Bible Study Magazine & Vintage Church Giveaway

Here is a great offer from Bible Study Magazine.

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll's new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

All I Have Is Christ

I'm not much for music. Yea, I'll listen to it here and there for various reasons. I might want to sing along in the car or pass the time at work or pump up while lifting. But on a day-in, day-out basis, I really don't listen to that much music... Until a song comes around that resonates with my soul every time I listen to it.

Recently, God has been using All I Have Is Christ by Jordan Kauflin to encourage my weary soul and remind me of glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified. I hope it has a similar effect on you.

All I Have Is Christ

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujuah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujuah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

Young Girl Argues for the Rights of Unborn Children... and Wins

In a day when more than 42,000,000 abortions are performed each year and America's newest president has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, there seems to be no hope for the rights and lives of the unborn.

But sometimes God brings about hope from the most unlikely places and faces.

Read the story.

Texts on Suffering: 2 Chronicles 12 - 14

Three more instances of suffering, evil, and death to note as I make my way through the Chronicler.

2 Chronicles 12:5-12

Like so many other instances of suffering in this book, this one is no different. King Rehoboam abandoned the law of the Lord as well as all of Israel with him. Therefore, God abandons them and plans to destroy them. Yet, the instant the princes and the king humble themselves before the Lord, God shows mercy. Please note that while God did show mercy on his people by not destroying them, he still leaves some room for chastisement and discipline.

2 Chronicles 13:18

Pretty straight forward here. Israel was subdued because they didn't rely on the Lord, and Judah prevailed because they did rely on the Lord. More thoughts on this later.

2 Chronicles 14:9-13

This passage is a glimmer of light amidst a dark backdrop of evil and faithless men. Newly crowned King Asa has found himself against daunting and seemingly hopeless odds. His army of 580,000 men stands against a sea of a million Ethiopians and 300 chariots. Yet, against insurmountable odds, Asa's faith in the Sovereign Lord does not waver.
"O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you."
And so it was. Man did not prevail against God, for "the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah."

One other small note that I might write about later. When Asa calls upon the Lord for help, his reasoning and beckoning for the Lord to help his people lies in the last six words of verse 11 - Let not man prevail against you. He's presuming upon God's love and allegiance to His name! So it is my belief that, like so many other times throughout Scripture, God defeated the Ethiopians for His name's sake primarily. I say primarily because I think there are other good reasons why God defeated the Ethiopians, but this is the ultimate one.

The Shaq

For those of you have heard of controversial, Christian fiction best seller, The Shack, by William Young, you might want to check out it's parody that is sweeping the NBA by storm. It's entitled The Shaq.

Read With Discernment

This caught my eye a few days ago. Lifeway Christian Stores has just come out with a new policy. Being a Christian bookstore, they are selling certain titles with a "Please Read with Discernment™" sticker affixed to the cover. Their website offers the following explanation:
"We want you to know that the authors of books marked Read with Discernment may have espoused thoughts, ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with historical evangelical theology. However, we are making these titles available to our customers... because we believe the books do present content that is relevant and of value to Christians and/or because pastors, seminary students, and other ministry leaders need access to this type of material, strictly for critical study or research to help them understand and develop responses to the diversity of religious thought in today's postmodern world. Our prayer for you is that in whatever you read, you place the material under the magnifying glass of scripture and read with discernment."
At the moment, they have only attached this warning to the following authors: William Young (author of The Shack), Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and Donald Miller. Lifeway has even offered short briefings on each of the selected authors to offer a little discernment, outline some of their concerns over the book, and try to help guide prospective readers as to what to watch out for if they decide to read one of the titles.

My wife, Misha, being her insightful self, offered the following legitimate question: "If Lifeway feels like these books could be harmful to the Christian community, why sell them in the first place?" I completely agree. Though I understand Lifeway's reasoning for offering these books to student and pastors for critical study or research and am even excited that such an innovation has come about, I believe that books like Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis, William Young's The Shack, and most (if not all) of Brian McLaren's numerous titles would be better kept off the shelves of the Christian bookstore. What do you think?

Texts on Suffering: 2 Chronicles 4 - 11

Sorry for the long delay. I've been in Peoria, IL for training a couple days this last week, and Misha and I have just been busy. Let's go.

2 Chronicles 6 - 7

The most specific references to suffering occur in the following verses: 2 Chr 6:24-30, 2 Chr 6:36-39, and 2 Chr 7:12-22. These verses find themselves in the larger context of the completion of the temple and Solomon's prayer of dedication of the people of Israel and the temple. The prayer of dedication is beautifully constructed and follows the following pattern. If God's people find themselves in sin or suffering because of sin and his people repent of sin and plead with God for mercy, then God will hear their prayers and forgive their sin. Each situation follows the same pattern. However, it is interesting to note the different situations.
  1. "If a man sins against his neighbor..." - Solomon calls for justice.
  2. "If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you [God]..." - It is implied in this phrase that, in some instances, a person's defeat is due to his sin. Yet, if he were to repent and cry for forgiveness, God would hear his cry and grant forgiveness and mercy.
  3. "When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you [God]..." - It is also implied in this phrase that, in some instances, famines are sent over the land because of the sin of people. However, if they were to repent and plead for forgiveness, God would hear their cry and grant forgiveness and mercy, opening up the clouds again.
  4. "If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is..." - Again this instance is similar to the first three in pattern. However, I believe that Solomon means this instance to be all-encompassing of any suffering for any individual. Note in verse 30 how personally involved God is in each individual person, not just collective Israel. Again, Solomon cries for mercy, and God gives.
  5. "If they sin against you - for there is no one who does not sin - and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy..." - Same pattern. One thing to note. It is God who gives over to the enemy.
In the next chapter, God appears to Solomon in the night, telling Solomon that he has heard his prayer. In God's response, he basically affirms Solomon's pleas. If God's people sin and suffering befalls them (because of sin or not) and they repent of their sin, God will hear their cries, forgive their sins, and heal their land.

The overwhelming themes of these verses is twofold.
  1. Sin, Repentance, and Mercy
  2. God Hears Prayers and Responds