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Cool Website #43: Scripture on Creation
Dr. Ben Scripture certainly has a unique name that gets your attention and is a perfect match for his platform to support Creationism: Scripture on Creation. His website features his radio program where he tackles a wide range of scientific topics that have relevancy to the debate over evolution vs. creationism and the ramifications of the worldwide flood. He has both the theological training as well as the scientific background to equip him to analyze these topics.
Don’t Make a Deal with the Devil — Isaiah 36:1-37:7
I have a verse posted on the wall in my study above my computer that reminds me every day of the Lord’s ability to rescue me in times of trouble. I posted it there when I lost my job after 28 years with the same company just as we were starting to trust God for the planting of this church 5 years ago. It was a time of satanic pressure and intimidation.
Psalm 50:15
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
Satan has a different message and a different agenda for our lives. He loves to put us in the crucible of pressure and hardship in order to solicit our surrender to his seductive temptations. “The Lord can’t save you,” our antagonist cries out. “I have something to offer you which will meet your needs and bring you comfort and happiness.” Isn’t that what Satan offered to the Lord Jesus to try to dissuade Him from going to the cross – look at all the kingdoms of this earth I would freely give you – just make a deal with me.
Take Me Home, Country Roads — Isaiah 35
When we are away from home for any extended period, our hearts long for a return to that place where we belong; that place of joy and refreshment; that place of love and security; that place that just feels right to us because we were created to live there.
[Almost like the TV show Cheers – where everyone knows your name …]
I love John Denver’s classic hit song, Take Me Home, Country Roads:
Slaughter and Desolation — Isaiah 34
I don’t know how much you have heard of the controversy over the new biblical epic movie “Noah” that has just hit the movie theaters. Apparently, some of the key truths of the Genesis narrative have been turned upside down in this rendition of the world-wide judgment flood. The most significant aberration to me is that the major sin which stirs up God’s judgment is not portrayed as lust or wickedness or idolatry or sensual indulgence … rather, God is upset over man’s failure to be good environmentalists – a very politically correct twist on the biblical plot.
In our passage today, as we reach the culmination of chapters 28-33 in terms of God’s judgments against the nations, the Creator God unleashes His pent up wrath in graphic images of slaughter and desolation that impact not only the wicked nations but the lands they inhabit. God does not function here as some modern politically correct environmentalist. He wreaks havoc with His creation in preparation for the blessings of the millennial kingdom. In chapter 34 we are going to see the horrifying picture of a once productive land devastated by slaughter and destined to desolation; while in chapter 35 in summary fashion we will see the reverse: the desolate land being rescued and restored to unprecedented productivity and fertility.
Appreciate the Savior — Isaiah 33:13-24
Review of the first half of Chapter 33:
When God springs into action, the destroyer is destroyed and God’s people are delivered.
I. (:1-6) First Movement: Judgment and Deliverance – Woe #6 – last one; climactic
- Judgment pronounced against both destructive and treacherous behavior
- Deliverance prayed for – we need God’s grace to persevere each day
- Dynamic Judgment effects – Dispersal and Looting of the Wicked Nations
- Dynamic Deliverance effects – Exaltation of the Lord in Jerusalem
II. (:7-12) Second Movement
- Desperate times cry for divine intervention
- Deliverance associated with the exaltation of God – “I will arise” theme
- Judgment executed in the last days (:11-12)
Applications:
- Near term: Threat of Assyria in Isaiah’s day
- Eschatological: Day of the Lord scenario
- Application to the church today
Judgment on the Destroyer and Deliverance for Zion — Isaiah 33:1-12
Accountability is coming says the Lord and He will destroy Judah’s enemies and deliver His people. It might look like the Lord is silent; but He will arise and spring into action and sovereignly put down the destroyer in order to establish justice and righteousness in the Promised Land.
As we get to this 6th and final Woe of our section which began back in Chap. 28, we see the same type of near term and far term reference that we would expect. In the near term, the destroyer is the godless nation of Assyria under the leadership of Sennacherib – making a treaty with Judah and accepting her tribute money but still coming to her doorstep in 701 B.C. with the intention of destroying Jerusalem; However, God mercifully intervened and drove them off;
In the end times, the AntiChrist will arise and make a covenant with the Jews – appearing to be her friend and advocate (Daniel 9:27). But in the middle of the 7 year Tribulation Period, he will break that covenant in a treacherous way and unleash the power of wicked nations in a last ditch attempt to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Once again, God will intervene and arise in judgment on the destroyer and deliverance for Zion.
Cool Website #42: 101 Homeschooling Sites to Follow in 2014
If you have an interest in resources for homeschooling, there is something for everybody at this convenient portal site: 101 Homeschooling Sites to Follow in 2014. When Karen started homeschooling our children ages ago, she was one of the true pioneers. She had to look diligently for good resources and had to create her own coop types of support networks to facilitate the process. Today curriculum choices can be overwhelming — there are so many good options. It is very helpful to be pointed in the direction of easy places to look for different interests. Just to give you a quote from the site’s mission statement:
Students don’t all respond well to standard teaching methods, and teachers who can employ a variety of strategies to personalize each student’s education and keep them engaged will be the most successful with pupils of all ages. Homeschooling is becoming a popular choice for parents who feel that their children need highly personalized education and individual attention, but not every family has the means to make homeschooling work. To be successful, current and future educators will need to have the ability to provide individual attention to students while meeting the needs of a whole classroom.
Over a year ago, we published a list of the 25 Best Sites for Homeschoolers in 2012, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Educators, students, and homeschooling bloggers loved it, and it was clear that there’s plenty of room for sharing and learning between all of those groups. With this list, we want to highlight even more of the most amazing websites for homeschoolers.
For families that choose it, homeschooling can be an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience for the students and the entire family. These sites feature diverse opinions and materials, and are not ranked or rated here, merely presented as excellent sources of information for anyone interested in homeschooling.
Check it out!
Top Ten Reasons the 2013-14 Terps Men’s Basketball Team Are the Most Frustrating All Time
The Terps ACC run is now history as Florida State unceremoniously dunked them out of their final ACC tournament in the last second. This game proved to be a microcosm of the entire season. All of the ways in which Turgeon’s Terps inflicted pain on their fans throughout the season were highlighted in this win-or-go-home crushing defeat. Sure the Terps can be praised as gritty — coming back from an 11 point deficit deep in the second half. Sure they faced adversity with one of their starters not able to post due to back spasms and another knocked out in prime time with painful dislocated fingers. But don’t fool yourself — the Terps problems were largely self-inflicted. There would be no high level of frustration if the talent pool was still as empty as when Coach Williams jumped ship. The reality is that Turgeon seems to be able to recruit (a valid criticism of the later years of Gary’s era) but he lacks the ability to get the most out of his talent in game situations — unquestionably a great strength of Gary’s. The level of inconsistency is reflected in their overall final record of 17-16 — no way a team with this type of balanced talent should end up with 16 defeats.
Here are the Top 10 Reasons why they are the most frustrating of all time:
10) Turnover, turnovers, turnovers. The rock is precious. Every possession should be treasured. But the Terps played careless and sloppy — making lazy passes that the Florida State defenders could time out and deflect to take the other way for easy lay-ups. We lost too many of the hustle plays for loose balls. Maybe we just lack overall team quickness.
9) Turgeon indecisiveness. He never seems to settle on a lineup and establish roles for his players. Every game is a roulette wheel as to who will be in the starting five. This game he had some injury issues that led him to start his two big men — but after early fouls, he inserted Jake Layman before anybody had even worked up a sweat. What gives? Some players think they are one bad shot away from being pulled — somehow the coach needs to be able to build the confidence of his players in order to get them comfortable and get the most out of them.
8) Inconsistent three point shooting from players that should be contributing more. There were times in the season when Layman went cold and when Faust seemed in another world. Speaking of Faust — what a waste of great natural talent. He just makes too many dumb plays that give the opposition tons of momentum. Not sure what you can do about that problem.
7) Failure to close out the last 2 minutes of every first half with intensity and effectiveness. Many of their losses came in the first half when they had good chances of creating a bigger cushion at half time but let things slip away.
6) Five Games lost in their final possession — when the pressure was greatest, they just were unable to execute.
5) Stumbling, bumbling, fumbling in the paint. We have no true post players on the offensive end who can play with their back to the basket and make offensive moves to score consistently. Mitchell was great at smiling big-time as he lumbered up and down the court — but he could never seem to clamp his mitts on the ball. For every nice fluid move, there was the inevitable turnover that just made you groan.
4) Failure to leverage the slashing and driving capabilities of their toughest and best finisher — Dez Wells — especially in the first half of games. The officials in the tournament game were happy to call fouls in favor of the aggressor . . . but the Terps seem clueless on how to set up Wells for the right type of spacing to exploit his driving prowess. Maybe he is too unselfish in the first half or maybe he feels he needs to pace himself. Regardless, you cannot hope for second half miracle finishes to bail out inconsistent performances.
3) No natural point guard that can get you into your offense and facilitate execution of the plays that are called. I like Seth Allen — he got off to a tough start coming off the injury but always competed and was willing to step up and take the tough shot. He gets the credit for lifting the Terps to victory in the Overtime period against Virginia. He made some huge threes and some nice drives to the bucket throughout the season. But to be effective he needs to look first to score himself rather than run the offense.
2) Lack of interior toughness. Maryland has plenty of size — at least in terms of bulk — but it does not have the quickness and toughness to compete to win the battle on the backboards when it matters.
1) Low overall basketball IQ. Turgeon seemed unable to get into their heads and get them to learn even the most basic concepts. They came across as one of the most undisciplined teams in Terps’ history. Maybe Turgeon is just not very good at commanding their attention and delivering on the X’s and O’s in-game tutelage.
Feast or Famine? Isaiah 32:9-20
On the internet you can easily find a definition and example of word usage for anything. Just Google the phrase or go to Ask.com. I checked out the definition for “spoiled brat”:
A spoiled brat is a term that means someone gets a lot of stuff and doesn’t appreciate it. For example if a young lady from a wealthy family gets whatever she wants she becomes accustomed to that. Then if her parents say no she might throw a fit. That would be a spoiled brat.
We can relate to spoiled brats in the context of children – understanding their relative immaturity and the deficiencies in their upbringing. What do these spoiled brats look like when they reach adulthood? Isaiah focuses his prophetic lens on them in this paragraph as he gives a strong warning to the COMPLACENT WOMEN AT EASE IN ZION:
Oswalt: It may be that Isaiah, having failed to alert the men to the tragedy they were precipitating, turns to the women to try to get them to influence their husbands.
COMPLACENT FEASTING WILL SOON BE REPLACED BY JUDGMENTAL FAMINE IN PREPARATION FOR THE ESCHATOLOGICAL BLESSINGS OF THE OUT POURING OF THE SPIRIT
Big Government At Its Best — Isaiah 32:1-8
We like to think that the United States represents the best country on the earth today. Certainly we enjoy freedoms and a standard of living that compare with the best. We think that our democratic form of government offers the best checks and balances against the corrupting forces of political power. But however patriotic you might be in assessing our country, at best we still exhibit the same type of overall lousy government and upside down social values when compared to the Kingdom of Righteousness that the Messiah will usher in during His Millennial reign.
The problem is that we have strayed too far from the standards and principles revealed in God’s Holy Word. Where is the hunger to know and implement divine truth? Where is the discernment to value what God values and to be totally sold out to knowing and doing His will? We are governed largely by fools and rogues from God’s perspective. In fact God’s ideal government is not a democracy – it is a monarchy with a righteous king who cares about His people enough to lay down His life for their welfare.