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A CENTURY 21 DISCIPLE OF JESUS

Promoting authentic Christian discipleship.
 

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(Click here for Going The Extra Mile.)

 

"Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily,

and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world

but are yourself lost or destroyed?'"

 -- JESUS

(Luke 9:23-25, NLT)
 

 

THE DEATH

OF JESUS

THE RESURRECTION

OF JESUS

THE DEITY

OF JESUS CHRIST
 
'

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

* Thirty-Five Things Worth Knowing About The Bible *
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QUOTEWORTHY THEOLOGY:

UPDATED 02-14-2010

ATTRIBUTES OF SCRIPTURE

The first triad consists of power, authority, and clarity, three qualities of Scripture as God's speech. The second, showing the importance of Scripture to our decisions in life, consists of comprehensiveness, necessity, and sufficiency.

 

Necessity (5 of 6)

To say that Scripture is necessary for the Christian life is to say that we can't live without it.

 

The "necessity" of Scripture means simply that without Scripture we have nothing: no Lord or Savior; no faith, hope, or love.

 

[W]ritten revelation has been, since the time of Moses, the primary means of covenant governance. And today we have access to God's direct speech and to his words spoken through the prophets only through Scripture. So without Scripture we have no Lord.

 

Similarly, without Scripture we have no salvation. ... Salvation in all its dimensions is the sovereign work of the Lord. We have access to it through the gospel, and the gospel is part of Scripture.

 

The Lord's promise of salvation to those who believe is a promise found in Scripture. If Scriptures is not God's word, we have no reason to believe it.

 

[U]nless an absolute, personal God has spoken to us, there is no basis for ethics. The Bible is the only transcript of God's words, and hence it is the only source of absolute ethical norms.

 

John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (pages 154-55)

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Humorous Observations of the Obvious

(LAST UPDATED 02-22-2010)
 
 
 
 
 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The American Heritage Series

(America's truly Christian heritage [10 dvd set])

Redeeming the Rainbow:

A Christian Response to the "Gay" Agenda

(by Dr. Scott Lively [810 kb PDF])

Manhattan Declaration

(Defending the unborn, marriage, and

religious liberty. [1.15 mb PDF])

The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family and Community

(from the Family Research Council [175 kb PDF])

INDIVISIBLE: Social and Economic Foundations of American Liberty

(from The Heritage Foundation [880 kb PDF])

  

NOTE: The below featured resources related to government and politics are intended as a call to prayer and responsible civic action.

NEWS ARTICLES POLICY CHANGE

FEATURED ARTICLES:

The meltdown of Global Warming alarmism

(by E. Calvin Beisner, Baptist Press)

BAPTIST PRESS 03-10-2010

Demonization of healthcare industry unfair

(by James L. Lambert)

ONE NEWS NOW 03-10-2010

Desperate Dems cling to human kiddie shield

(by Michelle Malkin)

ONE NEWS NOW 03-10-2010

Stimulus or sedative?

(by Thomas Sowell)

(ONE NEWS NOW 03-09-2010)

The Obama way: Bluster, bully, bribe

(by Michelle Malkin)

God of Islam is 'biggest terrorist'

(from OneNewsNow)

NCAA nixes family ad, Focus 'befuddled'

(by Peter Heck)

ADDED 03-02-2010

Jason Whitlock, race-baiting the Super Bowl

(by Peter Heck)

ADDED 03-02-2010

Veteran sees invitation to prayer luncheon yanked

(from OneNewsNow)

ADDED 02-27-2010

From cyber-scared to cyber-savvy

(from OneNewsNow)

ADDED 02-27-2010

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MY CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY:

How Jesus Changed My Life

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n

ALLOW ME TO ILLUSTRATE

UPDATED 02-14-2010

Don't Be Gullible

The story is told of a hunter who set out in search of a bear. He found one, had him in his sights, and was just about to pull the trigger when the bear spoke up.

 

Bear: "Hey, hold up a minute. What do you need? Let's talk about it."

 

Hunter: "Well, I just want a fur coat."

 

Bear: "That's a reasonable request. And I just want some food for my empty stomach. I think we can negotiate and both get what we want. Sit down here beside me and let's discuss the matter."

 

A little while later the bear got up and walked away. He was alone.

 

The hunter and the bear had both gotten what they wanted. The bear's stomach was full, and the hunter now had a fur coat! [REF]

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excerpts from

Disappointment with God

by Philip Yancey (c) 1992

UPDATED 02-14-2010

No one is exempt from tragedy or disappointment -- God himself was not exempt. Jesus offered no immunity, no way out of the unfairness, but rather a way through it to the other side. Just as Good Friday demolished the instinctive belief that this life is supposed to be fair, Easter Sunday followed with its startling clue to the riddle of the universe. Out of the darkness, a bright light shone.

 

The primal desire for fairness dies hard, and it should. Who among us does not sometimes yearn for more justice in this world here and now? Secretly, I admit, I yearn for a world "fault-proof" against disappointment, a world where my magazine articles will always find acceptance and my body does not grow old and weak, a world where my sister-in-law does not deliver a brain-damaged child, and where Peggie Woodson lives into ripe old age. But if I stake my faith on such a fault-proof earth, my faith will let me down. Even the greatest of miracles do not resolve the problems of this earth: all people who find physical healing eventually die.

 

We need more than miracle. We need a new heaven and a new earth, and until we have those, unfairness will not disappear. (page 207)

 

AC21DOJ DISCLAIMER: While Philip Yancey writes about some profound theological concepts, he is not a theologian. In his own words, he writes "as a pilgrim, not an expert." His writing reflects a nonjudgmental, humble willingness to learn from others. His writing style is warm and engaging, and his thorough research results in many beneficial insights. All that said, not everyone will agree with every word he writes.

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excerpts from

Pray for Our Nation:

Scriptural Prayers to Revive Our Country

(Tulsa: Harrison House Publishers (c) 1999)

UPDATED 02-14-2010

 

Part 2: Prayers for the

Social Welfare of Our Nation

 

11

National Morality

 

 

Father, I know that the spirit of the world creeps into the body of Christ almost unawares sometimes, and before we know it, we can so easily be led astray and caught up in worldly actions (at times so subtly we don't even recognize what has happened to us).

 

So in the name of Jesus, I pray that You would raise up a voice in our nation that would rally the body of Christ and cause us to become the standard bearers to such a degree that we would profoundly affect the morality of our nation.

 

 

---------

Scripture References

Proverbs 26:2 NIV

Luke 3:4-6

Romans 12:21

Isaiah 49:22

---------

 

 

Never forget, Americans, that yours is

a spiritual country. Yes, I know you're a

practical people. Like others, I've marveled

at your factories, your skyscrapers, and your

arsenals. But underlying everything else is

the fact that America began as a God-loving,

God-fearing, God-worshipping people.

 

-- GENERAL ROMULO,

GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINES

 

OF SPECIAL NOTE:

 

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

In his most powerful book since What's So Amazing about Grace? and The Jesus I Never Knew, Yancey probes the most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect -- the very heartbeat -- of your relationship with God: prayer. In theory, prayer is the essential human act, a priceless point of contact between you and the God of the universe. In practice however, prayer is often frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery. Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? explores the mysterious intersection where you and God meet and relate. Writing as a fellow pilgrim, Yancey explores the questions surrounding prayer that you may wonder about but not know how to express. Above all, Yancey shows you how to pray to a God who sees what lies ahead of you, knows what lies within you, and who invites you into an eternal partnership with Him -- through prayer.

** For excerpts see Prayer. **

AC21DOJ DISCLAIMER: While Philip Yancey writes about some profound theological concepts, he is not a theologian. In his own words, he writes "as a pilgrim, not an expert." His writing reflects a nonjudgmental, humble willingness to learn from others. His writing style is warm and engaging, and his thorough research results in  many beneficial insights. All that said, not everyone will agree with every word he writes.

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FEATURED BIBLE STUDY RESOURCE

(Click here for a complete listing.)

(UPDATED 02-14-2010)

 

TITLE: New Testament Introduction

CATEGORY: Introduction

DESCRIPTION: Twenty years after it was first issued, Dr. Guthrie has undertaken a careful reworking of his classic New Testament Introduction. This new edition takes into account the past two decades of biblical scholarship as it discusses the issues of authorship and authenticity, purpose and structure, historical context and cultural setting of each New Testament book.

 

Click on the title to learn more about and/or purchase

this resource from Christian Book Distributors.

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Powered by God

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

(2 Timothy 1:7, NLT)

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