Care of Christ's Spouse

From Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor:

You that draw back from painful, displeasing, suffering duties, and put off men's souls with ineffectual formalities, do you think this is honourable treatment of Christ's spouse? Are the souls of men thought meet by God to see his face, and live for ever in heaven, and are they not worthy of your utmost cost and labour on earth? Do you think so basely of the Church of God, as if it deserved not the best of your care and help? Were you the keepers of sheep or swine, you would scarcely let them go, and say, They are not worth the looking after; especially if they were your own. And dare you say so of the souls of men, of the Church of God? Christ walketh among them: remember his presence, and see that you are diligent in your work. They are 'a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of him that hath called them.' And yet will you neglect them? What a high honour is it to be but one of them, yea, but a door-keeper in the house of God! But to be the priest of these priests, and the rule of these kings -- this is such an honour as multiplieth your obligations to diligence and fidelity in so noble an employment.

GOSPEL SONNETS - Chapter 4

Gospel Sonnets
by Ralph Erskine
Chapter 4

A Caution to all against a legal spirit; especially to those that have a profession without power, and learning without grace.

"WHY," says the haughty heart of legalists,
Bound to the law of works by nat'ral twists,
"Why such ado about a law-divorce?
Men's lives are bad, and would you have them worse?
Such Antinomian stuff, with laboured toil,
Would human beauty's native lustre spoil.
What wickedness beneath the cov'ring lurks,
That lewdly would divorce us all from works!
Why such a stir about the law and grace?
We know that merit cannot now take place;
And what needs more?" Well, to let slander drop,
Be merit for a little here the scope.
Ah! many learn to lisp in gospel-terms,
Who yet embrace the law with legal arms.
By wholesome education some are taught
To own that human merit now is naught;
Who faintly but renounce proud merit's name,
And cleave refinedly to the popish scheme.
For graceful works expecting divine bliss,
And, when they fail, trust Christ for what's amiss,
Thus to his righteousness profess to flee,
Yet by it still would their own saviours be.
They seem to works of merit bloody foes,

Yet seek salvation as it were(1) by those.

Blind Gentiles found, who did not seek nor know:

But Israel lost it whole, who sought it so.

Let all that love to wear the legal dress,

Know that as sin, so bastard righteousness

Has slain its thousands, who in tow'ring pride

The righteousness of Jesus Christ deride;

A robe divinely wrought, divinely won,

Yet cast by men for robes that are their own.

By some to legal works seem whole denied,

Yet would by gospel-works be justified,

By faith, repentance, love, and other such:

These dreamers being righteous over much

Like Uzzah, give the ark a wrongful touch.

By legal deeds, however gospelized,

Can e'er tremendous justice be appeased,

Or sinners justified before that God,

Whose law is perfect, and exceeding broad?

Nay, faith itself, that leading gospel-grace,

Holds as a work no justifying place.

Just Heaven to man for righteousness imputes

Not faith itself, or in its acts or fruits;

But Jesus' meritorious life and death,

Faith's proper object all the honour hath.

From this doth faith derive its glorious fame,

Its great renown and justifying name;

Receiving all things, but deserving nought;

By faith all's begg'd and taken, nothing bought.

Its highest name is from the wedding vote,

So instrumental in the marriage knot.

JEHOVAH leads the bride in that blest hour,

Th' exceeding greatness of his mighty power;(2)

Which sweetly does her heart-consent command,

To reach the wealthy Prince her naked hand.

For close to his embrace she'd never stir,

If first his loving arms embraced not her:

But this he does by kindly gradual chase,

Of rousing, raising, teaching, drawing grace,

He shows her, in his sweetest love address,

His glory as the Sun of righteousness;

At which all dying glories earth adorn,

Shrink like the sick moon at the wholesome morn.

This glorious Sun arising with a grace,

Dark shades of creature-righteousness to chase,

Faith now disclaims itself, and all the train

Of virtues formerly accounted gain;

And counts them dung,(3) with holy, meek disdain.

For now appears the height, the depth immense

Of divine bounty and benevolence;

Amazing mercy! ignorant of bounds!

Which most enlarged faculties confounds.

How vain, how void now seem the vulgar charms,

The monarch's pomp of courts, and pride of arms--

The boasted beauties of the human kind,

The powers of body and the gifts of mind!

Lo! in teh grandeur of Immanuel's train,

All's swallowed up as rivers in the main.

He's seen, when gospel light and sight is given

Encompassed round with all the pomp of heaven.

The soul, now taught of God, sees human schools

Make Christless rabbis only literate fools;

And that, till divine teaching powerful draw,

No learning will divorce them from the law.

Mere argument may clear the head, and force

A verbal, not a cordial, clean divorce.

Hence many, taught the wholesome terms of art,

Have gospel heads, but still a legal heart.

Till sovereign grace and power the sinner catch,

He takes not Jesus for his only match.

Nay, works compete! ah! true, however odd,

Dead works are rivals with the living God.

Till heaven's preventing mercy clear the sight,

Confound the pride with supernat'ral light:

No haughty soul of human kind is brought

To mortify her self-exalting thought.

Yet holiest creatures in clay-tents that lodge,

Be but their lives scanned by the dreadful Judge;

How shall they e'er his awful search endure,

Before whose purest eyes heaven is not pure?

How must their black indictment be enlarged,

When by him angels are with folly charged?

What human worth shall stand, when he shall scan?

O may his glory stain the pride of man.

How pond'rous are the tracks of divine grace!

How searchless are his ways, how vast th' abyss!

Let haughty reason stoop, and fear to leap;

Angelic plummets cannot sound the deep.

With scorn he turns his eyes from haughty kings,

With pleasure looks on low and worthless things;

Deep are his judgments, sovereign is his will,

Let every mortal worm be dumb, be still.

In vain proud reason swells beyond its bound;

God and his counsels are a gulf profound,

An ocean wherein all our thoughts are drowned.

(1) Rom. ix. 32.

(2) Eph. i. 19.

(3) Phil. iii. 7, 8.

John Colquhoun on the Law and the Gospel

"The law and the gospel are the principal parts of divine revelation; or rather they are the center, sum, and substance of all the other parts of it. Every passage of sacred Scripture is either law or gospel, or is capable of being referred either to one or to the other... If then a man cannot distinguish aright between the law and the gospel, he cannot rightly understand so much as a single article of divine truth. If he does not have spiritual and just apprehensions of the holy law, he cannot have spiritual and transforming discoveries of the glorious gospel; and, on the other hand, if his view of the gospel is erroneous, his notions of the law cannot be right." - John Colquhoun (1748-1827)

John Colquhoun was a minister in the Church of Scotland whose sermons and writings reflect those of the Marrow brethren of the Secession church.

Law or Gospel?

The sum of the entire Bible can be wrapped up in two categories:

1) Law

2) Gospel

The Law tells us how we are to live. It gives us God's perfect standard. It is a bar set so high that no one can attain unto it. The Law is good. The Law is perfect. The Law condemns all those who can't keep it.

The Law is neatly packaged in the Ten Commandments.

1 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

2 - You shall not make for yourself a graven image.

3 - You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4 - Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5 - Honor your father and your mother.

6 - You shall not kill.

7 - You shall not committ adultery.

8 - You shall not steal.

9 - You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10 - You shall not covet.

How are you doing in keeping these ten "simple" commandments? I can tell you that I've broke all 10. And in case you're wondering about #6 and #7, Christ has this to say:

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

(Mat 5:21-22 KJV)

...and...

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

(Mat 5:28 KJV)

So then, we find the Law throughout the scripture. We hear the Law week after week in many of our churches. Anytime you hear, "You need to..." or "You should..." or "God commands you to..." you are hearing Law.

I submit to you that every sermon is either Law, or it is Gospel, or possibly a mixture of both.

So, what is the Gospel all about?

The Gospel is all about Christ. Every sermon you hear; every spiritual thing you read; every fruit you bear must declare the Gospel, or else it is good for nothing. Why is this so vital?

Because the Gospel is simply this: Christ has fulfilled, in your place, that which you are required to do by the Law. As I mentioned earlier, I have broken all of the Ten Commandments. Yet, I stand counted as righteous in God's eyes. Why? Because Christ has paid my penalty.

You who would be teachers, what is your heart's desire to teach?

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

(1Ti 1:5-7 KJV)

Or would you rather teach as did the Apostle Paul?

According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

(1Ti 1:11-12 KJV)

Jeff Pollard recently gave an excellent message on The Glorious Gospel. In it, he gives five reasons why the Gospel is glorious. To find out what they are, listen here.

Richard Baxter on Teaching

I am currently reading through Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor. There has been discussion amongst my friends of late on whether there is need for additional teaching beyond the normal Lord's Day morning message. Certainly Baxter agrees that there is. He lists four categories of believers to whom a pastor must teach.

They are:

1) Those who are young and weak.

2) Those who labour under some particular corruption.

3) Those who are declining, or backsliding Christians.

4) Those Christians who are strong.

So, you see that whichever place you are in your Christian walk, you need to be built up with the teaching of the Word.

In today's post I'm going to give you his reasoning for that first group of Christians, Those who are young and weak. I'd love to give them all to you, and perhaps I will in a future post. But there's enough content to chew on and ponder here that should make Baxter's point very clear.

From The Reformed Pastor pages 97-98:

There are many of our flock that are young and weak, who, though they are of long standing, are yet of small proficiency or strength. This, indeed, is the most common condition of the godly. Most of them content themselves with low degrees of grace, and it is no easy matter to get them higher. To bring them to higher and stricter opinions is easy, that is, to bring them from the truth into error, on the right hand as well as on the left; but to increase their knowledge and gifts is not easy, and to increase their graces is the hardest of all. It is a very sad thing for Christians to be weak: it exposeth us to dangers; it abateth our consolations and delight in God, and taketh off the sweetness of wisdom's ways; it maketh us less serviceable to God and man, to bring less honour to our Master, and to do less good to all about us. We get small benefit in the use of the means of grace. We too easily play with the serpent's baits, and are ensnared by his wiles. A seducer will easily shake us, and evil may be made to appear to us as good, truth as falsehood, sin as duty; and so on the contrary. We are less able to resist and stand in an encounter; we sooner fall; we hardlier rise; and are apter to prove a scandal and reproach to our profession. We less know ourselves, and are more apt to be mistaken as to our own estate, not observing corruptions when they have got advantage of us. We are dishonourable to the gospel by our very weakness, and little useful to any about us. In a word, though we live to less profit to ourselves or others, yet are we unwilling and too unready to die.

Now, seeing the case of weakness in the converted is so sad, how diligent should we be to cherish and increase their grace! The strength of Christians is the honour of the Church. When they are inflamed with the love of God, and live by a lively working faith, and set light by the profits and honours of the world, and love one another with a pure heart fervently, and can bear and heartily forgive a worng, and suffer joyfully for the cause of Christ, and study to do good, and welk inoffensively and harmlessly in the world, are ready to be servants to all men for their good, becoming all things to all men in order to to win them to Christ, and yet abstaining from the appearance of evil, and seasoning all their actions with a sweet mixture of prudence, humility, zeal, and heavenly mindedness -- oh, what an honour are such to their profession! What an ornament to the Church; and how serviceable to God and man! Men would sooner believe that the gospel is from heaven, if they saw more such effects of it upon the hearts and lives of those who profess it. The world is better able to read the nature of religion in a man's life than in the Bible. 'They that obey not the word, may be won by the conversation' of such as are thus eminent for godliness. It is, therefore, a most important part of our work, to labour more in the polishing and perfecting of the saints, that they may be strong in the Lord, and fitted for their Master's service.

The Importance of Gospel for Believers

This is Stephen Gambill. He is a loved brother in Nashville, and the teaching pastor at Reformed Baptist Church of Nashville. We attended there for about 6 months before we moved. In this video clip, he hits the nail right on the head as to what I've been encouraging people with lately. Fellow Christian, you need the Gospel, week after week after week. Pastors, elders, teachers, preach the Gospel. That is Christ's mandate to His undershepherds. Feed His sheep. Give them the Gospel.

Preaching the Gospel to the De-churched

The men in our church have a weekly conference call on Wednesday mornings. One of the men asked the question, "Who are the modern day Richard Baxters or John Gills?"

I heard an awesome message today from quite possibly a modern day Richard Baxter. Matt Chandler, speaking at the Advance 09 Conference gave a powerful admonition to pastors to preach the Gospel and to regain their first love. His message is similar to a point I made recently. All preaching should ultimately bring in the message of Christ and Him Crucified.

Here's the link. Listen if you dare.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/3956/Audio/

The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

I CONFESS, THAT MAN SHALL NEVER HAVE MY CONSENT TO HAVE THE CHARGE OF OTHER MEN'S SOULS, AND TO OVERSEE THEM IN ORDER TO THEIR SALVATION, THAT TAKES NOT HEED TO HIMSELF, BUT IS CARELESS OF HIS OWN, except it were in case of absolute necessity, that no better could be had.

- Richard Baxter The Reformed Pastor p. 82 (emphasis his)

In our church we are in the process of evaluating candidates for elders. I am praying concerning whether to pursue this or not if I am nominated for it. To get an idea for the qualifications of eldership, both for personal introspection, as well as consideration of my other brothers for this very important responsibility, I am currently reading Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor.

I am not quite half way through this book, and I've been blown away at the convicting nature of it. There are only three long chapters in this book, made up of many "sections." The whole first chapter is dedicated to "The Oversight of Ourselves."

My first inclination is to react with, "Why do I need this? After all, I know I am saved." Well then, am I really? Do my fruits show it? After reading this I would wonder about my own soul if I were not moved to conviction on the things that he brought up. The care and discipleship of the congregation can only come after a pastor examines his own heart and maintains a humble and pentinent attitude.

I recommend this book for anyone who is considering eldership, or anyone who is forming expectations of future elders and has a say in who they will be. Click on the image below to be directed to where you can order it.

Baby's Blood

"You have baby's blood." That's what the Oklahoma Blood Institute told me yesterday when I gave blood. I just looked at the lady puzzled. She explained that since I am O- and CMV negative that my type of blood is in great demand for giving to babies. CMV is a virus that about 50% of the population carry, but they never know they have it. It doesn't usually cause problems for adults, but for babies whose immune systems are weak, it could be hazardous.

Now, I suppose I can trust what they are telling me, but I'm also a little suspicious! Have they been reading my blog? The point is that they really know how to "push my buttons." Whereas before I gave blood because I thought it was the right thing to do, now I have a renewed zeal knowing that my blood may save the lives of babies. How I could I, as a dyed in the wool pro-lifer, resist doing something that could save babies' lives?

So, here's a big "howdy" to all you Oklahoma Blood Institute employees who are reading my blog! See you in 112 days. (I donate double red blood cells. Whole blood donations can be done every 56 days.)

Here's a link to their website: http://www.obi.org

Homeschooling Group Buys

I have found a good resource for getting group discounts on homeschooling curriculum. I have recently purchased driversed.com at a 40% discount. If you are a homeschooling family you should check it out. It costs nothing to join, and there are many discounts on many different types of curriculum.

Click on the graphic to link to their site:

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thou shalt not kill.
(Deu 5:17)

Last night after family worship I looked at my email on my Blackberry and learned some shocking news. Late term abortionist George Tiller had been shot and killed yesterday during his church service.

We don't have a TV, and we didn't listen to the radio at all yesterday, so it's likely that you heard about this sooner than I did.

For those unfamiliar with the abortion debate you may be unfamiliar with George Tiller. He was, by far, the most ruthless, blood thirsty, and money hungry abortionist I had ever read or heard about. He performed gruesome "partial-birth" abortions. Indeed, he was one of a very few in the country willing to kill children in this manner.

Yet, in all of this, I must decry his killing. It is not given unto man, as individuals, to carry out justice. As sinful as he was, George Tiller was made in the image of God. Our responsibility was to pray for his soul. I am convinced that he is burning in hell right now, and that saddens me greatly. The torments of hell are too much to wish upon even our greatest enemy. How much better would it have been for George Tiller to have joined the ranks of other abortion "turncoats" like Dr. Benard Nathanson, Carol Everett, and Norma McCorvey?

Pray for the Tiller family. Pray for our country. Pray that the liberals will not be allowed to use the actions of a crazed mad man to paint pro-lifers as "violent." The man who shot Tiller was not "pro-life" at all. I join with my brothers and sisters fighting this great abortion holocaust in declaring that:

...we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(Eph 6:12)

God help us.

Vision Forum Coupon

Vision Forum is currently offering a coupon for $25 off an order of $75 or more. To cash in on your savings, click on the Vision Forum banner at the top of my blog, put excellent books, DVDs, CDs, or toys into your cart, then enter the following coupon code at checkout:

VISION25

Enjoy! - but hurry...offer expires May 30, 2009

Deadly Medicine

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Oklahoma City Science Museum and viewed a traveling exhibit they have entitled, Deadly Medicine. It is all about eugenics. For lack of a better term eugenics could be described as a science, though it’s a sinister idea that seems undeserving of the title of science. Basically, eugenics involves the process of creating a “master race” by encouraging many children among the desired race of people and discouraging and even killing the offspring of undesirables. Who are the undesirables you may ask? Well, that’s entirely at the whim of the leader making the decisions.

A huge focus of this particular exhibit was the Nazi regime. Hitler’s policies were on display. It was very saddening, but quite interesting to read about all the steps he took to produce genetically flawless Germans. There were rules concerning who was allowed to marry who based solely on the heritage of the individuals. A German certainly could not marry a full blood Jew. He was disallowed from marrying a half Jew. If I remember correctly, a German could only marry if they could prove full German blood for four generations previous. Even someone with only partial Jewish blood could not marry a full blood Jew. For those families who could prove their German heritage, mothers were given medals when they bore a particular number of children. I saw a picture of a proud German grandmother showing her golden medal that symbolized her birth of twelve or more children.

There was a huge push to eliminate any genetic disability. Those with mental disabilities were labeled as “feeble minded” and either forcibly sterilized or simply killed. The exhibit made a brief mention of eugenics right here in the borders of America. The famous Supreme Court decision Buck v. Bell was exposed as an American eugenics policy whereby the mentally disabled could be forcibly sterilized against their will. Speaking for the majority, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared,

“It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind… Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”

Carrie Buck was the first person to be forcibly sterilized in the United States under this decision. Eugenics was also the reason for laws passed that forbad interracial marriage. The exhibit mentioned Virginia’s law against this passed in 1927.

For those who’ve never been exposed to this type of information, this exhibit was a huge eye opener. Yet, the real missing link in this exhibit was the link between abortion and eugenics. Dr. Josef Mengele was the most active of the SS doctors at Auschwitz. Mengele routinely conducted experiments on humans. After the war, Josef Mengele practiced medicine in Buenos Aires in the 1950’s. He had a reputation as a specialist in abortions, which were illegal at the time.
Not all former Nazi doctors set up shop outside the borders of the United States. Villis Kruze was a former SS officer who, after the war, worked as an abortionist for Kaiser Permenente in Ohio and Hawaii.

One thing that the exhibit did not mention was that abortion was legalized in Germany in 1933 under the Third Reich. There were approximately 500,000 abortions annually in a country of 60 to 70 million people. In Nazi Germany, the “health of the mother” could refer to racial “health.” By definition, a Jewish or black mother was considered racially “unhealthy.” This is very interesting as "health of the mother" is favored loophole used today to try and detooth any pro-life legislation.

The biggest of all omissions in this exhibit, however, was the deafening silence in exposing the mother of the American eugenics movement, Margaret Sanger. How you can devote a museum exhibit to eugenics and not bring up Sanger’s name is beyond me. I can think of only two possible reasons for this.

1) This was an exhibit set up by the National Holocaust Museum, and Sanger’s eugenic bent targeted not only Jews, but Southern Europeans, Slavs, Latins, Blacks, Hispanics, Fundamentalists, and Catholics. Basically she was an equal opportunity eugenicist. Every non-Aryan – Red or Yellow, Black or White, all were noxious in her sight.

2) Perhaps the biggest reason that Sanger’s history was not included is that the modern mammoth organization that she formed holds tremendous political power. Planned Parenthood is an international “charitable” organization. There’s a tremendous financial incentive to keep under wraps the racist intentions of their founder, and the racist policies that they continue to advance today.

Margaret Sanger unashamedly called for the elimination of “human weeds,” for the “cessation of charity,” for the segregation of “morons, misfits, and the maladjusted” and for the sterilization of “genetically inferior races.” (Margaret Sanger, The Pivot of Civilization (New York: Brentano’s, 1922), p. 101.)

Sanger had a particular hatred for blacks. In 1939, she designed a “Negro Project” in which she proposed the following:

“The mass of Negroes, particularly in the South, still breed carelessly and disastrously, with the result that the increase among Negroes, even more than among Whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit.” (Madeline Gray, Margaret Sanger: A Biography (New York: Marek, 1979), p. 332)

Her solution , according to the same reference source, was to hire three or four:
“Colored Ministers, preferably with social service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities” to travel to various African-American enclaves and propagandize for birth control.

Commenting on this approach, she reasoned:
“The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the Minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”
Sanger’s agenda against African Americans did not die with her. The worldwide organization she established, Planned Parenthood, continues to promote her racist agenda. Today 78% of Planned Parenthood clinics are in minority communities. Blacks make up 12% of the population, but account for 35% of all the abortions in America.

It is vital that we expose Margaret Sanger for who she was, and Planned Parenthood for the evils they continue to employ today. For more information check the sources I have provided in the footnotes above and in the references I have listed below.

References:
http://www.blackgenocide.org/
http://www.blackgenocide.com/
Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood by George Grant, Highland Books, Fourth edition 2000

Inflation: Happy Days Ahead?

Check out this 10 minute movie clip from 1933 touting the "Don't worry, be happy" message that inflation is good for you.

Think back...1933...when did the Great Depression actually end? I believe that would be around 1941 or so, when the U.S. entered World War II.

Put this movie in color, add two more stars to the flag, update the automotive plant to be churning out mandated 42 mpg cars, and stick Obama's picture on top of Roosevelt's, and I think you'll here the sales pitch they're trying to give us now.

Enjoy...and remember "Happy Days are Here Again..."

GOSPEL SONNETS – Chapter 3 – Section 5

Gospel Sonnets
By Ralph Erskine
Chapter 3

SECTION V. – Gospel-grace giving no liberty nor freedom to sin, but to holy service and pure obedience.

THE glorious husband’s love can’t lead the wife
To whoredom or licentiousness of life:
Nay, nay; she finds his warmest love within
The hottest fire to melt her heart for sin.
His kind embrace is still the strongest cord
To bind her to the service of her Lord.
The more her faith insures this love of his,
The more his law her delectation is.
Some dream, they might, who his assurance win,
Take latitude and liberty to sin.
Ah! such bewray their ignorance, and prove
They want the lively sense of drawing love;
And how its sweet constraining force can move.
The ark of grace came never into dwell,
But Dagon-lusts before it headlong fell
Men basely can unto lasciviousness
Abuse the doctrine, not the work of grace.
Huggers of divine love in vice’s path,
Have but the fancy of it, not the faith.
They never soared aloft on grace’s wing,
They knew not grace to be a holy thing:
When pregnant she the powers of hell appals,
And sin’s dominion in the ruin falls.
Cursed is the crew whose Antinomian dress
Makes grace a cover to their idleness.
The bride of Christ will sure be very loth
To make his love a pillow for her sloth.
Why may’nt she sin the more that grace abounds?
Oh, God forbid! the very thought confounds.
When dead unto the law, she’s dead to sin;
How can she any longer live therein? (1)
To neither of them is she now a slave,
But shares the conquest of the great, the brave,
The mighty General, her victorious Head,
Who broke the double chain to free the bride.
Hence, prompted now with gratitude and love,
Her cheerful feet in swift obedience move.
More strong the cords of love to duty draw,
Than hell, and all the curses of the law.
When with seraphic love the breast’s inspired,
By that are all the other graces fired;
These kindling round, the burning heart and frame,
In life and walk send forth a holy flame.

(1) Rom. vi. 1, 2.

"Public" Schools

The following is an excerpt from a thought out response to a lady who challenged me, "by name" on an internet e-mail list I participate in. While slightly "off-topic" from the purpose of the list, the lady had challenged my disapproval of government schools. As she named me by name, I assumed the moderator would have let me offer the rebuttal. Unfortunately, the post was axed. But so as not to go to the trouble writing something that will never be seen, I offer the following exerpt, with all the identifying information removed, for your perusal. To set the scene, she opined that public schools are not all bad, because she's seen real live Christian kids who are doing well there, including her own. Here is my response.


-----------------
Experience is a fickle standard by which we make our decisions. For every child who exemplifies a Christian walk in the government schools, you can count five who are just the way I described. Now, the standard line I've heard is that parents want to send their children to these places so they can be a "light" or a good witness. I must make all my decisions, where possible, based on the standard of the Word of God. I Cor. 15:33 reads:


Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.(1Co 15:33)


Other translations render this as "bad company corrupts good morals."


No, not every child that attends government schools is going to conform to the baggy pants, gothic style, head banger image that seems to be growing more prevalent. More and more may be coming out as clean cut, smooth talking, athletic, and charismatic types (such as our current U.S. President) who have bought the establishment line, hook, line, and sinker.


The fact remains that even a solid, Christian adult would have a hard time keeping a renewed mind if he were fed the new age, earth worship, diversity, "all religions equal" dogma that is crammed down the throats of innocent children 8 hours every single day.


Our own American Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." How right he was, as we now see our state governments one by one passing sodomite "marriage" bills. How could this be avoided when millions of school children are taught that homosexuality is equal to heterosexuality? And to bring this subject back to the focus of this list in particular, the whole anti-child mindset is implanted in the minds of our children in a pro-feminism, anti-life agenda that has been prominent every since the 1920's and the establishment of the eugenic organization known as Planned Parenthood (which is now welcomed in many high schools).


>>>>
Please allow the same respect to children that attend public school. Some families do very well at homeshcool (sic) and some do not, the same can be said of public school families.
>>>>


It is not a matter of whether I respect them or not. Actually the children rarely have a say in whether they are homeschooled or not. The fact of the matter remains that in our homeschool, I love the "socialization" that it offers. I know for sure that every child in our school is under the same love and care as everyone else...for they are all brothers and sisters. I know for a fact that my children do not need to live in fear of one of their classmates pulling a"Columbine" stunt.

>>>>
My husband and I have prayed about homeschool many times and God has never once led us there.
>>>>
My question to you is this: How would you know if God were leading you there? In fact, how do you know that God has led you to government schooling? Is He neutral on the subject? God speaks to us through His Word (Hebrews, chapter 1). The Word of God declares:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.(Deu 6:6-7)

I would be interested in reading a similar passage that instructs parents to delegate the instruction of their children to someone else. I can't seem to find that one.

Certainly as a godly wife, you must follow your husband's lead on this. I would urge him to know that Deut. 6 is directed at *fathers*and he will give account to Father God regarding to whom he delegated the authority to teach the nine precious souls that God entrusted to his care. As for me and my house, I teach whatever I can myself and delegate much to my loving helpmeet, who is the only one I trust with such an important task.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.(Psa 23:4)



This week has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. Yet, I grasp to the promise that God is with me. What hope do people have if they do not trust in Christ? They have no hope.



Trusting in the Sovereignty of God is so easy to speak, yet sometimes it's the most painful thing to walk out.



Experience is a cruel teacher, yet it teaches lessons that are never forgotten. The lessons of empathy are the hardest.



To my little one, I trust that I will see you in perfection some day. I love you forever.



Rest in peace...

Southerland Baby #8 5/5/2009 - 5/5/2009

He That Tilleth His Land

He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding. (Pro 12:11)


Here's my newest "toy."

And here are the firstfruits of our harvest:

A Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep

I heard the following message today:A Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep

It is by Matt Chandler at the Desiring God 2009 Conference for Pastors.
Here is a text excerpt of what he said that touched me.
----------------------------
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)

I learned this one the hard way. Two years ago, this was probably one of the most heartbreaking things in my years of ministry. I was at lunch with some people that had just gotten back from a missions trip in India.

I was listening to different people and was hearing a story. There were two buses that took our crew and another crew to get out to a place. Our crew decided to tell the best joke they’ve ever heard. When they pull up, the other group gets out and there’s tears running down their face.
It disturbed me. I couldn’t let it go. I didn’t know what to do with it. Why, on the way out to do missions, are people who are covenant members of The Village doing knock-knock jokes when the people in the other van are calling out for mercy to God?

One morning I was reading the Bible and journaling my thoughts. I had a surly professor in college who I loved and hated. He had an extreme, high expectation of you. He said, “Five years in, what’s wrong with your church is wrong with you.” I don’t know if he’s right, but the Holy Spirit said, “Remember?” I laid on the floor and sobbed because my witty, sarcastic humor had been embedded into The Village so much that on the way out to such a dark, spiritual destination, we’re doing knock-knock jokes. It devastated me. I constantly pray that God would protect the people of The Village from me.

Be the example in word, in deed, in purity, in love, in prayer. Be the example.
---------------------------
Mike commenting again...

As our church ponders the issue of eldership, this is a sobering reality. If the Lord places me in an eldership role I may face similar circumstances to what Pastor Chandler experienced. What's more, though, is that I think we can apply the same reasoning to the leadership of our families. As a father, God has already called me to that position of leadership.

As much as I love my children, there are times when I become irritated at attitudes, comments, or actions that they may do. Yet, it doesn't take long to realize that the undesirable behaviour I see in them, in most cases, is simply a parroting of what they have seen me say or do. When I discipline them, my heart is pricked that I am more or less guilty of the same thing. The circumstances may be different. I may be more mature in hiding my feelings, and in judging the appropriateness of a particular comment at a particular time. But the fact remains that there is sin in my heart that shows up in the actions of my children way too much. My prayer right now is for humility and brokenness, and that those are the things that my children would emulate in my life.

The Delight of a Father When His Children Learn to Read

Today, Paton and I finished his reading book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

Paton is the fifth child I have taught to read using this resource. It is phonics based. Every day Paton would hold me accountable to teaching him when I got home from work. Usually before he even said, "Hello," he'd be asking, "Daddy, can we do reading now?"

I love seeing the progress of the children as they make their way through this book. This is really the only formal reading curriculum that we give our children. After that, the assignment is to read, read, read. Brittney, my oldest daughter, has heartily embraced this assignment. She is a voracious reader. Her younger brothers Michael and Justin, and her younger sister Brianna have also made great strides in their reading since finishing this book. I remember, in 1998, a friend of mine from work asking if he could buy this book from me when I got done with it. His, then four year old, son would be needing to learn to read. I told him I didn't think I'd be done with it any time soon. Eleven years later I'm still using this book, with two more children "in the queue" before I'm done (and that's if God does not bless us with any more children). I sure hope that father bought his own copy and gave up waiting for me to get done with mine.

By teaching your child to read, you give him a wonderful gift. In reading, a child can travel to far away places where he may never actually be able to go. By reading, he can even travel back in time to relive world or American history. By picking up an old book my children can learn theology from great men of God who died hundreds of years ago. But most of all, in learning to read, a child can read the very Word of God that He has preserved for us in the Holy pages of scripture.

Each evening we read the Bible together as a family during our family worship time. Paton took his turn reading two scriptures tonight. As he improves, he'll read more and more until eventually he'll take his "normal" turn reading two scriptures at a time until our entire two chapters for the night are fulfilled. To be reminded of this blessing I need look no further than Justin, who at age seven easily reads from the Geneva Bible each night.

Paton, my son, read the Word of God. Devour it. Memorize it. Teach your own children to read it someday.

Failed Gospel Tract

HT: cal.vini.st

Don't Mess with the Special Olympics!

I had to smile when I read the following after I posted my blog entry on Obama's blunder earlier:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/US/Default.aspx?id=459670

Apparently Special Olympics participant Kolan McConiughey, who is mentally disabled, has bowled five perfect games since 2005.

I think we should have a televised competition between Mr. McConiughey and Mr. Obama. Let's see who has the last laugh.

From the article:
"The 35-year-old McConiughey has been bowling since he was 8 or 9. His advice for Obama? Practice every day."

I think the President needs to practice more than just his bowling.

For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
(Jas 3:2-8)

Commander in Chief Maligns Americans With Disabilities

Some of the most special people in the world are those individuals who go through life bearing the challenge of Down Syndrome. My sister-in-law, Lori, was just such an individual. She passed away in 2002 due to cancer. She is sorely missed by her parents, her brother, my wife, my children, and myself, as well as many others whom she touched in her brief 26 years. Lori was much more like a cousin than an aunt to my children. She used to sit down at the table and color in her coloring book or draw pictures along with my three oldest. My second son, and fourth oldest child was a baby when we lost Lori, and Lori loved him.

One special memory I have with Lori is showing up to watch her run in the Special Olympics. If you've never been to such an event, I would highly recommend going. It is a day full of competition, but also full of love. It's a time when you stand and cheer the person who comes in last place and congratulate them for finishing the race. It's not uncommon to see participants stop to help a fellow competitor if they fall down. At the end of the race everyone gets hugs.

Though we are all born with a sin nature, the sin nature of precious souls who have Down Syndrome are often the same type of sin nature you observe in your toddler. Yes, they are selfish at times. They may cry on a whim, but they are some of the most loving people you will ever know.

So you can imagine my shock when I read the following news story out of the Washington Post this morning:
Click here for the story

Flippantly commenting to Jay Leno on his poor skill at bowling, President Hussein remarked, "It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something." How dare he insult Americans with disabilities like this?!!! To make such a trite remark shows his utter disregard for human life. It emphasizes that his pre-election comment that determining when life begins is "above his pay grade" truly reflects his core beliefs.

What more can I say? The American people have truly elected a despicable, evil person for a commander in chief. I used to think Bill Clinton was the worst modern president we've ever had. But the Democratic party has outdone themselves with this character. They are going to have to work really hard to find a lower low life than this guy next time around.

Witherspoon Introduction Message

This is my review of the Introduction message from the 2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy. The speaker is Doug Phillips of Vision Forum.

Very appropriately, Doug begins by describing just who John Witherspoon was. He is described as a “son of the cross.” Witherspoon was an educator, a clergyman, and a mentor. He personally trained one sixth of all our founding fathers. Yet, it’s surprising that you rarely, if ever, hear his name mentioned in history text books. You’ve never witnessed a motion picture made about John Witherspoon. There is a clear reason for this. John Witherspoon is considered very politically incorrect by today’s standards. He unapologetically declared the Christian God to be the one, true, God, and the source of all our law. Witherspoon was a Scot. He came to the shores of this country with two foundational books; “Lex Rex” by Samuel Rutherford and “Aaron’s Rod Blossoming” by George Gillespie. Doug expounds on Witherspoon much more eloquently than I have given here in this brief review. I came away from this lecture with a much better appreciation for our largely forgotten “founding father,” John Witherspoon.

In this introductory message, Doug proceeds to introduce the many excellent speakers that will appear in this conference, along with a short preview of their topics. Some of the speakers that he mentioned are as follows: Jordan Lawrence, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, Hon. Howard Phillips, Bill Einwecter, Col. John Eidsmoe, Don Hart, Bob Renault, Jerome Corsi, and Larry Pratt. I have listened ahead to a few of these speakers, and I can say without a doubt that it has been outstanding information. I’ll save my comments for the reviews I will offer on each of the speakers, but I can tell that this is an excellent resource to add to my library.
Though I’ve heard Doug present the story of Josiah uncovering the lost book of the law, he did a great job declaring it again in this lecture. He also exposes some of the errors that we face as a country, including a quote by evolutionist Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who stated:
“The sacredness of human life is a purely municipal ideal of no validity outside the jurisdiction.”

Doug spends some time exposing the threat of feminism on our country. Written before the November elections, he theorizes how former President Bill Clinton would fulfill his congressionally defined duties as “first spouse” should his wife win the presidency. Though humorous, but not funny, Bill would have been in charge of flower arrangements in the White House. He would have selected the china pattern for the White House dishes. All the while his wife met with heads of state discussing foreign policy.

Doug identified a vulnerability that we have in the Church. There is a tendency for us to be divided against each other. Yet, when we look at the actions of the namesake of this conference, we will learn that John Witherspoon was able to have much greater influence by unifying Christians under a common cause.

There were three separate questions that Doug posed. I’ll leave it to you to get the CDs to find the answers. These question take us to the root of our epistemology, or our process of thought. The first question is, “What is law?” Next, “Can man legislate morality?” Finally, he asked the following: “Which of these men is the most religious, Charles Darwin, Billy the Kid, Billy Graham, or Billy Clinton?” He polled the audience, and Billy the Kid is the only one that got no votes. If you haven’t heard Doug ask this question before, the answer may surprise you.
All in all, I can tell that I’m really going to enjoy listening to these messages. I look forward to offering reviews on each message.

I do have one suggestion for Vision Forum, if they are reading this review. I absolute love my Jamestown Quadricentennial CDs. In addition to the excellent information there, I also appreciate the fact that the very last CD in the set is a compilation CD of all the messages given in MP3 format. This makes it very convenient for me to load all the messages onto my MP3 player. I’m one of those guys who doesn’t have a CD player in my car. But I do have an MP3 player. So, in order to listen to these Witherspoon messages I ripped them all to MP3s. The problem is that each CD is made up of several tracks. So I have a whole lot of individual files that I haven’t taken the time to name. I’ve got “Disc 1 – Track 1,” “Disc 1 – Track 2,” etc. all loaded on my MP3 player. I may take the time at some point in the future to look for software that could combine all the files from a particular CD into one MP3. However, I haven’t had the time to do that so far.

So, my one “constructive criticism” of these CDs so far is simply a technical one. This little issue is minor, and I certainly wouldn’t let it stand in the way of acquiring this set. I think you’ll agree with me that it is an excellent addition to any library. Order your copy by clicking here.

2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy

I received my copy of the 2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy last Thursday night. There is a wealth of information packed into these CDs! The Introduction CD was very good, giving a brief history of John Witherspoon and introducing who the speakers are on the rest of the CDs. I've had the time to listen to a few of them so far. I can say that there's is so much good information that I will need to devote a blog entry for each message. To cram it all into a single review would be an injustice. Click on the hyperlink in this message to order your own copy of this fantastic resource. Over the next few weeks as I post reviews of the individual messages, I invite you to listen to the recordings yourself and leave your own comments in the comment section. The topics covered are things that mature, Christian men need to know in order to have an "understanding of the times." Order your copy today and join me in reviewing these time sensitive messages.

Error Installing Visual Studio 2008

In addition to being a homeschool dad and a Reformed Baptist Christian, I am also a Systems Engineer. In my "day job" I have been stumped on an issue since last week, and found the answer this morning.

I was trying to install Visual Studio 2008 on a machine that I inherited when I got this job. Yet everytime I tried the install, it would fail with an error message about not being able to install the Microsoft Document Explorer.

This morning I found a solution that got me past that roadblock. There is a file called rgstrtn.lck that is located in the following directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft Help\

In my case the file was zero bytes and it had a date time stamp of June 2008 (before I started working here). After deleting that file and rebooting I was able to progress.

Now on to the next issue...a digital signature problem... Computer programming is just one challenge after another. It's a big puzzle. It's up to programmers to find the solution.

And the Winner Is...

Robert Leever of Lebanon, OR. Thanks to all who entered. Robert answered my question:

"Why do Christians need to have a firm understanding of our United States Constitution?"

He won a copy of The 2008 Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy.

Here is his well thought out reply:

Here's a bit of the passage (NIV) I used for my conclusions: Romans 13:1-71

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Of course, the dilemma in our country today is what to do when the authority is not acting according to the AUTHORITY of the land (not to mention the LAWS of nature and of nature's God). We actually live in a day where people turn their backs on the LAW thinking it is for our own good...like the law is an inconvenience to GOOD governing...

If we are honest with ourselves we see it is just the same old sin problem--us wanting to be God and have others submit to our whims instead of the other way around. So, I believe, the only way for a believing Christian (strange I have to phrase it that way) to be truly adhering to the passage from Paul, is to submit to the Constitution since it is the SUPREME law of the land. How can one do that, if he knows not what the law is? Indeed, how can one understand his freedoms without studying from whence they come? If we do not know our freedoms, we are DOOMED to loose them.

Indeed, our elections reflect this problem in a larger and more personal sense. Our government was devised by the most intellectual and God fearing men of their day. Today, our government is being "run" by the least intellectual and least God fearing people of our day. Is it any wonder when you ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" No grade school student can give an answer...and college students begin to quote our Nation's misdeeds...even to the point of tears and anger.

Why should we learn the Constitution? God clearly demands obedience and how can we obey Godly authority when we cannot obey earthly authority? How can we obey earthly authority if we don't learn how and what it is? Our American authority is NO single governing body or individual. It is a unique Document. Devised by the most brilliant of minds to ensure that no governing body (oligarchy) or individual (dictator/dictating king-earthly, that is) could easily take over and control this nation...indeed, it has take over 200 years for this to begin to happen...The more intriguing question is, Can we again regain what our Constitution meant? I'm hopeful, but doubtful.

2 1/2 Days Left Until Witherspoon Deadline

Thus far I've received only a few small number of entries for the Witherspoon contest. I hope that's because you all are working hard to write an excellent essay. About 2 1/2 days left to submit one. You have a great chance of winning this wonderful resource.

Win Free Witherspoon!

How would you like to add an excellent resource to your homeschool library with no cost to your family?

The 2008 Witherspoon School of Law & Public Policy is packed full of vital information that you need. Our Christian forefathers left us a godly, Constitutional government. Yet each and every day, we see our freedoms slipping away. Whether we are talking about our First Amendment right to free speech being attacked through the "Fairness Doctrine" or "hate crimes" legislation, the constant attack on our Second Amendment right to bear arms, or simply our rights as parents to lead our children according to God's principles; our adversary, the devil, and his cohorts on the political left are pulling out all the stops in trying to squash our Constitutional Republic.

It is imperative that Christian fathers and mothers be equipped to meet these attacks and have a firm understanding of the foundation on which our Constitution was built.

I am pleased to offer a free copy of this valuable resource to the man, woman, or child who best, in my own opinion, answers the following question:

"Why do Christians need to have a firm understanding of our United States Constitution?"

Please limit your response to 1500 words or less. Please email me (at mike@mikesoutherland.com) your submission no later than 11:59 PM on February 26. I will review them and post the winner by midnight on February 27. I will also post the text of the winning entry on my blog. You can either type your essay in an email, or send it as a Microsoft Word attachment. I will contact the winner directly on Februrary 27 to find out shipping information. This contest is open to U.S. residents only. If you are under 18, please get your parents' permission to enter.

Even if your entry is not selected as the winner, please consider ordering this excellent resource. You can order it here.

What is Biblical Patriarchy?

Sometimes I run across people who don't understand what I mean when I refer to Biblical (or Christian) Patriarchy. I've explained it as a servant leadership model. In his blog post today, Scott Brown sums it up very nicely. Please click here for a very good post on this very subject.

The Destruction of Dagon

I received the following in my email this morning from Grace Gems. This was written in 1943! Imagine what A.W. Pink would write about today's "culture." My comments follow.

-----
The "march of progress" from 1920 onwards, was, if measured by the standards of righteousness and decency, steadily downwards. Those with the least sense of decency were determined to drag the whole of the rising generation, down into the gutter. An orgy of licentiousness was widely entered into. Night-clubs were multiplied, gambling spread like wild fire, and debauchery abounded on every side. The beaches lowered their bathing restrictions--and modesty became a thing of the past. Youth was allowed to have its fling, unrestrained.

The novels and magazines of the last decade have been filled with obscenities and blasphemies. A friend of ours in the publishing business recently wrote to us, "Today we have shops stacked with books which, had they been published when we were boys--the authors and publishers would have been put in jail!" Censorship has long since been reduced to a farce. The great majority of our children have their ideas formed by the pictures they saw at the "movies" and the debasing productions of a degenerate press. As a recent writer said, "The best-sellers of today, are often books whose morals are of the barnyard, whose language is of the sewer and whose ethics are of the pit!

"The breakdown and breakup of "Civilization" appears in such things as the decay of the sanctity of marriage--as evidenced by the multiplication of divorces, and the abandonment of large numbers of babies; juvenile delinquency and immorality among the young; the vandalism which is now so rife; such widespread pilfering--and the flimsy efforts of the authorities to deal with such evils! Thousands of culprits who ought to be sent to prison, are given nominal fines. Law and order is almost reduced to a farce!

We do what we do--because we are what we are. There is always a rigid consistency between character and conduct. The thin coating of "civilized" varnish has worn off, and twentieth-century character stands exposed.
-----

When I read this and consider just how morally depraved our society is, I am reminded of the this passage of scripture:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
(Mat 24:37-38)

Apparently our society has not yet degenerated to the level that it was in the days before the flood, or else we would have already seen the Lord's return. Yet, we may only surmise that we are fast approaching it.

What is the answer? Do we throw up our hands, become giddy at the prospect that the debauchery of man signals the coming of our Lord? By all means, NO! We must hold the standard of righteousness. We must declare the principles of God's truth. Yet, we can take comfort in the fact that His Spirit will not forever strive with men. (Gen 6:3)

Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Reason #5742 *NOT* to Send Your Children to Government Schools

Click here to see yet another reason (out of how many now?) to keep your children out of government schools.

The Blessing of Children

Monergism Books

I've found a great place to get solid, doctrinally correct books at very good prices. I have joined their affiliate program. They "pay" you in books! To check out their selection, click on my link:




Here is an example of one of the books I'll be ordering shortly. Our church is beginning the process of installing elders. For those men desiring to be considered for church eldership and for those who wish to know what they should look for in eldership candidates, Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch is a definitive theological work on biblical eldership.

Biblical Eldership

If you'd like to pick some some credits in order to add to your own library, consider signing up as an affiliate. You can register by clicking here.

Almost Thou Persuadest Me to Be a Christian

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
(Act 26:28-29)

Can someone be persuaded to be a Christian? If anyone could successfully persuade someone to "accept Christ" surely the Apostle Paul could have done it. Yet, it seems as though even through the testimony of Paul and the "almost persuaded" heart of Agrippa Paul does not see success in the conversion of the king.

This passage is an example of God's election. We know that if Christ had chosen Agrippa as He had done Paul, then certainly Agrippa would not just be "almost persuaded," but he would have indeed repented of his sins and trusted in Christ for his salvation.

Notice that Paul has a great attitude. Paul's desire was that all who heard him would be saved. Yet, God in His providence elects whom He wills.

Friends, do not use election as an excuse for not coming to Christ. Rather know that if and when you come, you come only because of the Lord's drawing and not through any effort of your own.

Get Out Of The Pulpit

Awesome song! Roxylee proclaims a much needed message to today's modern churchgoer.

http://www.macjams.com/song/49656

I Think You'll Need This

With less than a week remaining before the Obamanation begins, I want to share a couple of tools that should prove helpful in the next four years.

Here is a tool you may use to contact your federal representatives and senators (This will redirect you to another site):

Use the one below for your state representatives:

Contact them often. The forces of liberalism are feeling empowered. If there's one silver lining on this new administration it's that Christians should finally wake up and participate in their government like they did during the Clinton era. The evils of the new incoming administration should certainly keep us from rolling over and going back to sleep after the long nap Christians seem to have taken with Bush in office.

GOSPEL SONNETS - Chapter 3 - Section 4

Gospel Sonnets
By Ralph Erskine
Chapter 3

SECTION IV. - The Believer only being married to Christ, is justified and sanctified: and the more gospel freedom from the law as a covenant, the more holy conformity to it as a rule.

THUS doth the Husband by his Father's will
Both for, and in, his bride the law fulfil:
For her, as 'tis a covenant; and then
In her, as 'tis a rule of life to men.
First, all law-debt he most completely pays,
Then of law duties all the charge defrays.
Does first assume her guilt, and loose her chains,
And then with living water wash her stains;
Her fund restore, and then her form repair,
And make his filthy bride a beauty fair;
His perfect righteousness most freely grant,
And then his holy image deep implant;
Into her heart his precious seed indrop,
Which, in his time, will yield a glorious crop.
But by alternate turns his plants he brings
Through robbing winters and repairing springs.
Hence, pining oft, they suffer'd sad decays,
By dint of shady nights and stormy days.
But blest with sap, and influence from above,
They live and grow anew in faith and love;
Until transplanted to the higher soil.
While furies tread no more, nor foxes spoil.
Where Christ the living root remains on high,
The noble plant of grace can never die;
Nature decays, and so will all the fruit
That merely rises on a mortal root.
Their works, however splendid, are but dead,
That from a living fountain don't proceed;
Their fairest fruit is but a varnish'd shrine,
That are not grafted in the glorious Vine.
Devoutest hypocrites are rank'd in rolls
Of painted puppets, not of living souls.
No offspring but of Christ's fair bride is good,
This happy marriage has a holy brood.
Let sinners learn this mystery to read,
We bear to glorious Christ no precious, seed,
Till through the law, we to the law be dead.(1)
No true obedience to the law, but forc'd,
Can any yield, till from the law divorc'd.
No to it, as a rule is homage giv'n,
Till from it, as a cov'nant, men be driv'n.
Yea more, till once they this divorce attain,
Divorce from sin they but attempt in vain;
The cursed yoke of sin they basely draw,
Till once unyoked from the cursed law.
Sin's full dominion keeps its native place,
While men are under law, not under grace.(2)
For mighty hills of enmity won't move,
Till touch'd by conqu'ring grace and mighty love.
Were buy the gospel-secret understood;
How God can pardon where he sees no good;
How grace and mercy free, that can't be bought,
Reign through a righteousness already wrought:
Where woful reigning unbelief deposed,
Mysterious grace to blinded minds disclosed:
Did Heaven with gospel-news its power convey,
And sinners hear a faithful God but say,
"No more law-debt remains for you to pay;
Lo! by the loving Surety, all's discharged,"
Their hearts behoved with love to be enlarged:
Love, the succinct fulfilling of the law,(3)
Were then the easy yoke they'd sweetly draw;
Love would constrain and to his service move
Who left them nothing else to do but love.
Slight now his loving precepts if they can;
No, no; his conquering kindness leads the van.
When everlasting love exerts the sway,
They judge themselves more kindly bound t'obey,
Bound by redeeming love in stricter sense
Than ever Adam was in innocence.
Why now they are not bound, as formerly,
To do and live, nor yet to do or die;
Both life and death are put to Jesus' hands,
Who urges neither in his kind commands,
Not servile work their life and heaven to win,
Nor slavish labour death and hell to shun.
Their aims are purer, since they understood,
Their heaven was bought, their hell was quenched with blood.
The oars of gospel-service now they steer,
Without or legal hope or slavish fear.
The bride in sweet security can dwell,
Nor bound to purchase heaven nor vanquish hell:
But bound for him the race of love to run,
Whose love to her left none of these undone;
She's bound to be the Lamb's obedient wife,
And is his strength to serve him during life;
To glorify his loving name for aye,
Who left her not a single mite to pay
Of legal debt, but wrote for her at large,
In characters of blood, a full discharge.
Henceforth no servile task her labours prove,
But grateful fruits of reverential love.

(1) Gal. ii. 19.
(2) Rom. vi. 14.
(3) Rom. xiii. 10.

Bombshell May Have Been Averted

Praise God. It sounds like the bureaucrats heard from the people and actually listened. I'm not positive we're all out of the woods yet, but this sounds a lot more promising. From the sound of this I don't think we have to worry about federal agents knocking down our doors in the middle of the night because we sold some used curriculum on eBay. It also seems to let resellers off the hook unless they are trying to sell recalled products.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html

I'll update if I hear more. I'm still not sure about the specifics regarding the sale of new, home produced products (like baby blankets). If you know, please leave me a comment here.

Small Business Bombshell!

Maybe I've had my head buried in the sand lately, or I've been concentrating on other things, but something just almost completely slipped by my notice. Last week my daughter alerted me to something she was reading on Jennie Chancey's sewing forum, Sense and Sensibility. At Church last Lord's Day, one of the ladies in our fellowship was talking about it. Then just last night I received an email from a friend expressing the same concerns. It seems as though the nanny state has determined to protect all our children from lead poisoning. However, rather than aiming squarely at the main culprit of lead distribution in toys; "Red China," our bureaucratic empire headed by the elite group of legislators decided this would be a great time to take a pot shot at all those small businesses across America.

It turns out that this new law, which I understand has already passed and will go into effect on February 10, 2009, requires that every product that can appear to be targeted for children under 13 years old must pass rigorous lead testing. It doesn't matter if the component parts have already been tested for lead, each end product must be tested also. This also applies to book sellers. This will add a lot of unnecessary expense and will expose small business owners to extremely harsh and unreasonable punishment if they violate this law knowingly or ignorantly. The penalty is $100,000 and two years in prison.

This is an outrage! I don't watch TV, but from what I understand, the media is largely ignoring this. I even wondered if it were for real or not. But after a bit of internet research, it seems to be accurate.

I have not researched this as thoroughly as I need to, but I wanted to get the word out to my readers as soon as possible. Check out the following link:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/

This is an organization that is standing together to fight this. As a disclaimer, I haven't thoroughly examined this website either. But it does not appear to contain objectionable material. There's a link there to "Ideas for Change in America." I did check out that site and found a bunch of left wing liberal causes. I signed up anyway and registered my vote against this one issue.

I have a feeling that we'll be needing to call our legislators pretty regularly starting after say...January 20. The Obamanation is beginning, though this law was passed under the Bush regime.

2008 Year in Review

In sitting down to write this year’s review, I took a few moments to look at the 2007 Year in Review. I began last year’s review by sharing that Dobson had been acquired by AT&T. At that time I was not sure how long I’d be employed there. As it turned out, I sought and acquired another position in the Dallas area. I started working at T-Mobile in April. They really worked with me and allowed me to telecommute while I tried to sell our home in Oklahoma. Well, the real estate market wasn’t very good as the house stayed on the market for 60 days with only 3 showings. I’m not convinced we selected the best of realtors. In any case, we wound up removing the home from the market, hoping that T-Mobile would indefinitely allow me to telecommute. After all, I was excelling in the position, and my manager was pleased with my performance. Unfortunately, the decision was not his, and HR eventually mandated that I needed to be in Frisco, Texas full time. You can imagine that that did not sit well with me. I could get from my home in Oklahoma to T-Mobile in Frisco in about 3 1/2 hours. But that was still too far to drive every day. I knew something needed to change. Either I needed to get the family down there with me or I needed to find another job in OK. That was in August. The Lord worked things out so that a company I had contacted earlier in the year, TransCore, called me back for an interview. Though my primary expertise has been in interactive voice response programming since 1994, TransCore hired me as a C# programmer, as that was the language I had been using for Dobson’s IVR for about 2 years. I started with TransCore in September. It was nice that we didn’t have to struggle to sell the house. But this has made for a hectic year of “We’re moving!...No we’re not…Yes we are…Not really.” There were many mixed feelings in the whole process. There were times, and there still are, where we wish we were closer to family in Texas. After all, that was our stated reason for leaving Tennessee in 2005 (I still miss living out there a lot.) Plus there was no way if I had known the future while we were in Tennessee that I would have left there to move to Oklahoma. God is sovereign and not me. So, He used this time to bring us into a very good church. We have established relationships with the others in the body. Another blessing that occurred the month after I started at TransCore is that we had a family visit our church. The man of the household was also a C# programmer looking for a new position. I was able to recommend him for a position at TransCore. He interviewed and was offered the job. He took the position, and moved his family about a mile away from our house. He and I have been carpooling together since October. God is good. He has given me a job in the Oklahoma City area where we didn’t have to sell our house. Plus He has put another believer with me, actually in the cube right next to mine at work. It’s very nice to have good fellowship every day.

In 2007, we lost my grandmother. Well, on September 21 of 2008, her husband, my grandfather, also went home to be with the Lord.

In April I took Brittney and Brianna to the Father Daughter Conference with Vision Forum. In was in Pine Mountain, Georgia. We heard a lot of good messages, saw lots of pretty flowers, and had a great time together. Then in August, I took Michael and Justin to the Father Son Conference. That was located in Winter Park, Colorado. It was likewise filled with good messages, lots of trees, and a great time with my boys.

Probably the highlight of the year remains the Rite of Passage ceremony we held for Michael. I haven’t blogged much about it this year because it remained a surprise for him up until the night we did it. Be sure and read the update under “Rite of Passage” on this blog. I prepared for this since at least 2004. My brother, Jason, seems to think that the planning started much earlier than that. In any case, it was a huge success.

2009 is shaping up to be an interesting year ahead. With a natural eye there is reason for great concern. President Hussein will take his oath of office on January 20. I can’t help but feel that America has elected Osama’s cousin. May God protect us. He has always built His church in times of persecution. It may be just around the corner. Stand strong and quit you like men. God is still on the throne.

Rite of Passage

Last Saturday, the work of about four years of preparation culminated in the "Rite of Passage" ceremony for my oldest son, Michael A Southerland III. He turned 13 on December 27, 2008. At the ceremony he received advice from his great-grandfather (via recorded video since "Pepaw" passed away in September), both of his grandfathers, his mother, his uncle, our provisional church elders, and of course, yours truly, his father.

I charged Michael with the responsibility of preparing to undertake the three roles that a man should fill while leading his family. Mirroring directly from the example of our Lord toward His Church, these roles are those of a prophet, priest, and king. Michael received a gift corresponding to each of the roles for which he was charged.

For the role of Prophet, I charged Michael with the following responsibilities:
- Speak Vision Into Your Family
- Hold Yourself to the Highest Standard of Ethics
- Bridle Your Tongue
- Never Stop Learning
- Know "What You Want to Be When You Grow Up"
- Use Civil Disobedience Appropriately
- Seek a Godly Wife
- Encourage Your Wife and Children
- Be Consistent With Discipline
- Direct Your Family's Ministry
- Realize the Blessing of Children



After charging him with these responsibilities and getting an affirmative answer from him, I presented him with a copy of Charges for a Southerland Son. This leatherbound book represents many, many hours of labor in writing down my charges and thoughts to him. I intend for him to keep it updated in subsequent editions in order to pass down the message to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

For the role of Priest, I charged Michael with the following responsibilities:
- Intercede on Behalf of Your Family
- Be Cautious of Charismatic Gifts
- Teach the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
- Teach the Five Points of Calvinism
- Teach the Five Solas of the Reformation
- Catechize Your Children


After charging him with these responsibilities and receiving an affirmative answer, I presented him with a leatherbound copy of the Geneva Bible in a family Bible edition. This is the Bible used by the Reformers and the Pilgrims. This particular Bible has room to record his family tree information.







For the role of King I charged Michael with the following responsibilities:
- Defend Your Family
- Be a Good Steward of Resources Entrusted to You
- Walk With Honor
- Be Sober Minded
- Be a Leader
- Make or Influence Public Policy
- Guard Your Time
- Guard Your Family's Purity


















After charging him with these responsibilities and receiving an affirmative answer, I presented him with a Scottish Highland Claymore sword encased in a custom made leather scabbard adorned with our family crest and inlaid with our Southerland (Sutherland) tartan.

I have so many people to thank that helped bring this project to fruition. Some I have personal relationships with. Some I have met. Some I haven't. Some only through e-mail. First and foremost, I thank the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, this is all meaningless. Next, my bride and Michael's mother, Sheri. She has supported me throughout all this. The other list of credits include my brother Jason who originally planted this thought in my head; my parents for laying a Christian foundation for me on which to build; Doug Phillips and Geoff Botkin for their visionary messages on fathers leading their families; Phil Lancaster for his book, Family Man, Family Leader from which I pulled the whole concept of a man serving as Prophet, Priest, and King like our Lord; Scott Brown for his counsel on what traits should be found in a young man from the perspective of a father evaluating a suitor for his daughter; Russ Ellis, of Tritonworks, the artisan that gave me advice on where to order the sword and did an excellent job of crafting a custom made scabbard for it.



My goal is that this will not die in my generation. I plan to do these ceremonies for each of my sons (and similar, though not exact, celebrations for my daughters). They are to charge their sons as well. This should be kept up ad infinitum throughout the generations. Yet, I will be satisfied if it at least propagates through 200 years. That is the vision, sons. Now let's make it happen with God's help.

End of the Year Sale!

From now until December 31, save on over 250 items from Vision Forum!

Raising a Mighty Man of God

This Saturday, my oldest son Michael will turn 13. In light of this event, I highly recommend this sermon by Kevin Swanson. Swanson nails several of the convictions that I have for Michael. A lot of what he says is what was on my mind in thinking of various goals that I have for my sons. If you are a friend or family member reading this, and you'd like a better idea of my thoughts toward raising sons, I'd encourage you to click through and listen to Kevin Swanson's thoughts on the subject.



SermonAudio has proven itself to be an excellent resource for solid Christian teaching. The link to this particular message is as follows:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=62006154842

Lose Your Job, Kill Your Baby...So Sad

In a disturbing article I read this morning, it seems as though Planned Parenthood is getting a surge of new business. If this is true, then it is truly despicable, but believable in this wicked society in which we live.

The Bible calls children a blessing. A family with many children is truly wealthy. Though in our society that wealth is often seen in heritage and non-monetary ways, I believe that God intends for children to bring financial wealth to a family as well. I know several families who work together on their farms or family businesses. Many hands make light work.

So, if God provendentially removes your job, don't cut off His blessings. Rather, find a way to work beside the children He has given you and rejoice that He is sending another helping hand into your fold. Those are my long term plans that could be shortened anytime God wills it. Remember that He is in control and, if you belong to Him, He works all things in your life for good.

I Think I'll Fire My Mechanic!

OK, here's the deal. I need my thermostat replaced in my '97 Ford Mustang, V6, 3.8L. Easy enough, right? Any mechanic worth his salt could whip that out in about 15 minutes (though he'd probably charge a full hour). Well, my mechanic doesn't seem to be that talented. He's a "moonlight" guy who holds down another full time job during the day. It's a good thing too, because after his performance on my car, I'd hate to see him try to make a living at auto repair. After seeing the symptoms last week, I had him take a look at it on Saturday. Beautiful day...60 something degrees...no big deal, right? Well about four hours later he had broken two bolts off into the engine block. Fortunately he was able to get them out because they broke off "above the threads" of the block. Well, by this time the parts house that he needed was closed. He assured me that the fault was in the cheap bolts he had bought from the local auto parts store and he needed to get the genuine ones from Ford. Ford is the epitome of customer service (sarcasm here) exampled by keeping their hours as close as possible to the time when "normal" people are at their day job. So, my mechanic friend wasn't able to get parts until yesterday (Monday). Last night after work, he shows up, not with Ford bolts, but with a tap to clean out the threads in my block and a couple of better quality, but still generic, bolts. He spent another 3 hours trying to get the thermostat to stay in place on the side of the engine block while he tightened the bolts. When he was "done" we cranked the car. It didn't take long to see the antifreeze start to drip. Oh, and did I mention that unlike the nice day we had on Saturday, last night's temperatures were in the teens, and it was dark? Well, his solution to the drip was to tighten it further. He cranked a few more turns, not wanting to break off these new bolts. Finally, after cranking it, the drips slowed to 1 or 2 a second. At this point, I'm thinking that I really need to fire this guy. Frustrated, I told him he was done for the night. I test drove the car and barely made it back home before it overheated to the point of damage. I popped open the hood and examined his work. The thermostat (or at least the rubber seal around it) could be seen protruding out of the bottom of the housing. So, most likely, this guy crushed my new thermostat because he didn't get it lined up right before tightening down those bolts. I normally don't like to name names, but as a courtesy to my readers I really feel I need to warn you. Whatever you do, don't let Mike Southerland repair your car! He's a programmer, not a mechanic! So, Mike, you're fired! I guess I'll have to do it myself now.

Sincerely,
Mike Southerland