Pester Brat's Saint and Sinner Hypocrisy Blog

“On mine arm shall they trust.” — Isaiah 51:5 In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father’s arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives you to your Father! Now that you have on

Charles Spurgeon Quote of the Day "I was reading only the other day of an account of my ceasing to be popular. It was said my chapel was now nearly empty, that nobody went to it. I was exceedingly amused and interested. 'Well, if it comes to that,' I said, 'I shall not grieve or cry very much. But if it is said the church has left its zeal and first love, that is enough to break any honest pastor's heart.'"

Announcing "The Episkopos Awards" ...if pastors were treated like CCM artists Each year in April the GMA (Gospel Music Association) hosts the "Dove Awards Show." The Dove Award is given to artists of all musical genres within CCM that the GMA members through voting deem worthy to receive. The award carries no real industry weight; and is, for lack of better words, an imitation Grammy for CCM artists who are not good enough to compete in the secular pop music world, but want to feel for a moment like they had. The Dove Award gives them an artificial sense of being "a real artist" with all the trappings that winning a Grammy would without actually having to win one, be good enough to win one, or having to actually compete against pop music's finest artistry. (What should be a concern to all of us as Christians, is that CCM musicians are the only part of the body of Christ that honors itself by giving awards to itself each year for serving the Lord.) No a

Resurrection, The Key to Everything ...by John MacArthur Dr. James White and Dr. James Renihan will be debating Dr. John Dominic Crossan and Dr. Marcus Borg this Tuesday evening aboard ship on the Alpha-Omega/AudienceONE Apologetics Cruise to Alaska. Please be praying for these men as they defend, with gentleness and reverence, the great doctrine of the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; and that Dr. Crossan and Dr. Borg would be granted saving faith by the Lord for salvation and to embrace this great truth of eternal life through the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The following article by my friend, John MacArthur, is a tremendous reminder of the importance of the resurrection and what it secures for every believer in Christ. As Mac powerfully states, "The real issue is not: can you prove the resurrection? The real issue is: what does the resurrection prove? You take out the resurrection and you have cut out the soul of the Christian faith and you h

Mulligan Mondays ...sometimes you just need another swing at the ball Today's Mulligan Monday (sorry I'm a day late, but well worth the wait) goes to no other than Pat Robertson of the 700 Club. As most of you know by now, brother Pat brings a new meaning to evangelical co-belligerence by suggesting that American agents assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop his country from becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism." Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat... here we go again. In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." While feminism remains an unattractive thing for Christians, he demonstrates the art of over the top disconnected sinful traits by political social ideology. Chavez is a bad apple... but assassination? Here is Pat's brilliant biblical

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats? ...righteousness turned into recreation An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most short-sighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses. My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel

Last night when I went into a Paltalk chat room I entered in the middle of an intense discussion about whether it is possible for a Christian Universalist to be saved. In general, I don't think that a person who knows and understands the teachings on universalism, is exihibiting saving faith. It is not just about them trusting in the Person and finished work of Christ. To hold to a universal salvation where each and every person will be saved, you either have to believe that people can be saved when they are trusting in good works and another way to get to Heaven, and/or that they will get another chance to hear the gospel some how some way after they die. But this doesn't mean that a person can't hold to the universalist view from a position of ignorance due to having just been saved and not taught the biblical gospel yet. But I don't think they it will take very long before they reject universalism if they are a God wrought, blood bought Christian, so see the truths o

The compromise is sad indeed... The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: “As Baptist Christians we give thanks to God for the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II. His devotion to Jesus Christ has inspired and challenged multitudes....In this hour of loss, those of us in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship offer our prayers for our sisters and brothers in the Catholic Church. We also offer our hand of Christian fellowship in serving Christ’s Kingdom.” Pat Robertson (CBN Founder and 700 Club Host): "I am deeply grieved as a great man passes from this world to his much deserved eternal reward. John Paul II has been the most beloved religious leader of our age – far surpassing in popular admiration the leader of any faith. He has been a man of great warmth, profound understanding, deep spirituality, and indefatigable vigor... He has been a steady bridge in the transition of Eastern Europe from communism to freedom. His personal magnetism brought together all Christians in new bonds of unde

Quote of the Day ...uncommon wisdom drawn from the well of God's Word I was driving by a church earlier today when a friend of mine commented on their marquee displayed out on their front lawn. It said, "Suffering from "truth" decay? Brush up on your Bible." Nashville is in the South and sometimes the "corn factor" is inescapable. But this simple country phrase above really sums up the raison d'être for the "decay" we are experiencing in evangelicalism today... the failure to honor Sola Scriptura. An overdose of sugar, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, etc. can cause tooth decay, produce nasty little cavities and contribute to other bothersome dental problems. In like manner, a spiritual diet of processed theology, sweetened doctrine, and sugary platitudes consisting of seeker friendly, Word/Faith, purpose driven, positive thinking, human potentiality, psychobabble is slowly eroding "the teeth" of biblical Christianity. Ho

The King James Only Controversy : I have been in 3 churches since the Lord was pleased to save me, the last 2 of them as a pastor. The first church was when I was not a pastor, but did teach Sunday School, and preached occasionally. It was a church that used the KJV of the bible, but neither I or the pastor was hardcore KJV Only. The second church was the first church I pastored. For the sake of some long time members in that small church, I used the King James version for sermons, but after I was there a year or two, I began using the NKJV for Scripture Readings. My third church, which is the one I'm pastoring now in Idaho, does not use the KJV. We offically use the NASB for our sermons, and the ESV many times when quoting other scriptures. I know some of my long time Christian friends from Maryland are KJV Only. I am not. I think it is an issue that we can agree to disagree on, but it seems there may be some that cannot. In the not so distant future, I'll post on the Blog why

Thursday, August 11, 2005 How Did Paul Confront a Pagan Culture? -by preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified In every one of Paul's epistles, the Apostle never lost sight of what brings real and lasting change; what brings glory to God; and what transforms finite sinful man into a new creation... the gospel of Jesus Christ. What follows, is a few key verses I compiled from each of Paul's letters. You will see the gospel, the person of Christ, and/or the cross clearly represented in each of these texts. This was his divine weaponry in fighting the culture wars of his day. He did not lower himself to the pubescent pragmatic tactics of today's evangelical spokesmen. Paul lived in very dangerous and perilous times. Almost every city he went to establishing churches was corrupt and godless. His answer to moral depravation and the sinfulness of sin was simple, biblical, and birthed in the power the Holy Spirit: evangelize! What you will not find is a Pauline strategery for confr

Spiritual Malpractice ...when pastors fail to discipline sin Confrontation is hard and never pleasant. Confronting other believers is even harder. Confronting other believers that you know and that know you; whom are your friends and long-term members of the same church can even be more nerve wracking; stretching ones spiritual constitution to the cliff’s edge. But this is precisely what the duty of the faithful under-shepherd of Christ is to be. Doing all things without partiality; preferring to honor Christ over personal convenience; caring more for the purity of the church than for individual comfort; and ultimately, giving all—forsaking reputation, opportunity and station of life to present every man complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28-29; 1 Timothy 5:19-21; 2 Timothy 2:3-6; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). One of the greatest acts of love a pastor can ever demonstrate to his people and one of the most Christlike examples he could ever model for the body of Christ is when he and the other eld