Posted on 01/27/2008 7:56:14 PM PST by Manfred the Wonder Dawg
January 25, 2008
ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
In recent days I have spent time in Lima and Sullana Peru and Mexico City and I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry. Sin abounds in the remotest parts of the land because the heart is desperately wicked. Thousands bow before statues of Mary and pray to her hoping for answers. I have seen these people stare hopelessly at Mary icons, Jesus icons, and a host of dead saints who will do nothing for them. I have talked with people who pray to the pope and say that they love him. I talked with one lady who said that she knew that Jesus was the Savior, but she loved the pope. Thousands bow before Santa Muerte (holy death angel) in hopes that she will do whatever they ask her. I have seen people bring money, burning cigarettes, beer, whiskey, chocolate, plants, and flowers to Santa Muerte in hopes of her answers. I have seen these people bowing on their knees on the concrete in the middle of public places to worship their idol. Millions of people come into the Basilica in Mexico City and pay their money, confess their sins, and stare hopelessly at relics in hope that their sins will be pardoned. In America countless thousands are chained to baseball games, football games, material possessions, and whatever else their heart of idols can produce to worship.
My heart has broken in these last weeks because the God of heaven is not honored as he ought to be honored. People worship the things that are created rather than worshiping the Creator. God has been gracious to all mankind and yet mankind has hardened their hearts against a loving God. God brings the rain on the just and unjust. God brings the beautiful sunrises and sunsets upon the just and unjust. God gives good gifts unto all and above all things he has given his Son that those who would believe in him would be saved. However, man has taken the good things of God and perverted them unto idols and turned their attention away from God. I get a feel for Jesus as he overlooked Jerusalem or Paul as he beseeched for God to save Israel. When you accept the reality of the truth of the glory of God is breaks your heart that people would turn away from the great and awesome God of heaven to serve lesser things. Moses was outraged by the golden calf, the prophets passionately preached against idolatry, Jesus was angered that the temple was changed in an idolatrous business, and Paul preached to the idolaters of Mars Hill by telling them of the unknown God.
I arrived back at home wondering how I should respond to all the idolatry that I have beheld in these last three weeks. I wondered how our church here in the states should respond to all of the idolatry in the world. What are the options? First, I suppose we could sit around and hope that people chose to get their life together and stop being idolaters. However, I do not know how that could ever happen apart from them hearing the truth. Second, I suppose we could spend a lifetime studying cultural issues and customs in hope that we could somehow learn to relate to the people of other countries. However, the bible is quite clear that all men are the same. Men are dead in sin, shaped in iniquity, and by nature are the enemies of God. Thirdly, we could pay other people or other agencies to go and do a work for us while we remain comfortably in the states. However, there is no way to insure that there will be doctrinal accuracy or integrity. If we only pay other people to take the gospel we will miss out on all of the benefits of being obedient to the mission of God. Lastly, we could seek where God would have us to do a lasting work and then invest our lives there for the glory of God. The gospel has the power to raise the dead in any culture and we must be willing to take the gospel wherever God would have us take it. It is for sure that our church cannot go to every country and reach every people group, so we must determine where God would have us work and seek to be obedient wherever that is.
It seems that some doors are opening in the Spanish speaking countries below us and perhaps God is beginning to reveal where we are to work. There are some options for work to be partnered with in Peru and there could be a couple of options in Mexico. The need is greater than I can express upon this paper for a biblical gospel to be proclaimed in Peru and Mexico. Oh, that God would glorify his great name in Peru and Mexico by using a small little church in a town that does not exist to proclaim his great gospel amongst a people who desperately need the truth.
I give thanks to the LORD for allowing me the privilege of going to these countries and broadening my horizons. The things that I have seen will be forever engraved upon my heart. I will long remember the pastors that I spent time with in Peru and I will never forget Adolfo who translated for me in Mexico. I will relish the time that I spent with Paul Washer and the others. When I think of church I will forever remember being on top of that mountain in Sullana at that church which had no electricity and no roof. I am convinced that heaven was looking down on that little church on top of that mountain and very few people on earth even know that it exist. Oh, God I pray that the things of this world will continue to grow dim and that God’s people will be caught up in his glorious presence.
Because of the truth: Pastor: J. Randall Easter II Timothy 2:19 "Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases."(Ps. 115:3) "He predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will."(Eph. 1:5) Those who have been saved have been saved for His glory and they are being made holy for this is the will of God. Are you being made holy? Spurgeon says, "If your religion does not make you holy it will damn you to hell."
***You have strange views Mark..***
I believe that they are equivalent to and therefore as correctly Christian as the Apostles and Church Fathers.
***I am not religious..
Christian religions are clubs..***
If you are not Catholic, then the second is usually true. The first, well, is so vague as to be substantially meaningless.
***You seem to know nothing of the reformed.. they believe so many different things you cannot lump tham all into one basket***
Enough of the lumps are the same.
***Some mimick the Roman Catholic Cargo Cult some do not***
I’m not sure that the description of the institution that Jesus founded is worthily described as a cargo cult.
***Some are born again some are not..
There is NO term for being UNborn again..***
Jesus spent enough time letting us know what will happen if we do wrong. The Sermon on the Mount oughta tide you over.
Do you post on factnet message board by the user-name skooter942000
And when you bow to Mary and the saints, you make them gods.
***You do realize that the monarch of England is the head of their church?
And you have no problem with it?***
I have absolutely no problem with that. I am not English :>)
I believe we will know each other. We may look different, but our spirits are still intact. I expect to know my mother and father, etc. I don’t believe there will be marriage in heaven, but I do believe we will know each other there. That’s why heaven will be such a wonderful place for me. I get to see my loved ones again. Yes, I know our bodies will be different, but I believe we WILL know each other.
How can we know our loved ones and not know our spouses?
***How can we know our loved ones and not know our spouses?***
I am NOT touching that one :>)
Fascinating . . .
My Navy buddy and I just came from the reportedly best Mexican restaurant in town.
There was an altar on the wall of the restaurant . . .
Very, very, very, VERY much like the Buddhist altars in most Restaurants in Taipei.
Only the Picture behind the flowers and candle was of Mary.
And the glass the candle was in had another image of Mary painted on it.
Of course, Y’all will likely insist that no worship was involved of the least bit of an idolatrous nature.
LOL.
I have no idea what your James Joyce comment means.
I actually have not observed ANY Bibliolatry hereon. There may have rarely been some on FR over the 10 years . . . but I recall very very very very little of that . . . manybe a KJV only character here and there . . .
The Scripture use on this thread and most threads is quite fitting, in it’s place, Biblical . . . nothing close to Bibliolatry involved.
And, believe me, or not, I know Bibliolatry from very close up personally and with other loved ones.
Methinks a very lopsided bias may be operating in that accusation.
I make no sense out of the “What insurance company do they use?” question.
I like to at least pretend that anything close to dialogue is likely not in vain.
Still believing the Rubber History book, sounds like.
The Scripture does not indicate that we will not know our spouses . . .
unless one is talking about Adam KNOWING Eve in the sexual intercourse way . . .
Gads you seem to come up with the oddest Scriptural stuff that sounds exceedingly off the wall to me.
Of course we’ll know our spouses. We just won’t be married in heaven. They’ll be our brothers or sisters, not our spouses in heaven.
Jeff Foxworthy said something smilar but it wasn't heaven. :)
Okay, just for giggles, the explanation I heard of that parable (and it was not from no Cat'lick neither) was that LOTS of flocks were put into ONE fold for safety's sake, and then when the shepherds come and lead them out to graze in the AM, the sheep know their shepherd and follow him.
It's certainly true that sheep are more docile around someone they know.
My sheep tended to follow me, because they knew that most of the time if I was leading them somewhere good food and water were at the end of the walk. And they sure wouldn't follow anybody else. (My goats only followed me if they wanted to be milked or if they felt like it. WAY more cat-like than sheep are ...)
How do you suppose that will be unless our memories are erased? If our memories are erased, how will we remember who is who?
heh heh heh
How do you figure? I was brought up to give a very slight bow when I was introduced to folks.
Actually I was referring to the synthetic Roman catholics.. likle Epistoples and Anglicans.. They are prosties too right?..
No free republic is the only board I post on.. Usually to policical threads by alas get caught up in religious threads.. against my better judgement.. Some prosties and most RC's and EO's chaf at my comments mostly.. Heck ideas will hurt no one.. Im honest or good or ill..
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