Unchurched or Unsaved? (Trevin Wax)
"SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In 1914, Ernest Henry Shackleton led an expedition to cross the entire continent of Antarctica, but wound up shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. To rescue his team, Shackleton and a few of the men sailed a tiny boat across more than 800 miles of rough seas to South Georgia Island. Despite the cold choppy waters and gray skies, Shackleton was able to safely navigate the boat to their destination. If his coordinates had been off by even one half of one degree, his team would have missed their destination and likely would have perished...." MORE...
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Topic of Cancer
Atheist Perspective on Cancer (Christopher Hitchens)
"I have more than once in my time woken up feeling like death. But nothing prepared me for the early morning last June when I came to consciousness feeling as if I were actually shackled to my own corpse. The whole cave of my chest and thorax seemed to have been hollowed out and then refilled with slow-drying cement. I could faintly hear myself breathe but could not manage to inflate my lungs. My heart was beating either much too much or much too little. Any movement, however slight, required forethought and planning. It took strenuous effort for me to cross the room of my New York hotel and summon the emergency services. They arrived with great dispatch and behaved with immense courtesy and professionalism. I had the time to wonder why they needed so many boots and helmets and so much heavy backup equipment, but now that I view the scene in retrospect I see it as a very gentle and firm deportation, taking me from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady. Within a few hours, having had to do quite a lot of emergency work on my heart and my lungs, the physicians at this sad border post had shown me a few other postcards from the interior and told me that my immediate next stop would have to be with an oncologist. Some kind of shadow was throwing itself across the negatives..." MORE
"I have more than once in my time woken up feeling like death. But nothing prepared me for the early morning last June when I came to consciousness feeling as if I were actually shackled to my own corpse. The whole cave of my chest and thorax seemed to have been hollowed out and then refilled with slow-drying cement. I could faintly hear myself breathe but could not manage to inflate my lungs. My heart was beating either much too much or much too little. Any movement, however slight, required forethought and planning. It took strenuous effort for me to cross the room of my New York hotel and summon the emergency services. They arrived with great dispatch and behaved with immense courtesy and professionalism. I had the time to wonder why they needed so many boots and helmets and so much heavy backup equipment, but now that I view the scene in retrospect I see it as a very gentle and firm deportation, taking me from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady. Within a few hours, having had to do quite a lot of emergency work on my heart and my lungs, the physicians at this sad border post had shown me a few other postcards from the interior and told me that my immediate next stop would have to be with an oncologist. Some kind of shadow was throwing itself across the negatives..." MORE
Normalizing Deviancy
Normalizing Deviancy (Cal Thomas - World Magazine)
"In the aftermath of the exposure and resignation of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., from Congress, his colleagues, some journalists, ethicists, and pundits are trying to sort out what it means. Has a new standard been created in Washington? How can Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., remain in office under an ethical cloud about money and Weiner be forced to resign because he had fantasy sex? It wasn’t even “real” sex, like Bill Clinton had. Clinton also lied about sex and was impeached for lying (but not for the sex because as actress Janeane Garofalo told Bill Maher recently, “Everyone lies about sex”). Some wondered then if standards had fallen for occupants of the Oval Office, or whether the behavior of Clinton and some Republicans mirror a national moral decline?"...MORE
"In the aftermath of the exposure and resignation of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., from Congress, his colleagues, some journalists, ethicists, and pundits are trying to sort out what it means. Has a new standard been created in Washington? How can Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., remain in office under an ethical cloud about money and Weiner be forced to resign because he had fantasy sex? It wasn’t even “real” sex, like Bill Clinton had. Clinton also lied about sex and was impeached for lying (but not for the sex because as actress Janeane Garofalo told Bill Maher recently, “Everyone lies about sex”). Some wondered then if standards had fallen for occupants of the Oval Office, or whether the behavior of Clinton and some Republicans mirror a national moral decline?"...MORE
Thursday, June 23, 2011
All Out of Whack
Addressing Secondary Issues Properly (Kevin DeYoung)
"I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the average reader of this blog is a fan of theology. Most of you are thoughtful, doctrinally attuned Christians. I also imagine a few of you might be a wee bit opinionated. It takes one to know one.
I don’t use “opinionated” as a bad word. We should be immovable on some matters, absolutely convinced of others, and it’s not bad to have strong informed opinions on all the rest. But let’s be honest: sometimes in conservative evangelical circles the intensity with which we hold to our convictions (let alone our opinions) is all out of whack..." MORE...
"I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the average reader of this blog is a fan of theology. Most of you are thoughtful, doctrinally attuned Christians. I also imagine a few of you might be a wee bit opinionated. It takes one to know one.
I don’t use “opinionated” as a bad word. We should be immovable on some matters, absolutely convinced of others, and it’s not bad to have strong informed opinions on all the rest. But let’s be honest: sometimes in conservative evangelical circles the intensity with which we hold to our convictions (let alone our opinions) is all out of whack..." MORE...
Friday, June 17, 2011
An Open Letter to Seekers
An Open Letter to Seekers
In the Appendix (“A Letter to ‘Seekers’”) of David Clotfelter’s book, Sinners in the Hands of a Good God: Reconciling Divine Judgment and Mercy (Moody, 2004), pp. 266-274.
I understand the Bible to say that until we are reborn we do not, in the deepest sense, seek God. We may seek His blessings; we may even seek salvation; but God Himself we reject.
Nevertheless, it is common today to refer to those who are interested in knowing more about the Christian faith as “seekers,” and since it is possible that the reader may fall into that category, I would like to say a little about the implications of the topic of this book for you.
First, I hope you will not become angry with me for speaking to you plainly and bluntly about spiritual matters. If I suggest to you that you are currently lost and in need of Christ, I do not intend by this any disrespect for you as a person. On the contrary, it is because I care about you that I speak as I do. I would like to be of service to you.
Are You a Christian?
Let’s begin by trying to determine whether you are already a Christian. Many people are deceived about their standing with God, supposing themselves to be Christians when, in fact, they are not. Others are simply uncertain and perhaps feel anxious and worried about how God views them. The Bible tells us that we are to make every effort to make our calling and election sure, and so it is only reasonable to try to determine how we can be certain of our spiritual state. I will first mention some things that do not indicate that we are genuinely converted, and then some that do.
In the Appendix (“A Letter to ‘Seekers’”) of David Clotfelter’s book, Sinners in the Hands of a Good God: Reconciling Divine Judgment and Mercy (Moody, 2004), pp. 266-274.
I understand the Bible to say that until we are reborn we do not, in the deepest sense, seek God. We may seek His blessings; we may even seek salvation; but God Himself we reject.
Nevertheless, it is common today to refer to those who are interested in knowing more about the Christian faith as “seekers,” and since it is possible that the reader may fall into that category, I would like to say a little about the implications of the topic of this book for you.
First, I hope you will not become angry with me for speaking to you plainly and bluntly about spiritual matters. If I suggest to you that you are currently lost and in need of Christ, I do not intend by this any disrespect for you as a person. On the contrary, it is because I care about you that I speak as I do. I would like to be of service to you.
Are You a Christian?
Let’s begin by trying to determine whether you are already a Christian. Many people are deceived about their standing with God, supposing themselves to be Christians when, in fact, they are not. Others are simply uncertain and perhaps feel anxious and worried about how God views them. The Bible tells us that we are to make every effort to make our calling and election sure, and so it is only reasonable to try to determine how we can be certain of our spiritual state. I will first mention some things that do not indicate that we are genuinely converted, and then some that do.
Ten Ways Not to Look at Children
Ten Ways Not to Look at Children, June 14, 2011, by RC Sproul Jr.
Wisdom is a narrow path. Folly, on the other hand, is a wide, gaping desert. Our conversations in the church about children tend to be contentious and emotional. Few things touch closer to home. Which is why we need all the more to develop a careful, thoughtful and sober understanding of the Bible’s wisdom on this issue. Below are ten common ways we err in our thinking. May He give us grace to fill our quivers with blessings, and our hearts with wisdom.
10. Children are a hassle to be avoided. What has become conventional wisdom in the world is now conventional wisdom in the church. We quip about longing for school to start, about dreading when they outgrow children’s church. We make the same stupid jokes- Do you know what causes that?, flaunting our folly. We are so biblically illiterate in the church we have no idea we are calling God a liar, who tells us children are a blessing from His hand (Psalm 127). We are so historically illiterate we don’t know that every denomination in Christendom condemned practices designed to avoid blessings from the beginning of the church until little more than fifty years ago.
9. Children are more precious than rubies and must be attained at any cost. On the other side of the above spectrum are those who see having children as the only blessing, and their purpose on the planet to conceive as many babies as humanly possible. The truth is that wisdom is more precious than rubies. God, however, is the one with all wisdom, and so is best equipped to plan our families. Seeking to pry babies out of His gracious hand, employing sundry technologies and timings, ironically, like the above problem, separates the blessing of the marital act from the blessing of children. What is to be a joy, on both counts, becomes a duty on both counts.
Wisdom is a narrow path. Folly, on the other hand, is a wide, gaping desert. Our conversations in the church about children tend to be contentious and emotional. Few things touch closer to home. Which is why we need all the more to develop a careful, thoughtful and sober understanding of the Bible’s wisdom on this issue. Below are ten common ways we err in our thinking. May He give us grace to fill our quivers with blessings, and our hearts with wisdom.
10. Children are a hassle to be avoided. What has become conventional wisdom in the world is now conventional wisdom in the church. We quip about longing for school to start, about dreading when they outgrow children’s church. We make the same stupid jokes- Do you know what causes that?, flaunting our folly. We are so biblically illiterate in the church we have no idea we are calling God a liar, who tells us children are a blessing from His hand (Psalm 127). We are so historically illiterate we don’t know that every denomination in Christendom condemned practices designed to avoid blessings from the beginning of the church until little more than fifty years ago.
9. Children are more precious than rubies and must be attained at any cost. On the other side of the above spectrum are those who see having children as the only blessing, and their purpose on the planet to conceive as many babies as humanly possible. The truth is that wisdom is more precious than rubies. God, however, is the one with all wisdom, and so is best equipped to plan our families. Seeking to pry babies out of His gracious hand, employing sundry technologies and timings, ironically, like the above problem, separates the blessing of the marital act from the blessing of children. What is to be a joy, on both counts, becomes a duty on both counts.
Theology, Therapy, Twitter and the Scandal of the Gospel
Theology, Therapy, Twitter and the Scandal of the Gospel (Al Mohler)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
"There is no shortage of perplexing realities in our world today, but counted among them must be the fact that many rather well informed people seem to be shocked that Christians believe the doctrines of Christianity.
Over the weekend, Rep. Anthony Weiner announced that he will request a leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek professional treatment in the aftermath of his sexting scandal on Twitter. In the words of his spokeswoman, Risa Heller, the congressman left last Saturday “to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person.”
She continued: “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”..."
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
"There is no shortage of perplexing realities in our world today, but counted among them must be the fact that many rather well informed people seem to be shocked that Christians believe the doctrines of Christianity.
Over the weekend, Rep. Anthony Weiner announced that he will request a leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek professional treatment in the aftermath of his sexting scandal on Twitter. In the words of his spokeswoman, Risa Heller, the congressman left last Saturday “to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person.”
She continued: “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”..."
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Piper, Carson, and Keller on Sustaining the Covenant of Marital Love
The Gospel Coalition, June 6, 2011
What sustains the marital bond and affections over the long haul? Three men with a combined 116 years of marriage reflect on what they’ve learned from God’s Word and others along with their experience.
Don Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper offer insight on falling in love again and again and the ground of covenant in which the flower of love grows. In marriage, man and woman change, but their promise does not, sustained by the God who enacted his covenant between Christ and the church.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to a young married couple, “It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” (MORE...)
What sustains the marital bond and affections over the long haul? Three men with a combined 116 years of marriage reflect on what they’ve learned from God’s Word and others along with their experience.
Don Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper offer insight on falling in love again and again and the ground of covenant in which the flower of love grows. In marriage, man and woman change, but their promise does not, sustained by the God who enacted his covenant between Christ and the church.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to a young married couple, “It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” (MORE...)
Are you Smarter Than Anthony Weiner?
— Monday, June 6th, 2011 — (Moore to the Point)
John Edwards cheats on his wife, impregnates his mistress, and thinks he can keep the child, and the affair, a secret…while he’s running for President of the United States.
Arnold Schwarzenegger also has an affair and an illegitimate child, and thinks he can keep it all a secret from his wife…while keeping the woman employed in their home for over a decade.
Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail admits that he cheated on his wife with another woman…while he was castigating the then-President of the United States for similar behavior and voting for his impeachment....(MORE....)
John Edwards cheats on his wife, impregnates his mistress, and thinks he can keep the child, and the affair, a secret…while he’s running for President of the United States.
Arnold Schwarzenegger also has an affair and an illegitimate child, and thinks he can keep it all a secret from his wife…while keeping the woman employed in their home for over a decade.
Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail admits that he cheated on his wife with another woman…while he was castigating the then-President of the United States for similar behavior and voting for his impeachment....(MORE....)
The Church and the ‘Clobber Scriptures’ — The Bible on Homosexuality
(ALBERT MOHLER) "Is the Church guilty of beating people with the Bible? As strange as that argument might sound, it is actually a powerful weapon in the hands of those who are determined to normalize homosexuality and same-sex marriage within the Church. Those pushing for the acceptance of homosexuality now argue that Christians opposed to that agenda are “clobbering” sinners with the biblical text.
There seems to be no authoritative original source for this very powerful rhetorical innovation, but it has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it is deployed as a way of subverting the Bible’s condemnation of same-gender sexuality..". (MORE...)
There seems to be no authoritative original source for this very powerful rhetorical innovation, but it has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it is deployed as a way of subverting the Bible’s condemnation of same-gender sexuality..". (MORE...)
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Bible's Unsung Heroes
Learning from the Bible's Unsung Heroes Trevor Wax
"We hear a lot about Paul, Peter, James, and John. But there are plenty of people mentioned in the New Testament that can slip by us unnoticed.
In Colossians 4, the Apostle Paul lists ten less-familiar names from the early church. Paul’s “shout-out” to these saints reminds me of the vast majority of Christians who quietly play important roles in the kingdom of God. Even though these mentions are brief, they contain life-long lessons for us today..."
"We hear a lot about Paul, Peter, James, and John. But there are plenty of people mentioned in the New Testament that can slip by us unnoticed.
In Colossians 4, the Apostle Paul lists ten less-familiar names from the early church. Paul’s “shout-out” to these saints reminds me of the vast majority of Christians who quietly play important roles in the kingdom of God. Even though these mentions are brief, they contain life-long lessons for us today..."
Comfort for Good People, Fright for Sinners
Comfort for Good People. by RW Glenn.
"On Sunday I finished up my sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes. The text was Eccl 12:8-14, and I found one commentator's remarks about v 14 especially interesting. First I'll give you the verse, then I'll give you his comment.
Verse: For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Comment: This is a "comforting word for good people and [a] frightening word for sinners."
Now even though it might at first seem to make sense, this comment is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the faith, a mistake in our way of thinking about Christianity that we can easily make..."
"On Sunday I finished up my sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes. The text was Eccl 12:8-14, and I found one commentator's remarks about v 14 especially interesting. First I'll give you the verse, then I'll give you his comment.
Verse: For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Comment: This is a "comforting word for good people and [a] frightening word for sinners."
Now even though it might at first seem to make sense, this comment is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the faith, a mistake in our way of thinking about Christianity that we can easily make..."
The Soul's Thirst
The Soul's Thirst: Tim Chalis.
"Every soul thirsts. This thirst may not be obvious in every moment, but at some point and to some degree every soul thirsts after something, something it does not have. We are rarely content in our current condition, rarely content just the way we are. But while we all thirst, we do not all thirst in the same way. Donald Whitney’s book Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health has much to say about this. Whitney identifies 3 ways in which our souls thirst..".
"Every soul thirsts. This thirst may not be obvious in every moment, but at some point and to some degree every soul thirsts after something, something it does not have. We are rarely content in our current condition, rarely content just the way we are. But while we all thirst, we do not all thirst in the same way. Donald Whitney’s book Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health has much to say about this. Whitney identifies 3 ways in which our souls thirst..".
Time Management
Seven thoughts on time management (Doug Wilson, Practical Christian Living)
"1.The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency. You should want to be fruitful like a tree, not efficient like a machine.
But this fruitfulness is a function of God's blessing, and it is surrendered work that is blessed work. Seek that blessing, and seek it through concrete surrender. Such surrenders are not abstract. Put your Isaacs on the altar. Every interruption is a chance to surrender your work to the only one who can bless your work, particularly when the interruptions come from your kid wanting to play catch.
We can see the principle with the sabbath and the tithe. Less blessed is more than more unblessed. 90% blessed goes farther than 100% unblessed. 6 days blessed are far more fruitful than 7 days unblessed..."
"1.The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency. You should want to be fruitful like a tree, not efficient like a machine.
But this fruitfulness is a function of God's blessing, and it is surrendered work that is blessed work. Seek that blessing, and seek it through concrete surrender. Such surrenders are not abstract. Put your Isaacs on the altar. Every interruption is a chance to surrender your work to the only one who can bless your work, particularly when the interruptions come from your kid wanting to play catch.
We can see the principle with the sabbath and the tithe. Less blessed is more than more unblessed. 90% blessed goes farther than 100% unblessed. 6 days blessed are far more fruitful than 7 days unblessed..."
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