What's Your Favorite Christmas Song and Why?

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know?

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Over the past few years this has become one of my favorite Christmas/Easter songs. I say Christmas/Easter because this song speaks of Jesus as Lord and Savior. I love the fact that this song walks through the amazing things that Jesus did as the Son of God and Son of Man. Most important it speaks of the future reign of Jesus as the Eternal King and the fact that he is God. What theology in a song. I love it! 

So what is your favorite Christmas song? Why is it your favorite?  

The Bible on Gay Marriage

 

In the latest issue of Newsweek the lead article, entitled "Our Mutual Joy", speaks to the Bible and gay marriage. Normally I take articles like this with a grain of salt. Most non-believers do not know the Bible so why would I listen to any argument they have in regards to what the Bible says? Well the reason I'm speaking to it this time is because the so-called tolerant are becoming intolerant and more vocal about imposing their agenda and in this case gay marriage. 

Ms. Miller starts off her article by showing instances of sin in the Bible. She uses this as the foundation of her article and the premise for her argument about the Bible and gay marriage. What she fails to do though is to see God's grace in the situations she cites. In each of the instances of sin she cites, God forgives the sin of the person involved after they repent of the sin they committed. The Bible is all about sinful men and God's grace, after all Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. 

When confronted with scripture, Ms. Miller states the following, "while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman." I guess we will ignore Genesis 2:27, 1 Cor. 6:12-20 and 1 Tim. 1:8-11. Ms. Miller also says, "no sensible modern person wants marriage—theirs or anyone else's —to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes." Really!!! I guess I must not be a sensible person. I guess the rest of the Bible believing Christians are not sensible people too. So once again if you believe in the Bible and follow it's statutes and are convicted by them then you are not sensible. She goes on to state that the Bible gives us no good reason why gay marriage shouldn't be acceptable. 

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor. 6:12-20

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted." 1 Tim. 1:8-11.

Ms. Miller then goes on for the remainder of the article to take scripture out of context and to call verses that state that homosexuality is a sin in the Old Testament "throw away verses". Ms. Miller also cites liberal thologians that take the verses out of context and do not believe in a traditional hermenuetical translation of the Bible. I guess when you have to prove sin is ok and that you do not require a savior you have to bring your presuppositions to the text and then force the text to prove it out. 

You know I could go more into Ms. Millers article and break down the falicies within it, but ultimately what this boils down to is that there is only one difference between thos ewho are gay and accept a gay lifestyle and me as a believer. That difference is that as a believer I have accepted Christ as my savior. I have recognized that I am a sinner and a hypocrite. I have recognized that as a sinner I need to repent before a Holy and just God. I also realize that without Jesus Christ as my Savior I am doomed to an eternity in hell. What Ms. Miller and many other non-believers are looking for is an acceptance of their own sin. After all it is easier to make the statement, "Here, the Bible praises enduring love between men. What Jonathan and David did or did not do in privacy is perhaps best left to history and our own imaginations." in reagrds to 2 Sam. 1:26 instead of repenting of sin. 

Ms. Miller you are right in that Scripture is about love. God sending His Son to die for our sins is a sign of His love for us. We as believers are called to love all men, but we are also called to hate sin. Ms. Miller if you truly desire eternal life you must realize that you come to God bringing nothing. You must come realizing that you are a sinner requiring a Savior.

Believers, do not allow these words o persuade you into believing that Scripture is what Ms. Miller and many liberal theologians say it is. Be a faithful Berean and search scripture and pray.

Amazing Video and Amazing New Bibles

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

A friend of mine showed me this video yesterday and I have to be honest I was amazed. Why was I amazed? I am amazed that first people who do not approve of marriage being between a man and a woman are being portrayed as haters. Really!! Because my personal convictions do not allow me to accept gay marriage I am a hater. Coming from a group that preaches tolerance, I find that a very intolerant point of view. I will say right now that if you are truly convicted by your religious beliefs then there will be intolerance to something. My religious beliefs make me intolerant to sin. Now this does not make me perfect, because I to am a sinner. I am intolerant of my own sin too and confess that sin before a Holy God everyday. Knowing I am a sinner allows me to be evangelize other sinners, not as a person who is better than them, but as a person who believes that Jesus died on the cross for his sins. Because of that belief my sins are forgiven. That truly is the only difference between Jack Black, any gay person on the street and me.

The second thing that amazed me about this video was that they portray people as being duped into voting for Proposition 8. So what you are telling me "Hollywood elite" is that the same people you have been saying are stupid because they believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins are the same people that were so smart and witty to convince people to vote in this manner. Really!! Once again what I see here is those who preach tolerance, being intolerant and saying, "oh by the way if you don't see tolerance my way then you are intolerant, not me." I really don't want to belabor the point because I firmly believe that people who support a gay lifestyle are being seen for what they truly are.....arrogant and selfish. This truly shows that this is all about them. By the way they also liked our political system while it worked for them, but now there is something wrong with it. Funny, don't you think.

Lastly and I really must say the worst part of this video is the part with Jesus. Really, if you are going to quote scripture, please use it in context.Do me a favor if you will and before you slam my faith read a little more about it and especially if you are going to slam the Bible read all of it. You really only make yourself look ignorant when  you pull things out like the Bible says it's OK to stone and sell women into slavery. 

I know that most people probably find this video funny, but to tell you the truth I find it offensive. The reason I find it offensive is because the same respect gays demand, they do not give. The same level of tolerance they preach, they do not give. The love that they say the Bible preaches and they say they advocate, they do not give. Am I surprised by this, no I am not. Am I saddened by this, yes. I am saddened because my Lord was mocked and people find it funny.

 

 The new Bible that caught my attention is the "Illuminated Bible". NPR wrote an article on this Bible that described it as a Bible that is for a hip, young and even secular audience. So do I find this disturbing? Do I find something inherently wrong with this? Well honestly it's a yes and no answer. The yes would be to the fact that the Bible as it is now, is for all people. The Bible as it is, needs no changes to make it hip. I also don't care to much for the picture below in regards to Scripture. The Old Testament could be described as a love story, but between man and woman. The Old Testament could be described as a love story between God and man, his creation. God loved Israel and chose to make her His own. She did not love Him back and also cheated on Him with other Gods. God in His awesome grace though provides a Savior. That's the love of the Old Testament.

  

So, with all that said, why do like this Bible? Mainly because people who would under normal not pick up the Bible will now...maybe...just maybe pick one up. Like the article says, it's geared for secular people. The contemporary photography may bring people to the point of purchasing a Bible that a regular Bible would not. The problem is that same photography. The Words that are inside the Bible are more important than the pictures. I fully understand that God can use anything to saving faith and maybe this will bring some to that saving faith. Maybe those same people that enjoy the video above will purchase this Bible and God would use it to bring them to repentance and ultimate salvation. I hope and pray that would be the what would happen.

What am I thankful for?

I believe on a day like today we all need to look at what we have and what we have been blessed with and thank God that He has more generous to us than we deserve.

First, I am thankful that I was chosen by our Lord and Savior to be a part of his eternal plan. I am thankful for my salvation and His forgiving me of my sins.

Second I am thankful for my family. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and mother to my children. God has blessed me with three wonderful kids, who for the most part, are good kids......no I'm wrong they are great kids. I am thankful for my parents and all they provided me with as I grew up. I am thankful for my in-laws (and I really am). The Lord has surrounded me with a wonderful family.

Third, I am thankful for my home church, Placerita Baptist. In a day where the Word is not taught from many pulpits, in a day when the Truth is absent from many churches, ours preaches the Word of God without reservation and with full conviction. Besides that's where my ministry is at.

Fourthly, I am thankful for the country in which God has me in. Amidst many Christians believing it's the end of the world, because Barack Obama is out President-elect. In a country that tends to dwell on all the horrible things within our country and in a country that is truly free and blessed, we should be extremely thankful for this.

Lastly, I am thankful for the meal that I am about to eat and the roof over my head. Over the past few years and my trips to Tijuana, Mexico I have grown to appreciate the things that I used to take for granted. There are so many people across this big ball called Earth that have so much less than us.

Please join me this Thanksgiving and for that matter, everyday God graces us with breath, and thinking about all that we have to be thankful for.

Where is your heart?

To some of my friends who happen to be of the smart aleck persuasion would say in my body, but that is not the question I am asking. In the ancient middle east the heart was believed the seat of all emotion, in our current culture we would believe this to be our mind. So when I ask the question where is your heart I am really asking what stirs emotion within you? What makes your motor hum? or even what brings you ultimate joy?

I think if we wanted to be honest with ourselves we would say, our kids, maybe a computer game or even an X-Box/Wii game, cars, or even money.Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

When Moses was writing this he was just coming off the Ten Commandments in Chapter 5 and was writing that God demanded all of Israel's heart. He wanted them to have His Word on their hearts. It was Gods desire to be the one thing that made Israel's motor hum. Now this command is not just to Israel then, this command is to us now. So my question is to you, where is your heart?

When I was in high school I ran. In order to be the best runner I could be I had to dedicate my whole heart to running. That meant when I ate, when I was out at night or even how late I stayed out, it was with running in mind. God here is commanding Israel and us to dedicate our heart to Him in the same manner. So, when you are out in town, or when you are alone at home, is your heart given over to the Lord. Verses 7-9 give us the checklist to see if our heart really is on god and His Word.

Look at verse 7a, "teach them diligently to your children". If you are a parent are you teaching your children through words and actions about the greatness of our God? Are you teaching them about the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? If our heart is truly given over to the Lord then we will take every opportunity and every chance to use Scripture to teach our children about God.Verse 7b says, "when you sit in your house". Your family life should exude your love for God, so much that when you are sitting at home with your family all you can do is talk about Him and what He is doing in your life and what He is doing for the family. You will be talking about the attributes of God and thanking Him for being a great God.

Next, if you had a wholehearted love for God it would be displayed in our public life.Look at verse 7c, "when you walk in the way".The idea here to the Jewish reader would have been as he is walking through town or as he is on his way to do business. For believers today this would be in our work places and as we run errands around town. When I preached on this passage a couple of weeks ago I asked the men who I was preaching to, "what would the lady at the bank, market,restaurant you frequent say if I told them you were a Christian?" "Would they be surprised due to some things you do while you are around them?" You see Christian our life is a testimony to those around us. Either it is a testimony unto darkness or a testimony unto light. Which is yours?

Next, if you truly love God with all your heart, how is it reflected in your private life? Look at the last part of verse 7, "when you lie down and when you rise".When you are at home all by yourself what rules your heart.To me this is the overarching and foundational question. How you answer this question, to me, determines how you would treat the two above. When you are all alone with he computer on, what Internet sites are you visiting? When you are all alone in front of the television, what shows are you watching? You see believer, you may fool your friends, you may fool your family, but you cannot fool a Holy and all knowing God. He is there with you when you are all alone.

Lastly, if we have a love for God the encompasses our heart in total we will treat the Word of God appropriately. Look at verses 8-9, "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." The idea here for the Jew was that of binding the Word of God to their bodies. In ancient Hebrew times they had what were called phylacteries or Tephilim. These were leather boxes with straps that the Jews would bind on their wrists and head. Inside of these boxes were mini scrolls with scripture written on them. They took this verse literally.I believe the God was speaking a little more metephorical, and I belive taht for the believer today this would mean taht we are to be using Scripture actively in our lives. We should be memorizing it. We should be utilizing it to combat temptation and sin in our lives.When I asked above about what you are doing when you are alone, this is a great time to draw on Gods truths. Put a verse up next to the computer and put a verse up next to the television. Gaurd your heart and mind from evil.

This piece of scripture has been instrumental to my heart as of late, because with all the distarctions of school, work and ministry I hadn't done a self diagnosis. I hadn't taken my heart and put it before the divine cardiologist in a while. How about you, when was the last time you put your heart on the table before God? When was the last timeyou checked your life to see if it measured up to God's standards? So as we get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, check yourself, where is your heart? On the things of this world or on God.

Time, Time, Time

"Time, time, time, see what’s become of me", those are the lyrics from Hazy Shade of Winter by Simon and Garfunkel and they express exactly where I am at today. It's been almost a month since my last post and I feel like my blog has been neglected, but at the same time I have been more busy then I have ever been in life. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like you could not get any more busy then you are right now? Well that is where the Lord has brought me to.

Next week I will be starting seminary and trying, Lord willing, to get my Masters Degree in Divinity. This will done on top of my current schedule of bringing up a family in the fear and admonition of the Lord, a full time job and a full time ministry. When I step back and look at this schedule I do not see how this will work, but knowing that our Lord and Savior is bigger then my scheduling issues, I know I will get through this time as long as I rest in Him.That is the part I glory in. The fact that when all is said and done that if I achieve anything it will be because He did it and not me.

"Won’t you stop and remember me, At any convenient time" is another line from Hazy Shade of Winter. As I thought about the thing I fear the most in starting this journey is that my family and my friends would be left in the wake of seminary; that the words sung by Simon and Garfunkel would be their mantra. I pray that this would not be so.I pray that I would not be the man that was described to me in an illustration this week at seminary orientation. The man that come graduation day had his wife put his books in the place where she used to sleep and told him to spend the rest of his life curling up next to his books, because she was not putting up with the neglect any longer.I pray that I would not disqualify myself from ministry at the same time I seek to serve the Lord in full time ministry.

I do know that I serve a "BIG" God. I do know that I serve a God that will help me if I ask Him. So I pray for balance in my life. To me it is not important to get "A's" for the sake of getting "A's". I mean it's not as if you get a better church if you graduate Sigma Cum Laud. I just pray that I would do all that I have on my plate to the glory of God and to the best of my ability. In this time I fear mediocrity more then anything else. I do pray for excellence.

"Hang on to your hopes, my friend" is one last quote from that song and I do believe it is my sentiment as I close today's blog.Here are my hopes as I go down this path:

1) My walk with the Lord would grow.

2) My family time would be quality time.

3) My ministry would be God centered.

4) My time in school work would be excellent in nature.

5) Lastly, that I would have time to blog.(truly not important, but definitely fun).

By the way I know if I were exegeting Hazy Shade of Winter I probably would have exegeted it wrong, so please forgive me in the use of the song. For those of you that are worried that if I exegete music wrong how can I exegete the Word of God, well......to be totally blunt with you......Get A Life! That was a song, not the inerrant Word of the Living God.

What is "Above Reproach"?

I am ashamed to admit that I am a fan of Sports talk radio. As a believer this can be quite difficult due to the fact that sports radio tends to be like the sports section of the newspaper, a Hooters advertisement on steroids. If you happen to be like me then you have been listening to all the talk about Alex Rodriguez and his divorce. They have been talking about did he or did he not have an affair with Madonna, did he or did he not have an affair with another girl earlier this year. They have been talking about whether or not it was right for the media to report on these things. They talk about an era in sports reporting where when athletes were cheating on their wives the media would look the other way. It's interesting, but none of the shows I have listened to has stated teh obvious, be above reproach.

"Encourage younger men likewise to be self-controlled, yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss, because he has nothing evil to say about us." Titus 2:6-8

As I listened to all these sports guys talk about this situation all I could think about is that as Christians we are called to be above reproach. That is we are called to be in a position, like the verse above states, that will not give anyone the opportunity to speak evil about us. If we live our lives so that no one could even intimate that we are cheating on our wives, so that no one could say that we are liars, cheaters or thieves. As believers we must live a life that is holy. The word holy in the original language means to be separated from and that is what we are to be. If you are a believer do you hang out with people that curse the Gospel? Do you watch movies that you shouldn't? What about the television shows you watch or the music you listen to? How do you act at work? Is it different then when you are a t home or at church?

There are a lot of believers out there that are that are riding the fence. If we as believers chose to look like the world then we are doing anything, but remaining above reproach. In our culture today Christianity has become a religious word. It really can mean everything and anything, even one who does not believe in the true Christ. Believer the challenge for you today is to live a life that truly defines the word Christian. You are called to live a holy and righteous life. You are called to be above reproach. Believer if the media were to follow you around as much as they follow the celebrities of our culture would they be able to bring a case against you showing that you have acted contrary to the Gospel? Examine your life and chose not to be an Alex Rodriguez. Chose to be holy and above reproach.

Christian Secession

Today I read an article about the town of Needles, California and how it wanted to secede from the state of California. Apparently they are not happy because the county seat is over 200 miles away. They are closer to Las Vegas, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona then they are to the place where county business is taken care of. They feel that Needles will get better representation and that they will have an opportunity to grow if they were in one of the neighboring states.

This article got me to thinking of Christians. When we make a profession of faith we are in a sense seceding from culture and the world. We are telling a culture that is given to sin that we would be better represented with Christ. When we secede from our culture we are shedding the "Old Man".....

"That you put off concerning the former conversation the OLD man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the NEW man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24)

If you call yourself a "Christian"(let me make this a little more clear since these days "Christian" could mean anything, a follower of Jesus Christ, the Truth, the Life and the Way.....the ONLY Way)you are to shed, uh secede from, the old man and put on the clothing of the "New Man". The idea here is that those clothes that once made us the "Old Man" need to be shed and burned so that we can be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You know that saying, "the clothing makes the man"? Well this time it is true. Our representation is in Christ, because we get better representation before His Father. Christ stands before His Father and tells Him that His death on the cross paid for our sins. Our secession from the culture comes with the benefit of eternal life in heaven.

As believers we must secede from our culture for this reason also....

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Paul tells Christians that secession is not just physical, it is mental also. Our secession must be a total change of our mind set. When we leave our culture behind we must leave it realizing that our commitment is total and not in part. When a city secedes from a state, it is total. There is no turning back. So it is with us when we become Christians.

So here is what you have to ask yourself Christian, have you seceded from the culture? Have you made more then just a physical commitment to Christ? Is your mind being renewed by the Word of God?

What if God Twittered?

Well I'm back from my techno fast (not fast like speed, but fast like to go without). Every now and then I go without stuff just to regain focus on what is important to me. Mainly to re-dedicate myself to my study of Gods Word, to re-dedicate myself to being a husband and father and most importantly re-dedicating myself to the Lord. So anyways while on my techno fast I though up the following blog entry and a few others I will be writing over the next few days and weeks.

I guess it's been a month now since I read an article about an American student who was arrested in Egypt along with his translator. The American student almost immediately started Twittering about what was going on. He was eventually released, but what is amazing is that all his friends whether in America or abroad were instantly updated to what was going on with their friend. Then a few weeks ago I saw that the same student was using Twitter to get his translator released. Once again this student was utilizing the power of the internet and this bulletin board of sorts to get information in the hands of his friends and loved ones.

So this got me thinking, what if God were to utilize Twitter to tell us what He was doing? or better yet what if He were to tell us what we need know when we need to know it. For instance one of His Twitters could be "Sitting here watching my creation live life without me" or "@Paperboy, Dude you need to treat your wife better". Wouldn't that be awesome?

Another thought was what if God had His own blog? He could blog about the things He does everyday. He could blog about what He sees day in and day out as He watches His creation. Talk about bringing people to Himself and letting people know about His grace. God could blog about Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross. He could blog about the necessity of the cross and about how there is only one way to heaven and it is through his Son. How awesome would that be?

Well if we take a what we know of God we will see that He actually was ahead of the times and already has His own "twitter" account and blog. Here is what I mean. When we pray God in essence Twitters us. Instead of posting What He is doing or what He requires of us on the internet, He lays it on our hearts when we humble ourselves before His thrown. God twitters us everyday if we allow him to. When we pray we allow ourselves to see and hear God's twitters. So do you hear God's Twitters?

As to the God's blog, we have scripture. God has written all about Himself in the Bible. God has blogged through the pens of men in the canon of scripture. God has told us who He is and all about what He has done. He has shown us what is required to be one of His own and He has told us why He required the blood of Christ for our sins. We see His love for man and at the same time we see His righteous judgement displayed. So do you read God's blog? It is the oldest blog known to man.

So my question to you is, do you humble yourself before the throne of God? Do you read scripture?

The Religious Buffet Line

Today's society is one that claims tolerance and co-existence. This mentality has seeped into the church in a big way. We have said that for the sake of "co-existence" we will claim the doctrine of humility and call all religions good. After all if we are truly humble then how can any of us claim that we know absolute truth. Under this doctrine of humility we allow ourselves to treat all religions as a buffet line so that we can take the parts we like from varying religions. In the mainline Protestant/Evangelical religion some have taken the Bible and carved it up so that all that is intolerable, all that may be offensive and all that may cause others to be convicted by their sin, is taken out of our so-called faith.

I know I cannot escape the following verses when it comes to God, Jesus and the Bible and for that reason I do claim to know absolute truth.

"All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies." Psalm 25:10

"Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth." Psalm 31:5

"For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 117:2

"The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." Psalm 119:160

"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." John 1:17

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." John 17:17

"because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel" Colossians 1:5

"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." James 1:18

The above are only a few verses in scripture that testify to 1) God being the truth; 2) Jesus being the truth; and 3) Scripture being the truth because they are the words of God. So for me is there absolute truth? Absolutely, scripture tells me so.

One argument that is made by buffet line Christians and that is that Jesus is a way and not the only way. Well look at John 14:6 above. Jesus says clearly that He is the way and that no one gets to heaven except through Him. I do believe that makes His statement absolute. This is not a verse we can leave behind as we pass through the buffet of religions. Christianity is not part of the buffet line, it is the meal.

Another argument seems be the humility argument. The one that says that if I were truly humble I would see that there are many ways to heaven and my way is only one. Well true humility is humbling yourself before an almighty God, realizing that you are the created being and He is the Creator. It is actually prideful of us when we choose the buffet line in opposition to the one true God and the one way. True humility is not found through self-actualization or relying on your own understanding to find out what is truth, it is the belief in one true God and then coming into submission and obedience to that one true God.

I just want to close this post with one verse, " For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans 1:25.

To Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I say that because you did not leave your name when you made your comment yesterday on my blog. I normally do not respond to anonymous responses because they are usually drive by commenter's. People who leave their two cents but really have no intention of discussing the article they have commented on. You commented on the "Coexist" bumper sticker and that movement in particular when the article you commented on was on the singularity of truth. You say that we "coexist" so that we all will meet in heaven when the reality of that statement is just the opposite. We accept coexistence so that we do not have to believe in an absolute truth.

Your comment proves my point out to a tee. Our post modern culture has taken us to the point where we believe the parts of differing religions we want to believe so that we are not convicted of our sin. Anonymous, I understand that you feel that by not upsetting anybody due to their religious beliefs you are right in line with a God that loves all of us. That reality of that statement is that it is only half true. God, the one true God, is also a God of wrath. He is a God that demands payment for our sins. Since none of us are perfect and will never reach perfection He gave us the sacrifice He required in Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, yours and mine, He satisfied the payment that was required by God. When Jesus rose from the dead He conquered death so that we may have eternal life.

Please understand that their is only one way to heaven and that is through full repentance by us that we are sinners requiring a Savior and that we believe that Jesus....not Budah, Jesus.....not the Islamic Allah, Jesus.....not how good you of a person you are, but belief in Jesus and in Him alone will gain you entrance into heaven. Understand that to believe that the coexistence of religions as a way to gain heaven will only gain you an eternity in hell.

Anonymous it is my prayer that you would understand that there is a singular truth and that the only way to heaven. For the record my desire is to see you in heaven too so if you happen to come back across this blog,please comment and please feel free to leave your name because true Christianity will love you and desire you to have what all believers have in Jesus Christ.

Training Your Children By Using Proverbs

Over the summer our college group will be going through a series on "Practicing Proverbs". My thought behind this series was to train our college students in the use of Proverbs. Proverbs is a book full of Wisdom on varying different topics. I hope and pray that this is as much of a blessing to the students as this study has already been to me.

As I started studying for this series I re-read a book I truly love, "Practicing Proverbs" by Richard Mayhue. This book lays out how to utilize proverbs to combat situations that we encounter daily in our lives. This book also has taken the topics that Proverbs talks about and gives references to which proverbs speak into which situation. This is a great training tool as well as a great study tool.

As I went through this book his time the text that grabbed me was the one on training your children through the use of Proverbs. Mayhue sites that these 10 principles came out "Successful Christian Parenting" by John MacArthur.

Proverbs 1:7;9:10 – Teach your children to fear the Lord.

Proverbs 4:23 – Teach your children to guard their mind

Proverbs 1:8 – Teach your children to obey their parents

Proverbs 13:20 – Teach your children how to select their friends

Proverbs 2:16-19;5:3-5 – Teach your children to control their lusts

Proverbs 5:15-20 – Teach your children to enjoy their spouses

Proverbs 4:24 – Teach your children to watch their words

Proverbs 6:6-8 – Teach your children to manage their money

Proverbs 3:27-29 – Teach your children to love their neighbors

When Solomon wrote Proverbs he was writing them from a father to their sons. These Proverbs were written for the purpose of instructing our children in the way they should go. We as parents should be echoing the following sentiments of Solomon:

"Hear, {O} sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, Then he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live;" Proverbs 4:1-4

I pray that we all as Christian parents would desire our children to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Let us all train our kids in the Proverbs.

Impact Your World

This morning as I was going through my morning routine I came across this article at CNN.com titled "Impact Your World". As a believer I was curious as to how a secular news site would instruct people impact their world. If it wasn't so early in the morning I probably would have guessed on my own, but I didn't. As the article came up it spoke of different organizations we can support that are going out and helping countries that are in need, like Myanmar. This is a good thing, I really don't want to criticize this method of assistance, but if you are a believer what are you doing to impact your world?

That is the question that nearly floored me this morning. Lately I have been struggling with the question, "Am I impacting my world or community......for Christ?" I think that we as believers should ask ourselves this question often. Thew question does not become is it better to help the cyclone victims of Myanmar or the beleaguered people of the United States that are currently struggling with gas prices, food and the possibility of losing their house. The question is am I doing anything? Providing people in need with the necessities of life is an open door to give them the necessity for eternal life.

Some of you as you read this are probably like me, asking yourself the following question: "How can I help, I have a full time job and a family. I have no time to give." The thing that I have come to realize is that we all have a missionary field and it is the one we live in everyday. Do you have co-workers? Do they know Christ? How about your neighbors, have you shared your faith with them? Listen believer I'm not saying to beat your co-workers over he head with scripture, but I am saying are you looking for the open doors God gives you?

Yesterday I read a friend's blog and he had written an article about how allowed fear to paralyze him when the Lord opened the door for him to share the Gospel. I believe that his blog describes us on most occasions that the open door comes. We are afraid of looking like freaks or fundamentalists or just plain religious. We put our own pride before our ability to share the best gift we have ever received with someone. On Monday I had to give my boss a Seminary referral sheet for him to fill out. I did not know how my boss was going to react so I was a bit afraid. When he took the evaluation and explained my intentions he began to ask questions about the bible and why I felt it was important to have this type of training. Open Door! For the next half hour I proceeded to explain the Gospel to him and I explained how my love for God and scripture had grown to the point where I felt I needed to educate myself so that I could teach, preach and train others. It was an opportunity that I did not expect to have, I'm glad the Lord gave me the courage not to miss it.

So how can we impact our world believer? First pray for it and second share the love of our Lord and the salvation we have through the cross. Call those around you to repentance and invite them to church with you. Be a living example of Christ's love.

Howto Combat Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (Pt. 2)

In my last blog I spoke of one of many causes of Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (SFS), Anxiety. This is not the only cause, but is one of the most common in the evangelical church today. As I meet with college students I began to see that they have anxiety over tests, grades, life after school and relationships. All these can, if left unchecked the beginning of the road to SFS. In adults we see it often with finances, marriage issues, children and a lot of times the rampant sin in our culture. In the next few blogs I am going to give you a couple of ways to build up your immune system against SFS.

Today we can take a look at "Reflecting on the Promises of God". A great way to inoculate yourself against SFS is to go through scripture and remind yourself of the promises of God and look at how He fulfilled them.

Ps. 89:3-4 “You have said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 'I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah” This promise we can glory in with the Psalmist, because God did advance Davids line forever and that throne is the one Christ will sit on forever. God promised David that an eternal kingdom would come through his bloodlines and He fulfilled that with Jesus. So what can we glory in? We glory in the fact that God makes promises that are to be fulfilled generations in the future and then arranges lives and events so that Jesus would be born with the right bloodlines. Jesus is also the one that resides on an eternal thrown and because of this promise we have an eternal King that has resided with us and has experienced exactly what we have experienced.

2 Peter 1:3-4 “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Here is the promise that we have in Christ. This is the promise that through Christ's sacrifice we have been forgiven of our sins and share in His divinity. This is the promise that we have a future inheritance in Christ. We, through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, have a future in which we will reign with Him in heaven. What joy we have in that. If you are a believer, can you not joy in this?

Rom. 15:8 “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,” Christ fulfilled Gods promise that He would send a perfect sacrifice for His people. Christ became our servant so that He could show that God did not lie when He promised that He would send us a Savior. The part that amazes me is that Christ humbled Himself to come down here to be a servant to us so that I could spend eternity with Him.


2 Cor. 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” What an awesome reminder that all of His promises find their "yes" in Him. Hopefully if you are a believer you, like Paul, utter a hearty amen when remembering that our God fulfills all His promises.

Titus 1:1-2 “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” Lastly, one of my favorite verses on God. We have eternal life because His promises have been fulfilled. Why? Because He never lies! Awesome. This is a great reminder to comfort in Him and not men. Men lie, God does not! Glory in that.


Hopefully with inoculation shot one you can find glory in God and through that fight SFS.

How To Combat Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (Part 1)

A while back I taught a lesson to the college group at Placerita Baptist Church on Spiritual Fatality Syndrome. Spiritual Fatality Syndrome, or SFS as I like to call it, grips most Christians and renders them ineffective in the Christian race (Heb. 12:1). SFS can be diagnosed fairly simply. When you see a believer that is so encumbered by things like anxiousness, fear of man, spiritual inadequecy or the feeling that their sin is so bad that they could never be forgiven, they have Spiritual Fatality Syndrome.

Why is it called Spiritual Fatality Syndrome? The reason is simple. When you have believers that are rendered of no use to the kingdom because of their encumbrances they experience a slow spiritual death. This hits all age brackets and sees no boundaries.

When I spoke to the college group I gave them 5 ways to battle this, the first was "Be Anxious for Nothing". We took a look at the following verses as a way to build up our immunity against Anxiousness and Fear of Men.

Ps. 127:2 “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” So often we lose sleep when we are anxious for things to happen in our lives. We are anxious that things may go bad or that we may not be able to handle what life throws our way. The Psalmist says here have faith in God. If you rest in Him then you will have good sleep. Anxiousness and fear of man stem from a lack of faith. Believe that He gives you rest and He will give you rest.

Isa. 35:4 “Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." When trials seem so hard that you can not get out from under them remember that God, when relied upon will come to your rescue. When we believe that God is powerful enough to save us out of all situations we will be blessed.

1 Cor. 7:32-34 “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. (33) But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, (34) and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.” Paul addresses some of the anxieties we could have and goes on in 1 Corinthians to show us that we need not be anxious for these things. If we are in prayer and in the scripture and our heart is truly fixed on the Author of Life, then we will be in the Lords will and we will be doing what He desires us to do. The key here is having the right focus. We must focus on God and not the things that encompass us.

Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” So what is the best way to fight anxiousness? Through prayer and supplication. Come into perfect obedience to God, by submitting to His authority and He will comfort us. When we pray we ought to asking him to strengthen us from our anxious hearts and to comfort us our time of fear. We should also pray that the Lord would give us the faith we need to run our race effectively.

Now these are just a few verses. There are more that address anxiousness like Jer. 17:8, Matt. 6:25-34, Luke 10:41 and Luke 12:22-26. Ultimately we need to have faith and that pointed out beautifully in Matt. 6:25-34. Always remember the lilies, the birds and the grass of the field. As pointed out in Matt. 6, if God takes care of those things why would He not take care of you believer? This reminder keeps me from being anxious and I hope it does the same for you.

Running the Race

When I was in high school I tried out for many sports. In my Freshman and Sophomore year I played football and basketball and at the end of my Sophomore year the football coach came to me and told me as kindly as he could not to try out for the football team because I was on the small side. At this time I was not happy with basketball either, the coach and I didn't see eye to eye on things like favoritism and my playing time(when I say playing time I mean lack of playing time....well I mean like it was non-existent). That spring I decided to give track a whirl. I mainly stayed with the field events at first, because I had no desire to run in circles. Then as the season progressed my coach needed a 400 meter hurdle runner so I tried it. After a couple of weeks I got pretty good at it. A few weeks later the distance coach got a hold of me and that was it my running career began. I then ran cross country and track my Junior and Senior year. I started to enjoy it because I was half way descent at it. It is because of that time in my life that I have always had a fondness for bible verses that talk about running. I could relate to the symbolism.

This week I am going to be teaching our of Hebrews 12:1-3, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

As I read this passage a couple of things stuck out to me having been a runner. The first was the part where the writer of Hebrews says "let us also lay aside every weight". The Greek word used here for lay aside every weight is the word for hook. The idea here is a hook that you would use to hang some objects by. In today's terms it might be a hanger that you use to hold your clothes, but this hanger would hold heavier things. The though that came to my mind was, "you've got be kidding me running with something attached to you? You could never run to your full potential that way". That is the writers point exactly. The message to us out of this is that we can not run the Christian race as long as we are weighted down by things like anxiety, fear of man, fear of death, fear of being made fun of or even something as simple as not repenting of your sins. You see in your race all these things weigh you down and your running will not be that effective. I can remember as a runner the clothes we would wear, I should say the lack of clothes we would wear, they were barely there because you did not want them to interfere with your running. Dear believer shed those things that may be weighing you down. Go to the Lord now in prayer and ask Him to help you shed those things.

The second thing that struck me was "and the sin that clings to you". The imagery here is fantastic! The Greek word here gives you the idea of something closely guarded, some sin that is constantly occurring in your life. When I read this I though of a friend of mine. This friend would work out with leg weights on. I practice he would never be towards the front of the pack because of the leg weights. Our coach would tell him that the leg weights worked out the wrong muscles and worked out the right muscles the wrong way. In essence he would never gain the speed he needed to be effective in a race. Sure enough when race day came, he was never towards the front because of his workout habits and his lack of listening to the coach. That is the idea here. The writer of Hebrews is telling you and I that we need to shed the sin in our lives that hinder our running the race. When we entertain sin and tell ourselves it's ok, that is hampering your ability to run the race. When we allow certain sins into our lives because they are fun, we hamper our ability to run he race. When we justify sin in our life because other so called believers do it, we hamper our ability to run the race. Dear believer shed that sin. Strip yourself down to only the necessary things to the race you are running.

Dear believer run the race to your best ability and don't be complacent with a walk. Run.....run as hard as you can and to the best of your ability striving for those around you to impacted by the manner in which you run.

It's a Good Thing God isn't an NBA Referee

It's funny, basketball is my favorite sport. I enjoy playing the game even though in my ever increasing age what little talent I had is getting less and less and my recovery time from playing is getting greater and greater. I love college basketball more than the NBA, but at this time of the year I do watch a few NBA playoff games. You see I really do not like watching the NBA, because there are two sets of rules. One for the highly talented, famous ones and one for the rookies and the not so talented. If a sport has rules then they should apply to all and not just a few.

As I sat and watched one game tonight I thought about if God was an NBA referee. Would you have to be rich or famous to be worthy of salvation? Would it be about the return on His investment in you? Would He favor some of us over others because of our talents? Would pastors gain a greater favor with Him than say a lay leader? If God were to treat us like NBA referees referee an NBA game we would not know how to get to heaven or even if we did our best if we would even get into heaven.

I find comfort in knowing that my God is a fair God and that He does not judge us based on who we are. We all start out as sinners (Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,") and it's by Gods grace that we are seen as perfect (Romans 3:24 "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus"). It is not based on how we use the talent God gifted us with and how we use it. It is not based on a popularity contest or how many good deeds we do. 

As I watch the NBA I will be reminded now and find comfort in the fact that my God is the same God for me as He is with you. I will find comfort in the fact that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ for both of us. I will find comfort in the fact that there is nothing I can do to gain salvation outside of proclaim Christ as my Lord and Savior.