Links & Quotes

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Fellas, you need to check this out: 5 More Things Men Should Do To Protect Their Marriage.

This is an amazing admission from a medical doctor who is also an abortion provider: “If a woman with a serious illness―heart disease, say, or diabetes―gets pregnant, the abortion procedure may be as dangerous for her as going through pregnancy … with diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis, even breast cancer, the chance that pregnancy will make the disease worse is no greater than the chance that the disease will either stay the same or improve. And medical technology has advanced to a point where even women with diabetes and kidney disease can be seen through a pregnancy safely by a doctor who knows what he’s doing. We’ve come a long way since my mother’s time…. The idea of abortion to save the mothers’ life is something that people cling to because it sounds noble and pure―but medically speaking, it probably doesn’t exist. It’s a real stretch of our thinking.” ―Dr. Don Sloan, M.D.

“The Word says, ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world’ (1 John 2:15). Jesus warned, ‘Beware of covetousness: for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses’ (Luke 12:15). Things—our possessions—can tie us down to this world. While heaven and hell prepare for war, we go shopping. Eternal values are at stake! The end of all we know is near—and we are busy playing with our toys!” —David Wilkerson

“The blood of Christ doesn’t cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone or diminish your sins.  It takes away your sins, once and for all! So…since you are saved, you can serve!” Read more from Max Lucado in Saved To Serve.

Dr. Tim Elmore writes about 2 essential ingredients to form a young leader. You should read the whole post, but the two ingredients are quite surprising: problems and empowerment.

[VIDEO] An excellent explanation on what sources are used to determine the text of the Bible―

Links & Quotes

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All married couples should check out this post from Mark Merrill: How To Have Healthy Conversations With Your Spouse.

Dr. Tim Elmore says, “Millions of parents need to hover less and train more. Millions of students need to learn to self-regulate.” Read more in his post One Way To Motivate Students To Go To Class.

“Now, my brethren, if you and I desire to walk among the sons of men without pride, but yet with a bearing that is worthy of our calling and adoption as princes of the blood royal of heaven, we must be trained by the Holy Spirit.” ―Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] J. Warner Wallace explains how we can verify the validity of the Gospels―

Links & Quotes

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Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, had some messed up values! Check out this video where she is interviewed by Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes. If you cannot watch the whole thing, fast forward to the 19:50 mark where she answers a question about sin. She says one of the greatest sins is to bring unfit children into the world(!). Disgusting.

“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” ―Harriet Tubman

“We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose He wrought all His mighty acts in days of old, and showed Himself strong for those in the early time, but does not perform wonders or lay bare His arm for the saints that are now upon the earth. … Surely, beloved, the goodness of God of old has been repeated unto us.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Not one life spent in the cause of world evangelization is spent in vain. Not one prayer or one dollar or one sermon or one letter of encouragement mailed or one little light shining in some dark place—nothing in the cause of the advancing kingdom is in vain. The triumph is sure.” —John Piper

“Perfect humility dispenses with modesty. If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself.” —C.S. Lewis

“Christ lived the life we could not live, and took the punishment we could not take, to offer the hope we cannot resist. Why? Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, distraught enough to weep in public, winsome enough to attract kids, poor enough to sleep on dirt, responsible enough to care for His mother, tempted enough to know the smell of satan. Why? Why would heaven’s finest Son endure earth’s toughest pain? So you would know that He is able. . .able to to run to the cry of those who are being tempted, tested and tried.” —Max Lucado

Comedian Tim Hawkins shares what songs may be sung at an “atheist church”―

Links & Quotes

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“The Cross was the place of your spiritual birth; it must ever be the spot for renewing your health, for it is the sanatorium of every sin-sick soul. The blood is the true balm of Gilead; it is the only catholicon [remedy] which heals every spiritual disease.” —Charles Spurgeon

“One way to be humble is to cast all your anxieties on God [1 Peter 5:6-7]. Which means that one hindrance to casting your anxieties on God is pride. Which means that undue worry is a form of pride.” —John Piper

“Where there is no Christian Sabbath, there is no Christian morality, and without these our free institutions cannot long be sustained.” —John MacLean, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court

Albert Einstein probably wasn’t a Christian, but he certainly did believe in God. Here are 10 Einstein Quotes Linked To Biblical Principles.

Are you struggling with losing an hour of sleep after daylight savings time kicked in? Perhaps you can relate to this from Truth Facts

09[VIDEO] John Maxwell addresses one of my pet peeves: laziness―

 

Links & Quotes

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“There is a burden of care in getting riches; fear in keeping them; temptation in using them; guilt in abusing them; sorrow in losing them; and a burden of account at last to be given concerning them.” —Matthew Henry

“Don’t imagine I doubt for a moment that what God sends us must be sent in love and will all be for the best if we have grace to use it so. My mind doesn’t waver on this point; my feelings sometimes do. That’s why it does me good to hear what I believe repeated in your voice….” ―C.S. Lewis

“Our comfort comes not from the powerlessness of our enemies, but from our Father’s sovereign rule over their power.” —John Piper

Have you seen all the videos of one of Obamacare’s architects, Jonathan Gruber? Here is the story behind the man, Rich Weinstein, who unearthed all of these clips and exposed the outright lies and hypocrisy. And this video compilation is just a sampling of the lies—

What God Is Building

Relativity by M.C. EscherI love the drawings of M.C. Escher. But some of his sketches are clearly optical illusions we all know couldn’t work in the real world. We don’t have to be architects or engineers or builders to know that for a building to be functional it has to have (1) a solid foundation, (2) it must be built with quality materials, and (3) it must be constructed by someone who knows what he/she is doing.

The Apostle Paul tells us that (1) Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the sure foundation, (2) you and I—God’s saints—are the quality building materials that are being used, and (3) the Holy Spirit knows exactly what He is doing as He joins us together.

A cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction, the reference point for all other stone, which determines the position of the entire structure. Christ Jesus Himself is the cornerstone of His Church (Ephesians 2:20b). Orientated to that cornerstone we have the foundation of the apostles and prophets (2:20a).

This foundation is the Word of God (2 Peter 1:19-2:3 and 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5). We dare not try to replace, nullify, update, or change His Word. Not would this cause the foundation to crumble, but there are dire consequences for the one who tries to do so (Revelation 22:18-19).

Our foundationOn this foundation, God is constructing three things, each one growing in its level of intimacy with Him and with the surrounding saints:

  • God’s household (Ephesians 2:19)—this Greek word means a family home.
  • the whole building (Ephesians 2:21a)—this is a specific part of the family home used for prayer and fellowship.
  • a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21b)—this is the same word used for the Holy Place and Holy of Holies in the tabernacle.

God’s Presence dwells in us individually, but collectively we make a more powerful statement (1 Corinthians 3:16). There is a far greater testimony to the world when individuals willingly and actively allow themselves to be built together; when Christians give up their personal agendas to say, “I want to be a part of something bigger than me—I want to be a part of we.”

We must study God’s Word to make sure we are building on the same foundation. We must allow our lives to be quality building materials. We must allow the Holy Spirit to build us together through prayer and fellowship! This becomes the fulfillment of the prayer Jesus Himself prayed for us (John 17:20-23).

This was the last message (for this time) in our series on the Book of Ephesians. I hope to be able to continue this study next year.

Links & Quotes

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“May we have none of our own-manufactured graces about us. May we have nothing but that which is minted in Heaven, and is therefore made of the pure metal. May we have no grace, pray no prayer, do no works, serve God in nothing except as we depend upon His strength and receive His Spirit.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Above God, there are no higher courts. If God is the One Who acquits you—declares you righteous in His sight—no one can appeal, no one can call for a mistrial, no one can look for other counts against you. God’s sentence is final and total. So hear this, all who will believe on Jesus, and become united to Christ, and show yourself among the elect: God is the One who justifies you. Not a human judge. Not a great prophet. Not an archangel from heaven. But God, the Creator of the world and Owner of all things and Ruler of the universe and every molecule and person in it, God is the One Who justifies you [Romans 8:33].” —John Piper

Here is a very nice article about the En Gedi Youth Center, the organization for which I have the privilege of serving as the director.

“It is very possible that if we were more thoroughly Christians the world would more heartily detest us, and if we would cleave more closely to Christ we might expect to receive more slander, more abuse, less tolerance, and less favor from men.” —Charles Spurgeon

[VIDEO] Amazing time-lapse pictures of solar activity from NASA—

Russell Brand Talks Porn

Russell BrandWow! Russell Brand uses the movie Fifty Shades Of Grey as a launching point to discuss the dangers of pornography. Warning: strong language in this video…

Russell says, “Our attitudes toward sex have become warped and perverted, and deviated from its true function. … Pornography reduces the spectacle of sex to a kinda of extracted physical act.” How do we know this is wrong? Notice he says he knew porn was wrong that there was a feeling at the core of his being about its wrongness.

Perhaps Russell and others feel this way because pornography is in direct conflict to God’s design for sexuality. What do you think?

Links & Quotes

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In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has one demon giving advice to his young protege demon. This is profound wisdom: “You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” —C.S. Lewis

Two surveys seem to be related: First, “Fifty-four percent of U.S. teens 15-to-17-years-old do not live in a home with their married mother and father.” Read more in this post. (2) Lee Strobel reports on some findings from a Barna Group survey he commissioned: “Two findings emerged in a new national poll that I commissioned on fatherhood and faith: the younger the generation, the more people report having difficult relationships with their fathers. At the same time, the younger generation reports the highest percentage of people who are struggling with belief in God.” You can read Lee’s thoughts on this in Fathers & Faith.

Frank Viola shared this great story—In light of their doctrinal disagreements, someone once asked George Whitefield if he thought he’d see John Wesley in heaven. Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.”

“Grace is simply another word for God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. Grace comes to us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. We’ve barely regained our balance from one breaker, and then, bam, here comes another.” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Grace—A Never Ending Supply.

Astronomers are perplexed by the size of a black hole. Apparently it is challenging their views on the origins of the universe. Perhaps there is a better explanation….

Night To Shine

As if I needed another reason to respect the work and testimony of Tim Tebow! Yet he is amazing me again with his Night To Shine—a special prom for people with special needs and disabilities. Amazing! Check out this video of the big night…

Then here is an interview with Tim Tebow the night after the big event, reflecting on why he put this together…