Those Who Sleep in the Dust Will Awake

Around that time, our neighborhood began the annual ritual of decorating for Halloween. When my neighbors hung their orange lights on October 1, it seemed a bit early, but I told myself it was no big deal. I didn't want to be the Grinch of Halloween. I love a carved pumpkin, bales of hay, a few corncobs, and a silly costume. And I'm all for loading up on bite-size candy bars. But then came the afternoon in late October when I drove through the neighborhood and passed a house showcasing a hearse with a casket coming out the back. A few doors down, several skeletons were hanging from trees. It felt like a punch in the stomach.

We buried our daughter, Hope, in the heat of June. Nothing in my life has ever felt so wrong as putting her body in the grave and simply walking away. Then came that October morning when there was frost on the ground and a nip in the air and the heat came on in our house for the first time, giving off the smell of burning dust. I lay in bed, feeling a wave of resistance and resentment toward the cold. I thought about the cold earth surrounding Hope's body and I wept, feeling a sense of helplessness in surrendering her body to the coming winter. It's a mom's job to keep her child warm, isn't it?   Continue at Nancy Guthrie

When Does Life Begin? What Do the Textbooks Say?

One of the major trends many of us have witnessed over the years has been the way God has basically been thrown out of the public education system, including secular colleges and universities. Students often have to contend with teaching that is contradictory to God’s Word—especially when it comes to the origin of the universe.

What about public education and the question of when human life starts? A biology textbook author recently wrote an article in which she discusses the variety of views secular biologists have on when human life begins. Dr. Ricki Lewis is one of the authors of McGraw-Hill’s biology textbook Life (as well as a number of other books) and is an adjunct professor of genetics at Albany Medical College.

Now, Dr. Lewis acknowledges that biology textbooks don’t usually take a strong stand on when human life begins:   Continue at Ken Ham

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have Made a Foetus

His Grace would like to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the announcement that they are expecting their first baby. Girl or boy, he or she is destined to ascend the Throne and reign over the United Kingdom (should it remain united) and the Dominions overseas.

But His Grace is puzzled. 

Everywhere he turns he reads about a Royal baby. Even The Guardian talks of the couple 'expecting their first child', despite the Duchess being in the 'very early stages' of pregnancy. We are told that the couple 'are to be parents', and that this 'will be the Queen's third great-grandchild', and 'a first grandchild for Prince Charles'. 

And the child's birthright is acknowledged: yes, he or she is 'destined to wear the crown one day'; he or she 'will become third in line to the throne', which the Prime Minister described it as 'absolutely wonderful news'. Even Ed Miliband tweeted: 'Fantastic news for Kate, William and the country. A royal baby is something the whole nation will celebrate.'

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said: "The whole nation will want to join in celebrating this wonderful news. We wish the Duchess the best of health and happiness in the months ahead." 

And speculation abounds about the name: Charles? Diana? With The Guardian freely referring to 'their baby' and already anticipating his or her 'first day at school'. 

Baby? Destiny? Parents? Great-grandchild? School? Even the Twitter hashtag is #RoyalBaby. 

Surely such 'pro-choice' newspapers and journals (and people) should be talking about a bunch of pluripotent stem cells, an embryo or a foetus? For reports suggest that the Duchess is still in her first trimester, so this is not yet a baby; and certainly nothing with any kind of destiny. At this stage, surely, it is a non-person, just like the other 201,931 non-persons who last year were evacuated from wombs in England, Scotland and Wales.

Or are royal foetuses endowed with full humanity from the point of conception?  HT: Archbishop Cranmer

Questions for Our Pro-Abortion Friends, Church Leaders, and Politicians

What shall we call the unborn in the womb?

If the entity is a living thing, is it not a life? If your person began as a single cell, how can that fertilized egg be something other than a human being? Isn’t it more accurate to say you were an embryo than that you simply came from one? 

So when does a human being have a right to life?

Shall we say size matters? Is the unborn child too small to deserve our protection? Are big people more valuable than little people? Are men more human than woman? Do offensive linemen have more rights than jockeys? Is the life in the womb of no account because you can’t hold him in our arms, or put him in your hands, or only see her on a screen?

Shall we make intellectual development and mental capacity the measure of our worth? Are three year-old children less valuable than thirteen year-olds? Is the unborn child less than fully human because he cannot speak or count or be self-aware? Does the cooing infant in the crib have to smile or shake your hand or recite the alphabet before she deserves another day? If an expression of basic mental acuity is necessary to be a full-fledged member of the human community, what shall do with the comatose, the very old, or the fifty year-old mom with Alzheimer’s? And what about all of us who sleep?

Shall we deny the unborn child’s right to life because of where he lives? Can environment give us value or take it away? Are we worth less inside than outside? Can we be justly killed when we swim under water? Does where we are determine who we are? Does the eight inch journey down the birth canal make us human? Does this change of scenery turn “its” into persons? Is love a condition of location?  Continue at Kevin DeYoung

What Would Francis Schaeffer Say to the Gospel-Centered Movement?

As I recently read through Crossway’s collection of the Letters of Francis Schaeffer, I was struck by how applicable Schaeffer’s insights are today, particularly in regard to evangelical movements, leaders, and doctrine. His counsel deserves to be heeded by those of us in the “gospel-centered” stream of evangelicalism.

With this in mind, I have selected some favorite excerpts from these letters and woven them together creatively. Using Schaeffer’s own words, I am imagining out loud what counsel he might give us today.

What Francis Schaeffer Might Say to the Gospel-Centered Movement Today

1. Make sure your loyalty to Christ supersedes any loyalty you have for the “movement.”

[Brothers and sisters,] I see the need for Christians across the face of the earth who are indeed brothers in Christ, standing on the fundamentals of the faith and separated from unbelief, to come into personal fellowship one with the other to the praise of our Lord. And yet how quickly such a thing can grow into that which is merely cold, formal, and dead. The cry of my heart is that God may have mercy on us.

I increasingly see the dangers involved in organization, and I do think that most of us get the cart before the horse. That is, we organize first and then go forward, rather than growing close to one another through spiritual and personal contacts and then letting whatever organization grow naturally out of that-as the tree puts forth the leaf and then the bud and then the flower as the Lord leads.   Keep Reading >>>

What Is God Sovereign Over?

The Bible verses below are far from exhaustive, and each should be interpreted according to its genre and context. But I am convinced that these verses—rightly interpreted—definitively establish God’s absolute sovereignty over all things. And since compatiblism is true, none of this contradicts the equally biblical teaching that Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) and that human choices are genuine and significant.

God Is Sovereign Over . . .

Seemingly random things:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
(Proverbs 16:33)

The heart of the most powerful person in the land:

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
(Proverbs 21:1)

Our daily lives and plans:

A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?
(Proverbs 20:24)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
(Proverbs 19:21)    Keep Reading>>>

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When God saves you, He…

A helpful breakdown of 20 things that God does when He saves you:
He…

1. Regenerates you, moving you from spiritual death to life. (John 3:1-8)
2. Redeems you, buying you out of slavery to sin. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
3. Justifies you, declaring you innocent in His sight. (Romans 5:1-9)
4. Sanctifies you, setting you apart as holy. (1 Cor 1:2,30)
5. Forgives you of all your sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
6. Cleanses you, removing from you the stain of sin. (Hebrews 9:14)
7. Reconciles you to Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
8. Seals you with His Spirit as a guarantee of your future hope. (Ephesians 1:13)
9. Indwells you, sending the Holy Spirit to live in you. (Romans 8:9)
10. Adopts you, making you His child. (Romans 8:14-17)
11. Baptizes you into Christ’s body, the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:3)
12. Illuminates your mind so you can understand the Scriptures. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
13. Makes you a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
14. Reveals you as one of His elect. (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 8:29-30)
15. Grants you eternal life. (John 11:25-27, 1 John 5:11-13)
16. Names you an heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
17. Grants you an inheritance. (1 Peter 1:3-4)
18. Declares you a saint. (Romans 1:7, Colossians 1:2)
19. Grants you new citizenship, making your home heaven rather than this world. (Philippians 3:20)
20. Makes you a slave of Christ, a slave with the greatest, most glorious Master that any could ask for. (1 Corinthians 7:22-23)

Praise God for the assurance that comes from these great truths.

HT: Peter Cockrell

The Turning Point of Francis Schaeffer’s Life and Ministry

In 1951 Francis Schaeffer’s life and ministry were turned upside down, despite already having walked with the Lord for many years and having seen much fruit in ministry. He was 39.

In the introduction to his book True Spirituality, Schaeffer recounts what happened.

I faced a spiritual crisis in my own life. I had become a Christian from agnosticism many years ago. After that I had become a pastor for ten years in the United States, and then for several years my wife, Edith, and I had been working in Europe. During this time I felt a strong burden to stand for the historical Christian position and for the purity of the visible church. Gradually, however, a problem came to me—the problem of reality. This has two parts: first, it seemed to me that among many of those who held the orthodox position one saw little reality in the things that the Bible so clearly says should be the result of Christianity. Second, it gradually grew on me that my reality was less than it had been in the early days after I had become a Christian. I realized that in honesty I had to go back and rethink my whole position. Keep Reading...

The Glorious Metamorphosis

Whether awareness of spiritual truth to the sinner dawns as something initially muted, remarkably distinct, or nuanced as an effect of the Father’s regenerating mercy, it is nevertheless consistent in its outcome: a steadfast love toward and hope expressed as faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. We affirm that by grace through faith a man is saved. That the initiative of the transition from death to life is with God the Apostle is emphatically clear to articulate. In the passage before us God’s sovereign work in redemption through the agency of His Spirit by means of the application of His Word is expressed unequivocally.
To the sinner the glorious metamorphosis from death to life appears and is often misinterpreted as his doing, for the Gospel is presented and he finds himself believing it, yet unbeknownst to him the new found faith expressed is the result of a prior work of grace; viz., the Spirit of God regenerating his dead heart of stone in bondage to sin, quickening the heart and creating a whole new nature, one inclined for the first time to the things of God, a nature drawn to that which earlier was considered detestable. Read it all HERE

Women in the Life and Ministry of Jesus

The popularity of The Da Vinci Code has forced Christians to realize that their beliefs are open to challenge. As a result, many Christians are interested in subjects that used to draw yawns. A few years ago, no one wanted to hear about the Gnostic Gospels and why we reject them, for example. One issue raised by The Da Vinci Code is Jesus’ relationship to women. We can easily surmise that the Mary Magdalene nonsense of The Da Vinci Code is bogus, but what was Jesus’ real attitude toward women?
On the one hand, He established the church by training her basic leaders, the apostles. Only men were chosen as apostles, and the concept of male leadership in the church is consistent throughout Scripture: the Old Testament priests had to be male (according to Moses) and Paul teaches that church leaders who teach doctrine or Bible to men must be male, as must elders (1 Tim. 2:9-15, 3:1-2).
On the other hand, God used prophetesses as a channel of divine communication (e.g., Miriam, Deborah, in the Old Testament and the daughters of Agabus in the New), and both men and women were encouraged to prophesy in the early church (1 Cor. 11:3-11).
Most of us understand that the reasons for these restrictions on leadership have nothing to do with competence or ability. Most of us know strong, capable godly women who have mastered the Word, as well as not-so-godly Christian men who have not. Continue Reading>>>

Billy Graham His Life and Influence

In Billy Graham: His Life and Influence, David Aikman gives a detailed account of the life of the world's most well-known, and perhaps influential, evangelist. We might expect a biographer to be biased in favor of his subject, but not so here. Though Aikman greatly admires Graham, his book is surprisingly balanced.

In chapter one, Aikman tells us that Graham's "manifest weakness" was that he "went out of his way to avoid offending people," and he uses much of the remainder of the book to convince us of that. To his credit, Graham is a supporter of civil rights, and he was a friend of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But according to Aikman, his early stand on segregation depended upon which part of the country he was in. While his evangelistic crusades were integrated in the North, crusades in the South were conspicuously segregated. "We follow existing social customs in whatever part of the country in which we minister," Graham once stated. When asked why he refused to speak out on the issue of segregation, he said that "Communists were behind most of the civil rights agitation in the United States." Read the rest HERE

Who Am I? - Voddie Baucham

HT: Truth Matters

Is All of Life Worship?

On analogy, the distinction between worship broadly and narrowly considered saves us a good lot of confusion. Is all of life worship yes, but not in the same sense at the same time. That would be simple equivocation. When we are gathered before the face of God in stated services we are worshiping God in the special, narrow sense of the term. It is extremely unhelpful to equate this with the general, broader sense of worship. Indeed, in view of the reigning confusion about what Christian worship is and how it be conducted, we would probably do better not to use the phrase “all of life is worship.” If we’re going to use it then we need to qualify it very carefully so that, as a catchphrase it’s lost its vitality. Read the rest HERE

Evidence of Life Found on Earth

World News Service–Scientists have stumbled upon an amazing discovery “hidden” in their midst for thousands of years. While efforts to detect life on other planets has been largely fruitless, some have been surprised to find life right here on planet earth.

Researchers at The Obfuscate Center on Sentient Beings were startled to discover evidence of intelligent human life on earth. One senior research official offered comments on the condition of anonymity: “For so long, we’ve assumed that life must be found elsewhere, or at least interesting life must be found elsewhere. The old paradigm held that things on earth were simply artifacts of random chance and that little meaningful life could be observed. To have evidence of real life on earth… well that changes everything. We have to start over.” Read the rest HERE

The Death Penalty on Trial - Book Review

Sanctification – Life in the Spirit