Hell

Again, Tim Challies posts another quality blog. This time Tim introduces a discussion on a not-so-popular topic in modern society.

It is the topic of Hell.

Although many evangelical churches may shy away from mentioning the reality of hell in today's feel-good, consumer-friendly world, Challies rightfully notes in his blog, "...it is good and healthy to think about hell." He continues with this: "It would not be healthy to think about it too much or to have a long and deep-seating fascination with it, but because God has revealed to us that there is such a place and because He has seen fit to give us a glimpse of it, it does us good to pay attention."

I encourage you to read the rest of his post here. As you think on such a weighty truth as Hell, consider this important reminder:

"Life is short;

Death is certain;

Hell is real;

But Jesus saves!"

My Faith Looks Up To Thee

My Faith Looks Up To Thee

My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day be wholly Thine!

May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee,
Pure warm, and changeless be, a living fire!

While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread, be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.

When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!

Words: Ray Palmer Music: Lowell Mason

Random Friday Stories

Woman Chokes Raccoon to Death, Saves Boy

"Man vs. Wild" is not so wild

Everything's Made of Ice at Dubai Bar

[Homo]Sexual Harrassment in San Diego, Firefighters abused in "Gay-Pride parade

Upcoming Marvel Movies

CNN's 'Stardust' Review

Our Failures, God's Mercy

Our church recently retreated to beautiful Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona for our annual summer Family Camp. It was a wonderful weekend of solid messages from God's Word, as well as good food and great fellowship. Pastor Don Lindblad from Kirkland, Washington was our guest speaker for the weekend. Pastor Lindlad's messages were terrific. The weekend's theme was taken from I Samuel 30:6--"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God." But to explain that one verse, Pastor Lindblad took us back to chapters 27, 28, and 29.

In these portions of Scripture we see the depression of David, God's beloved [future] king of Israel. We see David fall into such a deep pit of unchecked depression that he becomes irrational and disobedient to God (chpt. 27). We are shown King Saul's sin as he ultimately falls away from God (chpt. 28). We are shown God's providential intervention and deliverance of David (chpt. 29). And in chapter 30 we find David recovered from his depression and encouraged in the LORD.

It is a beautiful part of Scripture that I had never pondered so deeply before that weekend. While it is sad to see David in such a miserable state throughout chapters 27 through 29, we understand through it that unlike Saul, David recovered from his inner affliction. As Pastor Lindblad so astutely pointed out, chapter 28 ends with Saul and his men going out into the night, while the next chapter concludes with David and his men rising up in the morning. The symbolism here is clear: Saul, going out into the night, without the Lord's protection or guidance, would soon meet his end. David, however, is rescued from his despondency by God and rises victorious.

After studying these chapters, we should find praise to God rolling from our lips. Like David, we all can fall into self-delusion, depression, or disobedience. But like David, may we too be prompted to strengthen ourselves in Jehovah. There will always be consequences to our conduct (or misconduct), but to those who God calls His own He will uphold and show mercy.

The following verses are from a 20th Century hymn composed by Christopher Miner, but taken from the very words of David in Psalm 51. We sang this song at our camp and it fit well with our lessons on the mercy of God to sinners who continually fall short.

God, Be Merciful To Me

God, be merciful to me;
On Thy grace I rest my plea
Plenteous in compassion Thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within;
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess;
Grief and guilt my soul oppress.
I have sinned against Thy grace,
And provoked Thee to Thy face.
I confess Thy judgment just;
Speechless, I Thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art,
Teach Thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By Thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice,
And in gladness hear Thy voice;
From my sins O hide Thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true.
Cast me not away from Thee,
Let Thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation’s joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

Sinners then shall learn from me,
And return, O God, to Thee
Savior all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing Thy love
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.

©1997 Christopher Miner Music. Words: Richard Redhead. Music: Christopher Miner.

Bourne Ultimatum: Not Your Average Action Flick?

I saw The Bourne Ultimatum last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. For a thought-out review of the film, check out the link below.

Here's a sample from the review:

Some movies are fast paced, but are still full of filler of one sort or another. There is not an ounce of filler in this movie. Everything is important, and requires close attention-- not good for those who have tiny attention spans and are easily distracted. The Bourne Ultimatum does not rely on gimmicks, CG effects, or razzle dazzle. Even its chase scenes seem mostly tame compared to the one near the beginning of 'Casino Royale', for example. This is because you are watching a psychological drama--- Jason Bourne is searching for his true identity, by trying to remember his past. The issue has to do with character development, or in this case character revelation.

Continue reading...

The Pastor's Wife

The topic of caring for one's pastor is dear to my heart.

I am the son of a pastor and his wife. I am grateful to God for my parents and the environment in which they trained me. Having observed and experienced the finer details of a pastor's personal life, the recent blog by Pastor Erik struck a chord with me.

While the role and responsibilities of a pastor are often many and trying, a married minister does not bear the burden of his calling alone. I firmly believe that when a married man is called into the ministry, so is his wife. God created Eve to be Adam's helper. It is understood from Scriopture than wives are their husband's helpmeets in whatever the husband is called to do. The pastor is called to evangelize, shepherd, disciple, counsel, encourage, correct, and love the parishiners within his church. The pastor's wife, as her husband's helper and co-minister of the love of Christ, should involve herself in similar endeavors. In doing so, the pastor's wife encourages her husband by doing the Lord's work along side of him.

With this in mind, churchmembers should be keen to encouraging and uplifting not only their pastors, but their pastors' wives as well.

Pastor Erik begins his post with these words:

I have commented before on the 'burn out' rate of pastors as being somewhat of a crisis in the church. I truly believe that the neglect of the home and family is a big part of the problem. But, the problem doesn't come only from the pastor's neglect of his family, but also from the church's neglect of the pastors families. Pastor's are reticent to call the church to care for their families- it seems self serving and manipulative. But, it is a necessity- if we take the strain upon pastors and their families seriously.

Please read the rest of this post here, and put into action the practical ways to take care of our pastor's wife.

The church pastor wears a great burden upon his shoulders. Bu let us not forget our pastor's better half--the pastor's wife. May we make opportunities to encourage our pastors and their wives and show our appreciation to them for the persevering love which they continually demonstrate to us.

Broken, Burning Bridge

In light of this week's catastrophe in Minneapolis, I want to point you to two important writings on the tragedy. One is from John Piper who lives and pastors near the disaster in Minnesota; the other from Charles Spurgeon. You can access both articles via Fide-o.blogspot.com.

As we think on this sad providence, may our prayers go up on behalf of the surviving victims and affected familes, and more importantly, may our hearts and minds be lifted to to know see and know "the God of all grace" who administers both mercy and wrath. May many people's hearts be moved by the Spirit to understand the dire state of their lives away from Christ and flee to Him for eternal salvation, comfort, and peace.

A Sovereign God for Tumultuous Times

Foreigners slipping over (or under) our borders into America's heartland illegally is scary enough. Add to that the idea of crazed Middle Eastern Islamists sneaking past our border security and quietly becoming a part of everyday American life is even scarier.

Well, that may be exactly what has been happening for some time now.

How many of us have really been naive enough to believe that Mexicans are the only ones crossing the border illegally? Haven't we all understood that illegal border crossing and alien smuggling can lend itself to potential terrorists?

You bet we've known!

Now there is some substantiated evidence coming to the surface showing a smuggling operation involving the trafficking of Iraqis and other Middle Easterners in New Mexico. According to the ABC News blog,

The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.

In light of Secretary Chertoff's "gut feeling" about the raised likelihood of another stateside terrorist attack in the near future, this information is not surprising, just frightening.

We live in tumultuous times. But we serve a sovereign God, creator of the universe, sustainer of our lives. Let us remember to praise Him for His goodness and trust Him always.

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.

Live Earth = Lame Effort

I'll gladly admit that I did not pay any attention to what Al Gore and a large handful of popular music artists were doing with this "Live Earth" campaign to focus the world's attention on Global Warming.

But from what I'm reading online, this worldwide concert was a major flop. Why am I not surprised?

Additionally, Boundless explains how completely repulsive the attitude and mood of the whole event was.

What a waste of time, energy, money, and musical talent.

Lame.

498 Years Ago Today...

...John Calvin was born.












Check out James White's brief post on the eventful day.

(Thanks for the FYI, Dr. White.)

When Sinners Say 'I Do'

Paul David Tripp gave a raving review of a new book on marriage entitled When Sinners Says 'I Do'. The title alone grabs my attention, nevermind Tripp's review in which he claims, "It blew me away!"

Sounds like it's worth checking out!

Told You So!!...

Transformers set a new record for a non-sequel movie bringing in over $152 million in the first week! I knew it was a good movie and it definitely deserved its profit!

And to think that my $9.50 contributed to that milestone!
[Pats self on back and says to self, "Well worth it, Dave! Good job.]

Founders Conference: Raymond Perron

ARBCA/RBMS missionary in Quebec, Pastor Raymond Perron, recently spoke at the SBC Founders Conference in Owasso, OK, on the subject of "Preaching the Gospel in a Secular Culture." Thanks to the great live-blogging by the guys of TeamPyro, session notes and summaries can be viewed here.

A True Summer Blockbuster!

As I bought my ticket online approximately 9 hours ahead of time, I was already very excited about the movie. To tell you the truth, I bought into the terrific marketing hook, line, and sinker. 2 hours and ten minutes after Transformers began, I was ready to buy myself another ticket to see it again.

Transformers is what every movie that calls itself a summer blockbuster should be! Forget Jack Sparrow; I’ll take this cartoon-turned-action flick over a washed-up pirate tale any day!

[Secretary of Defense Keller]: We're facing war against a technological civilization far superior to our own! Our enemy can take any shape! They could be anywhere!

With some of the best visual and audio effects ever experienced, and action scenes too large to even wrap your mind around, this Michael Bay-directed movie transformed the 1980’s kid’s cartoon into an intense, over-blown sci-fi/action epic for boys and girls of any age, especially those now grown-up fans in their 20’s and 30’s.

Bay takes the viewer on a wild ride from the sands of the Mid-East to urban big-cities of America. With fantastical imagery, heart-pounding action, wonderfully timed comedy, and a familiar “high school dork has mega-crush on teen-aged babe”-love story, this film rouses a medley of emotions bound to leave any movie-goer pleasantly satisfied.

Frankly, I was surprised by the well-roundedness of the film. I expected the amazing CGI and in-your-face cinematography, as I likewise anticipated the Biggie-sized action sequences seen in many of Bay’s other movies (Bad Boys, Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, The Island). But it was the acting that truly took me unawares, specifically Shia LaBeouf’s tremendous job playing the primary protagonist. He was funny, fast, and fun to watch. Additionally, his character’s parents gave me the most laughs by their chemistry as a couple with great idiosyncrasies. Kudos to the filmmakers for a job well done with the casting of all the characters!And while I'm sure some critics may fault the writers for the film's cartoonish dialogue (especially bewteen the robots), I argue, "That's the point--it's a live-action cartoon!"

[Optimus Prime]: Before time began, there was... the cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them... with life. That is how our race was born. For a time we had lived in harmony, but like all great power, some wanted it for good... others, evil. And so, began the war. A war that ravages our planet until it was consumed by death. And the cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We step in across the galaxy hoping to find it and rebuild our home. Searching every star. Every world. And just when all hopes seem lost;message of a new discovery took us to an unknown planet called... Earth. But we were already too late.

These opening lines from the movie allude to the powerful and time-old “Good versus Evil” struggle. This theme is central to the film and is communicated effectively, especially in the movie’s finale when the Autobots and Decepticons battle it out between the skyscrapers. Apart from many contemporary movies produced by post-modern Hollyweird, Transformers contains a concrete conclusion satisfying to the whole audience.

It is also interesting to note the many familiar images from current pop culture and shameless plugs of well-known brands such as Microsoft, HP, Apple, GMC, and Panasonic that litter the movie and allow it to hit its audience dead-on in 21st Century reality.

Exploding with action sequences bigger than Independence Day and faster than Spiderman, and tough enough to make even John McClane wet his pants, Transformers will make my summer of 2007 memorable for years to come. If you haven’t seen it yet, go now! (And if you do, don’t forget to stay through the credits for an additional teaser!) Now please excuse me while I go to see it again.

Moving On Up

Sorry I have been out of the game lately, but I believe I have had good reason: Paige and I have just closed on the purchase of our first house!!

We are praising the Lord for His goodness to us through the entire process. It is quite the improvement from the apartment which we were rapidly outgrowing with our continual accumulation of "stuff" (books, furniture, decorative pieces, books, and more books). We are completely excited to be proud homeowners as we near the 2-year mark of marriage (7/16).

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lam. 3:22-23

We look forward to many joyful years in this home. Our hope is that this home may be a place where we grow closer together in our marriage, raise obedient children who come to know Christ, and serve and show hospitality to others, all to the glory of our great God.

Luther Myths

James Swan recently posted on AOMin.org a series of Martin Luther myths--debunked. Some of these are just plain funny!

Here is a sample:

• Luther's Evangelical Breakthrough Occurred in the Bathroom
  
• Luther's Hymns Were Originally Tavern Songs
  
• Luther Spoke in Tongues
  
• Luther Was a Drunk

Check it out ...You may be enlightened!

Ruth Bell Graham's Promotion to Glory

Today Ruth Bell Graham, the beloved wife of Reverend Billy Graham, went to be with her Savior in Glory. For more complete information, visit Between Two Worlds.

Thanks to Justin Taylor for his post on this topic.

Songs for the Ages

Music and lyrics have been an essential part of Christianity since it's conception. Even before Christ's bodily existence on earth, the Old Testament people understood the importance of singing in worship. As Paul admonishes the New Testament Christians in Colossae,
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

I am thankful that God has placed me within a congregation which seeks to adhere to the idea of worshipping the Lord through the singing of "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." I am thankful for our church leaders and their discernment in this area. In a day when music in worship is such a divisive subject for many churchgoers, it is good to know that there are indeed those church bodies which seek to follow God's principles of corporately worshipping Him. Reformed Baptists in particular are well-known for their keen sensitivity to the Word of God in this subject. Growing up in a Reformed Baptist church, I believe that the Bible alone should be our guide for what is acceptable in worship. It only makes sense, doesn't it, that God's own Word should provide the standards for what the way God wants to be worshipped by His people? Of course.

I have heard many good brothers and sisters of mine tell me that they too are a part of a reformed church. In hearing this, I always get excited for there are relatively few truly "reformed" churches out there. And yet I have come to the point where I no longer get my hopes up. Too often when people say they are reformed, what they really mean is "Calvinistic."
There IS a difference.

We have friends who call themselves "Charismatic Calvinists." Without going into much detail in this post, let me just say that it is oxymoronic to be both Reformed and Charismatic. Simply put, Reformed theology involves full subscription to a confession of faith which also puts forth the Regulative Principle of Worship. The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is contrary to a belief in modern revelatory gifts such as speaking in tongues and ongoing prophesy. Additionally, the RPW goes against the modern methods of individual church congregations deciding what is right in worship.

Here is an exerpt from the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America's (ARBCA) position paper on the RPW:

The regulative principle emphasizes the instituted elements of worship as the priority. Scripture reading, significant exposition of Scripture, prayers, congregational singing, the sacraments, etc., mark the priority of worship according to the regulative principle. Worship according to the regulative principle examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. It does not reject an old hymn simply because it is old nor does it reject new hymns and songs simply because they are new. Reformed hymnology was “new” when it was instituted. Worship according to the regulative principle does not jump on the bandwagon of high church liturgy, exclusive Psalmody, contemporary music, or normative additions of any kind from the motive of personal tastes. It examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. God regulates his worship. Worship is prescribed and commanded, and the elements of his worship are revealed. . . .

In determining what music is acceptable in worship, we must acknowledge that the words that we sing ought to be as biblical as the prayers that we pray and the words that we preach. As we study the psalms we generally note that they possess certain qualities: God-centeredness, dignity, biblical ideas, theme, order, resolution, etc. The hymns and songs we sing should follow that pattern.

Our church regularly uses the Trinity Hymnal (Baptist Edition) in worship. This hymnal also includes many psalms. To add to our wealth of music resources, we have also embraced a good handful of modern hymns (1900's--present day) and Scripture songs.

In conclusion, music is an important part of worship to God. Therefore, it should be an important part of worship to us as well. There are so many good resources out there to highlight reformed hymnody. I hope to post more on this topic in the future. But for now, check out this short slideshow of Christians around the world singing to the Lord from their hymnals. Keep on singing!

Which Is Worse?...

Movies with all-out nudity and explicit sex scenes . . . OR . . . Movies with smoking and unhealthy food-eating?

Now the latter may receive a harsher rating than the prior.

Read it for yourself!

What strange, sad times these are. Welcome to relativism/non-absolutism/post-modernism at its best.

(Should I be laughing or crying. I do not know.)

Christ-Follower VS. Christian

I found this funny.