pearls, swine, dogs, blogs and the last word

Mathew 7:6 : Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.



If there was ever a scripture to describe christian blogging...this is it!

i think it is interesting that Jesus mentioned the fact that the swine and dogs can destroy you.

when it comes to human wisdom...the theories of unredeemed creatures... they will and can rip Christians to shreds.

this is not admitting that they have all the facts and we are believing something non-defensible,

it is simply acknowledging the fact that unless God causes their hearts of stone to be softened

they will rely on godless intellect. you can make argument after argument and any good point you can make will be ignored. straw men... vague philosophies ...unproven theories... these are just some of the life preservers that are used by God haters.

they will take you round and round and as long as they ignore their conscience they can and will not be convinced



1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God



i have been in debates with vegetarians, atheists, catholics...you name it.

funny thing is a lot of them think they are Christians!!!!

you have to resist the temptations to always have the last word. you will not win, you will not

get an apology, BUT the thing has the potential to bear fruit regardless.

i heard Ray Comfort say one time about debating atheist in a prime time format that

it's not about winning a debate, it was all about proclaiming the Gospel and

the atheist fools don't even realize that the platform is being given toward evangelism!

that is awesome! i look at blogging the same way...

you go at it a bit on whatever subject you happen to be discussing, but just remember to

pull back...survey the situation, realize that this person is lost.... maybe not elect...

and proclaim the truths of man's lost condition.

maybe they will respond in private, or maybe someone reading the thread will be convicted.

but at some point we MUST realize that we are dealing with dogs and swine.

tongues

I recently responded to a post that a wonderful brother in the Lord had on his myspace
http://www.myspace.com/azriel816

i thought i would share that post here:


God is good...man is not! His people have been bickering about this one for years!which often times tells me that no-one has cornered the market on this.i have witnessed debates where you would end up agreeing with whoever was speaking!i was saved during a burglary arrest in 1990. that night and the subsequent nights after, i went through a period of extreme repentance. to say i was overwhelmed by the flashing memories of all i'd done and the sinner i truly was is an understatement.before my conversion i had had dreams about God chasing me. i knew just enough about Him to fear Him! and that night i was arrested (rescued!) i gave my life to Jesus.so after that first full day in jail i wept with my face in my hands...then i prayed out loud in words i could not understand.this is the truth, and i know experience does not superceed scripture, but when His holy presence visited me in that place....i was never to be the same.when i relayed this story to the prison chaplain he became extatic.told me i was "baptised in the Spirit" upon my release from prison i ended up in a charismatic church. much of my theology was based on this type of stuff...i always new something was wrong, when i had heard preachers say "stand up and prophecyto the person on your left" or when i was "healed" from a bad back as they stretched my legi questioned many things.the last straw came for me last yeari became exposed to "reformed" teaching about 2 years ago.i even payed for and dragged my AG pastor to the true church conference in Muscle ShoalsAlabama 2007! upon our return i asked this Pastor if i could teach a class (up to this time i had been worship leader) he decided to have me teach on the beliefs of the assembly of God. one of the points on the list was the fact that they believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is evidenced my the speaking in tongues. i couldn't do it...i left the church shortly after that and i will never belong to another AG.i believe like the first post...i think God can overwhelm a person from time to time, and the responce to His presence can vary from person to person. but i do not think it is the norm.nor do i lean on this experience now....i am closer to Him now more than ever. though there are still times in my life when i am lost in prayer and find myself uttering in tongues.i think churches that focus on the gifts are wrong....and i think churches that say "NO WAY" to the gifts are wrong. the answer/balance is somewhere in between.that is why i am more comfortable in a church where they leave that up to the individual, but where the "gifts of the Spirit" on not in operation during a typical service

letter from Christopher Love

Christopher Love was a Presbyterian minister in London, England during the time of the English civil war. He was beheaded on August 22, 1651.
(An excerpt from a letter to his wife, on the morning of his execution)
My most gracious beloved,I am now going from a prison to a palace!I have finished my work. I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also! Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!
Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death,Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!