It is well with my soul.

I hope this song will bless and encourage you this Lord’s Day.

It is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain


Quotes (282)

John MacArthur There are lots of apostate people. Ever since the time of Judas, there have been people who profess faith in Christ and identify themselves as disciples but who never genuinely embrace the truth. They may understand the truth. They may even seem to follow it enthusiastically for a while. They might identify with a church and therefore become an active and integral part of the earthly Christian community. Sometimes they even become leaders in a church. But they never really believe the truth with an undivided heart. Like tares among the wheat, they have an appearance of authenticity for a while, but they are incapable of producing and useful fruit (Matthew 13:24-30).

– John MacArthur

Quotes (281)

piper-pic.jpg Becoming a Christian means death to sin. The old self that loved sin died with Jesus. Sin is like a prostitute that no longer looks beautiful. She is the murderer of my King and myself. Therefore, the believer is dead to sin, no longer dominated by her attractions. Sin, the prostitute who killed my friend, has no appeal. She has become an enemy.

– John Piper

Christianity Today magazine gives Sex and the City 3 out of 4 stars.

Oh how this magazine continues to descend into the depths of total depravity. Christianity Today not only felt it was necessary to review Sex and the City, but also gave it three out of a possible four stars. You can see their review here.

“In the end, I didn’t quite heart SATC—but I certainly enjoyed this meaningful reunion with its beloved characters and their winning friendships.”

Folks, the DVD series is rated R for a reason (i.e. strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and language). No true Christian has any business willingly setting this trash before their eyes.

Apparently some readers of Christianity Today still have a conscience left after it being seared from reading this rag to begin with. They wrote in to express their displeasure and Christianity Today addressed the dissenting voices with their excuses for reviewing this show and other objectionable films. I’ve commented below on excerpts from their unapologetic drivel:

“We totally understand why many people would have no desire to see Sex and the City, choosing to avoid it because of its portrayals of pre- and extra-marital sex and rampant materialism. I myself have no desire to see it, mostly for those reasons. But to slam us for reviewing the film makes no sense. Our mission statement is to help readers make discerning choices about movies—not to make the choices for people. Our review clearly warned readers of the sinful behavior in the movie, while also noting some of its redeeming factors—like the universal longing for love and companionship, what it means to be a true friend, and more.”

Really? Is that why you gave it three out of four stars? Doesn’t sound like you’re doing a good job of warning readers about the “sinful behavior” in the film when you endorse it! It must be all those “redeeming values” that gave it such a high rating like this quote from the original review: “All of this said, there is a lot of sex and nudity in the movie. Be warned: There’s a threesome, a naked man in a shower, some steamy makeup sex. The sex scenes between married folk are somewhat less offensive, but there were too many times when it seemed that the producers were simply trying to shock.”

And yet what’s even more shocking is that professing Christians are watching and endorsing this lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh fest.

“As for why we review movies that depict sinful behavior, it’s because such films depict real-world truth, and the truth is sometimes ugly. To suggest that one cannot find redemption amidst the muck is preposterous; often the best kinds of redemption come from out of the muck.”

And it’s much more entertaining to our sinful flesh (which we refuse to crucify) than reading that old boring Bible for guidance and direction.

“But here’s another reason for reviewing SATC and other uncomfortable films: It’s good to sometimes enter into the minds and worldviews of others, even of those we completely disagree with. It’s good to see what the world looks like through the eyes of even the depraved.”

I’m not even going to touch that lame excuse.

“That, dear readers, is why we review ‘objectionable’ movies. Because our eyes ‘are not enough for me.’ We will ‘see through the eyes of others’ and yet ‘remain’ ourselves. It is our own ‘experiment in criticism.’ If that kind of thinking is good enough for C. S. Lewis, it’s certainly good enough for us.”

Wow, I’d like to see you use that justification to indulge the flesh as you stand before your holy and righteous judge. “But Mr. Lewis said . . .”. Perhaps when they stand before God they will quote man’s words, but I have a sneaking suspicion God will quote His own: “Dapert from Me, I never knew you“!

Oh Christianity Today, how you make me long for Christianity Yesterday!

Quotes (280)

awpink.jpg The god of this century no more resembles the Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun. The god who is talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday school, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible conferences, is a figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality.

– AW Pink

1886 – 1952

The White Horse Inn: Radical Informality

On this edition of the White Horse Inn the guys discuss the issue of Radical Informality in life, in church, and in the pulpit.

Show description: Previous generations wore suits to baseball games. Now many Americans show up at church in blue jeans and T-shirts. How has the cultural shift toward informality affected American Christianity over the last few decades? Join the White Horse Inn hosts as they evaluate the effects of “radical informality” on contemporary Christian thought and practice.

Quotes (278)

piper-pic.jpg The ultimate question is not who you are but whose you are. Of course, many people think they are nobody’s slave. They dream of total independence. Like a jellyfish carried by the tides feels free because it isn’t fastened down with the bondage of barnacles. . . . The Bible gives no reality to fallen humans who are ultimately self-determining. There is no autonomy in the fallen world. We are governed by sin or governed by God.

– John Piper

Update: Michael Pfleger removed from his position at St. Sabina Catholic Church.

Catholic priest Michael Pfleger has temporarily been removed from his position as “pastor” of St. Sabina Catholic Church by Francis Cardinal George. This comes after Pfleger’s hate-filled, racist-laden “sermon” last week. To watch the news clip on this decision and read the article, click here. To watch the videos of Pfleger’s tirade that caused his removal, see this post.

I wonder when these liberal, anti-American, race-baiting, indoctrination centers that call themselves “churches” will lose their tax exempt status for their politically charged rhetoric spewed from their pulpits. It seems that the very country they despise is giving them the very freedom by which to despise it. And tax-free to boot! How ironic.

Subway: Eat Fresh, but don’t bother entering our contest if you’re home schooled.

Recently the Subway sandwich chain offered this contest to kids in public, private, and parochial schools but excluded those kids that are home schooled, saying: “Home schools not eligible.” You can read more about this at American Thinker.

This discrimination obviously caused a stir and especially so in the Blog World (and critics still say bloggers are wasting their time). Subway has since retracted their stance on home schooled kids by apologizing and indicating that they plan on holding another contest in which home schoolers will be welcome.

The picture in this post is a fictitious fabrication that I found here and is not/was not found on the Subway website.

New Jewish prayer book to be gender neutral.

According to this news article from the United Kingdom, the new Jewish Sabbath prayer book is removing references to God as King, Father, and Lord in favor of more gender neutral titles. This same book, “. . . also provides prayers for 21st century problems such as environmental and natural disasters and prayers for depression, miscarriage and the death of a child.