Though hand join in hand...

Some Good Quotes
Eternal Punishment/Hell


"There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men's hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.-He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, who has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God's enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces. They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?"

- From Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards

Eschatology #8- The Two Ages Pt. 3

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #8- The Two Ages Pt. 3
  Sam E. Waldron

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." Prov. 18:22

Happy Birthday to my lovely wife Melanie! I had no idea how successful you were at avoiding the camera until I tried to find a picture of you this morning. This was all I could come up with.

Some More Good Buys at CBD

Spurgeon's Sermons, 5 Volumes
By Charles Spurgeon / Baker

"Tap into a wealth of life-changing words from the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon! Featuring over 250 of Spurgeon's finest sermons, this comprehensive collection also includes indexes of texts and subjects, so you can easily find what he had to say on a particular verse or topic. An invaluable resource---at an incredible price! 4336 pages total, five hardcovers from Baker." Preferred Customer Price: $29.99

(5 Reviews)


The New Park Street Pulpit, 3 Volumes
By Charles Spurgeon / Baker

"A dynamic collection of classic sermons from the Prince of Preachers! Written in 1854 just five years after his conversion, these memorable messages reflect Spurgeon's considerable gifts: word pictures, pointed applications, concern for people, and a heart for God. Preachers will value these early messages as excellent models, and laypeople will enjoy them as devotional reading. Three hardcovers." Preferred Customer Price: $34.99 (1 Review)

Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain Part 3

III) Thirdly, some ways in which this commandment can be broken.

1) Using the Lord’s name out of anger while cursing or as an exclamation.

While people will often say that they did not mean anything by it that is exactly the point of this commandment; it’s not to be used in a meaningless or careless manner. Such a use of His name exhibits a flippant attitude toward who God is.

2) By using euphemisms meant to convey the words without actually saying the words themselves.

3) By lying or attempting to deceive someone by swearing on the Bible or “by the temple”. (Matthew 23:16-22) In this way and other ways something closely associated with God or “called by His name ” is being used in a vain, empty manner.

4) By saying that you are a Christian, one of those called by His name, when you are not truly one of them.

5) By living in sin while professing to be a Christian. This “pollutes” (Jeremiah 34:16) and dishonors God’s name, giving unbelievers the opportunity to blaspheme against it.

6) By saying “the Lord told me….” or “the Lord said to me….”

Do you really mean to tell us that God spoke to you in an audible voice giving you new and infallible revelation? If not, then why are you saying “the Lord told me…”? Attaching the Lord’s name to your feelings and impressions is dishonest, deceptive and dangerously similar to the sin of the false prophets of old who tried to give their words an authority that they did not have by using the Lord’s name in a vain, empty, deceitful manner. If you did not mean that God actually spoke to you then why are you saying that He did? You are being careless with the name of God.

7) By making God, His word, His people or anything else closely associated with Him the subject and butt of our jokes.

While humor and laughter are both good in the proper circumstances, making jokes of the things of God trivializes and demeans them. We are dealing with matters of eternal consequence; we’re sinners dealing with a Holy God! How can we make jokes of these matters one minute and then expect the world to take them seriously the next? By our very attitude towards these things we are bleeding them of their weight and importance before the eyes of an on looking world.

8) By having any sort of flippant, careless or trivial attitude toward God.

While there is much more that could be said, this summarizes it all.

The Third Commandment is not about a word or words; it’s about our attitude towards the God of those words. This is about the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “…hallowed be Thy name.” The Lord must be treated as holy by all who would come near Him (Lev. 10:3).

It seems that a trivial, flippant attitude has swept over the church like a flood. It is seen everywhere we look. It’s seen in the blasphemous attitude that speaks of God as being “cool” or views Him as a “buddy”. Those who came closest to the presence of God in Scripture fell down before Him as if dead (Rev. 1:17, Ez. 1:28) , condemned themselves for their sinfulness (Is. 6:5, Luke 5:8, Job 40:4) and trembled with fear (Acts 9:6, Ex. 3:6). Without exception they were awestruck and filled with reverence. No one treated God like their “buddy”.

This attitude is seen in the way people dress to come into the public worship and special presence of God. According to scripture, the Lord is present in a special sense when His people meet corporately to worship Him (Matt. 18:20) and they are to prepare themselves for this meeting (Ex. 19:11). Who would not prepare themselves to meet with a mere earthly ruler, such as a Governor or the President, by dressing cleanly and nicely in order to show honor and respect? But when it comes to meeting with the King of Kings in corporate worship our kids often look like they’re going to play in the dirt, teenagers like they’re going to a rock concert and parents like we’re going to go work in the garden. And even worse than that, many young women come dressed in blatantly immodest clothing (the attire of a harlot Pr. 7:10) in direct violation of God's word (1 Timothy 2:9). While it is true that God looks at the heart, let’s be honest, our attire reflects a great deal of what we think, feel and value in our heart.

Where do we stop? This flippant attitude toward God is seen in the way that professing Christians often treat each other, in the man exalting and God belittling theology embraced by so many, in the funny little pithy sermons meant to draw a crowd and please men while avoiding the offensive and difficult truths of God’s word. It’s seen in the way people do not pay attention to the Word preached, the way people do not sing with the congregational singing, the way people only go to church occasionally. It’s seen in the bad theology sung by so many Christian performers and by the endless multitude of "Christian" rock groups who mimic the world like a little boy who longs to be like his big brother.

Brethren, how can we avoid the conclusion; we have broken this commandment on a massive scale! So much of what we say and do reveals how little we think of our God. We have emptied eternal matters of their gravity, weight and power. We have trivialized the things of God and have made buffoons of ourselves! We have taken His name in vain and Romans 3:18 condemns us; “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” To put it simply we are often irreverent!

Brethren, we should cry to the Lord to give us a heart that we may fear Him, that good may come to us and our children (Jer. 32:39).

“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…”

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 4

"It is not everyone who can remember the very day and hour of his deliverance; but, as Richard Knill said, "At such a time of the day, clang went every harp in heaven, for Richard Knill was born again," It was e'en so with me.¹ The clock of mercy struck in heaven the hour and moment of my emancipation, for the time had come. Between half-past ten o'clock, when I entered that chapel, and half-past twelve o'clock, when I was back again at home, what a change had taken place in me! I had passed from darkness into marvellous light, from death to life. Simply by looking to Jesus, I had been delivered from despair, and I was brought into such a joyous state of mind that, when they saw me at home, they said to me, "Something wonderful has happened to you," and I was eager to tell them all about it. Oh! there was joy in the household that day, when all heard that the eldest son had found the Saviour, and knew himself to be forgiven—bliss com­pared with which all earth's joys are less than nothing, and vanity. Yes, I had looked to Jesus as I was, and found in Him my Saviour. Thus had the eternal purpose of Jehovah decreed it; and as, the moment before, there was none more wretched than I was, so, within that second, there was none more joyous. It took no longer time than does the lightning-flash; it was done, and never has it been undone. I looked, and lived, and leaped in joyful liberty as I beheld my sin punished upon the great Substitute, and put away for ever. I looked unto Him, as He bled upon that tree; His eyes darted a glance of love unutterable into my spirit, and in a moment, I was saved. Looking unto Him, the bruises that my soul had suffered were healed, the gaping wounds were cured, the broken bones rejoiced, the rags that had covered me were all removed, my spirit was white as the spotless snows of the far-off North; I had melody within my spirit, for I was saved, washed, cleansed, forgiven, through Him that did hang upon the tree. My Master, I cannot understand how Thou couldst stoop Thine awful head to such a death as the death of the cross—how Thou couldst take from Thy brow the coronet of stars which from old eternity had shone resplendent there; but how Thou shouldst permit the thorn-crown to gird Thy temples, astonishes me far more. That Thou shouldst cast away the mantle of Thy glory, the azure of Thine everlasting empire, I cannot comprehend; but how Thou shouldst have become veiled in the ignominious purple for a while, and then be mocked by impious men, who bowed to Thee as a pretended king; and how Thou shouldst be stripped naked to Thy shame, without a single covering, and die a felon's death—this is still more incomprehensible. But the marvel is that Thou shouldst have suffered all this for me I Truly, Thy love to me is wonderful, passing the love of women! Was ever grief like Thine ? Was ever love like Thine, that could open the flood-gates of such grief? Was ever love so mighty as to become the fount from which such an ocean of grief could come rolling down?

There was never anything so true to me as those bleeding hands, and that thorn-crowned head. Home, friends, health, wealth, com­forts—all lost their lustre that day when He appeared, just as stars are hidden by the light of the sun. He was the only Lord and Giver of life's best bliss, the one well of living water springing up unto ever­lasting life. As I saw Jesus on His cross before me, and as I mused upon His sufferings and death, methought I saw Him cast a look of love upon me; and then I looked at Him, and cried—

"Jesu, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain Part 2

II) Secondly, what is meant by the word “vain”.

This word has numerous shades of meaning in Scripture. It speaks something that is foolish, silly, trivial or insignificant. It speaks of uselessness, emptiness, falsehood and deception. It speaks of something marked by futility and ineffectualness; something which has no value or importance. It is often used in the context of idolatry, idols and false religion for false religion is empty and devoid of substance. It is useless, it has no value and it does not accomplish anything for the one practicing it.

Now when we put these things together it becomes abundantly clear that “taking the name of the Lord in vain” has much less to do with how we use a word and much more to do with our attitude toward the God who is represented by those words.

Goodby Mr. Fish

Shortly after returning home from my sister’s wedding, Mr. Fish (our pet Beta fish) swam his final lap.

So while I was at home for lunch yesterday, the kids and I got the shovels, the little fish catcher net thing and we determined to scoop Mr. Fish out of his little aquarium and give him a proper burial.

But as we were scooping Mr. Fish from his bowl and having a quite somber moment, Alyssa began to holler “Ewwww! Hims hard as a rock!”, so much for our quite somber moment. Mr. Fish had to get put in his final resting place amid chuckles and comments about how gross dead fish are.

So long Mr. Fish.

Creationism Audio

Creationism
Audio Links

• Plunging a Knife in the Heart of Old-Earth Cosmology - Radiometric Dating
  Kevin Swanson • With Dr. Russell Humphreys
  Generations Radio
• Starlight and Time - A Worm in the Gourd for Young Earth Creationists?
  Kevin Swanson • Interview: Dr. Jason Lisle
  Generations Radio

Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain Part 1

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

Exodus 20:7 -The Third Commandment.

While many have relegated this commandment to those who say a mere word while cursing, it is my own conviction that this commandment is much broader than we normally think and that we who claim to be Christians are often profoundly guilty of breaking it. Far from simply being concerned with what words we use, the Third Commandment is dealing with our hearts attitude toward the God associated with those words. So with that it mind its my intention to show three things:

1. What is meant by “the name” of the Lord.
2. What is meant by “vain”.
3. How this commandment can be broken.

I) What is meant by “the name” of the Lord.

When we turn to Scripture it is quickly apparent that “the name” or “His name” is referring to much more than just a word.

Following are some examples:

• “…then men began to call on the name of the Lord.”
  Genesis 4:26
• “But to you who fear My name the sun of righteousness shall arise…”
  Malachi 4:2

In these verses, as in many others, the “name of the Lord” or “My name” refers to all that God is and often highlights some attribute or another in the context of the passage.

• “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my
  words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.”
  Deuteronomy 18:19
• “But the prophet which shall presume to speak in My name, which I
  have not commanded him to speak, or shall speak in the name of
  other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
  Deuteronomy 18:20

In these verses, as in many others, “in the name of the Lord” is another way of saying “by His authority”, “by His command”, “in His stead”, or “in His place”. It speaks of someone doing or even just claiming to do something by His express command, such as speaking a message from Him.

• “If my people, which are called by My name…”
  2 Chronicles 7:14
• “And all the people of the Earth shall see that thou art called by the
  name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.”
  Deuteronomy 28:10

In these verses the name of the Lord speaks of people who are closely associated with Him.

• “Is this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers
  in your eyes?….”
• “For the children of Israel have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord:
  they have set their abominations in the house which is called by My
  name, to pollute it.”
  Jeremiah 7:30

In these verses, the name of the Lord speaks of a place closely associate with Him.

• “And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him,
  from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose
  name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth
  between the cherubim.”
  2 Samuel 6:2

In this verse the name of the Lord speaks of a thing closely associated with Him.

These are just some of the ways in which “the name of the Lord”, “His name” or “My name” are often used in Scripture: to encompass all that God is, often highlighting some attribute or another, to speak of someone who does something or even claims to do something by His authority and direct command; and to speak of people, places and things closely associated with Him.

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 3

"I do from my soul confess that I never was satisfied till I came to Christ; when I was yet a child, I had far more wretchedness than ever I have now; I will even add, more weariness, more care, more heart­ache than I know at this day. I may be singular in this confession, but I make it, and know it to be the truth. Since that dear hour when my soul cast itself on Jesus, I have found solid joy and peace; but before that, all those supposed gaieties of early youth, all the imagined ease and joy of boyhood, were but vanity and vexation of spirit to me. That happy day, when I found the Saviour, and learned to cling to His dear feet, was a day never to be forgotten by me. An obscure child, unknown, unheard of, I listened to the Word of God; and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I could have leaped, I could have danced; there was no expression, however fanatical, which would have been out of keeping with the joy of my spirit at that hour. Many days of Christian experience have passed since then, but there has never been one which has had the full exhilaration, the sparkling delight which that first day had. I thought I could have sprung from the seat on which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren who were present, "I am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!" My spirit saw its chains broken to pieces, I felt that I was an emancipated soul, an heir of heaven, a forgiven one, accepted in Christ Jesus, plucked out of the miry clay and out of the horrible pit, with my feet set upon a rock, Kid my goings established. I thought I could dance all the way home. I could understand what John Bunyan meant, when he declared he wanted to tell the crows on the ploughed land all about his conversion. He was too full to hold, he felt he must tell some­body."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

A solemn covenant

This past Friday my wife and I packed up the kids, the grandma and the Chocolate Lab, dropped the dog off at the kennel, and took the grandma and the kids to Nebraska for my sisters wedding.

We had a great time seeing some friends and family that we haven’t seen in a long time, but it sure is good to be back home!

It’s always an awesome thing to witness such a solemn covenant knowing that God Himself is also present there in a special way bearing witness to the same event and the promises that are being made between the husband and the wife.

For some inexplicable reason, on our way home, our three year old started calling my sister's new husband “Uncle Kevin Bucktooth”. I have no idea where that came from, he doesn’t even have buckteeth. Any how, I made the mistake of chuckling the first time she said it so then we had to listen to it occasionally the rest of the day. Sorry Kevin, hopefully it won’t stick!

fly for refuge

“Can you think of that threat without trembling, ' Ye shall die in your sins' ? (Jn viii 24). Oh, better were it for you to die in a jail, in a ditch, in a dungeon, than die in your sins. If death, as it will take away all your comforts, would take away all your sins too, it were some mitigation ; but your sins will follow you when your friends leave you, and all worldly enjoyments shake hands with you. Your sins will not die with you as a prisoner's other debts will; but they will go to judgment with you there to be your' accusers; and they will go to hell with you there to be your tormentors. O the work that these will make you! O look over your debts in time; how every one of God's commandments is ready to arrest you, and take you by the throat for the innumerable bonds it has upon you. What will you do, then, when they shall all together come in against you? Hold open the eyes of your conscience to consider this, that you may despair of yourself and be driven to Christ, and fly for refuge to lay hold on the hope that is set before you.”

From A Sure Guide to Heaven
By Joseph Alleine

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 2

"I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man,¹ a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was—

"look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus: "My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, 'Look.' Now lookin' don't take a deal of pain. It ain't liftin' your foot or your finger; it is just, 'Look.' Well, a man needn't go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, 'Look unto Me.' Ay!" said he, in broad Essex, "many on ye are lookin' to yourselves, but it's no use lookin' there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, 'Look unto Me.' Some on ye say, 'We must wait for the Spirit's workinV You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, 'Look unto Me.' "

Then the good man followed up his text in this way: "Look unto Me; I am sweatin' great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin' on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin' at the Father's right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!"

When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, "Young man, you look very miserable." Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, "and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death—if you don't obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved." Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin' to do but to look and live." I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, "Look!" what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, "Trust Christ, and you shall be saved." Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say—

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Qualifications for Elder

Ministry, The
Audio Links

• Qualifications for Elder
  William O. Einwechter
  1 Timothy 3:2-7

There goes a naked man

The kids and I were heading to the post office when we drove by an old man walking down the street with no shirt on. The three year old looked at him and glibly exclaimed “There goes a naked man, right over there.”

A brief glimpse of That Day

I was working near a garage door yesterday afternoon when a storm rolled through.

I was standing in the doorway contemplating the sheer amount of power it would take to produce such a storm when a bolt of lightning flashed out of the sky. The brightness and suddenness of it startled me a little, but the thunder clap that followed it cracked and roared so loudly that it made me feel as though I had been turned inside-out. For the briefest moment all I wanted to do is hide under a rock; I felt like I was about half-an-inch tall.

I immediately thought of Revelation 6:15, 16:

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb”

One can hardly imagine the terror that will overtake the unbeliever on that great and terrible Day “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe…” 2 Thessalonian 1:7-10

As Joseph Alleine (1634-1668) once said:

“Sinner, I think this should go like a dagger to your heart, to know that God is your enemy. Oh where will you go? Where will you shelter yourself? There is no hope for you, unless you lay down your weapons and sue out your pardon, and get Christ to stand as your friend and make your peace. If it were not for this, you might go into some howling wilderness, and there pine in sorrow, and run mad for anguish of heart and horrible despair. But in Christ there is a possibility of mercy for you, yea, an offer of mercy to you, that you may have God more for you than He is now against you. But if you will not forsake your sins, nor turn thoroughly and purposefully to God by a sound conversion, the wrath of God abides on you, and He proclaims Himself to be against you, as in the prophet: 'Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold I, even I, am against thee!' (Ezek v 8)…..”

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 1

"Personally, I have to bless God for many good books; I thank Him for Dr. Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul; for Baxter's Call to the Unconverted; for Alleine's A.larm to Unconverted Sinners; and for James' Anxious inquirer, but my gratitude most of all is due to God, not for books, but for the preached Word—and that too addressed to me by a poor, uneducated man, a man who had never received any training for the ministry, and probably will never be heard of in this life, a man engaged in business, no doubt of a humble kind, during the week, but who had just enough of grace to say on the Sabbath, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." The books were good, but the man was better. The revealed Word awakened me, but it was the preached Word that saved me; and I must ever attach peculiar value to the hearing of the truth, for by it I received the joy and peace in which my soul delights. While under concern of soul, I resolved that I would attend all the places of worship in the town where I lived, in order that I might find out the way of salvation. I was willing to do anything, and be anything, if God would only forgive my sin. I set off, determined to go round to all the chapels, and I did go to every place of worship; but for a long time I went in vain. I do not, however, blame the ministers. One man preached Divine Sovereignty; I could hear him with pleasure, but what was that sublime truth to a poor sinner who wished to know what he must do to be saved? There was another admirable man who always preached about the law, but what was the use of ploughing up ground that needed to be sown? Another was a practical preacher. I heard him, but it was very much like a commanding officer teaching the manoeuvres of war to a set of men without feet. What could I do? All his exhortations were lost on me. I knew it was said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shah be saved," but I did not know what it was to believe on Christ. These good men all preached truths suited to many in their congregations who were spiritually-minded people, but what I wanted to know was, "How can I get my sins forgiven?"— and they never told me that. I desired to hear how a poor sinner, under a sense of sin, might find peace with God, and when I went, I heard a sermon on, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked," which cut me up Still worse, but did not bring me into rest. I went again, another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous; nothing for poor me! I was like a dog under the table, not allowed to cat of the children's food. I went time after time, and I can honestly say that I do not know that I ever went without prayer to God, and I am sure there was not a more attentive hearer than myself in all the place, for I panted and longed to understand how I might be saved."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Key to youth happiness

Poll: Family ties key to youth happiness

“NEW YORK - So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey — more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 — conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people.

Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And even better for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.”

Click here to read more…

An interesting article from Associated Press. We really shouldn’t be surprised to find that the happiness and wellbeing of our children is found in their family and parental relationships; God wired them this way. We parents aught to be taking advantage of this truth by spending all the time we can with our children. God wired them to follow us, look to us and be our disciples; it is only when we keep pushing them away to spend all their time with other people that we really begin to loose their hearts.

Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Part 1

Womanhood, Biblical
Fatherhood/Manhood/Patriarchy
Audio Links

• Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Part 1
  William O. Einwechter
  1 Timothy 2:8-10

Is it a sin for Christians support a woman for political office? Pastor Einwechter discusses this issue and more. An interesting message sure to offend somebody.

Kevlar-Lined School Uniforms Coming To U.S

• Kevlar-Lined School Uniforms Coming To U.S
  Keyetv.com

At last,schools will finally be safe again!

Where did we go wrong?

Yesterday Alyssa, our three-year old, suddenly announced that she thought that she had a baby in her tummy. If it’s a boy, she informed us, she’s going to name it Santa Claus and if it’s a girl she’s going to name it Alyssa.

The Work of the Law in Spurgeon’s Conversion Part 3

"Then I remembered that, even if I kept the law perfectly, and kept it for ten, twenty, or thirty years, without a fault, yet if, at the end of that time, I should break it, I must suffer its dread penalty. Those words spoken by the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel came to my mind: "If he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it." So I saw that I was, indeed, "kept under the law, shut up." I had hoped to escape this way, or that way, or some other way. Was I not "christened" when I was a child? Had I not been taken to a place of worship? Had I not been brought up to say my prayers regularly? Had I not been an honest, upright, moral youth? Was all this nothing? "Nothing," said the law, as it drew its sword of fire: "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So there was no rest for my spirit, nay, not even for a moment. What was I to do? I was in the hands of one who showed no mercy what­ever, for Moses never said, "Mercy." The law has nothing to do with mercy. That comes from another mouth, and under another dispensa­tion. But before faith came, I was "kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Eschatology #7- The Two Ages Pt. 2

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #7- The Two Ages Pt. 2
  Sam E. Waldron

Some Newfound Sympathy

Its been a week now since we lost the baby and I often find myself wondering what the little child would have been like; whether it would have been a boy or a girl, if it would of acted like one of the other kids, who it would have looked like, what kind of joy and excitement it might have added to our family, etc.

I’ve known numerous women who have had a miscarriage at one time or another but I personally never gave the matter much thought, I guess it’s hard to have a lot of sympathy with something you’ve never personally experienced. It’s much harder than I had imagined.

But what I really can’t imagine is the guilt that must plague those women who have taken the life of their own precious little children while they are still helpless in their own wombs. Surely their conscience must attack them with a vengeance in those quite moments when they accidentally reflect on what they have done with their lives and what their little child might have been like. How sad.

What but the infinite blood of Jesus Christ could cover such guilt and shut the mouth of such a conscience?

Would You Give Your Car to a Stranger?

"Most of us wouldn't let a stranger drive our car - why do we let them have our children?"
-an anonymous blogger

I Can't Hear You While You're Disagreeing With Me

You gotta love this picture, I ran across it on the Pyromaniacs blog.

The Work of the Law in Spurgeon’s Conversion Part 2

“The law seemed also to blight all my hopes with its stern sentence, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Only too well did I know that I had not continued in all those things, so I saw myself accursed, turn which way I might. If I had not committed one sin, that made no difference if I had committed another; I was under the curse. What if I had never blasphemed God with my tongue? Yet, if I had coveted, I had broken the law. He who breaks a chain might say, 'I did not break that link, and the other link." No, but if you break one link, you have broken the chain. Ah, me, how I seemed shut up then! I had offended against the justice of God; I was impure and polluted, and I used to say, "If God does not send me to hell, He ought to do it." I sat in judgment upon myself, and pronounced the sentence that I felt would be just. I could not have gone to Heaven with my sin unpardoned, even if I had had the offer to do it, for I knew that it would not be right that I should do so, and I justified God in my own conscience while I condemned myself. The law would not even let me despair. If I thought I would give up all desire to do right, and just go and drown my conscience in sin, the law said, "No, you cannot do that; there is no rest for you in sinning. You know the law too well to be able to sin in the blindness of a seared conscience." So the law worried and troubled me at all points; it shut me up as in an iron cage, and every way of escape was effectually blocked up.”

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Has the culture abandoned motherhood?

Has the culture abandoned motherhood?

I ran across a link to this article on Biblical Womanhood. Good article!

Along the same lines, Kevin Swanson of Generations Radio discusses how we seem to have abandoned the normative Biblical role of young women for the exceptional. Instead of training our daughters to fulfill the role of the woman, we are often training them to fulfill the role of the man.

Should We Kick our 18 Year Old Daughters Out of the House?
Generations Radio
Audio Link