Looking Back - Existential

I have an existential map; it has you are here written all over it.

~ Steven Wright

Battle Hymn of the Reformation

I know this is from the 80's (and may seem nerdy to some) but this is a powerful rendition by Steve Green of Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is our God."

Reformation Day

Happy Reformation Day!

Today is the 490th anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church doors. A small deed that sparked the great Reformation. This is the day that we should be celebrating doctrines and deliverance not devils and demons, solas (sola-fide, sola-gratia, sola-Christus, sola-Deo gloria, sola-Scriptura) and salvation not spiders and spooks, TULIP and truth not tricks and treats, Calvinism and creeds not costumes and coffins. Martin Luther gave his famous speech at the Diet of Worms (a place not a weight-loss plan): "Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." All the doctrines that brought on the Reformation need to be preached and proclaimed, once again, to the the modern church. Today we need to remember and rejoice for men like like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jan Huss, Ulrich Zwingly and John Wycliffe.

Luther wrote, "God has surely promised His grace to the humbled, that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends, absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and works of Another - God alone. As long as he is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God."

Looking Back - Stonewall Jackson

"Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me."

~ Stonewall Jackson

Looking Back - Satisfied

"Whoever is not satisfied with Christ alone, strives after something beyond absolute perfection"

~ John Calvin

Our 16th Anniversary today!

Except Thou build it, Father,
The house is built in vain;
Except Thou, Saviour, bless it,
The joy will turn to pain;
But none can break the marriage
Of hearts in Thee made one,
And the Love Thy Spirit hallows
Is endless love begun.

Today was Liisa and my 16th anniversary. Everyday with her is better than the last. I thank God for giving me such a blessed wife. She is my best friend and, 2nd to God, my highest joy and pleasure. She gives, serves, blesses, inspires, comforts, delights, and loves like no other the world has ever seen. I love her more now than ever and thank God for giving an undeserving guy like me the best gift man could ever imagine.

"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her"
(Pro 31:10-11)

Looking Back - C. S. Lewis

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed unjust. But how had I got the idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line."

~C.S. Lewis

(The picture above shows straight lines with special markings. The lines never look straight but they are. To a non-believer or, more accurately, an unwilling believer the universe, or God, seems unjust but the non believer has no grounds for the concept of "just".)

Advice on Praying (Paul Washer)

Looking Back - Books

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."

~ Mark Twain

Looking Back - Augustine

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination."

~ St. Augustine

Looking Back - Education

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."

~ C. S. Lewis

Looking Back - A. W. Tozer

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

~ A. W. Tozer

After the meal video - time lapse

What, the table needs cleaned up after the Sabbath Celebration Meal? Don't worry, I got people for that.

Looking Back - Charles Spurgeon

“If you will not have death unto sin, you shall have sin unto death. There is no alternative. If you do not die to sin, you shall die for sin. If you do not slay sin, sin will slay you.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

Funny Video - Bush Impersonation

This guy is pretty funny and a great impressionist. Jason and I saw him live in Phoenix a couple of years ago. He does a good John Madden and George Bush.

Looking Back - Chesterton

"A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun or moon."

~ G.K. Chesterton

John Piper Video - The Supremacy of Christ

John Piper on the Supremacy of Christ in ALL THINGS.

Looking Back - Stony Ground Hearers

"There are so many stony ground hearers who receive the Word with joy that I have determined to suspend my judgment till I know the tree by its fruits ...Do you think any farmer would have a crop of corn next year unless he plowed now? You may as well expect a crop of corn on unplowed ground as a crop of grace until the soul is convinced of its being undone without a Savior. That is the reason we have so many mushroom converts, so many persons that are always happy! happy! happy! and never were miserable. Why? Because their stony ground is not plowed up; they have not got a conviction of the law."

~ George Whitefield

Looking Back - Sharing Your Faith

"The number one reason people don't share their faith is that their walk doesn't match their talk."

~ Mark Calhill

Joel Osteen's Prosperity Gospel

Here's a video by Mark Driscoll exposing the health and wealth gospel (false gospel) of Joel Osteen (Pastor of the largest church in America). After you watch it read the verse under the video. It's perfect!

Jer 23:16-17 - "Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’"

Looking Back - The Cross

"If we were limited to one word that could be used to tell who God is, that word would be Cross. Every attribute of God is on full display in the cross. We see His holiness and justice; God hates sin and must punish it! We see His wisdom in finding a way to be both Just and Justifier of the ungodly. We see His omnipresence in being in heaven and pouring His wrath upon His Son, while being on earth enduring His own wrath in the person of His Son. We see His sovereignty in saving the one thief and passing the other by. We see His power in being able to put away sin. We see His eternal purpose unfold in "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." And how the attributes of love, grace, and mercy shine forth from the cross! Is it any wonder Paul said, "I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified," and "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." There really is nothing else to preach or glory in! If we think there is, it is evident that we have never seen the real meaning of the cross."

~ Todd Nibert

Justification by faith and intellect?

There are some today, in reformed circles, that are saying that a misunderstanding of the doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide) is a sign of apostasy. In other words, you are not justified by faith alone, you are justified by properly stating the proposition of justification by faith alone. We are justified by faith alone, not by a perfect understanding of justification by faith alone. We are saved by grace through faith, and not through a propositional understanding of grace through faith. It's kind of ironic that some, by fighting fiercely to protect the doctrine of sola fide, are actually denying it.

Doug Wilson explains, "We are not saved by works, and this includes our intellectual and doctrinal works. There are people who would do poorly on the "justification by faith alone" portion of their theology exam who are nonetheless saved people. And there are people who would ace that section who are damned. We are not saved by works. Not by willing, not by running, not by smiling, not by thinking, not by catechizing, not by affirming, not by Westminster-confessing, nada, zilch, zip. All our works have corruptions in them and are received by God because they are presented to Him in the perfections of Jesus. This includes our doctrinal works, which are frequently all screwed up. We sin daily in thought, word, and deed."

My heritage from the Lord

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
(Psalms 127:3-5)

Looking Back - Augustine

"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."

~ Augustine

3D pics pretty cool

Try this...

Alright here's what I want you to do - while sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction!

Looking Back - Coasting

"When you are coasting you are either loosing speed or going downhill."

~ Author Unknown

Why Preach? Dr. Mark Dever

"Why don't we just quit preaching? Considering the widespread popularity of engaging anecdotes and vivid vignettes, wouldn't it be more effective to simply tell a few captivating stories on Sunday Morning? And why think specifically about expositional preaching - that brand so often associated with excruciating boredom and half-empty pews? In our fast paced society of sports tickers and sound bite infotainment, can we really expect anyone to have the patience for a serious exposition of an ancient text? In an age that has developed a pungent distaste for the exclusivity of religious truth, how can the authoritative tone of expositional preaching hold any promise at all? In a voyeuristic culture inundated with glossy magazines and risqué sitcoms, maybe pastors would be wise to modernize - quit the text-centered approach and accommodate to our culture's predilection for the visual. So… what do you think? Why preach?"

~ Dr. Mark Dever

Looking Back - Charles Spurgeon

None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

John Piper - Youth and the Gospel

This is part of a message that John Piper gave to thousands of youth a few years ago and he is apologizing to them for how his generation has told them that the Gospel is about them. There is a gold mine in this short clip. Watch it!

Looking Back - C. S. Lewis

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

~ C. S. Lewis

Argument Clinic

This is for all you who are learning how to debate.

Looking Back - Made Righteous

"We are not made righteous by doing righteous deeds; but when we have been made righteous we do righteous deeds."

~ Martin Luther

Amnazing 2 year old geographer

This girl is not even 2 years old yet and she has the world map down better than most adults. It's amazing what kids are capable of if taught. This should encourage all us homeschoolers to go go go!

Looking Back - Leonard Ravenhill

"The Church used to be a lifeboat rescuing the perishing. Now she is a cruise ship recruiting the promising."

~ Leonard Ravenhill

How to hinder the church

I love the way this guy is sarcastic and serious at the same time. This is good advice for Steve and I.

10 Ways for Pastors to Hinder their Church


10 Ways for Worship Leaders to Hinder the Church

Poll Questions - Follow your heart?

Here is the second question I gave in my poll that I did a little while ago. This is my brief answer and explanation to poll question #2 of 3. Again, I know my poll questions were too broad and that it is not fair that all you had was the yes/no or true/false option. Well now is your chance to give your opinion in the comment section.
Here is mine:

Should you follow your heart? Yes or No?

In spite of Disney's attempt to persuade me otherwise I believe the answer to this question is no. I do not mean, by this, that you have to only do things that you hate to do or that you cannot have dreams and desires. I believe that, through Adam's sin, man inherited a fallen and sinful nature. This fall effected man's heart in a bad way. Jer 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" The Bible makes it clear that "the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead." (Ecc 9:3) The Psalmist reveals the state of all of us in our natural state when he says: "I was brought forth in iniquity,and in sin did my mother conceive me." Adam was our perfect representative in the garden (chosen by God) and as the old children's schoolbook says: "In Adam's fall we sinned all." Following your fallen, deceitful and evil heart is only going to lead you into further destruction. How many times do people, who know what's right, get misled by their deceptive feelings and emotions? "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Prov 14:12). Of course, Christ can redeem one's heart and turn it, once again, from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. That is when we can truly love God and our neighbor with all our mind, body and heart.

Looking Back - Happiness

"Some people bring happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

~ Author Unknown