Monday, September 29, 2008
Jesus is Worthy of My Life
Repentance that Leads to Revival
Your Share
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Proverbs 22:7
It dawned upon me that with our national debt headed for ten trillion dollars, and with our population around 400 million, that means my family of five owns a $125,000 share of that debt. In other words, if the debt were to be spread out evenly, Uncle Sam would have to extract an additional $125,000 in taxes out of ME, over and above what I am already paying, in order to break even! Ummmm...I don't have that.
The Bible makes it clear that the borrower is a servant to the lender. This is true for individuals, but I would argue for governments as well.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Why Are They Mad?
Many in England are in an uproar this week because Baroness Mary Helen Warnock told the Church of Scotland's Life and Work magazine that those with dementia have a "duty to die." She said, "If you're demented, you're wasting people's lives -- your family's lives -- and you're wasting the resources of the National Health Service."
The irony here is that most of those who are upset have already decided that not all life is worthy of protection, especially those within the womb. They arrived at that conclusion by claiming that not all human life is actual "personhood." For a life to be a person, they have to demonstrate several qualities, such as communication and awareness. If that argument is followed to its natural conclusion, then those outside of the womb, including senior adults, who no longer meet the criteria of personhood are no longer worthy of legal protection. Add to that the fact that patients with dementia cost taxpayers a lot of money and thus, lower the services provided to the rest of society, and the result is that some patients with forms of dementia have a duty to die.
Baroness Warnock is as wrong as wrong can be. In fact, I will call her thoughts "evil." But let's also admit that she is consistently applying the arguments made by those who have argued for legalized abortion. Once abortion is ok because personhood is redefined, this is where you eventually arrive. And this is why we must defend the right to life of all "persons" both in the womb and out.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Just Getting Started
Southern Baptists just love numbers. Here are the current totals for Disaster Relief workers currently ministering in the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike:
Volunteer Days - 10,369
Meals Prepared - 1,318,907
Chainsaw Jobs - 629
Showers - 18,051
Laundry Loads - 2,944
Water (Gallons) - 700
Messages - 830
Chaplaincy Contacts - 1,381
Professions of Faith - 99
Gospel Presentations - 158
Ministry Contacts - 11,562
We often wonder why God allows such tragedies to occur, but we can identify 99 persons who have accepted Christ after hearing the gospel from a disaster relief worker. You think anyone in heaven (where the celebration is taking place) is questioning God's judgment?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Am I Smart Now?
I entered by blog address into a web tool that scans your blog and determines its reading level. And this blog is supposedly post-grad level stuff. Yeah, right.
"Unplowed Ground"
Here is the message I preached September 7 from Hosea 10:11-12 in preparation for our "Heal Our Land" Spiritual renewal conference. It will be available online for about one month.
Pray for Ray Boltz
One of the first Christian Contemporary cassettes I ever purchased as a teenager was "The Altar" by Ray Boltz. Who in "evangelical-world" hasn't heard someone sing "Thank You" or "Watch the Lamb?" (The former was actually sung at Mother Teresa's funeral.)
Monday, September 15, 2008
One Million Meals
One million meals have already been prepared by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief for victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the month of September alone. What a great testimony. You can donate to the efforts here.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Taking a Stand
James Ryan is the pastor of True North Community Church in New York. His church was offered a share of a $3 million dollar lottery jackpot...and turned it down. Pastor Ryan rightly saw the hypocrisy of accepting gambling proceeds while preaching against gambling.
Someone will ask, "But what about all of the good that could have been done with the money?" Look at it this way: If someone robbed a bank and told me they were donating the stolen money to our church, would we accept it? Absolutely not. Stolen money is stolen money. It matters not how it was stolen.
Monday, September 8, 2008
For the record...
#1 - I am the only person you know who predicted that McCain would pick Palin as VP.
#2 - I have never seen the kind of sexism that has been heaped upon Palin by the press. From her husband's DWI over two decades ago to the suggestion that her son is actually her grandson...unelievable. No one would think of asking these questions of a male candidate. I think the media overplayed their hand on this one. The public may revolt.
As for the issue of a woman being president in light of Biblical teachings on the church and family, here's a good article to consider.