A Majestic Palace

Early twentieth-century evangelist Billy Sunday pictured the Bible like a majestic palace. He wrote,

I entered through the portico of Genesis and walked down through the Old Testament's art gallery, where I saw the portraits of Joseph, Jacob, Daniel, Moses, Isaiah, Solomon and David hanging on the wall; I entered the music room of the Psalms and the Spirit of God struck the keyboard of my nature until it seemed to me that every reed and pipe in God's great organ of nature responded to the harp of David, and the charm of King Solomon in his moods.

I walked into the business house of Proverbs.

I walked into the observatory of the prophets and there saw photographs of various sizes, some pointing to far-off stars or events--all concentrated upon one great Star which was to rise as an atonement for sin.
Then I went into the audience room of the King of Kings, and got a vision from four points--from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I went into the correspondence room, and saw Peter, James, Paul and Jude, penning their epistles to the world. I went into the Acts of the Apostles and saw the Holy Spirit forming the Holy Church, and then I walked into the throne room and saw a door at the foot of a tower and, going up, I saw One standing there, fair as the morning, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I found this truest friend that man ever knew; when all were false I found him true (BillySunday Speaks [New York: Chelsea House, 1970], p. 23).

What an awesome palace!

Reading Reflection: Tempted and Tried

As I've been reading through Tempted and Tried by Russell Moore, I have been operated on. It was as if Russell Moore was a surgeon and I the patient. Along the way, I read some great things but some stood out more than others. I want to share a few paragraphs. It is, I believe, of utmost importance that we know this and are reminded of it regularly.

Anyhow, speaking about resisting temptation (Which, by the way, is not bad. Sin is. Temptation is not) he says,

"Gospel freedom is the most important aspect of resisting temptation. Remember, that Satan's power over you is first and foremost the power of accusation and threatened death. In Christ, though, you have already been indicted, judged, executed, and resurrected. You are "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). Regardless of whether you support or oppose the death penalty, you'd probably wince to hear about a state that executed a murderer and then had a public flogging of his corpse. Your discomfort there wouldn't be because you're soft on murder but because that act would be insanely beside the point. After all, an executed corpse can't be punished anymore. It's over.

Likewise, you've been to hell, in the cross of Christ. You've been buried beneath the judgment of God, turned over to the Devil, and you are gone. Now you stand in Christ, hidden in his identity, and thus free from any accusation. Knowing that truth doesn't lead to yield to temptation but instead to fly from it. You're not hiding from God anymore."

You know that feeling of feeling accused before God? That feeling you maybe get when you sin and you just can't face God? That feeling is Satan accusing you. But you should not fall down under that weight because as Russell Moore says, we stand in Christ now. We are hidden in His identity. We are free from any accusation because He was perfect and blameless. Amazing? Yes.

Reading Reflection: The Next Story

Nearing the end of The Next Story, I have read alot about technology. Reading any book, you encounter "alot" about that subject. Thus: reading reflections. Something to get me started on combing through  information that goes in between my ears.

Tim Challies, the author of The Next Story, is talking about technology and how we as Christians are to relate to technology. By the way, if you want to ever read a book about technology, I recommend this one! Anyhow, in his chapter about visibility and privacy, he talks about data trails. All of the information that we leave behind us. He uses the example of how AOL (the search engine) released more than 21 million searches as part of a project. They anonymized it, stripping away user names with numbers. For example, pauld1995 would be User #75636534. Here is an AOL user whose searches tell a sad story.

• body fat calliper 2006-03-01 18:54:10
• curb morning sickness 2006-03-05 08:53:23
• get fit while pregnant 2006-03-09 18:49:37
• he doesn't want the baby 2006-03-11 03:52:01
• uou're pregnant he doesn't want the baby 2006-03-11 03:52:49
• online christian colleges 2006-03-11 04:13:33
• foods to eat when pregnant 2006-03-12 09:38:02
• baby names and meanings 2006-03-14 20:01:27
• maternity clothes 2006-03-28 09:28:25
• pregnancy workout videos 2006-03-29 10:01:39
• what is yoga 2006-03-29 12:17:31
• what is theism 2006-03-29 12:18:30
• hindu religion 2006-03-29 12:18:56
• is yoga alligned with christianity 2006-03-29 12:33:18
• abortion clinics charlotte nc 2006-04-18 2006
• can christians be forgiven for abortion 2006-04-17 11:00:02
• roe vs. wade 2006-04-17 22:22:07
• abortion clinic charlotte 2006-04-18 16:14:07
• symptoms of miscarriage 2006-04-18 16:14:07
• water aerobics charlotte nc 2006-04-18 19:41:27
• abortion clinic chsrlotte nc 2006-04-18 21:45:39
• engagement gifts 2006-04-20 16:57:04
• mom's turning 50 2006-04-20 17:51:13
• high risk abortions 2006-04-20 17:53:49
• abortion fibroid 2006-04-20 17:55:18
• wedding gown styles 2006-04-26 19:37:34
• recover after miscarriage 2006-05-22 18:17:53
• marry your live-in 2006-05-27 07:25:45

Tim Challies says,

"This woman goes from searching about pregnancy, to realizing that the father does not want to keep the baby, to researching abortion clinics, to researching whether she can, according to her faith, choose abortion. It seems that she did not have to face that decision, as the pregnancy terminated in a miscarriage. And at the end of it all, life goes on, and she seems ready to be married. We can reconstruct this period of her life by what she searched for. We know thing about her that even her friends and her boyfriend would not know. Did he know that she was considering an abortion? Did he even know that she was pregnant? Did he know that she was wrestling with her faith? Her searches revealed her actions, her heart, her intention. It was all there, sitting in a datebase at AOL. She had doubtlessly long forgotten about many of these searches; yet the search engine remembered."

It seems that our searches, and as is everything else we do, reveal our heart. They reveal our intentions. They reveal who we truly are. He goes on to say,

"Our searches are a penetrating window into our hearts. We tell search engines what we would not tell anyone else; we ask them what we would be far too embarrassed to ask in any other context. And we entrust to them this information, perhaps not realizing that they might keep these searches forever and certainly trusting that they will never reveal it to anyone else. Though we may want them to forget about searches, we now know that they do not."

He continues,

"More people than ever before are watching us, keeping tabs on us through our data. They are sorting through this date to find a picture of who we are. And someday they may make this data public. Our secrets may be revealed, if not today, at some later date. The challenge for the Christian is clear: we need to be diligent in living lives marked by what we believe. Christians must ensure that we are above reproach at all times--more guarded in our behavior, more diligent in our Christlikeness, than we've ever been. These words have always stirred me: "Now when they (members of the Jewish council) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they we uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recongnized that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13, emphasis added). Wouldn't it be remarkable if people could see a distinct difference between the date trails Christians leave behind and the ones left behind by unbelievers--that our data trails made it obvious that we had been with Jesus?"

Yes. And wouldn't it be a shame if the data trails were nearly indistinguishable?

The Story of the Gardener

A child had a little garden in which she planted many flowers, but they never grew. She put them in, as she thought tenderly and carefully, but they would not live. She sowed seeds and they sprang up; but very soon they withered away. So she ran to her father's gardener, and when he came to look at it, he said, "I will make it a nice garden for you, that you may grow whatever you want." He fetched a pick, and when the little child saw the terrible pick, she was afraid for her little garden. The gardener struck his tool into the ground and began to make the earth heave and shake for his pickaxe had caught the edge of a huge stone which underplayed almost all the little plot of ground. All the little flowers were turned out of their places and the garden spoiled for a season so that the little maid wept much. He told her he would make it a fair garden yet, and so he did, for having removed that stone which had prevented all the plants from striking root he soon filled the ground with flowers which lived and flourished.

Just so, the Lord has come, and has turned up all the soil of your present comfort to get rid of some big stone that was at the bottom of all your spiritual prosperity, and would not let your soul flourish. Do not weep with the child, but be comforted by the blessed results and thank your Father's tender hand!

-Spurgeon

X-TRA

July is nearly over. Then comes August and then school! Time flies. Here are a few good articles to read and think about.

If I were John MacArthur... - Clint Archer is quickly becoming a favorite. Check out this article (although it was written several weeks back).

Can we be good without God? - Good question. Great response to the 'New' Atheists.

Book Hoarding - A parable.

4 Steps to Kill Sin - A helpful article.

We dont want to obey God, we want to be God. That's the title of this video. See what Driscoll means.

Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth. The Apostle calls us to hold the two together, which should not be difficult for Spirit-filled believers, since the Holy Spirit is himself "the spirit of truth," and his firstfruit is "love". - John Stott

Being humble...

Being humble is not a matter of pretending to be worthless, but is a form of realism, not only regarding the real badness of one's sins and stupidities and the real depth of one's dependence on God's grace, but also regarding the real range of one's abilities. Humble believers know what they can and cannot do. They note both their gifts and their limitations, and so are able to avoid both the unfaithfulness of letting their God-given powers lie fallow [inactive] and the foolhardiness of biting off more than they can chew.

-J.I Packer

Spiritual Depression

Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones speaks about spiritual depression. I think anyone can profit listening to this video.

X-TRA

Summer is underway! There's alot of benefits that come with a summer break and I am ready to reap them! I read an article about personal devotions right here, which was a timely reminder for myself. I think it's worth the read.

Relationship with God - Tim Challies answers the question: Should the basic rules of how we relate to others apply to God as well? 

Gambling - Is gambling a sin? Why is it bad? Phil Johnson helps out. Check out this article afterwards for more clarification...this one.  

Do you journal? - A simple question. Yet, the answer to it might mean alot. 

Is God a Monster? - For some, it might be hard to understand the depths of this post. Take your time; you will benefit. 

Gentleness - A forgotten virtue? 

How much does God want us to care for our physical bodies? John Piper let's you know through Scripture.

"Free grace can go into the gutter, and bring up a jewel!" -C.H. Spurgeon

Only Do What Your Heart Tells You

Princess Diana once said, “Only do what your heart tells you.”

This is a creed believed by millions. It’s a statement of faith in one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world. It’s a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs.

It states that your heart is a compass inside of you that will point you to your own true north if you can just see it clearly. Your heart is a true guide that will lead you to happiness if you can just tune into it. We are lost, and our heart will save us.

This sounds so simple and liberating. It’s tempting to believe.

Until you consider that your heart has sociopathic tendencies.

Think about it for a moment. What does your heart tell you?

Was Jesus a Liar?

Jesus claimed to be God. His claim must be either true or false, and everyone should give it the same kind of consideration he expected of his disciples when he put the question to them: "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15). -Josh McDowell

It was really refreshing to read McDowell's work. With logic and wit, he writes very persuasively. In talking about Christ as either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic, he sets out to find out if what Jesus claimed to be was really true: being God. I really enjoyed reading the section titled 'Was Jesus a Liar?'. I want to share it. Here's what he says:

If, when Jesus made his claims, he knew that he was not God, then he was lying and deliberately deceiving his followers. But if he was a liar, then he was also a hypocrite because he taught others to be honest whatever the cost. Worse than that, if he was lying, he was a demon because he told others to trust him for their eternal destiny. If he couldn't back up his claims and knew it, then he was unspeakably evil for deceiving his followers with such a false hope. Last, he would also be a fool because his claims to being God led to his crucifixion--claims he could have backed away from to save himself even at the last minute.

It amazes me to hear so many people say that Jesus was simply a good moral teacher. Let's be realistic. How could he be a great moral teacher and knowingly mislead people at the most important point of his teaching--his own identity?