This video is a conversation with a former University of California - Berkley professor. Usually that raises all kinds of red flags as Berkely is a bastion of everything hostile to Truth. This professor, Phillip E. Johnson, however became a professed Christian and left behind the godless ideologies of many of his colleages. He became a champion of Intelligent Design and is often focal on the terminologies used in evolutionist and creationist debate. Just a little something for you to watch!
2.14.2012
11.17.2011
Been Here; Haven't Done That
I have not been able to write on this blog much the past year or so. I have no qualms about that; it is what it is. Though, indeed, it is a fact that has been forced upon me by my body (I knew you were wondering).
Today I might have the chance to write some, but I make no promises. I am thankful, though, for this chance and I'm glad to have you back on this cozy little blog! Take your coat off, come over here by the fireplace, and let's chat.
It's been awhile and I have been right here, with blanket, in my leather chair grimly reading the news or – perhaps more cheerily – the Scriptures. Much of the time you might also have found me asleep, getting the rest I lack. I hardly get out but to the church on Sundays and you can see it in my face too! Guests like you keep me social and engaged – for now at least. Occasionally, there is the football game, live show, or something but that is with someone's help. Between all of this, my thoughts and reflections preoccupy me. Maybe we can get around to those thoughts one of these days.
That is probably the point of a blog – sharing; sharing something – but right now I'm half-asleep here. So it is about time for a nap for me. Let me just pull this blanket up… Make yourself comfortable… There's tea on the stove… Go ahead and just… just… yeah…
Today I might have the chance to write some, but I make no promises. I am thankful, though, for this chance and I'm glad to have you back on this cozy little blog! Take your coat off, come over here by the fireplace, and let's chat.
It's been awhile and I have been right here, with blanket, in my leather chair grimly reading the news or – perhaps more cheerily – the Scriptures. Much of the time you might also have found me asleep, getting the rest I lack. I hardly get out but to the church on Sundays and you can see it in my face too! Guests like you keep me social and engaged – for now at least. Occasionally, there is the football game, live show, or something but that is with someone's help. Between all of this, my thoughts and reflections preoccupy me. Maybe we can get around to those thoughts one of these days.
That is probably the point of a blog – sharing; sharing something – but right now I'm half-asleep here. So it is about time for a nap for me. Let me just pull this blanket up… Make yourself comfortable… There's tea on the stove… Go ahead and just… just… yeah…
Posted by
Unambiguous Vision
12.29.2009
Greg Laurie: The Power of Christmas
I have always believed in the Promise of Christmas.
There has always been something wonderful, magical and special about this time of year that goes back to my earliest childhood.
But how often does Christmas really deliver on its promises? A little bit here and there, but by and large, it's the endless drone of mind-numbing ads on TV, or the friction and pressure that comes when we feel obligated to purchase gifts for people we barely know. It's the unrealistic expectations put on us by others – and sometimes even ourselves.
Then there's that big "Post Christmas Letdown." It's the letdown of an expectation that can never really be met. We're not able to give what we really wanted to give, or maybe we didn't receive what we had hoped for. Then there are those bills that come due. …
So let's be honest here: Christmas at its worst is a crass, commercial, empty, exhausting and very expensive ritual that seemingly drags on for weeks.
But what is Christmas at its best?
It is a taste of heaven and a glimpse of things to come: the beauty of worship, the adoring angels, the love, warmth, promise and hope. All the things promised us in a life yet to come. You see, Christmas is a promise and a foretaste. But the best is yet to come.
Ever since I was a little boy, I've believed in the promise of Christmas. As a child, I always wanted to have a family experience … which was hard when you don't have a family.
When Cathe and I got married and had our sons, I thought I would realize the promise then. I always wanted Christmas to be what it wasn't for me, so I often overdid things a bit. Too many toys, I'm sure. And I was more excited on Christmas morning than the boys were.
I still believe in the Promise of Christmas – not the hijacked, commercial, secular, politically correct, Christ-less "Holiday Season," but the true and enduring celebration of our Lord's birth.
The essential message of Christmas is not "Let it snow!" or "Let us shop!" The message is "Let us WORSHIP, because God is with us." Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
We all remember the gifts of the wise men, brought to the Child Jesus. But the first Christmas gift wasn't a gift to a child, but rather the gift of a Child. "For God so loved the world that He Gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16).
That's what Immanuel means: God with us.
What a staggering thought that is! That's the very essence of the Christian life. Other religions tell you to try to live according to certain standards. Christianity teaches that Christ Himself comes and lives in the human heart. It's not us in our feeble attempts trying to "do it for God," it is God Himself living through us.
God with us! Without question, one of the most remarkable teachings in the Bible is that Jesus Christ Himself will actually enter and live in any human heart that welcomes Him. The old Christmas carol had it right: "Let every heart prepare Him room."
Jesus said in John 14:23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
What an amazing statement! God the Father and Son are saying that they want "to make their home" with you and me! Jesus Himself said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He also said, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
Can we honestly wrap our minds around such a truth? That God Himself is with us? When we put our faith in Christ, we can know that we will never be alone in life. He is there. He will always be there.
As human beings living out our lives on a broken planet, we will certainly face storms, hardships, challenges and even tragedies in our lives. The Bible never said we would live a problem and pain-free life, even as Christians. But we will never, never be alone. So we don't have to be afraid.
Maybe your marriage fell apart this year, and you feel all alone. God is with you! Perhaps your children have forgotten about you. God is with you! Maybe a loved one that was with you last Christmas is gone today. God is with you! Maybe you are isolated in a hospital, convalescent home or prison. If you have put your faith in Christ, God is with you!
The holiday we call "Christmas" just can't deliver on its promises. Christmas can't bring harmony to your home, peace on earth or lasting happiness. No, but Christ Himself can do all of this and more. He can give us the very thing we long for most deep inside.
Not Christmas, but Christ. Not merriment, but the Messiah. Not "good will," but God. Not presents, but His presence. Anything or anyone short of this will disappoint, but God never will.
There may be many things you don't have this Christmas. You may not have as much to give as you did last year. You may not have a loved one with you who was with you last year.
Maybe you have been looking to the Christmas holiday or the things of this world to make you happy. C. S. Lewis wrote, "God designed the human machine to run on. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. … That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about faith. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
It's not Christmas that will give you joy or lasting peace, but Jesus Christ. He, and nothing or no one else, is the true Promise of Christmas.
Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the largest churches in America. He is also the featured speaker for Harvest Crusades, large-scale evangelistic outreaches that have been attended by more than 4 million people around the world since 1990. Greg is heard internationally on the daily radio broadcast, "A New Beginning." To learn more about Greg Laurie go to www.greglaurie.com.
There has always been something wonderful, magical and special about this time of year that goes back to my earliest childhood.
But how often does Christmas really deliver on its promises? A little bit here and there, but by and large, it's the endless drone of mind-numbing ads on TV, or the friction and pressure that comes when we feel obligated to purchase gifts for people we barely know. It's the unrealistic expectations put on us by others – and sometimes even ourselves.
Then there's that big "Post Christmas Letdown." It's the letdown of an expectation that can never really be met. We're not able to give what we really wanted to give, or maybe we didn't receive what we had hoped for. Then there are those bills that come due. …
So let's be honest here: Christmas at its worst is a crass, commercial, empty, exhausting and very expensive ritual that seemingly drags on for weeks.
But what is Christmas at its best?
It is a taste of heaven and a glimpse of things to come: the beauty of worship, the adoring angels, the love, warmth, promise and hope. All the things promised us in a life yet to come. You see, Christmas is a promise and a foretaste. But the best is yet to come.
Ever since I was a little boy, I've believed in the promise of Christmas. As a child, I always wanted to have a family experience … which was hard when you don't have a family.
When Cathe and I got married and had our sons, I thought I would realize the promise then. I always wanted Christmas to be what it wasn't for me, so I often overdid things a bit. Too many toys, I'm sure. And I was more excited on Christmas morning than the boys were.
I still believe in the Promise of Christmas – not the hijacked, commercial, secular, politically correct, Christ-less "Holiday Season," but the true and enduring celebration of our Lord's birth.
The essential message of Christmas is not "Let it snow!" or "Let us shop!" The message is "Let us WORSHIP, because God is with us." Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
We all remember the gifts of the wise men, brought to the Child Jesus. But the first Christmas gift wasn't a gift to a child, but rather the gift of a Child. "For God so loved the world that He Gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16).
That's what Immanuel means: God with us.
What a staggering thought that is! That's the very essence of the Christian life. Other religions tell you to try to live according to certain standards. Christianity teaches that Christ Himself comes and lives in the human heart. It's not us in our feeble attempts trying to "do it for God," it is God Himself living through us.
God with us! Without question, one of the most remarkable teachings in the Bible is that Jesus Christ Himself will actually enter and live in any human heart that welcomes Him. The old Christmas carol had it right: "Let every heart prepare Him room."
Jesus said in John 14:23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
What an amazing statement! God the Father and Son are saying that they want "to make their home" with you and me! Jesus Himself said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He also said, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
Can we honestly wrap our minds around such a truth? That God Himself is with us? When we put our faith in Christ, we can know that we will never be alone in life. He is there. He will always be there.
As human beings living out our lives on a broken planet, we will certainly face storms, hardships, challenges and even tragedies in our lives. The Bible never said we would live a problem and pain-free life, even as Christians. But we will never, never be alone. So we don't have to be afraid.
Maybe your marriage fell apart this year, and you feel all alone. God is with you! Perhaps your children have forgotten about you. God is with you! Maybe a loved one that was with you last Christmas is gone today. God is with you! Maybe you are isolated in a hospital, convalescent home or prison. If you have put your faith in Christ, God is with you!
The holiday we call "Christmas" just can't deliver on its promises. Christmas can't bring harmony to your home, peace on earth or lasting happiness. No, but Christ Himself can do all of this and more. He can give us the very thing we long for most deep inside.
Not Christmas, but Christ. Not merriment, but the Messiah. Not "good will," but God. Not presents, but His presence. Anything or anyone short of this will disappoint, but God never will.
There may be many things you don't have this Christmas. You may not have as much to give as you did last year. You may not have a loved one with you who was with you last year.
Maybe you have been looking to the Christmas holiday or the things of this world to make you happy. C. S. Lewis wrote, "God designed the human machine to run on. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. … That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about faith. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
It's not Christmas that will give you joy or lasting peace, but Jesus Christ. He, and nothing or no one else, is the true Promise of Christmas.
Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the largest churches in America. He is also the featured speaker for Harvest Crusades, large-scale evangelistic outreaches that have been attended by more than 4 million people around the world since 1990. Greg is heard internationally on the daily radio broadcast, "A New Beginning." To learn more about Greg Laurie go to www.greglaurie.com.
Posted by
Unambiguous Vision
12.19.2009
Greg Laurie: The Real Beginning of Christmas
How often do you look at your watch in a given day? Or check the time? Or ask someone else what time it is? Why do we do that? We do it because we govern our lives by time. There is a time that we get up in the morning. There is a time when we go to work or school. There is a time when we go home. There is a time when we go to bed and when we get up the next morning and repeat the process. We live our lives by the clock, and we have a constant awareness of time.
According to the Bible, we even live our lives for a certain period of time – not a moment longer and not a moment shorter. You can eat free-range chicken and organic vegetables and use all of the lotions and potions and special vitamins available, but you will not live one day longer than God wants you to live. Nor will you live one day shorter. The Bible says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV).
As one person said, "Men talk of killing time while time quietly kills them." The problem is that we spend a lot of our lives doing things we would rather not be doing. We have control over some of these things, but not all of them. For example, the average American will spend six months of their lives sitting at traffic lights, one year searching desk clutter for misplaced objects, five years waiting in lines, three years in meetings and eight months opening junk mail.
As C. S. Lewis said, "The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."
We live by time, while God exists outside of time. I am not implying that God is unaware of time, because He is completely aware of every minute and second of our lives and everything that is happening in them. But God lives in the eternal realm. Therefore, we might say that God's interpretation of time is quite different from ours.
God has His own timing, and there are times in life when it appears to us as though God is late, as though God is somehow disengaged and not paying attention. And sometimes as we look at the way the world is going, we wonder whether God is aware of what it is like right now.
That is how it was at the time of Jesus' birth. Israel was tired of waiting. They felt it was time for the Messiah to arrive. They were difficult and dark days in the history of Israel. In fact, the time in which they were living when Christ finally came was almost as bad as it was under Pharaoh's rule in Egypt, because they were under the control of Rome and the tyrannical rule of the puppet King Herod.
While Herod was known for the great buildings he erected, he was also known for his paranoia. He would have anyone he saw as a potential threat to his throne killed. He had two of his sons put to death because he thought they would try to lead a coup against him. It was said of Herod that it was better to be one of his pigs than one of his sons.
The fact is that 6 B.C. was a lousy time to be living in Judea. People were wondering when God was going to intervene. They had not heard from him for 400 years. Not a single prophet had delivered a message from heaven. There had been no miracles and no angelic appearances – only a stony silence from heaven. The people were probing. They were searching. They were wondering when things were going to change.
But there was a sense that something was in the air, that something was about to break. And indeed it was – because the moment was coming for the Messiah to arrive. It all started with the aged priest, Zacharias. As he was in the temple bringing sacrifices on behalf of the people, the angel Gabriel came to him with the announcement that he would be the father of the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptizer. The wonderful story was about to unfold.
But we need to understand that the Christmas story did not start in Luke or in Matthew. The Christmas story began much further back. Although Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, being God and being a part of the Trinity, he is pre-existent. He is eternal. When we celebrate his birth in the manger in Bethlehem, we are celebrating when he came to this world as a man. But he has always been and always will be. Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 21:6 NIV).
Isaiah summed it up well when he said, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6). That gives us the story of the arrival of Jesus from both heaven and Earth's perspective. "To us a child is born" is the story of a birth. "To us a son is given" is the story of a departure from heaven.
From heaven's perspective, the son left glory and came to walk among us and breathe our air and live our life and then die our death. From Earth's perspective, God came to us as a man who was deity in diapers – God almighty as a little, helpless baby.
When the angel appeared to a group of shepherds and announced, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11 NIV), essentially he was saying, "Don't look to the palace for the savior of the world. Look to the manger in Bethlehem. Don't look at that self-proclaimed god in Rome wrapped in satin, but look at the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. There is the savior of the world." He came and gave up everything to serve us. It was the ultimate gift to humanity. His pain was our gain.
Someone wisely said that history swings on the hinge of the door of a stable in Bethlehem. This was the moment in human history that God chose to bring us a savior. And our world has never been the same.
Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the eight largest churches in America. He has just completed his autobiography, "Lost Boy," which tells the story of his turbulent childhood, growing up with an alcoholic, seven-times divorced mother, and finding a new life and destiny at age 17. Learn more about his life and ministry at www.greglaurie.com.
According to the Bible, we even live our lives for a certain period of time – not a moment longer and not a moment shorter. You can eat free-range chicken and organic vegetables and use all of the lotions and potions and special vitamins available, but you will not live one day longer than God wants you to live. Nor will you live one day shorter. The Bible says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV).
As one person said, "Men talk of killing time while time quietly kills them." The problem is that we spend a lot of our lives doing things we would rather not be doing. We have control over some of these things, but not all of them. For example, the average American will spend six months of their lives sitting at traffic lights, one year searching desk clutter for misplaced objects, five years waiting in lines, three years in meetings and eight months opening junk mail.
As C. S. Lewis said, "The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."
We live by time, while God exists outside of time. I am not implying that God is unaware of time, because He is completely aware of every minute and second of our lives and everything that is happening in them. But God lives in the eternal realm. Therefore, we might say that God's interpretation of time is quite different from ours.
God has His own timing, and there are times in life when it appears to us as though God is late, as though God is somehow disengaged and not paying attention. And sometimes as we look at the way the world is going, we wonder whether God is aware of what it is like right now.
That is how it was at the time of Jesus' birth. Israel was tired of waiting. They felt it was time for the Messiah to arrive. They were difficult and dark days in the history of Israel. In fact, the time in which they were living when Christ finally came was almost as bad as it was under Pharaoh's rule in Egypt, because they were under the control of Rome and the tyrannical rule of the puppet King Herod.
While Herod was known for the great buildings he erected, he was also known for his paranoia. He would have anyone he saw as a potential threat to his throne killed. He had two of his sons put to death because he thought they would try to lead a coup against him. It was said of Herod that it was better to be one of his pigs than one of his sons.
The fact is that 6 B.C. was a lousy time to be living in Judea. People were wondering when God was going to intervene. They had not heard from him for 400 years. Not a single prophet had delivered a message from heaven. There had been no miracles and no angelic appearances – only a stony silence from heaven. The people were probing. They were searching. They were wondering when things were going to change.
But there was a sense that something was in the air, that something was about to break. And indeed it was – because the moment was coming for the Messiah to arrive. It all started with the aged priest, Zacharias. As he was in the temple bringing sacrifices on behalf of the people, the angel Gabriel came to him with the announcement that he would be the father of the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptizer. The wonderful story was about to unfold.
But we need to understand that the Christmas story did not start in Luke or in Matthew. The Christmas story began much further back. Although Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, being God and being a part of the Trinity, he is pre-existent. He is eternal. When we celebrate his birth in the manger in Bethlehem, we are celebrating when he came to this world as a man. But he has always been and always will be. Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 21:6 NIV).
Isaiah summed it up well when he said, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6). That gives us the story of the arrival of Jesus from both heaven and Earth's perspective. "To us a child is born" is the story of a birth. "To us a son is given" is the story of a departure from heaven.
From heaven's perspective, the son left glory and came to walk among us and breathe our air and live our life and then die our death. From Earth's perspective, God came to us as a man who was deity in diapers – God almighty as a little, helpless baby.
When the angel appeared to a group of shepherds and announced, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11 NIV), essentially he was saying, "Don't look to the palace for the savior of the world. Look to the manger in Bethlehem. Don't look at that self-proclaimed god in Rome wrapped in satin, but look at the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. There is the savior of the world." He came and gave up everything to serve us. It was the ultimate gift to humanity. His pain was our gain.
Someone wisely said that history swings on the hinge of the door of a stable in Bethlehem. This was the moment in human history that God chose to bring us a savior. And our world has never been the same.
Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the eight largest churches in America. He has just completed his autobiography, "Lost Boy," which tells the story of his turbulent childhood, growing up with an alcoholic, seven-times divorced mother, and finding a new life and destiny at age 17. Learn more about his life and ministry at www.greglaurie.com.
Posted by
Unambiguous Vision
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