the gate

The three of us Pastors of Gateway are going through a book that Steve and I have mentioned here on the blog before. It’s by Michael Horton, host of the the radio program The Whitehorse Inn. The book is Christless Christianity, and is a must for everyone that is serious about their Christian Faith, and the Gospel of the living God.

I wanted to share this with you because it is soooo good.

 It’s important to point out that law and gospel do not simply refer to the Ten Commandments and John 3:16, respectively. Everything in the Bible that reveals God’s moral expectations is law and everything in the Bible that reveals God’s saving purposes and acts is gospel. Not everything in God’s Word is gospel; there are a lot of exhortations, commands, and imperatives. They are to be followed. However, they are not the gospel. Not everything that we need is gospel. We also need to be directed. We need to know God’s commands so we will come clean, acknowledge our sins, and flee to Christ and also so they can direct us in grateful obedience. When it come to doing something, we are answering the law (works); when it comes to believing what has been done for us by Christ, we are answering the gospel (faith). Confused with faith as the means of inheriting God’s gift, our “good works” become the most offensive sins against God. But when faith alone receives the gift, it immediately begins to yield the fruit of righteousness. When even good, holy, and proper things become confused with the gospel, it is only a matter of time before we end up with Christless Christianity: a story about us instead of a story about the Triune God that sweeps us into the unfolding drama.

Please partake and enjoy.

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planned parenthood makes me wanna cuss.  scoundrels.

check out liveaction.org for more info.

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If you’re a parent, this is about your family. But what I write here is not only for parents. Today is National Missing Children’s Day. I think it is so important for us as parents to teach our children to enjoy life; to help them experience the joy and hope of Jesus, not the fear and pessimism of man. But neither you nor your children should be naive.

It is estimated that as many as 300,000 American children are working as prostitutes in the U.S.A. (The Human Trafficking Report Newsletter, KlaasKids Foundation)

Did you really think they chose this life on their own?

Every year in America, 200,000 children are abducted by family members, and 58,000 are abducted by non-family members. The primary motive for non-family abductions is sexual. Thankfully, most of those children are quickly and safely returned home. Those that are not are often the victims of the most serious abductions, taken by non-family members and either murdered, held for ransom, or taken with the intent to keep or traffick. Thousands of teenagers run away from home each year, in most cases, because of abusive family situations. Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, one-third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution or pornography. Sadly, some children run away from good homes not knowing the danger that awaits them.

Please, no more jokes about the pictures on the milk cartons.

Mary, age 13, was taken by a 32-year-old man, and commercially exploited sexually in Idaho, Nevada, and California over a period of 18 months. He was charged with six counts of interstate transportation of minors for purposes of prostitution. (The San Francisco Chronicle) Incidentally, 13 is the average age at which female prostitutes in America begin working as prostitutes. Obviously 13-year-olds are not choosing this life on their own.

Fifteen-year-old Debbie, whose story I posted here previously, was abducted from her own driveway one night. She was beaten, fed dog biscuits, and kept in a locked dog kennel. Her abductors advertised her on craigslist under the heading “Teen Love.” Men began to arrive for degrading forms of sex, and paid her captors well. A tip to police led to her eventual freedom and return to her family. (Stop Trafficking Newsletter #43)

Every day, predators are luring, stalking, and beguiling children and teenagers on the Internet. For example, on Myspace, Ryan Clewell contacted six girls — between the ages of 12 and 15 — and asked them to perform sex acts with him in exchange for between $150 and $600. He has been charged with six counts of soliciting a child for prostitution. (see the Internet Predator News Watch blog for other examples - I’m telling you it is happening daily, and not only to girls - While Playing Online Xbox Game, Utah Man Entices 12-Year-Old Boy Into Having Sex)

To learn how to protect your kids online, visit Netsmartz411.

Some of the questions answered at Netsmartz:
How many teens are actually engaging in sexting?
What are the risks of using webcams?
What do online abbreviations/acronyms mean? (P911: my parents are coming; PAL: parents are listening; PAW: parents are watching; PIR: parent in room)
Where can I find Internet safety videos to watch with my children?
see the Library page for more (click here)

Take25 is another good website. Click here to learn 25 ways to make kids safer. Every parent reading this should click this link and print these 25 safety tips.

To learn more, visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children website.

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Related posts:
Craigslist Crime Network
sex + money
Sex Trafficking In America

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I think for most of us in America, the natural tendancy is to forget that we are in a spiritual battle. Scripture lets us know that we fight the flesh, the world, and the devil. I think with all the comforts and ease of American Christianity we end up lulled to sleep.

This is why scripture admonishes us to be “sober and vigilant.” Be awake and alert! Well unfortunately the church in America across denominational lines has failed in doing that and we lose sight of the gospel. We then end up with one of two things; we either end up preaching and practicing moralism or we take up social justice as our ultimate cause. But we leave the gospel!

Paul asks a question that can and must be asked of the church today. “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3)

Then he gives this exortation to the church that still stands today, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” He continues with this warning, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be  justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

In Michael Horton’s book, Christless Christianity, he states that ”a moralistic religion of self-salvation is our default setting as fallen creatures. If we are not explicitly and regularly taught out of it, we will always turn the message of God’s rescue operation into a message of self help.” Wow! Read that again, this time slowly. Go ahead I’ll wait… You see, that is why we must continue in the Spirit and remind ourselves of the truths of scripture so that we grow in faith.

That is the answer; Faith. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.”(1 John 5:4) It’s not faith in faith either, but faith placed in Christ. 

So today fight the fight by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Yuri Gargarin, a Russian cosmonaut and the first human in space, said, “I looked and looked and looked but I didn’t see God.” If he really wanted to see God, all he had to do was abandon ship!

As frustrating as it is for some people, God cannot be captured in a scientific box. (Actually, God cannot be captured in any box, including a theological box.) A Christianity Today article discusses a 2006 Harvard study on the effectiveness of prayer. They studied the effect of prayer on 1,802 coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients. Those who knew they were being prayed for did worse in terms of post-operative complications than those who were uncertain if anyone was praying for them. Thus, many people with an axe to grind used the study to show that prayer doesn’t work, Christianity is false, and God does not exist. There will always be Yuri Gargarins in this world.

In the article, I found these three paragraphs to be the most significant:

C.S. Lewis anticipated a carefully designed prayer study, but did not think it would show any positive, measurable results. “The trouble is that I do not see how any real prayer could go on under such conditions,” Lewis said. “Simply to say prayers is not to pray; otherwise a team of properly trained parrots would serve as well as men for our experiment.” He argued that this approach to prayer treats it “as if it were magic, or a machine—something that functions automatically”—an accusation unintentionally but prophetically aimed at STEP and the other well-meaning attempts to measure the effects of prayer. If Lewis is right, such attempts always end up trying to measure something more akin to magic than a real movement of God.

Ironically, STEP actually supports the Christian worldview. Our prayers are nothing at all like magical incantations. Our God bears no resemblance to a vending machine. The real scandal of the study is not that the prayed-for group did worse, but that the not-prayed-for group received just as much, if not more, of God’s blessings. In other words, God seems to have granted favor without regard to either the quantity or even the quality of the prayers. By instinct, we might selfishly prefer that God give preferential treatment to those who are especially, deliberately, and correctly prayed for, but he seems to act otherwise.

True to his character, God appears inclined to heal and bless as many as possible. It is as if he can barely restrain himself—though he often does—from supernaturally intervening and disrupting the nature of the universe to care for those he loves, whether they acknowledge it or not. Did God answer the prayers of the study’s official prayer teams? Yes. But more than that, he answered the prayers of the patients, of their friends and relatives, and perhaps even of those who may not have known they were praying.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating, prayer is first and foremost about our relationship with God, not about a task. I don’t know of any parents who want their relationship with their children to be primarily about the material things they give to their children. I don’t know of any parents whose number one priority is teaching their children how to most effectively ask for things. Yet when we want to learn about prayer, more often than not, we are primarily concerned with learning how to most effectively ask for things (how to get what we want). Much like parents, God is mostly interested in a relationship with his children that is characterized by love. Prayer is first and foremost about developing that relationship. Secondly, prayer is not about bending God’s will to conform to ours, but conforming our will to God’s.

Now as far as scientific studies go, LiveScience.com is reporting that old Republican men are the happiest people, yet Politico is telling us, “Dick Cheney is 68, white and bitter. He is the Republican Party today.” So who am I supposed to believe? Whose “science” is correct?

Science used to tell us how bad coffee is for us. Now science is telling us how good coffee is for us. Like studies in the past, there will probably be studies in the future that tell us prayer is effective. As for me, my faith doesn’t rest on science, so there’s no need for me to wait until then.

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seriously though, what is “fair minded“???

i’m not typically a hard liner but when it comes to abortion there is only one answer.  if i met obama, this is what i’d choose to say to him (see video below).  well, it’s what i would want to say at least.  it would more likely be “hello mr. president” followed by ”you don’t have to be the lap dog of those around you” muttered under my breath inaudibly.   LOL

preach on piper.

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Craigslist has responded to the pressure to change their erotic services section. I had posted about this previously here and here.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said, “Craigslist’s erotic services section had become nothing more than an Internet brothel.”

Attorney Daniel Gallagher and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal are skeptical as to whether this promise is real or only a ploy to reduce the pressure.

Read the article here.

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That’s what those of us in California have an opportunity to do next Tuesday.

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“There’s a hole in the boat! Let’s
punch another hole to let the water out!”
- California politicians

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If you are thinking of not voting next Tuesday, you should reconsider. Does the firefighter ad have you concerned? Know that the Sacramento fat cats want to scare a yes vote out of you. In the old TV series, Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday is famous for saying, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.” I’m no expert, but there are some experts and analysts trying to make sure we’re in the know. You can decide who’s giving us the facts.

In a nutshell, here’s what you get to vote on next week.

In total, if advocates get their way, every family in California will be paying nearly $4,000 on average in higher taxes. And for what? Simply put, the package of measures on the ballot does not solve the structural problems of our state…. - Jon Fleischman, The Flash Report

Regarding the threat to let California burn (slash the fire fighting budget), Dan Walters, writing for the Sacramento Bee, says,

Proposition 1A, which is Schwarzenegger’s highest priority, has absolutely nothing to do with this year’s budget or the 2009-10 version that will go into effect July 1. If it’s rejected, some new taxes would short-circuit after a couple of years, so its financial impact would come then, not this year.
[ . . . ]
But does that mean [failure to pass these measures] would result in massive cutbacks in firefighting capability, implicitly leaving homes to burn? Not on your sweet bippy. No governor would entertain such neglect and Schwarzenegger knows it. Whatever else might be sacrificed — schools, healthcare, welfare — the state would spend what’s needed to fight wildfires.

Here’s a few thoughts from Americans for Tax Reform:

Make no mistake; California does not have a budget shortfall.  California has a gross overspending problem.  Since 1991, state spending in the Golden State has skyrocketed by almost 300 percent.

Do not be fooled by the marketing. Prop 1A does not even come close to providing an effective spending cap. Even worse, the so called “rainy day fund” that 1A creates is nothing more than a slush fund for the spending interests that have put a great state on the road to bankruptcy.

The politicians created this crisis.  They want voters to vote themselves guilty and to vote to punish themselves with higher taxes.

Ben Zycher, a senior fellow with the Pacific Research Institute, says Prop 1A allows the governor to use the budget stabilization fund any way he wants, without having to answer to anyone.

The language allows the governor to suspend or reduce transfers into the BSF for any fiscal year upon issuance of an executive order, and there is no limit on that power; given the spending pressures that exert themselves upon any California governor, it is likely that such executive orders will become the norm rather than the exception.

Just remember, the Sacramento gang that got us into this deep hole wants to borrow and spend their way out of debt. That’s what caused this mess in the first place. What’s that old saying? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

From the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Prop. 1A Fact Sheet:

PROPOSITION 1A IS A $16 BILLION TAX INCREASE

PROPOSITION 1A IS PHONY BUDGET REFORM

PROPOSITION 1A = VOTER DECEPTION!

You can vote yes, and give Sacramento more of your hard earned money. Or you can vote no and tell Sacramento to manage their spending just like you have to do.

Americans for Tax Reform opposes Props. 1A - 1F.

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“Yes, I’m going to mail my credit card to Sacramento. They wouldn’t ask for it if they didn’t need it more than I do.”
- a California voter

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right on the money:

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I’ve been talking about reading the Bible as Jesus teaches us to read it — to see that from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is primarily about Jesus; he is the central character from beginning to end. How do we learn to read it that way? It is easy to overlook Jesus. It is common to find that Christians, even pastors, do not read it the way Jesus tells us to read it.

There is a guide that I have recommended often. If you’re a part of Gateway, you’ve probably heard me recommend this book, The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Just regularly reading this book helps you remember to read the Bible the way Jesus tells us to read it.

I know many of you parents have bought it and read it to your kids. That’s great! But I would recommend it for any adult or teenager. Ben Patterson, campus pastor at Westmont College, wrote a review of it entitled, A Very Grown-up Children’s Bible.

In it, he writes:

The title and subtitle . . . provide, in one deft stroke, the interpretive key that unlocks the meaning of the whole Bible. The Jesus Storybook Bible says it all: The Scriptures are not merely a collection of stories designed to teach moral lessons. As Jesus explained to the men walking the road to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday, the whole Bible is about Jesus. In the words of the subtitle, every story whispers his name.

Couldn’t have said it better myself (which is why I quoted him). But this next quote is really what I want to pass along.

I’m hoping to invite my adult friends over for an evening with the Story. It will help some of us (well, me) to retool our theology a bit. We’ll pass The Jesus Storybook Bible around and read it aloud, taking time to look at the pictures. I think it can be done, but even if we don’t finish, it will be okay, because the story is still unfolding anyway.

I’ve really been thinking about doing that . . . having an adult The Jesus Storybook Bible reading group. We’d just read it and discuss it as adults, and it would be great. Before long, I think we’d all begin reading our “adult” Bible the way Jesus said we should read it.

Your pastor should be teaching you to read the Bible this way every time he preaches; but if he doesn’t, maybe you should buy him a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible and tell him how helpful it has been for you. Who knows what could happen?

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