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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Happy Birthday Amber!!!!


Today is my wife Amber's 22nd birthday. What a blessing she has been to me. She has not only shown me what it looks like to have a servant's heart, but she has also made my waist line expand by seriously "tearin' it up" in the kitchen. She is an amazing woman and I hope that the Lord will one day reward all of her sacrifices by making me a godly man. So, Happy Birthday Booger!!

Today is Amber's dad's birthday too (weird right?). So, Happy Birthday Bill!!

peace.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Mike Huckabee 2008 Ad- With Chuck Norris

Jay already beat me to it, but if you have not seen this video then you're in for a treat. peace.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Pursuit: Every Man's Call to Biblical Masculinity


The Sovereign Grace men's conference that I recently attended at the SG church in Gilbert, AZ had some excellent teachings. All of them, including the breakout sessions, are now available to download for free at the Gilbert church's website. Click here to download and listen. If you only have time for one, then make sure you listen to Rick Gamache's sermon titled Christ: The Perfect Man. Also, it is pivotal that you download and read his Crucifixion narrative. He read a part of it during his sermon and I got chills. So, download, listen and be blessed! peace.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Real quick,


You know those times when you read Mark 16:18: "they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them", and then you say, "Really?", and then you look at the footnotes in your Bible and it says that this portion of Scripture was probably added later on... you know what I'm talking about? Now, I'm not going to answer the debate on the authority of Mark 16, but after reading this article, I'm pretty certain that Mark 16:18 doesn't include being okay after getting bit in the face by a rattlesnake. Apparently, when that happens, you die. (Sidenote: For all you Kentucky folk... this happened in your state.) peace.

Soon to come...

I recently attended my first Sovereign Grace conference... it was amazing. It was from Thursday, November 8th to Saturday, November 10th at the Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert, AZ. The theme of the conference was The Pursuit: Every Man's Call to Biblical Masculinity, and there were about 800 men in attendance (about 200 of which were from the ages 14 to 18, which is very encouraging). The speakers included Steve Shank (Overseer of the SG churches in the Southwest region of the US), Rick Gamache (senior pastor of the SG church in Minneapolis, MN), Craig Cabaniss (senior pastor of the SG church in Frisco, TX), and C.J. Mahaney (founder of SG ministries). (There were also several breakout sessions.) The teaching was awesome, the songs were amazing, and the whole week was saturated in the glory of God. I loved it. There were fourteen men from our church that got to attend. I plan on dedicating the next few posts to give a basic overview of the conference and what I believe to be the highlights. Also, by Wednesday all of the teaching sessions should be available for download from the SG website. That's what's coming soon, but for now, chew on this article from Al Mohler's blog about hotel chains that are removing Gideon Bibles from their rooms and replacing them with other "stuff". The reason given for this is very insightful to the moral decay of our country. Here's a quote:

So the hotels want to be hip, and the presence of a Bible in the drawer is unhip? Perhaps this section of Wolverson's report explains the impetus:

"Edgier chains like the W provide "intimacy kits" with condoms in the minibar, while New York's Mercer Hotel supplies a free condom in each bathroom. Neither has Bibles. Since its recent renovation, the Sofitel L.A. offers a tantalizing lovers' dice game: roll one die for the action to be performed (for example, "kiss," "lick") and the other for the associated body part. The hotel's "mile high" kit, sold in the revamped gift shop, includes a condom, a mini vibrator, a feather tickler and lubricant. The new Indigo hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., a "branded boutique" launched by InterContinental, also has no Bibles, but it does offer a "One Night Stand" package for guests seeking VIP treatment at local nightclubs and late checkout for the hazy morning after."

So it turns out that the real story is not just the absence of the Bible in many hotel rooms, but the presence of very different materials, from complimentary condoms to erotic dice games. That does help to explain things. This development is another reminder that we are living in a time of tremendous cultural and moral change. The absence of Gideons Bibles from an increasing number of hotel rooms tells us something about the secularization, sexualization, and extreme sensitivities of our age.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Do Yourself a Favor


Time and time again I am blown away by the generosity of Desiring God Ministries (DGM). It is evident that they care more about the glory of God than they do about money, which, in this culture, is very refreshing and encouraging. I heard a Piper quote once that went something like this: "The reason that God created money is so His people could use money to show the world that they treasure Him more than money." Talk about counter-cultural. Anyway, DGM hosts an annual conference. Last year's conference was The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World and featured John Piper, Voddie Baucham, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll and David Wells as the speakers. (That's a "jaw-dropping" lineup on a very timely subject.) DGM is also in the habit of putting all of their National Conferences in book form which is what they have just done with this one. They are putting this book on sell for $5 through Friday, November 9th, or until supplies run out. That is an amazing deal... BUT WAIT, it gets better. DGM has also put this book in .pdf form and made it available to download... for free. So, do yourself a favor and click here to take advantage of this offer. peace.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Christian Domestic Discipline?


Ok... This morning on FoxNews there was a story about this Saudi guy that is teaching young Muslims how to discipline there wives. Here's a quote:
"Admonish them – once, twice, three times, four times, ten times," he advised.
"If this doesn't help, refuse to share their beds."
And if that doesn't work?
"Beat them," one of his three young advisees responded.
"That's right," Al-'Arifi said.


Wow. You can read the rest of the article here. There is a big difference between this and the Biblical call for husbands to be Christ's representatives in the home, especially in the way they treat their wives, right? Well, Dr. Riddlebarger blogged on this story and while I was reading the comments I noticed a link to the following website: http://christiandomesticdiscipline.com/Articles.html. I never even knew this world existed, and to be honest, I don't even know how to respond. Now, if this was a website created by the guy quoted above then I wouldn't be so surprised, but the creator of this site is a very sincere, Christian woman. I read the articles... awkward. They even have a blog. Go ahead... check it out, and PLEASE tell me that I am not the only guy that doesn't "spank" his wife for punishment. peace.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Reformation Day in Review

I don't know about you guys, but I had a great time on Reformation Day. The church we attend (Christian Life Center) had an activity night that we called Reformation Celebration geared towards educating the kids about the Protestant Reformation while simultaneously having fun. "How do you do that?", you may be asking yourself. Well, you do it by playing games like: Bible Smuggling, Pin the Thesis on the Door and Diet of Worms (topped off by singing The Reformation Polka!). Also... you have snacks. Good times were had by all.

On another note...

A couple of posts ago I gave a couple of links to a couple of articles that delt with how Christians should handle Halloween. One of those articles attempted to give some insight into the origins of this cultural/secular/pagan/disturbing/(insert non-Christian term here.) "holiday". This article appeared to give some evidence to a Christian origin for Halloween, and I even made the comment that my beliefs may be changing. Well, they haven't. As one of our friends' students said, "Halloween's the Devil's birthday!" Now, I am sure that, for those of you who read that article, you immediately said to yourself, "Wait a minute... what does Al Mohler say about all of this?" Well, here you go. (For future reference, I will use the abbreviation WWMS for "What would Mohler say?" ... always a good question.) peace.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The Reformation Study Bible


In lieu of October 31st, i.e. Reformation Day, Ligonier Ministries is puting their Reformation Study Bible (Hardback) on sale for the low, low price of $15.17... haha... get it?... 1517 was the year that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Catholic church door and started the Protestant Reformation. What will R.C. Sproul think of next? ...Anyway, this Bible is a very good resource and would make a very good (and heavy) stocking stuffer for Christmas. Oh, and the sale is only on October 31st! I already have one, so if you get me one, it will definately become someone else's Christmas gift, so here's a "Thank you" in advance... from my Dad.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Costumes, Candy and Christians


How much or little should a Christian participate in Halloween? Should we stay home and turn our lights out? Should we go out and engage our culture? Should we stay home (lights on) and pass out tracts? Should we use it as an opportunity to get to know our neighbors? How about "tricking" everybody and having a "Fall Festival"? Would that be okay? Should all the Calvinists get together and celebrate "Reformation Day"? Where should we, as Christians, draw the line on how we handle October 31? I wonder about these things. Where did Halloween come from? Did Christians "steal/redeem" it from pagans and call it a Fall Festival, or did pagans "steal" it from Christians? What are its origins? I have believed for a long time that it was originally a pagan "holiday" and, therefore, should be off-limits for Christians. However, after reading an article on the origins of Halloween I am not so sure my beliefs were right. You can check out the article here. Also, for those of you who see Halloween as an opportunity to build relationships with your neighbors and thereby open doors for the Gospel, check out this post by Tim Challies (the comments are helpful too). Any thoughts? peace.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

IWJO




I saw this on Riddlebarger's blog and it fits with the Joel Osteen theme as of late so I thought I would share it. Apparently some guy who was really touched by one of Osteen's sermon's went out and bought his book and was motivated to create this four-letter logo: IWJO. What's it stand for... I Watch Joel Osteen. (insert awkward pause here.) You can check out the website here. Stocking stuffers anyone?

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

In Case You Missed It...

In case you missed the 60 Minutes special on Joel Osteen you can check it out here. It's a shade over 11.5 minutes long and kind of nauseating, but there is a short clip of an interview with Dr. Michael Horton that shows Horton calling Osteen's teaching heresy, so there was one high point of the special. I think the most uncomfortable part is when Osteen says that there are other people who can explain the Bible better than he can, but that's not his calling. What?... Dude, you're a pastor. That's kind of your job. Also, don't forget that Joel and Victoria Osteen will be on Larry King Live tonight on CNN. Hopefully I will hear Larry say the words, "And Chance from Big Spring, TX writes... " and then follow that with the question I emailed. That would be awesome. peace.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Ugh!

I really like President Bush. I think he is a great president and has handled very horrible circumstances pretty well. However, a recent press release from the White House has a quote from Pres. Bush that is shocking. Here it is:

“…I believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God... I believe there is a universal God. I believe the God that the Muslim prays to is the same God that I pray to. After all, we all came from Abraham. I believe in that universality.”
Besides the horrible logic of this quote, it is a very revealing statement. We need to pray for Mr. Bush. Christians need to understand the importance of just how exclusive Christianity is. EVERYTHING hinges on the fact that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. The God of the Bible has graciously revealed Himself in His Word and has distinguished Himself from all other gods, including the god of Islam. Non-radical Muslims attempt to focus on similarities between Islam and Christianity (just like Mormons and Johovah's Witnesses) while downplaying the differences. This is a call for the Church to educate herself so that she can guard against the scheme of Pluralism. (You can read about Pluralism at Blake's blog.) Christianity is offensive to other religions, and that's okay... it should be.

Friday, October 12, 2007

¿Quick Question?

My dad and I were talking the other night and the following question came up: "How much influence does Satan and his demons have on the mind of a believer?" For example: A man is working in his office going about his normal day and all of a sudden a sinful thought enters his thinking. Is that a result of a sinful nature or is it the result of demonic influences? I have some ideas, but what are yours? peace.

Michael Horton on 60 Minutes

Recently Michael Horton, a professor at Westminster Seminary California was interviewed by 60 Minutes in regards to his take on the ministry of Joel Osteen. Usually the "scholars" that secular news/journalism shows like this one interview on topics of Christianity should not even be considered Christian enthusiasts, much less scholars, and some are probably not Christians at all. However, in this case, my hats off to 60 Minutes. Dr. Horton is most definately a Biblical scholar and I am very excited that he is scheduled to be on such a popular news show. The interview is scheduled to air Sunday, October 14th on CBS (check your local listings). You can check out a clip from the interview at the 60 Minutes website linked above. Also, if that isn't enough Joel for you, Larry King is having Joel and Victoria Osteen on Larry King Live on Tuesday, October 16th on CNN (check your local listings once again). You won't want to miss either event so make sure you set your DVRs, TiVo's, and/or VCRs. peace.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Go ahead... be blessed.

At the church Amber and I attend (Christian Life Center) in Midland, TX, Pastor Billy has really been "bringin' it" lately. The Holy Spirit has been using him greatly to stir the hearts of the congregation, and the fruit of faithful preparation and sensitivity to the Spirit has resulted in some excellent sermons. You can hear all of them by going to the website (www.clcmidland.org) and clicking on 'Downloads'. I would especially encourage you to check out the sermon titled "Taking Hold of the One Who has Taken Hold of Us". Go ahead... be blessed.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Preterism, Revelation and A.D. 70

About three weeks ago (~ish) I said that I would give the internal and external evidence for a pre-70 date of Revelation as found in Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope by Keith Mathison. Well, today is your lucky day. For starters, nobody really knows for sure when Revelation was written. "So what", you may be saying. Well, it turns out that the date of Revelation is very important when it comes to how we interpret the book as a whole. The book of Revelation depicts God's judgment on unrighteous Israel, and in A.D. 70 Jerusalem (including the Jewish Temple) was completely destroyed by the Roman army. Now, if Revelation was written after A.D. 70 then the book is either depicting some future event (Futurism), it is symbolic of a continuous theme, viz., the pursecution of the Church by Satan and the victory of Christ (Idealism), or it is a chronological history of the Church (Historicism). However, if Revelation was written before A.D. 70, then it is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem (and its Temple) in A.D. 70 (Preterism). So how can we know what to do with the book of Revelation? How are we supposed to interpret it? What is the evidence that points toward a pre-70 date? I'm glad you asked. Mathison gives what I think is pretty compelling evidence that Revelation was in fact written before the destruction of Jerusalem. First the external (non-Biblical) evidence:

1. Mathison points out that the most important evidence for people that support a post-70 date of Revelation is found in a quotation by an early church father named Irenaeus (130-202) in his book Against Heresies.

"We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign."

Now, Mathison says that there are several reasons why this statement is inconclusive, but lists the major two:
1. When Irenaeus says, "For that was seen no very long time since,..." the greek word for "that was seen" (heorathe) could either mean "that was seen" or "he was seen". This means that Irenaeus could either be talking about the vision or John.
2. Irenaeus was not known for his historical accuracy. For example, he believed that Jesus' ministry lasted approximately fifteen years and that he lived to be almost fifty (Against Heresies, 2.22.5).

Mathison says that the remainder of witnesses are divided on the issue; some supported a pre-70 date and some a post-70 date. The conclusion is that there is no external evidence that can inconclusively prove the date of the book of Revelation. We must then search the internal evidence.

The internal evidence: (Mathison here quotes from Kenneth Gentry's Before Jerusalem Fell)
1. The Theme of Revelation. The theme of the book is one of coming judgment upon the Jews (Rev. 1:7; 2:5, 16, 25; 3:3, 11; 16:15; 22:7, 12, 20). This is the coming judgment that Jesus said would come upon the generation of Jews to whom he spoke (Mt. 24:34; Mk. 13:30; Lk. 21:32).
2. The Nearness of the Coming. John repeated states that this prophecy will be fulfilled very soon (see. 1:1, 3, 19; 2:16; 3:10-11; 22:6-7, 10, 12, 20). The coming of Christ predicted was not his physical second coming, but a coming of judgment in the form of the Roman army.
3. The Sixth King. Revelation 17:9-10 comes close to indicating the date when the book was written. It tells of "seven kings": "five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while." These kings are associated with "seven mountains" (v. 9), which surely refers to Rome, the city built on seven hills. The "kings" would therefore be the line of Roman emperors. If we begin with Julius Ceasar (as many contemoraries of John did), we have the following list:
1. Julius Caesar (49-44 B.C.)
2. Augustus (27 B.C.- A.D. 14)
3. Tiberius (14-37)
4. Gaius (37-41)
5. Claudius (41-54)
6. Nero (54-68)
7. Galba (68-69)
8. Otho (69)
9. Vitellius (69)
10. Vespasian (69-79)
The sixth king, the one who "is" when John is writing, would then be Nero. He was preceded by five kings who "have fallen," and was followed by a king who reigned only a very short time. By no calculation can the sixth king possibly refer to the emperor Domitian.
4. The Existence of the Temple. Revelation 11:1-2 describes John measuring the temple. While this language could conceivably refer to a symbolic temple, the statement that this temple will be tread upon by the nations for forty-two months seems to indicate that the Jewish temple is in view and that it had not yet been destroyed at the time of writing.
5. The Symbolic Descriptions of Nero. There seems to be a reference to Nero in Revelation 13:18, which speaks of a man whose number is 666. A strong case can be made that this number is a symbolic designation of Nero. While all of the evidence for and against this theory cannot be explained here, suffice it to say that the ancient Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar has the numerical value of 666.
6. The Strong Presence of Jewish Christianity. The book of Revelation gives evidence that it was written during a time when there remained a strong Jewish and even Judaizing element in the church (2:9; 3:9; 7:4-8; 14:1; 21:12). The Jewish influence and threat dwindled rapidly after A.D. 70, and was hardly a factor in the late first century.
7. The Impending Jewish War. There are a number of passages in the book that seem to point to the catastrophe that was about to befall Jerusalem. Several references to time, for example, fit the actual course of events in the Jewish War:
a. Revelation 9:1-12. John sees a vision in which all those without the seal of God are tormented for five months. Significantly, the actual siege of Jerusalem by Titus lasted five months.
b. Revelation 11:2. The temple is given to the nations for forty-two months. Similarly, the time between the declaration of war by Rome until the fall of Jerusalem was almost exactly forty-two months.
c. Revelation 13:5-7. In John's vision of the beast, he is told that the beast makes war with the saints for forty-two months. Nero's persecution of Christians begain late in 64 and lasted until his death in June 68, a period again of almost exactly forty-two months.

"When all of the evidence is examined and weighed carefully, it points to an early date. We conclude, therefore, that the book of Revelation was written sometime during the Neronic persecution (64-68)."

Whew. Let me know what you think. peace.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Happy Birthday!

I was watching Fox News this morning and found out that today (October 5th) there will be more birthdays in the U.S. than any other day. I thought this was weird because for three days now I have been planning to post on today's date to celebrate the birthday of Jonathan Edwards. That's right folks, the man who has been regarded as being the greatest theologian that America has produced was born today in 1703. Were he still alive he would be 304yrs. old. You can check out John Piper's short biography of Edwards here. DesiringGod.org (Piper's ministry) is also putting all of Edwards' books on sell until October 7th. If you do not have any Jonathan Edwards titles I would encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Click here to see the very generous offers. peace.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Mike Huckabee for President!

I don't know how many of you are keeping up with the Presidential nominees so I'm here to help. All you need to know is that you must vote for Mike Huckabee. I first found out about Mike from Jay's blog, and after seeing him this morning on Fox and Friends (Fox News) I thought it would be fitting to blog about him myself. If this man becomes the next President then Postmillennialism just might be true and Christ may indeed come back to a redeemed earth. Here's some background:

Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas, to Mae Elder and Dorsey W. Huckabee. He was elected Governor of Arkansas Boys State in 1972 and is a Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Alumnus. He graduated magna cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University, completing his bachelors degree in 2½ years before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Prior to his political career, Huckabee was pastor of several Southern Baptist churches in Arkadelphia, Texarkana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He served as president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1989 to 1991 and as president of a religion-oriented television station.

And this quote from his website:

The First Amendment requires that expressions of faith be neither prohibited nor preferred. We should not banish religion from the public square, but should guarantee access to all voices and views. We should share and debate our faith, but never seek to impose it. When discussing faith and politics, we should honor the "candid" in candidate - I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer.
My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives.
Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own. It makes us less judgmental, as we see others with the same frailties we have. Faith gives us strength in the face of injustice and motivates us to do our best for "the least of us."
Our nation was birthed in a spirit of faith - not a prescriptive one telling us whether to believe, but one acknowledging that a providence pervades our world.

He also has brilliant ideas in regards to Health Care, Taxes, Education and everything else (oh, and he's written 5 books). Check out his website here, look for clips on YouTube and VOTE FOR MIKE!

Monday, October 01, 2007

Bringin' it Back

My wife, Amber, and I have recently decided that it would be funny to start using certain words in our everyday vocabulary that were only used by previous generations. When was the last time you heard someone say, "Well golly mister!" Exactly. "Golly" is now a common word at the Nichols' residence as well as its close friend "Gee". It has been quite entertaining so far. A few of the other words we are using are: "Neat", "Geewiz" and "Super". If you know of any other 'outdated' words that should be brought back let me know. That sure would be neat. peace.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Sovereign, Sustaining Grace

I just finished reading a sermon by John Piper titled Sustained By Sovereign Grace--Forever. What an encouragement! The main text is Jeremiah 32:36-41 which speaks of a new covenant that will be initiated by God and will sustain His people by His sovereign power. This is a must read. Piper sums up the kind of grace he is talking about in a short poem that he wrote that goes like this:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.

You can read the sermon here.


Wednesday, September 26, 2007

My Baby!

My beautiful wife Amber has posted some pictures of my beautiful daughter Makaya on her blog. I guess I like to surround myself with beauty... what can I say? You can check out the pics here. I will try to get some pics up on this site very soon. peace.

Monday, September 24, 2007

A Birthday and a New Ministry

Today is my sister Tamara's 17th birthday! She is an exceptionally bright and beautiful young woman that loves the Lord and interior design. (I think that means that if she goes into that field she will hang crosses on her clients' walls.) Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMARA! Also, Dr. Steven Lawson has founded a new ministry called New Reformation Ministries. If you are familiar with Dr. Lawson then you will know that this is a fitting name. The website has a lot of great resources and is worth a visit. Oh, and Jay, he graduated from Texas Tech.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Preterism-Idealism? I think I like it.

For a few hours now I have been searching the internet for articles on the date of Revelation. Here's what I found: Nobody knows when Revelation was written. In my last post I addressed how I really liked the "modified" idealist view championed by Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, but began to have some questions after reading an analysis of Revelation by Keith Mathison in his book Postmillennialism: An Eschatoloy of Hope that is written from a preterist perspective. In my search for answers I came across this article. It was written by John Noe who was apparently a Full Preterist for 10yrs. and then "converted?" to a Preterist-Idealist. The article is pretty long and probably boring if you're not real interested in this stuff (I haven't read it yet, so hopefully there's no heresy in it). At first glance though, it seems like this might be right on the money, that is, as long as Revelation was written before A.D. 70 (which I will address next time). Check out this quote:

"The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) has a fuller significance and deeper character beyond its AD 70 eschatological fulfillment. Consequently, the preterist notion that it only applies to AD 70 when Christ supposedly came in “finality” is a weakness to be amended. And in a preterist-idealist synthesis, the strength of idealism remains that it “secures its relevance for all periods of the church’s history.” But its major weakness—i.e. “its refusal to see a firm historical anchorage”— is removed. That missing anchorage is supplied by Revelation’s A.D-70 fulfillment."

Sounds interesting to me. I'll read it, think more about it and get back to you. Any thoughts?

Now I'm Just Confused

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading Kim Riddlebarger's sermons on the book of Revelation. (You can find them here.) Dr. Riddlebarger describes his approach as a "modified" Idealism, and I must say, it makes a lot of since and really seeks to honor Christ. I am also in the process of reading Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope by Keith Mathison. I really like the modified Idealism approach to Revelation. I agree with Amillennialism and the Idealist view fits well into that scheme. However, the Idealist interpretation of Revelation depends on a late date of Revelation (A.D. 95-96) and Postmillennialism embraces a Preterist approach to Revelation which depends on an early date of Revelation (ca A.D. 66-68). Dr. Riddlebarger (An Amillennialist that I highly respect), in the first sermon in his series, spends no time on this issue, leaving only a reference to Beale's The Book of Revelation. He merely states that Revelation was written "some time in the mid-90's". Mathison, however, spends quite a bit of time on this issue in Postmillennialism showing the internal and external evidence on an early date. The issue boils down to this: In A.D. 70 Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Roman army. Now, if Revelation was written after A.D. 70 then the prophecies have either not yet been fulfilled (Futurism), are in the process of being fulfilled (Historicism), or serve as symbols of a continuous theme throughout the history of the Church showing that the Church will always be persecuted by antichrists and "beasts" but will always persevere through Christ(Idealism). But, if Revelation was written before A.D. 70 then that leaves us with the Preterism view that says most (Partial Preterism) or all (Full Preterism) of Revelation was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. For the sake of time I will leave the gritty details of internal and external evidence for the next entry. I really want to be an Idealist, but now I'm just confused. Thoughts are welcome.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

For those of you with iPods

I personally do not own an iPod... yet. However, I entered a drawing at my work to win a 30Gb video iPod that will be held next week. I'll let you know if I win. I was just over at Monergism.com and saw some crazy news that I thought I would let those of you who do not regularly visit that website know about. Apparently Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) has put a lot of their seminary lectures, chapel services, and other events on iTunes FOR FREE! This is an invaluable resource. RTS is home to such professors as John Frame, Bruce Waltke, Ligon Duncan (Adjunct) and many others. To see a list of available files or to download iTunes click here. This makes me really want to win that iPod.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A Lawsuit Against God?

I was reading Kim Riddlebarger's blog today and he had a post on a Nebraska senator (Ernie Chambers) that is suing God. Apparently the senator is attempting to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits. I am not 100% sure, but, after reading the article, I think that's on the blasphemous side. You can read the article here. Let me know what you think.

Monday, September 17, 2007

A Good Study of Revelation

Real quick...
There are traditionally four ways to interpret the book of Revelation.
1. Futurism
2. Preterism
3. Historicism
4. Idealism

Dr. Kim(ble) Riddlebarger is a reformed amillinnarian. He has written two books: A Case for Amillennialism and Man of Sin. He is a pastor and seminary professor and is in the process of writing a series on Revelation from a "tweaked" Idealism perspective on his blog. He has written 23 parts so far and is on Chapter 16 in Revelation. I think it is very convincing and worth your time. Check it out at: http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/downloadable-sermons-on-the-bo/

peace.

if you still read this blog...

Okay, I know that it has been about nine months or so since my last post, so for those of you that still check this blog... my hats off to you. You guys are the definition of Perseverance of the Saints. I am actually not dead, but a lot of stuff has happened. Consider this post an "update". In November 2006 my wife and I found out that we were pregnant. By December I finished my first semester of seminary. In January 2007 (I think) we found out that our baby was a girl. I had to get a full-time job because of the pregnancy and had to drop two classes during the Spring of this year keeping just one night class (Intro. to Philosophy). I got a job at a marketing firm called G Franklin & Co. selling office supplies for Quill Office Supplies (who was our client) business-to-business. I eventually found out that I did not like that job very much. I was also a youth minister at a small Southern Baptist Church in Bagdad, KY called Indian Fork Baptist Church (you heard me). Due to various external factors (i.e. debt, pregnancy, etc.) Amber and I decided that it would be best for us to move back to Big Spring, TX which is were both of our parents' live. We didn't set a move date, but eventually we pretty much said, "How about Tuesday?" I dropped my class, we got a U-Haul, my dad flew in, and with the help of some great friends we packed up and headed for the Lone Star State. Oh, and some time in there Amber got a kidney stone and was in the hospital for nine days. (Word of Advice to my readers: DON'T GET KIDNEY STONES! ...EVER!) So we got back to TX and moved in with my parents. I was worried about finding a good church and so I looked on-line for the nearest Sovereign Grace church... just for fun, and wouldn't you know it, there was one in Midland, TX (45 minutes away)! We went, loved it, and are about to become members. We eventually moved into a 3bed, 1bath rent house in Big Spring and I got a job as a substance abuse counselor at Cornell Companies here in town which is a immigration prison and i love it. My salary is enough to eventually get us out of debt and to allow Amber to stay at home. (Check out her new blog at http://myrockandmyfortress.blogspot.com.) We had our baby girl August 13, 2007 at 4:41pm. Her name is Makaya Lynn Nichols; she was 7lbs. 4oz. and 20.5in. long. She is absolutely amazing! Amber had to have a Cessarian section and she has finally recovered to about 80-90% of her normal self. The Lord has been very gracious to us both. Our church, Christian Life Center http://www.clcmidland.org, has been one of God's greatest gifts to us. We have made new friends, have become more aware of our sin, have been encouraged with kind words and acts of service beyond my imagination, and, most importantly, I think we see and love Christ more. I will talk more about CLC in future blogs. Please keep us in your prayers. This list of life events is not exhaustive, but you get the point. I am glad that you have found your way back to this "empty shell" (Eron?) of a blog. peace.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

I'm Glad I'm Not A Girl

For several years now I have noticed that on a near day-to-day basis I utter the phrase, "Man, I'm glad I'm not a girl." I don't know why, but seldom does a day go by where something doesn't catch my attention and cause me to say this. Tonight, for example, I was closing at Chick-fil-A and a group of about seven high school girls and boys came in and ordered some food. I couldn't help but overhearing the "bubbliness" of the conversations between the girls and in my mind immediately classified them as the "ditzy" type. It was as though life was a bit more confusing and "light" to them than other people, and I found myself saying, "Man, I'm glad I'm not a girl." Here are some other things that have caused this expression to leap from my mouth: makeup, long hair, emotions/hormones (holy cow), PMS, irrationality (sorry, it's true), clothes, female friendships (yeah, I'd have more "guy friends" too), pregnancy (and it's cousin Morning Sickness... this is a new one for me), dependency on the word "like", a need to watch Oprah, gossip (are you kidding me?), dating jerks ("But I love him!"), "giggle attacks", bad driving, flowers (for crying out loud... there just plants! And, no they do not smell good.), decorating, "chick flicks" (yeah, life isn't like that), "Do I look fat in this?", "Do you think she's prettier than me?", "I don't care, wherever you want to eat is fine." (but it isn't fine)/ indecisiveness, speaking in code/not saying what you mean, directions that never mention street names ("Turn at the big, purple building with the pretty tree."), false audience (any psychology people out there?), musicals (go grease lightening), physically not that strong ("Could you open this?"), going to the bathroom is more fun in groups, sitting down to pee (or, "hovering", depending on the cleanliness of the seat), etc.

On January 8th my wife an I will celebrate our six-month anniversary. As the days go by I become more and more aware of how different men and women are (and more and more grateful that the good Lord has made me a guy). But, even though my wife and I are so different I look foward to many more confusing years of trying to figure her out.