Blog: Founders Ministries Blog
Post: How to stay out of debt
Link: http://www.founders.org/blog/2009/04/how-to-stay-out-of-debt.html
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Funny Follow-up to the Christ and the Recession series-- Perhaps Painfully Funny
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
An Angel in the Garden
As we move through this Passion Week, preparing for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, let us meditate on Luke 22:39-44—
“And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
An angel from heaven came to strengthen our Savior as He suffered in the garden—to strengthen Him to suffer unspeakably and carry His cross and die on it. “There was an outstretched hand, His Father’s hand—even in the darkness—and Christ knew it. Initially the presence of the angel must have brought some modicum of comfort to the Sufferer. It came at a moment when unaided human nature could no longer take the strain. It was a critical moment. Christ knew that His sorrow was ‘unto death’ and as Dr. Frederick Godet remarks, this was ‘no figure of rhetoric’. But it was not the Father’s will that the Savior should die in the garden, and just as after the temptation in the wilderness angels ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11), so now He was strengthened by an angel. How strange is the sight! A creature sent to minister to the Creator! But then, as man He ‘for a little while was made lower than the angels’ (Hebrews 2:9). Here the theologians run out of answers. Mercifully so! There is a place for mystery. There is need for ground on which, in a unique sense, one walks by faith and not by sight. Bishop Ryle says well of Christ’s experience in Gethsemane, ‘It is a depth which we have no line to fathom.’ (The Cross He Bore, by Frederick Leahy)
“For one fleeting moment immense joy must have leaped within Christ’s soul as the Father’s hand touched Him. This was a message from home. Heaven was behind Him. He was forsaken, but not disowned. His Father was there, somewhere in the darkness. His loud cries and tears had not been unnoticed.”
(Tim Chailles)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I Want Healthy Eyes, Don’t You?
In “Christ and the Recession: Heavenly Investment, Healthy Vision”, the sermon of March 22, 2009 from Matthew 6:19-24, I quoted Sinclair Ferguson concerning what Jesus means when he speaks of having healthy eyes. “The picture Jesus gives is extremely vivid. When our eyes are healthy, our ‘whole body is full of light.’ If our eyes are diseased, then ‘our whole body will be full of darkness’ (6:22-23). When we see clearly, this world is full of light, color, and beauty. But of if our eyes are diseased, the world is dim, confusing, and even dark as night.”
“Our Lord is speaking about the eye of the spirit, the heart.” (Ferguson, Kingdom Life in a Fallen World, (pages 182-183).
I want to have healthy eyes. How can I have clear, healthy eye/heart sight? I have found answers and encouragement in these two texts:
1. Ephesians 1:16-18 The apostle Paul writes, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened… Paul prayed that the Ephesians believers would have enlightened heart-eyes. He prayed. Therefore, I conclude that healthy eyes and clear vision is to be sought after by praying for it.
2. Applying the “Visine” (eye drops) of the Word of God gives us healthy eyes and hearts. “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on you ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your Word” (Psalm 119:15-16). “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (119:130). “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes…” (Psalm 19:8).
Lord, give me 20/20 eyes and hearts!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Fetus as Organ Factory -- The Next Moral Frontier?
To see the article, please click on the URL listed below.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Important Resources: Read, Pray, Weep
Blog: Between Two Worlds
Post: Four Myths about Embryonic Stem Cell Research
A TRILLION DOLLARS!
Here is the illustration I spoke of on Sunday showing how much $1 Trillion really is. Pastor Carey
How Much Is $1 Trillion? - From the blog, "Between Two Worlds"
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Blessings on you, Pastor Dale!
On March 1, 2009, Pastor Dale Julio, our wonderful Associate Pastor for over ten years at Rocky Bayou Baptist Church, said farewell to us. He and Susan are answering God’s call to another vocation for a season and are aspiring to involvement as missionaries to Europe in the future.
As he preached his last sermon at Rocky that day, Dale opened Hebrews 13:17-21 to us in a humble, effective way, calling us to obey and honor our spiritual leaders, to pray, and to do God’s will. I commend his message to you who are reading this post; you may listen to him on our website.
Dale, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ abound more and more to you, Susan and your children! I will miss you and miss you already.
Pastor Carey
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