Here is an interesting video regarding the Jesus wife papyrus which is making a lot of news:

BW3 on Jesus’ Wife?

Alcorn begins the chapter writing about John chapter 2. In that chapter Jesus turned water into wine. This was an act of grace. This was all for fun. But then, total truth. Jesus then makes a whip to drive people out of the temple courts who were selling things at prices that equaled extortion. John 2 has a demonstration of grace and truth.
On page 73 Alcorn writes: “we have redefined Christlike to mean ‘nice.’ By that definition Christ wasn’t always Christlike. He confronted people with sin, raised His voice, threw tables, and called people snakes, blind hypocrites, and whitewashed tombs. If we don’t talk about sin and hell because we want to be nice, we’re trying to be nicer than Jesus, who spoke a great deal about both.” (page 73)
Some other points I wanted to share:
• “We imagine that hell is out of proportion to our offenses precisely because we don’t grasp how serious they are. God’s grace faces hell’s reality straight on, offering full deliverance. Denying hell takes the wind out of grace’s sales. If there’s no eternal hell, the stakes of redemption are vastly lowered. What exactly did Jesus die to rescue us from?
• A rescue is only as dramatic and consequential as the fate from which someone is rescued.” (page 75)
He also writes
• “One out of five women having an abortion in America claim to be born-again Christians. Yet pastors tell me, ‘I don’t talk about abortion because it will make our people feel guilty, since many have had abortions.’ Isn’t that exactly why we should talk about it’?
o “our silence isn’t grace—it’s cruelty.” (page 76)
• Eph 4:15: speak the truth in love. (page 77)
• Share the truth; then offer him grace and help. (page 77 about helping a friend share Christ with his father who is dying.)
• In a spirit of grace, love people enough to share the truth. (page 77)

I thought this chapter has some great points, what do you think?
have a blessed week!

This comes from Dr. Tennent’s blog. http://timothytennent.com/2012/09/13/reflections-on-the-embassy-attacks/

Reflections on the Embassy Attacks
Thursday, September 13th, 2012

In recent days we have seen multiple attacks on American embassies or consulates in the Middle East, including those in Lybia, Egypt, and Yemen. Dating back to the Iranian revolution in the 1970’s we have become accustomed to seeing this kind of violence expressed against America. In watching the news of these recent attacks, and in light of our recent memory of the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, I was reminded of a book by Bertrand Russell which I read years ago entitled, The Conquest of Happiness.

In that book he makes a very important observation about life. At one point he is discussing work and why humans spend so much time working. He argued that work is, in part, based on the desire to build or construct something. He is not merely referring to carpenters or skilled laborers who physically build things. He makes the larger point that integral to the human fulfillment is the desire to do constructive things with our lives – building a family, building a business, building an institution, building a movement, building a bridge, and so forth. He then goes on to argue that construction is, therefore, inherently more satisfying than destruction.

When you destroy something like tearing down the gates of an embassy, killing someone, turning cars over and lighting them on fire, the fulfillment in that kind of activity is fleeting and quickly subsides. Constructive work, on the other hand, provides an ongoing sense of fulfillment and peace. In fact, the deepest constructive work is never fully complete, so we have that ongoing sense of building, improving, making things better, and so forth. With destruction, there is no such lasting sense of accomplishment. Osama bin Laden came to symbolize one of the greatest acts of destruction in modern times. However, he was not fulfilled by it. He ended his life alone in a walled compound, spending his days with a sense of defeat and looking at pornography.

Those who march on embassies, kill ambassadors, burn buildings and turn cars upside down cannot avoid the fact that if their message is to be compelling and bring long term fulfillment they must demonstrate what they will construct once all the destruction is complete. What is their long-term vision for life, for society, for the world? The work of destruction is far easier than the harder work of construction.

Christianity, in the end, is not about destruction. Ultimately, it is the greatest construction project in the universe. The vision of Christianity is the in-breaking of the kingdom of God which is about reconciliation, peace, healing and the power of God’s love to overcome evil.

So, in the midst of a world of destruction and burning cars in the streets, keep on building, keep on constructing. Let your capacity to love this world be greater than any force which unleashes hatred on the world. Let your forgiveness be greater than any force of bitterness. Remember, the cross is the greatest intersection of the world’s hatred and God’s love. The resurrection is God constructing once again. The Risen Lord defeats death. Construction, in the end, always trumps destruction.

Thanks be to God.

This chapter is about grace. On pages 66-67 Alcorn talks about grace versus tolerance. To give grace is not the same thing as condoning something. By the way tolerance doesn’t mean condoning. Someone once told me that we tolerate the smell in an outhouse, that doesn’t mean we like the smell. Alcorn says that grace never lowers the standard of God’s holiness (page 66). the parable of the prodigal son is an example of grace (Luke 15:11-32). Also many of you know of the play and movie “Les Miserables.”
Alcorn shares a great example from C.S. Lewis: • “During a British conference on comparative religions, scholars debated what belief, if any was totally unique to the Christian faith.
• Incarnation? The gods of other religions appeared in human form. Resurrection? Other religions tell of those returning from the dead. The debate went on until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. The scholars posed the question to him.
• ‘That’s easy,’ Lewis replied. ‘It’s grace.’
• Our Babel-building pride insists that we must work our way to God. Only the Christian faith presents God’s grace as unconditional.” (page 68 more explained on page 69: “’All religions are basically the same’? Imagine a geometry or French teacher who said to his students, ‘It doesn’t matter what answers you give on the test. All answers are basically the same.’ Hinduism’s gods are many and impersonal. Christianity’s God is one and personal. Buddhism offers no forgiveness or divine intervention. Christianity offers forgiveness and Divine intervention. In Judaism and Islam, men earn righteous status before God through doing good works. In Christianity, men gain righteousness only by confessing their unrighteousness and being covered by Christ’s merit. Every other religion is a man working his way to God. Christianity is God working His way to man.”)
Then another illustration:

• Michael Christopher’s play, The Black Angel pages 69-70:
What happens to us when we are forgiven?Christopher’s play is about a former German army general, Engel, who tried to make a new life for himself and his wife outside a little French village. He had been imprisoned for 30 years, sentenced by Nuremberg war war crimes court. He hoped that people will forget and forgive he terrible past. He built a log cabin in the near by mountains he wanted to start anew.A french journalist, Morrieu, could not forget the past. His family was massacred by the generals army. There was not a single survivor in the village. For thirty years Morrieu had planned his revenge. He said to himself: “If the Nuremberg court could not sentence General Engel To die, I will pronounce his death sentence and execute it.” He stoked the embers of hartred and fears in the mind of village radicals. and revolutionaries.They conspired to burn down the cabin in night, killing Angel and his wife. Morrieu as a journalist, had several questions for the General: why did he do it? After thirty years in prison, what did he feel know? So he proceeded to the cabin, surprised the General and his wife and spent the whole afternoon probing his past action, trying to analyze and learn the reason for the tragedy.He found the general full of regret and repentance. He was actually waiting to download his guilt to someone, He could trust. Moved, Morrieu offered to smuggle the General and his wife to safety. He disclosed to them that he villagers would atack his cabin at night and kill both of them. The general said: ” We will accompany you only on the condition; that you forgive me.” Morrieu could not forgive the general. He could save him but forgive him never! That night the villagers burnt down the cabin and shot Engel and his wife dead. The play when staged left the audience gasping for an answer…….
Do you have any thoughts about how tough grace is? Have a blessed week!

• Michael Christopher’s play, The Black Angel. Illustration pages 69-70 (copied and pastied from http://ahimsaakash.blogspot.com/2008/09/black-angel-by-michael-christopher.html
What happens to us when we are forgiven?Christopher’s play is about a former German army general, Engel, who tried to make a new life for himself and his wife outside a little French village. He had been imprisoned for 30 years, sentenced by Nuremberg war war crimes court. He hoped that people will forget and forgive he terrible past. He built a log cabin in the near by mountains he wanted to start anew.A french journalist, Morrieu, could not forget the past. His family was massacared by the generals army. There was not a single survivor in the village. For thirty years Morrieu had planned his revenge. He said to himself: “If the Nuremberg court could not sentence General Engel To die, I will pronounce his death sentence and execute it.” He stoked the embers of hartred and fears in the mind of village radicals. and revolutionaries.They conspire to burn down the cabin in night, killing Angel and his wife. Morrieu as a journalist, had several question for the General: why did he do it? After thirty years in prison, what did he feel know? So he proceede to the cabin, surprised the General and his wife and spent the whole afternoon probinghis past action, trying to analyze and learn the reason for the tragedy.He found the general full of regret and repentance. He was actually waiting to download his guilt to someone, He could trust. Moved, Morrieu offered to smuggle the General and his wife to safety. He disclosed to them that he vilagers would atack his cabin at night and kill both of them. The general said: ” We will accompany you only on the condition; that you forgive me.” Morrieu could not forgive the general. He could save him but forgive him never! That night the villagers burnt down the cabin and shot Engel and his wife dead. The play when staged left the audience gasping for an answer…….

I read this last week by Pastor Rick Sams and thought it worth posting:

SPORTS PROS AND CONS by Pastor Rick Sams
It’s been called the biggest upset of the Olympic games so far, compared to Tyson Gay outrunning Usain Bolt in the 100 meters (That did NOT happen). But US pole vaulter, Jenn Suhr, did soar to beat the perennial favorite, Russia’s two-time gold medalist Elena Isinbaeva.
I was disappointed former gold medal decathlete, Dan O’Brien, now a commentator, only gave a lite analysis of her win. When I complained to my wife how much more detailed he could have been, O’Brien being a former vaulter, she shot back: “But only old pole vaulters (me) would be interested in that. “ I just wish she wouldn’t have emphasized the “OLD.”
I have also been disappointed NBC hasn’t shown any Olympic basketball yet on regular TV (I don’t have cable). So I missed the famous cheap shot Argentinean player, Facundo Campazzo, gave Carmello Anthony. This nonsense only reinforces the negative stereotypes athletes often get (deserve?). The constant applause given to double amputee Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, and his endurance through hardship, shows some of the great values sports teaches.
Pastors are in a delicate spot when it comes to sports. Many of us have played them, love them, and watch them regularly (I’ve heard stats 90% of America does one of those each day). We see the good things they accomplish; teamwork, character from learning how to lose, hard work, sharing, and thinking of others instead of just yourself.
But we also see the negatives—SO many absences from church, even for the youngest athletes, because parents are sure sports are doing more for their kids than church (or Christ?). SURELY all these kids will land lucrative scholarships (the stats on this are bleak). Then there are the cheap shots, the selfish “me first, me only, and it’s all about me” attitudes that permeate the sporting world from the pros down to the littlest Little League.
So what are we to do?
First we all need to admit sports are neutral, like many other things (money, guns). It’s what we DO with them that makes them good or bad; able to redeem or wreck a life.
So how do we redeem them since they are here to stay?
Second, we should constantly teach the real-life stories of grace, selflessness and true sportsmanship to our young athletes as coaches AND parents. When gold-medalist Kirani James, of tiny Grenada, met South African amputee, Oscar Pistorius, on the track after Pistorius didn’t even place to trade numbers and hugs that was huge. When hurdlers from other countries helped 2004 gold medalist, Liu Xiang, off the track, consoling and hugging him after his Achille’s tore in a nearly identical scene as the 2008 Beijing games, that is more than a Kodak moment. It’s teaching time. When US Olypmian and gold medalist, Kerri Strug, sticks her vault in the ’96 Olympics to claim the team gold on a bad ankle, forgetting the fact it could (and did) cost her her entire athletic career…priceless!
We also need to highlight what happens on lower levels, like when the 2011 Ohio High School State 1600 meter winner, Meghan Vogel, running her second race of the day, ran out of gas. The junior from West Liberty-Salem High School stooped to help Arden McGrath who was clearly going to finish last. Instead of running past her to avoid that embarrassment herself, Vogel nearly dragged McGrath to the finish line, pushing her across ahead of her so McGrath would not finish last. Awe-inspiring, breath-taking and tear inducing, even from our youth.*
Why can’t we, as parents or coaches, “redeem the time for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16) by using the incredible amounts of time we spend with kids in the car traveling to sporting events to do Bible stories or other character lessons like these? If you truly care what they are missing at church you will. How about using the time on the sidelines with other parents to teach positive things to them about sportsmanship instead of reinforcing all the bad stereotypes yourself?

(*”True Value Of High School Athletics,” Alliance Review, 6/18/12)

I read the blog below about “mommy porn.” This was on Josh Harris’ blog. Below you will also find an interesting article in the replies to my previous blog. I have pasted this below but it can be found here:

http://www.joshharris.com/2012/07/mommy_porn_is_no_better_than_d.php

I appreciate Christian blogger Melissa Jenna’s strong challenge to fellow sisters-in-Christ about the the acceptance of so called “Mommy Porn”–specifically, the best-selling erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey” and the male-stripper themed movie “Magic Mike.” Melissa shares her surprise at how “completely accepting” Christian culture is to both of these works. “I’ve read a few dozen different updates from Christian women regarding 50 Shades and Magic Mike, and the verdict? They love them. I mean they really looooove them. They can’t stop talking about them.”

She makes the point that women/moms lusting is no better or acceptable to God than men/dads lusting. “To gain another perspective,” she writes, “imagine your husband (or father/brother/church leader) going around bragging about how much he loved reading last month’s Playboy magazine, or rallying all of his guy friends to go see “Magic Meghan” for the third time. If our husbands were drooling over a movie about female strippers, we would be livid. It wouldn’t be tolerated. Church leaders would be publicly denouncing men’s sudden acceptance of pornography and erotic films. (Why aren’t church leaders publicly denouncing 50 Shades or Magic Mike, by the way?)”

Melissa goes on to state, “Christian women need to reject both of these works, and instead, use our voices in support of what is good, right and true. It is our responsibility, as daughters of the Heavenly King, to remain set-apart from the poisons of our culture, to rebuke temptation, and to celebrate and honor righteousness.”

Melissa, thanks for speaking up on this. You’re not uncool, you’re “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). Don’t be surprised if you’re persecuted and ridiculed as a result. I know the Lord is pleased.

Here is an interesting post by Dr. Witherinton about Inspiration and the NT canon:

Inspiration and Canon from a Historical Viewpoint

This section is titles “A Closer Look at Truth.” I have inserted some of his thoughts below:

• “Flew across the country to not preach at a church that invited me to preach. After leaving my hotel I rode with a prominent Christian leader to the church. I knew this man had been accused by the media of misrepresenting certain key details on his resume, so I asked him about the charges. He admitted saying and writing some things that weren’t true—but it didn’t seem to bother him. I told him, calmly, that I thought he should repent and publicly ask for forgiveness for his dishonesty. He said nothing and we rode to the church in silence. A few minutes after we arrived, I was escorted to the office of the senior pastor, where we were scheduled to pray before I preached in the service. When I stepped in, the pastor slammed the door behind me. I was surprised to see his face turning scarlet, his veins bulging. He poked his finger at me. ‘No way will I let you preach from my pulpit!’ he thundered. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man I had just confronted. The pastor told me I had no right to question our brother’s integrity. The pastor was fully aware of the man’s reputation but thought it none of my business. We left the office the pastor still seething.” (page 51-52)
• 64% of Americans say, “I will lie when it suits me as long as it doesn’t cause any real damage.” 53% say, “I will cheat on my spouse—after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same.” Only 31% of Americans agree that “honesty is the best policy.” When asked what they would do for ten million dollars, 25 percent said they would abandon their family, 23 percent would become prostitutes fir a week or more, and 7 percent would murder a stranger. (page 53)
Lies pile up like ocean waves. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said in his Nobel Prize acceptance address, “One word of truth outweighs the entire world.” (page 55)
• “University students, once known as truth-seekers, now have minds so ‘open’ they don’t critically evaluate truth-claims. They sit passively while professors affirm the random evolution of complex life forms. No mention is made of the biochemical discoveries of irreducible complexity at the cellular level, which refute Darwinism and constitute overwhelming scientific evidence for intelligent design. Many professors are not truth-seekers, but status quo gatekeepers, highly selective about which ‘truths’ they allow in their classroom door.” (Page 56)
Any thoughts of response?
God bless,
Steve

This chapter us titled: “A Closer Look at Grace”
He begins with a story:
Wesley Allan Dodd tortured, molested, and murdered three boys in Vancouver, Washington, fifteen miles from our home. Dodd was scheduled to be hanged— the first U.S. hanging in three decades— shortly after midnight, January 4, 1993. At dinner that evening, both our daughters, then eleven and thirteen, prayed earnestly that Dodd would repent and place his faith in Christ before he died. I agreed with their prayer… but only because I knew I should. I stayed up and watched. Reporters from all over the country crowded around the prison. Twelve media representatives were firsthand witnesses to the execution. When they emerged thirty minutes after Dodd died, they recounted the experience. One of them read Dodd’s last words: “I had thought there was no hope and no peace. I was wrong. I have found hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gasps and groans erupted from the gallery. The anger was palpable. “How dare someone who has done anything so terrible say he has found hope and peace in Jesus?” Did he really think God would let him into Heaven after what he’d done? “Shut up and go to hell, child killer— you won’t get off so easy!” The idea of God’s offering grace to Dodd was utterly offensive. And yet… didn’t Jesus die for Dodd’s sins just as He did for mine?
Interesting quote: (page 44) “No sin is bigger than the savior. Grace is, literally, not of this world.
End of opening illustration
Any thoughts about that or the rest of the chapter or book?
We are saved by grace for good works (Eph 2:10).
Read Matthew 20:1-16 and compare. In this illustration Jesus talks about the person who is hired last getting paid the same as the others. Read it, it is interesting. Our salvation is all about God and not us, though we are saved unto good works.
Here are some notes from the ESV Study Bible on Matthew 20:1-16:
Matt. 20:1 the kingdom of heaven is like. See note on 13:24. vineyard. Grapes were one of ancient Israel’s most important crops, and thus Israel was often referred to as the “vine” or “vineyard” of God (e.g., Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 10:1; cf. Matt. 21:28–46). “Vineyard” represents the activity of the kingdom in this world (cf. Matt. 21:28–46).

Matt. 20:2–15 denarius. A typical day’s wage for a laborer. third hour. 9:00 a.m. The workday was typically divided into four three-hour increments, running from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eleventh hour. 5:00 p.m., near the end of the workday. These workers are desperate enough to continue waiting for work. each of them received a denarius. Surprisingly, the last laborers to be hired are paid a complete denarius, the same as those who had worked all day. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. The landowner addresses the worker gently, explaining the fairness of his actions. do you begrudge. Literally, “Is your eye evil?” The laborer failed to be thankful for his own wage because he was blinded by his self-interested lack of compassion for his fellow worker.

Matt. 20:16 So the last will be first, and the first last. A disciple of Jesus should not measure his or her worth by comparing it with the accomplishments and sacrifices of others, but should focus on serving from a heart of gratitude in response to God’s grace. Jesus is not denying degrees of reward in heaven (see note on 1 Cor. 3:14–15) but is affirming that God’s generosity is more abundant than anyone would expect: all the laborers except the very first got more than they deserved. It is probably correct also to see here a warning that Jesus’ early followers (such as the Twelve) should not despise those who would come later.

Anyways, I have written enough for today. Have a blessed week in the Lord!