How can we please God?
Maybe I should ask, "How do we become acceptable to God?"
Last week in the morning service we saw how displeased God was with Adam's sin. Adam and Eve had clearly disobeyed the word of God. They made themselves coverings and hid in the bushes as the voice of God walked through the garden. Our focus last week was the curse resulting from their sin.
This week we will examine how God viewed their attempt to make themselves acceptable. In studying this week I couldn't help but wonder how Americans try to make themselves acceptable to God. Better yet, how do American Christians seek to make themselves acceptable to God?
Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
Let me share this Barna Poll with you...
http://www.adherents.com/misc/BarnaPoll.html
I want you to notice in particular the graphs at the bottom of the linked page. Do you see how many Baptists believe that good works don't earn you heaven? 43%
The flip side then is that 57% of Baptists think that good works play a part in making them acceptable to God. What have you tried?
Spend some time thinking about the title to this post, then tell me; What is your apron made of?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
A Radical Departure
Many of you that know me well, know that I prefer to read the Bible more than any other book. I pray that never changes. Due to this fact, I rarely recommend reading material other than scripture. Today however, may be an exception.
Technology is amazing. It is through modern technology that I am able to listen regularly to one of my favorite preachers. I download his sermons to my phone and listen to them while in the car, or even while sitting in my office. We have included some of his DVD's in our church library, and I have even recommended them from the pulpit. This week, I have been reading through one of his books...
"Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham Jr.
The subtitle of this book says "Doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God". I must warn you, anything that you read (or listen to) will challenge your view of the culture, and hopefully, your view of the church and family.
The following is an excerpt from his book...
The result is a generation about whom Christian Smith has written, "Religion seems to become rather compartmentalized and backgrounded in the lives and experiences of most U.S. teenagers."*
This compartmentalization is completely understandable in light of the minimal weight given to spiritual matters. Smith explains:
Many are involved in sports and other clubs besides. Most teens also spend lots of time with their friends just hanging out or doing things like going to the mall or bowling. In addition, most teens devote a great deal of life to watching television and movies, e-mailing or instant messaging friends, listening to music, and consuming other electronic media. Boyfriends and girlfriends sometimes consume a lot of teenage time and attention as well.*
It seems there are a few things that we deem more important for our children than growing in grace.]
*Smith, Soul Searching, 130-131
Mr. Baucham then proceeds to share three of the things that he feels we deem more important than growing in grace; making the grade, making the team, and making time. And this is just part of chapter one, "The Lay of the Land". Wait till you get to the last chapter, chapter 10 "A Radical Departure from the Norm".
Technology is amazing. It is through modern technology that I am able to listen regularly to one of my favorite preachers. I download his sermons to my phone and listen to them while in the car, or even while sitting in my office. We have included some of his DVD's in our church library, and I have even recommended them from the pulpit. This week, I have been reading through one of his books...
"Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham Jr.
The subtitle of this book says "Doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God". I must warn you, anything that you read (or listen to) will challenge your view of the culture, and hopefully, your view of the church and family.
The following is an excerpt from his book...
[The question is not whether or not our children sin later in life. The question is, do we have a biblical obligation to train them before they leave home? Is there an biblical validity to the idea that Christian parents should allow their children to experiment with ungodliness?
Many families have been lulled into what I like to call a full-screen view of parenting. We look at the biblical mandate and compare it to societal norms, and there appears to be something missing. We believe that somehow we are depriving our children of experiences that will make them more liked, more respected, more normal. Hence we trade in the biblical standard for a cultural norm that hovers just below mediocrity. All of a sudden our desires for our children change. Now all we want for our kids is what "every other parent" wants for their children.
The result is a generation about whom Christian Smith has written, "Religion seems to become rather compartmentalized and backgrounded in the lives and experiences of most U.S. teenagers."*
This compartmentalization is completely understandable in light of the minimal weight given to spiritual matters. Smith explains:
This is not surprising. It simply reflects the fact that there is very little built-in religious content or connection in the structure of most U.S. adolescents' daily schedules and routines. Most U.S. teenagers' lives are dominated by school and homework.*
He continues:
Many are involved in sports and other clubs besides. Most teens also spend lots of time with their friends just hanging out or doing things like going to the mall or bowling. In addition, most teens devote a great deal of life to watching television and movies, e-mailing or instant messaging friends, listening to music, and consuming other electronic media. Boyfriends and girlfriends sometimes consume a lot of teenage time and attention as well.*
*Smith, Soul Searching, 130-131
Mr. Baucham then proceeds to share three of the things that he feels we deem more important than growing in grace; making the grade, making the team, and making time. And this is just part of chapter one, "The Lay of the Land". Wait till you get to the last chapter, chapter 10 "A Radical Departure from the Norm".
Friday, October 22, 2010
Something's Fishy
Well, I am once again amazed by the stupidity of evolutionists. Yet the Bible clearly says that "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools..."
I don't know what else to say.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39619699/?gt1=43001
Oh, let me make it easy. I'll include the transcript here, but if you want to see pictures you'll have to follow the link.
Fish had sex first, fossils suggest
Discovery Channel
Fish were the first to have intimate sex, suggests new research based on well-preserved fossils of extinct armored fishes from the Gogo Formation of Western Australia.
Intimate sex by copulation likely first happened in the early Devonian Period around 400 to 410 million years ago, scientists say.
This was "not just spawning in water, but sex that was fun," according to project leader John Long, who also thinks that jaws evolved in conjunction with mating.
"Jaws might not have first evolved for feeding, (then how did they live long enough to have sex? Are they serious? Jaws evolved for sex, not eating?) as widely presupposed, (I wonder why they presupposed that?) but to facilitate copulatory mating," said Long, who is vice president of research and collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "In many sharks the jaws are used to hold on to pectoral fins of females so copulation can take place."
The scientists studied fossil embryos — still in good condition — from Late Devonian ptyctodontid and arthrodiran placoderm fishes, which were similar to modern sharks. While these remains date to 380 million years ago, the overall fossil record for the fishes suggests they evolved the ability to have intimate sex by copulation at an earlier period.
Long and his colleagues made headlines a few years ago when it was announced that one of the fishes, an individual from the genus Materpiscis, was the world's first mother, since a female's fossil still retained a single embryo connected by an umbilical cord. (Time out. What? The world's first mother was a fish? The proof is that they found an umbilical cord? Who birthed the momma fish? Did she have a belly button? Wait, do fish have belly buttons?)
The discovery represents the oldest evidence of an animal giving birth to live young.
"Our finds show that these extinct armored fishes, the placoderms, had intimate copulation with males inserting claspers (a structure that is part of the pelvic fin) inside the female to deposit sperm," Long told Discovery News.
..The find "is significant because it means that an advanced form of reproduction involving copulation and live-bearing was more widespread than previously thought."
.Recent genetic analysis of the fish fossils indicates that the same genes responsible for making our limbs, and the pelvic fins of fishes, also played a role in developing the sexual organs of our very distant ancestors. (??????) These genes also control development of fish jaws. The origin of the pelvic girdle of the ancient fish and the origin of their jaws even seems to have happened around the same time (creation), based on the genetic evidence.
"It seems that limbs and genitals developed via the same developmental pathways, so fossils showing the oldest evidence of pelvic fins (the placoderms) also showing the oldest expression of sexual organs (claspers) might not be such a coincidence," Long explained.
Long and his team announced the determinations today at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's 70th Anniversary Meeting in Pittsburgh.
Steven Salisbury, a lecturer in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Queensland, believes the ancient fish fossils, including the fossilized embryo, are a "spectacular" discovery that have "important implications for our understanding of the evolution of live-bearing in vertebrates.
Make love not war may even help to explain the origin of intimate sex since Salisbury added, "The large size of the embryo relative to the mother indicates that the young of this fish were born well-formed, a strategy that may have evolved to counter predation from other larger fishes."
I've been reading this for a week and I'm still speechless. I don't even know where to begin. See if you can find a single true statement anywhere in there. Good luck,
I don't know what else to say.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39619699/?gt1=43001
Oh, let me make it easy. I'll include the transcript here, but if you want to see pictures you'll have to follow the link.
Fish had sex first, fossils suggest
Discovery Channel
Fish were the first to have intimate sex, suggests new research based on well-preserved fossils of extinct armored fishes from the Gogo Formation of Western Australia.
Intimate sex by copulation likely first happened in the early Devonian Period around 400 to 410 million years ago, scientists say.
This was "not just spawning in water, but sex that was fun," according to project leader John Long, who also thinks that jaws evolved in conjunction with mating.
"Jaws might not have first evolved for feeding, (then how did they live long enough to have sex? Are they serious? Jaws evolved for sex, not eating?) as widely presupposed, (I wonder why they presupposed that?) but to facilitate copulatory mating," said Long, who is vice president of research and collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "In many sharks the jaws are used to hold on to pectoral fins of females so copulation can take place."
The scientists studied fossil embryos — still in good condition — from Late Devonian ptyctodontid and arthrodiran placoderm fishes, which were similar to modern sharks. While these remains date to 380 million years ago, the overall fossil record for the fishes suggests they evolved the ability to have intimate sex by copulation at an earlier period.
Long and his colleagues made headlines a few years ago when it was announced that one of the fishes, an individual from the genus Materpiscis, was the world's first mother, since a female's fossil still retained a single embryo connected by an umbilical cord. (Time out. What? The world's first mother was a fish? The proof is that they found an umbilical cord? Who birthed the momma fish? Did she have a belly button? Wait, do fish have belly buttons?)
The discovery represents the oldest evidence of an animal giving birth to live young.
"Our finds show that these extinct armored fishes, the placoderms, had intimate copulation with males inserting claspers (a structure that is part of the pelvic fin) inside the female to deposit sperm," Long told Discovery News.
..The find "is significant because it means that an advanced form of reproduction involving copulation and live-bearing was more widespread than previously thought."
.Recent genetic analysis of the fish fossils indicates that the same genes responsible for making our limbs, and the pelvic fins of fishes, also played a role in developing the sexual organs of our very distant ancestors. (??????) These genes also control development of fish jaws. The origin of the pelvic girdle of the ancient fish and the origin of their jaws even seems to have happened around the same time (creation), based on the genetic evidence.
"It seems that limbs and genitals developed via the same developmental pathways, so fossils showing the oldest evidence of pelvic fins (the placoderms) also showing the oldest expression of sexual organs (claspers) might not be such a coincidence," Long explained.
Long and his team announced the determinations today at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's 70th Anniversary Meeting in Pittsburgh.
Steven Salisbury, a lecturer in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Queensland, believes the ancient fish fossils, including the fossilized embryo, are a "spectacular" discovery that have "important implications for our understanding of the evolution of live-bearing in vertebrates.
Make love not war may even help to explain the origin of intimate sex since Salisbury added, "The large size of the embryo relative to the mother indicates that the young of this fish were born well-formed, a strategy that may have evolved to counter predation from other larger fishes."
I've been reading this for a week and I'm still speechless. I don't even know where to begin. See if you can find a single true statement anywhere in there. Good luck,
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Time?-Share Birthday Dinners
Last night we had the opportunity to attend Spring Hill Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio. My cousin Mark is the Student Pastor there. We had a great time at church and then went back to their house for a late dinner. Like all good Baptists, we ate and visited at the same time.
As our plan was to drive through the night (a 13 hour drive), we left their home a little before 11:00 p.m.
We weren't on the road but a few minutes when Emily requested the use of my phone. She said she wanted to practice with "Swype", something we just discovered on Tuesday evening. I handed her my phone and instructed her to send her mother an email.
The following email is what Karen received when we arrived home...
As our plan was to drive through the night (a 13 hour drive), we left their home a little before 11:00 p.m.
We weren't on the road but a few minutes when Emily requested the use of my phone. She said she wanted to practice with "Swype", something we just discovered on Tuesday evening. I handed her my phone and instructed her to send her mother an email.
The following email is what Karen received when we arrived home...
Vacation
So I went on this crazy vacation
and ate hamburgs from hamburger station
Climbed rocks with a thousand foot drop and stood on the Chimney Tops.
Went to dinner at TGI Friday's;*
and had way too many goodbye-days.
Got lessons from great uncle Bill:
Now that I can play, I will.
Had my hair pulled by cute little cousins
Ate sweetened foods by the dozens,
met people I didn't know before
Slept multiple times on the floor.
No one even said that I snore.
Drank pop (and cold apple cider)
Told my sister I didn't want to fight her
Asked Papa to "swype" the word phloem
And lastly composed this dumb poem!
So I went on this crazy vacation
and ate hamburgs from hamburger station
Climbed rocks with a thousand foot drop and stood on the Chimney Tops.
Went to dinner at TGI Friday's;*
and had way too many goodbye-days.
Got lessons from great uncle Bill:
Now that I can play, I will.
Had my hair pulled by cute little cousins
Ate sweetened foods by the dozens,
met people I didn't know before
Slept multiple times on the floor.
No one even said that I snore.
Drank pop (and cold apple cider)
Told my sister I didn't want to fight her
Asked Papa to "swype" the word phloem
And lastly composed this dumb poem!
* On a personal note - The dinner at TGI Friday's was gifted to us (as a bribe) to encourage us to sit through a two hour time-share presentation. We received a $30.00 dinner voucher and a $30.00 visa card. This fed our family of five, bought Kaylin's birthday brownie, covered the taxes (10%) and the tip, and left us + $4.91 on the card!
Welcome Home
What a humbling welcome home we received this morning! After driving straight through the night this was a wonderful gift to come home to. We're not sure who to thank, so we thank you all!
Posted through mobile blogging
Friday, October 15, 2010
Creation!
We're here! We've heard so much about this place and enjoyed their minstry so much, we knew we had to come. And what a day, it's Kaylin's 14th birthday.
For those of you that know us well, you know that every day we have with our children is a gift from God- The Creator God! It has been six years and 4 days since the Lord spared her life. We can't think of a better way to spend our time together as a family than praising him with our time.
Hopefully there will be more pictures to come...
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A Real Blessing!
What a wonderful opportunity we had this past week to spend some time with my Uncle Bill Blessing in Tennessee. For the last 10 years (give or take) he has been a missionary with Forgotten Millions Ministries. He travels almost daily to various nursing homes and care facilities in the states of Georgia and Tennessee and shares the love of Jesus with everyone who will listen (and even some who won't).
My family was invited to share with him in his ministry. Karen, Kaylin, and Audrey were able to play special music during his service. I didn't video the girls, but I did take this short video of Bill preaching a message with his guitar. It is apparent that the Lord has gifted him for this particular ministry. He was treated like a celebrity by both the staff and the residents. They all look forward to his monthly visits! He quoted scripture, prayed, preached, and sang. The gospel was clearly shared and the guitar never stopped. What a joy.
As we visited in the evening, I couldn't help but pray that the Lord would send him someone he could mentor in this important ministry. He only has a short time with the people he meets, but it is the most important time of their lives. Only the Lord knows the number of their days. I thank the Lord that Uncle Bill and the Lord Jesus Christ get to be a part of a few of them.
I know a video can't capture the moment, but I trust you'll enjoy what you see...
This is the 4th day that I have been working on getting this video to upload. Some of this content may be old by the time it is posted. Additionally, I had to lower the resolution in the video in order to get it to upload. I apologize for the fuzzy picture, I will continue to try and upload this video in better quality
$.39 coffee, priceless
On a personal note, today is my father's birthday. We are sitting together at McDonalds this morning enjoying their free wireless high-speed (more or less) internet service. Dad likes to get up early and eat breakfast at McDonalds. I suspect this is mostly due to the senior discounts they offer.
$.39 coffee
Dad has computer work to do this morning. I knew that before I came. In fact, I came along so that I could work with my computer as well. To everyone else, we're just a couple of old guys sitting at our computers in a public place. We probably don't look like we're visiting much. To me though, this is quality time.
I have so much to be thankful for. God has appointed our days, I'm so grateful that this day has been appointed for us. Each day we spend together as family is a gift from our great God. Many people forget that each breath we take is at the will of God. By him, all things consist. Thank you Lord.
I don't know what the next year of my father's life will bring. I don't even know what the next year of my life will bring. Yet I am confident that, like each year before this, my dad will continue to be an example of a godly man. He will love his wife, he will continue to rear his children in the nurture an admonition of the Lord, he will pray, he will read his Bible, he will be involved in his church, he will spend time with his grandchildren, and he won't sit still.
In fact, he's supposed to be sitting across from me working on his computer. He's not. He couldn't sit still this long...
I love you Dad,
HAPPY 68!
$.39 coffee
Dad has computer work to do this morning. I knew that before I came. In fact, I came along so that I could work with my computer as well. To everyone else, we're just a couple of old guys sitting at our computers in a public place. We probably don't look like we're visiting much. To me though, this is quality time.
I have so much to be thankful for. God has appointed our days, I'm so grateful that this day has been appointed for us. Each day we spend together as family is a gift from our great God. Many people forget that each breath we take is at the will of God. By him, all things consist. Thank you Lord.
I don't know what the next year of my father's life will bring. I don't even know what the next year of my life will bring. Yet I am confident that, like each year before this, my dad will continue to be an example of a godly man. He will love his wife, he will continue to rear his children in the nurture an admonition of the Lord, he will pray, he will read his Bible, he will be involved in his church, he will spend time with his grandchildren, and he won't sit still.
In fact, he's supposed to be sitting across from me working on his computer. He's not. He couldn't sit still this long...
I love you Dad,
HAPPY 68!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Chimney Tops
We love Smoky Mountains National Park! Today we hiked 4 miles on a trail to Chimney Tops. I took some pictures with my phone that I will try to share here.
Last night I spent 3 hours trying to upload a video to this blog so that everyone could share in the nursing home ministry we were blessed to be a part of last week. Unfortunately I could not get that to work. I will keep working on it in the days ahead.
This email connection is through my phone so I'm not sure if these pics will upload. We will give it a shot...
Okay, an hours gone by, let's try this again...
Last night I spent 3 hours trying to upload a video to this blog so that everyone could share in the nursing home ministry we were blessed to be a part of last week. Unfortunately I could not get that to work. I will keep working on it in the days ahead.
This email connection is through my phone so I'm not sure if these pics will upload. We will give it a shot...
Okay, an hours gone by, let's try this again...
Here we have Emily (after our hike) posing by the warning poster at the trailhead!
It's wonderful to be blessed with parents that can still make the strenuous hike to the end of the trail.
Karen probably won't be thrilled that I am including this picture since we were tired and sweaty by this point. We had already been to the top and were half of the way back down at this point.
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