Face of Jesus appears in beer foam?

Can you see the face of Jesus in the beer glass?

This story is a little silly, but there are people who really believe that images of Christ or Mary on a wall, a piece of toast, or in a shadow are messages from God. So the advertising campaign that produced the image to the left is probably not a real good idea. In fact, the news article mentions the fact that there is a "worldwide trend for finding holy images in everyday objects from the face of Jesus in a frying pan, to Christ on a fish finger, the Virgin Mary on a toasted cheese sandwich and even Mother Teresa in a cinnamon bun."

The article mentions some objections to the add campaign, although they are not the exact objections most Christians would probably have. But the story does bring up a topic we should consider when preparing our evangelistic efforts.

Finding images of Christ or the saints in everyday objects in my opinion is no more than an advanced form of Where's Waldo? but we should probably all be prepared to present the gospel to those who think they've been given a message in the froth on their beer glass. These people desperately need to know the truth of Jesus Christ and what he has done for sinners. Strange shapes in beer foam aren't going to save their souls.

The Forum - What a great group

Last night I visited the The Forum, OFRBC College Ministry's bible study. The guys are doing a study of A.W. Pink's book The Attributes of God and the little bit of discussion I heard after I walked in was fantastic. This is group of young men who are very committed to Jesus Christ and to their relationship with him and with each other. I'm proud to know these guys and I'm proud that they are part of our church.

Check out their first blog post of the year at The CrashForum. Make a comment. Join in the fun.

Is Christianity as dangerous as radical Islam?

Looniness abound on the airwaves of the US media. Rosie O'Donnell displayed some of it on the September 12th episode of her talkshow The View. You have to see it to believe it.

Our post-Christian culture is becoming more and more antagonistic to our faith and way of life. Outright persecution is on the rapidly approaching horizon.

Watch a segment of The View showing Rosie's comments.

Have you forgotten?

The people of the United States are remembering the events of 9/11 today. I remember the horror of September 11, 2001, very well. I remember the fear we felt, even in the Christian community. Many people began to ask questions about God and his work in the world.

In the course of my regular daily devotions, today's scripture reading included the following:

The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
—John 16:2-3

Jesus was not speaking of Islamic terrorists in this passage, but it seems oddly fitting in today's world. And I believe this passage gives us the appropriate response that we should take against these terrorists who seek to take our lives. As Christians, our response must be to bring the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who minds are clouded with hatred of Christianity and the West. Jesus said that these people will put Christians to death "because they have not known the Father, nor me." So introducing them to the Father and to Jesus seems to be the best defense against their hatred of us and their desire to kill us.

At the end of the same chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus concluded with these words:

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
—John 16:33

We don't need to fear the Islamic terrorists. We know that there will be tribulations in this world, but Jesus has overcome the world ... and he has offered salvation to all.

 

The miraculous garden

Isaiah 45:8
Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.

I found this metaphor to be absolutely wonderful! That is no surprise since God is the one who spoke it.

God, the engine that powers nature and plant growth, is also the engine that powers salvation and righteousness. He uses the metaphor of plant growth to help us understand that salvation and righteousness come from him—not from our own efforts. God the Holy Spirit plants the seed, God rains down righteousness and salvation from the heavens, and God causes the earth to open allowing righteousness and salvation to sprout.

My pastor preached this past Sunday (June 11, 2006) on the topic of justification. His text was Romans 8:31. Read the sermon notes for an outstanding concise explanation of justification. What a wonderful and gracious God we serve!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

We Americans have been taught the phrase, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" so much that many Christians have trouble determining whether or not it is a quote from scripture. It is not. But I believe it is scriptural.

Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." So that covers the "life" part. Scripture also tells us to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set [us] free."

But what about the pursuit of happiness? Are we supposed to follow the seemingly hedonistic pursuit of our own happiness?

John Piper of Desiring God Ministries thinks so. His book, Desiring God, is a true eye-opener. His argument includes the assertion that God has given us a natural desire to be happy and that a desire for God is the only thing that can fulfill that yearning.

But does scripture speak to this? John Piper handles this much better than anyone I've ever read. Although Jonathan Edwards is quite eloquent on this topic as well. And that's saying something since Edwards was a Puritan and the Puritans are seen as the ultimate killjoys when it comes to pleasurable things.

But I read a verse this morning that speaks directly to our desire for our own happiness. And I wanted to share it with those who read my blog. Here's God's plan for our pursuit of happiness:

Deut. 12:28
Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Is your doctrine cool?

There has been a recent surge of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of us who hold to Reformed theology have been greatly encouraged by this movement toward biblical truth and away from traditional Arminianism. Unfortunately, I fear that many of those who have turned toward the theology known as Calvinism have done so not because they are convinced by scripture but because "Calvin is cool." Holding to a theological system because it is "cool" is a very dangerous thing, even if that theology is true.

In the "Calvin is cool" post mentioned above, the author said:

I know there are many non-Calvinists who are God-centered, but I think you have to notice that Calvinism is God-centered by definition, and it simply makes a marvelous difference. Look at the music of Steve Green, the sermons of Al Martin or the books of Douglas Wilson, John Piper, Jerry Bridges or R.C. Sproul. Whether in evangelism, worship, or the Christian life, Calvinists have a suspicion of humanism that is healthy and helpful in retaining the God-centered nature of the Christian faith.

Now, I would agree with everything said in that quote; in fact, I would agree with pretty much everything in the original quote, except for one of the final sentences of that post:

Even with all this, trust me, it's cool to be a Calvinist.

The danger evident in that basis for your theology is that when it ceases to seem "cool" or when something else comes along that's "cooler" you drop your theological system and run after the new coolness.

The author of the quote above began attacking the very people he thought were "cool" just a year or so after he posted that comment on his blog.

Another well-known internet Calvinist was Rob Schlappfer of the highly popular reformed bookstore "The Discerning Reader" and now-defunct companion website, antithesis.com. The Discerning Reader had the best collection of Calvinistic books available anywhere and held a strong stand against such aberrations in the Christian world as openness theology and postmodern thought exemplified by the emergent church.

But as Rob began to rub elbows with those who proclaimed the "openness of God" and those who held to postmodern hermeneutics, he was drawn in by their arguments and actually turned rabidly anti-Calvinistic, dropping most of his reformed book line and writing public and private attacks on various Calvinists. His attacks became more virulent and venomous as they accumulated and eventually it proved to be the downfall of a very successful internet enterprise.

Why did these once Calvinistic apologists turn against the theology they had once held as biblical? Because they weren't deriving their theology from scripture. They were part of the crowd of young people that like something in the system of Calvinism. Perhaps it was the ruggedness of it. Perhaps it was the literal interpretation of scripture that seemed to allow them to flaunt their acceptance of alcoholic beverages. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of debate against Arminians who can at times make Ann Coulter seem well-mannered and sweet.

Whatever the draw, it was not scripture. So when postmodernism seemed more cool, they ran after that. When other Calvinists held them to a standard of Christian living, they threw in the towel and ran after open theism. When holding fast the faithful word became a burden, they joined forces with the heretics rather than suffer the pangs of Christian fidelity.

We must derive all our theology from scripture. It is the only way to stand true.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Woman struck by lightning while praying

“I've seen the light!” might be what she said. This report is amazing.

Whose fault is it?

“Once that church started follwing Calvinism, its evangelistic zeal dried up.” “Calvinism is a virus and it kills the evangelistic spirit of every church it infects!”

These are common comments made by those who do not understand the biblical doctrines of grace and by those who have tradition-inspired animosity toward those doctrines.

My church has been the target of some of those comments. The second quote listed above was stated by a virulent anti-Calvinist professor at a leading Baptist university.

The Founders Blog recently featured a post addressing this situation. Here's a taste of what was said:

While granting the fact that there are, no doubt, exceptions, in the great majority of cases that I know about where Calvinistic pastors have encountered turmoil in their efforts to preach and teach God's Word, it was not because of Calvinism. It was because of biblical Christianity. Calvinism tends to be the tail on which the donkey of controversy is pinned, but the real culprit is the erosion of real biblical Christianity that has occurred over the last generation or more in many of our churches.

Our postmodern culture has adopted the practice of thinking emotionally and we've learned to argue and debate in an emotional manner, rather than thinking our position through and, as Christians always should, applying the filter of scripture to our stands and our beliefs. The question should not be “Did this church's doctrinal stand pragmatically help church growth?” or “Do I want to serve a God who displays his sovereignty over the minute details of my life—including salvation?” but “Does this doctrine square with the Word of God?”

If the Bible declares a truth that our fallen human understanding cannot completely comprehend, we still must hold to that truth. The fact that we have trouble squaring the sovereignty of God with the responsibility of man should not cause us to reject the truth of God’s sovereignty in salvation (the author and finisher of our faith) or to ignore the scriptural mandate to carry the gospel to all people groups (including our own local communities).

Soli Deo gloria!———To God alone be the glory!

They'll know we are Christians by our love

It is uncommon in today's world to find examples of people loving one another. This is no surprise and really should not be expected among nonbelievers. But it is often lacking among Christians. In fact, quite often it looks as though nonbelievers treat each other with greater respect and deference than Christians treat other Christian brothers.

This should not be! Not only should brotherly love be expected among those in the faith community—it is commanded.

1 John 4:7, 11-12, 20-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Christian love is evident and even obvious among a group of Christians my wife and I met in Lynchburg, Virginia. Allow me to tell you just one example that occurred this past weekend—Memorial Day weekend:

A medical issue has compelled us to travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, every weekend for the past four months. This will continue indefinitely. We have to be In Lynchburg at 2:00 on Sunday afternoons, which makes it difficult to attend church at home since Lynchburg is a 3.5 hour drive from our house and our home church is 45 minutes away from our home in the opposite direction.

We immediatley saw the need to join up with a church that we could attend there in Lynchburg so we wouldn't have to miss gathering with other believers every Sunday. I researched Lynchburg area churches, looking specifically for solid biblical doctrine and expositional preaching. I came up with a list of three churches in the area that we wanted to visit to see where God would direct us for corporate worship.

God led us the first week to Old Forest Road Baptist Church. The preaching was great. The singing was energetic and passionate. The location was convenient to the hospital. But the thing that really stood out right from the first person we met was the almost visceral spirit of Christian love that eminates from the people of this church. We were warmly welcomed. Over the next few weeks as they got to know us and our situation, they quickly showed ongoing concern for our wellbeing. They prayed for us. They invited us out to dinner. Many of them even opened their homes to us for an overnight stay should we need to get some rest the night before or after our weekly visit to Lynchburg.

This past weekend the church had a Memorial Day picnic (actually the day before Memorial Day, since the picnic was after the evening service on Sunday). I lost my keys during the picnic. There were five or six families cleaning up the picnic area behind the church when we began searching the grounds for the keys. When they found out what we were doing, every single one of them began to help look for the keys. They fanned out across the large picnic and parking lot area and began walking back and forth and searching (even though it was beginning to get dark). Not one of those people left to go home for the next 45 minutes or so. By the time we found the keys, it was completely dark and only one person had a flashlight. But they had all continued searching even in the darkness. They were checking the grassy areas with their hands and feet to see if they could feel or hear the keys, since it would be difficult in those conditions to see them.

After the keys were found, they all gathered around to wish us a good, safe trip home. One couple offered repeatedly for us to stay for the night at their home so we could get on the road refreshed in the morning. We declined the invitation, wanting to avoid the Memorial Day traffic that we expected the next day. So after a few minutes of well-wishing, we all headed out—them to their homes in the Lynchburg area, and us to our home in the Washington, D.C., area—almost 200 miles away.

We had a wonderful trip home, talking almost the entire time about how wonderful these people are. I have never seen such natural display of love ... and they do it continually with everyone. Not just to us, and not just every now and then.

So impressed have we been with these people and God's work among them, we are now seeking God's guidance toward moving us to the Lynchburg area permanently. We can't imagine how painful it would be to have to separate from this group of believers in Jesus Christ. Believers who show their faith in action ... by loving one another.

If you live in the Lynchburg area, or if you live quite a distance away, you need to visit this phenomenal church. It's worth the commute—even if, like us, you live 3.5 hours away.

Praise God for the affect his Holy Spirit has on those who obey and worship him!