The blind men and the elephant

From the BeThinking.org Web site:

In mankind’s search for God, people can fumble around on their own, seeking to know what they cannot, by themselves, hope to grasp. Indeed, many look entirely in the wrong place, ignoring the signs that are pointing to the one true God, while others are too busy trying to distract themselves from the realities of life with various pleasures and activities. People’s different interpretations of God are not necessarily aspects of one truth, but descriptions of entirely different things – not an elephant, but a camel or an ostrich.

Read the entire article.

What Calvinism is Not

Source: The Fide-O Blog

1. Calvinism does not teach that God will refuse to save a man because he is not one of the elect even though that man believes in Christ and repents of his sin.
2. Calvinism does not teach that Christians do not need to evangelize or do missions because God will sovereignly save the elect.
3. Calvinism does not deny man’s responsibilities as defined by Scripture.
4. Calvinism does not teach that God is the author of sin, who made people sin so that He could judge them.
5. Calvinism does not affirm all of the beliefs of John Calvin.
6. Calvinism is not a certain form of church government.
7. Calvinism does not teach infant baptism.
8. Calvinism is not a sect of Christianity or Gospel that was formulated by John Calvin.
9. Calvinism as a system of theology/soteriology did not originate with John Calvin.
10. Calvinism is not consistent with Dispensationalism.
11. Calvinism is not the same as Stoicism or Pantheism.

Are you a true Christian?

Full article on “Fallen and Flawd”

1. Do you enjoy a close relationship with God and Christ? 1 John 1:2-3

2. Are you sensitive to sin in your life? 1 John 1:5-6

3. Do you obey God’s commands? 1 John 2:3

4. Do you reject this evil world? 1 John 2:15

5. Do you long for Jesus’ return? 1 John 3:2-3

6. Is the pattern of sin decreasing in your life? 1 John 3:8

7. Do you love other Christians? 1 John 3:14-15

8. Do you experience answered prayer? 1 John 3:21-22

9. Do you feel like the Holy Spirit is with you? 1 John 4:13

10. Can you tell the difference between spiritual truth and error? 1 John 4:1-3

11. Have you suffered rejection because of your faith? 1 John 3:13

Why Memorize Scripture?

By John Piper (source)

1. Memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when I can’t be reading the Bible, and meditation is the pathway of deeper understanding.
2. Memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and that happens when I am hearing the word in my head.
3. Memorizing Scripture shapes the way I view the world by conforming my mind to God’s viewpoint.
4. Memorizing Scripture makes God’s word more readily accessible for overcoming temptation to sin, because God’s warnings and promises are the way we conquer the deceitful promises of sin.
5. Memorizing Scripture guards my mind by making it easier to detect error—and the world is filled with error, since the god of this world is a liar.
6. Memorizing Scripture enables me to hit the devil in the face with a force he cannot resist, and so protect myself and my family from his assaults.
7. Memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest words for ministering to others in need.
8. Memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because he talks to me through his word, and I talk to him in prayer.

Tricks for Memorizing Scripture

By Demian Farnworth (source)

1. Read it repeatedly. Did you know you can memorize Scripture during your morning devotion? Instead of zipping through your reading for the day, pause and camp on one verse for a long time. You won’t regret it.
2. Pay attention. Sounds obvious, but often ignored. Simply forcing yourself to be aware of what you are reading can help you internalize the words. Repetition will make the mind wander. What you have to do is bring it back.
3. Visualize what you are reading. Take Psalm 1:1 for example. “Blessed is the man who does not walk with the wicked nor stand in the way of the sinner nor sit in the seat of the mocker.” Your first tasks is to see the three actions here: walking, standing and sitting. If you can see the three main actions, then you can start to memorize the surrounding words.
4. Create anchor words. In the above example, your anchor words are “walking,” “standing” and “seating.” In Colossians 1:15, my anchor words are image, invisible and firstborn. Whenever I get lost while reciting a passage I look for my anchor words to orient myself.
5. Recognize patterns. In Psalm 1:1, after the first line, the next three sentences follow this pattern: a verb, a noun and a modifier. Think of each of these as a bucket you drop the appropriate word into.
6. Start with the easy.  Now, some passages are easier to remember than others. Psalm 1, easy. A page from Romans, hard. On your first effort at memorizing large chunks of Scriptures, don’t tackle Romans. Build some confidence first by memorizing Psalm 1 or the Sermon on the Mount.
7. Stagger. Sorry, not like you were drunk. What I mean is memorize an easy passage then a hard passage then an easy. Give your brain a break. This way you’ll avoid burnout.
8. Build memorable associations.  If you want to remember difficult section of scripture like Romans 1:18-20, it helps to imagine God hovering like a brooding mountain over the world to represent all three verses.  This is a robust picture hard to forget.
9. Anchor memorable associations in chapters. These rich word pictures can also help you when you’re trying to memorize entire chapters of the Bible. They orient you on a larger scale.
10. Cheat a little. Once you’ve absorbed a hunk of Scripture, don’t be afraid to keep a sheet of paper nearby with keywords or section headings to help you out when you need a reminder.
11. Narrate. Sometimes it helps to describe in your own words what you are trying to memorize. This will also help you build memorable associations, spot keywords and develop anchor words.
12. Stick to a ritual. I find it easier to memorize Scripture in my car–I have a long commute–and before I sleep. Especially early on in the process of memorizing, I can’t remember my passage as easily anywhere else except these places. So, until I gain more confidence, I stick to this ritual.
13. Sing it. Try opera. Or a musical. The point is to be dramatic. As if you were in a play. [This is my favorite trick, by the way.]
14. Try mnemonic devices. Many of us learned ROY G BIV to remember the colors of the rainbow. Make up your own device to memorize anchor words or more. In Psalm 1:1, your device would be WSS, or walk, stand and sit.
15. Enlist your body. If mnemonic devices aren’t your cup of tea, use body parts. Classic example of this is Ephesians 6:10-18, the armor of God. Waist, chest, feet, forearm and head complete the armor and can help you navigate through this lengthy passage.
16. Repeat the alphabet. Say you just can’t remember that big word in 1 John 2:2. Run through your ABCs. When you get to P, it should trigger the word escaping you: propitiation.
17. Type it. One way to memorize something like John 1:1-3 is to type it into your computer. Not once. Not twice. But ten times. Maybe more. Your call.
18. Hear it. After you’ve typed it, next, read it aloud and record it. Then listen to the recording several times.

How to Change Your Mind

This post contains a four step process that could transform your life by, quite literally, changing your mind.

After reading the entire post the vast majority of readers will snicker at such a hyperbolic claim and never implement the method I outline. A smaller number will consider the advice intriguing, my assertion only a slight exaggeration, and will also never implement the method. A tiny minority, however, will recognize the genius behind the recommendation and apply it to their own life. This group will later say that my claim was an understatement.

This post is written for those people.

In late August I stumbled across a variation of the four steps in a blog post by Fred Sanders. I implemented his recommendation that day and have followed the process almost daily since then. Last month I had the pleasure of meeting Sanders in person and telling him how his post had transformed my life. My hope is that at least one other person will follow this advice and experience the same transformative affect.

Before I reveal the four steps I want to reiterate that while the advice could transform your life, it most likely will not. As with most life-altering advice, it is simple, easy to implement, and even easier to ignore. Statistically speaking, the odds are great that you’ll ignore this advice. Therefore I encourage you to stop reading now; you’ll only be wasting your time reading further.

Entire article.

Pro-Life Talking Points by John Piper

Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother’s womb (except in the case of abortion).

Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

Source.

Why Fast? by John Piper

1. For Jesus to come back (Matthew 9:14-15)
2. For help in a new venture in ministry (Matthew 4:1-2, Acts 13:3)
3. To avert some danger or threat (Ezra 8:21, 2 Samuel 12:16)
4. To express sorrow and loss (2 Samuel 1:12, 1 Chronicles 10:12)
5. To express repentance and grief for sin (Joel 2:12-13)
6. Not for the praise of men (Matthew 6:16-18)

Source.

John Calvin’s Earthly Difficulties

Calvin faced great difficulties during his life and ministry. He and his wife, Idelette, lost three infant children. After just a few short years of being happily married, Calvin became a widower. Roman Catholic opponents declared the deaths of the infants and his wife as divine judgment, but the Reformer replied that God had blessed him with a multitude of children in the faith. … modern medical scholars have ascertained the Reformer suffered from chronic tophaceous gout, chronic pulmonary tuberculosis (consumption), irritable bowel syndrome, kidney stones and migraine headaches. Such debilitating health issues would cause many to waiver in the Christian walk, let alone ministry. Calvin was determined to press ahead despite the difficulties and to encourage others to do the same.

Read the entire article.

Dreams of Paradise by Robert W. Field

When we fell in the garden, paradise was lost and could never be regained through any of our efforts. It is not that we don’t try. … Even the Christian sometimes passes into that dangerous sin of building a home for himself in this world. … Yet God has warned us never to be content here, nor to think of this unrestored place as home. … How does He point us in the direction of true paradise? He begins by showing us the hopelessness and emptiness of the place in which we live. Here in this fallen world there is no lasting joy or peace. We have tasted its finite pleasures, but they have left us miserable, lonely, and dissatisfied. Sin has corrupted everything. The city of man is collapsing and will be destroyed; hence, we are compelled to flee the wrath that is coming and to seek the restoration of God’s eternal home. … How does a Christian journey to the final paradise? Every day he wakes up in this world as a warrior pilgrim, fighting the temptations to root him here while pressing on to his eternal reward. On this voyage, he draws close to his Savior through prayer and Scripture. He dresses himself with the armor of God in order to face his conflicts. He finds fellow pilgrims who are heading in the same direction and loves their fellowship along the way. He keeps his eyes on the eternal and does not become trapped in the finite. He takes the members of his body and uses them for righteousness. Though he sees life decaying all around him, including his own mortal body, he has the hope of resurrection and life in the new heavens and earth. Here he finds everything changing. Friends pass away, circumstances make life unpredictable. Yet in himself he sees the seed of new life springing up in hope. He stores up treasures in that paradise that will never rust or decay. In essence, he lives here in this finite world as if he were already living in that holy paradise. His blessed Savior gives him a foretaste of what is to come, a peace that passes understanding, a joy that does not fade, and a love that is eternal. …

Entire article.