Homosexuals Need To Stop Imposing Their Beliefs On Others (Part 1)

Homosexuality has never come in for a lot of discussion on this blog. And when it has come up it has almost always been responsive rather than preemptive. Quite frankly, in my personal life I try to treat homosexuals the way I treat all sinners. Firstly I preach the Gospel to myself and am reminded of my own wretched depravity that magnifies Christ's kindness in saving me. I then share the Gospel with them pleading with them to repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them and regenerate them. In fact, I can honestly say that I never raise the issue of homosexuality with homosexuals. I generally talk to them about sin in general such as lying, stealing, blaspheming, lusting, and ultimately rejecting Christ. It is homosexuals (and lesbians) who have always raised the issue with me.

I can vividly remember Bruce the atheist from Huntington Beach (one of Ray Comfort's regular protagonists) publicly accusing me of hating all homosexuals while I was open air preaching. Bruce did this without knowing anything about me and did it to try and stir up the wrath of a lesbian couple standing near him. I informed them all of the truth that I love all sinners and desire to see them turn from their sin and trust in Christ regardless of their sin of choice. I love them enough to tell them that what they are doing is wrong and they need to turn to the Savior. As Bruce publicly condoned their behavior it was Bruce who showed a complete lack of love and care because he preferred to encourage them to persevere in their sinful behavior. Perhaps the unwitting logic is that the atheist needs to recruit as many companions as possible for eternity in hell - which is pointless since there will be no fellowship going on there!

But in recent times their has been a wide variety of eventualities with this common thread of the subject of homosexuality. Being so much on the radar right now perhaps it is an appropriate time to discuss this in greater depth and how we should biblically respond.

How many times do I need the homosexual lobby ramming their views down my throat in the hope that I might deny something that is clearly wrong from Scripture and nature? Kirk Cameron was on the receiving end of an avalanche of hostile criticism when Piers Morgan asked him his opinion about homosexuality. Remember . . . it wasn't Kirk who raised the issue! You tell me who here is guilty of hate speech?
 

Homosexuality is one of many sins condemned in Scripture. But what sets it apart in the modern era is not that it is the special sin that all Christians hate. The issue is that the homosexual lobby is trying to deal with this sin by redefining it as righteousness. Which leaves these words from the Apostle Paul ringing in my ears:

. . . and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:27-32 emphasis mine)

This is the wrath of God we are seeing being manifest before our eyes right now in western society!

Go On To Part 2

Don't Forget Monumental Premiers Tomorrow

Cleaner than a Mark Driscoll sermon, just like a Michael Moore documentary (except for the truth part), more powerful than global warming and Al Gore combined, more realistic than Avatar, more historical than Back to the Future, more patriotic than Barack Obama, Monumental is truly Monumental.

Ok, jokes aside, I really believe this is a movie worth supporting. Wherever you stand on the nationalism spectrum, I think we will all benefit by revisiting the fact that God is the hero of history and throughout history God has used fallen men for His glorious purposes. I don't think we should buy into efforts to Christianize every founding father of America, but neither should we bury the fact that many of them were Christians with a biblical worldview who landed in the New World for reasons driven by this worldview. History is His Story and that is reason enough to join me tomorrow on one of my extremely rare cinematic experiences. Some theaters still have tickets available. And hey, when was the last time you saw a movie with this censorship warning:

Very strong Christian, Pro-American and patriotic, moral worldview about the search for the values that made America great; no foul language; no violence; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, nothing else objectionable.

Click here to find a cinema near you.

Click here to buy tickets.

Homosexuals Need To Stop Imposing Their Values On Kirk Cameron (Part 2)

It is simply amazing the powderkeg of hostility that continually spews forth from homosexual activists and political correctness police. Kirk Cameron is invited on to a Piers Morgan's talk show to talk about his new movie and gets asked for his view on gay marriage. Kirk, a Bible believing Christian, then proceeded to respond with an answer entirely consistent with a biblical worldview. Wow!!!! How surprising!!!! Earth to Piers Morgan - if you don't like the answer then don't ask the question. Is it really that complicated?

Sound thinking coupled with biblical convictions always arouses opposition but even Kirk was surprised at the vitriol poured forth on him. The homosexual community may well be one of the most hate filled agenda laden segments of the general population. Kirk Cameron is verifiable proof that the popular adage "it's not what you say, it's how you say it" is totally bogus. The fact is that a lot of these people simply hate Kirk for what he said - because he couldn't have said it any nicer or more politely.

I appreciate the response Kirk made on Facebook recently, not only because I didn't think he knew how to post something on Facebook, but more importantly because it is such an excellent response to a society that is in a free fall of perversion and depravity. Here is what Kirk Cameron said in response:

I recently was asked to join Piers Morgan on CNN for an interview about my new film “Monumental.” During that discussion, I was asked to express my views about homosexuality, gay marriage, and abortion. While that was not the agreed-upon purpose of the interview, I was pleased to answer Piers’ questions as honestly as I could.

In some people’s eyes, my responses were not sufficiently "loving" toward those in the gay community. I can only say that it is my life's mission to love all people, and that I expressed the same views that are expressed clearly and emphatically throughout the Judeo-Christian scriptures. As a Bible believing Christian, I could not have answered any other way.

I’ve been encouraged by the support of many friends (including gay friends, incidentally) in the wake of condemnation by some political advocacy groups. In the case of one of my gay friends, we regularly talk and have healthy and respectful debate. We learn from each other, and serve others alongside one another. I thank God for all of my friends...even when they hold very different views on issues of faith and morality. I do not, however, believe that the right way to advance our views is to resort to name-calling and personal attacks, as some have done to me.

I also believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America. I should be able to express moral views on social issues--especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years--without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach "tolerance" that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square.

I hope more than a few people could see the large volume of secularist morality being imposed on me. In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It's inescapable. But it is also a complicated subject, and that is why I believe we need to learn how to debate these things with greater love and respect.

To the thousands of you who have written me letters of encouragement... thank you! And to those who would like know how to further your support, please gather your friends and family, and join me as I seek to show you our true “National Treasure,” at the live, nationwide viewing of “Monumental” on Tuesday, March 27th (www.MonumentalMovie.com).

Thanks for showing so many of us what real manhood looks like Kirk! And readers, please pray for Kirk and his family for godly wisdom, enabling grace, and a hardened biblical resolve to continue standing for the truth.



Go Back To Part 1

Homosexuals Need To Stop Imposing Their Values On Kirk Cameron (Part 1)

"All he's [Kirk Cameron] taken from his religion is outdated bigotry and hatred for those who are different" (heterophobe Perez Hilton).

I am really getting sick and tired of all the hatred and bigotry that continually spews forth from the homosexual community. In an age when the proponents of the gay agenda continually cry out for tolerance and acceptance for their different beliefs, it is clear that they forgot to mention that they also get to live by different rules. Kirk Cameron gets invited onto a TV show to talk about his latest movie. He then gets sideswiped because Piers Morgan (the host) is fixated with everybody's view on homosexuality (exactly how many opinions does Piers actually need?), and therefore asks Kirks "opinion". What would you expect if YOU asked for somebody else's opinion? An opinion perhaps?



Well, in the narrow minded and highly bigoted world of the gay community, asking for an opinion is more about a heterophobic police investigation than a request for an opinion. When Piers Morgan is asking for an opinion about homosexuality, Kirk Cameron needs to realize that this question is actually the supreme litmus test for all matters of human decency. But Kirk didn't get it. For some inexplicable reason he thought he should give an opinion since he was asked for one. Not only that, Kirk thought it would be best to give an informed opinion based upon biblical truth and historical evidence. But the problem with Kirk's opinion is that it is not the opinion sanctioned by the gay guardians of public decency. And I am still trying to figure out Piers Morgan's mathematical equation:

Asking Kirk Cameron for an opinion + Kirk Cameron giving his opinion = Kirk Cameron hates all homosexuals



Did anyone just hear what Piers Morgan said? Rewind that video to the 2:00 mark and listen again.

I have total respect for Kirk Cameron's right to have any beliefs that he wants. I've got no problem with that. I just don't think you can sit there with a straight face and say "I am a Christian, God fearing, all round good person but, by the way, I hate these people who were born the way they were". (Piers Morgan)

Piers, if you had respect for Kirk Cameron then you would not slander him by putting your own words in his mouth. You are a pathetic excuse for a man and you need to apologize to Kirk for all your hate speech and imposing your values on him.

What sets homosexuality apart from most other biblical sins is not that it's the sin God hates the most. It is set apart because the homosexual community is the only group that is hell bent on dealing with their pet sin by redefining it as righteousness. You don't hear liars saying that lying is good. You don't hear adulterers saying that they are doing the right thing by their wife. But you do hear homosexuals on a regular basis trying to deal with their sin by pretending that it's not a sin. And this is why Kirk is the only person here acting with any real concern and love for the homosexual community by telling them the truth.

Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)

Thank you Kirk for standing up for minorities like myself who live under the continual oppression of homosexual bigotry. Thank you Kirk for loving the truth more than your popularity. Thank you Kirk for loving your homosexual friends enough to tell them the truth. Thank you Kirk for caring more about sinners in need of a Savior than bowing to the god of political correctness. Thank you Kirk for all the times you have shared with homosexuals about the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. I award you a double platinum man-card!

Go On To Part 2

Coming Soon - Monumental: A Search For America's National Treasure

In July of 2010 I had the privilege of driving Kirk Cameron and his film crew around Holland during the European leg of their filming schedule for Kirk's new movie project called Monumental. Amidst the many goals that Kirk had in making this movie, it was readily apparent that telling the truth about history and having that impact upon how we live our lives today, lay at the epicenter of this project. I am looking forward to the release of this movie, not only to see if designated drivers in foreign countries are included in the credits, but also because Kirk's journey parallels mine in many ways.

Ray Comfort once said that "the only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history!" And when I grew up I had zero interest in history. I didn’t care one bit – and my father was a history teacher! But years after God saved me I really discovered and embraced the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty. And that is when I began to see that history is His story. God has been at work all through history working all things together for His glory and when we start to see God’s Sovereign hand at work history becomes exciting. And a failure to learn history becomes deadly.

The book of Judges is one of the saddest darkest books in the Bible. I can remember the first time I read Judges and it was very distressing for me because some of the stories are so evil it is shocking. I also read Judges the way I approach any story (actually I wasn’t a reader so I should say movie) and I always understood stories as something that has a good guy and a bad guy – and here I was reading Judges as a new Christian trying to figure out who exactly are the good guys in this book? But the key to understanding the book of Judges is that there aren’t really any good guys. The phrase that appears over and over again in Judges is the same as the verse that closes the whole book:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

But what does the book of Judges have to do with not learning history? Go back to chapter 2 verse 7 and we will see exactly where things went wrong:

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:7-10)

The people of Israel did not know what happened in their past. They knew nothing of God’s mighty works in saving Israel out of Egypt. They did not teach history, they did not learn His Story. We need to be a people and a church that knows our history, especially in response to the aggressive historical revisionism going on right now determined to secularize and sanitize a history rich with Divine Providence.

One of the most tragic modern examples of this is due to the concerted attempts of American secularists to bury all facets of the role Christianity played in the founding and prosperity of the USA, along with a gross perversion of the original meaning and intent of "separation of church and state". This is not an attempt to make some outlandish claim that everyone involved in America's heritage was a born again Christian. But neither should we deny that a lot of the pioneers and founders were Christians whose theological convictions played a major role in the establishment of the "New World".



So here's the trailer . . .



Find out details on when to see it, where to see it, and how to get your tickets by clicking here.

A Great Christopher Hitchens Moment

If I were to ask you what is more evil (or dangerous) between an atheist and a "liberal christian" how would you answer? I know how I would answer - I would rather deal with a wolf that dresses like a wolf!

I recently posted an obituary to express my reflections and sadness over the recent death of fervent atheist Christopher Hitchens. I thought it worthwhile today to add one closing postscript on the life of Hitchens. There is some sort of delicious irony when an atheist schools a professing Christian on Christian doctrine. I have featured posts on this before, most particularly when Penn Jillette (a very publicly recognized and vocal atheist) rebuked professing Christians who don't evangelize and/or warn about hell. There was also the stunning moment when Kirk Cameron schooled Stephen Hawking on the scientific method!

Today, I will share a great Christopher Hitchens moment when he does a better job of exposing "liberal theologians" for the frauds they are than many others who fill pulpits that are silent on the issue. I was unable to find the video of this so we will have to settle for the transcript of this beautiful exchange between Christopher Hitchens and a liberal priest.

Liberal Priest: The religion you cite in your book is a generally fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

Hitchens: I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.

Sewell: Let me go someplace else. When I was in seminary, I was particularly drawn to the work of theologian Paul Tillich. He shocked people by describing the traditional God—as you might, as a matter of fact—as “an invincible tyrant.” For Tillich, God is “the ground of being.” It’s his response to, say, Freud’s belief that religion is mere wish fulfillment and comes from humans’ fear of death. What do you think of Tillich’s concept of God?

Hitchens: I would classify that under the heading of Statements That Have No Meaning—At All. Christianity, remember, was really founded by Saint Paul, not by Jesus. Paul says, very clearly, that if it is not true that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then we the Christians are of all people the most unhappy. If none of that’s true, and you seem to say it isn’t, I have no quarrel with you. You’re not going to come to my door trying to convince me. Nor are you trying to get a tax break from the government. Nor are you trying to have it taught to my children in school. If all Christians were like you, I wouldn’t have to write the book.

I'll take a Hitchens any day over a cowardly and passive "minister". He will be missed and I sincerely hope that Hitchens repented of his wicked rebellion and trusted in Jesus Christ before his heart stopped beating.

More Of Objection 2 - Evolution Debate (Part 8)

Objection 2 for the recent debate involved the complete absence of any transitional forms in the fossil record. And no Kristoffer, variation within a species does not qualify, nor does reconstructing a caveman from a pigs tooth. For evolution to be true you need to have transitional forms at the macro level ie dinosaurs transitioning to birds and apes transitioning to men. But the problems go further than that and we will today take a look at some "scientific" transitional forms that will occur in the future.

Several years ago Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron insulted the intelligence of the "scientific community" with their own fictitious transitional forms.



Perhaps it was foolish of Ray and Kirk to insult everybody's intelligence when modern science could do a vastly superior job . . . of insulting everybody's intelligence. If you sometimes wonder where your tax money goes, I can tell you about one place. The Future is Wild is a website demonstrating the evolutionary speculations of a group of highly recognized and accredited scientists (including people from places like Harvard and the Natural History Museum). This is how they present themselves:

From the beginning we wanted The Future is Wild to be about more than simply guesswork, so we recruited 16 scientists from top institutions around the world to provide the scientific basis for the project.

They're experts in fields such as geology, climatology and biology, and together they painstakingly projected where evolution and planetary events might take the Earth 5 million, 100 million and 200 million years from now.

So how did they do it?:

Building a vision of the planet aeons from now isn't straightforward, even when you involve some of the world's best scientists. But nature does work to certain rules which we can use to make predictions . . . using this data our biologists can project what plants and creatures might evolve and how they might behave - to create the living, breathing worlds of The Future Is Wild.

Everything you'll see is based on the best available science. No event or animal is outside the realms of possibility. It could all happen - so get ready for the voyage of a million lifetimes!

Note: They say "the best available science" without actually telling us what it is. Yeah, trust me I wear a white coat with a pocket protector - believe everything I say!!! They go on to say:

Every animal and plant in The Future is Wild could really exist. Our science team devised each one as a viable, living organism. Their place in the environment, their life cycle and their place in the food chain are all authentic.

The mathematics of their sizes and shapes and the technology of their movements were all calculated. It’s not surprising that our scientists talk about them as if they really existed!

Yes they were calculated but we're not going to tell you how we did that. Great science guys! But this is not science fiction - no way!

Populating the future world with new creatures wasn't blind guesswork or science fiction. There's a whole series of rules of how life evolves that we can test by looking back at the past. All we had to do was apply the same rules to the future and then add a little imagination!

Oh, add a little "imagination" . . . very scientific. Forget Ray and Kirk's crocoduck. These futuristic transitional forms are a legitimate contribution from the "scientific community". Things like the Mega Squid:


Here is the Megasquid FACT FILE:

Time zone: 200 million years

Type: Land-living cephalopod or squid

Size: 4m tall, weighs 8 tonnes

Ancestor: Deep sea squid

Lives: In the Northern Forest

Eats: Fruit, leaves, small animals including squibbons

Eaten by: Nothing

Behaviour: The megasquid is king of the forest. Since it has no enemies, it can live for up to 50 years. An invertebrate, meaning it has no backbone or skeleton, it has strong muscles in its 8 thick legs. These need to be strong enough to support such a large body. It has a strange walking style. Moving at no more than a human walking pace it shuffles forwards a few legs at a time. As it marches through the forest it makes aloud bellowing to let other creatures know that this is its territory.

Feeding: Because they are not warm-blooded endothermic animals like mammals, they need far less food. They are not fussy eaters, feasting on anything in its path, including leaves, shoots and other animals which it grabs from the trees with its long grasping tentacles.

Breeding: Not known.

Wow! At least they had the humility to admit that they did not know how this big Megasquid would make baby land dwelling Megasquids. So this branch of science does have limits after all! What else did they come up with? I'll leave you with just a couple more: How about a flying fish with a lion's jaw and a 120 ton turtle . . . and it's all "scientific":




Now my intelligence is way more insulted. Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron should have left it to the experts after all!

Go On To Part 9
Go Back To Part 7
Go Back To Part 1

Shocking Picture Of Kirk Cameron

The internet was aflame over the last week because of this shocking photo of Kirk Cameron. It would seem that Lane Chaplin managed to catch him blowing out candles on his birthday cake - with only one bystander in the picture!!!! This has certainly exposed Kirk for the fraud he really is. All those years of lying about the massive attendances that his birthday parties draw. Starring in a blockbuster independant movie, the 140000 fans on his Facebook page, the big beautiful family, the interviews on O'Reilly and Larry King, pretending to be this guy called Mike Seaver - all of this was a carefully orchestrated conspiracy to make the general public believe that he was popular. And this photo is conclusive proof of his secret double life! Kirk's life is so pathetic he's only ever been married once! And his six children show him up as a selfish jerk with no concern for global over-population. He's not even smart enough to come on board with all the clear thinking people out there who accept that everything was created by nothing.

But why stop with Kirk? I thought I should take it upon myself to expose a lot of other deceptions going on out there that you might not be aware of. This blog has no place for gossip - I am posting this because my precious readers deserve to know the truth!

Take Brad Pitt for example. He is not as much of a "ladies man" as you might think. In real life he actually pays Angelina Jolie to appear in pictures with him. This is just a deceptive veneer for a very lame and tragic existence. In real life Brad finds it so hard to get a girl that he has decided to dress like one instead. And let's face it, that dress is so 90's!





And then there is the great hoax of Barack Obama's athletic prowess. He continually poses for press shots playing all sorts of different sporting activities. Anyone can look athletic and coordinated in a still. But the sad truth is that Barack has always been a bumbling nerd who can't even aim up right when it comes to kissing his wife. Let's just say that his wedding video had a lot of outtakes. Few people know that back in the 80's Obama actually turned down the role of Steve Urkel in favor of pursuing a political career.


And who would have known that Johnny Depp thought he needed to dress like a pirate in order to illegally download and copy movies. Johnny is clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed. Earth to Johnny - internet piracy does not require sailing the caribbean in an old wooden ship shouting "arrrrghhhh".


What about the little known fact that Hollywood heartthrob Matt Damon is really a Hollywood heart attack waiting to happen. And let's face it, if you had all the money in the world then you would eat In'N'Out animal style three times a day as well! The Matt Damon you see at the movies is really just a digitally enhanced version of the guy you see in the picture. We're talking a lot of digital enhancement!





But George Clooney takes fake popularity to a whole new level. Here he is snapped at a recent fan club convention together with the President, Founder, Treasurer and General Secretary.




After all, it wasn't talent that got George all those leading roles. No, it was money! It is only a select few of us who are aware that Clooney did not make his fortune from the box-office as can be seen by the crowds lining up to see his latest movie. No, George actually made his fortune from an investment mistake in the 1970's when he attempted to purchase a large stake in the fruit industry by buying a lot of shares off a guy called Steve Jobs. The rest, they say, is show business!

Yes this whole thing is just a satire in response to all the cheap shots being taken at Kirk by "cyber warriors" who spend their lives hiding behind computer monitors with a keyboard in their hands. I have met Kirk Cameron on numerous occasions and met his family. He is someone I count it an honor to know and someone who epitomizes what real manhood is all about. Loving his wife, discipling his family, and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Tragically, the blogosphere seems to esteem Brangelina, Botox, and busted marriages more highly.

The saddest thing about the whirlwind surrounding Kirk's picture is that his ministry has just produced something far more interesting that matters and is changing lives. Please go and watch it instead of all the pointless gossip. Because on the day of judgment the penetrating spotlight of God's all knowing justice will shine on us.

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Luke 12:2-5 words of Jesus)

Kirk Cameron Lands Some Punches

Stephen Hawking - the world-renowned theoretical physicist - finds no room for heaven in his vision of the cosmos. In a recent interview, the 69 year old said that the human brain is like a computer that will stop working when its components fail.

There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," Hawking told the paper. It's not the first time the world-renowned thinker has made controversial statements about religion and the existence of God. In "Grand Design," a book Hawking published last year, the physicist declared that it was "not necessary to invoke God ... to get the universe going."

For Hawking, the concept of religion is in constant conflict with his life's work - science, and understanding the most basic ways in which the universe works - and it's almost impossible to reconcile the two. In an interview with Diane Sawyer last June, Hawking noted that "there is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win, because it works."

He has maintained this position since very early in his career, telling German newsmagazine Der Speigel in 1988 that "what I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began."

Kirk Cameron, in an interview, took exception to Hawking's comments which, in turn, invoked the wrath of cyberspace. Criticizing a man with a physical disability is akin to touching a sacred cow in the eyes of many, hence the barrage of criticism and mockery pointed in the direction of Kirk Cameron. All of this commotion prompted Kirk to post this comment on his Facebook page:

To say anything negative about Stephen Hawking is like bullying a blind man. He has an unfair disadvantage, and that gives him a free pass on some of his absurd ideas. Professor Hawking is heralded as “the genius of Britain,” yet he believes in the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything (Sir Isaac Newton called atheism “senseless and odious”) and that life sprang from non-life. To speak on issues of science and violate it’s essential laws is like playing checkers with a someone who changes the rules when he’s losing. Why should anyone believe Mr. Hawking’s writings if he cannot provide evidence for his unscientific belief that out of nothing, everything came? He says he knows there is no Heaven. John Lennon wasn’t sure. He said to pretend there’s no Heaven. That’s easy if you try. Then he said he hoped that someday we would join him. Such wishful thinking reveals John and Stephen’s religious beliefs, not good science. They may imagine all they want, but I lost my faith in atheism long ago and prefer to stay within the realm of reality.

That was an outstanding response - certainly landed a few punches there! But more importantly, kudos to Kirk for having the courage to weigh into a debate like this at risk of looking mean and, furthermore, exposing himself to the giant intellect of Stephen Hawking. At risk of sounding unloving by actually giving the most loving response. At the heart of all this I think Kirk, like many of us, realizes that atheism has no arguments for the non-existence of God. Rather they have a lot of rhetoric for why they hate God . . .

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools . . . (Romans 1:18-22)

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (John 3:19-20)

Here is a great interview from Way Of the Master's web based program On The Box where Tony Miano questions Kirk Cameron about the whole controversy surrounding his comments about Stephen Hawking:

Finding God's Sovereignty In The Arctic Tundra

As you read this I will be on a plane from Down Under back to the Arctic Tundra. Ok, so Denmark is not quite an Arctic region geographically, but it certainly qualifies as a polar ice cap of Christian endeavor. Even though Ray Comfort continually refers to New Zealand as down under, my down under reference is for Australia. I remember pointing this out to Kirk Cameron when I was speaking with him and Ray, and Kirk then asked "if Australia is down under then what is New Zealand?" Well, looking at both countries from a northern hemisphere perspective I would have to say that if Australia is "down under" then New Zealand must be "left over". Please don't take offense at that my Kiwi friends because I do mean it in the nicest possible way.

My body has now been defrosted and my fellowship appetite has been filled with great quality time with great quality friends. I have no idea when I will return to my homeland so it is difficult to say farewell to so many people who I love so much. In spite of my feelings it is of great comfort to know and trust in the Sovereignty of God in all things.

Kristuskirken Reformed Baptist Church Of Denmark - My Life In Denmark (Part 15)

I am proud to attend and be associated with Kristuskirken which is the first Reformed Baptist Church to be planted in Denmark. Kristuskirken is a church which preaches Christ crucified without apology. A church where the Bible is the sole rule for all matters of life, faith, and practice. Kristuskirken is a church that recognizes the Holiness of God, the utter sinfulness of all men, the reality of God's wrath, the constant danger of hell, the necessity of the Christ's death as a penal substitute on the cross, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, the call on all men everywhere to repent of their wickedness, and the glorious eternal hope for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ - Who is the resurrected Savior.

Kristuskirken was formed in November 2009 by several Christian families in Denmark who were desperate for fellowship and a place where the Christian Gospel would be preached in purity. Everywhere we looked we saw either a society headed for hell, or liberal churches leading the way there. Kristuskirken was birthed out of necessity - the necessity that God's great Name be glorified and magnified in Denmark. Kristuskirken was also birthed out of a desire to see a sinful people saved by a merciful God. The same God that saved sinners like us.

For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:11-15)

Kristuskirken meets at 10am every Sunday.
Gyvelvej 1
8850 Bjerringbro
Denmark
Phone +45 8668 0345
Email henrikruth@gmail.com
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
Lunch is provided.

KRISTUSKIRKEN DOCTRINE
Kristuskirken holds to the 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith. Our desire is to be absolutely clear about who we are and what we believe. We are well aware that there is no shortage of churches that desire to be as vague as possible to those who visit in the hope that they will join regardless of beliefs. Kristuskirken wants to be sensitive to the One True Seeker - the One Who came to seek and save the lost. For this reason we welcome all to attend - believer and unbeliever alike - in the knowledge that our preaching is not aimed at comforting the believer and accommodating the unbeliever. Our preaching and teaching is aimed at building up the Christian, and bringing conviction upon those who are not. We love people so much that we are not willing to conceal any of God's message to mankind.

KRISTUSKIRKEN IS A MEMBER OF THE NINE MARKS NETWORK
Kristuskirken is one of only three churches in Europe that are members of the 9 Marks church network. This is a network of churches that grew out of the ministry of Mark Dever and his landmark book "Nine Marks Of A Healthy Church". It is a model for advocating, planting, and growing healthy biblical churches. You can find us here in their directory where it reads that:

Kristuskirken is a newly planted Reformed Baptist Church in Denmark. We hold to the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. We place great emphasis on the authority of Scripture, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, gospel purity, and the call on all people everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. We believe that evangelism should be normal Christian behavior. We stress the biblical importance of male headship. We love the fellowship of believers and seeing sinners come to saving faith. And we desire to see God's Name magnified and exalted in Denmark.

KRISTUSKIRKEN MISSION
We at Kristuskirken are very grateful for the guidance and assistance we have received from Paul Washer and his Heart Cry Missionary Society. Brother Washer was the chief instigator in provoking the pioneering work of Kristuskirken when he came and ministered to us in 2009. Kristuskirken is a proud financial supporter of the preaching ministry of Paul Washer and of the heart Cry Missionary Society. They train faithful indigenous ministers of the Gospel all over the world at a fraction of the cost of sending a western missionary. We also consider ourselves to be one of their mission fronts.

KRISTUSKIRKEN EVANGELISM
Kristuskirken is proud to be a Way Of The Master Evangelism Embassy. Two of our members have travelled to California to be personally trained by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron at their evangelism academy. The ministry of Way of the Master recognize Kristuskirken as a church that teaches and practices biblical evangelism. We actually go out on the street to share the Gospel with strangers. For those who would like to see this in action come and join us in Bjerringbro on Saturdays. You can also watch these videos (please excuse the background noise):





Go On To Part 16
Go Back To Part 14
Go Back To part 1

The Exhilaration Of Double Imputation (Part 2)

I’ve heard preachers ask the question “is the Gospel ONLY about forgiveness of sins” like forgiveness of sin is no big deal. What is going on here? People seem to be more interested in therapy and self esteem than double imputation. A tree of humanism has been allowed to grow in the soil of a wrong view of God and a wrong view of man.

A Wrong View Of God and Man

So much could be said about this. But a clear line of distinction between a true and false gospel is this. Is God presented as Someone who we need to accept or as Someone we need acceptance from? Can you imagine standing before a judge and saying "I accept you into my heart?". And how about people. Is man presented as a victim or a criminal. This is not to say that some people aren't victims. But as long as we see ourselves solely as victims we will never see our need to have our sins imputed to Christ. As long as we see God as Someone Who places no demands on us we will never see our need to have Christ's righteousness imputed to our account.

Our need is forgiveness and not therapy. Our need is righteousness not happiness. Every day I grow older and older and by God's grace I am seeing more and more how stupid it is to chase things in this world. Set your affections on the eternal home. Get excited about the promise of heaven - Jesus said he is going away to prepare a place (John 14:2-3). He said there are many mansions there - I sleep well at night when the Creator of the universe is building me a new house. Especially when this house (my body) is starting to fall apart.

Death – The Ultimate Statistic

In the late 80’s and early 90’s Corey Haim, Andrew Koenig, and Kirk Cameron were all big TV stars on the cover of most youth magazines. They had access to everything this world has to offer. I've just spent two months in the city where they all live. During those two months I spent some time with one of those guys and the other two died. Corey Haim and Andrew Koenig died tragic deaths within three weeks of each other. During that time Kirk Cameron was interviewed several times on prime time television on some of the biggest shows in America to give his thoughts. Kirk said that the biggest revelation through all of this is that our day is coming too. I am 40 now and I am shocked about how many friends and family have died since I have moved to Denmark. I am learning that their funerals are more about me than them. They serve as a warning that my day is coming. They are a warning not to worry about "my best life now" but about Christ's death 2000 years ago.

I have often been criticized by professing Christians for talking too much about Christ's death on the cross. "Can we please move onto something more interesting?" They tell me that once you are saved it is time to move on to other more important things in the new life. Excuse me! What song are believers going to sing for all eternity?

And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:9-13)

In heaven we will sing about a murder. Why should we "move on" from the cross when we will sing about it in eternity. We don't move on from the cross - we need to grow in our understanding of it and our thankfulness for it. Yes, there are other subjects in the Bible - but they all point to the cross!

If we preach on love it should point to how God demonstrated His love by dying for us while we were sinning.

If we preach on faith it should point to our need to trust in Christ and His completed work on the cross.

If we preach on giving it should point to the One Who gave His life on the cross.

If we preach on marriage it should point to the Bridegroom Who went to the cross for His bride.

I am not going to "move on" to other things. I am captivated with Calvary - and I'm not moving anywhere. We do need to be seeker friendly, but we also need to understand that there is only One Seeker!

To be continued on Friday - What Does A Gospel Without Double Imputation Look Like?

Go On To Part 3
Go Back To Part 1

A Biblical Defence Of The 5 Pillars (Part 2)

In my previous series, "The Anatomy of the Gospel", I broke down the Gospel message into five basic components (as an attempt at constructing a helpful witnessing framework) and called them the "Five Pillars of the Gospel". This is the second part of a series of posts in which I will biblically defend each of the "five pillars" I laid out as the fundamental elements necessary to faithfully proclaim the Gospel.

DEFENDING PILLAR 2 – THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN

I Corinthians 15:3 states that Christ died for our sins. The obvious implication here is that we must be sinners if Christ died for our sins. Scripture teaches mans depravity on many occasions - here are some examples:

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-23)

Ok, so maybe Paul could say something so brutal to our fragile self esteem, but surely not Jesus . . . then check the verses that immediately follow John 3:16:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:17-20)

Does the natural man know he is a sinner (as Joel Osteen suggests) therefore nullifying our need to preach on sin and define it. Absolutely not. Mr Osteen clearly hasn't visited any prisons recently because if he did he would have found a building full of self professed wrongly convicted people. Indeed the Scripture teaches that "every man proclaims his own goodness" (Proverbs 20:6) and is "clean in his own eyes" (Proverbs 16:2). That he "suppresses the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18) and has a heart that is "deceitfully wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9).

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

If we are to teach that Christ died for our sins then we must define what sin is:

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4)

And how do we come to a knowledge of our sin:

if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." (Romans 7:7b)

A faithful proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, must present men as sinners and bring this knowledge by the use of God's law.

So the law functions first of all to kill me, to end my self creation - all attempts to write my own life movie and reinvent my character. The gospel inserts me into a new script: "alive in Christ" (Michael Horton - Christless Christianity p129).



On Monday I will continue with a biblical defence of PILLAR 3 – THE NECESSITY OF JUDGMENT.

Go On To Part 3
Go Back To Part 1
Go To "The Anatomy Of The Gospel" Series

Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

Barack Obama has taken diplomatic skill to a whole new level. This video courtesy of www.onion.com . . .


Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

This video is an excellent satire that highlights the delusions of grandeur that world leaders can have and also the delusions Christians can have in the political process. We should support things that are morally right and stand for righteousness - this is all part of exercising the biblical worldview. But the only way to bring about genuine change is to prioritize our energies towards the proclamation of the Gospel. Because the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

Only God can change that sinful heart. We may receives plenty of good counsel on how to conduct ourselves or bring about change but it will all turn out to be a complete failure with no positive results unless conversion lies at the heart of the process. From that point on godly counsel serves as a valuable outlet to demonstrate how God has changed us inwardly. Please hear me on this – there are good programs out there but unless God has done a regenerative work in our hearts the program becomes worthless. This is the issue that must be explored before all others.

The issue of being transformed or “saved” by God has become the Evangelical no-brainer of the 21st century. We all like to think we’ve got a tick in the salvation box and it’s time to move on to more interesting stuff. If that is your thinking then you need to take a holy pause. It can be a dangerous assumption to think that we or our neighbor are “right with God”, especially if there is no outward fruit of inner transformation. I have to confess that I spent many years of my Christian walk with only a shallow understanding of the Gospel. When I stopped trying to move on from it and started to mine deep into it I was able to find pearls of wisdom and treasures of truth that transformed my life. To correct a famous quote of Billary Clinton “it’s the Gospel stupid”.

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron have an entire ministry (Way of the Master) focused on understanding, experiencing, and articulating the Christian Gospel rightly. They do a lot of interviews and street witnessing, and regularly speak with professing Christians. This has made me acutely aware of the massive subculture out there who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and deny Him with their lifestyle. Christianity for most of these people hinges on good works, church attendance, birthright, or baptism. I think Keith Green summed it up well in the seventies when he said that “going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger”.

But easily the most deceptive and alarming trend that Ray and Kirk have exposed is the multitude of professing Christians out there still living in slavery to their pet sins all the while entrusting their salvation in a ”sinners prayer” that they once recited. I’m not saying that altar calls are totally wrong, but what I am saying is that prayer does not save people – it is the One we are praying to who saves us (provided it is the biblical Jesus) and initiates a miraculous transforming work within us. Jesus told Nicodemus “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3b) and that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5b). Jesus is talking about a lot more than a sinner’s prayer here. What Jesus is referring to with water and Spirit is explained in Ezekiel 36.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness (there’s the water), and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you (there’s the Spirit). And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

It is God Who is speaking in these verses and it is worth noting how He explains conversion and Who it is that does the converting. I will sprinkle clean water on you; I will cleanse you from all your idols; I will give you a new heart; I will remove your heart of stone; I will put MY Spirit within you; I will cause you to walk in MY ways; I will cause you to obey MY commandments. God does everything when he saves someone – even the ability to walk in obedience is a gift from God. This is what happens when someone is truly born again.

Please understand that this is not about judging every person’s salvation. But it is a call not to take salvation for granted. It is a call to heed the Apostle Paul’s advice to the church in Corinth (II Corinthians 13:5) and “examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith”. To see whether we are bearing the fruit of the Spirit that testifies to His inner work. CJ Mahaney always reminds his church members to preach the Gospel to themselves daily. In his book “The Cross Centered Life” he says:
These are God’s promises to all who respond to His wonderful plan of salvation. Too many of us have moved on from that glorious plan. In our never-ending desire to move forward . . . too many of us have stopped concentrating on the wonders of Jesus crucified. Too many of us have fumbled the most important truth of the Bible, and therefore we’ve suffered the consequences (p17).

And I have really labored this point because it gets so easily bypassed in our haste for practical solutions to every conceivable problem. Genuine conversion and the resultant indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the foundation that must be in place in order for us to enact all other biblical principles. Wherever we are in our relationship with God, let us pause and take stock. May we come humbly before God and examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. May we fervently explore the endless depths of Christ’s love for His Church demonstrated in the cross.

What You Missed At Deeper

For the last two years Living Waters/Way Of The Master (the evangelism ministry of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron) has held a conference called Deeper. I am one of the priveledged people to attend both conferences. Coming from the reformation watelands of europe it was such a rush to fellowship with thousands of like minded Christians and be assaulted by powerful sermon after powerful sermon. It can be quite overwhelming for someone living in an apostate land. For those of you who weren't there here are some bite sized samples (the DVD's can be purchased here) . . .

First up is the man with a brain that's bigger than Richard Dawkins' faith in himself . . .



Deeper is so huge that even Mike Seaver got excused from detention . . .



And the stage had been sanitized to the point where Todd Friel will even venture onto it . . .



Mark Cahill - a man so intense his head could explode at any moment . . .



Johnny Hunt downed a Red Bull before he preached . . .



I cannot reveal this man's identity but I can tell you that his intials are EZ . . .



And how about the man who was genetically engineered in the 50's using DNA from George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and Mini-Me . . .



For some reason the video of Greg Koukl is not available on youtube yet but I can tell you that it was an outstanding apologetic presentation on the Trinity. It is a great ride when you get to listen to a top drawer apologist when he is "in the zone".

In hindsight, the only counsel I can offer is to be there when Deeper 2010 rolls around!

Is Kirk Cameron An Evangelism Actor?

Do you ever wonder if Kirk Cameron is an evangelist or an actor whose acting career has extended into evangelism videos? Do you wonder if witnessing encounters like this are engineered events far removed from real life? It's a fair question . . .



Reality TV has become an oxymoron. It seems that most things get staged, one way or another, and are rigged in an effort to improve ratings or gain publicity. Kirk Cameron is someone who learnt to thrive in this environment. He grew up in "Tinsel Town" and became very successful at Hollywood's game of succeeding at pretending to be someone else. In the late 80's and early 90's Kirk won adoration in living rooms all over America as a fictional character called Mike Seaver. Mike Seaver might be long gone but Kirk Cameron soldiers on as a co-host of the TV series The Way Of The Master. This time around he's kept his real name but you may be left wondering if the character is still fictional. Does he revert back to an insecure celebrity in an ivory tower once the cameras stop rolling? Is the evangelism captured on film a thin veneer for a man who likes to live in isolation from the general public? Well I know the answer!

I got to scratch through that veneer and guess what I found - more veneer! To put it more accurately I found out that there was no veneer. What I found was a humble man (almost as humble as I am) who is keen to share the Gospel with strangers and hungers to learn how to better represent Christ on this planet. What you see on film is "reality reality television". It's how he really is!

Recently, when visiting Atlanta for the Deeper Conference, I had the great fortune of eating at a restaurant with a group of people, one of whom had an uncanny resemblance with Mike Seaver. Kirk, not being a local in Atlanta, asked his hosts if the restaurant had been "sufficiently tracted" (that's Raycomfortese for making sure all staff have received Gospel tracts). When he found out that it hadn't been "sufficiently tracted" he then took it upon himself to hand out tracts to each of the staff and then proceeded to preach the Gospel to them. Kirk is definitely the real deal. It was me who walked out of the restaurant feeling like an actor that night!

Kirk Cameron Masterclass - How to Witness to a Catholic

I have mentioned on earlier posts how much I respect Kirk Cameron as an authentic Christian who actively shares the Gospel. Just over three years ago on "Way of the Master Radio" Kirk was in the studio and a Catholic guy named Tim called in asking some questions. What followed was an amazing fly on the wall experience of listening to a born again Christian witness to a Catholic with tremendous wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures.

This is a brilliant case of turning on the light instead of exposing the darkness. Kirk never points out to Tim the erronous doctrines of Catholicism but rather explains the Gospel with clarity and Tim joins the dots. Click here to download the podcast and hear the encounter. It starts about four minutes into the program. Kirk teaches us that we can lead a horse to water, and while we can't make it drink, we can salt his oats.

But the story doesn't end there! It was very apparent that Tim was massively convicted. As Tim got off the phone they pleaded with him to think long and hard about their conversation. Well Tim did think long and hard and actually called the radio show back about a week later. Download this podcast and find out what happened to Tim. Tim calls at 26 minutes into the program (have a box of tissues handy).

Pay particular attention to Tim's hunger for God's word and desire to witness to others - generally strong indicators of genuine conversion.

Coming To America

Dear fellow readers, my bags are packed and I am about to catch a plane to the USA in order to attend the Deeper Conference in Atlanta featuring Ray Comfort, Krk Cameron, Todd Fiel, Emeal "EZ" Zwayne, Mark Spence, Ravi Zacharias, Johnny Hunt, Greg Koukl, and Mark Cahill.



I can't wait and if you are attending keep an eye out for me and say hi. Soon after "Deeper" I will be attending First Baptist Church in Cullman, Alabama where Kirk Cameron will be preaching. If you're anywhere in the area I'd love to see you there!

Due to my absence and uncertainty over internet access (do they have it in America?) I have already written my blog posts for the next fortnight. Commencing tomorrow I will be publishing a seven part series on the often taboo subject of spanking. It is a sacred cow that needs a good grilling (especially for those of us in ultra liberal Europe). So be sure to tune in and check out this series and the subsequent inside info from my trip the the USA!

Having A Mid Life Crisis On A Low Budget

In a couple of hours I will turn 40 (wow and I don't feel a day over 39 and a half). Due to the global financial crisis I'm busy planning a low budget mid-life crisis. Fortunately I brought my big Aussie barbecue with me when we moved to Denmark. And in Scandinavia, my big 5 burner screams mid-life crisis! We're planning to eat steak tomorrow which is super expensive in this part of the world (there goes the low budget) . . . so please pray that my loan application gets approved. I know some vegetarians will be critical, but hey, if we were meant to be vegetarians then why did God make all the animals out of meat??? Answer me that Mr skinny tofu breath yoga instructor - answer me that!

In the book of James we are reminded of the brevity of life:

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit" yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15)

My friend Kirk Cameron has just been running his annual Camp Firefly for terminally ill children. This is a wonderful ministry well worth supporting. But the delusional side effect of failing to see our own terminal illness can be far more life threatening. All of us stand on the knife edge of eternity living under the common grace of God. He has numbered our days and gives us time to repent before the great and terrible day of His wrath. Hell is full of people who envy every saint and sinner that still has breath. Oh what they would give for a chance to turn from their sin and flee to the Savior like the penitent thief on the cross.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:8-12)

Life is short. In the context of history, and infinitely more in the light of eternity, our lives are brief interludes in God's unfolding and unstoppable plan of redemption. My life must echo Jesus' words when He said that His meat was to do the Father's will. The fact that I will get to eat steak tomorrow is a giant leap up from tofu but a quantum leap short of being in the center of the Father's will! Tomorrow is no guarantee so build on the rock of salvation rather than the sand of human endeavor.

Thank you Lord for each additional breath of air you grant each day. May I preach Your glorious Gospel the only two times I am supposed to - in season and out of season.

Kirk Cameron Interviews John Macarthur - On TBN!!!

Kirk Cameron interviewed John Macarthur on TBN! The surprises just keep coming. This is just great stuff. Unlike the many high profile chameleon preachers out there who change color depending on the audience, Dr. Macarthur refuses to try and adapt his message. He has the same timeless Gospel truths to share whether he's talking to Madonna's husband, Larry King, or in this case the TBN audience. Macarthur just keeps hammering away with unchanging razor sharp insights and profound wisdom on the difference between true and false gospels. This two part interview is well worth the watch.