For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity."
Lord, may I seek the wisdom and knowledge spoken of in these verses. Grant me the understanding and grace to be upright and to walk in integrity, so that you will be my shield.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
—Psalm 119:10
I find it so easy to fall into the muck of the world's passion for sin. Why am I drawn so desperately to what I know is wrong and repulsive to God? At times I think if I work harder at church-related things, I will have better fellowship with God. Sometimes I force myself to read the Bible (rather than simply enjoying and respecting it because it is God's Word). I do many things that I think will put me in a position of favor with God.
But I know that we can never earn favor with a holy God.
I think this verse in Psalm 119 gives a clue to what needs to be done to maintain a strong fellowship with God Almighty. The psalmist here appeals to God to let me not wander from your commandments. This is the part that so often I miss. Yes, I need to seek God with all my heart, but I must entreat him to grant obedience to me—a desperately sinful man.
For years we have heard the media claims that "anti-choice" advocates are dangerous, hostile, and violent toward women and clinic workers. In 25 years of pro-life advocacy, I have never seen any pro-lifers act violently and have never heard any pro-lifers advocate violence against anyone.
Image from Planned Parenthood cartoon
Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, has shown it's true colors with a new outrageous cartoon that depicts pro-lifers as "uninformed" crackpots and advocates killing (drowning, blowing up) peaceful demonstrators and those who would oppose Planned Parenthood's ideology.
The video, promoting the new Planned Parenthood catchphrase, "Safe is Sexy," was linked on the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate website on Tuesday morning, August 9, at approximately 9:00am. It was removed shortly thereafter, probably because it had attracted the attention of those who disagree with Planned Parenthood's agenda. Believe me, this is not a video Planned Parenthood wants the general public to see.
This is what REAL pro-life protestors look like. Do you see any violence? These defenders of the Innocents were protesting the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Pittsburgh when I visited that city this past Saturday. These are the people that the cartoon superhero wants to eliminate (kill).
Real Pro-lifers!
We just returned from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where my wife attended a conference run by the North American Council on Adoptable Children. The conference was great and the hotel was wonderful. But the thing that really impressed us was the city of Pittsburgh.
I've heard many people say that Pittsburgh is dirty and grimy. I think the people who said this may well have never visited Pittsburgh and are assuming that it would be dirty because it it's the "Steel Town."
But we found Pittsburgh to be a charming city with a wonderful mixture of new and extremely old architecture, helpful people, and outstanding restaurants. The streets are clean and seemingly very safe. I walked the streets during the morning rush hour and noticed that the people don't acknowledge one another as they pass on the street, which would indicate that they're not friendly. But anytime I had reason to speak to someone in the city, I found them extremely friendly, helpful, and considerate. I never once felt unsafe, even when we walked through the streets after dark.
Another thing I loved was the preponderance of bicyclers in the streets of Pittsburgh. There are steel bike racks in front of most of the buildings, allowing people who work there to lock up their bikes after commuting to work on the gasoline-free, health-improving bicycle. The cars and bicycles share the street without any apparent animosity from either group. In fact, I never once heard a car horn honk at a bicyclist even though there were bikes passing me every few seconds. We saw groups of at least 15 to 20 cyclists quite a few times.
I'm really hoping that we can return to Pittsburgh to visit again shortly. I'd love to have the time to just enjoy the city without having to worry about being at the various conference sessions at a certain time. Kudos to you, Pittsburgh! You're a great place to visit. And I bet you're a great place to live as well.
As reported in an August 9, 2005, heading on the Drudge Report, the Pool of Siloam mentioned by the apostle John has been unearthed by archeologists.
I recall hearing of these sorts of archeological verifications of scripture when I was a child. My father subscribed to Biblical Archeology Magazine and quite often pointed out that biblical places that had been derided as false by anti-bible scholars were discovered every generation or so, giving a new generation great proof of the validity and historicity of scripture. The new generation has now been given another one of these proofs.
Isn't it great to be on the side of fact and truth rather than on the side of fantasy and dishonesty?
James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries has posted an article on the need for consistent Protestant biblical hermeneutics. Written by White's friend, Pastor John Samson, emphasizes the absolute necessity of proper biblical interpretation, not only for pastors, but also for all "lay" persons:
We would be horrified to hear of a surgeon who had just two weeks of training operating on someone's brain. As important as brain surgery is, I believe the job of the Gospel preacher is far more important. Eternal souls hang in the balance, and great care and attention is needed to ensure that a teaching is sound, healthy and accurate. A teacher of the Bible needs rigorous training in the science of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics). But that's not just true for the preacher; everyone of us needs to know how to gain an accurate knowledge of the Word of God.
Some people think that if God wants you to know something about the Bible, He will just reveal it to you supernaturally. Unfortunately, that's how a lot of cults get started. 1 Tim 5:17 says, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine." Correct interpretation requires work; sometimes, a great deal of hard work...."
Read the complete article.
I'm so glad that God has blessed me with a church (Occoquan Bible Church) that teaches its people well. Last quarter I co-taught an adult Christian education class (Sunday School) on Protestant Biblical Hermeneutics. It wasn't an easy class (for the students or the teachers), but it was a chock-full of information vital to all Christians.
When you find the time to read an excellent book on biblical interpretation, in between your reading of the new Harry Potter book and the most recent 40 Days of [Insert Target Here], get a copy of How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth. It's an outstanding book that you can understand even if, like me, you have no extended education.
May God bless your reading of His Word.
Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
—Psalm 50:15
When God shows his grace and mercy to us, we should praise him publicly for what he has done. God has shown me a great deal of grace and mercy recently of which I have not yet spoken, so here it is:
In 2004, the company I work for told my department that it was preparing to outsource our services to India. For the next year we waited to hear more and finally on June 6 the hammer fell. A representative from our headquarters came to our local office and told us that September 6 would be our last day. In the local region, covering three states and about a dozen offices, all the people in my department would be layed off except for two ... my boss and me.
I know that I have not earned this place on my own. I've done my job and offered to help wherever I could. But so have others. I've tried to be an exemplary employee. But so have others. But God graciously chose to maintain my employment for the time being. This has removed a huge burden from my shoulders and has caused me to revel in God's mercy to undeserving sinners like me.
What a great God we serve!
Dave Hunt of The Berean Call has spent the past half decade railing against Calvinism. Although there are legitimate debates on this topic, Dave Hunt has shown a lack of scholarship and honesty in his campaign that boggles the mind. James White, founder and head of Alpha & Omega Ministries, has posted a short response to Hunt's newest book, A Calvinist's Honest Doubts Resolved by Reason and God's Amazing Grace.
If you're going to read this book (or Hunt's earlier travesty, What Love Is This?) be sure to also read The Potter's Freedom by James White. Keep checking Alpha & Omega Ministries' web site for further updates to this developing situation. I'm sure James will provide adequate response to Hunt's arguments. Arguments that bring shame and dishonor to the name of Christ.
Yahoo! Financial News reports that Rush Limbaugh is the most-listened-to radio talkshow host in New York.
So does this news bode well for the United States? Many evangelicals will answer that question with a hearty "yes," but many evangelicals are looking for the wrong answer.
Holding to basically conservative politics, I'm pleased that conservatism has become accepted by more young people. I enjoy listening to Rush and Sean Hannity. I especially enjoy watching liberals blow a gasket when they try to debate an issue with Ann Coulter. But this is entertainment, not an answer to what troubles our nation today.
Don't be fooled by the swing toward conservatism. Conservatism does not equal Christianity. The devil is subtle and can throw the unsuspecting Christian off his guard. And that is what is happening right now. Many evangelicals are kicking back, smiling, and saying, "We did it. We voted the right man into office. We're getting a new conservative Supreme Court justice. Life is good." But conservatism in politics is not the reason Jesus died. He died to save sinners. And we have been set apart for God's kingdom with the mandate to tell the world the good news of Christ's shed blood for the remission of sins.
For some reason, I hear many evangelical and fundamentalist preachers decrying the moral terpitude of our nation and encouraging their congregations to "get out the vote." But I don't hear many eschewing politics and running hard after evangelism.
A church that has taken a strong stand on the gospel message and is de-emphasizing political things exists right in our nation's capitol. Capitol Hill Baptist Church has even removed the American flag from their platform because patriotism is not the point of a gathering of believers for worship. Would to God that more churches would take the gospel seriously and call their communities to repentance rather than encouraging activism in politics.
Phil Johnson (PyroManiac Blog) has posted an important observation regarding the church growth fad. His rejection of such popular church growth books as The Purpose Driven Church is sound and not laced with the emotionalism of many such rejections.
Johnson also takes issue with George Barna's book Marketing the Church, regarding which he asks:
Do you think [the apostle Paul] would have agreed with Barna, who said we must adapt our message to the preferences of the audience, or risk having them reject the message?
We evangelicals need to wake up to this problem. The “religious right” derided the Clinton administration for its dependence on polling data when determining its course of action, but we fall prey to the polling data of our own congregations when determining what programs we should offer and what should be randomly taught from the contents of holy scripture. It's a travesty.
