How shall they hear without a preacher?

http://watersourceministrie.ipage.com/wp-content/Multimedia/PreachersCorner/PHegarty_OT_6-7-13.mp3

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My death to life story

I grew up in a fairly strict and traditional family in Denver, Colorado. Along with my three sisters and two brothers and numerous cousins; I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition. We attended Mass on a weekly basis and Parochial schools from 1st through 8th grade and then I attended a Jesuit High School until graduation in 1975. It was a fairly typical upbringing for a kid of the baby boom generation born the late 1950s. Our lifestyle was not lavish but comfortable. I don’t remember much of the religious instruction that came from my parents, though no doubt they tried to give it. My understanding was that Jesus died to give us a second chance to earn His favor by our good deeds. Though this does not exactly reflect official Roman Catholic teaching it was the idea that stuck in my mind. In my High School years there were few if any of my peers who took their religious upbringing very seriously. Most were much more interested in parties, sports, and girls. Upon graduation Denver was left behind to attend CSU in Fort Collins. I remember saying our goodbyes after my parents drove me to the campus and got me settled in my dorm room. For the most part it felt good to be free and on my own for the first time. Continuing to attend church was never seriously considered. Even so, the idea that there must be some kind of God somewhere floated around in my thoughts. Eastern meditation seemed attractive for awhile but whatever was there seemed to remain just out of reach. A couple of different girlfriends were part of the picture in the early years of college, which was unfortunately not a good thing for them or me. A sense of emptiness was always beneath the relentless pursuit of happiness. Despite having much of what imagination had told me would bring contentment, the reality was much less satisfying. The thought of being a basically good person had always been something of a comfort to me regardless of all the bad things done in my life. It was never too hard to find someone who was actually worst than me, at least in my mind. Still, sometimes the undeniable sense of guilt would make me wonder. Unbeknownst to me a radical change was coming.
Working at a nursing home in the summer of 1976 was not the best employment, but it was something and afforded more opportunity to be near my girlfriend who had found me the job. One day the thought came clearly as we were taking our break at work, “there must be a better way”. It was a different kind of reflection, almost as though it was not my own.
A couple of my fellow employees had come to notice in the first few weeks of work. One of them was a hard partying kind of guy who liked to boast about his exploits the night before. The other was a few years older and seemed different somehow. It remained a mystery until one day the two of them were talking within earshot. Evidently the party guy had been invited over to the others place for dinner and something had happened. It was not quite clear as to what, but it seemed that he was giving up his partying ways. Now that was strange. A curious eye was kept on the two of them for the next couple of months. At the end of the summer the job had to be given up to return to school. The last day of work we were saying our goodbyes and the unusual pair was in the hall. The former party guy gave me an illustration. “Have you ever stuck your finger in a candle?” he asked. And then he added, “Imagine that for all eternity”. Such a comment was a bit stunning coming out of the blue, but then, the other guy, whose name was Don, said simply, “Jesus is the way”. There is no more of the conversation that comes to mind than those few lines. They are etched in the memory because of what happened not long after. That phrase about Jesus being “the way” just would not leave my mind. It seemed to be following everywhere, haunting me. My girlfriend asked, not long after, in a somewhat irritated tone, “What is wrong with you?” The question was a surprise. Was it that obvious? Without thinking the astonishing words tumbled out. “I think I need the Lord”. It was a moment like none before or since in a life that had seemed to be spiraling downward in far too many ways. It was not so much a decision as an admission of helplessness. The great divide was crossed; the way of life irrevocably changed. That singular event set a different course, first to find out what had happened and then to follow and proclaim the truth about the One who had effected this momentous change.
What took place and why it took place has come into greater clarity as the years have passed. In a nutshell it is encapsulated in the words penned by the Apostle Paul in the first century about 30 years after Jesus lived and died and rose from the dead. He wrote that, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost”. Sinners in this context are not people who are just imperfect, but people who are in active rebellion against their Maker. We have lied and therefore are liars. We have stolen and therefore are thieves. Used God’s name in a profane way and therefore are blasphemers. Looked with lustful intent and therefore are adulterers at heart. In fact, we have broken all of God’s commands in word and thought if not in deed. For me, worst of all perhaps was the arrogant way I viewed my rebellion. It was not really my fault. After all God had made me the way I was. I was a perfect candidate for judgment of the strictest variety. The remarkable thing is that what was deserved did not come. Amazing grace is the only way to describe what happened that day in my girlfriend’s apartment. It happened because of what Christ came into the world to do for people like me. God could have been content to give us the justice that we deserved. But instead He sent His Son into the world to live a perfectly righteous life and die the death of a spotless lamb on our behalf. He took our punishment and purchased us for Himself. And then He rose from the dead proving that all that the Law and the Prophets and He himself had spoken will come to pass. It is my earnest prayer that God will do the same miraculous work in your life if you remain a skeptical unbeliever. Please seriously consider your need to turn away from everything that has been more important to you than the one true God. Turn to Him and call out to Him to have mercy on you. One thing that you can not deny is your knowledge of yourself. Your conscience should compel you to run from the judgment that is to come. It is my prayer that you will not delay.

Mike W. Affirming the Good News of the Glory of Christ

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Redeem the Time

Taste and see that the LORD is good!

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
(Psalms 34:6-8)

"Other religions do not claim to have an infallible verbal revelation from an all-knowing personal God" Greg Bahnsen - Christianity in a League of Its Own

Christianity is unique. There are some sects or cults that attempt to copy Christianity while adding their own devilish twist on what God has revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Christianity alone teaches that we are justified before God by Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. All other religions say that we either do not need salvation or that we can merit our salvation at least in part by what we do. Christianity says that we are counted righteous by faith in Christ's perfect work apart from any meritorious works of our own. That is indeed good news for people like us. Taste indeed and see that the Lord is good!

He was wounded for our transgressions...

He was bruised for our iniquities...

Did Constantine decide the contents of the Bible at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD ?

We speak every so often to people who make the claim that the contents of the Bible were decided or changed by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicea. Here is an article by Dr. James R. White addressing the issue of what really happened at Nicea. I hope it will be instructive to you.

What Really Happened at Nicea? by James R. White

Summary
The Council of Nicea is often misrepresented by cults and other religious movements. The actual concern of the council was clearly and unambiguously the relationship between the Father and the Son. Is Christ a creature, or true God? The council said He was true God. Yet, the opponents of the deity of Christ did not simply give up after the council’s decision. In fact, they almost succeeded in overturning the Nicene affirmation of Christ’s deity. But faithful Christians like Athanasius continued to defend the truth, and in the end, truth triumphed over error.

Link to the article.
www.equip.org/articles/what-really-happened-at-nicea-

St. Patrick - The Confessions

The Confessions of St Patrick – (probably written about 450 AD)

1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many ….. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.
2. And there the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in order that …. I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my insignificance and pitied my youth and ignorance. And he watched over me before I knew him and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.

7. I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in the Psalm: ‘You destroy those who speak a lie.’ And again: ‘A lying mouth deals death to the soul.’ And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘On the day of judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter.’

In context the Son of God said that people will give account for every careless or idle word that they speak against the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth. For he says, by your words (for the truth) you will be justified, and by your words (against the truth) you will be condemned” (Mat 12:31-37)

The Apostle Paul wrote that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Rom 1:18)

The writer of Proverbs tells us that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord (Prov 12:22) and that the Lord hates a lying tongue. (Prov 6:17)

David as Patrick quoted says, “You destroy all those who speak lies” (Ps 5:6)

John says in Revelation that, “the cowardly, the faithless… those who are idolaters, and all liars, will have their place in the lake that burns with fire…." (Rev 21:8)

Timothy says that the Law is laid down not for the righteous but for liars. (I Tim 1:8-10)

The question is why is the God, that St Patrick served so concerned about the truth about Himself that he would threaten people who do not love it with eternal justice?

Think of it this way, there may be some lies that you can easily overlook but lies against your character and against your good name cannot be ignored. These kinds of lies are called slander in their spoken form and libel in their written form. They are so serious that they are actionable in our legal system. You can take someone to court and win damages against them because they have done harm to your reputation.

So what if a person makes slanderous accusations against the Creator of the universe? Do you think that would be a serious offense? How bad of a liar is someone who makes false allegations against the Spirit of truth Himself? You see the apostle Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Romans that everyone is aware of God. No one has the excuse of ignorance because God has made his eternal power and divine nature plain to all people ever since the creation of the world in the things that are made. So we are without excuse because even though we are aware of God we are all guilty of failing to honor God as they should. We have all at some time in our lives loved other things more than God and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator. As John Piper has so aptly put it “God is infinitely worthy of our admiration, loyalty and respect” therefore “failure to love Him is not trivial it is treason”. And because God is holy, righteous and just, He cannot overlook our suppression of the truth. People will be called to account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word that they have spoken against God's character and name. And our very words will either justify us or condemn us on that day.

And that is why God sent his Son into the world to save sinful suppressors of the truth like me. And as St. Patrick said, to open my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in order that …. I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God.

Jesus came into the world about 2000 years ago. Being fully God and fully man he lived a perfectly righteous life. He loved God perfectly as we all should love him and he perfectly loved his neighbor as himself. And 30 to 33 years into his earthly life He voluntarily went to a criminal’s death on the cross taking the full measure of God’s wrath that His people rightly deserved upon Himself. On the third day he rose from the grave, as he had promised, demonstrating that he was truly the unique Son of God and the Savior of the world.

God has commanded all people everywhere to repent and trust in Christ alone to save them from the coming judgment. In order to truly begin to love God you need a deep-seated change of heart and mind which results in a drastic change of direction like that which St Patrick experienced. If you have not yet received the gift of repentance and faith, it is our prayer that our gracious God and Savior will raise you out of death to life through faith in Christ alone. If you love the God of truth we pray that he will empower you to continue to grow in love for the truth about Him and in your willingness to speak the truth in love to others.

Check out the rest of St Patrick’s work here:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.toc.html

Is It Wrong to Judge?

What is the real winning of a soul for God?

Panorama of Old Town 12-18-2010 on CleVR.com

What is the real winning of a soul for God? So far as this is done by instrumentality, what are the processes by which a soul is led to God and to salvation? I take it that one of its main operations consists in instructing a man that he may know the truth of God. Instruction by the gospel is the commencement of all real work upon men's minds. "Go ye, therefore, and teach.. CHS “The Soul-Winner” pg 14