Who is this?

I'm not a gambler but if I were I would wager anyone seeing this picture would not be able to identify this person. In the photo he's 26, he says "no one knows I exist," and he claims to live on less than "one dollar a month."

The shack he is leaning against is his home. It is 65 square feet with no amenities. It is located in Kenya, Africa.

He has a famous relative whom he has met twice for brief periods and the relative knows of his abject poverty.

I will give one more brief hint to help you identify him. His halfbrother is currently on a campain to tug at the heart-strings of Americans over the compassion he has for the health needs of everyone. His brother wants to change the world (strike that) health care so that no one need suffer.

The only problem with this destitute man's halfbrother is that he will not help his own family so how in the world can we be expected to believe he will do what he says he will do with our health care system.

Oh! You guessed? Yep! The young man in the picture is President Barrack Hussein Obama's halfbrother. I'm sure if anything had been done since the picture was taken to ease his brother's plight we most certainly would have heard about it: Over and over and over and... well you get the idea.

Voddie Baucham has a great post about this: His link is in my links list. And the picture came from here.

I have a lot to learn

I think I am "becoming." That is an odd word to use in a blog primarily focused on Christianity, it is a word used a lot by philosophers. The philosophical sense is that we are ever changing or "becoming." It's a good theological thought as well: We are not what we will be, to paraphrase John Newton.

In reality, however, it is what Christians are supposed to do. We are supposed to "become" more like Him. The implication is that we learn "as little children" throughout our Christian life. (Matt 18:3)

Let me explain. I am an independent Baptist. I think I have been that my whole life. I was raised in a weird setting in that my Mother was a Pentecostal and my Father had (I'll say) issues with booze. I inherited his issues and had to deal with them in my own life. God took care of those particular demons, so I haven't had to deal with them for over 20 years.

That explains some of who I am. To explain why I'm Baptist and not Pentecostal would take a book, so I'll just say my military dog tags identified me as Baptist. So for most of my life I have identified myself that way.

Over the past several years through study, prayer, thought, and I hope God's enlightenment of what His word says, I am becoming a Reformed Baptist. By that I mean I have come to learn the "independent" part of my identity is slowly disappearing. Scripture is teaching me that, yes I had to come to Christ and as a human I thought I was doing that on my own - independently. I am learning, however, that my salvation never was "independent."

Scripture says Christ is building His Church. (Matt 16:8) Church in this sense is Jesus' body until He returns and He is making me a part of that body - I am not and never was "independent." I am becoming, little by little what He wants.

I didn't independently decide one day to get saved, I was saved over time through the preaching and hearing of the Word, and eventually by God as He opened my understanding of His word. Hundreds if not thousands of people have been involved in my getting to where I am today. All those people are the body of Christ, His Church. I am coming to understand that whatever I have done over the years of my journey never was "me" - in the independent sense -doing anything. Everything I am, is a result of Christ through His Holy Spirit acting upon me.

God in His infinite mercy has been taking me on a journey. God is Sovereign and whatever I am is a result entirely of His activity and none of mine. The only part the former "independent me" has played in this is that at some point I quit "kicking against the pricks" (Acts 9:5) and yeilded to Him. I serve "His Church," not my church. I do the things I do because Christ ordained that is what Mason will do. (Eph 2:10)

My salvation is not something I can point to as occurring on such and such a day, or at such and such a time. In my life, I know it has been a process, an ongoing event, something that will only once for all be achieved when I am "face to face," (1Cor 13:12) and "know Him as I am known."(1Cor 13:12) I know I am moving through life from "faith to faith,"(Rom 1:17) which theologically is sanctification.(Jude 1:1) One of the blogs (Puritanism Today) I read posted this today about Christ's Church:

Now learn even from the simple title ‘mother’ how useful, indeed how necessary, it is that we should know her. For there is no other way to enter into life unless this mother conceive us in her womb, give us birth, nourish us at her breast, and lastly, unless she keep us under her care and guidance until putting off mortal flesh, we become like angels ... Our weakness does not allow us to be dismissed from her school until we have been pupils all our lives. Away from her bosom one cannot hope for any forgiveness of sins or any salvation.”

The quote is from Calvin's Institutes as he explains how Christ uses His body the Church to feed us and grow us as Christians. Calvin says, "...our weakness does not allow us to be dismissed from her school until we have been pupils all our lives." I think I have always believed that and it is because of this knowledge I have such a hard time with the man-made jargon such as; "write the day, date, and time, when you accepted Christ in the front of your Bible. Then you will always have assurance of your salvation." The Bible doesn't say that. The Bible says my assurance comes from what I do now that I believe. (1John 2:29)

So as I continue in my "lessons" in the Church's school of life, I try not to be bothered by some of the things I see and hear that are strictly man-made policies and procedures. But, there are some other things that really bother me, so I guess I better go back to school. I have a lot to learn.

Ahh! Health Care Canadian Style

ABC News 20/20 brings us a short video about what we can expect if the Gang of Three (Obama/Pelosi/Reid) get their way with the nation's health care system. At my age I'm certainly not looking forward to this kind of fiasco.

C.H. Spurgeon Helps Me Teach

Tomorrow brings my turn again, in our 13 week cycle at church, to teach the New Member class. My task is to teach these new members/converts about their Spiritual Gifts.

Every time I teach this subject, I wonder about my abilities to get across God's message to the class. I suppose all teachers have this problem. Seldom do students indicate understanding and because of the nature of the class questions from them are few and far between.

So, to prepare I try to read some of the old lessons and sermons from the giants of the faith in the past. This time I found two of Spurgeon's sermons that were of great help to me. Both deal with faith and the reliance on Christ alone for the affect of my teaching. Here are some excerpts from his sermons.

Spurgeon preached this sermon in 1864, at Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. His words echo through time to inform us today, that saving faith is from God and not our doing.

Now, that which is obtained by us must be given to us; and well are we taught in Scripture that "faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God." Although faith is the act of man, yet it is the work of God. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness;" but that heart must, first of all, have been renewed by divine grace before it ever can be capable of the act of saving faith. Faith, we say, is man's act, for we are commanded to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and we shall be saved. At the same time, faith is God's gift, and wherever we find it, we may know that it did not come there from the force of nature, but from a work of divine grace.[...]

You shall never find true faith unattended by true godliness; on the other hand, you shall never discover a truly holy life which has not for its root and foundation a living faith upon the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Woe unto those who seek after the one without the other! There be some who cultivate faith and forget holiness; these may be very high in orthodoxy, but they shall be very deep in damnation, in that day when God shall condemn those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, and make the doctrine of Christ to pander to their lusts.[...]

Are we conscious that we have been operated upon by the Holy Spirit? Is there a vital principle in us which was not there originally? Do we know today the folly of carnal confidence? Have we a hope that we have been enabled through divine grace to cast away all our own righteousness and every dependence, and are we now, whether we sink or swim, resting entirely upon the person, the righteousness, the blood, the intercession, the precious merit of our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, we have cause enough to tremble; but if we have, the while the apostle writes, "Unto them that have obtained like precious faith," he writes to us, and across the interval of centuries his benediction comes as full and fresh as ever, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you."[...]

And then he said this in his sermon on Fruitless Faith preached in 1861:

The faith that saves is not a historical faith, not a faith that simply believes a creed and certain facts: I have no doubt devils are very orthodox; I do not know which church they belong to, though there are some in all churches; there was one in Christ's Church when he was on earth, for he said one was filled with devils; and there are some in all churches. Devils believe all the facts of revelation. I do not believe they have a doubt; they have suffered too much from the hand of God to doubt his existence! They have felt too much the terror of his wrath to doubt the righteousness of his government. They are stern believers, but they are not saved; and such a faith, if it be in us, will not, cannot, save us, but will remain to all intents and purposes a dead, inoperative faith. It is a faith which produces works which saves us; the works do not save us; but a faith which does not produce works is a faith that will only deceive, and cannot lead us into heaven.[...]

Slowly I am coming to understand the full impact that my salvation is a result of Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross on my behalf. I am learning that the only assurance I have is the change he has made in my life and my almost obsessive desire to serve Him. What I have to learn now, is that when I teach/disciple others the only thing I can be sure of is that the Holy Spirit has to work in them for them to understand. I can't convince anyone of what I know to be true. Only God can do that.

Note: Spurgeon's sermons are on line at Spurgeon's Sermons.

I had to ask my wife...

who is Kourtney Kardashian? Shows you how much TV I watch. She explained Kardashian is a Hollywood person who had some kind of reality show - whatever that is. I always thought reality was waking up in the morning to another day the Lord hath given. Shows you what I know.

Anyway this girl is pregnant and is going to keep the baby. That, apparently, has all the twitterati up in arms because abortion is so easy and so politically correct.

Al Mohler comments about the whole thing on his blog. What impressed me about the whole thing is this from Miss Kardashian:

"I was just sitting there crying, thinking, 'I can't do that,' . . .  And I felt in my body, this is meant to be. God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life."

Here is testimony from a girl who is going to have a baby. I don't know her specific religious beliefs but she has said of herself she believes in the Sovereignty of God. "...God does things for a reason..."

I would venture a guess there are many in my church who don't believe what this young lady believes about God's power over His creatures.

"God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life."

I like that.