I added a few polls (questions) to the right of the page. Please take the time to answer them. I will give my opinion when the results are all in (I gave a 1 week time limit). I hope you all participate and answer the questions. This will be fun. I will give more difficult questions in the near future.
Here's a couple short video clips from the author of a book I am reading called "Family Driven Faith." Voddie Bauchman Jr. has a lot of good teaching on the Biblical family and the Biblical worldview.
The Duty of Christian Education
The Consequences of Feminism
The value of family
"People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated." D.A. Carson
"Two kinds of men who never succeed: one cannot do what he is told; the other cannot do anything unless he is told."
Unknown
Its been said that pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except the person who has it. C.J. Mahaney explains that, “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence on him.”
Joe Thorn summarizes Puritan Richard Mayo in his sermon on The Prevention and Cure of Spiritual Pride where he warns us that pride can lead to all kinds of other sins. He says, “It is a big-bellied sin; most of the sins that are in the world are the offspring and issue of pride.” He gives a number of example. Here is a summary of most of them.
Pride gives birth to:
"Too many people expect God to work through them when they don't even let Him work in them."
Unknown
"The really wise… are too well instructed to be ignorant of their own ignorance."
Charles Spurgeon
This is a great video clip from a message John Piper gave at a Pastor's conference. He contrasts our modern superficial culture with a Biblical worldview that sees the majestic supremacy of God in everything, A MUST WATCH!!!
If we know and believe that Christ has already secured the victory for us in the world and that He will eventually put all things under His feet, our attitudes and actions will reflect that. If I watch a videotaped Nascar race and I already know my favorite driver won, I never get discouraged even if my guy is a lap down. Our Eschatology (belief about future events) will govern our actions right here and now. The Kingdom of God will fill the whole earth and Christ will come down for His bride the Church victorious. It might seem like the church is losing the battle or a lap down but she wins in the end. We will inherit the earth; we need to believe that and start living with the confidence in the victory that Christ already secured on the cross. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15) We, the church, don't lose the battle for the earth only to be raptured out of here. Christ is King and He wins the race!
(Thanks Troy for the idea for this post)
"What the unregenerate person desperately needs in order to come to faith is regeneration. This is the necessary grace. It is the sine qua non of salvation. Unless God changes the disposition of my sinful heart, I will never choose to cooperate with grace or embrace Christ in faith. These are the very things to which the flesh is indisposed. If God merely offers to change my heart, what will that accomplish for me as long as my heart remains opposed to him? If he offers me grace while I am a slave to sin and still in the flesh, what good is the offer? Saving grace does not offer liberation, it liberates. This is what makes grace so gracious: God unilaterally and monergistically does for us what we cannot do for ourselves."
R.C. Sproul (Grace Unknown p. 188)
"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty."
John Calvin
Too many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them! (Author Unknown)
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else - C.S. Lewis
"God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we realize we are nothing, God can make something out of us." Martin Luther
The Skin - The skin is the largest organ in the human body and the sense of touch can be a huge temptation from which you must flee. Since, to me, the most obvious way in which youth are tempted by their sense of touch is with the opposite sex, I am going to focus on that. Christians today are all over the map as far as their standard for what is appropriate touching and what is not among unmarried young people (and old people for that matter). Is it OK to sit real close? Is it OK to hold hands? Is it OK to put your arms around each other? Is it OK to be wrapped up all around each other? Is it OK to kiss on the cheek? Is it OK to kiss passionately? Is it OK to... I better stop there (I think you can see where I'm going). Does the Bible say anything about touching? Most people have heard the phrase "you can look but don't touch" but most Christians now feel that you can touch but not have sex. Is touching as innocent as many believe? Or is it something youth should flee? The Apostle Paul warned, "Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:1-2 NKJV) The word "touch" in the original language can mean "to touch" or "to cling" or "to fasten one's self to" and even "carnal intercourse." I think any honest person would admit that no one ever got involved in sexual immorality without first touching the other person. Also, most honest Christians will admit that once "touching" lights the fire, usually something gets burned before the fire gets put out. That is why Paul also says in verse 9, of the same chapter, "For it is better to marry than to burn with passion." If you are not married, bound in covenant for life, then you are not completely sure (no matter how much you think you are "in love") that this man or woman is going to be your spouse. So you must ask yourself the question: "What would you want someone to do with your future spouse?" Remember, God transcends time and space. He is not bound by the restrictions of time. He sees you touching another person's spouse while they are married, as it were. So-called innocent and flirtatious touching should be something that young people run from as fast as they can. No one, not even strong Christian and mature men, should put themselves in that situation. Save it for the marriage. There is "a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing..." (Ecc 3:5)
This quote by Jonathan Edwards is described by John Piper as "outside the Bible, probably the most important paragraph in any book." This paragraph inspired Piper's well known phrase: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
"God is glorified within Himself these two ways: 1. By appearing . . . to Himself in His own perfect idea [of Himself], or in His Son who is the brightness of His glory. 2. By enjoying and delighting in Himself, by flowing forth in infinite love and delight towards Himself, or in his Holy Spirit. So God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying, the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart. God made the world that He might communicate, and the creature receive, His glory; and that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his idea of God's glory [doesn't] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it."
Jonathan Edwards is saying that it's not enough to just see or testify of God's glory. We must find our deepest satisfaction and joy and pleasure in glorifying Him. That means that if you have to loose your right arm or gouge out your right eye you must, no matter what, get happy in God. It means that you will never be truly happy or satisfied until God is truly glorified in your thoughts and your affections. God is not most glorified when we simply follow His orders or keep our noses clean; He is most glorified when when we, even in our suffering, are satisfied in Him. It's the most glorious win-win history has ever known... God most glorified and me most satisfied forever.
Heb 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." It is not enough to just believe that God exists. You must believe that He rewards those who seek Him. You must believe that He is the greatest happiness of your deepest joy. You must believe that nothing else in this world, not television or sports or vacations or wealth or even family, will satisfy you as much as Him. You must believe that He is and be most satisfied in Him alone. The reward is not that He gives us temporal blessings and wealth; the reward is our joy in Him.
I wanted to write a little in honor of Karissa (her birthday is Aug 17th). She is a blessing in so many ways. She is always adorned in a sweet and quiet spirit. She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman in the making: "Her worth is far above rubies. Her [dad] safely trusts her. She seeks wool and flax [and anything else they sell at JoAnns or Michaels ] and willingly works with her hands." She is always willing to help with the younger children. She is always happy and humble enough to play with the younger children. She loves sewing and painting and scrapbooking and dancing and piano and classical music and sign language and all kinds of other wonderful things for a 15 year old to love. She is just every dad's dream daughter. I'm so blessed by her in so many ways. She is kind and submissive and compassionate and helpful. She always puts others (including her brothers and sisters) before herself. She doesn't have to be the first in line or have the best seat or get the most attention. She is a godly woman and she is going to make some undeserving man a happy husband some day (if he survives me ;). She is a blessing to her entire family and is a true picture of femininity and virtue. It is a pleasure being her father. Happy 15th birthday Karissa!!!
John Weaver preaches on The Black-Robed Regiment, telling the stories of early American pastors who fought in the first war for American Independence.
John Weaver preaches on State's Rights, with many poignant illustrations from American history.
Here's a video I made using Derek Webb's song "A New Law" It addresses the tendency in the modern church to replace studying God's Law with man-made moralism (legalism).
"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle" (Psalms 144:1)
Phil Keaggy's amazing God-given fingers:
Piano Style Guitarist
The Nose - We are told to flee or run away from youthful lusts. We have seen how we must flee with our eyes and with our ears and with our tongue. Remember, we are dealing with fleeing temptation directed at the five senses. Fleeing or running away from temptation directed toward your smelling may give new meaning to a running nose. How in the world could temptation attack your sense of smell? Well it could be as simple as a child smelling the cookies he was told not to eat or as complicated as adulterer smelling a secret perfume-scented letter. It could be an alcoholic smelling an empty bottle of booze or a glutton smelling a doughnut, or a smoker sneaking a whiff of second-hand smoke or a druggy smelling a friends crack pipe or an old boyfriend smelling an ex-girlfriend's bottle of perfume. Is it wrong to open up the cookie jar and take a big old whiff of the cookies? Only if your parents told you not to eat them. As silly as this sounds, many have followed their nose all the way into temptation and even death. The Adulteress, dressed as a prostitute, in Proverbs 7 uses the sense of smell in her seduction: "I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey" (Prov 7:17-19). Notice that she called it "love." It wasn't love; it was youthful lust from which he should have fled. Don't underestimate the power of smell when it comes to temptation. It is far better to have a runny nose than to not run away from your nose.
This is a clip of the "shocking" youth message that Paul Washer gave that I posted on this blog a while back. If you haven't watched it maybe this clip will inspire you to do so. He has many great messages that are really changing the way I look at Christ, the cross and Christianity.
The Tongue - One more thing for youth to flee from is the sweet temptation of taste. Many young people have been taken down by their taste buds. First let me remind you of what Hebrews 11 calls the "fleeting pleasures of sin". Something might taste good but taste is always temporary. Sin brings pleasure, feels good and tastes yummy but it never lasts. It always turns around and stabs you in the back. It is deceptive and temporary. The pleasures of sin quickly turns into the pains of sin. When it comes to taste this "fleeting pleasure" principle is easy to see. Just stuff yourself with donuts or ice cream (or, in my case, Taco Bell) and the pleasure quickly fades into moaning and groaning. When it comes to food - you can go very quickly from the “pleasures of sin” to the pain of sickness. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things" (Phil 3:18-19). Notice the phrase "their god is their belly." This is the temptation of taste. Food becomes a god, taste becomes a god, appetite becomes a god, the tongue becomes a god. People worship the things that they put in their body. They worship their cravings, they worship their desires, and they worship the things that give them pleasure. In about 5 minutes you can go from “Oh it’s soooo good” to “Ooooh I feel so bad” I might add here that many, in our culture, worship their belly in another way. They worship the "six-pack abs". There are two extremes to making your god your belly. They both focus too much on food… One on the way the food tastes and the other on how healthy it is. Some worship junk food and others worship health food. You can worship your belly in a way you want your belly to feel good or you can worship your belly in a way you want it to look good. You can worship your appetite or you can worship your appearance. When it comes to youthful lusts directed toward your tastes, sometimes its better to run! If you're a chocoholic, flee the See's Candy Store. If you're addicted to caffeine, don't go hang out at Starbucks. If you're a glutton, don't spend all your free time in the kitchen. Your taste buds are a gift and a blessing from God but they are also a target of temptation. So next time temptation attacks your tastes let temptation taste the dust behind you as you run away. Flee youthful lusts.
Noah Kaden Anderson (The Lesson in the name)
Liisa and I have wanted to name one of our boys Noah for a long time. It just seems like it never was the right time until now (especially when we had our girls). There are two people who we love with the name Noah. The first is, of course, the guy who built the ark. He was the son of Lamech and father of Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Noah is probably best known for the Genesis Flood but he also mentioned as the "first husbandman" and the inventor of wine. Some of the things we learn from Noah are: Plan Ahead (He had vision and patience to work towards the vision). Don't follow the crowd (everyone mocked him and no one believed in him and yet he pressed on). Have a vision beyond yourself (He didn't build a canoe to just save himself; he saved both his family and the animals). Covenant faithfulness (He, along with his family, entered into covenant with God). Don't give up (the rainbow is coming after the storm). Trust and obey (trust God and obey no matter what the cost). The wrath and justice of God (Though it is often thought of as a cute little Sunday School story the flood is about death and destruction and judgment and wrath. God is not mocked whatever you sow, that will you reap). Faith ("By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" - Hebrews 11:7).
The other Noah we love in history is Noah Webster, who wrote the "Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language". Webster, who descended on his mother's side from Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation, made many important contributions to the American educational system. Noah Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." His Blue-backed Speller books taught five generations of children in the United States how to spell and read. Webster was a very serious Christian. Webster considered "education useless without the Bible." He learned 20 different languages in finding definitions for which a particular word is used. He wrote this, "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people." Listen to his excellent definition of education: "Education comprehends...instruction and discipline intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give them a religious education is indispensable." I pray that God will give our Noah a destiny like that of these two historical Noah's.
What does Noah Kaden mean?
Noah: The name Noah, in Hebrew, means REST. Noah Kaden was also born Sunday - the Lord's Day. In our local church right now we are in the middle of a series of messages on the Sabbath rest. This study of the Sabbath has transformed the way we look at the Sabbath or Lord's Day. It has also brought a deeper meaning to our calendar. The Sabbath is an idea that not only effects families but also transforms the church and the culture. I believe as we begin to actually celebrate the Sabbath as God intended it there will be a radical change in our family. I want this name to be a symbol of the beginning of that change. Isaiah sums up the true meaning of the Sabbath Rest, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isa 58:13-14) Noah Kaden reminds us that when we obey God He will cause us to ride on the heights of the earth (which is how I feel about having another son). The Sabbath is a feast day of celebration and Noah is definitely something to celebrate!
Kaden: The name Kaden means warrior or fighter. You may think this is the opposite of "rest" but when you understand the true Sabbath rest it fits in perfectly. The Sabbath was one day of rest out of 7 days of Kingdom and dominion work. Six days were to be for man's dominion in the earth. Every soldier needs rest. We have been given the victory in Christ. We shall inherit the earth. Christ is on the throne and He is in the process of placing all enemies under His feet. The Sabbath is a day to celebrate that victory and rest from it. Without understanding Kingdom dominion it is impossible to truly understand the Sabbath. As R.J. Rushdoony says, "To deny the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was made for man to rest and enjoy his lordship in Christ, is to remove the future from man’s life. The Sabbath truly observed speaks of victories gained in the world to be conquered." He also said this, "Without that association of the Sabbath with work, salvation, and victory, it becomes a day of boredom and another step in a life without a significant future.”
We truly are blessed and thankful to God for our Noah Kaden Anderson!
The Ears - Oh be careful little ears what you hear... Fallen man has become the master of selective hearing. We listen when we shouldn't and we ignore what we need to hear. There's an old joke about a young boy who thought his grandpa must be upside down because his nose runs and his feet smell. When is it time for our ears to run away? When is it time for our ears to flee youthful lusts? When do your ears become portals of temptation? There are two ways our ears sin. First, when we need to listen but we don't and second, when we shouldn't listen but we do. Let's first consider when we need to listen but do not. "Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!" (Ps 81:8) God's people have always had a problem with not listening. The wise father will say to his sons... "...sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth" (Pro 7:24). Ignorance is not bliss, it is rebellion. We have a duty to be attentive. We are obligated to listen. We can't ignore the truth and then use ignorance as our defense. If we don't know it's because we don't want to know. If we don't hear it's because we don't want to hear. Covering your ears will never cover your guilt. As much as we love to ignore the truth, though, I think we love to hear what we shouldn't hear even more. We love to listen to gossip. Our ears tune in to every whisper. Will rogers said: “The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.” Pro 20:19 says, "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." Do not associate with a gossip. Get away from them; don't listen to their gossip. Flee youthful lusts aimed at your ears. Besides, if they are talking to you about someone they will talk to others about you. One popular way of lusting with your ears is to listen to music you shouldn't. Morally depraved and corrupt lyrics fill the airwaves. One way to flee youthful lusts is to turn off the radio or get out of that store playing the music. Another problem, in this area, is hanging around foul and filthy mouthed friends. Again, as Paul says, "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor 15:33) If you have friends with filthy mouths you will have filthy ears. If you have filthy ears you have a filthy heart and will not be able to see God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matt 5:8) In other words, if you want to listen to the world you will not be able to listen to God. Take your ears and run!
Get out of there now! Run away as fast as you can! Run for your life! The temptation of youthful lusts is not a battle you are called to fight; it's a battle you are called to run away from. This may sound weird, weak and wimpy to our self-righteous, self-dependent and self-sufficient ears but sometimes we are commanded to run away. Was it weak and wimpy for Joseph to run away from Potiphar's wife? Would it have been better for him to stay in her room and watch her seduce, dance and wink her eyes at him just to prove how strong he was? In certain circumstances it takes more internal strength to flee than to fight. Paul says, "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor 15:33) If you are hanging around bad people bad things will happen to your morality... run away! (Bad company can include television, movies, books and web sites) The book of Proverbs emphasizes this fact when it says "the companion of fools will be destroyed" (Pro 13:20). Sometimes spiritual living means leaving. You may think you can control yourself in a tempting situation but self-confidence is not synonymous with self-control. Youthful lusts is not a fire you want to play with. It's like playing with nuclear weapons. God is not mocked, whatever a man sows that is what he is going to reap. Running (in a youthful lust situation) is far better than regretting. Flee youthful lusts!
Lust aims its crosshairs at one or more of your five senses. Lust aims at your seeing or your hearing or your tasting or your smelling or your touching. So in regard to the five senses (see, hear, taste, smell or touch), what should youth flee from?
The Eyes - Oh be careful little eyes what you see... In our modern undressed culture, where its not so much what people are wearing as it is what they are not wearing, guarding your eyes is crucial. "It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful." (2 Sam 11:2) This was the beginning of David's troubles. Instead of turning his eyes away (fleeing) he kept looking. But looking doesn't last. Looking never satisfies. The downfall of creation began with looking. What does the Bible say about Eve in the garden? "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes..." (Gen 3:6) In our culture, today, there is temptation everywhere you look. From billboard signs to magazines racks to television commercials to the silver screen temptation is everywhere. Now, with the internet, you can lust after anything imaginable anonymously in just one point and click. Sex sells and they are selling it everywhere. There is a very short line between seeing and sinning. You can't always keep yourself from seeing something you shouldn't but you can keep a glance from becoming a gaze. As they say, you can't keep a bird from flying over your head but you can keep it from building a nest in your hair. Jesus especially emphasized the seriousness of seeing. "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell." (Matt 5:27-29) No one can say "I was just looking" as an excuse. Looking is the first step towards liscentiousness. When your eyes are being tempted turn away and flee youthful lusts.
To be continued...
