A Mighty Fortress

I thought I would share this story from Matt Maher, a Christian artist I really enjoy. His comments relate to spritiual warfare.

"I was driving down to Atlanta from Nashville in August and a melody came to my head, along with the phrase, "You are our salvation; our stronghold, our strength; You are our foundation, mighty fortress is Your name.” Obviously that really isn't a name of God, but that's how ideas sometimes start, as abstract phrases and melodies. This idea eventually turned into the song "Mighty Fortress."

 

Of course, I'm referring to the Hymn written by Martin Luther. I did not realize that it was considered the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation," I just saw it as a Hymn about God being our refuge in times of trouble, against "powers and principalities."

Here we are, 500 years after the reformation, and now we find ourselves in an increasingly secular society that is not only dismissive of the Gospel, it is increasingly hostile towards it. How do we move forward and remain secure? How do we stand firm in our beliefs and love our God and neighbor? We do it by standing in the faithfulness of our God, by letting Him be our shield. In fact, we stand firm by letting God be God. By bearing witness that He is a refuge for the weak, so maybe we shouldn't so much hide our weaknesses, but as St. Paul says, we should boast in them. We boast in the fact that we our not our own refuge, but rather, the fact that He is.

When Satan Strikes

We finished Session Two tonight of our Bible Study Victory in Spiritual Warfare. What we learned tonight is how to put on the first piece of  God's Armor, Truth. The only way to know what Truth is to know God's Word and who He is.
One of the greatest spiritual challenges for me is when Satan seeks to attack me by conflicting my mind. This is one of his favorite tactics. He knows what each of us knows about the Bible and wants us to stop believing it and to certainly not do what it says.
Satan wants to force us into conform mode, don't be different, don't stand out, conform to those around you.
We must be encouraged to recognize Satan's strategies and anything that is not of Christ in our behavior and attitudes and understand we have victory in Christ.

Be aware that Satan attacks mentally and psychologically, don't allow him to win the battle within your mind. He will defeat you daily and take up residence in your heart.
 

Frequency of Crime

Because of our fallen and broken world, crime is unfortunately part of society. The Christian is able to see through the crime and focus eternally on Christ and His promise of salvation.
Thus followers of Christ should ask themselves what can I do about the crime in my community. We have not been given a "spirit of fearfulness, but one on power, love, and sound judgment" (2 Timothy 1:7). We can begin by not being afraid, then we can pray boldly for God to intervene against the dark forces that are causing the crime.
Think about that as you read these crime statistics in America:

1 person is murdered every 31 minutes
1 person is raped every 2.7 minutes
1 person is assualted every 2.7 minutes
1 home is victimized by theft every 2.3 seconds
1 home is burglarized  every 9.2 seconds
1 child is reported abused or neglected every 36 seconds
1 person is killed in an alcohol-related traffic crash every 31 minutes
(Office for Victims of Crime)

Do you ever wonder what the Federal Government spends fighting crime:

1995 - $21,197,000,000
2000 - $27,994,999,000
2005 - $40,019,000,000

Yes, that is billions!
That doesn't include the state and local government totals of hundreds of billions!!

The answer to reverse this crime problem is not more government programs, its turning back to God and establishing strong families grounded in Jesus Christ.
 

A Letter to Victoria’s Secret From a Father

A Letter to Victoria’s Secret From a Father

An open letter to Victoria’s Secret regarding their choice to make an underwear line aimed at young teenagers. (Read about it here)

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Dear Victoria’s Secret,
I am a father of a three year old girl. She loves princesses, Dora the Explorer, Doc McStuffins and drawing pictures for people. Her favorite foods are peanut butter and jelly, cheese and pistachios.
Even though she is only three, as a parent I have had those thoughts of my daughter growing up and not being the little girl she is now. It is true what they say about kids, they grow up fast. No matter how hard I try I know that she will not be the little ball of energy she is now; one day she will be a rebellious teenager that will more than likely think her dad is a total goof ball and would want to distance herself from my embarrassing presence.
I know that this is far down the line and I try to spend as much time as I can with her making memories of this special time.
But as I read an article today posted on The Black Sphere, it really got me thinking that maybe the culture that we currently find ourselves in is not helping the cause.
Recently I read an article that Victoria’s Secret is launching a line of underwear and bras aimed at middle school aged children. The line will be called “Bright Young Things” and will feature ” lace black cheeksters with the word “Wild” emblazoned on them, green and white polka-dot hipsters screen printed with “Feeling Lucky?” and a lace trim thong with the words, “Call me” on the front.”
As a dad, this makes me sick.
I believe that this sends the wrong message to not only my daughter but to all young girls.
I don’t want my daughter to ever think that her self-worth and acceptance by others is based on the choice of her undergarments. I don’t want my daughter to ever think that to be popular or even attractive she has to have emblazon words on her bottom.
I want my daughter (and every girl) to be faced with tough decisions in her formative years of adolescence. Decisions like should I be a doctor or a lawyer? Should I take calculus as a junior or a senior? Do I want to go to Texas A&M or University of Texas or some Ivy League School? Should I raise awareness for slave trafficking or lack of water in developing nations? There are many, many more questions that all young women should be asking themselves… not will a boy (or girl) like me if I wear a “call me” thong?
I want my daughter to know that she is perfect the way she is; I want my daughter to know that no matter what underwear she is wearing it does not define her.
I believe that this new line “Bright Young Things” thwarts the efforts of empowering young women in this county. “Bright Young Things” gives off the message that women are sex objects. This new line promotes it at a dangerously young age.
I implore you to reconsider your decision to start this line.
By doing so you will put young girl’s self-esteem, self-worth and pride above profits.
Sincerely,
Rev. Evan Dolive
Houston, TX

Whom Do You Serve?

Awesome song, video and message by John Waller! Enjoy and reflect on whom you serve in your life and in your home.
The song is based off Joshua 24:15 where Joshua says "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
Joshua was telling the Israelites that his family would serve Yahweh, not false gods. Joshua is calling all people to commit themselves to serve  the Lord and make Him the center of their lives and their homes.

Are You Seeking His Face?

Awesome video from Richard Owen Roberts about seeking God's face!

Free Course on Bible Interpretation

If anyone is looking to learn about the Bible, this is a great opportunity to learn how to interpret the Bible correctly.

What is a MOOC anyway? A MOOC (massive open online course) is a popular new way of viewing lecture content from top ranked universities for free! Our desire is to offer the highest level of theological training to the greatest number of people so they can be further equipped to fulfill the Great Commission. The information and resources you will receive in our MOOC courses will be the same lecture content as our classes here at Southeastern. As an added convenience, you will be able to enroll in these courses directly from our website, and they are self-paced so you will not have to worry about deadlines or rearranging your schedule.

In February we will be offering Dr. Akin’s, "how-to-read-and-interpret-the-Bible course," called Hermeneutics. You will learn methods that will not only help you interpret Scripture, but communicate it in a variety of environments. This course will transform the way you read Scripture! Although this course is taught in a seminary, Dr. Akin’s clear teaching style can be understood by all who desire a deeper knowledge of the Bible. As an added bonus, if the participant watches all of the lectures, completes some additional leveling assignments, and pays for the credit hours, Southeastern has provided a way to turn this course into undergraduate or graduate level credit.

Register for MOOC

Contents and Assignments will be available February 1st, 2013 for you to start at your own pace.

Contact the Distance Learning Office to find out more information: distancelearning@sebts.edu.

No forms to fill out. No hidden fees or cost. Just biblically sound methods and techniques for understanding God’s Word in the 21st century.