John Piper - The Gospel Saves Kids

How "The Pill" works as an Abortifacient

I am not supporting the site for this video (I just don't know anything about them) or natural family planing. But I do think this video does a good job at explaining the abortive nature of oral contraceptives.

Continuum

We often think in continuums and God, He is often not even on the continuum. For He is completely other. He is Holy.

Divided the Movie

http://dividedthemovie.com/

Official Divided the Movie (HD Version) from NCFIC on Vimeo.

"Love Me" By: JJ Heller Music Video *Amateur*

some proverbs on speach

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

The Incalculable Impact of One Woman

True Womanhood Looks Like Christ

Voddie Baucham Talks about homeschooling our children

Jesus challenges culture

Jesus challenged the culture of his day. He will challenge your culture as well.

God will give us more than we can handle

There is a saying, "God will not give you more than we can handle". This is not true. The fact is He will. But God will not give us anything He can't handle.

Created in the image of God . . .

“It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” -- Galatians 3:1

God has called us to be image bearers of God. That’s what we were created for. It is easy to think, I need to be “holy” so I can portray God’s image. History or His story has another take on portraying the image of God. The pinnacle point in history where the greatest portrayal God took place was at the cross in Jesus.  As we bear God’s image in our own lives, it’s not an outward holiness that is the greatest portrayal of God, but Christ being portrayed as crucified in our lives that is at the pinnacle of our being made in the image of God. As the Gospel permeates us and Christ becomes great we fulfill what we were created to be, image bearers of God.

False Motives

Some people will neglect doing good, because what prompted that good was a false motive. I have learned to thank God for using the false motive to remind me to do good. I will do the good and ask him to work on my heart so that my motivations are good as well.

You see, it is not about me or my motives, I am saved by grace. And it is grace, because my motives will never be right. If you are obsessed by being perfect, your trying to save yourself, it is a self-righteousness, and no gospel. The Gospel has faith in the work of Christ, not ones own works. We make much of Christ, not ourselves. It is about the Gospel and glorifying Christ.

I fight vigilantly against false motives, and I do plead fervently with God for pure motives, they are sweet, but my hope is not in them.

The realist

If a man sees and experiences the world, unafraid of the darkest places, and knows that God is on His throne, believes the promises of God, and sees the beauty, joy and wonder of God. Is this man a dreamer or the true realist -- Hebrews 11.

Joy from Christ, not your performance - Paul Washer

Preaching the Gospel through God's love for us

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

                                                                                             -- 1 John 3:16,17

The Gospel is commanding. It takes dominion in our lives changing our hearts and our minds, conforming us into the image of Christ. We preach the Gospel, because God has ordained the preaching of the Gospel as a means of His grace. And he has established that His Gospel will be preached through those in the church, us. But even though God has ordained this, it is not mechanical. John doesn’t just say, we obey and do what is right. John says that we love. We love to preach the Gospel. And we love others. So where does this love come from?

John lays out the heart of the believer and where our motivation comes from to love the lost– the work of Christ in our own lives – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” When we get this, when we get the depths of Jesus’ love for us, our hearts will be moved to love others. John demonstrates an integral connection between being loved by God and walking in the truth of the Gospel and the outward expression of the Gospel’s work in loving others.  Our motivation for ministry to others comes from the security of the redemption we have in work of Christ.

 I like the words of Jeremy Riddle’s song, Sweetly Broken -

At the cross you beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees
And I am
Lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken holy surrender

 As we are beckoned to Christ, we are “sweetly broken” and able to walk in “holy surrender”. It is no longer a work. It is trusting in the work of Christ, having faith in His work, laying all that we are down, and allowing His work to change us. In the Gospel, God boldly works in us through sanctification, with all certainty and determination to continue to grow in our hearts love for others. We are God's handiwork. This is why John states that loving others must happen if we are in the Gospel. He says this because the Gospel is not weak, the work of Jesus is not weak, but certain to work love into our hearts. So this love that we have growing in our hearts for others is a work of God and not our own. And God is not thwarted  . . . . 

This fact gives me much encouragement, when I don’t feel capable of evangelizing or loving others or even don’t feel like loving others. God is at work in me and He will accomplish it, because it is about His work, not mine. And even when I have those times I don’t want to love others, I know He is at work in me. 

Here is the deal; we are motivated not through looking at ourselves and working to muster up a love in ourselves. We are motivated, because He first loved us. He loves us! Do you get that? Let me repeat that. He loves us! He loves us so much that He brings us into His love for others. God has chosen the Gospel as the means for this love to be made manifest. And as we come to trust the Gospel, not just that He saves us from God’s wrath, but that God also brings us into His Kingdom and conforms us into the image of Christ; we will discover that love is growing in our hearts. We don’t look to ourselves; we come and look to Christ, believing in His work. 

And as we step out in these truths knowing it is not about whether or not we fail, because God’s work does not fail. God has determined to do a good work in us, because He deeply loves us. . . . Paul says that all things are "Yes" in Christ.

This is the power of the Gospel as it sanctifies our hearts and conforms us into the image of Christ. The more we see the magnificence and grandeur of what Christ has done for us and grow in our understanding of the Gospel in our own lives, the more passion we will have as God takes us into His story and uses us to reach out to others and bring them into this love. 

Robots

I have heard the argument from those who disagree with Calvinism, that they feel like this notion of God choosing us, makes us into robots, and they don't believe that God would do that. This statement, however, shows a misunderstanding of what Calvinism is, because there is no way that one would use this argument if they understood the premises of Calvinism. This statement becomes a straw man in an attempts to knock down a notion they feel uncomfortable with.


On the contrary from making us robots, Calvinism states that God so loved us that He came to us when we were enemies, enslaved, and dead, or you might say we were lifeless, our choices were enslaved to sin, and we were in some ways "robotic" in our nature. God came to us in this state and gave us life making a new creature, through His spoken word. Someone who is alive. So on the contrary of making us "robotic", God has taken the believer from death into an abundant, joyous life, that is fully animated, and full of intense love and desire and choice to be together. A true Calvinist is not a stoic, but a die hard romantic.


I can say this my choice for God was real, and it is more free than the choices made as an unbeliever.

Christian Nation?

I do believe that as we push Christian principles in the government of the US, it should be done under the rule of the Constitution. It is not a free for all. For example, it would not be ok to push a law that stated that everyone must confess Jesus Christ as Lord. I do think we need to be wise in how we approach issues and to do so based on Constitutional limitations. But Christian principles and obeying scripture should be what rules us as we make these decisions. The scripture is great at teaching us how to walk and how to make decisions that honor both the Constitution and God. Our Christian principles should never be left behind in anything we do nor should they be compromised.

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

Christian Nation?

I think there has been some confusion on whether this nation began as a Christian nation or not. The issue becomes muddled as people try to take one position or the other in some polarised version of an answer to this question. This nation was founded by men who were both Christian and not Christian. They were men who had an understanding of history and wanted to develop a country based on strong principles and foundations, learned from the lessons of history. And, yes, some wanted this nation to honor God. But even though all were not Christian, both non-Christian and Christian men drew many of their morals and principles from Christian and Biblical ideas. And there was a strong Christian influence in their thinking. So despite the fact that both non-Christian and Christian men founded this nation, Christian principles had a huge part in developing our nation. That cannot be denied. So even though you might say that this nation was not founded as a Christian nation, it is very clear that it had a very strong Christian influence in its development.

We do know this - the scripture is very clear that a nation is greater, when their laws are based on Christian principles. The Constitution is set up not to deter this, but to allow for those in government to make decisions based on principles, as long as they are not unconstituional.  So as Christians it is important that we bring our Christian principles into the way we make decisions in government. I think this is safe, because the scriptures tell us to honor the ruler of the land. In our nation, that is not a man, but the Constitution. So a Christian will try to honor the Constitution in the decisions they make and also respecting those constitutionally elected to offices.

My point is we cannot deny that Christian principles had a part in the founding of our nation, whether or not it was founded as a Christian nation. And, today, whether or not our nation is a Christian nation, we cannot separate our Christian principles from the decisions we make for our nation, nor do we need to be ashamed of our wanting to bring Christian principles into governmental decisions.

Let those who are mature think this way

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

It’s not perfection, but the pursuit that we are after. So often people fail because, they feel like they have to be perfect. We won’t be, but that doesn’t mean we give up. We are no longer in a pursuit to be perfect, Christ won that victory. We now have the freedom to pursue joy and to run hard in that pursuit with all abandonment into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained”. –Philippians 3:12-16

Training for one of the most important careers

Our society tends put an emphasis education and on training for a job, but little emphasis is placed on training our children for the most important career they will have - being a husband/wife, father/mother and keeping a home. These skills take a lifetime to learn and require purposeful and intentional training and growth. We are foolish if we take them lightly or wait till we are in those situations to learn. Thankfully God's grace is there for us all and God is a good trainer and shepherd, and if our hearts our willing to pursue these things He will be there.

Preparing older daughters in the home

Open Minded

I am learning that you have to believe in the scriptures in order to be open minded. There is no other way. God's ways are far above our own and any other standard for thinking falls short and is narrow in its expanse and ability to understand the world. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" And "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"


This will not sit well with a lot of people, even Christians, but the scriptures make us wise in all things in life. And it is a solid ground that can be trusted in. It puts you in a secure place, where you are free to be open minded. 

Baby steps

Discipline is being determined to go a direction in the grace of God, even when you fail, not necessarily getting to the destination

The Power of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit doesn't point us to some "great experience", the Holy Spirit's passion is to point us to Christ, where we are at. This is the power of the Gospel. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Communication with the opposite sex

I think it is important that we work hard to understand our spouse's language as well as learning how "translate" for our spouse.

Nature glorifies and worships the LORD

New Trailer: Join us Tonight, Thursday, January 20, for "The Mystery of the Strange Creatures of the Amazon" from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

Large Family - Duggars and Bates

The Bateses and Their 18 Children 1/19/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh_njlNFEls

Freedom of Religion?

The Foundation of Learning

From the movie "Indoctrination"

God's got your back

When you surrender all to the grace of Christ and not your own work and walk in the integrity of God's Word, . . .God's got your back. . . .

And He goes before you to prepare the way. And He is a shield around about you.

And when we fall He picks us up.

Do not be afraid to run after God with all your heart

Christ Centered Preaching - John Piper

Catagorical Thinking

I was talking with a friend, tonight, and he mentioned how instead of listening to what people have to say, we tend to put people into categories. For example, in talking about theology or politics, people tend to set categories, so if you approach those subjects people automatically put you into preconceived boxes that they have for you, whether or not you fit in those boxes. We talked about how often, because of this, we get put in boxes that we actually totally disagree with. But because people have already determined this is what we believe and have shut their ears to anything contrary, they don't hear what we actually are saying. And I have done it to others as well.

The problem is that the Word of God doesn't fit into categories, not even close.

My prayer is not necessarily, how do I get others to change, but how can God change me, and help me to communicate lovingly in a way that breaks down any categories. In His grace, I want to be able to speak in a way that is gentle and loving and strong. To speak in a way that makes others feel welcome, maybe uncomfortable and maybe  even hostile at times, but welcome. Jesus, spoke in a way that struck the hearts and souls of men. He was strong and many people rejected Him because of it. But He also said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.". And like Paul, I want to pray that the Holy Spirit will speak clearly through me, breaking down any preconceived categories men have and breaking down any boxes I put God into, so that they might hear clearly what God has to say.

God calls us to be stewards, God created us to cultivate

God created us to cultivate,  to reflect His character in making beauty out of chaos, when we loose that, we loose a part of who we are.

As a culture and just in our sinful nature, we often have become comfortable with lifestyles that our lazy and messy. We avoid cultivating the things God has placed in our lives. Instead of being the faithful stewards God created us to be, we willing to settle for less joy  than what God has for us, because we think we know ourselves and our desires better than God. We think we know what we are created for better than God.

 When we see the weeds, we try to save ourselves by avoiding the weeds. We choose not to cultivate, because we think we are better off ignoring the hardships of the weeds. We listen to the foolish woman in Proverbs and run after her. And we weary ourselves our attempts to avoid the weeds.

When God created man, He created man to be a steward, to work and to cultivate, to make beauty out of chaos. He created us to reflect Himself. This is a part of the very fabric of what we were created to be.

No, we are not to be perfect, and, yes, there are many weeds, we have fallen from our original state. There is also death and decay. Nor our we to be legalistic or take things to the extreme, sin has made this world full of weeds, and there is a realistic understanding of that, we are not perfect not is our cultivating perfect. But this is still who we are, and despite the weeds, God still calls us to cultivate. We are still to reflect God's heart, and we are still to faithfully act as stewards of what He has given us. We are to still work and make beauty out of chaos.

God is more concerned about our hearts and that we have hearts that pursue being faithful stewards who seek to make beauty out of chaos, than the results. And this will look differently for different situations. But God does not want us to have hearts that when we find weeds, instead of being faithful stewards, we make excuses to not cultivate and be faithful stewards, and instead turn to ourselves and our own immediate wants and desires and become lazy and in the process loose what He created us to be. The foolish woman seems right and pleasing, but God has called us to something more. The foolish woman makes us weary, but God in His wisdom calls us to rest in who He has created us to be.

Some videos on public education

The Children of Caesar

True Woman 2010

From True Woman 2008

Outcomes

Some will measure the success of ministry by outcomes, God measures success as denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him and trusting Him on the outcome, for He does not fail.

Knowing God's patients with us in making us wise

With wisdom comes humility and patience, because the wise fear the Lord and understand His grace.

Mars Hill - Being a Man

Beauty fades even in youth and for the still poster perfect

"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion."

I have heard so many stories of  man who marries a beautiful woman in appearance, only to soon regret his decision, because the woman had no discretion.  This woman who was once a beautiful woman to him, quickly becomes as beautiful as a ring in a pig's snout to him. Even though she has not aged, her beauty fades away.

The opposite is true for a man who marries a woman because of her godly character, no matter her physical appearance. "She is far more precious than jewels." She lets her "adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." This man boasts in his wife and is filled with great joy when thinking of her. Instead of fading, her beauty, both physical and internal, grows and increases and is abundant. And he is satisfied by her physical appearance.

Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.

 
Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

Warning: HSV and HPV is highly prevalent in our society and easily spread

75%-80% of sexually active American's will have HPV at some point in their lives. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US. 1 in 4 people have HSV-2 in the US. 80% have HSV-1. Both HPV and Herpes are highly communicable can spread by brief touch, not just sexual intercourse, so any act where skin is exposed can spread these highly communicable diseases. Therefore any act allowing for touch can spread Herpes and HPV, including oral. Condoms do not protect against these two diseases. Some people do not have symptoms of Herpes and HPV can be hidden, but they can still be spread the disease. So even if a partner says they do not have it, you are still at risk. Herpes cannot be cured.  HPV can be chronic and cause cancer.

Chores are just as important as School

We teach are kids to desire and honor education. I believe it is just as vital to teach our kids to desire and honor hard manual work.  I believe part of raising a kid and teaching them to walk in the way of the Lord is to give them chores, and not just a few, and also not to the point of exacerbating them, but a good healthy amount of chores is important. We should teach them to value and love good and hard labor and good stewardship of the resources God has given us. We should teach them to honor people who work with their hands just as much as those who work with their minds. It is the fear of the Lord that gives people honor, my child's character is just as important as what they know.

A Statement of Trust in God's Heart for Our Relationship

A Statement of Trust in God’s Heart for Our Relationship

1.    Intimacy with I am, Emanuel, that we might hear His Voice, cling to Him, and walk with Him in our relationship.  (Ps 41:10, Deut 30, Micah 6:8, Ps. 87:7. Deut. 6:5, John 17:3, Phil. 3:8-11, Matt. 6:33, Ps 63:8)

2.    To live fully and enjoy the abundance of God. To lay our relationship at Jesus’ feet and in complete trust, surrendering all to Him. (Psalm 23; Rom. 12:1,2;  Heb. 12:1,2; Phil 3:12; Acts 20:24)

3.    We will find our answer on our knees. (Our time with the Lord is a priority)

4.    Allow God as our Father to oversee our relationship, to council and advise us, to protect us, and determine the direction of our relationship. (Ps. 19:14, Ps.25:21, Ps 23:3)

5.    To let the Word be uncaged and to rule and reign in our relationship, being living and active and penetrating it and our lives and our hearts.  (Isaiah 66:2,  John 5:39, Ps. 37:31, Ps. 25:4,5, John 16:13, Titus 1.9, Col. 1:9, Jer. 33:2.3, I Thess. 5:21,22. 2 Tim. 1:7,  James l:25, Ps.26:2,3, Ps.119: 105,  John l5:10, John l4:23, Col.3:16, Joshua 1:7-9, 2 Tim 4:2, Rom 15:4)

6.    We will place our relationship under the care of the church, living in community, and yielding to and being accountable to those that God has placed over us.  (Pr. 15:22, Heb. 10:25, Heb13:17)

7.    We will honor our parents and older couples as is fitting in the Lord, not just passively, but actively engaging to honor them and make them a part of this relationship (Deut 5:16)

8.    May God, work in our relationship, in wisdom and grace, that we can be an example to others. Let us set an example of godly male and female roles and honor one another by living in these roles. (1 Pet 2:12, Titus 2:7)

9.    We will pursue to encourage each other in the Lord’s calling on each other’s life, honoring each other, and encouraging each other to pursue Christ above all else.

10.    May God develop our hearts and allow us to minister together as friends, purposely praying for and ministering to others together.

11.    To seek righteousness and purity in the way we think, speak and act towards one another. (Matt. 5:6,8, Eph 5:3) We will protect and save our hearts for our spouses, not giving them to one another, unless the Lord has called us to be married.  (2 Corinthians 11:2, Proverbs 20:6, Song of Solomon 2:7, 8:4, Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 31:3) We will not defraud each other physically or emotionally, but will honor one another as the Father’s.  (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Matthew 5:27-30, 1 Timothy 5:2, Proverbs 5:2, Hebrews 13:4, Matthew 19:4-6, 1Corinthians 16:14)

12.    May He teach us to enjoy getting to know one other and enable us to be honest with one another about who we are. May God teach us to develop a deep friendship, as brother and sister, which honors, encourages, and protects the other. May God teach us to walk in patience with one another as God reveals places in our hearts where he wants to bring His truth, conviction, repentance and healing. And may God teach us to have fun in this journey.  (Col 1:28,29, Ps. 139:23-24)

13.    Our pursuit is the Lord and His will. Success is following after God and His heart, honoring Him.  We will seek God for if He would have us marry, and follow Him either into engagement or back into friendship.  May God watch over us allowing us to end our courtship, be it in engagement or as friends, having honored one another and Him in such a way that we have no regrets. (Is. 30:21, Rom. 12:10)

Proverbs 31 describes the single woman not a married woman

"The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. . . . An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels."

I had a random revelation, this morning, I was thinking about verses on being a godly single man and woman, and realized that Proverbs 31 is not describing a married woman, but a single woman.

You see, Proverbs 31 is the advice of a loving mother to her son. She advices him to not seek pleasure in ways that destroy kings, women and alcohol, and instead to pursue justice as a godly man and to find a godly wife. And then we go into a description of this godly woman.

We often read this description of this woman as a description of a married woman, however it is not. It is a description of a single woman. King Lemuel's mother is not telling her son to look for a married woman, but is describing the character of a single woman and telling her son, marry this kind of woman.

God does not have a separate plan for preparing to be a godly single woman than He does for preparing to be a godly married woman. He only has a plan for being a godly woman. Proverbs 31 applies equally to the single woman and to the married woman. God is concerned about the character of a woman and it is the character of a godly woman which will enable her to handle any situation in life, whether married or single.

So single women, read Proverbs 31 again, it was written about you and applies to your life, today. And know that whether single or married, God has called you into an unfading beauty, for you are more precious than jewels.

The list of holiness

Once you make holiness a list of rules, you lose holiness. Because holiness is not a list. Holiness is an adventure and a passion for joy. It is a matter of delighting in God.

Jesus made this evident. The Pharisees had made righteousness a set of rules to live by, "Thou shall not murder". Jesus came and made it tougher, "I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment". Elsewhere He says, "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.". God is not concerned about a list of rules, but the heart and its pursuit of holiness. We are to ever more and more pursue holiness. We are to increase in our love for God and our love for others. We are to grow in purity and uprightness. We are to do well at our jobs. We are to explore the wonders and challenges of manhood and womanhood. We are to enjoy the fellowship of one another, growing deeper in our relationships.

Some of what He says is hard, but it is hard because He knows what joy and freedom there is in what He says, and He is a good Shepherd. He is a Father who delights in His children's joy. God's way is much more demanding, it causes us to tremble, it puts us on edge, it causes us to feel inadequate and hopeless, we don't know if we like it, it rubs you the wrong way, . . . it causes us to fear God, but it is also much more exhilarating and free.

And He is a God who picks us up and comforts us in our failures as we run into His arms. His heart is not a demanding list, but for us to walk with and to be with Him.

God has more in mind than a list, He calls us to explore and to be a part of a kingdom, a kingdom that is beautiful and fills us with awe, and delights us with its extravagance. And it is fun to explore its immenseness and to grow in the likeness of Christ. God calls us to Himself, the most all satisfying thing for our hearts.

So far all those who are weary and heavy laden, for those who are afraid, stop living by a list, for Christ and the Church cries out, "Come and enjoy the richest of fair."

The Creation, The Flood . . . is that possible pt 2

We know that the Genesis description of Creation is accurate, because it is a description coming from the Creator, himself. And His word is a trustworthy account of what happened.

So then the question is, are the proposed "scientific" explanations consistent with the Genesis account? Because if they are true they must be consistent with Genesis. And if they are not, then they are faulty, and we must keep looking.

I talked about the Flood earlier, because I think this is a good example of where science has definitely failed. We know the Flood happened, the scripture is clear on this, and yet the scientist in general refuse to acknowledge it in their study, research, or theories, not even allowing it in the field. They insist the Flood never happened. Is the scripture faulty or is their refusal to accept the scripture and repress the truth faulty. Their refusal to accept the Flood shows that their science is faulty (well at least on the level where the Flood is concerned). The scientists make observations and theories with blinders on. And just as there is a fault with their view pertaining to the Flood so there is a fault with their view toward Creation.

So if our (the ones created) "scientific" explanations differ or are in conflict with the description given by the One who created the world, the One who has all the observations, time, and facts before him, should we believe Him, or should we insist on relying on our own observations, which come from a very limited and minute point of view. . . . God's ways are far above our own. Humbly we should trust Him at His word. . . . The scripture says,

"All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word."

And so as we come to understand this world that God has made, we must do so with a contrite and humble spirit that trembles at God's Word.

And maybe sometimes, what we observe from our vantage point throws us off and confuses us, and that's ok, and we can be honest about what we see and observe, because we don't have the full vantage point, and perspectives can change when you are so small. We are learning and trying to understand things from where we are.

So this does not do away with what we observe, and it is ok to continue to be scientists and to give the best explanation we know and to be honest with what we find, but it is a humble approach realizing we still have much to learn, and just as throughout history, we have found that our observations have been limited or faulty, so today, we need to realize that are present theories are as well.

When we don't, we are like those who insisted that the world was flat, or that the sun revolved around the earth, because that is what they knew from their limited point of view and observations. Or we can become like the church, who insisted on holding to an Aristotle view of science, even though it was secular, and conformed the scriptures to fit that secular explanation.

We may have leaped in bounds in science compared to those days, but we are still limited and do not see the whole pictures and definitely not as much as God sees. And we are still sinful in how we interpret the findings. Romans 1 shows are sinful bent in looking at nature and suppressing the things of God. Because of are sinful tendency, we must be humble in what we learn. There is a danger of trembling at science, over and above, trembling at God's Word, allowing science to conform are mind, more than God's Word.


“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding."


Other things may fade away, like scientific theories, but God's word does not.

Unlike us, God, however, does see the whole picture, and has no need to be ashamed of His account of creation. He created the world as He saw fit. He didn't have to allegorize it, because He could do anything, and did do it. He created the world how He wanted to, to represent what He wanted it to represent, to bring about a story He wanted, not one of fairy tales, but one that is real. So when God, describes the way He created the world it is not a fantasy but a real account of the story, history.

The question then comes what does Genesis and the rest of the scriptures say about Creation. What does the Lord say about what happened. Where the scripture is sure, we can trust it and we don't have to waver. And we shouldn't let our fears color our interpretation, trying to fit it in with what we know. Let it speak for itself. Scripture works better that way. It is not meant to be caged in, but instead it is living, penetrating our hearts and conforming our minds to its truth. It is to shape us in God's image, we are not to shape it into ours.

I for one choose to believe God and to tremble at His word, instead of insisting on my own perspective. We continue to be scientists, honest and objective. And science will follow along, if it is willing to be objective, honest, and humble, for true Science always obeys God's voice.

 The Creation, The Flood pt1

All I Have is Christ

Food for thought :)

Future of Food


Super Size Me

Open and honest

"What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs"

This is a good argument for being open and honest with who we are. We are in Christ, and our deeds are covered by His blood.

The Creation, The Flood . . . is that possible

"The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep."

In the span of about of 40 days, the earth was covered by waters, then for more days the earth water prevailed over the earth, and then the water receeded and dry land appeared once again. All this, both the Flood and the ending of the Flood, occurred in about the span of a year. This is a major geological feat in a very short period of time, and its suddenness shows the vastness of the event. We get a small glimpse of it in the Bible, "on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights." We don't know all the details or all that happened geologically during the Flood and the Bible doesn't go into great detail, but we can know that it happened, and that it was a significant event.

We live in a day and age where something like this would be considered an impossibility. However, the Flood is a biblical certainty. It did happen. And there is no reason to doubt it. And it happened in the time allotted by the Bible, whether we can explain it or not.

Genesis 1 and 2 describes creation. The Bible also says, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day". This, too, would be considered impossible, but it is a biblical certainty.

When we put human philosophy above the words of the Bible, the Bible looses, because it doesn't make sense to us, not if we look at it with human wisdom. But the scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." and again it says, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God."

These accounts were written through the Holy Spirit, not through someone who was looking back at an event that they were not apart of. The scripture says that Moses talked with God face to face. He got these accounts from an eye witness of the events, God himself. An eyewitness who is faithful and true. And these accounts in Genesis or accounts we can rely on. So is our wisdom wiser than God's? Are His ways so much higher than ours, that we choose to trust Him at His word?

If we continue to look at these events with a worldly philosophy, we will continue to be foolish, we will not be able to understand science fully. But perhaps if we start looking at these accounts as given by someone who is faithful and true, perhaps, we will grow in our understanding of our world and what we see. Perhaps we will see the wisdom in it after all. And perhaps we will have a better understanding of science.

Proverbs

Righteousness by mere duty, without joy, is a legalistic righteousness. Love for God is the motivation for righteousness. And joy comes with much wisdom, patience, faith, and toil.

Being disciplined is not a burden, it gives you the freedom to run.

Woman foundation of culture - Alexis de Tocqueville

"[I]f I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people are mainly to be attributed, I should reply, to the superiority of their women."  -- Alexis de Tocqueville

Quotes from So Much More: The Remoarkavle Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God by Anna Sofia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin

Quotes from So Much More: The Remoarkavle Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God by Anna Sofia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin

"Honor is more than just a feeling or sentiment; it's something you practice daily."

"God meant for women to be honored and respected. However, this respect was not to be gained in the same way as for men. It is said, "Behind every great man there is a great woman." In times past, people would see a great man and know that much of his greatness ans success was due to his wife, and she would be honored and praised accordingly. Because women are not praised for being good wives and furthering their husbands in our society, it is little wonder that women don't think of that as being a praise-worthy thing and seek praise and glory elswhaere. No wonder our society is so short of real men! If our men aren't successful, it largely means that their women have not made them successful. They need our help." p. 46,47

"Confiding in our fathers (and, of course, or mothers) is another way we can show them honor. When we let our fathers know our hearts - our struggles, our weaknesses, our hopes and dreams - it encourages them to pay closer attention to the instruction and guidance they give us."

" We have a friend who used to ask us, very kindly, but pointedly, 'Do you get your father's slippers for him?' . . . . His point was, 'Are you helping your father even in the small things which he might never ask help with?' Those are things that will simply make his life more comfortable and pleasurable, things that will simply bring joy to his heart and make him more free to accomplish the work that God has given him. " p.48,49

"My father is responsible before the Lord for the guidance of his famiy. His heart is relieved and encouraged when he can trust his household, when he knows that our hearts are with him, that his wishes are obeyed, that his decisions are submitted to cheerfully, and that his family is praying for him and supporting him as he seeks guidance from the Lord. Helping my father has been a fun adventure and one that I am constantly growing in and learning from." p. 49

"A real woman understands that God designed femininity because masculinity was not enough in itself to represent God's image and glory. The differences downplays God's glory. A real woman wants to bring glory to God by being a woman." p. 76

"By self-denial, we mean something deeper than the usual meaning, 'denying yourself things you want'. Rather we mean 'denying that you have a "self"' " p.77

"The kingdom of God is depicted by relationships. It advances through relationships. Remember it was not good for Adam to be alone."

"We can dress in drab grays and browns, wear no makeup, and grease our hair flat back, but if we are haughty in heart and proud of our own 'righteousness', we are as worthy of judgment as the 'mincing' daughters of Zion." p.87

BarlowGirl - Sing me a love song

Quote by Hess - God's leading

"Long ago I made my life’s decision

To serve the Lord and have Him choose my way;

And when I’ve felt uncertain at a crossroad,

He’s never failed to lead me day by day." —Hess

"Church Discipline!? Is that Purpose Driven!?" - Jeff Noblit

Words matter

    God puts much value on the spoken word.  And we are to trust God at His word. Sometimes His word is all we have. Not a hint of what God speaks is untrue or unworthy. Through His word the earth was created and established. The integrity of His word is so valued that Jesus is said to be the Word of God made manifest in flesh.

    As Christians we should emulate God's character not just by our actions, but in our speech as well. We should be men and women who the very integrity of our speach can be counted on and trusted. Our words should not be a mere vapor, but words with substance and truth. Our words should be pure and holy and good. And just as we trust God at His word, others should be able to trust us at our word.

Other verses to meditate on:
Matthew 12:36
James 3:2
Proverbs 18:21
Proverbs 12:19
Proverbs 10:32
Proverbs 10:11
Proverbs 16:24
Proverbs 12:18
Proverbs 15:28

John Piper - Spankings Don't Save Kids

RC Sproul The Total Sovereignty of God

Even though we chose to reject God, He chose us. What amazing love!

How do we go from being an enemy of God, hating God, and murdering Christ to loving God? What so drastically changes our hearts? . . . Grace alone.

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience . . . . 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. – Ephesians 2:1-10

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
--1Corithians 1:30,31

Is our love for God "erotic"?

In our love for God, I believe it is easy to have an "eros" (or erotic) kind of love. Being caught up in the experience and awe, we are full of excitement and our desire for this experience becomes lustful and dangerous. The experience overshadows God.

It is so easy to be constantly seeking the "emotional high", the "movement of God", "the power", instead of understanding the true greatness of who God is, and trusting His character. We become in love with and addicted to some experience and not God, Himself. Just as one is more interested in the physical experience than the person.

But their is a deeper love, an "agape" love, that is interested only in God and not some idolized version of what we want or an "experience" we desire to have. We take Him for who He is and trust Him for who He says He is. It is coming to know (in the biblical sense) God, in a deep and full way. You don't need a "movement" of God or have to see some "power", or even to feel anything, because His character thoroughly satisfies you.

In the Bible, love is not a noun, the focus is not what we feel or an experience, but what we do. You can seek an experience or you can seek God.

Choosing a Wife/Beauty is Vain - Tim Conway

Men, if we all started treating beauty as vain, we would change the world. For us few, who will do this, we will be a strength to those around us.


    

Why we choose to sin. -- John Calvin

...we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own voluntary choosing. We do away with coercion and force, because this contradicts the nature of the will and cannot coexist with it. We deny that choice is free, because through man's innate wickedness it is of necessity driven to what is evil and cannot seek anything but evil. And from this it is possible to deduce what a great difference there is between necessity and coercion. For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and therefore of necessity will in an evil way. For where there is bondage, there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in corruption of the will, from which follows that it is self-determined.
 

--John Calvin from Bondage and Liberation of the Will, pg. 69-70

Learning To Love Correction - Joshua Harris

Psalm 73

21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

--Psalm 73