To Fund or Not To Fund

First my thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected by this Zika virus both here in the US and across the globe.

On June 28th just before their summer recess the Republicans wanted to pass a bill that would give the EPA $1.1 Billion to research the Zika virus and attempt to develop a vaccine to try to have that available before the virus would come to our shores and affect US citizens who haven’t traveled or had sex with a traveler to the affected countries in Central America. When the bill came up for a vote which needed 60 to advance, failed 52-48 according to CNN. The reason for this bill not passing was because of what Democrats called a “poison pill.” What is that poison pill? The bill has a measure in it that would keep some of the $1.1 billion from going to Planned Parenthood. So in their logic a bill that would help keep people alive and prevent babies from being born with microcephaly where the infants head is smaller than those whose mothers who have not tested positive for Zika.

Then around July 19th according to NBC News “the Florida Department of Health announced that it is conducting an investigation into a possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County," as a result the “CDC has provided Florida more than $2 million in Zika-specific funding and about $27 million in emergency preparedness funding that can be used toward Zika response efforts." As a result of the Democrats not passing the bill to give the proper funding in order to fight this disease now we have cases that have come to our shores.

Strangely after these initial cases suddenly the Democrates come to the realization that Zika could potentially be an issue that needs to be addressed. On July 31st according to the Guardian Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has called “for Congress to end its recess and immediately approve emergency funds for combating the Zika virus in America, after Florida reported its first cases of mosquito-borne infections on the mainland, and funding for mosquito nets for pregnant women started running low.”

It seems weird that now democrats would be concerned about helping fight against the Zika virus now that there are cases in the US. When before they didn’t want to pass this bill because it didn’t provide funding to planned parenthood. I guess for those in the Democratic party in the Senate they would find it easier to murder the babies rather than to prevent them from having birth defects caused by this virus. My hope is that the Democrats will vote for this bill to help it pass so those who are effected by the Zika and especially the babies can get a vaccine developed for the mothers so their babies don’t have to suffer the effects of this virus. The Republicans must not budge on this bill and give the Democrats funding to planned parenthood because giving money to that organization has nothing to do with this bill.

                

Preach the word not the culture.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”

Throughout the evangelical world this verse is quoted, but rarely do they practice this verse. It has become common for a pastor to use gimmicks in order to bring people into the church and appeal to them to possibly make them comfortable enough to tell them about Jesus. There are several examples of pastor’s zip lining into the sanctuary, one turning the sanctuary into a war zone to teach on the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, another using his smart phone to prophesy over a couple, and many other shenanigans to try to bring people into their church. This is one of the tools that Satan uses to confuse “Christians” into thinking that they are witnessing a work of God when in reality these gimmicks are from the pits of hell. If someone is a true preacher of the Lord Jesus Christ their mindset should be “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,” (1 Cor. 1 22-23). When we preach the scriptures to the non-believer it is a stumbling block to those who do not believe in the truth and as Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:3 “if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing” he tells us the reason why people think the gospel is vial it is because their eyes have been blinded to the truth. If a pastor preaches using gimmicks instead of focusing on the biblical scripture and doctrines which are clearly taught they are not men or women of God. Not only because the scriptures clearly forbid women from being preachers, but those who seek to reach people by using a means outside of the inerrant and infallible word of God they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. A false teaching won’t come out admitting that they are a false teacher even “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14) I implore any man who calls himself a preacher of the word of God to not be coy with the scriptures, but rather we take the charge of the apostle Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-5

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Don’t fall into the traps of the world by making church for believers and non-believers. The church must be willing to teach the word of God not to fill our pews with shallow CEO (Christmas, Easter only) people, but with theology saturated Christians who desire to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus, seeking to live each day for his glory.

The weight of preaching

No matter how many times I preach right before I walk up to the pulpit my stomach is in knots and my knees are shaking. This is something that I pray that I will never lose, because it makes me step back and realize whose words I am about to utter. When I open my bible and begin to read my text for that Sunday these words are not just ink on a page, these are the very words of the creator of the universe. The God who with his very words and by his words worlds came into existence, also by this word the whole universe is held together. If for One nanosecond he decided to not hold the universe together that it would cease to exist.

As I look at pastors through our history we can see that even the giants of our faith felt the burden of preaching the words of the living God. One example is prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon, who is quoted as saying that

"My deacons know well enough how, when I first preached in Exeter Hall, there was scarcely ever an occasion, in which they left me alone for ten minutes before the service, but they would find me in a most fearful state of sickness, produced by that tremendous thought of my solemn responsibility.… " 

We can see how heavy the burden of preaching was felt by this giant in our faith. As we look at another giant Martin Luther who it is said that,

  his knees often knocked together when he stood up to preach

When I read these stories of the giants of the faith who felt the heavy burden of preaching the word of God and realizing that when you preach you are not speaking the words of man. My fear is that I will be walking up to the pulpit in a church one day and not feel nervous or the weight of the words that I would preach. May the Lord see it that I will always have reverence for his word and know that I am merely a vessel in which the Lord will do whatever he wills to do through me, I pray that when I have the opportunity to preahc preach that it would be a sweet aroma to God and the he would be pleased with me.

Justice and prayer

         In light of the horrendous acts the were committed yesterday in Boston Mass. There has been a side of me that has come to the surface that has popped its head out at different points in my life, this is the desire for justice and that those who have committed these crimes must be punished with the most sever punishment we have available in our nation. This especially emerges when children are involved in the event. I was having a discussion with my girlfriend about this event yesterday, where we both came to the conclusion that we approach these type of situations in different ways. I am the kind of person where is a person commits these kinds of acts where children and innocent victims are murdered my first inclination is to find them and bring the full strength of the justice system on to them, not sparing them in anyway so they can suffer in the same way that the families of the victims have suffered. Where as her first thoughts are to find ways in which she can assist the families of the victims. There is nothing wrong with these views, but I know in my view that while I may desire for this person to suffer, my mind must first go to the gospel, that if it was not for the gospel that I could be in the same place as the person who committed these acts. From the scriptures we know that God is a just God who will give to sinners all that they have deserve for their life time of sinning. I am truly humbled by the thought of God seeing fit to save someone like me who has blasphemed his name without remorse, who has known his ways yet go ahead and do what my flesh desires. While I do hope that this person who murdered these three people I know that anything we do to this person is nothing compared to the justice system of God, in which the judge is not a human who has spent years studying law, received a degree, was put in a place of authority to cast judgement over criminals. No God has always been the perfect judge who cannot be swayed by feelings or interpretations of the law. He is the one who wrote the laws and has set the standards that must be met to be called just. If we do not meet that standard at the moment the "gavel" falls in the courtroom of God we will cast into hell where for all eternity God will pour out his wrath. For those whom God does not save that through should frighten them, but the scariest part is that they have little or no concern about the justice of God. They live their lives as the Corinthians who would say “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 
(1 Cor. 15:32) when they breath their last breathe they will receive a huge wake up call. 

        As a Christian in America today my first act must be to pray for the victims and for the person or persons  who committed this crime. For the victims families that God would give them comfort during this time that beyond what words can express. We must also pray for the ones who committed the crime that God will bring them to himself and that they will repent of these sins. When this person is caught if they have repented and believed in Christ they must also be willing to take the punishment that comes with the crimes they have committed, their punishment in God courtroom is taken by Christ, but in the worlds courtroom their guilt is in the hands of human judges. I pray that God would bring Christians to those who have been affected by this horrendous act.  

Signed up to die.

As Christians our duty isn't to live in comfort, but to do what ever our Lord calls us to do no matter what it costs us. We are to be as Paul and see our life as nothing compared to the over whelming glory of heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m15e1NmquCU

Back on the mission field

I am back in Missouri just started my 2nd week of classes at SBU. It has been such a blessing to get to see my fiends again. After only having one week of class i can see that not a much has changed. There are still theology profs. who will make comments about Reformed Doctrine then quickly change the subject to avoid confrontation and being proven wrong.  This one professor has been very outspoken about his disagreements with the reformed doctrines, but this professor also doesn't believe in Original Sin so I don't know how to approach him. There is also a campus "pastor" who desires us to live the social gospel which isn't really a gospel at all it is just adding a burden to Christians. The gospel isn't digging wells for people that is what you do in response to being changed by the gospel. The gospel is 66 books written by Man through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about Jesus Christ the only son of God who came to die for and  save his elect, was buried in a tomb not his own, three days later he physically rose from the dead, assented into heaven and is coming back one day to judge the world. That is the Gospel anything else is just works based and will do nothing but send you to Hell. I pray God would start a revival of his people saving his elect in a way that he can only get the credit. Not our programs, but by the preaching of his word alone.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!!!

Today I was asked  what I liked or found interesting about FBC Keller and is there was something that I didn't really understand.
First, I love how the pastor takes time to out of his day to help those who want to go deeper in God's word. and encouraging us to write a sermon on a specific section of verses. Then helping teach that section when we come to it in out study.

Secondly, One thing I don't really understand is why the Pastoral intern only works Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday during Upward season and Sundays.  It seems like he would be working more and helping the pastor with his duties.

So far this has been a very beneficial week in understanding how a large church is run. I am excited to see what else I learn. I know that God will use the things I learn in the future,

Soli Deo Gloria