More quotable quotes

Salvation is the work of God for man; it is not the work of man for God. --Lewis Sperry Chafer, 1871-1952

Before an individual can be saved, he must first learn that he cannot save himself. --Martin R. DeHaan, 1891-1965

It ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honoured in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean, and despised. --George Müller, 1805-1898

Hobo poetry

A hobo always goes and goes
He does not stop to change his clothes
He rides the rails that he has chose.
Water pours out from a hose!

Do not show me tramp or bum
Tramp may ride, and bum's a chum
But both beg from the other one.
Kids: stop chewing chewing gum!

Neither works like hobo does
Carving coin and twisting fuzz
Into a pretty pair of gloves.
The past tense of "to be" is "was"!

A hobo he will never steal
Unless it is to get a meal
Or cash, or gems, or fur of seal.
Some Japanese eat broiled eel!

But saddest: those who do not ride
At all, but stand and die inside
As world spins on and throws aside
The past, and hope, and faith, and pride.
In one direction do trains glide
Not looking back, on windward side,
Across the continent's divide
The hobo rides and rides and rides.
I will eat anything that's fried!

--written by the hobo known as "Mind-bender Steve", as told in a book of hobo history by John Hodgman

www.plainvillebaptist.org

Moses

Exodus 24:3-8

So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do."  And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.  Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.  And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient."  And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words."

Abram

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” --Genesis 12:1-3


 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
  Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,  “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.  I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.  The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”--Genesis 17:1-8

Adam and Eve

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” --Genesis 2:15-17


  Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

  “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.--Genesis 3:1-6



 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

   “Cursed is the ground because of you;
   through painful toil you will eat food from it
   all the days of your life.
   It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
   and you will eat the plants of the field.
   By the sweat of your brow
   you will eat your food
   until you return to the ground,
   since from it you were taken;
   for dust you are
   and to dust you will return.”--Genesis 3:17-19



But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
    there they dealt faithlessly with Me. --Hosea 6:7

Holy Willie's Prayer

O You that in the Heavens does dwell,
Who, as it pleases best Yourself,
Sends one to Heaven and ten to Hell
All for Your glory,
And not for any good or ill
They have done before You!

I bless and praise Your matchless might,
When thousands You have left in night,
That I am here before Your sight,
For gifts and grace
A burning and a shining light
To all this place.

What was I, or my generation,
That I should get such exaltation?
I, who deserved most just damnation
For broken laws
Six thousand years before my creation,
Through Adam's cause!

When from my mother's womb I fell,
You might have plunged me deep in hell
To gnash my gums, and weep, and wail
In burning lakes,
Where damned devils roar and yell,
Chained to their stakes.

Yet I am here, a chosen sample,
To show Your grace is great and ample:
I am here a pillar of Your temple,
Strong as a rock,
A guide, a buckler, and example
To all Your flock!

But yet O Lord! confess I must:
At times I am irked with fleshly lust;
And sometimes, too, in worldly trust,
Vile self gets in;
But You remembers we are dust,
Defiled with sin.

O Lord! last night, You know, with Meg -
Your pardon I sincerely beg -
O, may it never be a living plague
To my dishonour!
And I will never lift a lawless leg
Again upon her.

Besides, I further must avow -
With Leezie's girl, three times, I think -
But, Lord, that Friday I was drunk,
When I came near her,
Or else, You know, Your servant true
Would never meddle with her.

Maybe You let this fleshly thorn
Buffet Your servant evening and morning,
Lest he too proud and high should turn
That he is so gifted:
If so, Your hand must even be borne
Until You lift it.

Lord, bless Your chosen in this place,
For here You have a chosen race!
But God confound their stubborn face
And blast their name,
Who bring Your elders to disgrace
And open shame!

Lord, remember Gavin Hamilton's deserts:
He drinks, and swears, and plays at cards,
Yet has so many taking arts
With great and small,
From God's own Priest the peoples hearts
He steals away.

And when we chastened him therefore,
You know how he bred such a row,
And set the world in a roar
Of laughing at us:
Curse You his basket and his store,
Cabbage and potatoes!

Lord, hear my earnest cry and prayer
Against that Presbytery of Ayr!
Your strong right hand, Lord, make it bear
Upon their heads!
Lord, visit them, and do not spare,
For their misdeeds!

O Lord, my God! that glib-tongued Aiken,
My very heart and flesh are quaking
To think how we stood sweating, shaking,
And pissed with dread,
While he, with hanging lip and sneering,
Held up his head.

Lord, in Your day of vengeance try him!
Lord, visit him who did employ him!
And pass not in Your mercy by them,
Nor hear their prayer,
But for Your people's sake destroy them,
And do not spare!

But, Lord, remember me and mine
With mercies temporal and divine,
That I for grace and wealth may shine
Excelled by none;
And all the glory shall be Yours -
Amen, Amen!

--Standard english translation of the original, written in 1785 by Robert Burns

Copernicus

Non parem Pauli gratiam requiro
Veniam Petri neque posco, sed quam
in crucis ligno dederas latroni; sedulus oro.


"O Lord, the faith thou didst give to St. Paul, I cannot ask; the mercy thou didst show to St. Peter; I dare not ask; but Lord, the grace thou didst show unto the dying robber, that, Lord, show to me.”


--Nicolaus Copernicus epitaph in St. Johns’ Cathedral in Toruń

Jesus nut

From Wikipedia: "Jesus nut or Jesus pin are colloquialisms for the main rotor retaining nut that holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters, such as the UH-1 Iroquois helicopter.

The term may have come from the idea that, if the Jesus pin were to fail in flight, the helicopter would detach from the rotors. and the only thing left for the crew to do would be to pray to Jesus. In addition, a person must have faith in the Jesus bolt to do its intended job without failure. Real examples of the Jesus pin failing are few and far between. However the pin must be checked before the flight. Some more recent helicopter systems do not have a Jesus nut."

Not from Wikipedia:  Though this sounds like a topic to make some type of hackneyed postcard out of, I think this is a great way to explain the Christian faith.  Maybe you are offended that the name of Jesus is being used in this way.  I know I was initially.  But I think there is a powerful analogy here.  

Many people think Christianity is an equation that says, "Jesus + my effort = salvation".  The false idea that we are earning our salvation is so entrenched in people's hearts.  So many Christians I know consider their faith in Jesus as "the first step" and then they think they are justified by law and their own performance after that.  That is why I love this idea of the "Jesus nut".  

In aerospace, nearly every design that is critical in keeping the aircraft in the air has some type of redundancy or backup built in.  There is of course, more safety in that approach, and the failure of any one part should not mean disaster for the passengers.  Through legalism, Christians are seeking to be justified by Christ AND by their own works.  But the scriptures make it clear that we must pick one or the other.  There is no backup plan.  

"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." -Galatians 5:4

You are riding in the helicopter.  There is a single nut that holds the rotor in place.  Your life is inextricably tied to the success or failure of that one thing.  Do you put your faith in Christ, or in your own ability to keep the law?

Grace be with you

“A man must completely despair of himself in order to become fit to obtain the grace of Christ.” -Martin Luther (1483-1546)


“Grace is the love that gives, that loves the unlovely and the unlovable.” -Oswald C. Hoffmann


“He who has not felt what sin is in the Old Testament knows little what grace is in the New. He who has not trembled in Moses, and wept in David, and wondered in Isaiah will rejoice little in Matthew, rest little in John. He who has not suffered under the Law will scarcely hear the glad sound of the gospel.” -R. W. Barbour 


“When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God's generous grace.” -Erwin W. Lutzer (1941- )

Quotable quotations

Christ is a substitute for everything,
but nothing is a substitute for Christ.  ~H.A. Ironside


"People are stumbling over the simplest things. Take, for instance, that word believeth. You would think that was plain enough for anybody, but all my life I have heard people say, 'I have always believed, and yet I am not saved.' It does not say, 'Whosoever believeth the Bible, or creeds, or even the gospel story,'
but it does say, 'Whosoever believeth in him.' What is it to believe in Him? It means to put your soul's confidence in Him, to trust in Him, God's blessed Son."~H.A. Ironside

"I find no fault in Him."...You can find fault in anyone else, but you can find
no fault in Jesus. Holy, harmless, undefiled, sinless: there He is! Christ is God's way to man; Christ is man's way to God. Christ is the true Jacob's ladder. By Him the penitent sinner, the believing soul, the redeemed child of God may come unto the Father and enter into the house of many mansions."~George W. Truett

"When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him. He settled for everything, and then He cried, 'It is finished.' And on the basis of that finished work, God can freely forgive, and justify completely, every poor sinner who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ." ~ Dr. Harry A. Ironside

War

Peace amongst men living alongside one
another is not a natural state.

On the contrary, the natural state of man
is that of war.

War manifested not only by open hostilities,
but also by the constant threat of hostility.

Peace, therefore, is a state that must be
established by law.

- Immanuel Kant, "Perpetual Peace" Chapter 2

Luther

It's not my fault

The following post was taken from a Christian preacher's blog.  It was posted by an individual in response to a comment that homosexuality is a sin, along with being fat, being self-righteous, being demeaning to others, etc.

Oh, Steve… OH, STEVE…
I have listened to your radio show for years (whenever I was in range). I have always considered you a forerunner for Grace. I have enjoyed your, sometimes, oblique attacks at "traditional Christianity".

Please reconsider calling "being fat" a sin. The Bible, as far as I studied it, never condemns "being fat" as a sin. It DOES condemn gluttony, but this is a intentional over consumption of food for the sake of it. It may result in "being fat", but not necessarily (consider the familiar disorder of binging/purging.) Many people say just what you say. Even my Bible class teacher says things like: "I have a real problem with someone who condemns homosexuals when they are as big as a horse!"

I am hypoglycemic and must eat several times a day to maintain blood sugar/insulin balance. Genetically, I am predisposed to gaining and maintaining fat deposits. As the doctor says: "Your genes are designed to make you a survivor in famine conditions."

As a laundry route driver I service upwards of 170 stops (customers) during a 6 to 8 hour shift while driving over 100 miles through neighborhoods and business districts. I eat only what is necessary (just snacks (nuts and such) while working and I don't take a lunch break). You'd think from this routine that I wouldn't be fat, right? But at 5 foot 9 inches, I weigh almost 250 lbs!

Am I sinning by being fat? I don't think so!

Do I sin in other areas? Certainly!

Please do not condemn people for their state of being. Just tell everyone that sin is something you think or do, not what you are.

Thank you for letting me contribute.
Doyle

For me, the main thing I take from this is that we haven't changed since Adam.  "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  We have no problem condemning others, but we always find a way to justify our own sin.  It's never our fault.  I suppose our prisons would be far less crowded if those accused of crimes got to judge their own cases, too.

What is the Gospel?

The Gospel is not just any message from God telling man how he should behave. "What is the Gospel?" I asked a man this question some time ago, and he answered, "Why I should say it is the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and I think if a man lives up to them he is all right." Well, I fancy he would be; but did you ever know anybody who lived up to them? The Sermon on the Mount demands a righteousness which no unregenerate man has been able to produce. The law is not the Gospel; it is the very antitheses of the Gospel. In fact, the law was given by God to show men their need of the Gospel .
"The law," says the Apostle Paul, speaking as a Jewish convert, "was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. But after that Christ is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster."


The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past.


Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.
...
If you do not see that there is no other way of salvation for you, save through the death of the Lord Jesus, then that just tells the sad story that you are among the lost. You are not merely in danger of being lost in the Day of Judgment; but you are lost now. But, thank God, "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost," and seeking the lost He went to the cross. "None of the ransomed ever know How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Ere He found the sheep that was lost."
HE HAD TO DIE, to go down into the dark waters of death, that you might be saved. Can you think of any ingratitude more base than that of a man or woman who passes by the life offered by the Savior who died on the Cross for them? Jesus died for you, and can it be that you have never even trusted Him, never even come to Him and told Him you were a poor, lost, ruined, guilty sinner; but since He died for you, you would take Him as your Savior? HIS DEATH WAS REAL. He was buried three days in the tomb. He died, He was buried, and that was God's witness that it was not a merely pretended death, but He, the Lord of life, had to go down into death. He was held by the bars of death for those three days and nights, until God's appointed time had come. Then, "Death could not keep its prey, He tore the bars away." And so the third point of the Gospel is this, "He was raised again the third day according to the Scriptures. "That is the Gospel, and nothing can be added to that. Some people say, "Well, but must I repent?" Yes, you may well repent, but that is not the Gospel. "Must I not be baptized?" If you are a Christian, you ought to be baptized, but baptism is not the Gospel. Paul said, "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel" (1 Cor. !:17) He did baptize people, but he did not consider that was the Gospel, and the Gospel was the great message that he was sent to carry to the world. This is all there is to it. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
--Condensed from "What is the Gospel?" - By Harry Ironside

Pepper

Saying goodbye to our Pepper was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  The girls and I talked about death, and why everything that lives has to die sometime.  They had kind of a rough time last night, hopefully today will be better.

All but Death, can be Adjusted—
Dynasties repaired—
Systems—settled in their Sockets—
Citadels—dissolved—

Wastes of Lives—resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs—
Death—unto itself—Exception—
Is exempt from Change—

–Emily Dickinson

I know some look down on people of faith, claiming that they believe in a "fairy tale" because they can't deal with the reality of death.  I don't know how anyone could possibly cope with the death of a loved one, or even contemplate their own death without faith.  It is only because of the hope of eternal life that I can find peace in spite of those things.

One a Pharisee

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

    “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

    “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

--Luke 18:9-14

The Neverending Story

“When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.” 
― Michael Ende, The Neverending Story

Norm MacDonald

Norm talks about losing all his money three different times in his life because of gambling.  He said that it was a very freeing experience.  He said it was an escape.  He said he was never into drugs or alcohol.  He said he would rather fear losing money on a football game than ruminate about his own death.  He said worrying about his own mortality is a huge thing in his life. This led to the following discussion:

Marc: "And you're trying to get some spirituality in your life?"
Norm: "I'm trying to, because the only real joy I get, other than I love watching comedy, the only thing deeper than that I read a lot of literature, I'm not educated but I read a lot of literature."

Marc: "Like who?"

Norm: "Tolstoy, Faulkner...faith keeps coming up, these @#%#$#$%#$% are smart, Pryor was the most deep profound guy I ever heard, from my limited perspective ,...why are all these guys, it all comes down to faith.  Every @#$%@#% great novel I read, it seems like faith is the only salvation.  But I don't know how to get it.  I don't know how to just suddenly believe.
...
Norm: "I've been struggling with faith.  I'll just throw myself into religion sometimes, but the problem with that is that then you get into churches and stuff, and then you get into... it's very easy to fall into the trap of going like 'religion's bad' or 'God's bad because this priest #$%#$@#$ a kid', which is retarded you know what I mean, why does that make God bad?  It doesn't make any sense. "

Marc:" Just the people who represent Him are a little questionable."

Norm: "Because you go into any church and it's led by fallible men, and you can't believe in them, so you've got to somehow come to it yourself somehow.  But I don't have the answer on how you do that or anything."

Marc: "So where are you at with it now?"

Norm: "The only thing I've ever explored is Christianity."

Marc: "And that kinda...?"

Norm: "I liked it, but it's just extremely hard to keep believing, its really #$%#$%^ hard.  I mean it's the hardest thing to believe and I think I'm not deep enough."

--From Marc Maron's interview with Norm MacDonald

Election

So the text from my last post, Romans 9:10-18, lays out what can be a terrifying scenario.  It is God's purpose that is supreme, and not man's will or ability.  It says that he has mercy on whom He wills, and and whom He wills He hardens.  Pharaoh is mentioned as an example.  


Why I find this terrifying is in terms of the lost, those who simply refuse to believe, though they have been presented the gospel.  What if they are simply not chosen?  

At the same time, wonderful and terrifying

 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.  Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:  not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

    What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!  For he says to Moses,

   “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
   and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

    It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.  For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

Romans 9:10-18

Pray for the lost

Pray for those who have not yet come to faith in Christ.  


“open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are being sanctified by
faith in Christ.”                                                   — Acts 26:18

Making Sure Others Get What's Coming to Them

The religion of tomorrow

I grew up in the religion of tomorrow.  Here's what I mean by that.  The concept of sin was taught, and the gospel was presented as a combination of faith and works.  Now I knew in my heart that I wasn't living up to the standard presented in the Bible.  But there was always hope (and pressure) that tomorrow I would be able to achieve it.  I think you know how it turned out, I found it impossible to do.


If you asked me back then "Will you go to heaven when you die?", my response would have been "I hope so".
My only hope was that I would live long enough to become a good enough person to be saved.  Or that I would do enough good things to convince God that I deserved to be saved.


Why didn't I understand the promises of scripture?  I don't know.  Why did I think that there would ever be any merit in myself?  I still see the same things being taught in my church now.  But I no longer hope in myself.


"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  --Romans 3:21-24


I don't have to achieve something tomorrow to be saved.  I can know today that I'm saved, because of the work of Christ.  Let our hope be in Him and not in ourselves!

Youcef Nadarkhani

http://presenttruthmn.com/the-ministry/youcef-nadarkhani/

or just google his name

The Great Isaiah Scroll

Digital Dead Sea Scrolls

Click the link and be amazed....

Digital Dead Sea Scrolls

Strange and mysterious

Strange and mysterious is my life.
What opposites I feel within!
A stable peace, a constant strife;
The rule of grace, the power of sin:
Too often I am captive led,
Yet daily triumph in my Head,
Yet daily triumph in my Head.

I prize the privilege of prayer,
But oh! what backwardness to pray!
Though on the Lord I cast my care,
I feel its burden every day;
I seek His will in all I do,
Yet find my own is working too,
Yet find my own is working too.

I call the promises my own,
And prize them more than mines of gold;
Yet though their sweetness I have known,
They leave me unimpressed and cold
One hour upon the truth I feed,
The next I know not what I read,
The next I know not what I read.

I love the holy day of rest,
When Jesus meets His gathered saints;
Sweet day, of all the week the best!
For its return my spirit pants:
Yet often, through my unbelief,
It proves a day of guilt and grief,
It proves a day of guilt and grief.

While on my Savior I rely,
I know my foes shall lose their aim,
And therefore dare their power defy,
Assured of conquest through His Name,
But soon my confidence is slain,
And all my fears return again,
And all my fears return again.

Thus different powers within me strive,
And grace and sin by turns prevail;
I grieve, rejoice, decline, revive,
And victory hangs in doubtful scale:
But Jesus has His promise passed,
That grace shall overcome at last,
That grace shall overcome at last.

--John Newton

The wheat and tares

Though, in the outward church below,
The wheat and tares together grow;
Jesus ere long will weed the crop,
And pluck the tares in anger up.

For soon the reaping time will come,
And angels shout the harvest home.

Will it relieve their horrors there,
To recollect their stations here;
How much they heard, how much they knew,
How much among the wheat they grew?

No! this will aggravate their case,
They perished under means of grace;
To them the word of life and faith
Became an instrument of death.

We seem alike when thus we meet,
Strangers might think we all were wheat;
But to the Lord's all-searching eyes
Each heart appears without disguise.

The tares are spared for various ends,
Some for the sake of praying friends;
Others the Lord, against their will,
Employs his counsels to fulfil.

But though they grow so tall and strong,
His plan will not require them long;
In harvest, when he saves his own,
The tares shall into hell be thrown.

Oh! awful thought, and is it so?
Must all mankind the harvest know?
Is every man a wheat or tare?
Me for that harvest, Lord, prepare.

For soon the reaping time will come, 

And angels shout the harvest home.

--John Newton

And now for something completely different

People haven't changed

Here are five characteristics for which the Pharisees were rebuked. They are ever-present dangers for Christian leaders. First, they may not practise what they preach. Secondly, they may be unwilling to undertake themselves what they prescribe for others . Thirdly, they may love to show off. Fourthly, they may revel in honorific titles and in being paid respect. Finally, they may misunderstand ministry. They may see it less as an opportunity for service than as a sphere of management or a chance to gain recognition. Are these weaknesses confined to Jewish leaders in the first century AD? Are they not always contemporary? If Christian leaders fail in these five ways, their failure is comprehensive indeed. Michael Green, The Message of Matthew : The Kingdom of Heaven (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 241-42.

How can you tell if a televangelist is lying?

I love Harry Ironside

http://faithbiblechurchnh.org/ironside_repentance.htm

I'm not OK, you're not OK

But the light Christ brought made Him a controversial figure. One of the most offensive parts of His teaching was that even the most religious people weren't good enough to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). The candor of Jesus was taken as an insult by the religious leaders of Israel. They considered themselves teachers of righteousness and believed that their knowledge of the law put them above the crowd.

 Yet despite their unique spiritual heritage, Jesus declared that those who rejected Him-though they be "sons of the kingdom"-would be rejected from God's presence in the world to come: The sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness. There will be weeping and and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12)

 taken from here:
http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/does-god-grade-on-a-curve-passing-lifes-final-exam.pdf

The world has gone insane

Where's my separation of church and state!?

Jonathan Winters

Like many comedians, Jonathan Winters had a very bad relationship with his parents.  In an interview, he describes a conversation he and his mother had upon his return from World War II.

"I went to the house and she said automatically, 'Welcome home' and 'you made it'.  And then "How long are we going to be in the uniform?  There's a lot of work to be done around here, your stepfather is out in the garden working and you could get out there and help him now."

He describes going to get some things out of the attic from his childhood they had put away before he went to war, and finding them gone.  This was the conversation with his mother:

"I asked 'What happened to my cars?'

And she said, 'We gave them to the mission.'

I said, 'Well, that's OK, but you should have notified me, there's some things that I wanted to keep.'

And she said, quote 'How did we know you were gonna live?'"

Later in the interview he says,
"not that I'm any magic Christian, I happen to be a Christian, but I'm certainly not a kook about it, my faith, I don't bug people about it.  I don't lecture, tell them you better be this, or you better be that, I've often said,
'We're all visitors, we're just passing through, don't blow the visit.'"

--from Marc Maron's interview with Jonathan Winters  

A mind at perfect peace with God

A mind at perfect peace with God;
  O what a word is this!
A sinner reconciled through blood;
  This, this indeed is peace.

By nature and by practice far,
  How very far from God;
Yet now by grace brought nigh to Him,
  Through faith in Jesus' blood.

So nigh, so very nigh to God,
  I cannot nearer be;
For in the person of His Son
  I am as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God,
  More dear I cannot be;
The love wherewith He loves the Son,
  Such is His love to me.

Why should I ever anxious be,
  Since such a God is mine?
He watches o'er me night and day,
  And tells me "Mine is thine."


Lyrics - C. Paget

The Theist's Guide to Converting Atheists

A list of things that according to an atheist, would change his mind on religion:

• Verified, specific prophecies that couldn't have been contrived.
• Scientific knowledge in holy books that wasn't available at the time.
• Miraculous occurrences, especially if brought about through prayer.
• Any direct manifestation of the divine.
• Aliens who believed in the exact same religion.

Full article here:
http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/theistguide.html

I find it interesting that many people witnessed Jesus performing miracles, and yet did not believe.

Gandhi II

These thoughts represent my take on my own limited study of Mohandas K. Gandhi. If I have misunderstood or misrepresented things here, it is unintentional and out of ignorance.

Gandhi was a good man. He was very self-sacrificing, very committed to the poor and the downcast. His championing of non-violence was much more powerful than simply a means to a political end, it was at the core of his philosophy. He lived very simply, and by the work of his own hands. How many Christians can claim to have endured and suffered as much for their beliefs as he did?

Gandhi embraced the teachings of Christ, though he did not believe that Christ was the only Son of God, or that He was raised from the dead. Instead, he took Christ's sermon on the mount as a philosophy that he endeavored to live out.

How are people made right with God? It is easy to make the case that a murderer is in need of grace from God, in need of a savior. What about someone like Gandhi? Were all of his efforts to be pleasing to God on his own enough?

Gandhi

A few quotes from Gandhi, taken from the book, Gandhi on Christianity :

"Purity of character and salvation depend on purity of heart." p 87;

"We should, by living the life according to our lights share the best with one another, thus adding to the sum total of human effort to reach God." p 14;

"The purer I try to become the nearer I feel to be to God." p 70;

Can man be saved by his own efforts?

Motives

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

-Philippians 1:18a

Who would have ever thought

"By God's grace I am living proof that anyone can be forgiven if they want to be. Who would have ever thought that such a wasted life like mine could be redeemed and salvaged and by absolutely no goodness within myself? Jesus Christ has redeemed me. He purchased me, David Berkowitz, murderer, criminal, monster, devil worshipper, with His own blood. Who could understand a love like this, a love God has for wicked and fallen mankind? I do know that I am not worthy. I was nothing, lost demented. He put a song of mercy in my mouth that I might tell others of His wondrous love and God's burning desire to save sinners from their self-destructive ways." --David Berkowitz, March 3rd, 2000

Son of Hope

"One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Romans 10:13. It says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Here it is clear that God has no favorites. He rejects no one, but welcomes all who call upon Him.

I know that God is a God of mercy who is willing to forgive. He is perfectly able to restore and heal our hurting and broken lives. I have discovered from the Bible that Jesus Christ died for our sins. He took our place on the cross. He shed His blood as the complete payment God required for our sins.

The Bible says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, it says, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). These passages make it clear that everyone has sinned. Some like myself, are worse sinners than others, but all have sinned. Therefore, we must all acknowledge our sins before God, own that we deserve God's judgment for eternity, and realize that we are LOST!

When we reach the point of realizing that we are lost, guilty, ruined sinners, then we will be ready to accept the Saviour whom God has provided for us. Who is this Saviour? He is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Creator of the universe and the eternal Son of God who came into this world as a Man. As perfect, sinless Man, He suffered and died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18). Then He was buried and on the third day He rose again in victory, for death could not hold Him. If you realize you are lost and need a Saviour, then place your full, undivided faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for your sins. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Have you put your name in this verse? To reject the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross is to reject God's perfect and only gift of salvation and eternal life." --David Berkowitz, a.k.a., "Son of Sam"

Peacemaker

If only there were someone to mediate between us,

someone to bring us together,
someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot. --Job 9:33-35

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. --1 Timothy 2:5-6

Sistine Chapel

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Use your mouse to look around, "+" and "-" to zoom in and out.

The last judgement

The temptation (WARNING: NUDITY!)

Help Me Forgive

When rage and fury overwhelm my heart,
It’s time to look to God’s own Holy Word.
I search the Bible for His good advice;
My will to His commands must be deferred.

In Romans God reveals His love for me;
In all things God works only for my good;
He gives me blessings I can’t understand;
I’d be peaceful if I’d do the things I should.

Jesus forgave so much; why then can’t I?
I want to mold my life after His own.
I pray, I try, but my sinful nature wins;
Lord, help me, I can’t do this thing alone.

In Colossians, I read about the peace of Christ;
Oh, how I long to feel it in my heart.
All I have to do is to forgive,
But Lord, it seems I don’t know where to start.

I need to walk a mile in the other’s shoes;
They’re doing what they think they have to do.
I know some problems are blessings in disguise,
But Lord, sometimes I feel so doggone blue.

Ephesians says "forgive as the Lord forgave you;
Get rid of anger and every form of malice."
I’d love to just let go and release it all,
But upon my heart is a wound that’s become a callus.

I’ll keep praying, trying, Lord, no matter what;
I’m determined to let go and relinquish blame;
Some day, I’ll say, and be truly sincere:
"I forgive it all in Jesus’ precious name."

(Romans 8:28, Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:31)

By Joanna Fuchs

You've Got to Do It

You can make believe it happens,
Or pretend that something's true.
You can wish or hope or contemplate
A thing you'd like to do.
But until you start to do it,
You will never see it through.
'Cause the make-believe pretending
Just won't do it for you

You've got to do it.
Every little bit
You've got to do it, do it, do it, do it
And when you're through,
You can know who did it,
For you did it, you did it, you did it.

If you want to ride a bicycle
And ride it straight and tall.
You can't simply sit and look at it
'Cause it won't move at all.
But it's you who have to try it.
And it's you who have to fall (sometimes)
If you want to ride a bicycle
And ride it straight and tall.

Every little bit
You've got to do it, do it, do it, do it
And when you're through,
You can know who did it,
For you did it, you did it, you did it.

It's not easy to keep trying
But it's one good way to grow.
It's not easy to keep learning
But I know that this is so.
When you've tried and learned
You're bigger than you were a day ago.
It's not easy to keep trying
But it's one way to grow.



--Fred M. Rogers

The Christians are here

Who will make sure I'm less holy than thou?
Don't worry, the Christians are here!

Whence should I know that God hates me and how?
Don't worry, the Christians are here!

The life that I'm living is just not so good,
Who's living the life that I would if I could?
Don't worry, the Christians are here!

They say if I'll follow their rules I'll be fine,
But what if I find that I can't tow the line?
What if I'm purely a sinner at heart?
Unable to finish this thing I would start?
Did God make a plan for those worthless as I?
Or is hell to be my reward when I die?

Who will lay on me a heavy load to bear,
But for himself take not even a share?
Don't worry, the Christians are here!

Who on the road of life will pass me by,
Left bloody and beaten, I lay here to die,
Who cares not for such a wretch as I?

Don't worry, the Christians are here!
Don't worry, the Christians are here!

Mr. Rogers gets an award

This Is Just the Day

If you've got an hour,
Now's the time to share it.
If you've got a flower,
Wear it.
This is just the day.

If you've got a plan,
Now's the time to try it.
If you've got an airplane,
Fly it.
This is just the day.

It's the day for seeing all there is to see.
It's the day for being just you, just me.

If you've got a smile,
Now's the time to show it.
If you've got a horn,
Then blow it.
It's the minute to begin it.
This is just the day.

--Fred Rogers

Mr. Rogers

Naught of good that I have done

When from the dust of death I rise,
To claim my mansion in the skies,
Even then this shall be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died, for me.

30 seconds or less

The deception of the self-righteous

What if you're wrong?

What is Christianity?

The fate of the self-righteous

"Where are the mourners, (saith the Lord)
That wait and tremble at my word,
That walk in darkness all the day?
Come, make my name your trust and stay."

"No works nor duties of your own
Can for the smallest sin atone;
The robes that nature may provide
Will not your least pollutions hide."

"The softest couch that nature knows
Can give the conscience no repose:
Look to my righteousness, and live;
Comfort and peace are mine to give."

"Ye sons of pride that kindle coals
With your own hands to warm your souls,
Walk in the light of your own fire,
Enjoy the sparks that ye desire."

"This is your portion at my hands;
Hell waits you with her iron bands,
Ye shall lie down in sorrow there,
In death, in darkness, and despair."

Little hope for humanity

Protestantism

"The best thing about Protestantism is that no one starts out holier than thou. Instead, everyone has a chance to become that way." --David Javerbaum

Feel the power!

Judgment and justice

I went to court yesterday to deal with my ticket for expired tags. The judge was not in a very good mood. One guy before me had expired tags too, and tried to get some mercy by telling the judge, "I got it taken care of the very next day!" To which the judge replied, "Well, you should've taken care of it before you ended up in court!" So I decided it would be a good idea just to keep my mouth shut.

I felt some sympathy for the judge, he was clearly irritated with the people he was trying, and I suppose I would be too, after dealing with it day in and day out.

Someday we will all stand before God and be judged. Will God be angry? The Bible says:

"See, the day of the LORD is coming

—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it." -Isaiah 13:9

God is angry at sin, and sinners, big and small, will have no place to hide on that day. Unless, that is, they are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is going to be a greater Passover than the one recorded in Exodus. The blood of the true Passover lamb will protect all who are covered by it from wrath and judgment on that terrible day.

Angry Birds

Angry birds, oh let them never,

From the sling misguided fly,

Let your aim be true and steady,

For those naughty pigs must die.

Love one another, well that's OK for

Humans but birds and pigs don't understand,

Once they were calm, but now they're angry,

The fowls are aiming for the ham.

Uncertainty

I was listening to an interview with an Islamic imam, he was explaining the Islamic beliefs about being judged after we die for what we did in this life. They believe your good deeds are weighed against your sins, and hopefully you were good enough to merit God's favor. When he was asked, "Do you think God will judge in your favor?" He replied,

"Nobody can be certain. In life, we all commit sin."

He said he was hopeful that God's mercy would cover his sins because he has tried to live a good life.

When I became old enough to understand things pertaining to sin and God and judgement, I was taught basically the same thing. We try to live a good life, and we hope that we do good enough to earn entry into heaven. It was considered presumptuous to assume that God would accept you.

Constant fear that you might not be good enough to make it. What a terrible way to live.

The "Christian" attitude

What is the attitude of Christians I know toward the lost?

"Well, they have to make their own choice."

"It's up to the Holy Spirit to do the work in them."

I don't know how to influence or change the mind of someone who is not a believer. I do think that to say unbelief is irrational is a mistake, because I think faith itself is a miracle. Even more so the faith of the believers throughout history who have died horrible deaths because they refused to renounce their beliefs.

It saddens me to see Christians display a calloused attitude toward the eternal fate of the lost. By and large I see a "I'm safe, too bad about you" attitude that is simply disgraceful. I am by no means innocent, because I know I'm not doing enough to reach the lost in my own circles. But we should be grieved and prayerful constantly for those around us who do not see their own peril.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

How good do you have to be?

I recently got stopped and ticketed for having expired tags. Not my favorite thing in the world to happen, but such is life. Question for you: When was the last time that a cop stopped you and came up to your window and said, "Hi, you didn't do anything wrong, and I just wanted to say 'thanks!'" Or, "I'm here to present you with the motorist lifetime achievement award!" It simply doesn't happen that way, and not just because most cops are jerks. It's because the only function of law is to condemn. Does that mean there's something wrong with our laws? No, they are doing their job just fine. We are the problem. As it turns out, it's quite difficult to function in society without knowingly or unknowingly breaking a rule at some point in your life. I had no idea that my tags were expired, but the law doesn't care about my ignorance. The written code is inflexible, and without mercy.

*awkward transition to religious implications*

I was fascinated to hear recently an interview with a Rabbi who was complaining about the Christian idea of grace. His analogy was of a Nazi working in a concentration camp. This person committed countless atrocities, and for arguments sake, comes to faith in Christ and receives forgiveness, i.e., is justified in God's sight. The Rabbi was infuriated that Christians believe that such a person could be forgiven. He said something along the lines of "if a person like that could be in heaven, then I would rather be in hell!"

The idea of self-righteousness is so ingrained in legalistic religion that I sympathize with the Rabbi. But I pray that God will show him and all others who are counting on their performance the true meaning of being under law:

"because by observing the law no one will be justified." -Galatians 2:16

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." -Romans 3:20

"Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law" -Galatians 3:11

"for the law produces wrath" -Romans 4:15

"I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death." -Romans 7:10

Who will make atonement?

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.

“‘I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

“‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. You went to him, and he possessed your beauty.You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. Also the food I provided for you—the flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD.

“‘And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.

“‘Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign LORD. In addition to all your other wickedness, you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square. At every street corner you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by. You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger with your increasing promiscuity. So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct. You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied. Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.

“‘I am filled with fury against you, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! When you built your mounds at every street corner and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

“‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors. So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

“‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked. I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked. They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.

“‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign LORD. Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?

“‘Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

“‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

“‘However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before. You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you. You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD.

“‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you. So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”

Ezekiel, Chapter 16