The Scriptures are not silent when it instructs believers to be sensitive to opportunites to share the Gospel with unbelievers . However, what about if someone were sticking a gun at you? This is what a lady in Dyersburg, TN did.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
LORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY......AGAIN!!!!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always believed that one of the most fundamental things about prayer was that it is designed to teach the believer to totally depend on God's power to move in situations. For instance, when Jesus gave the LORD's prayer, didn't He instruct us to ask God to bring His Kingdom to pass, His will to be done on earth, to give us our daily bread, to forgive us of our debts, to guide us away from temptation, and to deliver us from Satan? Obviously, if we could do all these things on our own, then why ask God to do them for us?
I bring this point up because I have noticed that lately that many people are praying prayers where they are telling God what they will do, instead of depending on Him to do what needs to be done. For instance, I was at a prayer meeting yesterday and I heard things mentioned like, "Satan, I bind you in Jesus name"! "I take authority over that situation"! and "Lord, I speak against (this or that)"!
Now, putting aside the simple truth that nowhere in Scripture is such power given to the Christian, I have to ask the question: Can statements that brag about some "power" we have in Christ be considered a true prayer in light of the Biblical record? The answer to that is, No!
Sadly, in this age of Christian anti-intellectualism, many Christians are not following the Biblical models of such things as prayer and worship. But rather, many are taking their understandings from traditions and/or other mislead people who are just as (or even more) lazier than some of them when it comes to researching Bible interpretation and commands. And until Christians start trusting in the sole sufficiency of Scripture, crazy misperceptions will not only stay in the church, but will make many people reject the authority of Scripture altogether (if it's not already happening)!!!!
I bring this point up because I have noticed that lately that many people are praying prayers where they are telling God what they will do, instead of depending on Him to do what needs to be done. For instance, I was at a prayer meeting yesterday and I heard things mentioned like, "Satan, I bind you in Jesus name"! "I take authority over that situation"! and "Lord, I speak against (this or that)"!
Now, putting aside the simple truth that nowhere in Scripture is such power given to the Christian, I have to ask the question: Can statements that brag about some "power" we have in Christ be considered a true prayer in light of the Biblical record? The answer to that is, No!
Sadly, in this age of Christian anti-intellectualism, many Christians are not following the Biblical models of such things as prayer and worship. But rather, many are taking their understandings from traditions and/or other mislead people who are just as (or even more) lazier than some of them when it comes to researching Bible interpretation and commands. And until Christians start trusting in the sole sufficiency of Scripture, crazy misperceptions will not only stay in the church, but will make many people reject the authority of Scripture altogether (if it's not already happening)!!!!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
A QUOTE FROM JOHN CALVIN
Recently, I have been listening to past African-American Pastor Conference CDs, both as I exercise in the morning and drive to and from work each day, and I was strongly convicted by Rev. Anthony Carter's message, entitled "The Faith once Delivered", which he delivered at the 2001 African-American Pastor's Conference in Miami, FL.In this message, Rev. Carter instructed us to get familiar with "the Classics", those writings that have been a true blessing throughout all of Christian history. So, in following this command, I have started to re-read The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. And in doing so, I ran across a very powerful statement by Calvin in regards to comparing our human righteousness to that of God's:
For if in broad daylight we either look down upon the ground or survey whatever meets our view round about, we seem to ourselves endowed with the strongest and keenest sight; yet when we look up to the sun and gaze straight at it the power of sight which was particularly strong on Earth is at once blunted and confused by a great brillance, and thus we are compelled to admit that our keenness in looking upon things earthly is sheer dullness when it comes to the sun. So it happens in estimating our spiritual goodness. As long as we do not look beyond the earth, being quite content with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue, we flatter ourselves most sweetly, and fancy ourselves as demigods. Supoose we but once begin to raise our thoughts to God and to ponder His nature and how completely perfect are His righteousness, wisdom, and power--the straightedge to which we must be shaped. Then, what masquerading earleir as righteousness was pleasing in us will soon grow filthy in it consummate wickedness. What wonderfully impressed us under the name wisdom will stink in its very foolishness. What wore the face of power will prove itself the most miserable weakness. That is, what in us seems perfection itself corresponds ill to the purity of God. (Book I , Chapter I, Section I)
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