Talking Theology On A Front Porch Swing

The Old Dead Guys: The Heinous Sin of Profane Cursing and Swearing Pt 9

2011-08-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Old Dead Guys: The Heinous Sin of Profane Cursing and Swearing Pt 9

GPS: TODAY JOSIAH IS BEING GIVEN BACK TO ZABETH AND PAU...

2011-08-02T07:38:00.000-05:00

GPS: TODAY JOSIAH IS BEING GIVEN BACK TO ZABETH AND PAU...: "Josiah in the Month of June Recently Josiah had an overnight with Paul and Zabeth. The following afternoon I saw him sleeping against hi..."

Jeremiah 29:11 - Is it a promise for us? - Voddie Baucham

2011-05-09T05:53:00.000-05:00

Why Me Lord by Ross King

2011-05-07T06:22:00.000-05:00

The Doctrine of Total Depravity - Voddie Baucham

2011-05-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

Where are the Men? - Paul Washer

2011-03-23T07:52:00.000-05:00

Review of Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions by Ken Ham

2011-03-22T06:37:00.000-05:00

Demolishing Contradictions by Ken Ham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions" is an excellent, true-to-the-Bible, resource for Christians seeking to grow in Bible knowledge, deepen their faith in the truth of God's Holy Word, encourage other Christians, teach their children or reach out to the confused or the lost.

If part of the Bible isn't true, then none of it is true. We can be assured of this because, by His very nature, God cannot lie. Therein lies the importance of this work. Ken Ham has delved into oft-asked questions about supposed contradictions in the Scriptures and has answered them soundly, wisely and well. Whether you are curious about how Judas really died, if Noah confused a bat for a bird or how old Ahaziah when he began his reign, this is the book for you.

One of the lovely qualities of this book is its gentle sense of humor: the chapters have titles like "As Easy as Pi", "Bats of a Feather" and "Dead Man Writing"; another is that it is easy to understand. More important, however, is that it is true to Scripture. Ken Ham holds God and His Word in high esteem and it shows in his careful examination of the texts he explores.

Something I find extremely valuable about this book is the way that it so deftly handles the matter of Christ's deity and His humanity. Ken Ham gives us the tools we need to fight against the view that Jesus is inferior to His Father (He was inferior only in His human form; in His deity, He is equal).

This book is a worthwhile read and a very welcomed and valuable resource. For this homeschooling Mom, it has earned an honored spot on our bookcase and will be referred to often. On the cover, this book says it is "Volume 1"; I'll be waiting expectantly for "Volume 2".

I received a free copy of this book from New Leaf Publishing for purposes of review. I was not required to give a positive review only a fair and honest one.

View all my reviews

The Duties of Christian Parents by J. C. Ryle

2011-03-20T08:01:00.002-05:00

Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

I suppose that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so?

But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts before us seems fearfully seldom practised. Reader, do I not speak the truth?

We live in days when there is a mighty zeal for education in every quarter. We hear of new schools rising on all sides. We are told of new systems, and new books for the young, of every sort and description. And still for all this, the vast majority of children are manifestly not trained in the way they should go, for when they grow up to man’s estate, they do not walk with God.

Now how shall we account for this state of things? The plain truth is, the Lord’s commandment in our text is not regarded; and therefore the Lord’s promise in our text is not fulfilled.

Reader, these things may well give rise to great searchings of heart. Suffer then a word of exhortation from a minister, about the right training of children. Believe me, the subject is one that should come home to every conscience, and make every one ask himself the question, ‘Am I in this matter doing what I can?’

Come now, and let me place before you a few hints, about right training. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost bless them, and make them words in season to you all. Reject them not because they are blunt and simple; despise them not because they contain nothing new. Be very sure, if you would train children for heaven, they are hints that ought not to be lightly set aside.

Directive One.

First, then, if you would train your children rightly, train them in the way they should go, and not in the way that they would. Remember children are born with a decided bias towards evil, and therefore if you let them choose for themselves, they are certain to choose wrong.

The mother cannot tell what her infant may grow up to be- tall or short, weak or strong, wise or foolish: he may be any of these things or not- it is all uncertain. But one thing the mother can say with certainty: he will have a corrupt and sinful heart. It is natural to us to do wrong. ‘Foolishness,’ says Solomon, ‘is bound in the heart of a child’ (Proverbs 22:15). Our hearts are like the earth on which we tread; let it alone, and it is sure to bear weeds.

If, then, you would deal wisely with your child, you must not leave him to the guidance of his own will. Think for him, judge for him, act for him, just as you would for one weak and blind; but for pity’s sake, give him not up to his own wayward tastes and inclinations. It must not be his likings and wishes that are consulted. He knows not yet what is good for his mind and soul, any more than what is good for his body. You do not let him decide what he shall eat, and what he shall drink, and how he shall be clothed. Be consistent, and deal with his mind in like manner. Train him in the way that is scriptural and right, and not in the way that he fancies.

If you cannot make up your mind to this first principle of Christian training, it is useless for you to read any further. Self-will is almost the first thing that appears in a child’s mind; and it must be your first step to resist it.

Directive Two.

Train up your child with all tenderness, affection, and patience. I do not mean that you are to spoil him, but I do mean that you should let him see that you love him. Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys — these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily — these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his heart.

Few are to be found, even among grown-up people, who are not more easy to draw then to drive. There is that in all our minds which rises in arms against compulsion; we set up our backs and stiffen our necks at the very idea of forced obedience. We are like young horses in the hand of a breaker: handle them kindly, and make much of them, and by and by you may guide them with thread; use them roughly and violently, and it will be many a month before you get the mastery of them at all.

Children are weak and tender creatures, and, as such, they need patient and considerate treatment. We must handle them delicately, like frail machines, lest by rough fingering we do more harm than good. They are like young plants, and need gentle watering- often, but little at a time.

We must not expect all things at once. We must remember what children are, and teach them as they are able to bear. Their minds are like a lump of metal — not to be forged and made useful at once, but only by a succession of little blows. Their understandings are like narrow-necked vessels: we must pour in the wine of knowledge gradually, or much of it will be spilled and lost. ‘Line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little,’ must be our rule. The whetstone does its work slowly, but frequent rubbing will bring the scythe to a fine edge. Truly there is need of patience in training a child, but without it nothing can be done.

Directive Three.

Train with this thought continually before your eyes- that the soul of your child is the first thing to be considered. Precious, no doubt, are these little ones in your eyes; but if you love them, think often of their souls. No interest should weigh with you so much as their eternal interests. No part of them should be so dear to you as that part which will never die. The world, with all its glory, shall pass away; the hills shall melt; the heavens shall be wrapped together as a scroll; the sun shall cease to shine. But the spirit which dwells in those little creatures, whom you love so well, shall outlive them all, and whether in happiness or misery (to speak as a man) will depend on you.

This is the thought that should be uppermost on your mind in all you do for your children. In every step you take about them, in every plan, and scheme, and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, ‘How will this effect their souls?’

Soul love is the soul of all love. To pet and pamper and indulge your child, as if this world was all he had to look to, and this life the only season for happiness — to do this is not true love, but cruelty. It is treating him like some beast of the earth, which has but one world to look to, and nothing after death. It is hiding from him that grand truth, which he ought to be made to learn from his very infancy — that the chief end of his life is the salvation of his soul.

A true Christian must be no slave to fashion, if he would train his child for heaven. He must not be content to do things merely because they are the custom of the world; to teach them and instruct them in certain ways, merely because it is usual; to allow them to read books of a questionable sort, merely because everybody else reads them; to let them form habits of a doubtful tendency, merely because they are the habits of the day. He must train with an eye to his children’s souls. He must not be ashamed to hear his training called singular and strange. What if it is? The time is short — the fashion of this world passeth away. He that has trained his children for heaven, rather than for earth — for God, rather than for man — he is the parent that will be called wise at last.

Directive Four.

Train your child to a knowledge of the Bible. You cannot make your children love the Bible, I allow. None but the Holy Ghost can give us a heart to delight in the Word. But you can make your children acquainted with the Bible; and be sure they cannot be acquainted with that blessed book too soon, or too well.

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is the foundation of all clear views of religion. He that is well-grounded in it will not generally be found a waverer, and carried about by every wind of new doctrine. Any system of training which does not make a knowledge of Scripture the first thing is unsafe and unsound.

See that your children read the Bible reverently. Train them to look on it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, written by the Holy Ghost Himself- all true, all profitable, and able to make us wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

See that they read it regularly. Train them to regard it as their soul’s daily food — as a thing essential to their soul’s daily health. I know well you cannot make this anything more than a form; but there is no telling the amount of sin which a mere form may indirectly restrain.

See that they read it all. You need not shrink from bringing any doctrine before them. You need not fancy that the leading doctrines of Christianity are things which children cannot understand. Children understand far more of the Bible than we are apt to suppose.

Tell them of sin, its guilt, its consequences, its power, its vileness: you will find they can comprehend something of this. Tell them of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His work for our salvation- the Atonement, the cross, the Blood, the sacrifice, the intercession: you will discover there is something not beyond them in all this.

Tell them of the work of the Holy Spirit in man’s heart, how He changes, and renews, and sanctifies, and purifies: you will soon see they can go along with you in some measure in this. In short, I suspect we have no idea how much a little child can take in of the length and breadth of the glorious Gospel. They see far more of these things than we suppose. Fill their minds with Scripture. Let the Word dwell in them richly. Give them the Bible, the whole Bible, even while they are young.

All Things Lovely: Betrayed With A Kiss

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

All Things Lovely: Betrayed With A Kiss: "Please, please take some time to listen to/watch Eric Ludy's latest sermon. And be sure to subscribe to all his sermons and updates at eller..."

The Washing of Regeneration: 10 Reasons Not to Ask Jesus into Your Heart by Tod...

2011-03-13T06:57:00.000-05:00

The music weeps, the preacher pleads, “Give your heart to Jesus. You have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it.” Dozens, hundreds or thousands of people who want to get their spiritual life on track make their way to the altar. They ask Jesus into their heart.

Cut to three months later. Nobody has seen our new convert in church. The follow up committee calls him and encourages him to attend a Bible study, but to no avail. We label him a backslider and get ready for the next outreach event.

Our beloved child lies in her snuggly warm bed and says, “Yes, Daddy. I want to ask Jesus into my heart.” You lead her in “the prayer” and hope that it sticks. You spend the next ten years questioning if she really, really meant it. Puberty hits and the answer reveals itself. She backslides. We spend the next ten years praying that she will come to her senses.

Telling someone to ask Jesus into their hearts has a very typical result, backsliding. the Bible says that a person who is soundly saved puts his hand to the plow and does not look back because he is fit for service. In other words, a true convert cannot backslide. If a person backslides, he never slid forward in the first place. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (II Cor.5) No backsliding there.

Brace yourself for this one: with very few if any exceptions, anyone who asked Jesus into their hearts to be saved…is not. If you asked Jesus into your heart because you were told that is what you have to do to become a Christian, you were mis-informed.
If you have ever told someone to ask Jesus into their heart (like I have), you produced a false convert. Here is why.

To read in full, please go to The Washing of Regeneration: 10 Reasons Not to Ask Jesus into Your Heart by Tod...: "The music weeps, the preacher pleads, “Give your heart to Jesus. You have a God shaped hole in your heart and only Jesus can fill it.” Dozen..."

The Washing of Regeneration: The Law & The Gospel by Michael S. Horton

2011-03-13T06:11:00.000-05:00

In order to recover the sufficiency of Scripture we must once again learn to distinguish the Law and the Gospel as the "two words" of Scripture. For the Reformers, it was not enough to believe in inerrancy. Since Rome also had a high view of Scripture in theory, the Reformers were not criticizing the church for denying its divine character. Rather, they argued that Rome subverted its high view of Scripture by the addition of other words and by failing to read and proclaim Scripture according to its most obvious sense.

At the heart of the reformation's hermeneutics was the distinction between "Law" and "Gospel." For the Reformers, this was not equivalent to "Old Testament" and "New Testament;" rather, it meant, in the words of Theodore Beza, "We divide this Word into two principal parts or kinds: the one is called the 'Law,' the other the 'Gospel.' For all the rest can be gathered under the one or other of these two headings." The Law "is written by nature in our hearts," while "What we call the Gospel (Good News) is a doctrine which is not at all in us by nature, but which is revealed from Heaven (Mt. 16:17; John 1:13)." The Law leads us to Christ in the Gospel by condemning us and causing us to despair of our own "righteousness." "Ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel," Beza wrote, "is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity."1

Luther made this hermeneutic central, but both traditions of the Protestant Reformation jointly affirm this key distinction. In much of medieval preaching, the Law and Gospel were so confused that the "Good News" seemed to be that Jesus was a "kinder, gentler Moses," who softened the Law into easier exhortations, such as loving God and neighbor from the heart. The Reformers saw Rome as teaching that the Gospel was simply an easier "law" than that of the Old Testament. Instead of following a lot of rules, God expects only love and heartfelt surrender. Calvin replied, "As if we could think of anything more difficult than to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength! Compared with this law, everything could be considered easy...[For] the law cannot do anything else than to accuse and blame all to a man, to convict, and, as it were, apprehend them; in fine, to condemn them in God's judgment: that God alone may justify, that all flesh may keep silence before him."2 Thus, Calvin observes, Rome could only see the Gospel as that which enables believers to become righteous by obedience and that which is "a compensation for their lack," not realizing that the Law requires perfection, not approximation.

To read in full, please go to The Washing of Regeneration: The Law & The Gospel by Michael S. Horton: "In order to recover the sufficiency of Scripture we must once again learn to distinguish the Law and the Gospel as the 'two words' of Scri..."

The Washing of Regeneration: The Call of Christ- Arthur Pink

2011-03-13T06:08:00.000-05:00

"Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden—and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Familiar as is the sound of those words unto professing Christians—yet there is a pressing need for their careful examination, for there are few portions of God's Word which have received such superficial treatment at the hands of preachers generally, as has the above. That these verses, like all others in the Sacred Volume, call for prayerful meditation, some will formally allow—but that such a "simple passage" demands protracted study, few seem to realize. It is at this very point, that so much damage has been wrought. Many took it for granted they already understood the meaning of such a passage, and hence no diligent inquiry into the significance of its terms was undertaken. The mere fact that a verse is so frequently quoted that we are thoroughly familiar with its language, is no proof that we really perceive its purpose: yes, the fact that such familiarity has precluded careful examination renders it far more likely that we do not rightly apprehend it.

There is a vast difference between being acquainted with the sound of a verse of Holy Writ, and entering into the sense of it. The sad fact is that today there are thousands of unqualified "evangelists" and self-appointed open-air "speakers" who glibly quote snippets from the Word of God—yet no more understand the spiritual significance of the words uttered by their lips, than the telegraph wires understand the messages which pass over them.

To read in full, please go to The Washing of Regeneration: The Call of Christ- Arthur Pink: "'Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden—and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am g..."

A Picture Of Biblical Manhood

2011-03-12T05:03:00.000-06:00

God Will Raise Up Men

2011-03-09T04:53:00.000-06:00

WHAT MANNER OF MEN

“. . . that He will again raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ [revival]. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labour and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.”

Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield

Is This Task Really From God?

2011-03-08T08:45:00.000-06:00

"God gives me no task except that which requires my dependence on Him to do it."

~Randy Alcorn

The Test Of A Saint

2011-03-08T08:44:00.002-06:00

The real test of a saint is not one's willingness to preach the gospel, but one's willingness to do something like washing the disciples' feet—that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God.

~Oswald Chambers

To Do God's Will

2011-03-08T07:04:00.000-06:00

"I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame, and I choose it above all things on Earth or in Heaven." ~A.W. Tozer

"All who wait upon the Lord shall rise higher and higher upon the mighty pinions of strong devotion, and with the unblinking eye of faith, into the regions of heavenly-mindedness, and shall approach nearer and nearer to God, the Sun of our spiritual day."~John Angell James

"Jesus said you will know Christians by their fruit. As soon as someone says that I always see someone in the congregation and their just thinking theyre going, "Judge not lest ye be judged", and I always go, "and twist not Scripture lest ye be like Satan." Because thats exactly what youre doing. The only verse that most people ever memorize and that out of context. Judge not lest ye be judged means don't be a pharisee who with hatred jealousy and religious animosity in your heart you criticize everyone in hopes of tearing them down so you can step on theyre broken bodies and achieve a greater renown in your religion. Cause the same Jesus who said judge not lest ye be judged says you will know them by their fruit you will know them by their fruit. And Paul the apostle said test yourself."~Paul Washer

“Show the world the fruits of Christianity, and it will applaud; but show the world Christianity, and it will oppose it vigorously. Religious people attempt to overcome the world by removing themselves from it. Christians overcome the world by being otherworldly. There was a time when the church rejected the world’s ways. Now she not only uses these ways, but she also abuses them. The Christian way to solve the problem of loving the world is not by removing worldly things, but by delivering the heart from the grip of worldly things.”~Watchman Nee

"I know of nothing which I would choose to have as the subject of my ambition for life than to be kept faithful to my God till death, still to be a soul winner, still to be a true herald of the cross, and testify the name of Jesus to the last hour. It is only such who in the ministry shall be saved."~Charles Spurgeon

"I don't have a vision except for Jesus Christ. I don't want to be anything. I don't want to be a bigshot. I don't want to be important. I don't want to conquer the world. I just want to be pleasing to God today and that is enough. That is enough. and strive as I might, I haven't obtained that goal so why should I look for another?"~Paul Washer

"The single heart is a heart which is not only changed, converted, and renewed; but thoroughly, powerfully, and habitually under the influence of the Holy Ghost. It is a heart which abhors all compromises, all luke-warmness, all halting between two opinions in religion. It sees one mighty object, the love of Christ dying for sinners. It has one mighty aim, to glorify God and do His will. It has one mighty desire, to please God and be commended by Him. Compared with such objects, aims, and desires, the single heart knows nothing worthy to be named. The praise and favor of man are nothing. The blame and disapprobation of man are trifles light as air. “One thing I desire, one thing I do, one thing I live for:” this is the language of the single heart."~~J.C. Ryle

"Some who have aimed at holiness have made the great mistake of supposing it needful to be morose, contentious, faultfinding, and censorious with everybody else. Their holiness has consisted of negatives, protests, and oppositions for oppositions sake. Their religion mainly lies in contrarieties and singularities; to them the text offers this wise counsel, follow holiness, but also follow peace. Courtesy is not inconsistent with faithfulness. It is not needful to be savage in order to be sanctified. A bitter spirit is a poor companion for a renewed heart. Let your determination principle be sweetened by tenderness towards your fellow-men. Be resolute for the right, but be also gentle, pitiful, courteous. Consider the meekness as well as the boldness of Jesus. Follow peace, but not at the expense of holiness. Follow holiness, but do not needlessly endanger peace” ~Charles Spurgeon

“The two poles could sooner meet, than the love of Christ and the love of the world.”~Thomas Brooks

“It costs something to be a true Christian. Let that never be forgotten. To be a mere nominal Christian, and go to Church, is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice, and follow Christ, and believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial. It will cost us our sins, and our self-righteousness, and our ease, and our worldliness. All – all must be given up.”~J.C. Ryle

"Godliness in action! Presenting all that you are nothing, to all that He is everything, you are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively, for all that to which He is committed in you; and you may be supremely confident that He who dwells in you as the Father dwelt in Him, is gloriously adequate for all that to which He is committed!"~W. Ian Thomas

"What is the secret to great living? Entire separation to Christ and devotion to Him. Thus speaks every man and woman whose life has made more than a passing flicker in the spiritual realm. It is the life that has no time for trifling that counts.”~Amy Carmichael

Walking With God

2011-03-08T07:02:00.001-06:00

"When you're walking through a field and you can look down at a mud puddle and see a bunch of tadpoles swimming around in that mud puddle, and it causes you to fall on your knees and worship God with reverance - you're walking with God."~Paul Washer

The Christian Life

2011-03-08T07:01:00.001-06:00

“The Christian life is not about all the things we do for God- it’s about being loved by Him, loving Him in return, and walking in intimate union and communion with Him.”~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

“To be in the world, and yet not of the world; to use it for our temporal necessities, and yet not to abuse it for carnal purposes, is a high Christian attainment. May we be graciously delivered from a worldly spirit, which can assume a thousand forms to allure and to deceive.”~Thomas Reade

“The Christian life is not adding Jesus to one’s own way of life but renouncing that personal way of life for His and being willing to pay whatever cost that may require.”~John MacArthur

No Habitual Sin

2011-03-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

"A person who has been born again, or regenerated, does not habitually commit sin. He no longer sins with his heart and will and whole inclination. There was probably a time when he did not think about whether his actions were sinful or not, and he did not always feel grieved after doing evil. There was no quarrel between him and sin; they were friends. But the true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it. Sin no longer pleases him, nor is it even a matter of indifference to him; it has become a horrible thing which he hates. ~J.C. Ryle

Prepare For Night Is Coming

2011-03-08T06:59:00.003-06:00

"I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the great tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next."~Corrie Ten Boom, Prepared for the Coming Tribulation

A Holy Walk

2011-03-08T06:59:00.001-06:00

“The secret of a believer’s holy walk is his continual recurrence to the blood of the Surety, and his daily [communion] with a crucified and risen Lord. All divine life, and all precious fruits of it, pardon, peace, and holiness, spring from the cross. All fancied sanctification which does not arise wholly from the blood of the cross is nothing better than Pharisaism. If we would be holy, we must get to the cross, and dwell there; else, notwithstanding all our labor, diligence, fasting, praying and good works, we shall be yet void of real sanctification, destitute of those humble, gracious tempers which accompany a clear view of the cross.”~Horatius Bonar

A Sad State Of Affairs

2011-03-08T06:58:00.002-06:00

“Most church members live so far below the standard, you would have to backslide to be in fellowship with them.”~Vance Havner

Abiding In Prayer

2011-03-08T06:57:00.001-06:00

"If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: “God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled.” When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage."~John Owen

Knowing God

2011-03-08T06:56:00.002-06:00

"In an authentic spiritual experience, emotion, feelings, and the senses often become intense, transcending the normal. These may include strong feelings of remorse over sin, a mighty sense of trust that surpasses the pain of a traumatic situation, an overpowering peace in the midst of trouble, the overwhelming sense of joy related to confidence and hope in God, intense sorrow over the lost, the exhilarating praise in understanding the glory of God, or a heightened zeal for ministry. Spiritual experience by definition is an internal awareness that involves strong emotion in response to the truth of God’s Word, amplified by the Holy Spirit and applied by Him to us personally."~John MacArthur

By His Grace

2011-03-06T07:38:00.002-06:00

Philippians 1: 21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

I Corinthians 2: 2, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Galatians 6: 14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Proverbs 4: 7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Proverbs 31: 26 “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

Ephesians 4: 29 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.”

I Peter 1: 15, 16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Ezekiel 44: 23 “And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.”

A Call To Spiritual Maturity

2011-03-02T07:51:00.001-06:00

When a person grows up, it is expected that he will be able to understand more, do more, handle more, reason more than his younger counterparts. His mind, having the benefit of education and experience, is better equipped to spot lies and deduct truth from spoken and written words. Having understood the truth, we expect that he will then able to apply it to his life, leading him in continuous state of growth and improvement. In short, he is expected to know more today than he did yesterday.

Through such deduction and application of knowledge and wisdom, a savvy businessman is constantly more informed and thus better equipped to grow his business, a teacher searches out and gains more knowledge and through such is better enabled to teach her students, a doctor spends precious hours dedicated to learning a new technique that just might one day save the life of one of his patients. Anyone engaged in doing any kind of work who doesn’t take time to learn and grow is at a distinct disadvantage.

Parents, themselves children just a few years prior, are expected to have grown up and gone through the necessary levels of development (spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, financial) that will enable them to develop the maturity needed to raise and teach their own children. Lead by knowledge, reason and wisdom (rather than, as their kids, emotions, peer pressure and ego), they are able to make the decisions to guide their little ones and growing ones to their own path to maturity.

And, then, there’s the church….

Once the church was full of men and women whose passion for God, focus on the Cross and guidance by the Holy Spirit lead them into great and mighty deeds of heroism and martyrdom. Fueled by love for the One Who died for them and belief in the one way taught by Him, followers of Jesus turned the world upside down. There was no room at the Cross for anyone who refused to take it seriously, thus there were no converts who refused to grow. This was not only their life that they gave to God; taking up His Cross just might mean their death. No one took it lightly.

Then, there is today….

Fueled by love of self, focus on numbers and driven by an ever-increasing desire for more (more fun, more money, more publicity, more comfort), few of todays converts have any idea what it means to take up their cross daily. Driven to the Cross of Christ, not by repentance but by a willingness to “accept” Him as their Savior (as if choosing vanilla ice cream while you also have the option of chocolate and strawberry), men and women are, from the very beginning, at a loss as to what it means to be a Christian. Fed for years by the ego-centric diet of me-ism prevalent in modern society, once in the church they have no doubt that it, too, will be all about them. What they expect is, unfortunately, what they often find. Their people’s “felt needs” are what many churches focus on.

A circus mood prevails in our pulpits and sanctuaries. Driven by postmodernism and fed by a lethal blend of gnosticism, paganism, new age-ism and, as is prevalent in all of American society, me-ism, the church has no grounds with which to understand or teach God’s truth. We will celebrate God, debate God and bring God down to our size by redefining Him. We will do everything but worship God.

We have entered a new dark ages in church history. It isn’t that there is a lack of truth available: in America, the Word is available everywhere. However, a spiritual anorexia has prevailed upon our society. Certain that God is there for us, rather than realizing that we were made for Him, we’ve pushed God aside. Little time is devoted to His Word and even less to prayer. What is true of the “average Christian” is also true of the preachers of the day.

The Word of God is read by few, mis-handled by many and mis-understood by almost all. It is ignored in favor of stories or self-help philosophy and/or twisted out of recognition by those who dare to call themselves preachers, teachers or proclaimers. Those who fill up the pews in the man-honoring, man-exhalting, man-made organization now touted as the “church” either don’t know or don’t care. We are, as Paul Washer says, “Gospel ignorant”. We cannot understand that which we never hear; those who do hear must dig through decades of lies and mis-proclamations in order to search out the kernels of Truth that might be found within. Anyone who dares to proclaim that there is One Truth that never changes is laughed at, deemed old-fashioned and out of touch with the needs ot the church and of society and pushed aside as a curiosity. Most likely he will be fired, or, if visiting, he will never be asked back. Itching ears have their own teachers.

Deep prevailing prayer is also practically unknown today. Taught to pray by rote or acronym, we’ve lost the relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in which and by which all true praying must be grounded and guided. We are offered me-centered teaching on prayer that, in effect, reduces God to nothing more than a wish-granter. Acting as if God isn’t Sovereign and, as such, All Wisdom, we seem to think that we need to inform God as to what needs to be done rather than seeking His Will as all-important. However we pray, whatever method we use, on average we Americans somehow manage to fit it all into less than 10 minutes a day (three to five minutes total being more in line with truth).

No longer is the world ashamed of, or threatened by, the church. We have adopted their ways as superior to our own. We entertain like them, teach like them, party like them, celebrate like them, gyrate like them, dress like them, sing like them. We even use their shows and books to, supposedly, teach “deep, life-changing spiritual truths” (as opposed to the “Truth that sets you free”). This is not the true church of Christ. What often passes as the church in contemporary society is the devil himself in disguise: an angel of light offering us a better way, a new enlightened way, a way leading us straight into the jaws of hell itself.

It isn’t, Jesus has told us, the ones who emphatically proclaim Him as “Lord, Lord” (something most of the “church” today refuses to do, anyway) but those who do the will of His Father, who will be saved. If we are going to have any hope of reaching those who have bought into the lies so common to “Christianity” today or any chance of being used by God to save the lost, we must get into the Word, learn it and act on it. We must, once again, learn to earnestly strive in prayer and make it part of the life-style of the believers. We must grow in maturity. We must grow to spiritual maturity. We must kneel before the Cross of Christ and, upon arising, take up our cross and follow Him wherever He will lead us.

As Martin Luther brought about a reformation that has resonated through the centuries, when he, sickened by what he saw in the church of his day, took a stand for Truth, so we, too, must take a stand for Truth in our day. We are out of options. God’s church will prevail. Christ promised that the gates of hell themselves will not be able to stop it. It isn’t God’s true church that lies in such a low-estate; however, His people are, at times, mixed into it. We must seek them out and bring them out. We must go into the “churches” and teach the Truth of God’s Word.

God’s people must once again boldly take a stand for the Truth of His Word. As in Luther’s day, armed with fervent, effective prayer, guided by the Father, fueled by love for the One Who died for us, and directed by the Holy Spirit of God, God’s people must go forth towards a new Reformation that guides His people back to Him. Christ’s Truth and His church will prevail and we, by the grace of God, can have a part in it.

~Anna Wood

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By Anna Wood, @The Cross Is All @ http://annawood.wordpress.com/
Copyright © http://tiaandnadia.blogspot.com/

Modern Youth Pastors: Blind Leaders Of The Blind

2011-03-02T07:49:00.001-06:00

(If it sounds like I am against Youth Ministry, I am. I do not believe it to be biblical. Oh…all misstated Bible facts are intentional.)

Matthew 15: 14, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

What’s going on in Youth Ministry? Things have changed and someone (meaning the parents…and, oh, yes, God!) has been left out in the cold. Modern youth ministry is just so, well, modern. We, the parents, aren’t really expected to understand it. What these guys do to…ah, I mean with…our children is the business of…no one, it would seem. Our children go to church supposedly to learn God’s Word and end up talking music, movies and dating or they socialize (we all know how important proper socialization is to their souls, don’t we?) or they…get this, you’re gonna love it…play games (that’s right…big, strapping nearly grown young men who should be in training to lead the church out their acting like some little kid having ice cream eating contests or some such thing that will surely advance them in knowledge of the truth of God’s holy Word). When we, the parents, get concerned (or, is it confused? frustrated? fed up?), and go to “Parent Involvement Meetings” with the Youth Minister (Pastor? Leader?) and offer our input, nothing happens; we talk to our children about what goes on in their “Bible Study” (oops, I don’t think we are really supposed to call it that, anymore) and nothing happens; we might even complain to the head Pastor and…guess what?…nothing happens.

Nothing happens because nothing is meant to happen. It’s not them that is wrong, see? It’s us, the parents (at least those parents who still care). We have lost sight of what Bible…sorry…youth group is supposed to be all about. It isn’t actually about God. No, that went the way of actually caring about doctrine. Todays Youth Ministry (Ministry? Can we really still call it that?) is all about fun and relevance and felt needs. Youth ministers (ah, leaders? buddies? pals?) know this, you see. It’s just the parents who still harbor old-fashioned beliefs that church ought to be about God who are out of the loop.

So with that in mind, I thought I’d help you poor confused parents to understand what is going on when your teens go to Wednesday night Bibl…ah, sorry…youth group…and come home knowing less than they did when they went (but with some great new fashion tips) so you can just relax and let them have their fun. So, (bear with me, please) here goes:

1) Youth ministry isn’t about teaching doctrine, helping teens to grow spiritually, guiding them in prayer or Bible study or preparing them to serve in the church. Youth ministry isn’t about God at all. Youth ministry is about your teens. Period. Plain and simple. Your teen is the center of the universe in that church (if we can still really call it that and be correct), and you need to learn it (because soon, he is going to be proclaiming that he is the center of the universe in your home, too). Youth ministry is there to provide fun, excitement, bonding time with buddies (including the biggest one, the youth leader–minister? guide? friend?–himself)…not to mention tips on movies, music and fashion (and, just perhaps, dating). The Cross of Christ will seldom, if ever, be mentioned (but it will be worn around the neck and adorn tee-shirts). Hell, sin and other “scary” things will never be mentioned (lest someone is hurt, confused or offended by the fact that God is offended by their sin).

2) Youth ministers are expected to dumb down everything since they and most everyone else think that your kids are really, really dumb. When they aren’t softening doctrine or explaining that Jesus came to die so that they could have a really great life then they are trying to find a way to tell your child that he is a sinner without hurting his feelings. I mean, if they hurt his feelings by letting him know that, in God’s eyes, he has transgressed every single law of God and, without His Son, is bound for hell, then your child probably won’t want to come back and will probably spend their Wednesday nights (and maybe even Sunday mornings) doing something that isn’t relevant at all (like spending time on the phone…instead of in person at “church”…with their friends–talking about movies, music, fashion and dating) and, well, to be honest, the Youth Person…Guy…whatever…just might lose his job…and we can’t have that now, can we?

3) The Youth Buddy Fellow has absolutely no expectations whatsoever of your child when it comes to God’s Word. If your child doesn’t know anything about Noah parting the Red Sea, Jonah and the Great Flood, King Paul or any of the other really great, but not relevant, Bible stories, that’s okay. The Y.B.F. knows that your teen is just a kid and shouldn’t be made to think like an adult (since that is stressful…very, very stressful). The Y.B.F. (along with other adults “in the know”) realize that kids must be kids even if they are in church. The fact that he (or she…let’s not be sexist, now) is nearly an adult ought not to bother us (much); after all, that are a lot of really immature grown-up’s out there who manage to make a living (like some Y. B. F.’s). Maturity isn’t necessary to make it in church, either; after all doctrine is no longer emphasized so that no one feels stressed. If this worries you it shouldn’t, since no one really knows what the Sermon on the Mount really means anyway (it is, however, a great story… picturing Jesus there on the side of the mountain with His 10 disciplines and the 14 baskets of fish…teaching them how to make their lives happier…better…and more successful).

4) The Y.B.F. is there to keep your kids off the street, off of drugs, and away from bad influences (like away from a Pastor who would insist that they know doctrine thereby ruining any self-esteem that they might have had by letting them know that indeed they are sinners in dire need of a holy Savior–Who will then insist that they be holy) and whatever it takes to do that is just fine with him (after all, he’s getting paid a nice amount for this). The Y.B.F. will talk with the kids about their felt needs all night (or, the 45 minutes that the class lasts, anyway) if the kids want to (their felt needs being movies, music, fashion and dating…oh! and the absolute necessity of owning their own cell phones and i-pods) and, if that’s all talked up, there’s always games (ice cream, anyone?). This works especially great when the Y.B.F. can throw in a few “Christian” sounding things to keep things legit (such as “Christian” bands, “Christian” novels, “Christian” clothing lines…and so on…after all, we must keep things “Christ-centered,” mustn’t we?) and of course as long as he (or she…remember, no sexism) understands their need to be the center of everything and own everything everyone else owns (which they have to own because someone else does..and so on).

5) The Y.B.F. must remember (and you, dear parent, must understand) that your children (no matter how old they are) are not the church of today…they are the church of tomorrow…so we can’t really expect them to be to be interested in in-depth Bible study (five minutes a day is more than fine), be expected to memorize Scripture (except “God is love”; they know that one really well), pray correctly, learn to serve others or be involved in anything that doesn’t position them as the center of the universe (because, we must remember, they are very stressed over living such stressful lives in such stressful times and they are very emotional about it). Your youth need time to relax and just enjoy themselves and they come to church to get that time (to have to come to church and work, study, pray, learn or serve would simply be too stressful for them). Maturity, knowledge and discernment will all come in due time (if your kids stick around to stay in church) and, if not, at least they’ve had a good time, haven’t they?

So, there it is. Youth ministry isn’t about God, it’s about your teens. Life, for your teens, isn’t about God, it’s about your teens (for any normal teens, that is; there are always the abnormal ones who love God and obey their parents). That’s the way it is. Everybody knows it and we, the confused and concerned parents, had better get used to it; after all, the Youth Ministry Fellow Guy did.

Soli Deo gloria

By Anna Wood, @The Cross Is All @ http://annawood.wordpress.com/
Copyright © http://tiaandnadia.blogspot.com/

What Honors The King Of Glory?

2011-03-02T07:44:00.002-06:00

What honors God most?

…in the music you listen to?

the clothing you wear?

What honors God…

when you speak…

when you work…

when you rest?

What brings Him honor and glory…

when you tell others about Him?

…when you tell others about yourself?

What honors Him…

in the way you spend your money?

…in the way you save?

What brings Him honor…

in the way you act…

the way you serve?

What honors Him…

the One Who died so that you might live?

…the One…the only One Whose opinion matters?

…what honors Him most?

What honors the King of Glory?

~Anna

By Anna Wood, @The Cross Is All @ http://annawood.wordpress.com/
Copyright © http://tiaandnadia.blogspot.com/

If We Are To Follow Christ

2011-03-02T07:43:00.002-06:00

If we are to follow Christ then…

all of our thoughts, words and deeds must be taken to the Cross and left there,

we must give up any and all perceived rights for the right to die for Him,

we must define…

our roles,

our goals,

our hopes,

our dreams,

our lives

in light of the Cross, as defined by Him.

If we are to follow Christ we must…

love others as He has loved us,

serve others as He has served us,

make time for others as He has made time for us,

teach others as He has taught us,

forgive others as He has forgiven us.

If we are to follow Jesus then…

we will cease to be concerned about what others think about us,

we will be focused instead on what others think about Him because of us,

we will live to please Him,

we will be pleased to die daily for Him.

If we are to follow Jesus then…

we will understand that He has set the parameters

and we must follow them…

in everything.

If we are truly following Jesus then…

others will see His likeness when they look at us,

our minds will rest on His goodness,

we will live to pray,

we will daily mediate on His Word,

we will seek out the lowly and serve them,

we will rejoice in trials

and when we are hated for His dear sake.

If we are living to love and obey Christ then…

we will hunger and thirst for righteousness,

we will be guided by the Holy Spirit according to the Word,

He will be our one and only desire,

the lukewarmness in the church will break our hearts,

the sin of humanity will weigh on us,

His glory will be all-important to us,

we will call sin, in all of its manifestations, sin.

If we are truly bearing the Name of Christ then…

we are forgiven,

we will grow in holiness,

in godliness,

in righteousness,

the Father will know us

and see us as His children

and will one day welcome us Home.

~Anna

By Anna Wood, @The Cross Is All @ http://annawood.wordpress.com/
Copyright © http://tiaandnadia.blogspot.com/