Archive for February, 2006
02.28.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:49 pm by Perry
I wanted to make a quick post regarding something that I have found interesting in my recent studies with my younger brother and sister. It seems that so many people are terrified regarding issues with the end times that are falsified by dispensationalists such as Hall Lindsey, Pat Robertson, and Tim LaHaye. I want to make two quick points regarding the end times that I know many people are afraid of.
First, the antichrist. We see covers of books from the Left Behind series that have dark menacing covers with the word “ANTICHRIST” in dark, blood red. We have allowed such people to construct a completely false image of the antichrist though. What does the bible say about the coming of the antichrist?
1 John 2:18-20:
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
1 John 2:22-24:
Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.2 John 1:7:
Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
1 John 4:3
but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.So, who is the antichrist? It is anyone who denies that Jesus the Christ is truly the Lord and Messiah over all. These people are “deceivers and the antichrist” as is stated in 2 John. And as there are people who deny Jesus even today back to the time He walked this very earth we know that we are in the last days now since 1 John 2:18 tells us that the last hours have the coming of many antichrists who have already come with many more to come throughout the ages until the last day.Second, what is the end time? We have established that we are in the end times right now but what will be the final time. We are in the last hours but there has to come a last, final, hour. Surely this must be a terrifying thing with four horsemen storming from the clouds and flaming wild demons roaming the earth. But, again, what the bible say?
Matthew 24:14
This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
If we truly love God and desire to spread His gospel then why should we think that there is anything to fear? We come together every day and say we want to spread the gospel so we should rejoice at the idea of the end of this age because every nation will have heard of Jesus the Christ.
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02.21.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:47 pm by CLP
I have been spending time in devotionals recently studying the book of acts. I have noticed that the book of Acts could easily be termed the “Holy Spirit” book because the work of the Holy Spirit after the resurrection of Jesus Christ is emphasized as the key feature of the book. As is commonly known, the book opens with the apostle’s being filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaiming the gospel in many tongues (with the gift of speaking, not the gift of hearing among the crowd) just as Jesus had promised them before ascending into heaven:
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you; and you shall witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Read the rest of this entry »
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02.16.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:52 pm by Perry
This is going to be the closest post I have ever done that resembles a “true blog”. I have been exceedingly busy recently and it is only going to get worse. I just have soooo much stuff coming up between tomorrow and the early part of the week. (”Sigh”).
On a lighter note. I have really been enjoying the time I have spent with Chris (Harr, not Poteet) and Caleb and the other guys in my accountability group. The concept is awesome and I truly feel that I can be honest with these guys.
Final thought before I return to my endless work. I have been reading the book of Acts and there are numerous occassions where Peter or Paul have to go see new converts personally to “lay hands upon them” because they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. I have been giving this a lot of thought as to what it means to us today. These people had accepted Jesus but why had they not received the Spirit? Is this something we need to be concerned about today? I would really appreciate any input.
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02.10.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:40 pm by Perry
The trinity is undoubtedly one of the biggest stumbling blocks for non-believers. In fact, the point that distinguishes many cults from Christians is the fact that the “cults” (i.e. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness) deny the trinity. Well, I would like to offer a great analogy to use when witnessing to people.
In science we can plot a graph of pressure versus temperature for a specific molecule and show how the phase of matter for the compound can be altered by altering either pressure, temperature, or both. For example, water will exist as a liquid at atmospheric pressure (760 mm Hg) at temperatures ranging from approximately 4 to 99 degrees centigrade. If you were to significant drop the pressure the liquid would become a gas and if you decreased the temperature enough the water would be condensed and the intermolecular forces would strengthen to form solid water, a.k.a. ice.
Why is this important for anyone who doesn’t have to take freshmen macroscopic chemistry? Well, at a very unique temperature and pressure water will exist in three simultaneous phases for eternity if the conditions are maintained. It is hard to imagine without pictures so check out this phase change diagram too see a visual representation: (http://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/liquids/pgas.html)
I could write a dissertation about the thermodynamics and physical chemistry that allows water, or any substance, to exist in such a state but I will not bore anyone with this. The significant thing is there this is a concrete real example of how one substance can exist in three uniquely different forms simultaneously while still maintaining their individual unique characteristics. This might not be the best way to witness to just anyone but it works great for anyone who is either a scientist, and more than likely an atheist, or anyone who denies that anything can exist in a Trinitarian form.
Praise God for this beautiful example of his trintiarian form!
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02.08.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:28 pm by Perry
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You scored as Anselm. Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period.He sees man’s primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read ‘Cur Deus Homo?’
| Anselm |
|
100% |
| Karl Barth |
|
80% |
| Martin Luther |
|
73% |
| John Calvin |
|
67% |
| J?Moltmann |
|
53% |
| Jonathan Edwards |
|
53% |
| Charles Finney |
|
33% |
| Friedrich Schleiermacher |
|
33% |
| Augustine |
|
33% |
| Paul Tillich |
|
20% |
Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com |
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