Travel Adventures In Tennessee

My family took a trip this weekend for a follow-up appointment for someone in my family.
The scenery on the way was nice with the redbud trees blooming a lot along the wayside.

I made the mistake of having a caffeinated drink on Easter Sunday, and my pulse went up as high as 133 or 134 during church.   It was distracting, and I didn't feel well.  I still enjoyed the service over all, and it seems that they are desirous to honor God with the song lyrics and focus on the Biblical text.  If we lived in that town, we'd be going back to visit again. 

I was so hopeful to visit that church this time and pushed for going early to Cookeville, TN, so that we could visit Midway Baptist Church.  My Dad had found the church online maybe last year and I had sent mail, and we had even driven into the property on a previous trip.  Then someone in chat on my favorite online radio program Cross Encounters Radio said positive things about the pastor, so that was very interesting twist.  I had already wanted to visit anyway.

The follow-up appointment for my family member went very well, and I even gave the surgeon a Thank You Gospel Tract.  We enjoyed eating at Panera Bread and Maggie Moo's ice cream in Nashville. 

This morning at a hotel, I got some decaffeinated coffee into a cup and was working on the creamer or sweetener packets, when a guy picked up my cup and was walking away with it!  I just watched, and then he finally asked if that was mine.  Yes, it was mine!   He did bring it back and found his own that he'd left somewhere else.  I doubted he would have wanted decaf. anyway, and then I remembered a movie called The Christmas Card where the girl started eating another guy's order that was the same as what she normally ordered.  Thinking of it that way made me laugh.

It rained on the way back home...poured is more like it.  Visibility was terrible. 

We made some stops along the way breaking the trip up.  Usually my life is pretty limited, so this was an adventure.

Are You One of The 15?

Well-known individuals who post and do things publicly should not expect to avoid scrutiny, questions or correction.   The Bible tells us that he who hates correction is stupid and better are the wounds of a friend than the kisses of an enemy. 

While I was not involved in the effort to get "Christian" stores to stop selling heresy, it has often bothered me that they are leading so many astray by the false teaching that they promulgate.
Christians need to stand up and address these issues just as the reformers stood up against heresy in their day.  The distinctions get blurry once people start to compromise.  Do those of us as Christians worship God or popular authors and teachers?  What did Jesus do when He saw the corruption of moneychangers in the temple?  Was He not angry?  There is such a thing as righteous anger, and those who lead people astray will not be ignored by God.
 I plan to not buy from "Christian" bookstores that intentionally sell heresy and profit from it anymore.  Lifeway & CBD (Christianbook.com) both sell these kinds of materials. I'd rather buy from a non-Christian company who doesn't pretend.  I'm hoping that people will come up with a list of offending bookstores.

"but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."
Matthew 18:6

I was recently disappointed to see a post by John Piper in which he compared Catholics to Christians in such a way as to blur distinctions.  While I tend to want to believe the best about people and would not question his being a Christian, he has allowed himself to be influenced by and befriended by people who are in error.  I realize that it is possible that Piper did not intend to give credence to Catholicism, but his recent tweet was upsetting and of great concern.  People already are forgetting the reasons for the Reformation and that Catholics are not brothers of Christians without saying this:

@JohnPiper mentions the Pope-- & the same 15 Calvinists who are mad at everyone-- for everything-- are outraged. Again. #SMH
— Ed Stetzer (@edstetzer) December 23, 2014

Since my first response was more indirect, I sent a direct tweet to John Piper yesterday.

@JohnPiper Many Christians are concerned about your Dec 22 tweet about the Pope. Would you clarify your view of Catholicism?
— K T (@KTinHills) December 29, 2014

Who are #the15?  Anybody who stands up for Biblical clarity and truth.  Anybody who dares to point out error, inconsistency, or even sin in a "Christian" business or pastor.
Yes, reproof and correction should be done in a spirit of gentleness, humility and love. 
The goal is not just to blast people out of the water but to restore those who are true believers.
We are to be angry and sin not.  Sometimes anger for the sake of the Gospel and truth is necessary such as Paul confronting Peter and Jesus confronting leaders.  Our zeal should be for God's glory...not to call names and be quarrelsome.  Hypocrisy and true heresy should not be ignored if we love God and His people.

You can find more about #the15 on Twitter by the hashtag or follow @_the15 there.

Pray for the Persecuted Church Around The Globe

Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
Hebrews 13:3 NASB

In China, people from house churches risk being put into jail, and in Central Asia and other Muslim countries Christians and those who convert from Islam to faith in Christ are often at risk of losing their lives.

Recently I shared about a street evangelist named Tony Miano who was arrested in England, and these arrests are spreading. A pastor named Josh Williamson was arrested in Scotland not long after another street preacher was arrested in the U.K. 
  If you are a Christian, you won't want to miss the interview that Tony Miano did with Josh that I am sharing the link to on this post.

Don't think that America is immune to this. Freedoms get eroded a little at a time and when nobody says anything it can go downhill faster. While Christians are warned in the Bible of persecution, people in western countries may think that will never happen here. Well, the U.K. has been seen as a country of freedom, and now we see the example of when authorities there step out of line and exceed their authority when people don't want to hear the Gospel.
 People are hardened in their rebellion against God and the Gospel as evidenced by the reaction that you will hear about on this hour long program. It's worth your time to listen, so I hope you will make time to hear it!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cross-encounters/2013/09/23/cer-monday--christian-profiling-in-the-uk/scrub/97

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.