Sunday, December 6, 2009

Answered Prayer Never Violates Scripture

According to Fox News, "The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected a lesbian as assistant bishop Saturday, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first...The Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore needs approval from a majority of national church leaders before she can be consecrated as assistant bishop in the Los Angeles diocese." Click here to read the full article. The BBC has also weighed in here.

The above situation is tragic but not surprising. The Episcopal Church made a clear decision to ignore the bible several years ago.

What is fascinating and sad about this article is that we read about people who discuss prayer as it relates to this situation. The article says, "Jim Naughton of The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican clergy and lay people who advocate on behalf of gays and lesbians, called Glasspool's election a liberation. 'We've been around this issue for 30 years,' said Naughton, an adviser to the Episcopal bishop of Washington. 'It's unreasonable to expect us to refrain from acting on the very prayerful conclusions (emphasis mine) that we've reached, especially when we think there are issues of justice involved.'"

Mr. Naughton says that his group has reached very prayerful conclusions. I do not doubt Mr. Naughton's sincerity. However, his conclusions are false.

God has spoken on this issue. Homosexuality/lesbianism is a sin. The bible makes this clear on numerous occasions (see here). God does not answer prayer in a manner that violates what He has already said. Since God is perfect, He does not change His mind.

God has made it clear in scripture that one man and one woman, and only one man and one woman, are to be involved in intimate, marriage relationships (see here). Anything else is sin.

It is clear that Mr. Naughton and his group made a decision long ago that homosexuality and lesbianism are acceptable lifestyles. They now pray, but already have their minds made up. This leads them to the conclusion that they already have made.

We can be certain that God did not tell these folks that Rev. Glasspool's lifestyle is acceptable. God also did not say that Rev. Glasspool should be made an assistant bishop. We can be certain of this for several reasons: no one living in open sin should be in church leadership, women should not even be pastors, and the "assistant bishop" position as it stands within the Episcopal church is unbiblical.

It is informative that no one in favor of Rev. Glasspool's position ever makes mention of the bible.

So what can we learn from this story?

-People often pray to reach their own conclusions.

-God never answers prayer in a manner that violates His word.

-We need to be careful as we pray. In humility, let's be certain that on other issues we do not come to "prayerful conclusions" that violate scripture.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

This Doesn't Seem Like a Good Idea

Do we really need a "Battle of the Faiths"? With all the religiously-instigated violence in the world, the last thing we need is sporting events (especially boxing) capitalizing on deep-seated hatred.

I have a different idea: instead of hitting each other, how about we sit down and talk around a meal?

Some of the Most Important Verses in the Bible

Philippians 2:1-11 (ESV) says the following:

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Our culture is not one that champions humility. Pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness reign supreme.

When we strive for and live lives of humility, we look far different than the world. This is when we look most like Jesus Christ. The above verses show us this. Philippians 2:3-4 instructs us to humbly look out for the interests of others before ourselves. These are very important verses for the Christian life.

We must be careful, however, not to sever 2:3-4 from 2:5-11. If we separate these passages and only teach 2:3-4, then we run the risk of teaching moralism. We are danger of suggesting that we must live lives of humility under our own power and ability.

When we teach 2:3-4 in connection with 2:5-11, then we rightly show that our very ability to live humbly is based on the gospel itself. We can only display humility because of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, which is discussed so beautifully in the Christ Hymn of 2:5-11. Only because of Christ's work can we care about the needs of others before ourselves.

Jesus is our model in 2:5-11. He is also our salvation in 2:5-11.

Let's display humility in all we do, understanding that it is only because the the gospel of grace that we can do so.

This is a Good Idea - and I'm a Witness to It

The city of New Delhi, India has begun a campaign to keep its people from publicly urinating. Having lived in India for four months, I can say that this measure is needed desperately. I witnessed far too much public "relief" during our time in South Asia. Let's hope it works.

My Ten Favorite Blogs - #2

#2 - Albert Mohler

I respect Dr. Albert Mohler because of his stand for the truth of the scriptures and for his excellent leadership as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has taken SBTS from the verge of theological liberalism to solid Christian orthodoxy. As a bonus, he is a Calvinist.

I don't read Dr. Mohler's blog for the above reasons. I read his blog because it is, quite simply, the best blog on the interaction between culture and Christianity.

Dr. Mohler somehow finds time to research and write about moral/ethical issues that face us all. In particular, Dr. Mohler focuses upon what the bible has to say about these issues. Most of the time, he discusses topics where the secular culture has moved in one direction while the church must stand in the other.


Dr. Mohler is the most talented "Christian cultural exegete" that I have ever read. He is my source of news on the secular culture. He also keeps me up-to-date on where the church stands on various issues.

I enjoy Dr. Mohler's consistency and unfailing adherence to scriptural authority. If you want to know what is happening and how we - as Christians - should respond, then read this blog.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Another Questionable Bible...

This, according to Fox News. I have to admit that this "project" doesn't feel right to me. The artwork, as described in this report, clearly has an agenda.

Regardless, I'd like to see what just the hand-written word looks like.

Shameless Promotion (It's for My Daughter)

My daughter Caroline is an aspiring photographer.

She has put together a very nice 2010 calendar of her floral photos. I've seen it and it is excellent.

Click here to take a look.

My Ten Favorite Blogs - #3

#3 - Between Two Worlds

Justin Taylor is amazing. He must be plugged directly into the internet for the majority of the day. That's the only way to explain how he manages to post so much.

J.T.'s blog is different from most. The reason for this is that he primarily links to all sorts of things that are going on in the evangelical world (and beyond). Keeping an eye on his blog is something like watching a news feed on the world of Christianity.

Between Two Worlds is the best high-quantity blog out there. Another benefit is that Taylor discusses a wide variety of topics. As a bonus, he is Reformed.

I have to admit that J.T. posts so much that I don't read the majority of what he writes. It's best to think of this blog as a helpful resource that keeps you up-to-date on what is occurring in the Christian world. You won't find many long articles here, but you will know what is going on.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Don't Mess with This Bible

(I have no idea who these people are; I just like the photo.)

Stop Staring

Wow and sigh.

A Nice Surprise

My phone rang at about 9:45 this morning. That was not the surprise.

A woman on the other end asked me if I could lead a bible study with a group of senior citizens this morning. That was the surprise.

I was a bit intimidated because I did not have much time to prepare, I barely knew where I was going, and I had never met any of the people before. Even the lady who called me (she works at the local senior center) was someone I didn't know. She had found out about me from another pastor.

It turned out to be a great experience. I decided to speak about what I'll be preaching about this Sunday: God's plan for His Servant (Jesus Christ) to be a light of salvation to the end of the earth. The seniors were receptive, kind, and fun. We had a good discussion of various issues related to the gospel and missions. I very much enjoyed talking about our time living in India.

The seniors' love for Jesus was palpable. We left our denominational differences at the door and enjoyed talking about how wonderful Jesus is. He was the focus of our encouraging conversation.

I thank the Lord for this surprise. I didn't expect it, and I certainly didn't deserve it.

Seniors are an often overlooked treasure in our church families.

Please Just Be Fair to the Original Text

It appears that we will soon have another English bible translation. Unfortunately, this one is yet another with theological/political bias. To read about this, click here.

Several modern translations lean to the left theologically and/or politically (for example, the TNIV and NRSV). Now there will be another - except this one swings to the opposite extreme - too conservative.

It is entitled the Conservative Bible Project. The project's on-line home is Conservapedia.com.

According to Timothy Paul Jones, a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a critic of this project, "This is not making scripture understandable to people today, it's reworking scripture to support a particular political or social agenda."

Dr. Jones goes on to say, "Ironically, there's a long tradition of the liberal twisting of scripture. Scholars have rightly deemed those translations illegitimate, and this conservative Bible is every bit as illegitimate."

Here is my plea: if you are going to translate scripture, PLEASE be as fair to the original text as is possible. I realize we all carry biases and should be aware of these. However, we ought to, as best we can, just let the original languages speak for themselves.

Maybe this is another reason why we should become at least familiar with the original languages (I have really got to brush up on my Hebrew!!)

In Case the Folks in Washington Forgot...

Just in case the politicians in Washington, D.C. forgot about our original documents, I decided to post the text of the Declaration of Independence (I would have posted the Constitution as well, but it was too long). I love the last line of the Declaration, which says, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

O.K. politicians - here it is. Read it and, please, govern by it.

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

My Ten Favorite Blogs - #4


A warning to all readers: I am an unashamed young earth creationist. There, I said it. Because of this, I fall in lock-step with Answers in Genesis (AIG).

AIG is one of my favorite blogs because the author, Ken Ham, writes about creation from a biblical perspective. He believes that Genesis 1-2 are literally true and discusses this. He is deeply concerned (as am I) that so many Christians have given in to evolutionary ideas in regards to creation. Ham writes with a very obvious apologetic flavor.

Ham is a courageous man. He is absolutely hated by many in the atheist/evolutionist camp. There is even a website named No Answers in Genesis that tries to refute and/or make fun of AIG is particular and biblical creationists in general.

I appreciate the fact that Ham puts-his-money-where-his-mouth-is. As head of AIG, Ham takes the most responsibility and criticism (by atheists, etc.) for the creation museum. Most of the negative press amounts to little more than unfair name-calling. Ham takes hit after hit after hit.

Ham responds to some of the more ridiculous attacks on the AIG blog. For the most part, however, he discusses creation related issues and writes about folks who attend the museum.

I respect Ham a great deal and therefore enjoy his blog.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My Ten Favorite Blogs - #5

#5 - Challies.com

Tim Challies is known as one of the uber-bloggers of the evangelical world. Challies seemingly blogs every day no matter what. I guess there are a few small bonuses to being a web designer.

If you polled a large number of evangelicals in the USA and Canada (Tim is from north of the border), you would find this blog to be near the top of almost everyone's "favorite blogs" list.

One of the best aspects of this blog is that Tim is a very good writer. It's that simple. His style is conversational, which makes him very pleasant to read.

Tim is also real. He writes about how he thinks and feels regarding a wide range of issues. His experiences seem to mirror those of many of his readers. Because of the way he writes, you feel like you know him even though you probably don't (I saw him once at a conference - oooooooh!).

Additionally, Tim knows his bible well. He is a solid theologian. As he writes, Tim discusses theology as it relates to cultural issues. He is not shy about addressing difficult issues either. Just look at his blog to see the topics he has discussed.

This is a very solid blog. Tim is not funky or exciting, but his writing is very readable, enjoyable, and edifying.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

"You Reap What You Throw"

Enjoy.

Just Finished the ISV

For the last few months I have been reading through the International Standard Version (ISV) New Testament during my devotional time. I just completed it a few days ago.

Reading through the ISV was enjoyable. The reason for this is that it is very readable. The language is not cumbersome whatsoever. This may sound strange, but at times it almost seemed too easy to read. I suppose this is because I am used to reading translations that, quite frankly, aren't that readable. The ISV, for example, succeeds where versions like the NASB do not.

In my opinion, the best aspect of the ISV is the way the poetry/sayings have been translated. The translators did an excellent job trying to keep it sounding like, well, poetry. This is the rendering of I Timothy 3:16 in the ISV:

"In flesh was he revealed to sight,
kept righteous by the Spirit's might,
adored by angels singing.
To nations was he manifest,
believing souls found peace and rest,
our Lord in heaven reigning!"

Although the ESV remains my preferred version, I will definitely be consulting my ISV during bible study. I encourage you to pick up a copy.

My Son is 11 Today

My son Bobby is eleven years old today.

That would not be particularly significant except that we didn't know if he would ever make it this far. In early 2007 Bobby was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma. We were living in India at the time and had no idea what turns our lives would take over the next few years.

God faithfully carried us through it all. God brought us through a quick move back home, through chemotherapy, through recovery and into remission, through forms of homelessness and joblessness (it wasn't quite as bad as that sounds), and through trying to determine what to do next.

We praise the Lord for His faithfulness!

Thanksgiving in Kenya

Click here to read about my parents' recent Thanksgiving celebration in Kenya.

In reading their blog post, I was touched by what my parents' house helper, Gladys, had to say about the celebration. After her first Thanksgiving, Gladys wrote the following:

"Thanks so much for inviting me for a thanksgiving lunch at your house yesterday. I felt very much loved and appreciated. It was my first time to have lunch which consisted of more than 6 different kinds of food. Everything was yum!! God bless you so much."

My Ten Favorite Blogs - #6

#6 - The Assembling of the Church

I always have one of two reactions to my friend Alan's blog: either "Yes!" or "Arrgh!" The reason for this is that Alan's blog is very challenging. In particular, it is challenging to what we usually think the church is, what the church should be, and how the church should function.

I'll say up-front that I do not always agree with Alan. Despite this, I appreciate his desire to be biblical as he discusses the church. He displays a sort of courageous humility in being willing to ask hard questions about anything and everything church-related.

This blog is unique in that Alan designs it to be a discussion. He asks and invites questions. He then answers the questions. I remember a post from a few years ago that (I think) focused on unity and "second-order" doctrines. That post received over 100 comments.

If you want to remain comfortable in the way you think about the church, then do not read this blog. If you are up for a frank discussion about what the bible has to say about church life, then click here.