tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-260305312011-04-21T16:48:48.441-04:00For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1149614861932388262006-06-06T12:49:00.000-04:002006-06-24T13:28:25.610-04:00

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight:[18] And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,[19] Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.[20] But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1149172300220860482006-06-01T09:58:00.000-04:002006-06-01T10:31:40.246-04:00

LIBERTY AND LEGALISMThere is always a raging controversy in the churches between the saved and the unsaved over the definitions of "Christian liberty" and "legalism". I have found, in my experience, that legalism is the term thrown around by people who want to derive every aspect of their Christian worldview and theology from a completely individualistic standpoint. In short, these people are

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1149078515650935832006-05-31T08:19:00.000-04:002006-05-31T08:28:35.656-04:00

Temporary delays have slowed the frequency with which I have been able to post. This reminds me of the words of Paul, who says to the Romans that he wished to come to them and bless them with some spiritual gift, but he was "let hitherto". He recognized that no matter what means were used, it was always actually God's sovereign will that dictated his success or failure in any endeavor. Let us

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1148336317733572072006-05-22T17:59:00.000-04:002006-05-22T18:18:37.743-04:00

Matthew J. Slick, CARM and the Catholic Whore"Christian Apologetics Research Ministry", or CARM, written and maintained by a man named Matthew J. Slick, had this to say about whether Roman Catholics are Christians:"Finally, I believe that there are truly regenerate Christians in the Roman Catholic church. But, they are truly Christians in spite of official RCC theology and in spite of the

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1147888845952019182006-05-17T12:57:00.000-04:002006-06-23T20:47:20.416-04:00

AN EXHORTATION TO HOLINESS AND REVIVALI have read recently some posts from people like Phil Johnson and his friends who are lamenting the lack of truly Reformed (Calvinist) evangelists. There are those in the churches who feel that Calvinism is either become altogether too scholarly and thus lacking real-life zeal, or that it has become too polemical, that is, interested only in giving their

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1147450567525060582006-05-12T11:51:00.000-04:002006-05-12T12:16:07.533-04:00

"Christians expect everyone to believe the way they do..."This is just a simple little post that I am inserting here for the benefit of those who make statements like the one above.PLEASE... DO NOT believe the way I do. I am a wretched sinner with nothing good in my flesh at all. The holy law of God condemns every effort of my failing flesh as filthy rags. I am commanded by the Word of God to

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1147275932398053952006-05-10T11:26:00.000-04:002006-06-24T17:11:53.703-04:00

"Repent, and believe the Gospel""I am not ashamed of the Gospel""Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel"I have heard a lot of bantering on the Web these days about whether or not someone must be a Calvinist to be saved. I find the entire enterprise of discussing the matter laughable. The Bible tells us that it is by the hearing of faith (the hearing of the Gospel call to sinners) that the sinner

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1147196714260754912006-05-09T13:17:00.000-04:002006-05-09T13:45:14.273-04:00

"For we know that the law is spiritual; I am carnal, sold under sin.""Just a little bit""Only once in a while""I/we are cutting back""It's no big deal""Legalism"Do the above sound like the words of those with a proper Biblical perspective of themselves in relation to God's holy standard? Do they not rather sound like an addict who is under the controlling thumb of some substance? The apostle Paul

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1147114687448526632006-05-08T14:40:00.000-04:002006-05-08T14:58:07.460-04:00

"Ick-scusting"(with apologies for the spelling to my almost-4-year-old who coined the word)'Ickscusting' is her word of choice for things that are yucky or nasty to eat. She once asked me, "Daddy, what are you eating?" I replied (it was yogurt) "a big bowl of glue." She wrinkled her nose and said, "noooo!" I asked what the trouble was. She replied, "that's ick-scusting." Try though I did, I could

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146855463107895182006-05-05T13:55:00.000-04:002006-05-05T14:57:43.150-04:00

A CLARION CALL UNTO A NEW REFORMATION!When Luther, Hus and others looked out over the ecclesiastical landscape of their world, they saw things which stood out not only as heretical (which definition might be lost on so vast a majority of the souls in the world) but as simply dangerous to souls. This was because of a poisonous combination of personal ignorance of Scripture and blind obedience to

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146767463798027222006-05-04T14:00:00.000-04:002006-05-09T14:11:15.976-04:00

The tower that man endeavored to build at Babel was to be a massive and monolithic structure built to stand as a monument to man's ability to reach the heavens. Not only was this tower to be USED to reach heaven, it would in and of itself have stood as testimony to man's prideful boasting in himself. God declared that man would believe anything about himself if he was able to complete the job at

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146681498947381702006-05-03T14:26:00.000-04:002006-05-03T14:38:18.956-04:00

"Question and Answer Time""Sir," says a certain man, "I do not agree with this doctrine of God's election.""Are you a Christian?""Yes.""How did you become a Christian?""I repented of sin and recieved Christ as Savior.""Why did you repent one moment and not the day before or the week or year before?""God convicted me of sin.""So, then, God acted upon you first, and then you responded to His work?"

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146663757857443782006-05-03T08:34:00.000-04:002006-05-03T09:44:24.590-04:00

"LOOKING OVER BOTH SHOULDERS"I am sure that the infamous bandits of the Old West* like Jesse James and the Daltons would have loved to go and commit their heinous crimes and then ride off into the sunset, settling somewhere in peace and spending their ill-gotten gains. I am positive that even today, the criminal always has it in his deluded mind that one day he will finally thwart the rule of law

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146507627086721422006-05-01T13:51:00.000-04:002006-05-01T14:20:27.096-04:00

Many if indeed not all of us have heard the allegorical story of the frog and the boiling pot of water. If a person puts a frog in an already boiling pot, the frog will react suddenly and leap to relative safety. If the frog is placed into a cool pot, however, he will swim contentedly even as the heat is slowly increased by degrees. By the time the heat reaches critical levels for his well-being,

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146492975376123132006-05-01T09:17:00.000-04:002006-05-01T10:16:15.406-04:00

John 3:21"But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."I remember when my parents would tell me to clean my room. They would (usually through the voice of my father) announce: "You have X number of minutes to get that room clean. At that time, I (we) will be coming in, and whatever is not cleaned up and put away properly is going

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1146069046735325362006-04-26T12:02:00.000-04:002006-04-26T12:35:14.130-04:00

"He hath put a new song into my mouth; yea, even praise to our God."Have you ever noticed how much some people babble? I had at least three or four people walk past my desk at work and do one of two things:1) bla-bla-ba-dee-ba-bop-boo (or some other atonal syllabic nonsense)OR2) "There's got to be a better way than this" or "SIGH... Back to work..."They are filling up the quiet moments with

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1145987248921684442006-04-25T13:18:00.000-04:002006-04-25T13:47:28.930-04:00

"No, thank you." My wife and I taught our girls to say those words whenever they don't want something. It is polite and reasonable to use such language when you are offered something that you have no desire for.Our youngest is 2 years old (today! Happy birthday, sweetheart!), and she has learned her lesson in manners well: whenever it is time for her to go to bed and she isn't agreeing, or when

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1145973605768469702006-04-25T09:35:00.000-04:002006-04-25T10:00:05.776-04:00

Have you ever used aromatic oils or scented candles in your home? My family has. The fragrance in those oils and candles comes from the ESSENTIAL chemicals found in nature. For example, the ESSENCE of vanilla is extracted from the bean in such a way that the fragrance is maintained and the scent is produced without having to keep the physical plant around, because it would rot and the bean or

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1145559358690583102006-04-20T14:29:00.000-04:002006-04-25T14:10:50.193-04:00

"...Sent me not to baptize, but to preach...""...preach the Gospel to every creature...""preach the Word; be instant...""...do the work of an evangelist."It is, the Bible tells us, "by the foolishness of preaching" that God Almighty, in His Divine goodness, has chosen "to save them that believe". We are nowhere in the Bible commanded to use or practice "lifestyle evangelism" (whatever that means)

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1145297124416597442006-04-17T13:56:00.000-04:002006-04-17T14:05:24.456-04:00

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10 The first commandment that God gave to the living things He created (both animal and vegetable) was, in short, 'be fruitful and multiply'. God's desire is that the things He has made should reproduce and

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1144943744774205142006-04-13T11:44:00.000-04:002006-04-13T12:08:42.746-04:00

"Lord," said the disciples, "we have given up everything to serve you..."Jesus answered and told them that whoever gave up anything for the Kingdom of heaven and for His Gospel would be rewarded 100 times over and inherit eternal life.What are we willing to give up in order to be blessed with God's abundance of God's blessings? Can we give up our pride? Our staunch belief that we are somehow more

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26030531.post-1144931136317606542006-04-13T08:13:00.000-04:002006-04-13T08:25:36.483-04:00

Welcome... this is a place where one thing and one thing only takes place... the unburdening of Christian hearts toward God and travailing prayer for real spiritual revival. The easiest way to destroy something is NOT to simply blow it up and watch it collapse... that stirs too many strong emotions and sets people immediately on 'sides' of an issue. The easiest way to completely destroy

SFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15754910013380395163noreply@blogger.com0