Happy Reformation Day!

Why We Celebrate October 31st

We like to celebrate on October 31st. It is a fun day to get together with friends. It is a great day for fellowship and food. It is enjoyable to talk about amazing things that have happened in the past - some of them scary things.

I'm not talking about Halloween (we don't celebrate it). I'm talking about Reformation Day.

Reformation Day is a celebration of what began in earnest on October 31st, 1517. On that day, the German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This was one of the first acts in the great Protestant Reformation.

The Reformation, while not perfect, was an attempt by various different people to return to the bible as the only authority for the Christian life. This flew in the face of the established traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther, for one, wanted to see reform within the Catholic Church. Despite his desires, he was cast out.

The Reformers taught us to look to the bible for what it means to be right with God. Luther rightly emphasized that we cannot be justified by our works. Instead, justification only comes through faith (which in itself is a gift of God).

Out of the Reformers' teachings came the "5 Solas of the Reformation." These are:

Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Solus Christus – Christ Alone
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Soli Deo Gloria – Glory of God Alone

We have much to celebrate on the 31st. Let's enjoy and live out these solas.

More Tech Funnies

Taking Blogging a Bit Too Far...

Looking to the wrong god

When our family served in India, we were constantly confronted with various forms of Hindu worship. The vast majority of the population in our city was Hindu. Additionally, many Indians trekked to our city to participate in elaborate Hindu religious rituals.

The sad part in watching the Hindus worship was that they were looking to the wrong god for help. The Hindu pantheon of gods offers many, many different gods to choose from. We know, however, that there is really only one God: the triune God of the bible.

I encourage you to actively try to get to know Indians in your neighborhood, workplace, etc. The majority are probably Hindu. Meet them. Get to know them. Love them. Share the hope of Christ with them.

To read more about Hindu worship in India and Christians who are trying to reach them with the good news, click here. What you will find is an interesting article about Hindus worshiping the false god Ganesh as part of a typical Hindu festival.

But for the grace of God, I would be right there worshiping Ganesh with them.

A Parking Space for Jesus

This is a silly photo of me in the historic district of Savannah, GA. I'm standing next to one of the many old, big church facilities in the city.

I asked my daughter, Caroline, to take this picture because of the ridiculous sign above my head. If you have ever visited Savannah, you know that finding a parking spot in the historic district can be very difficult. Apparently this church thinks their "senior pastor" is too important to have to search for a spot and then walk like everyone else. He gets a reserved spot right next to the church entrance.

If this church had its theology right, they would realize that they actually have reserved a spot for Jesus Himself. I'd like to think that this means that they are just really looking forward to the second coming. Unfortunately, they probably just don't understand who the "senior pastor" actually is.

When we look in the bible, we won't find the term "senior pastor" anywhere. However, when we look to the book of I Peter, we find the corresponding term "chief shepherd." The interesting thing about this is that the term "chief shepherd" is not used about any person other than the Lord Jesus Christ. I Peter 5:4 says, "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." This obviously refers to Jesus. I encourage you to click here to read the verse in context.

The bible does refer to some leaders within the church as elders/overseers/pastors. However, none of these are ever referred to as a "chief shepherd." Why is this? The reason is simple. The chief shepherd is the one who rules and governs. He is in charge. Human pastors are not given these duties.

Since the church belongs to Christ, He is the one and only chief shepherd. Jesus is the only senior pastor of the church.

It looks like Christ has a parking space the next time He comes to Savannah.

Raced. Finished. Didn't Collapse.

I'm happy to say that the 10-K went relatively well this evening.

I had a few minor goals going into the race: 1) finish, 2) don't stop to walk or collapse, 3) complete the 10-K is less than 50 minutes, and 4) have a good time. I'm pleased to say that all these things happened.

I will admit that there was one point during the 4th or 5th mile when I really wanted to stop and walk. That's when I literally began praying to God for strength. He got me to the finish.

One additional point of interest came near the 5-mile marker. As I was running along, I realized that there was a snake in the middle of the path in front of me. About a second later, I recognized the two-foot-long snake as a Copperhead. By that point I was almost on top of the serpent. Not knowing what to do, I simply ran past it a few feet from its mouth. The snake, frankly, seemed bored with my presence.

In the end, it went well. Tonight showed me that I am getting older and still need to drop several pounds. It also reminded me that God gives us strength even during the less important things in life - like a 10-K.

G.R.A.C.E. for Whom?

I very much enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek post about grace and how different religious groups view it.

Racing Today

The day has finally arrived.

After several months of jogging/running/training, I will run in my first race later today. To be completely accurate, this is my first race in nearly five years. That race was a marathon; this one is only a 10K.

The entire reason I got back into racing in the first place was to provide motivation to run. Over the years I have, like many of us, gradually packed on extra pounds. The trigger for this came one day when a lady who hadn't seen me in a while said, "You've put on a few pounds since the last time I saw you." That was it.

Since early June I have been trying to get back into shape. I've dropped a few pounds (not as many as I would have liked) and feel much better. Today is a sort of day-of-reckoning. I'm going into the race with low expectations, simply hoping to finish and feel good while doing it. I'm mentally prepared to see the high school participants leave me in the dust.

I'll update you after the race.

I Love My Reader's Greek New Testament

I'll admit up front that I am no expert in New Testament Greek. In fact, if I was an expert I would not be so excited about the new bible I just purchased.

A Readers' Greek New Testament - 2nd Edition is perfect for people like me who have a decent but not great knowledge of New Testament Greek. I have known about this particular Greek text for a while, but for some unknown reason never bought one. Well, I saw it today in a bookstore and decided to take the plunge (interestingly, right beside this book sat A Readers' Hebrew Bible. My Hebrew ability is, sad to say, too poor to even bother).

As soon as I opened this Greek text, I knew I had made the right choice. The reason for this is simple: this bible displays and explains in English (at the bottom of each page) all of the Greek words that occur fewer than 30 times in the New Testament. So, if your Greek knowledge is limited like mine, the words that you don't know are right there in front of you. I'm thrilled to not have to spend time searching through a dictionary/lexicon.

I clearly recall something my Greek professor said early on in my first Greek class. He compared reading the New Testament in English to watching black-and-white T.V. He then said reading it in Greek is like watching T.V. in high-definition color on a flat screen. I don't know if I would go that far, but I see what he is saying.

Martin Luther said, "And let us be sure of this: we will not long preserve the gospel without the (original) languages. The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained."

If you have basic knowledge of Greek but are no expert, I highly encourage you to buy this book.

Chosen People Ministries

I'm excited that Stephen Fenchel of Chosen People Ministries will be with our church family this coming Sunday Morning.

Chosen People Ministries is a Christian organization which reaches out primarily to Jewish communities here in the USA and overseas.

Stephen Fenchel is the unique combination of being Jewish, Christian, and Southern Baptist. While he is with us, he will be discussing the Fall Feasts of Israel (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles). I'll admit that my understanding of both Trumpets and Tabernacles is limited. Because of that, I am really looking forward to this Sunday.

If you cannot be with us, then please visit the Chosen People website for an explanation of the significance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

If you happen to be in the Savannah, GA area and want to gather with us, please do.

On to the World Series!

National League Champs two years in a row

More Excellent Photos

My daughter, Caroline, has been gifted by God in the area of photography. She recently revamped and added to a couple of different websites that she uses to display her photos. I encourage you to take a look.

Photographs of God's Creation (portfolio)

Caroline Carpenter Photography (portraits and other photos)

Here are some of my favorites:

I'm Thinking Maybe Not McDonald's

I admit that I posted this simply because I think it's funny.

Atheist Ads in New York

A few atheistic groups will be putting advertisements in New York City subway stations beginning next week (read full article here).

Hmmmm. I wonder what God thinks about this.

Are Bible Translations Really Worth Dividing Over?

Isn't it ironic that on the one hand the bible commands Christians to be united, but on the other hand some of us divide over the bible itself?

In particular, some folks believe the King James Version (KJV) is the only true English bible. See here for one example.

If the KJV is better than all other modern English versions, then it seems that the KJV would be considerably different than the other versions, especially in key verses. The one verse in the bible that I believe best sums up the gospel is II Corinthians 5:21. Let's compare this verse in the KJV to how other versions have translated it.

First, the KJV:

KJV: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Now let's look at other versions (in no particular order):

NKJV: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

ESV: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

NIV: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

NASB: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

HCSB: He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

RSV: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

NLT: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Geneva: For he hath made him to be sinne for vs, which knewe no sinne, that we should be made the righteousnesse of God in him.

Tyndale: for he hath made him to be synne for vs which knewe no synne that we by his meanes shuld be that rightewesnes which before God is aloved.

In slightly different ways we read all of the above versions saying the same thing. The wording is different, but the meaning is demonstrably the same.

I personally favor some translations (ESV, NKJV) over others (RSV, NLT). We all probably have our own favorites. Some translations are more literal than others. Some are more readable than others. (There are a few translations that should be avoided, but this is because the translators have purposely altered the meaning of the original text because of a significant bias; the NRSV and TNIV come to mind.)

For the most part, modern English translations say the same thing. This is certainly something we can discuss and, if need be, agree-to-disagree.

Let us avoid separation over any preference of a particular translation, whether it be the KJV, ESV, NIV, or any other.

We should certainly be able to remain united around the truth of the gospel as presented in the bible instead of dividing over the very word that presents the gospel to us.

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Not Sure What I Think About This...

Apparently the Pope has decided to make it easier for disgruntled and disaffected Anglicans to join Roman Catholicism.

According to an ABC report, "Pope Benedict XVI approved a new church provision that will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions, including having married priests." To read the article, click here.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has a history of speaking a great deal, but rarely taking a stand for much of anything. In typical fashion, Williams said in response to Rome's actions, "It has no negative impact on the relations of the communion as a whole to the Roman Catholic church as a whole."

I'd certainly disagree with Williams on that one.

Overall I'm not sure how I feel about this. Is a person better off in an Anglican Church or a Roman Catholic one?

The answer: go wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed and lived out.

"This Wide."

A few days ago, during a meeting of one of our church Sunday School classes, a lady in our fellowship said something very simple yet very profound.

From what I'm told, a few of the class members were involved in a fairly intense discussion about what the parameters of Christianity should be. The topic focused in particular on Roman Catholicism. At one point the following question was posed, "How wide/narrow should our definition of Christianity be?"

In response, one lady said, "This wide," and held up her bible in her hand.

I hope my beliefs and practices, as I seek to follow after Christ, are as this lady said: as wide (and as narrow) as what the entire bible says.

No more. No less.

"Better" in Hebrews

The author of Hebrews repeatedly tell us that Jesus Christ is "better." Below are the instances in Hebrews where the word better is used. The author either describes Jesus Himself as better or things He brings about as better.

From these verses we can see that Jesus truly is superior to all things. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

"having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Hebrews 1:4 (NKJV)

"But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner." Hebrews 6:9

"Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better." Hebrews 7:7

"for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." Hebrews 7:19

"by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant." Hebrews 7:22

"But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." Hebrews 8:6

"Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Hebrews 9:23

"for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven." Hebrews 10:34

"But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:16

"Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." Hebrews 11:35

"God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." Hebrews 11:40

"to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel." Hebrews 12:24