my burg

It appears the momentum for political decisions being made these days in the U.S. -- no matter what the social issue -- really seems to be the logical outcome of American humanism of the second half of the twentieth century.  Below is a quote from Francis Schaeffer, speaking in a lecture in 1982, over 30 years ago.  He saw then where this was all heading... [quote photo courtesy of Tony Felich ]

Dr. Russell Moore quote from a year ago...

Puritan Paperback Set, Romans Set, and Lectures to my Students – Giveaway by Banner of Truth .

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when applying what you've studied in the Word.  The questions are grouped in three areas: Learning (knowledge), Worship (heart issues), and Action (practical and relational response)...

"And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'  But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:19-21 ESV) In the past I have limited this reference of "treasure" only to monetary matters. As Kuyper notes below, this principle -- being rich or poor toward God -- is more expansive than just applying to money.  Read on... To understand what constitutes riches in God, imagine for a moment that all your earthly riches had taken wings, and that bereft of all you had, you are forgotten by those who once knew you. In this utter forsakenness of soul ask yourself: What have I left? What do I now possess? This will be our state in the hour of death. We will go into eternity alone. What will we take with us? We must leave money and ...

"The destruction of one’s own soul, or of the soul of his children or of others by example or willful temptation, is always the spoiling of a Divine work of art, a creation of God, which wounds him in his own handiwork, corrupting the traces of himself in it... "We should not poison the soul by continuance in sin, but that we should favor it, and spare it, and shield it from corrupting influences, because it belongs to God on the ground that He has made it... "The saving and uplifting power of this confession is only felt when each morning is begun anew with the vivid realization of the inspiring thought that the soul in us is a work of art, made by the High and Holy One, on which his Honor hangs, over which therefore He watches with holy jealousy..."  -- Abraham Kuyper, Near to God .

"Must we always comment on life? Can it not simply be lived in the reality of Christ's terms of contact with the Father, with joy and peace, fear and love full to the fingertips in their turn, without incessant drawing of lessons and making of rules?"   (Elisabeth Elliot)