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Children

Hey guys. I've recently been involved in some discussion about fulfilling the biblical commands for children to be obedient to their parents. Specifically, the question is, "What does Scripture mean by "children""? The commentaries (Calvin's) that I've looked at so far don't address this specific issue as they go through the most relevant verses (Col. 3:20 and Eph. 6:1) But, I think that I was able to isolate the Greek word used for children, which is filli. I was hoping that some of you Greek experts could shed a little light by identifying if the denotation of that word was perhaps specific to "young person" or "descendant of".

I'd also be more than happy to hear any other opinions on the subject.

-Mike

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interactive bible map at google using esv

check this out

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Free Steven Delopoulos EP

I post this link for you who are either....

1. Steven Delopoulos fans
2. Burlap to Cashmere fans (yes they are back, he was with the original band and is part of their reformation)
3. Anyone who is looking for quality music ... for free

The EP is titled "Work to be done"
Track listing below (a couple of the songs are with Burlap, while the others are his solo stuff)

1. Work To Be Done - 4:03
2. Jungle Trail - 3:50
3. Divorce (Live) - 5:50
4. Young Son - 3:23
5. Daisies and Sandalwood - 5:12
6. She Held My Hand - 4:36

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What I have and what I deserve 2

Most of you who are in the Rocky Mount area already know, but last Friday my doctor confirmed that Brian and I had experienced a miscarriage. Despite the fact that we had been prepared to hear that news for a week at that point, it was a difficult morning - I had definitely shed my fair share of tears that week (and you fellas know that crying is just not my thing). We arrived back at home at about 2 pm and went to sleep for a few hours-we were both physically and emotionally exhausted-and then we woke up...

We spent some time together in God's word and guess what! Ephesians 1 and Romans 8 were still true! The Lord has been so faithful to us throughout this time in our life; our body of believers has lovingly reminded us of the truth that pain can sometimes hide and our loss has led us to opportunities to share our faith with a variety of people on a variety of levels, including my doctor who we know isn't a believer and who we'll be seeing a lot more of in the future.

We are still grieving over the loss of our child. Even as I type this my eyes are filling with tears, BUT there is no wasted pain in the life of a believer, and scripture tells us that everything happening in our life is a direct result of God's sanctifying work in us. Therefore with joy we will walk through this trial, knowing that through the testing of our faith we learn to persevere (James 1).

I am so thankful right now to be married to a Godly man and to have Godly friends who love us and are willing to come along side us in times of sorrow as well as times of joy.

K

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What I have and what I deserve.

For those of you who do not know, Tuesday Dec. 5 Kay took a pregnancy test. The next day she took another one. They both read positive. The following Friday she found evidences of a miscarriage. She called me at work that morning and told me the news; I was devastated, because to me the baby real and might as well of been playing on the floor in my living room. So I sat in the bathroom of my office building and cried for about 5 minutes. I met Kay at the doctors office a little while later and the doctor told us that it was not necessarily a miscarriage. So even as I write this we do not know what is going to happen to our baby, we go back Friday and do some more blood work.
The next day we had a dinner date with a couple at our church who have moved here from Arizona. Their names are Paul and Lisa Ellis. They have already gone through 2 miscarriages (its cool the think we arranged this date 2 weeks in advance, and we find out a week later about Kay’s pregnancy, Gods timing is great.) I was talking to Paul about it because I was out of sorts, and his advice was to focus on what was true about God, so to do that I had to turn to his word and here is what I found.

11In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. ~Ephesians 1:11-12

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose…..38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:28, 38-39.

There are a couple things here that needed to be pointed out to me. The first is that God works all things according to his will. If me and Kay lose our baby then that is still included in the “all” in Ephesians. The second is the “all” is working for our good, even if I don’t understand how right now. And even more is that God has forgiven my sins and given me a new heart to love Him, and He will never undo that.
I don’t deserve a baby from God. I deserve to go to hell. But God has given me Himself instead. Pray that we use this opportunity to bring glory to God.

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going deep

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Piper is Bad

thought this was worth posting, "Piper is bad"

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What you missed at Crossroads

Hey guys. This will be my first post on the Round Table. I just hope someone reads it.

Geoff Volker spoke at our church this Sunday. After e-mailing a summary to a friend who wasn't there I decided that a little cutting and pasting would be a worthwhile investment in getting a little more mileage out of the effort. Enjoy.

Geoff spoke about the difficulty of God being the cause of all things and being perfectly holy (without evil).

To illustrate this he used the story from 1 Chronicles 21: 1-17, which tells of Satan inciting David to take a census of Israel. To make a long story short, God is very displeased with this behavior*. As a result the Lord plagues Israel with three days of pestilence. Seventy thousand men die as a result. David pleads with God to focus his wrath on him instead of Israel because it was he who had sinned. The important takeaway from this story is that David (our best example of an OT believer) rightly recognized his responsibility for his own sin despite the spiritual warfare involved.

This story is also told in 2 Samuel 24: 1-17. The only difference is that in this account it is God that incites David to take the census. He is already angry with Israel and will use David’s census as a vehicle of his wrath. What this does is create almost a flow chart for us to see how sin comes to pass.

God (who orchestrates all things according to his purpose Ephesians 1:11) --> ?Satan? (This step obvious at least in this instance) --> Man.

We learn from David’s example that the full weight of responsibility lies on the last link of the chain.

Before I tie (or recount the tying of) all of this together, I will also point out 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” in order not to leave anything to assumption.

In the end, we are left with two Biblical truths: 1. God is the ultimate actor that brings about sin according to his plan. 2. God is holy and cannot be blamed for sin.

Scripture does not provide us with a clear understanding of how these two coexist, but does make it very plain that they do. So, when we attempt to explain this to others in our ministries we can focus on and speak confidently about the two things that we know for sure from our ultimate authority. We can rest our arguments on the fact that we know they are true because they come from Scripture, regardless of whether they can be reasoned according to human logic. Also, in our own Christian walks we can be thankful to God for all that he has put into our life and take full responsibility, offering complete repentance for our weakness.

*Scripture doesn’t give us a direct explanation as to why David’s census was sinful, but it is a pretty reasonable deduction that it is because he is demonstrating a lack of faith by attempting to measure the strength of his army by the number of fighting men available instead of by the might of the Lord.

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50 cent ESV NT

Hope you all can take advantage of this great price for solid translation. I have already purchased my first case of 100 for the youth to have and give away to others as they will.
Check it out...

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Wes King

I am not sure if you guys knew it or not. But I thought some of you may would like to be aware that Wes King has cancer. Not sure how long this has been out, a while though. Anyway, there is a tribute album out with the proceeds going towards him.

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Apology

I am reposting this to besure everyone sees this.

Hey guys, one of the great things about having a believing wife is when you screw up she is there to lovingly let you know about it. She has brought it to my attention that this previous post was out of line. That being said, I would like to apologize about the previous non God glorifying post. What I said was not in love and I ask for your forgiveness (especially you Jason since I know you like the book so much.). I love you guys very much and do not want to anger you.

Now let me try this again, and hopefully this will be honoring to God.

I did not like the book “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. I thought his theology was shaky, misrepresented Christianity, and thus is a bad book in the hands of a new or young Christian with no other form of discipleship.

Miller kept coming down on “Christian Fundamentalist” but never really expanded on what a fundamentalist was. He said he was one at one time and said he was really ashamed of it, you get the feeling he is more ashamed he was a “fundamentalist” then he is a sinner. That’s what it seemed like, it may not in reality be the case.

He made good points in saying the American Christian church does not do a good job of loving unbelievers. But it never seems to come out in his writing that the people who say they are believers but do not ever behave like believers are probably in fact lost. This would probably indicate he has a wrong view of the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

I also thought the picture of Grace was partially out of step with scripture, an example would be he never says a Christian is a Christian because of Grace changing that person; instead he always attributes it to something they experienced. Like when he said Penny became a believer because of Nadine. The picture painted of grace was one of state of mind. His chapter on grace was entirely him trying to live legalistically and failing. Now it is true that we cannot please God with works which is the point of that chapter, but grace is more than just not having to live legalistically. Gods grace is the reason we even have his Spirit and want to live to please him at all. But there is no hint at that at all in the chapter.

One other thing is his over use of the word “feel” when he is talking about spiritual truths and not using scripture. Most of his arguments come down to feeling and not the authority of scripture. And I think we all know why that is dangerous.

To me the book was very existential and more philosophic than anything else.

Thanks guys.

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Grumpy Smurf

Well I hate to be contrary here (because it always seems to be me for some reason), but here goes. So far I have read about 4 random chapters of Blue Like Jazz…………………………………And I am not really seeing any reason to read any further. I think Mr. Miller means well, but from the 4 chapters I have read, he really seems confused. His writing rambles on and on seemingly without a point. Or what points that are made are silly.
This is from his chapter “How I go to church without getting angry:
So one of the things I had to do after God provided a church for me was to let go of any bad attitude I had against the other churches I’d gone to. In the end, I was just different, you know. It wasn’t that they were bad they just didn’t do it for me. I read thru the book of Ephesians four times one night in Eugene Peterson’s the Message, and it seemed to me that Paul did not want Christians to fight with one another. He seemed to care a great deal about this, so, in my mind, I had to tell my heart to love the people at the Churches I used to go to, the people who were different from me. This was entirely freeing because when I told my heart to do this, my heart did it, and now I think very fondly of those wacko Republican fundamentalist, and I know that they love me, too, and I know that we will eat together, we will break bread together in heaven, and we will love each other so purely it will hurt because we are a family in Christ.
So here is a step by step formula for how you, too, can go to church without getting angry:

Pray that God will show you a church filled with people who share your interest and values.

Go to the Church God shows you.

Don’t hold grudges against any other churches. God loves those churches almost as much as He loves yours.

And its pretty much like that all the way thru the book.
One other problem I have with his book is that I cannot find one single scripture reference in the whole entire book, really I have flipped thru the entire book 3 or 4 times trying to eyeball colons. I cannot find one. All his arguments are based on feelings, or Eugene Peterson’s the Message. He seems to (especially in his chapter on worship) bash theology. He says things to the effect of “trying to understand (or chart in his words) God is bad, we just need to feel awe.” Which I can see where he is coming from; but I totally disagree with the philosophy. Ultimately you say things like “well I can’t know so much about God, why try to know anything.” When ultimately the more you know about God, the more you will stand in awe.
Just realize before you start reading this book, its NOT about God, it’s about Donald Miller. I was disappointed.


Sincerely,
Grumpy Grumpenstien.

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The girl speaks

While we're recommending books, I thought I'd tell you about the one that I just finished and the one I'm in the middle of right now.
I recently read When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch along with the other women at Crossroads and was challenged to think about how I relate to others in my life and the level of significance I give to them. Welch uses a lot of scripture (which I prefer when discussing Biblical topics) to point out sins that I think folks in general deal with on a daily basis. Some of it I think applies more to girls--most of you really don't care what you look like-- but a lot of it has to do with how you want to be perceived (intellectual, funny, etc.) which I think is an area of sin in which most people struggle.
Also-right now I'm reading War of Words by Paul David Tripp and what I really love (and hate) about this book is how it gets past the sinful words that I say to the sinful heart that lies behind them. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I shouldn't talk any more. Wouldn't Worm be relieved? Honestly though, Tripp does a great job encouraging the reader throughout the book that Christ has given us EVERYTHING we need to lead the Godly life he commands--including in our speech.
I know that most of you are reading several books right now and have about 50 on the waiting list, but I really hope that you'll get around to these.

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blue like jazz

I just finished reading Donald Miller's book, "Blue like Jazz".

I have been wanting to read it for a while now. I knew he had been associated, rightfully or not, with the Emergent conversation, as it is called. He does not seem to know why this association is made. Buie read the book and recommended it to me. I feel pretty comfortable calling it a "change the way you see things" kind of book. I do plan on using a lot of what I learned from Miller as I get the chances. I will try to put a lot of it into practice as well as tell others about it. I wish I could read 1 Kings with that much enjoyment. I guess that takes more of the Spirit's help than I have mustered the energy to asked for.
The book is a collection of essays on everything from, grace...romance...community...money...loneliness...Jesus, and much more. Miller has a way of writing that comes across as not trying to be offensive, but very much vulnerable, even to the point of being offensive. I am not sure why questioning even yourself can come across as offensive, or at least scary.

I would like to give some (quite a few actually) selected excerpts from the book...

pg. 13, "I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God."

On talking about going to be a part of a protest he says...pg. 20 "More than my questions about the efficacy of social action were my questions about my own motives. Do I want social justice for the oppressed, or do I just want to be known as the socially active person? I spend 95 percent of my time thinking about myself anyway. I don't have to watch the evening news to see that the world is bad, I only have to look at myself. I am not browbeating myself here; I am only saying that true change, true life-giving, God -honoring changed would have to start with he individual. I was the very problem I had been protesting. I wanted to make a sign that read 'I AM THE PROBLEM!' "

pg. 21..."I went there to try to get my head around this idea, this idea that the problem in the universe lives within me. I can't think of anything more progressive than the embrace of this fundamental idea."

While writing about bible stories he says this...pgs. 30-31 "It took me a while to realize that these stories, while often used with children, are not at all children's stories. I think the devil has tricked us into thinking so much of biblical theology is story fit for kids. How did we come to think the story of Noah's ark is appropriate for children? Can you imagine a children's book about Noah's ark complete with paintings of people gasping in gallons of water, mothers grasping their children while their bodies go flying down white-rapid rivers, the children's tiny heads being bashed against rocks or hung up in fallen trees? I don't think a children's book like that would sell many copies."

pg. 46 "The thing I loved about Nadine was that I never felt like she was selling anything. She would talk about God as if she know Him, as if she had talked to Him on the phone that day. She was never ashamed, which is the thing with some Christians I had encountered. They felt like they had to sell God, as if He were soap or a vacuum cleaner, and it's like they really weren't listening to me; they didn't care, they just wanted me to buy their product."

This excerpt comes complete with a cartoon, ...
This is what follows, pg. 77..."And that's the tricky thing about life, really, that the things we want most will kill us...Ultimately, we do what we love to do. I like to think that I do things for the right reasons, but I don't, I do things because I do or don't love doing them. Because of sin, because I am self-addicted, living in the wreckage of the fall, my body, my heart, and my affections are prone to love things that kill me...I found myself trying to love the right things without God's help, and it was impossible...My answer to this dilemma was self-discipline. I figured I could just make myself do good things, think good thoughts about other people, but that was no easier than walking up to a complete stranger and falling in love with them. I could go through the motions for a while, but sooner or later my heart would testify to its true love: darkness. Then I would get up and try again. The cycle was dehumanizing. "

On grace he writes pg. 83..."It seemed wrong to me not to have to pay for my sin, not to feel guilty about it or kick myself around. More that that, grace did not seem like the thing I was looking for. It was too easy. I wanted to feel as though I earned my forgiveness, as though God and I were buddies doing favors for each other."

pg. 86 "Self-discipline will never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God's love will. The ability to accept God's unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return...If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her."

Advice given to Miller, pg. 92 " Your problem is not that God is not fulfilling, your problem is that you are spoiled."

pg. 105 "I was wondering the other day, why it is that we turn pop figures into idols? I have a theory, of course. I think
we have this need to be cool, that there is this undercurrent in society that says it is important that we are cool. So, when we find somebody who is cool on television or on the radio, we associate ourselves with this person to feel valid ourselves. And the problem I have with this is that we rarely know what the person believes whom we are associating ourselves with. The problem with this is that it indicates there is less value in what people believe, what they stand for; it only matters that they are cool. In other words, who cares what I believe about life, I only care that I am cool. Because in the end, the undercurrent running through culture is not giving people value based upon what they believe and what they are doing to aid society, the undercurrent is deciding their value based upon whether or not they are cool."

pg. 106 "Eminem believes he is a better rapper than other rappers. Profound. Let's all follow Eminem...here is my point. Satan...wants us to believe meaningless things for meaningless reasons. Can you imagine if Christians actually believed that God was trying to rescue us from the pit of our own self-addiction?"

pg. 109 "If you are passionate about something, people will follow you because they think you know something they don't...Passion is tricky, though, because it can point to nothing as easily as it points to something."

pg. 110 "Andrew is the one who taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do."

pg. 111 "I don't think any church has ever been relevant to culture, to the human struggle, unless it believed in Jesus and the power of His gospel. If the supposed new church believes in trendy music and cool Web pages, then it is not relevant to culture either. It is just another tool of Satan to get people to be passionate about nothing."

pg. 111 "Andrew would say that dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something...is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition. We live for what we believe...My life testifies that the first thing I believe is that I am the most important person in the world."

I would reprint the entire chapter 11 if I could. It is entitled "confession." It tells the story of how a friend convinced Miller and a few other friends to build and set up a confession booth on the street at a yearly block type party that was known for it's sinfulness. But the confession booth was not really for those partying to confess their sins, although some did, the point was for Miller and his believing friends to confess to the party goers on behalf of how the church has treated non-believers, through history and today as well as how they themselves have treated non-believers. Great chapter.

pg. 151 "When I was in love I hardly thought of myself; I thought of her and how beautiful she looked and whether or not she was cold and how I could make her laugh...there was somebody in the world who was more important than me, and that, given all that happened at the fall of man, is a miracle, like something God forgot to curse."

pg. 152 "I think our society puts too much pressure on romantic love, and that is why so many romances fail. Romance can't possibly carry all that we want it to."

pg. 154 "I think it is interesting that God designed people to need other people."

Advice from his pastor, pg. 173 " He said I should have people around bugging me and getting under my skin because without people I could not grow- I could not grow in God, and I could not grow as a human."

pg. 181 "Living in community made me realize one of my faults: I was addicted to myself."

pg. 182 "...no drug is so powerful as the drug of self. No rut in the mind is so deep as the one that says I am the world, the world belongs to me, all people are characters in my play. There is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction."

on worship he writes, pg. 201 "It comforts me to think that if we are created beings, the thing that created us would have to be greater than us, so much greater, in fact, that we would not be able to understand it."

pg. 202 "When we worship God we worship a Being our life experience does not give us the tools with which to understand. If we could, God would not inspire awe...I can no more understand the totality of God than the pancake I made for breakfast understands the complexity of me. The little we do understand... [is] enough to keep our hearts dwelling on His majesty and otherness forever."

pgs. 218-219 "I used love like money, but love doesn't work like money. It is not a commodity. When we barter with it, we all lose. When the church does not love its enemies, it fuels their rage. It makes them hate us more."

pg. 221 "I loved the fact that it wasn't my responsibility to change somebody, that it was God's, that my part was just to communicate love and approval."

Written with much humor and grace. Very conversational. Highly recommend it.

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Irreparable?

I don’t know if you guys are following the situation in the middle east or not but I’ve been watching things unfold for several years now. In my spare time I did some research into the history of Zionism, Isreal’s establishment as a country, the series of wars in the region etc. I think most Christians who take the time to research and monitor the middle eastern conflict do so out of some eschatological interest. I on the other hand see both groups (Muslims and Jews) as equal in the site of God (rejecting Christ) and therefore my interest is more of a socio-political nature.

I am wondering now if the conflict has reached a point as to be beyond repair. Could there ever be peace? Or, has the situation passed the “point of no return”. Consider the following facts:
· The Arabs will never accept the Israeli state.
· Israel will never leave the region.
· Neither side shows any indication that they will compromise.
· US diplomacy has consisted of pressuring the Arabs to accept/recognize Israel to no avail.
· The Arabs have resorted to terrorist tactics.
· The consensus view is that negotiating with terrorist only causes more terrorism (same as: paying a ransom to hostage takers just causes more kidnappings).
With these facts in mind the greatest thinkers from around the world have yet to come up with a solution. (Think about that for a minute. We have been able to invent and develop all sorts of technological advances like this laptop that I’m using and yet no one has come up with a solution to the middle eastern conflict. Think about that the next time you hear someone speaking about the middle east say “All they have to do is ….” like it’s a simple matter.)

When something breaks or is damaged around my house I try to fix it. But there comes a point when you have to ask yourself...is it irreparable? Is it too far gone? Have we exhausted every avenue? I post this not because I expect you guys to offer a solution, but because I find myself thinking more and more that there is no solution other than a drastic one.
I’ll close with 2 quotes: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and yet expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
“Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace, is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?” – Larry Norman.

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Free derek webb

Hey, thought this would be of interest to some. Steve, I mentioned DW's latest album to you and suggested you hear it. Well, a little later, you can have it free. Read this that DW posted.

i love music. i have grown up with music as a close confidant. and i believe in the power of music to move people. there’s something remarkable about the way a melody can soften someone to a new idea.

as an artist (and often an agitator), this is something i am keenly aware of. my most recent record ‘mockingbird’ deals with many sensitive issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live and deal with others. but i found that music has been an exceptional means by which to get this potentially difficult conversation going. and this is certainly an important moment for dialogue amongst people who disagree about how to best love and take care of people, to get into the nuances of the issues.

one of the things that excites me most about the future of our business is how easy it is becoming to deliver music to people who want to hear it. i heard a story once about keith green caring so much that people were able to hear and engage with his music that he gave it away for free, which was a very difficult and expensive thing to do at that time. it’s actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with music fans. and i want people to have a chance to listen to mockingbird and engage in the conversation.

so this is why, on september 1st, we’re launching freederekwebb.com, a place where anyone can go online and not just hear but actually download, keep, and share ‘mockingbird’ completely for free. In addition, freederekwebb.com will give you an opportunity to invite your friends to download ‘mockingbird’ in order to get them in on the conversation as well.

we hope this bold campaign will provide a jumping off point for conversations about all of these issues, and communicate my commitment to playing my part in starting them. so please help us spread the word: on september 1st, ‘mockingbird’ will be set free!

derek webb

how cool is that!

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Becoming a Liberal?

Maybe I’m becoming a “liberal”, but my views seem to be changing. I just wanted to know your thoughts. If you get time please post a response to the following:

As recently as a month ago, if you had asked me how I thought Israel should respond to Hammas or the US to Al Queda…etc. I would have said “Blow them #$%@s up!”. Now I find that I am not sure that’s going to get us anywhere. Will we make progress towards peace by using these methods?

Several of you have known me for many years and have seen me change my views/positions even as a Christian. Some of you may recall the “Turn or burn you filthy heathen” type of message I used to preach. The message I share today is much different. Don’t get me wrong. I still think God hates sin and I haven’t changed my opinion about what is sinful and what is acceptable. That is still the same in my mind today as it has always been. I just think that there’s more important information to convey. Consider the following analogy: A man’s pants are on fire. Do you tell him “You better put that out or you’re gonna burn!” or is it better to say “There’s a swimming pool through this doorway here”. Both are “truth” but one message seems a little “better” to share/emphasize/focus on.

Now, as I look at the world events unfolding, I find that I’m re-evaluating my socio-political stances as well. I am proud to say that I am a New Covenant Theologian and as such I don’t see any scriptural reason for us to support Israel. However, they have every right to defend themselves from terrorist. By terrorist I mean any armed group that intentionally attacks unarmed civilians. Examples would be: Chechen rebels raiding an elementary school in Russia and taking the kids hostage, Hammas suicide bombers getting on a crowded bus and blowing it up, and of course September 11th. How do we deal with these people? The long standing rule has been don’t negotiate with them or you’ll just reinforce the behavior. If you negotiate with terrorist you’ll just promote more terrorism. So, you see the current Israeli situation. Hammas kidnaps a soldier and submits some demands. Israel’s response is “don’t negotiate, blow ‘em up”. Like I said before a month ago I was in total agreement. But now, I find myself wondering where will this situation be a year from now? Will we have made any progress? How do you defeat terrorism? Can you really “blow ’em all up”? Isn’t that like putting a fire out by smothering it with paper? I guess it is theoretically possible to do but maybe there’s a better way? If we can’t kill ‘em all and we can’t negotiate with them what other options are there?

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Piper book

I thought this was interesting.

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Coming to Rocky Mount

We are heading that way this Thursday (June 22nd). I would love to spend some time with you guys. Maybe a cup at Java Mott's? Let me know.

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Anybody out there?

Just checking. I am sorry for my laziness with not posting much (any) lately. How have things been going with you all?

I have a question I would like to throw out just like we would be sitting around the table... what I mean by that is, I have not specifically studied this particular question in depth enough to locate all the scriptures pertaining to it, which is what matters most, nor have I looked at what other believers more studied than myself have to say about it.

But anyway...here it is..."If we are completely forgiven for all our sins, which I believe we are. Prior to, during, and after our conversion...is it wrong to continue to ask for forgiveness. Let me explain... I often times hear believers praying for forgiveness, typically at the beginning or the end of their prayers, and it makes me wonder if they don't believe that Christ has already forgiven them. I know that we are called to continue to repent of sins that we commit, but to ask for forgiveness seems to me that one doesn't believe Christ died for sins once for all."

I may not have worded that the best but please ask me to clarify if I have worded it confusingly.
Did I just make up a word?

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The habit of expositional listening

Well, if expositional listening is so vital to the health of individual church members and the church as a whole, how does a person form such a habit? At least six practical ideas can foster more attentive listening to God’s word.

1. Meditate on the sermon passage during your quiet time. Several days before the sermon is preached, ask the pastor what passage of Scripture he plans to preach the following Sunday. Encourage the preacher by letting him know that you’ll be praying for his preparation and preparing to listen to the sermon. Throughout the week, outline the text in your own quiet time and use it to inform your prayer life. Learning to outline Scripture is a wonderful way of digging out and exposing the meaning of a passage. You can then use your outline as a listening aid; compare it to the preacher’s outline for new insights you missed in your own study.

2. Invest in a good set of commentaries. Add to your quiet times some of the greatest minds in Christian history. Study the Bible with John Calvin or Augustine or Martin Lloyd-Jones by purchasing commentaries on books of the Bible as you read and study through them. If your pastor is preaching through John’s Gospel, pick up D.A. Carson’s or James Montgomery Boice’s commentary on John. Let these scholars and pastors help you hear God’s word with a clear ear and discover its rich meaning. The Bible Speaks Today commentary series is an excellent starting place for those wanting to build a library of good commentaries. Also, you might want to purchase an Old Testament and New Testament commentary survey to help you sort through the range of commentary options available. Tremper Longman’s Old Testament Commentary Survey and D.A. Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey (both co-published by Baker and IVP) are excellent resources.

3. Talk and pray with friends about the sermon after church. Instead of rushing off after the service is over, or talking about the latest news or sporting event, develop the habit of talking about the sermon with people after church. Start spiritual conversations by asking, “How did the Scripture challenge or speak to you today?” Or, “What about God’s character most surprised or encouraged you?” Encourage others by sharing things you learned about God and His word during the sermon. Make particular note of how your thinking has changed because of the meaning of Scripture itself. And pray with others that God would keep the congregation from becoming “dull of hearing,” that He would bless the congregation with an increasingly strong desire for the “solid food” of His word (Isaiah 6:9,10; Heb. 5:11-14).

4. Listen to and act on the sermon throughout the week. We can cultivate the habit of expositional listening by listening to the sermon throughout the week and then acting upon it. Don’t let the Sunday sermon become a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over (James 1:22-25). Choose one or two particular applications from the Scripture and prayerfully put it into practice over the coming week. If your church has an audio ministry or a website that posts recent summaries, take advantage of these opportunities to feed your soul at the push of a button or the click of a mouse. With your pastor’s support, establish small groups that review and apply the sermons. Or, use the sermons and your notes as a resource in one-on-one discipleship relationships. I know of several families that have a regular sermon review time as their Sunday evening family devotional. There are a hundred ways to keep the sermon alive in your spiritual life by reviewing God’s word throughout the week. Be creative. It is well worth the planning.

5. Develop the habit of addressing any questions about the text itself. Jonathan Edwards resolved that he would never let a day end before he had answered any questions that troubled him or sprang to mind while he was studying the Scripture.2 How healthy would our churches be if members dedicated themselves to studying the Scripture with that kind of intentional effort and resolve? One way to begin is to follow up with your pastor, elders, or other teachers in the church about questions triggered by the text. Moreover, don’t be passive in your private study; seek answers by searching the Scripture yourself and by talking with accountability partners or small groups. But don’t forget that the pastor has likely spent more time thinking about that passage than most and is there to feed you God’s word. Follow up the sermon with questions and comments that would be an encouragement to your pastor and a blessing to your soul.

6. Cultivate humility. As you dig into God’s word, listening for His voice, you will no doubt begin to grow and discover many wonderful treasures. But as you grow, do not become a “professional sermon listener” who is always hearing but never learning. Beware of false knowledge that “puffs up” (I Cor. 1:8; Col. 2:18) and tends to cause strife and dissension. Mortify any tendencies toward pride, condemning others, and critical nit-picking. Instead, seek to meet Jesus each time you come to the Scripture; gather from the Word fuel for all-of-life worship. Instead of exalting ourselves, let us remember the Apostle Peter’s words: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (I Pet. 5:6).

I found this on the First Baptist Durham Website. Thought you would enjoy it.

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Pastor's Prayer on Lord's Day

I often type out the pastor's prayer that I pray just prior to the sermon every Lord's Day. It is such a joy to spend a week in a particular part of Scripture and then to spend some time typing out a prayer to serve my flock each Sunday. I will be preaching from Deut. 5-28 this week. Good stuff in this text about how we are to live our lives together (ch. 5-11) and how we are to worship our God (ch. 12-28). May this prayer by yours this week as well. God's grace & mercy upon you.

Almighty God, You are the LORD our God. You are One. There is no other like you nor will there be another. We confess that our love and devotion toward you seldom reflects who we are in Christ. We acknowledge that our actions and lives too often reflect one who has not been changed by Christ’s person lived out for us in Scripture or Christ’s redemptive work for us on the cross. We affirm our need for you again today. Thank you for your sovereign, mighty, right hand that delivered your people from Egypt. Thank your for showing us in Scripture your sustaining and preserving of your people in difficult times. Thank you for your faithfulness, mercy and grace even in our faithlessness. We pray this morning, again, for grace to give us what we cannot find in ourselves, what we so desperately need to please & worship this morning, faith. O the faith to worship You our Creator and the LORD our God who brought us out of the house of slavery. In the valued name of Christ we pray this morning, Amen.

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On a serious note

A magician gets a job on a cruise ship doing magic, during every show the boat captain sits in the crowd and watches. Well the captain has a parrot that sits on his shoulder and watches the act also, and on the third night the parrot figures out how the magician is doing his act. So the bird starts heckling him saying things like “it’s up his sleeve” and “his assistant has it” and so on and so forth. That night the boat runs into an iceberg. The next morning the magician wakes up on a plank floating in the ocean. He looks up and realizes the parrot is sitting at the end of the board, starring at him. Two days go by and not a word passes between the two, they just sit there staring at each other, both mad as fire. Then finally the parrot speaks up and says: “all right I give up, where’s the boat?”

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WARNING! This a LONG post/quote.

I just wanted to give you all a heads up before you click on the "Read More!" link below. I've just gotten into Knowing God by J.I. Packer, again, and I found the following words by turns, encouraging and piercing. An "exhortation," I guess, is what the Bible might call it...

"1. One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of Him. I am sure that many of us have never really grasped this. We find in ourselves a deep interest in theology... We read books of theological exposition and apologetics. We dip into Christian history, and study the Christian creed. We learn to find our way around in the Scriptures. Others appreciate our interest in these things, and we find ourselves asked to give our opinion in public on this or that Christian question, to lead study groups, to give papers, to write articles, and generally to accept responsibility, informal if not formal, for acting as teachers and arbiters of orthodoxy in our own Christian circle. Our friends tell us how much they value our contribution, and this spurs us to further explorations of God's truth, so that we may be equal to the demands made upon us.
All very fine -- yet interest in theology, and knowledge about God, and the capacity to think clearly and talk well on Christian themes, is not at all the same thing as knowing Him. We may know as much about God as Calvin knew -- indeed, if we study his works diligently, we shall -- and yet all the time (unlike Calvin, may I say) we may hardly know God at all.

2. One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God. It depends on the sermons one hears, the books one reads, and the company one keeps. In this analytical and technological age there is no shortage of books on the church booktables, or sermons from the pulpits, on how to pray, how to witness, how to read our Bibles, how to tithe our money, how to be a young Christian, how to be an old Christian, how to be a happy Christian, how to get consecrated, how to lead people to Christ, how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (or, in some cases, how to avoid receiving it), how to speak in tongues (or, how to explain away Pentecostal manefestations), and generally how to go through all the various motions which the teachers in question associate with being a Christian believer. Nor is there any shortage of biographies delineating the experiences of Christians in past days for our interested perusal.
Whatever else may be said about this state of affairs, it certainly makes it possible to learn a great deal secondhand about the practice of Christianity. Moreover, if one has been given a good bump of common sense one may frequently be able to use this learning to help floundering Christians of less stable temperament to regain their footing and develop a sense of proportion about their troubles, and in this way one may gain for oneself a reputation for being quite a pastor. Yet one can have all this and hardly know God at all...
The question is not whether we are good at theology, or "balanced" (horrible, self-conscious word!) in our approach to problems of Christian living. The question is, can we say, simply, honestly, not because we feel that as evangelicals we ought to, but because it is a plain matter of fact, that we have known God, and that because we have known God the unpleasantness that we have had, or the pleasantness that we have not had, through being Christians does not matter to us? If we really knew God, this is what we would be saying, and if we are not saying it, that is a sign that we need to face ourselves more sharply with the difference between knowing God and merely knowing about Him."

Or to say it another way,
"Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.'"

Wanting us all, very much, to know God,
Brandon

(Thanks for reading)

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Matthew 24

A new slant (for me) on Matthew 24:36-41, the left behind verses. The text:

36"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[b] but the Father only. 37As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The new slant comes from the belief that the second coming and the rapture happen at the same time. Lets look at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:

16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Notice in this verse that when Jesus descends, is when “we” (“we” I assume is the church) are called to be with the Lord. So the second coming and the rapture seem to be simultaneous events in this verse.

Any way, now on to Matt 24. If you read this whole section it seems through context that those being left behind are actually escaping judgement. Follow me here: In Noah’s day the flood came, the ones being judged were “taken away”. And what is being compared to that day is when Christ returns. “40Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.” One may ask, taken where? If we follow the argument from Noah’s day, the ones “taken away” are the ones being judged, while the ones not taken away are the ones being showed mercy. If you look at it that way, then you want to be “left behind”. This is not very important I know, but I thought is was a very interesting slant.

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A Prayer Request for Shane

Shane is at the "Together for the Gospel Conference" at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary yesterday, today and tomorrow. Pray for his safety and his edification. What a great opportunity.

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Living the Gospel

The gospel is a message, the good news. It is good news as it relates to every area of life. The gospel relates to every area of life because “by (Christ) all things were created…. and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col 1) How do we live the gospel, then, in every area of life? Every area of our life, however, affected by our sin. We don’t think rightly, feel rightly, or live rightly apart from the grace of God being applied to that particular area of life. The paradigm that I think through when I seek to apply the gospel to a particular area of my life is God, Man, Christ, Response. The gospel message can be expanded upon from this outline but it can’t be without each of these four elements.

GOD ~ What attribute(s) of God relate specifically to the area of life I seek to apply the gospel? Why does this attribute matter? What would God’s creation be like in the absence of that attribute? Read all the Scripture you can find on that attribute of God.
MAN ~ How do I live in opposition to this attribute of God in this particular area of my life? Is there a perscribed name for this sin in Scripture? Why is this sin a violation of the person of God? How is this sin a falling short of the glory of God?
CHRIST ~ (The Person of Christ) How did Christ live out the above attribute of God in Scripture? (The Work of Christ) How did the death, burial and resurrection of Christ accomplish right standing for you before God in this area of life? What are the words used for the cross work of Christ that most relates to this area of life?
RESPONSE ~ Considering the above truths, where is repentance most necessary in this area of my life? What would faith look like in this area of my life? Are there clear imperatives in Scripture concerning this area of my life?

May God’s grace be applied as you read this post and His gospel speak into your heart as you seek to live the gospel in other areas of your life.

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The Gospel & being a Husband

When I pray and think about being a husband I seek to think through the gospel to get a proper understanding of my relationship to Ashlie, my wife. This most often happens when there is stress, tension or struggle going on in our relationship in some way. A "hypothetical circumstance"” could be that I become frustrated when Ashlie does not meet an expectation I have for her as my wife. Maybe she does not have the house clean or has not gotten something done at home or simply seems to not be doing everything I want her to do.

First, I think about God. God character is one of steadfast love”. (Psalm 40:11) I think on verses that give me the scope of God'’s steadfast love towards me.
Second, I think about Man. I think of my sinfulness in light of God's steadfast love. I think of how I have fallen so short of God'’s expectations of me today. I am reminded by Scripture that I'm constantly going to fall way short of his standard of perfection, holiness and glory. (Matt 5:48, 1 Peter 1:13 & Rom 3:23)
Third, I think through the Person & Work of Christ. I consider the price that was paid to redeem me from the very sin mentioned above. I think of how Christ lived a life of perfect, holy, pure glory of God the father and died on the cross to justify me before our perfect, holy, glorious God. (Eph 1)
Forth, I think about Faith. How can I be faithful to my God and Savior Jesus Christ, knowing that I have been redeemed from my deadness in sin and made right before my God who is one of “steadfast love? What does God command me to do or how does God command me to live in light of these truths?
Ephesians 5:25-33 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

The gospel for me as a husband is necessary and a constant reminder of my need for His Word, His Savior and His Spirit.

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When should we speak out in criticism?

Here's something to think about...when should we speak out in criticism? Should we ever? Is it appropriate to criticize the theology of a popular preacher? Is it appropriate to criticize a pop star?

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