Things would go a lot easier for us if we would just 'get along' and agree to disagree on the church; however, we have not been called to a life of ease. Better to be despised by the world and hold to the truth than to be praised by the world and compromise the faith once delivered. When I think of my Baptist forefathers who were truly persecuted and despised and beaten and imprisoned; those preachers who were torn from their wives and children and were taken from their homes, sharing their life with a blessed family to sharing them with the rats and disease of the dungeon cell, I am embolden to carry on in this eleventh hour, when we serve in the cool of the day here in America. If the worst that happens is a couple walk out of services without shaken any one's hand because of the truth of baptism, or that some ministerial association think us bigoted and naive, then I have it easy comparatively. In light of what I face, even more disgrace to compromise.
God help His churches,
By Grace,
Douglas Newell IV
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Population Control
Disturbing post by Michelle Malkin.
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/07/24/ghoulish-science-obamacare-health-hazard/
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/07/24/ghoulish-science-obamacare-health-hazard/
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sermons on Gilt-Edged Paper
Exerpt from a sermon delievered by BH Carroll entitled Sermons to Preachers.
Let me tell you of a case: In a city once, I went to hear a sermon. Preachers get hungry to hear others preach. I was oppressed in spirit and gravely solicitous about a great matter. I wanted my faith strengthened. Quietly taking my seat I listened. The rendition of the music, confined exclusively to the choir, was very artistic, I suppose. I held myself in reserve for the sermon. That, I took it for granted, would have body to it. The preacher rose, at last, with his sermon in his hand. I looked at it. It was a neat essay, on note paper, gilt-edged, and perfumed, I verily believe. I know it was tied with a delicatly shaded ribbon, and he gracefully read the dainty document through in just fifteen minutes; and that seemed to me too much for it. My sensations were never paralleled except once when, on a moonlight night, I stepped confidently upon what I supposed was a plank, and found it a sluice of muddy water fully knee deep. Some one asked me what I thought about the sermon. Perhaps my disappointment made me say: "Well, I've figured it out, and if there is no mistake in my calculation it would take 879,316 years for 579,314 such sermons to reach one could, and then they would make no more impression on it than a cloud of thistledown blown by human breath against the granite face of Mont Blanc. I think it mighty safely pass through Texas from Sabine Pass to El Paso, and no Baptist, if all the General Convention were out hunting for a sermon, would fire a shot at it."
Let me tell you of a case: In a city once, I went to hear a sermon. Preachers get hungry to hear others preach. I was oppressed in spirit and gravely solicitous about a great matter. I wanted my faith strengthened. Quietly taking my seat I listened. The rendition of the music, confined exclusively to the choir, was very artistic, I suppose. I held myself in reserve for the sermon. That, I took it for granted, would have body to it. The preacher rose, at last, with his sermon in his hand. I looked at it. It was a neat essay, on note paper, gilt-edged, and perfumed, I verily believe. I know it was tied with a delicatly shaded ribbon, and he gracefully read the dainty document through in just fifteen minutes; and that seemed to me too much for it. My sensations were never paralleled except once when, on a moonlight night, I stepped confidently upon what I supposed was a plank, and found it a sluice of muddy water fully knee deep. Some one asked me what I thought about the sermon. Perhaps my disappointment made me say: "Well, I've figured it out, and if there is no mistake in my calculation it would take 879,316 years for 579,314 such sermons to reach one could, and then they would make no more impression on it than a cloud of thistledown blown by human breath against the granite face of Mont Blanc. I think it mighty safely pass through Texas from Sabine Pass to El Paso, and no Baptist, if all the General Convention were out hunting for a sermon, would fire a shot at it."
Saturday, July 11, 2009
My Move and Other Random Thoughts
Some random thoughts for a Saturday afternoon.
God has blessed my family, yet again, and given us a house. For the past two months, we have been working to purchase this particular home, and through many ups, downs, twists and turns, we finally closed. The current mortgage crisis has been hard for many, but it turned out to be a blessing for us finding a home that we could afford, actually paying half of what we were paying in rent.
I have had some PC problems, and had limited use of the net, so posting has been pretty much out of the question. Today I carried the second load of empty boxes to the recycling depot, and I may be corrugated free! Half of my books are on the shelf, while the other half are lying in repose, waiting for me to finish typing.
We went on visitation today, and spoke to several, and witnesses to most we came in contact with. Today, I spoke with an Iraq war veteran. I am still heartbroken over speaking with him. War has left him cold and bitter, or maybe war hardened his already stony heart. I pray that God would break it and give him a stone of flesh. He would not even allow me to engage him with the gospel once he saw my bible and understood the reason for my visit. Heartbreaking.
Sorry for the delay on the series on public education, I will try to resume on Monday.
God has blessed my family, yet again, and given us a house. For the past two months, we have been working to purchase this particular home, and through many ups, downs, twists and turns, we finally closed. The current mortgage crisis has been hard for many, but it turned out to be a blessing for us finding a home that we could afford, actually paying half of what we were paying in rent.
I have had some PC problems, and had limited use of the net, so posting has been pretty much out of the question. Today I carried the second load of empty boxes to the recycling depot, and I may be corrugated free! Half of my books are on the shelf, while the other half are lying in repose, waiting for me to finish typing.
We went on visitation today, and spoke to several, and witnesses to most we came in contact with. Today, I spoke with an Iraq war veteran. I am still heartbroken over speaking with him. War has left him cold and bitter, or maybe war hardened his already stony heart. I pray that God would break it and give him a stone of flesh. He would not even allow me to engage him with the gospel once he saw my bible and understood the reason for my visit. Heartbreaking.
Sorry for the delay on the series on public education, I will try to resume on Monday.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Case Against Government Education
Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
I know that there are a great many godly school teachers that have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of young souls who are fortunate to enter into your classroom. There are good Baptist teachers, I know many, who may be the only Christian influence on a child in their whole life. I thank God for you, and pray that you use the opportunity you have for the glory of God. This article is not directed toward those Christian teachers (who are few and far between) but the government system of education itself. I also know that there are many who will read this, and will want to tune out every thing I say because they send or sent their children to a government school for education. All I ask is that you prayerfully consider my position.
Sending our children to government schools puts us in the position of putting education, money, and jobs ahead of everything else. What is our primary responsibility to our children? Certainly we desire that our children learn, and be productive members of society, and we desire the best for our children, but does this necessarily mean that the government is the only institution that can provide such education? If we stand back, and look at the course of the history of this world, do we imagine that the government now has the best educational system in the history of the world? There are certainly other options to education. So please do not think this is intended on devaluing education in the least bit, but what we are sending our children into five days a week. In my opinion, homeschooling our kids in this day in age is the safest, and best for our kids, but if that is not an option, sending our kids to good Baptist schools where the bible is taught and everything else is taught from a biblical perspective, and biblical morals are enforced with guidance of Christian educators, that is also a good choice.
I desire my children to be wise, not fact memorizing machines. The bible speaks much about wisdom, and that is what I desire for my children. We are told by some that the problem with our children and educational system is that we are not starting young enough, and that programs are being developed for a 0-5 ‘pre-school’ system for the building blocks of government education. I agree that the problem is the foundation, but the solution is not more of the same. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of knowledge. The government schools are saturated with ungodly theories about man and God’s creation, while under the guise of separation of church and state eliminate the very foundation of knowledge, the Word of God. Those who direct the socialistic and evolutionary educational programs despise wisdom and instruction, but yet are in charge of developing our children’s minds. Our duty, as Christian parents, is to instruct our children and to give them the foundation of true knowledge, not to be taught by fools. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. The Knowledge of the holy is understanding, that is what we desire for our children. Homeschooling, or Christian schools can not only provide the educational needs of our children, but do a better job at it, with the fear of the Lord being the foundation of all learning.
I know that there are a great many godly school teachers that have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of young souls who are fortunate to enter into your classroom. There are good Baptist teachers, I know many, who may be the only Christian influence on a child in their whole life. I thank God for you, and pray that you use the opportunity you have for the glory of God. This article is not directed toward those Christian teachers (who are few and far between) but the government system of education itself. I also know that there are many who will read this, and will want to tune out every thing I say because they send or sent their children to a government school for education. All I ask is that you prayerfully consider my position.
Sending our children to government schools puts us in the position of putting education, money, and jobs ahead of everything else. What is our primary responsibility to our children? Certainly we desire that our children learn, and be productive members of society, and we desire the best for our children, but does this necessarily mean that the government is the only institution that can provide such education? If we stand back, and look at the course of the history of this world, do we imagine that the government now has the best educational system in the history of the world? There are certainly other options to education. So please do not think this is intended on devaluing education in the least bit, but what we are sending our children into five days a week. In my opinion, homeschooling our kids in this day in age is the safest, and best for our kids, but if that is not an option, sending our kids to good Baptist schools where the bible is taught and everything else is taught from a biblical perspective, and biblical morals are enforced with guidance of Christian educators, that is also a good choice.
I desire my children to be wise, not fact memorizing machines. The bible speaks much about wisdom, and that is what I desire for my children. We are told by some that the problem with our children and educational system is that we are not starting young enough, and that programs are being developed for a 0-5 ‘pre-school’ system for the building blocks of government education. I agree that the problem is the foundation, but the solution is not more of the same. Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of knowledge. The government schools are saturated with ungodly theories about man and God’s creation, while under the guise of separation of church and state eliminate the very foundation of knowledge, the Word of God. Those who direct the socialistic and evolutionary educational programs despise wisdom and instruction, but yet are in charge of developing our children’s minds. Our duty, as Christian parents, is to instruct our children and to give them the foundation of true knowledge, not to be taught by fools. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. The Knowledge of the holy is understanding, that is what we desire for our children. Homeschooling, or Christian schools can not only provide the educational needs of our children, but do a better job at it, with the fear of the Lord being the foundation of all learning.
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