Brad

Book Review: Erasing Hell, by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle

2011-08-10T11:22:00.003-02:30

There's been a big stir lately about heaven and hell. Between people trying to guess the day of Christ's return, and books causing some people to steam, it seems like a lot of unpopular topics are starting to get people talking. I don't want to add to the controversy that has taken place or provoke people on either side to become angry, but I do want to know what the Bible says about topics like

RE: Fanny Crosby

2011-06-28T16:50:00.000-02:30

I was reading a brief biography about a very inspirational woman of God, Fanny Crosby. She is the writer behind many of today's popular hymns. What I hadn't realized before is that she had been totally blind since childhood. In a unique God-given perspective, she was joyful for her blindness and praised God for what many considered a disability. At just the age of 8-years old, she wrote this poem

Approaching the Line

2011-06-20T13:16:00.000-02:30

I was reading Mark 10 today and was humbled to see how similar to the pharisees I am. At the beginning of the chapter, the pharisees are trying to trap Jesus again with their words. They ask Him about divorce, but they concerned with what is lawful, not what is peasing to God. [...] “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” (Mark 10:2 ESV) Sometimes there is a distinction between "lawful"

Quieting Excuses

2011-06-07T13:51:00.000-02:30

The story of Moses is filled with excuses. Right from the moment God called Moses to lead Israel, Moses was hard at work trying to talk God out of His decisions. However, one of the most dramatic excuses in the books of Moses didn't come from the prophet himself. In Numbers 13, we see the story of a group of Israelite scouts checking out the land that God had promised them. It's important to

A Bod for God

2011-06-03T15:00:00.000-02:30

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am an avid runner. I enjoy the competition of races and the accomplished feeling I get after powering through a grueling multi-hour run. On top of all that, running is incredibly healthy. There had been countless textbooks written on the health benefits of running, so I won't bog you down by writing about that. Today I was reading over some verses and it

"Sin Salvation & Shadowmancer" Review

2011-06-02T18:20:00.000-02:30

It's been a while since I've reviewed a book. Recently, I finished "Sin, Salvation & Shadowmancer". It's really different from what I normally read. It's the testimony / biography of Graham Taylor, better known as G. P. Taylor, the guy who wrote Shadowmancer. For a guy who wrote a fantasy series that rivaled Harry Potter in the UK, I figured he must have a pretty cool story to tell. Turns out, he

Imprisoning God

2011-06-01T17:17:00.000-02:30

I stumbled upon something incredible yesterday. It was a book that I'd never heard of it or seen it before in my house. Somehow it got lost in between the hundreds of books on the bookshelves. I started flipping through the pages and discovered it was filled with amazing poetry, observations, and testimony of the glory of God. It is such a treasure, and I'll probably be posting several short

Bible Translation Comparisons

2011-05-30T12:03:00.000-02:30

I've had a few good discussions with people over the last year or so about the pros and cons of various Bible translations. Some people are passionately sold on only a single translation, while others feel that just about anything that has "Bible" written on it's cover is sufficient. One guy I know is a "King James Only" believer, rejecting all other renditions of the Bible. Somebody else I know

Killing Death

2011-05-22T15:35:00.000-02:30

I noticed the other day that the Church talks so much (especially around Easter) about the idea of Jesus "defeating death", that it almost makes it lose its meaning. Overcoming death is a concept more complex and massive than I think we're even capable of understanding. Some psychologists theorized that every fear or phobia can be traced back in some way to a fear of death. It's this big

He Is Still Risen!

2011-04-26T14:16:00.000-02:30

I decided not to post anything on Easter. On Easter Sunday, everyone is already bombarded with the amazing news that our Lord has risen, through church services, YouTube videos, and Facebook updates. So instead, I'll tell you today, the day after Easter, that Christ is still alive and well! After the holiday is over and the excitement has died down, don't forget about the amazing demonstration

I'm His Son

2011-04-14T15:49:00.000-02:30

Yesterday I had one of those experiences that seem fairly mundane at the time, only to reveal a deeper meaning after thinking about it for a while. My dad owns a few rental properties in St. John's. He's out of town on vacation now, so he put me in charge of them. Yesterday I received a call telling me that the furnace at one of the rentals wasn't working properly. When the superintendent tried

Hosea

2011-03-25T17:45:00.000-02:30

For me personally, the book of Hosea is the most convicting in all of scripture. When you compare the relationship between humans and God to the relationship between a man and a woman, we can really see the weight of our sins. It also helps me grasp the concept that all sins are equal in God's eyes. When a spouse betrays their significant other, the specific act that takes place means very little

The Long Way

2011-03-13T21:35:00.000-02:30

Like most people, I've sometimes wondered why God does things that way He does. I'm not necessarily upset by His ways or disagreeing with His plan, but I'm just curios as to why He chose to do things in a certain way. A passage in Exodus 13 shed some light on this for me: "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.

Give As God Gives

2011-03-12T14:00:00.000-03:30

"As thunder follows lightning, giving follows grace" -Randy Alcorn

Beauty and Fragrance

2011-02-24T14:05:00.001-03:30

Focus on the beauty of Jesus. Never tire of speaking about, and to, Jesus. As you pray, people will be attracted to the fragrance. - Kirk Bartha

Clairvaux Manifesto

2011-02-23T14:02:00.000-03:30

I wanted to share something a bit different today. My good friend and teacher Kirk Bartha had the opportunity to be on TV today and share about his book. I first met Kirk when he traveled to Newfoundland back in 2005 and I've had the privilege of hearing him speak several times since then. He has probably had the biggest spiritual impact on me of any person I've ever known, other than the Lord

Better Than Neutral

2011-02-20T16:28:00.000-03:30

A mentality that really bothers me, whether in the Church or in the world, is that goodness is determined by what you don't do. The idea that "if you don't smoke, don't drink, don't watch this show or hang out with those people", then you are somehow made good. What bothers me about this is that the absence of all those things could quite possibly (and often does) result in a person who is still

The Lord's Supper

2011-02-18T00:21:00.000-03:30

There's nothing more important for God's children to remember than the cross. It's horrifying and disturbing, yet it's through that death and destruction where we find our life and restoration. Don't wince and turn away, but tremble in awe at the blood that washes us clean. Here's the word from an old old old hymn I was reading tonight. "Bread of the world, in mercy broken, Wine of the soul,

Refusing the Food

2011-02-10T16:07:00.000-03:30

Last night at a bible study we were discussing Daniel 1:8, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with with the royal food and wine and asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." Daniel was refusing the king's meal because the food was was part of idol worship. Daniel's love of God was more powerful than his desire for good food and put his life in danger for

Embrace it

2011-02-08T12:06:00.000-03:30

"If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart."— Oswald Chambers Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you endure trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. — James 1: 2

Staying In His Love

2011-02-01T12:19:00.000-03:30

Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible, is also one of my favorites. He wrote to warn against false teachers who taught that after receiving Christ, they had a "license to sin", claiming that it was okay because they would be forgiven anyway. I've found myself in this trap before, trying to rationalize my own sin by taking advantage of God's massive mercy. But Jude speaks truth, pointing

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T22:42:00.001-03:30

Happy new year everyone! It might just be a number on the calendar, but the new year always seems like a time to start over and make things better. In Christ, we always have the chance to start over. Whether it's January 1st or May 9th, God makes all things new. My prayer for everyone reading this is that we embrace that truth and do something awesome with God. "... the new creation has come:

Just The Way You Are

2010-12-04T14:40:00.000-03:30

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10All people, whether Jew or Gentile (like this passage is talking about), were created purposefully. The Greek for "handiwork" can also mean "work of art". This shows that we are beautifully and intentionally made. God prepared a goal and mission for each of us, the "

Alive Again

2010-11-18T18:14:00.001-03:30

King Over our Defeated Foes

2010-09-27T14:57:00.000-02:30

In our messed up world, we sometimes forget that God is sovereignly in control of all things. Satan, though ruler of this world, is still ultimately limited by God's will. This awesome quote from a book I'm reading gave me great hope in the power of our God over the darkness: When God gave Satan permission to test His servant Job, He set the limit beyond which Satan could not go. At Calvary,