Veritas est Immortalis

Postings on Proverbs 12:7

2011-10-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

"The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
But the house of the righteous will stand" (NASB)

While doing errands today I listened briefly to a radio show about how to become a millionaire. It never actually said how to become one though. It just gave a bunch of success stories and cliff hangers that make people buy the discounted book with the free CD to the first 100 callers! However, one good thing they mentioned concerned investing now so that you have enough to retire -- bring the future into the hear and now! That's what this proverb is teaching us about wickedness & righteousness.

We are surrounded in the news, or maybe even in our own lives, with injustice, pain, sorrow, anger, frustration, broken dreams -- all at the hands of other people. In our "I want it yesterday" culture, this proverb reminds us not to evaluate where people are at in the here and now.

Before I start digging into this proverb, one rule for clarification: Proverbs are not universal sayings or promises. They are statements that are generally true, though not 100% of the time.

The best way for me to explain this is with a clear case example like Proverbs 10:4b "the hand of the diligent makes rich." Many of us know many very hard working people who are no where near rich, but it's saying that in general, those who work hard and aren't lazy get rich and those who are rich worked really hard to get where they are.

Now, God built justice into the fabric of reality. "What goes around comes around" and "You reap what you sow" are common idioms we've had for centuries.

So, in the here and now it's easy for us to wonder "Why do the wicked prosper? Why do they get away with so much and live lives that seem so blessed?" but this proverbs says "The wise person knows their blessing will not last forever. Their wickedness will catch up with them."

Because of their wicked plans (12:5) and their wicked words (12:6) they will be "overthrown." Something, maybe unexpected, will turn their world upside down. The boomerang effect will be so thorough in fact that they will be "no more." They will not recover from their fall. I can't help but remember Haman in Esther 7 when I think about this proverb.

Notice, it doesn't say "the righteous will stand," but "the house of the righteous will stand." The word "house" is a metaphor for the future of the righteous person, and in particular, her descendents. Through her life, she gave them a solid foundation of integrity (12:5) and love for God and man (12:6) that will allow them to be pillars in their communities and weather the storms of life. They "stand" while the wicked are "overthrown and are no more." I think of John & Charles Wesley's mother here, a woman everyone should admire and emulate.

This proverb makes us wise by encouraging us to take the long view of what it means to be successful -- Saddam Hussein was wicked and successful until he as overthrown, captured and hung! -- and by suggesting that success is not measured by wealth or fame or influence or stuff, but by a family that is strong in the Lord.

"God, as I get married in a couple months, I am terrified of the responsibility of being a husband and a father. Please teach me how to love like Christ and to leave a dynasty that is strong in You. Amen."

I hope that helps! TII!!!

Postings on Proverbs 12:6

2011-10-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

"The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
But the mouth of the upright will deliver them" (NASB)

Growing up, my mom always told me "Jonathan, if you didn't have a mouth you'd never get in trouble" (I think it's ironic that for the past 8 years I've made a living with my mouth :P).

Obviously, this is a proverb about the use of our mouths. Previously, Solomon has shown how sinners are characterized by their destructive speech (see 1:10-19, 2:12-15, 4:14-19, 6:12-19, 10:32). As I read this proverb I was reminded of Jesus' words, "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matt 12:34) -- "the heart" in the Bible does not refer to your emotions, but rather it refers to your core, your mission-control center, the place where all your actions originate, your soul, the real you!

Notice the classic "two kinds of people in the world" antithesis, the wicked & the upright, who reveal their "real you" as they use their mouths in two distinctly different ways.

The Hebrew word translated "wicked" refers to people who benefit themselves by disadvantaging others (Waltke, 110), seen here in words that "lie in wait for blood." This is a metaphor, describing how the words of the wicked "have the effect of entrapping and killing unsuspecting innocent and upright citizens" (Waltke, 523).

The Hebrew word translated "upright" conveys the idea of "conduct that does not go astray or out of bounds of [God's] morally fixed order" (Waltke, 98). So, while one plans harm, the other keeps from harm. One is interested in destruction, the other in salvation. One is filling their minds with damaging someone, whereas the other is about premeditated protection and rescue. One hates while the other loves.

In the end, Proverbs 12:6 is a warning. Listen closely to people's words. What a person says about others reveals what kind of person he is. While it's critically important to ask, "What do my family's, friends' or co-workers' words reveal about them?" let's get personal instead and ask, "What do my words reveal about me?"

I'm thinking about this in regards to my words about those who have harmed me? Am I planning or wishing their destruction? Am I thinking about, even praying about their good (cf. Matt 5:43-47)? Do my words show I'm all about me and my feelings and what I want, even at the expense of others? Do my words show I'm really about loving my neighbor like I love myself, so that just as I'd never wish pain or harm on myself so I never would on others as well?

What do your words reveal about you? Hope that helps! TII!!!

Postings on Proverbs 12:5

2011-10-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

"The thoughts of the righteous are just,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful" (NASB)

I listed to rap music when I was a kid, and one of my favorite songs had this line: "What's running through my mind comes through in my walk." In a very real way, you are what you think and you do what you think, and it seems that's what this proverb is talking about, but there's more here than meets the eye.

Observations: As with almost all proverbs, line 1 is understood with input from line 2 and vice versa, and the word "but" is a clue that whatever is being said in line 1 the opposite is being said in line 2. "Thoughts" and "counsels" are the same, but "the righteous" are being contrasted with "the wicked" and the opposite of "just" is "deceitful." Now, I don't typically think of the opposite of justice being deceit. The opposite of deceit is truth-telling. The opposite of justice is unfairness. Solomon saw them as opposites, but how?

Notice that what's being talked about seems to be internal. "Thoughts / counsels" seem to refer to the dialogue we have with ourselves all day long. The question this proverb might be asking is "What direction do your thoughts take you -- towards justice, doing what's right, or towards deceit, not telling the truth?"

Interpretation: After meditating on this verse and reading some commentaries, the words "thoughts" and "counsels" are better translated "plans" and "guidance," referring to the kind of advice you are given from people in order to achieve some goal.

So, advice that encourages you in the direction of "justice," of doing what you should do rather than taking advantage of people comes from a righteous person, whereas advice that encourages you to be "deceitful," to trick and damage others for your own benefit (see 11:1) comes from a wicked person.

So, instead of this being a proverb about checking your thoughts and where they take you (though that's very important, see Matthew 15:18-19 and James 4:1-3), it's actually a warning about those you allow the privilege of directing your life. It's asking "Are your advisers righteous or wicked? The answer to that question is seen in the kind of advice they give you? In general, is it an encouragement to do what's good and best, or when examined carefully, are you being encouraged to do what's good and best for you?"

Hope that helps!!! TII!!!

Postings on Proverbs 1:1, 10:1

2011-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

"The Proverbs of Solomon" (1:1, 10:1)

The first 9 chapters of Proverbs are 14 sermons, all with the same point: Get Wisdom!!!

When I was a kid I wanted a metal detector so bad. I wanted to go to the beach and find money hidden in the sand. When I actually got one, I walked around a park in Costa Mesa, CA for hours looking for money -- never found anything though! How a person gets wisdom, the passion we should bring to this endeavor, is compared to the passion you might have if discovered there was buried treasure in your backyard (2:4) -- for those in California, a backyard is a patch of dirt or grass located in the back of your house :P

Then, holding on to that wisdom, meaning living your life according to it, is better than being rich (3:14, 8:10, 8:19). If gold and jewels and money were on one side of a scale & wisdom lie on the other, there would no comparison -- wisdom is far more valuable (3:15, 8:11). In fact, "nothing you desire" -- technology, friends, knowledge, cars, houses, a spouse, influence, etc. -- nothing at all "compares with" wisdom (3:15). Now, if the primary author of Scripture is God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21), then this is not human opinion, but God Himself telling us what He wants us to value greatly.

In general, getting wisdom is accomplished by reading, studying, meditating on, talking about, writing about God's Word. However, after 3 years of studying Proverbs one of the things I learned was that in chapters 1-9 Solomon is encouraging his readers to get the wisdom found in chapters 10-31. When it says "Get wisdom" it means, learn and then live chapters 10-31.

Now, I studied the Bible consistently, but after preaching all 14 sermons in chapters 1-9 twice and challenging the people under my care to get wisdom, I kept being challenged with this question: "Am I getting wisdom with the same intensity that I'd have for buried treasure?" The answer was "No," so to take my own medicine I'm going to search for wisdom and pray that I get some by going verse by verse through chapters 10-31 in this blog. I started doing this before blogs existed, but stopped when life got too busy. So, on a regular basis I'm going to take that task up again here, starting in Proverbs 12:5 where I left off.

See you soon!!! TII!!!

Hello Again!!!

2011-10-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

After thinking about it on my own for months now and having a friend last night, completely out of the blue, say "I think you should start writing," I've decided to blog again.

I'm not writing, ultimately, for others, but for the glory of God and to hone this skill that He's given me. At the same time, I am not oblivious to the fact that this is a public blog so others can find it (how, I have no idea), so if people find it and read it, fine. If, with the literally billions of webpages out there, it remains hidden no one reads it, that's fine too.

With that in mind, I think I'm going to focus on a couple things in this blog: (1) The passion of my heart is to see Christians and non-Christians transformed by the Gospel, (2) After preaching through Proverbs twice (2008-10) in the college and singles' ministries I used to pastor in Aliso Viejo, CA I've been struck by my need for wisdom so I'll spend a lot of time looking at Proverbs 10-31, and (3) I'm working on a book idea that I'll be fleshing out here as well.

To start, I just came home from a leadership meeting at my church, Redemption Church Gateway, where the pastor asked a random person to give their testimony. It was a moving story of God's grace that moved the grown man speaking to cry in front of a room of around 100 leaders. God saved him over a decade ago, and it wasn't old news to him! It was still really good news! What struck me as I watched was how emotional he still was about being saved, something I realized I've lost the wonder of in recent days, remembering that just today I shared my testimony with a friend and didn't have that response at all.

What also hit me was how many leaders in our day are taking the obvious work of God in people's lives -- as seen in my friend who I just rejoiced with -- and using it to build their own personal kingdoms. In the lives and ministries of many, the sovereign miracle of conversion is not an end in itself to be marveled at and rejoiced in. Instead, it's used to market a man or his ministry, which is about as ridiculous as the paint brush taking credit for the Mona Lisa.

Now, this distorted and wicked motive is often hidden behind slogans like "I just want to get God's Word to more of God's people" or "More people means more exposure to the Gospel" when deep down it's about prestige, money, security, proving oneself to doubters, book deals, acclaim and bragging rights. Now, I know the obvious comeback is "You don't know their hearts" and you're right. I don't. However, according to Jeremiah 17:9-10, they don't know their own hearts either.

So, after watching my friend my thought was beware all of us who love the "Good job" after serving God's people. The sacrifice being made may not be our time and effort. The sacrifice being made may be the Gospel on the altar of our own personal ambitions.

Truth is Immortal!!!

Blood on Our Hands

2009-03-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

While reading The Cross of Christ by John Stott, I was struck by the following quotes:

"'Were you there when they crucified my Lord?' the old [song] asks. And we must answer, 'Yes, we were there.' Not as spectators only, but as participants, guilty participants, plotting, scheming, betraying, bargaining and handing him over to be crucified. We may try to wash our hands of responsibility like Pilate. But our attempt will be as futile as his. For there is blood on our hands. Before we begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance)" (63) ... "If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus" (71) ... "It is impossible for us to face Christ's cross with integrity and not to feel ashamed of ourselves" (85).

Have you ever seen yourself as a guilty participant in His murder? A betrayer? Knowing the truth, but avoiding total commitment like Pilate? Resenting His authoritative demand for worship and obedience like the religious leaders? Not fitting into what I want a Savior to be like Judas? Have you seen the Cross in light of your sins, that your sins put Him there, or has it become a history lesson this time of year?

Work hard to continually see yourself in light of the Cross. When you do, you see yourself as you really are.

Its The End of the World as We Know It and I Feel...Hot!?!

2008-07-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

While many in our culture denounce Christians for hysterically spreading fear-mongering rhetoric about the end of the world, you and I have been bombarded in the media with talk of a coming global apocalypse caused by--are you sitting down?--the "carbon footprint" left by pollution from our cars & homes (insert shriek of horror here!).

As this becomes a bigger topic of discussion in movies and news coverage of the coming elections, many will face this kind of rhetoric in our families, classes and at our jobs. The results can be quite subtle, however, often in the form of a quasi-compassionate, self-righteous attitude as evidenced by accusations like "You aren't going green?" and condemnation for those who aren't obsessed with recycling, or driving a hybrid (Have you experienced any of this?)

After all, they confidently assert, "Almost all scientists believe human-caused global warming is a closed case." Therefore, their condemnation is justified, saying "Everyone knows the danger is real and they aren't doing their part to save the planet!"

But, is that true? Is it really a closed case? Please take 3 minutes and read this article, cut & paste it on to a Word document and file it on your hard drive where you can access it later. It is the truth needed to battle the global warming rhetoric that's so rampant in our day and only getting louder. The opening line says it all: "Nearly 32,000 scientists sign a petition that says they reject the claim that humanity is causing global warming."

Thanks to the Bible, we know how this world is going to end and it's not going to be the result of human carbon emission! It'll be the result of God's wrath against human sin at "the day of the Lord" which "will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10). That's real global warming!

Since we know this, Peter goes on to say "live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (3:11-12) and "make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him" (3:14) because "we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (3:13). I want to make sure I'm doing my part to usher in that day! Don't you?

Victory from Trials

2008-04-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

As I'm preparing for Compass Night this Thursday evening @ 6:15 (please pray for me about this!!!), I have been reading a number of books and wanted to share this line from Bill Thrasher's A Journey to Victorious Praying--a book I can so far recommend though I haven't finished it yet. He wrote:

"Many times great difficulties precede special works of God. You can even say that God wins His greatest victories in the midst of apparent defeat. This can be clearly demonstrated in the life of our Lord on earth. When Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb, it looked like the forces of unrighteousness had triumphed. However, it was in this time of apparent defeat that our victory for our salvation was won."

Think about how this is true over and over again in the Scriptures and then bring that truth into your own life. I don't know what you're going through, but take heart. God has not and will never abandoned you (see Matt 28:20, Phil 4:5 & Heb 13:5) and will bring victory from the what looks like defeat (Rom 8:28).

The First Church of...Oprah???

2008-04-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

You've got to watch this video about Oprah and the new book she's pushing and her denials of Christianity, especially for all those Christians who believe watching her is innocent.

Groothuis on Expelled

2008-04-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

Read an excellent review of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed by Dr. Doug Groothuis here, a man I don't always agree with but who I highly respect after reading his excellent book Truth Decay. I will write my own review after I see it this week.

Get to Know David Brainerd

2008-04-20T22:54:00.001-07:00

You will never regret taking an hour to listen to John Piper's biography of the unstoppably passionate missionary to American Indians in the 1700s David Brainerd (click here to read or listen or download it). It is amazing to read how many pioneering, paradigm shifting missionaries his life deeply impacted.

Let me leave you with this insights from Brainerd's journal, which Jonathan Edwards published, and Piper's message...

"He was gripped with by the apostolic admonition: "Redeem the time for the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16) He embodied the counsel: "Let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due time we shall reap if we do not faint." (Gal. 6:9) He strove to be, as Paul says, "abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58)."
April 17, 1747. "O I longed to fill the remaining moments all for God! Though my body was so feeble, and wearied with preaching and much private conversation, yet I wanted to sit up all night to do something for God. To God the giver of these refreshments, be glory forever and ever; Amen." (p. 246) February 21, 1746. "My soul was refreshed and comforted, and I could not but bless God, who had enabled me in some good measure to be faithful in the day past. Oh, how sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God!" (p. 366)

Among all the means that Brainerd used for pursuing greater and greater holiness and usefulness prayer and fasting stand out above all. We read of him spending whole days in prayer (p. 172), and sometimes setting aside six times in the day to pray, (p. 280), and sometimes seeking out a family or friend to pray with. He prayed for his own sanctification. He prayed for the conversion and purity of his Indians. He prayed for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ around the world and especially in America. Sometimes the spirit of prayer would hold him so deeply that he could scarcely stop.

Once, visiting in a home with friends, he got alone to pray: "I continued wrestling with God in prayer for my dear little flock here; and more especially for the Indians elsewhere; as well as for dear friends in one place and another; till it was bed time and I feared I should hinder the family, etc. But oh, with what reluctancy did I find myself obliged to consume time in sleep!" (p. 402)

Expelled: The Movie

2008-04-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am really excited to see the new documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which opens today!

It's about the scientific establishment's censorship of intelligent design. Watch the trailer here and search youTube for many clips. You can watch an older trailer below. Enjoy!

Christian Homosexual???

2008-04-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Azariah Southworth, host of the popular Christian youth show The Remix (can be seen in more than 128 million homes worldwide and averages more than 200,000 viewers weekly on TBN's JC TV channel) announced yesterday that he's gay, saying:

"This has been a long time coming. I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my faith, friends, family and more importantly myself. I know this will end my career in Christian television, but I must now live my life openly and honestly with everyone. This is my reason for doing this. ... I know I will be cut off from many within the Christian community, and if so, then they didn’t get the point of the life of Christ. I believe by me living my life honestly and authentically now, I am able to be a better person and a better Christian. We all know there are so many other gay people in the Christian industry; they’re just all scared. I was scared, but now I’m no longer afraid."

Rather than deconstructing each phrase, I want to point out something I've been noticing for a while among Christians that happens to be prominent in his statement above, specifically, that in the name of honesty & authenticity we excuse our sin.

While I'm sure this has been very difficult for Mr. Southworth both in his own soul and now in public, the goal in life is NOT authenticity--especially when being authentic or honest means being sinful. Sadly, he will not be "a better person and a better Christian" because the goal of life is to please God (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 5:9)--something his new lifestyle cannot do no matter how authentic he is.

For the Christian, no matter what temptation you're struggling against (lying, stealing, greed, anxiety, homosexuality, cussing, laziness) it's just that, a struggle! A struggle to do what God wants and not what you want (Romans 7:14-25). He folded in his struggle, and because it's a fold that marks his entire life in rebellion against God this likely proves he was never a Christian to begin with (I John 2:19). I just pray more won't follow his example, but rather keep on advancing in their fight against their own sin (Romans 8:12-14; Galatians 5:24-25; 2 Timothy 2:22).

Which leads me to something else. I wonder, is it as easy in churches to say you're struggling with anxiety as it is that you're struggling with homosexuality? Could this guy have been honest with someone before he "came out," or did he have no where to turn? I don't know. I just know we consider it OK to talk about struggling with some sins, but not others--a phenomena in Christianity that doesn't serve people like Mr. Southworth.

Read more about this here, and if you do, make sure you read some of the comments. You get the obligatory "God loves you just how He made you," which is so deceiving, but what do you think of the "God hates you sodomite" stuff, or the obligatory quoting of Romans 1?

Specifically, I'm asking if it's a godly way to approach a sinner and if it's effective in light of passages like, say, "love your neighbor," Colossians 4:5-6, the end of 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Proverbs 12:18, 15:1, 16:21 and 16:24.

Together for the Gospel 2008

2008-04-18T10:07:00.001-07:00

If you're looking for some solid preaching to download and listen to, make sure to check out the free downloads here from the Together for the Gospel Conference, which just wrapped up yesterday.

The audio on the page above includes:

Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry
(Ligon Duncan)

Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church
(Thabiti Anyabwile)

The Sinner Neither Able nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability
(John MacArthur)

Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology
(Mark Dever)

The Curse Motif of the Atonement
(R.C. Sproul)

Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution
(Albert Mohler)

How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice
(John Piper)

Sustaining a Pastor’s Soul
(C.J. Mahaney)

Also, if you like these and would like to listen to the conference audio from 2006 you can download it here. Enjoy!

Radical Islam's Next Target: Rome

2008-04-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

While you were going to church this weekend, one TV preacher from Hamas told his listeners:

"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our Prophet Muhammad. Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs [the Jews] in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam."

This part was especially encouraging...

"I believe that our children or our grandchildren will inherit our Jihad and our sacrifices, and Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them. Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls, and by means of the mosques and the Koran books..."

Read more about it here, and even watch the "sermon" here.

Praying for Your Pastor

2008-04-11T17:05:00.001-07:00

People often ask me how they can help me, and just so you know, the most important and most downplayed way anyone can help their pastor is to pray for him.

To help you do that, I came across this blog post. If you're going to do for me what this blog says--and I PRAY that you would--just know that I don't preach on Sunday's, but on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Also, for my own preaching and the preaching of the pastors at Compass that I serve with, I use the acrostic CAPPPP to pray for them. It stands for...

Clear -- no confusion from what I say, a structure that flows and makes sense
Accurate -- explains what the text says, which comes from prayer and good study time
Passionate -- not a lecture, but a sermon for changing the heart
Pursuasive -- that the audience would be convinced intellectually by the text
Practical -- that it will be easy to see how to live the text
Powerful -- that God's Spirit would save the lost and sanctify the believers present

So, please add these words to #4 from the blog post above. Thank you so so much!!!

Father & Daughter Have Kid...TOGETHER!!!

2008-04-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

This world is getting weirder, more confused morally and farther from God's standards (click here and here to read more about this incestuous couple).

Listen to that internal shock of disgust as you read the articles. That is your in-born moral "compass," God's law written on the heart of every human being, Christian or not (Romans 2:14-15), telling you something is wrong though you may not be able to formulate an argument against it just yet. For more on the importance of moral intuitions, click here.

Pregnant Man? Not Really!

2008-04-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brave new world! (read about him here). Regardless of how a person looks, talks, identifies oneself, the hormonal injections, sexual orientation, relationship status, etc. this does not help the cause of gender neutrality or equality (that there is no difference between genders, that all gender is is a social construction).

In fact, it proves the exact opposite of what he was hoping for and has been fighting for in his personal life--namely, identification as a man. What it does is give incontrovertible evidence that though he thinks he's a man, he really isn't!

Unimaginable Peace

2008-03-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here's the video from this weekends' 11am service at Compass Bible Church (it seems they missed the first couple minutes though). If you can't watch it here, go to our live stream and click the video marked "Unimaginable Peace."

I preached on how to experience real comfort during life's pain from Philippians 4:4-9. I pray it serves you. Like I told people all day, I'm really just stunned that God graciously uses such a sinner like me to encourage His precious people.

Please Pray for Me...Again

2008-03-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

I wish I would've put this up sooner--just thought of it now, but I'm preaching our 3 weekend services at Compass Bible Church, the church I serve as a pastor to the young adults.

As always it seems, I'm very nervous and fearing man WAY too much, so please pray that God is honored, my heart is right and His people truly served.

Thank you, and in case you're wondering, I will be preaching on Philippians 4:4-9:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Nothing More Unnatural Than Pride?

2008-02-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

On page 62 of Wayne Mack's, Humility (the best book I've read on the subject), we quotes Charles Spurgeon who said: "Pride is a thing which should be unnatural to us because we have nothing to be proud of."

Isn't that so true!?!

Four Landmines in Ministry

2008-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

While waiting to listen to John Piper at the Resurgence Conference, I am currently listening to a message from the Dallas Theological Seminary podcast by Robert Jeffress on The Four Landmines of Ministry.

These landmines, with some insights from the sermon, are:

Silver (= money) -- "Money is like salt water, the more you take in thirstier you get."
Sloth (= laziness) -- "We all have a little bit of laziness in us, and you can go a long time before laziness will catch up with you, but it will catch up with you. Expect to work hard, the lack there of will destroy your ministry!
Sex -- Most people know someone who has had to step down from ministry for sexual immorality; the dark shadow of your immorality will accompany you always and forever as the heartache you cause will be inestimable as "the way of the transgressor is hard"
Self -- My life is either God-focused or self-focused and the most basic issue we have to settle is who's kingdom are you building: God's or yours! It's one or the other. It can't be both!

Along these lines, if you have more time on your hands, go to this website, search for the name Donald Whitney and listen to his message "The Almost Inevitable Ruin of Every Minister...and How to Avoid It"--one of the best I've ever heard!

2008 Resurgence Conference Live

2008-02-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to watch, or just listen in the background, to some good preaching over the next couple days, make sure you check out the 2008 Resurgence Conference here.

You can choose the speakers you want to listen to (Mark Driscoll, C.J. Mahaney, Matt Chandler, Jim Gillmore, John Piper) and then make sure you're online when they start.

I hope you enjoy. I have it on in the background while I do research so I just listened to the end Mark Driscoll's first message (and it was really good) and now I'm excitedly anticipating C.J.'s in 5 minutes!

True Approval

2008-02-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

Another quote from my research, this time from J.A. Motyer's commentary on Philippians 4:4.

To those of us who, sadly and pathetically, seem to long and live for the approval of others he writes, "The essence of the matter is so to value Jesus Christ, and so to long for the smile of his approval, that nothing else matters. He is all our joy" (Philippians 210).

Anxiety and Prayer

2008-02-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

I'm preaching on Philippians 4:4-9 this coming weekend, and while commenting on verse 6 ("Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"), D.A. Carson writes, "I have yet to meet a chronic worrier who enjoys an excellent prayer life" (Basics for Believers 112).

Lord, may that characterize me, please!

Self-Promotion

2008-02-24T17:06:00.001-08:00

I'm doing research for my sermons coming up this week and came across this quote from A.W. Tozer: "...egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. ... Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice" (italics mine; from The Pursuit of God, 45-46).

God, give me the discernment I need for my own sin-filled heart so as to keep me from such an egregious sin (as I post on a blog that millions could read).

Should We Be Ashamed At This?

2008-02-22T02:13:00.001-08:00

According to the National Council of Churches' 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches the two fastest growing "church" bodies are Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. Read a summary of the report here.

How Do I Know God's "Guidance"?

2008-02-21T17:12:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite modern author / speakers is Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C.

He write a helpful post here about the dangerous way many Christians seek "God's will" or "divine guidance." I hear Christians talk about this topic almost every single day so having helpful correctives like this one are always necessary.

Called to Seminary?

2008-02-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Between Two Worlds for this very helpful post for those called to the ministry who must consider seminary or at least some kind of theological education.

Purposeful Praise: Rejuvenating Your Christian Life

2008-02-17T12:36:00.001-08:00

We had a great weekend at Compass Bible Church with the best part being the preaching of God's Word from Psalm 100! If you missed it, go here to watch it. If you were here this weekend, to jar your memory, the points from Pastor Mike's sermon were:

1. Celebrate God (vv. 1-2)
2. Worship God because He is God (v. 3)
3. Worship God because He is Good (vv. 4-5)

How did God use Pastor Mike's sermon on Psalm 100 to speak to you this week?

Sovereign Grace February Sale!!!

2008-02-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

If you enjoy the ministry of C.J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris, or if you enjoy solid, biblical, life-altering resources (books, CDs, etc.) than you need to know that for the next 12 days Sovereign Grace Ministries is having a huge sale.

I'm sorry I didn't make it known earlier, but this site is FULL of good stuff at hugely discounted prices. If you're not sure what's good, the books I'd recommend are Living the Cross-Centered Life, Humility, and Pastor Dale's wife Shawna told me last week that she puts Feminine Appeal right under the Bible as her favorite.

Also, the CDs I recommend are Songs for the Cross-Centered Life, West Coast Revival (especially the song "Here with Christ") and Worship God Live (if you liked the song "Jesus, Thank You" from this weekend at Compass that song is on this CD).

One final thing, all the messages by all the speakers are always online for free download. Speakers include C.J. Mahaney, Carolyn Mahaney, Joshua Harris, John Piper and R.C. Sproul--if you want recommended messages, let me know in the comments. Happy hunting!!!

Boys Adrift

2008-02-17T00:27:00.000-08:00

Like many, I've been struck by the alarming trends in male development that I've seen not only in society, but also in myself.

Well, I just heard pieces of a fascinating interview of Leonard Sax, Ph.D. on Coast to Coast AM about his new book Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men.

In case you're wondering, the five factors are...
1. Video Games
2. Teaching Methods
3. Prescription Drugs
4. Endocrine Disruptors
5. Devaluation of Masculinity

If you're interested in this topic, read an introduction to the book here and find some interesting articles here.

How to Pray for Free

2008-02-12T01:07:00.000-08:00

You can download this classic on prayer, R.A. Torrey's, How To Pray, as an audiobook from christianaudio.com--regular 12.98--for absolutely nothing when you follow the directions here.

They give a way a different audio book every month so it's well worth checking in on this site periodically.

Ambassadors: Buiding Bridges for God's Kingdom

2008-02-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

What was your reaction to Pastor Mike's message this weekend from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21?

Just to remind you, his three points were:
1. Love Your Neighbor (vv. 17, 21)
2. Embrace Your Job (vv. 18-19)
3. Start "Representing" (v. 20)

If you missed it you can watch it here, or if you just want to listen to it go here.

Has God Called You...to be a Pastor?

2008-02-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a short, insightful article by Dr. Al Mohler on the call to pastoral leadership. Does it describe you?

I was pleasantly surprised to read that his description of the call to ministry is what I've been telling myself and other men for years now--always good when what you say is confirmed by those you respect!

I'm at the DG Pastor's Conference!!!

2008-02-05T22:50:00.000-08:00

After being snowed in at O'Hare in Chicago for 24 hours and braving some 20 degree weather (see some pics here), we finally made it to the 2008 Desiring God Pastors' Conference. Honestly, I sat there for the first session this morning and tears came to my eyes as I thought, "I can't believe God brought me here. What a blessings! What a kind and gracious God!"

Aside from hanging out with the staff and seeing some guys from seminary (and eating Giordano's famous pizza) the highlight for me as definitely been John Piper's biography of his father. You should hit that link and listen to it as fast as possible--I thought the best part was the conclusion!

However, the one thing I wish Dr. Piper would've talked about was his mom. His dad was a traveling evangelist, meaning he was gone all that time, so it seems to me that his mom did most of the parenting.

I'd love to hear a tribute to her as well, so I wrote this as a question and dropped it in the drop box. Hopefully, they'll choose it for the Q & A tomorrow. Who knows? We'll see!

2008 Truth & Life Conference

2008-01-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

Just a quick entry to say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. As a result of your prayers, God truly blessed the seminar I gave at the Truth & Life Conference last week at The Master's College.

I spoke on "How to Fail at Life and Ministry" with the thesis that the bad reputation many doctrinally sound, Bible believing circles have for being cold, unloving, elitist, confrontational, disrespectful and self-righteous is directly tied to God's reputation in this world.

MANY are flooding away from our circles for other religions and cults, the New Age and occult as well as more liberal forms of Christianity either in mainline churches or the emergent movement / conversation, not because of prolonged exposure to God's Word, but because of interaction they've had with us.

By the way, the biblical way of talking about giving God a good name, a good reputation is a very common saying in our circles. Giving God a good name with our lives is EXACTLY the same as saying I'm living for the glory of God.

So, if our reputation is bad because of us (and not because of our message), we're not glorifying Him no matter how theologically rich we are, how much we love the Bible, how much we love preaching, the gospel and the local church. If you're still not convinced that God cares about our reputation, read Romans 2:24. In short, it is not optional for those who love the Word of the Spirit most to go above and beyond to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit most.

We'll see what the fall out ends up being on a message like that (especially when the podcast goes online), but as of now I've received nothing but positive feedback from everyone, and pray that God will use it to give us a better reputation since nothing less than His glory is on the line.

Compass on Ustream.tv

2008-01-19T02:05:00.000-08:00

For a couple months now our church has been live streaming our weekend services here. They're also there to watch after the fact if you don't watch the life stream. When you watch, let me know what you think.

Archaeology Supports Bible...AGAIN!!!

2008-01-19T01:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks to BTW for posting on a find in Jerusalem, read about it here, a family seal from the first temple period with a name with a family name found in Nehemiah 7:55.

Does it say the name and then "as written in the Bible"? No, but it does show it was a name used at the time, like the Bible says, and it does not contradict the Bible in anyway, but rather the find further supports it's historicity and accuracy.

2008 Truth & Life Conference

2008-01-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here's the website outlining the seminars at the Truth & Life Conference--ugh!

Please, please, please pray for me about this, that I'd be clear, accurate, passionate, pursuasive and practical, bringing just the right message in the right way for the spiritual benefit of the TMC students who attend. Thank you.

Spurgeon on Humility

2008-01-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on our ever present and constantly opposing enemy, pride, and our always necessary and always wanted friend, humility. I was reading C.J. Mahaney's book Humility yesterday and he mentioned this sermon, but the online footnote he gave in the book no longer exists.

I'm reading a lot on this topic, not only because I want to be humble, but because I'm giving a seminar on it at this year's Truth and Life Conference at The Master's College. If you think of it, PLEASE pray for me about this. I feel completely out of my league as a speaker for a conference like this one, and completely out of my league on the topic of humility. Also, aside from your prayers, any resources would be helpful too.

Christmas Funny

2007-12-25T20:31:00.003-08:00

My niece, Ella, just a few minutes ago:

"I tricked Santa Claus this year. He thought I was good, and I wasn't."

I hope you've had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Remember the Persecuted

2007-12-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, while we in America are enjoying the last vestiges of religious freedom and tolerance, don't forget the millions of persecuted Christians around the world:

Christian bookstore owner arrested in communist China
Anti-Christian TV leads to violence by Muslims in Turkey
Hindu mobs threaten the safety of Christians in India
Political party promises persecution if elected in India
Christians murdered and churches burned down in Nigeria
Teenagers beheaded for being Christians in Indonesia
Prominent Christian leader murdered in Gaza
Two shootings, just hours apart, in Colorado

And these are the stories from just three websites for just the month of December!!!

I'm on iTunes :|

2007-12-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

The chapel message I gave at The Master's College last month has been added to the "Chapel @ TMC" podcast--it's really weird being on the worldwide web for everyone on the planet to hear.

In order to download this sermon, subscribe here or go the the iTunes music store in iTunes, type "chapel tmc" in the search field in the upper right. The podcast will be the first one that comes up. Click the podcast's picture and then click "Get Episode."

P.S. I'd also suggest you download and listen to Francis Chan's message right under mine on the power of the Holy Spirit. It was extremely good!

Don't Waste Your Life

2007-12-19T00:02:00.000-08:00

I preached last week on John 17:4-5, giving the wonderful people in my young adults' ministry 3 Ways to Avoid the Distracted Life by looking at Jesus' life, which was totally obsessed with the glory of God.

While working on that message I was constantly being reminded of one of the best sermons I've ever heard, Dr. John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" (you can read and download the sermon here).

I actually bought the book that comes with the DVD of the sermon, and it is so good. After I spoke for a little while we watched half the sermon tonight, and will watch the other half on Jan. 1st as we assess the direction of our lives on the day many make resolutions for the coming year.

Fox News Questions Mormons

2007-12-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Between Two Worlds for making me aware of this FoxNews.com article, 21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith, and that Rob Bowman responded to the article here.

Mac Addicted Bibliophiles Listen Up!!!

2007-12-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

For those of you addicted to books like I am and are enamored with Apple computers as I am, there is a library program I have to make you aware of, which I just learned about a couple hours ago, called Bookpedia (download a free version here, but eventually you'll have to pay $20 for it, which you can do here).

As someone who has a list of all his books in a couple 20+ page Word documents it may take some time to upload my books, but Wow is it an amazing program to catalog and categorize everything!

Nehemiah's Wall FOUND!!!

2007-11-30T00:50:00.000-08:00

Click here to read a recent article about how the elusive wall of Nehemiah, the one he led the construction of in something like 52 days in the mid to late 400s BC that encompassed the city of Jerusalem, has been found--further proof for the veracity and historical reliability of the Bible from beginning to end!!!

My favorite line: "'We were amazed,' she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist."

No irrational leap of faith needed to believe the Bible's true! In fact, with all these facts supporting the Bible it seems the one depending on "faith" is the one who denies the Bible is true.

Please Pray Tomorrow Morning

2007-11-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!!! I'm very sorry I haven't been updating this very frequently. I have had quite the week, and it's not letting up at all as the weekend draws near.

I'm posting now to ask you, again, to pray for me. Aside from weekly preaching, which I'd also love your prayer for, I am speaking tomorrow at our church's MOPS ministry (if you've heard of that) called Navigating Motherhood.

This is an evangelistic ministry at our church so tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to make a case for the deity of Christ before about 50 to 80 unbelievers who come to Compass every Friday morning. Just so you know, I just found out there are even Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons in the crowd, aside from many who think they're Christians but probably aren't.

Please pray for my preparation time, which is going to start right now, that it would be fruitful and protected from distraction as well as that tomorrow I would be clear, accurate, passionate, practical and persuasive in what I say.

I am supposed to start speaking around 10am, so I thank you in advance for what God's going to do through your prayers tomorrow morning.

Minor Controversy over a God-Centered God?

2007-11-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd make you aware of what I thought was a minor controversy brewing on the blogs between Ben Witherington and John Piper about the God-centeredness of God.

You can read Dr. Witherington's discomfort with a self-centered God here and Dr. Piper's response to him here.

I wrote "a minor controversy," but if Piper is right (and I think he is) than there is nothing minor about the God-centeredness of God.

Thanksgiving 2007--Ugh!!!

2007-11-24T01:12:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting year. It started off normal, hanging out with my family (the half that will have me over at least) to enjoy each other along with turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, etc. It was nice. I talked with a couple single guys from my mom's small group while trying not to eat everything.

It was not a very joyous night, at least not for me, because there was a gaping hole in our guest list--the first Thanksgiving without my grandpa. Last year he had lost 30 pounds and was not eating much at all (not hungry when a tumor the size of a large grapefruit is in your stomach), but he ate so incredibly well on Thanksgiving--if I remember correctly that was the last night he drove himself too. I miss him so deeply it hurts...a lot.

Anyway, after dinner I went to a movie--a pretty good one called August Rush--but when I came out to my car I found my cell phones (one personal & one from the church) stolen along with my iPod. It wasn't until today that I realized my wallet was stolen too, and that was only after a man called who found a lot of my stuff in an alley about a mile away from the theaters.

Needless to say, this holiday can take a hike, but I was thankful for a couple things. That iPod is invaluble to me because of all the information I had stored on it. All of it's gone, but I'm thankful I didn't freak out, get mad, scream, cuss, etc. I was calm, and I can only attribute that to the grace of God. Oh yeah, all the contacts on my personal phone are gone too, which really sucks, but thankfully, I've been relatively calm and collected about that too.

The hardest part for me is not that someone was in my space, but that I just don't know what God's idea was in doing all this. I thank Him that my car wasn't ruined (you can't even tell anyone broke in), no one was hurt, and so far as I can tell there has been no movement on my accounts (even my social security card was found!). In fact, and I don't say any of this to brag but to demonstrate God's kindness to me, I've been praying for the salvation of the person(s) who did this much more than that I'd get my stuff back.

Actually, I don't remember praying to get my stuff back (though I had to have while pacing back and forth out side of Best Buy looking for my stuff in the hands of those camping in line for this morning's 5am rush), but praying that I'd trust God in the midst of this and not be so attached to my stuff that I care more about my joy in it than my joy in God.

I don't know why I wrote all that--maybe just to get it off my chest and definitely to tell you about how great God's been to me through this. It's late and I'm going to bed. Ciao!

Stem Cells w/o Embryos?

2007-11-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

As I've been saying on this blog for some time now, embryonic stem cell research (ESCR)--the destruction of a little human to harvest its stem cells--aside from being immoral and evil is now found to be unnecessary according to scientists here.

And, if you're as uninformed as Bill Handel (KFI 640 AM radio host in LA) who says ESCR is the most promising stem-cell technology, don't forget this very valuable chart. Do know, the reason the ESCR side is empty is not because the government has banned ESCR, but has only refused to fund it.

Preached @ TMC!!!

2007-11-20T00:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!!!

I just wanted to let you know that God REALLY used your prayers today at The Master's College. When I got there the guy who plans the chapels, Pete, said "When John MacArthur found out a TMS grad was speaking he decided to be here," to which I literally screamed "What!?!" as my stomach dropped. He was just kidding though (ha ha, reeeeeeally funny!)--thank God (you notice yet that I struggle with the fear of man?).

Just so you know, I scrapped Psalm 100 (I just couldn't make it work no matter how hard I tried) and instead spoke from John 13:34-35 on the absolute, unquestionable necessity of Christians to love every Christian...period! I tried really hard (which means I got little sleep last night) to be accurate with what I was saying about the text, as well as clear, passionate, persuasive and practical.

Well, in God's kindness I got some good feedback from a small handful of students, my friend Austin who made this all possible got some good feedback and Pete told me he and the school really needed that message and he told me he'd love for me to come preach again next semester.

He and I got to talking more about some of his church experiences and some of my experiences at TMS, and then out of the blue he asked if I'd speak at the Truth & Life Conference in January--a yearly conference for college students that he told me attracts between 1 and 2000 (this year's line up is John MacArthur, David Wells and James MacDonald). So, it looks like I'll be doing a workshop there next year!

All the while, Pete's asking me to speak at Truth & Life and explaining the conference and I'm thinking "What in the world is happening right now?" I don't know what God's up to and I do not consider myself worthy in the least to be doing any preaching from God's Word, let alone at this conference or any conference, but I want to make sure all of you know how grateful I am for you, your prayers and your support.

In a very real sense, you were a blessing to the students and faculty of TMC this morning too because of your prayers for them and me.

Messages on the Trinity

2007-11-16T00:14:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering how my recent 2-week series at The Refuge on the Trinity went, I wanted you to know that it did not turn people off or away.

Rather than hurting the ministry, which is conventional "wisdom" for pastoral ministry today when it comes to teaching doctrine to Christians--let alone those in college & their 20s--just the opposite has happened.

Actually the ministry grew, newcomers came back for more and the Christians have a renewed zeal to study the Bible and reach out to, rather than run away from, cultists (Oneness, JWs, Mormons) and false religions (Jews, Muslims) who explicitly deny the Trinity.

Thank God for His marvelous grace for blessing His Word when we talked about Him--Father, Son and Holy Spirit!!!

Preaching @ TMC!!!

2007-11-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!!! I am blogging right now to let you know that I will be preaching at The Master's College chapel this Monday morning and I am thoroughly TERRIFIED!!!

By a "fluke" of providence my friend Austin was walking past the man who plans chapels yesterday. Earlier this semester Austin had asked him about getting me in there for a chapel, so Austin asks if he'll be able to fit me in, to which he replied something along the lines of "I was looking at him for next semester, but we had a cancellation for Monday. I know it's short notice, but do you think he'd do it."

Austin told me he'd call me and ask, and then it came out that the cancellation was JOHN MACARTHUR who is to address the students and faculty on Faculty Day (I don't know if this is a special day or whether every Monday is Faculty Day). After I regained consciousness, my training under Prof. Alex Montoya kicked in so all I heard ringing in my ears was "You NEVER turn down a chance to preach! EVER! You don't call in. You crawl in!"

I put all this here, both to make you laugh, but also to beg you for your prayers, not only for me and the preaching (at around 9am Monday morning), but for the students and faculty in attendance.

As of now (Thursday night) I'm going to preach on Psalm 100, but I'm open to changing it should my studies reveal something I think would be more appropriate for the audience. I chose this text because I want to really challenge the very well-taught students and faculty as to their emotions for God. Psalm 100 has 7 imperatives, 7 commands for our emotions as we relate to God, many if not all of which are sadly disobeyed on a constant basis.

Any suggestions for something better? Let me know, but more importantly PLEASE PRAY!!! (especially since I just went to the TMC site and saw a couple professors on it and had a short moment of panic--I'm such a man-fearing sinner so please pray for my heart too)

Christianity & Culture

2007-11-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

The blog at New City Church gave one man's opinion as to the top 20 books on Christianity's relationship to culture. Sadly, I've only read three--looks like I've got work to do!

This & Last Week in History

2007-11-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Since I've forgotten to do this recently, I thought I'd let you know some highlights from the dates of last week and this week in church history.

Aside from many interesting events that you can read about here, last week...

Constantine defeated Maxentius at Milvian Bridge after having a "vision" of the symbol of Jesus, which paved the way for Rome to become a Christian empire (AD 312)
The very important Council of Chalcedon (in modern Turkey) begins to address heresies about Christ that were not addressed at Nicea (451)
Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany (1517)
The British Parliament passes the Supremacy Act officially making England Protestant (1534)
George Muller converts to Christianity (1825)
Jim Elliot writes in his journal "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" (1949)
John Lennon ignites controversy when he tells reporters the Beatles are "more popular than Jesus" (1966)

And, click here to read that this week...

Martin Luther is born in Eisleben, Germany (1483)
The Massachusetts Bay Colony makes it a capital offense to deny that the Bible is the Word of God (1646)
American journalist Henry Stanley finally finds Scottish missionary David Livingstone in Central Africa and utters his famous introduction, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume." (1871)
Gideons International places its first Bible in a room at the Superior Hotel in Iron Mountains, Montana (1908)
Evangelist Billy Graham is born in Charlotte, North Carolina (1918)

2 Murdered in Nigerian Jihad

2007-11-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

This article describes the effects of a violent jihad against young Christians in Nigeria where one man was killed with a sword and another, a Sunday school teacher named Henry Emmanuel Ogbaje 24 (pictured), was bludgeoned to death.

Iranians Becoming Christians

2007-11-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

The author featured in this article suggests the deep dissatisfaction with the Islamic regime in Iran has created a growing interest in Jesus Christ in that country.

Christian Sacrificed to Hindu 'Goddess'

2007-11-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Click here to read about Vipin Mandloli, a 27 year old shepherd and convert to Christianity from Hinduism who was allegedly shot as a sacrifice to the "goddess" Kali "a bloodthirsty ‘goddess’ [that] is even given human sacrifice."

And this article describes the increasing persecution Christians are facing by Hindu extremists / fundamentalists in one region in India -- a country I thought was more progressive because so many of our companies were doing business there -- while this article makes it clear that this persecution is widespread in that country.

Pictures from Hawaii

2007-11-09T00:41:00.000-08:00

In case you'd enjoy them, I wanted you to know I uploaded some photos from my recent trip to Kauai here.

Did U Hear What China Banned @ The Olympics?

2007-11-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Read here that the organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games in China have put the Bible on the list of items that athletes are banned from bringing with them to Beijing.

Divorce in the Bible

2007-11-07T10:43:00.001-08:00

Though the controversy has died down, last month saw a bit of a firestorm ignite over the Bible's view of divorce when Christianity Today devoted their cover and a 4-page article to the issue of divorce.

In summary, the author David Instone-Brewer argues that the Bible gives us four grounds for divorce that make it acceptable in God's eyes: adultery, abandonment (the two traditional grounds), abuse and neglect (emotional or physical).

I found out about it at a staff meeting last month when we spent about an hour talking about it. Within a couple days, I saw posts about it on blogs and responses to the article by such prominent evangelicals as John Piper (which, by the way, Dr. Instone-Brewer responded to here), Al Mohler (click here to a page where you can download his radio show on this topic) and Andreas Kostenberger (here and here).

I wanted to make you aware of this ongoing debate, which though it seems to me at least that it's died down in our circles, has gained national attention thanks to a new article about it in Time Magazine online here.

U Believe in the Trinity? Prove it!!!

2007-11-07T00:44:00.000-08:00

This is the only illustration of the Trinity I know of that does not lead to or directly teach heresy.

I spoke on this topic tonight, and I'll post here what I gave the people at the 20s ministry of Compass Bible Church. I tried to summarize the Bible's teachings that, when combined, become the doctrine of the Trinity. Here is what I gave them:

The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity

Definition: “God eternally exists as three persons--Father, Son & Holy Spirit--and each person is fully God, [yet] there is one God” (Grudem).

Three Step Proof / Argument

There is Only One God – Deut 4:35, 39; 6:4; 1 Kgs 8:60; Isa 43:10, 45:5-6; Mark 12:29; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17; James 2:19
The Bible Identifies 3 Persons as Equally God

The Father is God: 1 Cor 8:6; Phil 1:2
The Son is God: John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:3-8; 2 Pet 1:1
The Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor 3:17-18

The 3 Persons are Distinct from Each Other: Matt 28:19

The Father is NOT the Son: John 14:23, 17:24; 1 Cor 8:6
The Father is NOT the Spirit: John 14:26; Rom 8:26
The Son is NOT the Spirit: John 14:16, 15:26

The Trinity is simply an attempt to summarize the biblical data above without contradiction:
1 God (1 what), 3 Persons (3 who’s)

It seems to me, although I'm no expert, that every heresy denies at least one of the three proofs. Either someone posits more than one God (e.g., Mormons, JWs, Hindus, etc.), denies the deity of one Person (JWs, Islam, Judaism, Mormons, etc.) and/or combines distinct Persons into one Person (oneness Pentecostals, modalists, etc.).

I printed this on little cards that I hope they'll keep it in their Bibles so that when they get that knock on the door they'll be ready to engage rather than retreat.

1 Cor 2:14 and 2 Cor 4:4 in Action

2007-11-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

What's your reaction when you read things like this (if you can read such tiny print!)?

I know at first I was angry (like I'd be if someone ridiculed my mom or dad), but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only reason I'm not saying the same thing and worse is because God's been so kind to me, opening my eyes to the truth I once denied and freeing me from the sin that held me captive to lies.

In case you were wondering, 1 Corinthians 2:14 says "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" and 2 Corinthians 4:4 says "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Therefore, my anger quickly turned to sorrow and compassion (though not as quickly as I would've liked). I'd love to talk to the person who wrote that, or anyone who agrees.

Update, Thank You & The Trinity

2007-11-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

I've been swamped since getting home from Hawaii so I'm sorry for not blogging more regularly. I got off the plane Tuesday morning at 5am at LAX, ran home to shower and go right to work to help oversee the setup for our Fall Fest, Compass Bible Church's fun and safe alternative to / attempt to redeem Halloween. I preach Tuesday nights so I left the Aliso Viejo Towne Center around 4pm to prepare for The Refuge at 7pm (the singles ministry for the college students and those in their 20s that I oversee).

I was back at the Towne Center at 8am the next morning and went home around 11pm, but God richly blessed our efforts as we saw some 4000 people show up on Wednesday night and we gave out some where around 1 ton of candy. The Fall Fest was a great way to introduce the church to the community, and Lord willing many will come visit us. Thursday I was back at the Towne Center to help oversee clean up for about 7 hours, and then crashed!

Now that the weekend is over, I'm in the office preparing to preach tomorrow night on the Trinity. I'm doing a short series I called Mythbusters where we'll bust some myths about Christianity (topics are truth, the Trinity and the Deity of Christ). From there, we'll move into expositional, verse-by-verse preaching through John 17 (there may be some short Mythbuster series in the midst of that too) and then we'll jump into more exposition, this time the whole book of Galatians.

The idea is to spend a considerable amount of time on the person and work of Christ (John 17) before moving into a explanation of the Gospel and its implications for life (Galatians)--don't want to create legalists who live like Christians apart from a real deep focus on Christ first.

However, my work on the Trinity this weekend reminded me that at the beginning of this blog last year I posted four times on the heresy of modalism as embodied in Oneness Pentecostalism (by the way, did you hear about the new movement called Pentecostal Scientology?)--a false doctrine alive and well and making considerable inroads into evangelicalism. They are here, here, here and here.

Many blessings to all of you, and thank you for your prayers for me in Hawaii. It was a very difficult trip for me--not a vacation at all--because every square inch of Kauai reminds me of my grandparents. I pray the Lord will be pleased to bless the short and feeble words I gave at my grandparents' memorial service. Hope you liked the pictures I took!

Free Jonathan Edwards Book

2007-11-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

Follow the directions here to download this month's free audio book from ChristianAudio.com, Jonathan Edwards' classic Religious Affections. I can't wait to listen to this...CAN'T WAIT!!!

Also, if you click on the page above you'll see the banner ad that all the digital audio on the site is 50% off until Nov. 4th--an amazing deal (when really, the 50% off price seems to me to be the price the audio should be, but that's just me).

I'm in Hawaii

2007-10-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

I just flew into Kauai today. I wish I could say I'm here on vacation, but I'm not. I am doing my grandparents funeral and grave side services this weekend.

I'm not looking forward to this at all. I still miss them both terribly. I think about them every day, and being here does help since I've been here 5 or 6 times and eveyrwhere I look is a memory with them.

I say all that to say, please pray for me. My uncle ran an ad in tomorrow's local newspaper for the service so many could show up. Please pray that my presentation of the gospel in both places will be clear, accurate, passionate and persuasive. Thank you.

Willow Creek Repents?

2007-10-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

I just read this very interesting article about Willow Creek, one of the 2 or 3 most influential churches in America over the past few decades, and what they learned from a massive research project they did on their own ministry philosophy.

Eva Cassidy

2007-10-18T01:11:00.001-07:00

When I went to Germany for a month in 2001, I roomed with a friend who bought a CD in a local general store by a singer I'd never heard of named Eva Cassidy. He played it over and over again, and I cannot thank him enough for doing so because I absolutely fell head over heals in love with her voice.

I got home and instantly went out and bought the CD and played it to death.

You can find out a lot about her here, here and here. Briefly, she died of cancer in 1996, but I found out just recently that there was an amateur video made of a concert she did in a small venue and most of the clips are posted on YouTube.

Above is my favorite Eva song, and if you like it I recommend you buy the aforementioned CD, called Songbird. You will thank me forever for introducing her to you.

Together for the Gospel 2008 Ads

2007-10-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this ad for T4G today. The others are funny (which I currently can't find online or I'd give you a link for them), but I thought this one was hilarious.

Dawkins' God Delusion

2007-10-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

This article says Archbishop Rowan Williams gave the same assessment of Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion as my friend and mentor and president of the Apologetics Information Ministry Craig Hawkins gave it on his radio show last night, Living By The Word, namely, that Dawkins is a good scientist, but a bad philosopher.

Christian Persecution in Egypt

2007-10-13T00:16:00.000-07:00

Radical Islamic lawyers join the government's opposition of a newly converted Christian from Islam in Egypt who's life has been threatened for this. Read more about what this brother and his wife are facing here.

CJ's Favorite Book on Ministry

2007-10-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

About a year ago Christianity Today gave their list of the 50 most influential books on the evangelical movement.

Well, many disagreed, and below is what C.J. Mahaney said should've been the top 10 of the 50 most influential (notice how it's really 14!):

The Cross of Christ, by John Stott
Knowing God, by J. I. Packer
The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul
Fundamentalism and the Word of God, by J.I. Packer
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem
The Cross and Christian Ministry, by D.A. Carson
The Trilogy (The God Who Is There; Escape From Reason; He is There and He is Not Silent), by Francis Schaeffer
Competent to Counsel, by Jay Adams and Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, by Paul Tripp
Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14, by D. A. Carson, and God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, by Gordon Fee

I put all that here to say that his favorite book on ministry, Carson's The Cross and Christian Ministry, is on sale here for 50% off!!!

Second Wedding This Weekend

2007-10-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!!! I'm performing my second wedding as a young pastor. :|

I'm doing it for my good friend's who I've known for 25 years--having met in kindergarten.

I'd really appreciate your prayers. Neither the bride or the groom are Christians, but I think I'm obligated to preach the Gospel anyway since regardless of what anyone believes, marriage is a picture of the Gospel, and if you've got a captive audience that has to listen to you...

So, crafting the sermon today has been interesting. Please pray that God will be honored, and that my sermon and my officiating of this wedding will be done in such a way that the Gospel is presented wisely and winsomely.

Have a great weekend, and thank you for your prayers in advance.

Palestinians Murder Christian

2007-10-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Read here about the murder of Rami Ayyad, manager of a Christian bookstore operated by the Palestinian Bible Society in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Turkey: Leads on Murderers of 3 Christians

2007-10-06T00:49:00.000-07:00

I posted earlier this year about the murder of three Christians, the men pictured above, in Turkey here.

I found out here that they have some suspects from inside the Turkish military who may be responsible for their gruesome torture and murder.

Pastor Necati Aydin, 36; Ugur Yuksel, 32; and Tilmann Geske, 46. Three more the world is not worthy of.

Preacher Murdered by Hindus

2007-10-06T00:45:00.001-07:00

For being humanly responsible for the conversion of three families from Hinduism and to Christianity, Ajay Topno was murdered (read story here).

"Topno left his house on September 16, telling his wife that he was going to Sahoda village, but he never returned."

The world is not worthy of men like Ajay.

10 Christians Slaughtered...

2007-10-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

In Northern Nigeria Muslims destroyed 9 churches, displaced some 500 Christians, injured 61 and slaughtered 10. Why? "Muslim high school students claimed a Christian student had drawn a cartoon of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, on the wall of the school’s mosque" (see the rest of the story here and here).

Jonathan Edwards Sale!!!

2007-10-05T17:11:00.001-07:00

In honor of Jonathan Edwards' 304th birthday (today, Oct. 5th) Desiring God is selling all of their Jonathan Edwards' stuff for 30% off here.

Big Mac vs. 10 Commandments

2007-10-04T01:19:00.000-07:00

Americans were found to be more familiar with the ingredients of the McDonald’s Big Mac than the Ten Commandments.

See for yourself here.

The Best Biography for FREE!!!!!!!!

2007-10-03T23:34:00.001-07:00

Christianaudio.com gives away a free audio book every month. Most months are good; this month is phenomenal!!!

One of the best, most impacting (see my blogs about it here and here) books I've ever listened to and never finished is the one they're offering free here: Jonathan Edwards' classic, The Life of David Brainerd.

If you have not read this book, I HIGHLY recommend it. I pray that I'll have half the love and devotion to Christ, insight into my heart and zeal for the gospel that this young man did. This and much more pours out of every page of his Life.

If you usually let these pass by, do yourself a favor and don't let this one. Download and listen to this treasure and you'll never be the same again.

2007 DG National Conference

2007-10-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

In Minneapolis this weekend Desiring God hosted its 2007 National Conference. The theme was Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints, and the speakers included John Piper, John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn and Helen Roseveare.

If you're interested, the conference audio us available for free here.

Just Ask!!!

2007-09-28T15:33:00.001-07:00

I read this interesting statistic here. I don't know how true it is, but thought I would share it with you:

"According to the Church of England, 6 percent of the adult population, or 3 million people, would come back to church if they received a personal invitation."

Put it to the test and see what happens -- 3 out of every 50 people you ask to church will say "Yes."

RonaldWright.org

2007-09-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Five months ago I blogged here about a very precious man named Rev. Ronald Wright who turned me upside down with his passion for Christ and His Word. He has had a larger impact on my life for Christ than anyone else (save the biblical authors themselves). In that post I spoke about digitizing the tapes from his classes, making them mp3s, and hoping one day to start a website in his honor.

Well, I am posting today about my dear professor because through a series of providential events (also something I must post about later) I met a man, Jim Milligan, who happened to be president of blueletterbible.org and a close friend of a former student of Ron's.

Well, this blessed man has just put the finishing touches on the initial stages of ronaldwright.org, a memorial website dedicated to the life and teaching of Prof. Wright (I'm getting choked up as I type). As of last night, he has uploaded here for free mp3 download the first two classes -- the Prison Epistles of Paul (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon) and Theology 1 (God, Man, Sin, Christ, Salvation).

If you're tired of the sappy, sentimental, man-centered teaching and preaching that is so rampant in our day, you will do yourself a great disservice if you decide not to listen to the rich, God-centered, Christ-exalting teachings of this wonderful, relatively unknown but eminently faithful servant of God.

What's in it for God?

2007-09-27T11:46:00.001-07:00

I came across this quote from Dr. Michael Horton's book Made in America, and had to share it here:

"The older theology tended to produce character. By the end of the twentieth century, we have become God's demanding little brats. In church, we must be entertained. Our emotions must be charged. We must be offered amusing programs. We give up a lot to become Christians and what little teaching we do get must cater to our pragmatic, self-centered interests. Preaching must be filled with clever anecdotes and colorful illustrations with nothing more than passing references to doctrine. I want to know what this means for me in my daily experience. Have we forgotten that God is a monarch? He is the king, by whom and for whom all things were made and by whose sovereign power they are sustained. We exist for his pleasure, not he for ours. We are on this earth to entertain him, please him, adore him, bring him satisfaction, excitement and joy. Any gospel that seeks to answer the question, "What's in this for me?" has it all backwards. The question is, "What's in it for God?"

I have nothing to say in response except I think he's dead right.

When Was...?

2007-09-26T23:36:00.001-07:00

When was...

Jonathan Edwards named president of Princeton?
The Peace at Augsberg signed, giving Lutheranism official recognition in Germany?
George Mueller born?
The U.S. Constitution amended so as to allow the free exercise of religion and prohibit the government establishment of a state church?

These significant events, and many others, happened in 1757, 1555, 1805, and 1789 respectively--all during THIS week in church history.

Christians & Orange Juice

2007-09-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Find out here from John Piper how to drink orange juice to the glory of God.

Churches, Culture & David Wells

2007-09-25T23:13:00.001-07:00

If you're familiar at all with this blog than you know how much I admire Dr. David Wells. I wanted to make you aware of this quote from a recent interview he gave with Mark Dever and 9Marks (which you can listen to here). I think he is right on when he says...

"In our time, understanding our culture takes on an urgency because this culture is so intrusive and so powerful in its capacity to shape our souls and minds that if we are not pushing back from an explicitly biblical, Christian point of view – we are going to get swallowed up."

I could not agree more. The evidence of our getting swallowed up by the culture is all around us -- to our obsession from the business and marketing world with numbers = success, to our idea that excellence = state of the art with no errors, to faithfulness in ministry = productivity, on and on and on!

Like Jonah many of us have been swallowed, and I just pray that we repent so that the grace seen in Jonah 3:1 will be seen in our lives and churches as well.

Homosexuals in Iran

2007-09-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

I happened to be listening yesterday to the question and answer session at Columbia University with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he said "We do not have homosexuals like in your country."

Here's why. To all you "open-minded" and "tolerant" students at Columbia who gave him a standing ovation--and to all of you who agreed with them--here is what you were cheering.

For the article and more pictures about the execution of these TEENAGERS, click here.

Cults Are Invading Russia!!!

2007-09-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

I spent my evening at a fund raiser for the Russian arm of the Centers for Apologetics Research (CFAR). We heard about the dozens and dozens of western and eastern cults (many of which were "born" here in the U.S., which the founder, Paul Cardin, called the greatest exporter of error on the planet today) that are flooding the former Soviet Union.

Having come home from Ukraine two months ago, I was truly moved, even to tears, when Mr. Cardin told us about this invasion and then told us that CFAR is the first and ONLY evangelical countercults ministry in the former Soviet Union. And, I spoke with the Russian brother Pasha who heads up the ministry in St. Petersburg who told me that the cults are MORE active in Ukraine than Russia because Ukraine has more freedom (for instance, the Mormons are building their first temple in the former USSR in Kiev, Ukraine's capital city).

Ron Rhodes, noted author, scholar and countercult evangelist, was the keynote speaker who gave us "10 Keys to Witnessing to the Cults," and I want to share them with you here. These keys come from his many years of evangelism to cultists:

Don't Assume All Cultists Believe Exactly the Same Thing -- for example, all Jehovah's Witnesses don't agree so instead of telling them what they believe and why you disagree (which I've done), ask them what they believe and THEN dialogue.
Know Your Bible -- and, keep taking them back to it over and over again
Know that Cultists Are Trained to Answer Your Objections
Always Check Their Scripture References -- and NEVER take their interpretation of a passage as true
Always Define Your Terms -- because they use the same words we do, but with totally different meanings
Ask Strategic Questions -- force them to think (just like Jesus did with His questions)
Be Loving -- Arrogence always undermines your right answers, and make sure you love the cultist after God saves them because they'll likely loose all community
Demonstrate Jesus' Deity -- know what the Bible teaches on this (e.g., Isa 43:11 --> Titus 2:13-14 = Jesus is Savior and God)
Emphasize God's Awesome Gospel of Grace -- in a works-righteousness religious systems where people are earning their salvation, they are often overcome with guilt, frustration & despair, and need to hear of the grace only found in the biblical Gospel
Give Your Testimony -- and focus on God's specific grace to you

As I sat there, my heart was further breaking for the church I went to in Zhitomir, and knowing what I do about the conditions in that church, I know it is just ripe to be decimated by a cult.

Ministries like CFAR, and there aren't ANY in the former USSR but CFAR, need our help. Please, please, please think about supporting them by clicking here.

Author Spends 1 Year Obeying Bible

2007-09-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Author A.J. Jacobs just finished a year-long quest to obey every rule in the Bible--over 700--for his new book The Year of Living Biblically.

Here are some things I found interesting:

"I miss my sin-free life, but I guess I was never sin free. I was able to cut down on my coveting maybe 40 percent, but I was still a coveter" -- sounds a lot like Romans 7.

"...during the experiment I wore a lot of white clothes, because Ecclesiastes says let your garments always be white, and I loved it, so I look like Tom Wolfe now. Wearing white just made me happier."

"I also really liked what one of my spiritual advisers said, which was that you can view life as a series of rights and entitlements, or a series of responsibilities. I like seeing my life as a series of responsibilities. It’s sort of, "Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God"--nothing like works-righteousness.

"I started the year as an agnostic, and now I am a reverent agnostic. Whether or not there is a God, I believe in sacredness"--the "sacred" without God? Only in our self-centered, create-your-own-religion age.

"I went in really curious, I didn’t go in to mock religion. It was much more a journey to understand."

"One of the lessons of the book is, there is some picking and choosing in following the Bible, and I think that’s OK. Some people call that cafeteria religion, which is supposed to be a disparaging term, but I think there’s nothing wrong with cafeterias, I’ve had some delicious meals in cafeterias. I’ve also had some terrible meals in cafeterias. It’s all about picking the right parts. You want to take a heaping serving of the parts about compassion, mercy and gratefulness—instead of the parts about hatred and intolerance."

To a question about the restrictions of living Biblically, Mr. Jacobs responds "We all talk about freedom of choice, but there’s something very attractive about freedom from choice. Religion provides structure, mooring, anchoring. Should you covet? No. Should you give 10 percent to the needy? Yes. It really structures your life. After my year I felt unmoored, overwhelmed by choice. I have adjusted, but I’m still overwhelmed by choice, as we all are in America."

To read the article in its entirety, click here. My prayer after reading it is that he will be overcome by his inability to be "sin-free" by "keeping the rules" so that his exposure to God's Law will bring him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ ("the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified [that is, pronounced "Innocent" by God for our sins against Him] by faith" Gal 3:24).

What Makes A Ministry Successful?

2007-09-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Find out here.

Generation Me

2007-09-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

I don't remember where I heard about it, but I just purchased and will start reading Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Jean M. Twenge.

Thanks to David Wells and Os Guinness, I have a growing fascination with sociology and how it's insights can help pastors who are seeking to connect the ancient text of the Bible to the modern people of today. I'm really looking forward to this read.

iTunes University

2007-09-18T17:39:00.001-07:00

I know so many men who would love to go to seminary, but can't afford it or can't take the time away from their jobs or families.

Well, thanks to the people at Apple and affiliated seminaries like Concordia and Reformed Theology Seminary you can watch videos and/or listen to the audio of such classes as Elementary Greek & Hebrew from Concordia Seminary, and Old and New Testament, Theology, Church History and Practical Theology from RTS.

Hopefully, more schools will see this and catch on (like Trinity and Master's, two of my alma mater), and take full advantage of this free program like Duke, Stanford, Penn State and UC Berkeley have--Wow!!! The possibilities are endless.

This is more than just online seminary. This is online undergraduate university. Find out more here. Download iTunes here, and when you open the iTunes Music Store, look at the small box on the left hand side that says iTunes STORE for the iTunes U link.

U.S. Senator Suing God

2007-09-18T00:31:00.001-07:00

Read the article here. Only a U.S. government official would do something like this.

Thoughts from the Valley

2007-09-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this part of a prayer called "Spiritual Growth" in The Valley of Vision:

"Give me a tender, wakeful conscience
that can smite and torment me when I sin.
May I be consistent in conversation and conduct,
the same alone as in company,
in prosperity and adversity,
accepting all thy commandments as right,
and hating every false way.
May I never be satisfied with my present spiritual progress..."

Obsession THE Movie

2007-09-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

I don't buy many movies (maybe one every 2 years), but I purchased and watched Obsession, the movie about radical Islam, and I have to tell you it was absolutely riveting. I think I'm going to watch it again right now.

If you don't buy it, I'm sure you can rent it--but either way, you HAVE TO see it. For you own good, you HAVE TO see it.

Pray for This Church

2007-09-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make you aware of this new and growing church in India that needs our prayers.

The Evangelism Linebacker

2007-09-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

If you need a good laugh, click on the first video here and meet the Evangelism Linebacker.