Balaam Rides Again

I read an interesting story from Steve Maxwell this week about his family. They are homeschoolers and people were telling them that they could see a difference in their children. He credits it to not having a television in the house.

The story follows.

This week Joseph and John worked alongside a number of other men pouring the basement floor of our house. The owner of the business doing the concrete work is saved and had asked if our boys could help because he was shorthanded. He said he had also spoken with his men, and they would be careful of their language. It wasn't something I would consider for any real length of time, but for a portion of a day and considering I'd be around some of the time, I agreed.

At one point while I was observing the progress of the work, one of the men spoke with me briefly. He was very complimentary of the boys and asked what we had done to raise boys like that. I said there were three very important aspects in our child raising. First and foremost is the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. Second, is the Word of God. Third, is that the children don't watch any TV or movies.

He looked at me and said, "Now that is pretty incredible. No TV! It makes sense though." This man is a believer and knows many young men who are believers. He saw something different in our boys. I'm the first to say that we are nothing special. However, removing bad influences from children is very important so as not to quench the Word working in their lives.

Sunday I had another conversation, and it was somewhat similar. I was speaking with a gentleman who has lived a few more years than I have. He expressed his concern regarding how worldly some believers were that he had had contact with the previous week. His heart was deeply grieved about it, and he wondered why our children weren't like that.

I had roughly the same explanation for him. When I attributed credit to the Lord Jesus, being in the Word daily, and NO TV, he started scratching his chin and said that had to be it. He began comparing his now-grown children and evaluating a period of time when he didn't have a TV to later in life when he did. He said he could see a remarkable difference, now that he was thinking about it.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places" (Numbers 33:50-52). As I read this passage recently, I noticed how the Lord was very specific in His instructions for when they conquered Canaan. They were to drive out the inhabitants, destroy their pictures, their idols, and places of idol worship.

Pictures are very powerful in how they can influence, and God said the Israelites were to get rid of the pictures. God knew the effect it would have on the Israelites, and that is why the pictures were to be destroyed. Those pictures would have been nothing compared to the sizzle of today's TV programs.

Yet God said destroy them because He wanted to protect His children from being
pulled to the world.

That is why my heart breaks for families who choose to watch TV or movies and
think that it won't harm them. Our world is in love with flesh, and today's
clothing is designed to show off as much as possible. From my discussions with
parents, immodesty is pandemic in the churches. Why is there not an outcry about
it? I'm confident it is because that is what is being portrayed on TV, and since
that is the norm, everyone is willing to accept it. If the immodesty was to go
beyond what was on TV, then there would be an outcry, but as long as it goes no
further, it is accepted.

A while ago, I had another startling reminder of the power of influence. I
had some interactions with a few young, homeschooled adults whom I had not seen
in years. Previously, they had been conservative in their dress and behavior.
Yet, their appearance and actions had now changed drastically, and in my
opinion, was very worldly. How could this be? It is all about the influence in
their lives.

For these young people, it had to do with the others with whom they were
interacting. The change didn't happen overnight, but in time, they had begun to
look like their friends. We can be sure that our children are going to want to
emulate those by whom they are impressed.

TV, subtly but definitively, grabs the hearts of our children. That is one
reason why the TV is such a powerful influence. There is a reason why
advertisers spend billions of dollars for TV ads. They work! They influence the
people who watch the commercials. The same is true regarding the TV shows
themselves. Children identify with certain stars and then want to wear similar
clothes (or unclothes), hair styles, and model their speech and actions. The
parents then wonder what happened to their child. Why does the child no longer
listen to Mom and Dad?

As we travel we meet families who are not worldly, and their lives radiate
the Lord Jesus. I haven't asked every one of them, but for those I've asked,
they don't watch TV or movies. Is it a coincidence? I don't think so. Getting
the Beast out of the home is a wonderful first step, and it will take courage.
With the Beast out, it is important that you are in the Word as a family every
day. Structure your evening around your time in the Word. It will become the
best time of the day.

Be cautious even if you don't watch TV and movies in your family because
vicariously, through friends who do watch it, your children can be pulled to the
world's standards for clothing, entertainment, attitudes, and heart focus. If
you have chosen to eliminate the influence of a TV in your home, but your
children are spending time with those who are following the world's path, they
may still be significantly moved that way as well.

Balaam couldn't curse the Israelites (Numbers 23:11), but he wrecked havoc on
them by suggesting the Moabite woman lure the Israelite men away. "Behold, these
caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass
against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the
congregation of the LORD" (Numbers 31:16). Seeking pleasure did what an army
couldn't do. In Numbers 25 we see that 24,000 Israelites were killed by plague
because they followed after the Moabite women and were led into idolatry.

In the same way today, the children of the King, those who are to reach the
world for Jesus, have been effectively slain or hamstrung so that there is no
power. TV and the worldly, entertainment mindset it promotes such as Super
Bowl games, pizza parties, bowling parties, ski trips, lock-downs, and
movies have won the hearts of God's people. Yes, Balaam rides again.

The other day, the kids were telling me about a problem with the upstairs TV (we have 2; one upstairs and 1 downstairs) and immediately the words, "Great! I was looking to get rid of at least one of the TVs."

Slowly, but surely, we are weaning them off of TV altogether and turn off the one that we do have whenever we can.

Hosanna in the highest! He is risen!

For believers, Easter is the highlight of the year as we celebrate the finished work of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection, securing access to the Father for all who believe!

What a glorious thing it is to know of our awesome God's love for us and the sacifice that He willingly made of his precious Son.

Today is the day. Now is the perfect opportunity to communicate the reason for the eternal hope we have with friends and family.

Hosanna in the highest! He is risen!

The Church of Cultural Relevance

A friend of mine just put up this post. It has some really great insight. It ties in with one of my earlier posts on the tendency that some modern churches have towards "fluff" preaching when what we really need is the Word of God.

The Wondrous Cross

Today is Good Friday and as I sit here and think of what happened 2000 years ago, it really makes me think and wonder about this day in history, or should I say HIStory.

It's Spring and traditionally, it's supposed to be warming up, maybe some rain, etc. In direct contradiction to this, it was snowing here today. Yes, snowing! OK, so they were flurries, but still!

Today, the high in Jerusalem was 77°. I know my thoughts don't sound like they are going anywhere, but in thinking about today, I've just starting thinking and wondering what the day was like when they crucified Jesus. I'm talking about more than the weather, but that just added another detail to my thoughts.

From His condemnation to "It is finished," came from the lips of Christ, the day was one of trial, tribulation and torture and yet we call it "good". In God's ultimate love, He willingly layed His life down as a living sacrifice for me... and you. It's hard to think about the events of that day and to think that Jesus went through all of that for me. I was the one who nailed Him to the cross with my sin.

To quote Isaac Watts,

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

I love the "modern" addition as well...

Oh the wonderful cross
Oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die
And find that I may truly live

Oh the wonderful cross
Oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here
By grace draw near
And bless Your name

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for you everlasting love and mercy and grace.

No, Daddy. That's Jesus

Below is a video that my wife introduced me to after receiving it from a friend. It is really awesome and is a must see!

Before listening to this, PLEASE pause the song, "Revolution" that is currently playing by going to the bottom of this page and clicking "pause".

By the way, if you like the "Revolution" song, please see David and Angie Ebensberger's site.

Anyway, I was watching the video with Diana and Jules, my youngest daughter and I said out loud, "That's incredible." She turned to me and smiled and said, "No, Daddy. You're silly. That's not incredible, that's Jesus."

I looked at her bright face and saw her love focused on me.

"Yes, honey, that's Jesus..."

Spiritual Biohazards (AKA worldliness...um, I mean cultural relevance)

In speaking about Church relevancy, John MacArthur in an article in Pulpit Magazine, said

Whole churches have thus deliberately immersed themselves in “the culture”—by which they actually mean “whatever the world loves at the moment.” We now have a new breed of trendy churches whose preachers can rattle off references to every popular icon, every trifling meme, every tasteless fashion, and every vapid trend that captures the fickle fancy of the postmodern secular mind.

Worldly preachers seem to go out of their way to put their carnal expertise on display—even in their sermons. In the name of connecting with “the culture” they want their people to know they have seen all the latest programs on MTV; familiarized themselves with all the key themes of “South Park”; learned the lyrics to countless tracks of gangsta rap and heavy metal music; and watched who-knows-how-many R-rated movies. They seem to know every fad top to bottom, back to front, and inside out. They’ve adopted both the style and the language of the world—including lavish use of language that used to be deemed inappropriate in polite society, much less in the pulpit. They want to fit right in with the world, and they seem to be making themselves quite comfortable there.

Does not the Bible say to “come out from the world and be different” and ”Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”? If we renew our mind from a sinful life style and transform our mind like the Bible says, how can we let this stuff into our churches today?

Yes, we should be accessable to people. Yes, we should love them. Yes, we need to preach in a language that the world can understand, but no, we don't need to fill our minds with all of the swill that the world has to offer. Whatever happened to abstaining even from the appearance of evil? Instead, we charge headlong into bombarding our conscienceness with all manner of worldy lyrics as well as television and movie references for the sake of being culturally relevant.

By incorporating worldliness, the minister/preacher/pastor renders his vocabulary and his subject matter at times tasteless, indecent, crude, and utterly inappropriate for a minister of Christ.

I'm of the opinion that it is possible to be overexposed to our culture’s dark side. I don’t think anyone can survive full immersion in today’s entertainment environment and remain spiritually healthy. We need to be change agents for the culture, in that we set the styles, etc.

There is another aspect that we should not overlook and that is the people outside the "target audience range" of the church. What does cultural relevancy mean to them? They are part of the culture, but their styles and preferences are overlooked.

Oh well, I guess the majority rules in cases such as these... and here I thought that the Gospel was for everyone, not just rockers or gansta rappers or people who wear shorts and flip flops to church.

The Gospel is for everyone! If we just preach Christ crucified and the full council of God without all of the extra worldly trappings (there's a reason they call them trappings), we could lift Jesus up and He will draw all unto Himself.

The Voice of Truth Tells Me A Different Story

Last night our family sat down to watch Facing the Giants. We had wanted to rent this because our boys like football and movies like Friday Night Lights are a little too over-the-top for kids to watch. Anyway, it turned out to be a great movie. it's a movie of restoration of faith, dependence on God and one of my favorite lines, "If we win, we'll praise Him. If we lose, we'll praise him. "

In doing some digging, I found out that Facing the Giants was essentially made by a church, Sherwood Baptist in Albany, Ga. The movie's $100,000 budget was donated by the church congregation and it was directed and co-written by Sherwood's associate pastor of media ministries Alex Kendrick, who also stars as the football coach. The crew and the cast was mostly made up of volunteers from the church. The money the movie makes will go to a youth recreation facility for the church.

One last thing, the movie's PG rating was given to it by the MPAA because they thought the overt evangelical content of the film might offend some parents. Sheesh...

If you haven't seen it, give your faith a boost and rent it.

Blog of the Day

Well, apparently I won...drumroll, please... (thank you)... a "Blog of the Day" award. I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but I'm a guy, so I'll take an award.

My wife, however, is a bit peeved that I won an award based upon her pain and suffering. (Hey, she got good meds. What more can you ask for?)

So, with that being said, I shall endeavor to uphold the sanctity of this honor that was bestowed upon me.

You like me. You really like me!.. umm... OK, I almost made it through without cracking up.

Kida, family, ahhh...

Today, I had the priviledge of getting off of work at 1:00 to spend some time with my family.
The kids and I played outside for a while. We played ball, I had a chance to play games with Jules.

After playing a while, we decided on pizza for dinner. I took Juliana to "Little Snesars", as Juliana would say, with me. We waved at the "mascot" and had a great time and good conversation. It reminds me that one on one special time is a necessity for parents.

Just a stones throw away...

After having been in pain with a fever for 4 days, Diana conceeds to the idea that we need to go to the emergency room. For those of you that know her, this is not a usual task as she has a really high pain threshold. There were a lot of things that really worried me; the fever, body aches, sore throat; inability to sleep.

Rign around 6:00PM we decided that "yes, it was time", so she told me that she would be back soon.

"Back soon," I relplied. "Where are you going?"

"To the hospital."

"Alone? Oh, no. I'm driving you"

"I'll be OK."

"Ummm, sweetheart, I REALLY want to drive you there."

Luckily, she relented.

When we arrived, the ER was totaly empty so we were seen relatively quicky.
After some IV fluids and an anti-biotic, we were told that Diana had a kidney infection and pharangitis.

All in all a 3 hour tour didn;t turn out that bad; after all, we could've ended up on a deserted island. (I know, bad...very bad)

God is good, all the time!

Whitestone

My wife and I just returned from a wonderful weekend at Whitestone, a Christian Bed & Breakfast in East Tennessee. I have to say that it was such a wonderful experience!

BTW, the picture is from our picnic lunch (more pics are below), which was really cool... fruit, cheese, crackers, huge sandwhiches and a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice.

Diana and I really had a time to reconnect. I think that sometimes as married couples, we don't know "how" to talk after a while. We talked about each other and the kids. We talked about the wonderful friends that gave us this trip here.

The coolest thing was that we actually had a chance to "talk". We sat up most of the night pouring our hearts out and pouring our souls into each other in a tremendous spirit of affirmation, honesty.

As for the other points, the meals were awesome, with large portions. Heck, after the breakfast appetizer, we left because we knew that neither of us could finish the next course. Dinner was also great. We had backened tuna and there was a roaming violinist who played for the couples.

I couldn't have thought of a better weekend, nor anyone else that I would rather have spent it with.

I love you, Diana!

The Best of Both Worlds

One of the television shows that Juliana likes to watch is Hannah Montana. She really just likes the music.

Today she was so cute. She was walking around the house in her "toasty" (sleeper), wearing black boots and holding a flashlight for a microphone. She was singing the Best of Both Worlds, a song by Hannah Montana.

I feel so blessed that God has given us 4 beautiful children. I am thankful for the little glimpse of Heaven that He gives us in the smiles and joy of our children.

Watching Juliana sing and "rock out the show" without a care in the world was such a precious treat for me. It was my own private performance. She had directed it just for me. What a precious gift!

It makes me think that God delights Himself in us when we delight ourselves in Him.

It really makes me glad to know that I have the best of both worlds.

Is Water Baptism A Part of Salvation?

Is water baptism a part of salvation? This is a discussion that a good friend and I are having. There are basically two answers to this; yes and no.

There is a saying that goes like this, "Give me the Reader's Digest version", which means, the short answer without a long drawn out discussion. The "Reader's Digest" answer is: No

I am one, however, that likes to followup an answer with an explanation, so here we go...

My friend points to Acts 2:38 in the NASB, which says,

Peter [said] to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I am of the school of thought that says that baptism is the outward sign of our obedience to the Lord and our profession of faith as a Christian and that it is not a component of salvation.

Now, the quote above looks pretty straight forward. I can read that and think, "OK, that's what is says," however, before we conceed that point, we have to interpret scripture in light of scripture.

John MacArthur, in his book, The Crucified Christ, makes an intersting point here...

People say, "Look, Acts 2:38 says, 'Repent, and be baptized . . . .' How do you get around the fact that Peter said you've got to get baptized to be saved?" Well, it's very simple, actually. Luke 18 contains a helpful illustration. Look at verse 18: "And a certain ruler asked Him [Jesus], saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, that's a good question. In fact, it's basically the same question the people asked in Acts 2:37. Skipping down to verse 22b, Jesus answered his question, and said, "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven . . . ." Is Jesus saying that salvation is an issue of economics? Is He saying that in order to be saved, a person has to hock everything and then give all the money to the poor? Of course not! Salvation isn't a question of economics. It isn't a question of giving all one's money to the poor. You say, "Well, that's what He said!" No, that's not what He said. Look again at verse 22. After telling this man to sell all that he had and to give the money to the poor, Jesus then said, ". . . and come, follow Me." In other words, Jesus was saying, "There's a barrier in your way, fella. You're never going to know salvation until you give up your one big hang-up - money." You see, Jesus read his heart and knew that this young ruler loved money. And the reason we know that Jesus' analysis was correct is because the guy turned around and went home. He wanted his money more than he wanted eternal life.

The point is this: It's not until you want Jesus Christ more than anything else that the conditions are removed. As long as God knows there's something in the way, He'll point it out. The biggest stumbling block to Jewish conversion was the fear of persecution, being "unsynagogued," and being put out of their whole Jewish world. So Peter says, "I know that's your problem. so that's what you're going to have to get out of the way." They had to be baptized as a public acknowledgment that they were naming the name of Jesus Christ - fully aware of what it was going to cost.

The Word of God, then, does not teach baptismal regeneration. It simply indicates, here in Acts 2:38, that the Jews were to be baptized in response to what had happened in their life. It was to be a public confession of their new union with Christ . . . and it was a high price for them to pay.

It's been argued that the "for" in Acts 2:38 makes baptism a part of the process. Let's go back to the Bible.

There are instances of people being saved without being baptized.

In Luke 23:43, Jesus is dying on the cross,

And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

The first question that springs to mind is how can the thief be saved, if baptism is required? He was dying along side of Jesus.

In looking at Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius' household became believers, received the Holy Spirit, and began speaking in tongues, before being baptized in water.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days,

This is significant because tongues is a sign-gift given to believers. Also, verse 46 says they were "exalting God." Unbelievers don't praise God. They can't because praise to the true God is a deep spiritual matter that is foreign to the unsaved.

As my friend and I talk more on this subject, I'll keep posting

It's All About the Meet!

Last night a bunch of us guys from Sunday School class got together for one of our regular events, Men's Grub Night. Men's Grub Night or MGN is a chance for the guys to get out and hang with other guys, share a meal, stories and have fun.

The ten of us decended upon Jim & Nicks in Smyrna last night for a time of food, fun and fellowship. It really doesn't matter what we ordered; whether the food was good (or not as was in my case). What mattered is that it's the times like these that are where strong bonds are built and relationships are cultivated.

We talk about jobs, life, families and do "typical guy stuff" like mixing hot sauce with crushed hot peppers and daring each other to eat it (see the picture for proof).

Anyway, for those two and a half hours, we were just at ease doing life together.

The Testimony of the Lamb

This morning, I was listening to a man give his testimony. He had come from an abusive home as a boy and had been in prision, had a bad marriage and had taken drugs and drank heavily.

After a near-death-experience, where he says that he died on an operating room table after having been involved in a fight, he claims to have seen a glimpse of hell that scarred him more than anything that this hardened man had ever experienced.

After his experience, his wife accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour and they went to church for the first time.

It was sitting in the back pew that this man heard the preacher talk about Jesus as the Lamb of God who took away our sins. This resonated in him and got his attention.

He continues...

As a lonely 9 year-old boy, he grew up in an abusive home in rural Pennsylvania. One day, while coming home from the school bus stop as was usually the case, he passed through a neighbor's field and the kind lady that lived there called him over and said that she wanted to give him a present. She gave him a baby lamb.

This man, Mr. Reagan, goes on to tell of the lamb and he becoming friends. He said that it was his only friend.

Anyway, the lamb was very curious and would come up to him and follow him whenever he was outside. It would always meet him at the edge of the property when he would come home.

One day when he came home, he saw his father working on an old car that had a flat tire. His dad was angry and was swearing. The boy went out of his way go steer clear of the situation and as he rounded the opposite side of the car that his father was working on, he saw his lamb, his only friend, lying near by.

He screamed and ran up to it and found the pure white lamb dead and covered in blood from being hit by his father with a lug wrench. The image was so vivid.

He ran away screaming and that day scarred him for the rest of his life; until this day, when the Holy Spirit softened his heart. He understood the sacrifice of our Holy God, who sent his only Son, to be the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice for us.

Ron wept for the first time in many years and gave his heart to Christ that day.

Hearing this story weighed so heavy on me. It calls me to remember, that I need to be ever mindful of the mercy, grace and love that our Father has for us.

Happy 13th Birthday, George!

Today is the day of my son's 13th birthday party. Wow... As I sit here and write
this, my eyes look at the young man that my son has become and against that image is juxtapositioned the images of him, our first child, being born.

The day started out with me not getting as much sleep as I wanted last night...lol

Anyway, George invited a couple of the older friends that he knows from school and church to go to the bowling alley with us and then come back for lasagna and cake. Yes, lasagna and cake. We were originally going to do pizza and cake, but George really likes his mom's lasagna (me, too.)

We went bowling for a few hours and then came back to our house. Although the kids wanted to play outside, we didn't let them brcause ther ground is soaked from all of the snow that we've been getting.

All in all, it was a great day. I asked each of the kids if they had fun and they all said yes. BTW, pictures of the day can be seen here.

I thank God for letting us having the privilege of raising our kids for these past 13 years; now I pray that he gives us the strength to survive the teen years...lol

Finding the Right Church

What do you look for in a church home? I've struggled with this question as I'm sure that a lot of people have. Finding a Biblically-based, God focused church where you and your family can grow and give back should be a priority for all believers (that is, unless you're already in one).

I remember moving to Tennessee 5 years ago and thinking "Now, what do we do for a church home?"

I recently came across an interesting article that talks about "interviewing" churches by calling the pastor before visiting them, saving you Sundays and heartache.

Below is a lost of 24 questions that I got from CWN:

1. What is man's biggest problem?

Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man’s hurts and problems. The Bible says that man’s biggest problem is sin.


2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?

Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word “repent” is never used, say, “Thank you.”


3. How do you deliver the salvation message?

Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts? The salvation message should include: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on the cross), man’s response (repentance and faith).


4. How hard is it to become a Christian?

The “formula” is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.


5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?

Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular emphasis.


6. How seeker sensitive is your church?

It is o.k. for a church to be “seeker aware” but seeker sensitive means that they lean toward seekers and not the saved.


7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?

“Both” is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are welcome to attend.


8. Do you dumb down your sermons?

If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat. Answers like, “We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone” are sermons that are not meaty.


9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?

Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse by verse), then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God’s Word.


10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they relevant?

Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they teach theology.


11. Describe your youth programs.

If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program that is trying to compete with MTV.


12. Describe your evangelism programs.

Don’t just accept, “We have an evangelism committee.” Dig. Are they serious about saving
souls?


13. What church growth model do you follow?

Hopefully they don’t have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but churches that are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man’s modern ideas rather than the Bible.


14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?

Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many never consider the poor.


15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?

No equivocation allowed here.


16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?

Jesus did (Matt.19:4).


17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?

Jesus did (Matt.25).


19. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine yourself?

Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32).


20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?

Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I John 3:8,9).


21. Does your church exercise church discipline?

Paul said we should (I Cor.5).


22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs, or are all volunteers accepted?


23.What are the essentials of the faith?

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.


24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?

Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross. The cross should be the central focus of every church.

I hope this helps!

Emerging Errors

I recently read an article that spoke about someone who was involved with and left the emergent movement/conversation.

These errors include:

• A highly ambiguous handling of truth.
• A desire to be so inclusive and tolerant that there is virtually no sense of biblical discernment in terms of recognizing and labeling false beliefs, practices, or lifestyles.
• A quasi-universalistic view of salvation.
• A lack of a proper appreciation for biblical authority over and against personal experience or revelation.
• Openness to pagan religious practices like Hindu Yoga and incorporating them into the Christian life and Christian worship.
• Openly questioning the relevance of key historical biblical doctrines such as the Trinity.
• An uncritically open embrace of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
• An unbridled cynicism towards conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism.
• A reading of scripture that is heavily prejudiced towards a social gospel understanding.
• Little or no talk of evangelism or saving lost souls.
• A salvation by osmosis mentality, where if you hangout with us long enough you’re in.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just wanted to wish everyone, OK, specifically Diana, a Happy Valentine's Day!
I Love You! You are the most wonderful woman that I know!

Love Always!

Romance & Roses

I wanted to talk about Romance & Roses. It's an event that our church put together and hosts every year. Diana and I have been to it for the past 2 years.

This year's was wonderful! I had an incredible and fun evening with my Sweetie :)

It's such a great time for the both of us to just reconnect and focus on us.

It was also a fun time. There was a comedian, Kenn Kington
who was incredible funny and made us see a lot of ourselves in his routine.

Thanks for going with me, Sweetie! I Love You!

On the Radar

I recently read an article that said that in a marriage that "the wife" was the radar system of the home. She keeps up with everything at all times and is able to fill "the husband" in on what's going on since he at work all day. She knows about the kids, house, finances, etc. while he is away.

The article went on to say that we, as husbands, should give our wives a bit of a break when we come home and claim to know it all.

Any good pilot/commander/leader would do well to look at the "intelligence information" before going into battle or my sons' room (same thing).

To this, I would like to address to my wonderful wife, a humble, "I'm sorry for not taking the time to pay more attention to what you tell me when I get home."

"Yes, dear. It's rhymes with song."

Prominent Godly Men

After watching the Super Bowl with my kids, I was watching the awarding of the Vince Lombardi trophy and listening to the comments of Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, etc. and was pleasantly surprised at the way that they spoke and gave glory to God.

It was refreshing and gave me something to talk to the kids about later.

Here is a quote from an article that talked about what was said...

Colts' owner Jim Irsay credited God with the victory as he held the sparkling Vince Lombardi trophy in his hands.

"Now there's an awful lot of shining glory, even more than last time up here," Irsay said. "But we're giving it all to God again because that's what got us here ... sticking together and believing that we could, and I know God has looked after us on this journey and bonded us into such a tight family."

Dungy has had a close relationship with Bears' head coach Lovie Smith since 1996, when Dungy hired Smith to coach linebackers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"My relationship, first, is with Jesus Christ, and he is the center of my life," said Smith when asked about his faith earlier this week. "I try to live a Christian life. I would like for players to know my faith based on what they see on a day-to-day basis."

CBS anchor James Brown, himself a strong believer in Jesus Christ, told the Baptist Press this year's Super Bowl could be a welcome change in a sport that hasn't had that many Christian players and announcers in the past.

"Personally, I'm gratified to see that change," Brown said. "I think their faith is a wonderful example to see and I think both men are sterling examples of what character coaches should be. That's what we should be promoting."

Game Day Central

This past Thursday and Friday, we had the honor of going to watch two of our kids perform for a group of churches that came to Lifeway in Nashville to see the 2007 Vacation Bible School program.

On Thursday, the kids performed in front of 450 people. On Friday, the crowd was 650, not including parents.

Wow, they did such an incredible job! I am so proud of them!

Raising A Modern Day Knight

A group of fathers of boys and I have been reading (well, we finished it) Raising A Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis.

It's a book that talks about Biblical manhood and compares it to stages, training and rites of passage that medieval knights once went through to have a definative mark of the stages of life and when they enter manhood.

Today, we took our boys bowling, but unbeknownst to them, we had reserved a room and had decorated it for the occasion. This day would mark their entrance into the process of Biblical manhood by having the process explained to them capping it all off with signed proclamations .

Rather than retype the main gist of the book, here is a quote from an article at Ledership Universtity

Robert Lewis suggests three major ideals for modern-day knights: a vision for manhood, a code of conduct, and a transcendent cause.

A Vision for Manhood - The author states four manhood principles: Real men (1) reject passivity, (2) accept responsibility, (3) lead
courageously, and (4) expect the greater reward. He suggests that though men have a natural inborn aggressiveness, they tend to become passive at home and avoid social responsibility. These principles, if followed, prevent passivity from becoming a significant problem.

A Code of Conduct - The code for modern-day knights comes from the pages of the Bible. Lewis lists 10 ideal characteristics appropriate for modern-day knights taken from the Scriptures: loyalty, kindness, humility, purity, servant- leadership, honesty, self-discipline, excellence, integrity, and perseverance. Modern-day knights must be trained in three important areas. First, the modern-day knight needs to understand that there must be a will to obey (God's will) if there is to be spiritual maturity. The young man must come to know that life is inherently moral and that there is a God who knows everything and who rewards good and punishes evil.

He must know that absolute values exist and that the commandments of God are liberating, not confining. Lewis states "True satisfaction in life is directly proportionate to one's obedience to God. In this context, moral boundaries take on a whole new perspective: they become benefits, not burdens."

Second, the modern-day knight needs to understand that he has a work to do that is in keeping with his inner design. This work is not just his profession or trade, but refers to work in his home, church, and community. Life is certainly more than a job, and your son should hear this from you lest he get the mistaken perception that manhood is just one duty and obligation after another.

A third realm of responsibility for the modern-day knight is a woman to love. The code of chivalry requires that all women be treated with respect and honor. Sons need to see and hear from their fathers the importance of caring for women in general and loving, leading, and honoring their wives in particular.

The knight in training should be taught the value of work, have summer jobs, do chores around the house, and study hard on his school work. The goal here is to establish patterns of industry and avoid sloth so that a solid work ethic is in place as he gets older.

A Transcendent Cause - Life is ultimately unsatisfying if it is lived solely for self. Jesus said if you give up your life you will find it, so if you live for a cause greater than yourself, you'll be happy and fulfilled. A transcendent cause is a cause that a person believes is truly heroic (a noble endeavor calling for bravery and sacrifice), timeless (has significance beyond the moment), and is supremely meaningful (not futile).

The only antidote to the futility of life is a transcendent cause and a vision for life that "integrates the end of life with the beginning," and connects time and eternity. Obviously becoming a Christian, developing a personal relationship with Christ, and living for Him are basic, irreplaceable elements for having a meaningful life.

13 percent

I recently heard a sermon from Central Christian College of the Bible and it talked about being aware of people around you and how often people die. The statistics given were that 2 people die every second on Earth.

At the end of the day, that is 230,000 people. Of those who pass away, only an estimated 30,000 are Christians and will go to Heaven.

What an alarming statistic that only 13% of the people who die every day go to Heaven.

It certainly makes me feel my calling to ministry even more. I know that I have to proceed according to God's will and timing, but it seems so much more urgent when I'm presented with those numbers.

Well, Hopefully I'll Look Distinguished

Yesterday I took my oldest daughter with me to the eye doctor. We both had appointments. That's something a bit unusual for me since I have't seen an eye doctor in...ohhh... 33 years or so.

We went into each other's appointments. Her vision actually improved greatly from her previous annual visit, now it was my turn. As the doctor turned me into a robot as my daughter termed it (from the huge "thing" they put ofer your face, I sat wondering what was to happen.

The doctor told me that my vision was "normal for my age." Um... "for my age?" She said that most people need glasses between 38 and 42. Well, I'm 38...

She told me that it was due to all of the wisdom that I had stored up and although I knew she was kidding, it still made me feel good :)

What had happened was that I was getting farsighted and my eyes couldn't focus properly between looking at objects up close and then in the distance. She said that this was normal and due to strain.

I'd love to tell you its from hours and hours of in-depth exegetical Bible study, but it's more probably from my current profession as a Computer Network Engineer and the long hours that I have to stare at the screens.

Anyway, my sweet daughter and I will be going for glasses soon. I'm hoping that it'll make me more "distiguished looking" and not "dorky" as Meg says.

I'm Not Sure What To Say

On the list of things that I don't understand, I've just added "herchurch", a San Franciscan, Lutheran "church" that incoporates idolatry and pagan mysticism wrapped up in a package that calls itself a church. The site claims...

The Lutheran Feminist Movement exists to celebrate the feminine persona of God/dess and dimensions of the sacred as expressed in worship, learning, mutual care, and acts of justice.

They go on to blaspheme by proclaiming "another" Christ, not our risen Lord and Saviour.

..out of renewed insights into the nature of the Gospel empowered by the risen Christ-Sophia.

I mean, I understand that we all have a spirital hole in us that is longing to be filled. It's been oft-quoted that everyone has a "Jesus shaped hole in them. " That's true to a certain extent. people are looking for something to believe in, the problem is that in looking, we often fall into snares such as this one.

In retrospect, I'm not sure if I'm more angry by the blatent disregard for the Biblical God and Jesus or am more sad for the people that fall into this kind of trap. These people I pray will wake up before they live out their days and finally realized too late that all they were believing in was a lie.

Spritual Health of a Church

I was reading an article (actually, I think that it was a Barna survey) on the spiritual health of churches and what counts as "spiritual health".

Some people point to attendance numbers; others to numbers of people who make confessions of faith or baptisms. I've compiled a list that I believe shows a way to accurately gauge the spiritual health of a Bible-believing church.

In no special order, these areas are:

• People involved in volunteer ministry (internally and in community service)
• Church attendance
• Life change (commitment to Christ/growth spiritual maturity)
• Accountability (lifestyle led)
• People involved in Evangelism
• Growth in Christian knowledge
• Money donated to church
• Comments to the pastor
• People who feel as if they have experienced the presence of God

What are your thoughts and experiences?

Only One Life

I was doing some studying for a lesson that we are going to have in class this weekend. It's on Romans, chapter 12. It talked about "Supernatural Living" and how each of us has a gift and how we should use that for God. It not only spoke of gifts, but of love and mercy.

Man consists of body and soul and we must surrender ourselves to God. Our bodies must be presented as living sacrifices to His dedicated service.

Later last night, I was doing some recreational reading. I was reading the latest Left Behind book and I came across a section of a book where the saints of God are in Heaven after the Rapture. Let me go on to say that I know that this is fiction, but it does make you wonder.

Anyway, Jesus was speaking to Irene, telling her "...well done, good and faithfull servant." and it made her reflect on how short our life on this Earth really is when compared to "The Big Picture" of eternity.

I know that this life is just a vapor; that it will all seem so short in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes that's hard to see from this side of eternity.

It's little things like these readings and the following poem that really help me to reflect on the more, or I should say, the most important things in life.

Only One Life

Two little lines I heard one day,Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Author Unknown

Graced Again (and again)

Do you ever wonder about what God thinks of us as we try to do things of our own accord? This seems to be an issue that God has been dealing with me about.

I have felt the call on my life to ministry and am in lay ministry in our current church, but know that the Lord has called me to preach. I know that I'm supposed to attend school and I have been trying everything in my earthly power to do just that.

Did you get that? "I have been trying everything in my earthly power..."

Yesterday the Holy Spirit spoke to me through a broadcast by Adrian Rogers about Joshua and Jericho. An intersting aspect is that I normally wouldn't have heard Dr. Rogers at that time, but I was running late in getting home from work.

This morning, I was running late in leaving my house for work (see a pattern?) and heard a message on Gideon and doing things according to God's power and for His glory.

This morning in my e-mail inbox was a message from Graced Again stating:

I'm convinced that if the gospel of grace (that God in Christ has forgiven you of all your debt with Him and that He has given you all His 'rightness') doesn't take your breath away, something else will. And this world has lots of 'something else's.' I used to think that what God wanted for me to do was try harder, get more committed, deny myself and keep my sin under control and then I would begin to see change. But I am learning that the fight in the Christian life is the fight of faith; to believe the Gospel of grace really is true; to get the Wow of the Gospel.

~Tom Wood

It takes me a while because I'm thick-headded, but I'm starting to see a pattern of faith and depending on God.

This is not to say that I don't depend on God, but I think a lot of times I try to push and "help", when I should just "trust and obey"

Why Some Churches Thrive and Others Decline

According to this article in The Christian Post, Congregations that are willing to change to meet new challenges experience greater growth than those less up to the challenge. According to the Faith Communities Today 2005 survey, 46 percent of congregations that said they "strongly agree" with willing to change experienced the highest level of attendance growth.

Congregations that are willing to change to meet new challenges experience greater growth than those less up to the challenge. According to the Faith Communities Today 2005 survey, 46 percent of congregations that said they "strongly agree" with willing to change experienced the highest level of attendance growth. Among those that said they "somewhat agree," 37 percent are growing strongly. And among those who disagree on any level, only 15 percent have the highest level of attendance growth.

Geographic communities also affect congregational growth. Congregations located in newer suburbs are more likely to experience growth than congregations in any other type of location. The second best area for growth is in the downtown or central city of metropolitan areas. Those in rural areas and small towns are least likely to grow.

To me, this makes sense. A higher concentration of people means a better chance of people connecting with a local church. It would be my guess that people in newer suburbs are looking for a sense of community or fellowship; so that could draw them to the church. The fact that the majority of the new communities that are popping up are densly populated probably helps as well.

The composition of the congregation plays a major role in church growth as well. Congregations that are most likely to grow are younger ones, consisting of those founded from 1975 to the present. The survey revealed that the older the congregation is, the least likely it is to experience growth. Additionally, the more older adults a congregation has, the more unlikely it is to grow. And a larger proportion of younger adults also lead to growth opportunities.

"The mere presence of older adults is not problematic in and of itself," the report stated. "But a congregation where a large proportion of the members are older tends to have a cluster of characteristics that inhibit growth."

If this is true, it's truely a sad fact. A lot of younger people often view older people as irrelevant, when they should be looked up to for their wisdom and spiritual maturity.

Such characteristics include no children being born to members, a lack of a clear sense of mission and purpose and a lack of vibrant worship or involvement in recruitment.

Another composition makeup affecting growth is racial diversity. Congregations that are multiracial are most likely to have experienced strong growth in worship attendance. Congregations least likely to grow are predominantly white, non-Hispanic ones.

The survey further found that a higher proportion of women in the congregation is associated with decline rather than growth in the church. Congregations that are able to attract larger proportions of men are more likely to grow.

Declining attendance numbers among mainline denominations is nothing new. But the study noted a surprising finding – a lack of growth among Catholic congregations despite continued increases in the overall Catholic population.

While some say theological differences account for the declining attendance in mainline churches compared to evangelical churches, the survey found that there is very little relationship between growth and theological orientation.

Less conservative churches are also most likely to grow.

"More important than theological orientation is the religious character of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose," the survey highlighted. "Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing."

Well, all churches should be clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing. They should be about the work of God.

Spiritual vitality is also key to growth with 45 percent of congregations that "strongly agree" with being spiritually vital and alive experiencing growth compared to 15 percent who "strongly disagree to unsure."

Additionally, the character of worship largely affects growth. Congregations that describe their worship as "joyful" is more likely to experience substantial growth. At the same time, those that described their worship as "reverent" were more likely to decline. And churches that more often use drums in their worship services have experienced substantial growth from 2000 to 2005. That also applied to the use of electric guitars.

Furthermore, the study found that institutional change including change in worship services is necessary for a congregation to adapt to a changing environment.

Other factors for substantial growth are developing recruitment plans, church members actively involved in recruiting new members, maintaining a website, having support groups, conducting follow-up with visitors, and being in excellent financial shape.

All this is fine in itself as long as the church remains closely tied to the Truth and the Word of God. A lot of churches stray in this regard and almost sell themselves for the opportunity of "guaranteed" growth such as is seem in the emergent and purpose driven movements.

Results from the survey are based on 884 randomly sampled congregations of all faith traditions in the United States. The survey is the latest in the series of trend-tracking national surveys of U.S. congregations sponsored by the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership.

Gimme that Showtime Religion

I recently came across this article by John MacArthur that I wanted to post. It's a really good one that sums up the frustration that a lot of us are feeling regarding the seeker-sensitive movement.

Can the church fight apathy and materialism by feeding people's appetite for entertainment? Evidently many in the church believe the answer is yes, as church after church jumps on the show-business bandwagon. It is a troubling trend that is luring many otherwise orthodox churches away from biblical priorities.

Church buildings are being constructed like theatres. Instead of a pulpit, the focus is a stage. Some feature massive platforms that revolve or rise and fall, with colored lights and huge sound boards. Shepherds are giving way to media specialists, programming consultants, stage directors, special effects experts, and choreographers.

The idea is to give the audience what they want. Tailor the church service to whatever will draw a crowd. As a result pastors are more like politicians than shepherds, looking to appeal to the public rather than leading and building the flock God gave them.

The congregation is served a slick, professional show, where drama, pop music, and maybe a soft-sell sermon constitute the worship service. But the emphasis isn't on worship, it's on entertainment.

Underlying this trend is the notion that the church must sell the gospel to unbelievers. Churches thus compete for the consumer on the same level as Frosted Flakes or Miller Lite. More and more churches are relying on marketing strategy to sell the church.

That philosophy is the result of bad theology. It assumes that if you package the gospel right, people will get saved. The whole approach is rooted in Arminian theology. It views conversion as nothing more than an act of the human will. Its goal is an instantaneous decision rather than a radical change of the heart.

Moreover, this whole Madison-Avenue corruption of Christianity presumes that church services are primarily for recruiting unbelievers. Many have abandoned worship as such. Others have relegated conventional preaching to some small group setting on a weeknight. But that misses the point of Hebrews 10:24-25: "Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together."

Acts 2:42 shows us the pattern the early church followed when they met: "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Note that the early church's priorities clearly were to worship God and to edify the brethren. The church came together for worship and edification; it scattered to evangelize the world.

Our Lord commissioned His disciples for evangelism in this way: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19). Christ makes it clear that the church is not to wait for or invite the world to come to its meetings, but to go to the world. That is a responsibility for every believer. I fear that an approach emphasizing a palatable gospel presentation within the walls of the church absolves the individual believer from his personal obligation to be a light in the world (Matt. 5:16).

We have a society filled with people who want what they want when they want it. They are into their own lifestyle, recreation, and entertainment. When churches appeal to those selfish desires, they only fuel that fire and hinder true godliness. Some of these churches are growing exponentially while others that don't entertain are struggling. Many church leaders want numerical growth in their churches, so they are buying into the entertainment-first philosophy.

Consider what this philosophy does to the gospel message itself. Some will maintain that if biblical principles are presented, the medium doesn't matter. That is nonsense. Why not have a real carnival? A tattooed knife thrower who juggles chain saws could do his thing while a barker shouts Bible verses. That would draw a crowd. It's a bizarre scenario, but one that illustrates how the medium can cheapen and corrupt the message.

And sadly, it's not terribly different from what is actually being done in some churches. Punk-rockers, ventriloquists' dummies, clowns, and show-business celebrities have taken the place of the preacher--and they are depreciating the gospel. I do believe we can be innovative and creative in how we present the gospel, but we have to be careful to harmonize our methods with the profound spiritual truth we are trying to convey. It is too easy to trivialize the sacred message.

Don't be quick to embrace the trends of the high-tech superchurches. And don't sneer at conventional worship and preaching. We don't need clever approaches to get people saved (1 Cor. 1:21). We simply need to get back to preaching the truth and planting the seed. If we're faithful in that, the soil God has prepared will bear fruit.

Happy 19th Anniversary!

Wow, it's hard to believe that Diana and I have been together for 19 years. I can remember the sweet girl that used to come visit me where I worked at a skating rink. She has grown into the wonderful woman that I married a few years later.

Little did I know that she would make me the happiest guy in the world and provide me with an awesome family.

I thank God for His love and plan for providing such an awesome person like my sweetheart.

I love you, Diana!

Give me your...um, I mean my opinion

I recently visited, Tony Morgan's blog. He's one of the pastors at Grainger Community Church in Granger, IN. People were commenting on Granger's recent U2 series as well as their recent "My Lame Sex Life" series. For those who aren't aware, they recently had a Christmas program that used the songs from U2 to look at generosity. Previously, they had a series that looked at sex and rented billboard space with provocative images on it.

I had commented about using worldy methods to evangelize and had my post deleted.

I also commented on a second topic that asked,

"What do you think? Should Christ-followers use music to "speak a bit of life" into those that are unchurched? And, is it acceptable to use that type of music in church services? In case you're wondering...I do."

Well, he asked, "What do you think?" I commented on that one, just to have that one deleted as well.

I tried to go back to the blog this morning and post a clarification that nothing malicious was meant by my posts. When I submitted it, I received a message that said, "You are not allowed to post comments."

It appears that Pastor Morgan is OK with opinions as long as they agree with his. I wrote him an email trying to clarify that I was speaking in brotherly love. So far, I haven't received a reply.

New Year's Resolutions (Jonathan Edwards style)

A recent article from Pulpit Magazine maintained that the resolutions "we make as Christians (whether for the New Year or sometime else) ought to be profoundly deeper, and thus categorically different, than the resolutions made by unbelievers."

What they did was to look at a list of 70 resolutions that Jonathan Edwards made. In looking at these, they are remarkable, especially if one takes into account that he made these in his late teens and early twenties.

Another thing that should be mentioned is that, according to the article, "...the commitments he made were lifelong pursuits; they were not limited to just the next year (as our New Year’s resolutions often are)."

Here are the primary areas in which Jonathan Edwards was resolved:

1. To live for God’s glory (see resolutions #s 1, 4, 27)

2. To make the most of this life, in terms of eternal impact (see #s 5, 6, 7, 9, 17, 19, 23, 52, 54, 69)

3. To take sin seriously (see #s 8, 24, 25, 26, 37, 56, 57)

4. To become theologically astute (see #s 11, 28, 30, 39)

5. To be humble (see #s 12, 43, 68)

6. To exhibit self-control in all things (see #s 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 40, 44, 45, 59, 60, 61, 64, 65)

7. To always speak with grace and truth (see #s 16, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 46, 47, 58, 66, 70)

8. To constantly develop an eternal focus (see #s 10, 18, 22, 50, 51, 55, 67)

9. To be a faithful Christian, in prayer and dedication (see #s 29, 32, 35, 41, 42, 63)

10. To daily pursue a fervent love for Christ (see #s 48, 49, 53, 62)

* Edwards also committed himself to keeping his other resolutions (see #s 2 and 3)

As we consider the resolutions that we make for 2007, we can definitely learn something from the man widely recognized as America’s greatest theologian.

Even when Edwards resolved to use his time wisely (see #5), to eat properly (see #20), or to maintain healthy relationships with others (see #31)—resolutions that seem to coincide with the secular “top ten” list—his resolve flowed out of a God-focused perspective that was eternal in its scope. Thus his resolutions were not merely temporal lifestyle adjustments designed to solve a perceived bad habit. Instead, they were earnest spiritual decisions made for the purpose of combating sin and living a God-glorifying life.

Moreover, Edwards did not solely rely on his own willpower or clever scheming to stay true to his resolutions. To be sure, his resolutions required a tremendous amount of personal discipline and hard work. Yet, unlike the self-made commitments of the world, Edwards ultimately relied on God’s grace to help him accomplish what he knew to be humanly impossible (cf. Php. 3:12–13). In the preamble to his resolutions, he wrote: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”

So what kind of resolutions will you make this year? Will they be those that accord with biblical priorities? Will they be those that necessarily depend on divine grace to accomplish? Will they be those that accord with the will of God and the glory of Christ?

I for one hope to follow Jonathan Edwards’s example and answer “yes” to those questions. If I can’t, then what makes my resolutions any different than the good intentions of the unbelieving world? But, if my perspective is eternal and my priorities are biblical, than my resolutions will be categorical different than those of the world—even if both of our lists include things like better time management, greater self-discipline, and more love for others.

After all, as a Christian, good intentions aren’t enough … only godly intentions will do.

Wow... what incredible insight he had. I especially like the last like in the article, "After all, as a Christian, good intentions aren’t enough … only godly intentions will do." Amen.