Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Charles Spurgeon's Quote
Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right. ~ Charles Spurgeon
Thursday, June 30, 2011
William Barclay's Quote
"The duty of the Church is to be the light of the world, so shine like a light in a dark place. When an electric light bulb loses its power to shine, we throw it away, because it has lost the power of doing what it was created to do. Uselessness always invites disaster, and the Church which has ceased to shine for Christ has lost the reason for its existence." William Barclay
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Harold Camping's Prediction.
Harold Camping’s prediction will only give the world a chance to mock us in fulfilling this prophecy “where is the promise of his coming?” 2 Peter 3:4
Thursday, April 21, 2011
''If This is What God Intended, So Be It''-The Persecuted Church in China
''If This is What God Intended, So Be It''-The Persecuted Church in China
http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/04/21/if-this-is-what-god-intended-so-be-it-the-presecuted-church-in-china/
http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/04/21/if-this-is-what-god-intended-so-be-it-the-presecuted-church-in-china/
Monday, April 18, 2011
QUOTE BY DAVID MARTYN LLOYD-JONES
“ There is nothing in Scripture anywhere to suggest what is called “universalism”, the teaching, very popular today, that at the final consummation every human being who has ever lived anywhere will be saved,” David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Charles Spurgeon's Quote
"We should train our children as the Spartans trained their sons early for feats of war. We must have them first saved, but after that we must never think that they may be idle till they come to a certain period of life." Charles Spurgeon (Sermon on Acts 16:32-34)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
FOX Rejects “John 3:16” Super Bowl Ad
FOX Rejects “John 3:16” Super Bowl Ad
As FOX Network puts the finishing touches on its advertisement lineup for the February 6th Super Bowl — arguably as popular a part of the evening as the game itself — one thing is certain: just about any thing will be permissible in the way of sex, sleaze, and crude humor. Apparently, however, one type of ad will not be permitted: those promoting positive values and faith in God.
Following last year’s media furor over a Focus on the Family-sponsored pro-life spot during the Super Bowl featuring Christian football phenomenon Tim Tebow (left) and his mother, FOX has put the kibosh on wholesome advocacy ads with the potential of offending any viewer with an opposing viewpoint.
Specifically, the network has rejected a 30-second spot from the Christian apologetics group Fixed Point Foundation advertising its website, lookup316.com. The goal of the site, as its main page communicates, is to offer a “message of hope” base on the well-known New Testament scripture John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The ad itself features a group of men and women viewing a televised football game in a living room. As the crowd cheers a play on the field, the camera focuses in on a player with the Scripture reference “John 3:16” written over the black under his eyes. When one of the group asks his buddy what the phrase means, someone reaches for a cell phone and says, “I’ll look it up,” as the ad fades to the website Lookup3:16.com, and the phrase, “A Message of Hope.”
Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point, explained his group’s reasoning in producing the ad for the big game. “If I had 30 seconds to say anything I wanted to an audience of millions, what would I say?” He wrote on the organization’s site. “I put this question to my friends. As we considered the question thoughtfully, we concluded that we would want to deliver a message of hope.”
Taunton emphasized that the spot “advertises no products, asks for no money, promotes no political platform and doesn’t even mention the sponsoring organization. It has a simple, yet direct message: Hope . . . ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.’”
But after Fixed Point had worked for months to shoot the spot and raise the millions needed to air it, FOX pulled the plug, explaining in a prepared statement: “As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Taunton commented on FOX’s decision, noting that “it seems one can advertise just about anything else. Few movie trailers are deemed too violent or beer commercials too sexual for primetime. But religious messages, particularly Christian ones, well, that’s just too controversial.”
While the Alabama-based group won’t be able to air the ad nationally, it is planning to run it locally on Birmingham’s Alabama’s FOX affiliate, during the time the network reserves for local advertising. “We believe that Super Bowl XLV is an opportunity to encourage football fans to look up John 3:16,” Fixed Point said on its website. “After all, John 3:16 is part of the culture of football,” referring to the number of football players, such as Tim Tebow, who have taken to wearing the scripture reference on their eye black, as well as the longtime tradition of fans in the seats holding large signs bearing the phrase “John 3:16.”
Said Taunton, “We want to generate a conversation about what this verse means and does it offer authentic hope — which I think it does.”
Source: http://thenewamerican.com/index.php/culture/family/6166-fox-rejects-john-316-super-bowl-ad
As FOX Network puts the finishing touches on its advertisement lineup for the February 6th Super Bowl — arguably as popular a part of the evening as the game itself — one thing is certain: just about any thing will be permissible in the way of sex, sleaze, and crude humor. Apparently, however, one type of ad will not be permitted: those promoting positive values and faith in God.
Following last year’s media furor over a Focus on the Family-sponsored pro-life spot during the Super Bowl featuring Christian football phenomenon Tim Tebow (left) and his mother, FOX has put the kibosh on wholesome advocacy ads with the potential of offending any viewer with an opposing viewpoint.
Specifically, the network has rejected a 30-second spot from the Christian apologetics group Fixed Point Foundation advertising its website, lookup316.com. The goal of the site, as its main page communicates, is to offer a “message of hope” base on the well-known New Testament scripture John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The ad itself features a group of men and women viewing a televised football game in a living room. As the crowd cheers a play on the field, the camera focuses in on a player with the Scripture reference “John 3:16” written over the black under his eyes. When one of the group asks his buddy what the phrase means, someone reaches for a cell phone and says, “I’ll look it up,” as the ad fades to the website Lookup3:16.com, and the phrase, “A Message of Hope.”
Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point, explained his group’s reasoning in producing the ad for the big game. “If I had 30 seconds to say anything I wanted to an audience of millions, what would I say?” He wrote on the organization’s site. “I put this question to my friends. As we considered the question thoughtfully, we concluded that we would want to deliver a message of hope.”
Taunton emphasized that the spot “advertises no products, asks for no money, promotes no political platform and doesn’t even mention the sponsoring organization. It has a simple, yet direct message: Hope . . . ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.’”
But after Fixed Point had worked for months to shoot the spot and raise the millions needed to air it, FOX pulled the plug, explaining in a prepared statement: “As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Taunton commented on FOX’s decision, noting that “it seems one can advertise just about anything else. Few movie trailers are deemed too violent or beer commercials too sexual for primetime. But religious messages, particularly Christian ones, well, that’s just too controversial.”
While the Alabama-based group won’t be able to air the ad nationally, it is planning to run it locally on Birmingham’s Alabama’s FOX affiliate, during the time the network reserves for local advertising. “We believe that Super Bowl XLV is an opportunity to encourage football fans to look up John 3:16,” Fixed Point said on its website. “After all, John 3:16 is part of the culture of football,” referring to the number of football players, such as Tim Tebow, who have taken to wearing the scripture reference on their eye black, as well as the longtime tradition of fans in the seats holding large signs bearing the phrase “John 3:16.”
Said Taunton, “We want to generate a conversation about what this verse means and does it offer authentic hope — which I think it does.”
Source: http://thenewamerican.com/index.php/culture/family/6166-fox-rejects-john-316-super-bowl-ad
Saturday, January 29, 2011
A Proper Use of Marijuana? By Professor Hanko
A Proper Use of Marijuana?
Question: "I have heard Paul’s statement that ‘every creature of God is good’ when it is ‘received with thanksgiving’ and ‘sanctified by the word and prayer’ used to justify the use of cannabis/marijuana. Is that a legitimate argument or a stretch of this principle?"
This question is prompted by an article in the last News where I discussed the proper use of alcoholic beverages. I made the point that wine and other alcoholic beverages are gifts of God to be received with thanksgiving and sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (I Tim. 4:3-5). The reader now asks concerning marijuana: Does this principle hold true of marijuana also? Is there some way in which it can be put to a good use?
We are getting into an area here where it is not so easy to find one’s way. It seems to me that it is possible for things to be manufactured from things present in God’s world in today’s technologically advanced age that are used only for purposes of sin. I do not mean that these manufactured items are used for sin while they may also have a good purpose. An example of such a thing would be a computer, which, though used for vicious sins, can be and is used for God-honouring purposes. But I mean something manufactured which can be used only for sin. No good purpose can be found for it.
An example of something that can be used only to sin is the so-called "morning-after pill." So far as I know, this pill has no good purpose. It is manufactured for one purpose only, and that is to abort an unborn baby. That is clearly abortion and the murder of a person.
In the field of medicine, there may be certain "mind-altering" drugs, the sole purpose of these being to do things to the mind that are neither natural nor helpful, but can be used only for evil purposes. An example of this may be methadone. I know of no good purpose this drug serves; its use is and can be only to create a state of euphoria. That use is sinful.
Whether marijuana can be used only for evil purposes is another question. I am by no means an authority on the use of drugs, but I have read that marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes and can serve a good function in restoring to health.
The same may be true for heroin. I understand that some narcotics, such as morphine, can be manufactured from heroin; these help in the control of pain. I am quite sure this is true and that God gives us these gifts to help endure severe pain. There is no sin in that, and we may very well give thanks to God for such a gift.
However, as everyone knows, marijuana and heroin can be used (and usually are) for devilishly wrong reasons as well.
There is another remark that is worth making here. We live in an age when many, if not most, people live on pills. And doctors find pills for every ailment, every pain, every mental problem, every quirk of health, every sorrow or disappointment, every inability to sleep, etc. I find this extremely dangerous. The danger is underscored by several pages of possible "side effects" that could result from the particular drug being prescribed.
The evil of this is that people think this life ought to be a life of unrelieved happiness in which each person has exactly what he or she wants. They view their life in the world as one in which they deserve the very best; and when they cannot have what they consider the very best, they take refuge in pills to escape the difficulties of life. Their skies ought always to be blue and only breezes that cool and refresh ought to blow on them. They think it their just lot in life to walk a pathway along gurgling brooks, through grassy and flower-strewn meadows where they can skip and jump happily as they make their way in the world.
But life is not like that, for we live in a world of sin and death over which hangs the dark clouds of the judgment of a furious God who looks in scarcely controlled wrath upon the wickedness of men. The escape from this judgment of God, say some, lies in—of all things—pills. Take the right pills; take enough of them; take them regularly. In that way, all the agony of God’s fury against sin can be avoided; and perhaps, as some science fiction writers have portrayed it, man can live his life in perpetual bliss without a twinge of suffering—when the right pill is found.
To paraphrase Psalm 20:7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, and others in pills ..." Every little twinge must be assuaged; every disappointment requires some medication to cope with it; every unpleasant experience must be averted or medicinally eased. I fear that sometimes God’s people fall into the same pattern of thinking. Side effects are risky, but tolerable in our mad pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of suffering. Asa, after all, though a God-fearing king in Judah, was chastened because he trusted in physicians and not in Jehovah (II Chron. 16:12).
I am not saying—and do not want to be interpreted as saying—that a Christian may take no medication, but must bear the afflictions of life as his just lot for his sins. He may (and must) seek such help as is possible from doctors. But doctors, for the most part, cannot be trusted to look at things as a Christian looks at them. The believer knows that the sufferings of this present time are sent by God to mould and shape him spiritually for his place in glory. And so, if medical assistance is available that will alleviate his suffering, he must make use of these things. And he must receive them with thanksgiving and sanctify them by the Word of God and prayer.
That is, he must receive them as gifts of God, not to escape what God is pleased to send, but to enable him to continue to perform the duties that arise from his responsibilities in his home, in the church and in the world in which he lives.
Of course, if the civil government forbids the use of marijuana, we are to obey the government (Rom. 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17) and not use it even for medicinal purposes. Prof. Hanko
Question: "I have heard Paul’s statement that ‘every creature of God is good’ when it is ‘received with thanksgiving’ and ‘sanctified by the word and prayer’ used to justify the use of cannabis/marijuana. Is that a legitimate argument or a stretch of this principle?"
This question is prompted by an article in the last News where I discussed the proper use of alcoholic beverages. I made the point that wine and other alcoholic beverages are gifts of God to be received with thanksgiving and sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (I Tim. 4:3-5). The reader now asks concerning marijuana: Does this principle hold true of marijuana also? Is there some way in which it can be put to a good use?
We are getting into an area here where it is not so easy to find one’s way. It seems to me that it is possible for things to be manufactured from things present in God’s world in today’s technologically advanced age that are used only for purposes of sin. I do not mean that these manufactured items are used for sin while they may also have a good purpose. An example of such a thing would be a computer, which, though used for vicious sins, can be and is used for God-honouring purposes. But I mean something manufactured which can be used only for sin. No good purpose can be found for it.
An example of something that can be used only to sin is the so-called "morning-after pill." So far as I know, this pill has no good purpose. It is manufactured for one purpose only, and that is to abort an unborn baby. That is clearly abortion and the murder of a person.
In the field of medicine, there may be certain "mind-altering" drugs, the sole purpose of these being to do things to the mind that are neither natural nor helpful, but can be used only for evil purposes. An example of this may be methadone. I know of no good purpose this drug serves; its use is and can be only to create a state of euphoria. That use is sinful.
Whether marijuana can be used only for evil purposes is another question. I am by no means an authority on the use of drugs, but I have read that marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes and can serve a good function in restoring to health.
The same may be true for heroin. I understand that some narcotics, such as morphine, can be manufactured from heroin; these help in the control of pain. I am quite sure this is true and that God gives us these gifts to help endure severe pain. There is no sin in that, and we may very well give thanks to God for such a gift.
However, as everyone knows, marijuana and heroin can be used (and usually are) for devilishly wrong reasons as well.
There is another remark that is worth making here. We live in an age when many, if not most, people live on pills. And doctors find pills for every ailment, every pain, every mental problem, every quirk of health, every sorrow or disappointment, every inability to sleep, etc. I find this extremely dangerous. The danger is underscored by several pages of possible "side effects" that could result from the particular drug being prescribed.
The evil of this is that people think this life ought to be a life of unrelieved happiness in which each person has exactly what he or she wants. They view their life in the world as one in which they deserve the very best; and when they cannot have what they consider the very best, they take refuge in pills to escape the difficulties of life. Their skies ought always to be blue and only breezes that cool and refresh ought to blow on them. They think it their just lot in life to walk a pathway along gurgling brooks, through grassy and flower-strewn meadows where they can skip and jump happily as they make their way in the world.
But life is not like that, for we live in a world of sin and death over which hangs the dark clouds of the judgment of a furious God who looks in scarcely controlled wrath upon the wickedness of men. The escape from this judgment of God, say some, lies in—of all things—pills. Take the right pills; take enough of them; take them regularly. In that way, all the agony of God’s fury against sin can be avoided; and perhaps, as some science fiction writers have portrayed it, man can live his life in perpetual bliss without a twinge of suffering—when the right pill is found.
To paraphrase Psalm 20:7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, and others in pills ..." Every little twinge must be assuaged; every disappointment requires some medication to cope with it; every unpleasant experience must be averted or medicinally eased. I fear that sometimes God’s people fall into the same pattern of thinking. Side effects are risky, but tolerable in our mad pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of suffering. Asa, after all, though a God-fearing king in Judah, was chastened because he trusted in physicians and not in Jehovah (II Chron. 16:12).
I am not saying—and do not want to be interpreted as saying—that a Christian may take no medication, but must bear the afflictions of life as his just lot for his sins. He may (and must) seek such help as is possible from doctors. But doctors, for the most part, cannot be trusted to look at things as a Christian looks at them. The believer knows that the sufferings of this present time are sent by God to mould and shape him spiritually for his place in glory. And so, if medical assistance is available that will alleviate his suffering, he must make use of these things. And he must receive them with thanksgiving and sanctify them by the Word of God and prayer.
That is, he must receive them as gifts of God, not to escape what God is pleased to send, but to enable him to continue to perform the duties that arise from his responsibilities in his home, in the church and in the world in which he lives.
Of course, if the civil government forbids the use of marijuana, we are to obey the government (Rom. 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17) and not use it even for medicinal purposes. Prof. Hanko
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