerance

A Must Read Letter from Franklin Graham:

Is Our Nation Intolerant of Christianity?

A Prayer Letter From Franklin Graham

May 31, 2013 - Christians must never compromise their allegiance to the Savior, no matter what others may think.

"We need God’s Word and His laws now more than ever."
— Franklin Graham

Recently I was at a White House meeting with Vice President Joe Biden and had the opportunity to remind him that our main problem in America is that we have taken God out of our society and out of our government. We need God’s Word and His laws now more than ever.

Disobedience to God’s Word and His laws has wreaked havoc across the political, economic, and spiritual landscape of our country. There is scandal after scandal, and yet our nation’s leaders seem even more belligerent toward Christians.

If we hold up God’s standards, we are accused of being intolerant. “Tolerance” is one of today’s hot buttons, but in reality the true and fast-growing “intolerance” is for Christianity—anything that stands for Jesus Christ.

You may have read recently about the IRS apology for targeting conservative groups in 2011–12. I was not surprised to hear this—BGEA was audited last September, and many believe it was because we encouraged voters to take a strong stand on same-sex marriage issues and biblical values. The audit process was complex and time consuming, but as we expected, it ended well. During the process, in fact, the focus that BGEA puts on sound management and financial accountability was acknowledged as excellent.

Christians must never compromise their allegiance to the Savior, no matter what others may think.

The Lord is looking for men and women who will fully commit their heart, soul, and lives to His kingdom. We find in 1 Samuel that Saul was anointed to lead the Hebrew people. At first he won favor with the people and was victorious in battle. But in chapter 13, we read that Saul feared the opinions of men more than the commands of almighty God.

In a raid in the desert outside Jerusalem against Israel’s enemy the Amalekites, God had told Saul to fully destroy this enemy along with all their possessions. Instead, Saul spared King Agag and kept some of the choice sheep and oxen. He disobeyed God’s command. When the Prophet Samuel arrived and saw the evidence of Saul’s clear disobedience, he pronounced God’s judgment. “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. ... Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22–23, ESV).

Think about it—partial obedience is really no obedience at all. Complete obedience is what the Lord desires. We must never back down from fully following Christ because we fear public opinion or the ridicule of others.
Jesus Christ has commanded us to “go ... and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19)—that commandment applies to each one of us, all of His followers. We can’t fix all the social injustices and problems of our day, but we have been called to take this Gospel to the ends of the earth. BGEA is an evangelistic ministry. We exist to proclaim the lifesaving Gospel of our Savior to as many as possible.

Right now, we have a great opportunity to be involved in reaching others through My Hope America with Billy Graham. It is a simple plan. Make a list of lost friends, acquaintances, and loved ones and begin fervently praying for their salvation. In November, each of us will invite people we care about to our home, church, or favorite hangout to watch a dynamic new program we are developing with a message from my father. You can learn more about participating at MyHopeWithBillyGraham.org. We have training available online to help equip you to share your faith.

A young man who has signed up to be a part of My Hope America wrote us recently to say that he had been praying for a long time for his brother’s salvation. While looking through the My Hope America resources we sent him, he felt a strong sense that the Holy Spirit was saying, “The time is now.” He realized God was prompting him to talk again to his brother about Jesus. “Having this conversation was hard for me at first,” he says, “but, boy, am I glad I was obedient, because today a man who once studied hard to try and prove that God was not real, now follows Jesus Christ!” God works through our lives in mighty ways when we are obedient to His leading.

Your prayers and financial support are critically important for carrying out the nationwide My Hope America outreach, and we are counting on your personal participation in helping to reach people you know who need the power of the Gospel in their lives. Thank you for all you do in serving our Lord.

May God bless you,

Franklin Graham, President

Louie Gohmert Interrogates Eric Holder over Boston

Kudos to Congressman Gohmert's Press Secretary for posting this video to her Facebook page:



Highlights:

• Starts by following up on discovery material from the Holy Land Foundation trial.
• Holder claims Gohmert's staff never followed up.

• Holder doesn't know what questions the FBI asked re: Tsarnev.
• Gohmert wants to know about the FBI process.
• Holder plays the 'ongoing investigation' card.

• Holder claims he wasn't aware of the Boston or Cambridge mosques.

• That the FBI was warned about Tsarnev by Russia should have been sufficient. 

• "Because of political correctness, there was not a thorough enough investigation to determine whether this kid had been radicalized."

• "On the one hand, we go after Christian groups like Billy Graham's...but then we're hands off to possibly offending someone who has been radicalized as a terrorist."

• Holder's little 'you don't know' schpiel is one of the greatest acts of Chutzpah we've ever seen.

Update: Welcome Director Blue Readers.

Billy Graham's 1960 Easter Message from Jerusalem

1.The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

² Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

³ Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

⁴ So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

⁵ And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

⁶ Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

⁷ And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

⁸ Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

⁹ For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

¹⁰ Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

¹¹ But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

¹² And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

¹³ And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

¹⁴ And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

¹⁷ Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

¹⁹ Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

²⁰ And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

²³ Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Billy Graham: What is your defining moment?!?

Powerful new video from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:

More information here.

BOOK REVIEW: "Just as I Am" by Billy Graham

"The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation." 2 Samuel 22:47

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

Billy Graham is probably the most important Preacher of the past 100 years.  Dr. Graham's ministry saved more souls, and had more earthly influence, than any concurrent ministry.  Just as I Am is a joyous recounting of the first fifty years of Dr. Graham's ministry.

With a ministry as blessed as Dr. Graham's, it is impossible to convey everything in a seven paragraph review.  Dr. Graham grew up on a farm in Depression-era North Carolina. While Dr. Graham grew up in a strong family, he had plenty of exposure to Earthly pleasures during his teenage years (17). While Dr. Graham is known as a godly and humble man today, he did not lack for knowledge or opportunities as a young man.

The book goes on to discuss Dr Graham's salvation and early ministry. Discussions of statistics cannot convey how every person who attended or came forward at one of Dr. Graham's crusades was an individual. Ministering to tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands of people as individuals is a massive logistical undertaking; one of the biggest challenges was plugging thousands of new believers into local churches. Consistent, worldwide Church outreach on the scale of Dr. Graham's was unprecedented in Christian history (and they did it BEFORE the internet!). By remaining meek and poor in spirit, the Lord consistently worked out details.

Prayerful humility before the Lord is a major theme of the book. Billy Graham never takes credit for the success of his ministry, he understands that he was just the conduit through which God acted. The Lord gave Billy Graham a big mission, Billy Graham was obedient, and the Lord was faithful. As Graham writes:

With each new crusade experience, I was increasingly driven to the conclusion that it was not a fluke. Instead, it was the Lord letting us in on a special moving of the Holy Spirit in America [and later worldwide]. (174)

To me, the most interesting aspect of Dr. Graham's was the work that the Lord had him do in Communist countries. Beginning with a crusade in Hungary in 1977, Dr. Graham worked extensively behind the Iron Curtain during the decade before the Berlin Wall fell.  He even met with members of the politburo in Moscow (506).  Another fascinating encounter were his two meetings with Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang (625), which was actually the city where his wife went to high school (71).  These are just a few examples.

Dr. Graham was an early and unshakeable supporter of civil rights.  He refused to speak to segregated audiences, which was a big deal in pre-Jim Crow South (650).  He was also good friends with Martin Luther King Jr (314).  Dr. Graham promoted racial healing at a time when doing so was a genuine risk.  Dr. Graham's courage on racial matters deserves praise and recognition.

At its core, however, any discussion about Billy Graham is about the Gospel: God Loves You and He gave His only Son to help you, but it's up to You to accept His gift.  That's the message Billy Graham carried to over 185 countries.  That message remains as relevant as always.  But it's up to each of us, as individuals, to heed the call:

You can learn more about the current efforts of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association here.

America's Crashing Idols

Yesterday, Josh Charles, co-author of The Original Argument, sent me the following piece about the shooting in Newton, CT; the piece is must read, but one line stands out:

The rule of the day is instant gratification, and the sense of living for something good and eternal has been lost....Into this horrible vacuum, in a desperate search for meaning and contentment, flow the idols of our culture: drugs, sex, alcohol, and yes, violence, and we are seeing evidence of it everywhere.

Similarly, this morning, I read this letter from Rev. Franklin Graham; money quote:

Our country's financial problems, however, are nothing compared to the spiritual and moral cliff that is far more destructive to our nation than any economic concerns.

Idols are crashing; that's the common theme of all our problems.

I've written about politics as idolatry before.   Our sexual dysfunction is also rooted in idolatry.  But the way out is obvious.

Cahnman's Musings is blessed to stand shoulder to shoulder with these two servants; read both pieces.

Billy Graham's 1977 Christmas Message

Talk about a message even more relevant today than it was 35 years ago:



Highlights:

• For the record, the man in black (white shirt) sitting to Billy Graham's right IS Johnny Cash.

• "Ominous clouds are gathering on the horizon in many parts of the world that could effect the whole world, including your world and mine"; even truer today than it was 35 years ago.

• "In the middle of these problems, comes the message of Christmas."

• The real Christmas message: "answers all the great question that plague the human race at this or any other hour."
• Birth: "For centuries, men had looked to Heaven and asked God to come out of that [picture] frame; at Bethlehem, 2000 years ago, He did just that....He humiliated himself, He took the form of a servant."
• Death: "Christmas to have meaning cannot be separated from the Cross....Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, can transform both individuals and societies....It was on Good Friday and Easter that God did for man what man could not do for himself.

•  But you must do something as well.