The Greatest Gift of All

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The Good News

The Gospel is the Good News about the coming of Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished while here in the flesh. The News of the Savior coming can only be seen for just how Good the News is by understanding the Bad News --- the judgment from which He came to save us. It is the Bad News that all men are under a sentence of eternal judgment in Hell that makes the Good News of Jesus Christ receiving our judgment on the cross in order to spare us exceedingly Good News. The Good News of the Savior is for ALL since ALL are in need of a Savior. It was necessary that the Savior who came be nothing less than Christ the Lord since only He had the authority and ability to save us. The coming of the Savior was to accomplish two purposes: First, to save us from sin and judgment for that sin.

Secondly, to bring glory to God for His kindness, patience, goodness, mercy and power demonstrated at the cross. It was the Savior who came to man, and so it is in salvation that God always takes the first step because we could not and would not go to Him on our own. The correct response to the coming of the Savior is to, by faith, bow before Him submitting to Him as being right and true.

And finally, this Gospel is not a maybe, probably, hope-so Gospel. It is a certain Gospel that will not disappoint. The One who was sent from Heaven to save always accomplishes His purposes and so the New Testament says, “These things are written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.”

Jimmy Brantley

Swinging-Bridge of Grace

I recently read a quote by Jim Fowler and I thought I would share:

It appears that the majority of Christians, if given a choice of working on a chain-gang or walking across a swinging suspension bridge with no handrails, would opt for the chain-gang labor. It is tiring and monotonously predictable, but you can't fall off. It may kill you, but it's a methodical way to go! The swinging-bridge of grace is scary. It is as unpredictable as God Himself. Security is only found as we "fix our eyes on Jesus" (Heb. 12:2) and are "led of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18), trusting Him to keep us standing by His power (I Pet. 1:5). That requires faith! Many there are who will choose the chain-gang of religion over the swinging-bridge of grace.

How often do we see Christian's try to put God into a neat little box; to try to and construct a God of their own choosing who is tame and predictable...a God who is safe. Their God is one who expects nothing more of us than to slavishly follow a prescribed ritual regardless of the attitude of our heart. But this isn't the God we serve. The God we serve is a consuming fire that leaves nothing that it touches unchanged.

Our God causes the comfortable to be shaken and the shaken to be comforted. He causes the proud to be humbled and the humble to be exalted. He causes the strong to be made weak and the weary to stand tall. He causes the mouths of the bold to be made silent and the mouths of the timid to speak with power. He confounds the wise with the foolish and gives mercy to the sinner and sorrow to the self-righteous. It would seem that our God is a God of opposites, a God of contrasts. On the surface that would appear to be the case, but each of these “contrasts” all have one thing in common…they bring glory to God.

It seems that the fear of falling has kept too many Christian’s working on the chain-gang. There is a certain amount of comfort there. But God isn’t interested in our comfort and He is unimpressed by how well we do the “religion thing.” God wants us fearlessly abandoned to Him. Fearless of what man can do to us! Fearless of what tomorrow will bring! Fearless even unto death! Fearless of stepping out and living in the freedom He has given us! But this will never happen while the fear of falling has us in its grip. It’s a scary thing, this fear of falling. It keeps us off the swinging bridge, it keeps us off the ledge, and it keeps us safe. This isn’t what the “God of Opposites” desires for us, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline.

To be continued…

Stink, Stank, Stunk

Another one of my favorites, but for a different reason. This is for all the "Grinches" out there.

Mary Did You Know?

One of my favorites.

Am I Carnally Minded?

In a recent post by Joel he wrote about his favorite entry in Oswald Chambers' daily devotional, "My Utmost For His Highest." My Utmost is my favorite devotional, but it hasn't always been that way. Not long after I became a Christian, I began to read it daily and I must admit that I understood very little of what I read. As time went on, I grew in knowledge and grace and I began to understand it more and more. I am not sure that I have a favorite entry, but the following has to be near the top of the list. I have blogged about some of this entry before, but I thought I would share it again. It is from March 23.

If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, "Oh, I can explain that." When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.

What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it-it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, "If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!" And you will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.

Amen!

Tom Who?

According to this website.

Tom Tancredo shares a 75% similarity with my beliefs. According to this poll, Tancredo is currently in 7th place. Figures! :)

What's the Hurry?

Joel's post and Matthews's post reminded me of something I read in Hannah Whitall Smith's book, "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life."

The lump of clay, from the moment it comes under the transforming hand of the potter, is, during each day and each hour of the process, just what the potter wants it to be at that hour or on that day, and therefore pleases him. But it is very far from being matured into the vessel he intends in the future to make it.

The little babe may be all that a babe could be, or ought to be, and may therefore perfectly please its mother, and yet it is very far from being what that mother would wish it to be when the years of maturity shall come.

The apple in June is a perfect apple for June. It is the best apple that June can produce. But it is very different from the apple in October, which is a perfected apple.

God's works are perfect in every stage of their growth. Man's works are never perfect until they are in every respect complete.

All that we claim then in this life of sanctification is, that by a step of faith we put ourselves into the hands of the Lord, for Him to work in us all the good pleasure of His will; and that by a continuous exercise of faith we keep ourselves there. This is our part in the matter. And when we do it, and while we do it, we are, in the Scripture sense, truly pleasing to God, although it may require years of training and discipline to mature us into a vessel that shall be in all respects to His honor, and fitted to every good work.

Indeed, God's works are perfect in every stage of their growth. Why is it so hard to rest there? Why do we get so impatient with where we are in our spiritual growth? Is it pride? Are we trying to live up to the expectations of others or up to what we **think** God expects of us? Yet how many parents can you think of who are actually in a hurry for their children to be grown?

The lovely Rowina

Our church had its annual Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday. It's a fun time with lots of food and fellowship. One of the men in our church has a ministry playing the Ernest T. Bass character from the Andy Griffith show. He was asked to do his act during the dinner. Well, on the TV show Ernest had a girlfriend named Romina who ended up dumping him. A couple of days before the dinner I received a call from our pastor asking if I would be interested in playing the part of Romina's beautiful sister Rowina, who is currently dating Ernest. Before my better judgment spoke up, I said yes. What you see below is what was inflicted on the members of our church that night.

It doesn't take a....

I'm not sure how to take this. Does it mean that I write so well that I must be a genius or does it mean that I write so poorly it takes a genius to make any sense of it?

Helping you because you can't help yourself

This website cracked me up.

In case you are wondering, it is a joke.

Go Eat Pop Corn

For the better part of a year our men’s Sunday school class has done a verse-by-verse study of the book of Genesis. On average we cover about a chapter per week. Our Sunday school teacher is a fire fighter so he has to work every third Sunday. It has been a blessing for me because I get to teach on the Sunday that he works. It has been interesting to see all of the types and pictures of Christ in Genesis. Since we are up to chapter 46, we have been studying the life of Joseph. In his life alone their have been many types of Christ, probably more than a hundred. It is awesome to me to see how the bible all fits together. What some would see a coincidence, Christian’s have been given the blessing to see the revelation of the wonderful tapestry woven into God’s word. We are used to studying the minute details of the construction of that tapestry, but when you stand back and look at it as a whole, you see Christ.

When we complete the study of Genesis, we will begin a new study; we will do a verse-by-verse study of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. We use the acrostic Go Eat Pop Corn as a tool to memorize the order of the books. I am excited to begin the new study, as with all new studies. For the first class we are going to make popcorn. We typically have 8-10 men attend class each Sunday, which to me, is at the upper limit of what a Sunday school class should be. There are some classes that have as many as twenty people, which is too large to have good interaction. Hopefully when we get in our new building we will be able to break up into smaller classes. I do have a question, however. Does anyone know of any grace-based commentaries or study guides for the books we will be studying? They can be in print or on the Internet.

East to West

My wife posted this song on her blog and I really liked it. It is by Casting Crowns and it describes very well the roller coaster ride we sometimes take between faith and feelings. I thought I would share it with you.

Here I am Lord,
And I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind,
Keeps me awake tonight

I know you cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before you now as,
As though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me
Just how far the east is from the west
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest,
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other.

I start the day the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again your truth is drowned out
By the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away,
From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me,
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
'cause you know
Just how far the East is form the West
From one scarred hand to the other.

I know you've washed me white,
Turned my darkness into light
I need your peace to get me through,
To get me through this night
Can’t live by what I feel
But by the Truth your work reveals,
I'm not holding on to you
But you're holding on to me,
You’re holding on to me

Jesus you know
Just how far the East is from the West
I don't have to see the man I've been,
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
'cause you know just how far the East is form the West,
From one scarred hand to the other.

Just how far
The east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

Very Slow Pandemonium

For some reason I thought this was hilarious

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - http://www.reverendfun.com/)

Quote of the Week

It is a great truth, wonderful as it is undeniable, that all our happiness--temporal, spiritual and eternal--consists in one thing; namely, in resigning ourselves to God, and in leaving ourselves with Him, to do with us and in us just as He pleases.

Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon

Fourth Abrahamic Faith?

Apparently the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is going through some contortions when it comes to support for Mitt Romney who is a Republican Presidential candidate who also happens to be a Mormon. According to this article, SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land "regards Romney's church as neither a Christian religion nor a cult."

Based on what I read of the LDS view of whom and what Jesus is, I agree that they shouldn't be considered a Christian religion. I am not exactly sure what the definition of a cult is. Is it a religious group that believes different than you or does it also have to be formed after a certain date? I have always considered the LDS church to be a cult, but I am not sure why. Then there is this little nugget:

"I consider it the fourth Abrahamic religion--Judaism being the first, Christianity being the second, Islam being the third and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being the fourth"

I suppose that assertion is based on the LDS claim that "ancient writings on golden plates that record God's dealings with indigenous Americans, who, according to the book, are actually former Jews from the Lost Tribes of Israel."

It seems that the SBC is doing a soft sell of Romney. For those who might be reading this, is it important for you to vote for a candidate who has the same religious affiliation that you do? The SBC/religious right has actively supported candidates that have "Christian Values," and if you look at the surface, the SBC and the Mormons share many of the same values. Are those shared values enough for you to overlook the fact that the Mormons are not Christians? Or do you vote for the person whose view on the issues most closely lines up with yours, regardless of religious affiliation? For right or wrong, I tend to do the latter.

I Will Lift My Eyes

Awesome song!

Bebo Norman

Rejoice

Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! Yahweh my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Adrian Rogers

I listen to podcasts in my car while I drive to work. Several of the people I listen to regularly are Bob George, Charles Stanley and Adrian Rogers. I don't always agree with what they have to say and the way they say it, but I enjoy hearing each ones perspective.

I have heard several messages from Adrian Rogers in the last few months that I thought were excellent. I don't know when they were preached, because he has went to be with the Lord. The first two messages were from a series on the fruits of the Spirit. Enjoy!

Goodness
Self Control
War between the Spirit and the flesh

Miracle of a Lifetime

Bob George's journey to discovering new life in Christ Jesus.

Quote of the Week

To be a Christian is to have Christ the life of our minds, our hearts, our wills, so that it is Christ thinking through us, loving through us, willing through us. It is increasingly to have no life but the life of Christ within us filling us with ever increasing measure.

Ruth Paxson

A Year of Living Biblically

So there is this magazine editor, A. J. Jacobs, who decides to spend a year trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible. He wrote a book about his experience. Here is link to an excerpt from his book, it's an interesting read. Why did he do this you ask? Here are his reasons:

First, since the Bible requires me to tell the truth (Proverbs 26:28), I must confess that part of the reason is to write this book. A couple of years ago, I came out with a book about reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica, all of it, from A to Z — or more specifically, from a-ak (East Asian music) to Zywiec (a town in southern Poland known for its beer). What could I do next? The only intellectual adventure that seemed a worthy follow-up was to explore the most influential book in the world, the all-time best-seller, the Bible.

(I don't have a problem with book writing, I would like to write a book.)

Second, this project would be my visa to a spiritual world. I wouldn't just be studying religion. I'd be living it. If I had what they call a God-shaped hole in my heart, this quest would allow me to fill it. If I had a hidden mystical side, this year would bring it out of the closet. If I wanted to understand my forefathers, this year would let me live like they did, but with less leprosy.

(John 14:6 comes to mind.)

And third, this project would be a way to explore the huge and fascinating topic of biblical literalism. Millions of Americans say they take the Bible literally. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, the number hovers near 33 percent; a 2004 Newsweek poll put it at 55 percent. A literal interpretation of the Bible — both Jewish and Christian — shapes American policies on the Middle East, homosexuality, stem cell research, education, abortion — right on down to rules about buying beer on Sunday.

(I don't think he has a good handle on the topic yet)

Let The Church Help

Quote of the Week

The Christian life can only be explained in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you ­ your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything ­then although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it!

Major Ian Thomas

You Are Accepted

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a great voice were saying: "You are accepted. You are accepted, by that which is greater than you..."

Paul Tillich

Quote of the Week

“Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.”

Karl Barth

All-Sufficient

In ourselves we have no resources for the battle and journey of life; the fact that their source is outside of ourselves pleads for our trust in Jesus. Grace is not natural to us; holiness is not innate, and our native strength is but another term for utter weakness. Where, then, are our resources? All in Jesus. 'It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell' (Col 1:19) 'Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.' (Eph 1:13). Christ is both the believer's armory and his granary. The weapons of our warfare and the supplies of our necessities are all in Christ. The life we live as warriors and as pilgrims must be a continual coming to, and trusting in, a full Christ, an all-sufficient Savior."

Octavius Winslow

Ahhhhhh

Global Warming, Do You Care?

Apparently evangelical Christians don't, according to this.

Evangelical Christians are more skeptical than other Christians and American adults overall about the severity of global warming, a new study showed. Only 33 percent of evangelical Christians view global warming as a "major" problem facing the country compared to people of other faiths or of no religion in which over half say it's severe, according to The Barna Group.

While I agree with the article that Christians should be good stewards of all that God has given them, I resent the implication that not buying into "global warming" is contrary to that. Well, maybe resent is too strong a word. It's hard to deny that there is evidence to suggest the climate is getting warmer, but no one has proven to me that human activity is the cause of it...or even a contributor. Maybe part of my reason for not getting too excited about it, at least subconsciously, is that I am utterly convinced that Christ is coming soon.

What do you think?

Quote of the Week

I think I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God than to live in some kind of pietistic illusion of moral excellence.

Rich Mullins

Contrasts

The law says: Do, and you will live.
The gospel says: Live, and you will do.

The law says: Pay me what you owe.
The gospel says: I forgive you all that you owe.

The law says: Make yourself a new heart and a new spirit.
The gospel says: A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you.

The law says: The wages of sin is death.
The gospel says: The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The law demands holiness.
The gospel gives holiness.

The law says do.
The gospel says done.

The law says: If.
The gospel says: Therefore.

The law was given for restraint of the old man.
The gospel was given to bring liberty to the new man.

Hannah Whitall Smith

Mom My Ride

Quote of the Week

The Law shuts the mouth of the very best of men, Grace opens the mouth of the very worst of men.

Paul-Anderson Walsh

Chipping Away

The Lord put it on my heart to blog about something. He brought to mind a B.C. comic that I had read many years ago. One of the cavemen was chipping away at a big rock, while another caveman named Peter was posing for the sculpture. Someone asked the sculptor how he went about the process and the sculptor said, "It's easy, I just chip away everything that doesn't look like Peter." I have been rolling around in my mind what I wanted to say about it, when the Lord led me to another website. It says everything I wanted to say, but probably better.

Just outside of Atlanta Georgia is a place called Stone Mountain which is a granite mountain rising up out of the ground approximately 700 feet into the sky. Of course this natural beauty has been made into a tourist attraction that involves breathtaking views, hiking, an amusement park, camping and great restaurants, but it’s claim to fame is located on the north face. Here towering above the trees carved in great detail is a gigantic memorial to the leaders of the Confederacy: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, all on horseback. This sculpture was made by a man named Gutzon Borglum and was commissioned by the state of Georgia in 1917, but wasn’t finished and dedicated until 1970. This monstrous undertaking must have been overwhelming in the beginning. Think for a minute what had to be determined in the mind of the artist before he started. He had to seemingly be able to see into the future to get a vision of what he desired the final product to look like, he had to count the cost and determine if he could complete the task and then he had to accept the reality of the massive patience and perseverance required to go the distance.In reading about this man and his great accomplishment, something caught my eye and God stirred my heart. The artist made a statement after completing the sculpture that sums up the Christian life and our endeavor to pursue holiness. He said, “This was a process of taking FROM the mountain, not adding to it. The mountain is somewhat smaller after the completion than at its beginning, but it’s far more beautiful and meaningful.” All that had been required was 50 years of chipping and chiseling - the removal of every ounce of granite that was obscuring the images of these three leaders and their horses.

This is how we begin our walk with the Lord. We’re big in pride, large in ego and large in personal ambition and to our ‘bigness’ we expect God to add his beautifying graces thus making us larger still. But we soon become angry when we find out that God doesn’t plan to add to or bless our flesh - instead, He begins to chip away at it. If we live fully for Christ, we will more than likely end life smaller in the eyes of the world, but with far more beauty and meaning as a result of the Sculptor’s hand! All through your journey, God is chipping away everything that doesn’t look like His Son which includes everything that is obscured by our granite-like will. This is what John was talking about when he said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” And like the mountain, we don’t get to choose the tools the Sculptor uses to complete His project. And I’m sure if the mountain could speak, I dare say Stone Mountain would say it didn’t like being picked at for half a century, but I also suspect that in the years since and the years ahead, it would confess to rather enjoying the pleasure it brings to those who stare at it and gaze upon it. But we differ with the mountain in that we have a choice as to whether or not we submit to the hammer - the mountain had no say in the matter. The decision to be made into a work of art all rests in our hearts. Will you give the Sculptor the freedom to start His masterpiece? Before you answer that, count the cost and consider the time it will take. Accept the fact that this could take a lifetime to complete and then ask God to give you a glimpse of what you’ll look like when He’s finished. Now THAT’S a work of art!

Source

P.S.

I just wanted to add the clarification (or maybe refinement is a better word) that this process doesn't improve our flesh. Our flesh will never get better. This is a process of turning more and more areas of our life over to the control of the Holy Spirit.

Here I am...

This is one of my favorite songs.

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

A New Creation

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Bob George has a wonderful illustration of this in his book, Classic Christianity.

Being made into a new creation is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Originally an earthbound crawling creature, a caterpillar weaves a cocoon and is totally immersed in it. Then a marvelous process takes place, called metamorphosis. Finally a totally new creature - a butterfly - emerges. Once ground-bound, the butterfly can now soar above the earth. It now can view life from the sky downward. In the same way, as a new creature in Christ you must begin to see yourself as God sees you.

If you were to see a butterfly, it would never occur to you to say, "Hey, everybody! Come look at this good-looking converted worm!" And it was "converted." No, now it is a new creature, and you don't think of it in terms of what it was. You see it as it is now - a butterfly.

In exactly the same way, God sees you as His new creature in Christ. Although you might not always act like a good butterfly - you might land on things you shouldn't, or forget you are a butterfly and crawl around with our old worm buddies - the truth of the matter is, you are never going to be a worm again!

This is why the usual New Testament word for a person in Christ is "saint," meaning "holy one." Paul for example, in nearly all his letters addressed them to the "saints." Yet all the time I hear Christians referring to themselves as "just an old sinner saved by grace." No! That's like calling a butterfly a converted worm. We were sinners and we were saved by grace, but the Word of God calls us saints from the moment we become identified with Christ.

Some people ask, "But I still commit sins. Doesn't that make me a sinner?

I answer, "It depends on whether your identity is determined by your behavior what you do ­ or by who you are in God's eyes." Do you see how we have continued to do as Christians what the world does by determining a person's identity based on his behavior? The only way to get free of this is to do what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1-3:

'Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.'

Butterfly photo by Tim Knight

Quote of the Week

Grace means that God does something for me; law means that I do something for God. God has certain holy and righteous demands which He places upon me: that is law. Now if law means that God requires something of me for their fulfillment, then deliverance from law means that he no longer requires that from me, but Himself provides it. Law implies that God requires me to do something for Him; deliverance from law implies that He exempts me from doing it, and that in grace He does it Himself. I need do nothing for God: that is deliverance from law.

Watchman Nee

Doggone

I have a dog named Tojo and he is a Jack Russell Terrier. Actually we have several dogs, but we have had Tojo the longest. He is a good dog who is getting on up in years. He is less hyper than he used to be and maybe a step slower. He is very smart and is patient with our grandson. He stays in our fenced back yard during the day and since the area is nearly an acre, he has plenty of room to run. He has food and water, companionship, and plenty of shade. It’s a good life! Or is it?

We have to be very careful how we go through our gate, because if we’re not on our toes Tojo will fly through the gate like a bolt of lightning. He has done this for years and our first inclination was to go after him, calling for him to come back. The more we chased him the farther he would run. What would cause him to do this? He has a good life and he isn’t mistreated. The problem is the fence. It takes from him the one thing he doesn’t have, his freedom.

At least from our perspective the fence is a good thing. It protects him from danger. When was the last time you heard of a dog being run over by a car while he was in his fence? It also keeps him from destroying other people’s property. From his perspective the fence represents bondage.

Another thing we noticed about Tojo is that when we stopped chasing him and went home he would come back within a few minutes and we would find him waiting at the front door. Now, when he escapes, we don’t bother to chase him; we just go inside and wait. In a few minutes he will be sitting at the front door wagging his tail and wanting to come in. It’s kind of humorous in that when we force him to stay in the fence, the only thing he wants is to escape, but when he has his freedom the only thing he wants is to do is come home.

Isn’t this a wonderful picture of the difference between Law and Grace? The Law is a fence; it defines the boundary of what is permissible and not permissible, what is evil and what is good, but the problem with the Law is that it puts us in bondage. (Galatians 5:1) Not only does the Law represent bondage, but the power of sin is in the Law. (1 Corinthians 15:56) The Law stirs up within us the desire to sin. Look what Paul said in Romans,

Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. Romans 7:7-11 NLT

Not only does the Law stir up our desire to sin, it is faulty. (Hebrews 8:7) It is important to understand that I am not saying the law is faulty in content. God's Law is perfect in content; it is holy, right and good. (Romans 7:12) The fault of the Law lies in its capability. It’s assessment of our shortcomings are right on the mark, but its ability to lift a finger to help us is nil. The Law does not have the ability to produce righteousness. It is like a mirror in that it shows us that our face is dirty, but it can’t wash our face for us.

Thanks be to God, Jesus tore down that fence (Law) when He died on the cross. He has lifted the veil that separated us from Him and has given us the privilege of being called His children. We have been given our freedom and have been set free from the chains that bound us. The Law that binds has been replaced with a new law, the Law of Liberty.

Since the Law stirs up our desire to sin, what does the Law of Liberty stir up within us? It produces same thing that freedom produces in my dog; the desire to return home. Look what the bible says,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14

The grace of God produces in us the very thing that the Law could never do. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly and to do good deeds. These are the very things that were required of us by the Law, but they were only accomplished after the Law was “torn down.” Isn’t that good news? You're free! Free to live your life in complete abandon to Him. Free to run barefoot through the fields of grace. Why would you want to rebuild the fence only to spend your life plotting your next escape?

Quote of the Week

Jesus Christ did not just come to show us the way; He is the way. He did not just teach us some truth; He is the truth. He did not just leave us a manual to live by; He is our life.

Bob George

The Shadow

There was a radio program that came on in the 1930’s and 40’s called, “The Shadow.” During the introduction to each show the announcer said the following phrase, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" Radio serial characters aside, shadows don’t know much. Shadows do have the ability to describe certain external features of the objects that cast them such as the general shape. It is usually easy to determine what, in a general sense, cast a shadow. For example, it is easy to determine that it was a house that cast a particular shadow.

But what about the internal features of the house? Here is where the shadow provides very little information. The shadow cannot tell you the color of the carpet in the foyer or how many bedrooms there are. No matter how closely you examine the shadow, it will provide you with very little information about the internal workings and depths of the object that cast it. The Word of God calls the Law a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, but not the good things themselves.

The old system under the Law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. (Hebrews 10:1 NLT)

So what is the good thing to come?

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Colossians 2:16-17

So many spend all of their time focused on the shadow called the Law and pay little mind to the One who cast it. It is like spending all of your time looking at a portrait or reading a biography, when the subject of the portrait or biography is right there in the room. The Jews in Jesus’ day studied and memorized the scriptures in an attempt to be right with God, but what did Jesus say to them,

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

I think that we are, for the lack of a better word, defined by our focus. It’s what sets us apart from everyone else. It seems that we religious types are always latching on to something, some special piece of knowledge that sets us apart from those unwashed heathens down the road. Things like baptismal regeneration, keeping the Sabbath, tongues as evidence of salvation, predestination, etc. And since that is our focus, it is pretty much all you hear us talk about.

What about Jesus? Are we willing to come to Him so that we may have life; not just for salvation, but are we willing for Him to be our life? Are we willing to take our focus off learning about Him, and focus on learning from Him? I think this is what Paul was talking about when he wrote,

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

We spend much time trying to persuade others of the superiority of our revelation and the wisdom in our understanding. We become so arrogantly convinced of the “rightness” of our position that we label those who disagree as false teachers or heretics. Heavenly Father save us from being like Martha; from being so intent on what our sister Mary is doing or not doing, that we miss the blessing of choosing the better part, which will never be taken away from us. Let nothing, not knowledge, nor doctrines, nor pride, distract us from the simplicity that is devotion to Christ Jesus.

Quote of the Week

The sad truth is that most Christians spend their entire lives trying to score points with Someone who is not keeping score.

Wayne Jacobsen

Quote of the Week

If you can't pray a door open, don't pry it open.

Lyell Rader

In The Light

God used this song several years ago to speak to my heart and tell me I was still living in darkness apart from Him. I had spent more than twenty years living in darkness, all the while convinced I was in the Light.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Something Beautiful

Something beautiful, something good,

All my confusion, He understood.

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife;

But He made something beautiful out of my life.

Quote of the Week

"We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives."

Charles Spurgeon

Do You Share Your Faith?

No? You better watch your back!

The Rapture Index

Here is a website that purports to tell us how close we are to being raptured. Apparently, as of August 6, our rapture index is 158. When we get to 160, then all systems are go. Sounds like they have plenty of time on their hands.

Kick the Law Out!

There is an interesting post over on Steve McVey's Blog. I thought this was good:


Sadly, those trapped in legalism see themselves as having reached a level of maturity that the rest of us haven't achieved. The truth is that they are still babies. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:25 that we don't need the Law as a "nanny" anymore. We have Christ and He is enough!

We can determine something about the level of our Christian maturity by how connected we still are to religious rules in our lifestyle. When I was a young child, I had to be told to brush my teeth and bathe. Nobody has to tell me that now. The same is true as we mature spiritually. Some churches are nothing more than child-care nurseries where Christians are treated like babies, being told exactly what they should do and not do in every area of life.

Quote of the Week

"All our discontents about what we want appear to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have."

Daniel Defoe

Check Your Faith at the Office?

I read an opinion column over on USA Today. A Presbyterian pastor was talking about religion in the workplace. The article begins with this statement:

You don’t have to leave your beliefs at home. In fact, some employers see the value of integrating religion and work in meaningful ways.

My first thought was, "Well Duh!" Why would a Christian leave his beliefs at home? I mean besides the obvious contradiction of someone who professes Christ on Sunday, but lives like the world the rest of the week. Don't get the idea that I am pointing my finger at all "those" hypocrites, because it is an easy trap to fall into. I find myself at times going along just to get along. You know the drill, laughing at a particular joke, talking about someone because everyone else is, losing patience when people don't act like you think they should, the list goes on.

I was more focused on the aspect of employers sanctioning the practice of religion in the work place. I guess that I have never needed permission to be who I am, a child of God. I have prayed when I have felt led to pray, I have led a lunch time Bible study, and I have even talked to my boss about Jesus. He didn't get saved, but he didn't fire me either. Maybe it is a byproduct of where I live. I am not one of those who talk about God in every other sentence, nor do I try to tell people how to live their lives, and nor do I try to witness to everyone I come across. Maybe if I did all of those things I would have more of a problem keeping a job. I don't hide the fact that I am a Christian, but I also don't wear it on my sleeve.

Does that make me a sub-par Christian? I don't think so. I think that our lives are a testimony to the power of God working in us, not what we put on for show. I think that if you are surrendered to God and trusting in Him, then your life will show it, but if you are living in rebellion and trusting in yourself, then your life will show that as well. A nice thing happened to me at work one day not long after I was saved. A co-worker came up to me and said, "There is something different about you." I told him I got saved and he said, "That's it!" It would seem to me that the worst thing a Christian could ever hear is for someone to say, "You're a Christian? I never new that!"

Quote of the Week

"The vigour of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts."

George Mueller

Do You Believe It?

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, repeat after me, "I am a child of God, absolutely loved, and totally acceptable in His sight."

A Walk on the Morbid Side

$4775.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating

I wouldn't have thought that I would have been worth all that much to the medical research industry. They must be pretty hard up.

Quote of the Week

At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that." Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.

Oswald Chambers

Depths of Our Disobedience

I have heard it preached before that when you are disobedient to God, then you are out of fellowship with Him and you no longer have His power working in your life and your prayers will just bounce off the ceiling. I heard an illustration of this one time, it went something like this. You are walking down the path of your life. While you are walking this path, God is right there with you and you are in perfect fellowship with Him. At some point along the way, God asks you to do something and for whatever reason you can’t bring yourself to do that thing. So you keep walking and talking to God, but He isn’t there. He has stopped on the path at the point where He asked you to do that thing you couldn’t do. You might say, “Come on Lord, lets keep walking.” But His reply is, “No! You need to come back here and do what I told you.” You may decide to keep walking, but God won’t be with you. He will be waiting patiently for you come back and obey Him. Is this a true depiction of our walk with God?

How about this illustration? You are a loving father who buys your son a new bicycle. You are excited about giving him the bicycle and can’t wait to see his face when you give it to him. You anticipate all of the hours of fun he will have riding his new bicycle. However, when you present him with the bicycle he seems indifferent, maybe even fearful. He resists all efforts to be placed upon the bicycle. You might be disappointed, but you know that someday, when your son is ready, he will get on that bicycle and ride it. Do you think that a loving father would withdraw from his son and refuse to have anything to do with him until he rode that bicycle? I don’t think so. He would continue to do other things with his son. He would still play ball with his son, read him stories, and take him for ice cream. Every so often he would remind him of the bicycle and when his son was ready he would teach him to ride it.

I know that the second illustration has a definite human perspective, but I also believe it accurately describes my experience in my Christian walk. Let me share a little testimony. Several years ago, I felt like God was telling me to go and talk to someone and tell them about something that had happened. Who that person was and the thing He wanted me to tell him isn’t really that important to the point, so I will leave out the details. Even though I definitely felt God telling me to go to that person, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had all sorts of rationalizations. I tried to apply logic to it, thinking that there was no logical reason for me to go. I imagined all sorts of consequences to me going to that person. I simply couldn’t see the point.

Over the next couple of years, God continued to grow me in grace and knowledge. I grew closer to Him and He called me into different ministries within our church and I obeyed those calls. He revealed His love for me to greater and greater depths and taught me truths about His grace. Yet, all during that time, God would remind me of what He had asked me to do. It wasn’t a continuous reminder, but from time to time, when I was still and quiet and prayerfully listening, He would speak to my heart. Each time, the same fears and rationalizations and logic would be applied to the issue. Finally, I came to the point where I said, “God, I am not able to do this, but I am willing for You to make me able.” I think it was at that point God began to work in my heart to make me able.

Well God did bring me to the point where I was able to go to that person. I told him what God had told me to share. Well that person just kind of scratched his head and told me that he didn’t know why God wanted me to tell him that either. He did share with me an instance where God had asked him to go and share something with someone else and his argument with God and the results of finally being obedient very closely lined up with my experience. I think that it all came down to pride. It was my pride that kept me from going sooner and it was that pride that God was dealing with throughout that process.

You might think that I should have been obedient right from the start and you would be correct. You might also say that, “I obey everything God tells me to do.” I would say, “Good for you,” but I would also suspect that it would just be your pride talking. It is more likely that God hasn’t revealed to you yet, the depths of your disobedience. There may be areas in your life that are completely yielded to God, but there are also areas where you are self sufficient, areas that you haven’t trusted to God.

That is what the Christian walk is all about. God, throughout our lives, opens our eyes to our need to trust Him in new areas. We may resist that revelation, but He is a loving father who continues to walk with us and take us through the process of learning to turn that area over to Him. Only once we turn it over to Him will it come to pass. It doesn’t have to take a couple of years for this process to occur. Apparently my pride runs pretty deep, but I have given that to Him as well. God never misses an opportunity to teach me humility and while this may sound like a bad thing, it is the most wonderful thing you can imagine. It is at the heart of His love.

Religious Action Figures

Walmart is about to start carrying faith based toys in August. Jesus looks cross-eyed. Here is a link to the ABC news story.

Quote of the Week

"Salvation is from our side a choice; from the divine side it is a seizing upon, an apprehending, a conquest by the Most High God. Our accepting and willing are reactions rather than actions."

A. W. Tozer

How Addicted to Coffee are You?

I am 79% Addicted to Coffee

Only 79%! I could probably have scored higher since I do own a coffee grinder, but only use it infrequently.

Wedding Video

Michelle and Grant

Big Day

My daughter Michelle got married to Grant this past Saturday (7/7/07). Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Altar before the wedding

Lighting the candle

Done Deal


Groom's Cake

Bride's Cake

Coming to the Reception

Getaway Car Decorated

Bye!

Quote of the Week

A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart.

Charles Finney

Paper or Plastic?

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - http://www.reverendfun.com/)

Here is a recent story about how churches are allowing the use of credit and debit cards in order to give offerings to the church. In my opinion this is a very dangerous thing. Credit card debt is such a major problem in the US and I think that it is wrong for the church to add to that problem. As someone who has struggled with credit card debt in the past, I know that credit card debt wrecks people's lives. I also think this is just another sign of how money hungry churches have become. I feel myself about to launch into a rant, so I will leave it there.

Will God Judge America?

Another Fourth of July is almost over. Sitting here watching Myth Busters, overstuffed with hamburger and bratwurst and listening to all of the fireworks being shot off outside. Got to thinking about a preacher I heard recently telling his television audience how God is about to judge America. It seems like every time there is a natural disaster, there are the “usual suspects” telling any camera they can find that it was God’s judgment on the hapless community. The wind hadn’t died down from hurricane Katrina, before some claimed that it was God’s judgment on the area for various reasons. The reasons cited for judgment ran from abortion to gambling to Mardi Gras to witchcraft. Billy Graham once said, “If God does not judge America, He is going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."

Were these things God’s judgment? Will He judge America? I don’t know. It’s up to God to say. What will be the basis for God’s judgment? I guess that if you asked Christians, more than a few would say, “They will be judged for their sins.” The Old Testament has many stories of God passing judgment on Israel and others. There is also the story of God being willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of a few righteous people.

Since a city or a country is nothing more than a collection of people, I think that it is helpful to look at the individual and then try to apply whatever we come up with to the whole. What’s true of the individual? His sins have already been judged, the verdict was guilty, the sentence was death…spiritual death that is. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he took the penalty, the death sentence, upon Himself. He took the cause of our death (sin) upon Himself and became sin on our behalf. That was a wonderful thing, but unfortunately we were still dead. What does a dead man need? Well, he needs life. Jesus rose from the dead, so that He could give His life to us. When we ask Him to save us, we receive His life into us and are instantly transformed from death into life…spiritual life. Looking at it another way, our death sentence has been commuted into a “life sentence.”

What does that have to do with God’s judgment of America? Everything, or nothing! It seems to me that only thing that America can be judged for is sin and sin has already been judged. Every person that is born is born into that judgment and they all stand guilty. So where am I going with this? I don’t know, I am just kind of winging it. I guess what’s on my mind lately are Christians whose primary focus is making people behave through political action leading to legislation. Lord knows I hate a lot of the things that go on in America, but where some see a sin that needs to be controlled by passing a law, I see a lost person doing what lost people do. The same thing Christians would do apart from the power of God working in them.

The Bible tells us that the power of sin is in the law. Paul tells us in Romans 7 that the law rouses sinful passions within us. Human experience tells us the same thing. Try telling someone that they can’t have something; it just makes them want it all the more. The same thing happened during prohibition. So it seems that some Christian groups are trying to accomplish what the Bible they are thumping tells them won’t work. They are trying to make people behave by working to get laws passed.

I have a novel approach that they might consider. Instead of lobbying legislators and praying for laws to be passed or righteous candidates to be elected, how about trying this? Let’s pray for people to be saved. Instead of hitting lost people over the head with a bible, tell them about Jesus in your words and your actions. When people get saved, they no longer need the legislature to control their behavior; they will have the Spirit of God.

This rant has reached its terminus.


P.S. I just noticed the bible quote of the day:
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)

Coincidence?

Jews for Jesus

There was an article recently in the New York Post about evangelistic Messianic Jews. The organization, Jews for Jesus, has a mission of, "making the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to Jewish people worldwide." There was a couple of things I found interesting in the article. Let me start by saying that the only Messianic Jew that I personally know of is Judah Himango. We have disagreements from time to time, but that's alright. We are both very passionate about what we believe and don't mind sharing it with anyone who will listen. We both love Jesus and, by His Spirit, it will all be sorted out someday. He likes to use the Jewish names for God and Jesus and others mentioned in the Bible. I use the Greek names...I guess it comes down to tradition. Judah is bilingual, so communication isn't an issue.

That's why I found this statement in the article kind of interesting:

The group is loathed by many mainstream Jews. Washington area Jewish organizations and the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington have condemned the campaign, saying Jews for Jesus proselytizes too aggressively and misleads potential followers by using Jewish symbols, portraying their places of worship as synagogues and referring to Jesus by Hebrew names.

When Messianic Jews use the names and symbols that they are most comfortable with, they are accused of being deceptive. The ironic part is that they are using the actual Jewish names, not the transliterated versions that I use.

I also found this statement rather amusing:

"You don't dress up fundamentalist, evangelical Christian missionaries in Jewish clothing and call it Judaism,"

Just another way of saying "wolves in sheep's clothing." Calling someone an evangelical fundamentalist has become almost a universal insult...not that some of the criticism isn't deserved. I am not sure if the people that play that card even know what an evangelical fundamentalist is, they are playing the card to get the desired knee jerk reaction from the reader.

Quote of the Week

The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, but when we see them in the wrong light: when we see them in the hand of God, Who dispenses them; when we know that it is our loving Father who abases and distresses us; our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even a matter of consolation.

Brother Lawrence

Good As New

Apparently there is a new bible version out there. It is called, "Good As New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures." (Amazon link) It was written by John Henson. I am not against paraphrases of the Bible, per se, but I think that this one goes too far. I don't mind so much that he changes the names of some of characters, "Rocky" instead of "Peter," "John the Dipper" instead of "John the Baptist, " etc. Most notable are the things he leaves out. Take the following excerpt as an example:

Matthew 16:13-23

Jesus and his friends went on to the villages near Philiptown-Caesar. On the way he asked his friends, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “John the Dipper, Elijah, or one of God’s speakers from the old days.” Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am”? Rocky answered, “You’re God’s Chosen.” Jesus gave them strict instructions to keep it quiet. At this point Jesus started to teach that the Complete Person would have to go through great suffering, be rejected by the various religious groups, and be killed, then come back to life after three days. Jesus was quite clear. Rocky took Jesus to one side and contradicted him crossly. Jesus turned round to face his other friends, saying to Rocky. “Get away from me! You’re a bad influence. Your get your ideas from people, not from God!”

Now compare that with the NASB version:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

He has removed all references to Jesus being the Son of God, instead it refers to Jesus as being the "Complete Person." What ever that is. He has also removed the references to Satan and to heaven. I have read in other places that he has removed 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. In their stead he added the Gospel of Thomas. He also desired to make his version less homophobic than other versions. For example, he translates Romans 1:26-27 as follows:

God let them go on to pursue their selfish desires. Women use their charms to further their own ends. Men, instead of being friends, ruthlessly exploit one another.

instead of

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Sounds like a bunch of politically correct hogwash to me.

Quote of the Week

Until our Master summons us, not a hair on our head can perish, not a moment of our life be snatched from us. When He sends for us, it should seem but the message that the child is wanted at home.

Anthony Thorold

Quote of the Week

Until we know and live out of our union with Christ, we will never fully manifest the life of God within us. Some of it will inevitably shine through now and then, despite us. But for the most part we will manifest our own merely human life.

Dan Stone

Sparky

Spoiled Rotten

Grandson

Having a ball

In case you were wondering why the grass is so brown, we are in the middle of an "exceptional drought."

US drought map