Joie de Vivre A Wretched Man’s Quest To Follow Jesus Christ

Doug Pagitt just cracks me up!

Yet it’s sad at the same time that this is what leaders of the Emergent Church movement are telling their congregations and non-believers who might be genuinely interested in Christianity.

In this phone interview that was broadcast on Way of the Master Radio, listen to Doug Pagitt totally deny the existence of hell, or even judgment for those that deny the Lord Jesus Christ.

Enjoyed part 1? Listen to part 2 of the interview at YouTube.

I’m aghast and flabbergasted that there are people who buy into this absolute filth and nonsense!

If you have never come across the terms “Emergent Church” or “Emerging Church” movement, here’s a great feature done by PBS that explains what the movement is all about.

Indeed, we have already been well warned of such heresies and apostasies in the Bible. Paul wrote twice in 2 Timothy about this:

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

– 2 Timothy 3:2-5, emphasis mine

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths

– 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Shalom Aleichem.

¹ Pagitt, Doug. Interview with Todd Friel. The Way of the Master Radio.

It appears that the Vatican has done it again, i.e. changed what is clearly stated in the Bible, God’s Word, to something else at their whim and fancy.

This time, it has to do with where our Lord Jesus Christ was at His birth.

Now, I don’t care much for putting up the Christmas tree or nativity scene during Christmas as I don’t really celebrate the festival as a Christian, but this piece of news piqued my interest because by doing this, the Vatican is in fact saying, “Let’s ignore both Gospel records and the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy!”.

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In Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham that is to become the seal of God’s relationship with his descendents, the Jews — circumcision of males.

This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

– Genesis 17:10-11

Not only were male descendents of Abraham to be circumcised, but those that they take into their households, or born into a Jewish household and even servants that were bought.

… Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

– Genesis 17:12-13

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In case you’re wondering where the song recommendation for this Shabbat is, as is the ‘tradition’ of our household to post one every Shabbat, it has moved to another blog.

Huh?

I’ve decided to start up a new blog to document my Christian walk as accompanied by some of the best Christian music from when I first started listening to them till the present.

So it will be so that from now on, all music recommendations for Shabbat will also be posted on the new blog, aptly named Sing To The LORD!. In addition, there’ll be regular posts featuring some of my favorite tunes and artistes, as well as my take on the Christian music scene, album reviews, etc.

The blog was started just yesterday, but I’ve left off on the announcement till I’ve got some content posted up. Now that a good amount of content is in, and since it’s also Shabbat starting from sunset later, it’s a good day as any to let you know.

Do pay the new blog a visit if you love music as much as I do. And I hope you enjoy it enough to bookmark it and visit often.

Shabbat Shalom.

Do we obey God because we think that most times it will be just for our own good?

You know, back when I was a young Christian more than two decades ago, I used to hold this notion that if I were to pray for something to come true, and if I were to be obedient to God for that period right after, God will answer my prayers.

Yes, it’s extremely naive, but the good news is that God has taught me that, well, it just isn’t so; that being obedient to Him isn’t usually for our own benefit in the sense that He will answer our prayers, but that His glory and goodness might be manifested through us.

I read the following story that ChannelofHealing had on her blog the other day (which I’ll replicate below), and was pleasantly reminded of this fact. Though the story was more about how a man came to believe that God answers prayers, I saw it as a lesson in obedience.

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The advertising adage that sex sells is taken to new extremes today — if you can’t think of some refreshing concept for a product or service, just slap on a nude female form (cover it in some cloth or put it in silhouette so that it passes the censors though) and there’ll be many who will notice it.

Job done.

Our senses are bombarded with sexual images all the time throughout the course of a day that you need to be blind in order to totally ignore them because they are just so in-your-face.

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I have never watched the news report on the murder of the three men who worked at a Bible publishing house in Turkey till today.

What I saw outraged me, but at the same time I was soberly reminded of the proper Christian response when I saw how the wives of two of the murdered men said they have forgiven the perpetrators.

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

– Luke 6:27-28 (KJV)

Realizing that I am to forgive those who do wrong against me is one thing, while it still remains to be seen if I’d be able to do exactly that if a similar incident should happen to me one day.

It also does put things into perspective, doesn’t it?

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