SALVATION IS ALL OF GOD, ALL OF GRACE, ALL BY THE GOSPEL...man must believe the gospel to be saved... but

And when the Gentiles heard this, 

they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, 

and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

-Acts 13:48

"Yes, men believe the gospel to be saved. No question about it. I believe it, I preach it, I call all men to do it. 

I just know that no man will do it unless and until the miracle of regeneration takes place first. God must open the heart. God must enlighten the mind. God must grant faith. And when God draws one of His elect to Himself, He draws them to Christ through the gospel. The unfailing result of being drawn by the Father is looking to, believing in, coming to (all present tense actions) the Son. It is the nature of the new creature in Christ to believe in Him." -Dr. James White (Debating Calvinism, p. 305)

THE REBIRTH OF PRINCIPLED OPPOSITION...honoring elected officials doesn't mean we cannot challenge them, oppose them, or debate them

by Rush Limbaugh
"In America today, the sun seems to be shining a little brighter; the birds are chirping happier melodies. The smell of spring has displaced Old Man Winter. In fact, winter will not come this year; its cold, harsh winds won't chill the souls of men (or women).

The shackles of the past -- which for so long have bound too many of us -- have been shaken loose. And the process of rebuilding the conservative movement has begun. This is the rebirth of principled opposition. An opposition rooted in conviction; not opposition for opposition's sake, or political expedience.

The road will be steep, but I know as a people we will get there:

•Can we oppose the idea that confiscatory taxation produces prosperity, when in fact it punishes economic growth? Yes, we can!

•Can we oppose the notion that our national greatness is derived from an ever-growing government -- instead of the freedom from government our Founders envisioned? Yes, we can!

•Can we oppose the belief that one's earnings must be redistributed for the false promise of fairness? Yes, we can!

•Can we oppose the belief that it is immoral to secure our own borders, or defend ourselves from terrorists intent on destroying us? Yes, we can!

Can we do all that and more? [protecting the rights of unborn children; defending the Defense of Marriage Act; guarding our first and second amendment rights; etc.] Yes, we can! 

Because now it is plain for one and all to see: taking the moderate path of appeasement leads to abysmal defeat.

Conservatives are free at last! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last -- to seek the mountaintop!"

SERVANTS WITH SCARS...being made fit for further ministry

"Every wise workman takes his tools away from the work from time to time that they may be ground and sharpened; so does the only-wise Jehovah take his ministers oftentimes away into darkness and loneliness and trouble, that he may sharpen and prepare them for harder work in his service." -ROBERT MURRAY MCCHEYENE

A CHRISTLESS DISCOURSE IS THE CAUSE OF MERRIMENT TO DEVILSby Charles Spurgeon

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you 

and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, 

to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding 

and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 

in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

-Colossians 2:1-3

"Jesus is the Truth. We believe in Him, —not merely in His words. He Himself is Doctor and Doctrine, Revealer and Revelation, the Illuminator and the Light of Men. He is exalted in every word of truth, because He is its sum and substance. He sits above the gospel, like a prince on His own throne. Doctrine is most precious when we see it distilling from His lips and embodied in His person. Sermons [and songs] are valuable in proportion as they speak of Him and point to Him. A Christ-less gospel is no gospel and a Christ-less discourse is the cause of merriment to devils." -C.H. SPURGEON

MIND YOUR FAITH...thinking can beneficial to your spiritual health

I really like to see people in their wheelhouse, using their gifts and abilities for the Lord and His glory. Such is the case today.

Both of these quotes below come from a really great blog called: Rambling Rosemarie. As you know, there is so much tripe in the blogosphere these days, that it is rare to find a site dedicated to substance based upon biblical truth and sound doctrine that is still plugged into the issues we are facing in the culture today. This is one of those great sites worthy of your time and I highly commend it to you.

VIVIT,

Campi

Psalm 119:160


"There's a lot of information out here on the superhighway. Some of it isn't worth the powder it would take to blow it back to hell.

Knowledge is power when you have the ability to think critically and when you have a standard by which to measure the veracity of the knowledge. What's my point? Being childlike in our faith doesn't mean checking our brains at the door. Avoiding works based salvation and faith doesn't mean you stop striving for obedience. Critical thinking is hard work and we as believers are not doing enough of it... Make certain what you know can be measured and is true, even the experts in your life can be wrong." - Rosemarie

"One of the greatest obstacles encountered in a teaching ministry is this idea, pervasive in the Christian Church, that there is no benefit to be had by the laity in serious study of the Word of God or in the study of theology. We have elevated to the level of an ideal, the idea of having a simple childlike faith... There is a close connection between simplicity and naivete. Believers who have not been deeply trained and matured in the things of God, are vulnerable and exposed to every wind of doctrine that blows through the Church... We are exposed to them because we simply do not have a mature understanding of the truth of God." - R.C. Sproul

THE PASTOR AND HIS PRAYER LIFE - AND, NO CAUSE TO BLUSH...by John Owen & Charles Spurgeon

"a minister may fill his pews, his communion roll,

the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees

in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more."

-JOHN OWEN

by C.H. Spurgeon

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed.

(Isaiah 54.4)

We shall not be ashamed of our faith. Carping critics may assail the Scriptures upon which we ground our belief, but every year the Lord will make it more and more clear that in His Book there is no error, no excess, and no omission. It is no discredit to be a simple believer; the faith which looks alone to Jesus is a crown of honor on any man's head and better than a star on his breast.

We shall not be ashamed of our hope. It shall be even as the Lord has said. We shall be fed, led, blest, and rested. Our Lord will come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended. How we shall glory in the Lord who first gave us lively hope and then gave us that which we hoped for!

We shall not be ashamed of our love. Jesus is to us the altogether lovely, and never, never, shall we have to blush because we have yielded our hearts to Him. The sight of our glorious Well-beloved will justify the most enthusiastic attachment to Him. None will blame the martyrs for dying for Him. When the enemies of Christ are clothed with everlasting contempt, the lovers of Jesus shall find themselves honored by all holy beings, because they chose the reproach of Christ rather than the treasures of Egypt.

DEBATE OR DIALOGUE?...a conversation with the culture and compromise of faith positions may go hand in hand

John E. Ashbrook from his book, The New Neutralism II, "A debate is a conflict which clarifies a position. A dialogue is a conversation which compromises a position."

"New Evangelicalism" is comprised of three key components:

• First, new evangelicalism determines to reject Biblical separation.
  
• Secondly, new evangelicalism determines to find acceptance by the world.
  
• Thirdly, new evangelicalism determines to add the social gospel to the Scriptural gospel....
  

HT: Sheri, from the meta of "waawaawaa..."

Quote of the Day

Works not rooted in God are splendid sins.
-Augustine