Charles Spurgeon Movie - What You Might Not Have Known

I was listening to Paul Washer recently, and he mentioned a biography about a young Charles Spurgeon. 
Well, I didn't know what biography he was talking about, so I decided to search for one online.  I cannot say for certain that the one I found is the one that he was talking about, but I did find a very interesting one for sure!  You will see how Charles Spurgeon got his start preaching and how young he was then!

I know some of my Presbyterian friends might flinch at Spurgeon's believer's baptism, and people like me might flinch at the cigar or that the preaching might not have been verse by verse going through the Bible.

I believe that all Christians who are familiar with Charles Spurgeon will enjoy this film though. 
My only concern is whether we as Christians might tend to idolize him rather than the God who used him.  

It's an hour and nine minutes, but if you don't have that long you can easily just watch it in segments.
 

What Should Christian Churches Think & Do About Abortion?

John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul did a couple of shows on abortion which aired this week of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  They are well worth listening to.  If you missed them, please click here.

You may have watched "180" Movie in the past, but there is a new documentary coming out soon that is very promising.  It points out the lack of churches doing much about abortion:
 

The website for the documentary is here.

Cross Encounters Radio had a special edition on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade that covered the documentary I have shared about in this blog.  It also featured other guests who are involved in going to abortuaries and giving the Gospel, pleading with people, holding signs, praying, etc.
To go to the site where you can hear the program click here.  

The people doing the show are not responsible for the unrelated ads you might see on the page.
 

Beth Moore Examined Pt. 2

There is a short video clip on Beth Moore that No Compromise radio put out recently that certainly is interesting and thought provoking.
I hope that people will watch it and explore the links I am posting below the video.
Beth seems to be so popular in the Southern Baptist church, but should she be?



To see my previous blog post on Beth Moore click here.

Apprising Ministries also has some posts on Beth here.

CARM also has an article on Beth Moore that you can view here.

Fun In The Snow!

We've had a lot of rain this month, and yesterday afternoon it started to snow.  As much pain as I have, I still wanted to go out and use my toboggan.  The water from the rain closed some streets in my county, and then the snow also shut down schools, etc.  People are not used to a lot of snow here, and that's fine with me.   Even though I lived a short while a couple of times in the mountain area of California, most of my life was lived in different areas in California where it did not snow.  We would only be able to see snow looking toward the mountains or foothills.

That's probably why I'm so crazy to get out and toboggan here!

 

A Woman's Perspective on Women's Role

This post is for my Christian women readers specifically.
I was reading 1 Timothy 2 today.  I once memorized the first 3 chapters of 1 Timothy, but I do not have them still perfectly in my mind.  They are still very familiar to me though, and in going over chapter 2 today, I want to address the role of women issue.

The role of women is a very controversial one in the church today, and some people try to twist the Scripture to suit their own desires.  I have found though that 1 Timothy 2 does not have qualifiers that say that it is only addressing certain women of the day.  In fact, it clearly points to creation and the deception of Eve, which is something from long before the time when I Timothy was penned.

"A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 
But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint."
1 Timothy 2:11-15 NASB

So, it seems quite clear that women are not to teach men or exercise authority over a man not because of what the circumstances were at that time, but because of the order of creation and the fact of Eve's deception (who is representative of womankind). 
Naturally, women have pride and like to think that that only applies to certain women and not us.  We think about the fact that men can also be  deceived.  The thing is that there are consequences still from Adam and Eve's sin that affect all of us.  Since I believe that Scripture trumps personal feelings and any other experience that we have had, then I rely on Scripture as the authority over me as a woman.  Aside from that,  in recent times I have found that I have been deceived by someone online posing as different people.  I'm thankful for my Christian brothers who were there to point out the truth.

God has many roles for women to fulfill.  Even those of us who have never been married or had children can communicate with people in informal settings as Priscilla did with Aquila or serve the church by ministering in other ways.  It seems that women can teach children and mentor other women.  Do I believe that women should street preach?   I know a lot of people who believe there is an exception there too, but I do not.  There is still the order of creation and the matter of exercising authority over men. 
The reasons given in 1 Timothy 2:13-14 do not seem to be something that is negated when you step outside of a church building.
Definitely, it is a public setting where some of the audience can be Christians as well.  It is more than just explaining something in an informal setting with Christian men ready to help and correct in a discussion. 


I tend to go even further than some people in that it really bothers me when a woman reads Scripture up front in church or a woman is the head worship music leader.  I even have walked out of a service occasionally when  I have felt deeply troubled enough to not feel that I can properly worship thinking about it.
Here is a respected blogger and pastor's blog post on the subject of women and Bible reading in church: http://www.challies.com/articles/men-women-the-public-reading-of-scripture

Is Your Motivation Love For God or Benefits?

While I believe that it is also Biblical to do things with the joy ahead in mind (as Christ did - Hebrews 12:2), I do not believe that we should give money or serve God for the sake of greed of what we can get here on earth.

Too many televangelists and others have deceived people into treating giving like the lottery with themselves really as the beneficiary.

I find the Bible demonstrates that what we do should be for the Lord, in love for others, and with the life to come in view (for those who are truly Christians).

In recent times, I find myself often praying for love for God.
I feel my love is never at the level that I want it to be.
I suppose that is how it was for Simon Peter when Jesus was asking him if He loved Him.



But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
1 Timothy 6:6-7 NASB

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:10-11 NASB

Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Psalm 119:36 ESV