vassal of the King

Paul says: Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. Paul had a heart for the Jewish people. In fact, Paul loved the Jewish people so much and yearned for their salvation to such an overwhelming degree that he actually said: Romans 9:3-5 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh , 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Paul was saying, "if it was possible - which it was not because salvation is about God's effectual call on an individual's life - to be cut off and save his kindred, he would have done it. In Romans 10, Paul says that: Romans 10:2-3 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal

Read this short - 3 page - article from my hero, Steve Lawson. The Article is HERE . He hits the nail right on the head as far as preaching the Word of God is concerned in today's day and age. I find great encouragement and comfort knowing that there are godly men out there who are still preaching the biblical, authentic, real, and hard gospel such as this man. Oh how we need men to rise up and hear the calling in the Scriptures to: 1 Timothy 4:13 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. and 1 Timothy 4:15-16 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. This is my passion. This is where I am heading in life. May God see fit to use me in such awesome and powerful ways as he has used this man for the

I am a Disciple. The die has been cast, I have stepped over the line; The decision has been made, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will not look up, let up, slow down, back away or be still. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity; I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power. My pace is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, I will not hesitate in presence of adversity, I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, I will not ponder at the pool of popularity, nor meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, back up, let up or shut up until I have prayed up, preached up, stored up and stayed up b

1 Timothy 4:7-8 discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Notice, though, that it does NOT say that "bodily discipline is of NO profit." No, it is of little profit. So beware of attempting to look like this buff guy. Yet on the other hand, you don't want to be too puny like this little guy. Point of the post: Don't be obsessive about physical, bodily training. Yet, please keep in mind, there is some profit to it :=) Remember, if you ever see a fitness center with an escalator leading up to it, that should be a sure indication to not get a membership there :=)

I have been reading recently on German liberalism and how that is rooted in the Enlightenment period. The Enlightenment period could be summed up in the phrase " human reason. " Theologically, the Enlightenment period placed such an enormous amount of weight on human reason that everything else was subjected to reason. Thus, if there is something that happens in life that does not fit into my rationalistic understanding, then it must not be accurate. Take this back to 2,000 years ago and the record of Jesus' ministry that we have. If it is not rational for a grown man to walk on water, and the Bible says that this happened, then it surely must NOT be true . Furthermore, if it does not make sense that one man could feed a multitude of 5,000 men (excluding women and children) with just a few loaves of bread and a few small fish, then this surely could not have taken place. Thus what these Deists and Enlightenment period are advocating (which is still pervasive in our curr

The title of the article is Jesus’ burial site found. New film documents discovery of Jerusalem cave containing ten caskets believed to hold remains of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene and others. It begins by saying... The cave in which Jesus Christ was buried has been found in Jerusalem, claim the makers of a new documentary film. If it proves true, the discovery, which will be revealed at a press conference in New York Monday, could shake up the Christian world as one of the most significant archeological finds in history. The coffins which, according to the filmmakers held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene will be displayed for the first timeon Monday in New York. And more... Jointly produced by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and Oscar winning director James Cameron, the film tells the exciting and tortuous story of the archeological discovery. The story starts in 1980 in Jerusalem’s Talpiyot neighborhood, with the discove

You wonder if the words church and polygamy could even be in the same sentence. Well, they can. Unfortunately, the church of Latter Day Saints calls themselves a "church." Listen to this recent article entitled: ' Lost Boy' Sues Utah Polygamist Leader.' The article says: Saying he was kicked out of his home and his fundamentalist church, an 18-year-old man sued Tuesday to force polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to help him reconnect with his fami ly. And more... Attorneys for Johnny Jessop, 18, asked a state judge to order Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to tell Jessop how to find his 62-year-old mother, Elsie. Jessop has not spoken to his mother in more than 18 months, attorney Roger Hoole said. Jessop is among what may be dozens of so-called "Lost Boys" who say they were kicked out of the FLDS church in the past four years by Jeffs for being disobedient or because they were seen as competition to o

The goal of true Christian ministry: 1 Timothy 1:5 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Paul lays forth here what the goal of ministry is, namely love. This is not some superficial, feel good, narcissistic, psycho-therapeutic, self-authenticating love. Rather, this is the biblical idea of agape . The goal of our instruction in ministry - and especially for pastors and shepherds - is genuine, honest, heart-felt, Christlike love. Agape love is a selfless, unilateral, unconditional, serving and sacrificial kind of love. Perhaps the key word of agape love is sacrificial. That is the goal ( telos ) of our instruction. How often do we "do" ministry in a way or in a manner or with an attitude that is not loving, not selfless, not looking out for the welfare and needs of others? Paul is telling young Timothy that he is to " instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and

WHY I AM A PREMILLENNIALIST 7 REASONS WHY WE BELIEVE AND KNOW THAT PREMILLENNIALISM IS THE MOST ACCURATE WAY OF SEEING ESCHATOLOGY I. We start with a hermeneutic as our presupposition and NOT a theology this is of utmost importance. Our hermeneutic leads to our theology. We do NOT presuppose theology for OT interpretation We don’t adhere to principle of NT interpreting OT and thus we can interpret the OT We DO fully and unequivocally adhere to progressive revelation – that the NT was NOT given to undo or reinterpret everything of the OT. II. Exegetical integrity – how do we handle Revelation 20 We must start with hermeneutic and NOT presupposed theology The Bible’s use of #’s in Revelation 20 – 1,000 means 1,000. 4 rules for interpreting #’s in Bible 1. #’s should be conveyed at literal mathematical quantity unless it is absolutely clear from the context. 2. #’s referring to time must be literal 3. Never in Bible is a year used with a numerical adjective anything OTHER than literal 4.

We read in Ephesians 5: Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; Then the Psalmist in his magnificent song of praise to Yahweh says: Psalm 103:8-13 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9 He will not always strive with us; Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. Elizabeth and I recently ordered our wedding rings from Jerusalem. After many emails of correspondence, we found the ring, the engraving on the inside and what the outside will look like. Then they made the ring, packaged it and sent it off. I received it a few days

Really? Is that what we are supposed to do? Look at this article in the Washington Post entitled, " To Me, With Love Retailers Embrace Valentine's Day as an Excuse for Singles to Celebrate Themselves." Listen to some quotes from the article: Stores have long encouraged couples to show their devotion on Valentine's Day by dropping bucks on chocolates, roses and a bottle of wine of impressive provenance. But now some retailers are targeting singles -- and finding that many are willing to spend just as much as twosomes in indulging themselves this holiday ... "Valentine's Day always comes with a certain amount of expectation and angst," said Jennifer Olsen, senior director of marketing for Piperlime, an online shoe store owned by Gap. "We just wanted to turn that on its head and say: 'You know what? It's Valentine's Day. Give some love to yourself.' " It continues by reading: For many women, that love can be expressed in the form o

Listen to what Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus: Ephesians 4:30 - 5:1 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; Today I was convicted over some words that I had said. It is amazing how the Lord can immediately convict one and draw His child to almost immediate conviction. The Lord burdened me with this sin throughout the day. Listen to v. 31 again, it spoke volumes to my heart. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Not only are we commanded (in the Aorist which signifies URGENCY ! but it also is the imperative which could be translated, " Let these things urgently be take

I believe that this book is wrong. Here is why: How does one who holds to the view that the church is the new Israel (or what some have called, replacement theology ) reconcile the verse in Romans 11:26 when Paul says: Romans 11:26 26 and thus all Israel will be saved ; just as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob." If, as some propose, that the church = the nation of Israel in the OT and NT, then how do they reconcile this verse. How could all the church be saved? This is a ludicrous statement. All the church is already saved. I have read through Romans myself and I find that there are no occurrences of the term "Israel" that means anything other than literal, national, ethnic Israel . Reread the context: Romans 11:24-26 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches be

This morning, after my devotions, I wanted to sit back and read more of the Scriptures. So I opened up to the book of 1 Timothy. It is my ambition, as of late, to study the Pastorals (1, 2 Timothy and Titus) and really - I mean really - understand what the Apostle Paul is saying in these books. So, I sat back, opened up my NAS Bible and read through 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus. It only took me about 30 minutes. That's it. As I read the entirety of these books, I noticed things, emphases, words, significant concepts that I have completely missed before in my studies of these books. My point? Oftentimes it can be beneficial for us to read Scripture in bulk . Not to have the credential to say that "I read a lot of Scripture today." But on the other hand, to understand how a particular text (or pericope ) fits into the larger context of the book as a whole. For me, reading these three books was truly a blessing. The many many times that Paul encourages both young Timot

I can't take credit for this blog. I copied this post from a good friend of mine, Gunner 's blog. It really disturbed and sobered me. I pray that it disturbs and sobers you too. He said: The other day I heard that a friend’s relative was dying and would likely die soon. Later that morning I heard the news that he had died. He did not believe in Jesus. As hard as it is to know that someone is suffering physical misery in this life and as much as we may end up desiring that the Lord allow them to die so that they can be relieved of it in the here and now, there is no comparison between the temporal pain experienced here on earth and the eternal horrors of those who are rightfully punished for rejecting the God who made them. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Not only are the tortures of hell horrific, but the future of its inhabitants is hopeless. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, no bright sunrise following the n

This is good. This is the second half of the super bowl. The score is the Calvinists - 14, and the Arminians - O. Listen to this segment of the second half of this exciting and thrilling game. :=) Let me know what you think. Watch it HERE

Look out! You make your own choices. God gives you the freewill to choose "yes" or "no." And, of course, God doesn't know what you will choose. REALLY? Listen to this song and to the bad lyrics. This is why we must pay attention to lyrics in songs that we sing. Listen HERE .

The pastor's conference is now going on at Bethlehem Baptist Church. RC Sproul preached a sermon on the "Holiness of God" from Isaiah 6. It is an exceptional sermon. I invite you to click here and listen to an excellent treatment of the Holiness of God. Listen HERE .

If you want a good laugh , then click HERE to listen to a great (and hilarious) "football.... game "?!?!? It seems as though MacArthur was really doing well, I vote him as game MVP :=)

In the days of Luther and Calvin, people knew their Bibles. Even if they didn't believe the Bible, they still knew it and knew what was in it. Unfortunately, that could not be farther from the reality of what is found today in the average church pew. Frankly, people don't know their Bible. We have people who sit in our pews who don't know where the Book of Ephesians may be - and these people grew up in the church. We have people that don't know where the book of Psalms is - and they have been to church all their lives. What does this show? Our culture is completely biblically illiterate . So what is the difference between the preaching of modern heralders of the Word and Luther and Calvin? Simply that they operated in a world of extreme biblical knowledge. You and I operate in biblical illiteracy. It was a different world then. Understand this, at that time - during the Reformation and Enlightenment era, these people heard 17,000 hours of preaching in their lifetime.

Those beaches work hard at cleaning themsleves... Is it always "adjective" forbidden? or "absolutely" forbidden? :=) Though I know Jewish people love their children, I don't know if golden is always a synonym for "children" :=)

This is brief, but gives a concise background of the life, conversion and ministry of this hero of the faith. John Bunyan was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. He also, of course, wrote The Pilgrim’s progress. Bunyan was born in 1628 – in Elstow, England (a few miles from Bedford) . His father was a tinker (that is, an itinerant mender of pots and pans and repairer and manufacturer). It eventually became Bunyan’s occupation. What you may not know is that Bunyan had no more than a grammar school education. Then he joined army after mother died. He left home at 16 ½ to be part of the army (for 2 years). He then got married – both were unsaved and both were completely physically pure - by the grace of God - in his own words. When they were married, they were so poor that her only diary was 2 books from her father. God’s Word's spoken through the Apostle Paul which say: “ my grace is sufficient for Thee ” was his verse (2 Cor 12:9). Once Bunyan got saved at a local church, he then