Just to keep this blog up-to-date and hip! =)
How about some White and Nerdy???
Enjoy!
May the Judgment of God…
This latest news about Germany’s attack on homeschooling families shows just how evil its government is as it continues to echo Hitler’s wishes.
My hope… May the judgment of God fall more severely upon that nation in the coming days for its continued idolatry and worship of the Nazi regime. And may this happen to bring about the countries repentance and reconciliation to God and His Christ.
Pray for these families, especially this family in the link above, that they will have their children returned to them and be united once again.
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
20/20 & The Nativity Story
I’m watching 20/20 right now on ABC television. They were interviewing several scholars about the nativity of Jesus in the Gospels. I would first like to mention that Darrell Bock was one of those scholars interviewed. He did a great job, from the short clips they chose to show of him, defending the historical narratives of Matthew and Luke regarding the virgin birth and surrounding events.
But what struck me was one of the last statements made by the scholar ABC chose to end the segment on Jesus with… he basically said that the Gospels are beautiful poetry about the ‘meaning’ of Jesus and followed it by asking the question – isn’t that even better than some historical set of events taking place in the past?
Well? Isn’t it? Come on, Dude!
Okay, none of this surprises me. Especially the fact that 20/20 ended the segments with that scholar and a woman scholar saying that truth to ancient people, back in those days, was much different than our modern, scientific demands for empirically tested data that proves something to be true beyond doubt.
I simply cannot shake my head enough at these scholars who think that the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth are merely beautiful poetry. So here are two things that I noticed…
1) These scholars who took that position, contra Dr. Bock, have assumed that modernity’s demand for empirical evidence proves the Gospel accounts cannot be historically accurate. They have also, even further, assumed that truth has nothing to do with history. Now, I’m not going to try to explain what they believe truth is. For that answer you will have to ask them yourselves. But what I will say is found in observation two…
2) Why would we prefer beautiful, non-historical poetry over and against beautiful, historical poetry and records??? I mean seriously folks! How can any of us, who think about what the New Testament says – with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – want it to all be poetry??? Do any of us want this life to be IT? Do you want to die and cease to exist? Do you really not want to live forever? Even further, since the New Testament -especially the Gospels – tell us that Jesus’ death and resurrection are the start of God’s new creation and the beginning of His putting all things to rights, why would any of us want to think that death, war, hunger, poverty, terrorism, etc. are all going to continue to go on for the rest of time with no hope of change??? Do you really want to believe that? Now, I’m sure there are some people out there who believe that man is powerful enough to change all this and that one day we will discover a cure to live for much longer or even live forever and that we don’t need God or any other ‘deity’ to help us… I’m sure some people think like that. But why?
Why does anyone have hope that mankind can change things by themselves? What is HOPE anyway? Do we have some crystal ball that tells us we are going to accomplish these things on our own? Are we really humanistic prophets that can make things happen because we say they will one day happen? Absolutely NOT!
Paul wrote to the Roman Christians and said the following about hope and about what Jesus accomplished for all those who believe in His Gospel and are faithful to His teachings:
Romans 8:18-25: “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
This is God’s promise, that He will put the creation back into order. God has promised that He will reverse all the death and destruction and will one day turn the universe over into the hands of His children for their everlasting enjoyment of it!
Where is there hope if we see the Gospels as “beautiful poetry”??? All I hear this man saying is, “There is no God… nanna, nanna, boo boo!” And who wants to hear that? I know I don’t. =)
Well, to end this rant, I would like to say that 20/20 is doing the only thing that it knows. America likes to see things questioned. We like to know that others cannot tell us what to believe or how to live our lives or raise our children or anything that would ‘take away our rights.’ But isn’t that exactly what is happening? Haven’t we all been told to question everything and to believe what we want? Isn’t America simply following what scholars and other people in influential power have told them to believe and accept as ‘the way it should be’ in order to ‘really’ be free and happy?
On the contrary, the God of creation has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus. He has acted IN HISTORY and continues to act in history through His Church. He has been in the process of making all things new and setting the world to rights since the resurrection of His Son from the dead! And God has continued that process by sending His Spirit to live inside the bodies of His people, who are His Church, and has filled the earth with the knowledge of His greatness and love more and more each day!
This is not poetry. This is not wishful thinking. These things are history. They are the things that are happening every day of our lives. We are part of this great STORY, but this story is real – it is REALITY and HISTORY. And if we believe this and believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead, then we can have hope and joy in knowing that God is changing this world and will one day judge the world by the Man, Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul said this about that event that will one day take place:
Romans 2:6-10: “6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.”
It is only those who have been united to Jesus Christ that will obey the truth and seek for glory, honor, and immortality. And all this is only possible because God has given His Spirit to His Church in order that it will fulfill the righteous requirement of the law through faith in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. Everyone would do well to either embrace this Good News, or, according to some scholars, simply believe that the Gospels are beautiful poetry so that we can all ignore God and ‘hope’ that when we die nothing will meet us but non-existence.
Therefore, I urge you to remember the nativity of Jesus Christ this Christmas season. Remember that He came to rescue the world by dying and rising again for the justification of all those who believe in His name and are faithful to His teachings with the help of His Spirit within them.
May God be glorified in all things and in all the nations of the world! To Jesus Christ be honor and praise and fame for ever and ever! Amen!
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
New Bible publication literally cuts out unused parts
Link: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52536
Well, this is truly hillarious! I wonder what people think when they get there hands on it?
Excerpt:
The publisher has reported that it has sold hundreds in just the first few weeks of availability. 
However, the names listed for the officials of the foundation, “De Rijke” and “Fortuijn” give away the joke, which sometimes has produced more anger than humor among Christians.
“De Rijke” means “rich,” and “Fortuijn” means “fortune,” and the Bible actually is published by Time to Turn, a network of Dutch Christian students “who want to choose a sustainable and just way of life, based on their faith in Jesus Christ.”
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Not to say that I know much about this group of students, but how true is this joke to the majority of the western world today, myself included?
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
James 4:17 – The Sin of Omission
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
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Here James comes to the close of his argument against these merchants with a final sweeping blow given to his reading audience…
“If you know the right thing to do, but you don’t do it, then that means you are sinning!”
What? If we omit something from our lives we are sinning? Yes. If you omit the Gospel from your lives, guess what? You’re sinning.
Let’s have that sink in for a moment…
Now wait just a minute! Isn’t that a little harsh of James? The poor merchants have to plan for the future, don’t they? That’s part of their job. Are you saying that they have to say those words every time they talk about future plans or else they’re sinning?
Well… No!
Here are a couple things I am NOT saying…
(1) I don’t believe James is teaching us that we have to use this phrase in verse 15 every time we talk about the future. In other words, we don’t need to wear it out like a red headed step child.
(2) Saying the magic words won’t make any of us right before God. Without faith in Jesus, no one pleases God. So, don’t ever get the mentality that if you say the right words and do the right things that you can earn your way into heaven: That is legalism and legalism only results in damnation. (Gal. 2:16)
Now, here is what I’m saying…
To bring it together for us, James is telling us that the particular sin of omission occurs when we ignore God, plan to do something, find success in doing it, and then brag about having done it.
A couple of examples from the gospels will enlighten our minds… Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan: (Matthew 10:25-37)
The first two men were not sinning because they were walking along the road to get where they had planned to go. They sinned because they omitted the fact that there was a man lying there on the other side of the road beaten half to death and about to die.
Only the Samaritan did the good he knew to do.
Remember the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man: (Luke 16:19-31)
Jesus said that a poor man with sores all over his body only wanted to be fed by the crumbs off of the rich man’s table. But the rich man omitted the fact that Lazarus was even there and never helped him once. Jesus says that even the dogs cared more for Lazarus because they came and licked his sores.
Do you see the point Jesus is making here? If we know the good things we ought to do, but we don’t do them… these are NOT just little oopsies. They are BIG uh-ohs!
This applies particularly to those of us in the Church. The Church has the Gospel and most of its members have believed it to some degree. So, one of the greatest sins anyone in the Church can perform is the sin of not doing what we know is good and pleasing to the Lord Jesus.
In James’ day, the problem that these merchants had was not that their planning and working was evil. But that their attitude in planning and working was evil. They knew that they were supposed to acknowledge God and ask him for help and strength in everything that they planned to do.
But, as James points out, they were not doing that at all. They were omitting God from the picture and boasting in their own accomplishments.
So, for those of us who believe the Gospel… It is my challenge to you today to never omit God from your future plans, even the plans about tomorrow. I challenge you to believe that Jesus really is Lord and that He really is King of this universe, ruling and reigning at the right hand of God today at this very moment! This means that whatever He says goes! (1 Peter 3:22)
To close… as you read this today, I hope you will live your life with the attitude, “If it is God’s will, I will live and do this or that.†Don’t ever start to think you can make it with out Him. Don’t ever think that you can plan out all the details of your life, for even the next day, when none of us are guaranteed another breath without God willing that we breathe.
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
If watching THEM isn’t good enough for you…
| Link: http://echurch.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ Now, I know this isn’t real, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone actually did this one day. This is hilarious! Enjoy! |
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James 4:16 – Don’t Be Evil!
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
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So, now that we have seen the Gospel alternative to the merchants problems… what else needs to be said? Well, you can give two options for life, but unless you give the ultimate outcome for eah option, others will not know why it is that you are recommending one over the other(s). Therefore, James tells his readers exactly what the problem is with the way these merchants are acting. This is where we start to finally see the importance for why James would address this issue so strongly.
Question: How is it that these merchants are bragging? Answer: I, I, I, me, me, me! I will go into this town and sell MY stuff and I will make a lot of money!
I will go to this college and I will get a good degree and I will find me a good wife and I will have 1.5 children, a house with a white picked fence… and don’t forget… a walk in closet!
We human beings know how to boast and brag all over ourselves. But what does James remind us?… If the Gospel is true… then all that boasting and bragging about ourselves is EVIL. It’s evil!
In fact, this is all over the New Testament letters. Paul says that boasting is excluded because we are justified by God through faith and not by our own works. (Romans 3:27-28) He also says to the Ephesians that we were saved by grace through faith – not by works – so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) The only boasting that we are permitted to do is boasting in the Lord and in our weaknesses so that God’s strength might be shown in us through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. (2 Cor. 10:17; 11:30)
So, in all reality, James’ alternative for the merchants is an alternative form of boasting. A form of boasting that isn’t evil!
Any what bosting is it? We are to boast in the Lord… “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.†THIS is Gospel boasting and Gospel thinking. If Jesus really is Lord, then our lives must be centered on His will and His glory and our boasting must only be about us in relation to Him.
“I will live and do this or that, if He has written my story that way.†That is true Gospel boasting that honor Jesus Christ and gives glory to God, our Father.
So, to sum it all up what does James conclude? What have we said he was trying to do?
Our lives show each other the doctrines we believe. Therefore, if our lives are not in accordance with the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus, then that means our doctrine has to change.
Once again, that doesn’t always mean we need to change our intellectual answer about a specific Biblical teaching. But what that does mean is that if our lives are not in line with the doctrine of the Gospel, then we need to do one of two things…
We need to either… (1) Believe the sound doctrine that we have been taught by our ministers, or (2) we need to be taught some good, sound doctrine that we’ve never learned before and believe it with all that we are. If we will believe the Gospel, then we will be able to see the ways we act and speak begin to change in dramatic and Spirit lead ways.
Now, remember what I said briefly at the beginning. I believe that James was talking to merchants who were primarily members of the Church. That means that they knew the Gospel and they knew that Jesus is Lord.
That’s why James can briefly, but sternly, correctly their bad doctrine by altering how they speak about the work that they do. He meant to not only change what they said, but even more, change the way they thought.
And since they did know the Gospel and they did know that Jesus is Lord, but they weren’t living as though they believed it… what did that mean?
Well, James sums it up for all of us. He pulls all of in together for this final sweeping statement!
See my next post…
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
Germany Imprisons Mom – Dad and Kids Flee to Austria
Link: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1330
This is truly a sad and terrible situation that I did not know went on in Germany. I honestly did not realize Germany had such laws.
Here is a background article from last year:
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/139
This is Hilarious!
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Link: http://www.nbc.com/Video/videos/snl_1432_narnia.shtml “The Chronic (what?) Cles of Narnia” is the name of the rap song. It’s from Saturday Night Live. Enjoy! Update: http://nbc-snl.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=front&w=narnia |
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James 4:15 – The Gospel Solution
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.â€
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We said last time that James gives the only good alternative to the merchants bad doctrine… The Gospel.
So, what is the Gospel? Well, in one sentence… Jesus is Lord!
That is what Christ’s Church confesses every day His followers gather together… either by song, or sermon, or by prayer or teaching.
So, if Jesus is Lord that means it’s up to Him whether we live or die! If Jesus is Lord, that means it’s up to Him whether or not we move, get a job, go to college, or finish high school. If Jesus is Lord, then that means it’s up to Him whether or not we take our next breath.
What does James say again? “If it is the Lord’s will… we will live and do this or that.†That’s the Gospel! If Jesus is Lord, then that means what He says goes. And that is GOOD NEWS because He is good and righteous and He is King of all the nations!
So, that’s the alternative James gives us, right? But what if we don’t take that alternative? What if we act like the merchants? James clarifies what it means to act like these merchants that plan to succeed in their goals without involving God…
In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
