Spanking children may soon be outlawed in Deleware!

I first saw this reported through Sermonaudio.com. Evidently the state of Deleware is wanting to redefine child abuse to include anything that casues pain. I would think that almost anything, from grounding, to taking away privledges, or even failing to buy them something they want, could be considered painful to the child, so who knows what this could lead to. Of course, I would be inclined to break the law for the sake of obeying the Lord on this one, by lovingly and appropriatly spanking my child as needed.

Here is the article - Spanking a crime

Voddie Baucham - "Why I Believe the Bible"

I saw this on Truth Matters and thought I must share! The audio is a little weak in a few points, but it gets resolved about fifteen minutes in.

Should we love the lost or send them packing?

I have written previously on the error of trying to isolate ourselves from unbelievers or expecting them to embrace our Christian beliefs. I saw the video below on Wretched Radio and was reminded of the ever present danger of putting our desire for a safe and affirming environment, over the call to be a light to a light in a dark world.

What if Jesus had a "just get out of town" attitude with those who didn't obey God's word?

 Isaiah 53: Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
³ He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors. (NKJV)

Praise the Lord that He not only didn't tell me to get out of His face (what I deserve), but actually was willing to be despised, punished and even die, so I could have forgiveness a for my sin and the Holy Spirit's indwelling power to help me see, embrace and obey, the same word which previously only condemned me!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Interesting Perspective on Missions!

This article below,  from The Gospel Coalition,  has some shocking information on missions from a recent book. I am not suggesting I am in 100% agreement with the author's conclusions, but if the statistics are accurate it is worth careful consideration.

Link to article - Reconsidering short term mission trips

A common question answered well!

What is the difference between teaching and preaching? I like the way R. C. Sproul explains it:

Follow this link - Teaching vs. Preaching

Spurgeon on bigots, by way of Pyromaniacs!

I saw these remarks from Spurgeon on the Pyromaniacs Blog (listed under links I enjoy) and had to pass it along!

Click on this link - Spurgeon on Christian Bigots