Joni Eareckson Tada My Hero

Joni Eareckson Tada has been nominated for the William Wilberforce Award for her work on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves namely the unborn and the disability community.  Wilberforce and Joni two people in two different generations and both could be the most significant Christian leaders of their respective generations.  I remember seeing Joni receive an honorary degree the year I graduated from Columbia International University.  I think she is the most significant Christian leader of this generation, and sadly not many people even Christians know who she is.  I hope this award will catapult her and her work into the scope of most evangelical Christians.  She is a very worthy recipient

Creationism and Miracles

I am a literal six day creationist. Not so much because the science is strong toward either side. The science toward an evolutionary theory or toward a creationist theory can only substantiate Scientific Theory not Scientific Law. For theory to become law it has to be observed over and over again and neither creation nor evolution can be observed over and over again.  There are evidences toward both, but they cannot be observed, just the effects of either theory can be seen in scientific and geological record. I am a creationist because I believe in miracles. If miracles do not exist the Bible cannot be truthful. The Old Testament and the entire New Testament cannot be true or accurate in any of the historical narrative if supernatural miracles do not exist. And there is the genre of historical narrative writing all over both Testaments. Let's take the Old Testament for instance.  The story of the Sun standing still for 24 hours could not scientifically have happened. Either that happened or the historical account is untrue and the entire OT cannot be trusted. The story of Elijah calling down fire from heaven, the axe head floating, Nahman the man with leprosy being healed, Elijah going to heaven in a chariot of fire, the Israelites walking on dry ground through the Red Sea, Enoch not dying, and I could go on and on about miracles in the Old Testament record. Either these things happened literally as they are described in the historical narrative or the Bible is an untrustworthy document and has to be thrown out as fable on par with Greek Mythology. Then there are the things in the New Testament that directly relate to our faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe scientifically that people can be raised from the dead? As Christians we believe in the historical resurrection, or do we? I think we have to believe in the bodily resurrection at least to be what the N.T. calls authentic Christians. Because as Paul describes if the resurrection did not happen we are "still in our sins and we are of all men to be pitied". Jesus himself raised people from the dead. And all the New Testament writers treated the supernatural stories of the bible as if they really happened in history. We would have to do something to dismiss these if we do not accept them as true. But the entire Bible is ripe with supernatural miracles. I think you would be hard pressed to find a single book in the entire Bible that does not have a miracle in it. After we have deconstructed the Bible and taken out the miraculous we would barely have anything left. Either you accept the miraculous or you cannot accept the Bible. There is too much you would have to explain away including the plethora (several hundred outside Genesis 1-11) of creation references including Jesus. He said, "But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE." (emphasis mine) (Mark 10:6 NASB) a good article on Jesus view of Creation is found at The Institute For Creation Research website. If you are a Jesus follower I think you need to believe in the supernatural and thus the Creation account as it is written in Holy Scripture.

Creationism and the Noahic Flood

Creationism and the Flood
I am a literal 6 day creationist. I do not believe that this view is unscientific as some would say. I love science! I think that there is too much evidence in the Bible that the supernatural realm does impact the natural realm. There are too many "scientifically impossible" occurrences to say that the bible is accurate. For instance almost all of Jesus ministry was healing either he did or didn't do that stuff. Or a cataclysmic worldwide flood that the OT describes in great detail either it was a worldwide flood or the bible is wrong, and not inspired by God or inerrant.   It is obviously not a local flood as Genesis describes in a historical narrative literary style "For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made." Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days." (Genesis 7:4, 17, 19-21, 23, 24 NASB)

Think Before You Say "That's Retarded!"

This is a great video on the pain that we can inflict when we say the statement "That's Retarded". So don't say it!

Fear of the Lord; The Beginning of Wisdom

 

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10 NASB)

My Awesome sister Dorothy Moore brought up a question that I have been mulling over for quite a few weeks now and here is how some of our email dialogue went.  I'm pretty impressed with her knowledge and insight about what it means to fear the Lord. Most of these are her thoughts, and my thoughts are at the end. My proverbs prof at CIU used to tell us often that fear in Hebrew has no English counterpart exactly, that it means reserving the most intense emotion for God. it's stronger than awe, according to him it's more visceral/ overwhelming. Believers have a fear of God as that which stands in the uppermost place, to which all that Wisdom will accomplish subordinates itself; that which begins wisdom; Him who is absolutely Holy. And the 'knowledge' here in the Hebrew is meant of lively, practical, operative knowledge (ie, in relationship), which subordinates itself to this All-holy God as the normative pattern. -Franz Delitzsch
And on the other hand "Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" (Romans 8:34- The only One with authority to condemn us has accepted us and called us friends. "if God justifies, this answers all. He is the judge, and the party offended, and his judgment is according to truth... We have a plea which cannot be overruled. It is by virtue of the death of Christ and our interest in Him, our relation to him, and our union with him, that we are then secured. Divine justice was satisfied by the merit of his death. He is now in heaven to answer all accusations, to put in our plea, and to prosecute it with effect... And is not this abundant matter for comfort?" -Matthew Henry) 'fear' in prov. 9:10 is the Hebrew noun 'yirah' & comes from the verb 'yarah'- "to throw" or "flow out of the gut"...

In response to the above, I agree, completely and furthering the idea Jesus Christ is the same yesterday to day and forever I do really believe that with all my heart, but Jesus coming to this earth and revealing God to us shows us something new of who God is. I came across this quote by Donald Miller in His book "Searching for God Knows What". One of the best books I have ever read by the way. I read it right before Ana was born and with tears I say to you, it has been one of the best preparations that I have ever had for having a child with special needs. It goes...
"If it weren't for Jesus, It would be difficult for me to follow God. When you read the Old Testament now, knowing exactly where the book is going, it is all very easy and simple, but it wouldn't have been around back in the Old Testament, God would have come off as more or less frightening. And I don't think I would have been able to know in my heart that it was the grandness of His nature, not the ease of his anger, that produced the fear."
The question is what produces fear? Because I think I have always understood the fear of the Lord as real fear...but what do we fear... Everything about Him the 'grandness of His nature' not the 'ease of His anger'. We fear his goodness, grace, favor, wrath, loving-kindness, power, peace, sovereignty, and all other things that also make Him God. We must fear and love it all! We cannot leave anything out of the reverent fear and awe that we have for Christ and the Father Who has given Him (Jesus) every command. I'll give you a for instance. I had never before though of Jesus as Lord of my sexuality. i.e. I did not fear him in this area. I came across Hebrews 13:4 in preparation for a marriage series that I have been doing. "Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge." I wondered what 'undefiled' meant so I looked it up in Kittle (The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament). In the general sense it means clean from sexual sins, but the word is also used in the NT for moral purity of our heavenly inheritance, and of the perfect purity of the perfect high priest Christ. Talk about awkward. If I keep my marriage bed undefiled it comes into the same category of the undefilement that our High Priest also enjoys in His Heavenly Inheritance! WOAH! This will make me fear Him as I ought, and thus fear his judgment as this passage says. Maybe we ought to bring more fear and reverent Awe into every area of our lives; maybe then Jesus could become Lord of every corner and pocket of our lives! Just saying...

 

Missionary of Silence

This is an awesome story of one woman who responded to God and went on mission for God

FEARLESS: PAUL

Fearless: Paul

Paul was fearless because of three experiences he had with Jesus

Experience #1: His Conversion to faith in Jesus: (acts 9:1-20) knowing and remembering how and when you met Jesus is of the utmost importance. What is your conversion story? Where were you? How did God reveal himself to you? Who introduced you to Jesus? Were there any verses that helped you? What did you do in response to Jesus (i.e. pray, get up and go forward) How did you say yes to Jesus free offer of salvation? This will always go with you as you go forward. Remembering how Jesus revealed himself to you will make you grow in fearlessness because you will know the one you serve and his power to reach out to you and transform you.

Experience #2: His time in the wilderness with Jesus. He let Jesus transform his stinking thinking for like several years he listened to only Jesus and no one else that will always grow your fearlessness over a few years (Galatians 1:15-24) Have you let anyone disciple you? If not you should approach someone who you respect spiritually and and ask them to disciple you. Otherwise you may not grow in maturity and will always fear the ways of man. Let someone pour Jesus into you.

Experience #3: His Sufferings for Jesus (Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, (1 Peter 4:1 NASB) there is a List of sufferings Paul endured in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. This had to make him fearless becasue he had to lean on Jesus to even endure these things.

When My youngest brother was in High school he got in a life threatening car accident where he broke his odontoid vertebrae and had bleeding on the brain, and other countless broken bones. My brother faced it with such grace and patience. This kind of suffering can only bring perseverance and grow fearlessness. When we lean on our most fearless leader we too will become fearless. Nick Vujicic is a great story of joy in suffering. His story is a great story of leaning on Jesus, and you tell me what you think. Has he grown to be a fearless person? Enjoy