(Hattip: Bryan at Chief of the Least)
I heard of Matt Chandler through some of the members of the congregation, but this is the first time I have actually heard him. Now I see why they were telling me about him. He is spot on when it comes to the gospel. Instead of preaching moralism, like the man he refers to, he gets right to the gospel. He who knew no sin, died for those of us who are sinners. While we were yet sinners, He died for us. Watch the video, it’s very powerful.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries last week when I was in Arizona for the Southwest Presbytery meeting. Dr. White is an apologists that does a lot of work with atheists, Muslims, Mormons, and whoever else he needs to in order to defend the faith again falsehood.
He gave about an hour lecture on dealing with Islam for us and it was quite enlightening. There were several points that really were helpful in understanding Islam.
This last point was really helpful because it helps us see that those in Islam do not respect those of us who are willing to concede our beliefs simply to be liked by them. I think far too many believers fall into this trap. We want to be liked, so we never continue forward with the truth of the gospel and the implications.
Dr. White said that at the end of his debates, he will often challenge those who are Islamic with the reality that they must come to grips with the fact that Christ is the Son of God, and the very One who created the heavens and the earth, and they must either believe in Him and be saved, or perish.
They actually respect this approach more than they respect those who are seeking to “win” over Muslims by being “nice.” For more, visit his site, (link above), or watch the following video on the 40 words that they recite every day:
Trying to get my 7 year old out of the land of make believe and get dressed, I said, “Andy, get dressed, there is no need for a naked superhero in the world!”
By the way, the picture was taken last week as Andy began to realize the benefit of having grass in the backyard. I had just cut it for the first time since planting seed back in late March. Before then, there was nothing there but weeds.
I know this one is put out by Free Market America, but it makes the point. If we continue with the liberal policies of the Left, then America will fail as a country and we need do nothing to stop it. But I don’t want America to fail. I don’t want Liberals to win, or to pay for $10 a gallon gasoline. It shows the true nature of those behind the global warming movement. They are not people who are “for” the environment, but against the American way of life. They use guilt, lies and manipulation followed by regulation, regulation and more regulation in order to stop America from drilling more oil, being innovative, etc.
Watch the Video.
BTW, I had this posted in my Roundup before Rush Limbaugh featured it on his show. I always like to point that out.
Child Labor Laws are now being imposed on farmers and their children — if the above video didn’t make the point, you need to read this article as well. The American work ethic is under attack, as well as working-class farmers and their families. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I know those who did and they always have excellent work ethics. This is more government meddling that needs to stop.
Joel Osteen Declars Obama, Romney are Both Christians — Let’s face it, this guy thinks anyone who seems “nice” to him must be a Christian. What about the Dali Lama? I imagine he thinks he is a Christian too, along with David Koresh, etc.
What we are really need to realize is that Osteen has no authority to declare Obama or Romney as Christians. Given Romney’s beliefs, he is not. He is a mormon. Osteen cannot see the hearts of men and as Christ said, “narrow is the way…” Remember, the Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus of the Bible.
This one came up because my son took a test last week at his school in which one of the questions was: “How are we saved?” The possible answers were “by being good,” something that my wife could not remember (she was proctoring the test), and “by asking Jesus into our hearts.”
This last choice was supposed to be the “right” answer. But notice, I put the word “right” in quotations. It is not the right answer. We are not saved by asking Jesus into our hearts. That would make our salvation a work and not by faith alone in Christ alone. This goes against the very doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. We are saved by believing in Christ for salvation, and not “asking Him into our hearts.” We are not saved by walking an aisle, saying a prayer or being baptized. All those things are works of what we would do in order to justify ourselves before God. Those things would give us the opportunity to say to God, “But look here, I walked the aisle, I was baptized, I said the prayer! You MUST let me into your heaven.”
Sadly, to such that would respond that way, He responds by saying “Depart, for I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:21).
True salvation comes to those who God causes to be born again and then they believe in Christ for salvation, yet even the faith that these who are born again demonstrate is a gift from Him. We can claim nothing in the process. All the glory goes to Him and Him alone. So to say we are saved by “doing” something so that we may boast, is contrary to the gospel itself.
What is the right answer? It is very simple, to believe in Him for salvation alone. I know that we want to add to the gospel, but we must not. For the moment we do, is the moment we take the gospel and destroy it with our own works. We must resist the temptation to add to it and make it “easier” for children to understand. By taking such a step, we are actually condemning our children instead of helping them. This is why what we teach them is so very important. This is also why I believe the church is losing so many of our children. We teach them works theology and then they never truly get saved and leave the church.
The gospel demands that we not teach such, especially when it comes to our children. How then do we get them saved? We don’t. We must trust in God’s Spirit to move in them and continue to teach them the truth of the gospel, Jesus came to save sinners, believe in Him for your salvation. Teach and preach the truth and let the Spirit of God do the saving.
You may have heard the story that the BP Oil Spill from two years ago was causing problems for the fish in the Gulf of Mexico today. But that wasn’t necessarily based on … science. Apparently using terms like “evidence is nowhere conclusive…” gives away the fact that scientist are not even the least bit in “consensus” concerning what is causing the problem in the “relatively small portion of fish.” In other words, someone reported that fish were sick and dying and all the lefties immediately concluded that it was a result of the BP Oil Spill.
I like what Steve Maley of Redstate.com had to say about it:
Lest we forget, oil is part of the natural environment. Organisms have natural ways of dealing with it. Out of thousands of fish and shellfish tested for contamination, not a single tainted sample has been found. The article tells of fish found with traces of naphthalene in their bile — but you don’t eat bile.
I love those reminders. We need them in this politically correct world. Oil… occurs… naturally… in nature. In other words, oil is a part of nature, so introducing it into nature is hardly unnatural.
Hattip: Neil.
Just a note of encouragement for the members of Redeemer Christian Fellowship. The Southwest Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America accepted our petition today to become a mission church. This means we are in the beginning stages of becoming a particularized church. However the main point is that our fellowship is now a part of the Presbyterian Church in America!
The members of presbytery were truly excited to hear about how God has been moving in our fellowship and they want to do everything they can to help us along in becoming full-fledged church. It was truly a joy sharing the story with them on the floor of presbytery. After I told them the story of how the sign being destroyed in front of the building, one asked since this really set the ball in motion, are we becoming a signs and wonders church. He was joking of course. But that is a good sign! (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
Let us rejoice at what the LORD is doing in our midst!
Sorry, but I haven’t been in the mood to write much of late. Been busy with the church, family, family and the church! Which, given my priorities, not bad at all. Hope all my readers are doing well, especially those living in tornado alley.
“I Was Born in a Doomsday Cult” — Andie Redwine has written an excellent account of how she was raised in the Worldwide Church of God, which is a doomsday cult. She recounts of how she had to seek counseling in order to remove herself from the effects of spiritual abuse that came about from being in the cult. She has also help put together a movie called Paradise Recovered, which is about those who are in spiritual abuse. This movie has been very helpful to those who have seen it, since there seems to be so many who are in spiritual abuse by their church leaders. Here is a bit of what she wrote after her eyes were opened by the Spirit and she began reading the Bible:
I kept reading the Bible, but with different eyes and with a different voice in my head.I started really liking the stories that Jesus told. We didn’t spend so much time on these in the Worldwide Church of God. When I read them, Jesus emerged for me as a character with a quick wit, who was cunning but not deceitful, and who was overwhelmingly compassionate.In short, I found him miles more compelling that Herbert Armstrong.
Shai Linne Expository Preaching. “We need more expositors, not more comedians!” — I’m not much into rap, but this song is dead on for what the church needs today. It is about the need for more expository preachers, those who preach what the word of God says, not their opinions. You may not like rap, but please listen to the message. Make sure your church has a pastor that actually preaches the word of God, and not his own opinions.
What the World Truly Needs — From the department of the obvious, comes the following which I was unable to post this past Sunday:
In view of that, you can go here to listen to Sunday’s sermon, which I preached here at Redeemer Christian Fellowship of Roswell, NM. This was the first Sunday that we moved back into the sanctuary since my arrival. It was a truly wonderful service.
Another excellent presentation by Bill Whittle on how our government is removing our rights every so slowly, so we don’t notice. He points out that the Constitution DOES NOT GIVE us the rights found in the Constitution. We are born with those rights. What the Constitution does is limit the government from removing those rights we are born with and given by God. It seems the godless of our nation are OK with removing those rights.
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