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My local Jehovah Witnesses recently came by for a follow-up visit to an earlier one (which I wrote about here on the blog - “When the Arians came calling“). During their most recent visit I was asked: “Other than your disagreement with our view of Jesus being a preexistent angel, what else would prevent you from being a Jehovah Witness?”. My response was that there were several other views that I did not agree with (e.g. their view of the 144,000, and some others), but it was their prohibition against blood transfusions that I thought was not only wrong, but just plain dangerous and insidious.
Great song and the dance really captures the message. What a story we have - the gospel from Creation to the New Creation literally within the planet and also beginning with God’s Covenant people today.
Video from Living Hope International Ministries’ 2008 Family Camp. Powerful words and imagery.
Credits:
Dancers: Jasara Finnegan, Deanna Cote, Erin Riley, and Blake Cortright
Though the video above is humorous, it strikes a convicting chord because it points out our tendency to forget and marginalize God. We fill our lives with so many people, so many events, and so many things that we have no time left over for God. Even for those of us in full time ministry, it is a constant battle to not substitute the work of God for actually spending time with God. Even so, the Scripture is very pointed on how God feels about “competitors.” Please consider the following verses:
Deuteronomy 4:23-24
23 “So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you. 24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Odd concept don’t you think? Check out the following story from a weekly evangelism e-newsletter that I get. Thought it was thought provoking:
Last week my pastor shared an illustration about evangelism that made me squirm in my seat. The illustration was a parody about a group of fisherman who never really fished at all. They talked about fishing. They held fishing conferences. They endlessly analyzed fishing methodologies. One day an outsider attended one of their meetings and went out and caught some fish. They got so excited that they made him the leader of their group—and he never fished again!
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3 (ESV)
Recently there was a debate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. This debate centered around the trinity and as the name of the school would suggest, both sides in this debate believe in the trinity. The question was: Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the persons of the Godhead?
Saw this advertisement for the job search site, Monster.com
This ad made me think about our lives for the LORD. Are we living up to our potential? He created us to glorify Him. His son died to offer forgiveness for our sins against Him. He sent His spirit to those who turned to Him to empower them to live the life that we’d been planned to live from the beginning….
And then we hear ourselves say “I just can’t do it.” “I can’t be like Jesus, he was perfect.” “It’s impossible to live without sin” “It’s hard” and so on… certainly there is truth to each of these statements - but why are we keeping out expectations so low? I cannot stress the following verse enough:
(Heb 1:6) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
As far as I can remember, I have always viewed this verse as speaking of a future event.
But I have noticed that for some “reason”, some among our ranks have now changed their minds and see this verse as talking about the birth of Christ; and I simply can’t see why!!
The following is my reasons:
Now the context that I speak of is ‘The worship of Christ’ as shown in verses such as
Matt 2:2,8,11; 8:2, 9:18, 14:33, 15:25, 20:20, 28:9,17;
Mark 5:6, John 9:38, etc.
The meaning of the word “worship” in relation to Christ using the words ’shachah/proskuneo’ has been nicely explained in articles such as
Theological/cosmological duality. If pantheism is a classic for of monism, the differentiation between the creator god and the created order is often seen as itself a sort of ‘dualism’. NT Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, pg. 253
The fundamental idea that God is not the same as the world needs to be spelled out. Pantheism says that ‘god’ is in all things, and all things are in part ‘god’. This is the belief behind Hinduism, Buddhism, various forms of paganism, and especially the “New Age” movement.However, none of these other religions state that the world is now evil. As we will see later, some of them deny that “evil” actually exists and is purely subjective. YHWH is not a part of the created world. We see this idea exhibited in apologetics also (cosmological argument). And, since the Scriptures portray YHWH as a positive moral agent in the world - he must be essentially different from the, now evil and fallen, world.
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57 NASB)
A campaign promise ought to contain some benefit for the voter, shouldn’t it? Well, here are a few promises our Father has made and I think we can call it good considering the source:
Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when
his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
and
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
My local Jehovah Witnesses recently came by for a follow-up visit to an earlier one (which I wrote about here on the blog - “When the Arians came calling“). During their most recent visit I was asked: “Other than your disagreement with our view of Jesus being a preexistent angel, what else would prevent you from being a Jehovah Witness?”. My response was that there were several other views that I did not agree with (e.g. their view of the 144,000, and some others), but it was their prohibition against blood transfusions that I thought was not only wrong, but just plain dangerous and insidious.