This is legality!

Some Quotes
Arminianism

“Arminianism, by making the love and salvation of God to turn upon the fulfillment of conditions on the part of the sinner instead of entirely upon grace, encourages an error which can­not be too strongly opposed: 'Do you not see at once that this is legality,' says Spurgeon, ' that this is hanging our salvation upon our work that this is making our eternal life to depend on something we do? Nay, the doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works, after all; for he always thinks faith is a work of the creature, and a condition of his acceptance. It is as false to say that man is saved by faith as a work, as that he is saved by the deeds of the Law. We are saved by faith as the gift of God, and as the first token of his eternal favour to us; but it is not faith as our work that saves, otherwise we are saved by works and not by grace at all.”

From The Forgotten Spurgeon
By Iain H. Murray / Banner Of Truth

The Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 6

God is entirely God centered, He does not break the first commandment! As john Piper has so correctly pointed out we could change the wording of the first question of The Westminster Shorter Catechism to this:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of God?
A. Gods chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

And it would still be true. The chief end of God is God and we are to reflect Him on this point! Every thing He does, even bringing about our salvation, is ultimately done for His own sake; not for ours (see passages such as Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22, 44; Isaiah 48:9-11).

God is entirely God centered and we were to reflect Him in this. We were created to shine forth (glorify) His moral character and rejoice in the exercise of His attributes in creation. We were to be the ultimate reflection of the heart of God. We were created to live our lives in an endless cycle of reflecting God and rejoicing in our reflection of Him; thus becoming more like Him and closer to Him. We would have become infinitely more like Him and drawn infinitely closer too Him as the long ages of eternity continued to roll on without out end; but we through it all away.

Rather than glorifying our creator we have all “sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Rather than reflect the light of God, mankind “glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21). We “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” Professing our selves to be wise, we became fools (Romans 1:21), literally morons according to the Greek. Rather than reflecting the brilliant light of the glory of God, we became a bunch of darkened morons! (Romans 1:23).

Everything about us was affected when we snuffed out the light of Gods glory. Our minds became vain or literally empty according to Romans 1:21 but we did not remain empty very long, we soon became “filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:29-31

We have not glorified God, that is the great crime of mankind! “…and they repented not to give him glory.” (Revelation 16:9). And this is what the gospel calls the human race back too “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6, 7)

Christ did something or other

"Once a blurred and indistinct view of the atonement is accepted in the Church it is more than likely that the next generation will come to the ultimate obscurity of a man like F. W. Robertson of Brighton, of whom it was said, 'Robertson believed that Christ did something or other, which, somehow or other, had some connection or other with salva­tion.'"

Taken from The Forgotten Spurgeon
By Iain H. Murray / Banner Of Truth

What is Family Reformation?

What is Family Reformation?
By: James McDonald

"As a pastor, I’m increasingly saddened by the failure of the Christian family. Yes, I said failure. I know that may seem like an extreme statement, but consider the proof...."

Read More..

The trouble with talking too fast

The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet. --Ann Landers

a Massive 17 Pounds

• Russian Woman's 12th Baby Weighs a Massive 17 Pounds

"MOSCOW — A small Russian city just got a really big addition: its resident has delivered her 12th baby at 17.05 pounds — the biggest on the nation's record.

Tatiana Khalina, 42, delivered the girl by Caesarean section at a maternity clinic in Aleisk, a town of 30,000 in the Altai region in southern Siberia, Svetlana Gildeyeva, a nurse at the clinic, said Thursday."

Read more..

Why should he punish twice for one offence?

Some Quotes
Atonement, The

"In other words, the Cross has a Godward reference; it was a propitiatory work through which the Father is pacified and it is on this ground, namely, Christ's obedience and blood, that all the blessings of salvation flow freely and surely to sinners. This is what is so clearly taught in Romans 3:25, 26. Writing on these verses, Robert Haldane says: 'God is shown not only to be merciful to forgive, but He is faithful and just to forgive the sinner his sins. Justice has received full payment, and guarantees his deliverance. Even the chief of sinners are shown in the propitiatory sacrifice of their Surety, to be perfectly worthy of Divine love, because they are not only perfectly innocent, but have the righteousness of God. 'He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' Spurgeon gloried in this truth: 'He has punished Christ, why should he punish twice for one offence? Christ has died for all his people's sins, and if thou art in the covenant, thou art one of Christ's people. Damned thou canst not be. Suffer for thy sins thou canst not. Until God can be unjust, and demand two payments for one debt, he cannot destroy the soul for whom Jesus died."

Taken from The Forgotten Spurgeon
By Iain H. Murray / Banner Of Truth

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #6 -Faith

6. Faith. We must believe, (a.) That God is. (b.) That He is able to hear and answer our prayers. (c.) That He is disposed to answer them. (d.) That He certainly answer them, if consistent with His own wise purposes and with our best good. For this faith we have the most express assurances in the Bible. It isnot only said, "Ask, and ye stall receive; seek and ye shall find," but our Lord says explicitly, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." (John xiv. 13.) And again, " If two of you stall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which, is in heaven." (Matt. xviii. 19.) All the promises of God are con­ditional. The condition, if not expressed, is implied. It cannot be supposed that God has subjected Himself in the government of the world, or in the dispensation of his gifts, to the short­sighted wisdom of men, by promising, without condition, to do whatever they ask. No rational man could wish this to be the case. He would of his own accord supply the condition, which, from the nature of the case and from the Scriptures themselves, must be understood. In 1 John v. 14, the condition elsewhere implied is expressed. "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, He heareth us." The promise, however, gives the assurance that all prayers offered in faith, for things according to the will of God, will he answered. The answer, indeed, may be given, as in the case of Paul when he prayed to be delivered from the thorn in the flesh, in a way we do not expect. But the answer will be such as we, if duly enlightened, would ourselves desire. More than this we need not wish. Want of confidence in these precious promises of God; want of faith in his disposition and readiness to hear us, is one of the greatest and most common defects in the prayers of Christians. Every father desires the confidence of his children, and is grieved by any evidence of distrust; and God is our Father; He demands from us the feelings which children ought to have towards their earthly parents.

From Systematic Theology By Charles Hodge

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #5 -Submission

5. Submission. Every man who duly appreciates his relation to God, will, no matter what his request, be disposed to say, "Lord, not my will but thine be done." Even a child feels the propriety of subjecting his will in all his requests to his earthly father. How much more should we submit to the will of our Father in heaven. He alone knows what is best; granting our request might, in many cases, be our destruction. Our Lord in the garden of Gethsemane set us an example in this matter, that should never be forgotten.

Father's Administration of Christ's Kingdom in His Home

Family Worship at Home
Audio Links

A convicting must hear sermon from Jeff Pollard.

• Father's Administration of Christ's Kingdom in His Home
  Pastor Jeff Pollard
  John 1:1-2,14

Elders That Rule Well - pt 1

A sobering message by Pastor Jeff Pollard of Mount Zion Bible Church

• Elders That Rule Well - pt 1
  Pastor Jeff Pollard
  1 Timothy 5:17-25

Be careful of your thoughts

"Be careful of your thoughts; they may become words at any moment." --Ira Gassen

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #4 -Importunity

"4. Importunity. This is so important that on three different occasions our Lord impressed its necessity upon his disciples. This was one evident design of the history of the Syrophonician woman, who could not be prevented from crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David." (Matt. xv. 22.) Thus also in the parable of the unjust judge, who said, "Because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coin­ing she weary me. And the Lord said, I lour what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though lie bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." (Luke xviii. 5-8.). Again in Luke xi. 5-8, we read of the man who refused to give his friend bread, of whom Christ said, "Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his impor­tunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." God deals with us as a wise benefactor. He requires that we should appreciate the value of the blessings for which we ask, and that we should manifest a proper earnestness of desire. If a man begs for his own life or for the life of one dear to him, there is no repressing his importunity. He will not be refused. If the life of the body is to be thus earnestly sought, can we expect that the life of the soul will be granted to those who do not seek it with importunate earnestness."

From Systematic Theology By Charles Hodge

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #3 -Humility

3. Humility. This includes, first, a due sense of our insignifi­cance as creatures; and secondly, a proper apprehension of our ill-desert and uncleanness in the sight of God as sinners. It is the opposite of self-righteousness, of self-complacency and self-confidence. It is the spirit manifested by Job, when he placed his hand, upon his mouth, and his mouth in tie dust, and said, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes; by Isaiah when he said, Woe is me because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; and by the publican, who was afraid to lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, and said, God be merciful to me a sinner. Such Language is often regarded as exaggerated or hypocritical. It is however, appropriate. It expresses the state of mind which can­not fail to be produced by a proper apprehension of our charac­ter as sinners, in the sight of a just and holy God. Indeed there is no language which can give adequate expression to that rational sense of sin which the people of God often experience.

From Systematic Theology By Charles Hodge

Out on the Farm

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #2 -Reverence

"2. Reverence. God is an infinitely exalted being; infinite in his holiness as well as in. knowledge and power. He is to he had in reverence by all who are round about Him. This holy fear is declared to be the first element of all true religion. His people are designated as those who fear His name. We are required to serve Him with reverence and godly fear. And whenever heaven is opened to our view, its inhabitants are seen prostrate before the throne. We offend God, therefore, when we address Him as we would a fellow creature, or use forms of expression of undue familiarity. Nothing is more characteristic of the prayers recorded in the Bible, than the spirit of reverence by which they are pervaded. The Psalms especially may be re­garded as a prayer-book. Every Psalm is a prayer, whether of worship, of thanksgiving, of confession, or of supplication. In many cases all these elements are intermingled. They relate to all circumstances in the inward and outward life of those by whom they were indited. They recognize the control of God over all events, and over the hearts of men. They assume that He is ever near and ever watchful, sustaining to His people the relation of a loving Father. But with all this, there is never any forgetfulness of his infinite majesty. There is a tendency some­ times in the best of men, to address God as though He were one of ourselves. Luther's familiar formula was Lieber Herr, or Lieber Herr Gott (dear Lord, dear Lord God). As Lieber Herr is the usual mode of address among friends (equivalent to our Dear Sir), it sounds strangely when God is thus addressed. In Luther it was the expression of faith and love; in many who imitate him it is the manifestation of an irreverent spirit."

From Systematic Theology By Charles Hodge

Requisites of Acceptable Prayer #1 -Sincerity

I found these Requisites of Acceptable Prayer in Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge Volume 3 and had to share them.

"1. The first and most obviously necessary requisite of accepta­ble prayer is sincerity. God is a Spirit. He searches the heart. He is not satisfied with words, or with external homage. He cannot be deceived and will not be mocked. It is a great offence, therefore, in his sight, when we utter words before Him in which our hearts do not join. We sin against Him when we use terms, in the utterance of which the angels veil their faces, with no cor­responding feelings of reverence; or use the formulas of thanksgiving without gratitude; or those of humility and confession without any due sense of our unworthiness ; or those of petition without desire for the blessings we ask. Every one must acknowledge that this is an evil often attending the prayers of sin­cere Christians; and with regard to the multitudes who, in places of public worship, repeat the solemn forms of devotion or profess to unite with those who utter them, without any corresponding emotions, the service is little more than mockery."

From Systematic Theology By Charles Hodge

Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Part 2

Womanhood, Biblical
Fatherhood/Manhood/Patriarchy
Audio Links

Don't miss part 2 of this excellent message by William Einwechter!

• Roles of Men and Women in the Church, Part 2
  William O. Einwechter
  1 Timothy 2:11-15

Wrath without any pity

Some good quotes
Eternal Punishment, Hell, Wrath of God

"Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear. Ezek. viii. 18. "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them." Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel, but to be filled full of wrath. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only "laugh and mock," Prov. i. 25, 26, &c."

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

The Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 5

How does Gods reason to create relate to the human race?

The Westminster Shorter Catechism so brilliantly says it like this:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Our puritan fathers said that our chief (ultimate) end (purpose) is to glorify God, a term which is thrown around a lot, but what does it mean? What exactly does it mean to “glorify” God?

The root of the word speaks of heaviness and weight. And what makes something heavy or weighty? Answer: What it consists of or what it is made up of. What it is intrinsically. So glory came to speak of something’s intrinsic excellence.

When we speak of Gods glory we are speaking of the manifestation of His inner attributes, the shining forth of His own intrinsic beauty, excellence and worthiness. For this reason Gods glory is often associated with light, such as in Exodus 24:17 or Luke 2:9 for light reveals things and makes them manifest.

Light and glory speak of God revealing Himself. When we speak about glorifying God, we are speaking of making God known or reflecting His moral attributes. We are speaking of exhibiting and acknowledging who he is and giving him the honor, praise and reverence do Him.

Why did God create so many plants, bushes, trees etc.? To exhibit and show forth His great wisdom in using the sun, soil and water to bring all manner of plant life out of little dried up seeds. It exhibits the providence and care of God in sustaining them. It exhibits the power of God in sustaining them all. And it exhibits the great care of God in using them to provide air, food, shelter, beauty and more for His other creatures.

Why did God create so many animals and bugs? To show forth His great diversity in creating an infinite variety of strange and wonderful creatures and His infinite power in providing for them and sustaining them all.

Why all the planets, stars, the sun and the moon? “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19: 1-3. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God…” Romans 1:20,21.

We could continue on about every aspect of creation, but when we come to man, man is the greatest of Gods creation! Man is the jewel in the crown, man is the capstone! Man reflects God like nothing else in creation can! Man alone is said to be created in the “image” of God. Man is the ultimate reflection of God. But man has marred this image.

The three little tigers

Face Painting at a company picnic

Hatred of fertility and large families

Hatred of Beautiful Things
From Scott Brown online

"Hatred of fertility and large families will always end the same: unforseen economic problems and a net loss of love in this world. The people who contradict scripture on birth control will always at some point eat their words and some will gnash their teeth. But in the mean time they will trade the biblical tenor on the matter for their own thinking that argues, "God gave us a brain for planning, so birth control is lawful."

Parents listed peer pressure???

Home Schooling/Education
Audio Links

A recent survey by The Barna Group reports that "When asked to identify the most significant or challenging issues facing their teenagers, parents listed peer pressure..."

Now this is ironic, the first thing that I am asked when the average person finds out that I home school my children is "What about socialization?" I would guess that eight or nine out of ten non-home schoolers immediately ask me this question often implying that my children will never survive adulthood if I don't get them into public school to learn how to socialize with their peers. But when asked what is the most challenging issue facing their children the leading answer is socialization (peer pressure). Thats funny, my kids don't have peer pressure and they can socialize with all age groups.

Anyway, heres Kevin Swanson discussing this issue on Generations Radio.

• The Problems With Private and Public Schooling
  Kevin Swanson • Peer Pressure • 25 min.
  Generations Radio

Be careful what books you read

“Be careful what books you read, for as water tastes of the soil it runs though, so does the soul taste of the authors that a man reads.”

- John Trapp

The Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 4

God exercised His attributes in creation in order that He might rejoice in their work. He is the cause by which all things are made and the reason for which they are made: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things…” Romans 11:36

This answer alone accounts for sin.

God’s mercy could not find expression apart from sinners to exercise it on.
God’s grace could not find expression apart from wicked men to lavish it on.
God’s patience could not find expression apart from unworthy people to be patient with.
God’s righteous anger could have no expression apart from unrepentant sinners to pour it out upon.
God’s goodness is magnified when He is good to those who don’t deserve it.
God’s love is magnified when he loves the wretched and unlovable.
God’s justice is magnified in redeeming the guilty by suffering their penalty.
God’s moral rectitude is magnified in the eternal punishment of sinners.

We could go on and on. Can’t we see a purpose for sin when looked at from this perspective? All of Gods attributes, His mercy, grace, patience, anger, goodness, love, justice, moral rectitude, etc. etc. come together at the cross where God deals with sin. The work of Christ in His life, death and resurrection, all focused around the cross, is one massive explosion of the attributes of God! No wonder Paul, when thinking upon the mercies of God, cries out “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33

Even Hell itself magnifies the attributes of God. It reveals the perfect justness of God in giving sinners exactly what they deserve. It reveals Gods righteous hatred of sin in the perfect severity of the punishment. “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Proverbs 16:4. But yet at the same time it exhibits the grace, mercy, kindness, love, longsuffering, etc. of Christ in taking such a horrible punishment upon himself for his people. Is it any wonder Paul says in Romans 11 “Behold (look at, consider, ponder) therefore the goodness and severity of God…”

So God created in order to exercise His own attributes that He might observe His own attributes that He might rejoice in their work, but what does that have to do with us?

Nonbelievers Find Strength in Numbers

• In America, Nonbelievers Find Strength in Numbers
  By Jacqueline L. Salmon
  Washington Post Staff Writer
  

"Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." Proverbs 11:21

Discipline: The Biblical Doctrine

New at Pol'-e-store
Church Discipline

Discipline: The Biblical Doctrine Audio CD
By Jeff Pollard / Vision Forum

Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 3

As a much younger Christian I obtained a copy of a book by Jonathan Edwards entitled A Dissertation Concerning the End for which God made the World and as I struggled through this little book the truth of it hit me like a ton of bricks! If God alone is self existent, then the reason as to why He created must lie in Himself. Something within Himself, His own character, His own attributes, had to have motivated Him to act.

This makes perfect sense! For instance: if God is infinitely and perfectly good, then He must love, value and esteem what is most good. And if God is infinitely and perfectly holy, then He must love, value and esteem what is most holy. And if God is infinitely and perfectly just, then He must love, value and esteem what is most just. And if God is infinitely and perfectly righteous, then He must love, value and esteem what is most righteous. And if God posses and exercises infinitely perfect love, then He will love with the greatest love that which is most worthy of such love.

So tell me, what is most good? What is most holy? What is most just? What is most righteous? And what is the most worthy of object of perfect love? The answer is obvious; God! God is most worthy.

Now if Gods love is infinitely perfect, then the degree and intensity of His love will correspond to the worthiness of the object loved. And if God is infinitely worthy, He will love Himself to an infinite degree. Herein lies the answer to our question “Why did God create?” God infinitely loves and delights in his own perfect attributes, and because of this, He infinitely loves and delights in the exercise of His attributes, and for this reason He has exercised them in creation; that He might rejoice in their work.

Understood in this way, God is the cause by which all things are made and the reason for which all things are made. In this light He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. Now that is Biblical! This is what Romans 11:36 tells us: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things…” This is what Colossians 1:16,17 are telling us “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” God acts for His own sake: “For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it…” Isaiah 48:11.

Even the wicked exist for God: “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Proverbs 16:4. When all is said and done it will be seen that even the wicked will be taking part in exercise of Gods attributes, how incredibly frustrating to those who hate God; anything they do will ultimately bring joy to the God they have rebelled against!

George Muller on debt

"December 1, 1842. For the last several months, money and supplies have continued to flow in without interruption as they were needed. There was no excess or lack. But nothing came in today except five shillings for needlework. We only had enough to supply our absolute need—milk. We were unable to purchase the usual quantity of bread.

Someone may ask, "Why don't you buy the bread on credit? What does it matter whether you pay immediately for it or at the end of the month? Since the Orphan Houses are the work of the Lord, can't you trust Him to supply you with money to pay the bills from the butcher, baker, and grocer? After all, the things you purchase are needed so that the work may continue."

My reply is this: If this work is the work of God, then He is surely able and willing to provide for it. He will not necessarily provide at the time we think that there is need. But when there is real need, He will not fail us. We may and should trust in the Lord to supply us with what we require at present, so that there may be no reason to go into debt.

I could buy a considerable amount of goods on credit, but the nest time we were in need, I would turn to further credit instead of turning to the Lord. Faith, which is maintained and strengthened only by exercise, would become weaker and weaker. At last, I would probably find myself deeply in debt with no prospect of getting out of it. Faith rests on the written Word of God, but there is no promise that He will pay our debts. The Word says, "Owe no man any thing" (Romans 13:8). The promise is given to His children, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). "He that believeth on him shall not be con­founded" (1 Peter 2:6). We have no scriptural grounds to go into debt.

Our goal is to show the world and the Church that even in these last evil days, God is ready to' help, comfort, and answer the prayers of those who trust in Him. We need not go to our fellowmen or to the ways of the world. God is both able and willing to supply us with all we need in His service.

Through the printed accounts of this ministry, many have been converted. We consider it our precious privilege to continue to wait upon the! Lord only instead of buying goods on credit or borrowing money from kind friends. As God gives us grace we will look to Him only, although from meal to meal we have to depend on Him. God is now in the tenth year of feeding these orphans, and He has never allowed them to go hungry. He will care for them in the future also.

I am deeply aware of my own helplessness and dependence on the Lord. Through the grace of God my soul is in peace, although day after day we have to wait on the Lord for our daily bread."

Taken from the autobiography of George Muller

Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America

New at Pol'-e-store
Apparel/Clothing

Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America CD
By Jeff Pollard / The Vision Forum, Inc

CBD says: "Jeff Pollard address' a rapt crowd in a conference message based on his popular book Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of American. He summarizes the basic message of the book, but delves even further into areas not as well covered, such as the role that men play in modesty. He speaks with a gentle yet firm tone that doesn't rant against women, but rather clearly addresses the Biblical need for modesty, encouraging both men and women to have a unambiguous understanding of it's biblical importance. In an era of polar extremes, Jeff Pollard gives way to neither legalism nor liberalism, but holds to precisely what he sees in Scripture. Approximately 55 minutes."


Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America
By Jeff Pollard / The Vision Forum, Inc

CBD says: "In today's "anything goes" culture, modesty has nearly become an archaic concept. Avoiding both license and legalism, Pollard takes a probing look at the historical roots for the rise of indecency in this country---especially as it pertains to modern swimwear---and challenges Christians to embrace God's standards anew. Courageous and compelling! 77 pages, softcover."

Home schooling in the kitchen

The Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 2

So what prompted God to create?

We know that God does not do things without a reason. God is not a God of confusion or disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33). So why did God create?

Some might say “He was bored.” He created, let it go and now He’s watching to see what will happen. Many others would probably say that we can’t really know for sure why He first created. These answers are entirely inconsistent with Scripture and not even worth considering as far as I’m concerned.

Some might say “He needed fellowship.” But this could not be the reason for God existed throughout all eternity in the perfect fellowship of the Trinity, he did not need anyone else’s fellowship, especially not that of a sinful human race. In fact we cannot say that God needs anything, for all things come from Him and cannot give Him something He needs. He alone needs nothing.

Some would say that God created in order to express love to His creatures and I think this is getting slightly closer to the truth but any explanation we give for creation must take sin into account. If God simply wanted to express love why would he allow the fall and all the misery that has followed?

Many prominent Christians in our day tell us that God allowed the human race to fall into sin because he had to give us the “free will” to choose to love Him or not. But God had fellowship with Adam and expressed love to him before he fell, God did not have to give the command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God could have loved us and had fellowship with us without letting us fall into sin; He could have created a world full of peace, happiness and eternal bliss without it ever being plunged into the utter misery we see all around us now.

Sin, the fall and the eternal misery of the wicked must be taken into account in any explanation of creation. No matter what your theological persuasion might be you cannot escape the fact that God could have circumvented the fall in myriad of ways, but He did not, He chose to let it happen. The simple fact that He did not prevent nor circumvent it leaves us to conclude that He determined it to happen. To simply say that He “wanted to express love” fails to answer the question “Why the Fall?” Wouldn’t it have been more loving to prevent the fall?

The answer to these questions can only be found in the character or attributes of God. If God alone is self existent, if He alone dwells in eternity, then the reason as to why He created must lie in Himself. Prior to creation, He was all that there was and something within Him had to have motivated Him to act. This makes perfect sense and this alone accords with the Scriptural Revelation.

George Muller vs. the Bail Worshipers

I must say the autobiography of George Muller has been a real encouragement to prayer and steadfastness. While I don’t think I would wholeheartedly agree with everything he said and did I have to stand in awe of much of what he did do, such as taking care of around one hundred orphans for many years without ever asking any man for help, relying solely on the Lord to answer his prayers and send the help. Amazing!

It’s refreshing to see someone (even if they’re dead) come to convictions from Scripture and actually stick by them no matter how hard it gets because they’re scriptural. It seems that so many people come to this or that doctrinal or practical conviction because of Scripture only to throw it out the window when it becomes inconvenient or difficult. When things get tough they Bail.

How encouraging it is to watch someone wait upon the Lord in difficult situations and remain faithful to His word, and by contrast how disheartening it is to watch others Bail when things become difficult or loose their excitement or whatever.

Anyhow, here’s another good quote from the book that we read last night:

“If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportu­nity of seeing God's help and deliverance. Every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will increase my faith. The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried, but he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliver­ance. Thus his faith will be strengthened.”

The Epicenter of Christian Doctrine Part 1

Why do you exist?

This is the ultimate, most fundamental, basic question of life. But how many people can actually answer it? How many people could tell you why they are here day after day after day? It’s become a sort of joke in our day to talk about contemplating the big question; “what is the meaning of life?” But if we’re going to go around existing shouldn’t we at least know why we’re doing it?

Some one might ask “Does it really matter if we know why we exist?”

Absolutely! If you can’t see the big picture, you can’t put the parts in the right order. If you don’t know your purpose, you cannot fulfill it. If you don’t see you’re goal, you cannot reach it and if you don’t have a focus you will be going everywhere.

If you don’t have a focus, a vision, a goal and a purpose you will be:
Aimless- because you do not know exactly where you are going.
Ineffective- because you don’t know exactly what you are doing. And
Unmotivated- because you don’t exactly have a reason for doing anything.

Not knowing the reason that you exist will ultimately frustrate your life and everything you do with it.

If we are going to know the reason that we exist, we must know why God created us. We must ask and answer this question: why did God create? Why did He create us or anything else for that matter? What prompted His action? The answer to this question will tell us the ultimate end (or purpose) of creation, and being part of creation ourselves, it will reveal the purpose of our existence.

Life is a series of means and ends, for example: we set our alarm (the means) in order to wake up (the end), we get up (the means) in order go to work (the end), we go to work (the means) in order to make money (the end), we make money (the means) in order to make pay bills (the end) etc. etc. etc. Now if we can find the chief or ultimate end, we will then know what all the other means and ends are working towards and what they should be arranged to accomplish.

If you find the ultimate end of creation, then you have found the purpose for which everything was created. And if you have found the purpose of creation, then you have found the purpose for your own existence. And if you have found the purpose for your existence, then you can arrange all that you do to fulfill it. Then Gods purpose for creation will be fulfilled and your purpose for living will be fulfilled!

So, back to the question; why did God create?

Deanna Rose Farmstead

The kids and I recently took a trip to the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park, Kansas. The kids had a really good time and I must admit there was a little more there than I was expecting to see in the middle of Overland Park

Like this one room school house with a bunch of historical pictures on the walls inside.

Some chicken looking bird things

A pond literally jumping with fish that you can go fishing in for a small fee.

Michael with horns on his head

Indian stuff

Lots of old tractors

Barns with slides, playgrounds, gardens, cows, goats, pigs

And, of coarse, a cowch.

Words of wisdom

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when they get angry, you're a mile away and you have their shoes."

Besieging the New Jerusalem

As mentioned earlier, I’ve been reading The Forgotten Spurgeon once again. Personally I think every Christian should read it once or twice, but anyhow, I love this account of the revival that took place under his ministry as it got underway at New Park Street.

“Spurgeon came to London conscious that God had been hiding His face from His people. His knowledge of the Bible and of Church history convinced him that, com­pared with what the Church had a warrant to expect, the Spirit of God was in great measure withdrawn, and if God continued to withhold His face, he declared to his people, nothing could be done to extend His Kingdom. It is not your knowledge, nor your talent, nor your zeal, he would say, that can perform God's work. 'Yet, brethren, this can be done -we will cry to the Lord until He reveals His face again,' 'All we want is the Spirit of God. Dear Christian friends, go home and pray for it; give yourselves no rest till God reveals Himself; do not tarry where you are, do not be content to go on in your everlasting jog-trot as you have done; do not be content with the mere round of formalities. Awake, O Zion; awake, awake, awake!'

Before many months had passed it was manifest that the congregation at New Park Street was awakening, and as travail in prayer became the characteristic of the church one common burden spread from pastor to people. 'The Lord send a blessing. He must send it, our hearts will break if He does not.' What a change took place in the prayer meetings! Now instead of the old, dull prayers, 'Every man seemed like a crusader besieging the New Jerusalem, each one appeared determined to storm the Celestial City by the might of inter­cession; and soon the blessing came upon us in such abund­ance that we had not room to receive it.”

Taken from The Forgotten Spurgeon
By Iain H. Murray / Banner Of Truth

The bow of God's wrath is bent

"The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them; when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and safety: now they see, that those things on which they depended for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows."

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

Children and the Dominion Mandate

New at Pol'-e-store
Birth Control
Children

I just recently finished listening to the Vision Forum message Children and the Dominion Mandate by Willaim Einwechter; very good!

By our anti-life and anti-child attitudes and practices we are cutting off our own posterity, destroying our own future and disobeying the Dominion mandate given us by God. The death of Western civilization is no longer a matter of prediction, as pastor Einwechter so clearly points out, it's now a simple mathematical equation.

• Children and the Dominion Mandate Audio CD
  By Willaim Einwechter / Vision Forum

Evangelism of the humorous type

"Evangelism of the humorous type may attract multitudes but it lays the soul in ashes and destroys the very germs of religion."

-Robertson Nicoll

with sails rent to ribbons

“All the way to heaven, we shall only get there by the skin of our teeth. We shall not go to heaven sailing along with sails swelling to the breeze, like sea birds with their fair white wings, but we shall proceed full often with sails rent to ribbons, with masts creaking, and the ship's pumps at work night and day. We shall reach the city at the shutting gate, but not an hour before”

Taken from The Forgotten Spurgeon
By Iain H. Murray / Banner Of Truth

"...justly charged upon their parents..."

One cause of the decay of religion in our day
From the Preface to the Second London Baptist Confession of'1677

“...And that in this backsliding day, we might not spend our breath in fruitless complaints of the evils of others, but may every one begin at home to reform in the first place our own hearts and ways; and then to quicken all that we may have influence upon to the same work; that if the will of God were so, none might deceive themselves by resting in and trusting to a form of godliness without the power of it and inward experience of the efficacy of those truths that are professed by them.

And verily there is one spring and cause of the decay of religion in our day, which we cannot but touch upon and earnestly urge a redress of; and that is the neglect of the worship of God in families by those to whom the charge and conduct of them is committed. May not the gross ignorance and instability of many with the profaneness of others be justly charged upon their parents and masters, who have not trained them up in the way wherein they ought to walk when they were young? But have neglected those frequent and solemn commands which the Lord hath laid upon them so to catechize and instruct them, that their tender years might be seasoned with the knowledge of the truth of God as revealed in the Scriptures; and also by their own omission of prayer, and other duties of religion in their families, together with the ill example of their loose conversation, have inured them first to a neglect, and then contempt of all piety and religion? We know this will not excuse the blindness, or wickedness of any, but certainly it will fall heavy upon those that have thus been the occasion thereof. They indeed die in their sins; but will not their blood be required of those under whose care they were, who yet permitted them to go on without warning, yea led them into the paths of destruction? And will not the diligence of Christians with respect to the discharge of these duties, in ages past, rise up in judgment against, and condemn many of those who would be esteemed such now?

We shall conclude with our earnest prayer, that the God of all grace will pour out those measures of His Holy Spirit upon us, that the profession of truth may be accompanied with the sound belief and diligent practice of it by us that His name may in all things be glorified through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

From the Preface to the Second London Baptist Confession of'1677

Happy is Attractive

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Womanhood, Biblical
Articles, Sermons and Other Writings

Happy is Attractive
By Cindy McDermott of Salt Magazine

"My husband is always so very sweet to me, showering me with compliments. Yesterday he said to me, "You've looked so pretty these past couple of days. And you've seemed so happy. Happy is attractive!"

Hmmm, I thought to myself. So happy is attractive? I really never thought much about that possibility before. Like most women I have spent my share of time in front of the mirror. I look at my simple hairdo (wash and air dry), primp it a little, and decide if it looks ok. I consider whether my dress will be to Jim's liking. Then, of course, comes the side view. How is it looking today? I apply a modest amount of makeup and I'm good to go. Some days I'm more pleased with the results than other days.

My checklist in front of the mirror concentrates only on my outer self. I have no entry there for my inner self. Now I have to wonder why. Why did Jim's comment take my by surprise? It only makes sense. What type of person do we find more pleasant to be around? Is it the pessimistic, sad-faced, complaining person? No. It's the person who laughs and finds the good in things, sharing it with those in his midst with a smile on his face. We are attracted to that kind of person and find it gratifying to be in their presence.

Not only does it make rational sense, but it makes Biblical sense, which is more important. We read in 1 Peter 3:3-6: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." We tend to put much emphasis on our beauty that comes from our "outward adornment". In proper balance there is a place for that. Our bodies are God's temple and we should take appropriate care of them, including bathing and grooming. Additionally, an unkempt appearance is not a good witness for the Gospel. Our looks should not cast a bad image on God. It may not be fair to judge God based on a person's looks, but that's the way people are.

In regards to marriage there is also a consideration for our outward appearance. We should desire to be attractive to our husbands and to please them in that way. We should look and act feminine. We should take into account our husband's personal preferences and incorporate them into "our look". I don't believe there is anything wrong with our husbands deriving pleasure from our looks, nor is there anything wrong with giving our husbands something beautiful to look at.

But again, we should strive for balance, placing the proper emphasis on both our outward and inner selves. We see from reading 1 Peter that the inner self is much more important to God than how we look on the outside. Proverbs 11:22 says “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion." Any outward beauty we possess is tarnished by a critical unsubmissive, harsh, and brash spirit. We need to take a good look at our inner spirit. Do we hold, subtly or not, our husband's past decisions against him? Do we expect our husbands to please us without any concern for pleasing them? Are we kind to them? Do we cheerfully allow them to lead us and our children? Do we discourage them? Do we appreciate them? Do we consider these questions when we look at ourselves in the mirror? Do we have a smile on our face? Do our eyes reflect respect and love for our husbands? A plain appearance with a gentle and quiet spirit is much more beautiful than stunning looks paired with poor character. Proverbs 31 tells us that "a wife of noble character" is "worth far more than rubies". In verse 28 "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' "His praise of her had nothing to do with her outward beauty, but rather her beautiful character. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (vs.30) Can we apply Jesus' words from Matthew 23 here? "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." I think it's ok for me to take a look into the mirror, as long as I keep in my mind that the importance of what I see pales in comparison to the importance of my inner spirit, which matters much to God, and, apparently, to my husband as well."

By Cindy McDermott