An Analogy of Wilful Blindness

Ahhh yes! The frustration in trying to communicate simple Biblical truths to some. They come in many forms, even as "Contemporary Christians".

Here's an analogy:

On a Personal Note:

I'm so thankful that my weight has been dropping. My blood sugar levels are almost normal now, even without taking my glucotrol. 95 this morning.

I'm moving my weight tracking from here to FaceBook because it'll just be easier to deal with there. This is what it was as of this past Thursday (weigh day). I did gain a pound this past week but that sometimes happens for no particular reason:

285 (7/10)
280 (7/17)
275 (7/24)
274 (7/31)
271 (8/7)
269 (8/14)
267 (8/21)
260 (8/28)
258 (9/4)
255 (9/11)
253 (9/18)
253 (9/25)
252 (10/2)
250 (10/9)
245 (10/16)
245 (10/23)
242 (10/30)
243 (11/6)

So, every week now, I'll be posting my progress at facebook. I weigh in at 10am on
Thursdays.

In any case, I want to thank those of you who have been praying for me. I needed to lose 100 pounds. I'm almost halfway there...and I started in July!

Thanks

Tim

Just How Tightly Do You Cling to The Things of This World?

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."

(Revelation 12:11)

Here we read a testimony of the great faithful believers of a day yet to come. This passage refers to saints of God who will endure persecution during the Tribulation that is to come. When it is, we don't know. But we know it is coming; we can be sure of it as if it has already happened!

Yet the tribulation they faced was nothing that could conquer them. It was by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, applied in their lives, that gave them this power to over come. What Paul promised came to pass: "He that began a good work in you shall bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (my paraphrase, Phil. 1:6)

Believers overcome. And one mark of a true believer in Jesus Christ is death to self! Yet in our day, "Christianity" has become such a sloppy thing. Say a prayer, remember that you did it and trust in that like a tourist hangs on to a bus ticket. And whatever else you can distract yourself with while you wait for the bus to leave, so much the better!

Love of stuff. Love of self. Yet, Jesus said that we can't love both God and money. We can't serve two masters. And he also said that the gate is narrow and the way is narrow that leads to life! Still, so many imagine in futility that they can to through the narrow turnstyle of redemption with all their filthy luggage, love of self and love of this world and its toys. To the contrary! Jesus tells us that "If any man follow me...", in other words be converted, "...he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me!" Notice that He didn't say "You must be willing to...". No, the gate is much to narrow. To enter in, you must let go of the baggage and come alone.

Make no mistake about it; in Jesus' day when you saw someone carrying a cross, you knew one thing about that man -- he was going to die an ugly death. And one who would be His must die to self. You can only have one master.

If you have claimed Christ as your own, the Word gives you this mandate. To be His, you must die to everything but Him. The opinions of others, the things that this world calls valuable and even the greatest idol of all -- S-E-L-F! He and He alone must be supreme above all other things. But what is that in exchange for eternal life? Is that really a contest?

Our day is a day of rampant self-indulgence. Plain idolatry. Even the professing Church has decided that its focus is to find its "purpose". God is viewed as what has been referred to as a "Divine Butler" Who exists for our happiness and fulfillment. Gone is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe who rightly demands our obedience and worship! And do we ever tremble at the words of our Lord when He warns that He will turn away many who believe themselves to be His when He says to them "...depart from me, I never knew you...!" (Matt. 7:21ff). These were people who professed faith in Christ -- but Jesus referred to them as "you who practice lawlessness". Literally "...those of you who acted as if I never gave you the law!"

Our evangelism no longer speaks of sin and the need of repentance. The cry is "it's our lexicon! We must change our vocabulary!" No, we want to avoid the scandal of the cross and the Gospel. We don't want to face ridicule when the Bible says that we will most definitely face it if we "...seek to live a godly life in this present world." When we do this, we are worshiping at the altar of S-E-L-F!

If this be true for any of us, we are must assuredly failing to demonstrate that we love not our own lives unto death.

The question then becomes "Before the Lord, can there be a valid sacrifice if there is nothing on the altar?" And according to the words of our Lord, if there be no death on our part can there be real life of God in us.

The days are short. They are getting shorter. And that cries out to us that temporal things -- even our very lives -- should be counted as refuse to us compared to the value of our Lord.

May we be found faithful as the dear saints in Revelation 12. And that is my prayer for you as well.

Yes Lord, May You Save Us!

From Apprising Ministries. Here's an excerpt:

"There’s a new movie buzz among evangelicals. It’s been several hours since the last one so it’s about time. This time it’s a Christian movie about…how bad and stupid Christians are and how we need to change everything because we all look like Fred Phelps. Got that?

And the producers are “just trying to start a conversation…” as they use half-truths and movie manipulation to do it. This film uses some great Third Reich movie demonization techniques to make Christians look as reprehensible as possible. The Christian Problem. Hmmm. Something must be done about that. (Online source)"

Now, THIS Will Make Me Famous!

If you're the braver sort and you really want to finally see me "face to face", give the following a look. Another good reason might be for the evangelism idea that I've been using. By the way, I forgot to mention that the tract I show you in the video is from LivingWaters. Good stuff. Every time.

A New Reason for Facebook

It was a few months ago (July, I think) that I joined facebook. Not a big deal to most people, I guess. It's just a great way to connect with others with common interest. And it seems to be a better site than myspace.

Today, we started a new group with the long name of "Let's Pray that Obama Comes to a Saving Knowlege of Jesus Christ". Yup. Long title but that's ok.

It was started for two reasons. First because we are told to pray for our leaders. That includes Obama, regardless of how you or I feel about him. And I'll say I did not vote for him and leave it at that. In any event, it is a simple issue of obedience to pray for him. And obedience to God glorifies Him.

I also started the group because I was getting so tired of seeing references to other groups such as "Fly the flag upside down", which urges facebook users to use the flag icon to express national distress. I make the connection to Obama because I've seen those who would profess to be Christians connect it to his election. No mention of prayer, no mention of "we don't like this but let's trust God". No. Just all the hand-wringing of unbelief. The endless "sky is falling because our nation is in danger" stuff.

I'm not denying that our nation is in danger, but I've already gone on record why it doesn't phase me and has no eternal consequence other than test our faith. Yes, I love my country but I vote and do whatever else I can then I leave everything else to the Lord. I believe in the sovereignty of God. I believe that there are absolutely no random molecules anywhere in the universe. God has everything the way He has planned it. And when it starts to get on my nerves, I repent and return to the idea that faith glorifies God more than fear. And honestly, it usually works. No sarcasm intended.

Naturally, there is a level of anxiety that comes with a newly elected leader who does not support our Christian worldview. But that is no reason to stay there. As Paul told Timothy, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind" (my paraphrase).

I would apply that verse to Obama in this way: We need to pray in the power of the Scriptures and God's Spirit, with a sound mind grounded in the Word to show love for the one whom we strongly disagree with on abortion, gay marriage and other issues. And we care enough about him to not want him to be lost in hell forever, regardless of how much we don't like what he stands for.

He is, after all, to be our next president and we are to pray for our leaders.

Another thing I've noticed -- groups on facebook centered on prayer that "God would give the grace to Obama to become pro-life". Well, that would be nice, but let's see him soundly saved first, ok?

So, if you have a facebook account and know your way around, look for the new group started up today. I'm not sure I'll be posting much there. It's more of a prayer and discussion board about issues to pray for about Obama. Again, do a groups search for "Let's Pray that Obama Comes to a Saving Knowlege of Jesus Christ".

Why don't you do it? Mike Ratliff joined it, so you know it's just gotta be cool!

Thanks,

Tim

What Now?

From Mike Ratliff at Possessing the Treasure:

"I have been in a state of mourning since the Democratic Primaries came down to only two candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. I had little confidence in any of the Republican contenders after Ron Paul dropped out. I was not sure for a while what really triggered this mourning. It was as I realized that this coincided very dramatically with the drastic decline in the Christian worldview in our time that God has taken His hand of protection away from this country. Judgment is coming.

A careful reading of the book of Judges in the Old Testament makes it clear that it is God who raises up and takes down leaders. God uses evil or unrighteous judges and leaders to bring His righteous judgment to bear on a people. With the victory of Barak Obama yesterday all of the dread about what would happen to this country if an ultra-liberal came to power seems about to become reality. Count on it that this man will appoint unrighteous Supreme Court justices. He will lubricate things so that liberal legislation will become law like the Freedom of Choice Act. Preaching or teaching God’s moral truth will be considered a hate crime.

What now? What are we to do who belong to the Lamb of God? We must remain in a state of mourning for this country. We must never stop praying for the repentance of those who are in darkness. We must pray for the salvation of Barak Obama. We must pray that God will curb the evil that is planned by him and his supporters. We must also pray for each other that we will be strong in the Lord, bold in Him, as we stand firm and trust that we are in God’s hands.

I am convinced that what is coming will cleanse the Church. What should our role be in a time like this?"

Amen, Mike.

You can read the entire article here.

Is your Faith Christian or Just MTD?

From Lane Chaplin's blog, here is a post that is very worthy of your time:

"Many of you have read the posts I've put up lately claiming that we're dealing with another religion and not Christianity in regard to what the "seeker" movement puts forth. I believe that a man named Christian Smith has finally given an accurate name to the beast: "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism."

In the article that I'm going to link to at the bottom of this post, he lays out the basic five aspects of this religion.:

• A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.

• God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

• The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

• God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem.

• Good people go to heaven when they die.

I believe that points 1 and 2 can be debated as to being Christian doctrine. They certainly are truths, but they are half-truths, and, as Mark Kielar says, "A half truth being presented as a whole truth is a complete untruth." I believe that God is active in the affairs of life on earth and not merely sitting back watching as indicated in point 1. I also believe that point 2 is in error in that we can be "good, nice, and fair" to each other without ever believing in Jesus Christ and "loving our neighbors as ourselves and loving God with all our hearts" as Christ commands. I know professing atheists who are very "good, nice, and fair", but obviously I don't know a professing atheist who is saved from God's wrath that is to come. Look closely at points 3, 4, and 5, though, and you will see that these points are antithetical to what Christianity is.

Point 3: "The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself."
This point is basically at the heart of all the fads, all the books, all the programs, all the lectures, all the legalism, and all the twisting of Scripture that is permeating much of this religion of "seekerism". The basic problem is this: An focus on self and a focus off of God unless God fits into the focus we have of ourselves. It's humanistic in its core. Sadly, though, this religion holds that this is the chief end of man (for God to glorify ourselves) whereas the great confessions of the past such as the Westminster Shorter Catechism hold that "Man's chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him for ever. [b]"
[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev. 4:11
[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:3-4

Point 4: "God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem."
This is also antithetical to what the Bible plainly teaches. We need God for everything. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (Jas 1:17) If we hold that we need God only when bad things happen, then there is no way to get around the fact that we believe that we are capable of doing good apart from Him and His graces. This is a classical theological term known as Pelagianism. What you need to know about Pelagianism for this post is that Pelagianism teaches that man is basically good apart from God's grace, and Christianity teaches that man is wicked apart from God's grace. ("We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." (Isa 64:6))

Point 5: "Good people go to heaven when they die."
In a sense, this statement is correct. If we've kept the law without offending it in even one point (James 2:10) and if there's no such thing as imputed sin from Adam (Rom. 5), we're good enough to go to heaven on our own. The problem is, though, that "all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God" (Rom. 3:23) and original sin is taught in the Bible (Rom. 5). If that wasn't proof enough that by our own "righteousness" we can't make it to heaven, you can just ask the Apostle Paul himself: Paul, is there any righteous enough to make it to heaven? "There is none righteous." Paul, are you sure? Do you hold that there's not even one person that's righteous? "No, not one." (Rom. 3:10)

So now we've effectively proven that the 5 points of Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism, are not only not taught in Scripture, they are the antithesis of Scripture. Yet this MTD is basically what is taught in the "seeker" movement today. For those of you that are familiar with the "seeker" movement, think for a second about the types of verses that are normally quoted by the leaders in this movement; are not the verses they usually quote, even if the verses are quoted out of context, in some sense formalizing to these 5 points that are listed above? Are not the verses that they omit quoting and actually rail against quoting often because of "their bad experience with fundamental churches as a child" opposed to the 5 points that are listed above? It's something to definitely think about, but I am convinced that Christian Smith has nailed it. It's another religion folks, and now, we have a name to call the beast."

...and the rest is here...

James White: An Apologist's Thoughts on the 2008 Election

A Familiar Can of Worms

This past October 23rd, I posted this article regarding Christians and Political Activism. It was a few days later I posted this follow-up.

Now, I'm thankful to Phil Johnson at TeamPyro for this post.

I'll not say anything further in this post regarding this subject. I've got too many ideas bubbling around in my skull and it'd come out a mish-mash. So, I'll add them later. But do take the time to read Phil's blog entry.

Atheist Central -- Ray Comfort's Blog

For those of you who are interested, please check this blog out. Lots of good posts and "discussion" going on there.

The Election in Biblical Perspective

Found this as a forum post at the School of Biblical Evangelism. I think it puts the November 4th election in proper perspective:

"Whatever happens Americans should pray for their leaders. Paul wrote to Timothy saying, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" [emphasis mine]. So also we should pray for our leaders, appointed by God, and given power to govern, so that we might live peacefully.

I read this morning this list of 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election:
1. The Bible will still have all the answers
2. Prayer will still work
3. The Holy Spirit will still move
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching
6. There will still be singing of praise to God
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people
8. There will still be room at the Cross
9. Jesus will still love you
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him"


I did a google and found what may be the original post.

Rick Warren: Martin Luther was Wrong!

From Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries:

"Martin Luther, arguably the father of the Protestant Reformation:

The negotiation about doctrinal agreement displeases me altogether, for this is utterly impossible unless the pope has his papacy abolished. Therefore avoid and flee those who seek the middle of the road. Think of me after I am dead and such middle-of-the-road men arise, for nothing good will come of it. There can be no compromise.
(What Luther Says, II: 1019, as cited at Online source)

My dear pope, I will kiss your feet and acknowledge you as supreme bishop if you will worship my Christ and grant that through His death and resurrection, not through keeping your traditions, we have forgiveness of sins and life eternal. If you will yield on this point, I shall not take away your crown and power; if not, I shall constantly cry out that you are the Antichrist, and I shall testify that your whole cult and religion are only a denial of God, but also the height of blasphemy against God and idolatry. (ibid.)

Rick Warren, working for a second reformation of “deeds not creeds”:

“I see absolutely zero reason in separating my fellowship from anybody” (Online source).

“Now I don’t agree with everything in everybody’s denomination, including my own. I don’t agree with everything that Catholics do or Pentecostals do, but what binds us together is so much stronger than what divides us,” he said. “I really do feel that these people are brothers and sisters in God’s family. I am looking to build bridges with the Orthodox Church, looking to build bridges with the Catholic Church,….”
(Online source, emphasis mine)

“The Church, in all its expressions—Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Protestant and many others—has 2.3 billion followers.” (Online source, emphasis mine)"

Another Successful Halloween Evangelism Effort!

As I posted last year, halloween is probably one of my favorite days of the year. Why? Simple! What other day of the year do you get kids and adults coming to your door, asking for things? It creates traffic and it gives us a chance to spread the Gospel!

This year was even better than last year. More kids and adults. More outreach!

We repeated what we did last year but this time around we budgeted how much money we could afford to put in the "Gift For You" tracts. It was great to see that this year we could include five dollar bills instead of the one dollar bills we included a year ago. We gave those to the parents who accompanied the kids. And the adults, first of all, felt like kids themselves again because they probably haven't gotten a "treat" for years! But the real treat for them was the Gospel which was printed in the tract that held the money. We had many who thanked us out loud from the sidewalk! One adult woman looked in the tract, saw the money and the message and asked "Can I pass this along to someone else?" She had a big smile on her face! Wow! You never know where these things will go!

So the adults were reached and the kids, who were looking at the "Hey Kids" tracts as they walked away, got much more than they ever expected!

We're very thankful and by God's grace we'll be doing this next year on a larger scale.

Praise God!