Men of God, Arise!

“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us.

“Should such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man.

“And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ”.

(C.T. Studd)

What Manner of God is This!?

Art Azurdia’s rather moving sermon of God’s pursuit of that which is unlovable…

The Cultic Clarkian Calvinist?

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?… (I Corinthaians 12,13)

There are some interesting characters to be found on the YouTube medium, but every now and then I find some folks that ride under the Calvinistic banner that are, shall we say, a bit embarrassing. I, too, am a 5-point calvinist but when I ran across this fellow “calvinist” who goes by the YouTube moniker “RedBeetle”  I was taken a back, specifically regarding his  views on other christians who are non-calvinistic. I take particular issue with his pejorative assessment on John Piper predicated upon a notion that Piper holds to an “arminian view of the atonement”. He goes as far as calling Piper “heretical”,  ”false teacher” in need of repentance, Note the following comments from his YT page regarding Piper:

 

Piper made his heretical remarks at the 2004 Reformation Conference.Calvinist John W. Robbins exposed John Piper’s heretical teaching on justification in his 2002 essay titled, “Pied Piper”

Piper never repented from teaching justification by faith and works, and here in this 2004 clip one can hear him openly teaching the heresies known as the 3 Points Of Common Grace. For a comprehensive essay on the 3 Points Of Common Grace

My point in bringing up Beetle’s assessment of Piper (whether true or not is contingent upon what was said in the sermon in question) has more to do with the apparently ridiculous implication that non-calvinists are propagators and peddlers of heresy which they must repent of. I wish these guys (yes there are other like him) would uncover a different appellation to append to their theological subscriptions thereby freeing us “regular” calvinists from the negative connotations they bring to an already slandered (and often misunderstood) theological position…

A Story with a Happy Ending

This nineteen-year-old ex-cheerleader (now an Air Force Security Forces Sniper) was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road. She engaged the target (i.e., she shot him). Turned out he was a bomb maker for the Taliban and he was burying an IED that was to be detonated when a US patrol walked by 30 minutes later. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

The interesting fact of this story is the shot was measured at 725 yards. She shot him as he was bent over burying the bomb. The shot went through his butt and into the bomb which detonated; he was blown to pieces

Sweet!! I think I’ll have my wife run our “Homeland Secrurity”!!

An Admonition from Owen

…Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.(1st Corinthians  10:12)

 
The following excerpt is somber warning to seasoned believers by John Owen from his writings “Of Temptations”:

If you neglect it, it being the only means prescribed by our Saviour, you will certainly enter into temptation, and as certainly fall into sin. Flatter yourselves. Some of you are “old disciples;” have a great abhorrency of sin; you think it impossible you should ever be seduced so and so; but, “Let him (whoever he be) that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” It is not any grace received, it is not any experience obtained, it is not any resolution improved, that will preserve you from any evil, unless you stand upon your watch: “What I say unto you,” says Christ, “I say unto 151all, Watch.” Perhaps you may have had some good success for a time in your careless frame; but awake, admire God’s tenderness and patience, or evil lies at the door. If you will not perform this duty, whoever you are, one way or other, in one thing or other, spiritual or carnal wickedness, you will be tempted, you will be defiled; and what will be the end thereof? Remember Peter!