Rich Mullens and Phil Keaggy

Two of my favorite musicians:

 http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vsd0F10QtAo

My tribute to Myrna T. Maldonado-Agosto (Originally Posted 9-11-06)

This is my tribute to the memory of those who died on 9-11-01. The person I am honoring is Myrna T. Maldonado-Agosto, 49 years of age from New York, New York. Myrna was a systems designer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She was confirmed dead at the World Trade Center. She has family and several friends who have written a message here . She was loved and is missed by many. I am praying for her family and all who knew her during this very difficult time that God will give them the strength to go through their day and peace in their hearts. I pray that their lives will keep the memory of their loved one, Myrna, alive and be a lasting tribute for her through many generations. I also pray that America will never forget what happened to her on that day and will honor her by praying for her loved ones, always continuing to help those who lost their daughter, wife, mother, and friend when they need it, and never forgetting what happened on that day and our commitment to make sure that it never happens again. I am not an eloquent person, but I hope this small tribute will honor all those who died on 9-11-01 and comfort those who were left behind.

Here are some wonderful links to some good resources

http://www.reformed.org/books/institutes/ – Calvin’s Institues of the Christian Religion

http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.htm – Spurgeon’s Treasury of David

http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/comment3/comm_index.htm – John Calvin’s Complete Commentary of the Bible

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/mort.pdf – John Owen’s Of the Mortification of Sin in the Believer

http://www.jonathanedwards.com/sermons/Warnings/sinners.htm – Jonathon Edward’s Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/pinks_archive.htm – Writings of AW Pink

http://www.pbministries.org/books/gill/gills_archive.htm – Writings of John Gill

Abortion or Poverty?

Tony Campolo makes the argument that if we will throw more tax money at poverty, then we will lower the abortion rates. Russell Moore says that throwing money at poverty isn’t going to fix it. He also states that if given a choice between a liberal politician who wants universal health care, but is pro-choice, and a politician who is against universal health care and is pro-life, he is going to vote for the pro-life candidate. Both men agree that poverty is a serious issue in America. Both men agree that there is a Christian response to the issue. The difference is that Russell Moore thinks the pro-life issue is more important than poverty and Tony Campolo thinks the exact opposite. What say you? I agree with Moore and with what one of his callers said:

Where I take issue with Dr. Campolo is that the solution is not more
government. But, I can give Dr. Campolo what the solution is, or what at least
part of the solution is in terms of the economic problems, and that is, a lot of
people don’t realize that what we, as Christians, spend in soft drinks. We spend
20 billion dollars a year in soft drinks. We can feed every single starving
person on the planet…I’m not talking in the United States, but on the planet,
for an entire year. So, that doesn’t even include things like Starbucks, things
like cable tv, you know, a lot of those things that we consider necesities, if
we did without them, just the Christians in the United States, we could end
poverty, we could end the lack of education, we could end a lot of things over
the entire world. So, the solution is not more government. It’s more Christian
charity, and that really comes down to each and every one of us. http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_play.php?cdate=2006-07-21Perhaps, he is a bit idealistic on what we can realistically do for the world, but I think he is heading the right direction with his solution.Joseph Botwinick

What is a Biblical Pastor?

We were recently asked several months ago to fill out a survey about what qualifications we thought a pastor should have for our. We are in the process of calling a new pastor. As I thought about it, I figured it would be good to consult the Word of God about the issue and see what God was looking for, and this is what I came up with:

What is a Biblical Pastor?

A Biblical Pastor is empowered with the Spirit of God to preach the Word of God, which is foolishness to those who are perishing, but is the Power of God to those of us who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18).
A Biblical Pastor does not preach on his own power, or by using wise and persuasive words full of worldly wisdom. He is, however, filled with the Spirit of God, so that our salvation is not based on the wisdom of the world, but rather, on the Power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
A Biblical Pastor should also be one who studies to show himself approved, a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
A Biblical Pastor is above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap (1 Timothy 3:1-7).
A Biblical Pastor has a high view of Scripture and holds to the inerrancy and
sufficiency of Scripture. He also affirms everything in the following passage:
“15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
· It is Scripture which makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
· All Scripture is inspired by God and is, therefore, without error.
· Scripture Alone (sola scriptura) is sufficient for teaching, rebuking and
correcting false doctrine and immoral living, and training in righteousness to
equip the Church to do the will of God.
A Biblical Pastor Does not hold to godless myths and old wives tales, but instead, devotes his life to Scripture, to preaching and to teaching, and sets the example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith and purity (1 Timothy 4).
A Biblical Pastor will preach the Word faithfully, even if it is unpopular (2 Timothy 4). In my opinion, the best way to remain faithful to the Word of God is to hold to an expositional form of preaching which allows the Word of God to speak for itself and challenges the believers, through the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit to
yield their understanding of truth and reality to what Scripture teaches. It also challenges the pastor to stay away from their own human understanding, and to study to show themselves approved under the authority of the Holy Spirit working in their lives so that it remains God’s Word and not the Word of Man.
A Biblical pastor is a shepherd of God’s flock who is not greedy for money but eager to serve, not a tyrant, but an example (a servant leader as Jesus was), who always has the best interest of the Church in mind whether it be in his best interest or not. This man, as a result, will see the eternal results of his work in Heaven (1 Peter 5).
A Biblical Pastor loves, cares for, and ministers to those who are lost and downtrodden (James 1:27).
A Biblical Pastor understands and affirms the message of Romans 3:9-31):
No one is righteous and seeks God / Salvation is of God, not man (total depravity of mankind: vv. 9-17).
The law makes us conscience of our sin, condemns us of our sin, and convicts us of our sin (vv. 19-20).
While we were totally incapable of saving ourselves, God saved us through his grace. Salvation is, therefore, not of works, lest any man should boast, but completely the work of God (vv. 21-31).
A Biblical Pastor loves God, loves the Church, and loves the lost world and obeys God through obeying his commands (Deuteronomy 6:4-5;
Mark 12:28-31; Matthew 29:16-20; 1 John 2:3-6).
To me, it is more important what God wants for our Church than what we might want. I think God’s Word is a great place to look to find what qualifications God has for the pastor of his Church.

Some More Favorite Websites

http://a1m.org/page.php?page=template1.php&pageid=36d799b7fc597d5e3376c811247b959f

http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/games/#null

http://www.jewsforlife.org/AboutUs.cfm

http://www.reformedpraise.org/links.php

Prevenient Grace vs. Common Sense and the Bible

What is Prevenient Grace? Here is what is written about it on Wikipedia:

Prevenient Grace is a Christian theological concept embraced primarily by Arminian Christians who are influenced by the theology of John Wesley and who are part of the Methodist movement. Wesley typically referred to it in 18th century language as preventing grace. In modern English it is much better termed preceding grace.The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2004) defines prevenient grace as, “…the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God’s will, and our ‘first slight transient conviction’ of having sinned against God. God’s grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.1Article VIII of the Articles of Religion which John Wesley adapted for use by American Methodists states that, “The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.” The article is official doctrine not only for The United Methodist Church but for many other Wesleyan denominations as well, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the British Methodist Church, and those denominations associated with the Holiness movement.Prevenient grace is divine grace which precedes human decision. It exists prior to and without reference to anything humans may have done. As humans are corrupted by the effects of sin, prevenient grace allows persons to engage their God-given free will to choose the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ or to reject that salvific offer.Thomas Oden of Drew University defines prevenient grace as, “…the grace that begins to enable one to choose further to cooperate with saving grace. By offering the will the restored capacity to respond to grace, the person then may freely and increasingly become an active, willing participant in receiving the conditions for justification.”2

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevenient_grace

In response to the Arminian Doctrine of Prevenient Grace, R.C. Sproul writes the following in his book, Chosen By God:

As the name suggests, prevenient grace is grace that “comes before” something. It is normally defined as a work that God does for everybody. He gives all people enough grace to respond to Jesus. That is, it is enough grace to make it possible for people to choose Christ. Those who cooperate with and assent to this grace are “elect.” Those who refuse to cooperate with this grace are lost.

The strength of this view is that it recognizes that fallen man’s spiritual condition is severe enough that it requires God’s grace to save him. The weakness of the position may be seen in two ways. If this prevenient grace is merely external to man, then it fails in the same manner that the medicine and the life preserver analogies fail. What good is prevenient grace if offered outwardly to spiritually dead creatures?

On the other hand, if prevenient grace refers to something that God does within the heart of fallen man, then we must ask why it is not always effectual. Why is it that some fallen creatures choose to cooperate with prevenient grace and others choose not to? Doesn’t everyone get the same amount?

Think of it this way, in personal terms. If you are a Christian you are surely aware of other people who are not Christians. Why is it that you have chosen Christ and they have not? Why did you say yes to prevenient grace while they said no? Was it because you were more righteous than they were? If so, then indeed you have something in which to boast. Was that greater righteousness something you achieved on your own or was it the gift of God? If it was something you achieved, then at the bottom line your salvation depends on your own righteousness. If the righteousness was a gift, then why didn’t God give the same gift to everybody?

Perhaps it wasn’t because you were more righteous. Perhaps it was because you were more intelligent. Why are you more intelligent? Because you study more (which really means you are more righteous)? Or are you more intelligent because God gave you a gift of intelligence he withheld from others?

To be sure, most Christians who hold to the prevenient grace view would shrink from such answers. They see the implied arrogance in them. Rather they are more likely to say, “No, I chose Christ because I recognized my desperate need for him.”

That certainly sounds more humble. But I must press the question. Why did you recognize your desperate need for Christ while your neighbor didn’t? Was it because you were more righteous than your neighbor, or more intelligent?

The $64 question for advocates of prevenient grace is why some people cooperate with it and others don’t. How we answer that will reveal how gracious we believe our salvation really is.

The $64,000 question is, “Does the Bible teach such a doctrine of prevenient grace? If so, where?”

We conclude that our salvation is of the Lord. He is the one who regenerates us. Those whom he regenrates come to Christ. Without regeneration no one will ever come to Christ. With regeneration no one will ever reject him. God’s saving grace effects what he intends to effect by it.

Source: Sproul, pp. 123-125

I am in agreement with Sproul on this issue. Without the regenerating power of God, I would never have chosen God:

9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better[b]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”[c] 13″Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”[d] “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[e] 14″Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[f] 15″Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know.”[g] 18″There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[h]

Romans 3:9-18

With it, I would never choose to reject God:

14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f] 16It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g] 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ “[h] 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

Romans 9:14-21

Some Favorite Websites

General Information on just about anything and everything: www.wikipedia.com

Bible reading and study: http://www.biblegateway.com/

Discussion Boards: http://www.spurgeon.us/forums/index.php , http://horse.he.net/~swiftpow/phpBB2/index.php .

Buying books and just about anything else you can think of: www.amazon.com .

Purchasing band music: www.jwpepper.com .

Historical website about Charles Lindbergh: http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/index.asp

Southern Baptist Convention: http://www.sbc.net/

Airplanes: http://www.stevesairshow.com/stewart03-videos.html

Hymnody: http://cyberhymnal.org/

2006: A Look Ahead (Originally Posted 12-31-05)

2006: What lies ahead?

Samuel Alito will be confirmed. The Democrats will put on a good show for their base, but in the end, many of them will vote to confirm him.
Iraq will continue to take over more of their own security, and American soldiers will begin the withdraw from Iraq at around the end of the year. They may or may not come home, however, as there is still some business to attend to in Afghanistan, and trouble brewing in Iran and Syria.
Democrats will gain some seats next year and possibly lose a few seats, will claim victory, but it will be a small victory.
Liberal theologians will gain widespread popularity and spread their poison further than what they have.
Me? I am going to spend more time in the Scriptures and do my best to spend more time with my family. I will also try to lose some weight (hopefully about 30-40 pounds). I will spend more time praying for a revival in our Churches, and I pray that it will begin with me. I pray that our Churches will turn away from the carnal programs of the world, and turn back to the Bible. I will spend more time studying Hebrew and trying to refresh and refine my Hebrew Skills. Finally, I will spenda little more time trying to post some things on the blog which have been on my mind for a while. Some of these topics will include issues like: End Times Study, God’s Judgment, the Grace of God, the role of the Church, post-modernism, and the Inerrancy of Scripture.

Until then,

Happy New Year!

2005: A Look Back (Originally Posted 12-31-05)

2005 has been a roller coaster for me personally and for the world in general. There have been incredible highs, and horrifying lows. It is now time to take a look back.

What were the good times in 2005?

January 30, 2005: After months of debate about whether or not the Iraqis were capable of having a democracy, 8.4 million Iraqis defied threats against their lives, in some cases were killed by terrorists as they went to cast their ballots for democracy. A few of the greatest memories that I have of this event are the ink stained fingers, the jubilation of the Iraqi people, the sacrifices of the Iraqi people, the brutality of the terrorists, and the pride of the military and their loved ones that I witnessed on that day. I had sat and listened to the liberals and far right conservative isolationists for the two months leading up to the elections drone on and on about how this day would be a blood bath, how we would regret taking this risk, how the Iraqi people had lived with a dictatorship for so long and how the tribal mentality would prevent them from embracing democracy. I remember thinking about how racist this line of thought was, and still is. I also remember waking up that Sunday morning and watching the Iraqis with smiles on their faces raising their purple fingers in the air in defiance of tyranny. I remember the sacrifices of several who were attacked and injured or killed by the terrorists. I also remember, however, that it wasn’t the blood bath the media tried to convince us it would be. I remember the brutality of the terrorists who strapped a bomb on a mentally handicapped youth and sent him to kill others. I, finally, remember the pride of the military and their loved ones that I witnessed that day. I had several fellow Church members in Iraq on that day. Everyone was worried for them because of the hype of the media. When I went to Church that day, the wife of one of the soldiers was there with a big smile on her face. I remember her talking about how America and democracy had won and the terrorists had lost. There was a great amount of pride that day. Indeed, we had seen the beginning of democracy in Iraq. This same scene was pretty much repeated two more times this year with two big differences: Even more Iraqis turning out to vote from all three tribal factions of Iraq, and a major push for national unity among Iraqis instead of being divided into tribes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_legislative_election%2C_January_2005#Disruption and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_legislative_election%2C_December_2005
My son, at eighteen months of age, finally began to walk on his own. The story behind this is rather bizarre. We had just picked up our son at his pre-school and we had a conference with his physical therapists. It was a real downer for us because everything seemed very bleak that day. There didn’t seem to be any improvement in sight for him. The therapists were very concerned about his improvement. We left feeling very sad, depressed, frustrated and tired. We were very hungry at this point and decided to stop at Chili’s in Little Rock for dinner. Our son held our hand as we walked in like he always did. On our way out, he was holding my hand. Without any warning at all, about half-way down the aisle, he just let go of my hand and walked all the way to the door on his own. We were so excited. It was, hands down, the greatest day of our year. On our way home, we called the grandparents and stopped by the Church where my mom was working the pre-school for Wednesday night Choir Practice. As he was walking down the hall to my mom, my wife and I hugged and started crying. Our day went from being one of the lowest to one of the happiest days of the year all within an hour.

What were the Bad Times of 2005:

· The day after the 2004 Christmas, one of the worst natural disasters I had seen in my lifetime occurred. The Tsunami in Indonesia killed about a quarter of a million people and left an entire region of the world in shambles. I remember watching the visions of this tragedy and just being absolutely depressed. Then came the hate, making it even worse. There were Islamic groups who were blaming this on Israel. There were Christians who claimed this was God’s judgment. There were officials and politicians in the UN, Europe, and even the United States who took the opportunity to bash Bush and the United States claiming we did not care about Indonesia and were not giving enough. Everyone seemed to want to believe the worst, and rejoice in the suffering of others. What happened was a tragedy, and the hateful reactions to it was heart breaking and inexcusable. There were also, however, many good things that came from this tragedy, where good people from all over the world reached out to help those in great need because it was the right thing to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
· August 29, 2005: One of the most disturbing and discomforting times of the year. It was a time when the natural disaster hit close to home. It was a time of immense suffering in the South. It was a time when I watched the tv and watched the government at all levels abandon the American people in one of their greatest times of need and sorrow. I remember thinking, if the government is this incompetent with a natural disaster, how in the world can we trust them to protect us from the next terrorist attack. It was a time of pure political hatred. It was a time when people lost everything they ever had. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_katrina

Unfinished Business:

I started reading a chapter a day in the Bible from the Old and New Testament this year during the summer. I made it all the way through the books of Deuteronomy and Romans, and part of the way through Joshua and 1 Corinthians. I have allowed life to get in the way of this and haven’t kept up with this.
Dieting and Exercise. Lose lots of weight.
Refreshing my Hebrew Skills.
Learn Marching Drill Software.