Head-dibs

Proof of the deity of Christ. "Jesus Christ ... declared to be the Son of God with power ... by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). An integral part of the gospel. " The gospel ... how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures " (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The seal of the finished work of Christ. " When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high " (Hebrews 1:3). Essential for salvation. " If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins " (1 Corinthians 15:17). " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved " (Romans 10:9). Evidence of the believer's justification. " Jesus our Lord ... was delivered for our offenses, and was raised ...

Ever think about the connection between Passover and Resurrection Sunday? Were you even aware there was one? Passover celebrates the release of the Hebrew nation from just over 400 years of captivity in Egypt and Resurrection Sunday ("Easter") celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. God planned that the one should have everything to do with the other. Long before Israel became a nation, God told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves then delivered after 400 years of captivity. The prophecy was fulfilled when God selected Moses (not Charlton Heston) to lead the people out--but under specific circumstances. God performed a series of miracles that would loosen the Egyptian hold on the captive nation of Israel. The circumstance is repeated many times in the Old Testament Book of Exodus: “that you may know that I AM the LORD.” One will find this phrase directed to Israel, to Egypt and to the nations throughout the rest of the OT. The final miracle involved th...

Here's a question often heard (or something like it): "So, why does your church do ____ and that church does ____ ?" or "Why does your church say _____ and this church says _____ ? Who's right?" This is actually an ancient question, easily answered with two words. Our Lord Jesus Christ walked this earth and  met many people, one of whom was an outcast woman who lived in the city of Sychar. She asked Jesus directly: " Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship .” (John 4:20 [ESV2011]) In other words, "Who's right?" Jesus answer: "Believe Me . . ." That's enough right there. Think it over.

There was a young man from Honshu Who tried limericks in haiku, But (Doug Holyman, in  Word Ways , May 2007) [ht: Futility Closet]

Since the outset of His ministry on earth, Jesus has been called ( among other things ) “Rabbi (which means ‘teacher’)” (John 1:38). Most often Jesus is still called, “Good teacher,” or is referred to as the man revered as a model for humanity. My question is this: what is He teaching? What is He modeling for us? What lessons have you learned? 

Luke's gospel describes the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As He entered the city on the colt of donkey, the people sang out praise and laid palm branches and their cloaks along the road while crying out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" The Pharisees wanted to silence this praise, to which Jesus responded, "if these become silent, the stones will cry out." Science confirms these rocks are made of a volcanic basalt, but cannot explain the particular musical tones they produce when struck. One cannot help but be amazed to hear the Creator speak of particular qualities such as this, embedded within His Creation. Additionally, it makes one wonder exactly how the stones will cry out when these stones must be struck . . .

More Poetry from the bookshelf

Today is Vernal Equinox, which means the sun is at one of two opposing points in the celestial sphere in relation to the Earth’s orbit around the sun and the length of night and day are nearly equal in the Northern Hemisphere. Science aside, it’s much easier to say, “First day of Spring.” Prior to 1948, imperial Japanese made this a festival day with regards to ancestor worship. Presently, today is a public Japanese holiday celebrating nature and living things--yet ancestor worship continues in this and other cultures. Ancestor worship is a spiritual practice that attempts to keep the family together (in so many words). Many view the world of the afterlife as being connected to the world of life, so kinships remain intact. The key feature here is that death is birth into another life. Reincarnation can be included in this system as the family may consist of the unborn living, the living living and the living dead. Simply stated, life is not complete without the presence of those who h...

Church History (as seen by independent fundamental baptists) [ht: Reformed Humor FB Group]

One may wonder, “why do a book review on a book originally published in 1947?” The book to which I refer is by C.S. Lewis, “The Abolition of Man; or, Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools” (New York: MacMillan, 1978). One answer may be the fact that the 121 page book is still in circulation. Another answer may be likened unto climbing a mountain--because the old thing is there--and this unassuming book is a mountain. This reader recalls journeys up into the Rocky Mountains and the discovering the elusive nature of the summit. Climb, climb, climb, look up, reach the top only to find one has not summited but only acquired the lip of a terrace with another false peak looming overhead. Lewis give us three such chapters (plus an appendix) that lifts the reader up into the clouds of the author’s deep reflections (perhaps a descending metaphor should be more fitting)--heady reflections. This venture is no small hike. The firs...

"The picture is whatever the vine is, the branch is going to produce in fruit. So if Christ is the vine, then the production of fruit from us--the branches--is really going to be His life manifested through us. What do we see, first and foremost, when we look at Jesus? I think the very first thing that we would probably have to say in consideration of the life of Christ is that Jesus is love. He was loving. He was full of love for people. Jesus was not aloof or detached from people. Jesus loved people, not theoretically, but practically. . . . We can easily forget that the ministry is about loving people. Preaching is an important thing, obviously. Teaching the Bible is vital to any ministry, but you can sort of undermine what you say by how you treat people. How you deal with people and the attitude that you demonstrates toward them is vital. people always knew one thing about Jesus--they knew that He loved them. And if we are really bearing fruit, I think that God's peopl...

Cymbala, Jim. “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.” Michigan: Zondervan, 1997 [I read old books because they are there] This short anecdotal book is required reading. Rationale: there is as much prayer in churches as in public schools. Godly men and women call on the name of the Lord. This is the main teaching Pastor Cymbala’s book, built on the root principle found in Genesis 4. God’s people identified early in scripture as being “those who call on the name of the Lord.” The ungodly do not call on the name of the Lord (Psalm 14:4). Prayer defines who are as as obedient children of God. Prayer shows that we take God seriously, believing Him. Prayer is central to our worship, the hallmark of the place in which we worship; but, we have become complacent with much, much less. The church is missing the spiritual connection and needs to get plugged back into the power source. Cymbala’s scriptural applications both admonishes and encourages to stretch our hands and call out to God, who will respond t...

Today is Arbor Day. If you associate this day with planting trees, then you’ve pretty much nailed it (not sure if pun-intended, but it works). “Arbor” is Latin for “tree.” I just learned that Arbor Day is observed world-wide--this is not just an American thing. While I’m thinking of it, isn’t it sort of ironic that Hallmark doesn't make this card-worthy day? Perhaps they are just going green . . . Seriously, this is about the time of year planting of trees is favorable, so millions of trees will be planted. I can’t help but reflect how important trees are to mankind. When God created everything, He intended for man to be nourished by sustenance from the ground. “And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9a). The LORD God clearly tells man, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely.” (Genesis 2:16). The weight of the Hebrew reads more like this: “eat heartily from every tree of the garden.” Now, I...

Ever wonder why we work an 8-hour work day? Surely someone, somewhere decided this is how we would order this part of our lives. Well, today’s the day it happened and we have the Australians to thank for it. The setting: Skilled workers logged 58 hour  work-weeks (or longer) at 10 hours (or more) per day while shop-owners worked even longer. Child labor was typical, but not without caution (limiting work to 50 hours per week, and no work for children under the age of 13). Self-improvement, education, enjoying life, rest, worship were un-civil and unprofitable activities. The goal of the long hours: produce wealth for employers and taxes for the State.  “On 18 August 1855 the Stonemasons‚ Society in Sydney issued an ultimatum to employers that in six months time, masons would only work an eight-hour day. However men working on the Holy Trinity Church in Argyle Cut, and on the Mariners‚ Church (an evangelical mission to seafarers, now an art gallery and café) in Lower Geo...

Some may look at this, shrug and click on through. Others will open their e-mail or pick up the phone wondering if I've lost my mind. Perhaps I have. I thought I would try something different. Everything's still in order--it just looks different. While rearranging I discovered a few surprises, one being that each stack has a life of its own and many require a delicate touch. These are more than just piles of books, but an exercise in balance and quiet control, thoughtfulness. One does not just take a book from the shelf. One must handle softly, move, rearrange, stack and re-stack. The shelves become ever an ever-changing work of art. Less than 15 minutes after finishing, one faculty member froze in his tracks outside my door then spent nearly 10 minutes commenting on the fresh look. He mentioned that he, too, might do the same and he would call me for advice. I refused to help, not because of the workload (there's not much, really--and it's quite fun), but the...

Perhaps we should call The Doctor . . .

Going door to door is a lost art but Austin L. Hughes, the Carolina Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina boldly stands on the doorstep of natural science and shows how “scientism” has become a cruel neighbor in his article, “ The Folly of Scientism .” Generally speaking, “science” means “knowledge,” and “natural science” concerns itself with one facet of knowledge; however, “it is frequently claimed that natural science does or soon will constitute the entire domain of truth.” Hughes systematically exposes the flaws of the so called “universal competence” of science, or “scientism” by asking the most important question that scientism cannot answer, “Is it really true that natural science provides a satisfying and reasonably complete account of everything we see, experience and seek to understand--of every phenomenon in the universe?” Taking scientism by the hand, Hughes moves through the neighborhood of disciplines starting with Philosophy...

Adler, Mortimer J. “ How to Think About God: A Guide for the 20th Century Pagan .” New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980. [why read old books? Because they are there] The famed author of " How to Read A Book " helps us think about God. Adler’s central proposition is there exists an interest in the question of God’s existence and some are willing to consider the question; however, the author admits, “the God that is the object of pagan philosophical thought is not the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, or of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed.” In other words, the pagan decides who God is. Is this possible? Adler divides his book into six major sections populated with two to three chapters per section. The first section serves as an extended prologue where the author explains himself to his intended audience across two chapters. The second section discusses errors to be avoided. Section three (the longest section) sets the stage for the discussion of “God”, followed by the section examin...

" My Presence shall go with thee ." (Exodus 33:14) Cherish no doubt of it, Ever abide in it, Travel about in it, Rest and reside in it, Walk in the midst of it, Work in the might of it, Let your whole life be lived Full in the light of it. (Beatrice Cleland)