"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" - Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:35).

The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.

Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its stories are true, and its decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.

It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter.

Here, paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of Hell disclosed.

Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.

Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.

It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure.

It is given to you in life, will be open in the judgment, and be remembered forever.

It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

Pray it in. Read it through. Live it out. And pass it on.

-- Unknown source

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God Has Spoken By His Prophets

God has spoken by His prophets,
Spoken His unchanging Word,
Each from age to age proclaiming
God, the one, the righteous Lord.
Mid the world's despair and turmoil,
One firm anchor holding fast;
God is King, His throne eternal,
God the first, and God the last.

God has spoken by Christ Jesus,
Christ, the everlasting Son,
Brightness of the Father's glory,
With the Father ever one;
Spoken by the Word incarnate,
God of God, ere time began,
Light of light, to earth descending,
Man, revealing God to man.

God yet speaks by His own Spirit
Speaking to the hearts of men,
In the age-long Word expounding
God's own message, now as then;
Through the rise and fall of nations
One sure faith yet standing fast,
God is King, His Word unchanging,
God the first, and God the last.

-- George Wallace Briggs

What Is Recession For?

John Piper asks this question in a February 1, 2009 sermon preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The following is a brief excerpt.

I will mention five [of God's reasons for this recession]:

1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of most of the world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

Plenty Of Jobs At God's Employment Agency

There’s something positive about this current financial cataclysm.

Here's what I mean: Remember what happened on the day Stephen was stoned? We read that, “A severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered, and those who were scattered went on their way proclaiming the message of good news” (Acts 8:1,4). And later, “Those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message” (Acts 11:19).

In spite of Jesus’ parting “Go ye” words still ringing in their ears, most Jerusalem Christians had remained content in their home town comfort zone. What got their attention? What got them moving? What made them obedient?

Persecution. A cataclysm of persecution. They were scattered. Not willingly, but in fact, the persecution “made havoc” of the church. It cost believers everything.

Cataclysm? Yes, but it was good for the church and good for the Gospel because they began doing what Jesus had told them to do — “They that were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word.”

Our present cataclysm is not the same as this but it has the same potential. Could it reset the direction of our lives so that 2500+ languages might have a Bible? A flood of Christian workers materialize? Billions of unreached people hear of Christ? And could it mean that even short term mission agencies will have a surplus of workers? It all can happen once we are freed from hindrances and delivered from our excuses. It doesn’t require a cataclysm to do this but such an upheaval sure helps create a situation where it is more likely to be done.

None of us really want the losses caused by this financial downturn, but here it is. Now what? Well remember . . .

God’s employment office is open and He has plenty of jobs.

Dear Scientific American,

Thank you for your recent interesting and informative issue, “The Evolution of Evolution.” I agree. Since a priori we know that evolution explains how we got where we are today, we certainly don’t want any religious fanatics to point out any flaws in our presuppositions or theories. It is important to squelch all debate and make sure there is no meaningful dialogue with opposing viewpoints. So thank you for hanging in there. And thank you for all of the info you packed into this issue.

As a researcher in the medical sciences I frequently see inconsistencies in the data supporting an evolutionary model. It is comforting to know we can hide these inconsistencies from the uninformed and safeguard our mantra of tens of millions of years of “…crazy diversification in the variety and complexity of animal life,” time so vast that no one can comprehend and thus no one can challenge either. Brilliant!

I also was relieved to see the article “The Latest Face of Creationism” exposing the creationist agenda for what it is. It is important to vilify these loonies and make sure no one is hoodwinked by their Trojan Horse attempts to get into our schools or to have laws passed for any sort of equal access. Let’s keep our agenda quiet so no one knows that we secretly harbor some doubts but still will fight any attempts anywhere to challenge our right to indoctrinate all students everywhere. (Thank you Glenn Branch and Eugenie C. Scott et al!) The enemy of our young is the free flow of ideas and opportunity to examine all sides of intellectual issues. We must catch them early or if we allow them to think and evaluate ideas and presuppositions we might lose some innocent minds to Intelligent Design. Heaven forbid! There is too much at stake here. If they realized the religious zealotry in our ranks it would not go over well.

Thanks again for this brilliant and revealing issue of Scientific American.

With gratitude

Steve Shive

Steve - aka Rudy Baga - knows that he will probably never see his tongue-in-cheekiness in print, "but it was fun writing it."

I Am His

I am His by purchase and I am His by conquest; I am His by donation and I am His by election; I am His by covenant and I am His by marriage; I am wholly His; I am peculiarly His; I am universally His; I am eternally His.

Once I was a slave but now I am a son; once I was dead but now I am alive; once I was darkness but now I am light in the Lord; once I was a child of wrath, an heir of hell, but now I am an heir of heaven; once I was Satan's bond-servant but now I am God's freeman; once I was under the spirit of bondage but now I am under the Spirit of adoption that seals up to me the remission of my sins, the justification of my person and the salvation of my soul.

Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)

"Thanks to a merciful God"

I received a letter today rightfully rejoicing in the healing of a loved one - "thanks to a merciful God," said the writer.

Yes it is "thanks to a merciful God." It is thanks also to a faithful God of compassion.

According to Jeremiah it is [always] because of "the mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed . . . His compassions do not fail . . . . great is [His] faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

But I am reminded that the perfections of His mercy, His compassion, and His faithfulness remain just a pure and unsullied should there not be a healing.

Job knew that, as did Esther, and as did also the three Hebrew children. (Job 13:15; Esther 4:16; Daniel 3:18).

If that time should come for any of us, may we all have the strong trust to say, "I am not delivered. Thank you most merciful God."