The Green Letter Bible

You've heard of the Red Letter Bible? The one where all the words of Jesus are in red letters?

There are "Red Letter Christians" who only read those parts of the Bible and develop their religion from them.

To them Christianity means living a certain lifestyle and making "disciples" of all people so that the whole world will become the "Kingdom" suitable for the return of the King. ("Thy kingdom come")

Well, now there is a Bible for all the Gaia worshippers out there- the "Green Letter Bible."

"The Green Bible will equip and encourage people to see God's vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it. With over 1,000 references to the earth in the Bible, compared to 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love, the Bible carries a powerful message for the earth."

"Understand the Bible's powerful message for the earth" is how this Bible is promoted. As recommended by Larry Schweiger, president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation, "With The Green Bible highlighting relevant verses and offering solid context, we must heed the call to solve urgent climatic and ecological threats facing creation."

Me? I'm a black letter Christian.

I read the Bible's powerful message for the earth to be:

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Rev 8:6-13)

Three more woes yet to come!

The ultimate outcome of the earth?

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:9-13)

Do you wonder if these verses concerning the earth are green in the Green Letter Bible?

The "message" of the Bible?

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:17-20)

The Foolishness of AA

Get ready for more hurt feelings.
In which I point out the foolishness of 12 Step Programs and the other Pop Psych Self Esteem philosophy which has taken over Christendom.

Step 1. I admitted I was powerless over alcohol and my life had become unmanageable.

This is followed by the 11 Steps of how I will overcome my addiction and how I will begin to manage my life. The first of these steps being-

Steps 2&3 I turn my life over to a God I create in my own imagination.

Somehow this is believed to be simpler and more powerful than saying, "Stop doing that. Take responsibility for your life and do what is right."

This sounds somewhat like a Biblical theme, "Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning;" (1Cor.15:34) Probably that is why it is not said. Give a sin a different name, tell people it is not their fault, but most of all keep God out of this. (The real God that is.) (Is 45:5)

A god that comes from a man's imagination is merely an image of himself. For there are only two gods in a man's life, Self and Christ. The decision to follow one excludes the other. (Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34) The decision to follow Christ is the way of life (John 14:6).

I say allow the world to have their way. Allow the courts to accept only one method of "treatment" for people with addictions. The courts are of the world, not of the church. But I demand at all times that the world be kept OUT of the church.(James 4:4) And that in the church there be nothing spoken and taught but Christ and Him crucified, risen and coming again. (1 Cor 2:2)

Why is it again they do not use the Gospel? (Rom 1:16-17)

What about the dinosaurs?

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?

"Dinosaurs are used more than almost anything else to indoctrinate children and adults in the idea of millions of years of earth history. However, the Bible gives us a framework for explaining dinosaurs in terms of thousands of years of history, including the mystery of when they lived and what happened to them. Two key texts are Genesis 1:24–25 and Job 40:15–24."

Read this article from Answers in Genesis to learn the truth about dinosaurs, evolution and man.

I am posting this link as a service to the many Christians who honestly do not know what happened to dinosaurs. The church has done an extremely poor job of teaching its people the truth regarding the history of man as it is recorded in Genesis. It is as if the record of the people in the Genesis account were some kind of morality play instead of the word of God.

You do not have to "go against science" or have "blind" faith to know what the truth is relating to dinosaurs and evolution. Read this article and the other materials this ministry has to rest secure in the knowledge of the truth.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:20-23)

Hopefully this knowledge will help strengthen your faith and give you "Answers in Genesis." (1 Peter 3:15)

Mother of God?

At some point someone might think, Well, if Mary is the mother of Jesus. And Jesus is God. Doesn't that make Mary the mother of God?" Isn't that logical?

Well, "somebody" has thought of that and the Catholic Church made it a dogma of the (Roman Catholic) faith. Thus Mary was proclaimed theotokos, "Mother of God" at the Ephesus Council in 431 AD.

At what point would you think that real logic would intervene in this fatuous reverie?

How is it remotely possible that the infinite Creator of the universe and all that is in it, The Eternal, could have a mother? When was it The Eternal One was born?

Mary was the mother of Jesus, the Son of Man. God with us, (Immanuel) (Luke 1:30-33) who came and dwelt in human flesh so that He might suffer and die to redeem us from the sin in which we so readily wallow. (Eph. 1:7, Heb. 9:15)

I in no way wish to belittle Mary. For who in the history of (wo)man is like her? And of whom has it been said, by an angel no less, "Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28) No, indeed Mary stands high enough on her own merit as a human being, and the mother of Jesus.

Yet she was a human being who did not understand what it was her Son was doing. (Luke 2:49-51, John 2:1-4) A human being who desperately needed to be saved, redeemed from the wretched sin nature she posessed as a daughter of Eve. (Gen. 3:17, 20, Rom. 3:10, 3:23)

Bless Mary for her faithfulness by which our Lord came to dwell in human form, for nursing Him and raising Him up to be a man.

And bless your mother for bringing you into this world, for giving you life. Bless her with the gift beyond measure- share with her the love of Jesus Christ which dwells in your heart because you have also been born again. (John 3:4-7)

[note- rollover Scripture references for pop up windows to read verses]

Chance (?)

I cannot imagine the faith necessary to believe in evolution after viewing the vast cosmos we know as our heavens.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1:20-23

As we look out into the vast expanses of space, we also now look in-- to the vast intricacies of life. For those of us who studied Biology in school, recall that ATP is the energy source used by all living cells, I offer the following video to consider:


I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14

I defy anyone to explain away the hand of a designer in this one key, of many such keys, required for a living cell to function. I am so happy that I have a living God. One who knows me and keeps me. (And keeps me together! Col. 1:17)

p.s. Having also studied Mechanical Engineering I was dumbfounded at the sheer mechanical structure of this proton rotor!

h/t James White at Pros Apologian blog

Martin Luther on Romans

For close to 30 years I have been telling people that if they have a question about religion- the answer is most likely going to be found in the book of Romans. It is the defining book on Christianity and is, according to Luther, "a short summary of the whole of Christian and evangelical doctrine" that also provides "an access to the whole of the Old Testament"


See what else Martin Luther has to say in this excerpt from the preface to his commentary on Romans:

This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. Therefore I want to carry out my service and, with this preface, provide an introduction to the letter, insofar as God gives me the ability, so that every one can gain the fullest possible understanding of it. Up to now it has been darkened by glosses [explanatory notes and comments which accompany a text] and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture.(1)

"Memorize it word for word." To make such a statement today would be looked upon as foolishness. "Everyone knows" that is just too much for someone to commit to memory.

How about simply reading the book through? Is that too much? Yet, how many who call themselves "Christian" in this country have read the entire book of Romans? Is it any wonder there is so little understanding of the true gospel?

From the very opening where Luther finally found peace with God and opened the door to what we now know as the Refomation. (Rom.1:16-7) On through the "Roman Road" that has been used to lead thousands to salvation. (Rom.3:23, Rom.6:23, Rom.5:8, Rom.10:9,10) Then giving us the surest promise to save and secure from the judgment we know is coming. (Rom. 8:1) Romans is the truly unique book of knowledge.

Read it yourself. Do yourself a favor.

1 source Christian Classics Ethereal Library

What if Satan Ruled?

What would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in our imaginative slide show probably depict mayhem on a massive scale: Widespread violence, deviant sexualities, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down and worshipers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer "Yes, sir," "No, ma'am," and the churches would be full on Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.
quoted from Michael Horton,"Christless Christianity: Getting in Christ's Way " in Modern Reformation.

So if the churches are full and the name of Christ can't be mentioned, what could they possibly be teaching?

Let's try to come up with some ideas:

• Your Best Life Now
• Purpose Driven Life
• Possibility Thinking
• 12 Step Recovery

Then there are the spiritual giants:

• Prayer
• Spiritual Formation
• Spiritual Disciplines
• Meditation and Silence
• Chicken Soup for the Soul
• Holistic wellness
  

O.K. I admit, I couldn't really come up with any ideas on how there could possibly be a church without preaching Christ, and Him crucified. So I just looked around at all the popular megachurches today.

And that, my brothers and sisters in Christ, makes me very sad indeed.

maranatha

Christless Christianity?

      "What happens when we take Christ out of Christianity?"
Author Michael Horton, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, has explored that question in his new book "Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church."



      At his website for the book he gives a 5 minute introduction to its message. You can also download the first chapter for a further glimpse.

      From the website,

"Christians have always had their differences, but never in church history have there been so many statistics indicating that many Christians today are practicing what can only be described as "Christless Christianity."

Christless Christianity guides the reader to a greater understanding of a big problem within the American religious setting, namely the creeping fog of countless sermons in churches across the country that focus on moralistic concerns and personal transformation rather than the theology of the cross.

Michael Horton's analysis of the contemporary church points believers back to the power of a gospel that should never be assumed."

      Check out this especially pertinent warning to the church.

p.s. Do Not miss the link to Horton's article in Modern Reformation linked in the side bar

h/t Phil Johnson