Happy Mother's Day

The thing that my kids and me have most in common is that we both have the best mom ever. Happy mother's day mom and happy mother's day to my children's mom!




This was a letter written to Ann Landers:

• I'm so tired of all those ignorant people who come up to my husband and ask him if his wife has a full-time job or if she's "just a house-wife." . . . Here's my job description.
  
  I'm a wife, mother, friend, confidant, personal advisor, lover, referee, peacemaker, housekeeper, laundress, chauffeur, interior decorator, gardener, painter, wall paperer, dog groomer, veterinarian, manicurist, barber, seamstress, appointment manager, financial planner, bookkeeper, money manager, personal secretary, teacher, disciplinarian, entertainer, psychoanalyst, nurse, diagnostician, public relations expert, dietitian and nutritionist, baker, chef, fashion coordinator and letter writer for both sides of the family.
  
  I am also a travel agent, speech therapist, plumber and automobile maintenance and repair expert . . .
  
  From the studies done, it would cost more than $75,000 a year to replace me. I took time out of my busy day to write this letter, Ann, because there are still ignorant people who believe a housewife is nothing more than a baby sitter who sits on her behind all day and looks at soap operas. (Ann Landers, May 1988, quoted in Mom, You're Incredible, by Linda Weber, Focus on the Family, 1994, pp. 23–24)

Van Til - Does Air Exist?

"Now, in fact, I feel that the whole of history and civilization would be unintelligible to me if it were not for my belief in God. So true is this, that I propose to argue that unless God is back of everything, you cannot find meaning in anything. I cannot even argue for belief in Him, without already having taken Him for granted. And similarly I contend that you cannot argue against belief in Him unless you also first take Him for granted. Arguing about God’s existence, I hold, is like arguing about air. You may affirm that air exists, and I that it does not. But as we debate the point, we are both breathing air all the time."

~ Cornelius Van Til

Biblical Balance not Present in Pagan Cultures

As Christians we should be well balanced on the strait and narrow path. We shouldn't be falling off the cliff on one side of the road or the cliff on the other side. Within God's Law and sovereignty we do not have to make a choice between asceticism or indulgence. We do not have to choose between extreme poverty or filthy riches. We do not have to choose between celibacy or orgy. These are all false dichotomies. We do not acknowledge a radical antithesis or contradiction between all things physical and all things spiritual. Jesus, in His incarnation and resurrection demonstrated that you can be both physical and spiritual. Within God's covenant we can glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We have been gracefully placed in the radical middle. It is the tendency of fallen man who has rejected the Creator to either worship creation or despise creation.

I was listening to a message today given by Steve Wilkins on the history of Rome where he wisely said this:

• Pagan cultures are cultures of extremes. As the implications of unbelief work themselves out in a culture the culture looses balance. The biblical balance that is characteristic of Christian cultures is not present in pagan cultures… They either renounce the world and forsake it totally or they embrace it without reservation. They despise riches or they worship them. They are cruelly barbaric or wickedly tolerant. They think nothing is humorous or they think everything is funny. They insist upon strict conformity or they scream in outrage that their individuality is hindered. They are stubbornly atheistic or incurably superstitious… The more consistent a culture becomes with unbelief the more extremes become characteristic. This is so because unbelieving cultures reject the eternal, sovereign God who is working His unchanging purposes in the earth. That distinctly Christian doctrine gives a stability that cannot be present in any unbelieving culture. That doctrine keeps us from panicking as much as it keeps us from sloth… Without stability of a sovereign God there is no stability at all.

From no limbs to no limits

Phil 2:14 - "Do all things without complaining"
This video will help you to stop complaining.

Things

Find the books of the Bible

Ray Comfort posted this and I thought it was kind of fun. See how many books of the Bible you can find in the paragraph below. There are 20 of them. Let me know how many you find. There is a link at the bottom with the answers but don't cheat.

There are 20 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you. (People love these kinds of puzzles, something in our genes is responsible.) While you’re looking, let’s consider an important question. You probably consider yourself to be a good person, but are you good enough to go to Heaven? From answers to the following questions, we’ll find out… Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, (regardless of its value)? Have you ever used God’s name in vain? And just one more, have you ever looked at someone with lust (sexual desire)? Answer all of these truthfully. Now comes the bad news. If you’ve told lies, that makes you a liar – that's a fact. Steal just one time, and that makes you a thief. If you’ve used God’s name in vain, that’s blasphemy. And Jesus said that if you’ve looked at someone with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart. These are just a few of God’s Laws (the Ten Commandments) that you’re guilty of breaking. When God judges you, you’re in a jam; especially since He has given you a conscience. (Isn’t it true that every time you’ve done wrong, you knew it?) God’s place of punishment for those who break his laws is Hell, forever. But God did a most remarkable thing so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, then he rose again defeating death. If you repent and put your faith in Him, you will be saved. The truth is that you are not a good enough to go to Heaven; it’s your job to admit it. Use your God-given will to live—let it drive you to turn from your sin (repentance) and put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Humble yourself and talk to God in prayer right now. Find a Bible believing church to fellowship at, and start reading your Bible every day—start with the book of John. We’re almost to the end of the puzzle. If you didn’t find all the Bible books, don’t let it get on your nerves. There is a website you can go to: http://www.needGod.com/answers/

T4G 08 Report

Well, the Together for the Gospel conference was great. Many inspiring and informative messages were given. God, along with the gospel, was highly exalted. You can download all the messages and the panel discussions for free HERE. We came home with fifteen new books that they gave us for free. Every time we sat at our chair their would be 3 or 4 more books for us.

Someone put together this little video with short audio clips and pictures from all the messages:

Together for the Gospel Conference

Well, today is the first day of a pastors conference I am going to with my cousin Jason. We are in Louisville, Kentucky and the conference is called Together for the Gospel. We will hear messages by R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Dever and C. J. Mahaney. I will try to give you an update tonight. Pray that God will use this conference for His glory in a big way.

Jesus and Human History

“God could have poured out judgment on mankind in the Garden, therefore the only reason there is any history is because God has purposed to send his Son into the world, to pour out judgment on him and thereby bring salvation. Jesus is the only reason there is human history, and therefore he is the goal of human history. Thus everything God says and does in history explains and prepares for the salvation of his Son.”

~ Timothy Keller, “Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World,” 34.

Judgment Day at Blockbuster

Spend your time, your every moment, as if someone was videoing your every move and your every thought in order to prepare a video recording of you that would be given to a Just and Holy God on judgment day.

I'm Now Seeker-Sensitive...

I know I have said much against "seeker-sensitive" churches. I want to now change my stance. I now believe that we need to design our worship services with and for the seekers in mind. Our entire corporate worship service needs to be seeker-friendly. The Lord's Day assembly needs to be decently ordered for the seekers. The reason I say this is because the New Testament makes it clear that those who seek after God are those who have already been regenerated and converted by the Holy Spirit of God. It is Christians, and Christians only, who seek after God. In Rom 3:10-11 Paul says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."

The modern church has bought in to this idea that God is somehow playing hide and seek with the lost and waiting for them to seek Him out and find Him. The lost, though, love their lostness. They have "all turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Rom 3:12) Paul, a couple chapters earlier described the lost like this: "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20). They, the lost, do not seek after God, says Paul, they suppress the truth that has been made so very clear to them (1:18). So why do Christians today design their entire worship service to appeal to the unbelieving, so-called "seekers"?

The unbeliever is not a seeker. The only two kinds of people who are truly seeking in a worship service is the Triune God and those who believe in the Triune God. This is why Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. He is the true Seeker and He is seeking true worshipers. The worship and the seeking after God by the Body of Christ is for Christ and only done by the Body of Christ. You do not begin seeking after God until you have found Him, or rather, He has found you. The church is the "called out ones" who the New Testament calls the communion of saints. The worship service is not supposed to be primarily about evangelism. It is a time for God's people to ascend together into the heavenly presence of God in order to worship Him and be equipped for the work of the ministry (like evangelism) throughout the rest of the week.

The main focus of the "assembly of the saints" needs to be worship and not evangelism. Our worship equips us for evangelism but our worship is not evangelism. So many today go to church concerned only about how the "service" makes them feel or how it serves their needs. We need to go to church concerned about how God feels and how well we served Him. The unbeliever should be the outsider looking in to our worship service. The unbeliever should not be the focus or the audience. Biblical corporate worship has God as the focus and God as the audience. Because of this misunderstanding today, exaltation has been replaced with entertainment. Confession has been replaced with carnality. Preaching has been replaced with performing. Sacraments have been replaced with sentiment. Liturgy has been replaced with licentiousness.

Affliction and Suffering

The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines. - By Samuel Rutherford

Not to be afflicted is a sign of weakness; for, therefore God imposeth no more on me, because he sees I can bear no more. - By Joseph Hall

As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst. - By William Jenkyn

Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us. - By Arthur W. Pink

Elderly woman (92) witnesses to man trying to rob her

The buttocks and the soul

I just read this from Rich Lusk and had to share it (very good):

• "The psalmist speaks of bowing and kneeling before the Lord [Ps 95]. These physical postures are not arbitrary. What we do with our bodies in worship matters. Not only do physical motions express the emotions of the heart, from inside out, but they also shape the heart from the outside in. We may not feel particularly humble one Sunday morning, but kneeling with our bodies to confess sin helps adjust our frame of mind. God desires us to worship with our whole persons, not just our minds or hearts. The biblical worldview distinguishes soul and body, but there is no sharp separation between interiority and exteriority. For example, Proverbs teaches us that corporeal punishment shapes the heart of the child. The buttocks and the soul are somehow connected. In the book of Samuel, physical food enlivens one’s spirit. Food doesn’t just satisfy the stomach; it affects the whole person. When the Israelites rebelled in their hearts, they are called “stiff necked,” indicating that bodily posture (refusal to bow the head) revealed an inner attitude pride. The (external) music of David soothed Saul’s (inner) spirit. And so on."

I want this for my birthday but I don't know why

St. Patrick's Breastplate

This powerful prayer was composed by Saint Patrick in the year 433. He was aware that there was an ambush to try to kill him and his men en route to the court of King Laoghhaire. It was during the march that they chanted the sacred Lorica or Deer's Cry - later known as St. Patrick's Breastplate. As the druid henchmen lay in hiding, ready to attack and kill, they saw neither Patrick or his men, but only a gentle doe followed by twenty fawns. St. Patrick and his men were saved. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Follow you heart?

Disney leads the way in our culture, ever since each one of us was a child, in telling us that all we need to do is “follow our heart.” What they don’t tell us is that our heart will lie and swindle and deceive us. Jer 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things”

The world says trust your heart

• The Bible says don’t be deceived by your heart
• Prov 28:26 – “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”

The world says follow your heart

• The Bible says to keep or guard your heart
• Prov 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

The world says listen to your heart

• The Bible says to direct your heart
• Prov 23:9 – “Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.”

Our culture is a slave to their own emotions and feelings. Our feelings are a blessing from God but we are not supposed to be led by them. We are told to guard and direct our heart not be led by it.

Too Pious to Party

In a dark world full of lost souls, starving children and unreached tribes should Christians feel guilty for celebrating and rejoicing? When the world is weeping should Christians be laughing? When the world is mourning should Christians be dancing? When the world is famished should Christians be feasting? Does physical happiness refute personal holiness? Does partying contradict piety? Many Christians are confused by these questions. They tend to feel guilty and ashamed when they compare what they have to what the lost do not. When they look out at the world and see pain, persecution and poverty they feel ashamed of their own health, liberty and wealth. What is a Christian to do?

This paragraph will most certainly end with the word "but..." Christians should have a heart for the lost. We should, like Jesus, look out on the crowds with eyes of compassion. We are to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. Jesus said when we give the hungry food and drink and when we welcome the stranger and clothe the naked and when we visit the sick and those in prison we do or don't do all those things to Him (Mt 25). God's Law tells us this: "For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’" (Duet. 15:11) We should always be proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world. If we love Jesus we will feed His sheep. But...

There has always been lost souls in the world. There has always been poverty and suffering. God is sovereignly at work in history restoring what was lost at the fall. The kingdom of God is advancing and Christ will reign till all enemies are under His feet. Until it is all restored and Christ returns we will and always have had the lost, the dying, the sick, the poor and the persecuted in the world. In spite of the reality of sin in the world God wanted His people to celebrate. We don't have to, out of guilt or pity, wait till all is restored before we laugh and dance. There will always be plenty of reasons to mourn but there is also plenty of reasons to celebrate.

God's people Israel, in the Old Testament, were surrounded by pagan cultures. There was poverty, idolatry and suffering in those cultures. In that context look at what God commanded them to do: "...then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household." (Duet 14:25-27) Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson, in their book "Angels in the Architecture" sarcastically commented on this verse: "Such unthriftiness. Such waste. Such gluttony. Such winebibbing. Such is a command of our holy God."

They also wrote this:

• Celebration is worshiping God with our bodies, with the material creation He has set up around us. Celebrating – whether in feasts, ceremonies, holidays, formal worship, or lovemaking –are all part of obeying God’s command to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength” (Duet 6:5; Mk 12:30) We are to show our love for God not just with one portion of our being (the spiritual aspect); we are to love God with our whole body, heart and strength and legs and lips.
• Complaint is the flag of ingratitude, and it waives above the center of unbelieving hearts –“when they knew God, the glorified him not as God, neither were thankful” (Rom 1:21). Yet by grace, God’s redemption in creation ought to keep us in a perpetual state of thanks which bursts out in celebration at every opportunity. Again, we are celebrating God’s dominion...

There is indeed, in time and history, "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Ecc. 3:4) "The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up." (1 Sam 2:7) Let us celebrate the Lord. We must resist the gnostic tendency to separate the physical things into the category of evil and the spiritual things into the category of good. We serve a God who clothed Himself with human flesh and after He died His body was resurrected. “Asceticism” is the doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing rigorous self-denial and extreme abstinence. The apostle Paul made it clear that asceticism was not the answer: "These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." (Col 2:23)

Victorious kingdom living includes celebratory kingdom feasting and dancing. It is sin that causes us to forget our blessings and fail to celebrate them: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you" (Duet. 28: 47-48). We Christians sometimes have such a hard time gratefully honoring God's blessings in celebration. Yes, we should not forget about the lost but we should also not forget to celebrate the fact that we've been found! Have we become too pious to party? "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31)

Looking Back - John Owen

"There is no duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater is its enmity to it. Thus those who seek most for God, experience the strongest opposition."

~ John Owen, Sin & Temptation

Abusing the Poor

Wow, it's amazing how you can misunderstand a passage for so long. The passage about the widow who gave her last two small coins is probably not about what you think its about. Jesus wasn't saying what you probably think He was saying. Jesus wasn't recommending irresponsibility. Watch this!