But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Monday, October 31, 2005
Puritan Quote of the Week
STEPEHEN CHARNOCK
This is scary
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
The last one
Thursday, October 27, 2005
King Kong
It has been reported from Dark Horizons that Peter Jackson film King Kong which will be release in December has a king-sized runtime of three hours. I can’t hardly wait. With the first installment of Chronicles of Narnia, The lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe which is the actual second book in the series but the first book written if that makes sense, Lewis later wrote the Magician’s Nephew which Lewis put at the beginning the Narnia’s series and is the book I’m presently reading and I would have to say even though its a children book it very entertaining. I wanted to read the books before I went and seen the movie not like I did with Lord of the Rings, saw the movie and them read the books. All that to say December looks like a good month for movies.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
"My Sins, My Sins - My Savior"
My sins, my sins, my Saviour! They daily battle me,
Deaf and dumb Thy servant is, save only Christ to Thee;
In Thee is all forgiveness, fully free abundant grace,
I find my hope and refuge, in Thine unchanging face
My sins, my sins, my Saviour! How great on Thee they fall;
Seen through Thy patient mercy, I ought forsake them all;
Their penalty's forgiven; yet their power suffers me
Their shame and guilt and anguish, they laid, my Lord, on Thee
My sins, my sins, my Saviour! What cost to Thee ensued
Thy heel bruised in temptation, no Devil could subdue
Thou wrestled in the garden; and prayed the Cup would pass
Thy sanguine sweat, Thou trembled yet, embraced His will at last
My sins, my sins, my Saviour! Thou perfect Sacrifice
Drained wrath's chalice to the dregs; Thy Father satisfied.
O Holy Lamb of Glory, High Priest, Lord God and King
We worship Thee with reverence, Thy matchless Name we sing
My songs, my songs, my Saviour! No grandeur theme shall know
They'll trumpet of Thy glory, to wretched man below;
Thy righteousness, Thy favor, stream from Thy throne above
Sustain the hearts my Saviour that Thou hast lavished with Thy love
I ran across this and was amazed and thought i would share it. I got it from this web site
Puritan Quote of the Week
STEPHEN CHARNOCK
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Birthday Pictures
Monday, October 24, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Saturday
Friday, October 21, 2005
A New Toy
Puritan Quote of the Week
"Sin is naturally exceeding dear to us; to part with it is compared to plucking out our right eyes. Men may refrain from wonted ways of sin for a little while, and may deny their lusts in a partial degree, with less difficulty; but it is heart-rending work, finally to part with all sin, and to give our dearest lusts a bill of divorce, utterly to send them away. But this we must do, if we would follow those that are truly turning to God: yea, we must not only forsake sin, but must, in a sense, forsake all the world, Luke xiv.33 'Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.'"
JONATHAN EDWARDS
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005, WHEN
I got this in a foward and thought I would share it.
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that> they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You go home after a long day at work and you still answer the phone ina> business manner.
7. When you make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get> an outside line.>
8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three > different companies.
10. You need a password for EVERYTHING, you always use the same one and> everyone knows what it is.
11. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if> anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
13. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the > screen.
14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the> first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic andyou> turn around to go and get it.
15. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)
17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
18. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this> message.
19. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
20. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
What's your theological worldview?
You scored as Reformed Evangelical. You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Prayer
"It is a key that unlocks the treasury of God's mercy. Prayer keeps the heart open to God, and shut to sin; it assuages the intemperate heart and the swellings of lust... Prayer is the sovereign medicine of the soul." Thomas Watson "All Things For Good"
And here is 25 Ways to Pray Biblically
Faith and Sight
No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight hereafter, who doth not in some measure behold it by faith here in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory, and faith for sight Where the subject (the soul) is not previously seasoned with grace and faith, it is not capable of glory or vision. Nay, persons not disposed hereby unto it cannot desire it, whatever they pretend; they only deceive their own souls in supposing that so they do. Most men will say with confidence, living and dying, that they desire to be with Christ, and to behold his glory; but they can give no reason why they should desire any such thing,-only they think it somewhat that is better than to be in that evil condition which otherwise they must be cast into for ever, when they can be here no more. If a man pretend himself to be enamoured on, or greatly to desire, what he never saw, nor was ever represented unto him, he doth but dote on his own imaginations. And the pretended desires of many to behold the glory of Christ in heaven, who have no view of it by faith whilst they are there in this world are nothing but self-deceiving imaginations.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Typoglycemia
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmornatt
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Church Discipline
Another article from my Best Friend Jeff P . He sent me this the other day too so I thought I would post it.
Church Discipline: The Missing Mark1
By R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
What is pure is corrupted much more quickly than what is corrupt is purified.—John Cassian (A.D. 360–435)
The decline of church discipline is perhaps the most visible failure of the contemporary church. No longer concerned with maintaining purity of confession or lifestyle, the contemporary church sees itself as a voluntary association of autonomous members, with minimal moral accountability to God, much less to each other.
The absence of church discipline is no longer remarkable—it is generally not even noticed. Regulative and restorative church discipline is, to many church members, no longer a meaningful category, or even a memory. The present generation of both ministers and church members is virtually without experience of biblical church discipline.
As a matter of fact, most Christians introduced to the biblical teaching concerning church discipline confront the issue of church discipline as an idea they have never before encountered. At first hearing, the issue seems as antiquarian and foreign as the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witchtrials. Their only acquaintance with the disciplinary ministry of the church is often a literary invention such as The Scarlet Letter.
And yet, without a recovery of functional church discipline—firmly established upon the principles revealed in the Bible—the church will continue its slide into moral dissolution and relativism. Evangelicals have long recognized discipline as the "third mark" of the authentic church.2 Authentic biblical discipline is not an elective, but a necessary and integral mark of authentic Christianity.
How did this happen? How could the church so quickly and pervasively abandon one of its most essential functions and responsibilities? The answer is found in developments both internal and external to the church. Put simply, the abandonment of church discipline is linked to American Christianity’s creeping accommodation to American culture. As the twentieth century began, this accommodation became increasingly evident as the church acquiesced to a culture of moral individualism.Though the nineteenth century was not a golden era for American evangelicals, the century did see the consolidation of evangelical theology and church patterns. Manuals of church discipline and congregational records indicate that discipline was regularly applied. Protestant [churches] exercised discipline as a necessary and natural ministry to the members of the church, and as a means of protecting the doctrinal and moral integrity of the [church].
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
Your Linguistic Profile: |
60% General American English |
20% Dixie |
10% Yankee |
5% Midwestern |
5% Upper Midwestern |
Friday, October 07, 2005
Directions for Judging a Person's Experiences
by Jonathan Edwards updated language version by Bill Lowry
I. "Look to see:
1) That the influence be upon the will or heart, not on the imagination, nor on the speculative understanding or thought processes of the mind, even if these processes sweep the emotions along with them as a consequence. That the disturbance in their thinking not be excessive, in that their thinking is [actually] bothered by those things it has reason to be disturbed about; and that the troubling of their minds seems to function in such a way, with the kind of troubling and exercising of the mind that is thoughtful: meaning that it is based on reasonable, solid consideration; a solid perception and conviction of truth, that is, of things as they really are.
2) That it is because their state appears terrifying on account of those things, because their state is indeed a dreadful one; and that their concern over their state be of a substantial quality, not so much characterised by pangs of conscience and sudden changes of emotion, abnormal and frightened behavior, and a capriciousness of mind.
3) That according to their expressed opinion, their state really is one of sin; that they are convinced of their guilt which consists in offending and insulting so great a God: One who hates sin and has set himself against it to punish it, etc.
4) That they are convinced of sins, both inward and outward: that their outward show of the sense of sin in the heart is not apart from a reflection on their wicked lifestyle; and also that they are not only convicted of sin in their lifestyle, but of sin in their heart. And in both, that what is disturbing them are those things in which their sinfulness is the real cause.
5) That they are convicted of sins of the spirit, which find their origin in their spiritual defects, such as living without love for God, without accepting Christ, without thankfulness to Him, etc.
6) That the opinions that they hold concerning the insufficiency and uselessness of their own doing, are not simply from some imaginative wandering of their thoughts brought on by bad behavior, but are rather from a conviction that they did their duties in a defective way, that it, not being done from a right motivation; with the conclusion that it is not some good mixed with the bad, but that they are entirely corrupt.
7) That it is truly a conviction of sin that convinces them that God would be just in their eternal condemnation, in rejecting their prayers, in paying no attention to their sorry state along with all their desires and attempts to find deliverance [from it], etc. and is not simply an imagination or pang of conscience, and cooling of emotion through some real or supposed sign of Divine Goodness.
8) That they are so convinced of sin that in their inward thoughts and reasonings they do not make excuses, and implicate through a quarrel with God that they are in some way unable: for instance, they do not make excuses for ignoring Christ, for lack of love for Him, on the basis that they are not able to honor and love him.
9) That they do not introspectively consider their conviction as being so important, and that they are humble now [in God's sight]. That which is chiefly their focus of attention is the Gospel. If this conviction [of sin] is geniune, we will not need to insist on it, otherwise it will become obvious that it was purely out of works, having nothing to do with grace.
So with regard to conviction and humbling, look to see if the mind is really convinced of these things, even while looking for that which many theologians insist we look for, things that are actually only outward works. But also look for convictions that seem to be deep and fixed, that have a powerful controlling influence on the character of their thinking, with a direct relationship to lifestyle.
II. Look to see:
1) That they have not only a appearence of conviction of sin; but a fitting sorrow for sin. That is, that sin is a burden to them, and their hearts are tender and sensitized to how they relate to it — as the object of concern and anxiety.
2) That God Himself and spiritual things are to be admired on account of the beauty of their inherent goodness.
3) That it can be discerned in their perception of the sufficiency of Christ, a sense of that divine, supreme and spiritual superiority of Christ; and that their understanding of this inherent superiority is the real foundation of their satisfaction that He [alone] is sufficient.
4) That their deeply held view of the truth of the things of God is discerned [by others] to be in actuality in some way or other primarily based on a perception of their spiritual superiority.
5) That their ideas, enlightened thoughts, and experiences in general, are not superficial pangs of conscience, flashes of spirituality, imagination, or unusual occurences, but solid, substantial, deep, and worked into the very fiber and character of their souls, and found to be directly related to a [changed] lifestyle.
6) That they desire to be holy, and that all their experiences increase this longing. Ask them about their attitude and willingness to bear the Cross, giving up everything for Christ, choosing instead to wait for their possessions till heaven, etc. — that is, whether their spiritual experience has a direct relationship to their lifestyle in these ways.
7) That their behavior at present seems to agree with such experiences — meaning, whether this experience inclines them to think much of how they are living now, and even more of how wrong their past lifestyle was. Is there an attitude of digust toward past evil practice? Is there a longing for a complete freedom from sin, and a longing for those things that are holy, along with determined and strong resolutions, combined with fear and a jealous guarding of their own hearts.
[Finally,] whether, when relating these experiences, they put on an air expecting to be admired or applauded, and would be disappointed if they do not see something of that admiration in you; but are shocked and displeased if you do admire them. Inquire whether their joy truly and in a proper way is joy in God and in Christ, joy in His Divine Goodness; or whether their joy is completely directed to themselves, joy in their own superiority or privileges, in their experiences; what God has done for them, or what He has promised He will do for them; and whether they are not taken with their own ideas and feelings."
The Altar Call
"We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly,there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people Early in the 1970s Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones was the speaker at a ministers' conference in the USA and at a question session was asked the following question:Q During recent years, especially in England, among evangelicals of the Reformed faith, there has been arising criticism of the invitation system as used by Billy Graham and others. Does Scripture justify the use of such public invitations or not? A. Well, it is difficult to answer this in a brief compass without being misunderstood. Let me answer it like this: The history of this invitation system is one with which you people ought to be more familiar than anyone else, because it began in America. It began in the 1820s; the real originator of it was Charles G. Finney. It led to a great controversy. Asahel Nettleton, a great Calvinist and successful evangelist, never issued an "altar call "nor asked people to come to the "anxious seat."These new methods in the 182Os and were condemned for many reasons by all who took the Reformed position. One reason is that there is no evidence that this was done in New Testament times, because then they trusted to the power of the Spirit. Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost under the power of the Spirit, for instance, had no need to call people forward in decision because, as you remember, the people were so moved and affected by the power of the Word and Spirit that they actually interrupted the preacher, crying out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" That has been the traditional Reformed attitude towards this particular matter. The moment you begin to introduce this other element, you are bringing a psychological element. The invitation should be in the message. We believe the Spirit applies the message, so we trust in the power of the Spirit. I personally agree with what has been said in the question. I have never called people forward at the end for this reason; there is a grave danger of people coming forward before they are ready tocome forward. We do believe in the work of the Spirit, that He convicts and converts,and He will do His work. There is a danger in bringing people to a "birth," as it were, before they are ready for it. The Puritans in particular were afraid of what they would call "a temporary faith" or "a false profession." There was a great Puritan, Thomas Shepard, who published a famous series of sermons on The Ten Virgins. The great point of that book was to deal with this problem of a false profession. The foolish virgins thought they were all right. This is a very great danger. I can sum it up by putting it like this: I feel that this pressure which is put upon people to come forward in decision ultimately is due to a lack of faith in the work and operation of the Holy Spirit.We are to preach the Word, and if we do it properly, there will be a call to a decision that comes in the message, and then we leave it to the Spirit to act upon people. And of course He does. Some may come immediately at the close of the service to see the minister. I think there should always be an indication that the minister will be glad to see anybody who wants to put questions to him or wants further help. But that is a very different thing from putting pressure upon people to come forward. I feel it is wrong to put pressure directly on the will. The order in Scripture seems to be this - the truth is presented to the mind, which moves the heart, and that in turn moves the will."
By Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
What it is part 2
"1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Psalm 73:24-26. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God isthe strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.John 17:22, 24. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one... Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. "
So that is the meaning of life its not about us but God. to be continue
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
The MacArthur Study Bible: In NASB
A Time for Truth, Courage, Humility and Contrition
We must defend the faith. For what would have become of us if our fathers had not maintained it? If confessors, Reformers, martyrs and Covenanters had been indifferent to the name and faith of Jesus, where would have been the Churches of today? Must we not play the man as they did? If we do not, are we not censuring our fathers? It is very pretty, is it not, to read of Luther and his brave deeds? Of course, everybody admires Luther! Yes, yes. But you do not want anyone else to do the same today. When you go to the Zoological Gardens you all admire the bear. But how would you like a bear at home, or a bear wandering loose about the street?
You tell me that it would be unbearable and no doubt you are right. So, we admire a man who was firm in the faith, say four hundred years ago. The past ages are a sort of bear-pit or iron cage for him. But such a man today is a nuisance and must be put down. Call him a narrow-minded bigot, or give him a worse name if you can think of one. Yet imagine that in those ages past, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and their compeers had said, “The world is out of order. But if we try to set it right we shall only make a great row and get ourselves into disgrace. Let us go to our chambers, put on our night-caps and sleep over the bad times and perhaps when we wake up things will have grown better.”
Such conduct on their part would have entailed upon us a heritage of error. Age after age would have gone down into the infernal deeps and the infectious bogs of error would have swallowed all. These men loved the faith and the name of Jesus too well to see them trampled on. Note what we owe them and let us pay to our sons the debt we owe our fathers. It is today as it was in the Reformers’ days. Decision is needed. Here is the day for the man—where is the man for the day? We who have had the Gospel passed to us by martyr’s hands dare not trifle with it—nor sit by and hear it denied by traitors who pretend to love it but inwardly abhor every line of it.
The faith I hold bears upon it marks of the blood of my ancestors. Shall I deny their faith, for which they left their native land to sojourn here? Shall we cast away the treasure which was handed to us through the bars of prisons, or came to us charred with the flames of Smithfield? Personally, when my bones have been tortured with rheumatism, I have remembered Job Spurgeon, doubtless of my own stock, who in Chelmsford Jail was allowed a chair because he could not lie down by reason of rheumatic pain. That Quaker’s broad-brim overshadows my brow. Perhaps I inherited his rheumatism. But that I do not regret if I have his stubborn faith which will not let me yield a syllable of the Truth of God.
When I think of how others have suffered for the faith, a little scorn or unkindness seems a mere trifle, not worthy of mention. An ancestry of lovers of the faith ought to be a great plea with us to abide by the Lord God of our fathers and the faith in which they lived. As for me, I must hold the old Gospel—I can do no other. God helping me, I will endure the consequences of what men think my obstinacy.
Look you, Sirs, there are ages yet to come. If the Lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation and another and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and to His Truth today. We have come to a turning point in the road. If we turn to the right, maybe our children and our children’s children will go that way. But if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word. I charge you, not only by your ancestry but by your posterity, that you seek to win the commendation of your Master—that though you dwell where Satan’s seat is—you hold fast His name and do not deny His faith.
God grant us faithfulness for the sake of the souls around us! How is the world to be saved if the Church is false to her Lord? How are we to lift the masses if our fulcrum is removed? If our Gospel is uncertain, what remains but increasing misery and despair? Stand fast, my Beloved, in the name of God! I, your Brother in Christ, entreat you to abide in the Truth of God. Conduct yourselves like men, be strong. The Lord sustain you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
The quote is from the sermon, "Holding Fast The Faith" [The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol 34, preached on Feb 5, 1888--at the nadir of the "down-grade"].
I got this at http://a1m.org/ and thought I would share it with you too.
Calvinist Romance
This is so awful but funny :)
I found this picture at http://fide-o.blogspot.com/
it looks like a pretty good blog I will have to add a link to it
Monday, October 03, 2005
Puritan Quote of the Week
JOHN MASON
What it is
Back from a week off blogging. Work had me in class all week last week and was away from my computer all week and did not feel like blogging on my home computer. While in class last week I think I had a out of body experience my body was there but my mind was somewhere else the class was so boring I could barely keep my eyes open and I believe everybody in class felt the same and by the end of the week we all wanted to take are own life’s :) kidding of course. I would tell you what the class was about but then you would what to take your own lives too. But all kidding aside the class was on maintenance on Alpha server GS80/160/320 see what did I tell you your thinking about it aren’t you I could go on but I’ll not do that. I did have fun taking the server a part and putting in back together but the classroom part was no fun. But other then that it was a pretty good week :) Had my apologetics class Saturday it was better this week then before he did more then just read excerpts from old dead guys works he about bored me to tears but most of the stuff so far is a review of what I had in college, I’m starting to think this class is a little redundant. Moving on I almost cried {o} never mind I wouldn’t talk about that :) Sunday I didn’t feel so well at all I was laid up all day I had the biggest headache and nothing I took did anything for it but for no reason at all it finally went away late evening.
Well I dont know
You are a Social Moderate (56% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (41% permissive) You are best described as a: Link: The Politics Test |
Just a Thought
I got this from http://randomresponses.blogspot.com/