Luther updates his blog

This was just to amusing to pass up.

(source)

Contemplation: Union with God?

Contemplation feeds us in our need for truth, for beauty, for joy, and most of all, for love...As, therefore, one grows in contemplative prayer one is being fed in his deepest hungers.

Fr. Thomas Dubay, Contemplation: Union with God, Ignatius Press 1995.

This man would call himself a Christian no doubt, yet he is teaching, through a video series, a new age practice. ::sigh:: I'll come back to this, perhaps tomorrow or else on the weekend.

Not sure what to call this...

Countless millions have gone home to the Lord. Most of them we have never heard of. They led quiet lives, most probably went unnoticed in societies eyes - passed over for people doing bigger and "greater things." It is these people, these mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters that you never hear of that I often think of. These people just lived their lives, hopefully as best they could to bring glory to the Lord. Perhaps they only impacted the lives of a handful of people, but I am most certain that touching a few people in a profound way has a much more important impact than being famous or great in society's eyes.

It is in the day to day relationships with others that we can make a lasting impact for the kingdom of Christ. It is in living our lives in a God honoring way that is accurate to what the Bible teaches that we can make a difference. You want to change the world? Start at home. Raise your children to know who the real Jesus is. Honor your husbands and wives as the Bible tells you to. And when you screw up, admit it. Repent and move on, don't keep going down the wrong road because you are to proud to admit you've messed up. You risk continuing down the wrong road and leading those who look up to you with you down the broad road to destruction.

'Jesusy' Anne Lamott

Lamott is nuts about Jesus, but she's okay with dating someone who isn't. "He's not a believer yet," she says about the South African artist who works in advertising. "But he loves God. It's just that he doesn't quite commit. He's been sober as long as I have, and we both have a higher power. I call mine Jesus."

source

But what "God" does He love? Allah? Budda? Perhaps he loves Walsch's "God"? The point is, if you don't follow Jesus you can't truely be following and loving God. Jesus is the way, and nobody comes to the Father but by Him. That is a Biblical fact.

When she first sensed Jesus' physical presence during her conversion 17 years ago, some people dismissed the experience because she was hungover.

By the second time she met up with Jesus, she had been sober for over 10 years. She ran into him in an airplane lavatory. The so-far unpublished event happened a few years ago. She was flying to the East Coast to give a sermon and a lecture at a church. Disturbed by her fear of flying, she couldn't concentrate on writing the sermon she was about to deliver. (It's normal for her to prepare her speeches on the way to her speaking engagements. "I just totally trust the Holy Spirit to help me.")

WHAT? Ok, so she was going to give a sermon and then she came to Christ? That seems a little out of wack, but I'd love more explination on the first time she "met up with Jesus."

Why is it I seem to forget the Psalms?

There is so much beauty in them, the Psalmist puts into words things I struggle to express yet somehow I never seem to remember that until well after the fact. Oh well, I'm aware of them again and it has taken less time this time around so I'm growing and learning. I'll take comfort in the fact that I am not the same as I was just a few months ago and be glad that God has shown me the beauty of the Psalms again.

Trust

As some of you may have noticed, I do a lot of bouncing around the Bible, and it seems a common theme for this blog has been trust. Well, once again the topic came up with me. Faced with a problem that caused me quite a bit of heart ache, I had to choose to follow God's will (also a very common theme in this blog) and trust that what He has told me will be carried out in His time. This can be a difficult thing, especially if you don't take time for God and learn about Him and dialog with Him.

After all, as I have asked time and time again, how can one trust someone they don't know? I really don't think you can truly trust someone without knowing them. When the difficult moments come it is easy to panic, and if we have no basis in God's word then how are we supposed to remember the promises He has laid out in Scripture? And if we don't know those promises how are we to find the peace and rest afforded to us by Christ Himself? So, once again, I want to dig into the subject of trust.

I found this at cyberhymnal, it is entitled Trust.

All that our Savior hath spoken
Came from the heart of God;
Surely it cannot be broken,
Sealed with His precious blood.

Tempests may rage and thunder,
Mountains be rent asunder,
Nations may fear and wonder—
Trust, and be undismayed.

As unto Abram was given
God’s cov’nant word of peace,
“Counting the stars” of the even—
So shall thy faith increase.

Trust when the light warm and tender
Seemeth to Thee withdrawn;
Wait a few hours, and in splendor
Morning again will dawn!

Trust! tho’ all others forsake thee,
Yet there remains one Friend;
Mercy and truth shall o’ertake thee
Down to thy journey’s end.

Trust under every condition
Till thou shalt reach thy home;
Trust, till in perfect fruition
That which is real hath come.

I have one other hymn I'd like to share with you, here is Take Time to Be Holy.

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.


I'd also like to share a few verses with you concerning the topic of trust.

Psalm 4

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.


Isaiah 26:3-5

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Romans 4:16-30

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
...
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

Lessons in holiness - but who's teaching who?

I like reading random blogs, I'm a people watcher by nature so reading blogs is great b/c I can observe people without having to leave the comfort of my own home. I found a new blog today in which a mother shared this adorable post about her daughter learning about temptation.

So, we had a little talk. I explained that there are things we really like to do that we really mustn't. Those things are called temptations, and we must fight hard not to do them and pray to the Lord for help. But it's worth it, because we will always feel better doing things God's way, rather than our own.
As always with little ones, I was quite prepared to have to repeat this conversation a few times before it sunk in.
...
I crept up the stairs, not really wanting to catch her in the act, again. She had gone to the toilet first, which is fine, of course. Then there was silence for about 30 seconds when I knew she wasn't moving.
Then I heard her whisper emphatically 'No!' and those tempted feet ran back into bed. She began to pray.

"Lord, please, help me to learn your righteousness, help me help me..."

It's amazing how you can learn from your children, or other people's children. This little girl is so ahead of the game. It is beautiful.

Taking the day off: TURKEY DAY

To all my fellow American's celebrating today, be safe and have a great holiday. To everyone else, have a lovely Thursday.

Faith and Practice

I was clicking around various blogs yesterday and discovered a blog entitled Faith & Practice that will be kicking off after the New Year. Anyway, there is one major post explaining their general beliefs concerning faith and practice, and I thought I'd share a bit of it with you.

The phrase "faith and practice" has historically been used by various Christian (and even some non-Christian) groups to delineate the doctrinal distinctives of their particular denomination or association. On the one hand, it is a broad phrase, encompassing all areas of both belief and behavior, doctrine and duty...

Genuine faith always impacts real life; and, conversely, deeds and decisions can always be traced back to an underlying system of belief. Even from a purely secular perspective, "beliefs, together with other mental states (desires, fears, and intentions), function as reasons for action" (Honderich, Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 82).

From a biblical point of view, faith and practice are so intertwined that—at times—they are almost synonymous. In the Scriptures, to believe is to obey. As Christ said in John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

...

Thus we chose the name "faith and practice" because it encompasses all areas of theology, from the systematic to the practical; and also because it serves as a vivid reminder to all of us that true Christianity does not consist of mere theory, but of wholehearted obedience to the truth (cf. John 14:15).

Though somewhat tangential, it should also be noted that, in the last century, an effort has been made on the part of some so-called evangelicals to use the phrase "faith and practice" as a bibliological cop-out—a way in which they think they can affirm the infallibility of Scripture without actually accepting the Bible as completely true. Thus, the claim is made that God’s Word is infallible in areas of "faith and practice" but not in areas of "science, history, and the like."

At least two things are particularly disturbing about such a claim. First, it implies that secular science and history provide a greater source of authority for the Christian (regarding what is factually true) than the Bible. (For instance, since science has supposedly "proven" that Darwinian evolution is factual, then fiat creationism must not be true, despite the fact that it comes from the straightforward reading of Genesis 1–2). Second, this claim essentially says that, in areas where the Bible can be tested by the scientific method, it cannot be trusted...

If the Bible cannot be trusted in every area, it cannot be trusted at all.

We, of course, affirm the total infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures as delineated in the Chicago Statement on Inerrancy. And we further decry the use of the phrase "faith and practice" as an incognito attempt to undermine an orthodox (and God-exalting) bibliology. We would much prefer to stand with A. A. Hodge who, in his 1860 article entitled “The Rule of Faith and Practice,” states:

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, Having Been Given By Inspiration of God, Are the All-Sufficient and Only Rule of Faith and Practice, and Judge of Controversies. . . . What is meant by saying that the Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice? Whatever God teaches or commands is of sovereign authority. Whatever conveys to us an infallible knowledge of his teachings and commands is an infallible rule. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only organs through which, during the present dispensation, God conveys to us a knowledge of his will about what we are to believe concerning himself, and what duties he requires of us. (From Outlines of Theology, chapter 5)


Our primary objective, then, is to glorify God by being faithful to His Word. To that end, we are preparing articles for our launch on January 1. Lord willing, we'll see you then!

Source (emphasis in original)

Wacky Wednesday: Praying rocks?

Here is an interesting image, very well done, very manipulated if not completely fabricated.

Dalai Lama visits US: Religions are "more or less the same"

The Dalai Lama has been visiting Washington this week and recently made a speech to 16,000 people in the city.

"In order to have genuine faith, you need to have one truth, one religion. But that does not mean you lose respect for those of other traditions," the self-described "simple Buddhist monk" said.

Religions become counter-productive to world order when they neglect the fundamental values of compassion, kindness and self-discipline that make them "more or less the same," he said.

"If a religion only creates problems, I think we have the right to append that religion," he said.

Source

What kind of "problems" would a religion have to create in order for us to "append" it? I mean really, there is no way (at least right now, though I it will come soon) to enforce such an idea. First you would have to determine how to define a problem, then start to identify the religions that cause such problems, and quite frankly people aren't going to give up their faiths easily.

What would be considered a problem? Probably all those who hold to the view that their religion is the right religion and refuse to bow down to other gods. I don't imagine we'll see the Buddhists getting chased down for being to "narrow minded" but I'm sure that religions such as Judaism, Islam, and especially Christianity will be viewed as such. After all Christian's narrow minded belief that Christ is the only way to heaven sure doesn't sound very accepting.

But the time is coming where his ideas will become policy. The world is becoming more and more hostile to the idea that Christ is the only way. They demand that we have to accept everyone and everything they do, and those of us who take issue with the immoral behavior and beliefs of the world are viewed as hateful hypocrites. After all Christ said "judge not lest ye be judged" right? They insist Christ accepted people as they are, no matter what, and loved them right then.

And that is true, Christ did love us while we were lost and full of sin. But he certainly did not intend for us to stay and continue doing our sinful, lustful behaviors. He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, He told us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. But the time is coming when those facts will be largely ignored, indeed it is taking place already.

So what do we do? Do we go along and keep our mouths shut about sin like the world would have us do? Or do we draw unto the Lord and continue to seek and proclaim Him to the world that so desperately needs to know Him? Christ told us to go out and make disciples, in order to truly do that the issue of someone's sin will come up and it is not something to strink from. You can lovingly address sin in someone's life, we need not be afraid to mention sin for fear of chasing them off. After all, if you don't tell them they are a sinner, how will you be able to explain the need for Christ's redemptive death? Christ said to go out and make disciples, He also said that those who love Him will do His commandments. He said not to worry about tomorrow, after all we have enough to deal with today, and indeed He warned us that a time was coming when brother would rise up against brother. We will be driven from the "synagogue" but we are to hold fast until the end.

Wacky Wednesday: I've got a paper jam!

I got this in an email, it made me laugh.

Wacky Wednesday: Baby Got Book

I first saw this well over a year ago, but thought that it would make a great addition to Wacky Wednesdays. Anyone remember that song "Baby got back"? This guy rewrote the lyrics, and he is "all about" the KJV. So silly.

RE: National Youth Workers Convention

At that point, a couple people shouted from the back, "Way to go, Tony. We love what you're doing. Keep it up!" I said, "Listen, I'm not trying to be a martyr here, I just want to know why is pinning me down so important? Why do you have such a passion to categorize me?"

About then, another guy spoke up: "OK, then why don't you just put the argument to rest and make a definitive statement about what Emergent believes about absolute truth."

I replied, "Emergent doesn't have a position on absolute truth, or on anything for that matter. Do you show up at a dinner party with your neighbors and ask, 'What's this dinner party's position on absolute truth?' No, you don't, because it's a non-sensical question."

Source (emphasis mine)

Well, while asking what a dinner party's position on absolute truth may be silly to this man it is not anything like asking him (a pastor & public speaker) to define something that he admits he prescribes to. And what the heck? A supposedly Christian pastor doesn't have a position on absolute truth, OR ANYTHING ELSE?!!!!!! What about Christ's divine nature? What about His resurrection? What about the infaliblity of the Bible? Come on man, if you're going to say the EM is Christian let's hear your beliefs!

What am I thankful for?

It's that time of the year, we are all reflecting upon our lives it seems. Trying to find meaning in the madness, seeking the good out, finding things to be grateful for. Well, I'd like to share a short post to answer the question of the season. That question, of course is "What are you thankful for?"

I am thankful for Christ's saving grace most of all, but my thankfulness is certainly not limited to it.

I am thankful for every beat of my heart, it is truly amazing to realize it could stop at any moment, I am thankful for my beautiful children who continue to astound me. I am thankful for my friends, my family, and even my enemies. Perhaps especially them b/c it is through them I learn to love beyond what my flesh and emotions would allow me, I learn to love through an act of will. It is because of them I have learned I have to desperately seek God's will and strength to be able to love those who I don't feel like loving, so I am thankful for my enemies.

I am thankful for Frenzy board, my blog, and the endless resources that are available to me via the internet, the library, and other people's knowledge.

I am thankful for the desire to learn, I am thankful that I am not content to stay as I am - to stay in mediocrity. I a’m thankful for the freedom I have, and I am thankful for those who don't have my freedoms yet continue to strive to glorify God despite the opposition and persecution they face daily. I am thankful that they have drawn so near to God that they are unwilling to let His message suffer for the momentary comfort of themselves and their families.

I am thankful that such faith and strength is available to each of us, it is ours if only we would ask. I'm thankful that I can come to God, that He hears me and cares for me.

Who do you see when you see me?

Hmm, it seems I have been spending a lot of time over at Challies the past couple of months. With good reason, the articles are quite interesting and the message board digs in deep with a lot of topics, over all this seems to be one of the best sites I've seen in years. Anyway, I came across this and honestly it struck a chord with me.

I'm just wondering, who do you see when you see me? Do you see a woman seeking God, who is desperately in love with her Savior? Do you see the effect God has had on my life? Is it a good effect? Do I seem to be a better person since I've come to Christ? Can you see God in me?

I have been blessed with someone who I look to, who models not the woman I want to become like the world models their look and behavior exactly after the superstar of the moment, rather she models some of the qualities of what a godly woman who is desperately seeking God's will has. Someone who challenges me to think, who challenges me to grow in (and continue to seek) God, who challenges me to become the woman God intended for me to be rather than the woman I am now - to be unable to rest in mediocrity that I have become accustomed to.

At the same time I wonder if I will ever become a woman that others would aspire to be like, if there are qualities about me that glorify God that other women will see and want to find their own way to bring glory to Him. That is my desire, to show God in such a way that people around me just stop and say "Geez, I could love God at least as much as she does," and then pursue that love. I want to be the kind of woman that when people see me they see that I am flawed, but full of love for the Lord, that there is nothing in my life that matters more than my relationship with Him. I want to be the a woman who strives to glorify God in it all, and I long to be able to help and encourage other women to seek a deeper relationship with Christ.

Left Behind III: My review

I recently saw the latest Left Behind release. I haven't read the books since I was in high school, so I'm a little rusty on the specifics of whether or not the film even came close to following the story line in the books. Some of the parts I do remember, however, did appear in the film. For instance, Chloe and Buck marry and Ray marries Amanda. The down side is that you don't really know where the heck Amanda came from in the movie. One film he is mourning his wife the next he's getting married again. Oh well.

This is definitely an action packed film, not something I would recommend watching with small children floating around as there is some violence. Though it comes nowhere near what normal films contain when it comes to violence.

The special effects are MUCH better in this film, so it doesn't have that "this is a B movie" feel as much. AND if you are a fan of the character of "Chappy" from Iron Eagle (this came out many moons ago, army/ air force flick.) then you will be excited because Louis Gossett, Jr. plays American President Fitzhugh. I don't even remember if this character was in the books, but he did a great job in the role though there was some major deviations from what I remember of the books which bothered me immensely.

Moving on. The "trib force" has expanded and gotten involved in actively coming against the Anti-christ and his religious suppression via stealing Bibles from government warehouses and smuggling the Bibles to underground churches. Then mysteriously the church houses around the country begin to suffer devastating illnesses and eventually deaths from an unknown virus. Bruce (the pastor) falls ill and as Chloe cares for him she becomes ill as well. It becomes a race to try and figure out what is going on before more die. Where did the virus come from? What is the common link between all the ill? I won't tell you what happens to them because I like to be mean. Email me if you just have to know. This illness, I don't remember being in the books either by the way.

So, I don't necessarily agree with everything that is said in and through the series, but over all this was a decent movie. It was definitely one of the most well made Christian films I have seen, which is good. I know people who aren't Christians but love the movies and this has actually opened up new conversations with them. There is no middle ground with this film when it comes to the topic of salvation. It makes it very clear, you must follow Christ and submit your life to Him or you are siding with the Anti-christ; that you will follow the leader you choose to submit to strait to their eternal destinations. It's heaven or hell people, and this film makes that clear.

Overall, I'd give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Johnny Depp to leave Paris

Johnny Depp has become disgusted with the riots that have been taking place in France, given his feelings towards America I doubt he'll be hopping a flight back to LA. So, the question then becomes, where can he go? Perhaps he'll purchase Angelina Jolie's place in London (as this seems to be another place the stars like to go) if she does indeed sell it to move in with Brad. ;) There's your gossip for the week.

E-sword

is a great program. I've been using it for months now. The main program itself comes with the KJV with strongs numbers, and you can download many more translations seperately. Also available are devotionals, maps, and about a million other things. Very useful program for Bible study.

InstaVerse

I found this linked over at Challies.com, it's actually very neat. When you put your mouse over a scripture reference (such as John 1:1) the text of the verse will pop up. Very neat.