God On The Throne

You are my shepherd I have no need
You lead me by peaceful streams
And you refresh my life

You hold my hand and You guide my steps
I could walk through the valley of death
And I won't be afraid

Because You are in control
You are in control
You are in control

You cause everything to work together
You truly have a sovereign plan

And you know who I am
Any you made who I am
And you love who I am

Because You are in control

The Day Of Silence Nonsense

Students who do not participate in the controversial "Day of Silence" no longer need to feel as though their values are being attacked and mocked, says one pro-family advocate.

The Day of Silence is an allegedly student-led event designed to highlight purported suffering of homosexual students. Throughout the day, students who participate in the protest refuse to talk, even when teachers or administrators ask them to respond to questions.

Read the rest HERE.

Teaching Abstinence Is Having Positive Effect

New research has surfaced reaffirming that programs that promote sexual abstinence during the teenage years are beneficial to young people.

Read the rest HERE.

Expelled

The movie, Expelled, from Ben Stein is a MUST see!

Just saw it yesterday and must say that Stein did a masterful job of exposing the real reason of why Intelligent Design (ID) is not being included in the conversation about the origins of life, and equally as revealing - what Darwinism has led to in our history. Richard Dawkin's shocking admission near the end of the movie was also quite revealing.

This is certainly a movie that will make you want to stand up and clap at the end - I did!

Is Christ's "Savior Of The World" Title Contradictory?

"And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world."
1 John 4:14.

It has been argued that Jesus could not technically be the 'Savior of the world', because not everyone in the world will be saved. Thus, the doctrine has been spawned that would have us believe that the words ‘Savior’ and/or 'world' must not really mean Savior in the sense of 'Savior of all mankind' or that the word 'world' must mean the 'elect', or only those who've been chosen for salvation.

These who struggle with Christ’s “Savior of the world” title as contradictory seem to have no problem with the Bible’s other beautiful paradoxes like: to be first – you must be last; to find life – you must lose it; to live – you must die; to be the greatest – you must become the least. So what’s difficult about the fact that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the entire world? More on that later.

Is this really as problematic as it may seem?

Obviously, Jesus being the Savior of the world isn’t the same thing as saying that everyone will be saved. That is clearly pointed out in scripture.

The Bible also calls Jesus the “Bread of Life”, the “Only Way”, the “Door” of salvation – so do these titles become untrue of Christ because not everyone will eat of the ‘Bread of Life’, follow the ‘Only Way’, or go through the “Door”? Of course not.

Jesus, indeed, is all of these things – and is the Savior of the world.

So how can He be called Savior of the World if not everyone will be saved in the world?

Because Jesus is the Savior – not A savior, not the savior of some, not just my Savior, but the Savior – the Savior of the world. It’s because of the fact that He is more than enough, more than able, more than capable of saving every single human being on this planet – that makes Him Savior of the world. There is no other Savior – we can’t save ourselves. There is no other way other than Jesus Christ.

Which is precisely why the apostle said:

"There is salvation in none other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

I was eating breakfast with my son this morning at our favorite little ‘greasy spoon’ restaurant, and on the wall in front of us was a little sign that said: “You had a choice – And you chose us. Thank you!” That’s God’s offer to us. God in His infinite love has given mankind a choice – we can either reject or accept this beautiful offer. It’s open to anyone who will repent of his or her sin and put his or her trust in Him.

Christ is the Savior of the world – just because some won’t take the offer doesn’t diminish His power or what or Who He is in any way. It just speaks of the fact that God enabled us to choose – which goes back to the Garden of Eden – whether we will accept or embrace Him.

The real reason some find it difficult to accept Christ’s unlimited atonement is that it leads to man’s free choice – which means that God’s grace can be rejected or resisted. That means a theological system known as TULIP begins to crumble. I've discovered in my studies that a tulip is a beautiful flower, but it's not a very good representation of the God of the Bible.

And this is precisely why this hill is worth dying on for those with this system. To admit that Christ’s atonement is unlimited is to then concede that man must have free choice which means grace can be resisted. That would mean a theological system may be flawed – and that, to them, is unthinkable.

Is Christ's Atonement "Limited"?

Great discussion going on over HERE.

We're taking a look at the doctrine of Limited Atonement that states that Jesus' atoning death wasn't for everyone, but only for a select few of His choosing (forgive the oversimplification).

Looking at this doctrine through 2 Peter 3:9, this passage alone seems to be very problematic for the Limited Atonement view. The verse says:

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Peter's phrase "longsuffering to us-ward" cannot be addressed to only the elect. It must include all mankind. If not, the phrase that follows "not willing that any should perish" must apply to only the elect. But that second statement can only mean all mankind since it refers to a perishing that certainly doesn't endanger the elect.

So there are two possibilities - this is in reference to either: perishing under the penalty of sin or escaping that penalty by repenting; OR, perishing in the fire that will destroy the world or escaping it. Certainly, perishing in a world destroying fire is no more applicable to the saved than perishing under the penalty of sin.

I get that the book of 2 Peter is addressed to the 'elect', but that doesn't keep Peter from talking about God's desire to see the whole world saved - including the fate of unbelievers.

Peter may not be speaking to mankind in general in his letter, but he is certainly not speaking ONLY about the elect in his letter either.

Otherwise - Is it the elect who are the last day scoffers? Is it the elect who perished in the flood? Is it the elect to whom God is longsuffering, less they perish in the coming judgment?

Furthermore, if you believe in 'irresistible grace' that claims that God can make anyone get saved any time He wants - why would longsuffering even need to be mentioned, if talking about the elect? That would imply God is longsuffering with Himself. That would be quite odd to say the least.

Another major problem for those who interpret this verse as talking about those already saved is the redundancy: God is not willing that any of those He has sovereignly elected not to perish to perish? And He is longsuffering to accomplish this goal?

That appears to be a very difficult argument to sustain.

Jesus Censored On American Idol

Tonight on American Idol the contestants closed with the powerful worship song "Shout to the Lord". They did (not as well as Darlene Zschech I might add), but noticeably absent from the first line of the song was the name of Jesus - whom the entire song is about. Instead of singing "My Jesus..." it was "My shepherd". How weak.

It's unbelievable that the name of Jesus is treated no differently than profanity to bleeped or censored on network TV. We have certainly digressed from our Founding Father's who founded this nation on the God of the Bible. The name of Jesus apparently causes some folks in high up places some fear and angst.

Some day my friends...

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:10-11.

Other Things Seen....

Dude....

Things Seen In Church...

I was at a funeral yesterday and saw this clock which was on the wall immediately behind the pulpit. I'd hate the pressure of preaching in front of a clock - but hey, if you have to preach in front of a clock at least remind the clock watchers what 'time it is'....

Church Sued For Loud Music

I know church music volume can be a huge issue for some - and many folks fail to realize the measures many churches go to in order to keep their sound in check. But this complaint goes beyond the walls of the church and actually comes from a neighbor who lives across the street from the church. If what he says is true - this is pretty ridiculous.

Love thy neighbors ears?