Clavinism

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1985/1487_What_We_Believe_About_the_Five_Points_of_Calvinism/#Depravity

In understanding Calvinism and how it is biblical truth and how Calvin actually isn’t the center of it, but rather the Gospel is Pastor John Piper and his church give an explanation and history of it and explain it in a way better than I can. 

Ramen Noodles or Ramen Noodles Soup?

You be the judge, do you eat it as soup, or as noodles? Which one is the right one? I personally stand behind Noodles as being the right way to eat Ramen Noodles.

Praise God for his Holy Spirit!

A work the Lord is doing in my heart is teaching me the beauty and power of his word.   I have been learning many insightful things with my church family, and through reading Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem.  Praise God for his word, and the work of his Holy Spirit.

 Ephesians 4:11-16

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”  

“But in no case are we free to say that the teaching of the Bible on any subject is confusing or incapable of being understood correctly.”  (Grudem 109).  

“Furthermore even, though we admit that there have been many doctrinal disagreements in the history of the church, we must not forget that there has been an amazing amount of doctrinal agreement on the most central truths of Scripture throughout the history of the church.  Indeed, those who have had opportunities for fellowship wherever we find a group of vital Christians, almost immediately a vast amount of agreement on all doctrines of the Christian faith becomes apparent.”  (Grudem 110). 

We are finite, God is infinite.

Just thinking over some things lately, “big” cosmological things like the origin of the universe and man and how we are all here, First it is by God’s Grace, but watching a program of EWTN a priest discussed Physics and how the universe is finite, and even pressuposing that the universe is 13.7 billion years old it is still finite and not infinite, and cannot have been created from nothing.  The significance of this isn’t life changing or mind blowing, but rather interesting and showing that we are all finite, and God is infinite, that he lives outside of space and time and it sovereign over all the planets and systems in the universe.  There really is truth in this world, and its not surprising that most “academics” or “scholars” see all the origins of the universe pointing to a Super-intelligent creator, and that is God.  I’m open to any further thoughts, concerns, about this and interested in studying about it more. It lead me to read Psalm 8:1-9

 ”O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”  

Praise God!

The Culture we are up against!

Recently browsing the internet, everytime just writing off the millions of little posts on dating, relationships, this and that the secular world has to offer, I decided to read one.   This IS WHY THE GOSPEL IS SO IMPORTANT!  This is what we are up against and need to be a voice and missional to these people,  there idol is first there relationship second the relationships end because of sin.  I recommend you use discernment when reading this and think how it opposes the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=8582&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544657&menuid=6&GT1=10287

Let us Walk by the Spirit

I recommend linking up to John Piper’s article on Galatians 5:25 on the Resurgance website. 

http://theresurgence.com/john_piper_1981-03-01_let_us_walk_by_the_spirit

Sword and The Trowel C.H. Spurgeon

“IT is by the grace of God that ungodly men are preserved from instant death. The sharp axe of justice would soon fell the barren tree if the interceding voice of Jesus did not cry, “Spare him yet a little.” Many sinners, when converted to God, have gratefully acknowledged that it was of the Lord’s mercy that they were not consumed. John Bunyan had three memorable escapes before his conversion, and mentions them in his “Grace Abounding” as illustrious instances of long-suffering mercy. Occasionally such deliverances are made the means of affecting the heart with tender emotions of love to God, and grief for having offended him. Should it not be so? Ought we not to account that the longsuffering of God is salvation? (2 Peter 3:15.) An officer during a battle was struck by a nearly spent ball near his waistcoat pocket, but he remained uninjured, for a piece of silver stopped the progress of the deadly missile. The coin was marked at the words DEI GRATIA (by the grace of God). This providential circumstance deeply impressed his mind, and led him to read a tract which a godly sister had given him when leaving home. God blessed the reading of the tract, and he became, through the rich grace of God, a believer in the Lord Jesus.
Reader, are you unsaved? Have you experienced any noteworthy deliverances? Then adore and admire the free grace of God, and pray that it may lead you to repentance! Are you enquiring for the way of life? Remember the words DEI GRATIA, and never forget that by grace we are saved. Grace always pre-supposes unworthiness in its object. The province of grace ceases where merit begins: what a cheering word is this to those of you who have no worth, no merit, no goodness whatever! Crimes are forgiven, and follies are cured by our Redeemer out of mere free favour. The word grace has the same meaning as our common term gratis: Wickliffe’s prayer was, “Lord save me gratis” No works can purchase or procure salvation, but the heavenly Father giveth freely, and upbraideth not.
Grace comes to us through faith in Jesus. Whosoever believeth on Him is not condemned. O, sinner, may God give thee grace to look to Jesus and live. Look now, for to-day is the accepted time!”

We are far too easily pleased.

I will echo what a good friend of mine recently blogged about,  from C.S. Lewis’s, The Weight of Glory, 

“If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith.  Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.’

 So very true,  all is gain when you deny yourself and find your identity in Christ.  

“But whatever thing were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ”  Phil 3:7-9

 

Your life is not yours.

Recently thinking about life, being a Christian, what does this mean?  This means that God even though I have sinned against him thinking this life is mine, my days, time, work, money, health is mine and it’s not.   Nothing in this world is ours, it is God’s and a Christians life is to give back to him.  Jesus died for our sins on the cross, in complete humility for all of our sins. 

Phil 2:3-11

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obediant to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 So often we think that this time on God’s earth is ours, that we deserve something,  we dont.  But God is a gracious God who is sovereign over everything.   Jesus died so that we could be reconciled to him, and be his people, so that we give God the Glory he deserves.   I admit to being just as guilty of this in my own heart as everyone else.  Giving and receiving is an important part of a church.  I recommend a sermon on this at http://media.marshillchurch.org/ under topical series, money, subcategory Giving and Receiving. 

Film and Theology

I have a great interest in starting something on film and theology, the credit goes to my Pastor who greatly influenced me into this area, but recently watching many movies, and being a movie buff, I would like to start something on film and theology and need resources on how to do so and also some others who would be interested in this…. The number 23 is a decent movie recently seen with theology behind it,  based on Numbers 32:23 ‘But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out’  The movie omits the first parts of this passage and focuses on the latter, ‘and be sure your sin will find you out’  also the movie 300 has some theology behind it, but more to come and hope that someone will lend a hand in this area.