Quotes

"It doesn't matter how smart you are unless you stop and think." Thomas Sowell, Dismantling America. Youtube.

Works or Faith?

I go to a Bible Study with some brothers who meet together to study the Book of the Acts in the New Testament. We are involved in street evangelism and want to be lead and taught by the Holy Spirit to be certain we are evangelizing in a pattern consistent with the New Testament. We do not claim to have it all figured out but God is teaching us many great truths from the scriptures. We rotate with each chapter with each of us leading the teaching for a chapter. Most recently I was assigned with the task of leading the teaching on Acts 15. If you read this chapter http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2015&version=NKJV you will find that it is a turning point in the Christian Church. If this situation was not resolved it would have lead to a split in the church with a Jewish church and a Gentile church. One believing that circumcision was a requirement for salvation and the gentile church believing that salvation was by faith alone. 

I have been captivated by this chapter and lead to the book of the Romans chapters 2-5 and the book of the Galatians to understand the basis of salvation. What a wonderful book we have been given by God the Holy Spirit to guide us in our beliefs. The fact is we have teachings in the church today that attached requirements to salvation that the scriptures do not teach. What are some of the things that teachers and religious systems attach to salvation as requirement. Paul is very forceful and plain in Galatians and Romans we are saved by faith and not by works. I am having a wonderful journey through these books that is deepening my faith in God. I hope to post some thoughts later on. 

Faith Preserving in the Trial.

It has been a rough couple of days at our house. We are having some issues with our son. He has not been following God for the past few months. Yesterday he moved out for the 3rd time since this started. Tonight we were blessed to have him for supper and got the opportunity to talk things out more. The bottom line is that he does not want to live by the rules of the house so he feels he must leave. All the things that goes through your mind at a time like this is amazing. I am astonished at the number of thoughts you can have.

God lead me to Psalms 40. I pray it blesses and encourages you as you read. God's precious word, so powerful to keep us in our battle.

Faith Persevering in Trial

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³ He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴ Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
⁵ Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
⁸ I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”

⁹ I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
¹⁰ I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.

¹¹ Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
¹² For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
¹⁴ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
¹⁵ Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

¹⁶ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
¹⁷ But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

Why Should Chrstians Wait until Marriage to experience Sex?

Well here it is, my first blog. It has been a long time coming but I hope you enjoy it.

I found this interesting article regarding the percentage of young Christians who have had sex before marriage. One thing that really disturbed me now and while growing up, is the amount of sexual sin in the church. I am not standing in judgement of anyone because I face the same issues as any Christian man in an over sexed society of keeping my thoughts and actions pure before God.  I am asking why is that Christ's Church does not seem to be able to follow the commands of His Word. Given the exploitation of sex in our culture today this topic presents a problem for every young person in and outside of churches today. How do we stay pure sexually and keep ourselves for that one person that God has planned for us to marry? While being born at the tail end of the "Baby boomers" and the sexual revolution generation we have been encouraged from an early age by media in all forms to be sexually active. When someone of my generation and older says Woodstock, we do not think of a town in New Brunswick or a city in Ontario. Woodstock is synonymous with the culmination of the sexual revolution which included indulgences in free sex, drugs, alcohol and rock'n roll. Here marks a significant date in what had been termed "The Sexual Revolution." This is by no means limited to just our time. We can read of many hedonistic times in history prior to our present day and see how those cultures were affected by such behavior yet we march blindly on the road to the fall of our society without even a second thought.

The question needs to be asked "How is the church different than the world?" What were commonly held convictions by the church at large to be sin, when I was a teenager, now is not even questioned. Sin is redefined in a large part of present day by Christianity. Why should Christians be abstinent of sexual activity before marriage and faithful to one spouse after marriage? The following article came across my Facebook News Feed today and I thought it gave an answer to this question that is faithful to the Word of God. It gives some insight into the answer to the question what is the deeper meaning of Christian marriage? I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0002568.cfm