The Daily Spurgeon: What Is Your Answer To That Question?: No event in history is so well authenticated as the resurrection of Christ, he was seen by individuals alone, and b...
The greatest question anyone will ever answer is "Who is Jesus and what did you based on that answer. Either He will be your judge or He will be your Savior! As I heard it said in the video series Sharing Christ without fear, the host said there are only two kinds of religions in the world. Those that accept Jesus as the Savior and those who do not. Some say he was a great teacher or prophet, but not God in human form. As the article linked above states, no event in the history of man is so well documented and authenticated and yet so denied. Some men like Christopher Hitchens spend their whole life denying Him, but that does not change who He is. Christianity is not a religion, it is a reality. The question is what is your response to that reality?
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Confronting the Problem(s) of Evil Biblical, Philosophical, and Emotional Reflections on a Perpetual Question - Desiring God
Confronting the Problem(s) of Evil Biblical, Philosophical, and Emotional Reflections on a Perpetual Question - Desiring God:
'via Blog this'I just wanted to share this link, John Piper wrote this right after the Sandy Hook tragedy. It really takes an in depth look at these issues from a Biblical perspective,
'via Blog this'I just wanted to share this link, John Piper wrote this right after the Sandy Hook tragedy. It really takes an in depth look at these issues from a Biblical perspective,
Unarmed Christians/Biblical Ignorance
There has been quite a lot of stories about firearms and who should own them since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Who should be armed and who should not has been one of the major topics to come up in the Blogosphere. As a Christian man, I believe in the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants me the right to own and carry a firearm. That has been covered on the Net enough that I have nothing new to add to the subject. Of greater concern to me as a Christian is unarmed Christians in the Biblical sense.
All the talk about weapons since the above mentioned tragedy got me to thinking about the most powerful weapon on Earth. The Bible. In Hebrews 4:12 " For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. " There is no weapon ever devised by man that can do this! Not only that, but we have it at our disposal and use! Stop and think about that. We have the weapon that can stop the ultimate enemy we as Christians face, Satan. Jesus gave us this example in Matthew 4 where He was tempted by Satan. Here was a Master swordsman using the Sword of God as it was intended when being tempted by Satan.
So many times Satan uses our Biblical ignorance to infiltrate the church because men who should know better do not because they do not saturate themselves daily with the Word of God. As I was studying my Sunday School lesson on 1 Timothy 3 & 4 I was struck by this thought. Here is the text "1Ti 4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
1Ti 4:2 through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. " The only way this can happen is if men embrace false doctrine and ignore the Word of God. I was watching a video on the contradiction of the Masonic Lodge and Christianity, here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCe2YoMEyuM. About halfway through the video the host asked the former Worshipful Master if a Christian man had taken these Masonic vows how could he tell if what the Lodge taught was in contradiction with the Bible? His response was, and I paraphrase here "A Christian man who is daily saturating himself in the Word of God will have no problem seeing the contradiction. The one who will is the one who is not studying the Word of God." If we do not daily saturate ourselves in God's Word we will be like the lazy man in Pro 19:24 " Some people are too lazy to lift a hand to feed themselves." We will not be ready or trained in how to use our weapon when the enemy attacks and or not even know when he attacks with false doctrine!
All the talk about weapons since the above mentioned tragedy got me to thinking about the most powerful weapon on Earth. The Bible. In Hebrews 4:12 " For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. " There is no weapon ever devised by man that can do this! Not only that, but we have it at our disposal and use! Stop and think about that. We have the weapon that can stop the ultimate enemy we as Christians face, Satan. Jesus gave us this example in Matthew 4 where He was tempted by Satan. Here was a Master swordsman using the Sword of God as it was intended when being tempted by Satan.
So many times Satan uses our Biblical ignorance to infiltrate the church because men who should know better do not because they do not saturate themselves daily with the Word of God. As I was studying my Sunday School lesson on 1 Timothy 3 & 4 I was struck by this thought. Here is the text "1Ti 4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
1Ti 4:2 through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. " The only way this can happen is if men embrace false doctrine and ignore the Word of God. I was watching a video on the contradiction of the Masonic Lodge and Christianity, here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCe2YoMEyuM. About halfway through the video the host asked the former Worshipful Master if a Christian man had taken these Masonic vows how could he tell if what the Lodge taught was in contradiction with the Bible? His response was, and I paraphrase here "A Christian man who is daily saturating himself in the Word of God will have no problem seeing the contradiction. The one who will is the one who is not studying the Word of God." If we do not daily saturate ourselves in God's Word we will be like the lazy man in Pro 19:24 " Some people are too lazy to lift a hand to feed themselves." We will not be ready or trained in how to use our weapon when the enemy attacks and or not even know when he attacks with false doctrine!
Sen. Rob Portman's about face on homosexuality
I recently read this story on NPR's website, here is the link http://www.npr.org/2013/03/16/174454419/a-fathers-change-of-heart. I enjoy Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, but I don't always agree with his point of view. I think that is the crux of the matter in a nutshell. Scott has a secular world view and I have a Biblical worldview. The point of the article was here is a senator who in the past has held strong anti homosexual views, but since his son has come out as gay, has now changed his mind and accepts this lifestyle.
Sen. Portman even sponsored the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) bill in 1996 against same sex marriage, citing his religious beliefs. Now that his son has come out, those beliefs are suddenly set aside. I have a real problem with setting aside strongly held Biblical beliefs just because a close family member chooses to sin intentionally. This nor any other action on the part of man nullifies the Word of God. It is not that I am not sympathetic to people who participate in this lifestyle, but when God condemns sin in the Bible, I nor anyone else has the right to say it suddenly is right because of who is doing it or who or what it effects.
Several points I want to make, first is the inerrancy of Scripture. Either The Bible is perfect or Christianity as we know it is a fraud! God's Word has stood the test of time and all issues that have tried to prove it wrong. It is the inspired Word of God "2Ti 3:16 Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. ". Therefore if the Bible speaks against something and man says it is the opposite of what the Bible teaches, man is not only wrong, but blatantly defying God!
Second, at no time are we justified or commanded in the Bible to bash homosexuals. We are to reach out to them with the Gospel just like any other lost person we may meet. We have the way of eternal life to offer to them, but we will not have that chance to communicate that to them if we alienate them with condemnation and harsh words. Remember hate the sin, but love the sinner. I think Ravi Zacharias gave the most well balanced and Biblical view on homosexuality here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIw6ngIqaD0.
Third and final point, if we do stand on the firm foundation of the Word of God we will be like the example Jesus gave in Mat 7:24 "Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock.
Mat 7:25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock. Mat 7:26 Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand.
Mat 7:27 The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash." We as Christians must stand on the Word of God, even when it is difficult, not popular or politically correct.
Sen. Portman even sponsored the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) bill in 1996 against same sex marriage, citing his religious beliefs. Now that his son has come out, those beliefs are suddenly set aside. I have a real problem with setting aside strongly held Biblical beliefs just because a close family member chooses to sin intentionally. This nor any other action on the part of man nullifies the Word of God. It is not that I am not sympathetic to people who participate in this lifestyle, but when God condemns sin in the Bible, I nor anyone else has the right to say it suddenly is right because of who is doing it or who or what it effects.
Several points I want to make, first is the inerrancy of Scripture. Either The Bible is perfect or Christianity as we know it is a fraud! God's Word has stood the test of time and all issues that have tried to prove it wrong. It is the inspired Word of God "2Ti 3:16 Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. ". Therefore if the Bible speaks against something and man says it is the opposite of what the Bible teaches, man is not only wrong, but blatantly defying God!
Second, at no time are we justified or commanded in the Bible to bash homosexuals. We are to reach out to them with the Gospel just like any other lost person we may meet. We have the way of eternal life to offer to them, but we will not have that chance to communicate that to them if we alienate them with condemnation and harsh words. Remember hate the sin, but love the sinner. I think Ravi Zacharias gave the most well balanced and Biblical view on homosexuality here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIw6ngIqaD0.
Third and final point, if we do stand on the firm foundation of the Word of God we will be like the example Jesus gave in Mat 7:24 "Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock.
Mat 7:25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock. Mat 7:26 Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand.
Mat 7:27 The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash." We as Christians must stand on the Word of God, even when it is difficult, not popular or politically correct.
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