Mom– (from Me and the Family) We will always love you with all our Heart. The role you played as my mother can never be replaced, it is a very important role, that the Lord chooses to give many women. Mothers are told to love their children. “Then they can train their children to love their husband, wives, and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their God, so that no one will malign the word of God.” The Bible says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” When does motherhood begin? (The Discussion of my last post)
Children are a gift from the Lord. In Titus, the Greek word “phileoteknos” appears. This word represents a special kind of “mother-love”. The idea that flows out of this word is that of “preferring” our children, “caring” for them, “nurturing” them, “affectionately embracing” them, “meeting their needs,” “tenderly befriending” each one as unique from the hand of God. We are commanded in the Scripture to see “mother-love,” as our responsibility. Both mothers and fathers are commanded to do several things in the Word:
Availability – morning, noon, and night.
Involvement – interacting, discussing, thinking and processing life together.
Teaching – the Scriptures, a biblical world-view.
Training – helping a child develop skills and discover his strengths.
Discipline – teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly.
Nurture – providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love.
Modeling with Integrity – living what you say, being a model by which a child can learn by “catching” the essence of godly living.
The Bible never commands that every woman should be a mother. However, it does say that those whom the Lord blesses to be mothers should take the responsibility seriously. Mothers have a unique and crucially important role in the lives of their children. Motherhood is not a chore or unpleasant task. Just as a mother bears a child during pregnancy, and just as a mother feeds and cares for a child during infancy – so mothers also play an ongoing role in the lives of their children, teenagers, young adults, and even fully-grown children. While the role of motherhood must change and develop – the love, care, nurture, and encouragement a mother gives never cease. Happy Mother’s Day
I was having a discussion with a person who does not view life to begin at conception. How did we ever get that view?? Every culture’s view of when human life begins changes as society’s values, moral standards, and knowledge about the process of embryonic development change. Prior to the 1973 court decision that allowed abortion on demand, developing embryos were considered unborn persons. Now, even a fetus that could survive on its own outside its mother’s womb could be aborted, under certain medical circumstances. This demonstrates that we do not consider an unborn child to be a true human being.
Science tell us that human life begins at the time of conception. From the moment fertilization takes place, the child’s genetic makeup is already complete. Its gender has already been determined, along with its height and hair, eye and skin color. The only thing the embryo needs to become a fully-functioning being is the time to grow and develop.
More importantly, God reveals to us in His Word that not only does life begin at conception, but He knows who we are even before then. King David said this about God’s role in our conception: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb….Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13, 16).
Society continually seeks to devalue the lives of the unborn, creating its own definitions of humanity based on distorted views of morality. But the undeniable fact is that life begins at creation, and a human is created as soon as it is conceived. God is present at our creation; He is, in fact, our Creator. Our value as human beings created in His image are conceived even before we are.
A big day for many fellow Christian (public) students — is coming up. The Day of Truth was established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective.
In the past, students who have attempted to speak against the promotion of the homosexual agenda have been censored or, in some cases, punished for their beliefs. It is important that students stand up for their First Amendment right to hear and speak the Truth about human sexuality in order to protect that freedom for future generations. The Day of Truth provides an opportunity to publicly exercise our free speech rights.
Participating students are encouraged to wear T-shirts and pass out cards (not during class time) with the following message: I’m speaking the Truth to break the silence.
True tolerance means that people with differing — even opposing — viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other. It’s time for an honest conversation about homosexuality. There’s freedom to change if you want to. Let’s talk.
The Day of Truth is scheduled for April 28, 2008. This is three days after GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) will sponsor the “Day of Silence.” GLSEN’s Day of Silence encourages students to remain silent throughout the day. It is part of their overall strategy to change how our society perceives homosexual behavior. But the Day of Silence is a misnomer, because what is truly being silenced is the Truth.
A local Christian radio station has just challenged their listeners to read the Bible in 90 days. I have decided to read each night, to my boys, this requires– I put them to bed a little earlier, but they are excited about this:) If you have never read the Bible cover to cover, you should, it will change your life. You will see things you never thought were in the Bible. You will see God’s warnings and promises to help you through tough times. Most of all, you will start to understand how God thinks. How can you please God if you don’t understand how He thinks? He knows you are not a mind reader. That is one reason, He gave you the Bible, so you could begin to understand what God expects from your life.
I promise you, the time you spend reading the Bible cover to cover, will be the most important time of your life. I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of what I am challenging you to do. Start at the very beginning. That way you can see God from the creation of our world, to the very end. It is better than any book or movie you have ever read or seen.
The Bible is our final authority for all matters concerning this life. In this day of being politically correct, accepting everyone’s beliefs and ideas, we are in the mess we are morally and spiritually because we have gotten away from the black and white truth of God’s Word. Go to Bible in 90 Days
Forgiveness would be simple if we only had to grant it to those who come asking for it in sorrow and repentance. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive those who sin against us, without condition. Refusing to truly forgive a person demonstrates resentment, bitterness, and anger – none of which should be the traits of a Christian. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to forgive us our sins, just as we forgive those who sin against us. Jesus said, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In light of other Scriptures that speak of God’s forgiveness, it is best understood to be saying that people who refuse to forgive others have likely not truly experienced God’s forgiveness themselves.
Whenever we miss the mark by disobeying one of God’s commands, we sin against Him. Whenever we wrong another person, we not only sin against them, but also against God. When we take a look at the enormity of God’s mercy to forgive us of ALL of our transgressions, we realize that we do not have the right to withhold this grace from others. We have sinned against God infinitely more than any person can sin against us. If God forgives us of so much, how can we refuse to forgive others for so little? God promises that when we come to Him asking for forgiveness, He freely grants it. The forgiveness we extend should know no bounds, in the same way that God’s forgiveness is limitless.
This morning my Pastor’s sermon covered the story of Jacob and Esau. The sons of Isaac and Rebekah and the first twins mentioned in the Bible ( I have special interest in this story because of my own Twins). Even before they were born, they were struggling together in the womb of their mother. Their prenatal striving foreshadowed later conflict.
The twins grew up very different: Jacob was “a plain man, dwelling in tents” and his mother’s favorite. Esau was “a cunning hunter, a man of the fields” and his father’s favorite. One day, Esau returned from hunting and desired some of the lentil stew that Jacob was cooking. Jacob offered to give his brother some stew in exchange for his birthright—the special honor that Esau possessed as the older son, which gave him the right to a double portion of his father’s inheritance. Esau put his temporary, physical needs over his God-given blessing and sold his birthright to Jacob.
When the time came for Isaac to bestow his blessing on his sons, Jacob and his mother contrived to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob in Esau’s place. When Esau found that his blessing had been given to Jacob, he threatened to kill his brother, and Jacob fled. Years later, Jacob and Esau met and were reconciled.
Both Jacob and Esau were fathers of nations. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and he became the father of the Hebrews’ 12 tribes. Esau’s descendants were the Edomites. Edom was a nation that plagued Israel in later years and was finally judged by God.
In the New Testament, Esau’s choice to sell his birthright is used as an example of ungodliness—a “profane person” will put physical desires over spiritual blessings. By his negative example, Esau teaches us to hold fast to what is truly important, even if it means denying the appetites of the flesh. You alone God can help me do that.
Ben Stein, the TV personality, writer, actor, lawyer, economist, and speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford has a new film out called Expelled. In it, he talks to various academicians who say they were punished for taking positions doubting Darwin and promoting creationism or Intelligent Design.
The film won’t be released until April, but it’s been setting fires for months. Last year several advocates of the theory of natural selection (including Richard Dawkins, the author of “The God Delusion”) were interviewed. Dawkins thought he was to appear in a documentary called “Crossroads,” from Rampant Films, and only later did it morph into “Expelled,” from Premise Media. I am looking forward to seeing this documentary.
The description “first-born of all creation” speaks of Christ’s preexistence. He is not a creature but the eternal Creator. God created the world through Christ and redeemed the world through Christ.
Note that Jesus is called the first-born, not the first-created. The word “first-born” (Greek word “prototokos”) signifies priority. In the culture of the Ancient Near East, the first-born was not necessarily the oldest child. First-born referred not to birth order but to rank. The first-born possessed the inheritance and leadership.
Therefore, the phrase expresses Christ’s sovereignty over creation. After resurrecting Jesus from the dead, God gave Him authority over the Earth. Jesus created the world, saved the world, and rules the world. He is the self-existent, acknowledged Head of creation.
Finally, the phrase recognizes Him as the Messiah: “I will make Him [Christ] My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth”.
Six times the Lord Jesus is declared to be the first-born of God. These passages declare the preexistence, the sovereignty, and the redemption that Christ offers.
Thus, the phrase “first-born of all creation” proclaims Christ’s preeminence. As the eternal Son of God, He created the universe. He is the Ruler of creation!
Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself. The Apostle John affirms this in 1 John 4:8: “God is love.” God does not merely love; He is love itself. Everything God does flows from His love. But it is important to remember that God’s love is not a sappy, sentimental love such as we often hear portrayed. God loves because that is His nature and the expression of His being. He loves the unlovable and the unlovely (us!), not because we deserve to be loved, but because it is His nature to do so, and He must be true to His nature and character. God’s love is displayed most clearly at the Cross, where Christ died for the unworthy creatures who were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), not because we did anything to deserve it, “but God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The object of agape love never does anything to merit His love. We are the undeserving recipients upon whom He lavishes that love. His love was demonstrated when He sent His Son into the world to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and to provide eternal life to those He sought and saved. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for those He loves.
In the same way, we are to love others sacrificially. Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who may care nothing at all for us, or even hate us, as the Jews did the Samaritans. Sacrificial love is not based on a feeling, but a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own. But this type of love does not come naturally to humans. Because of our fallen nature, we are incapable of producing such a love. If we are to love as God loves, that love – that agape – can only come from its true Source. This is the love which “has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us” when we became His children (Romans 5:5). Because that love is now in our hearts, we can obey Jesus who said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another” (John 13:34). This new commandment involves loving one another as He loved us – sacrificially – even to the point of death. But again, it is clear that only God can generate within us the kind of self-sacrificing love which is the proof that we are His children. “By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Because of God’s love toward us, we are now able to love one another.
Prayer in Jesus’ name is taught in John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Some mistakenly apply this verse by believing that saying “In Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer results in God always granting what is asked for. This is essentially treating the words “in Jesus’ name” as a magic formula. This is absolutely unbiblical!
Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. Praying in Jesus’ name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus.
Saying, “In Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer is not a magic formula. If what you asked for or said in prayer was not for God’s glory and according to His will, saying “In Jesus’ name” is meaningless. Genuinely praying in Jesus’ name and for His glory is what is important, not attaching certain words to the end of a prayer. It is not the words in the prayer that matter, but the purpose behind the prayer. Praying for things that are in agreement with God’s will is the essence of praying in Jesus’ name.
Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is traditionally the day on which Jesus was crucified. Assuming that Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday, should Christians remember by celebrating Good Friday?
The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ’s death by honoring a certain day. The Bible does give us freedom in these matters, however. Romans 14:5 tells us, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” The Bible instructs us to remember Christ’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:26 declares, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Why is Good Friday referred to as “good”? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27). However, the results of Christ’s death are very good! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”
Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, when Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on the Messiah’s suffering for our sakes, and communion. Whether or not Christians choose to “celebrate” Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross is the paramount event of the Christian faith.
Dr. Robert Jastrow, world-renowned astrophysicist, Died last month, he described the astronomical discoveries of recent years and the theological implications of the new insights afforded by science into mankind’s place in the cosmos. He explained the chain of events that forced astronomers, despite their initial reluctance (”Irritating,” said Einstein; “Repugnant,” said the great British astronomer Eddington; “I would like to reject it,” said MIT physicist Philip Morrison) to accept the validity of the Big Bang and the fact that the universe began in a moment of creation. His Great quote
“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.
My Boys are very excited about the Prince Caspian movie, which is due out in May. As we reread this book and talk about some of the Christian Themes–In this, the fourth (Really the 2nd Original) of this seven volume series, Peter, Lucy, Edmund, and Susan are summoned to their beloved Narnia as young Prince Caspian seeks to regain his rightful place upon the throne.
As the story unfolds, we learn the young Caspian’s true identity has been kept a closely guarded secret by an ill-meaning uncle, but Caspian’s teacher, Dr. Cornelius, breaks his vow of silence by revealing Caspian’s true heritage and the wonderful secrets of Narnia’s golden past. A civil war erupts when Prince Caspian challenges the evildoers who stole his crown. Outnumbered by an enemy of far superior strength, the enterprise appears doomed from the start, but Narnia is a land of miracles and possibilities–much like our own world!
As the battle rages, unsavory allies offer their assistance–allies who could help turn the tides of the battle–but Caspian’s true friends warn the young prince against making holy alliances with unholy creatures. The great Aslan would not have his prince being “unequally yoked” with the unrighteous enemies of Narnia!
A tightly woven plot, memorable characters, plenty of action, and a dramatic climax make up the legendary hallmarks of C.S. Lewis’ classic Narnia tales. Prince Caspian is a story of good versus evil, yet it retains all the elements of a real adventure without coming across as preachy or sermonizing. Parents will appreciate the book’s valuable lessons in old-fashioned virtue while young readers will thrill to the nonstop suspense and intrigue. What could be better? Prince Caspian is more than entertaining–here is adventure with a purpose.
Without God, man is unfulfilled, even in his mortal life. Thomas Merton remarked that man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself, and that he is restless with himself because he has no peace with God.
The pursuit of pleasure for pleasure’s sake is a sign of inner turmoil. Pleasure-seekers throughout history have found over and over that the temporary diversions of life give way to a deeper despair. The nagging feeling that “something is wrong” is hard to shake off. King Solomon gave himself to a pursuit of all this world has to offer, and he recorded his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Solomon discovered that knowledge, in and of itself, is futile (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18). He found that pleasure and wealth are futile (2:1-11), materialism is folly (2:12-23), and riches are fleeting (chapter 6).
Solomon concludes that life is God’s gift (3:12-13) and the only wise way to live is to fear God: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (12:13-14).
In other words, there is more to life than the physical dimension. Jesus stresses this point when He says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Not bread (the physical) but God’s Word (the spiritual) keeps us alive. Blaise Pascal put it this way: “It is in vain, oh men, that you seek within yourselves the cure for all your miseries.” Man can only find life and fulfillment when he acknowledges God.
Without God, man’s destiny is death. The man without God is spiritually dead; when his physical life is over, he faces continued death—eternal separation from God. In Jesus’ narrative of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man lives a sumptuous life of ease without a thought of God, while Lazarus suffers through his life but knows God. It is after their deaths that both men truly comprehend the gravity of the choices they made in life. The rich man “lift up his eyes,” being in hell’s torments. He realized, too late, that there is more to life than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Lazarus is comforted in paradise. For both men, the short duration of their earthly existence paled in comparison to the permanent state of their souls.
Man is a unique creation. God has set a sense of eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that sense of timeless destiny can only find its fulfillment in God Himself.
Spent some time discussing what an angel is with my Boys. Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), so they do not have any essential physical form. But angels do have the ability to take on human form. When angels appeared to humans in the Bible, they resembled normal males. In Genesis 18:1-19, God and two angels appeared as men and actually ate a meal with Abraham. Angels appear as men many times throughout the Bible (Joshua 5:13-14; Mark 16:5), although they never appear in the likeness of women.
At other times, angels appeared not as humans, but as something other-worldly. At times, their appearance was terrifying to those who encountered them. Often the first words from these angels were “do not be afraid,” because extreme fear was such a common reaction. Zacharias in Luke 1:12 was speechless before the angel who visited him, as were the keepers of Jesus’ tomb, who became as dead men when they saw the angel of the Lord (Matthew 28:4). The shepherds in the fields in Luke 2 were “sore afraid” when the angel of the Lord appeared and the glory of the Lord shone around them. To others, however, angelic appearances did not produce terror. Mary’s encounter with the angel who announced the birth of Jesus produced confusion at the pronouncement, but did not seem to produce the same fear experienced by Zacharias.
As for physical characteristics, angels are often described as winged. The cherubim on the ark of the covenant have wings that cover the mercy seat (Exodus 25:20). Isaiah also saw winged seraphim in his vision of the throne of heaven, each one having six wings (Isaiah 6:2). Ezekiel, too, saw visions of winged angels. Isaiah 6:1-2 depicts angels having human features—voices, faces and feet. Angel voices are heard singing and praising God in unison several other passages. One of the most complete descriptions of an angel is in Daniel 10:5-6: “I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.” The angel guarding Jesus’ tomb was similarly described: “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3)
Whatever appearance angels take on, there is reason to believe they are incredibly beautiful in appearance. First, Ezekiel tells us that Lucifer’s beauty was such that it caused his heart to be “lifted up” in pride. In addition, it stands to reason that angels have extraordinary beauty. because they are continually in the presence of Almighty God, whose glory is reflected upon all that is around Him.
The word “theology” comes from two Greek words meaning “God” and “word.” Combined, the word “theology” means “study of God.” Christian theology is the study of what the Bible teaches and what Christians believe. Many believers treat Christian theology as something that is dividing, something that should be avoided. In actuality, Christian theology should be uniting! The Word of God teaches truth and we are to be united behind that truth. Yes, there are disagreements and disputes in Christian theology. Yes, there is freedom to disagree on the non-essentials of Christian theology. At the same time, there is much that Christians should be united over. A Biblically-based Christian theology will enable us to better understand God, salvation, and our mission in this world.
For some, the word “theologian” conjures up images of crusty old men poring over dusty volumes of ancient texts in dimly-lit rooms, studying things completely removed from real life. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God, literally God-breathed, and is indispensable to us because it makes us complete, lacking nothing. To be a theologian is to be one who seeks the face of God in order to encounter the creator of the universe and His Son, Jesus Christ, and embrace Him as Lord of our lives, so that He becomes the center of our desires, affections and knowledge. This intimacy spreads into all aspects of our lives—thrilling us with its blessings, comforting us in times of loss, strengthening us in our weaknesses and upholding us to the end of our lives when we will see Him face to face. Scripture is God’s story and the more we study His Word, the better we know Him
