Monthly Archives: March 2014

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 ESV

This verse connects the body and spirit.  Presenting the physical is the spiritual act.  In mistreating my body, I am abusing worship.

Thinking this way changes the way I think about eating.  Is what I'm putting in my mouth right now, "right worship?"

That's a big responsibility - it puts eating wrongly in the category of "sin," by worshiping wrongly with my body.

The daily reading for yesterday in "Everyday Prayers" was about serving God, not man.  The author applied it to service, I applied it to my eating.  And it hit me in a good (effective) place.

Oh, the hope this gives me— the invigorating, liberating, consecrating hope this generates as I begin my day. It’s why this admonition from Paul feels more like a kiss than a kick today. I want to work more heartily at all things because of your finished work on the cross, your present work in the world, and your future work in the new heaven and new earth. Even in eternity you will shepherd us and lead us to springs of living water (Rev. 7: 17). No one will ever outserve you, Jesus.

Therefore, here’s my cry: continue to free me from doing anything for the approval of people, out of the fear of people, or to gain power over people. I work for you, Lord Jesus, not for mere men.

A frustration at work can equal "stress eating" - am I eating for the Lord, or am I eating for that co-worker?

I'm working toward a goal for my wedding.  Am I eating for God?  or for that wedding dress?  Oh...the wedding dress is a good goal!  And it's not as if we're not to have goals for this world.  But eating for the dress, to the exclusion of eating for God...is putting worship in the wrong place.I can "tag" eating as both worship, and dress.  Both apply, both work, both are good.  but in the "word cloud" in my brain, with word is largest?
And I will fail at this!  Over and over, I will fail.  But along with this failure is hope, because even the failure reminds me of the gospel. If I work/eat for God, it's because of Christ's work on the cross.

How I praise you, Jesus, that the gospel is the end of any sense of a wage-earning relationship with God. I work for you because you first worked for me. (What a humbling, staggering, and astonishing truth!) I serve you because you ever live to serve me, as my advocate and intercessor. Indeed, I love you because you first loved me and gave yourself as a propitiation for my sins. You are always first and last— the Alpha and the Omega. I’ll receive an inheritance only because of your work, not mine. And should I receive any rewards or crowns, they will be thrown at your feet, giving credit where credit is due. I pray in your quintessentially glorious name. Amen. ~~Everyday Prayers, March 20

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★★★★★★

“Worship by the Book” was written by Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes, and Timothy Keller and edited by D.A.Carson.

 

'What is at stake is authenticity. . . . Sooner or later Christians tire of public meetings that are profoundly inauthentic, regardless of how well (or poorly) arranged, directed, performed. We long to meet, corporately, with the living and majestic God and to offer him the praise that is his due.'---D. A. Carson

 

Each of the authors bring a different perspective of worship to the book, offering a variety of emphasis; their years of ministry give this book a unique insight of corporate worship.

 

“Worship by the Book” primarily aims at pastor, seminary students, and other church leaders and offers a theology of worship that comes from Scripture and points directly at Christ.

 

As more and more Christians seek deeper worship and begin to turn their backs on anemic worship services and Sunday morning concerts that invite the audience to sing along, “Worship by the Book” brings us back to the purpose (and object) of corporate worship.

 

This book sets itself apart from other “theology of worship” books because of the variety of backgrounds of the authors. One brings liturgy to the table, another a more modern method. But they all point to Jesus.

 

Consistently, the book illustrates a method of worship, along with an explanation about why it points to Jesus.

 

I'm not a pastor, worship leader or seminary student. But for years I longed for deep and meaningful worship. This book helped me to identify why the congregation I'm currently in makes my soul, along with my mouth sing!

The most profound, yet supremely simple concept:  Q) what is the most important instrument of worship? A) The congregation.

And the verdict is: Read this book if you lead worship, if you oversee somebody who leads worship, if you sit under a worship leader. Read this book if you want to know why worship works, or why it doesn't.

 

Buy this book for your worship leaders and pastors. It would make a great gift, especially if it came with a note that said, “this book explains why I love the way our church worships.”

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Just finished it the first time.

Still don't get it, so I'll blog through it.

the first piece I'll work through is the "why" - why are we so fascinated with the "anti-christ?"

Riddlebarger says that it's because we don't quite see "evil" as evil unless we can put a face to it.  Communism is bad, but unless we can put an evil dictator's face to it, we don't seem to connect it to life.

Another thing is that the "Left Behind" series put a name to him.  That makes it more tantalizing and we "see" more clearly.

But what we think we know (via end times fiction) might not necessarily be what the Bible says about the "man of sin."

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Next question:  why am I interested in this topic?

End times in general, I think - everybody wants a glimpse into the future.  What will happen?  What will happen to those I love?  Will there be a rapture, or will we be here during the "great tribulation?"

I lean "a-mil" so I believe that Christians will be here during the great tribulation - we've been here before, we will be again.  The world hates us; and the more we love Jesus, the more they hate us.

Do I want to "date set?"  Since Christ left, Christians have looked forward to His return.  Is it near?  Is it far?  How do we know?

Is the Anti-Christ a sign?  Who is he?

In the end, curiosity brings me to this topic...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

``

 

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Yin and Yang is part of an Eastern philosophy that deals with opposites...and balance.

 

right/left, up/down, dark/light.  One cannot exist without the other.

"Yin and Yang" and Taoism are deeply connected, Taoism is directly anti-Christian.

Yet, we see dichotomies evident in Scripture.

God calls us His slaves...and His sons..  We die, yet we live.  Christ was fully God and fully man.

But we must understand, with "yin and yang" - these two opposite forces exist in balance and neither should have more power.  Indeed, when one is out of balance, illness results.

In Christianity, God wins.  Righteousness prevails.

Death will be no more!

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!

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Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!

~~Matt Maher

 More than 100 things...

 

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Just a list of links that I found interesting this week

On "Various Kinds of Tongues"

So what are we to make of the phrase “various kinds of tongues”? Is Paul differentiating between two fundamentally different categories of tongues (as Storms and other continuationists contend)? Does this verse really distinguish between earthly (human) languages on the one hand, and heavenly (non-human) languages on the other?I certainly don’t think so.

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"Prayer is Ridiculous"

You actually think it possible that He will work out these things, just because you a tiny collection of molecules on a tiny planet in his vast universe, ask for it. Tell me, what are you thinking? It’s insanity. It’s vanity. It’s … ridiculous.What’s that? You say this Being (and his Son) have repeatedly communicated to you that he will listen and answer your prayers? You say he actually commands you to pray to him and ask him for things? That he wants to answer your prayers?

Oh. Well . . . carry on then.

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"Musings of an Election Judge"

And you wonder how fraud is committed in elections…
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Remember "hate the sin and love the sinner?

She has been happily serving gay people in her shop for years. She served one gay couple for nearly a decade and had become good friends with them. But when they asked her to participate in their wedding ceremony, she politely declined. She is a Southern Baptist Christian, and she told them that she couldn’t participate because of her relationship with Jesus.

Word of her refusal spread through social media, and the attorney general of the state of Washington sued her for breaking the state’s nondiscrimination law. On top of that, the gay couple who she had been friends with for all those years also sued her. And now the ACLU has piled on as well.

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One of the "Solas" of the Reformation, - "by grace alone."

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9, ESV)

Grace is the beginning of faith, it's the means of salvation

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6)

Works avail nothing - grace brings about works, not the other way around.  Grace cannot be earned.

My pastor put it:

Jesus got what we deserved...so that we could get what HE deserved.

If we are doing it, it's not grace.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (1 Peter 3:18)

 

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Opening Statement and "what's the point?"

include title, author, and a quote from the author about the purpose of the book.

What is the tone of the book?

What makes this author uniquely qualified to write this book?  Who is his audience?

What is the purpose of the book?

What does the book promise? What is the problem the book promises to solve?

What does the author say?

two or three paragraphs - does the book do what it promised to do?  why or why not?  If not, why not?

Why does it matter?

Before I wrap up the review, I want to help people understand what sets this book apart and what makes it unique. This is often the most important part of the review.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? -What is your overall impression?

Reviews are, by their very nature, subjective. An author of a review cannot entirely remove himself from it.

And the verdict is:

Challies says:

At 10MillionWords I’ve gotten into the habit of closing each review with “Verdict: Read it if…”

Adapted from GoodReads and Challies

 

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How do these work together?

I started "The Daniel Plan" by Rick Warren (and others) - yeah, yeah...same old, same old.  But as something to work through, there might be some meat there.

Consider the introduction of the book.

Stewardship.  Stewardship over my body.

Friends, I’ve been a poor steward of my health and a terrible example for you. While we’ve been helping many around the world, I’ve ignored the problem here at home.

So today I am publicly repenting, and I ask for your forgiveness! God expects us to take care of the bodies he has given us, but I have not done that. Now, I’ve only gained two to three pounds a year, but I have been your pastor for thirty years. So I need to lose ninety pounds! Do any of you want to join me in getting healthy?

Committing to giving my body to God first, is a way of putting the physical focus on Him, away from me.

Yet, in this season of Lent, of preparation, of looking forward in time to the work of Christ on the cross...it seems like a good time to start this way of thinking about health.

My body is not my own, it was purchased by Jesus, with His blood.

Today we make the same common mistake Greek philosophers did thousands of years ago. Aristotle, Socrates , and Plato believed in dualism, 4 which included the idea that your mind (or spirit) is important, but your body isn’t important spiritually. They devalued the body. In fact, some Greek philosophers taught that your body is evil, so it really didn’t matter if you messed it up.

The Bible tells us the exact opposite. Your body is holy because God made it, and everything God makes has a purpose. We are to bring glory to God with our bodies, so we can’t compartmentalize our lives and think that we can divorce our bodies and live as if only our spirit matters. God owns your body!

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First question:

As we look to the next election cycle, the "war on women" narrative is still in high gear.  So is the war on marriage.  How do we choose who "our" candidate will be?

Who does the MSM (main stream media) want the GOP to run?

Response:

DO NOT RUN HIM.

Consider Chris Christie.  For a moment, he rubbed shoulders with all the right people, the right people liked him...the media seemed to like it.

But (my opinion) is that they turned on him too soon.

Oh, it would have happened eventually, but it would have been more effective for the liberal party if the media had waited until the GOP had set their path.

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Sh'ma

Enlarged Ayin and Dalet

Parts of the Sh'ma are written on a small scroll which is then rolled up and put inside a mezuzah; when the Bible said to put the Law on their doorposts, they did.  A Mezuzah is a piece of parchment, often in a decorative container, that hangs on a doorpost.  It is a constant reminder of their identity.

Hear O Israel

Pay attention, people!  Witness!  Bear witness to the sovereignty of God.

The Lord Our God, the Lord is One

But...this is more than a declaration of monotheism.  The Trinity is in there!

There is a word for "singular" - and the word here is not that.

ONE -

  • The two shall become ONE flesh
  • All the parts of the tabernacle would become a SINGLE WHOLE (Ex. 26:6)
  • Two sticks become ONE is the hand of God (Eze. 37:19)

"The Lord is ONE" - three entities that are inseparable in purpose and unity, joined together in One LORD - the Trinity.

More than 100 things every religious liberal should know