Jesus makes it clear that he who does anything to “cause the least of these” to stumble “it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17:2). By gratifying the natural desire of youth to be with other youth and giving them what they want, even though it is destructive, we are depriving them of the mentors they need. For some, this will mean delayed maturity. For others, it may mean they will never put away childish things their whole life long. When we put children into environments that cause them to stumble, we become guilty. Jesus maintains such a high view of youth that He issues a terrifying warning to all who would cause them to stumble. (more…)
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It is always a blessing to find examples of men who finished well. David Livingstone is one of those men. The year before he died, his heart was still burning to obey Christ. On his 59th birthday, this great missionary to Africa made this entry in his journal:
19th March, 1872. Birthday. Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any ties save the tie that binds me to Thy heart. My Jesus, my King, my life, my all, I again dedicate my whole self to Thee.
Inscription: “This Engraving, for which I supplied the materials, represents my meeting with Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji, Lake Tanganyika; and is as correct as if the scene had been photographed.” – Henry Morton Stanley
We are winning! So they say. Recently, singer Tobymac made history with his new song “Eye On It” becoming the first Christian artist in the past fifteen years to achieve the number one position on the Billboard Music Chart. Before you toss your hat in the air though, pause and read the lyrics to the song the “Christian community” is rejoicing over (see below). Or if you really want, you can also listen to the song HERE.
An analogy comes to mind to describe my response. In a season of drought, people often drink things they wouldn’t in normal circumstances. During times of famine, cow patties become a source of food. A father coming home to a houseful of children which are starving hungry might be met with rejoicing as he presents a fresh harvest of dried cattle dung. I think the problem with this analogy is that it is too flattering to the song, suggesting that there may be some small spiritually nutritive value in it even if it tastes bad – and is bad.
After witnessing the hoopla, I read the lyrics. (more…)
Hello friends, we are just four weeks away from the White Unto Harvest conference. Below is a two-minute promotional video clip we put together specifically for our friends to share around the Internet to get the word out. Would you consider sharing the video below with your friends, your community, and your fellow church members? (Please see below.)
Help spread the video… (more…)
After many years of ministry to men, it is clear to me how simple men are. They all struggle with the same basic things. That’s one thing I like about working with men. Men are not complex. I have come across several summaries of the things that kill men off. I know a law enforcement professional who identifies these: Lying, Liquor, Lust, and Loyalty as the top four mankillers in his profession. They see these common denominators on the street all the time. I know an attorney who categorized them this way: Greed, Sex, and Power. Here is my list: Fear, Lust, Anger, Feminism, and Abdication. (more…)
Here is a clothing line I really like: Scottevest (not my company).
Check out this video…You can carry all your electronic devices and look normal.
My friends, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, are providing a webinar called, “Reclaiming Beauty.” My daughters and I have heard the Botkin girls many times and we are always improved in our thinking as a result. I commend this experience to all those who would like to grow in their understanding of this important subject. How important is it that we understand and preserve beauty in this world? Sign up for this webinar and you will be challenged to be a preserver of beauty in a world that hates beautiful things.
If you have been watching the news over the past two decades relating to the Netherlands’ rising culture of death, you would see it keeps trending upward and reaching new areas. Even children are being euthanized there now – and the age threshold keeps dropping. The author of this Life News article concludes with this, “If the USA legalized euthanasia and had a similar killing count, the total number of doctor-administered deaths would be over 300,000 annually!” Christians have a way to think this through via one of the Ten Commandments – “Thou shalt not kill.” It is the only verse of Scripture necessary to condemn this practice.
Social media, while it is a very powerful communication tool, can also simply be the means of self promotion, voyerism, and gossip. The longing to be seen and heard is part of the weakness of our flesh. If Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary, were alive today, I am sure he would have an active Facebook page. His last dying words were, “Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.” Here is the question for all of us who use social media: Why?
The celebration of the Lord’s Table has so many blessings in it, for it is there that we not only acknowledge our vileness, but we also receive medicine for our diseases, cleansing for our pollutions, comfort for our anguish, and beauty for our ashes. As the living Bread from heaven, Jesus feeds us with the best of foods that will sustain us – Himself, for without Him we would starve. Here is John Calvin on the Lord’s Supper:
In order, therefore, not to rush headlong to such ruin, let us remember that this sacred feast is medicine for the sick, solace for sinners, alms to the poor; but would bring no benefit to the healthy, righteous, and rich–if such could be found. For since in it Christ is given to us as food, we understand that without him we would pine away, starve, and faint–as famine destroys the vigor of the body. Then, since he is given us unto life, we understand that without him in us we would plainly be dead. (more…)
This picture was taken when we visited Gettysburg on Tuesday on the Horn history tour. This is the monument at the location of Pickett’s Charge.
Robert E. Lee was one of the exemplary leaders in American history. A former chaplain with Lee at one of the anniversaries of Lee’s death spoke of him in this way:
He possessed every virtue of other great commanders without their vices. He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression; and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbor without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy and a man without guile. (more…)
As we live our lives before God as those who are praying without ceasing, here is an illustration. Stonewall Jackson was a man of prayer. Here is R.L. Dabney on how he prayed without ceasing:
Devotion was the very breath of his soul. Once only was he led to make a revelation of these constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to him; and his description of his intercourse with God was too beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend expressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally the precept to “pray always,” and to “pray without ceasing,” and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. (more…)
I decided to shift the White Unto Harvest video posting primarily over to NCFIC.org. That way, this blog and the NCFIC blog stay more focused. I have many more videos to show you. Stay tuned.
If you have been helped by these videos or you have other thoughts, please leave a comment here to let me know.
Left to ourselves, we might conclude that belief in predestination would destroy personal evangelism. Thankfully, the Bible does not leave that option open – “How will they hear without a preacher?” Neither will Calvin leave us that option. John Calvin’s most thorough exposition of predestination is found in his book, Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God. In that book, he wrote:
Since we do not know who belongs to the number of the predestined and who does not, it befits us so to feel as to wish that all be saved. So it will come about that, whoever we come across, we shall study to make him a sharer of peace…even severe rebuke will be administered like medicine, lest they should perish or cause others to perish. But it will be for God to make it effective in those whom He foreknew and predestined. – John Calvin, Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, trans by J.K.S. Reid (London, James Clarke & Co., 1961), 138.
