God Knows He Tried / Limited Atonement Rap

And they said Rap had no redeeming value.

HT: The Contemporary Calvinist

Joel Osteen Puts the Lives of the Martyrs into Perspective.

HT: The Lighthearted Calvinist

Satire Saturdays / 5-16-09

Emerjeans

From The Sacred Sandwich.

Emergent Postmodern Church Motivational Video

From the Pyromaniacs.

You might be Emerging if...
From Purgatorio.

Enemy at the Gates

"Admitting that scientific objections may arise against the particularities of the Christian religion-- against the Christian doctrines of the person of Christ, and of redemption through His death and resurrection--the liberal theologian seeks to rescue certain of the general principles of religion, of which these particularities are thought to be mere temporary symbols, and these general principles he regards as constituting "the essence of Christianity."

It may well be questioned, however, whether this method of defense will really prove to be efficacious; for after the apologist has abandoned his outer defenses to the enemy and withdrawn into some inner citadel, he will probably discover that the enemy pursues him even there."

J. Gresham Machen from the introduction to'Christianity and Liberalism'

Inpertinent Intruder?

Psalm 119:105 (English Standard Version)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.


"Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from "controversial" matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight."

J. Gresham Machen, From the introduction to 'Christianity and Liberalism.'

Come Read With Me

First published in 1923, Christianity and Liberalism was one of the first -- and, to many, still the best -- critique of liberal Christianity from an orthodox Christian perspective. Written at the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA, Christianity and Liberalism brilliantly defines -- and definitively refutes -- the theological liberalism that manifests itself chiefly in the rejection of Scripture as infallibly inspired, the denial of the doctrines of the Fall and of Hell, and the mistaken belief in man's "evolutionary" self-perfection. Machen contrasts these errors with the basic foundational truths of Biblical Christianity on God, man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church.

Come read 'Christianity and Liberalism,' arguably Machen's greatest work, with me.

From Christ the King Presbyterian Church where the Reformed Parishioner listens to the Word of God spoken.

Matthew West's 'The Motions'
So often it seems to take a major crisis in my life to help me see what's important. It's only when I am stripped bare and too weak to stand that I finally will allow God sovereignty in my life. It's at that moment I am willing to truly search for God's will and act on it - until I get strong enough and prideful enough and foolish enough to think I can stand on my own again. Then God and I start the process all over.

The way God molds us into the creation He wants us to be:




I certainly find that, in my life, the harder I hold on to those things I know are bad for me the more it hurts when it's time have them removed. I also find that, after those imperfections are gone, there was more pain from having them than from the removal and the freedom that comes from letting God take them makes it all worth it!

NO! It is not a private family matter, Mr. President

It's a magnificent thing: The only newly-originating life in the universe that comes in the image of God is Man.

The only newly-originating life in the universe that lasts forever is Man.

This is an awesome thing. And, as everyone knows, that reverence is not shared by our new President, over whom we have rejoiced.

He is trapped and blind in a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he released this statement,

We are reminded that this decision not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.

To which I say:

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women; you are authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year.

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for one million little human beings every year.

No, Mr. President, killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. You may say it is a private family matter over and over and over, and still they are dead. And we killed them. And you, would have it remain legal.

Mr. President, some of us wept for joy at your inauguration. And we pledge that we will pray for you.

We have hope in our sovereign God.

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

The Deeps: A Puritan Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will, no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest, no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest. I am nothing but that Thou makest me. I have nothing but that I receive from Thee. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water.

HT: Puritan prayers taken from 'The Valley of Vision'

"The Stranger"

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise:
but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.



A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Bill, five years my senior, was my example. Fran, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play 'big brother' and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors-- Mom taught me to love the word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it.

But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening.

If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it all. He knew about the past, understood the present, and seemingly could predict the future. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched.

He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. My brother and I were deeply impressed by John Wayne in particular.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up-- while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places-- go to her room, read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.

You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house-- not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name? We always just called him TV.

Anonymous.

Happy Mother's Day!

Two wonderful videos