Within western culture, High Middle Age legend has it that there were fire breathing dragons that once roamed the earth. These are the mythical creatures that make for the most exhilarating, or death defying of adventures. The mere thought of their alleged existence is what necessarily begs the intervention of a heroic knight who saves the day, and the beautiful princess, of course, by administering the death blow to this flying, fire-breathing, four-legged serpent. Despite the fantasy element of such myths, dragons fit perfectly well within the Christian world view as these could have been dinosaurs that once roamed the earth alongside the people who were created in God’s image (Job. 40:15-18; Ps. 74:13-14; Is. 27:1). Even the fact that many cultures in the world recollect some or other story that includes the presence of big reptile like creatures, or “dragons,” supports this conclusion, the Welsh flag, not the least of these.
However, as much as I love creation science and the beauty and mystery of the world that God created, the kind of fire breathing dragon that I have in mind would not be identified on any list of extinct dinosaurs. The dragon I have in mind is ANGER. If ever there was a real, living, fire-breathing dragon in the world, this would be it. This dragon cannot be fought with a sword forged in steel. It is a creature so fierce and wicked that it has been known to lead to physical or bodily damage, the ruin of friendships, wars and other kinds of strife, murder, and the crumbling of marriages and families. No physical means aimed against it will ever prevail. The only way that it can be conquered is purely by knowing how Scripture defines it and instructs us to fight against it. Read the full article here
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Many of the southern states of the United States have their own unique way of speaking American English. This creates somewhat of a common bond among these states, at least linguistically. Anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line you would be exposed to amusing expressions that are unique to this part of the world.
Take for instance the common address, “ya’ll.” When translated into regular English it basically means “you all.” Then, of course, if there was ever the slight possibility of leaving anyone out, or to be misunderstood by anyone already included in your former address, you can intensify matters by employing the term “all ya’ll.” One of my favourites is the very descriptive “fixin’ to,” or “fixing to.” Nearly anyone of a particular generation in the southern states who was about to take some course of action was “fixin’ to” do it. According to this reasoning, whether it is planning to do something as simple as taking out the rubbish, or something as complex as performing open heart surgery, one can be “fixin’ to” do so… So here is something that we as a church should be “fixin’ to” do this year, as we remain firmly committed to all other ways we are commanded in Scripture... Read the full article here I remember when we first moved to the Cape, how it took a while to get familiar with our new surroundings. Even though I could get around Johannesburg and Pretoria without GPS with regular ease, the same was not true of the Cape. There were many things I had to learn about our new home. For starters, I learned that we are actually living in an area called “False Bay,” and that it is a massive area stretching all the way from Hang Clip to around Simon’s Town, and embracing many towns in between. But I kept wondering about the origin of its name. Interestingly, False Bay owes its name to a case of mistaken identity. Sailors who thought they had reached Table Bay, only to find out that they didn’t, gave False Bay its real name. There are many humorous examples like this to be found all over South Africa. Like False Bay, this is also the story of the little Free State town of Verkeerde Vlei or “wrong marsh.” Apparently the name was born when some of the first pioneers noticed the stream was flowing from east to west instead of the usual west to east, which was the norm for the district.
Spiritually speaking though, it is to be lamented that our country has become a type of “false bay” and a “wrong marsh” as it involves the sexual orientations of people. “Mistaken identities” and “upstream,” unbiblical living seem to abound, especially here in Cape Town, which boasts its own annual “gay-pride parade,” rendering it South Africa’s very own “San Francisco.” There are a good representation of people living here who either identify with one or more of the letters in the acronym LGBTQ (not knowing where it will stop), or who identify with and defend the people who represent these letters—or both! And sadly, the church, or the so-called representatives of Christ are setting the pace for the normalising of something which, scripturally speaking, is still described as sinful. Read the full article here In all evangelistic and apologetic endeavors it is vitally important to point the one being evangelised to the problem of sin early on in the process. This is indeed the source of the unregenerate’s problem before God (Rom. 3:23), and up to this point, most conservative scholarship would agree. However, not all would agree about the actual content of God’s laws which the unregenerate has broken. Assuming the total inability of people to save themselves, and the totality of their depravity or fallenness inherited by being born in Adam, the following study seeks to provide an answer to the actual laws that God holds people accountable to (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-2; Tit. 3:5-6). In effort to answer this question, many have assumed that the Decalogue is the standard of law that God still requires, even until New Testament times, thus making it the basis for showing the unbeliever, first, their transgression of God’s law, but second, their inability to keep God’s law.
Although the latter employment of the Decalogue could very well be substantiated from the New Testament (Rom. 3:20), it is the insistence of this study that the former cannot. Read the full article here The presuppositional method of apologetics, popularised by Westminster Seminary professor Cornelius van Til, largely relies on the internal testimony of the Bible to provide credible arguments for the accuracy, exclusivity, and supremacy of the Christian faith over all other world religions. Hence, the importance of Presuppositionalism is immense. Reliance on Scripture is fundamental to Christianity.
Sadly, in today’s so-called Christian community, there are many professing Christians who have interpretations of Christianity that oppose the biblical interpretations for truth that have been carried on to us by the Apostles (Thomas & Farnell, 1998:356). Understandably, there are many minor differences between the evangelical denominations of Christianity, and there should therefore be a measure of tolerance for one another. Yet, there are differences that require extreme refutation since the Bible itself issues a stern warning against erroneous teachings (Linneman, 2001:148). In extreme cases it means the difference between belief in the existence of God and the pre-eminence of Christ in redemptive history as stipulated in Scripture, and some man-centred, Christless, practically atheistic approach to Scripture. Read the full article here For centuries there has been the intense debate between Calvinists and Arminians regarding man’s involvement in salvation. This subject involves the relationship between God’s sovereignty in saving people and the responsibility of people to repent and believe. The following aims to provide an approach to the so dubbed “antinomy,” by exploring the possibility of reconciliation of the two concepts. After providing a definition for “election” selected Scriptures speaking of this doctrine in both the Old and New Testament will be studied. “God’s sovereignty” and “human freedom” will be explained in greater detail to avoid misunderstanding. Lastly, an attempt at an answer will be made by summarizing and synthesizing the main truths already discussed. This is not an attempt to solve the mystery contained in the question but merely to provide a way to approach it soberly.
Read the full article here I must admit, I have a great fascination for ordinary things—things that at first glance may not appear all that majestic, masterful, or even mildly entertaining. Often, while doing things around the house, I would pause the work that I am performing to simply marvel at the mind-boggling simplicity, yet ridiculously obvious value, of ordinary, everyday, humdrum, call-it-what-you-want, objects, be it wheels, gears, gaskets, springs, strings, loops, levers, and the like. Take for instance an ordinary pair of pliers. This is indeed a marvelous invention that an average household simply cannot risk to be without. It is a rugged tool, made to clasp, twist, cut, pull, and though not the advertised use, even hammer home the toughest of nails in the absence of, well, a hammer. At the same time it can be used carefully and precisely enough to do the most sensitive of repair work on our most cherished possessions. Many of us have an appreciation for such ordinary things because they make life live-able.
In defense of the value of ordinary things, there are few things as ordinary, yet needed, as pastors of local churches. If ever there was an invaluable, indispensable, nuclear characteristic to society, Bible believing pastors would be it. It doesn’t get more practical and necessary than this. In one sense one can understand why church and pastor can mean little-to-nothing to them who are still unregenerate and in their sins. Yet, it is rather incomprehensible that Bible believing Christians can be tempted to be the same, in subtler, or so described, “noble” ways. Read the full article here |
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