Praying for Japan

Our church has always had a keen interest in the hand of God through natural disasters. From the great Tsunami of 2004 in Indonesia, Katrina, Jamaica, Haiti, and others we have always asked what we can do and sought to point men to God. By the power of God and through His abundant grace we have been able to do a number of helpful things. But every time we have felt how small and insignificant we are in the face of such power. Sometimes the only thing we can do is humbly pray.

John Piper offers a prayer worth praying. Let me suggest an activity for you this Saturday.

1. Gather your family
2. Watch the linked video in Piper’s blog
3. Comment on how those are real homes and real cars of real families like yours and how you would feel if you were in that place or if your grandma lived in such an area and was not returning your calls.
4. Read Piper’s Prayer as your family prayer and encourage your children to say, “Amen” at the conclusion.

Here’s the prayer.

Gospel Inoculation

Besides the fact that she has an accent, she’s a she, and she’s wearing pants, this is not much different than the kinds of invitations that I heard while growing up. A commenter called it “gospel inoculation.” Sad, but true. (HT: Jason Parker)

The Islamisation of the West Continues

http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnnewsplayer/cbnPlayer.swf?aid=17933http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnnewsplayer/cbnPlayer.swf?aid=17933

From the Real Pensées

We know the truth, not only through our reason, but also through our heart. It is through this latter that we know first principles; and reason, which has nothing to do with this, vainly tries to refute them. The skeptics have no intention other than this; and they fail to achieve it. We know that we are not dreaming. Yet however unable we may be to prove this by reason, this inability demonstrates nothing but the weakness of our reason, and not the uncertainty of all our knowledge, as they assert . . . Our inability must therefore do nothing except humble reason — which would like to be the judge of everything — while not confronting our certainty. As if reason could be the only way in which we can learn!

Blaise Pascal in Pensées 110

Evangelical Witnessing: Bait and Switch

SI Editor posted a link to this story about an evangelical effort to evangelize by discussing “Jesus without Religion.” Despite the fact that this is an utterly impossible proposition for true Christians, the students at the University of Wisconsin were sufficiently baited to come and, being thoughtful young people, were rightfully turned-off.

I thought it was going to be analyzing a history of Jesus without talking about religious aspects, but it was actually very theological,” said Evan Malagren, a local high school student.

Huh? Cape Town 2010 and Ephesians 2

Okay, I admit that I am not a visual learner. I find a lot of illustrations to be a painful waste of time. But I do pride myself on trying to be open minded so that is why I simply do not know how to respond to something that strikes me as positively vapid, trite, meaningless, and incapable of qualifying as moving even from a subjective sentimentalist perspective. Capetown 2010 is supposed to be a “congress” (that is an impressive word) of evangelical erudite, but isn’t there anyone with the testicular fortitude to say that the dance, though morally innocuous, is a colossal waste of time for earnest disciples from around the globe who pretending to be both intellectual and biblically substantial?

I’m not sure why it’s not embedding. But, seriously, I just don’t get it.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/15995920

Bible Exposition: Drama “Reach” (Ephesians 2) from Lausanne Movement on Vimeo.

How do we work for justice and not undermine evangelism?

You might want to follow this series of posts at the TGC blog answering the question “How do we work for justice and not undermine evangelism?” I love Carson’s response, particularly the first paragraph:

By doing evangelism. I know numerous groups that claim to be engaging in “holistic” ministry because they are helping the poor in Chicago or because they are digging wells in the Sahel, even though few if any of the workers have taken the time to explain to anyone who Jesus is and what he has done to reconcile us to God. Their ministry isn’t holistic; it’s halfistic, or quarteristic.

I must add my commentary: “Duh!”