Sunday, August 30, 2009

Where it is written!!

“It saddens me that I live (and raise children) in a world where we rely so heavily on the interpretations of others. We look to TV and movies to give us interpretations of books. We look to books to give us simplifications of other books (Cliff notes or abridged versions, anyone?). We get our news in sound bites and bullet points. All this because we either lack the time (or aren't willing to make the time) to deeply experience and process these things for ourselves. When I make these choices, I'm cheating myself (and sometimes my children as well).

What I find more grievous in my own life is when I take the same tactic spiritually. I've often found myself relying on sermons and books about the Word, rather than taking the time to experience the Word myself. While both sermons and Christian books are good things, unless I'm grounded in the Word, I'm not only cheating myself out of the richness of experience that the Lord has for me, I'm setting myself up to be caught up in the vain and foolish philosophies of the world that twist the Word and snare the undiscerning.”
Red-headed rants and rambles

Sometime ago I read the above from a portion of a blog delivered by a friend of mine. This past week I was led back to this very insightful observation as I read Tullian Tchividjian’s book, “unfashionable”. I am annoyed at the marginalization of the continual study of God’s Word. Tullian Tchividjian’s again piqued my annoyance.

The standard for Christians is the Bible and yet as my friend observed, “I've often found myself relying on sermons and books about the Word, rather than taking the time to experience the Word myself.” Tullian Tchividjian writes, “We have no problem affirming its’ (the Word) perfect truthfulness. But most of us struggle when it comes to the Bible’s timelessness, its relevance. That’s because God and His Word have been relegated to the fringe of what is important and defining in our society, a process identified by the term secularization.” (36)

I believe that the act of relying on those who speak for our Christian culture without studying the Scriptures or before consulting Scriptures is a substantial error. For me it is essential to have built my Christian worldview on the standards and principles of Scripture before consulting extra biblical forms. I cannot frame my worldview on the insights of others and I believe that we should not ask any Christian to do so. Scripture is first and continual. After Scripture let us then glean the wisdom of those who have also studied the Word and relish the truths observed.

Tullian Tchividjian writes, “The Bible teaches that Christians are called by God to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), to think Biblically about everything. It means developing a Christian mind to analyze what’s going on around us, to understand how the world thinks, and then to offer a distinctively Christian alternative.” (39) When we are involved in the above process, it is the Word and our study of the Word that is needed, NO, demanded.

“Lord, help me to always be in love with the Word as your Spirit impresses my heart, not as others interpret it for me. Help the richness of richness of reading Your Words forever "spoil" for me the dim shadow of eternity that this world is and keep me hungry for the reality of eternity with You.” Heather Nations

The above is also my desire.

(Eutychus)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Supporting Our Youth

The greatest natural resource that the United States of America has is its youth. This stands true also for the Biblical Protestant community in our country.

In order to conserve and preserve the youth of the Biblical Protestant community the individual churches and denominations should consider financial support of a sacrificial dimension to send our youth to Christian liberal arts and technical colleges. The central core of the educational focus of these institutions should be a Biblically worldview focus.

What prompts this point of view?
1. The profound lack of overt action by the Protestant churches in the United States to financially support our college bound students in a substantial and consistent manner.
2. A substandard United States National Public School System
3. A lack of a consistent viable local financial option for both home schooled, private schooled and public schooled students to continue being educated in a Biblical worldview
4. The pagan teachings of the Nations universities and colleges
5. The bias and prejudice causing discrimination that is resident in our Nations college system and particularly by members of the teaching cadre.

The results of neglecting our youth is already in place and the avoidance of solving our educational problem neglects our youth and kills the Biblical Protestant natural resource spiritually and intellectually. When it comes to our natural resource, our youth, there is no benign neglect, only malignant procrastination and with that procrastination an opportunity for pagan evil to corrupt.

James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.


Eutychus

Monday, August 10, 2009

Poly what?

Try this for reading and worldview evaluation.

Polyamory

http://almohler.com/blog_read.php?id=4211

Early Marriage

http://almohler.com/blog_read.php?id=4161

Thank you Albert Mohler,

Eutychus

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Belonging to God

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.” James 2:19

“How do you know if you belong to God? We see in these words what some people depend on as an evidence of their acceptance with God. Some people think that they are all right before God if they are not as bad as some evil person. Other people point to their family history or church membership to show that God approves of them. There is an evangelism programme in common use that asks people certain questions. One of the questions is, “Suppose you were to die today. Why should God let you into his heaven?” A very common response is, “I believe in God.” Apparently the apostle James knew people who said the same thing: I know I am in God’s favor, because I know these religious doctrines.
Of course James admits that this knowledge is good. Not only is it good, but it is also necessary. Nobody can be a Christian who doesn’t believe in God; and more than that, the One True God. This is particularly true for those who had the great advantage of actually knowing the apostle, someone who could tell them of his first-hand experience with Jesus, the Son of God. Imagine the great sin of a person, who knew James, and then refused to believe in God! Certainly this would make their damnation greater. Of course, all Christians know that this belief in the One God is only the start of good things because “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb. 11:6.)
However, James is clear that although this belief a good thing, it is definitely not proof that a person is saved. What he means is this: “You say you are a Christian and you are in God’s favor. You think God will let you into heaven, and the proof of it is, you believe in God. But that is no evidence at all, because the demons also believe, and they are sure to be punished in hell.” The demons believe in God, you can be sure of that! They not only believe that He exists, but they believe that God is a holy God, a sin-hating God, a God of truth, who has promised judgments, and who will carry out his vengeance upon them. This is the reason the demons “shudder” or tremble— they know God more clearly than most human beings do, and they are afraid. Nevertheless, nothing in the mind of man, that devils may experience as well, is any sure sign of God’s grace in our hearts.
This reasoning may be easily turned around. Suppose demons could have, or find within themselves, something of God’s saving grace—proof they would go to heaven. This would prove James wrong.”

http://www.puritansermons.com/sermons/edwards1.htm

Enjoy Jonathan Edwards.

It is an excellent point to remember there are demons and a Devil. Thanks Vishal Mangalwadi for the reminder. The Devil and demons are not just “undigested potatoes” or an illusion exposed by a humanistic psychotherapist,

Eutychus