Every Sphere

New Blog Coming Soon

2009-12-17T10:40:00.001-08:00

My new blog's launch date is Monday, January 4. I'm calling it, Renovate Your Life.

Here is the link (You won't be able to access it until January 4th).

Have a very merry and blessed Christmas and may God richly bless you in 2010.

In Christ,
Dale

Coming Soon: The Return of Every Sphere

2009-03-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned for the return of Every Sphere - Your counterbalance for true Scriptural Holiness in the United Methodist Church.

Starting Over

2007-05-29T13:02:00.001-07:00

I've moved to a new location

because I am...

Stop by and visit

DaleTedder

Africa Evangelizing Us

2007-05-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Gene Veith has a great post on how the rise of the Christian South (of the equator, that is) is challenging the status quo of old Christendom...and mainline protestantism. Click here to read it.

Leading Evangelical Thinker Converts to Rome

2007-05-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Philosopher (and President of the Evangelical Theological Society), Francis Beckwith, recently shook the evangelical community by stepping down from the presidency of the ETS because of his turn to Rome. Here are a few blogs and articles that are quite interesting on the subject.

Q&A: Francis Beckwith at Christianity Today

Roman Catholicism, Evangelical Protestantism, and the Beckwith Controversy by Sam Storms (thanks to Justin Taylor)

Roman Catholicism, Evangelical Protestantism, and the Beckwith Controversy (2) by Sam Storms (thanks to Justin Taylor)

Top Evangelical Goes Over To Rome by Gene Veith

Thoughts on the Return to Rome of Professor Beckwith By Carl Trueman

The Cross: "Cosmic Child Abuse" or Fitting?

2007-05-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

I first heard the atonement referenced as "cosmic child abuse" while attending Candler School of Theology at Emory. I didn't buy into it then...and even less so now. Paul Dean has a pretty good article on some recent incarnations of the idea. Here's an excerpt...

From the more radical wing of the “Emerging Church” has emerged a phrase and/or concept that is not only fashionable in that camp but has been picked up by liberals and secularists alike. It is now in vogue to refer to the cross of Christ as “cosmic child abuse.” While Brian McClaren and Steve Chalke speak freely in such terms, Adrian Warnock has chronicled other examples including Philip Yancey in The Jesus I Never Knew, Eugene Rogers in Sexuality and the Christian Body: Their Way into the Triune God (Challenges in Contemporary Theology), Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore in Let the Children Come : Reimagining Childhood from a Christian Perspective (Families and Faith Series), and Haven Kimmel in The Solace of Leaving Early.

Further, Dr. Peter Jones, author of Spirit Wars: Pagan Renewal in Christian America, warns against the pagan agenda of radical feminism that has been embraced by much of the church and connects that agenda with environmental activism propelled by Gaia worship. Numerous so-called Christians in that society refer to the cross of Christ as “cosmic child abuse.”

Click here to read the whole article.

Other good blogs on the subject are...

The Logic of Penal Substitution by Al Mohler

The Atonement: Understanding the Meaning of the Cross by Al Mohler

Is the Apostolic Preaching of the Cross "Insane?" by Al Mohler

Penal Substitution by Gene Veith

The Gospel without the Atonement? by Gene Veith

God's Treasure

2007-05-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

God’s Treasure

Deuteronomy 14:2

…for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

Israel was not the largest, richest, or most powerful group of people on the planet when God chose them. Nor were they the most righteous and obedient. And yet, God chose them. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 that this is God’s usual mode of operation. He manifests his wisdom and power by choosing and then raising up the unwise and weak to serve him. It’s been a fairly effective plan thus far. There was a fairly well known empire that was turned upside-down by the “dregs of society” a couple thousand years ago. It seems to still be working.

What is also striking about this verse is that Israel is referred to as God’s “treasured possession.” What a wonderful way to see oneself – as a treasured possession – something incredibly valuable to God.

When we think of ourselves as such, our first impulse is to attribute such worth to ourselves. “Of course I’m treasured by God,” we think. “I have so much raw talent, drive, character, etc. Why wouldn’t I be invaluable to God?” And yet, this sort of thinking is antithetical to biblical truth. There is nothing in ourselves, which compels God to choose us. Instead, it is his own good, perfect, and pleasing will that leads him to first love us.

But to think that those who are in Christ are God’s treasured possessions is amazing. For that’s what we are as heirs of the new covenant.

How ought we respond to such news? Humility comes first to mind. There is no room for pride in the biblical worldview. How about gratitude and joy? Yes, there should be plenty of both to be sure. There’s also obedience. We mustn’t forget that. Lives lived in humble, grateful, joyful, and obedient response to the God who first loved us is essential…and should be natural. It should register as an “of course” response from us.

But does it? Does your life reflect that sense of chosen-ness in which God regards you as his treasured possession? If not, why not make today the day that you begin living in humble, grateful, joyful, and obedient response to who God is and what he has done on your behalf.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Purpose-Driven Israelites

2007-05-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

Purpose-Driven Israelites

Selected verses from Deuteronomy 11

“Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.” With these words of the first verse of Deuteronomy 11, God, through Moses, gave Israel a purpose. Her purpose was to “keep his requirements.” Keep “his decrees, his laws and his commands…always.” That’s a pretty clear purpose.

But there’s more to it. It also included a “what that looks like” portion. If the Israelites would be obedient to God, they would take the land – the Promised Land – which God had set before them. Obedience would be tough, but God also let them know that it would be well worth their efforts. In verses 11-12 we read:

But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. [12] It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

The blessing of obedience to the covenant is that Israel would get all this and more. The curse of disobedience of the covenant was that she wouldn’t…and more.

Obedience is an essential part of purpose. What would be the point of knowing your purpose – what you were created for – if you didn’t pursue it? It’s only as we obey God, follow Christ, die to self, count others better than ourselves by serving them, extending God’s Kingdom into every sphere of life, etc., that we discover God’s blessing for our lives – which may take on different manifestations in our lives.

But can any of us hope for more than the knowledge that the eyes of the Lord our God are continually on it [our purpose] from the beginning to the end?

Stand Firm,
Dale

Titans

2007-05-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Heavy Heroes

1874-1965
1874-1936
1837-1920
1834-1892
1858-1919

Do you know who these titans are?

Honorable Mention...

1898-1963

Bible Sponges

2007-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Scripture Saturation
To achieve holiness, believed the early monks, you must soak in the moral sense of the Word.
by Patrick Henry Reardon

Here's an excerpt...

The history of monasticism owes most to one of these four senses: the moral. When church fathers and medieval interpreters spoke of the Bible's "moral sense," they expressed a conviction that God's unfailing word, precisely because it is fulfilled in Christ the Lord, is intended by the Holy Spirit to address the practical moral lives of those who are "in Christ." It is especially the Christian believer, they argued, who can most truly tell his heavenly Father, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105), because the Christian has been given, in the person and work of Christ, the Bible's true interpretive key.

Thus, whether in the pulpit or in other forms of pastoral teaching, teachers of the Bible continued for over a millennium to present the Bible, correctly understood in the light of Christ, as the ready and reliable source of moral guidance for those striving to live godly lives. Indeed, they discovered this interpretive principle explicit in the Bible itself, as when the apostle Paul taught that "whatever things were written before were written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4).

Certainly, this approach to Scripture was always understood to be valid for all Christians. But not surprisingly, we find a greater concentration of interest on this subject in the writings of monks, nuns, and other ascetics. These were Christians who felt called to a more intense life of prayer and virtuous striving, and their ancient monastic rules show how thoroughly biblical that quest was for them.

The preeminent example is the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia (d. 547), which became the dominant monastic code of the entire western half of Christendom. In Benedict's rule the monk's entire waking day, roughly seventeen hours, was divided among three activities: manual labor, the prayerful reading of Holy Scripture (lectio divina), and choral prayer, especially the praying of the Psalms. Even while the monk ate his sparse meals each day, he listened to one of his brothers reading Holy Scripture.

The monks and nuns pursued their goals—purity of heart and the gift of constant prayer—by ingesting massive daily dosages of Scripture. They gave themselves totally to God not only by denying themselves and serving others, but by allowing themselves to become saturated in and absorbed by the power of God's Word. Monks took seriously that principle of Jerome of Bethlehem (347-419), who said, "To be ignorant of the Scriptures is to be ignorant of Christ."

Consequently, those men and women who centered their entire existence on the study of Holy Scripture, prayer, and ascetic effort, were bound to reflect more closely, and in greater detail, on the internal theological relationship between the understanding of Holy Scripture and ascetical striving for purity of heart. From both East and West, the treatment of this theme in monastic literature, though daunting in its sheer mass, remains instructive for Christians today.

Click here to read the whole article.

Worldview Church, April 2007...is available

2007-05-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Worldview Church
April 2007

Not Your Most Popular Topic

By T.M. Moore
4/30/2007

The Need to Heed Conviction

After our evening worship one night, my wife looked up from the couch and said, “Your sermons are always so convicting.” I had that momentary “uh-oh” feeling as I waited for the other shoe to drop. “Which is why I love them so much.”

How do you spell “relief”?

What Susie was saying was that she—and all of us—needs a good dose of reality every so often. And worship seems to be just the place to get it. Part of that reality is the reminder that we are all full of sin, and desperately in need of conviction, correction, and renewal in the Lord. Psalm 50 captures this well. In this psalm the worship of God’s people is portrayed as a kind of “review of the troops.” God calls His people to assemble for worship, sizes up what they’re doing, then dresses them down for the shallowness of their faith and the presence of hypocrites and half-believers in their midst. (You gotta love Asaph: a worship leader with some real teeth, as all his twelve psalms indicate so well.)

What a relief to be able to acknowledge that, yes, we are full of sin, but loved nonetheless. We can admit our sin, even to one another, without fear of annihilation or judgment because of what Jesus has accomplished for us. The knowledge that we are sinners should keep us humble before one another and the Lord. The availability of confession and repentance should keep us eager. The assurance of forgiveness should allow us to maintain joy in the midst of brokenness, hope in the midst of repeated failures and missteps. And the fact of Christ’s victory over sin should spur us on to greater heights of renewal and advance in seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Our focus in this issue is on the facts and effects of sin. Sin makes us think that being merely “half-Christian” is being Christian enough. Sin makes us proud and boastful, rather than humble and loving. Sin blinds us even to the historical origins of sin and the very reality of it, though poets like William Cowper help us to see how we can overcome the reality of sin through the grace of Jesus.

In today’s churches sin is not the most popular topic. Indeed, in some churches it is scarcely ever broached—wouldn’t want to judge anybody, after all, now, would we? But sin is the one universal reality that we will have to deal with all the days of our lives. It captivates and blinds us before we come to faith in Christ, and it stalks and harasses us every day thereafter. We’ll never be completely rid of it in this life, but we can learn to be increasingly free of it. By learning to be full Christians, humble and seeking the grace of the Lord in all things, we can overcome the power of sin to rob us of our salvation, and can press on to greater heights of joy and gladness in the Lord.

We hope this month’s exercise in conviction will leave you loving our sin-destroying Lord more and more.

T. M. Moore
Editor

Worldview Church, April 2007

Half-Christians: Finding a Full Faith
Rev. Robert Lynn
"Half-Christian" -- there's an interesting idea to roll around in your brain for a while, as if it was a matter of DNA. Imagine the kinds of conversations we'll have now.

One of the Great Rarities of Our Time
Dr. John Armstrong
Humility seems to be the one Christian virtue that is almost entirely missing in modern Christian thought and practice. We don't even talk about it these days.

William Cowper, the Big Questions, and Worldview: Rediscovering the Forgotten Poet Laureate of a Christian Worldview (Part 3)
Dr. David Naugle
Why the evil and brokenness? Because, as Genesis 3 informs us, we errantly sought autonomy and self-determination, if not self-deification, by an act of insubordination against God and His rightful authority.

Book Reviews

Renewal as a Way of Life: A Guidebook for Spiritual Growth
Reviewed by Jimmy Davis

Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Florence
Reviewed by T.M. Moore

Christian Guidelines for Blogging

2007-05-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

The good folks over at Pulpit Magazine offer their thoughts on how a Christian can aspire to godliness in his or her blogging efforts. I thought there were some good ideas here.

The Blog in Our Own Eye, Part 1 by Nathan Busenitz

The Blog in Our Own Eye, Part 2 by Nathan Busenitz

The Blog in Our Own Eye, Part 3 by Nathan Busenitz

The Blog in Our Own Eye, Part 4 by Nathan Busenitz

Does anyone know of any other good articles focusing on how we can think Christianly about the blogosphere?

Woody Allen's Philosophy of Life

2007-05-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

A Biblical View of Economics???

2007-05-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

The name of this blog is, Every Sphere. My purpose in naming it that was to make the point that because Jesus Christ is Lord over every sphere of life, there is, therefore, no area of life about which Christ is unconcerned (a poor paraphrase of Abraham Kuyper). In other words, the Christian faith applies to every sphere of life...not just the "religious" or the "sacred." Biblically speaking, there is no sacred/secular distinction. Our faith applies to everything from Church on Sunday morning to praying to serving the poor to science to marriage to leisure to art to music to economics. Even economics.

Now, to be sure, just because someone writes a paper and says, "This is what God says about economics" doesn't necessarily make it so. But can we say that some economic systems and philosophies come closer than others to what God's Word teaches? I think so.

Therefore, on that note, I have linked a few articles below to stimulate your/my thinking on the subject. Let the field of economics be one more area of thought that is taken captive to the Lordship of Christ.

A Biblical View of Economics by Kerby Anderson

Introduction to Christian Economics by Gary North

"Christian" Economics by Francis Woehrling

Christianity's Free-Market Tradition by Stephen Carson

A Christian Speaks Up for Capitalism By James D. Gwartney

The Shame of the Church By Norman S. Ream

The Economic Way of Thinking: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 By Ronald Nash

Book Review: Free Enterprise: A Judeo-Christian Defense by Harold Lindsell and Social Justice and the Christian Church by Ronald H. Nash By Buddy Matthews

Book Review: Poverty and Wealth: The Christian Debate Over Capitalism by Ronald H. Nash By Richard A. White

Christian Economics Reconsidered by Mark Ahlseen

More responses to Hitchens

2007-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Below is another review of Hitchens' latest book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Just a few posts down on this page there is another review on Hitchens' book by Doug Wilson that I have posted.

Christopher Hitchens Explains It All for You

Move over, Sam Harris; another atheist wants the pulpit.

Reviewed by Preston Jones

Here's a snippet...

A look through the newspapers might persuade one that the "anti-theist" Christopher Hitchens is on to something. A quarter of the articles, it seems, could be summarized under the single headline "Muslims Kill Selves and Others—Again." A story on page three suggests that yet another well-known TV preacher has, at the least, failed to avoid the appearance of wrongdoing. A third article exhorts us to rejoice that Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland have decided to stop maiming one another, even if their key leaders still decline to shake hands. It's easy to envision the coffee-shop philosopher pushing the papers aside and wondering if it really isn't true that religion poisons everything.

But then, what does Hitchens mean by religion? Under the same umbrella he groups Mother Teresa, voodoo, the pope, "fear-ridden peasants of antiquity," Muslim suicide bombers, animists, "arid monotheism," the archbishop of Canterbury, séances, Thomas Aquinas, an evangelical huckster "dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit," Muhammad, the "tawdry myths of Bethlehem," the "vapid and annoying holiday known as 'Hanukah,'" Mormons, "hysterical Jewish congregations," the "sordid" theology of Pascal, Martin Luther King, rednecks, "cobbled-together ancient Jewish books" (i.e., the Bible), WWII-era Japanese emperor worship, and male circumcision (which Hitchens describes as "mutilation of a powerless infant with the aim of ruining its future sex life").

Click here to read the whole review.

Updates

2007-05-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

Check out our updates at (click on icons)...

For The Pilgrim's Progress

and...

The Covenant Home

and...

The Pastor's Study

Accountability and Accountability Questions

2007-05-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

Visit my other blog, For The Pilgrim's Progress, for some great resources on accountability.

A faithful saint steps down

2007-04-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

from Justin Taylor...

John Stott would like his many friends around the world to know that, having reached the age of 86 in April, he has taken the decision finally to retire from public ministry after fulfilling one final speaking engagement at the upcoming Keswick Convention in July.

He will be moving from his flat in central London where he has lived for more than 30 years, to a retirement community for Anglican clergy in the south of England, which will be able to provide more fully for his present and future needs. Dr Stott has made this decision with the strong belief that it is God's provision for him at this stage.

What a faithful ministry this man has had for decades. God has used him mightily. Praise be to God for the person, life, and ministry of John R.W. Stott.

United Methodist Seminary Event Ponders "Queering the Church" - and Silencing IRD

2007-04-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

by Ray Nothstine

from the story...

The United Methodist-affiliated Boston University School of
Theology hosted and sponsored an April 18-19 conference on "Queering the Church: Changing Ecclesial Structures." Speakers at the event on the Boston University campus delved into discussions of "hardcore queer theology," "triadic unions," "erotic relation with the divine," and the "queerness of God."

The term "queer," often used as an insult against homosexuals, has more recently been taken up by some radical gay and lesbian theorists as a badge of honor flaunting their non-conformity with social and sexual norms. This kind of delight in transgressing traditional boundaries was the prevailing spirit at "Queering the Church." Speakers almost seemed to compete against one another to see who could utter the most outrageous sentiments furthest from Christian orthodoxy.

The United Methodist Book of Discipline lifts up for candidates and ministers "the highest standards of holy living in the world," including "fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness." The Discipline specifies, "The practice of homosexuality is inconsistent with Christian teaching" (¶304, 2-3). But none of the speakers at the Boston University conference espoused or explained that teaching to the pastors, seminary students, theologians, and others in attendance. The only message heard at the United Methodist-related seminary event was a relentless and radical attack on the denomination's own standards of doctrine and behavior.

There was only one exception to the message of limitless tolerance. Conference organizer Alexander Hivoltze-Jimenez attempted to silence this reporter (and the IRD) with acts of theft, deceit, and attempted bribery.

Click here to read the whole article.

from the Institute of Religion and Democracy

Personal Jesus

2007-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

John Shelby Spong’s “nontheistic” Christianity.

By Jason Lee Steorts

What’s a religion good for, anyway?

That is the question retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong never gets around to asking, let alone answering, in his new book, Jesus for the Non-Religious. His title suggests an answer, and he has tried to lob his book like a hand grenade into the institutions of Christendom. The idea is to explode two millennia of traditional belief on which these institutions rest, thereby making room for a new Christianity based on a conception of Jesus that is palatable to “a twenty-first century person.” What actually crawls out of the rubble is a Jesus for John Shelby Spong.

This Jesus would be unrecognizable to most Christians. The largest section of the book is an attack on “the supernatural forms of yesterday’s Christianity.” Spong executes this attack by means of a lengthy textual criticism of the Gospels, sprinkled with occasional undeveloped thoughts on the incompatibility of traditional belief with a modern worldview. (“The ability of anyone to walk on water exists in our world not in reality, but only in very bad golf jokes.”) Along the way, he jettisons the following claims, among others: that Mary was a virgin at the time of Jesus’s birth; that Jesus
performed miracles; that Jesus atoned for the sins of mankind; that Jesus was resurrected; and that the resurrected Jesus ascended to Heaven.

Click here to read the whole article.

Thanks to Orthodoxy Today and National Review Online

The Fall of Rome: Season Two

2007-04-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

by GERALD J. RUSSELLO

Rome, the hit series that has just completed its second (and for now final) season on the cable channel HBO, turned out to be a surprising affirmation of the Western religious tradition. While it is packed with sex and violence, its message — intended or not — is that the Roman world was desperate for Christianity.

Neo-pagan life before Christianity does not come off well. Against a Gibbon-centered historical approach that placed primary responsibility for the decline of the classical world at Christianity’s rise and the concomitant loss of traditional Roman virtues, historians such as Christopher Dawson argued earlier in the last century that Christianity had a revolutionary, and positive, effect on the pagan Roman world. It turned slaves into serfs, wedding contracts into sacramental marriages, and placed limits on the unjust use of authority. The show’s depiction of the commonplaces of Roman life — even if a bit exaggerated at times, in keeping with the Rome-as-soap-opera marketing — gives us the reasons why.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

from Catholic Educator's Resource Center

Methodist Liberal Flagship Sets Course at 100th Anniversary Conference

2007-04-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

from the Institute of Religion and Democracy

Below is a snippet of what is a pretty long report of The Methodist Federation for Social Action's recent 100 year celebration.

by Rebekah Sharpe

Several participants touched awkwardly on the fact that the growing regions of the United Methodist Church are the overseas "central conferences" that are much more conservative theologically and socially. One participant stated that "outside of the United States we have central conferences that don't have similar rights…" and asked how "we're supposed to be speaking on global issues if we're not a global church?" Another attendee lamented, "People in the Third World are being used … in ways that … particularly make it hard for progressive Christians…. Some of the central conferences will have more power … more jurisdiction than us in the [liberal]Western Conference [of the United States]!"

Later in the MFSA event, Bruce Rogers of the Minnesota Conference suggested vaguely that changes in United Methodist structure might be necessary to address the growing power of the central conferences. "Central conference issues have not been on our agenda here [at MFSA]," Rogers admitted. "Believe me friends, they're important. Everyone agrees that our present structures are unfair…. The fact is, in my opinion, the current structure cannot become fair…."

On the morning of April 14, the Rev. Dr. Traci West, Ethics and African-American Studies professor at the United Methodist-affiliated Drew University Theological School, preached a sermon based on the text of the Magnificat (Luke 1:47-55). Mary's message, Dr. West maintained, "is a message that requires us to realize the inequalities and the injustices among us…. It requires us to look at all the benefits of superiority that we cling to.…"

Within the church, West called on United Methodists to "… stop this blasphemous worship of heterosexuality, and to require systemic change…." She criticized the church's ban on ordinations of unrepentant practicing homosexuals, charging that "the primary criteria for our church to confirm that [the call to ordination] is heterosexuality." She also rejected Judicial Council ruling 1032, which she characterized as allowing a pastor to "decide whether to accept a gay or lesbian person to membership in the church" In reference to these supposed inequalities, West questioned "the cost of this justice stuff" and what it would require to effect a "kind of radical systemic shift of bringing the powerful down from their thrones, of sending the rich away empty…."

Click here to read the whole report.

And while you're here...

Report to UMAction Steering Committee

Rowan Williams' Wrong Reading of Romans ( ... and John 14:6)

2007-04-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Robert Gagnon decimates Rowan Williams' reading of Romans 1:18-32. It represents the difference between good exegesis on the one hand and irresponsible posturing on the other. Here's a snippet...

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and titular head of the Anglican Communion, delivered a lecture on Apr. 16, 2007 in which he suggested that the "conservative" case against homosexual practice, based significantly on Romans 1:24-27, has failed to give due weight to the fact that Paul in context is primarily critical of the judgmental attitude of those in the covenant community. Reuters has picked up Williams' remarks--which constitute only 424 words out of a 6358-word text entitled "The Bible Today: Reading and Hearing"--and has formulated a screaming headline out of it entitled, "Anglican head Williams says anti-gays misread Bible" (http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1767470620070417).

Click here to read the article.

Thanks to OrthodoxyToday.org

Wilson responds to Hitchens

2007-04-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

On April 11, I posted this about Doug Wilson's book/response to Sam Harris' book, Letter To A Christian Nation. It seems a few influential folk are concerned about theocracy in America (click here for my post on theocracy). Would that they understood what theocracy is and is not. Would that they had a clue about what "the religious right" truly wanted and how they proposed to achieve it. And would that they exercised the same amount of concern about Islamic goals of theocracy in Europe.

Of course, I'm sure there is anecdotal evidence that some on the right want to change the course of our country via political power. But the intellectuals on the Christian right whom I've read clearly do not. And that's who folk such as Hitchens and Harris ought to respond to.

At any rate, Doug Wilson more than adequately responds to Christopher Hitchens' new book, God Is Not Great. Click here to read Wilson's response.

Should I give money to people on the street who ask for it?

2007-04-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

This has been an issue I have answered in a variety of ways over the years. I'm presently defaulting on giving folks money (under the premise that regardless of what they do with it...I'm giving to Christ). There are a few exceptions of course (such as if the person appears drunk or high).

This present position is one that appears pious, makes me feel good...but the weakness is that it may not always (or even often) be responsible on my part... or helpful to the person to whom I give the money. That's why I'm always looking for wisdom from others.

Of course, my preference is to support our church's mercy ministries...and point the person in need in those directions. But still...I'm sometimes asked for help when I don't have time, resources, etc.

Here's a post from someone who has clearly thought about it. I'm going to reread it and then reread it again to gain some perspective on my own perspective. I would value your wisdom.

Thanks to Justin Taylor

Church Growth

2007-04-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Book Review: A Far Country

2007-04-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

Longing for We Know Not What
A powerful second novel from the author of The Piano Tuner.

Reviewed by Elissa Elliott posted 04/23/07

The magazine Poets & Writers contains a section called Page One, which offers the first sentences of new books. Good first sentences should pack a wallop and make you catch your breath. Remember Gabriel García Márquez's famous first line in One Hundred Years of Solitude? "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." Who could stop reading after that tantalizing opening?

The first sentence of Daniel Mason's second novel, A Far Country (his first was the highly acclaimed The Piano Tuner), reminded me of García Márquez's, not because it's as flamboyantly arresting but because it succinctly captures the haunting, bare-bones longing that threads through the book. Here it is: "In the valley of the village they would one day name Saint Michael in the Cane, the men and women waited, turning the November soil and watching the sky." They're waiting for rain.

But perhaps this makes the book sound tedious, which it isn't. The story revolves around Isabel, a charmingly melancholy girl who lives with her extended family in Saint Michael, a city of dusty streets, whitewashed houses, and one decrepit statue. Isabel has a brother, Isaias, who is seven years her senior. They spend all their time together. Isaias takes her on long walks in the hills. He points out fish fossils in the rock and picks pink flowers for her hair. He reads stories to her and plays his fiddle. Isabel adores him, and she has an uncanny ability of always finding him, no matter where he is.

Click here to read the whole review.

Inclusivity or Catholicity?

2007-04-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker

“Inclusivity” is probably the one word that is employed more than any other in the discussions about the identity and mission of the church today.

For some, inclusivity is simply the expression of the church’s evangelical hospitality to all peoples. The risen Lord does command us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 22:19), and the apostles never tire of telling us to “extend hospitality to strangers” (Romans 12:13).

Yet for others, “inclusivity” has become something more than an evangelical imperative expressed by a practice of hospitality. It has become an ideology, a reduction of the thickness of the Gospel to the thinness of a slogan. The message of the church becomes “inclusivity” rather than the Gospel itself, or the Gospel itself is reduced to a totalizing demand for inclusivity.

What is required is a better understanding of the identity and mission of the church in light of the Gospel. In the Christian tradition there is a concept that both affirms what is right in the concern for inclusivity and corrects what is mistaken when inclusivity is turned into an ideology. The Christian tradition conceives the true identity and mission of the church as “catholicity,” not inclusivity. In the ecumenical creeds, the word “catholic,” which was first employed by Ignatius of Antioch (d.A.D. 107), is one of the marks of the church of Jesus Christ.

Click here to read the whole article.

Get Wisdom

2007-04-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from message preached yesterday...

You see, the purpose of James’ letter is not to make new converts for Christ, but to encourage the folks who already are Christ’s disciples. He wants them to run the whole race of faith and discipleship… and not to give up. Therefore, they’ll need to see all the things they go through in this world… with God’s eternal perspective. They’ll need to see that this test of their faith… is to actually strengthen them… so that they can make it the whole way.

I know this is an over-used illustration, ‘but diamonds are nothing more than lumps of coal, which have been subjected to intense pressure over a period of time. And without that pressure, coal simply stays coal.’ I think James is saying this: “the testing of your faith is the combined pressure that life brings to bear on you.” And he’s saying that the result of that pressure… is the diamond of your perseverance…so that you can endure whatever else is going to come down the road.

You all know this verse in Hebrews about our Lord…

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Cross wasn’t an enjoyable experience to our Lord. He didn’t whistle his way through it. But he had his Father’s eternal perspective and saw the joy that was set before him…the joy to come…and therefore, he was able to endure it. That’s what James is saying.

I always try to be careful not to ever convey any idea that we are the center of God’s universe. Because God is the center of God’s universe. And whatever he does, he does first and foremost for his own glory. But in an important sense, we are still God’s masterpieces and he’s taking great pains and great care to turn us into that great work… instead of being content to leave us as mediocre thumbnail sketches.

C.S. Lewis said that we’re like a painter’s canvas, which is made up of countless hyper-sensitive nerve-endings. And every scrape of the Painter’s tools on the canvas may cause pain at the time. But the Artist sees the big picture. He has in mind to make us into a magnificent piece of art…and not a collection of insignificant stick-figures. And yet, having said all that, the trials and tests are real…and they’re not pleasant and enjoyable to go through at the time.

Click here to read the whole message

Redeeming the Time

2007-04-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 5:15-17

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Scripture says that we are like vapors – here today and then… POOF…gone in an instant. Some of us may live to the national average or even past it. Others will not live that long. Whatever the case may be, Scripture affirms that “man knows not his time.” Therefore, since no one knows when he will be called home, doesn’t it make sense to make the most of every day – as though it was our last day?

We are sometimes asked what we would do if we only had one week or one month to live. We generally give a sweet, sentimental, or profound answer that stresses the urgency of the hypothetical predicament about which we are being asked. And yet, so often, we never “live out” the answers that we give because we suppress the truth of reality and thus mistakenly believe that we have an infinite supply of time and opportunities waiting before us.

This is folly, unwise, and terribly unrealistic. It’s the very reason the apostle stressed what he did in today’s scripture.

Paul tells us immediately to be careful how we live. He says we need to be wise, not unwise, and that we need to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way. John Wesley and George Whitefield both called this “redeeming the time.”

It’s been calculated that the average person watches six years worth of television over the course of her lifetime – and four months tying her shoes. Do we really want to leave that kind of legacy to our children? Worse, do we really want to stand before our Lord one day and tell him that we buried our time and talents underneath the sofa cushion – right next to the Doritos crumbs and lost change? That will hardly be the “first-fruits” of a life well lived.

Our very lives are a gift from God. We are to be stewards of them. In a real sense they are not our own. If we would offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, then we must daily put ourselves back on the altar before him – to consecrate ourselves to him.

There is cost involved here to be sure. To give ourselves to the Lord in this way will require sacrifice, commitment, and self-discipline. To redeem the time we have been given, to make the most of every opportunity, we will need to work hard and replace some poor attitudes, ways of thinking, and habits with good ones.

Instead of listening to music in the car, (which is not inherently bad, by the way), we might listen to a sermon or instructional tape. Instead of sleeping in, we might get up a bit earlier and spend time with the Lord – in his Word and in prayer. Instead of watching TV all night, why not pick up a book that will build you up in the faith or help you improve your life in some way? Instead of filling your life with busy work, why not build relationships with family and friends? The list could on and on, but you get the point.

It’s been often said that no one, at the end of his life, looks back and says he should have spent more time in the office, or in front of the TV, or at the mall, etc. These things are not necessarily worthless, but they are fleeting.

Why not redeem the time that you have been given by using it wisely? Why not make the most of every opportunity God will give you today? Our lives are short enough already. Let’s not fill them with trinkets when we have the opportunity to offer the Lord the sweet scent of a pleasing sacrifice.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Rorschach Test

2007-04-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Life in the United Methodist Church

2007-04-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Commentary: How to become a General Conference delegate from UMNS

The Mission Society's Spring newsletter is available.

Jim Wallis Hailed as Prophet at Asbury Seminary from IRD

Active Homosexual Accepted into Church Membership in Controversial United Methodist Case from IRD

RENEW Network for Christian Women new newsletter is available.

What Is Theocracy?

2007-04-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing upsets some in our culture like the mere mention of God in public life. Certainly, the story goes, we're just a slip and a fall from all out "theocracy."

The good folk over at Chalcedon have a few helpful articles on what theocracy is and is not that will aid you as you think through some of these issues.

The Meaning of Theocracy by R.J. Rushdoony

Theocratic Considerations by Greg Bahnsen

Theocracy Matters by Christopher B. Strevel

A Hopeful Response to Sam Harris and Company

2007-04-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon...

Doug Wilson responds to Sam Harris' Letter to A Christian Nation. It looks to be good read as well as a cogent and faithful response.

Here's Wilson's blurb on its release, etc.

The History of Apostasy

2007-04-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Christianity Today Library.com (I think you have to be a member) has a great article (loaded with lots of good links) on the subject of apostasy and its history through the ages. Certainly worth a read or two. Click here to go the article.

Cool glasses...questionable theology

2007-04-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Rob Bell's questionable theology has been pointed out elsewhere on this blog. I'm not sure what's so appealing about the emergent/emerging types. Other than their cool glasses, goatees, and Starbucks sensibilities, I don't get the hype. At any rate, that's probably because I'm 41 years old and outside their demographic. (rabbit trail: Should a church even have a demographic?)

At any rate, biblical theology shouldn't have a demographic...which makes this post by Phil Ryken (about Rob Bell) so troublesome. What do you make of this?

Johnny Hart: RIP

2007-04-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

George Grant has a nice blog on Johnny Hart who passed away this past Saturday.

Click here to read.

Borg misses by 1700 years

2007-04-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

From Al Mohler...

That is a revealing statement, and it must explain Borg's rather creative attempt to remake Christianity into something he can accept.

The problem, of course, is that Professor Borg's argument falls flat on its face. The claim that the church has given central attention to specific truth claims and the priority of belief only in the last 300 years is so baseless that it can only be met with a mixture of intellectual embarrassment and wonder. Why would he make a claim that is so easily refuted by the facts?

The New Testament contains first century evidence that the church was incredibly concerned about specific beliefs -- down to theological details. Of course, those theological details are among the claims Professor Borg rejects, which is surely inconvenient for him. Just consider Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 10. The Apostle is insistent that the historical truthfulness of the claims concerning Christ, and the individual's personal belief in those claims, are essential to our salvation. Beyond this, the New Testament includes several summary statements of belief, presented as the very foundation of the faith.

Click here to read the whole article.

One of my favorite websites

2007-04-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

I think I must visit Bible.org on a daily basis. I just can't help it. The good folks at Bible.org have virtually everything a minister of discipleship (or any Christian) could possibly want. The website has great Bible studies that you can download...not to mention a growing number of audio studies that you can also download.

It seems each time I visit they have another website (under their umbrella) committed to an area of discipleship that I am interested in, such as Bible studies, men's ministry, and spiritual formation (to name a few).

If you haven't visited Bible.org you are in for a real treat...and a real help in your spiritual progress. This website provides true sustenance for every pilgrim who sets out for the Celestial City.

Enjoy!
Dale

Worldly Principles

2007-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Galatians 4:9

But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

When we lived in darkness – when we were of the world – it made perfect sense that we lived as the world lived. We were a part of its system. It was dark and decaying and so were we.

But when we were delivered from such bondage, ignorance, and darkness we were made new creations. To paraphrase the apostle elsewhere, “When I was a worldling, I talked like a worldling, I thought like a worldling, I reasoned like a worldling. When I became a new creature in Christ, I put worldish ways behind me.”

How is it then that Paul could address these Galatian believers and ask them how it was that they were turning back to old, dead ways?

It’s amazing how ignorant and shortsighted we are – each and every day. When we are not pursuing the finish line with all our might we are drifting back to the world and its ways of thinking. And such thinking will soon lead to worldish living. What’s so sad about this is that we don’t even seem to be aware that, in reality, we become enslaved all over again.

Thankfully, those who were and are genuinely in Christ will not be able to remain so without feeling the disciplinary rod of the Holy Spirit. God is not content to watch his children become remolded to the world’s image.

It really is ludicrous to think about why we would ever want to go back to such thinking and living when once we have been freed from it. Why do we prefer bondage at times? Like the Israelites, we all-of-a-sudden begin to romanticize how great the leeks and onions were and forget all about the fact that we were slaves and that our children were often killed right before us. How can this be?

There are probably many good answers. No believer, I hope, truly thinks the world is preferable to the things of God. I don’t think being 50 pounds overweight is preferable to being at my ideal weight. But one unnoticed pound at a time – over a great deal of time of undisciplined living – and a person will wake up unable to fit into his clothes any longer. That was never the intention, but it was the consequence. Similarly, a little disobedience here and there, a little sloth here and there, and one day we wake up terribly out of shape for the Kingdom. In truth, we’re downright unfit for it.

But again, by God’s magnificent gift of grace, the smoke detector goes off long before the fire blazes out of control. God awakens and disciplines those who are his own and gets them/us back on track again. But even here he does not “do” all the work for us. We can still choose to sleep in instead of praying and studying, go play instead of attend worship, watch hours of TV sports or HGTV instead of enjoying the fellowship of the saints…or the myriad of other means God has graciously provided for our spiritual health.

I’ve discovered in my own life, and in the lives of many to and with whom I have ministered over the years, that we do the things in life that we want to do. It’s no more complicated than that. We may dress it up in elaborate excuses and rationalizations, but at the end of the day that’s all they are. If we want God, the things of God, and to be like God, we will do what it takes to reach those goals. If we don’t…we won’t.

But the consequence for not wanting God and for not striving after him is not mere neutrality or even simply a bland faith. It’s once more being enslaved to the weak and miserable principles of the world.

Sovereign grace abounds. And yet, paradoxically, the choice is yours. Choose this day whom you will serve.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Joel Osteen discusses the gospel with Larry King

2007-04-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

and has some thoughts on preaching...

In search of a church

2007-04-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be making a motion at our next Administrative Council (at Southside UMC) meeting that we adopt the mega-church profile in this great exerpt from King of the Hill...

Gene Veith's Most Hated Song

2007-04-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

Veith has two good (and brief) blogs on aesthetics in music. Make sure to read his defense of his first post before you burst a vein.

Post 1 by Veith

Post 2 by Veith (his defense/clarification of the first post)

Thanks to Justin Taylor

Letters of C.S. Lewis

2007-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love C.S. Lewis. That's not exactly a daring thing to say since most everyone does. His books, of course, are brilliant, creative, inspiring, humorous, God-centered, and often bewildering and challenging. They are what draw so many to learn more about him. The never-ending stream of biographies on Lewis are overwhelming in sheer numbers, but are fascinating and must-reads for those who want to discover more about Lewis.

Toward the end of last year I purchased two of the three volumes of the letters of Lewis edited by Walter Hooper. A great review of the third and final volume, by Michael Ward, just came out in Books and Culture. It's a very positive review and will give you a good idea of what you can expect should you decide to buy one of these volumes. (Click here to read the review of Volume 3.) (Click here to read Ward's review of the first two volumes.)

Over the last year I've started investing a good amount of time reading the letters of saints I admire such as Lewis, Tolkien, Lloyd-Jones, Calvin, just to name a few. Add to that the journals of Wesley and Whitefield and you have some wonderfully God-glorifying devotional reading.

If you are interested in reading these volumes you can click here for Volume 3...and click here for volumes 1 and 2.

What's So Delightful About Jesus?

2007-04-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Desiring God Blog

The Pilgrim's Progress Updated

2007-04-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

Updated

Singleness of Heart

2007-03-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Singleness of Heart

Jeremiah 32:38-39

They will be my people, and I will be their God. [39] I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.

Our covenant-making, covenant-keeping God is ever pursuing and sustaining us. This passage from Jeremiah reminds us of this fact. God’s people had done every abominable thing imaginable in rebellion against God. They disobeyed him, ignored him, and chased after idols. And there were indeed consequences…there always are.

And yet God had made a promise to Israel’s forefathers. And God keeps his promises.

He once again renewed his covenant and declared that he would draw his people back to him. Furthermore, he said that he would “give them singleness of heart and action, so that hey [would] always fear [him]…” What a blessing it is to have a single-minded passion and mind for God and the things of God – to serve him only! Such single-mindedness must begin with the fear of God. For it is when we cease to fear God that we wander off in our own direction…after idols.

We are mere babes who do not know what is good for us. God has our good in mind, but not at the expense of his glory and honor. He will never sacrifice or compromise his character just so we can feel good about ourselves.

We must pray, even now, that God will revive our weary hearts, minds, and souls with singleness of heart (our whole being) and action so that it might go well with us. But not only for us, but also for our children. For God seldom, if ever, works only with an individual in mind. Instead, he makes and keeps covenant with families in mind – for a thousand generations.

Let us remember that our covenant-faithfulness affects more than just ourselves. It touches those in our lives who we may never even know in this life, but who may yet do great things for God. But then also, our unfaithfulness has consequences as well.

O Lord, give us a singleness of mind for you and your Kingdom all the days of our lives. In Christ I pray. Amen.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Updates and a brief reflection

2007-03-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

It's funny how being busy can take your mind right off of your blog. That's been my case over the last two weeks. I've been trying to better streamline my time and my blog has suffered accordingly. And while I think I could fairly justify this blog as "ministry-related" it's much easier for me to justify time spent on one of my other blogs, "For the Pilgrim's Progress." But even that has suffered lately.

I'm sure I'll get back into the groove soon, but for the time being, enjoy the updates at For the Pilgrim's Progress.

Dale

Piper on Justification by Faith Alone

2007-03-18T14:57:00.001-07:00

Thanks to John at Locusts and Honey for introducing me to GodTube.

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 27

2007-03-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

72. Question: Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

Answer: No, only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.[1]

[1] Matt. 3:11; I Pet. 3:21; I John 1:7.

73. Question: Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins?

Answer: God speaks in this way for a good reason. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ remove our sins just as water takes away dirt from the body.[1] But, even more important, He wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that we are as truly cleansed from our sins spiritually as we are bodily washed with water.[2]

[1] I Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5; 7:14. [2] Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3, 4; Gal. 3:27.

74. Question: Should infants, too, be baptized?

Answer: Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God's covenant and congregation.[1] Through Christ's blood the redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are promised to them no less than to adults.[2] Therefore, by baptism, as sign of the covenant, they must be grafted into the Christian church and distinguished from the children of unbelievers.[3] This was done in the old covenant by circumcision,[4] in place of which baptism was instituted in the new covenant.[5]

[1] Gen. 17:7; Matt. 19:14. [2] Ps. 22:11; Is. 44:1-3; Acts 2:38, 39; 16:31. [3] Acts 10:47; I Cor. 7:14. [4] Gen. 17:9-14. [5] Col. 2: 11-13.

CLICK HERE to read a case regarding why infants should be baptized written by yours truly.

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 26

2007-03-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

69. Question: How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you?

Answer: In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing[1] and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and Spirit wash away the impurity of my soul, that is, all my sins.[2]

[1] Matt. 28:19. [2] Matt. 3:11; Mark 16:16; John 1:33; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3, 4; I Pet. 3:21.

70. Question: What does it mean to be washed with Christ's blood and Spirit?

Answer: To be washed with Christ's blood means to receive forgiveness of sins from God, through grace, because of Christ's blood, poured out for us in His sacrifice on the cross.[1] To be washed with His Spirit means to be renewed by the Holy Spirit and sanctified to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and lead a holy and blameless life.[2]

[1] Ez. 36:25; Zech. 13:1; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 12:24; I Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:5; 7:14. [2] John 3:5-8; Rom. 6:4; I Cor. 6:11; Col. 2:11, 12.

71. Question: Where has Christ promised that He will wash us with His blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?

Answer: In the institution of baptism, where He says: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). This promise is repeated where Scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins (Titus 3:5; Acts 22:16).

You can also listen to this sermon for this Heidelberg Catechism text entitled, The Focus on the Holy Baptism by Rev. Foppe VanderZwaag (is that a Dutch name, or what?)

Have a blessed Lord's Day,

Dale

William S. H. Piper (1919-2007)

2007-03-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds.

Justin recommended reading John Piper's reflections of his father's passing. Having now read it myself, I heartily encourage you to read it...even if you've never heard of John Piper or his father. Very moving. Very inspiring. Click here to read it.

Another Update...

2007-03-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

For The Pilgrim's Progress has been updated with prayers, devotions, and a great article on our need to have a spiritual mindset. Click here to visit For The Pilgrim's Progress.

Updates

2007-03-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Pastor's Study is updated with...

What Do Pastor's Do All Week?
Loving Your Library, Part 1
John MacArthur video podcasting available
Preaching Now newsletter is available

The Covenant Home is updated with...

How To Raise Godly Sons
Great new articles on family devotions, catechisms, etc.

Blessings,
Dale

The Pastor's Pastor

2007-03-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Most of you who read this blog (all 8 of you) have probably never heard of Albert Martin. Until about seven years ago I hadn't either. But I give thanks to God that I was "introduced" to him...through his audio messages. He has been my unofficial pastor ever since.

Pastor Martin serves a Baptist congregation on Montville, New Jersey. To hear his sermons is to be whisked away to another era. Once you hear him you will realize that he will never be asked to write for Leadership Journal or be asked to to speak at one of Willow Creek's Leadership Summits.

But for anyone interested in hearing God's Word preached with the unction of the Holy Spirit and keen biblical exposition, you need look no further. He's a humble man, and yet his sermons are bold and full of conviction.

His church used to be home to a Bible college/seminary of sorts. Though it no longer exists, you can still purchase lectures (and here...and here) that Pastor Martin gave to the men in his care. I listen to them at least once a year. You can also purchase other wonderful and encouraging messages by him that are addressed to pastors (see above links). It was once said of Charles Spurgeon that he "had an old soul"...meaning that he had more wisdom that anyone his age should have had. Pastor Martin comes across that way to me.

I'm not sure how many of you will enjoy him, agree with his exegesis, etc. However, if you are willing, there is much to learn from Albert Martin and much profit in allowing him to pastor you as well.

To purchase other sermons by Albert Martin click...here and here. Or, click here to listen to many of his sermons online (or download onto your mp3 player).

Blessings,
Dale

Judicial Council 1032: Christian Sexual Standards Defended and Challenged

2007-03-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Ray Nothstine

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) held a consultation in mid-February on the impact Judicial Council Decision 1032 will have in the life of the United Methodist Church. Decision 1032 upheld the right of a pastor in the Virginia Annual Conference to exclude an unrepentant practicing homosexual man from church membership. The pastor had appealed Virginia Bishop Charlene Kammerer's decision to suspend him without pay, after he had refused to obey the bishop's order to admit the man to membership.

The Nashville consultation was attended by those who affirmed traditional Christian teachings on sexual morality, as well as those who wished to chart a new course under the mantra of inclusiveness.

Click here to read the whole story.

Thanks to IRD

Far More Dangerous Than James Cameron's Jesus Documentary

2007-03-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

Every Easter and Christmas season (or Lent/Advent season) we've come to expect Time, U.S. News and World Report, and Newseek (and a myriad of cable channels) to gather the fringe of Christian "scholarship" and present us with topics such as why Jesus wasn't God...or why he didn't rise from the dead...or that he was married...or some such foolishness. It's so commonplace that it's hard to take it seriously.

But, in my humble opinion, something that is far more dangerous is a book entitled, The Secret...Oprah's latest obsession. Written and promoted by many self-help gurus, The Secret is so dangerous because, besides what it actually teaches, it is on Oprah's radar screen...and Oprah usually gets an unwarranted and undiscerning pass by way too many Christians. Who, after all, is more altruistic and open-minded than Oprah?

Donald Whitney has a great review of The Secret. It's well worth reading and then passing on to others who may be duped by this bit of "personal development." As a rule of thumb we need to always be careful of what or who we're developing into.

Here's a snippet of Whitney's review...

People are not only talking about The Secret, they are buying it. I am writing this review in a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and this particular branch has completely sold out of the book—again. Only two days ago—so I am told—a storewide announcement assured a horde of anxious shoppers that another large shipment of the book had arrived and would be brought to the sales floor momentarily. Readers quickly grabbed every copy. Almost impossibly, The Secret is even outselling (at this writing) the final Harry Potter book. And if that weren't enough, the audio edition of the book follows these two as the nation's number-three seller.

Click here to read the whole review.

Let me know if there are other reviews that I should link to.

Updated April 9, 2007 - Al Mohler has a brilliant critique of The Secret.

Stand Firm,

Dale

The Pastor's Study is Updated

2007-02-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Pastor's Study is updated with the following posts...

Is Your Church A Praying Church?
A Prayer for Fellow Pastors
Email Newsletters Updated

Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Jesus Bones

2007-02-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

Ouch. My head hurts. It started a couple of days ago when I heard that the eminent theologian, archaeologist, and biblical scholar, James Cameron, was going to show us the bones of Jesus. And because Cameron is so world renown in these fields of study, every newspaper (and TV news program) has picked up the story. And just in time for the Lenten season. Isn't that special.

Thought you might want to read some folks who are actually qualified to talk about this subject.

Al Mohler was on Larry King to talk about it (Click here)

Gene Edward Veith writes on it at Cranach

Ben Witherington is very thorough in his review.

Darrell Bock responds and also has a very interesting idea. (More by Bock)

Let me know of other reviews of the documentary and I'll add them to the list.

The King Has Spoken...Dawkins is Clueless

2007-02-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Richard Dawkin's has been on an evangelistic crusade for atheism and naturalism over the last few years.

Finally, the King of philosphers has read and reviewed Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, and found it wanting.

There's a great review of Plantinga's review at Al Mohler's blog. Click here to read it.

PS - To all of you budding philosphers out there...if you haven't read Plantinga...you haven't really read philosphy. Here's a link to Plantinga's website.

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 25

2007-02-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

65. Question: Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all His benefits, where does this faith come from?

Answer: From the Holy Spirit,[1] who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel,[2] and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.[3]

[1] John 3:5; I Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29. [2] Rom. 10:17; I Pet. 1:23-25. [3] Matt. 28:19, 20; I Cor. 10:16.

66. Question: What are the sacraments?

Answer: The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals. They were instituted by God so that by their use He might the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel.[1] And this is the promise: that God graciously grants us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life because of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross.[2]

[1] Gen. 17:11; Deut. 30:6; Rom. 4:11 [2] Matt. 26:27, 28; Acts 2:38; Heb. 10:10.
67. Question: Are both the Word and the sacraments then intended to focus our faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation?

Answer: Yes, indeed. The Holy Spirit teaches us in the gospel and assures us by the sacraments that our entire salvation rests on Christ's one sacrifice for us on the cross.[1]

[1] Rom. 6:3; I Cor. 11:26; Gal. 3:27.

68. Question: How many sacraments has Christ instituted in the new covenant?

Answer: Two: holy baptism and the holy supper.[1]

[1] Matt. 28:19, 20; I Cor. 11:23-26.

A Shepherd's Heart

2007-02-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 12:14–15, 19

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. [15] So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.

There are many examples of bad shepherds in the Bible with misguided motives and self-centered behavior. However, the Apostle Paul is by no means one of them. Like anyone placed in leadership, he was occasionally under suspicion. But his life was a continual witness to the purity and goodness of his motives and his obedience to his Lord.

Paul makes it clear to the Corinthians that he does not want their possessions – their money and material goods, their power or influence – he wants them. He had labored for this church and with them. He told them that not only would he spend his own money on them and give them what he had, but would even spend himself – his very being – for their sake. That’s how much he wanted to see them grow in grace.

Paul told them that all that he had done, and was doing, was for their strengthening. His desire was to build them up in the faith – to equip and edify them.

This should be at the heart of every shepherd of Jesus Christ. And that list of “every shepherd” is a long list indeed. For it is not merely those who have been ordained by the church who are shepherds, but those who are mothers and fathers, Bible study teachers and small group leaders, youth counselors and Vacation Bible School volunteers, just to name a few.

I wonder how many shepherds today are “spending and being spent” (as the KJV puts it) on behalf of their flock – those entrusted by God to their care. I wonder how many would look more like those chastised shepherds of the Old Testament who worked from unworthy motives.

Our checklist for this might look like this:

1.) Are we looking for a paycheck or are we looking to invest ourselves in people’s lives? A paycheck may be money, or attention, or seeking to be well thought of, or any number of things that put us at the center of the equation.

2.) Are we doing time or are we seeking to build up those in our care? Are we spending ourselves that others may see Christ in our very lives, or are we doing the minimal required and thus doing virtually no one any good at all?

Let us recommit ourselves to be faithful shepherds for our Good Shepherd, that we may be counted worthy to serve him.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Loads of Updates!!!

2007-02-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

I've added quite a few articles and links to some of my other blogs that I think many of you who stop by here may want to check out.

For all of you pastors, there are some great new articles linked to my blog, The Pastor's Study. Everything from evaluating the ministry to the dangers of preaching a "health and wealth" gospel can be found there.

I have updated last week's post on William Wilberforce and the new movie about him, Amazing Grace. If you are at all interested in learning more about this man and this movie, then you will want to click here.

If you are interested in some great tips on how to raise your teenager daughter, learning about the world of homeschooling, or why so many good readers have disappeared, then you will want to check out my blog, The Covenant Home.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there are a couple of great new additions at my blog for spiritual formation called, For The Pilgrim's Progress.

For all the garbage there is on the internet, God has certainly blessed us with some real treasures. I hope that these links will help you find something that will be edifying to you.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dale

Prayer and Healing Service

2007-02-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

Prayer & Healing Service

James 5:13-18 - Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is nyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. [14] Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. [17] Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. [18] Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

God wants his people to pray. Fewer things in Scripture are clearer than that. To pray is to enter into communion with God and thereby deepen our relationship with him. God wants us to know him, love him, and follow him. These are the very aspects of our relationship with him that prayer helps develop in the life of God’s people.

Prayer is a multifaceted thing. In and through prayer we adore God, confess sins, offer thanksgiving, and intercede on behalf of loved ones, just to name a few components of prayer. God also wants us to pray for healing. Indeed, he is the Great Physician. In fact, a substantial part of Jesus’ ministry dealt with healing.

On Sunday, March 11 at 5pm (in Langley Chapel) we will be holding a Prayer and Healing Service. In this service we will spend time praying together and praying alone. We will pray for healing and anoint with oil. We will lift our hearts and voices to God in prayer through songs of praise.

Please plan on joining us as we explore together new and vital ways to enter God’s presence and deepen our relationship with our Lord and Friend through prayer. Pastor Bruce continually calls our Southside family to do things that will cause the world’s jaw to drop. One way we can do that – an essential way for us to do that – is by becoming known as “Southside United Methodist Church: The Praying Church.” But more importantly, God wants to hear from us. Our own John Wesley said, “"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." Let’s join together for that purpose on Sunday March 11 at 5pm.

If you have any questions about this service, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at DaleTedder@yahoo.com or 396-2676.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dale

Witherington's Critique of Rob Bell...etc.

2007-02-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ben Witherington has an important critique of one of the "emergent church's" chief spokesmen, Rob Bell. (Thanks to Justin Taylor)

Here's a snippet...

Of course it is true that we all are sinners who fall short of the glory of God, so there is no basis for finger pointing on such issues, and everyone must in all humility deal with their own sins rather than focusing on other people's sins. A Christian approach must be that everyone is welcome to come to Christ and come into the church as they are without pre-conditions. But no one is welcome to stay as they are--- no one. They all must change, repent of their sins as needed, and strive to live in newness of life whether gay or straight.

Click here to read the whole piece.

How May I Pray for You?

2007-02-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

If you have a prayer request for this week that you would like to share with others and me, please click on "comments" immediately below this post and write it out in the provided space. Doing that will enable anyone who clicks on "comments" to read and pray for your request(s).

You may also want to check back later to discover how you can pray for someone else...or offer your support and encouragement.

If you have a prayer request that is more private in nature, then please click below on the envelope symbol which will enable you to send a private email to me only. (Or you may simply click here: DaleTedder@yahoo.com).

Stand Firm,
Dale

Prayer for Today

2007-02-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

I DRAW NEAR TO YOU, GOD

I praise You, Lord, that You are intimately acquainted with my ways and that You always love me and have my best interests at heart.

May I flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)

May I not set my heart on evil things, or be an idolater, or commit sexual immorality. (1 Corinthians 10:6-8)

Take a moment to offer this day to the Lord and ask Him for the grace to grow in your knowledge and love for Him.

THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

I will trust in the Lord forever, for in Yahweh, the Lord, I have an everlasting Rock. (Isaiah 26:4)

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions committed under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15)

I LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS OF TRUTH

I know that my old self was crucified with Christ, so that the body of sin might be done away with, that I should no longer be a slave to sin; for the one who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)

MY RESPONSE TO YOU, LORD

The waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to wisdom will live securely and be at ease from the fear of evil. (Proverbs 1:32-33)

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding, for its profit is greater than that of silver, and its gain than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing I desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and happy are those who hold her fast. (Proverbs 3:13-18)

Lord, I thank You that I can trust in You forever and that Christ has promised the gift of an eternal inheritance. I thank You for my deliverance in Christ from the bondage of sin, and I ask that I would find wisdom and gain understanding.

From KenBoa.org

Tozer Devotion for This Lord's Day

2007-02-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

MONEY IS NOT TRUTH

It is a fact in human history that men and women have never in any great numbers sought after truth. The young people who stream from our halls of learning each year confess to having no more than a passing and academic interest in truth. The majority admit that they go to college only to improve their social standing and increase their earning power. So, the average American will confess that he most wants success in his chosen field; and he wants success both for prestige and for financial security. The ominous thing about all this is that everything men and women want can be bought with money, and it would be difficult to think of an indictment more terrible than that! Real seekers after truth are almost as rare as albino deer! Why? Because truth is a glorious but hard master. Jesus said, "I am the Truth," and followed Truth straight to the Cross. The Truth seeker must follow Him there and that is the reason few men seek the Truth!

Prayer: Lord, May I always seek the truth. May I always seek you. May I know you better, and grow in the knowlege of your will.

Scripture: The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.— Proverbs 10:22

Thought: Everything men and women want can be bought with money, and it would be difficult to think of an indictment more terrible than that!

From Tozer Devotional

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 24

2007-02-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

62. Question: But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

Answer: Because the righteousness which can stand before God's judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God,[1] whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.[2]

[1] Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10. [2] Is. 64:6.

63. Question: But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next?

Answer: This reward is not earned[1]; it is a gift of grace.[2]

[1] Matt. 5:12; Heb. 11:6. [2] Luke 17:10; II Tim. 4:7, 8.

64. Question: Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked?

Answer: No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.[1]

[1] Matt. 7:18; Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5.

Stupid Church Tricks

2007-02-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

by Gene Edward Veith

Four sets of parents are suing a church in Indiana for what happened at a New Year's Eve lock-in. A youth leader chewed up a mixture of dog food, sardines, potted meat, sauerkraut, cottage cheese, and salsa, topped off with holiday eggnog. As if this spectacle were not disgusting enough (let the reader beware), he then spit out the mixture into a glass and encouraged the members of the youth group to drink it!

Some of those who did, of course, became sick, whereupon their parents sued the church. According to an Associated Press account, the youth pastor said that the "gross-out" game, called the Human Vegematic, was just for fun and that the church forced no one to participate. The lawsuit accused the adults in charge of pressuring 13- and 14-year-olds into activities that caused them physical and mental harm.

Click here to read the whole article. Also, click Veith's blog from today's post on the same subject.

Thanks to Cranach.

Discern or Deceived

2007-02-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 11:3-4

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

These words from the Apostle Paul are familiar. His letter to the Galatian church, for example, is almost completely devoted to this line of thought. Jesus himself has much to say on this topic as well. Therefore, we probably ought to pay attention here.

Without an intentional effort on our part to be discerning in this world, we will become too easily deceived. False teachers endeavor to tempt and seduce us each and every day with “Jesus-shaped” words that in reality are only perversions of the genuine article.

Furthermore, Paul is not addressing a lukewarm congregation or a group of pagans here. He is writing to those he doesn’t want to see led astray from their “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” This is frightening because it reminds us that any of us, if we are not on our guard, can be easily led astray by smooth-talkers who bring a “Jesus” who is no Jesus; a worldly spirit that is no spirit of Christ; or a “gospel” that is no gospel at all. The undiscerning can be mesmerized by pleas for tolerance, relevance, peace, unity, or the hundred other paths that would take them off the straight and narrow.

The path to the City of Destruction is wide and comfortable and is well beaten by many who have gone before us. The road to the City of God is narrow and fraught with trials and temptations and few there are who walk it.

But God’s grace is sufficient. And his power is made known in and through our weakness. We don’t have to fall prey to deception. We can trust God uncompromisingly, even in the fiery furnace of this world. If we would but keep our eyes open to the glorious vision of our Lord and hear his words, we would see that he has already walked down the narrow path before us, and if it was wide enough for him, it will be wide enough for us.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Thomas Oden - Theologian

2007-02-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

I cut some of my very early theological teeth on Oden. I heartily commend him... because when you read Oden, you read virtually all of the important players in church history.

Article on Thomas Oden for the Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. by Victor Shepherd - and here -
Thomas Oden's Paleo-Orthodoxy by Eric Landstrom
Thomas Oden at Wikipedia
Thomas Oden at Book Rags
Thomas Oden at Theopedia
Thomas Oden's Charge of Heresy Concerning the Denial of God's Foreknowledge by John Piper
WITHOUT EXCUSE: CLASSIC CHRISTIAN EXEGESIS OF GENERAL REVELATION by Thomas Oden
Do I Really Need to Study Church History? Q&A with Thomas Oden
Interview with Oden on Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
Mission-Driven FaithAn interview with Thomas Oden and J.I. Packer - Interview by David Neff
A Calm Answer… to a critique of "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration." by Thomas C. Oden - and here -
Discovering Unity: Two theologians are bullish on evangelical futures. By David Neff
Choking on Modernity

Go See This Movie: Amazing Grace

2007-02-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

Starting February 23

Before you go and see the movie Amazing Grace, (and you absolutely must), you ought to learn a little about the man who is the subject of the movie - William Wilberforce.

You would be served well by reading and/or listening to John Piper's biographical message on Wilberforce. (I highly recommend listening to it. It will bless and inspire you.)

Piper has also written this about Wilberforce...and this.

Buy the book on Wilberforce entitled, Amazing Grace.

Or watch Piper answer this question: "What do your book on William Wilberforce and the movie about him have to do with each other?"

Justin Taylor has provided this post on Wilberforce...and this...and this.

Here's a helpful biography on Wilberforce at Prison Fellowship. And make sure to read this from Christian History & Biography.

Here's the website to view the trailer.

Reviews of Movie Coming Soon...

Added 2-20-07 - The Spirit of Wilberforce: Worldview in Action by Charles Colson (make sure to look at the great links at the bottom of the page as well).

Added 2-22-07 - The Power of Patience: William Wilberforce took the long view—and nothing less would stop slavery. by Mark Galli

Added 2-22-07 - Wilberforce "Mega-Page" at Christianity Today Movies

Added 2-22-07 - The Philanthropist By Kevin Belmonte at BreakPoint

Added 2-22-07 - The Spirit of Wilberforce by Chuck Colson (with great links at the bottom of the page)

Added 2-22-07 - Wilberforce Mega-Page at Leadership University

God's Renaissance Man

2007-02-13T06:23:00.000-08:00

It's probably easier to ask what didn't Abraham Kuyper do than what did he do. Committed Christian. Cultural Warrior. Founder of a political party, Prime minister and statesman. Newspaper founder and editor. Founder and president of a university and professor. Pastor. Writer. He did all that and more.

I believe with many that Abraham Kuyper is one of the most important role models for Christians today. He is someone you ought to get to know.

Fact Sheet on Abraham Kuyper by David Naugle
An Introduction to the Thought of Abraham Kuyper by David Naugle
Abraham Kuyper: A Christian Worldview by McKendree R. Langley
Abraham Kuyper: A Man for This Season by Richard Mouw
The Kuyper Foundation
Abraham Kuyper: Christian Cultural Activist
Abraham Kuyper
Kyper's Stone Lectures
The Radical Life and Thought of Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper Center of Public Theology
Abraham Kuyper: Dutch Calvinist
Human Dignity, Personal Liberty: Themes from Abraham Kuyper and Leo XIII by Michael Novak (at Acton)
Passionate About the Poor: The Social Attitudes of Abraham Kuyper by James D. Bratt (at Acton)
The Jurisprudential Legacy of Abraham Kuyper and Leo XIII by Johan D. van der Vyver (at Acton)
Abraham Kuyper and the Holland-America Line of Liberty by John Bolt (at Acton)
Abraham Kuyper at The Acton Institute
Studies related to Abraham Kuyper by Glenn Friesen
The Abraham Kuyper Society (blog)
Celebrating Abraham Kuyper
HISTORY WARS I: Taking A Shot At Redemption
The Politics of ServiceThree Christian activists who drew on faith to fight social challenges by Collin Hansen
Policy Wonks for ChristAt Civitas, grad students learn to think Christianly about public life. By Lauren F. Winner

Good book on Kuyper - God's Renaissance Man: Abraham Kuyper By: James E. McGoldrick - (Order here from ChristianBook.com)

A Pink Reformation?

2007-02-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Al Mohler writes,

Theo Hobson is a very thoughtful commentator on contemporary Christianity. He holds a doctorate from Cambridge University and writes regularly for The Guardian [London]. In his most recent column, "A Pink Reformation," Hobson argues that controversies over homosexuality now present the Christian church with a credibility crisis of historic proportions. Hobson presents an argument that demands careful attention.

Indeed, Hobson argues that the church now faces a shift as cataclysmic as the Reformation of the 16th century. He asserts that it is "not absurd" to draw this parallel, arguing that the debate about homosexuality poses "a serious threat to organized religion." As he sets his case:

Click here to read the whole article.

The Me Church

2007-02-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Willow Creek's new ad campaign???

The Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup....is UP

2007-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Click here to check out what's on the minds of bloggers in the Methodist blogosphere.

Many thanks to Allan Bevere for his tireless work in bringing this to us each week.

Prayer of Confession

2007-02-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

O Lord, you have called us to be your disciples, dedicated to your service, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices. We have been unwilling followers who have failed to live up to your expectations. Forgive us, we pray, and enable us to serve you faithfully all our days. For Christ's sake. Amen

from Lectionary Worship Aids, Cycle A by H. Burnham Kirkland

Words and Wisdom from Wesley

2007-02-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

May we not endeavor, Secondly, to instruct them? to take care that every person who is under our roof have all such knowledge as is necessary to salvation?... and you should take care that they have some time every day for reading, meditation, and prayer; and you should inquire whether they do actually employ that time in the exercises for which it is allowed. Neither should any day pass without family prayer, seriously and solemnly performed.

from A Wesleyan Spiritual Reader by Rueben P. Job

A few of Wesley's general questions before his evening devotions...

1.) With what degree of attention and fervor did I use my morning prayers, public or private?

2.) Have I done anything without a present, or at least a previous, perception of its direct or remote tendency to the glory of God?

3.) Did I in the morning consider what particular virtue I was to exercise and what business I had to do in the day?

4.) Have I been zealous to undertake, and active in doing, what good I could?

from John and Charles Wesley: Selected Prayers, Hymns, and Sermons with Forward by Peter J. Gomes

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 23

2007-02-11T04:27:00.000-08:00

59. Question: But what does it help you now that you believe all this?

Answer: In Christ I am righteous before God and heir to life everlasting.[1]

[1] Hab. 2:4; John 3:36; Rom. 1:17; 5:1, 2.

60. Question: How are you righteous before God?

Answer: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.[1] Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,[2] and am still inclined to all evil,[3] yet God, without any merit of my own,[4] out of mere grace,[5] imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.[6] He grants these to me as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,[7] if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.[8]

[1] Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11. [2] Rom. 3:9, 10. [3] Rom. 7:23. [4] Deut. 9:6; Ezek. 36:22; Tit. 3:4, 5. [5] Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8. [6] Rom. 4:3-5; II Cor. 5:17-19; I John 2:1, 2. [7] Rom. 4:24, 25; II Cor. 5:21. [8] John 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom. 3:22.

61. Question: Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?

Answer: Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God.[1] I can receive this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone.[2]

[1] I Cor. 1:30, 31; 2:2. [2] Rom. 10:10; I John 5:10-12.

Political and Conservative???

2007-02-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

I started off responding to John the Methodist's post at Locusts and Honey. But I felt that my response to was too long for a reply, so I thought I would put it here.

John,

I know of many thinkers/think tanks, (as well as important historic voices) who are committed Christians and who believe that their politics, economics, social theories, etc., are biblical positions and not nods to modern humanism.

It's just that in UMC circles we often assume that certain political worldviews have cornered the market on what it means to be Christian and political. Thus, for some, social-justice issues seem to only relate to current national political platforms. Some emphasize, almost exclusively, ministries to the poor, and do not include justice for the unborn, etc. Or pacifism...and not Just War theories which seek to minister to one's neighbor. (And, by the way, vice versa.)

Or, very often, one side will be for "the least and the last" and because the other side (whatever that even means) doesn't hold to the same method for "solving the problem" they are castigated and vilified as unChristian. Thus, for some, George Bush is an evil monster for his military strategy and not a godly liberator of the oppressed. It's just far more complicated than either side gives credit for in a world of blogs and soundbites.

Having my feet in both worlds has been very enlightening for me as I seek to have a more balanced and complete view of such things (though I've got my own biases and have quite a long way to go). As for politics, as long as we see it as a means to an end...and not the end itself, I believe Christians are called to engage the culture as salt and light... even politically.

We must also remember that it's Jesus Christ who redeems us and makes us whole...not politics. I do believe with all my heart that God's Kingdom on earth should actually make a difference in our lives here and now. I just worry when Christians on either side make politics mean too much. God saves...not politics.

Thanks for the post John.

Cheers,
Dale

Single Issue Voting

2007-02-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

With the announcement that Rudolph Giuliani would be throwing his hat in the ring for President, the issue has come up: What about his stand on abortion? The default response from his supporters seems to be, "We can't be (or shouldn't be) single-issue voters." I'm not so sure that not voting for Giuliani would be over a single issue, but for me that issue is present.

What do we do in such a circumstance? How do we handle our decision to vote, or not to vote, for someone over a single issue that is near and dear to our hearts? John Piper has some good thoughts on the subject. I thought I would pass them along to you.

Here's a snippet...

Investigating dog life in Minnesota has solidified my decision to vote against those who endorse the right to abortion. So then what is my response to the charge of being a one-issue voter?

No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.

Click here to read the rest of the article at Desiring God.

Here's the take on this issue, specifically about abortion and Giuliani, at National Review Online.

Updates

2007-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of days I've updated the following blogs...

The Pastor's Study (Brand new. I hope this will become an interactive resource for pastor-types who would like to discuss "shepherd-life" with other pastors. I welcome your ideas.)
For The Pilgrim's Progress (An interactive discipling/spiritual direction resource for those folks who are out-of-town...or barricaded in their offices at work all day.
Baxter's Directory (A tribute to my pastoral-leadership hero, Richard Baxter...a true Shepherd of Souls.)
The Covenant Home (Probably one of the nearest and dearest things to my heart - the cultivation of family-life in a Christian and covenantal context...try saying that three times fast)
Tedder TV (Total silliness for my kids, my wife, and my dear sister-in-law...and anyone else who enjoys "mostly" 70s and 80s music)

Stop by and check them out. They are all works in progress. I can't give them all the time I want (I can barely keep this one current...and it's my primary blog). But they're all fun to do and serve as occasional diversions. And hey, I've got to be doing something while everyone else is watching Lost and 24.

Cheers,
Dale

Be Still and Wait

2007-02-07T04:55:00.000-08:00

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

I want to speak up. I want to defend myself. I want to act. Perhaps there is a proper time and place for this, but most of the time I am simply bowing to my flesh. My pride is at stake.

Jesus never defended himself to Pilate, or anyone else for that matter. He didn’t need to. He knew who he was and what his purpose was. His relationship with his Father was so deep and solid that he did not even feel the need to make his case. And because of his single-mindedness toward his mission, he never felt the need to call the multitudes of angels (who were certainly ready) to his aid and defense.

“Be still before the Lord” is counter to my fleshly instincts. It requires the kind of trust that I desire, but am in short supply of. “Wait patiently” for God is also difficult. This is even truer once you realize that God’s plan for you in a particular situation, more than likely, will not be what you had in mind. We want God’s warrior-angels flying to our rescue to deliver us from the wicked. But instead, God often leads us to a cross – that we might die to ourselves – to our desires and demands.

Martin Luther wrote:

“God lives and reigns who saved the three youths from the fiery furnace of the king of Babylon, and if he will not save me, my head is worth nothing compared with Christ. This is no time to think of safety. I must take care that the gospel is not brought into contempt by our fear to confess and seal our teaching with our blood.”

Regardless of God’s plan for me – whether to deliver me or vindicate me or allow me to enter deeply into a trial, I must be still before him and wait patiently for him. He is holy, good, and just and will deal with others according to his will. I need only concern myself with me – and my faithfulness to him. For he is ultimately the only one I will stand before to give an answer. May he give me the grace and strength to do so.

Stand Firm,
Dale

And when I run I feel His pleasure.

2007-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

Another C.S. Lewis Film In The Works

2007-02-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

From Empire Movie News...

Walden Media, the family-friendly and just-a-bit religious company behind The Chronicles of Narnia, has announced plans to make another, non-Narnia film based on the works of CS Lewis. But this time, it’s the turn of The Screwtape Letters.

Click here to read the whole article.

This is fantastic news...though I can't imagine how in the world the movie would look.

Thanks to Gene Edward Veith at Cranach

Following Hard After God

2007-02-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ken Boa has a great resource that he wrote a while back which perfectly compliments A.W. Tozer's classic work, The Pursuit of God. Here's a snippet from Boa's chapter entitled, Following Hard After God.

“What do you want more than anything else in the world?” The question is always there. It ignites the wish behind every birthday candle ceremony. It enchants the dream expressed in every child’s Christmas list for Santa. It informs the hope that accompanies every wedding toast. It breeds the expectation that attaches to each new birth. It fuels the yearning that erupts in a mid-life crisis. It colors our understanding of every promise in Scripture. And it articulates the imbedded anguish in every prayer request. It is the question: “What do you really want?” “What do you really want from God?” “What do you really want from God, more than anything else in the world?”

Aiden W. Tozer’s answer to that profound question is elegant simplicity itself. More than anything else in the world, he wanted God,
God alone. And so he chose to order his life around that one single pursuit – the pursuit of God. And he penned a classic little book that invites us to join him in that holy pilgrimage. In 1948, he offered The Pursuit of God as a “modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children so to find Him.”

In many ways Tozer was a modern-day prophet as well as a down-to-earth mystic. He was a self-educated man, forced by his home situation to forfeit the formal education of either high school or college. Yet, through years of diligent study and disciplined prayer, he prepared himself for the God-ordained role of calling the modern Church back to the practice of godliness. With no teacher but the Holy Spirit and many good books by ancient spiritual masters, he looked up from his lifelong posture of kneeling and cried out for others to follow him in the only pursuit that truly satisfies. He was convinced that a life given to seeking God first does not constrict one’s life, but enlarges it beyond one’s wildest wishes, hopes, and dreams.

Both Boa and Tozer are included in my post, Brethren of the Deeper Life. They both have contributed to my spiritual formation like few others. I heartily encourage you to read any and every thing by both of these men (especially Tozer...as I'm sure Boa would agree).

Click here to read the whole chapter on Following Hard After God.

Tozer Devotion

2007-02-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

THE GOSPEL WARNING

We who rejoice in the blessings that have come to us through the Savior, need to bear in mind that the gospel is not good news only! The message of the Cross is good news indeed for the penitent, but to those who obey not the gospel it carries an overtone of warning. The Spirit's ministry to the impenitent world is to tell of sin and righteousness and judgment. For sinners who want to cease being willful sinners and become obedient children of God, the gospel message is one of unqualified peace, but it is by its very nature also an arbiter of the future destinies of man. Actually, the message of the gospel may be received in either of two ways: in word only without power, or in word with power. The truth received in power shifts the bases of life from Adam to Christ-a new and different Spirit enters the personality and makes the believing man new in every department of his being!

Prayer: Lord, I am reminded that to truly be your son I had to surrender all to you. Help me daily to renew your Lordship in my life by remembering what your salvation requires.

Scripture: As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled.— Acts 24:25

Thought: The message of the Cross is good news indeed for the penitent, but to those who obey not the gospel it carries an overtone of warning.

From Tozer Devotional

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 22

2007-02-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

57. Question: What comfort does the resurrection of the body offer you?

Answer: Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head,[1] but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ's glorious body.[2]

[1] Luke 16:22; 23:43; Phil. 1:21-23. [2] Job 19:25, 26; I Cor. 15:20, 42-46, 54; Phil. 3:21; I John 3:2.

58. Question: What comfort do you receive from the article about the life everlasting?

Answer: Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, [1] I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness, such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived-- a blessedness in which to praise God forever.[2]

[1] John 17:3; Rom. 14:17; II Cor. 5:2, 3. [2] John 17:24; I Cor. 2:9.

A Calvinist Faces Death

2007-02-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Al Mohler was recently near death in the ICU. Thankfully, he pulled through. Time Magazine interviewed him and asked him a few questions about his experience as it relates to Mohler's Calvinism.

Click here to read the interview.

(Thanks to Justin Taylor)

Jesus Seminar: Friend or Foe?

2007-02-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

Dusted this one off from the archives. I know it's a fairly dated topic, but since new versions of old arguments (eg., The DaVinci Code) continue to spring up, I thought it might be worth bringing this old article out of the crypt...

Jesus Seminar: Friend or Foe
by Dale Tedder

In November 1989, an article was published in my denomination's magazine for clergy which essentially asks the question whether the Jesus Seminar is a friend or foe of the church. (1) The author, Arthur Maynard, provides reasoning that, in his opinion, suggests that the Jesus Seminar is far less trouble to the church than the unbridled literalistic interpretation of Scripture that is running rampant.(2) It is in that vein that the author, a former college professor, writes his article. He briefly summarizes three methodological tools used by the Jesus Seminar in their effort to decide what are authentic sayings of Jesus. He writes:

"Scholars use three criteria in their effort to determine what material goes back to the earthly Jesus. 1) An account or a saying is regarded as authentic if it is inconsistent with first century Judaism. ...2) An item is considered authentic if it is incompatible with the early church. ...3) Items that may not meet either of the first two criteria but are consistent with those that do may be considered authentic."(3)

Thankfully, he suggests that the first two criteria are "very limiting."(4) However, that is the end of the good news. After a brief defense of Robert Funk's(5) credentials, Maynard describes Funk's purpose of the Jesus Seminar. The Seminar's purpose is to serve as a combatant against the ignorant popularity of fundamentalism. The church, according to Funk and Maynard, needs to move beyond literalism. The article concludes by asking the question once again: Is the Jesus Seminar a friend or a foe of the church? The answer for Maynard is, if the Jesus Seminar helps the church move beyond biblical literalism, and if the pastors in the church are forced to get out their seminary notes for a refresher in biblical studies, then the Jesus Seminar "is our friend."(6)

The article by Maynard, perhaps because of when it was written, falls far short of presenting an accurate picture of the Jesus Seminar. It is outside the scope of this paper to spend time speculating why Maynard entirely omitted the historical influences of the Jesus Seminar. So too, it is outside the parameter of this paper to theorize as to why he did not even offer a reasonable critique of the Seminar's methodology. However, after offering a short-list of the presuppositions of the Jesus Seminar, I will offer a critique of one presupposition in particular and propose a suggestion as to why this was completely ignored by Maynard.

Craig L. Blomberg provides a helpful list of the working presuppositions that the Jesus Seminar used in their search for the authenticity of Jesus' words.(7) Due to the brevity of this paper I cannot list them all, however, here is a partial list:

1) The authors of the four canonical Gospels are not Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

2) None of these four Gospels were written before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.

3) Jesus' teachings were altered in the oral tradition.

4) The early church invented sayings of Jesus that had little or no basis in what he actually taught.

5) If a saying can be demonstrated to promote later Christian causes, it could not have originated with Jesus.

6) The historicity of John's gospel is extremely suspect.

7) Historical analysis cannot admit the supernatural as an explanation for an event. Therefore, Jesus' words after his resurrection cannot be authentic.

8) Jesus never explained his parables and aphorisms.

9) Jesus never directly declared who he was.

10) The burden of proof rests on any particular scholar who would claim authenticity for a particular saying of Jesus and not on the skeptic.

Maynard offers only three presuppositions in his assessment of the Jesus Seminar, while Blomberg's list contains ten and is still incomplete. Each of these presuppositions is worthy of a full treatment and critique, however, I will examine only one. The rest of this paper will focus on the seventh presupposition: the exclusion of the supernatural as an explanation for an event. I will provide some historical background on the subject and then uncover its deeper philosophical and theological presuppositions. I suspect that Maynard realizes the explosive potential of this presupposition if it were to be shared with the church at large. I believe this is the reason why there was no mention of it is his article.

Restricting supernatural explanations from historical investigation has its roots all the way back to David Hume. It was Hume that suggested that:

"while it is not uncommon for witnesses to be mistaken, it is uncommon for miracles to take place. Hence the historicity of a miracle cannot be accepted except on the most reliable and unequivocal evidence. ...Hume ... believed that in every case it was more probable that the witnesses were wrong than that a miracle had actually taken place. Measured by this standard, many of the miracles attributed to Jesus could be said to have little claim to historicity, since the evidence for them is meager and its reliability is suspect."(8)

The supernatural element of Christianity was gradually removed from New Testament scholarship due to the philosophical naturalism that was so much a part of the enlightenment. The 19th century produced the First Quest for the historical Jesus. This "quest" was an effort by New Testament Scholars to remove the "mythical" and supernatural elements of the New Testament so that scholars could find the "Jesus of history" and not the "Christ of faith." In fact, it was no less than Albert Schweitzer who said:

"This dogma [that Christ is the God-man] had first to be shattered before men could once more go out in quest of the historical Jesus, before they could even grasp the thought of His existence. That the historic Jesus is something different from the Jesus Christ of the doctrine of the Two Natures seems now to us self-evident."(9)

Deism's effect on New Testament scholarship removed the historic Christian understanding of God. The idea that although God was transcendent, he was also immanent in being, history, the incarnation, and the Holy Spirit was all but gone. Kant's notion of confining God to the noumenal realm had taken over. Grounded in this understanding of God, if in fact God was still believed in at all, scholars developed methods of historical analysis which removed God from the equation. It is this tradition of which the Jesus Seminar claims to be a part. In fact in an interview, Robert Funk explained part of his rationale for extracting the supernatural elements from the New Testament. He said if the enlightenment showed us anything, it was that miracles do not happen.(10)

It is this a priori exclusion of God and the supernatural that sets the real agenda for the Jesus Seminar. I would also suggest that it is this presupposition that Maynard knows all too well would enrage the laity. What we believe about God is essential to what we believe about Jesus and the supernatural. If God is excluded at the beginning of the process, God surely will not be there at the end. If God does not exist, or at best does not participate in history, then an antisupernaturalistic approach to the Bible (and consequently the removal of elements such as Jesus' deity) are certainly the logical conclusions.

In addition to these obvious conclusions concerning the work of the Jesus Seminar, there are some fundamental problems with philosophical naturalism as a foundation for historical research. First of all, to rule out an historical claim a priori is a claim to be omniscient. That is, one must claim to know all that can and cannot happen in the universe. Secondly, "antisupernaturalism is historically reductionistic."(11) Historical research requires analytical investigation of all the applicable material prior to a decision. However, I hasten to add, neither of these issues will even be addressed in a worldview that excludes God at the beginning.

Curiously, this antisupernatural presupposition of the Jesus Seminar typically does not appear in the popular and mainstream information about their work. Instead, the lack of disclosure concerning the Jesus Seminar's philosophical naturalism facilitates the notion that this is merely "honest scholarship."

In truth, however, one could predict the conclusions of the Jesus Seminar before it even began. Richard Hays comments:

"The participants in this poll were those who chose to take part over a span of eight years in a seminar sponsored, not by one of the major scholarly societies such as the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas or the Society of Biblical Literature, but by Funk's maverick entrepreneurial venture, the Westar Institute... This self-selected group, though it includes several fine scholars, does not represent a balanced cross-section of scholarly opinion."(12)

Additionally, D.A. Carson suggests that if he were allowed to select 75 conservative scholars, the results would be radically different. Yet the Jesus Seminar permits the popular press to present it as an objective and well-balanced consensus of New Testament scholarship. However, the Jesus Seminar is intentionally aimed at reaching the populace via the mainstream media. This is Funk's way of combating fundamentalism and television-evangelists.

Yet even the most cursory investigation of the work of the Jesus Seminar reveals its agenda and presuppositions. Instead of this being groundbreaking scholarship, I concur with Richard Hays who asserts,

"that this imaginative book has been produced by a self-selected body of scholars who hold a set of unconventional views about Jesus and the gospels. ...[T]heir attempt to present these views as 'the assured results of critical scholarship' is- one must say it- reprehensible deception."(13)

Though the critique of the other presuppositions and methods of the Jesus Seminar is needed and quite helpful to get an overall picture, I am persuaded that the unveiling of this naturalistic presupposition at the beginning of the analysis is all that is required for finding out where it will end.

Footnotes

1. The United Methodist, "Circuit Rider."

2.It must be said that the author never once defines his use of the term "biblical literalist." However, he does include the "literalists" in the category of those who believe that every word in the Bible was dictated by God. This is a most unfortunate inclusion. I would agree with B.B. Warfield: "It ought to be unnecessary to protect again against the habit of representing the advocates of verbal inspiration as teaching that the mode of inspiration was by dictation." The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, (p. 173 n. 9). In the same book Warfield concludes: "The Reformed Churches have never held such a theory; though dishonest, careless, ignorant or over-eager controverters of its doctrine have often brought the charge." (Ibid. P. 421)

3. Arthur H. Maynard, "The Jesus Seminar: Friend or Foe?," Circuit Rider (November 1989), p. 11.

4. Ibid.

5. Robert Funk is the founder and head of the Jesus Seminar.

6. Maynard, Ibid.

7. Craig L. Blomberg, "The Seventy-Four 'Scholars': Who Does The Jesus Seminar Really Speak For?," The Christian Research Journal (Fall 1994), p. 35.

8. I. Howard Marshall, I Believe in the Historical Jesus. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co.), p. 59.

9. Robert B. Strimple, The Modern Search For The Real Jesus. (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing), p. 9.

10. This is a paraphrase of what Funk said in Arts and Entertainment's program called "Jesus: A Biography."

11. Blomberg, p. 36.

12. Richard B. Hays, "The Corrected Jesus," First Things (May 1994), p.44.

13. Ibid., p. 47.

A Man of Prayer

2007-01-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a few books on prayer by E.M. Bounds as of late. Talk about convicting! What I have enjoyed most is how his life seemed to match the words of his books. Here is some information about Bounds that may be of interest to some of you.

A Biography of E.M. Bounds by Dr. Darrell King

E.M. Bounds Website

Works of E.M. Bounds at CCEL

E.M. Bounds: A Life of Prayer by Richard Cole, Sr.

E.M. Bounds Page (Prayer Hero) at Prayer Foundation.org

Take Jesus at His Word

2007-01-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

John 4:50

Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

The royal official didn’t first wait for a miracle before he believed. He didn’t wait for Jesus to first “prove himself” to be worthy of trust. He took Jesus at his word. He believed Jesus. Jesus told the man that his dying son would live. That was all the official needed from the Lord.

How I wish this text described me more. To take that step of faith…without prior confirmation…can sometimes (often???) be frightening. But I find myself still wanting that. And sometimes the Lord is pleased to throw me a bone. But I think he would rather have me remember the hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of ways that he has proven himself capable and faithful to his people throughout redemptive history…as well as my own history.

And yet I am encouraged. I feel closer to the Lord than ever. Despite my shortcomings the Lord is still drawing me closer to himself and conforming me more and more to the image of his Son. Slowly (so very slowly) I am maturing in my faith. The trust I long for is coming more often. How precious it is to believe…and then have the eyes to see the blessing and the hands to receive it. The royal official believed first…then experienced the miracle. I think that’s the usual order.

Prayer and Scripture must under gird this growth. Reading God’s Word…reminding myself daily of his goodness and greatness…and then praying and meditating upon it builds me up with encouragement and confidence. And this is good. With such a memory-saturated confidence, Jonathan and David were able to face impossible odds and come out victorious on the other side. So will all who take the Lord at his Word.

Stand Firm,
Dale

Are We Paving Over America?

2007-01-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

(HT - Gene Edward Veith at Cranach)

How much of the United States is developed? Twenty-five percent? Fifty? Seventy-five? How about 5.4 percent? That's the Census Bureau's figure. And even much of that is not exactly crowded: The bureau says that an area is "developed" when it has 30 or more people per square mile.

But most people do live in developed areas, so it's easy to get the impression that humans have trampled nature. One need only take a cross-country flight and look down, however, to realize that our nation is mostly open space. And there are signs that Mother Nature is gaining ground. After furious tree chopping during America's early years, forests have made a comeback. The U.S. Forest Service notes that the "total area of forests has been fairly stable since about 1920." Agricultural innovations have a lot to do with this. Farmers can raise more on less land.

Yes, American houses are getting bigger. From 1970 to 2000, the average size ballooned from 1,500 square feet to 2,260. But this hardly means we're gobbling up ever more land. U.S. homeowners are using land more efficiently. Between 1970 and 2000, the average lot size shrank from 14,000 square feet to 10,000.

In truth, housing in this country takes up less space than most people realize. If the nation were divided into four-person households and each household had an acre, everyone would fit in an area half the size of Texas. The United States is not coming anywhere close to becoming an "Asphalt Nation," to use the title of a book by Jane Holtz Kay.

Click here to read this article about 5 Myths About Suburbia and Our Car-Happy Culture at the Washington Post

A Prayer for Anointing

2007-01-30T06:33:00.000-08:00

It is time, 0 God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pasture, and the sheep are torn and scattered. False shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me, anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet - not a promoter, not a religious manager. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Lay Thy terror upon me, 0 God, and drive me to the place of prayer, where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Teach me self-discipline, that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

From Tozer Devotional

Bishop Whitaker on Wesleyan Spirituality

2007-01-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

In the most recent Florida UMC E-Review, Bishop Whitaker reviews a book (and offers his own comments) on the contribution of Wesleyan spirituality. Here's an excerpt...

Our church today is often polarized between the thin tradition of Protestant Liberalism, on one hand, and an Armenian version of the Protestant Reformation, on the other hand. The central core of the Wesleyan heritage is forgotten or muted. This central core is the vision of the grace of God that changes us by the experience of faith. The Anglican scholar A.M. Alichin described it as follows: “For John Wesley, as for the Christian tradition as a whole, and particularly for the Greek fathers, this change, ‘this entire renewal of the soul in the image of God in which it was originally created’ (John Wesley’s second sermon on the Sermon on the Mount), which is the work of the Holy Spirit within us, grows and is strengthened as human beings grow in the basic virtues of faith and hope and love, all of them God’s gifts, which make us participants in the divine life”

Click here if you would like to read the whole article.

A Word from Augustine

2007-01-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

"If the divine Christ is the home to where we are going, then the man Christ is the way that we get home."

St. Augustine.

Help My Unbelief (Fresh Bread)

2007-01-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

Psalm 111:2-3, 4b, 7-10

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.
…the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are steadfast for ever and ever…
He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever – holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

I believe in you Lord. I believe you Lord. Lord, help my unbelief. If all that this Psalm declares about you is true – and it is – then how could any who call you Father, Lord, King, Savior, and Friend have such little faith?

Why do we so often live as practical atheists…never quite letting these truths affect us too deeply? How in the world do we find ourselves in ruts when it comes to our devotional times with you? Or, why do we outright skip our time with you in favor of other things? Do you sometimes withdraw your Spirit from us? If so, who could stand? We would become as decimated as King Saul if you did. David knew this and thus begged you not to take your Spirit away from him in Psalm 51.

I don’t think you remove your Spirit from your children Lord. But as Tozer put it this morning, we do rely on our feelings of your Spirit far too much. Perhaps you are seeking to strengthen us by withholding such feelings from us so that we might pursue you anyway…out of love, gratitude, and obedience to who you are and what you have commanded…and sometimes…for no other reason.

But I do thank you Father. I thank you that you do let those incredible feelings of joy and delight and fresh outpourings of your Holy Spirit fall upon us from time to time. How I crave more of that. How I crave more of you!

Lord, let me be in one accord with this Psalm. Let me fear you so that I might know you and receive your wisdom. Let me delight in your great works in redemptive history. May I always remember throughout my life (and be grateful for and humbled by) your righteousness, graciousness, and compassion…for they endure for ever and ever.

Lord, may I oft be reminded of the words of this Psalm so that I might truly know who you are and live my life so as to give you glory and draw the attention of others to you.

Ever humbled by your majesty,
Dale

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 21

2007-01-28T05:29:00.000-08:00

54. Question: What do you believe concerning the holy catholic Christian church?

Answer: I believe that the Son of God,[1] out of the whole human race,[2] from the beginning of the world to its end,[3] gathers, defends, and preserves for Himself, [4] by His Spirit and Word,[5] in the unity of the true faith,[6] a church chosen to everlasting life.[7] And I believe that I am[8] and forever shall remain a living member of it.[9]

[1] John 10:11; Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11-13; Col. 1:18. [2] Gen. 26:4; Rev. 5:9. [3] Is. 59:21; I Cor. 11:26. [4] Ps. 129:1-5; Matt. 16:18; John 10:28-30. [5] Rom. 1:16; 10:14-17; Eph. 5:26. [6] Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:1-6. [7] Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:3-14. [8] I John 3:14, 19-21. [9] Ps. 23:6; John 10:27, 28; I Cor. 1:4-9; I Pet. 1:3-5.

55. Question: What do you understand by the communion of saints?

Answer: First, that believers, all and everyone, as members of Christ have communion with Him and share in all His treasures and gifts.[1] Second, that everyone is duty-bound to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the benefit and well-being of the other members.[2]

[1] Rom. 8:32; I Cor. 6:17; 12:4-7, 12, 13; I John 1:3. [2] Rom. 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:20-27; 13:1-7; Phil. 2:4-8.

56. Question: What do you believe concerning the forgiveness of sins?

Answer: I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins,[1] nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life,[2] but He will graciously grant me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.[3]

[1] Ps. 103:3, 4, 10, 12; Mic. 7:18, 19; II Cor. 5:18-21; I John 1:7; 2:2. [2] Rom. 7:21-25. [3] John 3:17, 18; 5:24; Rom. 8:1, 2.