'We can't save the planet'

From the BBC news

Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory, has said it is too late to try and save the planet.

The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change.

Interviewed by Today presenter John Humphrys, videos of which you can see below, he said that while the earth's future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had "pulled the trigger" on global warming as it built its civilizations.

What is more, he predicts, the earth's climate will not conveniently comply with the models of modern climate scientists.

As the record winter cold testifies, he says, global temperatures move in "jerks and jumps", and we cannot confidently predict what the future holds.

Prof Lovelock does not pull his punches on the politicians and scientists who are set to gain from the idea that we can predict climate change and save the planet ourselves.

Scientists, he says, have moved from investigating nature as a vocation, to being caught in a career path where it makes sense to "fudge the data". And while renewable energy technology may make good business sense, he says, it is not based on "good practical engineering".

At the age of 90, Prof Lovelock is resigned to his own fate and the fate of the planet. Whether the planet saves itself or not, he argues, all we can do is to "enjoy life while you can".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

There you go; it's too late to save the planet so James Lovelock has given you permission to, "enjoy life while you can".

While this planet cannot be saved by man, you can be saved from God's wrath on man.

One day, you will die and stand before a holy and righteous God who will demand an account of your life.

How will you fare?

Will you be innocent or guilty of breaking His law?

Click here for a full report of what will happen if you die in your sins.

You might be a Calvinist...

From Tom in the Box

Atlanta, Georgia -- Note: TBNN is pleased to have Jeff Foxworthy as Saturday Morning's guest writer.

Jeff: I'm happy to fill in to today for Brother Slawson.

You know, between Lakewood and Lynchburg, there's over 30 million people who I'd call "my people." Many of these folks are Calvinists, they just don't know it. I've designed for today a few little test questions to help you determine if there is a large likelihood that you are a Calvinist. So, if sitting in a tub full of scissors sounds more appealing to you than listening to a Sunday School class share their personal gut feelings about a Bible verse, you are a good candidate.


If you have a Martin Luther Jell-O mold, you just might be a Calvinist.

If your child’s first word was “Westminster”, you just might be a Calvinist.

Or, if you send your mother tulips on Mother’s Day,

… you might be a Calvinist.


If you still remember the 8 speakers in order from the recent T4G conference, or

If a free Bible has ever arrived in the mail to you from John McArthur, or

If you have ever purchased 100 or more copies of the same John Piper book to hand out to random people you meet,

…you just might be a Calvinist.


If you purchased an MP3 player with the sole purpose of downloading sermons, or

If you were shocked to just discover that some people download MP3 files that are not sermons, or

If you have adjusted the default passage setting at www.biblegateway.org from “NIV” to “ESV”

… you might be a Calvinist.


If your preacher says to turn to Obadiah and you do not use the index, or

If you think a 50-minute sermon is too short, or

If you’ve ever heard a wave of groans sweep through Sunday School when you refer to Romans 9,

…you just might be a Calvinist.


If you find yourself talking to the Lord Jesus more than to your family, and

If you find yourself wanting to read your Bible instead of watching television, and

If quotes from Pink, Spurgeon, Luther, Piper, and McArthur pop into your head at random times during the day

…you might be a Calvinist.


If you are confused when someone uses the term “my Bible” as if they only have one, and

If your Bibles must be replaced in less than a year due to pages separating from the spine, and

If you smile, nod and hold your tongue with your teeth after a lively church service when someone says, “God showed up today”

…you might be a Calvinist.


If you’ve ever shouted “YES!” when the pastor says to turn to 1st Thessalonians, and

If you see 6:37 on a digital clock and think of the Lord Jesus’ words in John, and

If you’ve muted a Thanksgiving football game because it’s interfering with your family discussion of Ephesians 1

…you might be a Calvinist.


If you have bookmarked three or more preachers’ scripture index webpages, and

If you’ve ever been banned from a Sunday School class for quoting scripture, and

If you have ever purposefully sung a different word in a hymn to conform to scripture,

… you might be a Calvinist.


If your kids own more Bibles than televisions, and

If your children never ask you “Where are we going?” on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and

If you’ve ever read parts of “The Bondage of the Will” to children under ten and prayed that it would change their lives

…you just might be a Calvinist.


If your child received detention at his Christian school after shouting, “But I am a Hedonist Pyromaniac!” or

If your children argue and you require them to listen to a Piper Sermon as punishment, or

If you visit pyromaniacs, tominthebox, spurgeon.org, desiringgod.org, and gty.org, more than once a day, yes…

You just might…. I say you just might…. Yes… you just might be a Calvinist

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that is just some funny stuff!

Jack Bauer School Of Evangelism

Hat Tip to 5 Point Salt

Crossing an ocean does not make a man a missionary

"I preached on every street corner in the district where I lived. Then I went to every suburb in the city and to every district in the city, preaching in the open air. Crossing a frontier and crossing an ocean does not make a man a missionary. If the Holy Spirit does not use a man in his own town, He will not use him on Africa.”

~James A Stewart, from I Must Tell-The Story of a boy preacher ages 14 to 23 years


From Puritan Fellowship

"There is only one kind of Christian that God calls to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to others: ........"

This is my Canadian brother in the Lord, Paul Latour. Paul and his wife faithfully preach, witness and hand out tracts on the streets of Ottawa in their efforts to reach the lost for the glory of God.

It's a blessing to know that there are many Christians, in local towns and communities around the world, who day in and day out serve the Lord with joy and gladness.

Paul is a huge encouragement for me and this ministry. I praise God that he and his wife are able to take the gospel to where the people are and faithfully proclaim it.



Visit Paul at his blog, "The Word Street Journal" for stories and videos of his ministry.

Lost Hymn of the Week - There is a fountain filled with blood

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
lose all their guilty stains;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
wash all my sins away;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
shall never lose its power
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
be saved, to sin no more;
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
and shall be till I die;
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save,
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave,
lies silent in the grave;
when this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

From Reformation Theology

If a judge acts justly, no crime is committed. It is in fact the judge's job to be just. He can actually lose his right to judge if he fails to dispense justice. Yet, here's the amazing Gospel truth - all the sins of everyone who would ever believe in Christ were transferred to our Substitute and the justice we deserved fell upon Him instead on the cross.

We not only received mercy (Christ bore our punishment) and not justice, but amazingly, He took our justice.. He bore our sins in His body on the tree, He was punished in our place. God's great mercy is shown in not giving us the justice we deserved, but God went even further and then gave us GRACE because of Christ, as the very righteousness of Christ - a life that kept the law of God perfectly for more than 30 years, blameless in thought, word and deed - was credited to our account.

This grace is not a heavenly substance of some kind, but is Christ Himself, of whom the Father said, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!" and what flows to us is totally unmerited favor - the very righteousness of the perfect God-Man, so that we can stand before God, right and clean and pure in His sight. God is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Hear the Judge's words to every believer in Christ, "I declare you just in My sight, not guilty, reckoned righteous with the righteousness of My beloved Son, and this is your standing before Me, forever!"

Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The perfect Lamb took our place and bore our shame and punishment and His perfect, flawless and beautiful righteousness is now ours by God's grace alone received through faith in Christ alone, all to the glory of God alone. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

- John Samson

Prisoner Alert

From Tony Miano at The Lawman Chronicles

I just received word that my friend and fellow evangelist, Shawn Holes is, at this moment, sitting in a Glascow, Scotland jail cell. His crime: he mentioned what the Bible says about homosexuality.

Here's what I know from very reliable sources:

Shawn is in Scotland with a group of European and American evangelists preaching the gospel. Earlier today, Shawn was preaching in the open-air to a crowd of people. According to accounts from other evangelists present, Shawn's presentation of his testimony and the gospel was loving and gracious. When Shawn finished preaching, a lady from the crowd asked, "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?"

Shawn answered the lady's question by turning to the Scriptures. The crowd began to argue that the Bible doesn't speak against homosexuality, even though Shawn tried to show them the passages in the Bible.

Police officers were present and listening to the preaching. When Shawn shared what the Bible says about homosexuality, a police officer told Shawn that he was offending people in the crowd and that he couldn't preach about homosexuality.

Standing not far from Shawn was a young man in the crowd who was smoking a marijuana joint, which is illegal to do in public, in Scotland. One of the evangelists made mention of it and a police officers responded by saying, "Well, that's just Glascow youth these days."

Shawn was arrested for offensive preaching. He will remain in custody until he goes before the court, tomorrow.

According to Lisa Holes, Shawn's wife, segments of the evangelical church in Scotland plan to be outside the courthouse in protest of Shawn's arrest and in support of our brother in chains.

Knowing Shawn as I do, I have no doubt he is boldly and loving preaching the gospel to other prisoners.

Pray for Shawn and his family as Shawn denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Christ.

And for my American Christian brethren reading this post: what happened to Shawn today in Scotland will soon happen to Christians in the United States. Stand firm. Speak the truth in love. Proclaim the gospel, no matter what the cost.

The Holes Family leads Luke 10:2 Ministries. Please consider supporting their missionary work to proclaim the gospel around the world.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I believe Tony is right; it won't be long until this will happen here in the United States.

How much longer have we the freedom to openly preach the gospel? How much longer have we to openly read the Word of God on any public street? How much longer have we to be able to peacefully stand on a corner and hold a cross?

Time is short folks. Are you doing everything you can to reach people with the gospel? Hand out a tract today. Talk to the loved one who is lost. Share Christ with that co-worker is hell bound.

Prayers going up for Shawn and his family.

The Christian’s Prayer

“Father, I have a problem. It’s weighing heavy on me. It’s all I can think about, night and day. “But before I bring it to you in prayer, I suppose I should pray for those who are less fortunate than me—those in this world who have hardly enough food for this day, and those who don’t have a roof over their heads at night. I also pray for families who have lost loved ones in sudden death, for parents whose children have leukemia, for the many people who are dying of brain tumors, for the hundreds of thousands who are laid waste with other terrible cancers, for people whose bodies have been suddenly shattered in car wrecks, for those who are lying in hospitals with agonizing burns over their bodies, whose faces have been burned beyond recognition.

“I pray for people with emphysema, whose eyes fill with terror as they struggle for every breath merely to live, for those who are tormented beyond words by irrational fears, for the elderly who are wracked with the pains of aging, whose only ‘escape’ is death.

“I pray for people who are watching their loved ones fade before their eyes through the grief of Alzheimer’s disease, for the many thousands who are suffering the agony of AIDS, for those who are in such despair that they are about to commit suicide, for people who are tormented by the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction.

“I pray for children who have been abandoned by their parents, for those who are sexually abused, for wives held in quiet despair, beaten and abused by cruel and drunken husbands, for people whose minds have been destroyed by mental disorders, for those who have lost everything in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

“I pray for the blind, who never see the faces of the ones they love or the beauty of a sunrise, for those whose bodies are horribly deformed by painful arthritis, for the many whose lives will be taken from them today by murderers, for those wasting away on their deathbeds in hospitals.

“Most of all, I cry out for the millions who don’t know the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ...for those who in a moment of time will be swept into hell by the cold hand of death, and find to their utter horror the unspeakable vengeance of eternal fire. They will be eternally damned to everlasting punishment. O God, I pray for them.

“Now, for my problem...Strange. I can’t seem to remember what it was.

“In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”


Hat Tip - Ponderings

Lost hymn of the week - Beulah Land

I've reached the land of corn and wine,
And all its riches freely mine;
Here shines undimmed one blissful day,
For all my night has passed away.


Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!


My Savior comes and walks with me,
And sweet communion here have we;
He gently leads me by His hand,
For this is Heaven's border land.


Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!


A sweet perfume upon the breeze,
Is borne from ever vernal trees,
And flow'rs, that never fading grow
Where streams of life forever flow.


Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!


The zephyrs seem to float to me,
Sweet sounds to Heaven's melody,
As angels with the white robed throng
Join in the sweet redemption song.


Refrain
O Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land,
As on thy highest mount I stand,
I look away across the sea,
Where mansions are prepared for me,
And view the shining glory shore,
My Heav'n, my home forever more!

A living sacrifice

Romans 12, 1-6. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God bath dealt to each man a measure of faith. 4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us.

As before said, the world cannot endure the sight or hearing of this living sacrifice; therefore it opposes it on every side. With its provocations and threats, its enticements and persecutions, it has every advantage, aided by the fact that our minds and spirits are not occupied with that spiritual sacrifice, but we give place to the dispositions and inclinations of the world.

We must be careful, then, to follow neither the customs of the world nor our own reason or plausible theories. We must constantly subdue our dis- positions and control our wills, not obeying the dictates of reason and desire. Always we are to conduct ourselves in a manner unlike the way of the world. So shall we be daily changed renewed in our minds. That is, we come each day to place greater value on the things condemned by human reason by the world.

Daily we prefer to be poor, sick and despised, to be fools and sinners, until ultimately we regard death as better than life, foolishness as more precious than wisdom, shame nobler than honor, labor more blessed than wealth, and sin more glorious than human righteousness. Such a mind the world does not possess. The mind of the world is altogether unlike the Christian's. It not only continues unchanged and unrenewed in its old disposition, but is obdurate and very old.

God's will is ever good and perfect, ever gracious; but it is not at all times so regarded of men. Indeed, human reason imagines it to be the evil, unfriendly, abominable will of the devil, because what reason esteems highest, best and holiest, God's will regards as nothing and worthy of death.

Therefore, Christian experience must come to the rescue and decide. It must feel and prove, must test and ascertain, whether one is prompted by a sincere and gracious will. He who perseveres and learns in this way will go for- ward in his experience, finding God's will so gracious and pleasing he would not exchange it for all the world's wealth.

He will discover that acceptance of God's will affords him more happiness, even in poverty, disgrace and adversity, than is the lot of any worldling in the midst of earthly honors and pleasures. He will finally arrive at a degree of perfection making him inclined to exchange life for death, and, with Paul, to desire to depart that sin may no more live in him, and that the will of God may be done perfectly in himself in every relation.

In this respect he is wholly unlike the world; he conducts himself very differently from it. For the world never has enough of this life, while the experienced Christian is ready to be removed. What the world seeks, he avoids; what it avoids, he seeks.

Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol. 7 Baker House

Taken from Peacemakers

He could not love you more!

"I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself!" Jeremiah 31:3

He loved you without beginning. Before years, and centuries, and millenniums began to be counted--your name was on His heart! Eternal thoughts of love have been in God's bosom towards you. He has loved you without a pause; there never was a minute in which He did not love you. Your name once engraved upon His hands--has never been erased, nor will He ever blot it out of the Book of Life.

Since you have been in this world--He has loved you most patiently. You have often provoked Him; you have rebelled against Him times without number, yet He has never stayed the outflow of His heart towards you; and, blessed be His name--He never will. You are His, and you always shall be His. God's love to you is without boundary. He could not love you more--for He loves you like a God; and He never will love you less. All His heart belongs to you!

"As the Father has loved Me--so have I loved you!" John 15:9

Charles Spurgeon

Lost Hymn of the Week -

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Heretics and false teachers?

I have listed below some names that should be familiar with almost everyone who visits this site. The list is not exhaustive by no means.

These names are some of the greatest preachers, theologians and missionaries the world has ever known.

There is a common thread to all these names. Among other things, these men believed in the absolute sovereignty of God in all things.

Would you consider any (or all) of these men heretics and false teachers?

Jonathan Edwards
Charles Spurgeon
A.W. Pink
John Flavel
J.I. Packer
Thomas Watson
John Bunyan
William Shedd
John Owen
J.C. Ryle
Martyn Lloyd Jones
John Eliot
J.P.Boyce
Cotton Mathers
John Knox
George Whitefield
John Newton
William Bradford
Thomas Brooks
Isaac Watts
John Piper
Matthew Henry
Thomas Boston
R.C. Sproul
Phil Johnson
John MacArthur
John Brainerd
Augustine

What is your god?

A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.
That upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.

Therefore I repeat that the chief explanation of this point is that to have a god is to have something in which the heart entirely trusts.

Ask and examine your heart diligently, and you will find whether it cleaves to God alone or not. If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing but what is good, especially in want and distress, and that, moreover, renounces and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God.


If, on the contrary, it cleaves to anything else, of which it expects more good and help than of God, and does not take refuge in Him, but in adversity flees from Him, then you have an idol, another god.

Martin Luther


HT - Against Heresies