Tom Major

What I Did Today - 6/16/2011

2011-06-16T23:58:00.024-05:00

My day off of work, so I had lots of others things to fit in!
I had bran cereal for breakfast, then headed over to the Driver's License place where I got my address updated on my license. I moved to my new house at the same time that I got my license, which made me have to go back in to get the address updated :-).
I updated my personal finances, and the finances for each of us guys here in the house. Four of us are sharing this house: Dale T (the owner), JuHwan Park, Luke W., and Tom Major.
I submitted my resume to one company that a friend of mine works for, and also stopped by two staffing agencies to get registered in their databases! I'm looking for a full-time position in management, sales, or technical support that pays a minimum of $25,000 per year.
Mailed some stuff to the County Fair to finalize the paperwork for getting a booth there!
I got my laundry done! Yay!
Picked up some bread from Emmaus, and ate dinner with JuHwan!
Started preparing for a second message on evangelism which will be next Wednesday night with the believers of AOBC!

Pray!

I'm planning towards an evangelistic outreach at the County Fair! I need a right heart that would be trusting God for everything!
Please ask the Lord to give me the right words for this coming Wednesday night!

Who is worthy to take up the scroll and break its seals?

2011-06-15T20:49:00.002-05:00

What I Did Today - 6/14/2011

2011-06-14T23:39:00.001-05:00

More reading in 1 Kings... really enjoying the lessons the Lord has there! Such practical warnings.
Went to work again, wow, I am one spoiled human being compared to many others on this planet.
After work I rushed home to get changed and then join J.J. R., Evan R., David C., Joanie S., Laurie W., Ashleigh W., and Janelle F. at Finley's Landing, which is a park about 30min north of where I live in Dubuque. There is a sandy beach looking out onto the Mississippi River which we built a bonfire on and sang some songs!

A random fire picture...

What I Did Today - 6/13/2011

2011-06-13T23:39:00.001-05:00

Woke up and read about the "man of God" in 1 Kings 13 --- wow, lots to ponder there! This man of God was never named so far as I could see... I wonder why.
Worked! Thank you Lord for work.
Talked with Leon Bates concerning the Bible Map Booth idea that we plan to use for the County Fair!
Met with the evangelism team about the upcoming plans that the Lord has given us! And once again I hope they were encouraged by me at least half as much as I was encouraged by them! Thanks guys, you are great!

What I Did Today - 6/12/2011

2011-06-12T22:49:00.001-05:00

Fellowshipped with believers at AOBC!!!!!!!!!! Oh how sweet it is to have Christ in common with other human beings!
After the fellowship break at church, Jason C. and I helped load up some furniture for Norm and Carol
I attended the Hartig Drug company picnic which began at 2:00pm at Eagle Point Park! That was an eye-opening experience to see how unbelievers have fun. And it was fun! The kids lined up to hit a Piñata bird. And I got to say hi and briefly talk with a number of people there! It was definitely weird when they didn't thank the Lord for the food. Oh well, I thanked the Lord for them!

Eagle Point Park, Dubuque, IA

I met with the believers of the College House Church and enjoyed some great times of praise to our wonderful and powerful God! I am so encouraged by their enthusiasm to witness for Christ in Dubuque! Praise the Lord!

Prayer request:

Ask the Lord to open up an opportunity for us (believers from AOBC and the house church) to run a booth at the Dubuque County Fair! It's coming up fast, next month in July! And I need to register and pay them this week!

What I Did Today - 6/11/2011

2011-06-11T23:59:00.002-05:00

Woke up late and rushed out to work... only time I've ever been late (like 5min), but fortunately it was Saturday morning and my bosses are very nice! :)
After work I rushed home to get ready to join some guys and gal from the College House Church to do some witnessing in downtown Dubuque during the Riverfest. We were down by the river walk and the Diamond Jo Casino where we were able to talk to a number of different people! Praise the Lord! And please ask the Lord to save those that we contacted!

River walk in downtown Dubuque, IA

After that I went over to JJ's goodbye party at 7:00pm where we had games and snacks! We played the Bible Edition of Apples to Apples, and toward the end multiple people shared some stories of pranks they played while at Emmaus!
While at JJ's, we all walked to this overlooking deck which gives you a view of the entire downtown area of Dubuque! What an amazing scene! And what a reminder of the people that live all around us who need the Savior!

Downtown Dubuque, IA, at night...

What I Did Today - 6/10/2011

2011-06-10T23:59:00.006-05:00

I read 1 Kings 10, and verse 1 stood out to me: "Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions." Consider also, 1 Peter 3:15, "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,"
Went to work and made lots of ice for the Hartig Drug company picnic which will be this Sunday afternoon! Whenever I make ice, I like to say that I have the coolest job in the store! :) I'm looking forward to the picnic!
Visited at McDonald's with an unbelieving acquaintance (a man I met while working at Hartig)... we talked some about likes and dislikes, and also talked some about the gospel! Please ask the Lord to save him!
Talked with Willie Taggart on the phone to Mexico
Chatted with my sister Anna on Facebook!

What I Did Today - 6/9/2011

2011-06-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

Read about the glories of Solomon's palace and the temple this morning in 1 Kings 7 -- and Jesus is superior to Solomon btw!
Went to work
My driver's license arrived today in the mail, but it has my previous address on there! :) So I'll have to go back and get it updated! Fortunately it's only $1 to do that.
Ate dinner with JuHwan! We had some of Dale's chili with rice again.
A few books I've been randomly enjoying lately are two that Dale owns and were in the room in his house that I am staying in. They are Peter Fleming: A Man of Faith by Ken Fleming and The Valley of Vision.

Prayer requests:

I don't say this lightly, but please ask God to make me a better student of His Word!
That God would cause me to have pure thoughts and actions: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8)
Ask the Lord to bless the evangelism team meeting this Monday night, and give us wisdom, vision, and zeal to press on in serving Jesus in Dubuque!
Ask the Lord to give me wisdom in job searching! And ask Him to provide a good-paying job according to His will! I'm really sensing the need to get another job to (1) take care of my outstanding debts, (2) to give to the Lord in service of Him.

Note:
I just kind of randomly decided to start doing these daily posts a few days ago :-). I'd like to continue it, but it may go to a more weekly post (Lord willing). The laptop I'm borrowing I will be returning soon, so I won't have constant access anymore. I'll try to keep you all updated though!

What I Did Today - 6/8/2011

2011-06-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

Today I was given the responsibility of trying to revive some plants that had been ravaged the last few days by our intense heat in the 90's. It reminded me that although Paul planted and Apollos watered, God is the one who causes the growth. And only He can revive the plants that He caused to grow in the first place!
That task also reminded me of this powerful video:
I purchased a copy of Julien's Journal in my quest to become a true Dubuquer and be all things to all people in Dubuque :)
I had my first, and definitely not last, portion of Dale's chili with Dale's somewhat (inside joke) cooked rice on top! That was interesting, because I got off work at 6pm, then got back to the house, we cooked this meal in 15 min, then I left at 6:57pm for the Wednesday night meeting which began at 7:00pm :). The meal included a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, fruit, and dressing, as well as Dale's chili and rice.
At that meeting we watched a film on Fanny Crosby which was great! I did not realize that she was such an influential lady in the history of the United States and in our own government.
After the film we had some snacks and fellowship time!
Back home JuHwan showed me his church website, and how they are having a baptism for about 15 people or so! Praise God for how He is working there in South Korea! And may the Lord burden us to work harder here!

What I Did Today - 6/7/2011

2011-06-07T22:30:00.000-05:00

No job search, but plenty of other things got accomplished :) - amazing how plans can change!
It was a day off of work today!
I woke up feeling kind of sick from the heat in my new house (it has been in the 90's the last few days, and there is no air conditioner here, yet!)
Again had some delicious leftover sandwhiches from our leftovers from the potluck on Sunday
I caught up on organizing all my finances for the month of May! :)
Dale was cleaning the house to get ready for Luke W. to join us here, and while cleaning he showed me some of his family and church memories.
I went to the coin laundry place near my old apartment
I dropped off the keys to my old apartment with Marshall, who was also very kind in letting me throw away some things in the dumpster there!
I fellowshipped with believers at the Wilson's home where we watched the second session of a series in Ecclesiastes by Tommy Nelson. This session was in Ecc. chapter 2.
I came home and organized my room which was still chaotic from moving last week on Monday.

What I Did Today - 6/6/2011

2011-06-06T23:51:00.000-05:00

Worked from 10-6pm
Had some leftover sandwhiches from our church potluck yesterday (they were really good!)
Fellowshipped with some believers from the College House Church in Dubuque; the topic of discussion and bible study was the judgment seat of Christ
Talked with Dale T about his goals for his soccer team and got his advice for my resume.

Plan for tomorrow:

It's my day off, so..
Do my laundry,
Print out my finished resume
Visit some companies to look for jobs and submit my resume! :)

Lack of commitment to the Lord's work

2011-02-07T12:00:00.002-06:00

In the song Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus, there is a line that always confused me because of the olde English that it used. It goes like this: "Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone; the arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your own. Put on the gospel armour, each piece put on with prayer; when duty calls or danger be never wanting there."

The part that troubled me was the last italicized part. And perhaps you are more intelligent than I was when I read that, but it sounded like the song was saying that I should never want to be where duty and danger are! In other words, I should never desire duty or danger. Of course that is no at all what this song is calling for! It is telling us that we should not be wanting spiritually (lacking spiritual resources!) where duty and danger are!

But so often isn't it true that we have my first misunderstanding of that phrase? We don't desire to be where duty, commitment, and danger are. Lord, change that in me and in us. Amen.

Life update

2011-02-05T16:49:00.000-06:00

Hello to all! Actually I'm not quite sure who the "all" refers to anymore, so if you're reading this, feel free to leave a comment and let me know! Haha.

Just to give you a little idea about what is going on in my life right now, I thought I would send this quick update. I am now living in Dubuque, IA, and working as a cashier full-time at Hartig Drug (it's kinda like Walgreens). I also work very minimally for ECS Ministries when Hartig gives me time off. It has definitely been challenging to enter the world full time and yet good that the Lord is really stretching and testing me through this! I would appreciate your prayers for me to the Lord that I might walk in a way that is worthy of the calling by which I have been called! And I mean that with all seriousness.

The Lord has given me the privilege of starting a bible study at the apartment complex where I live, and we have met together 3 times so far and will meet for our fourth time this coming Tuesday at 7:30pm. We meet together every Tuesday for about 1.5hrs for a look at God's word (the book of Romans) and prayer. Please ask the Lord to give me wisdom and passion and vision to carry out this task and that the Holy Spirit would be present with us bearing much fruit in our lives as we fellowship together.

I don't know really what God wants for my life, other than the obvious things in His word and obedience—I guess that is all I need to know for now :-). But it is neat to think of the place that the Lord has me right now and the possibilities that there are to serve Him in this world. I couldn't be at a more flexible period of my life as far as service for the Lord. I could literally get on a plane and go anywhere and do anything for the Lord!

Well, tell me what you're doing with your life sometime!

Groping for the Unknown God

2010-08-27T00:58:00.002-05:00

One only gropes for things that are unknown or uncertain. If they were clearly known and revealed, then groping would be unnecessary. Groping is similar to a wild goose chase, in that there is no guarantee of ever finding what you're looking for, namely the goose. Part of the reason that there is no guarantee is because you are not even quite sure that you will know the object of your search when you see it! You might know that you're looking for a goose, but you don't know any other details to pinpoint exactly which goose it is. It's like when someone is picking up a person at the airport who they have never met or seen before. In a sense, they are groping for this person. They know they're looking for a person, but they don't know the identifying characteristics of the specific person that they are looking for, having never met them. They do not know, as they look out into the crowd of people, whether they are looking at the correct person or not! For all they know, they could be standing right next to the person that they are searching for, and yet they would never know. Except for one thing. If the person they were looking for chose to reveal himself to the groper, then his groping would reach a fork in the road of decision. The decision then would be to seek the object of his groping that has now been revealed to him or to reject it.

In Acts 17, we find some Athenians who are "worship[ping] in ignorance" the "unknown God" (v. 23). In fact, at least twice in this passage ignorance made mention to, the other being v. 30, "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance...". Also, notice that there is a need for truth to be revealed which the Athenians are ignorant of; Paul says, "this I proclaim to you" (v. 23). So here we find all the makings of groping; we have an unknowns and uncertainties, we have a spiritual journey or search implied by worship, and we have truth that needs to be proclaimed of which the Athenians are ignorant. In fact this text indeed says that groping is what mankind does, "that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (v. 27). Now although this "unknown God" was unknown to the Athenians, one thing that they did know was that they were looking for a Deity. Now, what they did not know were the specific characteristics of the Deity that they were looking for; they were groping in the dark. And since they did not know these characteristics of the true and living God, there was really no hope and no real reason to expect that they would ever find God. Paul had to actually explain to them that the true God was not like they thought He was, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands" (v. 24).

If I grope for a needle in a haystack, sure, theoretically it may be possible to find the needle. However, the chances of coming across the needle are so small that we might as well call it impossible. The same thing here with the Athenians. Sure, if they groped around for God continuously for the rest of eternity, theoretically they could stumble upon Him after many searches with their human wisdom, but the chance is so small that it might as well be called impossible. In fact, it seems that they had tried many options in the process of groping because Paul states that he was "examining the objects of [their] worship" and that he "also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD'" (v. 23). In their groping, the Athenians had latched onto many different gods.

God, in His sovereignty, places men in the exact place and time period on the planet so that they cannot say to Him, "You didn't let me grow up in the days of Christ so that I could see with my eyes and believe." This is what verses 26 and 27 say, "and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God...". Those verses state the purpose for determining the appointed time and boundaries of the habitation of men, that is so that men might seek God. You can't use the excuse that you grew up in the wrong part of the planet (lets say, the Jungle) and that's why you don't believe in God, because God specifically put you there knowing that you could believe in Him if not impeded by one obstacle. That obstacle is our faulty human wisdom, which will always cause us to grope for what we're not even sure about the identity and we have no guarantee of finding.

When Paul states, "if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him," it sounds (on the surface) like they might be successful at finding God in their groping. However, that ignores the very meaning of groping, which is to search for something or someone that is unknown to you, and thus there is no guarantee of ever finding that person! It assumes also that man has a correct spiritual understanding of the character of God (His holiness and goodness, etc), and that based on that understanding that he indeed desires God (being unholy and evil). This person is searching in the dark! And yet there is a paradox here, because even though in his groping he has no guarantee of finding God, the text states, "though He is not far from each one of us" (v. 27). Again, this is like the man in the airport who is searching for an unknown person in the midst of the masses of people. The person he is searching for may not be "far" from him (in fact he might be standing right next to him!), and yet if he doesn't know who this person is, that person might as well be a million miles away.

This is the same with God; even though He is not far from each of us, with our faulty human wisdom, which will choose anything in place of God, He might as well be a million miles away.

God is not far from any of us, and yet in our unregenerate state, we are millions of miles away from God!

Does the Bible teach that men cannot believe?

2010-08-24T14:50:00.001-05:00

Clearly it does, but it all depends upon what you mean by "cannot." Most people assume that there is only one way to understand the word "cannot." I mean, doesn't cannot just mean cannot!? After all, what else could it mean? This is the same thing with the word "all". I mean, after all, what else can all mean other than all!?

In asking the primary question of this blog post, the gospel of John will be our main source. I have to admit that of all the gospels, the gospel of John has been my favorite and is the favorite of many. His words are so simple and to the point that in some places you can actually misunderstand him if you think too hard about it! His words are seventh-grade level, and yet he is perhaps one of the most profound writers in Scripture!

The simplicity of John's statements has alot to do with what I want to discuss today! This most debated doctrine, that of total inability, is found more precisely, obviously, and clearly in the simple, seventh-grade words of John than in any other book of the New Testament! Of course this doctrine is found in other books as well, but nowhere is it explained as clearly as John does. I've often joked with friends that if John the apostle had a last name, it would be Calvin!

Now I am not just writing this post in a vacuum, it is mostly due to a specific objection to the doctrine of total inability that I received recently. In a discussion concerning these things, I received the objection that total inability is not contained in Scripture. I proceeded to give some verses that use words like "cannot" and "unable". I went to 1 Cor 2:14, John 6, and other places. But they were rejected on the basis that none of the verses say that we are unable to believe. Oh yes, they say we are unable to do a number of other spiritual things, like understand the things of the Spirit, or do things that are pleasing to God, but none of them said that we were unable to believe (that is, they didn't use the word "believe").

My aim in this post is to show the reader that the Scriptures, especially the gospel according to John, clearly sets forth for us the depravity of man in terms of inability to believe the precious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Firstly, I will show that it is biblically correct to describe someone as being unable to believe. Secondly, I will show that there are other ways that John uses to proclaim this doctrine without using the specific word "believe."

My key text to support this goal will be John 12:39-40 (NASB):

For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."

This text should, once for all, settle the question about whether the Bible describes man as unable to believe! It clearly states that these people "could not believe." And it even gives a reason why! The ultimate reason was because they had hard hearts which rebelled against God, and God gave them those hard hearts (Notice it does not say that God hardened their will, only that He hardened their hearts; those are two different things). These hard hearts literally kept them from believing! They did not want to believe, and so "they could not believe."

Now, my goal in this post is not to explain what this means that "they could not believe," because I and many others have already written on that subject elsewhere. My main concern is simply to show forth the evidence in the gospel of John that this text in John 12 is not isolated in its testimony to the Biblical and historical doctrine of total inability.

Other words which imply faith:
The gospel of John is well-known for its emphasis on believing! It has some 98 instances of the word "believe." If there's one thing that you should come away with after reading this gospel, it is that you, as a sinner, should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!

Now "believe" is not the only word that is used in this gospel to talk about that proper response of faith that we ought to have toward the Lord. There are at least four other words used, of which I will address two of them. The other words I know of are (1) receive, (2) come, (3) hear, and (4) obey. Receive and come are the most prominent in our modern usage as well as in the gospel itself. However, I will only spend time in this article addressing the words "come" and "hear."

Now a key text often brought up in this debate is John 6:44, 64-66, which states,

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
...
But there are some of you [disciples] who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning [of his ministry] who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

You can see in this passage that the word "come" is used. And it says, "no one can come", which plainly gives us the group that it is making reference to, no one, and the action that this group cannot perform, the coming. The object of the action is also given when it says, "no one can come to Me," that is, to Jesus Christ.

But what does it mean to come? Precisely the same as believe! Come is simply a word that gives one a mental image to help the reader understand what faith truly is. The sinner comes in faith to Christ. Just because it doesn't use the word "believe" means nothing.

The ultimate proof that coming is equal to believing upon Christ is found only a few verses back in the same chapter! John 6:35 states,

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

So here we find that come and believe are used interchangeably by the Lord! So we can only conclude that when He said "No one can come to Me," He means, "No one can believe in Me"!

I see no way around that conclusion! So here we have three verses so far which explicitly state that men cannot believe: John 12:39; 6:44, 65!

Now are there any more verses which say that men cannot believe, but use some other word? What about the word "hear"? John 8:43, 47, states,

Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
...
47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.

Again you might say, "It says we cannot hear, not that we cannot believe!" But I would not dismiss this so quickly! Look at these other texts in John 10 where the word "hear" is used:

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear [trust/have faith in] his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (v. 3)
All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear [trust/have faith in] them. (v. 8)
I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear [trust/have faith in] My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (v. 16)
My sheep hear [trust/have faith in] My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; (v. 27)

I don't think it's possible to read the above verses only understanding "hear" in a literal sense. The sheep hear their shepherd's voice with faith! The whole point seems to be that they hear lots of voices, but the big question concerns which one will they will hear with faith or which one they will put their trust in. They choose to trust the voice of their shepherd because they are his sheep.

And notice the connection in vv. 3, 16, and 27, between hearing and the shepherd's voice. Take this back to John 8, and look at the connection! Jesus says in 8:43, "...It is because you cannot hear My word"! Jesus' word is the shepherd's voice! Just the opposite of the sheep who hear the shepherd's voice, these Jews (who were not sheep) could not hear the words of Christ! These Jews were not hearing the words of Christ with faith. And in fact they could not hear the words of Christ with faith!

If you're not convinced yet, look at the reason that Jesus gives for why these Jews could not hear His word. John 8:47 gives the reason: "He who is [born] of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not [born] of God."

Whenever you see the phrase "of God" in the gospel or epistles of John, the writer is referring to the new birth! You are either of God (v. 47) or of your father the devil (v. 44). So "of God" really refers to being born again or born of God.

So John 8:47 is clearly saying that you must be born again in order to hear with faith and put trust in the words of God! Read it again: "He who is [born] of God hears [with faith] the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them [with faith], because you are not [born] of God." Jesus has a positive and a negative statement here; He tells us how we can identify whether we are born again, by our hearing the words of God with faith! Then He tells us how we can identify whether we are not born again, if we are not hearing the words of God with faith!

So, now we have five verses that tell us that we are unable to believe! Listed from clearest to slightly less clear, John 12:39; 6:44, 65; 8:43, 47. But these texts don't stop there at just telling us that we are unable! They tell us why! These verses reveal to us that the reason that we are unable to believe is because we absolutely hate God! We have not had the inner heart change and we are not "of God." We must have a spiritual rebirth, that is the only solution. We must repent of our hatred of Christ and put our trust in Him!

New Eyes

2010-07-24T15:40:00.001-05:00

Clarity — clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity. The state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity: the clarity of pure water.

There is something so beautiful and simple about having sight. I'm reminded again of this precious gift from the Lord as I just got new glasses today! My eyes have changed since 4 years ago when I got glasses before. In fact, they've changed so much that the difference between my old pair and my new pair is astounding!

Tonight I took a ride on my bike down to the edge of the Mississippi river and watched the last part of the sunset. And let me tell you, that was one sunset! I could see detail in it that I have not seen for a long time!

This made me think of my Savior. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12). Before I had my new glasses I could see the sunset, but now I can SEE the sunset!

How precious it will be to finally be able to see our Savior and know fully of Him just like He knows everything about me! He knows the hairs on my head, but I don't know the hairs on His head! He knows my hobbies, but I don't know His hobbies! I will know fully, just as I am fully known! In fact, if He does have a hobby, He has suspended it while He is interceding for me!

He Gave Himself — Do Not De-Personalize the Gift!

2010-07-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

It's popular in evangelism to use the analogy of a free gift (like the ones you receive at Christmas). And it is completely biblical to think of a gift! But something seems to have gone wrong in the way we use that analogy. You may hear evangelists say in their message, "Have you consciously accepted the gift of eternal life yet?" And you may ask, "What's wrong with that?" Everything. It is not enough to urge people to receive "the free gift," because the free gift is a person!! The object of the verb receive in the Bible, when it talks about these things, is always JESUS! It is never something else. Thus, we need to follow the biblical pattern in our phraseology and make the person of Jesus Christ the object! Here are some examples in the gospel of John!

John 1:11 — He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John 1:12 — But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
John 5:43 — I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
John 12:48 — The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
John 13:20 — Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

But why does it matter so much how someone words it? Isn't it just splitting hairs? This is where the analogy of Christmas presents breaks down. Any material gift can be rejected, or taken back to the store with the receipt, or whatever. But to reject a person is like what happens when there is a divorce in a marriage! To reject a material gift does not hurt the gift's feelings, and you have not "sinned" against that gift! But to reject a person amounts to hatred and it is sin against that person! What could be worse than sinning against the very Son of God!

So this is why the way you phrase things in your evangelism is so crucial! If you water it down so that the lost person is not rejecting the gift of the person of Jesus Christ (only some mystical gift of eternal life), then they will have no problem rejecting that gift. It'll be water off a duck's back, it'll be as easy to reject that gift as it is not to choose the asparagus for dinner, or as easy as it is to squish an ant on a hot summer day. There will be no feeling, no remorse, no guilty sentence... because this gift was just optional, and it was just optional because it was not the gift of a person! But Oh how everything changes when we realize that we are either receiving or rejecting a person! And when we realize who this person is, how much more impact should this have in our lives as believers for holiness!

Look at these verses:

John 3:16 — For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Galatians 1:3-5 — Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Galatians 2:20 — I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Ephesians 5:2 — And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:25 — Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
1 Timothy 2:5, 6 — For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
2 Timothy 1:8-10 — Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
Titus 2:13, 14 — waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
1 John 5:11 — And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Our Lord Who Art In Heaven

2010-06-14T14:20:00.001-05:00

Fourteen times in the gospel of Matthew, God the Father is spoken of as the one who resides "in heaven"! These are in 8 out of 28 chapters.

But we have such an intimate God that not only is He referred to as "in heaven", but He is also referred to as being "in secret." Think of that! The God in heaven also being with us in secret when we talk and commune with Him! Look at the verses here:

Matthew 6:3-4 — 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6 — But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:17-18 — 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

If our Father really is in the secret place, then that means that is why the hypocrites aren't meeting God when they pray! They are out in a public place, not a secret one! The secret place is God's appointed portal to heaven where our Father actually resides!

Tom

Think Conference Trailer

2010-06-01T10:33:00.004-05:00

The Spirit and the bride say Come!

2010-04-03T23:01:00.004-05:00

Each one of us, those who are united to Christ by faith, are called by Christ to make disciples! But did Christ just give us our mission and skip (ascend) off the scene? In fact Christ has not done this! What hope could we ever have of making even one disciple in a world such as we live in today? People are so hard-hearted and cold towards the things of God that we could not begin to hope that we could make any disciples! Christ has indeed given us a "mission impossible", at least if it were up to us alone:

But praise the Lord that although this mission of salvation is impossible for us, it "is possible with God" (Luke 18:27). God has given each one of servants the Holy Spirit!

5But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (John 16:5-12)

One of the things that the Holy Spirit will do when He comes to those who believe is that He will convict the world! Notice that the sending "Him to you" is immediately followed by the conviction of the world! And He will do this convicting through the body of Christ! I think we may have the wrong idea about the Holy Spirit and His work of convicting the world if we think that He is just out there floating around and doing it on His own! He was in fact sent to us! And not only was the Spirit sent to us, but Jesus also tells us that He "will be in" us (John 14:17)!

So what does this mean practically? From a sober viewpoint, this means that if there are no believers in the jungles of South America, the Holy Spirit is not convicting men there. This also means that if you are not witnessing to your neighbors across the street from you, that the Holy Spirit is not convicting them! But positively, this means that when you are witnessing to your stubborn and cold-hearted neighbors, you can rely completely on the work of the Holy Spirit in you to convince them! Although nothing you ever say will ever convince anyone, if the Holy Spirit "wishes" (John 3:8) to blow on that person while you present the gospel to them, then you cannot fail!

In the book of Revelation, toward the end, has a call to anyone who might be reading!

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (Revelation 22:17)

The text tells us that the Holy Spirit and the bride are calling out to us to come (to Christ)! Now isn't it very interesting that it mentions that the "bride" is saying "come"?! This has to be a reference to the church! I think the Spirit and the bride are put together here because that's exactly what we have back in John 16! The bride of Christ, which is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, calls out to the reader to "Come!"

And I would do the same now to anyone who is reading this article and have not put their faith solely in the finished work of Jesus Christ! The Holy Spirit and the bride (of which I am a part) say to you to Come! Come to Christ and see in Him your only hope for salvation and a right-standing with God!

1 Timothy 2 — Praying for All Men

2009-10-22T20:49:00.006-05:00

This passage is often debated from a number of different angles. Arminians love this passage for its apparent support of the idea that Jesus died literally for every individual that ever existed. And Calvinists love this passage because they use it to support their position as well. However, it may be surprising to learn for both Calvinists and Arminians that the reason that Paul states this controversial statement, "[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," is not because he is trying to support either view. Paul's intention is not to settle a soteriological dispute by making such a statement. In fact I would argue that although the idea of salvation is mentioned, soteriology is not even the main point of this passage. The reason that Paul mentions this desire of our God to save "all" is simply to support the main point that he is addressing.

So then the question then becomes, What is the main point of this passage and how does that statement support it? Remember that this passage is about prayer. But how does God's desire for the salvation of all men fit into prayer? Notice first that Paul urges us to pray "for" and "on behalf of" "all men." Paul then mentions a specific category for whom we must pray, "for kings and all who are in authority." So Paul says that we should pray for "all men" and authorities. Now, in the limited reading that I have done on this passage, most people don't ask this next question. We know for whom we are to pray, but now the question remains as to what we are to pray. When we are praying for all men and kings and authorities, what are we to ask of God for them? The text does not really answer this, on the surface. Verse 2 states the hoped-for outcome of the prayers, "so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity," but it does not reveal the content of the prayers.

Although the content of prayer is not as explicitly stated in the text, I think it is clear what it is. As a general principle, the Christian life is about conforming more of ourselves to the will of God. So, if there is something that God desires, we as Christians should desire the same thing. If God wants us to do something, we should desire to do that too. So in this passage, when it says that God desires "all men" to be saved, shouldn't we also desire this? What if our desires conflict? What if we have some favorites who we would like to be saved? Oh, it's one thing to desire a friendly neighbor across the street to come to know Christ, but what about a politician like President Obama? What about those people, whether politicians or not, are just not very friendly to be around? Do you want them to be saved? Do you have a Jonah mindset who didn't want Nineveh to experience salvation?

Now, we might say, "Of course I want them to be saved!" But more importantly than just what we say our desire is for them, is what our desire actually is! How does God know whether our desire for all men matches His desire for all men? The answer is prayer! Do we pray for the salvation of all men because that is something that God desires? God might be looking at our prayers and say, "Yeah, Tom really doesn't desire all men to be saved, because he isn't praying for their salvation." Prayer reveals much about a person, and of course God knows everything that we pray for. He knows if our prayers are in line with His will. Here in 1 Timothy 2, God has given us an aspect of His will for all men, and He has told us to pray for all men! Let us pray for all men with His will as the content of our prayers! Let us pray for their salvation!

Tears of the Saints

2009-08-18T23:32:00.002-05:00

D. A. Carson books online for free!!

2009-08-08T18:19:00.001-05:00

No other explanation needed :-).

http://andynaselli.com/theology/d-a-carson-publications

Letters Along the Way: A Novel of the Christian Life (Crossway, 1993)

Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century (Baker, 1994)

For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word, Vol. 1. (Crossway, 1998)

For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word, Vol. 2. (Crossway, 1999)

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Crossway, 2000)

Love in Hard Places (Crossway, 2002)

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (Crossway, 2008)

"Allow me to re-introduce the Christ"

2009-07-25T02:57:00.001-05:00

Preaching the Gospel - Tim Keller

2009-07-18T03:30:00.001-05:00

Please watch this video!!! There is so much to meditate upon in what he is saying. It is amazingly refreshing!

Malatya film

2009-07-11T21:55:00.003-05:00

Your browser does not support iframes.

Why is Calvin controversial?

2009-07-08T01:47:00.001-05:00

Supporting verses, and Consistent verses

2009-07-04T17:56:00.007-05:00

When discussing theological positions, I think it is crucial that both sides recognize the distinction between Bible verses that support their presupposition and Bible verses that are simply consistent with their presupposition. I will provide a definition of each term as I see it.

Supporting verses. These are verses that actually prove a doctrine or part of a doctrine without question or without any other possible interpretation. This does not mean that such verses are necessarily straight-forward or always easy to understand, but simply that there is only one valid way to conceive of the idea that it is presenting.
Consistent verses. These are verses that one would expect to find if such a doctrine were true, but they do not, in and of themselves, actually prove the doctrine or part of a doctrine in question.

Here's an example. I believe that Ephesians 1 is consistent with the doctrine of Corporate Election, but I do not believe that it really provides any proof of the doctrine (they are not supporting verses). It's what you would expect to see, but it has no explicit statements to prove that doctrine. I also believe that Ephesians 1 is consistent with Individual Election, but I do not believe that it really provides any proof of the doctrine (they are not supporting verses). It's what you would expect to see, but it has no explicit statements to prove that doctrine.

What does this mean then for Ephesians 1? How do we come to a conclusion about this passage if it could legitimately go both ways? Other scriptures must be brought in that tell us explicitly whether Election is done by God either corporately or individually. And the verses you bring to the table must not be verses that are simply consistent, but they must actually be supporting of your particular view. Because if all you do is bring in consistent verses, then you haven't really advanced the argument. So then the task is to determine whether a passage is truly supporting or simply consistent with your presupposition before you bring that passage to the table.

Let me add that consistency is good! If you have a doctrine that finds no consistent texts in the scripture, then I think you would need to reject it. However, consistency is not enough when faced with questions of passages in view, or faced with alternate interpretations. When faced with alternate interpretations that are also supported by consistent passages, that should make you pause for a second and reconsider your position. It should especially be cause for pause if the alternate interpretation claims to have supporting verses, not just consistent ones.

To obey is better than sacrifice

2009-07-03T00:12:00.004-05:00

To obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money
I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My words
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all
La,la,la etc.

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire
Not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly
To give back to you
According to what you have done
According to what you have done
According to what you have done

by Keith Green

"Is it possible to be an Arminian Christian hedonist?"

2009-07-01T04:57:00.001-05:00

Take a listen, it's a good one...

http://media.desiringgod.org/audio/q_and_a/4027_is_it_possible_to_be_an_arminian_christian_hedonist.mp3

Do we misunderstand what it means for God to harden the heart?

2009-06-23T21:59:00.003-05:00

It just occurred to me as I was reading through Romans that hardening of one's heart by God could misunderstood in this way: that since God is hardening the heart, that must mean that it used to be soft, and responsive to His stimuli before He hardened it.

If that were truly the case, sure, I would hate the doctrine as well, but it's not! What we must not say is that the hardening of the heart means to make it more impossible for the person to respond to God than it was for him already. Because of man's nature, it's already totally impossible for him to turn to God on his own. So what in the world does it mean for God to harden his heart?

Yeah, that's a question for you.... :-)

I might come back later and post more after I think about it.

Paper pastors

2009-06-23T02:33:00.002-05:00

If you haven't seen this blog post, it has some incredible insights on our use of the resources of many modern day preachers through the Internet. We take advantage of their services all the time, but what is the effect on us? Read this post to understand the issue more clearly.

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2009/04/porn-and-paper-pastors.html

It's not what the title might lead you to think, so just make sure you read past the first few paragraphs. :-)

The Few

2009-06-19T18:56:00.001-05:00

Why I Left Facebook

2009-06-18T02:54:00.004-05:00

I am finally leaving Facebook for good. I write this, not trying to make myself look super-spiritual, but because I want my friends to know why I am not there.

Facebook is not what it used to be when it started. The advertisements have been getting increasingly worse as time goes by. I have an ad-blocker program which takes care of that, but there is a ton of other junk that is beginning to accumulate there. It is really not worth my time or eternity to be spending time on Facebook because of these things. And even with the ad-blocker, I have friends who do not have the ad-blocker, and I cannot rightfully recommend Facebook to them or be supportive of it any longer with the ad-content that is on the website. I have therefore deactivated my account, and now you will need to contact me the old-fashioned way: through email, gchat, the telephone, or snail-mail!

Facebook, if you want me back, you need rules in place to delete innappropriate content, and if you have those rules, they need to be enforced.

Paul Washer's dialogue with a confused christian

2009-06-09T00:09:00.002-05:00

Regeneration does not defy the will, it renews the will

2009-05-31T20:55:00.004-05:00

Some have said that if God regenerates our heart without any consent from us, then that is defying our will. It is God putting His Divine hand into the proverbial glove of our willer to cause us to do something. What I would like to prove here is that this is unfounded.

Firstly, if sovereign regeneration is God causing us "to do something," as I have set up the argument, then regeneration should not be defined as being born of the Spirit, but being born of our efforts.
Secondly, if God is simply replacing the broken machine of our heart, that does not imply that He Himself runs the machine to do as He pleases. God sovereignly replaces our heart with one that will respond to Him, but that does not infer that He causes the heart to beat for Him. The heart is made in such a way that beats for Him, but He does not force it to beat for Him. (I should add, He does not need to force it, because it's very nature will have those desires.)

What does this mean? This means that regeneration is not God possessing us as though we were a zombie controlled by another being, and thus controlling our willer. Regeneration is a replacement of our willer. Once it is replaced, then we will or desire things in accordance with this new willer that God has given us. Therefore God remains absolutely sovereign, and we remain free in the limited domain that our desires allow. God has renewed our will, not defied or gone against what we will.

The times at which we exercise our will are thus: when we reject the Holy Spirit's conviction (unregenerate state), when we receive the conviction of the Holy Spirit (regenerate state). If both of those things are willed by us, what came inbetween? In other words, what happened that caused our hearts to go from rejecting the conviction to receiving the conviction? If God came down and exercised our willer for us so as to force us to receive the conviction, we would be puppets! But in fact God does not do that. God replaces our willer, He does not exercise it.

A note on conviction. From my limited understanding, I do not believe that what causes us to go from rejecting the conviction of the Spirit to receiving the conviction of the Spirit is simply suped-up conviction. In other words, it's not like God simply ramps up the voltage on our conviction levels in Heaven. What God does is cause new life in us, whereby we are then able to respond to His conviction. The intensity of the conviction is the same whether you are unregenerate or regenerate, but when regenerated by the Spirit, the conviction becomes effective (it actually does what it is supposed to do).

As far as I understand them, these views are consistent with the idea of Compatibilism. I don't mean to say this is what is meant by Compatibilism, but just to say this is consistent with it.

Take that global warming!

2009-05-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (Gen. 8:22)

Paraphrased Bible "Translations"

2009-05-28T23:11:00.001-05:00

I totally agree with Piper... listen here:

What do you think about paraphrased Bible translations?, by John Piper

Revival Forum with Leonard Ravenhill

2009-05-27T02:11:00.000-05:00

An American Dictionary of the English Language

2009-05-26T23:19:00.003-05:00

Do you want a dictionary free of the political "correctness" of our times? Check out Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language, from 1830. Here are a few samples:

Prayer and Preaching

2009-05-21T15:45:00.002-05:00

It has been impressed upon me recently the importance of prayer. I have been reading through the Acts of the Apostles, and all the prayer really stood out to me. What I'd like to focus on now is the idea of prayer and preaching.

In Acts 6, there is a discussion about caring for widows. This comes to the attention of the apostles, but they are busy with many tasks already. They could not add another thing on their plate. They advised to find some men who could fill that role, and then they said,

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Wow. There is a really practical, homiletical idea for all preachers out there. Want to minister the word to folks? Devote yourself to prayer as well!

There doesn't have to be necessarily, but most of the time a good sermon reflects the amount of time that a person has put into it. If you put 2 hours into the sermon on a Saturday night, most likely it won't turn out too great on Sunday morning. But even if you put lots of time and preparation into it, what good is it if the Holy Spirit isn't there because you haven't prayed over it?

Leonard Ravenhill puts it this way in his book Why Revival Tarries:

One does not need to be spiritual to preach, that is, to make and deliver sermons of homiletical perfection and exegetical exactitude. By a combination of memory, knowledge, ambition, personality, plus well-lined bookshelves, self-confidence, and a sense of having arrived--brother, the pulpit is yours almost anywhere these days. Preaching of the type mentioned affects men; prayer affects God. Preaching affects time; prayer affects eternity. The pulpit can be a shopwindow to display our talents; the closet speaks death to display.

Charo Washer's testimony of the grace of God

2009-05-21T15:00:00.001-05:00

Death is not Dying

2009-05-19T15:29:00.007-05:00

I wanted to embed the video, but you can view it here. It is a must see. The audio (MP3) option is available as well.

http://deathisnotdying.com/

It is about the faith in Christ of a lady who is dying. We're all dying, but she is on her way out a little sooner than the rest.

The Scarlet Thread Does Not Run Through This Passage

2009-05-17T19:28:00.003-05:00

^{Proverbs 6}
¹⁶There are six things which the LORD hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
¹⁷Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Many passages of scripture have a reflection of Christ in them. But this one does not. In fact the above passage is exactly opposite to the character of Jesus Christ. Praise Christ for His righteousness!

Jesus does not have "haughty eyes," but "His eyes are a flame of fire." (Rev 1:14, 2:18, 19:12)
Jesus does not have a "lying tongue," as there was no "deceit in His mouth." (Isaiah 53:9)
Jesus does not have "hands that shed innocent blood," unless you mean the giving of His own blood. The Centurion proclaimed of Christ, "Certainly this man was innocent." (Luke 23:47)
Jesus does not have a "heart that devises wicked plans," but others "planned together to kill Him." (John 11:53)
Jesus' feet do not "run rapidly to evil," but His feet run rapidly to the good of those who love Him as the Author and Finisher of their faith, enduring the race of the cross in their place. (Hebrews 12)
Jesus is not "a false witness who utters lies," because His very purpose for coming into the world was "to testify [witness] to the truth." (John 18:37)
Jesus does not "spread strife among brothers," but has brought unity through His cross. "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity." (Eph 2:14-16)

Dealing with Doubt

2009-05-17T15:31:00.003-05:00

One observation I have made in my own life concerning doubt is that there seems to be two broad categories. Ultimately doubt is not believing God or not taking Him at His word. But within that, there seems to be two different kinds. Some may distrust God because of a question that they have unanswered in their mind. For example, Does God exist, and how can I know it? or Can God be loving and wrathful? I do not believe doubts even arising from these questions are legitimate most of the time (it depends upon the attitude toward God of the one raising the questions), but at least there is some sort of question that the doubt arises from. At least the one with the question can go to someone with a little bit more knowledge than they for help in answering those questions.

However, sometimes I find myself doubting God, and there are no questions that I am puzzled by. Whatever the case may be, whether I am lonely or depressed or not having a good day, I may find myself doubting God. If the kind of doubt first described above is bad most of the time, this second kind of doubt is just plain stupid. For it's one thing if I have a question that I am puzzled by concerning the nature of God, but if I have all my questions answered, why do I go on doubting? At that point I just have to tell myself, Stop being stupid, and trust the God you know to be true!

No, Mr. President!

2009-05-15T13:25:00.002-05:00

Asleep in the Light, by Keith Green

2009-05-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

A Mighty Fortress is Our God, by Steve Green

2009-05-05T01:35:00.001-05:00

Cardboard Stories

2009-04-28T19:49:00.000-05:00

Bible Study Mindset

2009-04-21T20:13:00.002-05:00

Bible Study is NOT Simply about Correspondence:

What do I mean by this? In my own studies, sometimes I find myself just mechanically looking at the text and finding parallels to other portions of the text. There is a certain level of excitement involved in such a discovery, but is the discovery itself the gaining of new spiritual knowledge? I suppose on one level it is, but if all our biblical knowledge consists of is simply finding parallels from one text to another, that is really lame. More importantly than simply realizing "Wow, John 3:16 and John 17:3 mention eternal life! Amazing!" is realizing how John 3:16 and John 17:3 relate to each other and contribute to each other. So simple correspondence in the text is not sufficient for spiritual growth, but relationships in the text need to be found as well.

Often times I've talked to friends or family and we'll notice how some passage parallels or corresponds to another, and we'll say, "That's interesting." Is that ALL THERE IS TO SAY???!?! We should be waving our hands around praising God, but we're not, and I think it's because we're not (I'm not) thinking hard enough to relate passages together and see how they apply.

The Importance of the Whole Council of God:

If only part of the Word of God is taught, here is one danger that can occur. If all we read are verses like this, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105), we will be seriously lacking in nourishment that we need. Why do I say that? Well, before the word can be a lamp for your feet or light to your path, you need to know it! Psalm 119:105 doesn't mean a thing unless you know the word and are obeying it. As a Christian, you cannot live on just Psalm 119:105 for the rest of your life, because it doesn't teach you much at all! Read and meditate on the whole Bible!

Lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension

2009-04-11T12:42:00.004-05:00

1 Timothy 2:8 -- Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Psalm 28
¹To You, O LORD, I call;
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit.
²Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
³Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who work iniquity,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.

Psalm 63
¹O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
²Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
³Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
⁴So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
⁶When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
⁷For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
⁸My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
⁹But those who seek my life to destroy it,
Will go into the depths of the earth.
¹⁰They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
¹¹But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Psalm 119
⁴¹May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation according to Your word;
⁴²So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
⁴³And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I wait for Your ordinances.
⁴⁴So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
⁴⁵And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
⁴⁶I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
⁴⁷I shall delight in Your commandments,
Which I love.
⁴⁸And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I love;
And I will meditate on Your statutes.

Psalm 134
¹Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,
Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
²Lift up your hands to the sanctuary
And bless the LORD.
³May the LORD bless you from Zion,
He who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 141
¹O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
²May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
³Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With men who do iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
⁵Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.
⁶Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
⁹Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the snares of those who do iniquity.
¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I pass by safely.

Lamentations 3
³⁷Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That both good and ill go forth?
³⁹Why should any living mortal, or any man,
Offer complaint in view of his sins?
⁴⁰Let us examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the LORD.
⁴¹We lift up our heart and hands
Toward God in heaven;
⁴²We have transgressed and rebelled,
You have not pardoned.
⁴³You have covered Yourself with anger
And pursued us;
You have slain and have not spared.
⁴⁴You have covered Yourself with a cloud
So that no prayer can pass through.

Jesus Wants the Rose!

2009-04-09T13:20:00.001-05:00

Why did God decide to save us through faith?

2009-04-05T19:41:00.001-05:00

Holy and Blameless

2009-03-25T23:57:00.003-05:00

What I want you to see is the connection between the actual intention of God the Father in relation to us, and how the Father's intentions are carried out, accomplished, and made possible to happen.

Ephesians 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 5
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Colossians 1
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Election from a Compatibilist Viewpoint

2009-02-15T15:25:00.003-06:00

Rather Than

2009-02-15T00:35:00.004-06:00

Job 7:15
So that my soul would choose suffocation,Death rather than my pains.

Proverbs 8:10
"Take my instruction and not silver,And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

Proverbs 17:12
Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,Rather than a fool in his folly.

Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

Jeremiah 8:3
"And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them," declares the LORD of hosts.

Ezekiel 7:7
'Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near--tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.

Ezekiel 18:23
"Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?

Ezekiel 20:17
"Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness.

Hosea 6:6
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Habakkuk 2:16
"You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you,And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.

Luke 18:14
"I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

John 3:19
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

John 12:43
for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

Acts 4:19
But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

Acts 5:29
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

Romans 1:25
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.

1 Corinthians 14:19
however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Philippians 1:17
the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.

Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,

1 Timothy 1:4
nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

2 Timothy 3:4
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

1 Peter 3:17
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

How Worship and Illumination Work Together

2009-01-21T00:27:00.008-06:00

As a student of the Bible in academia, where does worship fit into the equation? I hear this at Emmaus pretty often, they'll talk about the blessed 'aha' moment when reading scripture. But what is it that should truly be the cause or reason for worship? Is it the fact that we were able to discover some truth, or is it the truth in and of itself that we discovered? If it is not the latter, I think we are getting dangerously close if not fully under a "Christian" form of idolatry. We are replacing the truth of Christ for the aha moment and the good feeling of discovering the truth for ourselves. We are priding in our ability to search the scriptures, but like the Jewish leaders, we miss Christ in the process. Is it the aha moment that saves us, or is it Christ that saves us?

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

This brings me to a humbling truth. Worship is not only for those times when you feel like worshipping; and yet if you are truly worshipping, you will be worshipful. Worship involves recognizing truth of God for what it really is, and ascribing that to God (which is basically what praise is).

One of my concerns with "translations" such as The Voice, is that I believe they emphasize the way it feels to read Scripture way too much (e.g. "holistic," "beautiful," "sensitive," "balanced," "A Scripture Project to Rediscover the Story of the Bible," or "Experience THE VOICE Translation"). If all we can glean from scripture is a feeling when we read it, then we have no gospel at all. The gospel is based upon truth ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" -- Jesus). That is not to say that the gospel is without feeling and emotion. On the contrary, properly understood it should well up within us emotions of thankfulness and awe that cannot be expressed with human words of wisdom (even greater emotions than our emergent friends).

God illuminates his word to us through his Spirit from whom we receive understanding of his truth, and we respond with proper emotions to that truth only by his Spirit.

Lord, give us hearts to know you, that do not fall into any idolatry, in whatever form that it raises its ugly head. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Headship of Christ

2009-01-17T03:33:00.002-06:00

Thanks to TJ for pointing out this sermon to me. This sermon was the best I've heard of anyone address the subject of head-coverings. I mean it addressed the issues, listed out common misunderstandings brought to the text, and he really does a clear and thorough job of explaining the passage. The speaker even explains what the whole deal is with head-coverings and the angels! Wow, it has brought back the beauty of this passage rather than just reading 1 Corinthians 11 in utter confusion. I highly recommend this sermon.

WMA Audio file
http://cbf.thelivingword.us/messages/headship.wma

Sermon Notes (PDF)
http://cbf.thelivingword.us/messages/headship.pdf

This sermon is something that the careful listener can benefit from, whether a man or a woman. I think we come at this passage wrong if we think it's all about women. Well, first off, it's not about men or women, it's about the glory of Christ; but having said that, it does have things to say to men as well.

Faithful and righteous to forgive

2009-01-07T08:26:00.000-06:00

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

As I was reading this verse, the word "righteous" struck me. I understood the faithful part, which basically means he will always follow through with forgiving and never say, "I've given you enough chances," if we are willing to confess that is. But what does it mean to say that God is "righteous to forgive"? Here's a random list of thoughts on each word: faithful and righteous.

Faithful

As said already, faithful has the idea of not quitting on us (referring to believers). For an unbeliever who maybe has remorse rather than repentance, God is not faithful to them. Faithful has the idea of fulfilling a promise.
Being faithful to us implies that God is with us in our spiritually high-points and low-points. At our lowest point spiritually, if we confess, God is faithful to forgive. At our highest point spiritually, if we confess, God is faithful to forgive.

Righteous/Just

Righteousness, in some sense, speaks of God's ability to forgive. It's the question of how God can remain righteous and yet forgive sinners. Well, that's where Jesus fits in, and in us becomes the righteousness of God imputed to us. The only way that God can be righteous to forgive is because Jesus took on our sins and our rightful punishment for those sins. So when this verse says that God is righteous to forgive, that is a good reminder of the cross, which is what we need when we sin. God is able to forgive, because God remains righteous in his forgiveness.
If God is righteous to forgive, there is a sense in which he also must forgive. Lets put it another way. If all of our sins have been put under the blood of Christ, and now we appear before the Father as though we have the exact same righteousness as his Son, would it not be sin for the Father not to forgive us? (Said another way, it would be sin for the Father to throw us into Hell, now that we have been justified by Christ) Now remember, this is all conditioned with "if," so this is not a cause for licentiousness, but still so true.

Those were just some random thoughts, what do you think?

Son of Hamas Leader: Hamas Atrocities Led Me to Convert

2009-01-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

Sin seizes an opportunity through the commandment

2008-12-24T12:56:00.000-06:00

But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. Romans 7:8-9

The best picture that came to my mind was that of a hurricane coming in on the Gulf of Mexico. Think about it, as the hurricane is over the water, it is gaining strength. It is "gaining opportunity" through the presence of the water (Law). Okay, maybe strange analogy, but Christ drank the "cup" of the Gulf of Mexico. There is no more water for these hurricanes to gain strength anymore! We don't have any need to struggle with sin anymore, unless we give into our flesh, and fill up our swimming pool in our backyards. Our swimming pools are strengthening that hurricane of the Law and Sin that the Gulf of Mexico used to strengthen.

When Christ comes, He will get rid of our swimming pools so there will no longer any opposition to Him!

Bad News: Santa is Coming

2008-12-24T11:31:00.000-06:00

Is pornography specifically condemned in scripture? Absolutely!

2008-12-16T06:17:00.000-06:00

I think sometimes in our "modern" culture and time, we have a tendency to think that we are pretty unique in the way that we sin against God. We don't think that God really knows how to deal with our sin, nor should He, since it can be done in the privacy of our own homes. After all, we can do it, and no lightning bolts come down to devour us. We condemn the Europeans for their openness in these matters, when we as a country and nation do the same things behind closed doors with the lights off.

We know that God condemns adultery outright, but does God condemn these actions which are done behind closed doors? Absolutely! He will not let them go unpunished.

As I was reading through Ezekiel, some striking passages jumped out at me.

You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. Ezekiel 16:17-18

But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust. Ezekiel 23:14-17

Notice that it says that these women portrayed these men in vermilion! Looking up that word on dictionary.com, it has to do with the color red of the scarlet kind. She was dressing those images up with scarlet red, in order to make them look more sexually appealing. Those were just women, what about men?

And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.'" Ezekiel 8:11-12

If you are in pornography and sexual sin, the Lord sees what you are doing in the dark, in your room of pictures. Confess your sin. Get it into the light, out of that dark room. Repent and turn to God in trust so that you may have life.

How can God tell a Christian living by grace to be Holy?

2008-12-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:14-16

How can God command us to be holy, and to do good works as Christians? God can command us to be holy because He knows that we will obey His command. As God the Son's sheep, we will hear His voice and we will follow Him. Having said that, we are not robots in that we are forced into doing the good works, but we do good works because of our disposition and position as an heir with Christ.

Think of it like the relationship between a human father and son. Assuming the son is a good son, why then does he listen to his father? Does the son listen and obey his father because he gives his son decrees, or does he listen and obey simply because he is his son? On the flip side, the father (in a perfect world) does not expect any other response from the son than to listen and obey his words. What about when the son does sin and disobey his father? The father disciplines his son in order that he might be restored into the will of his father. This discipline is always redemptive and for the purpose of aligning the son's will to that of the father.

Now what if this supposed son continues in disobedience to his supposed father? What if he claims, 'this man is my father,' and yet lives in absolute disobedience to that man all the days of his life? Where does the fault lie? Does it lie with the father who is not disciplining his child in order to grow him up in the training and admonition of the Lord? In the case of God, this most certainly does not work. Knowing that the "father" in this analogy refers to God, we could not rightly say that the fault is on his part for not training his children. However, what we can say is that most likely this child is not a son of the man that he claims. When an issue of sin comes up and people ask this man what is wrong with his 'son,' the man will say, 'I never knew that boy, and am not responsible for him.'

Think of it this way: If you see a neighborhood child who is doing wrong things, the best that you can do is reprimand him and maybe let his parents know about what he is doing if necessary. But whatever you do, you have no power to actually stop his actions, because you are not his father. Also, he has no obligation whatsoever to conform his will and actions to yours, because he has a father of his own that he is conforming his will and actions after.

Similarly, if someone is not truly a Christian, then they are under no obligation, relationship-wise, to conform their will and actions to God. They are that neighborhood kid, that despite how cool he thinks it is to say that he is a son of that amazing father, he not only is not a son, but he is not even adopted! We as believers have been adopted into the family of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and now we are heirs and true sons. We now have a new nature. We are no longer that neighborhood kid in which the father had almost no influence over in their daily lives. Now we sons in which God is constantly conforming our will and actions to be increasingly identical to that of His only begotten Son. We are sons by adoption, but Jesus is God the Father's only begotten Son. Jesus is not an adopted son like we are.

In this analogy, the neighborhood child who has 'a different father' would be a child of Satan. Since he is not a child of God, this child has his will and actions conformed to those of his own father the devil, and the devil teaches to conform your will and actions inward to focus them on oneself. So in effect, this child is his own father, and is unstable. He is not able to conform his will to the will of God.

I recognize that the analogy breaks down, but I think it does describe what the biblical picture is. Recognize though that the Bible does talk about there being a "distinction" between the righteous and the wicked. It never claims that they would be perfect, but they would be like that adopted son who obeys his father. You can tell who a true son is and who is not.

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?' Malachi 1:6

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3:16-18

Paul preached "the whole counsel of God"

2008-12-08T01:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you might wonder if you listen to Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron alot where there might be some scriptural support for some of their emphases. Well look at what Paul preached. It seems that when Paul talked about the larger topic of "faith in Christ Jesus," that included subtopics of righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment. Do we have these elements in our preaching and teaching?

After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, "Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you." Acts 24:24-25

Paul also did not shrink back from preaching about repentance and faith in Christ! (emphasis on the repentance)

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:17-21

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Acts 20:26-27

**UPDATED**: Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. Acts 26:19-21

Mexico 2009

2008-12-07T15:31:00.000-06:00

Lord willing, a group of students from Emmaus Bible College will be headed to Mexico during Spring break of next semester. Spring break is from March 6th to the 13th. Please be in prayer for us, as myself and a friend (Victor Eby) will be leading the group. Please pray for wisdom and humility on our part as we seek to glorify God the Father by proclaiming His Son in Mexico.

Right now it looks like we will be in Leon, Mexico, and very possibly working with the Landrums. Here's a map below:

We aim to not fall into the pattern that is common amongst many American mission trips, and simply go somewhere for a week and come back to brag about how much we have done. We realize that we have no power to produce fruit in our lives or to save anyone without the presence of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. Our goal is not converts, but simply to send the truth of the gospel. We would be overjoyed if someone was born again by the Spirit, that would be a bonus. But our main mission is to be obedient to Jesus Christ and give Him glory through evangelism!

We intend to be as careful as possible with the money that we receive. Our main activity will be evangelism, which we trust is the best way to use ministry money.

In preparation for the trip, we want to soak everything that we can think of in prayer. We will be meeting as a group at least 9 times total, including one meeting that we had this semester. At the time of writing this post, there are about 16 people interested in coming. The calculated cost is about $600 per person, which amounts to $9,600. Praise the Lord that money is not an issue for Him :-).

Thank you for praying!

How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

2008-12-02T23:30:00.000-06:00

Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? (Prov 1:20-22)

In a day when absolutes do not exist, and "Christians" settle for being simple-minded in their faith, what does Scripture have to say? Wisdom calls out to us from those ancient words in the book of proverbs! Imagine that, Wisdom!, in a day when we "cannot" know anything for sure and when Doctrine is placed far below experience in the area of knowing God.

What I would like to do in this post is just share some of my thoughts on the person of Christ as it relates to doctrine, and the importance of learning the facts of scripture that we so easily avoid in today's world. First I would like to talk about the idea that doctrine itself is inseparable from the Person of Christ. Sometime later, Lord willing, I plan on following this post up with one discussing the idea that doctrine is inseparable from the work of Christ.

1. Doctrine is inseparable from the Person of Christ

One thing I've been noticing about my Jesus is that he is referred to as, not just Lord, Master, or God, but Teacher! And what is Doctrine but a teaching? So if my and our Lord is a teacher, is not his teaching good? And what is teaching but doctrine? And of all people to teach us, would we not hunger and thirst after the teaching of our Lord and Master? And if his teaching is doctrine, I want it!

Now we may hear the unregenerate claim, 'Jesus was just a good teacher, and nothing more.' And we usually respond back by pointing out the fact that he is indeed more than that. But in that defense of his deity, I think we lose something of his character in that he really is a teacher! And he really is a good one at that!

Where do we see Jesus teaching people? And does Jesus really care about correct teaching, or correct doctrine?

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matt 4:23)

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: [the beatitudes] (Matt 5:2)

After teaching them what we know as the beatitudes, he makes an interesting statement in this theme of teaching. "Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:19). As we saw in 5:2, Jesus was clearly teaching the crowd, but now Jesus says, if you dishonor his teaching by teaching others to do the same, you will be least in the kingdom. Jesus cares about what you teach others about what he said!!!

Here are some more:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Matt 7:28-29)

What were they astonished at? His teaching! Not his PowerPoint presentation.

And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." (Matt 8:19)

Even scribes knew that he was a teacher of teachings (doctrines).

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt 9:10-13)

Wow, scribes knew he was a teacher, and now even Pharisees know that! Not only that, but look what Jesus says, "Go and learn what this means." There he goes again with that doctrine stuff!

Also, when Jesus is warning his disciples to expect persecution, he reminds them that "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household." (Matt 10:24).

And some more random ones:

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. (Matt 11:1)

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." (Matt 12:38)

and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? (Matt 13:54)

So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Matt 15:6-9; the contrast between men's teaching and God's teaching.)

Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matt 16:12)

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" (Matt 17:24)

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" (Matt 19:16)

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" (Matt 21:23)

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. (Matt 22:15-16)

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses said..." But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." ... And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matt 22:23-33)

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? (Matt 22:36)

and [the Pharisees] love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. (Matt 23:6-8)

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" (Matt 26:17-18)

At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. (Matt 26:55)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20)

I could go on and on with many other parallel passages. But do you get the point yet that Jesus came to teach!!? Okay, a few more :-)...

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1)

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. (Luke 13:22)

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." (John 3:2)

It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— (John 6:45)

Conclusion

I think it is clear from the few examples that I have cited above, that Jesus came to teach truth, he came to teach doctrine. Now the question we have to ask is, 'what is this teaching that this great teacher taught?'

If Jesus was a doctriner *cough* teacher, then we must love doctrine as well. :-)

Matt 5:30 Firefox Plugin

2008-12-02T14:28:00.000-06:00

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (ESV)

A few posts ago, I discussed some ways to keep yourself safe on the Internet. I ran across an interesting website run by some godly young men who desire to live lives that are dead to this world. Illbehonest.com is the website, and you need to check it out for yourself to see what I'm talking about. It's great stuff.

Well, they have produced a Firefox extension that specifically targets websites like MySpace, Facebook, etc, where immoral advertisements have really taken over. The extension then doesn't just remove the ads, but puts Bible verses in their place! I love it! It's still got some technical flaws, but it works well from what I've seen on Facebook.

Install the Matt 5:30 Filter (Firefox is required)

However, although that is great, it still doesn't protect you from ads on every website on the internet. I still prefer the EasyList filter for the Adblock Plus extension. And specifically, if you have Adblock Plus, I would encourage you to get the EasyElement filter. You can do so by clicking on the install link below. The filter below won't give you a bible verse, but at least it will remove the junk! At the moment, the EasyElement Filter is much more comprehensive than the Matt 5:30 one.

Install the EasyElement Filter (Firefox and Adblock Plus are required)

Does Jesus draw every person to himself in John 12?

2008-11-30T15:56:00.000-06:00

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. (John 12:32; NASB)

Real quick as a side note, I think I heard someone say once that lifting up in this verse does not refer to the death of Jesus, but the idea of lifting up in the sense of 'lifted up in praise' or something similar. That's okay as long as you do not say that is the only thing it means. The next verse states, "But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die" (v. 33).

Now back to the main question. Does "all men" mean that the drawing of God applies to every individual who ever lived on the planet? Simple answer, not necessarily. What is the context to this statement? I personally believe right now that the context extends back to verse 20, where we see the Greeks who want to see Jesus.

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." (vv. 20-26)

We see here some Greeks that want to see Jesus. I find it interesting that they came to Philip, and then Philip didn't go to Jesus directly to tell him that these Greeks wanted to see him. Philip instead went to Andrew. Now I don't know what the reason for that might be. Perhaps they, as Jews, did not know how to handle Gentiles who wanted to see the Messiah! Philip might have said, 'No, I'm not telling Jesus, Andrew, you tell Jesus.' And then it says they both told Jesus, almost like they were nervous and needed to go together :-).

Ok, so how does this connect to my question? Here is some more context before verse 32.

"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. (vv. 27-33)

One question that I think is important in this passage is, 'who are the crowd of people?' We have the Greeks that we just saw from the previous verses. And the disciples most likely haven't left the scene. Most likely other Jews would be there observing as well. So in other words, you've got two groups of people, Jews and Gentiles!

Here's my hypothesis, Jesus is talking about a general drawing of all kinds of men from all over the world. In other words, Jesus is saying, 'Yes, I will draw even you Greeks (Gentiles in the crowd)!' The point is not that Jesus draws every single individual on the planet, but that there is a drawing power that applies regardless of whether you are of the chosen race or not. Imagine the significance of Jesus' statement if you were one of those Greeks standing there in the crowd (amongst many Jews) when Jesus said, And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. You would be overjoyed, and be thinking to yourself, that means me too!

If you do not agree with my conclusion, I think you need to ask yourself, 'why does John mention these Greeks in the crowd if Jesus is not talking about offering salvation to the gentiles?' It seems to me pointless to specify who was in the crowd unless that mattered for some reason. And why all the fuss about Philip and Andrew telling Jesus about these Greeks?

But doesn't "all" mean "all"?!

I hear that a lot and I've said it myself before. I think our problem in understanding all in this context is because we have a different way of understanding the idea of everybody than the people in biblical times did. It seems, in my estimation, that they almost always thought of "all people" in the sense of two groups: Jew and Gentile. When we think of "all people," we are thinking of every individual, but they remain individuals in our minds. We do not break them up into groups of Jew and Gentile. Now the people in bible times thought of every individual as well, but always as they relate to being a Jew or Gentile.

Conclusion

The point is not that every individual definitely will be drawn, but that there will definitely be drawn individuals from each group. No group is left out. All kinds of men will be drawn, because there is no partiality with God (Rom. 2:11).

The best defense against the internet

2008-11-27T04:00:00.000-06:00

In this post, I'd like to discuss the best method for protecting yourself on the Internet. I mean protecting in the sense of keeping your eyes and ears pure from the junk that the Internet has become. Some of these options also have some interesting moral effects or complications (for lack of a better word) that are worth considering.

Before I get to the specific options, let me first introduce them. The best defense against the junk of the Internet is of course personal accountability with a person that is physically with you and that you can meet for prayer with, and most of all the work of the Holy Spirit giving you self-control. But other than that, there are some excellent programs out there that can greatly assist you in this area! Some of which are not really designed for the purpose of protecting your eyes, but have the same effect :-) (God has used some smart, ungodly people to design some incredible things that can be used to protect you.).

Now with all these options out there, which one is the best one? I say, "Yes!" All of them are useful in their own way. In fact, you should be using multiple levels of protection. It is just like how you protect your computer from viruses and other threats with multiple levels of protection (anti-virus software, anti-rootkit scanners, routers to privatize your network, anti-spyware scanners, etc), so also you should have multiple levels or types of filters. No one filter software will do the job entirely.

Now, with that in mind, lets consider what kind of junk the Internet has in which we would need protection from. Obviously there are those bad websites which we should not be visiting. Those we would definitely want protection from. But what about the good websites that are spoiled with advertisements? Websites like Myspace, Facebook, FoxNews, etc, that would otherwise be fun and safe places to be if it were not for the unfortunate advertisements that they contain. You may end up on a perfectly "good" website either intentionally or by accident that has ads about dating or about undergarments. Do we just block every website that contains advertisements? Obviously, we cannot or we would be visiting only Christian websites, and most of the Internet would be unavailable for our use. The best answer to this is to block and hide the advertisements themselves, but yet still have access to those pages. And this capability is available today! I'll talk about it in a bit.

Some ways to protect yourself:

General Website Blocking and Internet Usage Monitoring:
Safe Eyes Software: Safe Eyes is definitely a good product. It allows you to be accountable with another person, you can set limits on how much time you are online each day, you can choose what categories of websites you would like to block, etc. Also, Safe Eyes can now block individual YouTube videos without blocking the entire website, so you can remain safe there as well without all the junk it contains. It is about $50, but well worth the investment. Think of all the other things you invest your money in that you really don't need, and consider this carefully. I bought it and will definitely be renewing my subscription when the time comes; it is well worth it!

There are other programs similar to Safe Eyes that I will not discuss here. I have not really used any other software, so I won't give them reviews.
Adblocking Software (for Mozilla Firefox):
There are many different types of adblock software packages out there. Some come packaged with antivirus software, and others can get very technical to editing certain networking files within the Windows operating system. However, here I would like to present to you what I believe is the best solution that exists, and it will work for any operating system (that means Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, or Linux), since most every operating system that is of any significance can use the browser, Mozilla Firefox.

Adblock Plus: Adblock Plus does exactly what it sounds like it does. It blocks ads! All those animated advertisements, banners, images, and other types of ads will be gone just like that! Not only will you not have to see them, but it will make your internet connection faster. It actually stops the ads from downloading, and thus makes the rest of the webpage download faster! How does Adblock Plus accomplish this? Well, by itself, the software can not do anything, but you must add filters to the software. When you install Adblock Plus for the very first time, it will ask you to choose a filter to install. If you are a technically minded individual, there are simple ways to make your own.
Adblocking Software (for Internet Explorer):
If you didn't know that there was anything other than Internet Explorer that could be used to view the Internet, or are a stickler and don't like change, are addicted to Microsoft, or maybe cannot use Mozilla Firefox in a work situation, there is one option I've seen for you :-). But let it be known, that I think Firefox is superior to Internet Explorer, and I know the adblock software will continue to develop on Firefox while the software for Internet Explorer may lag behind.

Adblock Pro: Not much to add to this description that Adblock Plus for Firefox doesn't already say, except that it is indeed free, and it uses the same or very similar filter system that Adblock Plus does, so it protects you in the same way. I don't know if it is the same person/people that developed this one though.

Moral Complications in Blocking Advertisements
One of the things that I've been thinking through is the idea that if I block ads on Facebook, for example, because I think they are immoral, etc, can I rightly recommend to my friends to use Facebook if they do not have the same protection that I do? Of course, I can recommend the same protection, but they may or may not take the advice. They may not know how to implement such protection, may be too lazy to do so, or may not have a compatible computer. After a while of having this ad protection, you forget that there are ads on the Internet! And that is a good thing for your own sake, but it makes it difficult to recommend websites to people if you can no longer see how bad or good the ads really are. I might stumble upon this great website (and my ad protection is turned on), but then I send it to my friend who doesn't have that protection and they think there is something wrong with me that I sent it to them, when in fact I didn't see the ads they are seeing!

I'm not quite sure how to handle this, but I know the wrong answer has to be avoiding the blocking of these ads yourself. Perhaps what you could do is disable your adblock while you look at a website's ad content (before you recommend the site), and then turn your protection back on and tell your friend about it.

What do you guys think? :-)

What Christianity is NOT!

2008-11-25T19:12:00.000-06:00

WARNING! The following video is not Christianity, it is called New Age meditation.

People! Why have we let it go this far? What happened to just reading the scripture? What happened to meditating on it day and night as Psalm 1 says? And not in this stupid 7minute way!

More Persecution by Gays

2008-11-21T11:38:00.000-06:00

This has been reported all over the place, but it can't hurt to get the word out further...

More Persecution by Gays

2008-11-20T13:07:00.000-06:00

See the original story here:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=81310

Why I Am Excited About Coming Persecution

2008-11-20T00:58:00.000-06:00

Now I am not going out and looking for persecution, and I am not some weirdo that likes pain. In fact I'm pretty a pretty sensitive guy. But for a few spiritual reasons I am looking forward to the hell that I think will break loose on the church in this country in what I think will be the not so distant future.

Purification of the church.
1. Getting goats out:
  What is called the "church" in America is largely made up of a large population of goats who have a nice warm wool coat on, and they think that because of this wool coat that they are saved. They however will throw off that phasod in a second when persecution comes down on them.
  Persecution may be God's way of saying, "Okay, you were too scared to practice church discipline, well I'll help you out."
2. Strengthening of the sheep:
  - More meaningful fellowship:
    In difficult times of persecution, we will be excited when we simply hear someone say "Jesus is Lord," and we will forget our petty differences and unite on that one truth. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 12:3, "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus is accursed'; and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."
    What we have grown too accustomed to in our America Churchianity is that if we don't like one gathering of believers, well there are about five or six more down the street. We simply jump ship and go to a different one. However, in other countries, often times if you have a disagreement with someone, you cannot leave, because they are the only Christian fellowship there is! We will have to learn to love one another despite our differences. We will realize that we are united in the Spirit because of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
  - Deeper insights into the word of God:
    There are many places in the Psalms in which the Psalmist talks about his enemies attacking him and surrounding him. I've always thought to myself, 'how do these psalms apply to my life? I don't have enemies!' But in fact, when persecution begins, I will have enemies in a much more real way then I do right now, and suddenly I will glean much richer application from those passages than I would have without the persecution.
Testimony to the world:
- As believers are handed over for Jesus Christ, we are living out Christ in a powerful way which may possibly cause some (through the work of the Holy Spirit) to repent and trust in Christ alone. I've wondered whether verses like Matthew 16:24 are really only being exegeted properly in North Korea and other similar situations. See here in America, we don't have a practical understanding of that text. Sure, we can read it and say amen, but we have no idea of what that truly means.

What other reasons can you think of? :-) I feel like I'm missing some good and obvious ones, but those were the reasons that stuck out to me. Feel free to add your own via the comments.

Persecution: Coming to a local church near you!

2008-11-19T11:26:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for this kind of persecution?

Yes on 8!

Exposing the Spiritual Tactics: Part 1

2008-05-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I posted on my blog, and I thought that I would do a series of posts focusing on one spiritual pet peave for each post. I may interrupt this series by other posts along the way, but here it goes:

First of all, to introduce what I mean by my "spiritual pet peave(s)." I mean those things that we Christians do or say that are kind of funny, but ultimately serious (IMHO) when it comes down to the nitty gritty of living our life for Christ. These are things that are not necessarily bad on the surface, but may hint at our flesh wanting to please the world and ourselves rather than Christ. Some of these things you might say that I am being too picky, but this is where you need to check your own heart and see if it applies. If not, great! :-)

Pet Peave 1: Avoiding spiritual discussions or prayer
Scenario 1 (Spiritual Discussions):
That friend, or at least acquaintance of yours, that is really nuts about the Bible and Jesus Christ walks up to you and asks you a question. This person we will refer to as "Jesus freak."
Now before we get to the question he asked, lets get to know this Jesus freak a little more. When I say this guy reads the Bible, he reads it! And I don't mean he simply reads the Daily Bread, daily (sorry, pun intended), and the verses that it contains, but he actually spends hours every day pouring over the text of scripture. And not only that, but this guy says "Lord willing" before he does anything, literally anything! I mean, he'll say that if it is in the Lord's will that he walk into the next room across the hall, then he will walk into the next room, and he genuinely means it too! What I'm trying to get at is that this guy really takes Jesus seriously and he is literally addicted to Jesus!
He comes up to you and starts talking about the great things that he has been reading in scripture (most of those things that he says he doesn't even need to read from the bible because he has them memorized). But after he has expounded the scriptures to you, he then asks, "well what have you been reading today?" The question isn't even, "what have you been reading lately?", it is "today." And of course you don't want to admit that really you haven't read anything for weeks, other than on Sunday (should I even give you that much credit?). So here are some possible responses that you might use to get out of this awkward situation...

Start talking about what the preacher said that past Sunday or other meetings (Wednesday night perhaps). It's a good way to sound spiritual, but not have to admit that you really aren't diligent in the word yourself!
If you can't remember what the preacher said because you weren't paying attention, fell asleep, or didn't take notes, then you simply start asking this Jesus freak about something he said. It's a good conversational tactic... you don't have to listen to a person if all you do is ask them a question based on the last thing you hear them say!
Acknowledge that you haven't read anything today in the Bible, but just don't admit it has been weeks or longer.
Tell him that you haven't read anything yet, because you have nighttime quiet times, and not quiet times in the morning. That is another good way to get out of it...
Tell him, "That's none of your bee's wax."
Tell him you have to go to the bathroom, or something...

Now what am I saying? I'm saying that there will be times when people want to discuss the things of God with us, and maybe they are on a different level in their sanctification than we are (assuming pride isn't involved and these people are genuinely interested in it). It is possible that they are more spiritually mature. However, as God's people, why do any of us have this attitude where we get irritated sometimes when other members of God's kingdom seem to be more on fire for Christ than we are? What should our response be?

We should be honest of course, and admit that we haven't read anything today or lately. And just as a personal note, encouragement like this from other believers is good. In our isolated society, we don't like to be checked on by other people and held accountable by them.
A good friend of mine once said that there are two common responses to a fellow believer who seems to love the Lord more than we do. (1) We can have a pride that cripples u from growing in Christ ourselves, because they are where we would like to be. (2) We can let their attitude, character, and actions challenge us to be more like Christ, and humbly search our own hearts to see if there be any wicked way in us.

Scenario 2 (Prayer Requests):
Ok, so this same Jesus freak comes up to you and talks about a serious prayer need that he wants prayer for immediately. He asks if the two of you could pray together about it right then. Here are some things that are going through this Jesus freak's head, and through your head.

Jesus freak: His intentions are to have at least both of you pray, and maybe pray a few times for each person. The reason for this is that this is what he does regularly on several different occasions throughout the week in various prayer meetings that he has with others. He also prays frequently on his own.

You: You're thinking to yourself, oh this sounds serious so I don't mind doing it, although it is a little awkward praying with all these people around. I mean, after all, they might see that we are praying! Oh, and you also really need to get home to do that really important thing (probably check your messages on Facebook).

Back to the scenario: With these things in mind, you say, "Sure, lets pray!" And then you say to the Jesus freak, "You go ahead and pray." He says "okay," and starts praying. After he is done his very eloquent and long prayer that was keeping you from Facebook, you say "amen" and lift your head and say "I will be praying for you." You then part ways.

The Jesus freak didn't say so, but he thought it was a bit awkward that you didn't pray as well. He was expecting more than that. If you would have at least prayed once, it would have been ok, but you didn't. In fact the very reason that you asked him to pray was that you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of him or others by your prayer. That seemed like a good tactic, because it still made you look spiritual, and you didn't have to get stretched in any way at all. You might have even made the excuse in your mind, "well, since it is his issue that he has to deal with, he will know the issue more intimately, and will be able to pray much better about the issue because of it." But this kind of attitude simply shows how little you actually care about the prayer need that he brought up. If you really cared about it, you would want to know more about it so that you could pray better!

"Prayers for stranger touching"

2008-01-05T21:50:00.000-06:00

This article appeared sometime in late December 2007, in Dubuque's Telegraph Herald.

From Maggie May
Around Thanksgiving time I got an unexpected knock on my door from two young people introducing themselves as Emmaus Bible College students. The students were going door-to-door politely asking people if there was anything they could pray for them.

When they came to my door, I was surprised and puzzled for a minute, but then told them simply that I had been having some health problems lately, and it would be fine if they prayed about that. They only asked my first name, wrote it in a notebook. I thanked them, and they went next door to my neighbor's house.

Well, a couple of weeks later more unexpected visitors were at my door one cold evening. Christmas Carolers. My mother, who was here visiting from out of town, and my two small children were very interested in the joyous singers. When they had finished singing I thanked them, and asked where they were from.

A young man told us they were from Emmaus Bible College. Then a young woman spoke up, and said, "We were here a couple of weeks ago, and we have been praying for your health problems, and hope they are getting better." I said yes they were a little better. I was surprised and touched she had remembered me, and had indeed been praying for me, a stranger.

These young people give me hope, which I think we all need, especially at this holiday season.

Observations on pride from the point of view of an introvert

2007-12-07T22:59:00.000-06:00

One of the toughest things I've had to deal with in the recent years is my inner pride between me and others, especially my own family members. My feelings tell me that they don't think I've grown up, or that I don't know as much as they do... When they suggest obvious things to me, try to help me, when they have pity on me, when they patronize me (to treat in a condescending manner), etc. And the worst part is that I do these things to them as well. This isn't a bash against anyone else, and is probably more against my own sinful nature.

I should mention that their "patronization" may and just probably is something that I am imagining. So when I say that, I realize it's just something that I perceive, but may not actually be the case in their motives.

Something evil wells up inside me, something that I don't often experience with my friends, but strangely only my family and maybe very closest friends. It's a deep rooted pride that comes out into the open square of my mind. I say to myself, "Do they really think I'm that dumb when they suggest that particular thing?" "Do they really think I couldn't have figured that out on my own, or that because it was me, it wouldn't have been as obvious as it would have been were it them in that situation?"

Most of the time this pride just manifests itself within my own thought life, but sometimes it does come out. And I believe it is soo dangerous and obvious when it does. This kind of pride really tends to have a lasting effect on me and will usually cause me to think about the particular incident of patronization all the more. I hold grudges about the tiniest things people say. When it does manifest itself, usually it means I draw away from people. I will be silent in a way that is obviously rude. When people, especially the one that offended me, asks me an innocent question, I may reply to them with a quick, "Oh, that's nice", but I really don't mean what I say on the inside.

It's weird, sometimes an individual will detect my change in attitude, and will think I'm just in a bad mood and not realize it was really their actions that caused me to be in such a mood. And they will then try to help me all the more, and then my pride kicks in, knowing that they know that I'm not in a good mood, and I will purposefully play along with their helping me. And even if they don't know I'm playing along with them in my own mind, at least to me I have won the battle and have defeated them and their pity they were displaying toward me. At this point my pride kicks in even more, because I've won an inward battle with them (within my mind), in which I was the only one that knew about it. The other person may see my attitude return to a more normal state, and then they think that their encouragement was the thing that helped me, but in fact it was the inward prideful battle that I won against them.

I am honestly horrified at myself sometimes, at the depths of the deception of pride that I can get myself into, within my own mind. The depths are so great sometimes, that I know that I am deceiving myself, and yet I still follow it. When I say I have a knowledge of my own deception, I don't mean I find out after the fact that I deceived myself, but that I understand it in a detailed way even before it happens, and know the outcome of my mental deception.

God, please give me, and all of us, hearts of humility and love for You! Teach us how to be humble! I certainly don't know how! I see the example of Your Son in Philippians chapter 2, and He is who I need to follow! Teach me, Lord!

Testimony of what Jesus Christ has done in my life

2007-11-15T15:39:00.000-06:00

Before and duration conversion

I was born at a very young age, and not too much later, I was born again. Huh? Born again? Now what do I mean by the term? Well, I mean it the way it sounds, although not literally. No, I was not reincarnated nor did I go back into my mother's womb a second time, but I was a new person. I was not perfect, but my goals and aspirations of life had changed for the better; they no longer reflected my goals, but Another's. In other words, I had a new perspective and way of thinking about life. So what happened? Did I have some mystical spiritual experience? No. Did I have a 'burning in the bosom' experience like the Mormons do? No. What happened is that I had obtained a restored relationship with my Creator. And I don't mean my parents, but rather God Himself! This one Being, with a capital B, made all that we see around us, and more specifically made us and has a wonderful plan for our lives--if we choose to follow Him. This is the story of God's work in my life up to this point.

It happened when I was about 4 years old. I was lying in bed with a high fever, and I believe I was thinking back to my Sunday school lesson that I had gotten at church. I am not exactly sure of all the details, as it is difficult to remember events that long ago. However, one thing I do know happened is that I was aware of all the bad things I had done in my life.

Now you may be asking, what could a child of only 4 years old have done that could be considered bad on any level? Well, we have to realize that the bad things we might do, such as stealing, lying, cheating, etc, do not have to be taught to us. Rather, we are conceived in sin, or these bad things are a part of who we are from the get go. For example, I didn't need to be trained how to take a toy away from my sisters and laugh about it, etc. The Bible, which is God's written message to us humans, says that there is no one that is righteous. By the term righteous, it is saying that there is no one that acts in the right way towards God (as God defines it). See, God is perfect in every way, and He requires that we be perfect as well, since we are created by Him. It disappoints God when we do bad things contrary to His will.

Anyways, I realized I had done many bad things, but I also realized the reality of death, and wondered where I would go when I died. See, even though I was only 4 and had my entire life ahead of me, I realized that I would only go one of two places when I died: one place called heaven (where God is) and another place called hell (where God is not). It seemed kind of obvious to me that a decision on this topic was of crucial importance, since I would be dead longer than I would be alive. But what hope would I have of ever going to heaven to be with God if He demanded perfection of me? I certainly didn't want anything to do with hell, since all that I knew about it was that it involved being in a lake of fire forever. Which that sounded like an oxymoron, because how could fire burn in a lake of water forever? I just couldn't stand the thought of living in an environment with such logical annoyances forever ;-). No, I didn't really think that structurally as a 4 year old, but the concept of hell was frightening.

The part that really got me was that it wasn't just me, but the Bible says that everyone in the world had sinned. So was there no hope for anyone? Would the entire human race be lost to eternal torment? This sounded like a horror movie, but this is where it gets better!

See, before God created us, He knew that we would reject Him, so He setup a plan that would provide a way for us to be saved from the destruction we deserve for our rebellion. This plan was Jesus. Jesus was not just a man, but in fact was God Himself. Because God is perfect and Jesus is God, that means that Jesus is perfect. Pretty simple logic. Jesus was willingly born into this world by a supernatural birth about 2000 years ago, and lived a perfect life. He was truly man and truly God. The Bible says that the penalty of sin is death. It also says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So, not only did I deserve death and hell because of my sin, but if I were to have any hope of going to heaven to be with God, someone else would have to take my penalty. The Bible says that God loved the world so much, that He gave is one and only Son (referring to Jesus), that whoever believes in Him, would not be lost, but have eternal life. Jesus died a tortuous death on a Roman cross, taking on the sin of the entire world. Jesus died for me, and He died for you. Not only this, but there was nothing I could do that would be worthy of earning this gift. In fact, the Bible also says that it is by grace (unmerited favor) that we have been saved through faith, and we didn't this out of our own strength, but rather this grace was the gift of God!

So that night, while I was sick in bed, I responded to this good news about Jesus Christ, that there was hope beyond the grave. It wasn't just enough to understand how bad I am and how good that God is, I had to respond in trust that Jesus Christ was my only hope for salvation from my own sin and from the punishment of my sin. Jesus paid it all, and going to church, helping an old lady across the street, or anything else could not add one bit to that. When Jesus was on the cross, He said that His work was finished!

Praise God for such a great salvation, and that it is so simple that even a child can understand it!

What difference has it made?

I love to read God’s word, and think His thoughts after Him. In other words, I desire to do and to think the things that God would desire of me. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. Now my life is focused on glorifying God, rather than myself. I realize, as one of Jesus’ followers did in the Bible, that I can turn to nothing/no one else, for Jesus alone has the words of hope and eternal life. My goal in life now is to love others, and not because I am trying to earn points to keep my salvation, but out of adoration for my savior who first loved me. I want to share with others about the good news of Jesus Christ, and what He has done for me.

I did not become instantly wealthy and my life was/is not perfect, but I now have a hope. Even Jesus said that our lives would not be perfect by saying, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you." Even when people make fun of me for believing in Jesus, I can love them in the same way that Jesus loved me!

Pray for Evangelism

2007-11-13T13:33:00.000-06:00

A little sidetrack for a moment. I was reading in one of my theology books about the wisdom of God, and how incredibly vast it is! For example, think about the infinite nature of the God we serve: His infinite love, justice, mercy, forgiveness, grace, etc. Not only can we not know everything there is to know about God in a complete sense, but we can't even know one thing about God in a complete sense. For example, the vastness of His love!

Anyways, this book mentioned that God knows every part of His own nature in a complete sense, and yet He is infinite! How can an infinite Being fully understand/know Himself, and where would the end of the knowledge of Himself be? An infinite God with infinite wisdom is the only One capable of understanding Himself!!

1 Corinthians 2:11 "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God."

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Anyways, please remember to pray for our evangelism efforts. I got to catch up with Kolton last Friday. Praise the Lord! We talked for about 45min about what a Christian should do... Pray, read the Bible, fellowship with other believers, and tell others about Christ. I also gave him a few Emmaus Correspondence Courses for new believers, that explain some of the basics of the bible and Christianity. We were able to go through the first chapter together of one of the courses (Men Who Met Jesus), which was about Pilate and his interactions with Jesus.

Please pray for continued spiritual growth, and that Kolton would have a deep hunger for God's word. I would like to get a full Bible for him, as right now he only has the New Testament that I gave him. Also pray for his friend that was there with us, listening in and even participating somewhat. It would be awesome if all the teens in that neighborhood got saved! We know God can do it!

In Christ,
Tom Major

Constantly updated missions and persecution news

2007-11-12T19:15:00.001-06:00

You'll notice I added a RSS feed to the sidebar on this blog. This feed is a combination of many different christian news websites as well as secular, on the subject of christian missionary activity and the persecution of the body of Christ around the world. This feed includes well known names such as Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors USA, New Tribes Mission, Mission Network News, and more. There are also a few Google News search feeds included in this feed, which is where the secular articles would be coming from. Note that occasionally there may be some unrelated material that makes it in because of the Google News feed, but most of the time it will be relevant. Feel free to check it out here, and add it to your feed reader :-).

http://www.google.com/reader/shared/
user/00957334991695335898/label/missions

Do not be ashamed of the gospel!

2007-11-04T01:58:00.000-05:00

Now I know that Paul was speaking in an evangelistic sense when he wrote that as it appears in Romans 1:16. However, often times it is not only in evangelism and being around "greeks and barbarians" that I can be ashamed of the gospel, but it is also around BELIEVERS!

Maybe this isn't the case for everyone, but sometimes I find myself being a complacent/nominal Christian around my brothers and sisters in Christ. Now it's not that we don't ever talk about Jesus or God, because we do. But do we ever get really serious about Christ? Are we just talking about Christ because that is what is expected of us Christians, or because we really do love Jesus?! Why do I hesitate when a speaker asks someone in the audience to pray?

When was the last time that I ever sat down with my friends and cried together with them about the extent of the love of Christ for our pitiful and puny lives?

I think that to be any less than sold out for Jesus Christ, not only in an evangelistic context but also amongst the body, is to be in a sense, ashamed of the gospel.

My two cents.

Pray for Evangelism

2007-11-03T02:03:00.000-05:00

Another good Friday. God was working, as usual! I went to the same location I went last week, and praise God that Kolton was there! He was the one last week that had been really interested. This week I got to explain the gospel again, and answer some other questions that he/they had. I compared myself to the Ice Cream truck that would go around, since I kept coming every Friday... except for the Bible ;-). Kolton asked about how Adam and Eve's children didn't have birth defects if they had to marry each other. So I got to explain how since they were the vary first people, that they would not have had any defects in their genes.

Later though we got back to the gospel and I got to read through the Prodigal Son narrative with him. After that I asked him, "So is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ right now?" He said no, and then I asked if he would like to do that, and we prayed together. He said that he had read the tract I gave him about 2 or 3 times. Please pray that the spirit would continue to work on his heart. I hope and pray that it was genuine. There were so many distractions when we were talking. Even when we were praying, we got interrupted by crying children (a child got hurt on the concrete and the child's parents came). But praise God that he was interested, and please pray that I would have opportunity to do follow up with him! I told him I'd be there next week, so hopefully we'll have more time to read the Bible together! I gave him my Bible, so pray that he would read from the book of John like I recommended, and that he would grow!

In Christ,
Tom Major

Pray for Evangelism

2007-10-27T13:23:00.000-05:00

This Friday was pretty awesome. I got to talk with some of the same guys I talked to last week: Matt and Joe (the guys there were probably middle school or high school age). It's interesting talking to skateboarders because they are skating while talking with you ;-). So you'd have some guys listen for a minute or two, then skate across the park and come back while other guys listened. One young man that stuck around toward the end was Colton. He didn't say a whole lot, but seemed deeply interested in what I had to say.

It was interesting that some older guys came along and said something like this to the younger guys we were talking to, "What are these guys talking about?!" The younger guys basically told them to not interrupt us because we were asking "good questions." Praise God! Amazing how God works in silencing the enemy from interrupting people from hearing His word! That should also give us boldness to see how God works, and that we can trust Him in those situations to speak through us and prepare the hearts of individuals.

One of the guys asked me how I got saved. That was a cool opportunity because I got to explain that even though I grew up in a Christian home and got saved early in life, I still needed salvation from my sin! Coming from Christian parents didn't save me. And not only that, as I grew older and investigated the things of God more, I came to know even more why we can trust God in everything in our lives... I didn't reject what I had believed in child-like faith at 4 years old.

At the end of the discussion, I was able to explain to Colton how one is to be saved a few times, and then I left him with a tract and my phone number. Please pray that Colton would trust in Christ!

I have been thinking/praying about going back to that same spot for a few weeks, to show them that I genuinely care about them. Please pray for guidance and words to say. But ultimately that this group of guys, on this small skatepark, in a tiny area of downtown Dubuque, would be saved from God's judgment and radically transform their community for Jesus Christ!

Lastly, praise God for the amazing truth that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! He didn't wait for us to be perfect!

Serving with you,
Tom Major

Pray for Evangelism

2007-10-21T23:14:00.000-05:00

Haven't sent out an email in a few weeks. We've still been going every Friday. The past few weeks have been really busy with tests here at school. Please continue to pray for the evangelism.

Pray for continued willingness and a burden to share Christ. Also pray that God would give us creative ideas to reach out to people as the weather gets colder. It will be increasingly difficult to find anyone outside or anyone that is willing to stay outside (including us, brrr) :-).

This past Friday I was talking to this teenager in downtown dubuque (link below for map). His name was Matt. He mentioned that several people had already come up to him and talked to him about God and such. So I asked him what they said. He mentioned a few things, including that Jesus died for everyone, etc. It was interesting to me that later on in the conversation, he asked, "What did Jesus ever do for me?". Of course I quickly responded, "He died for you!" It's crazy how many do not connect what Jesus has done for the whole world, to themselves personally. He had the truth about Christ, but it hadn't made it from head to heart.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103439438315651528013.00043c7744b3612235ae0&ll=42.519474,-90.670745&spn=0.003511,0.007296&z=17&om=1

Another cool opportunity occurred in that same location when we went up to a group of elementary aged girls playing in the sand on a playground. They instantly recognized me from Friday Nighters, a children's outreach program in downtown dubuque organized by Arbor Oaks Bible Chapel (where I fellowship). It was cool to be able to connect with them a little bit in real life, rather than just at Friday Nighters.

Anyways, please continue to pray for the laborers and that there would be more! Dubuque is such a huge mission field, white for harvest!

In Christ,
Tom Major

PS: Just like the following verse says, I pray that we would cry for the lost! They are going to hell! Let it embolden us to spread God's word!
"My eyes shed streams of water, Because they [men] do not keep Your law." - Psalm 119:136

Evangelism and priorities

2007-10-02T20:24:00.000-05:00

I'm sort of the new kid on the block when it comes to the subject of Evangelism. My first experiences were when I was about 16-18 years old. A good friend and older brother (Erik Dressel) and a group of us would go out and evangelize The Avenue. It's a hotspot for people of all ages, especially teenagers. It's sort of like an outdoors mini-mall. It has a theater and all kinds of restaurants. Every now and then you'll find a band playing by the water fountain.

Well, I remember my first experience ever evangelizing; I was excited, and had no clue what to expect ;-)! I remember the rest of my group saying that it was indeed my turn to speak. We saw some teenagers with some rather intimidating looking clothing and hair dues, and without any more prodding, I boldly went up to them and started a conversation. I honestly can't remember exactly what those words that I said were, but something horrible happened when I began to speak! I found out that I had nothing to say! Now, it wasn't because I was not a believer, but simply because I could not articulate the message of the gospel well when pressured. When that happened, I immediately had to defer to one of my other team members.

The conclusions that I'm about to make may not apply in every person's situation, but I would venture to say that it does for most people.

I grew up in a solid Christian home and had trusted in Jesus Christ as my only way of salvation from the penalty of my sins, at an early age (about 4 years old), but over the years I had grown very little in my relationship with Him. My problem in evangelism was not that I did not know Jesus, but was that I did not love Him the way I should. I was not abiding in Him as the scripture calls us to. Prior to about when I turned 19-20 years old and entered Bible college, I rarely even picked up my Bible. I knew plenty of the Bible simply from attending church all my life, and Sunday school, but I did not have an intimate knowledge of God's word.

I do not want to give the impression that I'm perfect now, by NO means! But I do praise God for the opportunity of going to Bible college and being forced to read His word. I think this is really where I started noticeably growing in Christ. By the end of that first year, I actually had an interest in God's word and it became more a less a topic of regular discussion. Before then, I was mostly consumed by various hobbies, namely internet related hobbies.

Anyways, back to my first story... After that first, what I thought was a failed experience at evangelism, I still attended with the group, but shied away from speaking to people. Eventually after a year or two, my attendance to the group slowly faded out. See, without that solid relationship with Jesus Christ, I really had no inner motivation to be out there. I did not get as excited as the other team members, and I was nervous as anything! I was not nervous simply because I was a little anxious about speaking to strangers, but I knew in my heart that I had nothing to say to them.

In Mark 1:17, it says

And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

Notice what Jesus says before He says that he will become a fisher. Jesus says that he must first follow! That is basically what I am saying in this brief blog post. I was not following Jesus the way I should, and I was not useful for His service. Believe me, He can use unworthy vessels, and I still feel unworthy that He would use me, but He would much rather use willing vessels.

I was reading The 7 Principles of An Evangelistic Life by Douglas M. Cecil, and I really liked the way the author put it. Let me finish off this post with a quotation from his book :-).

"...priorities must be kept in focus if there is to be balance in evangelism. Here is the main point: There is a great commandment before there is a great commission. You may have the slickest method, the slickest presentation, and be the most silver-tongued person around; but if your relationship with Jesus Christ is out of focus, evangelism is out of balance. Everything that happens in evangelism is a by-product of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
...out of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ flows our relationship with others and our relationship with the world."

Pray for Evangelism

2007-09-29T02:38:00.000-05:00

This week there were not a whole lot of guys that showed up for evangelism, but God was still working! Praise God! Please pray that despite many of the student's busy schedules, they would feel the burden to share God's truth with the lost in Dubuque!

The Spirit lead us to an older man and woman (Eddie, can't remember woman's name), who were sitting on a concrete ledge in a parking lot in down town Dubuque. They appeared to be either very poor or homeless, as they were dressed somewhat raggedy. So we went up to them and started off the conversation something like this: "We were wondering, has anyone ever opened the Bible with you and shown you how you can know for sure you will go to heaven when you die?" The man quickly responded that he had been to heaven and back, in fact not only heaven, but he has also been to hell and back apparently! He obviously didn't have his wits about him, but it did provide for an interesting discussion ;-). Later on I noticed he had a bottle, so he was likely drunk.

We asked the man what he knew about Jesus Christ, which is when he responded that he was Jesus' brother. Hmm. Later in the discussion we took them through the ten commandments, but when we got to adultery, they really did not like that! I was telling them that Jesus said that even if a man looks at a woman with lust, he has committed adultery already with her in his heart. Eddie was obviously agitated by that. The woman next to him kept saying it wasn't true, and Eddie swore and tried to change the subject. I wish I had remembered at the time where it was in the Bible Jesus said that (Matthew 5:28), but I did say to them that since they believe Jesus is God, they should believe what He says. I am the messenger, so it's not me they were mad at, but it was God Himself.

This talk was a convicting one for me though. Other than the above discussion, the man kept bringing up the topic of "reality." I think what he was referring to is the daily world that we live in, with its ups and downs. Them being in the poverty category would definitely have their share of that! When we were mentioning the 10 commandments, and came to "Thou shalt not lie", they replied that sometimes lying is necessary if someone is about to "knife" you or is pointing a gun at you. What a culture shock! That is a totally different world that I have no clue about. That is the sense in which he used the term "reality." Whenever we would mention sin, he would just divert it to the fact that we just have to deal with this stuff, and sometimes it happens, but there is nothing we can do about it. It was sort of an apathetic answer.

We tried to bring it back to Christ and mention the "reality" of the cross, and the bad things that happened to Christ for the purpose of providing salvation to mankind. If I could have another conversation with him, I would tell him that as Christ was being beaten and put on the cross, He could have easily "lied" to get Himself out, or simply called legions of angels to destroy His attackers! But He didn't! He willingly endured the cross, despising the shame, for the joy that He was looking forward to! And He did so without sinning, but loving His enemies! Praise God for His willingness!

Please pray that God would convict them of their sin! And also pray that they would read the tracts that we gave them, and would put their trust in Jesus Christ alone! Also pray for Robert, a friend of theirs that came mid-way into the discussion. All of them seemed to have very hard hearts...

In Christ,
Tom Major

"but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28

Pray for Evangelism

2007-09-22T02:53:00.000-05:00

Another good Friday of evangelism. God is so good! God gave us two encounters in downtown Dubuque, including one good discussion.

The first person we went up to was an older man, sitting on a park bench. We asked if we could ask him some questions, and he responded that he had already been asked yesterday! Then he got up and walked away. I don't know if the people he talked to yesterday were Christians, but if so, God is obviously trying to get in touch with him if there are two encounters, two days in a row! Please pray for him!

The second encounter was a older Spanish speaking man. He unfortunately didn't know english, or not very well, and could not understand us. Please pray for him as well.

We had a good discussion with two older women, Renee and Roxy. Praise God they were willing to chat with us! We were able to go through the gospel multiple times during our discussion. They didn't make a decision for Christ, but seemed so close. They have a lot of pain in their lives, lots of deaths in the family and they worry about the war and our safety in this country. We proceeded to tell them that God the Father also had a death in His family, the Son of God who is Jesus Christ. Earlier in the discussion we had the opportunity to also go through the law with them, and use it as a "schoolmaster" to teach them about their sin before a holy God. We asked them which of the ten commandments they hadn't followed. By Renee's own admission, she's a lying, thieving, and blasphemer at heart. Surprise, surprise, she's human! Then we asked her whether she would be innocent or guilty on judgment day, in which she responded that she hadn't really thought about that and that it was a hard question.

Praise God that something got through! It seemed like Renee wasn't really understanding the idea of faith alone, grace alone. Pray also specifically for Roxy, because she was pretty much quiet the entire time, and often times it's the quiet one that is getting more out of the discussion than the person the evangelist is talking to. We left a tract with them, so hopefully the holy spirit will work through that.

In Christ,
Tom Major

"just as it is written, 'BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.'" Romans 9:33

Pray for Evangelism

2007-09-15T01:15:00.001-05:00

Every Friday afternoon at Emmaus Bible College, there is a group that goes out and evangelizes Dubuque. Please keep us in your prayers as God works through us in this area! Praise God, there were at least 20 people that showed up this Friday! Pray that more people would join us, if not the entire college!

We split into groups, with at least two people in a group, trying to have at least a guy and girl together, which makes it less stressful for the unbeliever. Tonight, my group had the opportunity of some good discussions with at least 2 people, and 2 other people took tracts. Praise God! One discussion was with a Catholic young man, and he seemed to be having trouble differentiating between the true gospel and what he has grown up being taught in his church (with all the terminology being very similar and such). The gospel is not about 'doing,' but about 'done.'

We talked to another older man (maybe 40s or 50s) outside of Target. We asked him if we could ask him a few questions about Jesus Christ, and how to know Him as his savior. He responded that he had heard all that stuff before, and didn't need more religion. Of course we were happy to reply that we did not intend to give him religion, but discuss with him about an awesome relationship that he could have with God. After that he seemed to open up a bit more. Praise God! Please pray for this man though, he seemed like he was either mentally ill or on drugs or something. I wasn't sure how much he comprehended and how much he was just regurgitating from previous experiences. Also, we were going to give him a tract, but he didn't know how to read, so we read the tract to him. As we were reading it though, his bus came and he had to go.

Because of whatever this man's issue was, he seemed like a small child for being so old. Although he didn't accept Christ right there with us, it reminded me of how the message of the gospel takes child-like faith to accept it. God has revealed His truth to babes, whether that means literally young children or the elderly and young-at-heart with special needs ;-).

Also, please keep in your prayers these other ministries that I try to keep tabs on every once in a while. (1) Erik Dressel and his outreaches to various schools in Maryland and such with abstinence talks, and the Christian club he is helping with at Essex Community College. (2) Aaron Shafovaloff, a friend of mine and missionary to the mormon people in Utah.

In Christ,
Tom Major

"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." --John 4:20-24