The Pursuit of Holiness (01/31/06 - 13 Comments)
It took me twenty five years to read Jerry Bridge's book The Pursuit of Holiness. A short while ago I received the "25th Anniversary Edition" and devoted much of this weekend to reading and absorbing the book. This book has become something of a modern day classic. Having read it, I know why! It is a deeply challenging book and one I'm sure I will read again before another twenty five years have elapsed. The...
There Was No One At All (01/30/06 - 12 Comments)
It was just about a year ago that I first posted an article about my Aunt Nancy, a woman who was the subject of a popular, mysterious song written decades ago. Every few months I find myself reflecting once more on the life of my aunt. Despite having something else I had planned on writing for today, it just seemed right to me to spend some time editing an article I wrote last year. For...
Faux Pas? (01/29/06 - 51 Comments)
I'm going to give you an opportunity to end a friendly little marital dispute. Feel free to chime in through the comments section as we try to solve this one. Aileen believes it is rude to ask yourself over to another person's home. I disagree. I see nothing wrong with asking a person if we can come over either just to hang out or even for lunch. This may be as simple as saying, "So...
King For A Week - JD Wetterling (01/29/06 - 2 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines to my left sidebar. While this is really not much, I do feel that it allows me to encourage and support other bloggers while making my readers aware...
How To Interpret The Bible For Yourself (01/28/06 - 4 Comments)
Richard Mayhue is Dean of Studies at the Master's Seminary and has sufficient credibility to write a volume about how to properly interpret the Bible. Writing in a simple and straightforward manner, he describes the process of "cutting it straight," a term he borrows from Paul's message to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15. Though the passage is most often translated "handling accurately the word of truth" the literal sense is "cutting it straight." This book...
Friday Frivolity (01/27/06 - 21 Comments)
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, this has been a bit of a crazy week. The primary reason is a really good one: Aileen and I just completed the purchase of our first house. We are now waiting only for a piece of paper to change hands from our lawyer to our real estate agent and it's a done deal. While we would have preferred a single home property, housing prices in this...
"I Think I've Said All I Want To Say" (01/27/06 - 6 Comments)
I read a lot of books last year. I didn't bother to count them but I know it was well over 100. It is inevitable that, having read that quantity of books, some of them made little impact on me. Some of them were read and slowly (or even quickly) drifted out of my mind. But there are a few that have stayed with me. There are a few that stand out above the rest....
Invisible Children (01/26/06 - 21 Comments)
In the spring of 2003, three young Americans set out for Africa, in search of adventure and a story. They found what they were looking for. They found a tragedy that changed their lives and has since changed the lives of many who have heard the story. They found the invisible children of Uganda. Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey headed to Africa with a desire to have their lives changed. Armed with camera...
Knee Jerk Reactions (01/25/06 - 63 Comments)
I enjoy Ingrid Schlueter's blog, Slice of Laodicea, and not just because I designed it and it is still near the top of my list of favorite designs I've made. Ingrid keeps on top of the trends in Christianity. Her blog is an ongoing source for what is happening in the church. By keeping up with her blog you'll keep up with some of the worst of what is being introduced to the church under...
Unnatural (01/25/06 - 6 Comments)
I have had a terribly chaotic week, the reason for which I'll tell you tomorrow. Added to the chaos has been illness and a general lack of sleep, so despite my best efforts I just couldn't put pen to paper this morning. I have learned the hard way that it is best not to write than to write when I'm only half awake! However, after I watched a particularly moving DVD early this morning (a...
Election Reflections (01/24/06 - 22 Comments)
We have a new Prime Minister here in the Great White North. After thirteen years of the Liberal Party reigning in Canada, the Conservatives have fought back. Thirteen years of corruption and mismanagement left Canadians angry and disillusioned with a party that seemed as intent on destroying Canada as they did on protecting it. Now it is the Conservative's turn to prove that they can do better. There is much reason for hope. For the...
ABC remaking 'The Ten Commandments' (01/23/06 - 7 Comments)
Veteran film producer Robert Halmi is remaking The Ten Commandments for ABC Television. The two-part film will be broadcast over the upcoming Easter weekend. ABC will not break with tradition by cancelling its traditional broadcast of the original version of the film (produced in 1956) which starred, of course, Charlton Heston. ABC President Stephen McPherson said, "Do viewers come in to watch the old one and then get enticed to watch a new one?" he...
The Profound Blessings of Blogging (01/23/06 - 22 Comments)
Over the past few weeks I have read several articles about blogging written by and for Christians. On the whole these articles acknowledge the possible utility of blogging, yet warn against investing oneself too heavily in this new medium. While many people see that blogs are probably here to stay and that they do have much practical value, there are many who remain skeptical. Based on an article he posted on Saturday, it seems that...
Book Review - Ashamed of the Gospel (01/22/06 - 19 Comments)
It was just over one hundred years ago that the great preacher Charles Spurgeon began the long battle that would ultimately cost him his life. He saw in the church of that era a trend away from the preaching of the gospel and towards entertainment. The church began to focus on pleasing people rather than preaching the gospel in all its offense and power. The battle Spurgeon waged became known as The Downgrade Controversy. Now,...
King for a Week - Fide-O (01/21/06 - 3 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines to my left sidebar. While this is really not much, I do feel that it allows me to encourage and support other bloggers while making my readers aware...
Blessed Are The Underappreciated (01/20/06 - 15 Comments)
Our culture has an obsession with underappreciation. Everywhere you look there are discussions about this topic. I cannot think of many subjects that are discussed more in the sports world; there are always and forever discussions about which player is the most underappreciated or which position generates the lowest amount of recognition. Look around and you'll soon find discussions of songs, films, actors, blogs and books that are underappreciated. It seems that we are always...
Book Review - Abandoned to God (01/19/06 - 9 Comments)
I have to admit: Only a few years ago I was quite convinced that Oswald Chambers simply could not be worth reading. I had first heard of the man through the context of a sudden rush of interest that seemed to be spearheaded by the Christian music industry. Several Christian artists banded together to record an album and the devotional classic My Utmost For His Highest was packaged with it. I assumed, somewhat unfairly, that...
Book Review - One Minute Answers To Skeptics' Top Forty Questions (01/19/06 - 4 Comments)
Sharing our faith with others is almost always difficult. It is rarely easy to share with another person that he is a sinner and in need of a Savior. The foolishness of the gospel makes us feel like fools. Yet it is our great honor and privilege and responsibility to be fools for Christ and to serve Him by sharing the good news with others. Despite this, we are often unprepared. When friends or acquaintances...
Dr. Mohler on Larry King Live (Recap) (01/18/06 - 32 Comments)
As you may know, Al Mohler was a guest on Larry King Live last night, discussing homosexuality in general, and homosexual marriage in particular. The impetus for the discussion was, of course, the film Brokeback Mountain which won several Golden Globe awards on Monday night and which seems primed to walk away with several Academy Awards a few weeks from now. The members of last night's panel were: "conservative radio host Janet Parshall; the openly...
Albert Mohler on Larry King Tonight (01/17/06 - 7 Comments)
First off, I'd like to take an opportunity to clarify something about the article I posted this morning. My friend Paul Martin posted a comment here and at his blog (and at Justin Taylor's blog, for that) where he warned against making the issue of watching the film The End of the Spear an issue of clear, biblical right or wrong. "In issues like this one, it our duty to think in the realm of...
The End of the Spear - Further Thoughts (01/17/06 - 122 Comments)
Last week I posted an article in which I pointed out that Chad Allen, the actor who plays Nate and Steve Saint in the upcoming film The End of the Spear is homosexual. In the article I simply posted the information without providing much commentary upon the decision of the producers to cast a homosexual as a Christian missionary. There has been a lot of discussion about this article (65 comments and counting), showing that...
Book Review - Women's Ministry in the Local Church (01/17/06 - 1 Comments)
Women's Ministry in the Local Church, authored by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt, is a practical book that seeks to provide guidance on how and why a church can and should have an effective women's ministry. It is a timely book, arriving at a point when the church is in need of this type of biblical guidance. The role of women in the church has been an area of great dispute of late, though...
Assurance of Salvation (Part 3) (01/16/06 - 25 Comments)
Today we will conclude this short three-part series dealing with assurance of salvation by discussing first the basis of assurance and then some marks of salvation. We have all known people who think they are saved when all the evidence points elsewhere. It is a sad fact, and one we examined in the second part of this series, that many who think themselves Christians are not. At the final judgment many will approach Jesus convinced...
Book Review - The Grace and Truth Paradox (01/15/06 - 4 Comments)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1). Jesus, our Lord and our God, was and is full of grace and truth. We, his people, have far too often been anything but. It is this...
Book Review - Choosing A Bible (01/15/06 - 17 Comments)
Choosing a Bible used to be an easy task. Only a few decades ago there were only two or three translations to choose from, giving a person very little in the way of options. The situation today is far different. We are inundated with translations of Scripture and it seems that a major new translation hits the store shelves every couple of years. Terms like "dynamic equivalent," "formal equivalent," and "paraphrase" are tossed around but...
Book Review - Damage Control (01/14/06 - 0 Comments)
Damage Control makes for a good half-book. Were we to skim a little from the early pages and cut a few chapters from the back it would really be quite good. Somewhat unfortunately, the book is 170 pages rather than 80 or 90. Damage Control is a book that seeks to help Christians stop making Jesus look bad. And surely we can all learn to be more effective, consistent witnesses of His power and grace....
The Art of Ron Cowle (01/13/06 - 4 Comments)
A couple of years ago I made a web site for Ron Cowle who happens to be both an exceptionally gifted artist and my uncle. The design for his site was really quite unique because he sat with me at my desk while I created it. My job as the designer was to translate his vision for the site from his sketchbook onto the computer screen. So really the design was more his than it...
Advertising and Cable Television (01/13/06 - 51 Comments)
Not too long ago I mentioned that my wife and I were ready to give up cable television. Perhaps strangely, our concern stemmed not only or even primarily from the content of television shows. After all, if we do not like the content of a show we can easily simply avoid watching it. Will and Grace is a show that glamorizes the homosexual lifestyle. We do not like the show and what it represents so...
Assurance of Salvation (Part 2) (01/12/06 - 13 Comments)
On Tuesday we began a short series on assurance of salvation, a series that was rudely interrupted by my site crashing. I sought to show that, in many ways, contemporary evangelicalism can create an atmosphere in which many who consider themselves may have false assurance of their salvation. A decision-based system of conversion and regeneration has been historically proven to create many who believe they are Christians, yet who show little evidence of conversion. I...
And...We're Back (Again) (01/11/06 - 17 Comments)
After posting a hopeful note earlier in which I hoped (against hope, really) that everything on the site had been worked out, I ran into more trouble. I've now blown an entire day on this problem and have had little choice but to revert to the older Movabletype-based commenting system. You know, the same one every other blog has. So much for originality. Anyways, you should now be able to post comments and you'll no...
Coming Soon: The End of the Spear (01/11/06 - 175 Comments)
My friend Randy Brandt, who blogs at Contend 4 The Faith, has written a short article speculating on whether or not the producers of the upcoming film The End of the Spear have committed financial suicide with their casting. Let me fill you on the controversy. But first, here is a brief synopsis of The End of the Spear: "A savage killer from a remote Amazon tribe becomes grandfather to the grandchildren of the North...
And...We're Back (For Now) (01/11/06 - 2 Comments)
I woke up this morning to find my site replaced by a little message saying "Your account has been suspended. We have sent you an email explaining why. This email should also contain information on how you can unsuspend your account." That was quite a rude awakening and managed to throw my entire day into a state of chaos. The message I received in my email said little more than "Hey, by the way, we...
King for a Week - Pyromaniac (01/10/06 - 0 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines to the left sidebar of my site. While this is really not much, I do feel that it allows me to give honor where I feel honor is...
Sincerity and Assurance of Salvation (01/10/06 - 0 Comments)
If I were to ask you, "How do you know that you are a Christian?" how would you respond? Where do you look for your assurance of salvation? Do you look inside yourself? Do you look to the past - perhaps to an act or decision you made? Or do you look outside of yourself? I have written in the past about the doctrine of assurance of salvation, a belief John MacArthur rightly calls "the...
Debate: Pagitt versus DeWaay (01/09/06 - 0 Comments)
For all the discussion created by and about the Emerging Church there has been precious little formal debate about the important issues at stake. I know of pastors or theologians who have attempted to debate the issues only to have their requests refused. Finally, though, we are about to see a significant debate. On January 20, 2006 Bob DeWaay and Doug Pagitt will debate "The Emergent Church and Postmodern Spirituality: Dangerous Trends or Necessary Changes...
Do Not Cast Me Off in the Time of Old Age (01/09/06 - 0 Comments)
It was just about a year ago that I was invited to submit an article for publication in a small periodical that reaches a couple of Reformed denominations. The editor told me that they were planning an issue dealing with "-isms" and I decided to write about "ageism," something I feel is becoming an increasing concern both within the church and without. I posted an expanded version of the article (which for the magazine had...
Brokeback Watch (01/08/06 - 0 Comments)
I don't have a whole lot to say about the film Brokeback Mountain beyond what I wrote last week in the article Rape of the Marlboro Man. The media, on the other hand, just can't get enough. It has apparently been worthy of national media attention that one theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah, has decided not to show the film. "A movie theater owned by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller abruptly changed its screening...
Book Review - Is God Really In Control? (01/07/06 - 0 Comments)
The degree to which God controls the world is a topic that has received much debate in Christian circles through the past two or three decades. Where Christians once uniformly affirmed God's absolute sovereignty over this world, today this is an area of great dispute. The aftermath of recent natural disasters has shown that there are two distinct beliefs within Christendom. Some claim that God is absolutely sovereign and controls everything within His creation. Others...
The Ultimate Human Judgment (01/06/06 - 0 Comments)
Sometimes my sense of duty seems to come into conflict with my instincts. This almost inevitably leads to duty laying a playground beating on instincts and stealing his lunch money. You see, I attempt to respond to every email that I receive, but every now and then I receive one that just seems like bad news. This happened a couple of days ago. I received one that contained an essay in which the author, with...
Pray for John Piper (01/06/06 - 0 Comments)
John Piper has just announced to the members of Bethlehem Baptist Church that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Please pray for him, that God would see fit to heal him and extend his ministry to his family, his local church and to all of us who have so benefitted from his teaching. Here is the text of the letter that was sent to his church family: Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Dear Bethlehem Family,...
Book Review - Velvet Elvis (01/05/06 - 0 Comments)
In his basement Rob Bell has a Velvet Elvis. A genuine, bought-by-the-side-of-the-road Velvet Elvis. Bell uses this image of a work of art stashed in the basement behind suitcases and boxes as a metaphor for churches that are out of date. For thousands of years followers of Jesus, like artists, have understood that we have to keep going, exploring what it means to live in harmony with God and each other. The Christian faith tradition...
When I Grow Up... (01/04/06 - 0 Comments)
I don't do memes. I have not (to my recollection) done a single one of them since the dawn of this site. I have often been tagged to do them but have always resisted because, quite frankly, I don't care what character I most resemble, but it a character from Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Napoleon Dynamite. I also don't really care to know what theological system I most clearly adhere to, what type...
King for a Week - Between Two Worlds (01/03/06 - 0 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines to the left sidebar of my site. While this is really not much, I do feel that it allows me to give honor where I feel honor is...
Gambling and Legalism (01/03/06 - 0 Comments)
I recently posted a review of Dave Swavely's recent book Who Are You To Judge?, a book which discusses judging and legalism. I recommend that you read the review before you continue with this article. I would like to discuss a particular application of Swavely's teaching. At one point he discusses gambling and provides the following scenario:
Imagine a man named Bill, who has gambled two times in his life, while on vacation in Atlantic City and Reno. In both cases he did it merely to have fun, and maybe to win enough to pay for his hotel room that night. He took $20 with him to the casino, which is about what he might pay for other vacation fun, like video games or movies. He planned to leave when the $20 was gone, or when his set time limit was up, whichever came first. Both times he quit when his time limit was up, one time leaving with about the same amount of money he started with, and the second time with about $120. In the first case he was thanking God that he had a new experience that was enjoyable, and in the second case he was thanking God that his hotel room was paid for (see Romans 14:6 for why thanking God is important in situations like this).
Book Review - Who Are You To Judge? (01/03/06 - 0 Comments)
Who Are You To Judge? by Dave Swavely is a book that deals primarily with legalism. It defines judging and legalism in a biblical manner, and discusses two often-overlooked biblical commands: Do not pass judgment before the time and do not exceed what is written. Swavely teaches that learning to identify and avoid these problems will help promote peace and joy in the body of Christ, and release believers to serve God in the freedom...
Design Updates (01/02/06 - 0 Comments)
At long last and after many promises I have finally changed the color of the site. The background is no longer the red that some people loved while other people despised, but is now a subtle grey pattern. It is not quite as interesting but should be at least somewhat more conducive to reading. Those who have read the site for more than a few months will remember the former design which featured a banner...
For the Love of India (01/02/06 - 0 Comments)
In the summer of 1805 a young man set sail on the long, perilous journey to India. He left friends, family and prospects behind in order to serve as a missionary in a foreign land. Already suffering the tuberculosis, the disease that had claimed the life of his mother and would soon also claim his two sisters, he forsook the prospects of a comfortable life as a minister or scholar and travelled to the far...
Happy New Year (01/01/06 - 0 Comments)
And just like that 2006 is upon us. I rang in 2006 in the same way I've rung in most of the last few years: I watched television from 11:59 until 12:01 and turned it off before the "Happy New Year" banner had been removed from the screen. Then I went to bed, whispered "happy new year" to my sleeping wife and quickly drifted off to sleep! Thankfully the neighbours did not see fit to...
