Follow the Data with Dr Frank

2022-12-23 00:36:42 Wisconsin State Senator Janel Brandtjen gave me this lovely ornament last Christmas. The same image is featured in a huge mosaic in the capitol dome.

It features Lady Liberty, one hand pointing toward heaven (God is the source of our liberty), and the other hand protecting the ballot box (how we protect our liberty).

We are steadily losing our liberty because we have lost the ballot box.

Every citizen must make a stand, or we will lose our liberty forever. Open / Comment

2022-12-22 03:04:50 "He is for All of Mankind"

My favorite nativity scene of all time. Five minutes of profound moments and words. It's a condensation of events, but profound nonetheless.

Mary - "He is for all of mankind."
Mary - "We are each given a gift."
Magi 1 - "The greatest of kings born in the most humble of places."
Magi 1 - "God... made into flesh."
Magi 1 - "Gold... for the King of Kings."
Magi 2 - "Frankincense... for the priest of all priests."
Magi 3 - "The gift of myrrh... to honor the sacrifice."

Everyone is welcome at the manger. From stinky shepherds to wealthy noblemen.

And everyone has something to give, even if it is merely their awe and presence.

And you, dear friend, are also welcomed. Bring the gifts God has given you.

Come to the manger.



Open / Comment

2022-12-21 19:22:24 “Incarnation”

That God raised Jesus Christ after his crucifixion and death is exciting and essential to the Christian faith, and we celebrate this at Easter. But resurrections are not unique to Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, every person will be resurrected at some point—some to eternal life, and some for eternal judgment.

What inspires awe in me is the incarnation. We celebrate this at Christmas.

Jesus Christ, who exists outside of time, preexisting our universe, willingly and temporarily relinquished his divine attributes and constrained himself to exist within time, becoming like one of us for about thirty of our years.

He was born like one of us, pooped in his diapers like one of us, felt heat and cold like one of us, and was tempted in every way like one of us. Yet without sin.

Our God knows what it is like to be human because not only did He create us in the first place, He took a human body for a test drive and lived a human life. Whoa.

Humankind and the religious and government establishments at that time rewarded his perfect human life by brutally torturing him to death.

So Jesus has also suffered like one us—if not worse—and died like one of us. He was then resurrected, like all of us will be one day.

Thus, Jesus completed the whole human path: he was born, lived, loved, suffered, died, and was resurrected.

But although Jesus Christ is now re-divined and back in heaven, he is not fully restored. His glorified body now bears the scars of his time on earth.

Perhaps they are like war medals to him.

And when he looks at the nail-scars in his hands his heart is not bitter, instead overflowing with love, because he already exists in our future where we are embracing.

The incarnation blows my mind. Open / Comment

2022-12-21 07:22:10 Open / Comment

2022-12-21 07:22:08 Open / Comment

2022-12-20 07:07:51 My last event in 2022. Open / Comment

2022-12-18 21:53:25 "Our Legislatures are Corrupted"

I've been saying in my talks that we don't have a single good legislature in this country; one that works for the people first.

I also note that we have some good *legislators*, but they are often the freshmen. Open / Comment

2022-12-16 20:44:47 “No Compromise”

When young David arrived at the battlefield he found his older brothers, indeed Israel’s entire army, cowering in the foothills. This could only happen because Israel’s leaders did not understand their situation and so were unwilling to make a stand. They had lost sight of the Truth.

David was not there to fight Goliath—he was taking his brothers their lunch. But during the journey God had prepared him for what was to come; David mastered the slingshot and fought and defeated dangerous wild animals.

David then made a stand, because he understood the stakes. He did not employ the common wisdom, relying upon military strength (e.g. armor), because he understood that it was not his battle to win. That was God’s responsibility.

David’s job was to stand and fight with what God had given him.

There was no middle ground.

If he’d listened to the common wisdom David would have returned home, and Israel would have remained mired in a compromised position because they were relying upon their own strength instead of relying upon God and standing for the Truth.

The German church refused to make a stand and compromised with the Nazi regime. The results were catastrophic.

The modern church has compromised with evil, and so has marginalized the truth and thus itself out of relevance. It is hiding in the hills. This makes it complicit with Evil, and God will spit it out of His mouth.

During my travels I have been finding many modern Davids. They all say things like, “I never thought I would be doing anything like this, but here I am.”

They are politically inexperienced and with limited resources… like David.

Which makes them perfect for the job, and God has prepared them for this moment. They are forming new Churches, new citizen groups, even running for office.

All we need are our respective slingshots, and then to make our stands for the Truth, stepping out in faith and relying upon God’s providence.

There is no compromising with Evil, and to refuse to stand and act is to be complicit with it.

Be a David.

The battle is the Lord’s. Open / Comment

2022-12-14 19:55:47 "Mistakes?"

I really don't like it when I discover that I've made a serious planning mistake. Like setting the wrong priorities, booking the wrong flight, posting an event on the wrong calendar day, etc.

But then later, I discover the silver lining:

"Ahh... *that's* what God intended for me."

Looking back, it's obvious that I couldn't have planned it better, because I have insufficient information and limited perspectives.

It's cool being a "leaf on the river." What sometimes seems like a random eddy turns out to be the precise time and place I was needed... deployed.

This predicament leaves me free to fearlessly embrace each moment of every day, submitted to the Will of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes I step out in faith, not knowing what God has in store for me. But I know I'm in good hands, and it's fun to try to figure out the Plan.

Drifting along in faith I'll kibbutz, "Alright God... this seems like it might be a mistake... but if it isn't your will, it ain't gonna happen."

What an adventure! Open / Comment

2022-12-14 18:33:41 "Learning"

As I'm traveling the country I meet the best folks! I learn from them, collecting wisdom.

At the venue last night I sat across the dinner table from Lafawn Thompson, who spoke articulately about our corrupt state legislatures. She said, "They hate Trump so much because he's playing in their sandbox and throwing out their toys." Open / Comment