This is not an invitation to an easy life......

3% of all the Christian missionaries are found in the "unreached" demographic

Has the church doubted the sovereign presence of God (...I am with you always...Matt 28.20), acquired insensitive hearts for the cares of this world (Luke 21.34), or have an ever decreasing understanding of our message (Declare his glory among the nations....Ps 96.3)

"The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time" - Carl F.H. Henry

"Go, Send, or Disobey" - John Piper

"Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" - John (Revelation 6.11)

"This central message of Scripture pertains to the central mission of the people of God, a mission that, tragically, many Christians do no understand or are unwilling to fulfill. It seems obvious that some Christians think little about their mission in this world... In His incarnation, Jesus glorified the Father by accomplishing His mission of providing eternal life to those who trust in Him, by reconciling lost men to the God they had forsaken. Jesus' supreme purpose on earth was 'to seek and to save that which was lost' (Luke 19.10). That is therefore also the supreme mission of Christ's church...Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the church but are rather the preparation of the church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost." - John MacArthur on Matthew 28.16-20



Video taken from Between Two Worlds
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/08/powerful-video-on-missions.html

I Love to Ride My Bicycle, I Love to Ride My Bike, pt. 2

As you may know, name one man who does not struggle with a little bit of pride. Well, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, just ask Ally. But today DEFINITELY is one of those days. A friend once asked me, "What are your three most valuable possessions?" I didn't know how to answer it until I envisioned my house on fire, what three things would I take. Assuming my wife is as smart as her beautiful looks, which means she's smarter than me, she doesn't count as one for many reasons.

1. Number one has to be the "spiritual" answer in which everyone roles their eyes. I don't have treasured possessions, because where your treasure is, there is your heart and so my treasure is heaven. Also she is not my possession but the Lord's and He has only allotted a small time in which we are able to share each other's company. (You know I had to say all that)

2. I know for a fact she beat me out the door.

3. Um........ I think 1 and 2 covered it.

So for my top three possessions I would take in case of a fire would be in the following order. It is unfortunate that I could take my entire library, but that's life. Drum roll please..........

1. My homemade BibSac (because I know Ally brought her NASB)

2. My Taylor Guitar.

and last but not least; 3. My Lemond Zurich.

For those that salivate at those weird people that you drive by wearing tight spandex and a funny helmet, here is a pic of my Lemond:D Ain't she a beaut

I Love to Ride My Bicycle, I Love to Ride My Bike

A great hobby of mine is riding my road bike. While watching the Tour de France, I can think of nothing but riding my bike. However, I don't want to ride my bike like these guys below.....

The Mandate for Missions begins NOW!!!!

Though I am not typically a fan of video's of this genre, but for all its worth, it is thought provoking...

Psalm 67.1-4 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the people praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the people with equity and guide the nations upon earth.

Psalm 96.1-4 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

Acts 18.9-10 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people."

Romans 10.14-17 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Revelation 5.9-10 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Jude 24-25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.



Please take time to pray for the Lord to send workers.....

The Hunt for the Historical Jesus......apart from Scripture

I typically don't want to say anything regarding where other people land on theological issues, especially if they are orthodox issues. However, in this link for the video, some will recognize certain names of people, ALL of which are much smarter than me and have a few more degrees than me. Even still, I still need to say something regarding this link.

Some men from Dallas Theological Seminary, Trinity Seminary, and Talbot Seminary are on the hunt for "The Historical Jesus." The main presupposition to this is to try and find Him outside of Scripture. It is unfortunate that I hold to the minority view and will be scrutinized for holding to my claim that this search is a detriment to Christianity and a view that diminishes the authority of the Word of God. The moment one person steps away from the real eyewitnesses of Jesus' life and ministry (i.e. the Gospel accounts), is the moment that a person will give up the authority of the Word of God that it may not be accurate or sufficient.

This needs an apologetical defense against this view that takes a stand for Scripture. This is a blatant attack against the Word of God, and it is a shame it is coming from the "leading evangelicals." One does not need anything outside of Scripture to be convinced of anything in Scripture. The Word of God is sufficient for everything.

http://dod.org/Products/DOD2121.aspx

The Exalted Majesty in Suffering....

The emotions and eternity our heart longs for when suffering comes to mind or we have been ravaged by the devastating sins that plague this world. But who would have thought that even obedience brings about suffering???? The deep pangs of death haunt us. The unending hurt won’t stop. For some it’s the unimaginable pain that one cannot even comprehend and for others this pain has/is a current reality.

Job is an interesting book. A book that seems like it would defy any common understanding of suffering. Normally, obedience will bring about promised blessing. Obedience will bring about special favor with God. When in reality, Job’s faithfulness is the very thing that brought his hardship. He was the righteous man that would be up before the break of dawn pleading to God for not only his sins but for the sins of his family. He was the righteous man feared the Almighty. Yet it was the blamelessness of this man which brought about suffering. You ask yourself, what if there was a more righteous man in the land, would Job have been spared?

You immediately identify yourself with one of the character’s in the entire book. Are you the righteous Job? The one who fears God, the one who pleads before the break of dawn with the Creator, the one who despises evil. Are you the wicked wife? The one who sees the suffering and tell them to curse God, do you see them and tell them to give up on life and kill themselves. Are the self-righteous friends? The ones who see suffering because of some unconfessed sin in their life, the ones that see their well-being because of some righteous deed they did. Or are you Elihu? The young, faithful friend of the hurting, the one who proclaims the goodness of Christ’s majesty, the one sees the intensity of people's pain and points them to the exalted Christ. Be slow to speak, quick to hear, constantly placing your hand on the back of the crying, the hurting, the crippled, the lame, the self-condemned, the culture-rejected, the diseased, and so forth to sit beside them in their misery and have compassion. Encourage, not in saying how good God is, though He is, but in the exalted nature of God. Point to the Majesty. Point to the Glory! Point to the wondrous works of the Creator!

Job 36.5-7 Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.

Job 36.15 He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.

Job 36.22-23 Behold, God is exalted in his power, who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, you have done wrong’?

Job 37.2-5 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightning’s when his voice is heard. God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend

Job 37.22b-24 God is clothed with awesome majesty. The Almighty – we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.

Here is a video that Desiring God released about 3-4 weeks ago:

Iran 'Apostasy' Bill Likely to Become Law

Please Pray....

IRAN - Without international pressure, there is little to stop the Iranian government from ratifying a bill that will make apostasy (leaving Islam) a capital crime, warns human rights groups and experts. On Sept. 9, the Iranian parliament approved a new penal code by a vote of 196-7 calling for a mandatory death sentence for apostates, or those who leave Islam. The Christian and Baha’i communities of Iran are most likely to be affected by this decision. “Unless there is a coordinated and very strong effort from the international community to place pressure on Iran for this, I don’t think there will be anything stopping the Iranian government from passing this legislation,” Joseph Grieboski, founder of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, told Compass Direct News.

(Open Doors)


For the rest of the article:
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/759/