Archive for September, 2007

What is Creation Evangelism?

Monday, September 17th, 2007

Quoted by Ken Ham from The Genesis answers magazine online:

www.answersingenesis.org

‘Do you know what these students are being taught in most of their classes? That they’re just animals that evolved ultimately from some primeval soup millions of years ago. They are being indoctrinated to believe that evolution is scientific fact. Growing up in a world full of wonderful technology, they have a great respect for real science. They don’t realize that evolution is not observable, repeatable science.

‘So to them, the Bible is just an outdated religious book. After all, they are taught how the solar system formed by itself from a dust cloud over millions of years, that the earth is billions of years old, and the fossil record is the history of the evolution of life. They are shown pictures of ape-men, considered to be their ancestors. In history, they hear of “primitive man” going through a stone age in this onward, upward evolutionary process.’

In other words, I explained to the pastors, day after day, class after class, even without the Bible being mentioned, these students were being inoculated against believing what the Bible has to say about our origins.

So I said:

‘Pastors, here’s the problem. The students know that evolution and its teachings contradicts the Bible’s teaching about Adam and Eve. Then they come to your religion classes and hear you teach from the Bible. However, since they think that the Bible is an outdated book which has been disproved by science, why should they be interested in listening to what you have to say?’

I suggested that before they could really teach effectively about the other issues, they needed to get the students’ attention that the Bible was the infallible Word of God, and really could be trusted.

After all, if the first book in the Bible can’t be trusted in their eyes—why should any other? As one lady put it to me 20 years later:

‘When my church told me that I had to accept evolution, and that Genesis couldn’t be believed as written, I asked, when does God start telling the truth, then?’

Working with the pastors, we devised a series of lessons that showed the students that evolution was just a belief—there weren’t any ape-men—evolutionists had not proved the earth was billions of years old—there were major problems with their theories about the origin of the solar system.

When the pastors presented these lessons—they were astonished. The students sat up and listened. They were extremely interested—and they had lots of questions. ‘What about carbon dating, then? Where do dinosaurs fit in? Why don’t our teachers tell us this information?’

What a difference it made! Many of the students showed intense interest in spiritual things. Later, when the pastors began teaching about Jesus in the New Testament, they had much more success in getting these young people to listen and take note.

At the time, I didn’t realize that I was involved in developing a method of evangelism that I later came to understand as ‘Creation Evangelism.’ Not only is this based on the Bible, but it is one of the most powerful methods for reaching today’s world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Naturalism, logic and reality

Monday, September 17th, 2007

Quoted from Ken Ham, www.answersingenesis.org/creation

Those arguing against creation may not even be conscious of their most basic presupposition, one which excludes God a priori, namely naturalism/materialism (everything came from matter, there is no supernatural, no prior creative intelligence). The following two real-life examples highlight some problems with that assumption:

  1. A young man approached me at a seminar and stated, ‘Well, I still believe in the big bang, and that we arrived here by chance random processes. I don’t believe in God.’ I answered him, ‘Well, then obviously your brain, and your thought processes, are also the product of randomness. So you don’t know whether it evolved the right way, or even what right would mean in that context. Young man, you don’t know if you’re making correct statements or even whether you’re asking me the right questions.’

The young man looked at me and blurted out, ‘What was that book you recommended?’ He finally realized that his belief undercut its own foundations —such ‘reasoning’ destroys the very basis for reason.

  1. On another occasion, a man came to me after a seminar and said, ‘Actually, I’m an atheist. Because I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe in absolutes, so I recognize that I can’t even be sure of reality.’ I responded, ‘Then how do you know you’re really here making this statement?’ ‘Good point,’ he replied. ‘What point?’ I asked. The man looked at me, smiled, and said, ‘Maybe I should go home.’ I stated, ‘Maybe it won’t be there.’ ‘Good point,’ the man said. ‘What point?’ I replied.

This man certainly got the message. If there is no God, ultimately, philosophically, how can one talk about reality? How can one even rationally believe that there is such a thing as truth, let alone decide what it is?

Christian Stewardship?

Wednesday, September 12th, 2007

Was asking myself this question today…here are some answers I found…

In our day and age, one of the most neglect topics and ill treated duties of the Christian Faith is Stewardship.  What does the Bible say about God and Money?  How good are you as a steward of God’s possessions.  The warning comes now: you will not like what you read in these articles because they reach into your savings accounts, wallets, purses and possessions.

The basic etymology of the word oijkono>mov, oikonomos meaning "steward," comes from two root words oikos (house) and nomos (law).  As if to say that the steward is one who is the “law over the house,” and all that is associated with the house.  He is given authority over the household but does not own the household.

The "steward, one who manages the affairs or superintends these household of another, as Eliezer of Damascus did that of Abraham (Genesis 15:2). Great confidence was reposed in those who held such an office, and hence Paul describes Christian ministers as the stewards of God over his Church and family (Titus 1:7). Believers also are described as stewards of God’s gifts and graces, to dispense the benefits of them to the world (1 Peter 4:10). Our Lord frequently uses the responsibility belonging to the office of steward, to illustrate His reasoning. In the parable of the shrewd manager, (Luke 16), the illustration is not encouraging the moral propriety of the manager’s actions, but merely advice to manage worldly goods with such liberty and generosity in a way that promotes the cause of true piety, Christian charity and enlightened love.

Luke 16: 8-13

"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

The Call of God

Saturday, September 8th, 2007

Found this website interesting:

http://www.called2serve.org/3/connectw/god/callofgod.htm

Here are some excerpts:

4 Types of Call:

  • The Call to Salvation . . . first and foremost a call to Jesus
    (Matt. 9:13, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32, Acts 2:39, Romans 1:5-6, etc.).
  • The Call to Holiness . . . also about a call TO Jesus, being IN Christ
    (Romans 12, 8:28-30).
  • The Call to full-time vocational ministry . . . Consider how these people were called:

–Moses from a burning bush (Exodus 3).

–Joshua instructed by God (Joshua 1:1-9).

–Isaiah received his call in a vision (Isai 6)
–Barnabas sent by Jerusalem church to Antioch (Acts 11:22).
–Paul called dramatically (Romans 1:1; 1:Cor. 1:1, Gal. 1:15).
  • The Call to a Specific Task . . .
–Peter and John sent by Jerusalem church to investigate what was happening in Samaria under Philip’s ministry (Acts 8:14).
–Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch to follow up on the church that had been planted there (Acts 11:22).
God’s Calling is Rooted in Scripture & Prayer
God will not call us in a direction that contradicts His Word. In the context of Sabbath-rest, Hebrews 4:12 reveals that God’s Word is living and active. There is a quiet confidence that develops in the devotional life, resting upon the power and promise of God’s voice in Scripture. God speaks as we listen with an open Bible.
  • As you live out the spiritual disciplines and meditate on His Word, what is God saying?
  • What passages of Scripture are creating warmth and flame in the depths of your heart in these days of decision?
God’s calling Is Righteous
Romans 8:28-29 reveals a central purpose for each of us . . . to become more like Jesus. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled . . . and fulfilled.
   •  What decision will position you best to become more like Jesus?
   •  Do you sense confirmation during times of worship?
   •  Does this line up with God’s good purpose for you and others?

God’s Calling is Right
Reflection on Scripture (Psalm 139, Romans 8:28-30) builds assurance that God has wired each of us for a unique purpose. He makes no mistakes. It makes sense that He would call you to a place fitting with the way He designed you. Some of His wiring might be weakness for HIS strength to be manifested, but there is a component of a right fit in regards to his enlightened invitation. Good questions for clarifying this component of His call include:
  • Do your natural, God-given abilities indicate a right fit?
  • Has God brought a spiritual gift which has accented a right fit for a ministry decision?
  • What training have you had, and do your learned skills point to a right fit?
  • Are there assessments that you have taken which bring confirmation of "rightness?"
  • What decision will best line up with your passions, values, and vision?
  • What are you doing in ministry right now ? God’s calling is as much about the present as the future. Abundant life and ministry are for today, not just tomorrow.
God’s Calling Is Rightly Confirmed by Others
This is a critical element. This means the church, which is the family environment for ministry equipping (Ephesians 4). This means leaders in your church, in the denomination, and friends in the kingdom. What are those who know you best, including family, speaking into your life? Calling comes in the context of relationship. Listen with a discerning ear to Godly counsel.

God’s Calling is sometimes Revealed
and Punctuated by Providential Circumstances

Although balance between the subjective and the objective is
crucial, many testimonies are shared of God bringing forth pointed circumstances to identify His hand and His invitation toward a specific task or ministry.
  • What circumstances might God be using to speak to you?
  • What events might form a pattern of God’s leading?
  • What are you observing in the events at school and home?
  • What issues are your friends and coworkers wrestling with?