December 3, 2001
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
Boast in the Lord
___Every week, I ask our congregation, "Who has something about which to brag on the Lord this morning?" Recently, he has given us:
___
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
Renewed health and strength.
___
___
___
___I boast in the Lord that our traumatized nation has recovered some respect for the name of God. America is singing a national hymn of petition: "God, bless America. ... Stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above."
___We should be mindful of what the Lord is doing in our own lives, communities and nation. The Lord is working all around us to bring "the lost" to a saving knowledge of his Son. He is calling us to join him in that work. How?
___Boast in the Lord for daily blessings.
___Bring your "boast" to your worship service and brag on the Lord.
___Brag on the Lord in song and through your spoken testimony of his goodness.
___Brag on the Lord among fellow Christians, and you will find it easier to brag on the Lord among unbelievers.
___Your "boast" will glorify the Father. It will strengthen all of us. And it will give the unbeliever further reason to place his hope and trust in the risen Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
___Let's brag on the Lord!
___ Maurice Harding
___ Houston
Who worships God?
___A question closer to home than whether Jews worship the same God Christians worship ("Mohler says Jews worship different God," Nov. 5) is whether all Christians--even all Baptists!--worship the same God.
___If belief in Jesus Christ's deity is a criterion for true worship of the one true God, then surely Christ-like character in love is as well. Perhaps it would be better to examine ourselves than to judge our Savior's own people, who are so often vilified and persecuted.
___Given the insidious history of anti-Semitism among Christians, the claim that Jews do not worship the same God as Christians risks adding to that history. Better than that would be to affirm with the Apostle Paul our Christian debt to the Jewish people and God's continuing purpose for them and avoid all boasting at their expense (Romans 11).
___ Roger E. Olson
___ Waco
Another God
___I take exception to Michael Simons' letter stating that the Bible does not show that the Jews worship a different God--Jesus. Therefore, I did a search for him and discovered the Bible clearly says God is Jesus and Jesus is God.
___John 1:1-5 is very plain. Also, did not Jesus say anyone who has seen him as seen the Father? Did not Jesus say, "I and my father are one"? Jesus is God. Other verses are Acts 2:32, Matthew 12:40, John 8:58, John 10:15-18, John 20:28, Acts 7:59, 1 Corinthians 12:3, Ephesians 5:8, Revelation 3:14, Acts 7:54 and 1 Peter 3:21.
___Are the Jews worshipping Jesus, who is God? I believe the Bible says no.
___Paul stated he would be willing to go to hell if the Jews would worship Jesus. Their rejection is obvious: Matthew 26, 27 and John 19:19-30., etc.
___Since the Jews do not worship Jesus, who is God, then we do not worship the same God. This is the foundation of our faith and what salvation is all about. If Jesus was not God, we have no hope.
___If church leaders do not know who God is, how can they lead us to God?
___ While Al Mohler was politically incorrect in being so blunt, we must agree with his statement. I believe the leaders of the Baptist General Convention of Texas surely agree with this position. If not, Lord help us!
___ Stephen Joiner
___ Abilene
Islam not violent
___James Chancellor sets aside President Bush's cautious rhetoric about Islam's pacific nature as "ridiculous," and, without a trace of irony, asserts, "The use of violence comes more easily to Muslims" than Christians, by implication (Oct. 29).
___That Chancellor would advance such an entirely specious statement is stunning. The Koran consists of 114 surahs; each one captures all that Islam teaches about God and human life, the world and how to behave within it, and "peace" is the watchword.
___Yes, it is accurate to say some Muslims practice a way of life that is far from peaceable, but it is equally correct, not to mention fair, to be honest about Christianity's centuries-old record of intolerance, arrogance and religiously sanctioned bloodshed.
___Regrettably, the moderates fair no better than the conservatives on this issue. While I am persuaded that Keith Parks' missiology was forged on the anvil of hard experience in Indonesia, I am disquieted by his suggestion that Muslims, particularly those in positions of power, exhibit "aggressiveness," because "a lot of verses (in the Koran) talk about violence."
___The incongruity here lies in the awkward fact that the Bible itself is replete with violent discourse. No, what Parks appears to have in mind is the Shi'ites, the fundamentalist sect within Islam, but Shi'ites represent less than 10 percent of Muslims worldwide; more than 90 percent are Sunni, and God-fearing peaceableness is their modus operandi.
___ Darren J. N. Middleton
___ Fort Worth
Witch hunt
___In 1692, the eyes of the New World were on the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Unfortunately, many of the girls who were either killed or imprisoned were completely innocent. Why were they punished? Because of information from people who were either uninformed or uneducated regarding what was entirely true and what was entirely not.
___Today, over three centuries later, we still love our "witch hunts." Web sites, professional videos and editorial letters--in the name of "righteousness"--are being produced en mass regarding Harry Potter. The vast majority come across not as righteous but as foolish.
___Why? Because they've not put forth any effort to see for themselves if what they're being told and what they're writing is entirely true--kind of like late 17th century Salem. In the 15th century, everyone believed the world was flat--because someone told them it was. Thank goodness, someone had the courage to investigate.
___In Acts 17, the Bereans "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Many modern-day Christians are foreign to "intelligent conversation regarding Christianity." Just as many Christians believe Harry Potter is harmless as those who think he's the devil.
___So, if you're going to denounce Potter as pure evil, it would be wise to at least know what you're talking about. Regardless of which side you're on, you'll "earn the ear of the listener."
___ Nick Watts
___ Lubbock
Dose of humility
___In recent days, the Standard reported the following items: One Texas Baptist association held an annual awards ceremony, naming a pastor of the year and church of the year. The Baptist History & Heritage Society is establishing a preaching contest. The Maston Foundation gave an ethics award. The Standard won two Katie Awards from a secular organization. And results in North Carolina Baptist officer elections show conservatives winning over moderates, 2-1.
___There is only one competition with which the church should concern herself. That is the war for men's souls that is being waged day after day, hour after hour, in our communities. When Jesus' disciples competed for the award of greatest apostle, Jesus admonished them, saying, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all" (Mark 10:35).
___Let the world care about recognition and rankings. The church and the Christian ought not. We are here to serve, not to be served. A big dose of humility is in order for Baptists.
___ Bobby Quinten
___ Bedford
21st century hymns
___In response to Eugene Greer (Nov. 26), perhaps he has closed his ears--mind--to current praise and worship material.
___The chorus to the popular "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" includes a basic--albeit simplified--plan of salvation.
___The chorus to "Hungry": "I'm falling on my knees. Offering all of me. Jesus, you're all this heart is living for" offers the "appeal to personal prayer" that Greer requests.
___"Trading My Sorrows" offers a glimpse of his "challenge to live sacrificially the Christian life": "I am pressed but not crushed. Persecuted, not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. I am blessed beyond the curse, for his promise will endure, and his joy is gonna be my strength."
___As for lack of harmony, our choruses include three- and four-part harmonies. Lack of harmony mainly exists in the one-way mentality that currently attempts to control much of Christian life. The complaint about "repeats of phrases" seems at odds with how I was taught to learn Bible verses--repeat them over and over until they are written in your heart.
___Greer's beloved hymns were once new, probably receiving the same type of criticism upon their introduction. My musical/worship life was dead until I encountered contemporary praise and worship music. These songs now flow through my heart daily and continually lead me back to Scripture.
___I'm amazed at how contemporary artists like Third Day, Lincoln Brewster and Mercy Me practically lift biblical text out verbatim and convert it into singable, memorizable 21st century "hymns."
___ Mark Clark
___ Dallas
Proud of label
___I have been a member of a Southern Baptist church for over 70 years. It has never bothered me to be called a fundamentalist.
___Unlike some, I prefer to accept the definition given in "Webster's New World Dictionary." Fundamentalism is "religious beliefs based literally on the Bible." If that is what it is, that is what I am.
___ J.T. Wyatt
___ Pharr
Something wrong
___There is something definitely wrong with the group of Baptists who are saying, "We must not put the Bible above Jesus Christ." These people must have forgotten that God's word is called the Holy Bible.
___Men and women down through the ages have died defending the Bible as the holy word of God. The Bible itself gives us the statement again and again that it is the absolute truth of the word of God to mankind.
___Jesus is the Incarnate Word as revealed through Scripture.
___ E.D. Feaster
___ Dickinson
Copy Christ
___I don't know why some people believed after 37 years the Baptist Faith & Message needed to be changed, and I do not know their motives.
___I do know strife in the church renders our witness false, while the goodness of God leads people to repentance. If our mission is to reach others and spread Christ, we better become Christlike. We need to live so that when others see us they see Jesus.
___Please read 2 Timothy 2:14-26. The Apostle Paul warns that quarreling about words is of no value and ruins those who listen. He says those who indulge in it will become more ungodly, and their teaching will spread like gangrene because they are in the snare of the devil himself. He warns leaders and teachers to correctly handle the word of truth and do not quarrel.
___The wisdom God gave Paul in his letters contains things that are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:15-18). Ignorant and unstable people will distort Paul's letters and all Scripture to their own destruction.
___Laypeople, be on guard and know what God's word says so we will not be led astray through error and lose our way.
___ Janie Cross
___ Fort Worth
Same God
___Our Christian God and the God of Judaism are the same God.
___The only difference is the spiritual condition of each. You don’t have to be a Jew to be in this condition; look at the Christianchurches that teach works and laws instead of God’s salvationthrough Jesus Christ.
___Concerning the Jews’ rejection of Jesus, God knew they would (Isaiah 53:3). Not all have rejected Jesus, and Judaism still is the root of Christanity. Christians were only grafted into God’s plan because we received Jesus and accepted him as the Son of God (Romans 11:1-28).
___Putting Islam and Judaism in the same category is a very dangerous in God’s eyes(Numbers 24:5-9). Israel worships God our Father, not some stone idol as some do.
___There will come a time when all of Israel will come totally to God (Jeremiah 31:31-34). They will know and except the Lord; it just hasn’t happened yet. As far as Israel is concerned, look at Jeremiah 31:35-37.
___The sun, the stars and the moon are still shinning and we haven’t gone high enough or low enough for God to have turned his back on Israel or the Jewish people.
___I really do take offence that a person in Al Mohler’s position could actually make a ridiculous statement concerning Judaism.
___I hope and pray he will reconsider this ridiculous statement!
___ F.L. McElroy
___Cameron
Blessed by Glenn Booth
___I just learned through a letter to the Baptist Standard that Glenn Booth, director of counseling and psychological services for
___I am one of the many pastors tremendously blessed by his ministry.
___One of the most compassionate men I have ever known, Glenn Booth helped me through a very difficult period of life. I am not overstating the truth when I say I am who I am today largely because of his guidance and care. I agree wholeheartedly with Don Cass who wrote, "No doubt heaven rejoiced as his arrival."
___Scott Sharman
___Burleson
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
