BOUND TO CHRIST

The Seven Benedictions found in Revelation

1. Blessed is the one who reads aloud, hears, and keeps the words of this prophecy. [Rev 1:3]

2. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. [Rev 14:13]

3. Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on. [Rev 16:15]

4. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. [Rev 19:9]

5. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. [Rev 20:6]

6. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. [Rev 22:7]

7. Blessed are those who wash their robes. [Rev 22:14]

O Righteous Father, your Earth cries in pain
For upon her roaring seas and in her cities,
Sinking into the desert sand and deep in the forest,
The blood of the slain calls for justice,
For the Holy One of Israel,
Who promised long ago to come with flaming fire,
Who guaranteed justice would flow down like waters
Who humbled the Kings of Babylon, brought down the Pharoahs of Egpyt,
Silenced the songs of Tyre and shut the mouths of the proud.
Let your will be done and make war on all sin,
Through the furious wrath You guarantee
And through the merciful sanctification of Your people
By the power of Your Holy Spirit.

The Earth grows weary of her travail,
Of the violences we commit,
Of the gifts we profane,
Of our blasphemies,
Of our lusts,
Of our lies,
Of our idols.
Free your Creation from her bondage
And all those who put their trust in You.
To them, grant them the grace of holiness
So that they may walk in Your ways
And live by Your truth.

Lord God, I have not put my hope in anyone but You,
Be mindful of my lowliness.

“Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.” –Ecclesiastes 4:1

“They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, undiscerning untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.  Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die–they not only do them, but even applaud those who practice them.” -Romans 1:29-32

“For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have an easy time until they die, and their bodies are well-fed.” –Psalm 73:3-4

“I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to Me; I am tired of putting up with them.  When you lift up your hands in prayer.  I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen.  Your hands are covered with blood.” –Isaiah 1:14-15 Read the rest of this entry »

It’s late, but I feel like I must write at least a little.  Lately, I have had a lot of thoughts run through my head as I try to sleep.  In fact, it’s these thoughts that keep me up until the wee hours of the morning almost every night; those type of nights render me almost useless the next morning.  But what a gift it is to think, to reason, to ponder.  If we couldn’t do it, we could not meditate on God’s word, and thus we could not know Him, so, I think I will take the late night thinking.

A week ago my pastor encouraged us [a group of crazy college kids] to really feast on the Word, and to develop a habit of getting in to it every day until our soul is happy in the Lord. He referenced several letters written by George Muller, all of which challenged the very right to call ourselves well read in the Word of God. Within this context, my pastor mentioned the typical college student’s tendency to latch on to practices while failing to truly embrace the principals over the practices they quickly grow to love. He then explained that as quickly as college students love one practice they essentially see the problem of legalism, and quickly over embrace a sense of hyper-grace and slip into a state of antinomianism.

Truly, the average college student is quite erratic in belief and behavior. Unfortunately, it only gets worse when in a large group, where the populous can indirectly create a false sense of what is moral and amoral. Though rooted in a message, book, or sermon the practice of embracing practices over principals is simply wrong and dangerous. At its very core it neglects the gospel.  Likewise, the one who abuses the theology of grace and despises all practice and indulges in lawlessness is also venturing off the road.

My pastor’s correction was quite wise and, I hope, a beneficial warning. Our goal should be to steer ourselves back to the center of the road by clinging to the cross of Christ and coming back, day after day, to scripture. It is only through scripture that we can possibly hope to know God and pursue righteous deeds. In light of this, I was inspired to write a blog-book of sorts, College Road.  It should be relatively short, about 18-25 posts throughout the final semester of my 5 year college career. I want to get to the core of the collegiate problem, reveal all its different guises, and most importantly help direct our gaze to the cross. I hope by the end we will be encouraged to live as Paul explained when he wrote the Corinthians, simply, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

by Tyler Thayer
Bound2Christ – boundtochrist.com – © 2010

Dr. Don Carson gave a series of guest lectures at Reformed Theological Seminary about the New Perspective of Paul.  While quite academic, I highly recommend it for those who know nothing on the topic and who may encounter it in school or in some church they visit.  You can find it on the web by going to itunes.rts.edu or searing for D.A. Carson in the iTunes store and clicking on “New Perspective on Paul” under iTunes U.

Anne Miller of AOL News wrote a story on Wednesday about a conservative that says the Bible is too liberal.  At least the newer translations are.

Attorney and teacher Andy Schlafly, in response to what he has called “liberal,” “offensive” and “incorrect” translations, formed the Conservative Bible Project, a Wiki software-based site devoted to “clean(ing) up” the Bible.

While Schlafly has his critics, he has denounced their criticisms, calling them “liberals who are unhappy that their game is up.”

Am I alone in thinking how stupid this is?

On September 30, England’s Guardian reported that Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy was second on the American Library Association’s most banned book list.

The list ranks the top 10 books and authors which are successfully banned from schools or frequently challenge, usually by parents concerned about what their children read or by religious groups, such as the Catholic League.

Pullman has come under fire for his atheist views and in particular for one scene in his final book where his protagonists kill a character called “God.”

The first of Pullman’s books was made into a movie, “The Golden Compass,” in 2007 starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig of “James Bond” fame.

ALA’s rankings came in the middle of the annual “Banned Books Week,” where libraries across the country celebrate freedom of speech.

In its Thursday editorial, the New York Times laid out a case for a universal health care plan to pay for abortions, regardless of whether the abortion would save the pregnant woman’s life.

The Times, often criticized by the Right for having a Liberal bias, said that, “Democrats who support the compromise must find a way to prevent it from being used later to go after other tax subsidies and thus further deny Americans’ rights to make their own health-care decisions.”

This editorial is interesting in two ways.  First, abortion most of the time is not a medical procedure per quo. Pregnancy is not a disease or an injury or something necessitating an operation, such as a facial reconstructive operation for a burn victim. It is a choice the woman makes to end a pregnancy than in most cases is not life-threatening or a “condition.” It’s the creation of life.

The diction the Times uses in calling it a health-care decision makes it seem like going in to a doctor to treat a problem with your health.

Second, in a roundabout way, this column is a little bit conservative. While government-funded health care expands the role of the feds, government denying abortion is too liberal for Liberals. It’s a private decision that government should not intervene in.

But if they expect the public to fund health care, for the government to ensure that people get health care, than that same government has the right to affirm or to deny what its nation-wide insurance plan covers. Abortion is not health care and government is not obligated to kill babies for the sake of convenience.

The purpose of medicine is to save lives, not terminate them.

On November 19, the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” Way of the Master’s Kirk Cameron will be handing out 100 free copies of the book, complete with a 50-page introduction by Ray Comfort.

This introduction will include a timeline of Darwin’s life, thoughts on God by other “top scientists,” “Hitler’s undeniable connection to the theory,” and more content in hopes to turn students away from the “brainwashing of their students.”

You can read more on this story at AOL and at the book’s giveaway site.

Isaiah 40:8 says that while, “the grass withers, flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.” For a friend of mine, that Scripture has been deeply personal.

Jonathan Ramsey, a member of my campus ministry and a good friend of mine, began having seizures about a year and a half ago due to a psychological condition called conversion syndrome. For many months, Jonathan struggled with depression, doubt and physical pain due to the recurring episodes. It has been awhile since his last seizure and since then he has been stepping up his blogging.

I’d encourage you to read some of his posts, especially one titled “The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 2″. My friend is honest about his responses to sin and his circumstances. But the common theme throughout his posts is grace, what got him through and what always gets us through.