Calvinism vs. Arminianism

April 24, 2018

I appreciate this statement. You will see the same basic statement made in Charles Spurgeon’s sermon called THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF ALL THEOLOGY. It is a sermon version of this few minutes by Dr. MacArthur.

cr

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The Immutability of God

April 12, 2018

A Sermon (No. 1) delivered on January 7th, 1855 by C. H. Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

“I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”—Malachi 3:6

It has been said by some one that “the proper study of mankind is man.” I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, “Behold I am wise.” But when we come to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass’s colt; and with the solemn exclamation, “I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.” No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God.

Click here to read the rest of Mr. Spurgeon’s sermon…

Source: The Spurgeon Archive

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Posted by Chris

The Resurrection

April 1, 2018

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Israel Prepares for Passover 5778

March 22, 2018

The following is a letter I received from a Christian “friend” in Israel who has asked to remain unnamed. I thought some of you might be interested in some of the practical things that go into the preparations for Passover in Israel.

Shalom!!

Happy Holiday! “Hag Sameach” literally means ‘holiday happy’ in Hebrew.

Even though Pasach (Passover) doesn’t start until the Eve of March 30th, the main greeting here in Israel now is “Hag Sameach.” Today, as I was at the grocery store, I could see the shelves being emptied where the things with ‘leven’ used to be. They let the things sell out and will not buy anything with leven in it until after Pasach. So I could not buy my soy milk today; they are already out. Anyway, everyone is preparing, cleaning their homes (probably where ‘Spring Cleaning’ came from) and washing their cars. The price to wash your car is now 50 shekels instead of 40 shekels. $2.90 more because of the holiday. I found out when I washed my car today!

It’s an exciting time to be in Israel!

Also, Christians in the ‘Holy Land’ and from around the world will be celebrating Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. I took (a) picture on a Palm Sunday where people were celebrating by waving Palm branches and singing in their own languages as they walked the path Jesus (Yeshua) took as He rode the donkey into Jerusalem.

May our Lord bless you as you remember His love for you during this amazing season. “Hag Sameach” Hoping you have a blessed holiday!

Nisan, the first month on the Jewish calendar (according to the Torah), coincides with March-April on the civil calendar, which marks the beginning of the spring months. On the first day of Nisan, God instructed Moses, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months, the first of the month of the year” (Exodus 12:2).

This month we celebrate the 8-day holiday of Passover, from the 15th through the 22nd of Nisan. It commemorates the Jewish people’s miraculous redemption from slavery in Egypt, and the birth of the Jewish nation. We will not see a year change for the Hebrew calendar until September 10th 2018, 1 Tishrei 5779, the Rabbinical New Year.

In Israel everyone is preparing for the coming celebrations, it is during this time that the Jewish people are looking to God and remembering His blessings. He brought His people from slavery to their homeland, where He will be glorified. This is a wonderful time for us to be praying for the Jewish people to come to know His love for them and for us to seek His blessings in our own lives.

Shana Tovah (Have a Good Year)

My comment:

Some of you will be waving palm branches this Sunday as a reminder of our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem. Christians remember the resurrection on a daily basis but it is important to know about the last week of Jesus’ journey here on Earth. Each of the gospels spend quite an amount of time on it so it must be of great value.

All Christians should be praying for the peace of Israel. In the past five days:

A Muslim resident plowed into a group of soldiers, killing two and critically injuring two others.

A 32-year-old father of four who worked as a security guard at an excavation site in the Old City, succumbed to multiple stab wounds to his torso.

The IDF destroyed two terrorist tunnels leading from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Netanyahu said, “The time has come for the International Community to realize that the financial aid given to Hamas is being used underground.” The people continue to suffer in the Gaza Strip due to lack of medical aid, electricity and water, which their Government is expected to supply.

An Israeli man was injured after he accidentally entered a Palestinian Authority-controlled town near Beitar Illit south of Jerusalem. The man, who was driving on a motorcycle, took the wrong exit, and found himself in the Palestinian town. He was attacked by rock-throwing terrorists and suffered a head injury. IDF forces were dispatched to the scene and transported him to the hospital.

There are, of course, larger forces at work plotting the destruction of the tiny little nation that God has an everlasting covenant with. Jews continue to return to the land in spite of the dangers they face from surrounding nations.

It is amazing to watch.

One thing is clear; Israel will never be destroyed. It is one thing you can take to the bank. Uh..I’m not so sure about how secure that is these days though.

Chris Reimers

*English Haggadah Text with Instructional Guide

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MESSAGE FOR 2018

January 2, 2018

I’m always watching the next generation. I’ve been watching videos made by this young man this year. You may disagree with me but I think he is an artist. I think his message, in the end, is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I will continue to watch his videos unless they take a very strange turn, like if he publicizes NAR leaders, or if his videos get too graphic. I think he has quite a following among the younger folks. I understand this means nothing but his message appears to be a scriptural one.
This is only one of his videos but what do you think?

cr

P.S. I do wonder about the title “Prophetic Message” on his YouTube video. As he covers many of the signs like the ones Jesus speaks about in Matthew 24, I will give Jason the benefit of the doubt that he means the Bible is God’s prophetic message, not anything that he is “saying.”

P.S.S.
Jason has taken down the word “Prophetic.” Makes me like him all the more and it shows that my guess in the P.S. was correct. His usage of scripture made it a pretty easy call but there are so many using the word “prophet” solely to make money these days, one must be on guard.

2 Comments | Bible Prophecy, Commentary, Creation, Education, LIFE, Love of God, theology | Tagged: | Permalink
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The Protestant Reformation – 500 years

October 30, 2017

The above videos are 3, 30, and 70 minutes long, respectively. The 2nd video was found at Maria Tatham’s blog. Her blog, previously called “Pilgrim’s Progress revisited – a former Catholic on the narrow way,” is now called “Pilgrim’s Progress revisited – Christiana on the narrow way.” Each video can give you a timely summary of the Reformation and why it is vitally important to Protestants. If anyone is able to find anything historically wrong with any of the three, please leave a comment.

What do you believe about God? I think it is the most important question. Having been raised in the Protestant church named after the man who is remembered today, The Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod in my case), I have been somewhat familiar with this topic for a long time. It is why I have included the fourth video. Influential “protestants” in today’s world are attempting to ignore important doctrines, rediscovered by the reformers, in an attempt to create unity. Unity without truth is worthless. If this seems harsh, one should read the words of Martin Luther. As I read his words in a search for material for this post, I was struck at how biting many of his words would seem to people today. It is obvious why his words put his life at risk at the time.

There were three famous “solas” (Latin word for “only”) that Martin Luther coined, which ultimately sparked the Reformation. Here they are below, as well as a description of each:

1. Sola Gratia (“only by grace alone”): Luther read scripture verses such as Ephesians 2:8 (“For it is by grace you have been saved…” ESV) and came to believe that it is only through God’s grace, not any works a person can do, that salvation is accomplished. One must rely on God’s free and infinite grace for his salvation and must not try to add to it through good deeds, giving money, etc.

2. Sola Fide (“only through faith alone”): Luther furthermore believed whole-heartedly that salvation only comes through a person’s faith in God. He came to believe this through continuing to read Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (ESV). He argued that God’s great grace saves sinners, in conjunction with the faith that He also provides.

3. Sola Scriptura (“only through the Scriptures alone”): Finally, Luther was a strong advocate of the idea that to understand God’s grace and to have faith in Him, the common person must be able to have access to God’s Word, the Bible. During a time when only the priests and religious teachers could read the Scriptures, Luther, along with other reformers, believed the common man must be able to hear the Word of God in his own language and understand it for himself. He noted verses like 2 Timothy 3:16 which states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (ESV). Therefore, since every part of Scripture is God’s Word, then the common man must be able to hear and understand it to have faith in God.

Source

Modern man is no different than man who lived in Medieval Times. He needs the God of the Bible. Each must “be able to hear and understand it to have faith in God.”

Chris Reimers

Just last week:

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The Diana Fritillary…a Miracle of God

August 4, 2017

It has happened again. I have once again been reminded of God’s love in such a simple way. You see, I was busy doing yard work. Where I live, if you are in charge of a yard of almost any size, there is no need for a membership to one of those health clubs. All that is necessary is a few hours of outside summer work, not that vigorous mind you, and the pounds will melt away. Well, I was sweating away and there it was. I wasn’t looking for it but it couldn’t be missed. A butterfly landed just a few feet from where I was working. There was no option but to stop what I was doing and take in the beauty of the small creature. He sat there for minutes, working his wings slowly back and forth. Did he/she know I was watching him/her?

I don’t know a lot about butterflies, but whenever this happens everything else stops and God comes to mind. Did God send this butterfly to remind me of his mercy and glory? I don’t know but it always has that effect.

I had seen this type before but, just like people, they are all different. This one had a bit more orange at the edge of its wings than I have seen before. It was decided that the name of this type of butterfly would be researched.

How can one not appreciate this awesome creation of God? There is a great debate whether it even is a creation of God. I have never understood that question but atheists and theologians spend hours on why people like me don’t understand the debate.

The butterfly is like many things in life, it can be seen for its simpleness or for its complexity. There is nothing wrong with the two but humans tend to either under or overthink things. I’ve found an attempt at staying somewhere in the middle keeps me sane.

It is important to come to a conclusion about the origin of the butterfly. What one thinks about it will affect one’s entire view of the world. The butterfly reminds me that the Gospel message has levels of complexity. That God loved us enough to send Jesus to pay for our sins is something that most children can get some sort of grasp on. Yet, theologians spend hours on just how God has saved us. There are certainly enough questions on subjects like, justification, sanctification, free-will, predestination, evil, heaven, hell, and the list goes on and on and is enough to keep any student of the Bible busy for a lifetime.

There are those who think the butterfly is the result of some sort of evolutionary process. They spend hours and hours trying to figure out ways that it could have appeared.

The butterfly makes things simple for me for a wonderful moment of time. All the questions disappear in appreciation of the alluring little glider. The focus is on the creation. It moves so peacefully and seems so delicate. Then I remember the complex process the small critter went through to take its current form. Anyone who has read much of this blog knows my opinion. Like the butterfly, Christians are the result of a creative process that continues until the day we die. There is a God. We have been created in His image. God loves mankind so much that he sent his only begotten Son to die so that we might live.

I thank God for that little butterfly.

Chris Reimers

Note: The butterfly that was seen today is known as The Diana Fritillary, the Official State Butterfly of Arkansas.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

First sightings of this butterfly in Hot Springs, Arkansas:

2022…July 1
2026…April 8

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Was America Founded to be Secular?

July 4, 2017

I applaud PragerU for articulating the truth of America’s history. The men quoted here weren’t all necessarily Christians but they knew how important religion and particularly Judeo-Christian beliefs were to the establishment and continued welfare of the nation. Their words are as true today as they were when they spoke them over two hundred years ago.

cr

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Justification by Faith

June 26, 2017

Few can explain things like the Prince of Preachers.

CR

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“There brake He the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.”

June 12, 2017

“There brake He the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.”
Psalm 76:3

Our Redeemer’s glorious cry of “It is finished,” was the death-knell of all the adversaries of his people, the breaking of “the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.” Behold the hero of Golgotha using his cross as an anvil, and his woes as a hammer, dashing to shivers bundle after bundle of our sins, those poisoned “arrows of the bow;” trampling on every indictment, and destroying every accusation. What glorious blows the mighty Breaker gives with a hammer far more ponderous than the fabled weapon of Thor! How the diabolical darts fly to fragments, and the infernal bucklers are broken like potters’ vessels! Behold, he draws from its sheath of hellish workmanship the dread sword of Satanic power! He snaps it across his knee, as a man breaks the dry wood of a fagot, and casts it into the fire. Beloved, no sin of a believer can now be an arrow mortally to wound him, no condemnation can now be a sword to kill him, for the punishment of our sin was borne by Christ, a full atonement was made for all our iniquities by our blessed Substitute and Surety. Who now accuseth? Who now condemneth? Christ hath died, yea rather, hath risen again. Jesus has emptied the quivers of hell, has quenched every fiery dart, and broken off the head of every arrow of wrath; the ground is strewn with the splinters and relics of the weapons of hell’s warfare, which are only visible to us to remind us of our former danger, and of our great deliverance. Sin hath no more dominion over us. Jesus has made an end of it, and put it away forever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end. Talk ye of all the wondrous works of the Lord, ye who make mention of his name, keep not silence, neither by day, nor when the sun goeth to his rest. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

C.H.Spurgeon

SOURCE

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