Ashemha

This post by Leaving Munster ( Graham ) is a good detail of the history of the defense of what we may possible label Believer's Baptism. The intensity of this article does not allow my summary. Please take the time to read it! Read Article

Well, I did it. I took my girls to a local "safe" halloween event. Yes, I admit that I fell for the idea that your kids can participate in a "safe" halloween. As we walked among the witch caricatures, ghosts, grotesquely decorated pumpkins, skeletons, and one horribly disfigured mask - I regretted my decision. In my defense, I thought that this would not be what we would encounter. I don't know why I thought that. This IS halloween and me taking my children from booth to booth to gather candy is different from the traditional halloween in WHAT way? (One booth vendor forced my children to say "Trick or Treat.")

But you may ask, "Why did you think this would be different?" Why? Because this was a community outreach of a local Baptist church.

We left the event much sooner than we had planned - I just could not enjoy myself. As I looked around, I was troubled by the deception this event portrayed. Hundreds of children and their parents thinking their kids were safe. I know, there would most likely be no molestation, abduction, or dangerous antics. All I could think of all night was the spiritual peril that this event could cause. Nothing in the traditional halloween has a redeeming value. (I am not speaking of the "All Saints Eve" genesis of this event.) Yet we, in the church, insist on modeling it for the "benefit" of the Kingdom.

I kept thinking of how much we seem to want to look like the world. My soul is in despair as I think of how much Jesus made sure He did NOT look like the world and how much time He took to insist we model the same behavior. Yes, I know that this time can be an opportunity to present Hope and the Light. But, as I pass out my tracts, wrapped in chocolate and sweets, to the neighborhood kids, am I becoming a mere peddler of the Word? Do we have to cloak the Truth in sweet deception to effectively communicate the Gospel? I fear we obscure our message of Hope and Light by wrapping in a package through which neither can be discerned. I know that happened tonight in our community.

I have planned and participated in events to provide an alternative to this horrid holiday. But, I continue to wrestle to make sure those events do not look like satan's idea of a Perfect Halloween.

I drove by a landmark in Granbury yesterday to discover they were scraping and loading the last of the concrete foundations from this. Once a ( it seems not so popular ) entertainment venue, The Gulch provided an interesting putt-putt course, some games, batting cages, etc. I did visit this location a few times in the last 10-12 years. Unfortunately, I am one of those people that only putt-putt golf while on vacation. I certainly was sad to see this business close. Any time I see something like this I think of my days in a family running our own business.

I know of the struggles my parents faced with financing, employees, drawing customers, and then getting those customers to pay. I know the struggles of holding on past financial viability. I know the struggle of finally closing and facing both the financial and personal loss. That is why, even when I suffer loss due to a business unable to deliver product to me due to their financial struggles, I feel for them.

In a recent blog I wrote in response to an experience I had with a reformed interviewer. In it I responded to the concern that made me feel. I was referring to those that get crippled by their desire for knowledge - not Godly Wisdon and Knowledge, but self supporting knowledge. I wrote the blog to point out the extreme - unfortunately I have become the extremist.

I honestly don't study Reformation Theology. I love reading and agree with John Piper - I think he is considered a "reformer." I also have read and enjoy the blogs of other reformers ( Colossiansthreesixteen ) I have read many summaries on RT and most describe it in the way they personnaly would like it to apply. Some say their reformation is non-Lutheran. Others describe Luther as the genesis. Some give Calvin the credit for its beginning. Others insist reformation was bigger than any man. So, even I know that this phrase is not the end-all to describe the way a person believes.

If reformation is not being satisfied with the status quo and tradition of church teachings that have moved away from the Truth of Scripture, then I am reformer. If reformation is deepening my hunger for God and teaching others to pursue the same, then I am a reformer.

If a reformer has to teach some that they have no hope in Christ, then I am not a reformer. (And I don't think that is the message of all who say they ascribe to Reformation Theology - but it is the message of some.)

I can't NOT comment on a sermon my brother in Christ delivered to our annual meeting for our local association of Southern Baptist Churches. He reminded us that we are not "peddlers of the Gospel" Of course, you savy Script-ticians out there know he was referencing 2 Corinthians 2:17. While the KJV uses "corrupt the word", most other modern translations use a version of the word "peddle." (ie - peddlers of the the Word ). I like the NLT which uses the term "hucksters."

I thought Paul Duncan, pastor of Mambrino Baptist Church, made this very clear when he reminded us that we tell people, "If you want a good life, you need Christ. If you want a good marraige, you need Christ. If you want a good ....., you need Christ." Paul Duncan reminds us this is peddling the Word - the Gospel - the Good News. I think of it like this - we don't need Christ because we sin, are in jail, are threatened with divorce or unemployment. We need Christ because we were born! ( and need to be re-born! )

There was, of course, more than I can worthily recount. Thanks, Paul, for being true to the Word.

This is old news ( Boston Globe Sept 19) , but I just found it through a state newspaper. It seems that the Muslim advisors of Tony Blair think that their youth are offended or just don't connect to this time [Holocaust Memorial Day] set aside for remembering the atrocities the Nazis perpetuated on the Jews. They say other events in history should be lumped into this commemoration. Detractors, and I am one, say that the holocaust was like NO other time in recent history. I am sure the fact that this day looks on the attempted annihilation of the Jewish race does tend to offend the Muslim critics. Heck, I am sure that our Memorial Day offends the peaceniks in America who think this is glorifying war.

Our Memorial Day, is not a memory of war or an encouragement to pursue war - it is a reminder of what happens in a civilized world when free men and women stand up against tyranny. It is a measure of the costs. And, of course, decedents and survivors do mourn the loss of those dear to them - it is a time of grief for many.

Similarly, Holocaust Memorial Day is not glorifying Jews. It is a reminder of what happens in a civilized world when men and women do NOT stand against tyranny. It is a measure of the costs. Of course, decedents and survivors do mourn the loss of those dear to them - so it is also a time of grief for many.

Yes, there have been many times in our history that nations have turned inward and many have died as a result of this awful strife. There is certainly a place to remember the fallen of both our Northern and Southern ranks. The fallen of civil wars around our world should always be memorialized. However, the Jews weren't in a war. They were not aggressors. They were strict victims.

On this note, I must both concede and remind that there have been recent times where non-aggressors were murdered because they were of a certain religion or tribe. The Holocaust Memorial Day is not designed to diminish the horror of these deaths - so, let's not diminish the horror of the Holocaust by calling for a Genocide Memorial Day because our youth can't identify or it sounds "too exclusive" With due respect to those suffered this horror, let's be glad it is a little exclusive. Read Article

This weekend brought colder weather to Texas. It is a sort of ritual here to celebrate this change in season. Some open their doors and windows for the first time in months. Some ceremoniously light their pilot lights on their heaters. Others, like me, wake up to their first windshield scraping.

But, the most obvious celebration is the first day at school with cool weather. I opened doors at our elementary school this morning. The new hats, coats and gloves were everywhere! But, while the new attire is an important indicator, the adornment is not the real ritual. The real ritual, which begins today, is the leaving of hat, coat, and glove at school! Yes, it's the "search for your gloves all morning then realize they are in your desk" ceremonies. Now the complexities of early morning dressing will be celebrated with even more complexity. In addition to looking for the lunch boxes ( 2 are still in the locker at school ) we now add the search for winter wear to our morning ritual.

You see, we aren't like those people in the cold areas of our county who have places for these things. We don't have a room where hats, coats, and gloves are stored for the next exit ritual. No, we pile ours around the house - We haven't cleaned out and made room for the new winter wear, so we still have shorts in our clothes drawers and tank-tops in our closets!

I know, you say, "Get all that ready the night before." We don't have time for that! We are on the internet doing a six week research paper in one night or working on our spelling words that we've had on our backpack all week. (Do you know how hard it is to get a sleepy, weeping child to write ten coherent sentences?) So, don't try to rob me of these religious experiences - at least we have some level of consistency --- right?

The local PBS station aired a show of a young woman who travelled to several cities in India. (At least I believe that was the country.) In it, she interviewed a man that had joined a commune. They called it a commune, so I am not disparaging their group. He spoke of how, after achieving success in life, he had begun to pursue religion. It was obvious to this seeker that the founder of this group had found the "thing" for which He, the seeker, was looking. Then he said, "The question is, could I get it?"

I know this sounds like a strange question to those who are believers - Christians. But is it that foreign? There is a new "awaking" in Baptist life today. It is called "reformation" This movement has created a large body of believers that seem to be returning to a Gospel of intellegence or knowledge - and that makes me uneasy. The basic contention seems to be - If you don't know how you are saved, then you can't be saved. Their strategy of evangelism consists of an interview. If you answer the questions correctly, then you can be saved. Like most cults, you must adhere to the mantra - know the mantra, speak the mantra, teach the mantra - or remain an outsider. This is not the real message of reformers. But, it is the message that develops as their disciples attempt to show off their new found knowledge.

This does follow my original question: Is it a foreign idea within the strong message of Grace ( the very basis of reformation) to ask - Can I get it? If I were a member of one of these churches, I might feel like a member of a cult who works their entire life as a "Witness" in hopes they might achieve eternal life in heaven. I mean, how do I KNOW that I am the elect? I am told constantly that my salvation has been determined since before I was born. ( Do reform churches teach Sunday School lessons to children that tell them some of them were created to spend eternity burning in hell and they can are helpless to change that? Or does it seem strange that the children of the elect are always also part of the elect - so I guess that message is not applicable here. )

Can I only KNOW that I am the elect because I have that knowledge? So, I come back to the point - a gospel of knowledge. To re-state an earlier idea - I would have to believe that, the only way for me to know and really understand being elect would be to have the knowledge that only God can endue - and to have that, I must be saved. Can you see that, as a member of this group, I might worry that I do not know enough, yet, to be saved. And so, I struggle day after day to make sure I have enough knowledge to find myself chosen.

I agree we need a reformation of the church - our current status quo is greivously short of the mark. THE Word says believers look like believers. And, I give no quarters to those that claim salvation void of a walk and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ - the Redeemer - the Son of God. "For we are His workmanship, create in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10 I do give them my grace until they discover His Grace.