My Brother Brian

To all my blogger friends, Brian from "For Love of God" has lost administrative control of his blog and certain wicked influences have usurped it for evil purposes.

He is requesting that you immediately de-link him so as to prevent others from inadvertently running across this site.

I do hope he will re-emerge soon as his content and insight are greatly appreciated.

2008 Hype!!

Well, it seems that the rhetoric and name calling has started for the 08' presidential nominations.

If you could pick any person of solid character and principle to be the next president, who would you pick?

Resurrection Life

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:1-17

This chapter begins with an obvious assumption, that of our being raised with Christ. Therefore what follows is based upon our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. As such, we are then commanded to live in a certain way and reckon the body of sin dead to its former passions and lusts.

Verse 2 gives us the key; setting our minds on the things above, where Christ is. Many times we read in scripture of the need to guard our minds from corrupting thoughts. Our mind is the gateway to our heart and as such we must guard what we allow to be entertained there. What we allow into our minds ultimately enters our heart and becomes the things we wrap our affections around. This is where idolatry begins, by entertaining wrong thoughts which effectively ensnare our heart in misguided adoration.

We are warned to bring every thought to the obedience of Christ, and furthermore this is where Satan begins to attack our faith. If we resist the devil, he will flee from us. David wrote, "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee". He obviously understood the need to train his mind to focus on scripture and by doing so, his response would be to medidate on the law of God, thereby restraining him from sinning.

As believers today, we have not only the word of God but also His holy Spirit. His indwelling Spirit is opposed to our fleshly desires as scripture says, "the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh". They are indeed contrary to one another. By taking God's grace, we are able to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil. God has commanded that we live an overcoming life, we have no legitimate right to sin or excuse for the same. He has provided all the means for our victory, His very life and nature. Christ Himself is our victory and wants to express Himself through our lives. However, we must daily yield to Him and by taking up our cross, deny our own lusts and selfish pleasures.

God's grace is the enabling quality to overcome any temptation, sin, or trial. For where sin did abound, grace did much more abound. We are never beyond the place where his grace cannot lift us up. God's grace is simply Christ offering Himself as our supply.

Fineprint on Finney

I have read much of Finney's heresy in the blogosphere. While not very familiar with Charles Finney, I did read a short biography the other night as I was very curious to see who this man was. However, I found nothing in that biography worthy of labeling him a heretic. So my dear readers, could you please enlighten me as to what exactly this man is guilty of. I would appreciate a point form list of what exactly you find disconcerting.

Missions Minded

I have been slipping here, obviously. Here is the next addition of the missions focus I am trying to maintain.

Gospel for Asia is one of the premiere missions currently operating in the Indian subcontinent. While they are based primarily in India, their influence extends into many neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.





If you have not read Revolution in World Missions by brother K.P. Yohannan, then you have missed out on one of the most important movements happening in the kingdom today. GFA is on the cutting edge of evangelism in the 10/40 window and has seen thousands come to Christ every year. There are simply too many things to say about this awesome organization so I will simply refer you to their website where you can become more familiar with their work.

Filler

(I hope to return to regularly scheduled programming soon, until then please read this important development concerning the EU)

Europe's New Official Language

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5 year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such asreplasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, pleas lev und coment.

Love & Marriage

If you are not married, this post may seem irrelevant. However, I think you can probably understand what I am trying to say.

For those of us who have been married for a while (myself 13 years), the early days of courting and marriage seem a bit distant as the rush of life consumes our thoughts and energy. But if we think back to those times when we began to fall in love with our future wife or husband, we realize how much our every waking moments had been spent comtemplating our future marriage and life together.

Now I must confess that my thoughts are not consumed all day long with my wife now, as work and the responsibilities of life crowd in, but my love for her is definitely richer and deeper than when we first married. I am beginning to understand the love that Paul talks about in Ephesians, although I have far from arrived.

Is this your experience as well...that marriage has progressed from purely warm and fuzzy to something of depth and meaning? Is this not what the norm should be, that we grow closer together in oneness as we set our affections upon the Lord?

Sadly, this is not the case for thousands of marriages. The proof is that divorce has become a common and everyday occurence in our society. Even in the Church today divorce is rampant, and to make it worse we have preachers who compromise this message making it more acceptable. It is hard to find one family that has not been affected by a marriage breakdown.

Marriage is a wonderful picture of Christ and His Church, and Paul speaks of this mystery in Ephesians. For no reason will Christ forsake His Bride but is lovingly preparing us to meet Him and enter into a joyful fellowship for all eternity. But as God's people, are we truly loving the Lord with all of our heart, or has the love of money and temporal pleasures caused us to lose our first love? Christ's warning in Revelation was quite severe to the church at Ephesus. They had become guilty of losing their first love and He warned them to repent lest He should come and chasten them.

God loves us with a jealous love and will do whatever it takes to correct us when we stray from Him. But His desire is that we submit to Him and enjoy the riches of His grace and the fellowship of His table. In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore. What are you being satisfied with today? Let us return to the Lord, for He will pardon our iniquity and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

New Link

Well, it's about time I added a new link in the chain. So out of a completely selfless motive, I am linking to JD Hatfield's blog, Voice of Vision. JD has suggested I need to round out my theology a bit more and he is happy to assist in that matter.

There are a couple of reasons I like JD, first being we share the same name. Secondly, our fathers share the same name...and before you ask, no, we are not cousins. JD pastors a church down in the sunny citrus land of Florida, and has a very good attitude towards discussing topics of a Biblical nature. I appreciate his willingness to avoid contentious name calling and seek unity based on scriptural truth.

I can't help but think that I have heard the name Hatfield somewhere before though...hmmm...could it have been on an old episode of the Flintstones where Fred goes to visit some distance relatives in Arkansas. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Anyways, I think I am now well roundedly linked to reformed brethren and calvinistically minded individuals. To avoid the danger of becoming unbalanced, I need to find some other view points. Does anyone have some recommendations?

By the way, nobody likes a person to remain unlabeled. What in your opinion is the label you would attach to my beliefs as you have read them. How am I coming across?

Faith Alone

We all know the verse in Ephesians that declares we are saved by grace through faith, and this totally apart from any form of works. The mere fact that it is the grace of God that saves us precludes any act on our part of coming to Christ on our own merit. I think we would all agree on this point.

However, I think sometimes the meaning of 'faith' can become obscured or fuzzy, and we attach meanings and assumptions that are possibly not correct to try and properly understand this word. Hebrews chapter 11 states that faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Therefore faith at its core has the implication of something that is not really tangible, and yet so profoundly understood that it transcends the realm of logic and reason and that of sight and sound.

Curiously enough, the word 'faith' stands alone and is only defined by its measure or activity. I have not confirmed this 100% completely, but I cannot think of one instance where faith has a modifier either preceding or following it.

Is there such a thing as a modifier for the word 'faith'?

Sinless Perfection

The doctrine of Perseverance teaches us that a genuine believer will last or persevere until the end of his or her life. They will ultimately prevail over sin by demonstrating fruits of repentance. While not perfect, their lives will have obvious signs of works which therefore prove the legitimacy of their faith.

I do not wish to discuss the Biblical accuracy of this doctrine today, but rather to look at the matter of sin in the life of a 'genuine' believer. As we know, God does not wink at sin nor does He overlook our sins. We know that He has paid the ransom to redeem us from our sins and the power of sin. Why then do we continue to sin?

If we have the nature of Christ within us as the Bible says, why do we as christians continue to sin? Why do some of us experience more victory over sin than others? How much can a believer sin and still be a 'genuine' christian? Has God ordained that we sin?

From the following verses, it would seem God desires us to be perfect in all that we say and do. Is this theoretically possible for us to do? Why or why not? I would really love to hear from my Calvinist friends.

2Co 13:11
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Php 3:15
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

2Ti 3:17
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

1Pe 1:15
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

1Pe 1:16
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Jo 2:1(a)
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.

Joh 8:11
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Japan Mission

Last week I mentioned listening to a radio program called "Unshackled". One of the programs featured a missionary to Japan. In the two part series, South African, Neil Verwey describes how the Lord led him to go as a young man to Japan. Prior to his going he had vowed not to get married, but shortly after arriving met a single missionary lady who he eventually fell in love with. Neil and Peggy Verwey founded Japan Mission and have been serving the Lord together in Japan for 50 years. Even today, Neil has no plans of "retiring" but desires to be used by God for the furthering of the kingdom in Japan.

Neil describes the challenges and rewards of bringing the gospel to the Japanese people. Because Japanese culture is so tightly family oriented, many Japanese feel they must first ask their parents for permission to become christians. They also feel much pressure to continue in the idolatrous practices that are so much a part of society.

Japan has one of the smallest percentages of evangelical believers of any country in the world. Truly the harvest is plentiful in that nation, and in desperate need of messengers of the good news of Jesus Christ. If you are seeking a nation to minister to, Japan definitely ranks as being very needy of prayer. May God do a mighty work there and set the captives free.

The True North

My wife took a few photos around the house.

In the bottom one, our 8 year old son is looking

out at dusk towards a sundog.

Check It Out!

Doing book reviews was always a big reason I decided to blog. However it seems I failed to get really started in that regards. Then after reading many of the book reviews by fellow bloggers I felt somewhat ill prepared to properly give a review.

People read books for all sorts of reasons. For some reading opens up doors of knowledge and learning, while for others reading gives them an enjoyable pastime whereby they can escape into a fantasy world of their imagination. As a young boy I loved to read adventure novels as well as anything to do with the outdoors, military, or cowboys. I was greatly intrigued by military history and loved reading through books detailing great wars of the past.

Within the heart of every man is a longing for adventure and excitement. Sadly, many of us pass the days cooped up behind desks, or chained to endless menial tasks. Our yearning for this adventure wains as we age but there is always a quiet longing lurking in the heart. God has designed men this way, and while these desires have been greatly abused throughout history, nevertheless God is still looking for men who will step out in faith and trust Him to lead them into the unknown.

For many of us who grew up as church kids or were raised in christian homes, we thought of the christian life as a docile and passive existence where we attended the meetings and were good quiet little members of society. So when I began to read "Rebel with a Cause" I was immediately drawn to the adventurous lifestyle of Franklin Graham. Even after Christ saved him, Franklin was still willing to risk his safety to reach people with the gospel, and bring much needed relief through meeting physical needs.

I had always though of both Billy and Franklin Graham as simply evangelists who never really knew what the average man went through, or for that matter ever exposed themselves to hardships etc. But as I read this book, I gained a whole new sense of respect for Franklin and his ministry, Samaratin's Purse.

While this book definitely doesn't rank as a theological book, it nevertheless meets the most important requirements for any sound theology; that of presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to lost sinners. I was impressed that Samaratin's Purse makes sharing Christ the main reason for their endeavours and ministry. From what I can gather, they have not simply become another christian humanitarian organization that gives but neglects to preach the message of Christ, rather, their desire for the word to be spread is evident in their condition of accepting projects.

A very interesting concept I read about was something that the founder of World Vision, Bob Pierce, called "God room". I will let Franklin explain:

From India we went to Katmandu, Nepal, and Iran. While traveling with Bob, I learned many of life's lessons. But the lesson Bob taught me that stands out above all else is what Bob called "God room". "What do you mean?" I asked him once when he started talking about "God room". He gave me a glance that was close to disgust, almost as if to say, "Don't you know?" He took a deep breath and sighed before he said, "'God room' is when you see a need and it's bigger than your human abiities to meet it. But you accept the challenge. You trust God to bring in the finances and the materials to meet that need. "You get together with your staff, your prayer partners, and supporters, and you pray. But after all is said and done, you can only raise a portion of the resources required. "Then you begin to watch God work. Before you know it, the need is met. At the same time, you understand you didn't do it. God did it. You allow Him room to work."

Is that not the essence of faith? Allowing ourselves to go beyond what our eyes can see and by faith accept the challenges the Lord puts in our path? God wants to be glorified through our lives, but we must be willing to let Him have control and the ultimate say. This concept lit a fire in me as I began to see more the practical working of faith.

This book is a personal look into the life of one of America's most famous Christian families, and yet it is more than simply a autobiography. I found it to be faith challenging as I was presented with situations where christian men were willing to step out by faith, and allow God to be magnified while bringing the gospel and food and clothing to impoverished souls.

I would strongly encourage you to get this book and allow your faith to be stretched. May we all be willing to ask, "Lord what do you have for me?"

Who Are You Feeding?

"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:8

Just as we feed our physical bodies that which is nourishing for health and strength, so too we are to feed our inner man that we might overcome the temptation of sin. However, just as when we eat the wrong foods on a regular basis we suffer the consequences of ill health, so too by not feeding upon the living Bread we can become spiritually weak.

Scripture warns us to not sow to the flesh because what we sow we shall reap. Not only do we suffer consequences for our sin, but we quench the Holy Spirit's working and thereby feel the effects of death in our lives.

Galatians gives us a synopsis of the contrasts between the flesh and the Spirit. By abiding in Christ we will bear the fruits of the Spirit, but if we allow our fleshly lusts to be indulged, we will begin to express the works of the flesh. So be careful what you eat, it may have ramifications you never desired or expected.

"Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God."

1 Peter 4:1-2

Missions Monday

I have decided to highlite one mission each week. So to start off this hopefully soon to be tradition, I decided to pick a domestic mission that is rarely glamourized by the Church.

When one thinks of a rescue mission, immediately a picture of skid row enters your mind where drunken bums lie in filth, intoxicated by any numbers of mind numbing drugs. Our initial reaction is to turn away in disgust not wishing to become stained by their filthiness and rank odour.

I remember when as a boy while waiting for the bus one time, a drunken man who had obviously urinated in his clothing came into the bus shelter and lay down on the bench to take a nap. Of course I was immediately taken back at his appearance wondering why on earth people would stoop to such a state. Of course, we were no worse than these visibly sin racked individuals. Perhaps the only difference being our sin was hidden and carefully manicured. But underneath it all, the depravity of the human heart can lead each one of us to this miserable state.

Pacific Garden Mission is the longest continuous running rescue mission in America. Since 1877, the "Old Lighthouse" has been meeting the spiritual needs of some of Chicago's most down and out individuals.

Famous evangelists such as Billy Sunday and Mel Trotter were both won to Christ through the faithful preaching of men serving there. D.L. Moody was also involved in the early days of PGM.

I first heard about this mission through a weekly radio program they produce called "Unshackled", dramatizing the lives of men and women who came to Christ. Incidentally, Unshackled is also the longest running radio show in history. I was very impressed with the quality of both the show and the content of the message.

I encourage you to check out for yourself the ministry of Pacific Garden Mission. You can listen to a past drama online right here.

Praise God for faithful men and women who were willing to go and minister to the outcasts of society.

Rest Sweet Rest

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Heb. 4:10-11

God had prepared a marvelous land for His people, a land full of milk and honey, a land overflowing with the abundance of minerals and trees, a land of rivers and streams. Yet in spite of all this, Israel disobeyed God through unbelief, and a whole generation perished in the wilderness. Of the men over 20, only Caleb and Joshua were granted the right to enter in and possess the good land.

This story gives us great pause to consider the consequences of disobeying a holy and righteous God. After all the miracles God had shown Israel and His mighty deliverance through the Red sea and the wilderness, still a rebellious Israel doubted God's word and grumbled and complained in the wilderness. Because of that they were prevented from enjoying what their eyes had seen.

While obviously the spiritual ramifications are huge in this story. The Old Testament was not written simply as an historical book, or as a bunch of nice little fairy tales, but "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Rom. 15:4

Therefore it behooves us to understand the application of this story to our christian lives today. We know that God had promised Israel rest from her enemies, and a land to call their own where they could have peace and security from their foes. While they were in Egypt they had worked like animals as slaves of Pharaoh. There is a beautiful picture of our salvation in the exodus of Israel from Egypt. Throughout scripture Egypt has been referred to as the world. Consider the following verses:

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Heb. 11:29

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1 Cor. 10:1-11

Why did Paul mention this? It was because he was giving the Corinthians a stern warning on what would happen should they continue in disobedience and sin. Here was his reason for quoting these verses;

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

1 Cor. 9:24-27

Paul was comparing the christian life to a race and urging his readers on to the finish line. Obviously there were things that could disqualify a person from receiving the prize, Paul knew that even though he had preached to others and been given the revelations of scripture, he was capable of missing out simply by allowing his sinful flesh to remain unchecked.

The goal of Israel's exodus was the land of Canaan. Yet many that left Egypt missed out on the inheritance God has promised them and instead wasted away their years in the wilderness. Sure, God took care of their needs as their clothing did not wear out and they never lack for food. Yet they missed the purpose for which they had been set free. They failed to enter into the rest.

Our purpose as christians is not simply to come out of the world, be a separate people and live happy, healthy lives. Rather God has given an inheritance, and this inheritance is in Christ. Christ himself is our rest, our portion, our good land. He is our meat, our drink, our true bread, and our righteousness. By faith let us lay hold of everything God has for us in Christ. May we not look back in regret as we see the missed opportunities of putting faith into action and seeing the mighty hand of God intercede on our behalf. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

2 John 1:8

Are You Antinomian?

This word has been used a lot lately around the blogisphere in what my good friend and "heretic" brother in the Lord would call a theological cussword.

While their are many nuances to this word, my basic understanding would be that antinomianism is the setting aside of the law. So an antinomianist would be one who preaches lawlessness or disregard for law keeping.

Am I correct in this assumption? How do you see the position of the law in a believers life? How does the law of Moses relate to our christian walk?

Who Owns Your Soul?

"Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."

Matt. 16:21-23"


Why did Jesus forbid his disciples from revealing who He was?

Was Satan actually in Peter when Jesus rebuked him?

Presuppostional Profundity

I was helping my son with a math question today and came to understand something important yet very basic. If in his long division work he made an elementary mistake at the beginning, his efforts would be in vain as his answer would necessarily be wrong.

Isn't this how a lot of people spend their time and efforts? They make an incorrect assumption somewhere in the beginning of life and the mistake costs them dearly along the way.

So too, we can come to the Word of God making statements or conclusions based upon an incorrect presuppositional platform. This affects our understanding of God's word profoundly making us jump through theological hoops to make sense. We then further add to the dilemna by quoting commentators or theologians who also made the same mistakes, thereby intensifying the problem and creating confusion for future readers and followers.

Foundational Groundwork

It is imperative that we come to the Word of God without a preconceived bias or agenda. Rather we come simply asking God to confirm His Word by His Word. That is, we use scripture to explain scripture. Sounds simplistic doesn't it? It is! However, the problems come when we attempt to use our natural rationale or understanding to deduct spiritual principles, or worse, to discount the commands of Christ in favour of lessor constraints. We in effect become like the pharisees who arm twisted the law to fit their own traditions, conveniently circumventing the purpose of the law, which was to drive them to Christ.

So while I accept the sheer impossibility of any bias or presuppostions when coming to the word (as my brother Bobby points out), we must ask God for clarity and revelation to grasp the mysteries hidden from the natural mind. Thus the imperative to be transformed by the renewing of our minds becomes expedient and practical.

A Banquet Table

Lastly, the Word of God was given to us for many reasons, but one of the chief reasons was for our edification. We are exhorted to feed upon His Word as the bread of Life. Christ Himself is our true drink and our true meat. His logos simply helps us to hear His rhemas, which by the way never contradict what He has written. He has given us all things richly for our enjoyment, Christ Himself is our portion. Enjoy Him today!

Monday Questions

I am going to ask you some questions that have been bouncing about in my head. They are in no particular order...but I would love to hear from my fellow bloggers on how you see them in a Biblical light.

Please refrain from quoting a commentary or other scholarly work, and from the pages of scripture alone explain why you believe what you do about these points.

Also, please only answer one question per comment. I am not looking for a single "right" answer, but eagerly wanting to know how you see them.

1. Who are the demons, and what is their origin?

2. What does the verse "they shall be saved, yet so as by fire" mean?

3. What habitation did the angels in Jude 6 leave to be bound in everlasting chains?

4. Who are the Nephilim in Genesis, and where did they come from?

5. What colour was Adam's skin?

6. Why were the Rechabites commended by God?

7. Is the millenium a literal thousand years?

8. In Luke 4:6 Satan claimed to control all the glory and power of the world. Was there validity in his claim?

9. Why did Jesus stop in mid sentence when quoting Isaiah 61:1-2.

More to come as they pop into my head....