Head-dibs

I am going to be away from the computer until sometime in early August. In the meantime, see if you can answer these questions: Why do 80-90% of those making a decision for Christ fall away from the faith? What is the principle that Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, etc., used to reach the lost? Why has the Church neglected it? Don't let anything stop you from listening to this incredible teaching. (This is NOT a sermon about Hell.)

Thanks to my darling, sweet, beautiful wife for finding this quote and posting it on her page: "John the Baptist's message from the wilderness was not, 'Smile, God loves you.' It was 'O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come.' Jeremiah was not put into a miry pit for preaching, 'I'm OK, you're OK.' It was for crying against the adultery, idolatry and other wickedness of his nation. Noah's message from the steps of the ark was not, 'Something good is going to happen to you.' He condemned the world and was a preacher of righteousness. Jesus Christ was not crucified for saying, 'Consider the lilies, how they grow,' but for saying, 'Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites...children of hell ...fools and blind guides ... whited sepulchers...generation of vipers.'"

"The Christian faith is a specific form of dependence on God, and to cavil [raise trivial and frivolous objection] at the atonement is to begin the process of gradually abandoning that sense of dependence. It is to refuse to allow it to be conditioned by Christ at the central and vital point, the point at which the sinner is reconciled to God; and if we can do without Christ there, we can do without Him altogether. The process which begins with denying that we owe to Him and to His death the forgiveness of sin, ends by denying that He has any proper place in the gospel at all. It is neither from His own lips, nor from the lips of any of the apostles, that we so learn Christ." Denny, James. The Death of Christ . Cumbria: Paternoster, 1997. p. 40

"God does not stand behind a heavenly door with arms full of presents ready to hand out to those Christians who learn the ritual of some religious 'open sesame.' He is not a force that we may avail ourselves of if only we learn the techniques of postive thinking or (if we live on the West Coast) the routines of possibility thinking. He is the God who tells us what to do and what not to do. He is not only the God of 'shoulds' and 'oughts', but the God of 'musts!'" Adams, Jay. A Theology of Christian Counseling . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979. p. 49

by mdever Sometimes I get the feeling that people think there's something wrong with questioning the reality of a profession of faith. It's legalistic, or judging, or holier than thou. Or something. Read the rest here .

Previously we considered a few implications of the first commandment, “ You shall have no other gods before Me ” (literally, “in my face”) and the results of breaking that commandment. We referenced the fact that once the first commandment is broken, the second is near at hand, “ You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments .” (Exodus 20:4-6) We should be unsurprised to hear man’s squeaky voice lift not-quite beyond his uplifted fist toward the clouds, exclaiming to his creator, “I don’t need you! I can do this by myself!” then as he lowers his fist begins to seek out the help of gods of his own making and t...

Driving home for lunch today, I saw the Jehovah’s Witnesses walking along the road. My heart skipped a beat, for I knew a divine appointment had been made! While my wife fixed lunch, I kept my eye on the road, watching for my mid-day visitors. Praying. They were driving two cars, in two teams. One team of men (I talked with a team back in March) and one team of women. While the younger lady found a place to park her car, an older lady had been dropped off to visit my neighbor across the street. A few minutes later, she was walking alongside the road going to the next house. She didn’t even look our way . . . I was hurt. So I went outside. “Hi, There!” I greeted the lady as she shuffled along the road. “Hello!” She greeted me back, turning her head. I made my way down the driveway. She crossed the road to meet me. [i] “How are you doing?” I asked. “Just fine, just fine,” she said. “We jus’ out this fine day tellin’ folks about God and heaven. You know it says in Matthew tha...

The average person dies at 70 years old. If you are 20 years old, you have just 2,500 weekends left to live. If you have turned 30, you have 2,000 weekends left until the day you die. If you are 40 years old, you have only 1,500 weekends left. If you are 50, then you have just 1,000 weekends. If you are 60, you have a mere 500 weekends left until the day death comes to you. It has been wisely stated that every one of us is unique . . . just like everyone else. In truth, each unique individual is uniquely predictable. Everyone has a fear of death. No one can deny that he naturally has a will to live. Therefore, it makes sense to face reality by remembering that each person has an appointment to keep. You have ___ weekends left. If there was one chance in a million that Jesus Christ 'has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, you owe it to your good sense just to look into it.

The phrase “the will of God” seems to invoke in some an elusive and far-gazing mysticism. What immediately comes to my mind is the abiding presence of God and His determination, insistence and persistence for His glory above all things. God’s will infers a living demonstration of His attributes and assumes a relationship between Him and all things below Him. E.Y Mullins cannot help but touch on God’s Will throughout his entire work, The Christian Religion In Its Doctrinal Expression. [i] Wayne Grudem includes some good discussion on the revealed and “secret” will of God in his comparable tome on Systematic Theology. [ii] A.W. Tozer wrote, “The highest expression of the will of God in this age is the church which He purchased with his own blood.” [iii] An African friend of mine says succinctly, “The only thing above God is that which He wills as He is bound to it! God’s Will is truth!” One may sum the entire concept as “guidance.” How does one go about seeking guidance, or discerning...

Are you trapped in the tyranny of things? A wealthy man was moving into a new house, and his next-door neighbor happened to be a Quaker. The Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life. The Quaker neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great deal of clothing, and many decorative pieces. Then he walked over to his wealthy new neighbor and said in his quaint Quaker way, "Neighbor, if thee hath need of anything, please come to me and I will tell thee how to get along without it." Jesus would have agreed with that advice, for He said one day, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses."

Last night, while the band was playing and the choir was singing, my kids were marching in a Celebration of Liberty parade, I was in costume as one of the signers of the Constitution . . . while someone broke into our house. I can’t figure out if it happened between the song, “I’m Proud to Be an America (where at least I know I’m free)” or “God Bless America.” The break-in might have occurred when we all stood and expressed our gratitude for those in the Armed Forces and stood in remembrance of those who gave their lives for freedom. Freedom to do whatever we want? The ironic thing is that whoever it was stole some of my wife’s jewelry, mostly costume stuff and really of no value, but a few precious pieces were certainly gone. The truly valuable stuff was not touched. They went through my stuff but did not touch any valuables, but they did make off with my PDA (with charger) and cell-phone. They went though my daughter’s jewelry box and made off with a few pieces and about $5.00 in c...