Honesty

Sometimes, we just need to be told the truth.

Heaven Without Christ?

As noted in the previous blog, many who call themselves Christians are satisfied with a religion without Christ. In light of that I appreciate John Piper's stinging question from God is the Gospel.

The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

Where Christ Is Not Preached

Our church youth director Chris M. says, "many evangelicals today would be happy with a public religion without any content." Indeed, this certainly seems to be the case. I was shocked to read the presidential proclamation on the National Day of Prayer. In it George Bush says,

Americans of many faiths and traditions share a common belief that God hears the prayers of His children and shows grace to those who seek Him. Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, in towns all across America, in houses of worship from every faith, Americans have joined together to pray for the lives that were lost and for their families, friends, and loved ones. We hold the victims in our hearts and pray for those who suffer and grieve. There is a power in these prayers, and we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 3, 2007, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith

Do you hear what he's saying? He is essentially saying that there is "power" in the prayers of people of all faiths. He is in fact urging people of all faiths to pray to whatever God they choose to pray to. As president, this is fine - we live in a society with the blessing of freedom of religion. But if the president is a Christian as he says he is, his statements are in fact heresy and a direct denial of the supremacy of Christ.

Here's my point. Chris is right. As long as the president says he is a Christian and promotes certain moral issues that Christians generally support, many evangelicals are perfectly happy with that sort of public religion, without any content, and without any Christ.

Oh, that the evangelical church in America would return to its first love (Rev. 2:4)! Michael Horton's comment below is very telling...

What would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in our imaginative slide show probably depict mayhem on a massive scale: Widespread violence, deviant sexualities, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down and worshipers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer "Yes, sir," "No, ma'am," and the churches would be full on Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.

Jerry Falwell

Cal Thomas on Jerry Falwell...

The Jerry Falwell I knew was torn between the two kingdoms he represented: one not of this world and the other very much of this world; one with tactics and tools that could change lives and the other with tactics and tools that changed little....

It makes one wonder why he put so much time, effort and money into political organizing when with his other role as preacher he shared a message about a King and a Kingdom that was better able to change people for the better than either political party could ever hope to do.

via Postscript Posthaste

A Great Ride

I'm looking through some of my older files - here's one of my favorites. This is video of a sledride at Jumonville Camp outside of Pittsburgh. It's the biggest sledding hill I've ever seen. This video was taken in February 2005. When we went back in 2006 they said no one was aloud to sled on the hill anymore - something about a kid getting stuck in a tree at the bottom of the hill. Enjoy

Church Hopping

John Calvin says we ought to thank God for gifts from "natural men" (non-Christians) who are "sharp and penetrating" in their investigation of things (Institutes 2.2.15). Could it be that God could teach the church a few things through the makers of "King of the Hill?" Decide for yourself.

Amen and Amen and Ouch

Carl Treumen's words from the Reformation21 blog regarding women in Reformed circles are oh-so-accurate. Proverbs 31 without the gospel can be a deadly burden (Proverbs 31:10-31).

I have lost count of the number of women I have come across, particularly in presbyterian circles, who feel the need to conform to some Reformed cultural norm. You can tell them on the Sundays: the exhausted and haggard mothers whose husbands expect them not only to cook and to clean, but also to home-school the kids. For every omnicompetent wife who seems to be able to run the world and then some, and still look like a million dollars when hubbie gets home for dinner (already on the table, of course), there are ten or more who look crushed and dispirited, who really need to send their kids out of the house in the morning so they can get some rest and some mental sanity, who need their husbands to see the problem and take steps to help them. Are they inadequate as Christian mothers? No. They are crushed by a "Christian" culture that demands their all and gives no slack.

I am no feminist (my wife will confirm my impeccable Neanderthal credentials); I have strong views on women's ordination; but I am saddened by the way Reformed church culture so often tramples its women underfoot with its mindless identification of biblical manhood with something akin to John Wayne and its assumption that all Christian women should make Mary Poppins look domestically incompetent.

Charles Spurgeon on Weekly Communion

“So with the Lord's Supper. My witness is, and I think I speak the mind of many of God's people now present, that coming as some of us do, weekly, to the Lord's table, we do not find the breaking of bread to have lost its significance—it is always fresh to us. I have often remarked on Lord's-day evening, whatever the subject may have been, whether Sinai has thundered over our heads, or the plaintive notes of Calvary have pierced our hearts, it always seems equally appropriate to come to the breaking of bread. Shame on the Christian church that she should put it off to once a month, and mar the first day of the week by depriving it of its glory in the meeting together for fellowship and breaking of bread, and showing forth of the death of Christ till he come. They who once know the sweetness of each Lord's-day celebrating his Supper, will not be content, I am sure, to put it off to less frequent seasons. Beloved, when the Holy Ghost is with us, ordinances are wells to the Christian, wells of rich comfort and of near communion.”

via Postscript Posthaste

Fun in the Pool

Emily Eating With a Spoon

Emily Walks

Emily's starting to prefer walking to crawling. Very exciting!

Pray for Zimbabwe

I know, a lot of places need prayer, but a couple of friends of ours from Zimbabwe have been sending emails about the plight of their nation. Under the leadership of President Mugabe, things are pretty ugly. Below are a few sections of their most recent email.

We are very aware of how much Zimbabwe has featured in the news in the last few months and even that is but a fraction of all that goes on here. A few weeks ago we sent out an urgent prayer request for our nation as it was once again rocked by political violence and unrest. Many people have been arrested and tortured for just wanting to voice their feelings. Prayer meetings have been stopped, people have been abducted from their homes and several people have lost their lives.
Unfortunately I have been unable to take any pictures of the Zimbabwe that has now become common place simply because I would probably be arrested....

Zimbabwe has been marked by political violence, power cuts/outages, inflation and corruption in the last month in record rates. In March the government withheld the 'official' inflation figures, simply because they were just so bad. Let me try and put it into a meaningful setting for you. In January a school exercise book, (the most basic one) was at Z$500 each, in March they went up to $3000 each, by the end of March they were $5000. A few days ago M--- went to go and buy some, because every child who goes to government schools requires a minimum of 10, and they were between $12 - $18000.00 each-!!
In January the $US was trading at Z$3000 :US$1, today it is $24 000: US$1. We are living in very interesting times.
Thankfully the UN has been allowed in to to an actual assessment of food availability this year, and will hopefully be allowed to bring food into the country and distribute it. Rather than having our president telling the rest of the world that we have produced bumper crops and that we have excess food to our requirements. My oh my.
Well I shall close now and with all these things in mind would ask you to be praying for us for the following:

* Please pray for all those in Zimbabwe who are just unable to cope financially at this time. Many people have no food to eat, no clean water to drink, no access to medical help, no employment and certainly no prospects to getting work. Pray that we can be sensitive to the situation and have discernment in helping where we can.

*Please continue to pray for Zimbabwe. Praise God that He is sovereign and in control and so we can walk in confidence knowing that we are in the best place ever (in His hands). Pray for our leaders, pray that they might be convicted of their responsibilities to the people of Zimbabwe and that they would also come to know Christ. Pray that we, the Christians in Zimbabwe would be fearless in standing up for what is right, not bowing to corruption and would be a witness to everyone around us.

A Few More Pics

Here are a few more pics (for the grandparents). Emily turned one on March 20th.

Orlando

In March we visited Orlando - part vacation, part church conference. It was Emily's first big theological conference. We also felt it important for Emily to see as many giant orbs as possible.

A Day in the Life of Little Ems

Finally time to post some blogs again. Here are some random pictures of Emily. The first is with her best bud Codey. Codey's been at his vacation home up in the mountains of Curwensville the last few weeks, so Emily misses him. Below, Emily always tries to help me play guitar. Maybe someday she'll teach me how to sing. Finally, the last picture shows the darker side of parenthood. Sure, she's smiling. But if you look closely you'll ask, "how many different sorts of ooze are on, or are coming out of her?"