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A Time For Everything
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent, and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1 - 8 Oh Lord gives us the wisdom to know which is which.
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 | God Standard TIme |
 Physicist Itzhak Bars, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California (USC), has an interesting theory. He believes there is another dimension of time (other than the one we are used to) and is conducting research to prove his theory.
In his article called, “Are we missing a dimension of time?” Telegraph
reporter (www.telegraph.co.uk), Roger Highfield, quotes Bars as telling telling the New Scientist (www.newscientist.com), “There isn't just one dimension of time. There are two. One whole dimension of time and another of space have until now gone entirely unnoticed by us.” Highfield then says, “Time is no longer a simple line from the past to the future, in a four dimensional world consisting of three dimensions of space and one of time. Instead, the physicist envisages the passage of history as curves embedded in six dimensions, with four of space and two of time.”
Commenting on its physicist's theory, a USC report explains: “Einstein’s theory of gravity and quantum theory don’t fit together. Some piece is missing in the picture puzzle of physical reality. Bars thinks one of the missing pieces is a hidden dimension of time....With two times, Bars believes, many of the mysteries of today’s laws of physics may disappear. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. An extra dimension of time is not enough. You also need an additional dimension of space.”
For years, some scientists have included an additional dimension of space in their research (increasing it from three to four) because it helps “reconcile theories of electromagnetism and gravity.” [The three dimensions of space are up/down, forward/back and sideways.]
But by adding a second time dimension, Bars is considered a bit of a heretic among physicists who point out his theory -- if true -- could lead to time travel.
God standard time
Bars may have an unusual ally in his struggle. Through Scripture, we discover God not only exists in a different realm, but there are hints He exists in a different time dimension as well.
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Posted by annc on Wednesday, January 06 @ 10:26:42 CST (13 reads)
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| From Grief to Glory* - A Review by Sarah Pawlak |
 I sat down to read From Grief to Glory on a busy day, expecting to read only a chapter or so. As I began reading, I reprioritized my agenda and got through the entire book (and a stack of tissues) in one sitting. I expected this book to be good, but I did not expect to be so affected by the testimonies of such serious, historical theologians. This slim, 214-page volume was profoundly healing and encouraging for this infertility-worn seminary student and would make an excellent addition to any church or counselling library.
Author James W. Bruce III, married to Joni, works as an attorney and serves as an elder at Grace Bible Church of Oklahoma City. His middle son, John Cameron Bruce, lived a short life of only fifty-five days during the winter of 1997. It was Bruce's deep sorrow over this dear boy's death that encouraged him to seek out the comfort and consolation that God has extended to Christians throughout history, appropriate it for himself and share it with others — for the glory of God and the good of his brothers and sisters in Christ.
This text features the succinct, yet moving biographies of significant historical Christians who have grieved the loss of a young child, including: John Bunyan, Martin Luther, Robert L. Dabney, Philip Melanchthon, C. H. Spurgeon, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Bradford, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Lemuel Haynes, Frederick Douglass, George Müller, John Owen, Samuel Rutherford, John Flavel, Benjamin Morgan Palmer, Thomas Boston, John Brown, Hetty Wesley, Selina Hastings, Fanny Crosby, as well as the author's own testimony.
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Posted by annc on Wednesday, December 30 @ 09:49:56 CST (17 reads)
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| We Need the Ghost |
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6).
We must preach Christ crucified. This is not limited to pastors and missionaries.1 It is clear that disciple-making, including the task of evangelizing, is part and parcel of our sanctification. We are commanded to take Jesus to the nations, moving out through the concentric circles of our lives — to our children, grandchildren, extended family, neighbours, friends, work associates, city, nation, and world. But we are cowards, largely unmoved by what we read in Scripture of the impending judgment on all outside the kingdom of God. Besides, the task is an impossible one. We are doomed to failure unless God works among us. Why? Man is born rebellious to God. He is stiff-necked and does not want Christ. Paul says that the natural man does not receive the things of God because they are foolishness to him (1 Cor. 2:14). He says that the devil has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they do not see the glory of the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4ff). And what keeps him away from Christ? His pride and ignorance. The Scottish and French Enlightenment, as well as modern Science and Logical Positivism,2 have largely been destroyed by Post Modernism,3 and this continues to embolden man to believe he is the measure of all things. Man’s pride and ignorance lead to apathy. He is unaware of his impending doom. He thinks such talk of hell and judgment is at the least quaint and superstitious, and at the worst, downright harmful and hateful.
The rejection of Biblical Christianity, while always present in America, began to gain speed in the late eighteenth century, growing all the way through the end of the nineteenth century. It was encouraged by the creeping Unitarianism of William Ellery Channing, Horace Mann, and Horace Bushnell. The great New England cultural and educational ethos, founded on seventeenth century Puritan Calvinism, gave way to a rejection of Calvinism that taught original sin, total depravity, and the need for the new birth. They kept the desire for knowledge but rejected the foundation of that knowledge — Holy Scripture and what it says about man, God, and culture.
What does this mean for us today? Our task is humanly impossible. As the old black preachers used to say, 'We must have the Ghost.' Without the Holy Ghost, without God working through the third person of the Godhead, we are doomed to failure. In Acts 10 Peter is led by God to Cornelius’ household in Caesarea. It is clear to him that God has opened the door of the gospel to the God-fearers, Gentiles who embrace Judaism. So he begins to preach to them, saying that Jesus, who was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, went about doing good, overcoming the works of the devil. How many times have I read Acts 10! I have preached on it, yet I had never seen this statement of Christ’s anointing with the Spirit and power. How is it that Jesus needs to be anointed with power and the Spirit? Certainly he did not need this in his deity, but apparently he did in his humanity. Think about it — if Jesus, almighty God incarnate, needs the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to fight the devil, then what does that say about us?
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Posted by annc on Saturday, October 24 @ 12:11:08 CDT (130 reads)
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| God of Powerful and Preserving Providence |
And God blessed them, saying, '. . . fill the waters in the seas, and
let birds multiply on the earth.' (Genesis 1:22)
On the fifth day of creation Elohim created swarms that swarm in the sea
and flying birds that fly in the sky. In his commentary on Genesis, John
Currid says that the Hebrew makes use of two polyptotons — verbs with
their cognate nouns, used for the sake of great emphasis — swarms
swarming and flying birds flying. We are also told that God made the
tannin, the sea monsters of the deep. This word is sometimes
translated serpent, dragon, or Leviathan. It is used in Exodus 7 where
Aaron’s rod became a tannin that swallowed up the tanninim
of Pharaoh. Later the word is used in Psalm 74:13-14 and Isaiah 27:1 in
referring to Yahweh who destroys tannin or Leviathan with his
great and mighty sword. The allusion here is to powerful nations at
enmity with Yahweh but he overcomes them. Then we are told that God
called the fish and birds good, that he blessed them, and called them to
be fruitful and multiply. We find here a clear reference to God’s
powerful and preserving providence, that he directs and disposes all
things for his glory and the good of his creation.
I wonder — do you see God at work in the details of your life? Are you
resisting him in those details? People have always resisted the doctrine
of God’s sovereignty and the corresponding teaching on his providence.
We like to think we are in control, that we can 'fix it.' This manifests
itself today in neo-deism and neo-spirituality. Deism — the religion of
preference in the mid to late eighteenth century in Colonial America,
best known by Benjamin Franklin and his adage, 'God helps those who help
themselves' — taught that while God did in fact create the world, he is
no longer engaged in the affairs of this world. We must make things
happen ourselves. This fits well with today’s psyche of rugged
individualism, of pulling one’s self up by one’s boot straps. You are a
neo-deist, even if you claim to be a Christian, if you fail to realise
that God is in the details of your life, even the hard things happening
to you right now. And neo-spirituality is seen today in the religiously
intolerant, those who call themselves religious or spiritual, who claim
to be open and affirming of all religions, yet despise the 'narrowness'
and exclusivity in the claims of Christ. The neo-spiritual person is
syncretistic – so called ‘Zen Christians’ or ‘Presbyterian Buddhists.’
The problem with neo-deism and neo-spirituality is that these weak,
powerless forms of religion tend to inoculate people against vibrant,
Biblical faith. These give people the false impression that a little
religion is all one needs.
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Posted by admin on Saturday, June 20 @ 13:20:12 CDT (305 reads)
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| Church and Tradition in a Changing World |
At the annual assembly of the Association of Evangelical Churches in
Wales, Ian Parry, pastor of the Bay Church in Cardiff, delivered a paper
on the above subject and then led a seminar in a discussion of it. The
following is a summary of what he said.
1) We need to UNDERSTAND our traditions. Where do they come from?
We may claim to be controlled by the authority of the Bible alone. And the
Bible has certain commandments which are non-negotiable. Yet there is an
inevitability about building traditions. Our traditions are the ways we
seek to obey the Scriptures, and they’ll shape the feel & ethos of a
church.
2) As well as understanding them we need to VALUE them. We have
them however new or old our churches are. The church universal has a
history. In the UK reformed tradition we have a certain history which
shapes what we do. So there are some good traditions in the past
associated with the Reformation. We are privileged heirs of a tradition.
You only need to go to the mission field to appreciate this. And this
gives us a certain perspective on things. We are heirs & custodians of
the past. The Church is bigger than our own day & our own context. It
gives Colour: If you strip away the past it leaves you with a
characterless thing with no associations. It gives Power: Our
generation has cut its ties with the past and is finding it hard to live
with the results. As other religions enter the country people are saying
'What exactly am I? What is my identity in?' So we should value them.
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Posted by admin on Thursday, June 11 @ 10:57:57 CDT (337 reads)
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| Billy Graham’s Daughter Tells how her father is ’Growing (old) in God’s Grace’ |
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-- Evangelist Billy Graham has been the confidante and spiritual advisor to American presidents and men and women of fame, financial and political power.
He became a household word, not only in Christian circles, but in the homes of most of the people across the globe.
Anne Graham Lotz with her father Dr. Billy Graham
Personally, in his lifetime, he has preached to over 215 million people and, estimates say, seen 2 ½ million come forward in his meetings to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. His radio and TV audiences have reached over 2 billion viewers and listeners.
Today the once busy minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still active, but not as much as before.
His daughter Anne Graham Lotz, the second of the Graham’s five children and the wife of a dentist, operates a ministry called AnGeL Ministries which, following in her father’s footsteps, reaches out internationally.
In a new do*****entary, Graham Lotz spoke about her father’s new pace of ministry. She stated in the recent interview: "My father didn’t really retire until his body sort of quit on him. He has always said that, for a minister of the Gospel, there is no retirement, but his body decided differently."
It was 17 years ago that Billy Graham was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. "He has a difficult time hearing, a difficult time seeing, a difficult time walking. His heart is still strong. His mind is clear," said Graham Lotz
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Posted by admin on Saturday, June 06 @ 00:21:22 CDT (438 reads)
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| Preachers becoming Diplomatists and Strategists |
The fundamental
problem with evangelical diplomacy and strategy is
this: the living God has not called his servants to
put consequences before truth, but truth before
consequences. Certainly we are never (and I mean
never) to preach God's truth arrogantly and
pompously, far less coldly and clinically. But we
are always to preach it faithfully, always allowing
God's holy Word to lead us into God's holy ways. Ah,
you may by now be thinking, but this is a counsel of
suffering! Our churches will hang us out to dry,
cast us out into a harsh world. How will we then
live? How will we provide for our families and care
for Christ's vulnerable flock? The answer to that
not unimportant question was given by our Lord Jesus
himself: 'If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will save it' (Luke
9:23). Beware of becoming diplomatists and
strategists and not heralds. The God who calls us to
serve in the fellowship of his Son, is the God who
is able to set a table in the wilderness (even an
ecclesiastical wilderness) for his servants.
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Posted by admin on Thursday, June 04 @ 09:24:35 CDT (316 reads)
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| The Ulster Awakening of 1859 |
One hundred and fifty years ago the Irish province of Ulster came under the powerful influences of the Spirit of God. The spiritual life of churches was revived and their witness to the gospel strengthened. The unconverted were deeply affected by the truth of the gospel. Great numbers flocked to the churches for spiritual relief from an unrelenting conviction of the guilt of sin.
The movement began in Co. Antrim in a particularly inauspicious manner. A small group of believers met for prayer. News of a spiritual awakening in America, begun the previous year 1858, had reached Ulster and stirred up a desire for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the moribund churches in Ireland. It was not long before prayer was answered. One by one, and then in unimagined multitudes
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Posted by admin on Friday, May 29 @ 03:50:14 CDT (293 reads)
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| The Return of Christ |
On recent Sundays I’ve been preaching on the return of Christ. I grew up with some very mixed-up ideas about the Second Coming, but understanding the doctrine in our heads surely isn’t enough. As I’ve preached these sermons, I’ve found myself asking again and again, 'how much do I look forward to the return of Christ? How much do I want him to come again?'
The New Testament takes it for granted that believers will long for the return of Christ. The Christians in Thessalonica had only been believers a short time when Paul wrote his first letter to them. But already people throughout Greece were commenting on what had happened to them. 'They report . . . how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who saves us from the wrath to come . . . '. Godless people were talking about these Christians, their strange behaviour, their strange beliefs. And one of the things that struck them most forcibly was that these Christians were all waiting for God’s Son from heaven. I wonder whether our unbelieving friends would say that about us.
When he wrote to the Philippian believers Paul could say, 'our citizenship is in heaven and from there, we wait for a Saviour . . .' (Phil. 3:20). When he wrote to Timothy he could simply describe Christians as 'all those who have loved his appearing' (2 Tim. 4:8). In his letter to Titus, he pictures believers 'waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:13). As he came to the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, he used a one word Aramaic prayer: 'Maranatha!' - 'Our Lord, come!' The Corinthian church was in Greece, but Paul knew that all his readers would understand that Aramaic word. Why? Because it was a prayer they used constantly. New Testament believers prayed for the coming of Christ.
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Posted by admin on Friday, May 29 @ 03:47:07 CDT (314 reads)
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| An appreciation of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones |
An appreciation of Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones
EALING, LONDON, UK
(ANS) -- Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones was possibly the greatest
British preacher of the twentieth
century. His ministry at Westminster
Chapel, close to Buckingham Palace, and
his writings earned him respect and
affection throughout the world. He had a
decisive influence on many individuals
and on evangelicalism as a whole. He was
born in Cardiff, South Wales, on
December 20, 1899 and then lived for a
time in small villages in Mid-Wales.
After attending a London grammar school
between 1914 and 1916, he then went on
to train at St Bartholomew's Hospital as
a medical student. In 1921 he started
work as an assistant to the Royal
Physician, Sir Thomas Horder.
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Posted by admin on Friday, May 29 @ 03:29:15 CDT (367 reads)
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