Idecided to come back since BR nominated me as leader of the CWU. BR is very persuasive. :D I'm still pissed though....

My friends are going evangelizing tomorrow at the world's largest outdoor cocktail party...

I've been leading some friends through the TULIP. After spending last Tuesday evening on John 6 we are now getting into total depravity. The Lord has really blessed them. All sorts of things in the Word are opening up to them.

I saw Sola Scriptura in Hebrews 3 this week. Here is the passage which is a perfect exmaple of Sola Scriptura,

7Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

I fear for those who hide behind things that will do them no good on judgment day. Woe to those people.

I've had a good week and the Lord is blessing. He may be opening a door for me to become part of a ministry out of Idaho. I would be opening an office for that ministry here in Jacksonville, Fl. So we'll see. Anyways, here we go,

1. I got scared this weekend as the gators almost lost. I knew it could be an upset game because they put so much focus on LSU and teams tend to have a letdown the nxt gae when they do that.

2. I'm getting ready to start Hebrews tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. I have been listening to Hebrewson my ipod in preparation. The book of Hebrews is where the Calvinist lives and makes his most crucial arguments from. It is also the one book that destroys the RCC's idea of the priesthood. May the Holy Spirit grant me illumination to deal with such a marvelous book. For example, look at this passage from chapter 1,

1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Heb 1:1-3)Is that not amazing. What an exalted passage about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To think it was this same Jesus who entered time to walk among us.3. I'm taking some friends through the doctrines of grace on Tuesday nights. Otherwise known as the TULIP,

4. I'll end with a quote from a great man of God,

John Owen (1616-1683):"We deny that all mankind are the object of that love of God which moved him to send his Son to die; God having 'made some for the day of evil' (Prov. 16:4); 'hated them before they were born' (Rom. 9:11, 13); 'before of old ordained them to condemnation' (Jude 4); being 'fitted to destruction' (Rom. 9:22); 'made to be taken and destroyed'(II Pet. 2:12); 'appointed to wrath'(I Thess. 5:9); to 'go to their own place' (Acts 1:25)" (Works, vol. 10, p. 227). "... reprobation ... [is] the issue of hatred, or a purpose of rejection (Rom. 9:11-13)" (Works, vol. 10, p. 149).

I'm leading some friends through a study of the doctrines of grace on Tuesday nights. While in preparation I was reading an article by John Piper titled, What We Believe About the 5 Points of Calvinism. I highly recommend you read the entire article. It is thought provoking and excellent. While reading I came across this comment and wanted to post it,

When we speak of man's depravity we mean man's natural condition apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man.

There is no doubt that man could perform more evil acts toward his fellow man than he does. But if he is restrained from performing more evil acts by motives that are not owing to his glad submission to God, then even his "virtue" is evil in the sight of God.

Romans 14:23 says, "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." This is a radical indictment of all natural "virtue" that does not flow from a heart humbly relying on God's grace.

The terrible condition of man's heart will never be recognized by people who assess it only in relation to other men. Romans 14:23 makes plain that depravity is our condition in relation to God primarily, and only secondarily in relation to man. Unless we start here we will never grasp the totality of our natural depravity.

Well said! I have been meditating recently on something Christ said in John 8:44,

44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Christ calls us Satan's kids. That a terrible indictment upon the human race. Such a statement speaks that we are far more depraved and evil than we truly realize. Wow! I'll conclude by quoting from Piper's article one more time,

Apart from the grace of God there is no delight in the holiness of God, and there is no glad submission to the sovereign authority of God.

Of course totally depraved men can be very religious and very philanthropic. They can pray and give alms and fast, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:1-18). But their very religion is rebellion against the rights of their Creator, if it does not come from a childlike heart of trust in the free grace of God. Religion is one of the chief ways that man conceals his unwillingness to forsake self-reliance and bank all his hopes on the unmerited mercy of God (Luke 18:9-14; Colossians 2:20-23).

I urge you to call upon Him while He may be found!

It has been rough since my last blog post. I have been working on an article titled, "I Was a Killer, Flesh-Eating Zombie" for the blog but haven't been able to finish it yet. It is based on a dream I had a while back. Anyway, here are some things that have happened since my last post.

1. An ex of mine recently made a friend request on Facebook. We hadn't spoken in more than a decade. Sadly, she hasn't changed. Why is it former church kids are so difficult to deal with? They seem so hard to the truth. I gave her my testimony focusing on repentance and the dramatic change of life. She mocked it which was not surprising. Most of those I once knew in high school or cemetery are so far from our Lord and Savior. It really is sad. I pray for her and her husband every day in hopes God grant them repentance.

2. Some friends of mine are leaving their church again. The first time they were kicked out of a seemingly conservative Baptist church that had gone emergent. Why were they kicked out? They were evil enough to teach kids the 10 commandments. Oh the horror! So they went to another church down the street. It seemed conservative and politically it was. They talked like real Baptists. They were there about 3-4 years when things came to a head. The pastor hired some guys (youth pastor and associate pastor) who swung emergent. The thing is, they talked to this pastor about what they had been thru at their previous church. He assured them they wouldn't get that at his church. Things came to a head over the past 2 weeks as they began going thru the churches discipleship program. Lesson 2 was on salvation and had a whopping 4 pages on the subject. It left out repentance, wrath, and the law, but made sure to talk about man's "decision." In other words, praying the prayer. Rather than cause trouble they have decided to leave. I don't blame them. The teacher leading them thru the discipleship program told them that giving the law to reveal sin was just a current fad. Yes, he actually said that. Is this a fad,

8But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons. -1 Tim. 1

19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. –Rom. 3-

7What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. –Rom. 7-

Lastly, what about Christ's majestic use of the law in Matthew 5,

21Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

A fad? Such ignorance reminds me of what Paul said in 1 Timothy 6,

3If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4He is proud, knowing nothing.

3. I'll end with this quote from A.W. Tozer,

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.

And one more from Anthony Burgess,

"One main end of the word of God and preaching is to discover the deceitfulness of the heart."
Anthony Burgess in Spiritual Refining, II

Recently Dan Barker (Freedom From Religion Foundation) had a debate on "Was Jesus a Myth" with James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries. There was a bit of controversy at the beginning of the debate (about 25 minutes in), but overall the debate went well if you are a christian. I challenge all atheists who use the pathetic myth argument to listen to this debate honestly. You can find it on youtube in 2 parts.

Part 1 - Was Jesus a Myth?

Part 2 - Was Jesus a Myth?

Recently I encountered someone I went to high school with named Chris. He is now an atheist which is no shocker to me. He and I had a long chat about atheism and how impossible it was for him to live that worldview out consistently. He resorted to the myth argument after a while not realizing how absurd this argument is. You will see it in this debate. Enjoy! :D

I wrote this up at another site but figured it would be a good blog post.

Notice this passage from 2 Thess. 1,

"6Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"

Notice the contrast between the wicked and the righteous. Paul is telling the Thessalonian christians to take comfort in the fact that God will deal with those who reject Him and the gospel.What happens to those who reject? Eternal destruction. Now this word eternal is αἰώνιον (aiōnion). It occurs 45 times in the N.T. and 34 of those times specifically refer to eternal life. One time it is used to refer to Christ's etrnal kingdom. One time it is used to refer to God's "eternal" glory. It is used to refer to His "eternal" authority. Knowing how it is used elsewhere, what do you suppose it means in 2 Thess. 1:9? Clearly it refers to eternal, not temporary, destruction. This shows hell is eternal and specifically for those who reject Christ's sacrifice. This also applies to Matthew 18:8 which speaks of "eternal fire."And Matthew 25:41 which speaks of "eternal fire." Lastly, all three passages cited eternalare used in the accusative singular. There is no getting around this in 2 Thess. 1:9. Hell is a place of eternal destruction.

Various things bouncing around in my head,

1. Ran into someone I went to high school with. He was into Deicide back then. Surprise, surprise! He is a hardcore atheist. And I don't mean one of the knowledgeable ones like Domatron. He is waaayyyyy out there. It is sad when one rejects the knowledge oof God. Chris grew up in a christian school and heard the gospel every day. Now he is in outer space.

2. Did some evangelism last week. Me and some friends talked to someone for about 3 hours.

3. I'm currently in Philippians in my studies. I found the contrast in chapter 3 between true christians and the professing christians rather stunning,

17Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

The true christian's life revolves around heavenly things. The professing christian lives in the moment consumed with himself. Which one are you? Who does your life revolve around? God or yourself?

4. I'll end today with the quote of the week which is from the 1689 London Baptist Confession,

1._____The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

I spent a number of days thinking and writing this. I hope it blesses you like it has blessed me.

5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. -Is. 53-

1 for my idolatry and all the times I put myself above God. Pursuing my own glory rather than His.

1 for taking the very life of God that gives me breath and using it for sin.

1 for the times I have hated, mocked, slandered, and murdered others with my callous words.

1 for not loving God in the perfect way He deserves.

1 for the numerous times I twisted Holy Writ in order to fulfill my own covetous desires.

1 for my sexual perversion and the times I looked at porn or lusted after women committing adultery in my mind and gleefully breaking the 7th commandment.

1 for stealing things that didn't belong to me and using God's creation, which He owns, for sinful purposes like eating food without thanking or glorifying Him.

1 for the times I rebelliously disobeyed my parents in thought and deed breaking the 5th commandment.

1 for my hypocrisy. I professed Him as Lord to everyone while living any way but holy and blaspheming His pure name through my life.

1 for selfish, greedy use of money robbing God of His tithes.

1 for my hatred of God and my earnest desire to, if it were possible, kill Him. Truly I am evil!

1 for my pride and the times I thought myself better than others.

1 for my constant, willful suppression of the knowledge of God. I knew He existed and deserved worship but didn't care. I was a practicing atheist.

1 for my laziness never doing my best in anything. And most certainly not for His glory.

1 for worshipping a Christ of my own making. A Christ made up in my mind to ease my conscience. A Christ, who in the end, looked a lot like me.

1 for partaking of the sacrament of communion unworthily. I partook even though I was an enemy of God.

1 for the times I came to Christ because He entertained me, but when I ceased to be entertained I threw Him away.

1 for the times I tried to earn His approval through my good works.

1 for the times, in anger, I made a racial slur.

1 for the times I sought out false teachers to have my ears tickled.

1 for the times I mistreated those less fortunate than me.

1 for all the lies I have told.

1 for the many times I took God's holy name in vain using it as a curse word.

1 for the times I had people pray the magic prayer. I was more concerned with notches in my belt than actual souls.

1 for the times I murdered people in video games like GTA. Since God looks on the heart, to Him, that is murder.

1 for the innumerable amount of times I coveted material things breaking the 10th commandment.

1 for the filthy music I used to listen to which was utterly godless.

1 for the corrupt movies and video games I used to play.

1 for my constant murmuring and complaining.

1 for the times I persecuted Christians which are Christ's body.

1 for my intense legalism.

1 for my vanity.

1 for hating my earthly father.

1 for the times I slandered government officials which are the authority God has placed over me.

1 for the numerous times I prayed false prayers of repentance. Prayers that had nothing to do with being sorry for my sin, but were a way to sear my conscience so God would leave me alone. I was truly evil.

1 for the times I partook in divination and cultic activities.

1 for the things I have done which are far, far to heinous to be mentioned here.

1 for the time I was the Pharisees accusing Him of sin. For the time I was the Jews beating and spitting on Him. For the time I was the Roman soldier who whipped the flesh off His back. For the time I was the soldier hammering the nails. For the time I was Judas betraying Him. For the time I was the Jews shouting "crucify Him!"

1 for the time I killed the Author of life.

I'll end this with a quote from John. R. W. Stott's cla$$ic "The Cross of Christ",

"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" the old negro spiritual asks. And we must answer, "Yes, we were there." Not as spectators only, but as participants, plotting, schemeing, betraying, bargaining and handing Him over to be crucified. We may try to wash our hands of responsibility like Pilate. But our attempt will be as futile as his. For there is blood on our hands. Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance). Indeed, "only the man who is prepared to own his share in the guilt of the cross," wrote Canon Peter Green, "may claim his share in its grace."

I don't have much for this week but i am working on an article i hope to post by the end of the week or early next week. The title of the article is 39 Bloody, Violent Lashes. I wrote most of article over the weekend and it really humbled me. I hope you enjoy it.

Since I don't have much for today I figured I'd post a quote frm one of the great puritans,

"Who would not fear You, O King of nations?"
Jeremiah 10:7

How reasonable it is, that this glorious Being, whose
greatness is unsearchable—should be regarded with
feelings of the profoundest reverence. It is, indeed, His
due, and as such He claims it from all His creatures.

"Concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There
is no fear of God before his eyes." Psalm 36:1

To have no fear of God before their eyes—is at once
the greatest injustice, and the most unutterable folly!
All who have the impudence to lift up their puny
arms in rebellion against Him, are engaged in a
conflict, which, if persisted in, is sure to terminate
in their utter destruction!

Reader, think of His incomprehensible greatness
and majesty. Think of Him as the High and Lofty
One who inhabits eternity—
the heavens His throne,
the earth His footstool,
the light His garment,
the clouds His chariot,
the thunder His voice!

Viewing Him thus—it will be impossible for you to
treat Him with indifference, far less with scornful
disdain. If you are only brought in some measure,
to realize the fact of God's greatness and majesty,
you cannot fail to acknowledge that He is greatly
to be feared, and to be held in reverence by all
His creatures.

Just so, with all the other attributes of His nature.

Who can think of His power so mighty, so irresistible
—a power which is able to crush us into atoms with
infinitely greater ease than we can tread the crawling
worm beneath our feet—and not fear Him?

Who can think of His knowledge, nothing being
hidden from His omniscient glance, the darkness of
midnight and the splendor of noon, being altogether
alike to Him—and not fear Him?

Who can think of the terrors of His avenging justice,
and not fear Him—especially, as when He proclaims
from His exalted throne, "There is no god other than
Me! I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the
one who wounds and heals; no one delivers from
My power! As surely as I live, when I sharpen My
flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will
bring vengeance on My enemies and repay those
who hate Me!" Deuteronomy 32:39-41
Our God is, truly, a consuming fire! It is most befitting
for us, to regard Him with reverence and godly fear!

It is not those who can deprive us of our present life,
whom we should so much dread. Limited, and of brief
duration—is the power of all mortal foes at best. "Do
not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that
can do no more. But I will show you whom you should
fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has
power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, Fear
Him!" Luke 12:4-5

This week has been really hard. On Wednesday night I am attending a class at church that is showing The Truth Project. Most of it was good (the subject was veritology) except for one instance where the teacher went beyond what was written regarding God and satan. Lesson 1 was basically about how God's truth is reality and much of what is seen around us isn't reality at all. God is the source of all truth and without Him there isn't any truth or objective morality at all. After the lesson the teacher (or facillitator)said she had been saved and read her bible for 40 years and had never seen this before. A woman in the cla$$ who had been saved 60-70 years said the same thing. This seemed common in thiscla$$ The sad part is these people were the matture in the church. I went home practically in tears and am still that way. My heart is broken. What have many of these people been reading in their bibles all these years?

Another incident happend last night while watching tv. I happened to come across a preacher named Nasir Siddiki. He turnd this majestic passage,

13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

into away to get your wealth. All those things the Father has are Christ's and He is gonna give all that "stuff"to us. Wednesday nnight I wasin tearsand Thursday night I was throwing things at the tv. How could anyone with a modicum of integrity turn the theological masterpiece that is John 14-17 into a money making scheme. What utter filth! :x The only way I can calm down is to understand that he is judgment from God upon the visible church here in America. It is hard to remember that they aren't victims of his theology (this applies to Osteen as well) but want it that way. As it says in 2 Timothy,

1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

That passage shows us that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Take care all of you. Thank you for indulging in my rant. :)