by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
There are a couple of messages from Phil Johnson that I am recommending, but before that, a bit of a lament.
Many Christians are not serious about their spiritual lives. We may go to church on Sunday and listen to the sermon, maybe read the Bible once in a while, pray a bit, then forget about God most of the time. Others may get what can be called "tunnel vision" by focusing on favorite subjects. Those of us who are involved in apologetics need to learn theology as well as materials to defend the Bible, and biblical creationists have an even more specialized calling. We also must learn theology, but we can have our own tunnel vision.
I try to avoid that by listening to sermons and such while doing data entry work. This gives some variety and is edifying in other areas. There have been some pleasant surprises where I might think, "Well, I'm low on material, may as well listen to this", and been impacted by the message.
We must not focus on favorites to the exclusion of other areas. I am not saying that we cannot have some recreation in our reading, listening, and viewing, but the Christian life is not an easy ride on the buckboard through the countryside. We need consistent maintenance to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and should not shy away from things we need. Keep things in balance.
There is someone I know who is galloping toward the cliff by listening to "Christian" teachers about giving angels commands and casting spirits out of things. (I told her that Basement Cat was sick and she told me to cast out the spirit since demons enter animals. No, she had an injury or arthritis and then had a bad reaction to the pain medicine. She's better now.) When I offered some solid biblical teachings including biblical creation, a subject she seemed to appreciate, she declined and continued with nutty stuff.
Doing an online creation science ministry at The Question Evolution Project, I have occasion to glance at several profiles and see what people "like". From this and their posts, many professing Christians put a great deal of junk in their minds (see "What Are You Putting In Your Head?"), then wonder why their spiritual lives are lackluster. Every message cannot be a sip of sarsaparilla and we may have to dig in anyway. You may be pleasantly surprised by something; I did not expect to get as much helpful information as I did about postmodernism, for instance.
Who wants to talk about how to deal with sin when the latest superhero movie is available to discuss? The characters did not die on a cross for your sins and bodily rise from the dead. You may not be dealing with prominent sins in your life. Or maybe you are. These things begin in your thought life.
Mr. Johnson has a couple of message that I am recommending. First, "Create in Me a Clean Heart", using Psalm 51. Second, from Colossians 3:5-10 is "The Christian’s War with Sin". These are free to download or listen online. I hope you'll give them some time at your convenience. Now that I've heard the sermons and wrote up this here post, I can commence to doing creation science for a while.
There are a couple of messages from Phil Johnson that I am recommending, but before that, a bit of a lament.
Many Christians are not serious about their spiritual lives. We may go to church on Sunday and listen to the sermon, maybe read the Bible once in a while, pray a bit, then forget about God most of the time. Others may get what can be called "tunnel vision" by focusing on favorite subjects. Those of us who are involved in apologetics need to learn theology as well as materials to defend the Bible, and biblical creationists have an even more specialized calling. We also must learn theology, but we can have our own tunnel vision.
I try to avoid that by listening to sermons and such while doing data entry work. This gives some variety and is edifying in other areas. There have been some pleasant surprises where I might think, "Well, I'm low on material, may as well listen to this", and been impacted by the message.
We must not focus on favorites to the exclusion of other areas. I am not saying that we cannot have some recreation in our reading, listening, and viewing, but the Christian life is not an easy ride on the buckboard through the countryside. We need consistent maintenance to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and should not shy away from things we need. Keep things in balance.
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| Phil Johnson, image used by permission |
Doing an online creation science ministry at The Question Evolution Project, I have occasion to glance at several profiles and see what people "like". From this and their posts, many professing Christians put a great deal of junk in their minds (see "What Are You Putting In Your Head?"), then wonder why their spiritual lives are lackluster. Every message cannot be a sip of sarsaparilla and we may have to dig in anyway. You may be pleasantly surprised by something; I did not expect to get as much helpful information as I did about postmodernism, for instance.
Who wants to talk about how to deal with sin when the latest superhero movie is available to discuss? The characters did not die on a cross for your sins and bodily rise from the dead. You may not be dealing with prominent sins in your life. Or maybe you are. These things begin in your thought life.
Mr. Johnson has a couple of message that I am recommending. First, "Create in Me a Clean Heart", using Psalm 51. Second, from Colossians 3:5-10 is "The Christian’s War with Sin". These are free to download or listen online. I hope you'll give them some time at your convenience. Now that I've heard the sermons and wrote up this here post, I can commence to doing creation science for a while.