Pester Brat's Saint and Sinner Hypocrisy Blog

If this does not humble you (Thomas Brooks, "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ") Dwell much upon the greatness of God's mercy and goodness to you. Nothing humbles and breaks the heart, like God's mercy and love. In Luke 7, the Lord Jesus shows mercy to that notorious sinner, and then she falls down at His feet, and loves much and weeps much, etc. Oh, if ever you would have your souls kept humble, dwell upon the free grace and love of God to you in Christ! Dwell upon . . . the firstness of His love, the freeness of His love, the greatness of His love, the fullness of His love, the unchangeableness of His love, the everlastingness of His love, and the ardency of His love. If this does not humble you, there is nothing on earth which will do it. Dwell upon what God has undertaken for you. Dwell upon the choice and worthy gifts which He has bestowed on you. Dwell upon that eternal glory and happiness which He has prepared for you--and then be proud if you can.

Paying for admittance into heaven (Horatius Bonar, "Bible Thoughts and Themes") "He saved us--not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy." Titus 3:5 Ritualism, or externalism, or traditionalism are all different forms of self-righteousness; man's self-invented ways of pleasing or appeasing God, or paying for admittance into heaven. These forms of self-righteousness are a human apparatus for procuring God's pardon. They are the means by which the performer of them hopes to win God's favor--perhaps, also, man's praise--most certainly, his own esteem. Every act, or performance, or ceremony, which honors self, exalts self, or gives prominence to self--is an accursed thing. It is an abomination in the sight of God--however religious, or sacred, or solemn, or devout, it may seem to man. It is to self-righteousness in some form or other, that man is always tending. Man attempts to make up for this badness, or to cover it over

'Year of Struggle' for Planned Parenthood, Pro-lifers Claim By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor December 18, 2006 (CNSNews.com) - The number of clinics run by Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of abortions, has dropped to the lowest since 1987, according to a pro-life group. "2006 was another year of struggle for Planned Parenthood," said Jim Sedlak, executive director of Stop Planned Parenthood (STOPP) International, a subdivision of the American Life League (ALL). The federation "began the year with a total of 872 clinics and, despite opening several new clinics, ended the year with 859," he said. "Americans are rejecting Planned Parenthood and its agenda as more and more of its clinics are closing across the United States," Sedlak claimed. He based his comments on a new study by STOPP, which shows that the number of Planned Parenthood's "health" clinics has dropped to 817, its lowest total in almost 20

No mind has imagined (Thomas Brooks, "A String of Pearls" 1657) Surely there is no believer but who finds that sometimes sin interrupts his joy, and sometimes Satan disturbs his joy, and sometimes afflictions eclipse his joy. Sometimes the cares of the world, and sometimes the snares of the world, and sometimes the fears of the world--mar his joy. Here on earth, our joy is mixed with sorrow; our rejoicing with trembling. The most godly have . . . sorrow mixed with their joy, water mixed with their wine, vinegar mixed with their oil, pain mixed with their ease, winter mixed with their summer, etc. But in heaven, they shall have . . . joy without sorrow, light without darkness, sweetness without bitterness, summer without winter, health without sickness, honor without disgrace, glory without shame, and life without death. "In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11 Mark-- for quality--there are pleasures; for quan

www.iwo.com/norights.htm

Pentagon Evangelism Called 'National Security Threat' By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer December 12, 2006 (CNSNews.com) - Christian military officers who share their faith at work in the Pentagon pose a threat to national security, according to a group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military. Public displays of faith by high-ranking military officers project an image of a Christian nation waging war on non-Christians, both inside and outside the United States, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said Monday. This created an "internal national security issue every bit as great as the one we're fighting outwardly," said the organization's president, Mikey Weinstein. "The jihadists, the insurrectionists, everybody from the head of Hamas, Hizballah, the Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, they see us as invading American imperialists and crusaders," he told a news conference in Washington, D.C. Weinstein, a gradua

Prayer... the most treasured privilege for the Christian Visit AudienceONE Ministries for more articles and music by Steve. Visit CampOnThis and join in a genuine conversation of faith about church, the arts, politics, culture, and Christianity all from a biblical worldview. There is an remarkable process, called plastination, which is a technique used in anatomy to conserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties of the original sample. The deceased body can then be viewed and studied in amazing detail, color, and wonder. The process of plastination proceeds as follows: the sample is soaked in a solvent such as acetone and the sample's water (under freezing conditions) and fat are slowly replaced by the solvent. Then the sample is placed in a bath of liquid plastics, such as silicone rubber, polyester or epoxy resins. When a vacuum is generat

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"Stop Dating the Congregation" Pastors who love the Lord, discipline sin Introduction: Joshua Harris, mentored by C.J. Mahaney and now pastor of Covenant Life Church, has written a good little tome called, "Stop Dating the Church." It is a simple and yet important call for people to really get involved in their local churches by being committed to a fellowship of believers and serving the Lord in the midst of them. This is a much needed message in today's church hop, drop and shop mentality. But the converse is also true. Pastors need to "stop dating the congregation" and really get involved in the daily lives of its people. It's not enough to produce programs, preachments, outreaches, fellowship groups, missions, concerts, etc. Pastors need to--in fact they must--invest themselves in the lives of their congregations to the point that they are tirelessly serving them, praying for them, loving them, faithfully preaching the Word to them, equipping t

The Glories of Mary, Mother of God (William S. Plumer, "The Ten Commandments" 1864) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:2-3 A very favorite book among Catholics is entitled, "The Glories of Mary, Mother of God." It's author is St. Alphonsus Liguori. The translator dedicates the work to Mary, "the Queen of Angels and of Men," with "all veneration and respect," and says it is "designed to increase the number and fervor of her worshipers." Here is the table of contents: How great should be our confidence in Mary, Queen of Mercy. How great our confidence should be in Mary as our mother. The great love borne us by Mary our mother. Mary is the refuge of repentant sinners. Mary is our life, since she obtains us the pardon of our sins. Mary is our life, because she obtains our perseverance. Mary renders death sweet to her servants. Ma

An Eschatological Perspective on the Election How did you feel when you woke up this morning with the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives and close to controlling the Senate? One conservative talk-show host has been trying to rally the Republican base in the past few months by asking listeners to consider how terrible it would be to have Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House. Ms. Pelosi is indeed very liberal. She is also a moral relativist. In a recent interview she stated, “If you don't want an abortion, you don’t believe in it, [then] don’t have one. But don’t tell somebody else what they can do in terms of honoring their responsibilities…" (From an interview with Eleanor Clift of Newsweek). Apparently Ms. Pelosi believes that it would be a great evil to dare tell someone else that abortion is wrong. Rightness or wrongness is in the eyes of the beholder for Ms. Pelosi. Ms. Pelosi the abortion advocate and moral relativist is the new Speaker of the House.

35 Reasons Not To Sin by Jim Elliff Because a little sin leads to more sin. Because my sin invites the discipline of God. Because the time spent in sin is forever wasted. Because my sin never pleases but always grieves God who loves me. Because my sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders. Because in time my sin always brings heaviness to my heart. Because I am doing what I do not have to do. Because my sin always makes me less than what I could be. Because others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin. Because my sin saddens the godly. Because my sin makes the enemies of God rejoice. Because sin deceives me into believing I have gained when in reality I have lost. Because sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership. Because the supposed benefits of my sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience. Because repenting of my sin is such a painful process, yet I must repent. Because sin is a very brief pleasure for an eternal loss. Because

Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism by Dr. John Piper (April 20, 2002) These ten points are my personal testimony to the effects of believing in the five points of Calvinism. I have just completed teaching a seminar on this topic and was asked by the class members to post these reflections so they could have access to them. I am happy to do so. They, of course, assume the content of the course, which is available on tape from Desiring God Ministries, but I will put them here for wider use in the hope that they might stir others to search, Berean-like, to see if the Bible teaches what I call "Calvinism." 1. These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship. I recall the time I first saw, while teaching Ephesians at Bethel College in the late '70's, the threefold statement of the goal of all God's work, namely, "to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). It has led m

The following letter was sent to a professing Christian I have gotten to know outside of the church through my secular job. I removed his name of course. I post this to see if God may be pleased to use this in anyone else's life that it may apply to Hey Brother Xxxxx: Sorry, I’m just getting to this e-mail, it’s been a tad busy for a few days. Xxxxx, I appreciate the friendship we have developed even though it has just been through the bank. I feel like I can be honest, and share these things with you. This way you will know how to pray for me, and know where I’m coming from as a pastor and Christian. The Lord has brought me a long way, and of course I still have a long way to go. God saved me in December of 1986 (I’m thinking about having my 20th spiritual birthday party this December), and I began pastoring in November 1997. I have done a lot of reading, and talked to a lot of Christians and pastors over the years. Some of the things I share with you may seem judgmental, but it i

John Piper is bad??? See for yourself... www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhLCus0tsmw PB

Brothers, may we humbly make Tuesday, October 31st, Reformation Day a call to fasting and prayer for reformation, repentance, and revival for His church in every nation TO A BAND OF BEREANS One week from this Tuesday, October 31st is Reformation Day--the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at Wittenberg calling a recalcitrant Roman church away from the gross sin of indulgences for legal tender to recapturing the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Today's evangelicalism needs another Reformation--a genuine move of God among His people that calls and returns His believers back to biblical Christianity and the gospel of sola fide once again. This is an earnest plea for a day of prayer and fasting. No fanfare; no programs; no famous religious leaders jockeying for media attention; no K-Street spin; no DVD's or MP3's to profit from; no books to promote; no CD's to sell; no contests to judge; and no personality driven agendas to endure. But simply, God&#

He does whatever He pleases! (Arthur Pink, "The Attributes of God") "He does whatever He pleases!" Job 23:13 Ah, my reader, the God of Scripture is no make-believe monarch, no mere imaginary sovereign; but King of kings, and Lord of lords! To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown. The god of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ, than does the dim flickering of a candle, the glory of the midday sun! The god who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible conferences, is the figment of human imagination, an invention of mushy sentimentality! The heathen outside of the pale of Christendom form gods out of wood and stone; while the millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a god out of their own carnal mind! In r

Children and The Sermon By Ian Murray, The Banner of Truth, issue #108 http://web.archive.org/web/20040625155003/http://www.foundersbaptist.org/C_Church.htm "I begin to feel more and more that it is a mistake to divide the children from the congregation. I believe in special services for children, but I would also have them worship with us. If our preaching does not teach children, it lacks some element which it ought to possess. I like to see the congregation made up not all of the young, nor all of the old, but some of all sorts together." 1 We believe that Spurgeon had good cause to give this warning in 1873 and the question is now long overdue, ‘How much have churches lost by their all too common acceptance of the non-attendance of children at the preaching of the Word of God?’ It is necessary to be clear at the outset about what is not being discussed. The question is not ‘How are we to reach children with no church connection?’ nor, ‘What means are best suited to bring