Head-dibs

" These Dreams ." My thoughts on Daniel 2 from Sept. 15, 2008

2 Timothy 3:16, " All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ." Mormonism says, ""After the book (Bible) hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church...there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book." (1 Nephi 13:28) Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims not only claim that the Bible has been corrupted, but that each group (respectively) contains the only trustworth version! Who is right? The man who is convinced that he can preserve himself and his viewpoint calls God untrustworthy and a liar (see previous posts in this series). All that God is inspired has a purpose: "so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Those who say that God's Word is compromised have no other purpose than maintain idolatry by telling God that what He has given in word or deed is not good enough. "The Gnostics had th...

Romans 3:3-4, " What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, 'THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED .'" The past couple of weeks we've been considering the assertions that God's Word has been changed or has been corrupted. This assertion is often heard during moments of doctrinal discussion concerning the Bible itself, the nature or character of God, the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, the nature of the church and eschatology, to name a few areas. While we are right up against other questions concerning inerrancy, inspiration and authority of scripture, the main point I am attempting to hold is that God protects His Word. The only reason the subject of change or corruption is breached is because one will not come under the authority of scripture and instead prov...

FOXNews.com - Muslim Calligrapher Writes Luke's Gospel for Pope - International News News of the World Middle East News Europe News Posted using ShareThis

You know the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words;" or, as Ivan S. Turgenev wrote in his 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." Pictures communicate. Back in the old days (young 'uns, listen up) we used to take pictures and put them in large books called "photo albums." From time to time, especially at family gatherings, we would pull out these tomes and as we flipped pages we would point and laugh and enjoy remembering the days gone by together. Most photos captured the joyous moments (birthdays, weddings, parties) and from time to time would contain a few momentoes of other occasions (postcards, newspaper clippings of announcements or special articles). Photos help us remember. The Old Testament book of Ezekiel contains a photo album of sorts. God is reminiscing with Israel: "remember that time . . ." I passed by and saw you there wallowing in your own ...

"What does the gospel say about homosexuals?" I was just finishing a conversation with a doctor at the Fountain in Five Points when I noticed two young ladies and a young man walking up to the Fountain. Though I was shaking hands and closing off my conversation with the doctor, I could not take my eyes off the girls and the guy for some reason, and one girl would not take her eyes off me. They sat down very close to us and I could almost feel a gravitational pull toward them. I pulled out three Million Dollar Bill tracts from my pocket and offered them to the girls and the guy. One girl only looked at it and would not take it. She told me so. The other girl took one, and so did the guy. Just as sure as I felt drawn toward them, I quickly felt pushed away. I told them to read the back because there was an important message they should pay close attention to and I sort of drifted back toward the street where I met another young man who stopped to talk when I offered him a Milli...

The first chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ closed with a visionary description of Jesus among the churches, pictured as lampstands. This section of the book is the address of our Lord Jesus Christ to seven churches. Once in a while I get tough questions, hard questions from two kinds of people: those who really want an answer; and, those who like to stir things up--or at least try to. I enjoy searching out meaningful answers with those who genuinely ask. The rarest occasion from time to time brings questions I really don't like. These are the most difficult questions, the kind of question I really wish had never been asked. Approaching this section of the book of Revelation, I find myself face to face with the first of these two questions. The question posed is, "what modern-day church, in your experience and opinion, is most vibrant and God-honoring, and why?" ((**Sigh**)). I would like to say it is "this" church or "that" church, but ...

" There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light ." (John 1:6-8) Perhaps you have heard from time to time about some of "those" phone calls pastors receive. "A word from the LORD" has been "recieved" by someone with nothing more than good (or bad) intentions: thoughts regarding the pastor, the church, his sermons and/or delivery, and the list goes on. Pastors often listen and thank the caller, hang up and go back to work with little or no consideration. Some calls get screened. Once in a while, a trusted friend calls. James Ryle (not to be confused with J.C. Ryle of the 19th Century) tells of a call he once received from a friend that had a deep impact on his ministry. He describes this friend as "a man who rises early in the morning and spends great lengths of time in prayer; a man of si...

" Submitting Selfishness ." Some thoughts on Daniel 1 from Sept. 13, 2008

Acts 17:11, " Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so ." Mormon founder Joseph Smith explained: "I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors" (TPJS, p. 327). And again, "From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled." (TPJS, pp. 9-10). Paul and Silas had been traveling "giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead " (17:3) and the Bereans, instead of casting them into prison, beating them, disputing with them, they instead immediately sat down with their copies of the Old Testament scriptures and put the words of Pa...

Matthew 24:35, " Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away ." Here are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as He taught on the Mount of Olives. Leaving the city of Jerusalem, Jesus begins teaching about future events, prophecies concerning the temple and the return of Christ. The disciples ask, "what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?" (Mt 24:3; Mk 13:4; Lk 21:7) He answers, "the sing of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." (Mt 24:30) In other words, the sign of His coming will be His coming. His coming will be preceeded by the "birth-pangs" of misleading false christs and the persecution of those who stand for the truth of the gospel (Mt 42:4-14; Mk 13:5-13; Lk 21:8-19). Past prophecies will be fulfilled and distress will grow as the deceptions of false christ...

I remember playing in the backyard, climbing on my jungle gym, climbing the tree, playing "Space 1999" and "Star Trek" with my friends. The universe seemed to be a much safer place back then as we jetted around our backyard assisting our space captains in capturing aliens and promoting the good morals of Planetary Federations. Ah, the future. One particular weekend trip to my grandparents house (a six-hour drive), I was laying on the top of the back seat of the car against the rear window gazing out watching the stars, Star Trek communicator in my hand, talking with my fleet in orbit . . . I never dreamed that communicators would be so readily available as an adult with pre-paid calling plans from Alltel and that our atmosphere would be choked with satellites. I never saw the future coming, though Gene certainly did. The most outstanding memory I have concerning future dreams came at the World's Fair in 1982--touch screen technology! It blew my mind (and e...

Isaiah 40:7-8, "The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." There is no accident that "tsîyts" (or "tsits"), which is translated "flower," can also be used of "glistening," specifically, of a polished metal plate or plate metal. This could read, "the green lawn dries up and the glittering/glistening fails." Polished metal must be kept polished or else it will tarnish. In a figurative sense "nabel" (translated here as "fadeth") could mean "made wicked" or "be despised." In an earlier post we saw how God speaks and breathes and creates and the everlasting quality of that which He brings into being. Now we see God's breath and God's word causing the wilting of men against his forever-standing word. Not even gold plates given ...

Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar." Tested: "Every thing that God has pronounced, every inspiration which the prophets have received, is pure, without mixture of error, without dross. Whatever trials it may be exposed to, it is always like gold: it bears the fire, and comes out with the same lustre, the same purity, and the same weight." (Adam Clarke, 1762–1832) "The whole of Scripture is pure, free from all falsehood and error; coming from the God of truth, who cannot lie, and therefore called "the Scriptures of truth": every promise is pure as well as precious, made without dissimulation, faithfully performed, and all yea and amen in Christ; every doctrine is pure, free from the mixtures and inventions of men; the sincere milk of the word; consistent and all of a piece, not yea and nay; and tending to promote p...

Psalm 119:89, 100 "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven . . . I understand more than the ancients because I have kept Your precepts." A Brahmin once said to a missionary: "We are finding you out. You are not as good as your Book. If you were as good as your Book, you could conquer India for Christ in five years." Scripture reveals the truth and sheds light on our shortcomings. If scripture excuses sin, how can it be God's word? God's word is timeless and does not change. God protects His word, and even pagans know this to be true. Picture a column, a permanent station, something put into place, rock solid. This is the sense of the meaning of God's "settled" word. This is the Hebrew word used to describe the built altar in Genesis 33:20, Rachel's grave marker in Genesis 35:20, a monument in 1 Samuel 15:12. American theologian Albert Barnes (1798–1870) explains, "The meaning here is, that the word - the law - the promise - of ...

" Devotional Christian " is a new site you can REALLY use. Here you will find your favorites: My Utmost For His Highest Our Daily Bread Devotional Joshua Project Samuel Bagster A.W. Tozer Devotions C. H. Spurgeon Devotion Max Lucado Devotions Adrian Rogers Billy Graham Devotions The High Calling Daily Bible Verse (ESV ) John MacArthur Read Through The Bible There is also a video devotional section: Don't Waste Your Life Video Devotions Billy Graham Video Devotions The Gospel Coalition And make certain you sign up for the give-aways!

Psalm 33:10-11, "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation." The 9th Article of Faith of the Mormon Church reads, "We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God." The difficulty with this statement is that God's Word is rooted in His person and neither change. Mormonism is one group (among others) that thrives on the evolution of deity, which is why there is also a history of changing theology. The God of the Bible does not "progress" as the LDS god does, and will be the same in the future as He was in the past (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 90:2; Habakkuk 1:12; Malachi 3:6; Romans 1:22-25); The God of the Bible does not "achieve holiness" as the LDS god does (Deut. 32:4; Psa. 119:142;...

The President made some comments today explaining historic and recent actions taken relating to the economy. This jumped out at me: "Now we’ve got a lot of work to do. There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when the storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "…the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." It was founded upon a rock. We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity – a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad. It’s a foundation built upon five pillars that will grow our economy and make this new century another America...

Psalm 19:7-9, "The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether." Isalm regards the writings of the prophet David in the Zabbur, The Psalms. David wrote that the law of the Lord, His testimonies, precepts, commandments, judgements are perfect, sure, wise-making, right, rejoice-causing, pure, light-bringing, enduring forever, true and righteous. If God's Word is corrupt, then God has not protected His word and the prophet David was wrong about God's Word being what it is. "Hey, what a minute. What do you mean that David was a prophet. Wasn't he a shepherd and a king?" Look at Peter's sermon in Acts 2:29-32, "'Brethren, I may confidently say to you regard...

Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God "as far as it is translated correctly." The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has published that "all other translations had been corrupted where the Bible translators actually let their religious bias show through their renderings" (The Watchtower, 10/15/85, p.21, Insight on the News). Islam holds the idea that the Bible contains original revelation from God, but is corrupted in one way or another. When I see or hear statements that draw distrust to scripture, my initial reaction is to ask the person which group they belong to--many are so flippant about their declarations they are not aware they are echoing what others say with no regard to the implication: imagine! Informing scripture! The problem really is not with the text, but with the author. People simply fail to believe God. This is why Religion Stores are so popular--people can make up their own as they go: keep what one likes, throw out what one does not li...

Mój przyjacielu: Pragnę zadać Ci najważniejsze pytanie życia. Twoje wieczne szczęście lub wieczne nieszczęście zależą od tego, jak na nie odpowiesz. Oto to pytanie: Czy jesteś zbawiony? Nie pytam Cię, jak dobry jesteś, ani czy uczęszczasz do kościoła, ale: czy jesteś zbawiony? Czy jesteś pewien, że pójdziesz do Nieba, kiedy umrzesz? Follow this link for an English translation.

I serve a risen Saviour,He's in the world today; I know that He is living, Whatever men may say; I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He's always near. He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and He talks with me Along life's narrow way. He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart! In all the world around me I see His loving care, And tho my heart grows weary I never will despair; I know that He is leading Thro' all the stormy blast, The day of His appearing Will come at last. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, Lift up your voice and sing Eternal hallelujahs To Jesus Christ the King! The hope of all who seek Him, The help of all who find, None other is so loving, So good and kind.

Everyone knows there are only two inevitabilities in life: death and taxes. Sunday is Easter, the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Most people will be thinking of taxes while eating their chocolate bunnies. In this week before the IRS filing deadline, make certain you consider the inevitabile: death, not taxes. The resurrection has no meaning if you do not view it against the background of death. "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this ?'" (John 11:25-26)

“As increasing emphasis came to be placed on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man as the essential elements in Christianity, so there was a growing neglect of the doctrinal emphasis of the New Testament upon the atoning nature of the death of Christ . . . . It is not therefore surprising that the steady decline during the last fifty years of vital evangelical preaching based on the exegesis of Scripture (where it has not been due to a false sacramentalism which tends to divorce the sacraments from the gospel) can largely be traced to lack of first-hand study of the text of Scripture (coupled often with a second-hand knowledge of critical theories) and to the failure to see the centrality of the New Testament teaching about Christ’s atoning death . . . If the Christian religion is not what the New Testament presents it as being, a religion of redemption, then it is of little consequence: for nothing less than this has power to remove the guilt of the sin-laden conscience. . ...

The Zwemer Center For Muslim Studies in the Seminary and School of Missions of Columbia International University offers courses to help you understand Islam and Muslims for field worker candidates, workers on home leave, professional tentmakers in an Islamic country, pastors serving where there is a growing number of Muslims, and students sensing God's call to work among Muslim people groups. Current course offerings for Summer 2009 (credit/seminar): ICS/MIS 5020 Islam through Christian and Muslim Eyes, June 29- July 3; ICS/MIS 6013 The Spirit World of Islam, July 6-10; ICS/MIS 6071 Approaches to Muslims, July 13-17; Courses through Distance Learning (can be taken "any time" from home): ICS/MIS 5020 Islam through Christian and Muslim Eyes; ICS/MIS 6051 Understanding Muslim Women. Interested in keeping in touch with us? Feel free to join our Facebook group for up to date information about the Center and upcoming classes.

I was out minding my own business on day when I noticed a man who seemed to be quite agitated about something, just downright disturbed. This bothere me, seeing someone being bothered, so I offered assistance. He ignored me. I offered again and seemed to be ready to accept some kind of help, but I learned very quickly that he was intent on making a big deal about his situation and wanted no help at all. How frustrating to meet people who don't want help--they just want to be left alone, happy or otherwise. I think it comes down to this: to accept comfort, consolation, encouragment, even help, one must become vulnerable. For many this means to be weak in an age we are told to be strong, "suck it up," bear the pain, take Ibuprofen and get over it. The Christian has good reason to suffer affliction: the glory of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). 1) We suffer so we can comfort others. Certainly Paul is speaking of the affliction that comes with preaching ...