Reading List - Books I'm going to read in October 2015

This is a new feature of my blog,  I hope to read a book each month and give you a review, and maybe some ideas.   Of course I have to start with one of my favorite pastors, Voddie Baucham Jr.,    If you've gotten to watch the G3 videos from last year,  this was a major topic of discussion.   Consider reading along this month.


Expository Apologetics: Answering Objections with the Power of the Word 
by Voddie Baucham Jr. (Author)
Click Below to order your copy
 

Opinion vs. Absolute Truth; where there is no gray

Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capital in Austin , Texas

I'm often astounded by people, brothers and sisters in the church who hold to anti-biblical views. Often they are swayed by the media, this is loving, and if this is loving you must embrace it. I see "Christians" flock to ideas like evolution, global warming, overpopulation, abortion rights and sexual perversions simply because they are shown in such a positive light on television. They don't see how this world view is actually a contradiction of a biblical or Christian worldview. But why should they?
Many of our churches are not centers of theology (Growing in a better understanding of God and His nature), but are simply a place to exchange "Warm and Fuzzy" feelings. We leave the "God who hates sin and is full of wrath for those who defy His Holiness" at the door. There is only a place for a God who loves and accepts everyone, sorta a god of our own making. Even the quote attributed to St. Augustine "Hate the sin love the sinner" could even be construed as being unkind and hateful. How can you separate a sin like homosexuality from a man? It's now his identity, and it's endorsed as "normal" by our media and now our government.
Today my pondering isn't about homosexuality. I'm sure I'll write more on that at a later time, but today I must write this to those who call themselves "Christians". Who take upon themselves the identity of Jesus Christ, who we believe is God in flesh. Theology must be our life, our desire, our everything. We must be daily seeking knowledge in God's word, to know how to live as a distinct and holy people. We need to learn how to live in a world, but not become part of a world. To see the world as God see's the world.
To many Christians choose to have an opinion that is anti-biblical, thus picking and choosing what parts of the Bible they feel is 'relevant', to today. What weight does an opinion have if its not grounded in truth? Our truth isn't pop psychology, new trends in philosophy, or even the current events, our truth is the total and whole word of God. Every last part of it shows a God who doesn't change, and who loves holiness and purity.
But what is holiness and purity, since most churches have all but taken the ten commandments down, and stored them in the closet fearing that they be seen as legalism. We don't even know the standards. How can we be sinful if we don't know what sin is? In the book of Judges, a common phrase "the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord" over and over again. This is very similar to our current era, maybe we could say "the Christians did evil in the eyes of the Lord". This standard was a comparison to God's law, they decided they knew what to do, and the standard slid. I know we aren't saved by keeping the law, no one can keep it perfectly. The law is like a ruler to tell us what is right and wrong. If we don't know that we are wrong, how can we every ask God to make us right? How can we be saved if we have no idea what we are saved from (like the wrath of God). We are commanded to keep the law of God with us, why? Because the law of God, whether we like it or not, is God's standard of perfection. Of course we can't keep the law, and we've each broken every one of the commandments, but Jesus did keep it, and he was perfect, how can we appreciate and love Him more if we don't know what He did for us?
In judges 21:25 it says - "Back in those days, Israel didn't yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.", is that were we are today?
God's law is not an opinion, it's an absolute truth. The Facts are simple: God is Holy, we are not holy. When we try to find gray, we are actually "doing whatever seems right in our own opinion."

Is God Sovereign over Ebola?

I'm sure unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you've heard about Ebola in the news.  People are scared, I mean really scared.   If a person sneezes or coughs I worry about riots.   Even though there are only 3 cases of Ebola in the United States, the fear of death seems real.  Death is real, and it's an unavoidable statistic: 10 out of 10 people will die.   But if someone sneezes on you, what are your chances of getting Ebola?   Honestly, it's astronomical, literally impossible.

So why all the fear?   Maybe because we've come the realization that the Government isn't perfect.   They made some big mistakes.    Today we find that the CDC's precautions to hospitals weren't exactly perfect, and two nurses have Ebola now.  People have place a lot of faith in the United State Government to know what to do, and when they don't do it right, our faith is often shattered.    The problem is, the US Government isn't perfect, they can only do what they think is right, and until it's proven, it's a lucky guess at best.

So should we fear Ebola?   My answer is no!   Check this out - Luke 7:4-7

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷ Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Fear nothing except for God, because even death isn't to be feared.  It's what happens after death, and the One to who has the authority to throw us into Hell.   Who is that?  God.   Not only does He know who we are, He's numbered the hairs on our head.   God is in control, total control.   We don't need to fear death, we need to fear the creator of all things.   Jesus who spoke these words continued:

⁸ “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

The Gospel is profound, we all deserve to die and be separated from God.   We currently live in a state of grace, but one day we will die and will be judged.   Either we are judged on our merits, which are wicked, or we are judged on Christs finished work, which was perfect.   By publicly acknowledging Christ, we are admitting we are wrong, that we need to be forgiven, that we need to turn from our wicked ways, and we need to trust in the whole work for Jesus for our salvation.  Ebola can only kill the body, it's not evil, and it doesn't need to be feared.   

God alone needs to be feared, and we must learn to love and honor Him above all other things.

like a Flower and Withers away

Life is short, it's really short. According to the CDC the average lifespan is 77.7 for anyone living in the US. That sounds like a lot, sure, but the older you get you will see how short life really is. As of today I've lived only about 13519 of my 28391 days, I'm young.. but still life goes by quickly. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 103:15 "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;". What a great word picture, a field of grass and each day. In Job 14:2 it says "He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." How true, when we think about our feeble lives, and how frail we will become. Eventually we all die, it's a fact, so what have we done with our lives up to now? What will we do with our lives going forward? How can we live each day with purpose and passion that it's going to be sooner rather than later we will die. If I had one request today, it's that each of my days have more purpose, more vision, and driven to Glorify God with each breath of that day. Will I fail, sure, will I fall into the the dry place, it's all going to happen, but will it happen with ambition and drive to live as if I was the only person left who is responsible for expanding the Kingdom?

Review and discussion of Hymns

Yesterday I had a great lunch with a good friend of mine. We were talking about worship, but I expressed my desire for deeper expression of what God has done for me, and is doing through me. I grew up in mostly conservative northern churches, where hymns are staple. I didn't think about it much growing up, but now I'm often drawn back to the lyrics of the hymns by Wesley, Luther, Newton, and so many others. Over the next month I'll be starting a stream looking at the messages, theology, and doctrine of the hymns.

How would your life change if you knew God didn't exist?

We are all confronted with a life of constant churn, trying to survive to the next day. Day after day I'm faced with moral challenges, dealing with things such as need, wants and desires. I'm confronted with an advertisement system which tells me "if it feels good, do it" but a struggle with a moral consequence to that action. I was taught that stealing, slander, cheating on my wife, murder, envy, not honoring my parents, and respectful speech of God is the moral standard set down by my Christian worldview. When I'm needing money, I don't rob a bank because of my moral standard.

Does a belief in God truly affect our moral decisions? According to The Pew forum on Religious and Public life 88% of Americans are sure or fairly sure that God exists. 57% of Americans feel that you need a belief in God to have a moral standard. The funny thing is the generational gap trend is showing that this is also a changing perspective. In the US 61% of the people over the age of 40 that were surveyed and only 51% of the people between the ages of 18-39 said there must be a belief in God to be moral. That means the trend is moving to a belief system which doesn't rest upon a higher moral authority.

In my last blog I talked about altruism, and how I don't believe that any human is selfless. I think that from the infant to the oldest of us, we are all selfish by nature. When we were born, we didn't desire the best for our parents, all we thought about was our needs: Food, warmth, and comfort. My argument is that if we are left to our natural desires, without some kind of external influence in our lives, we would have no moral standard. Even those who claim "there is no god", live under the shadow of His presence.

So lets just pretend we live in a world where God never existed, there never was a god. What would this world look like, how would it function, what would be the norms and morals of this society? What would the standard of human value be based upon? What is the worth of a person, merely what they are capable of producing? What would be the purpose of living?