A Call For A Return To Fundamentalism

At Hampton Park Baptist Church this past Sunday, J.D. Crowley preached on being a steward of the gospel.  He preached against churches that call themselves Fundamentalist, but instead are just separating from gospel preaching churches because of non-issues. 

You can download the sermon here, and I highly recommend doing so.

The Unsaved Giving Two Mites

I found this article this morning on the New York Times.  It tells the story of a family who sold their house and gave half the money to the poor.  Should we as Christians not be willing to do this and more?

Martin Luther King on His Funeral

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hat Tip: Jenny Simmons

Idolatrous Worship of the Bible

The Armchair Anthropologist on the Book of Eli:

Eli and Carnegie, like the Pharisees, “search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life (John 5:39-40).” Like so many, the Bible is worshiped as an important piece of literature, but they fail to know the One to whom it testifies.

Read the rest here.

John 1: God's Rejection by His Own

John 1:10-13:

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God; children born not of natural descent nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God.

Pretty much every time I hear this passage quoted it's about salvation, which is an excellent application.  Everyone who believes on Jesus will be adopted as one of God's own children. 

But the thing that struck me the last time I read this was verse 11.  "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." The Messiah had been foretold for years.  Isaiah prophesied that he would come and heal the lame and make the blind see.  But when Jesus actually showed up on this earth, healing the lame and the blind, he was rejected by Israel.  The very people that knew he would be coming, that were even waiting for him to come, murdered him when he did come.  He came to his own, but they didn't receive him. 

I am God's own.  I've been bought with a price.  I am no longer mine.

How many times does God try to get my attention, only to have me completely ignore him?  How many sermons do I sit through without checking out my own heart?  How many times can I read the Bible through without it radically changing my life?

So today, this week, I pray that I will not be ignorant or blind.  But I pray that I will have my eyes open to receive whatever God has for me.

Al Mohler's Take On Haiti

Yesterday I posted an article about God's role in the Haiti disaster.  Today I ran across something Al Mohler posted on his blog on Thursday.  He says it so much better than I do and it's worth checking out.  Read the full article on Al Mohler's website.

God's Role In the Haiti Disaster

In light of this week's devastating earthquake in Haiti, many have offered up explanations as far as God's role in the disaster.  Pat Robertson claims it was because the Haitians made a pact with the devil and kicked the French out in Colonial times.  Pooja Bhatia, in the New York Times wrote that a God who hides is better than nothing.  Some believe the earthquake was a product of chance; some believe God, or the devil caused it.

The fact is that I don't know what was going on in heaven in the hours before the quake.  The book of Job lets us in on God's sovereignty over bad times.  In Job's case God allowed Satan to take everything Job had and loved. 

Death isn't something that belongs to Haiti.  Yes, this week death struck hardest there, but every human being will one day fall to death.  It is unavoidable.  Romans 5:12 tells us that "death came to all men, because all sinned."  We will all die, because we have rebelled against God.

We have tried to put God in a box.  We over emphasize his love for all people or his justice and hatred of sin.  But God cannot be understood, and he will not be held down by our theories.

So as politically insensitive as this sounds, the destruction in Haiti was directly or indirectly the work of God.  He allowed it to happen.  It was part of his sovereign will, just as everyone will one day die.  It is our punishment for sin.  Because God is just, and we are sinners, we must die.

God is a God of justice, but he is also a God of Love.  Romans 6:23 tells us that the payment for sin is death, but God gives the gift of eternal life.  Just as God has every right to punish sin, he has every right to forgive it.  And forgive it he will.

So through every bad time we go through, whether it's a Katrina, or a 9-11, or a tsunami, we know there is a God who will punish sin, but who will also give us eternal life if we repent and turn to him.  (Romans 10:9)