That's just your opinion.

Don't you just love that Line? That's your opinion, your way of thinking, well, it's works for you but not for me...

In our post-modern world, to declare that your looking for truth is a praise worthy thing. But to say that you found it, well, how arrogant can you be. Thats so narrow minded.

Yet when someone asked me how I respond to statements above I just say, "It's not my opinion, it's Gods. He's has the only opinion that matters in this world.".

If truth be told there are a lot of things in the Bible that offend me. Yet, they are still true, and by God's grace I believe them and have learned to live with the fact that I'm not sovereign, God is. By God's grace over time, there are doctrines that I now hold dear, that I once was repulsed by. They have become sweater over time as I study more and more who God is, and what his word says.

So yes there is absolute truth, and no, it's not always fun to hear, yet it has the power to make you a child of God.

May Jesus come soon!

Emergent Village.

Rob Bell, Tony Jones and Brian McLaren new Bible highlighter, at a liberal store new you.
It's only $6.66

Atonement.

Last night I was reading in Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology and was once again brought to tears when pondering the Atonement. Chapter 27 of his Systematics is all about the Atonement of Christ. The part that I was reading was on the Cross, what happened there. He categorized it in four parts. 1.Physical Pain and Death, 2. The pain of bearing sin, 3. Abandonment, 4. bearing the wrath of God.

Each one worse then the next. As bad as the pain of the cross was Jesus took on our sins. All of his very being must of been repulsed by this, his whole life on earth he detested sin, in the pre-incarnate he hatted sin, and now he became sin. As if becoming sin wasn't bad enough, it caused him to be abandon. The closeness of the Father was was gone, he faced the guilt and punishment of million alone. finally he boar our wrath for us. He faced my eternal punishment and drank it dry, not only for me, but for millions of the elect.

"Then at last Jesus knew his suffering was nearing completion.He knew he had consciously borne all the wrath of the Father against our sins, for God's anger had abated and the awful heaviness of sin was being remove. He knew that all that remained was to yield up his spirit to his heavenly Father and die. With a shout of victory Jesus cried out, "it is finished!". Then with a loud voice he once more cried out, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And then he voluntarily gave up the life that no one could take from him, and he died. As Isaiah had predicted, "he poured out his soul to death" and "Bore the sin of many". God the Father saw "the fruit of the travail of his soul" and was "satisfied"." -W.G Systematic Theology

WOW.

Adam Wasn't Deceived.

One often hears that mankind was tricked in the garden by the serpent. Yet this doesn't square with the biblical facts. Adam willingly ate of the apple, he knew that the serpent was lieing.

I Timothy 2:14

...Adam was not deceived,
but the woman was deceived
and became a transgressor."

Eve believed the lie that the serpent was feeding her, "You will not die...you will be like God, knowing good from evil.". Adam was right there listening, he new that the snack was full of it. Adam new he would die, he new that this fruit wouldn't make him to be like God knowing good from evil.

So the question remains, "Why Adam!" why would you fall, what made you do it? how could an imperfect thought or actions arise in a perfect world, were sin had no dominion?

The question comes back to who is sovereign. Is God Sovereign or is Man? Did that Cross happen because of the Fall, or did the Fall happen because of the Cross?

"He chose us before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."-Ephesians 1

"and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." Revelations 13

The ESV Study Bible

The ESV is a great Bible.

In a time when bible's are readily available, this bible stands out from among many.
It's highly readable, yet stays true to the original text. The ESV is a word for word translation, that's readable.

The new ESV Study Bible is even better. Sadly, biblical illiteracy runs ramped in the church and in its pulpit. The ESV Study bible can help guide the student of the bible into more in depth realities of God's word. Just check out the into to the book of Revelations.

Just an update on the "Shack", it''s moved down to the 5th, on CBS best sellers list. I'm not convinced this is a good sign, since it's still in the top 10. But I can at least rejoice that it's not the number one book anymore.

WOW

The Number one selling book at Christian Books is the heretical book called the Shack.

This is a telling indicator of the Church in American.
It's also a shame for Christian books.

I'm thankful for Westminster Bookstore who stays true to their calling of being a light in the mist of a society who will sell anything for greedy gain.