Christian Comedy
Preface: First off, let me state that I am not opposed to comedy. Nor am I opposed to laughing and having fun. Secondly, the names/organizations mentioned in this entry and the content matter in which they are mentioned are specific only to one incident and applicable only in the respect that they “kicked off” the general theme of the post. I am not referring to individuals or organizations as a whole.
Now on to the good stuff…
This past week while driving I heard an episode of focus on the family on a local Christian radio station. The speaker was Phil Callaway. Now let me say, this guy was extremely funny and I chuckled quite a bit during the broadcast. However, as I was listening to the broadcast I had to ask myself…
Since when did the Church become a comedy club?
It seems to me, many churches are more concerned about making their congregation laugh than they are about teaching the Word. Could this be why there are so many lost people in churches today?
They go to church because it is the right thing to do. They can have a good time and laugh without being exposed to the Scripture (okay maybe a verse or two), which brings about conviction (and Faith). People don’t really know what a Christian is anymore. In fact, most people in America claim to be Christians. The thing is, only a tiny fraction of those believe the Scripture is the inerrant Word of God. How can this be? Nobody should be able to sit in a Christian church and somehow believe the Holy Bible isn’t the inerant Word of God.
You have to ask yourself, do you really think churches of the new testament were conducted similar to how they are today? I often hear Christians state how important it is to go to church on Sunday and how we should “not forsake the gathering of the brethren”. However, I am here to tell you that the “gathering of the brethren” in new testament churches were nothing like they are today. It involved teaching and studying the Scripture and it was a very serious matter. In fact, going to a home Bible study would probably give you a better idea of what the “gathering of the brethren” was like in those times.
Yes, I realize laughs directly correlate to bigger donations and bigger congregations but pastors need to get back to reading/teaching the Scripture and stop worrying about how many laughs they get per sermon.
P.S. I wonder if there would be any objection to bringing back the sticks to whack people with when they start to doze off? 
As always, feel free to add your comments.
AMDG
blogdom of God changes
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The “fear of the Lord”
…branch from my previous post…I mentioned that we must regain the “fear of the Lord”.
I thought it would be prudent to post verses that contain the phrase. Proverbs is loaded with blessings that come from the fear of the Lord and the opposite for those that do not fear the Lord.
Some interesting things to note before I list all the verses.
The phrase, “fear of the Lord” appears in the Bible ~31 times. It is translated differently in different places…sometimes as the “terror of the Lord” and sometimes as the “dread of the Lord”. I will paste the strong’s numbers below for the Hebrew and Greek so you can look those up if you want.
The ESV translates it “fear of the Lord” 27 times, “dread of the Lord” 1 time, and “terror of the Lord” 3 times.
The NASB translates it “fear of the Lord” 25 times, “dread of the Lord” 3 times, and “terror of the Lord” 3 times.
The KJV translates it “fear of the Lord” 30 times, “dread of the Lord” 0 times, and “terror of the Lord” 1 time.
Strong’s:
H6343
pachad
pakh’-ad
From H6342; a (sudden) alarm (properly the object feared, by implication the feeling): - dread (-ful), fear, (thing) great [fear, -ly feared], terror.
H3374
yir’a^h
yir-aw’
Feminine of H3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally reverence: - X dreadful, X exceedingly, fear (-fulness).
G5401
phobos
fob’-os
From a primary fe´ß?µa? phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright: - be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.
Complete Verse List:
1 Samuel 11:7
2 Chronicles 14:14, 17:10, 19:7, 9
Job 28:28
Psalms 19:9, 34:11, 111:10
Proverbs 1:7, 29, 2:5, 8:13, 9:10, 10:27, 14:26, 27, 15:16, 33, 16:6, 19:23, 22:4, 23:17
Isaiah 2:10, 19, 21, 11:2, 3, 33:6
Acts 9:31
2 Corinthians 5:11
Breakdown:
“fear of the LORD”
27 - (ESV) 2Ch_14:14; 2Ch_17:10; 2Ch_19:7; 2Ch_19:9; Job_28:28; Psa_19:9; Psa_34:11; Psa_111:10; Pro_1:7; Pro_1:29; Pro_2:5; Pro_8:13; Pro_9:10; Pro_10:27; Pro_14:26; Pro_14:27; Pro_15:16; Pro_15:33; Pro_16:6; Pro_19:23; Pro_22:4; Pro_23:17; Isa_11:2; Isa_11:3; Isa_33:6; Act_9:31; 2Co_5:11;
25 - (NASB) 2Ch_19:7; 2Ch_19:9; Job_28:28; Psa_19:9; Psa_34:11; Psa_111:10; Pro_1:7; Pro_1:29; Pro_2:5; Pro_8:13; Pro_9:10; Pro_10:27; Pro_14:26; Pro_14:27; Pro_15:16; Pro_15:33; Pro_16:6; Pro_19:23; Pro_22:4; Pro_23:17; Isa_11:2; Isa_11:3; Isa_33:6; Act_9:31; 2Co_5:11;
30 - (KJV) 1Sa_11:7; 2Ch_14:14; 2Ch_17:10; 2Ch_19:7; 2Ch_19:9; Job_28:28; Psa_19:9; Psa_34:11; Psa_111:10; Pro_1:7; Pro_1:29; Pro_2:5; Pro_8:13; Pro_9:10; Pro_10:27; Pro_14:26; Pro_14:27; Pro_15:16; Pro_15:33; Pro_16:6; Pro_19:23; Pro_22:4; Pro_23:17; Isa_2:10; Isa_2:19; Isa_2:21; Isa_11:2; Isa_11:3; Isa_33:6; Act_9:31;
“dread of the LORD”
1 - (ESV) 1Sa_11:7;
3 - (NASB) 1Sa_11:7; 2Ch_14:14; 2Ch_17:10;
“terror of the LORD”
3 - (ESV) Isa_2:10; Isa_2:19; Isa_2:21;
3 - (NASB) Isa_2:10; Isa_2:19; Isa_2:21;
1 - (KJV) 2Co_5:11;
Context Verse List:
(I only typed out the verse, the link will bring up the whole chapter)
And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
(2 Chronicles 14 ESV)
And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
(2 Chronicles 17 ESV)
Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
(2 Chronicles 19 ESV)
And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart:
(2 Chronicles 19 ESV)
And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
(Job 28 ESV)
the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
(Psalms 19 ESV)
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
(Psalms 34 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
(Psalms 111 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1 ESV)
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
(Proverbs 1 ESV)
then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
(Proverbs 2 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
(Proverbs 8 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
(Proverbs 9 ESV)
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
(Proverbs 10 ESV)
In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
(Proverbs 14 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
(Proverbs 14 ESV)
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
(Proverbs 15 ESV)
The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
(Proverbs 15 ESV)
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
(Proverbs 16 ESV)
The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
(Proverbs 19 ESV)
The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.
(Proverbs 22 ESV)
Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
(Proverbs 23 ESV)
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
(Isaiah 11 ESV)
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
(Isaiah 11 ESV)
and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
(Isaiah 33 ESV)
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
(Acts 9 ESV)
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
(2 Corinthians 5 ESV)
He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
(1 Samuel 11 ESV)
Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty.
(Isaiah 2 ESV)
And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
(Isaiah 2 ESV)
to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
(Isaiah 2 ESV)
Judging God
I started to comment on an post over at Dead Man Blogging, however, I felt my comment warranted an entry here.
Good question, Meg. It’s one thing to demonstrate that sometimes God exercises His sovereignty. It’s entirely another thing to demonstrate that God is always sovereign, particularly in spiritual matters.
I don’t think this is the case at all. In fact, I think it is more difficult to demonstrate that God is only Sovereign sometimes or doesn’t always exercise His Sovereignty. I think that this incorrect idea stems from the very reason I am making this post (which I will get to in a few lines).
God’s nature constrains Him as well. If any entity is free, God is. But the Bible says that God cannot lie and He cannot reject His children. It’s against His nature to sin. But is He free? He must be. We can’t be more free than God, and if His nature binds Him, then our natures bind us. What we have to do is recognize the nature of an unregenerate person.
This statement concerns me quite a bit. God is not constrained in any form or fashion. He is not bound or limited by anyone or anything. God was, God is, and God does. God does not “want” as we think in terms of wanting.
In addition, sin is not applicable to God. It isn’t that He can’t sin (which I hear all too often), it is that sin does not apply to Him. It is that He, and He alone, is God. He, and He alone, is Sovereign. Man never was and never will be God’s judge. Many doctrines are born from man’s judgement of God (I will save that discussion for another time).
That brings me to my point. We have a tendency to judge God without even knowing it. Man filters everything through his perception of right and wrong. We must retrain ourselves to not filter thoughts and statements about God through this perception. We must strive to take every thought captive. We must regain the fear of the Lord and learn what it truly means.
God reveals some of His nature to us through His Word so that we may know Him better, not so that we can judge His actions. Let us revere Him and give thanks to Him always for His great mercy on us. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
AMDG
Is calvinism a cult?
Is calvinism a cult?
My purpose is not to offend these so called calvinists and hopefully they will be able to peer through the orderly arrangement of bits on this hard disk to understand the meaning therein.
I have been reading blogs for days about calvinism, internet calvinism, ugly calvinism, hyper calvinism etc etc…
I had to ask myself if this was a cult or if this was something that I happened to miss in the Word of God. I couldn’t seem to find any mention about followers of Christ being referred to as calvinists in the Scripture. However, this calvinism seems to be defended with much passion and the calvinists even capitalize the word (which I have purposely not done here).
Has one man’s teaching become so great and attracted so many followers that they now call themselves something more than just Christians? Have his followers grown to such size that they now further divide amongst themselves?
AMDG
Disclaimer: I am a Christian (a follower of Christ) and I will never consider myself a “Calvinist”, hyper, internet, ugly, or otherwise. I am not a follower of John Calvin or his doctrine, nor will I ever be. Sola Scriptura.