I've heard it said that discernment is not being able to tell what is right from what is wrong, it's being able to tell what is right from what is almost right.
Are Mormons "on the same team" as Christians?
Do they portray themselves as right? Or are they "almost right" - or sound almost right?
One of the core doctrines of Christianity is the doctrine of the Trinity. If you can really nail a Mormon down...they deny it.
God as an eternal being - uncreated. They don't believe that.
More later.
Indeed, Jesus, you’re an engaged Shepherd, not an absentee landlord. Even as we make plans in our hearts, you are actively ordering our steps (Prov. 16: 9). Oh, the freedom and peace this brings! You are the Lord who “opens doors no one can shut” (Rev. 3: 8). And the converse is just as true; you also shut doors no one can open.
Our future is tied not to making the right decisions but to trusting the right Lord.
From "Everyday Prayers"
These days, all around us is the cry, "We worship the same God!"
But we don't. Christians belong to a sovereign God who is in control of the universe. Our future belongs to Him.
There was a time when I felt that - yes, there was a God, but I wasn't sure that He wanted me. Coming from where I am now, I know that if I want HIM, He wants me.
For those of us dealing with job changes, financial stresses, and health issues, show yourself to be both merciful and mighty, Jesus. May your mercy keep us gentle and your might trump our impatience. For those of us having to make important decisions for the people we love, be huge and present. Long-term care for aging parents, the “right” education for our kids, the best treatment for family members and friends in the destructive whirlwind of addictions—make the way clear, Lord. As Prince of Peace, give us your peace as we wait upon you.
Huge changes are coming in my life. Good changes, but hard changes also. I'm leaving a great church, I'm leaving my kids (although I think I'll see them a lot.) I hate moving. I'm moving. Addictive behavior of family members, all sorts of choices.
I pray for my family members, and my future family members. Help me be patient, and pour Your mercy on us all.
I once was fatherless,
A stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep
.
Your love it beckons deeply,
A call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.
.
Sin has lost it's power,
Death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!
.
Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way
.
My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. now I'm free!
.
Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that i have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light
Lift my hands and spin
See the light within...
I'm going through a devotional of prayers, "Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith"and yesterday's really struck me.
My thoughts first, then the devotional.
~~~
I work with the "least of these." Yet, every single one of these people, the non-verbal, the violent, the kids who can't count to...two.
Every. Single. One of these has made a contribution to my life! From the one who can make me smile on a very dark day, to the one who only sees the positive in life...from a wheelchair.
It struck me that Paul described Onesimus as "formerly useless." - what made him useless? and then...being with Paul, he's useful to both Paul and Philemon.
It was only serving Jesus, through Paul, that made Onesimus useful. No matter who we are serving, who we are teaching, who we ARE...if it's in service to the King, we are useful.
~~~
Accordingly, although I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you— I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) (Philem. 8– 11)
Dear Jesus, what a great story these few verses tell— the story of how one man’s “useless” slave became another man’s beloved son. Stories like this make the gospel so beautiful and believable. I see myself in this story, both as Onesimus and as Philemon.
Jesus, thank you for not giving up on me, for coming after me when I was running away from you as fast as I could, just like Onesimus ran from Philemon.Overtly and covertly, I did everything I could to avoid you and ignore you, but you found me, you bound me to your heart through the cords of the gospel, and slowly but surely, you’re changing me. The journey from slavery to sonship hasn’t always been easy.
Jesus, I also know what it’s like to be Philemon. I’ve been failed and I’ve been hurt. I’ve been betrayed and suffered loss. But forgive me for labeling anyone as useless. Paul saw something in Onesimus that Philemon didn’t see. Jesus, you saw something in me that no one else saw. Please give me your gospel eyes to see what you see in others: broken people just like me.
Who have I branded “useless,” with either my actual words or unspoken words? Who have I written off? Who have I renamed “failure,”“worthless,”“you’ll never amount to anything,” “never to be trusted again”?
I know you’re calling me to be wise, but I also know you’re calling me to love others as you love me. None of us is beyond the need of your grace and none of us is beyond the reach of your grace. I pray in your chain-breaking name. Amen.
Smith, Scotty (2011-09-01). Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith (Kindle Locations 1059-1076). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
O God, My Exceeding Joy,
Singing thy praises uplifts my heart,
for thou art a fountain of delight,
and dost bless the soul that joys in thee.
But because of my heart’s rebellion
I cannot always praise thee as I ought;
Yet I will at all times rest myself in
thy excellences, goodness, and loving-kindness.
Thou art in Jesus the object of inexpressible joy,
and I take exceeding pleasure in the thought
of thee.
But Lord, I am sometimes thy enemy;
my nature revolts and wanders from thee.
Though thou hast renewed me,
yet evil corruptions urge me still to oppose thee.
Help me to extol thee with entire heart-submission,
to be diligent in self-examination,
to ask myself
whether I am truly born again,
whether my spirit is the spirit of thy children,
whether my griefs are those that tear
repenting hearts,
whether my joys are the joys of faith,
whether my confidence in Christ works
by love and purifies the soul.
Give me the sweet results of faith,
in my secret character, and in my public life.
Cast cords of love around my heart,
then hold me and never let me go.
May the Saviour’s wounds sway me more
than the sceptre of princes.
Let me love thee in a love that covers
and swallows up all,
that I may not violate my chaste union
with the beloved;
There is much unconquered territory
in my nature,
scourge out the buyers and sellers
of my soul’s temple,
and give me in return pure desires,
and longings after perfect holiness.
I'm not a fan of the show, but I do (did) watch shows on A&E. The internet is flooded with articles...pro- and con-
So...I'm weighing in, not so much of what Phil did and said, but on how he's now being treated.
The ungodly scream that he's wrong about gays (actually, vile and hateful.) So evangelicals pile on and say, "And he was wrong about African-Americans too!" - IOW - shooting our wounded.
Jared Wilson wrote "Duck Dynasty”: Let’s Deal in Real Reality
point by point...
1. It will be difficult to prove a case of censorship, marginalization, or oppression when you can’t walk into a mall, grocery store, Wal-Mart, or sporting goods store without running beard-deep into the Robertson clan’s gigantic faces and assorted “Duck Dynasty”-branded trinkets and googaws.
Question: if the Robertson family gives up the show, do they give up rights to the merchandise franchise? Unless or until you can answer that question, you should not be making the above statement.
Bottom line: It assumes that the discrimination will end with the removal of Phil from the show and that has yet to be seen.
2. We ought to remember that the first amendment does not guarantee anyone’s right to have a show on cable television.
True. But if discrimination can take place by an employer based on race, sex, religion, and the government has an interest in protecting those classes of people, why not here?
Bottom Line: Robertson articulated his religious beliefs in the public square and was disciplined for it.
3. What Phil Robertson said about homosexuality to Gentleman’s Quarterly magazine is something nearly all so-called “gentlemen” used to believe, including the part where he said black people were happy before the Civil Rights movement and he never saw racism in Louisiana growing up.
Yes, he said that.
Actually, no. He did NOT say that.
He said the Blacks HE KNEW...
I grew up on a farm in the rural "Thumb" of Michigan. Blacks were not the minority I grew up with.
Looking back at my life growing up, I would have said that the minorities that I rubbed shoulders with were happy, and that I saw no racism.
Now I know better, because somebody who wasn't there, didn't live my life, and may not have a clue about how I (OR Robertson) grew up...will tell me that I'm wrong, or need to deal with reality or some such thing.
Bottom line: if you weren't there, you might be wrong.
(part of #5 - Wilson skipped #4, a misprint, I'm sure.) The firing of a millionaire reality show participant isn’t just a first world problem — it’s a one-percenter problem
This made me really, really angry.
1) Is discrimination okay, as long as the one discriminated against is wealthy?
James 2:2-4 ESV For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Is the opposite also true?
If you deem a wealthy man unworthy of protection against discrimination because "that's a one-percenter problem" - "have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"
2) one-percenter...really? Does not Wilson understand that to a lot of the world, if you know where your next meal is coming from...you're wealthy! Do you have a car? Television? You can turn on your computer and get instant access to the world?
Bottom line: You, Jared Wilson, are part of the 1%
Now...my views...
I believe that the political gay lobby has the goal to marginalize people of faith who disagree with them. Make them afraid to speak out. Silence them. Take away their jobs, their livelihoods, their careers, their businesses.
I've blogged here about bakers, caterers, photographers, doctors, who chose to not participate in gay celebrations through providing services. Who chose to not participate in gay celebrations and have been successfully sued.
If Phil Robertson, one of the largest cash cows on television, can lose his job for voicing his Christian beliefs about gay behavior, how much more so the single-proprietor photographer or baker?
The agenda - to normalize gay behavior and to make those who disagree silent and marginalized, and to fore those who disagree to act against their religious beliefs.
This is another step and we should recognize that this is not about Phil Robertson, how rich he is, who he grew up with, or how much money he makes A&E. It's about GLAAD and where they are steering our country.
"What Married Women Really Want"
The author puts this mostly hidden divorce statistic up front:
About two-thirds of all divorces in the United States are, at least officially, initiated by women. One of the key factors [they cite] is the emotional quality of their relationships. In other words, if they feel that their marriages are high-quality relationships, they're not likely to seek divorce. If they feel otherwise, however, women are much more likely to head for divorce. One of the implicit concerns of this study was to figure out in what kind of context women are most likely to be happy and then are, of course, indirectly, less likely to divorce.
I get from the article, though, that women file, it's still the men's fault.
The following paragraph is something I've written about here (the accusation that Christians shouldn't discuss "whatever" because Christians are just as likely to get divorced as unbelievers) and you usually need to dig deep if you want to break down the numbers and get at the truth. (Emphasis is mine)
Based on my earlier research, evangelical women tend to be happier in their marriages than other women, particularly when both the wife and the husband attend church on a regular basis. This idea that Christians are just as likely to divorce as secular folks is not correct if we factor church attendance into our thinking. Churchgoing evangelical Protestants, churchgoing Catholics, and churchgoing mainline Protestants are all significantly less likely to divorce.
And gender roles play in:
Women who have more traditional gender attitudes are significantly happier in their marriages. They're more likely to embrace the idea that men should take the primary lead in breadwinning and women should take the primary lead in nurturing the children and managing the domestic sphere, managing family life.
Spouses who share weekly [church] attendance had happier wives. Spouses who share a strong, normative commitment to marriage—that is, who are opposed to easy divorce, who believe the kids should be reared in married households—have wives who are markedly happier. This factor is as strong as who works outside the home or who earns the lion's share of the income. It's also extremely important that the wife considers the division of housework to be fair to her. A sense of equity is extremely important, but equity is not equality. Women want things to be fair in their homes, but they don't equate fairness with equality.
And this bears saying again:
A sense of equity is extremely important, but equity is not equality. Women want things to be fair in their homes, but they don't equate fairness with equality.
I consistently, as Complementarians do, make a distinction between equality of personhood vs. equality of authority.
Within a hierarchy of authority, there is still equality in humanity.
I know two people. One is an elder, who works at a public school, the other an administrator in a public school, who attends the elder's church. In one context, he is the authority, in another, she is. There are two hierarchies, but total equality of humanity.
The dictionary says that "equity" is fairness and justice in treatment.
So, if a woman feels as if she is being treated fairly and justly, while being under the authority of her husband, she is more likely to be happy, and less likely to file for divorce.
First...v. 1-8- an impressive run on sentence.
From the ESV study notes:
One remarkable feature of this section is that many of the themes mentioned here also conclude the letter in the final doxology (16:25–27):
(1) Paul's apostolic authority;
(2) the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures in the gospel;
(3) the gospel that centers on Jesus Christ;
(4) the obedience of faith;
(5) the mission to the Gentiles; and
(6) the glory of Jesus Christ and God the Father.
Also, (R. Kent Hughes).
Paul’s view of himself (v. 1)
Paul’s view of preaching (vv. 2–4)
Paul’s view of his commission (v. 5)
Paul’s view of the Roman believers (and us) (vv. 6, 7)
On to the passage:
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
"Servant" is doulos - slave. Slave f Christ, appointed to be an ambassador, marked off by God to preach the gospel.
Slavery to Christ is a key theme that Paul chose for Himself...echoing Christ, Mark 19:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Paul elaborates, and confirms his mission to the Gentiles in Galations 1:15-16
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
God's prophets promised this good news long ago.
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
Fully God, fully man.
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
It was the Spirit who bore witness to the deity of Christ, through His resurrection.
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
This mission of Paul's is an act of grace.
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
Election is just all over the place...
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
We are called by God,
We are loved by God,
We are saints of God,
We are the recipients of God's grace and peace...
To do its worst, evil needs to look its best. Evil had to send a lot on makeup...Vices have to masquerade as virtues - lust as love, thinly veiled sadism as military discipline, envy as righteous indignation, domestic tyranny as parental concern...From counterfeit money to phony airliner parts to the trustworthy look on the face of a con artist, evil appears in disguise. Hence the need for the Holy Spirit's gift of discernment. Hence the sheer difficulty, at times, of distinguishing what is good from what is evil
Cornelius Plantinga Jr.~~"Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin"
A good Wiki page, giving both sides
The first two issues show the main Cessationist concerns about charismata and reveal the underlying rationale for Cessationism. The sections below describe what kind of disagreements emerge between Cessationism and Continuationism in their respective understandings of the gifts, and further issues then arising from these disagreements. Different understandings of charismata give rise to various tensions in the dispute.
White Horse Inn weighed in a couple of years ago:
Particularly in the wake of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, this question has divided Christians into two camps: cessationists (believing that the gifts of healing, prophecy, and tongues have ceased) and non-cessationists. Non-cessationists find no exegetical reason to distinguish some of these gifts and offices from others in terms of their perpetuity. However, cessationists hold that the New Testament itself makes a distinction between the foundation-laying era of the apostles and the era of building the church on their completed foundation (1 Cor 3:10-11). Although the New Testament establishes the offices of pastors/teachers, elders, and deacons, it does not establish perpetual prophetic or apostolic offices with their attendant sign-gifts. With this in mind, we must examine each gift in question.
Reformedpresbytery.org has a position paper quoting Calvin:
... concerning Prophets, I have before showed out of Justin Martyr (Dial. cum Tryph. Jud.) that, in his days, their were still some in the church who had an extraordinary gift of prophecy, and such there have been also in other places, and at other times; of which there might be diverse instances given.