Be Still

Sola Fido, Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia

2006-09-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Basis of Reformed Theology

Reformed theology is rather different from many other doctrines. Although every type of theology, even relatively similar ones, have differences, Reformed theology has four which truly set it apart: the beliefs about baptism, theocentricity, faith and grace, and Scripture.
Baptism in a Reformed church is a ceremony that declares publicly that its recipient is given to Christ and made Christ's own. Although it's not necessary to be baptised to be a Christian, we believe, it is encouraged; however unlike the Lutheran denomination we do not believe that baptism alone means you are saved. We practice infant baptism because we hold the assumption that covenant children are Elect (though this is not always the case). Baptism of infants is not a guarantee of their salvation. It is a symbol of what parents hope for their covenant children. Baptism does not, in itself, mean the one baptised will go to Heaven.
Our denomination also holds a theocentric view-in other words, God is the center of everything, not us. This does not mean we are worth any less; merely that God has given us our extrinsic value. Without Him, we would be nothing, because he has created us and given us worth.
Thirdly, we believe we come to salvation by faith alone (sola fido) and grace alone (sola gratia), not by good works or any other way. Only 'by grace and through faith-not of ourselves, for it is the gift of God.' Through God's free willingness to give us the gift of grace, and through our belief in Him which He has graciously shown us to and allowed us to understand (faith) we can be saved.
Finally, we believe that God's Word is the only true authority; we believe that it is truly God's word, written by many diverse authors over many years; and yet, divinely inspired, they wrote a timeless Book which fits together perfectly in every way, with not even one contradiction. We believe that Scripture alone (sola scriptura) is the ever-true source of God's commands and that, since man is fallible, we should always refer to it.
And, oh, yeah-we sing Psalms.

* I hope to post less sporadically this school year and more reliably. I'm planning another article on why RPers sing Psalms, and I may start the researching on that while I'm on vacation these next few weeks. Maybe.*

Regenerate Our Culture

2006-08-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Be sure to run over to Regenerate Our Culture and check out the new issue! Another post is coming soon...

The Wealth of That Hoard

2006-07-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

That prince tried and true was fated to see the end of these days which are lent us, the end of his life in this world, and the serpent with him, though he had long kept safe the wealth of that hoard...
-Beowulf

Guess the old classics still ring true, don't they? At least, for me they do, anyway. This made me really stop and think, because we're all going to die soemday. We all, like Beowulf, are going to have to look back on our lives before we die-either with quiet contentment and a knowledge that we will hear our Lord say to us, 'Well done, good and faithful servant'; or with regret and anger at how we wasted our lives and how we lived. What would God categorize us as if we died today? A real child of the King, a 'prince tried and true?' Because our days are lent to us, and lent only. Someday they will leave us, and we'll have to give account to their Owner. The last of our days come quickly to every one of us, and we too are fated to see, at last, the end.

In the Valley

2006-06-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be open unto you. For everyone who asks recieves, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. -Matthew 7:78

He has promised this to us: ask, seek, knock; you will recieve, find, and enter. I wanted to offer a reminder of this, His encouragement, to all who were lpowing through a dry spell in their spiritual life lately. Keep praying. Ask him to show you the way through the desert. Pray to be shown relevant Scripture, open your Bible, and read what it openes to. By the perfect relevance of thus selected passages alone, I am convinced that 'my Redeemer lives.'
Keep running the race, even if progress is slow and painful. He's teaching you, strengthening your bond to him-as long as you keep clinging. Be faithful. 'Narrow is the gate and difficult the way'..as many well know. It is. But follow it.
Even if you feel like your commitment was empty, it wasn't. If you're worried it was't, if you're seeking it, if you feel half-empty, it's evidence He's working in you. He has taken you and called you to him. He is there. He is always there. He will always love you.
I realized this more than ever when I went on a backpacking trip recently. Every time I got so tired I really couldn't take even one more step, a soft breeze of a beam of sunlight or a smile from a fellow hiker made me keep going. It brought to mind Valley, an incredible song by Karen DeWitt:

Just when I needed to hear your voice, a rainbow filled the sky
And when I needed to feel your touch, the sun began to shine
Just when I think I can't go on, You send a hug my way
As if to whisper, 'One more time to try again today'...
Just when I thought my faith was gone a thread of hope ran through
And when the darkness trapped me in, it brought me back to you
When my strength is running thin and I need someone who cares
You put me on my knees again and wipe away each tear
When I am weak You are strong in me
And I when I'm unable you are there

Read the Book incessantly (Isaiah is especially good:). Pray. Ask others to pray.
He is there. He is alway there. You don't have to be the fastest runner or the strongest runner-'the race is not to the swift, nor battle to the strong...'-just run the race. Fight the good fight. Love Him with all your heart and soul and mind. Sing His praises. His peace and the knowledge he is with you will come like a life preserver in a storm. Peace and fulness instead of unrest and emptiness will come. As a friend said to me-
"All the heroes of faith went into the wilderness. They sought the face of God, his strength, His sustenance, and His revelation. When they received it and had faced the trials, they returned renewed and under his power brought down kingdoms (Moses in Egypt), destroyed idolatry in entire nations (Elijah), caused revival (John the Baptist), and brought redemption (Jesus). Look at this as a time in which God is strengthening and equipping you for a great task. "
That doesn't mean it isn't hard, but it still is something God will use in your life. It happens to us all.
And you're never alone.

In this valley, oh Lord, I will still praise you
For my joy is not in circumstance
And my soul will rest in you
You have been my help, steadfast in my need
And I will still praise you in this valley

**lyrics are the song 'Valley', from the album One Desire by Karen DeWitt, and copyright Karen DeWitt, 2005. **

Z’ráélimr (Heavensong)

2006-06-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hin éféns lú saic
Hin jóss rúó glóst
Hin áló ái éréid
Hin úilt i étiól

Lith léá rishé
Rés léá hÿth
Té láris és cánté
Té régil és neme

Lith á áise, córré-irisé jós
Séintés dél téáléns jéján réáti
Sÿfs á étióls thrén á émér
Vivéln ápsé ndái sión

Hin lóén tévór
Hin glissés allaé
Élúr éúph nám igóé
Ápsé i jéá

Yahoo! Boycott

2006-05-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Reasons
A concern about Yahoo! has quickly been spreading.
Numerous boycott declarations were made; petitions protesting various sections of Yahoo! were written. Why? Several reasons.

1): Yahoo!’s dealings with the Chinese communist government.
Not only do they carefully sensor and often shut down or delete blogs, websites, keywords, e-mails, comments, etc., that criticize the Chinese government, but they have supplied names and I.P. addresses (which, if you know how to read them, tell you a person’s location and in some cases even the name the computer is register to if you enter it in a search) of people who disagree with the government or plan on forming new political parties, or sharing ‘state secrets.’ The giving of this information has led to the arrest of more than three dissidents. A journalist, 37-year-old Shi Tao has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after sending a warning to fellow (foreign) journalists about a subject considered private state secrets-the danger of anti-communists gathering to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of a massacre; Li Zhi, who had critically remarked upon the corruption of the communist government officials in an online discussion group, had personal information about him given to the Chinese government and as a result was sentenced to 8 years in prison. These are just two of the cases-only two of potentially many dozens more.

2): Yahoo! Clubs have been the partial cause of several teen kidnappings.
This is a rather delicate topic, handled very well by the American Family Association (AFA). You can read their article here.
But summarized, Yahoo! has refused to close down porn clubs that exist on Yahoo! groups and have been implicated in teen kidnapping/torture incidents and several other shocking things.

Ways to Boycott
1) Stop using Yahoo!.
If you have a Yahoo! account, close it! This will get rid of any websites, email accounts, IMs, etc. Directions on how to do this can be found at MVB’s blog, The King’s Highway.

Alternatives to Yahoo! are:

Instant Messenger-
MSN, AOL, and Google Talk. MSN is probably the least space-consuming, but more people have AOL. If you don’t want to clog up your system, use AIM Express; you don’t have to download AIM but you can still use the service.

Email-
Hotmail-Hotmail is a pretty good service. It has reasonable email storage and is free.
Gmail is a Google-based email. Other than that I don't personally know much about it, but I'm told it's very good. And all of this is, of course, free.

Search Engines-
Google-I think this is probably the best. It’s what I use and it’s quite satisfactory…
Ask …but I’ve been told this works quite well also.
MSN may also be a good option, although I’ve never used it.

Note: Metacrawler, the all-search-engine-searcher, searches Yahoo! as well. So it’s probably not a good alternative.

News Sources-

The Associated Press is a fantastic news source, reliable and organized; plus, once you know keywords and what you're looking for, you can pull up more articles on Google.

2. Show it and act!

Add an

Anti-Yahoo/Yahoo boycott button to your blog, IM, forum signature, ect.! That's one
made by Zachary of Wholesome Works. If you know of other buttons or can make one, please share it with us!
Also, you can sign the boycott petition here.
You can tell others as well! Blog about it, email friends, tell family, tell people at your church. You can send letters to Yahoo!, the Justice Department; maybe you could print out some things detailing the Yahoo! boycott and why we’re doing it, and leave copies at your church; forward it in emails, anything!
And if you come up with any ideas, by all means share them!

MVB, of The King’s Highway, started all this; you can head over there for more on this topic. Other blogs that talk about this are Mercy Now and From the Pulpit.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Real Good Man

2006-05-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

But I would have you know that the authority of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man...(I Corinthians 11:3)

My grace is sufficent for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness, therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Our world’s view of ‘good men’ or ‘strong men’ is a terribly twisted thing. Most notably in music and in media, it seems our worldly culture has room for only two classes of men: immature, boyish men who are essentially little boys in mens’ bodies, and hard rock motorcycle ‘bad boys’. Even, and perhaps most sadly in many Christian churches and families, often the young men being raised seem to have forgotten the category of ‘gentleman.’ Although this is not true in many cases, it is becoming a rising concern.
Today’s definition of ‘strong’ men tends to be either physically powerful, domineering or just plain stubborn. The definition as biblical men were strong is more along the lines of steady and unwavering in what he knows is true-someone not afraid to stand up. Someone willing to work hard. Because strong doesn’t necessarily mean hard. The sum of true strength would be something like the ever-true words, "There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and nothing so gentle as real strength."
Real strength. This is a quality often sadly lacking in young (and not-so-young) men today-the strength to lead, the strength to defend, the strength to stand firm, and stand up! And it’s something the next generation’s men can’t be without. Men were designed to lead, to push themselves beyond limits and set new ones. Men were designed to become men, not stay boys, and we’re falling from that standard fast. The time to lead is now, before it’s too late. This world needs strong leaders, moral leaders, wise leaders-godly leaders.
Men need to be leaders-biblically strong, biblically wise. The disrespect that some men hold for that God-given role is a pretty disturbing thing. The disinterest that not only non-Christian men, but even some Christian men have for the roles which they have been given-to lead, to protect, and to respect, being some of the many-is an extraordinary and discouraging thing. We desperately need the next generation to be godly, truly strong men to continue the work that God has given us. So reach for new heights. Challenge yourself. Take the lead. Be men. Be what He made you to be.
Be biblically strong-strong in the Lord.