While we are arguing over what often amounts to twiddle-dee-dee and twiddle-dee-dum, there are some pretty amazing things happening in other places on the other side of the world. The other day I came across this 5 1/2-minute video clip: http://youtu.be/MBtBHZtdU78 I’m not sure how many of us in the States are aware of what is going on in places like Nigeria. Certainly, if the events of this video clip happened in the United States, it would be headline news on all the major news outlets. I am by no means defending everything associated with the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke, Daniel … [Read more...] about Revival: True, False, and In-between?
Hearing God, Part 2
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. C. Austin Miles Principle #1. In order to hear God, you must first expect for God to speak to you. God may already be speaking to you. But if you don’t expect Him to speak, it is likely you won’t hear Him. There are some who read the Bible like they were reading a history book, nothing more. And, then they say that it is boring. One of the main ways God speaks to us today is through the Bible. Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is … [Read more...] about Hearing God, Part 2
Hearing God, Part 1
What is God’s main purpose for us? To have a relationship of love with Him. Romans 5:11 (NLT). So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Has anyone ever heard of a meaningful relationship in which both participants don’t communicate with each other? If we are going to have a love relationship with God, that means we must talk with God. But not only talk to God. It would not be a very healthy relationship if one of the participants did all the talking, and the other always listened. In order to have a healthy … [Read more...] about Hearing God, Part 1
The Present-Day Relevance of the Universal Church
With the following words, The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 recognizes the New Testament existence of both the local and universal aspects of the church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth... The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ … [Read more...] about The Present-Day Relevance of the Universal Church
D. A. Carson on Angry Christians and the Devil’s Tactics
The other day as I was listening online to D. A. Carson lecture on Revelation, I came across a very insightful and relevant snippet and decided to transcribe what he said here. The following quotation comes from Part 18 of Carson's lectures on Revelation, posted at The Gospel Coalition Resource page on June 17, 2005. It is taken from the portion of the audio file that runs from 18:48 to 22:00. You can listen to the entire lecture here. One of the things that troubles me about American society—about North America, and I include Canada in this, and Western European Christian society, to some … [Read more...] about D. A. Carson on Angry Christians and the Devil’s Tactics
Choosing Sides
Editor: This was originally published at sbcIMPACT on June 30, 2009. David gave me permission to republish it here. It is amazing to me how currently this 3-year-old post is! It is human nature to choose sides. All of us do it all of the time. We choose: between good guys and bad guys; between those with white hats and those with black hats; between red-blooded Americans and everybody else; between Republicans and Democrats; between the Moral Majority and the Immoral Minority; between Baptists and those of other denominations; between Conservatives and Liberals; or—if you please—between … [Read more...] about Choosing Sides
Changing Hearts and Changing Votes
A few simple propositions… Our task, as Christians, is working together with God to change people’s hearts, not change their votes. We don’t change people’s votes in order to change their hearts. But neither do we change people’s hearts IN ORDER to change their votes. We change people’s hearts in order to change their hearts, and to bring God glory. Once someone’s heart is changed, it may well affect the way they vote. But that is between them and God. A disproportionate emphasis on changing people’s votes may become a stumbling block that gets in the … [Read more...] about Changing Hearts and Changing Votes
Denominational Democracy, Trusting Trustees, Blogs, and Dave Miller
At the SBC in New Orleans, Lifeway Director Thom Rainer reported that the Lifeway Trustees had reviewed a resolution passed at last year’s convention in Phoenix requesting them to discontinue sales of the 2011 NIV Bible. Since the point of this post does not have to do primarily with the perceived virtues and/or defects of the 2011 NIV, I will not lay these arguments out here. The relevant point is that the Lifeway Board of Trustees, upon consulting with experts and reviewing the reasons given at last year’s convention supporting the resolution, decided to ignore the recommendation of the … [Read more...] about Denominational Democracy, Trusting Trustees, Blogs, and Dave Miller
The Mordecai Dilemma
Here’s a little exercise in advanced level hermeneutics for some of you theological thinkers out there. I came across this passage the other day, and although I have read it various times in the past, the implications of what it said struck me like never before, and quite frankly, left me a bit perplexed. The passage, in case you want to know right up front, is Esther chapters 9 and 10, though I want to set the stage a bit before diving into it. In order to help you understand what it is about this passage that causes me such consternation, let me go over a few of my interpretational … [Read more...] about The Mordecai Dilemma
Adrian Rogers on Solving the Problems of the World and the Mission of the Church
I just came across this quote, and thought it was pretty relevant to the current discussion on the mission of the church. Now the problem with the world today is we've never really seen where the problem is. And the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart, which is desperately wicked. But I wouldn't expect anyone to stand up in Congress and say, "Gentlemen, the problem is sin." Would you expect that? Or would you expect someone to stand up in one of our great universities—a PhD—and say, "Sirs, I have finally found the problem with mankind. It's sin"? Of course not! Would … [Read more...] about Adrian Rogers on Solving the Problems of the World and the Mission of the Church