Risk, Loss & Great Gain

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} Just as it is written, "FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." {37} But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. {38} For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, {39} nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:35-39 NASB)

Fight for Kisses

Another funny commercial! Check it out.

Helping regular guys since 1915...

Below is the most entertaining commercial this Christmas that highlights 99% of male frustration related to shopping for women - the 1% of men who make the 99% of us look REALLY bad!

If it doesn't come up try clicking here.

Do We Need More Shack Time?

Below is a link to a review for those who have had questions about William P Young's book The Shack. Click on the link to read the review. Another helpful review of the book can be found below also.

The Briefing Library: We need more shack time

www.challies.com/media/The_Shack.pdf

Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage

Some of you have no doubt read or heard about the endorsement of homosexual marriage from Newsweek magazing. Here below is Dr. Albert Mohler's rebuttle. www.albertmohler.com

Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage
Posted: Monday, December 08, 2008 at 6:50 am ET

Newsweek magazine, one of the most influential news magazines in America, has decided to come out for same-sex marriage in a big way, and to do so by means of a biblical and theological argument. In its cover story for this week, "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage," Newsweek religion editor Lisa Miller offers a revisionist argument for the acceptance of same-sex marriage. It is fair to say that Newsweek has gone for broke on this question.

Miller begins with a lengthy dismissal of the Bible's relevance to the question of marriage in the first place. "Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does," Miller suggests. If so, she argues that readers will find a confusion of polygamy, strange marital practices, and worse.

She concludes: "Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?" She answers, "Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so."

Now, wait just a minute. Miller's broadside attack on the biblical teachings on marriage goes to the heart of what will appear as her argument for same-sex marriage. She argues that, in the Old Testament, "examples of what social conservatives call 'the traditional family' are scarcely to be found." This is true, of course, if what you mean by 'traditional family' is the picture of America in the 1950s. The Old Testament notion of the family starts with the idea that the family is the carrier of covenant promises, and this family is defined, from the onset, as a transgenerational extended family of kin and kindred.

But, at the center of this extended family stands the institution of marriage as the most basic human model of covenantal love and commitment. And this notion of marriage, deeply rooted in its procreative purpose, is unambiguously heterosexual.

As for the New Testament, "Ozzie and Harriet are nowhere" to be found. Miller argues that both Jesus and Paul were unmarried (emphatically true) and that Jesus "preached a radical kind of family, a caring community of believers, whose bond in God superseded all blood ties." Jesus clearly did call for a commitment to the Gospel and to discipleship that transcended family commitments. Given the Jewish emphasis on family loyalty and commitment, this did represent a decisive break.

But Miller also claims that "while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman." This is just patently untrue. Genesis 2:24-25 certainly reveals marriage to be, by the Creator's intention, a union of one man and one woman. To offer just one example from the teaching of Jesus, Matthew 19:1-8 makes absolutely no sense unless marriage "between one man and one woman" is understood as normative.

As for Paul, he did indeed instruct the Corinthians that the unmarried state was advantageous for the spread of the Gospel. His concern in 1 Corinthians 7 is not to elevate singleness as a lifestyle, but to encourage as many as are able to give themselves totally to an unencumbered Gospel ministry. But, in Corinth and throughout the New Testament church, the vast majority of Christians were married. Paul will himself assume this when he writes the "household codes" included in other New Testament letters.

The real issue is not marriage, Miller suggests, but opposition to homosexuality. Surprisingly, Miller argues that this prejudice against same-sex relations is really about opposition to sex between men. She cites the Anchor Bible Dictionary as stating that "nowhere in the Bible do its authors refer to sex between women." She would have done better to look to the Bible itself, where in Romans 1:26-27 Paul writes: "For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

Again, this passage makes absolutely no sense unless it refers very straightforwardly to same-sex relations among both men and women -- with the women mentioned first.

Miller dismisses the Levitical condemnations of homosexuality as useless because "our modern understanding of the world has surpassed its prescriptions." But she saves her most creative dismissal for the Apostle Paul. Paul, she concedes, "was tough on homosexuality." Nevertheless, she takes encouragement from the fact that "progressive scholars" have found a way to re-interpret the Pauline passages to refer only to homosexual violence and promiscuity.

In this light she cites author Neil Elliott and his book, The Arrogance of Nations. Elliott, like other "progressive scholars," suggests that the modern notion of sexual orientation is simply missing from the biblical worldview, and thus the biblical authors are not really talking about what we know as homosexuality at all. "Paul is not talking about what we call homosexuality at all," as Miller quotes Elliott.

Of course, no honest reader of the biblical text will share this simplistic and backward conclusion. Furthermore, to accept this argument is to assume that the Christian church has misunderstood the Bible from its very birth -- and that we are now dependent upon contemporary "progressive scholars" to tell us what Christians throughout the centuries have missed.

Tellingly, Miller herself seems to lose confidence in this line of argument, explaining that "Paul argued more strenuously against divorce—and at least half of the Christians in America disregard that teaching." In other words, when the argument is failing, change the subject and just declare victory. "Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition," Miller simply asserts -- apparently asking her readers to forget everything they have just read.

Miller picks her sources carefully. She cites Neil Elliott but never balances his argument with credible arguments from another scholar, such as Robert Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary [See his response to Elliott here]. Her scholarly sources are chosen so that they all offer an uncorrected affirmation of her argument. The deck is decisively stacked.

She then moves to the claim that sexual orientation is "exactly the same thing" as skin color when it comes to discrimination. As recent events have suggested, this claim is not seen as credible by many who have suffered discrimination on the basis of skin color.

As always, the bottom line is biblical authority. Lisa Miller does not mince words. "Biblical literalists will disagree," she allows, "but the Bible is a living document, powerful for more than 2,000 years because its truths speak to us even as we change through history." This argument means, of course, that we get to decide which truths are and are not binding on us as "we change through history."

"A mature view of scriptural authority requires us, as we have in the past, to move beyond literalism," she asserts. "The Bible was written for a world so unlike our own, it's impossible to apply its rules, at face value, to ours."

All this comes together when Miller writes, "We cannot look to the Bible as a marriage manual, but we can read it for universal truths as we struggle toward a more just future." At this point the authority of the Bible is reduced to whatever "universal truths" we can distill from its (supposed) horrifyingly backward and oppressive texts.

Even as she attempts to make her "religious case" for gay marriage, Miller has to acknowledge that "very few Jewish or Christian denominations do officially endorse gay marriage, even in the states where it is legal." Her argument now grinds to a conclusion with her hope that this will change. But -- and this is a crucial point -- if her argument had adequate traction, she wouldn't have to make it. It is not a thin extreme of fundamentalist Christians who stand opposed to same-sex marriage -- it is the vast majority of Christian churches and denominations worldwide.

Disappointingly, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham offers an editorial note that broadens Newsweek's responsibility for this atrocity of an article and reveals even more of the agenda: "No matter what one thinks about gay rights—for, against or somewhere in between —this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism," Meacham writes. "Given the history of the making of the Scriptures and the millennia of critical attention scholars and others have given to the stories and injunctions that come to us in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition."

Well, that statement sets the issue clearly before us. He insists that "to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt." No serious student of the Bible can deny the challenge of responsible biblical interpretation, but the purpose of legitimate biblical interpretation is to determine, as faithfully as possible, what the Bible actually teaches -- and then to accept, teach, apply, and obey.

The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.

Newsweek could have offered its readers a careful and balanced review of the crucial issues related to this question. It chose another path -- and published this cover story. The magazine's readers and this controversial issue deserved better.

© 2008, All rights reserved, www.AlbertMohler.com

Some of you have been looking for a great evangelistic web site that presents the Gospel in an understandable format and yet holds firmly to the essentials of the Gospel. Let me suggest the following link http://matthiasmedia.com.au/2wt.

You can also find this link to the right, listed under "Time For A New Beginning?".

Amazing Grace (Bagpipes) & Lyrics

There is no song or music that stirs my heart toward humility, gratitude and praise to God as does Amazing Grace.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)

He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" John 9:25 (NIV)

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

A Brief Definition of the Trinity by James White

The past couple of Sundays I have been preaching passages that relate to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. I have sought to give some brief explanation to the doctrine of the Trinity. Quiet frankly, the doctrine of the Trinity is challenging to convey. Below is a "A Brief Definition of the Trinity" by James White that will give a better explanation of the Trinity than I have been able to give thus far.

A Brief Definition of the Trinity by James White

I know that one of the most oft-repeated questions I have dealt with is, "How does one explain, or even understand, the doctrine of the Trinity?" Indeed, few topics are made such a football by various groups that, normally, claim to be the "only" real religion, and who prey upon Christians as "convert fodder." Be that as it may, when the Christian is faced with a question regarding the Trinity, how might it best be explained?

For me, I know that simplifying the doctrine to its most basic elements has been very important and very useful. When we reduce the discussion to the three clear Biblical teachings that underlie the Trinity, we can move our discussion from the abstract to the concrete Biblical data, and can help those involved in false religions to recognize which of the Biblical teachings it is denying.

We must first remember that very few have a good idea of what the Trinity is in the first place - hence, accuracy in definition will be very important. The doctrine of the Trinity is simply that there is one eternal being of God - indivisible, infinite. This one being of God is shared by three co-equal, co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

The remainder of the article is a very concise explanation of the Trinity and I suggest that you click here to read it.

Kissing Retirement Goodbye

With so many of us having lost so much in our retirement accounts over the past few month, the headline in the following article got my attention. I encourage you to read it, there's more to it than the headline indicates.

Kissing Retirement Goodbye
-------------------------------------
By John Ensor December 3, 2008
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John Ensor is the Executive Director of Urban Initiatives for Heartbeat International and author of The Great Work of the Gospel.

* * *

I kissed retirement goodbye—at least the kind traditionally planned for in America. My mother has finally persuaded me that there are better things to do when I reach her age.

In August, I wrote about caring for family with end-of-life challenges. My mother, at 78, started to go blind while on a mission trip to Mongolia. Her sight was saved through high-dose steroids, which tripped other health concerns which were compounded by the discovery of breast cancer.

The subsequent surgery left her fragile. She fell and added injury to sickness and disease. We gathered with her in August to discuss how to care for her as she enters what I call “the frowning years.”

Ecclesiastes calls them plainly “the evil days” when

the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. (12:1-5)

The point of this description is to “remember your creator in the days of your youth” (12:1). I take this to mean:

Taste and see the goodness of God while all your senses are in full function, and your strength is still intact.

Savor him while you can—before your teeth fall out (the grinders cease) and your eyes fail (the windows are dimmed) and your bones ache with every move (the grasshopper drags itself along); before the fears of dying assail you and sap your strength and try your faith one last time before they are swallowed up in victory.

Evidently, at 78, my mother is still in the days of her youth. Since August, she has prayed and fought for her health.

Last week she left for Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She joined a team of trainers for a Leadership Development Conference in which 90 teachers from around the country took their school vacation week to learn to study and teach the Bible through an inductive-study method. Seven more teachers planned on being there.

But my mother writes, “They did not get here because their charter bus was ambushed by robbers and the driver was killed.”

In spite of such things, she writes of the thrill of watching teachers learn to read out of the Bible its unsearchable riches rather than read into it preconceived notions.

She concludes, “I have been so blessed to be here that at times I think I will burst!” Evidently, she intends to die with her mission boots on as she faces down those “frowning years.”

-------------------------------------

© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

The Salvation of the 'Little Ones': Do Infants who Die Go to Heaven?

There are many parents who have lost infants to death and carry with them the burdensome question concerning whether that child has gone to heaven. This is especially difficult in light of the fact that the infant or young child never received the Gospel and/or confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior. There are many opinions expressed concerning this but often these openions lack Biblical authority. The following article by Mohler and Akin provides not only Biblical guidance but loving pastoral care to parents who have lost their young children.

_____________________________________

The Salvation of the 'Little Ones': Do Infants who Die Go to Heaven?
by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. and Daniel L. Akin
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

The death of an infant or young child is profoundly heartbreaking – perhaps the greatest grief a parent is called to bear. For Christian parents, there is the sure knowledge that our sovereign and merciful God is in control, but there is also a pressing question: Is our baby in heaven?

This is a natural and unavoidable question, calling for our most careful and faithful biblical study and theological reflection. The unspeakable anguish of a parent's heart demands our honest and humble searching of the Scriptures.

Some are quick to answer this question out of sentimentality. Of course infants go to heaven, they argue, for how could God refuse a precious little one? The Universalist has a quick answer, for he believes that everyone will go to heaven. Some persons may simply suggest that elect infants go to heaven, while the non-elect do not, and must suffer endless punishment. Each of these easy answers is unsatisfactory.

Mere sentimentalism ignores the Bible's teaching which bears on the issue. We have no right to establish doctrine on the basis of what we hope may be true. We must draw our answers from what the Bible reveals to be true.

Universalism is an unbiblical heresy. The Bible clearly teaches that we are born in sin and that God will not tolerate sinners. God has made one absolute and definitive provision for our salvation through the substitutionary atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation comes to those who believe on His name and confess him as Savior. The Bible teaches a dual destiny for the human race. The redeemed – those who are in Christ – will be raised to eternal life with the Father in Heaven. Those who have not believed in Christ and confessed Him as Lord will suffer eternal punishment in the fires of Hell. Universalism is a dangerous and unbiblical teaching. It offers a false promise and denies the Gospel.

The Bible reveals that we are born marked by original sin, and thus we cannot claim that infants are born in a state of innocence. Any biblical answer to the question of infant salvation must start from the understanding that infants are born with a sin nature.

The shifting of the focus to election actually avoids answering the question. We must do better, and look more closely at the issues at stake.

Throughout the centuries, the church has offered several different answers to this question. In the early church, Ambrose believed that baptized infants went to heaven, while unbaptized infants did not, though they received immunity from the pains of hell. His first error was believing in infant baptism, and thus in baptismal regeneration. Baptism does not save, and it is reserved for believers – not for infants. His second error was his indulgence in speculation. Scripture does not teach such a half-way position which denies infants admission to heaven, but saves them from the peril of hell. Augustine, the great theologian of the fourth century, basically agreed with Ambrose, and shared his understanding of infant baptism.

Others have taught that infants will have an opportunity to come to Christ after death. This position was held by Gregory of Nyssa, and is growing among many contemporary theologians, who claim that all, regardless of age, will have a post-mortem opportunity to confess Christ as Savior. The problem with this position is that Scripture teaches no such post-mortem opportunity. It is a figment of a theologian's imagination, and must be rejected.

Those who divide infants into the elect and non-elect seek to affirm the clear and undeniable doctrine of divine election. The Bible teaches that God elects persons to salvation from eternity, and that our salvation is all of grace. At first glance, this position appears impregnable in relation to the issue of infant salvation – a simple statement of the obvious. A second glance, however, reveals a significant evasion. What if all who die in infancy are among the elect? Do we have a biblical basis for believing that all persons who die in infancy are among the elect?

We believe that Scripture does indeed teach that all persons who die in infancy are among the elect. This must not be based only in our hope that it is true, but in a careful reading of the Bible. We start with the biblical affirmations we have noted already. First, the Bible reveals that we are "brought forth in iniquity,"(1) and thus bear the stain of original sin from the moment of our conception. Thus, we face squarely the sin problem. Second, we acknowledge that God is absolutely sovereign in salvation. We do not deserve salvation, and can do nothing to earn our salvation, and thus it is all of grace. Further we understand that our salvation is established by God's election of sinners to salvation through Christ. Third, we affirm that Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the sole and sufficient Savior, and that salvation comes only on the basis of His blood atonement. Fourth, we affirm that the Bible teaches a dual eternal destiny – the redeemed to Heaven, the unredeemed to Hell.

What, then is our basis for claiming that all those who die in infancy are among the elect? First, the Bible teaches that we are to be judged on the basis of our deeds committed "in the body."(2) That is, we will face the judgment seat of Christ and be judged, not on the basis of original sin, but for our sins committed during our own lifetimes. Each will answer "according to what he has done,"(3) and not for the sin of Adam. The imputation of Adam's sin and guilt explains our inability to respond to God without regeneration, but the Bible does not teach that we will answer for Adam's sin. We will answer for our own. But what about infants? Have those who die in infancy committed such sins in the body? We believe not.

One biblical text is particularly helpful at this point. After the children of Israel rebelled against God in the wilderness, God sentenced that generation to die in the wilderness after forty years of wandering. "Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers."(4) But this was not all. God specifically exempted young children and infants from this sentence, and even explained why He did so: "Moreover, your little ones who you said would become prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good and evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it."(5) The key issue here is that God specifically exempted from the judgment those who "have no knowledge of good or evil" because of their age. These "little ones" would inherit the Promised Land, and would not be judged on the basis of their fathers' sins.

We believe that this passage bears directly on the issue of infant salvation, and that the accomplished work of Christ has removed the stain of original sin from those who die in infancy. Knowing neither good nor evil, these young children are incapable of committing sins in the body – are not yet moral agents – and die secure in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John Newton, the great minister who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace was certain of this truth. He wrote to close friends who had lost a young child: "I hope you are both well reconciled to the death of your child. I cannot be sorry for the death of infants. How many storms do they escape! Nor can I doubt, in my private judgment, that they are included in the election of grace."(6) The great Princeton theologians Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield held the same position.

One of the most eloquent and powerful expressions of this understanding of infant salvation came from the heart of Charles Spurgeon. Preaching to his own congregation, Spurgeon consoled grieving parents: "Now, let every mother and father here present know assuredly that it is well with the child, if God hath taken it away from you in its infant days."(7) Spurgeon turned this conviction into an evangelistic call. "Many of you are parents who have children in heaven. Is it not a desirable thing that you should go there, too? He continued: "Mother, unconverted mother, from the battlements of heaven your child beckons you to Paradise. Father, ungodly, impenitent father, the little eyes that once looked joyously on you, look down upon you now, and the lips which scarcely learned to call you father, ere they were sealed by the silence of death, may be heard as with a still small voice, saying to you this morning, 'Father, must we be forever divided by the great gulf which no man can pass?' Doth not nature itself put a sort of longing in your soul that you may be bound in the bundle of life with your own children?"

Jesus instructed his disciples that they should "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."(8) We believe that our Lord graciously and freely received all those who die in infancy – not on the basis of their innocence or worthiness – but by his grace, made theirs through the atonement He purchased on the cross.

When we look into the grave of one of these little ones, we do not place our hope and trust in the false promises of an unbiblical theology, in the instability of sentimentalism, in the cold analysis of human logic, nor in the cowardly refuge of ambiguity.

We place our faith in Christ, and trust Him to be faithful to his Word. We claim the promises of the Scriptures and the assurance of the grace of our Lord. We know that heaven will be filled with those who never grew to maturity on earth, but in heaven will greet us completed in Christ. Let us resolve by grace to meet them there.

Endnotes:

1. Psalm 51:5. All biblical citations are from the New American Standard Bible.
   
2. 2 Corinthians 5:10
   
3. Ibid.
   
4. Deuteronomy 1:35
   
5. Deuteronomy 1:39
   
6. John Newton, "Letter IX," The Works of John Newton (London, 1820), p. 182.
   
7. Charles H. Spurgeon, "Infant Salvation" A sermon preached September 29, 1861. Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (London, 1861), p. 505.
   
8. Mark 10:14

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is President and Professor of Christian Theology.
Daniel L. Akin is Vice President for Academic Administration, Dean of the School of Theology, and Associate Professor of Christian Theology.

© R. Albert Mohler, Jr. - All Rights Reserved

Fidelitas may be reproduced in whole or in part, but must include the attribution statement printed above. For further information, contact the Office of the President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2825 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40280. Phone 502.897.4121, Fax 502.899.1770. Or, contact by e-mail at presoffice@sbts.edu

Worship God

When I saw the following video, it reminded me of two things. First, the reality that one day, those who have committed their lives to follow the Lord Jesus Christ - all of us from all the nations of the earth, will gather to praise the Lord forever.

Second, the joy I have experienced in meeting believers from all over the world. We have enjoyed a fellowship that was based not on our economic, social or political background, but solely upon the commonality that we possessed in our love and allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those times of fellowship have encouraged me to Praise the Lord, just as this video does! Enjoy! (This is a non-musical video. I suggest that you click on the expand button on the video so you can get a full screen view.)

Also, check out the International Missions web site to find out more about missions and how you can pray or give and/or go so that more peoples of the earth may Praise the Lord!

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, Selah {2} that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. {3} May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. {4} May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Selah {5} May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. {6} Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. {7} God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. (PSALM 67 NIV)

What To Do When I Don't Desire God Or His Word

Often times we don’t feel like loving God and we don’t desire God or His Word as we should. In his book, When I Don’t Desire God, John Piper shares an acronym that he uses to prepare his soul before his devotion times with God (see below). The acronym is I O U S.

You will find this to be a very helpful and practical means of humbling yourself in dependence before God for the grace of God in order to desire God and His Word.

Very practically what this means for the fight for joy is that every day we must not just go to the Word, but pray over the Word—indeed before we even get to the Word, lest he fail to come. I close this chapter with the way this works in my own experience.

Almost every day I pray early in the morning that God would give me desires for him and his Word, because the desires I ought to have are absent or weak. In fact, I follow the acronym myself that I have given to many people to help them fight for joy. The acronym is I O U S. It is very limited and focused. It’s not all we should pray for. But this book (and most of my life) is about the fight for joy. And that is what I O U S focuses on. Here’s the way I pray over the Word in my fight for joy.

I—(Incline!) The first thing my soul needs is an inclination toward God and his Word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his Word and draw near to him. Where does that “want to” come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” Very simply we ask God to take our hearts, which are more inclined to breakfast and the newspaper, and change that inclination. We are asking that God create desires that are not there.

O—(Open!) Next I need to have the eyes of my heart opened so that when my inclination leads me to the Word, I see what is really there, and not just my own ideas. Who opens the eyes of the heart? God does. So Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” So many times we read the Bible and see nothing wonderful. Its reading does not produce joy. So what can we do? We can cry to God: “Open the eyes of my heart, O Lord, to see what it says about you as wonderful.”

U—(Unite!) Then I am concerned that my heart is badly fragmented. Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not. Parts see wonder, and parts say, “That’s not so wonderful.” What I long for is a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes! to what God reveals in his Word. Where does that wholeness and unity come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, “Unite my heart to fear your name.” Don’t stumble over the word fear when you thought we were seeking joy. The fear of the Lord is a joyful experience when you renounce all sin. A thunderstorm can be a trembling joy when you know you can’t be destroyed by lightning. “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to . . . the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name” (Neh. 1:11). “His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isa. 11:3). Therefore pray that God would unite your heart to joyfully fear the Lord.

S—(Satisfy!) What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is for my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world. Where does that satisfaction come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

I O U S ADMITS GOD IS OUR ONLY HOPE
FOR JOY

This acronym has served me well for years. This is frontline warfare for me. I know the agonizing experience of Robert Robinson’s hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” What makes this hymn so relevant for me is that it acknowledges God’s absolute right to bind my heart to himself, and then it turns that right into a prayer.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

“Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.” A “fetter” is a chain. I pray this—oh, how I pray this with all my wandering heart—“Grant me, O God, to see the surpassing value of your goodness so that it binds me, as with a chain, to you.” It’s the same prayer that George Croly (1780-1860) prayed in his well-known hymn, “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart.”

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

I have heard people object to that last line. They say love should be free, not forced. True. But there are two kinds of forcing. One is against our will. The other is by changing our will. The first results in coerced action. The second results in free action. My own suspicion is that those who object to this prayer have never seriously confronted their own hardness of heart. They have not taken seriously enough the biblical diagnosis of our condition found in the word cannot in Romans 8:7-8: “The mind that is set on the flesh . . . does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” And I wonder, have those who object to this hymn ever come to terms with why the psalmist prays so urgently and repeatedly, “Incline my heart” (Ps. 119: 36, 112; 141:4)? For my part, the only hope I have to love God as I ought is that he would overcome all my disinclination and bind my heart to himself in love. That is the grace I must have to be a Christian and to live in joy.

Hence I pray to God repeatedly: Incline my heart! Open the eyes of my heart! Unite my heart! Satisfy my heart! Prayer is, therefore, not only the measure of our hearts, revealing what we really desire; it is also the indispensable remedy for our hearts when we do not desire God the way we ought.

What Now: How To Respond To The Election of President Elect Obama

I came across the article below and found it to be helpful in articulating what the Christian response should be following the election of Barack Obama, especially since the president elect was not the candidate I or many other Evangelicals voted for. We'd all be wise to follow the advice given by Curt Iles.
_________________________________

Praying for Our President
By Curt Iles
Nov 24, 2008

DRY CREEK, La. (BP)--Since our recent presidential election, I've often thought of my deceased grandfather and an important lesson he modeled.

My maternal grandfather, Sidney Plott, taught me to pray for our president. In all of my years of memory -- from President Dwight Eisenhower to the end of George H.W. Bush's term -- he always prayed for the president. At every meal, he sincerely asked God's blessings and guidance on "Our President." It didn't matter who occupied the White House, "Grandpa Sid" believed Scripture mandated prayer and respect (Romans 13:1), and he faithfully prayed it until the very day of his death.

Although in the 2008 election I didn't vote for Barack Obama, he will be my president. I do not need to explain, or apologize for, my vote for his opponent, John McCain.

All that matters is the present; the American people have spoken and we've elected a president. He is my president, and I'll give him my prayers, best wishes and support. This doesn't mean I'll agree with all of his decisions, but it signifies I'll show him the respect due our nation's highest office.

In the last decade, I've had the privilege of traveling in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central America. On each trip, I've realized with gratitude the many blessings we Americans enjoy. Anyone who has traveled this Earth knows what a blessed nation we are.

However, I've often heard the scorn many residents of the world feel for our nation and its leaders. I've found this statement to be true: "The world dislikes America, but it likes Americans."

I've always personally been treated with respect in foreign places -- even in countries with divergent political and religious views from ours. Even so, my new friends have been quick to question and criticize our government.

I've tried to listen carefully, because every criticism presents us with a chance to learn. When I could, I've tried to explain or expand.

However, if I could be with those friends now, I'd say, "Watch us. We'll show you the American way to change governments."

In these travels, I've read the varied history of the countries and continents. In most places, regime changes have been bloody and full of retaliation. I've just finished a book, "The Fate of Africa," that details the post-colonial history of this continent I've come to love. It contains tale after tale of violence, oppression, and military coups.

But that's not how we do it in the United States of America.

A small news item from Nov. 5 illustrates this.

At 6 a.m. on the morning after our election, the Secret Service ended their protection of John McCain. Later that day, he and his wife Cindy drove home, without bodyguards or chauffeurs. Notice this -- John McCain drove himself home. He once again became citizen McCain.

This wouldn't happen in most areas of the world. The loser of an election often also loses their freedom, if not their life. But that's not the American way.

President-elect Obama and his wife Michelle visited the White House the other day, where President Bush and his wife Laura greeted them. All four of them exhibited dignity and class. It was symbolic of the peaceful transfer of power that is emblematic of our country. These two leaders, in spite of their past differences, were extremely gracious and helpful to each other in a transition of power befitting the United States of America.

I'm not sure what we should expect in our country's coming days. In my lifetime, there's never been more uncertainty as great challenges both at home and abroad confront us. But there is one thing I know: We are Americans and we'll get through this time together.

However, we move forward confidently knowing that God -- as He always has been -- is in control. Our job is pretty simple: Pray for our leaders and government to make good decisions.

Curt Iles, on the Web at www.creekbank.net, is a writer and speaker living in his hometown of Dry Creek, La. The latest of his six books is a historical novel titled "The Wayfaring Stranger."

© Copyright 2008 Baptist Press
Original copy of this story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=29404

Mark Driscoll's new book Death By Love

Death by Love: Letters from the Cross (Click on this link to go to web site)

I have recently been reading, Death by Love, by Mark Driscoll and have found it to be a very practical guide to pointing people to a Christ-centered and cross-centered solution to their hurts, fears and truest needs. Having skimmed over the whole book, I feel confident in recommending this book. This is a great book for all of us who have been victimized by sin, Satan and the flesh and it points the way toward experiencing Christ exalting victory over these foes.

The language in the preface and introduction may be more scholarly than some of us are use to. The chapters are much easier to read.

Click here to go to the web site to view the first chapter of the book. The video link below previews the book. The following is from the editors of the book.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Real people. Real sin. Transformed lives. A compilation of heartfelt letters written from a pastor to his people that explains Jesus’ work on the cross.

Death by Love is a unique book on the cross of Jesus Christ. While many books debate the finer points of the doctrine of the atonement, what is often lost are the real-life implications of Jesus’ death on the cross for those who have sinned and have been sinned against. Written in the form of pastoral letters, Death by Love outlines the twelve primary effects of Jesus’ death on the cross and connects each to the life of a different individual.

Driscoll, one of America’s most influential pastors, and Breshears, a respected theologian, help readers understand, appreciate, and trust in Jesus’ work on the cross in a way that will transform their lives. Both deeply theological and intensely practical, this book shows how everyone can find hope through the death of Jesus Christ.

About the Author

MARK DRISCOLL is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, one of the fastest-growing churches in America. He is president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and the Resurgence Missional Theology Cooperative.

GERRY BRESHEARS is professor of theology and chairman of the division of biblical and theological studies at Western Seminary. Dr. Breshears has taught at numerous Bible colleges and seminaries around the world and is a frequent guest on various radio and TV programs.

The Goal of God's Love May Not Be What You Think It Is

By John Piper October 14, 2000
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Do people go to the Grand Canyon to increase their self-esteem? Probably not. This is, at least, a hint that the deepest joys in life come not from savoring the self, but from seeing splendor. And in the end even the Grand Canyon will not do. We were made to enjoy God.

We are all bent to believe that we are central in the universe. How shall we be cured of this joy-destroying disease? Perhaps by hearing afresh how radically God-centered reality is according to the Bible.

Both the Old and New Testament tell us that God's loving us is a means to our glorifying him. "Christ became a servant ... in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:8-9). God has been merciful to us so that we would magnify him. We see it again in the words, "In love [God] destined us to adoption ... to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:4-6). In other words, the goal of God's loving us is that we might praise him. One more illustration from Psalm 86:12-13: "I will glorify your name forever. For your lovingkindness toward me is great." God's love is the ground. His glory is the goal.

This is shocking. The love of God is not God's making much of us, but God's saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

Take the cross of Christ, for example. The death of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of divine love: "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Yet the Bible also says that the aim of the death of Christ was "to demonstrate [God's] righteousness, because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed" (Romans 3:25). Passing over sins creates a huge problem for the righteousness of God. It makes him look like a judge who lets criminals go free without punishment. In other words, the mercy of God puts the justice of God in jeopardy.

So to vindicate his justice he does the unthinkable - he puts his Son to death as the substitute penalty for our sins. The cross makes it plain to everyone that God does not sweep evil under the rug of the universe. He punishes it in Jesus for those who believe.

But notice that this ultimately loving act has at the center of it the vindication of the righteousness of God. Good Friday love is God-glorifying love. God exalts God at the cross. If he didn't, he could not be just and rescue us from sin. But it is a mistake to say, "Well, if the aim was to rescue us, then we were the ultimate goal of the cross." No, we were rescued from sin in order that we might see and savor the glory of God. This is the ultimately loving aim of Christ's death. He did not die to make much of us, but to free us to enjoy making much of God forever.

It is profoundly wrong to turn the cross into a proof that self-esteem is the root of mental health. If I stand before the love of God and do not feel a healthy, satisfying, freeing joy unless I turn that love into an echo of my self-esteem, then I am like a man who stands before the Grand Canyon and feels no satisfying wonder until he translates the canyon into a case for his own significance. That is not the presence of mental health, but bondage to self.

The cure for this bondage is to see that God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act. In exalting himself - Grand Canyon-like - he gets the glory and we get the joy. The greatest news in all the world is that there is no final conflict between my passion for joy and God's passion for his glory. The knot that ties these together is the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Jesus Christ died and rose again to forgive the treason of our souls, which have turned from savoring God to savoring self. In the cross of Christ, God rescues us from the house of mirrors and leads us out to the mountains and canyons of his majesty. Nothing satisfies us - or magnifies him - more.

Originally published in Dallas Morning News.
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© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

There Will Be A Day

I heard on the radio Jeremy Camp's new release There Will Be A Day, on Monday the day before I did a funeral for a 2 month old that died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

When you look at an infant that is so beautiful and don't have any answers as to why, all one can do is point to the hope of a greater day and a glorious reunion for those who are in Christ. There is no hope of bringing that beautiful child back but there is the hope of being able to go to that child. After David lost his child in death he said, "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 2 Samuel 12:23.

We long for the day when everything that is wrong in this world will pass away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. There Will Be A Day powerfully captures that longing and the hope for that day. Just click the "play button" on the picture below to the left of the itunes logo. There are other links on the gadget below of interest, just click.


Lyrics:
I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing….

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day, He’ll wipe away the stains, He’ll wipe away the tears, He’ll wipe away the tears…..there will be a day

Post-Election Analysis: True or False?

A friend sent the following "True-False Test" to me today, the day following the election. It is timely and very helpful in giving us perspective on the presidential election. Take the test, and then ask yourself how you should respond to the election results.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, Jesus will still be King.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our responsibilities as Christians will not have changed one iota.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the greatest agent for social change in America will still be winning the hearts and minds of men and women through the gospel, not legislation.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my primary citizenship will still be in this order - (1) the Kingdom of God, (2) America, not vice-versa.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the tomb will still be empty.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the cross, not the government, will still be our salvation.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our children will still be more concerned with whether or not we spend time with them than with who is President.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my neighbor will still be my neighbor, and loving him/her will still be the second greatest commandment. (Do you know the first?)

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see abortion ultimately overturned will still be winning men and women to a high view of life through the gospel of Christ.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see gay marriage ultimately defeated will still be winning men and women to a biblical view of marriage through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my retirement will still not match my treasure in Heaven.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, "Jesus Is Lord" will still be the greatest truth in the Universe.

True/False:
The day after the election, regardless of who wins, we will still know that God is in control.

Using The 10 Commandments To Witness

Hey! Watch this spot (link below) from the Christian TV show The Way of The Master. The guy (Ray Comfort) speaking is not a "yelling preacher", so please don't be turned off and stop the video. He just has to speak up to be heard in an open forum. If you want to find other resources on how to share your faith go to www.thewayofthemaster.com.

33 Pastors Openly Speak About Politics

Maybe you've heard on the news about the 33 pastors who openly spoke about politics from the pulpit recently. This will surely end up in the courts and will be watched intently by people in the Church concerned about free speech and those opposed to the Church having influence on culture and society in the realm of politics.

If you want to enlarge the video below, just click on the button on the video that enables that.

FireProof: Never Leave Your Partner Behind

Dear Mr. Obama

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir - I´m Amazed

Lyrics to I'm Amazed

No one knew how alone I was feeling
And the emptiness I tried so hard to hide
Through I laughed and said my life was fine without You.

I was covering up the secret tears I cried
Then one day someone told me of Your mercy
And the love You showed on a hill called Calvary
There you died and purchased my redemption
When you broke sin’s power and set my spirit free

I’m amazed that You love me
I’m amazed how You care
Through Your precious blood
I’ve fond pardon
And my sins are washed,
They’re all washed away
All my sins are washed away

It’s true there have been days when I’ve failed You
Lord, You know the many times I’ve gone astray
But I’ve learned that Your love is stronger than my weakness
And you ear is open every time I pray
No one else has ever cared for me like You, Lord
Other friends could never be as close to me
I’m not afraid to face the problems of tomorrow
Knowing You are everything I’ll ever need

I’m amazed that You love me
I’m amazed how You care
Through Your precious blood
I’ve fond pardon
And my sins are washed,
They’re all washed away
All my sins are washed away

Glory In The Highest

What a wonderful day when the multitude of angelic host gathered to lift their voices in praise to God at the coming of the Messiah (Luke 2:13-14). Likewise, what a privilege we have to join in and announce to our world and all creation, "Glory in the highest!"

And when we take time to look about at God's handiwork in His creation and to see that all of creation declares the glory of God (Psalms 19:1-3), the redeemed of the Lord can not help but be compelled to join in and to sing God's glorious praises.

But the greatest inspiration for giving glory to God is found in the cross of Christ; for those who are redeemed, have by the mercy and grace of God been chosen to sing praises to the Lamb of God who was slain (Revelation 5:12). As we lift our hearts in praise to the Lamb, and we value the work of Christ upon the cross for our forgiveness and the propitiation (wrath bearer) of our sins, we are indeed amazed by God's grace!

Though we praise God and give Him glory because He alone is worthy of praise, there is great personal benefit in giving God praise. The Bible says that Abraham "grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he (God) had promised". (Romans 4:18-21 ESV) Likewise, we can grow strong in our faith through exercising praise and adoration to God.

I hope you will take time to sing along with the attached video below and sing "Glory in the Highest" and may you be strengthened in your faith as you give glory to God.

Glory In The Highest by Chris Tomlin

The Amazing Story of John and Donna Bishop

Below you will find the story of John & Donna Bishop as found at FamilyLife. It is an amazing story of faith and inspiration. It is the story of true commitment to one's spouse and God. It is the story of faith in the God who "works everything together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Still amazed by God's grace,
John
___________________________________
from: FamilyLife Marriage Memo
by Dave Boehi
In 1995, a man woke up in a hospital bed in Arkansas and had no idea who he was. In fact, he didn't know anything.

He didn't know that his name was John Bishop. That he had been married for 24 years to Donna, and they had three sons. That he served as pastor at a church in Heber Springs, Ark., and they lived on the grounds of a youth camp they had started.

But this was more than amnesia. John was suffering from aseptic meningitis, and for whatever reason, the disease wiped away all of his memory.

John didn't know how to read or write. He didn't even know how to walk, talk, or chew food. Everything was blank.

And so begins one of the more amazing stories I’ve ever heard. For the next three days (August 4-6) on FamilyLife Today you can hear John and Donna Bishop of Rosebud, Ark., talk about the trials they have faced over the last 13 years. For John, it's the story of a man who has had the ultimate second chance--the opportunity to start everything all over. "All I remember is from 1995 to this day," John says in the interview. "I remember nothing before that. Everything that happened in my life beforehand is what I've been told. When I woke up from meningitis, I did not know her. I did not know me, my name. I didn't know anything."

And for Donna, it's the story of a wife who basically lost her first husband, and had to decide what to do with this grown man who, at first, had to be cared for and taught as though he were an infant.

She kept thinking John's memory would return, but it never did. She had to teach him how to eat again, starting with baby food. It took two years for him to walk well. He learned to speak by reading lips and matching the words he heard with the way a person's mouth moved. (In fact, even after 13 years, John is still learning to improve his grammar and syntax as he speaks.)
"It was almost like I had four boys instead of three," Donna says. She had to assume all responsibilities for the family. Yet she never wavered in her commitment to John. "My parents had a good marriage, and I was always taught that when you're married, you're married for life. When you say for better or for worse, in sickness and health, you're in for the long haul. I never even thought about divorce."

But how do you explain the concept of marriage to a man who doesn't remember you and doesn't even know what marriage is?

At one point, when she felt John had progressed enough to understand, Donna told him, "You’re John, I'm Donna, and we're married. That means you belong to me, and I belong to you."

"You're my Donna?" he asked.

He got it. And ever since then he has called her "My Donna."

"It was so easy to love her, she loved me so good," he says today. "Everything I know is what my wife taught me. I tell everybody she taught me reading, writing ... and my favorite subject, kissing."

John still suffers from a variety of health problems--seizures, cluster migraine headaches, an injured back ... in the last year he's lost much of his sight. But the impact God has had through him because of this long struggle may be greater than anything before 1995. He and Donna began God Is So Good Ministries to testify to the goodness of God even in the midst of an incredible struggle.

John says the ministry name is inspired by something God taught him during a time of depression and discouragement after his new life began. "I really loved the book of Psalms, because David been through trials too ... He kept saying God is good." He remembers laying on the couch one night after a difficult day. He read Psalm 34:8, which says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

John prayed, "God, I gonna believe You're good. If I never get better, I still gonna believe You're good because that what Your word says. Lord, this must be what faith means ... believing You, even when I don't feel like it."

There are many other stories I could tell about this remarkable couple, but then I'd be stealing too much thunder from the FamilyLife Today broadcasts! You can listen to the three-part series with the Bishops on your local Christian station, or online at our website.

Links:
Forgetting What Lies Behind...
"For Better or For Worse"
Making New Memories

How To Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God

Recently my thoughts have been captured by the truths contained in Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (ESV). One evident truth in that verse is that anything in our lives that is not about the glory of God is sin. Paul also said it this way, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV). Below you will find a copy of a John Piper article titled "How To Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God" that speaks to the issue of everything not of God's glory as being sin.

When I asked two weeks ago, "Is the Doctrine of Total Depravity Biblical" my answer was, Yes. And one thing I meant was that all of our actions (apart from saving grace) are morally ruined. In other words, everything an unbeliever does is sinful and thus unacceptable to God.

I said that one of my reasons for believing this comes from 1 Corinthians 10:31. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I asked, "Is it sin to disobey this Biblical commandment?" Yes.

So I draw this somber conclusion: It is sin to eat or drink or do anything NOT for the glory of God. In other words, sin is not just a list of harmful things (killing, stealing, etc.). Sin is leaving God out of account in the ordinary affairs of your life. Sin is anything you do that you don't do for the glory of God.

But what do unbelievers do for the glory of God? Nothing. Therefore everything they do is sinful. That is what I mean by saying that, apart from saving grace, all we do is morally ruined. Some of you then asked the practical question: Well, how do you "eat and drink" to the glory of God? Say, orange juice for breakfast?

One answer is found in 1 Timothy 4:3-5: "[Some] forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer."

Orange juice was "created to be received with gratitude by those who believe the truth." Therefore, unbelievers cannot use orange juice for the purpose God intended-namely, as a occasion for heartfelt thanksgiving to God from a true heart of faith.

But believers can, and this is how they glorify God. Their drinking orange juice is "sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." The word of God teaches us that juice, and even our strength to drink it, is a free gift of God (1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:11). The prayer is our humble response of thanks from the heart. Believing this truth in the word, and offering thanks in prayer is one way we drink orange juice to the glory of God.

The other way is to drink lovingly. For example, don't insist on the biggest helping. This is taught in the context of 1 Corinthians 10:33, "I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved" (RSV). "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Everything we do-even drinking orange juice-can be done with the intention and hope that it will be to the advantage of many that they may be saved.

Let us praise God that we have escaped by his grace from the total ruin of all our deeds. And let us do everything, whether we eat or drink, to the glory of our great God!

Click here to find original article at http://www.desiringgod.org/.

Baptism: A Testimony of Changed Lives

Don't Worry! They'll Be Just Fine...

Dear Mom,

Scoutmaster Webb told us to write our parents in case you heard about the flood and got worried. We're all OK. Only one of our tents and two of our sleeping bags got washed away. Nobody drowned because we were all on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yeah, please call Chad's mother and tell her he's OK. He can't write her because of the cast on his arm.

I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps! It was neat! We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for all the lightning.

Scoutmaster Webb got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire, so he probably didn't hear him.

Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? It was so cool! The wet wood still wouldn't burn, but one of our tents did, and some of our clothes. Boy, Johnny is going to look weird until his hair grows back!

We'll be home Saturday if Scoutmaster Webb gets the car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked when we left, but he said with a car that old you have to expect something to break down. That's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a neat car. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the tailgate. It gets pretty hot with 15 people in the car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and yelled at him.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Webb wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You still can see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Webb isn't crabby like some Scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about us leaving the life jackets behind. He has to spend a lot of time working on the car, so we're trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We passed our First Aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Also, Wade and I threw up. Scoutmaster Webb said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick like that with the food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our Scoutmaster. He said he figured out how to do things better while he was doing time.

I have to go now. We are going into town to mail this and buy some bullets and more gasoline. Don't worry about anything. We are doing just fine.

Love,
Your son

Source: http://www.preaching.com/resources/illustrations/11579697/

The Robertson McQuilkin Story

Robertson McQuilkin was president of Columbia Bible College when his wife of 40 years was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. In honor of his marriage commitment, Robertson resigned to take care of her full time. (Click on video below to see)

• To see other inspirational videos from the Weekend To Remember Conferences click here.
• To explore and/or register for a Weekend To Remember Conference to build, renew and strengthen your marriage click here.
• To save on a Weekend To Remember Conference click here (deadline is August 1st)

How You Respond Depends On Your Perspective

Today (07-28-08), my wife Bonnie called me excited about a recent purchase. She had just bought gas for $3.75 a gallon, down nearly $0.25 a gallon from a week ago. Wow, can you imagine anyone being excited about $3.75 gas a year ago? This just goes to show how important our perspective is.

How we view our world also depends on what we view as being truly big. When we view God as being truly big then our circumstances are put into perspective for what they are. Though they may be overwhelming and massive for us, they are small, in light of God and who He is.

In the world we live in today, it is so important that we keep our eyes on God, who is truly Sovereign and Great. When we do that, it impacts how we see things. All of sudden, things that once might have been disheartening, begin to look like opportunities for God to be glorified.

What about how we view our sins and the sins of others. How do we view these sins in light of the cross of Christ?

When viewed in light of the cross of Christ we see sin as:

• Tragically offensive against God: God went to an extreme measure to satisfy His justice and wrath in dying for my sins and your sins. Sin can no longer be taken as trivial. Our sins are a serious offense against God for which we are in serious trouble.

When viewed in light of the cross of Christ we see sin as:

• Taken care of by God's mercy and grace: Because Jesus was sacrificed for our sins [those who believe in Christ], we do not get what we deserve - the justice of God and His wrath. That is the mercy of God. Because of what God has done on the cross, we are graced with favor, having been given the righteousness of Jesus Christ [2 Cor 5:21]. Where sin had once abounded, grace abounded much, much - so much more!

As stated in the wonderful hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary’s mount out poured, There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain
Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold, Threaten the soul with infinite loss; Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold, Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Refrain

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide. What can avail to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide, Brighter than snow you may be today.

Refrain

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see His face, Will you this moment His grace receive?

Refrain

So Goes the Church, So Goes the Nation By Vic Dove

Again, another great article from Vic Dove...

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12

I was recently traveling out of town, and while driving down the road I was listening to a recorded sermon on CD. The pastor’s name was Bro. Scott Smith and he was preaching a revival in a church in Eastern Tennessee. The sermon was on the church and how the church has lost its influence on our society and our culture. Bro. Scott in his sermon reminded me that while teaching to His disciples in the book of Matthew; Jesus told them: "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" Matthew 5:13.

After hearing this sermon I realized I have been looking at the problems of our great nation and blaming them on the wrong people. For sometime now I have been blaming politicians for the moral decay in our country. Not so my friend, the church is the problem. We have lost our saltiness. The church is virtually non- existent in our society today. We are like a salt shaker full of salt just sitting on the table. The salt is no good to anyone or anything if it stays in the shaker, you got to put it on the food in order for it to make a difference.

If you are sitting around this election year and thinking that if a Right Wing Conservative is elected President, or to any other office for that matter, will make a hill of beans difference; you are sadly mistaken my friend. The only thing that will change the direction of this great country is the Church- So goes the Church so goes the Nation. The answers to our cultural decline can not be found in a Republican, a Democrat, or any other party; they are found in the church.

The Church needs to get out of the salt shaker and start making a difference. The only way the salt can get out of the shaker is if someone turns it upside down and shakes it. Will you be that person in your church? Start shaking the salt shaker, spread some salt this week.

Abraham Lincoln was spreading the salt in his speech to the Congress of the United States of America when he used Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”. So goes the Church, so goes the Nation.

May God Bless You and Your family
Bro. Vic

Seeing The Truth About Ourselves

A man was having difficulty communicating with his wife and grew very frustrated and critical. He concluded that she must be becoming hard of hearing, so he decided to conduct a test without her knowing about it. One evening he sat in a chair on the far side of the room. Her back was to him and she could not see him. Very quietly he whispered, "Can you hear me?" There was no response. Moving a little closer, he asked again, "Can you hear me now?" Still no reply. Quietly he edged closer and whispered the same words, but for the third time there was no answer. Finally, he moved right in behind her chair and said, "Can you hear me now?" To his surprise and chagrin she responded with irritation in her voice, "For the fourth time, yes!"

I don’t know if you can relate to that story, but I certainly can. I have often blamed Bonnie only to find out later that it was my fault for my lack of hearing.

One of the things my Mother taught me is to remember that when I point my finger at someone, I’ve got 3 other ones pointing right back at me. That was her way of saying, “When you are tempted to be critical of others, first examine your own life.”

Jesus said it this way,

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Mat 7:1-5 NIV)

But how do we examine ourselves unless we can find an unbiased opinion? I believe Proverbs 21:2 gives us the principles to follow concerning where we can go to find a truthful assessment of ourselves.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2 ESV).

We see three principles to be applied in our lives concerning this verse.
1. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes” – When there is no recognized authority or standard of truth, then one man’s “way” is as valid as another man’s “way”. That was true in the time of the Judges in Israel. The Bible says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6 NASB).

2. “the Lord weighs the heart” – The picture here is that God weighs the “scales” of truth; that God has determined and judges what is true. It is God that we will answer to in our lives for our actions, by His standard and His alone.

3. “the Lord weighs the heart” – The picture also is that God weighs the heart – the motives behind our actions. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. He sees our hearts and knows our thoughts and motives (Psalms 139:2). The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jer 17:9 NKJV) Only God can truly see and give us guidance into assessing our motives and actions.

It is through God’s Word, His standard that we can assess what is right and what is wrong. God’s Word is not subjective but objective – it is black and white. God’s Word, the Bible, is not just another man’s opinion but His truth. We need to submit to God’s Word and His assessment of our lives so that we can experience the abundant life that Jesus has provided for us.

Thank God that we are not left to our own opinions or the opinions of men but God has provided a revelation of Himself and His ways that we are to walk in. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psa 119:105 NIV)

May God’s Word be our lamp as we walk together in His light!