Head-dibs

[ Friends, I will be offline until sometime in early March because I am relocating my family from a mobile home into a house--we may be bringing my mom up to live with us in the summer, so we are making changes with that in mind. Prayers are appreciated . If I am at all able, I will try to make one more post before the end of the month--a little something I have planned to tide you over until I return. In the meantime, here is something to think about this time of year . . .] By Daryl Wingerd Fat Tuesday is another name for Mardis Gras, the raucous annual parade and party held in the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition is many centuries old and was originally known as Carnival. It is held in various places around the world under different names. Mardis Gras (or Fat Tuesday) is the American version. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning "farewell to the flesh." There is a great deal of irony in that name because Fat Tuesday is by no means a time...

It just slipped out. I did not really intend to say it; nevertheless, I said it. I really don't know it was on my mind until after I said it. And when I said it I could'nt believe I had actually said it. What I said was, "oh how cute!" The words just . . . fell out! Honest! What drew me was the open door when all the others were closed, locked perhaps. Nothing was pink or fuzzy nor did it have frills or any sort of dainty intricate design. It was just small. Perhaps no more than 10 people could have fit in at any one time. Light spilled in through three panels of color on one end of the room, a small padded bench underneath. The lectern stood sentinel in the corner. The piano waited patiently on the opposite wall. It was quiet, the lights low. All I could think of was ''cute." This bothered me because that was really not what I wanted to say. I really wanted to say, “Woe is me, I am undone.” But it did not come out that way. Here was a...

“ While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel .” (Numbers 25:1-3) Satan through the world has two ways to attack the godly: up front and with great stealth. Moab had tried already to come against Israel with arms, even with a professional cursor, but he enemy of Israel failed both fights. But they had another weapon that, in effect, exploded in the lap of Israel. While Moab could not stand against Israel in the open, they attacked in worship. Worship, of all places! Who ever thought of that tactic? Whoda thunk warfare could occur in worship . . . I’ve been hung up on this one set of verses all day because of the quiet way God is teaching me through His Holy Spirit. I just can’t get over the fact that the people have the presence of God in thei...

Bishop J.C.Ryle (1816 - 1900) could perhaps be received as an anomaly to Baptistic life and thought. Though he was an ordained clergy in the Church of England, or Anglican Church, J.C. Ryle is one who many would love to claim, and it is good for Baptists to take notice. His work, " Warnings to the Churches: Pharisees and Sadducees " is not a work out of date and should not to be ignored or minimized. The foundation of Ryle's urgent exposition is simply " Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees " (Matthew 16:6) of which we are quickly reminded that "every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is full of deep instruction for Christians" and "is of the greatest value." People of the Book, pay attention! The book is a sermon divided into four major points, each admonishing the believer first to observe whom the warning of the text was addressed; second, to understand the dangers the Lord warned ...

nateNotes: [!] A Tale of Two Knights Apologists, must read! (be sure to refer to parts 2 and 3).

Well on their way in their wandering, Korah and sons all rebel; God judges the men of those houses to be an example for Israel. The next day those people's own grumble 'gainst Moses and Aaron was heard; God judged all that loud congregation who lifted a contrary word. The priesthood received confirmation "Every devoted thing yours;" Then purified through the Red Heifer, The unclean and clean are made sure. Miriam dies in the desert, the people assemble, complain; Moses in anger strikes rock-ward, Instead of just speaking again. Edom refuses their passage, And Aaron, he dies in his place; Then tension with Canaan's king Arad caused Israel to search for God's face. The people again gripe and grumble, God judges that lot with those snakes; But looking to Moses' Bronze Serpent Brings life in those poisonous stakes. The journey continues with battles, the Lord giving great victory; And Balaam says backwardly curses Despite all he says or can see.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” I didn’t know who he was, but he came highly recommended and was received with great flare and panache. He came to guide our church through a Sunday School Revival one Spring. I remember distinctly the first message he preached on Isaiah 54:2, “ Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs .” That message really impacted me back in 1988. And I remember telling him so. His response, “stick with me this week and you will learn more than you will ever learn in Bible College or Seminary.” And He was right. One of the great things he said that week concerned the life of the local church that I have personalized and applied to my own life; after all, as Spurgeon says, it begins with me. He said, “there are three ways to look at the church [my life]: it grows, maintains, or dies. And ...

Scripture quoting is now being equated with plagiarism, being non-original, and close-mindedness to new and continuing revelation; I hear more on universalism, less on eternal punishment; More on the mercy of God, less on His wrath; More on free will, less on responsibility; More on destiny, less on Sovereignty; More on maintaining "the walk," less on growing in faith or warnings against backsliding; More on getting through our stuff, less on divine healing and deliverance; More on convention, less on conviction; More on time management, less on Sabbath and Sabbath-breaking; More on leaving the past behind, less on the Second Coming; More on managing your money, less on the stewardship of all God has entrusted; More on "the cutting edge", less from the cutting edge; More pointing to the Bible, less pointing from the Bible; More on method, less on message. “Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. For men will be self-lovers, money-love...

God sees everything. Proof of this is found in Numbers 7, where it is recorded the leaders of Israel all gave their offerings, one person representing each tribe. The detail is astounding—each offering is identical—and God noticed and inspired that each offering be recorded in each detail. Another wonderful sequence of events is in the following chapters. The Levites are brought before the people and are consecrated before the LORD then Israel celebrates the first Passover since the Exodus, not to forget an explanation of how the cloud directed the movements of the Israelites. While this is on my mind: we are getting ready to move again. Seems like we move a lot. But not as much as these people! Notice the text says that when the glory of the LORD went up, they moved! Sometimes they would be in one place for a few days, a couple of weeks, months or years! That last statement ought to make one think . . . does the writer know something everyone else does not, or is he writing in retrosp...

[President's Chapel] Songs: “Joy to the world.“ “Come thou long Expected Jesus.“ “O little town.” “Emmanuel.” “Thou didst leave thy throne.” Text: John 2:1-17; Isa. 6:3 All divine repetition is essential to emphasize the purity and perfection of our Triune God. God is seen 6:1,5. And we pray “Open the eyes of our hearts that we may see you.” Are we ready to see what Isaiah saw? [ I've been saying that for a long time! ] The God Isaiah saw and the God John wrote of are the same—they both record their experience with the joy-giver and temple-cleanser. Who did Isaiah see? God the Son, a Theophany. A physical manifestation of God, also seen in the Angel of the LORD in other passages. John 12:37-41 Unbelief in Jesus as God Incarnate is a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah saw Jesus and he was afraid. This is who the seraphim saw and covered themselves. Is there a significant difference between the God of the OT and the God of the NT? Deut 4:24, 31. The same God! Heb 4:16 I AM t...

Every Sunday night I take my daughter to her AWANA club that begins each meeting upstairs in our family Life Center at church (our Family Life Center has three floors). Every once and-a-while I will take the elevator up and if I time it right am able to catch a couple of children less willing to take the stairs. As everyone Knows (it must be one of the unwritten laws of the universe) one or more child or Children must punch the buttons. I remember as a small child (between 8 and 11) how I often drifted from shopping mall to shopping mall with my mom who made her living as a starving artist selling her paintings at art shows--many of which would be held in the halls of a shopping mall somewhere. I learned how to keep myself busy in most locations during those long weekends by doing such things as commandeering the local elevator. I hated sidewalk shows, for obvious reasons. Yes, I was once King button-boy. Everybody who got into my box went nowhere unless I poked the button. Occasional...

“ Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him .” Spurgeon was right . . . we are just too busy. We would really like to spend time thinking about it, perhaps weeping over it, but business calls, duty demands, a promise we made to someone somewhere must be fulfilled—just can’t think about it NOW. We’ll come back to it later, maybe tonight. If not then, then later for certain or perhaps another day. “Believer in Jesus,” Spurgeon writes, “can you gaze upon Him without tears, as He stands before you the mirror of agonizing love?” Spurgeon even tells himself, “My soul, stand here and weep over His ...

You are very sure that the so-called “wine” in the Bible was unfermented grape juice. (It was unfermented, wasn’t it?) You call dancing “creative movement” or call a dance a “function.” You think those Northern Baptists (American Baptists) are a bunch of liberals. Your parents or your grandparents used to be Methodist. You have to stand behind a wooden lectern to teach a class, any class. You’ve ever made a pilgrimage to Glorieta or Ridgecrest–or you at least know where those places are. Your pastor attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at some time in his academic career. Your pastor doesn’t wear a robe, but the choir does wear robes and people who are getting baptized wear white robes. Someone in your church says “amen” a couple of times during the sermon when the preacher makes a good point, but no one ever shouts. You don’t raise your hands to praise God during the music, but you tolerate those who do. You call any kind of Bible study on Sunday night “Training Union” o...

If I could summarize Number 4-6 in one word it would be “separation.” The words of the LORD from the tabernacle in their midst are directed to God’s people as it relates to the ministry of service; cleanliness, sin and infidelity; and, voluntary separation. Earlier, we understood how the Levites were separated out from the rest of the people of God. Now there yet another subdivision of the Levitical families: the Kohathites (4:1-15), the Gershonites (4:21-18) and the Merarites (4:29-33). Aaron and his son Elieazar are the general supervisors of the entire tabernacle (4:16-20). I imagine that being a Levite was fearful experience, especially one who was responsible to move the tabernacle furniture. I noticed the Kohathites of all the Levites were forbidden access to these things. “The term used for their active “service” is a very interesting one. It is used in other passages for other pursuits, e.g. military service (Num. 1:3; it is the word in modern Hebrew for army service too); ha...

Direct Direction It’s time for a crash course in “How to say all those really hard names in the Bible.” Ready? Pencil and paper out? Here you go: “with confidence.” Pop quiz: Read Numbers 1-3. Finding a point of reflection and application in these chapters can be challenging, but not impossible. There is some great stuff here! And it all centers on the fact that there is only one LORD; that is God. God organizes His People. He is the center and everyone has a place. God prepares His People. He promised them their own land and they are being moved into position to claim it. God commissions His people. He is the basis on which obedience is expected. God provides for His People. Worship and community exist because of Him. The first chapter is a census—boring stuff, right? I think part of the reason for this is that God is giving Israel an opportunity to see how big they have become as a nation, but how small they really are in comparison with other nations. The beauty is that G...

Instructions: usually printed in three or four languages on multi-folded pieces of thin paper. The instructions you need most is the one written in the worst English. You know what I mean. Ladies, do you know why men find that slip of paper when we buy a new gadget, toy, tool, or whatever, and toss it out? Because nobody can read it, that's why! [That's for free, by the way.] Lev 22-27: God is very clear in giving instructions. Make no mistake about it. God tells Moses how to instruct Aaron and his sons in the things prohibited of the priesthood, including which sacrifices are not to be made (in case Aaron or his sons had any questions). Once this is assured, instructions are given concerning the feasts of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Booths and the Day of Atonement. After Moses receives special direction concerning oil to be used for the lamps and how to arrange the showbread, an incident breaks out resulting in a law concerning the Sanctifie...

This is perhaps the most recognizable set of numbers in the world. Everyone seems to know to what they refer--that passage in the New Testament book of John which says, " For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life ." What an awesome message! But these numbers are not a magic formula. They are a reference point to easily locate and refer to a specific text. Why do I bring this up? Because some people think there is great power in these numbers and this is not correct. Just write them on a piece of cardboard and hold them in front of a TV camera . . . I overheard a recent conversation in which a young Bible college student was being mentored. They were laying out a strategy in which the student could teach a series. "Hey, why not the 3:16's of the Bible! John 3:16 is such a great text and the numbers can drive students to other great truths in the Bible," the stu...

Someone once said that the Bible was a book of “do’s”, not a book of “don’ts” and if you do all the “do’s” you don’t have time to do the “don’ts”—and if you could, you wouldn’t, since you can’t, so you don’t, so it’s cool! Leviticus 19-21 reminds me of that axiom. If more time is devoted to doing the deeds of holiness, the deeds of sinfulness are not done. But when one considers all the civil, moral and ceremonial laws given, how many did Israel actually carry out? Take it a step further—how are we doing obeying the words of Christ? How are we doing with putting off the old and putting on the new and walking in the Spirit not carrying out the desire of the flesh (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, Galatians 5)? We like to pick and choose because we are a people of convenience and comfort. We like to fence and cushion and couch the rules so we are best accommodated. We like Misnah! God delivers His people from bondage. There is no partial deliverance just as there is no partial bondage. ...

Imagine being told that if you had any of the following you could not come to church: leprosy, scabs, pimples, boils, burned flesh, eczema, infection, scales or pox, or infectious spots on a bald head (baldness itself is permissible). In some cases we are like, “no brainer”, but I will venture a bet (yes, a good Christian bet) that someone reading this right now is disqualified according to the list. Leviticus 13-18: God cannot have “unclean” in His presence because He is holy. The unclean must be removed. Any person with any of these symptoms is unclean and must publicly declare himself so and live outside the camp. We think that people have a reason now to be out of church—well how about these? Got pimples? UNCLEAN! What about mold? If a garment is leprous, another word for mold in this sense, it is unclean and is to be destroyed if it cannot be cleaned. People can be healed and restored to the fellowship of God and community, but they cannot have moldy clothes. Garments must...

nateNotes : "So this Christian walks into a bar and says, 'I'm a Christian.' The bartender says, 'Oh, yeah? Here's a movie I filmed about famous missionaries. It's a gospel film, except the gospel's never explained, and the hero of the movie is played by a major gay activist. Basically, the message I'm sending is that details about Jesus' sacrifice aren't important, but God's definitely down with homosexuality.' The Christian says, 'Wow, that's bad reasoning and an adulteration of the gospel. I'll pray for you.' The bartender calls the police, and they freeze the Christian's finances because he's so exclusive and divisive. So this Muslim walks into the same bar and says, 'I'm a Muslim.' The bartender says, 'Oh, yeah? Here's an unflattering picture I drew of Mohammed. Basically, I'm sending the message that Mohammed was a radical extremist hatemonger.' The Muslim pulls out a gun, tak...

Yep, it happened tonight folks. I watched the Superbowl. I don't watch sports but my kids had a big "to do" at church tonight, so I hung out and watched the big game with them. I tried to watch the Superbowl once, but it turned out to be quite a fiasco. My family gathered around as we prepared to join the game already in progress (we had just gotten home from church). I think they were more curious to watch me watch the game. So we came in, found a place, I grabbed the remote, turned it on and right there before my eyes was instant wardrobe malfunction. ***click*** and off it went. That was the last time I tried to watch. This time I was at church and there found that good Baptists, the people of the book, are easily transformed into the people of the play-book. I watched millions of dollars vaporize in 15 to 30 second mini-blockbusters and a few re-runs of old commercial classics. I thought I would be safe from any debauchery I had experienced last time--and was for the ...

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20) Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a letter that addresses the problems Christians have living in a world that does not know Christ. Like the Corinthians, we who have placed our faith and trust in Christ Jesus our LORD to save us from sin must live in this world and be not of it. But this is difficult, living delivered from the power of sin but not from it’s presence. Our verses could be thought of as the heart of the letter, the key because the lines of demarcation are obvious and the help and hope we need for the normal Christian life is found here. Paul is writing to a church that is plagued with division, disorder and difficulty. The Christians are divided because of a misunderstanding of the gospel and there are reports of sexual immorality and litigation...

‘For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.” (Lev. 11:44-47) This is it. This is the heart of the book of Leviticus, the book of Consumption: the distinction between the holy and unholy, the clean and the unclean. This is not the dividing line between the sacred and the secular—the more I think about it, the more I am convinced there is no such thing as “sacred” and “secular”, only the holy and the unholy. The Hittites used the word šaklāi (translated, “rite” ...

Friday, January 6th, 2006 by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Over the past thirty years, the homosexual movement has coalesced into a powerful force for cultural change. In fact, momentum for the normalization of homosexual behavior and relationships is now recognized in large segments of the society as a legitimate interest group. Though the identification of homosexuals as an organized political group was born in 1969 with the Stonewall riots in New York City, it really did not gain any kind of cultural momentum until the 1990s. As evidence of this, look at the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality and homoeroticism in the mainstream media. Magazines, television programming, and Hollywood movies now feature positive representations of homosexuality and homosexual relationships. Without doubt, homosexual behavior did not begin in 1969. Nevertheless, until recent years, there has been no celebration of homosexuality and no attempt to bring it into the cultural mainstream. Even in the 1990s, ...

"And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and burned up the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw and shouted and fell on their faces." Lev 9:24 The action and adventure has been rather scarce. Leviticus drags a plodding pace as all the instructions are finalized pertaining to personal holiness before the Lord. Suddenly, the final act is done, every one and every thing necessary is sanctified. Aaron with his sons are installed and worship begins--but not without a little excitement. Some commentators think the response of the people was joyful and I suppose to a degree this may have been possible but then there were the fireworks. I don't think the shouting was jubilant but were screams of shock and fear. Note how they fell on their faces. Look again at the flow of sudden action here: "And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and pea...

(JVenugopal) What kind of worker are you? We work hard in our studies and work hard for a living, sometimes doing both simultaneously. How well are we accomplishing what is expected? What is the Christian work ethic? I. What is work: Obedience to the ones we are obligated to serve. The master is the term of the contract or the person who tells what is expected that should be done. There is no democracy when this kind of relationship is underway. Rationalizing is not obedience. Questioning assumptions can be dangerous because short-cuts will catch up to you. If you agree to do the work, all you can do is obey. II. How to work: A. Not for eye-service when you are not being watched. What is the basis of your sense of dedication and motivation? Must someone stand over you or can you do it alone? B. Work with a sincere heart as to the Lord. III. Why work A. Heavenly reason 1. God will reward your work. Above and beyond what you receive as mone...

I’m inclined to think that not many people have read through Leviticus. What do you think? Ever read it? Ever looked at it—on purpose? Right away the reader is faced with a decision that God was already prepared for. This is hard, legal, ceremonial stuff that we have little or no use for today. So to us, the first six chapters of Leviticus are quite ( yawn ) dry. [i] If you have a hard time with it, think with me for a moment: an entire nation of people has just been delivered from Egypt and God Himself, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Covenant making God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has just moved into the neighborhood—right smack dab in the middle of the cul-de-sac, mind you. An entire nation of people gets to worship . . . at this . . . little . . . tent. The courtyard is small . I mean, real small . The outer court alone was 300 cubits, or 450 feet around the perimeter or 11, 250 square feet. How was a nation of people (around 6 million) to fit in that? That’s like my entire ci...