Saturday, July 31, 2010
And so begins my 19th year
Some of you may wonder why it seems I've been "forgetting" my blog. I asked you all for some post ideas, posted on the first few, and then stopped posting. Well as usual I have my excuse of... I've been REALLY busy.:) But this time I am totally serious. Probably the biggest thing that is using my time right now, is what I alluded to in my last post at the very end. I figured I'd at least get one comment about it, but I suppose no one was reading the whole post. Anyway that's starting a week from tomorrow, so I'm studying, purchasing books, gettting paperwork done, stuff like that. Than the past couple of days we were staying in Louisville for the VBS, and I'm still working on the last couple things for high school. Today, as you probably figured from the title, is my 18th birthday. So we'll probably be doing stuff along those lines. And I'm just starting to ramble. I'll have some more specific posts later on.
Monday, July 26, 2010
1st Five Day Club-Louisville, NE
You may wonder why we are almost to August, and I haven’t posted an update, but this is my first 5 Day Club assignment. Angela and I will be going this upcoming week to a VBS in Louisville, NE along with four other CEF'ers. They estimate 60-80 kids will be there. It is at a Methodist church, which usually doesn't happen but... we were invited so we'll give it a try. It goes Sunday through Thursday, 6:30-8:30PM. I have been assigned to the older children and Angela with the preschoolers. Some prayer requests would be:
1. That I would have clarity of mind and good recall on the material since I haven’t done a club for a few months.
2. That God would be preparing the children's hearts even now to be receptive to the message we are bringing.
3. That God would help everything to go smoothly as far as the People from the Methodist church are concerned. That we would be able to share the gospel without creating conflict.
4. That we would have safety in our travel each day.
5. That we would be given grace in dealing with the children, in order that we might show God's love to them.
6. That all six of us would function well together, especially since Angela and I have not met the other four before.
7. Last but defiantly not least, that it would all bring glory to God.
Thank you all again for praying.
PS. I recently was accepted at Oak Brook college of Law. If you all could also pray for me as I begin my studies there August 8th.
1. That I would have clarity of mind and good recall on the material since I haven’t done a club for a few months.
2. That God would be preparing the children's hearts even now to be receptive to the message we are bringing.
3. That God would help everything to go smoothly as far as the People from the Methodist church are concerned. That we would be able to share the gospel without creating conflict.
4. That we would have safety in our travel each day.
5. That we would be given grace in dealing with the children, in order that we might show God's love to them.
6. That all six of us would function well together, especially since Angela and I have not met the other four before.
7. Last but defiantly not least, that it would all bring glory to God.
Thank you all again for praying.
PS. I recently was accepted at Oak Brook college of Law. If you all could also pray for me as I begin my studies there August 8th.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
WIBWIB Post #1
I. The Scriptures
I begin with the topic of the Scriptures because they are the basis for every other topic I will cover. If they were not inspired by our Creator and God then why must we obey their commands? If they contain errors then how can we know that anything written in them is true? And if they will not last and remain then how can we trust in them to be our guide? Therefore it is crucial to establish the Scriptures as the foundation and to establish that they are inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
1. The Scriptures Are Inspired
More than twenty men constituted the writers of the Holy Scriptures. They wrote at various times and various places and almost all of them never met. Yet all of the Scriptures fit together as perfectly as if it had been one writer. Yet we find that even if only one person writes an entire book, multiple errors are still to be found. For man is fallible and many times does not have the whole picture. But in the Scriptures we find no such errors. Why? It is without error because all those many writers had one thing in common. They were all inspired and directed in their writing by One who is infallible. God in His grace determined to leave us a record of His dealings with His people over the years, to tell us of His love for us throughout history, and to warn us of a coming judgment. And He chose to do this through humans. They each had a different style of writing, wrote to different audiences, lived in different cultures, and many times wrote in different languages. Yet when compiled all the different writers point to Christ. If you believe this could have happened by chance without a divine author then try this. Gather just three writers together. Assign a topic that all three are familiar with. Assign one to write about the topic from a historical standpoint. Assign the second to write about it from a philosophical standpoint. Then assign the third to write about the same topic from the standpoint of its effect on the future. Then look at the results you get. Could you just add their three works together just one after the other and have it make any sense? Or would their accounts contradict and differ greatly? And you merely had three writers writing in the same culture, same language, and same era. So if you think the writers of the Bible had no common thread of inspiration, think again.
Without the Inspiration of Scripture, there is no hope for salvation. If the writers were merely fallible men, then how can we trust that what they tell us is true? How can we the Bible when it says “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” if that is merely the opinion of one writer? Therefore the Inspiration of the Scriptures are a crucial foundation to our theology.
There are multiple verses that expressly indicate divine inspiration such as 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” and 2 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” There are also many references in the Old Testament that contain this phrase “The Word of the Lord to Israel by…” such as Ezekiel 1:3, Haggai 2:1, Zechariah 4:6, and Malachi 1:1. From these we can see an obvious example of God inspiring the writers.
2. The Scriptures Are Inerrant
The Inerrancy of Scripture succinctly put means that the Scriptures are without error. Throughout the ages many have come forward with apparent discrepancies that they have found in the Scriptures. However upon closer study it is discovered that the Bible always agrees with itself. Others will bring forward passages in which the Bible states something that is unscientific. But then science continues advancing and discovers that the Bible was right all along and it was the science that contained errors. This issue directly flows from the previous one. If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then you must believe that the Bible is without error. For how can an all powerful, all knowing God inspire men to write that which is false? He cannot lie, therefore any Word we receive from Him must be Inerrant.
3. Are Infallible
This subject is closely tied with the previous. In essence infallible means the Scriptures will last forever. God’s word is unchanging as it says in Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever.” Four times in the gospels in Matthew 5:18, Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33 Jesus states that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will be no means pass away.” God’s Word lasts through all the ages. It was as applicable and accurate in the day it was written as it is today almost two thousand years later. Just as God is unchanging, His Word is also unchanging.
I begin with the topic of the Scriptures because they are the basis for every other topic I will cover. If they were not inspired by our Creator and God then why must we obey their commands? If they contain errors then how can we know that anything written in them is true? And if they will not last and remain then how can we trust in them to be our guide? Therefore it is crucial to establish the Scriptures as the foundation and to establish that they are inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
1. The Scriptures Are Inspired
More than twenty men constituted the writers of the Holy Scriptures. They wrote at various times and various places and almost all of them never met. Yet all of the Scriptures fit together as perfectly as if it had been one writer. Yet we find that even if only one person writes an entire book, multiple errors are still to be found. For man is fallible and many times does not have the whole picture. But in the Scriptures we find no such errors. Why? It is without error because all those many writers had one thing in common. They were all inspired and directed in their writing by One who is infallible. God in His grace determined to leave us a record of His dealings with His people over the years, to tell us of His love for us throughout history, and to warn us of a coming judgment. And He chose to do this through humans. They each had a different style of writing, wrote to different audiences, lived in different cultures, and many times wrote in different languages. Yet when compiled all the different writers point to Christ. If you believe this could have happened by chance without a divine author then try this. Gather just three writers together. Assign a topic that all three are familiar with. Assign one to write about the topic from a historical standpoint. Assign the second to write about it from a philosophical standpoint. Then assign the third to write about the same topic from the standpoint of its effect on the future. Then look at the results you get. Could you just add their three works together just one after the other and have it make any sense? Or would their accounts contradict and differ greatly? And you merely had three writers writing in the same culture, same language, and same era. So if you think the writers of the Bible had no common thread of inspiration, think again.
Without the Inspiration of Scripture, there is no hope for salvation. If the writers were merely fallible men, then how can we trust that what they tell us is true? How can we the Bible when it says “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” if that is merely the opinion of one writer? Therefore the Inspiration of the Scriptures are a crucial foundation to our theology.
There are multiple verses that expressly indicate divine inspiration such as 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” and 2 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” There are also many references in the Old Testament that contain this phrase “The Word of the Lord to Israel by…” such as Ezekiel 1:3, Haggai 2:1, Zechariah 4:6, and Malachi 1:1. From these we can see an obvious example of God inspiring the writers.
2. The Scriptures Are Inerrant
The Inerrancy of Scripture succinctly put means that the Scriptures are without error. Throughout the ages many have come forward with apparent discrepancies that they have found in the Scriptures. However upon closer study it is discovered that the Bible always agrees with itself. Others will bring forward passages in which the Bible states something that is unscientific. But then science continues advancing and discovers that the Bible was right all along and it was the science that contained errors. This issue directly flows from the previous one. If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then you must believe that the Bible is without error. For how can an all powerful, all knowing God inspire men to write that which is false? He cannot lie, therefore any Word we receive from Him must be Inerrant.
3. Are Infallible
This subject is closely tied with the previous. In essence infallible means the Scriptures will last forever. God’s word is unchanging as it says in Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever.” Four times in the gospels in Matthew 5:18, Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33 Jesus states that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will be no means pass away.” God’s Word lasts through all the ages. It was as applicable and accurate in the day it was written as it is today almost two thousand years later. Just as God is unchanging, His Word is also unchanging.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Judging Others
Chloe asked that I do a post on the topic of judging others. I read her comment last night and began thinking about it. Then this morning I received word that an older gentleman in our area unexpectedly passed away. As I thought about it I realized that I had been guilty of judging him! I found it interesting that this happened right after Chloe asked me to write about the subject. So I’ll share with you all what I have learned about the subject.
First of all I think we should define what we mean by “judging someone”. We are not speaking of those cases in which it is your rightful duty to judge someone. That is the duty of parents, pastors, rulers, and others. We are not speaking of that form of judging. Instead we are speaking of when you have no authority over a person and decide it is your responsibility to determine whether they are in the wrong. And just because you are correct in your judgment of someone, does not mean that it is right for you to judge them. I think we all realize that you can speak the truth, but be in the wrong. However many times when we judge others we are incorrect in our judgment of them. Appearances can be very deceiving. And when it is our place to judge we must be very careful to weigh all the evidence, before we pass judgment. But we are not speaking here about how to judge rightly but instead whether you have the right to judge. Now in some instances we must determine whether or not a certain person may be a suitable friend. We must judge their character to determine this for ourselves. But once we have made a judgment of them we should not go and “spread the word” to others because, as I said before, your judgment may be inaccurate. Now what did Jesus say about judging? In Matthew 7:1-2 He says “Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged;” For example if you decide that someone drinks too much soda, and start telling others what you think, then they will start watching how much you drink. Now does this mean that we should never condemn sin that we see, because we may fall into that same sin? No, instead I would say that we should condemn the person’s sin, not the person.
So what are some practical ways we can apply this to our lives? Well I would say, before you talk to someone about what you think of a person, ask yourself this “Is it my place to judge this person?” “Does this person I am speaking to really need to know what I think of so-in-so?” And most importantly “Would God be pleased with me sharing my judgment of this person?”. Now what if you have made a judgment of a person that you are not sure is accurate or not? Well for a young person I would say ask your parents. And for an older person talk to your pastor or some other godly adult that knows the person. And in talking to them make sure that you don’t just make it a gossip session, but instead sincerely seek their advice as to whether or not you have made an accurate judgment of the person. However some times you may not even need someone else’s advice. Many times your conscience will tell you whether it is a right judgment or not. And of course in all of this remember to go to God in prayer about the matter. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”
First of all I think we should define what we mean by “judging someone”. We are not speaking of those cases in which it is your rightful duty to judge someone. That is the duty of parents, pastors, rulers, and others. We are not speaking of that form of judging. Instead we are speaking of when you have no authority over a person and decide it is your responsibility to determine whether they are in the wrong. And just because you are correct in your judgment of someone, does not mean that it is right for you to judge them. I think we all realize that you can speak the truth, but be in the wrong. However many times when we judge others we are incorrect in our judgment of them. Appearances can be very deceiving. And when it is our place to judge we must be very careful to weigh all the evidence, before we pass judgment. But we are not speaking here about how to judge rightly but instead whether you have the right to judge. Now in some instances we must determine whether or not a certain person may be a suitable friend. We must judge their character to determine this for ourselves. But once we have made a judgment of them we should not go and “spread the word” to others because, as I said before, your judgment may be inaccurate. Now what did Jesus say about judging? In Matthew 7:1-2 He says “Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged;” For example if you decide that someone drinks too much soda, and start telling others what you think, then they will start watching how much you drink. Now does this mean that we should never condemn sin that we see, because we may fall into that same sin? No, instead I would say that we should condemn the person’s sin, not the person.
So what are some practical ways we can apply this to our lives? Well I would say, before you talk to someone about what you think of a person, ask yourself this “Is it my place to judge this person?” “Does this person I am speaking to really need to know what I think of so-in-so?” And most importantly “Would God be pleased with me sharing my judgment of this person?”. Now what if you have made a judgment of a person that you are not sure is accurate or not? Well for a young person I would say ask your parents. And for an older person talk to your pastor or some other godly adult that knows the person. And in talking to them make sure that you don’t just make it a gossip session, but instead sincerely seek their advice as to whether or not you have made an accurate judgment of the person. However some times you may not even need someone else’s advice. Many times your conscience will tell you whether it is a right judgment or not. And of course in all of this remember to go to God in prayer about the matter. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”
Monday, July 5, 2010
This evening I heard that Alex and Brett Harris' mother just passed away. I hope we will all remember them in our prayers. I'm sure each of us have lost a close loved one at some point so we somewhat know what they are going through. As I thought about her passing I was suddenly struck with how much of an impact she had. She was key in the raising of her sons who in turn have impacted millions of young people across the US and around the world. How true that the hand that rocked the cradle changed the world. Thank you Mrs. Harris for your impact and the blessing you were. We will see you on the other side. Until then may we each strive to affect others as you affected us.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Post Topics
I've had alot of trouble coming up with posts lately. I havn't done any topical posts in awhile mainly because I don't know what to write. And posts about my life I find... BORING. So I thought I'd give you all the chance to kind of decide the subjects. Just comment on this post with the topic you want me to cover. It can be about what I've been doing, a post about a Biblical topic, or really anything you like. Ever wanted to get my thoughts on a subject? Well here's your chance. Of course I will use my discretion as to whether or not a subject is inappropriate. But other than that it's first come first serve. And if you like you can even post anonymously.:)
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