Widow Tells Bush to Stay Course in Iraq

Posted on June 30, 2005 by Steve Weaver

A great article in the Washington Times today shows a glimpse of the President rarely acknowledged by the media. As this article indicates, this is largely due to the President’s refusal to politicize these occassions by allowing press coverage of his meetings with the families of fallen U.S. soldiers. Before the President’s prime time address to the nation about the War in Iraq on Tuesday night, “the President met for three hours with more than 90 spouses, children and parents of 32 soldiers killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” The article states that this type of three hour meeting is “his custom” implying that this is done regularly. In fact ever since September 14, 2001, when the President met for several hours with family members of those killed in the World Trade Center three days earlier, this type of meeting has been a tradition as Bush travels to various military bases across the United States and meets with the families of fallen U.S. soldiers.
Most moving in this story is the words of Crystal Owen, whose husband Mike was killed in Iraq on October 15, 2004. She urged the President through her tears to stay the course in Iraq. In the article she is quoted as saying the following:
I know people are pushing you, but please don’t pull the guys out of Iraq too soon. Don’t let my husband — and 1,700-plus other deaths — be in vain. They were over there, fighting for a democratic nation, and I hope you’ll keep our service members over there until the mission can be accomplished.

While talking to President Bush, Mrs. Owen gave him a stainless steel bracelet engraved with the name of her husband which he wore throughout his 28 minute address to the nation. To read the Washington Times story in its entirety, click here. To read the transcript of President Bush’s speech, click here.

For those who are tempted to grow weak in our struggle against terrorism in Iraq, may the words of this woman who has lost so much be a challenge to each of us to be willing to stay the course. And let us be thankful for a President who understands the costs of both fighting and not fighting this war and who has made the difficult choice to fight the war for the sake of our future peace. I know that Mrs. Owen is thankful that her husband’s “Commander in Chief” was also her “Comforter in Chief”.

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Only Five Books!!! Ok, Six!

Posted on June 29, 2005 by Steve Weaver
One of my favorite past times (besides reading) is ranking the books that I’ve read in order of their significance. S0metimes I will ask myself (or ask my wife to ask me), “If I were left on a deserted island all alone and I could have only five books with me, what would they be?” Here is my list:
If I were left on a deserted island all alone and I could have only five (oops, six) books with me, what would they be?
  4. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
  6. Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

So that’s my list. What would your list be? Let me know. Comment below or post your own blog with your list and then place a link in the comment section below. Send a link to this post to all your friends so that we can get as many lists as possible to compare. Happy reading!

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Joel Osteen’s Apology

Posted on June 27, 2005 by Steve Weaver
Joel Osteen has issued an apology for his failure to communicate his belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation in his recent interview with Larry King. Osteen affirms his belief in the exclusivity of faith in Jesus Christ in the following paragraph:

Jesus declared in John 14; “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” I believe that Jesus Christ alone is the only way to salvation. However, it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to review the transcript of the interview that I realize I had not clearly stated that having a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to heaven. It’s about the individual’s choice to follow Him.

Thank you, Mr. Osteen, for clarifying this important issue! Osteen’s statements implying that others could go to heaven apart from faith in Jesus Christ was obviously the most troubling part of his interview. However, almost as troubling from my perspective, is his refusal to call sin what God calls it: “sin”. Unfortunately, Osteen failed to clarify his statements regarding his refusal to use the word “sinners.” For more on this, see this post.

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A New Epidemic: MTD

Posted on June 24, 2005 by Steve Weaver

Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist are researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). Smith and Lundquist are the authors of Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, a book which surveys American teenagers’ views on religion. This books findings are disturbing to say the least. According to the authors, the dominant religon of America is not Christianity, but what they call: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. As World Magazine’s Culture Editor Gene Veith has summarized:
After interviewing over 3,000 teenagers, the social scientists summed up their beliefs:
(1) “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”
(2) “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”
(3) “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”
(4) “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”
(5) “Good people go to heaven when they die.”
Even these secular researchers recognized that this creed is a far cry from Christianity, with no place for sin, judgment, salvation, or Christ. Instead, most teenagers believe in a combination of works righteousness, religion as psychological well-being, and a distant non-interfering god. Or, to use a technical term, “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”
Veith goes on to suggest in his article that the problem may not be that these young people have not been listening to Christianity’s message, it could be that they have heard too well the moralisms of modern popular Christianity. To read Veith’s article in its entirely, click here.

I believe Veith is on target in his suggestion that the popular Christian message may be responsible for the current religious epidemic noted in the above study. Just consider the popularity of the ministry of Joel Osteen for example. In his recent interview (June 20, 2005) with Larry King, Osteen noted his refusal to use the term “sinner”. In response to whether he called people sinners, he replied:

OSTEEN: I don’t.

KING: Is that a word you don’t use?

OSTEEN: I don’t use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don’t. But most people already know what they’re doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change. There can be a difference in your life. So I don’t go down the road of condemning.

You can read the entire transcript of this interview by clicking here.

For more analysis of Joel Osteen’s ministry try the following links.

  • Justin Taylor’s has an excellent blog on the Osteen interview here.
  • Steve Camp has a very perceptive article on the danger of Osteen’s theology here.
  • Albert Mohler discusses whether Osteen has crossed the limits of encouragement here.

Let me know what you think!

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Book Recommendation: Future Men

Posted on June 20, 2005 by Steve Weaver

Wilson, Douglas. Future Men. Moscow, ID: Canon Press. 2001. 197 pp. $12.00.

Future Men was written by Doug Wilson who is known for his satirical humor. He is also very opinionated. These characteristics alone make the book an entertaining one to read. But more importantly, there is much practical and Biblical advice for raising boys who will one day be Future Men.

I have two sons (soon to be three) and I want to raise them Biblically and I want them to be raised to become real men: Men of courage and conviction. I do not think these two desires are opposed to one another and Doug Wilson here provides a guide to accomplishing both purposes. Instead of forcing our sons into passivity, Wilson argues that we should correct their bad judgment while praising their God-given intuitions. One example from the book stands out, Wilson tells how one of Theodore Roosevelt’s Sunday School students showed up one Sunday with a black eye. He admitted that he had been fighting on a Sunday. A bigger boy had been picking on his sister, he explained, so he fought him. The future President told the boy he had done right and gave him a dollar. The church people thought better of the action and asked Roosevelt to resign. Wilson’s point was that while the boy’s response was immature and should be redirected, the desire to protect his sister was a good thing and should be praised (p. 10).
In spite of the author’s sometimes extreme views there is much practical advice here for raising future men. The advice is sometimes radical and counter-cultural. Perhaps, this is what is needed in our day. We certainly do not need another generation of future men raised as future boys.

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Book Recommendation: The Complete Husband

Posted on June 18, 2005 by Steve Weaver

Priolo, Lou. The Complete Husband. Amityville, NY: Calvary Press Publishing. 1999. 293 pp. $15.95.

Lou Priolo has written one of the most thorough and convicting books on being a husband which I have ever seen. In The Complete Husband, Priolo argues from a Biblical perspective for husbands to fulfill their duties to their wives. If you are as a poor a husband as I am, this book will be very painful, but also very necessary.

Although I learned a lot from this book, the book’s strength seems to be in the practical application of things which we already or should already know. Here we are challenged to seek to really know our wife, to talk with her, to lover her, to please her, to protect her and to value her. As I said, these are things we should all know to do, but the beauty of this book is the practical guides at the end of each chapter for implementing the concept of the chapter. For example, at the end of the chapter on Biblical Communication there is a Biblical Communication Inventory to be completed by both yourself and your wife. At the end of the chapter on honoring your wife, there is a list of ways to honor one’s wife. The subtitle of the book is “A Practical Guide to Biblical Husbanding.” There is no better description for this book. In addition to the fourteen practical chapters, there are also ten appendices providing more practical guides to Biblical husbanding.
This is a book that I recommend to other husbands that I counsel. Every new husband needs this book to get their marriage off on the right foot. Every “old” husband needs this book to get their marriage back on track. Any husband will benefit from this book.

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Book Recommendation: Disciplines of a Godly Family

Posted on June 17, 2005 by Steve Weaver

Hughes, Kent and Barbara. Disciplines of a Godly Family. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. 2004. 256 pp. $17.99.

As parents of four and grandparents of eighteen, Kent and Barbara Hughes have plenty of experience raising a family. However, it is their understanding of the importance of spiritual disciplines in their family life which makes their book so important. Combining their family traditions (which in themselves are grounded in a Christian world-view) with instruction from Scripture makes this book both spiritually edifying and practical.

The topics in this book include: establishing a heritage, promoting family affection, starting family traditions, promoting prayer, pursuing family ministry and using appropriate discipline. In addition to these relevant topics, the book also features an appendix filled with practical aids to developing family traditions, celebrating Christian holidays, reading lists, movie list and more. The appendix itself is a valuable resource for young families.
This book is an excellent resource for parents with young children. The practical advice contained in this volume allows one’s own family to benefit from another’s years of experience. Those traditions and practices which have proven the most helpful in the Hughes’ household are now offered to others for their use. This is a book, not just to be read once and discarded, but to be placed on the shelf as a handy reference to consult during all seasons of life. Here there is practical wisdom for those wise enough to learn from others.

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E-Hymn: "Arise, My Soul, Arise!"

Posted on June 15, 2005 by Steve Weaver

I love old hymns. One of my favorites was written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), brother of the famous Methodist evangelist John Wesley, over 250 years ago in 1742. It is “Arise, My Soul, Arise.” The words of this hymn powerfully convey the truth of Romans 8:34 which states: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Ira Sankey records in his book, My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns, records the following account of the amazing power of the gospel as articulated in this song:

I have a record,” said a Wesleyan mis­sion­ary la­bor­ing in the West Indies, “of two hun­dred persons, young and old, who re­ceived the most di­rect ev­i­dence of the forgive­ness of their sins while sing­ing ‘Arise, my soul.’ The con­ver­sion of the great­er num­ber of these per­sons took place while I was a mis­sion­ary abroad.”

Why not allow the words of this gospel-saturated hymn to help you to “shake off thy guilty fears” as you contemplate “the bleeding sacrifice” that appears on your behalf!

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”
The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child;
I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

Wow! Doesn’t that steel your soul to keep fighting the fight of faith?!?! It certainly does mine! So rest in the gospel of “Christ and Him Crucified” and rejoice that He lives forever to intercede for us. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

  • For more on the great hymns of the faith, try The Cyber Hymnal. This site contains thou­sands of Christian hymns & Gos­pel songs including lyr­ics, MI­DI files, scores, pic­tures, his­to­ry & more.
  • For information about singing the lyrics of the great hymns to contemporary tunes, try The RUF Hymnbook. This site contains downloadable text, overheads, guitar chord sheets, piano music and demo samples. All downloadable for free.

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"Not Guilty" or "Declared Righteous"

Posted on June 14, 2005 by Steve Weaver
Yesterday afternoon at about 4:30 p.m. EST, I was working in my office when I checked the Drudge Report and saw that a verdict had been reached in the Michael Jackson case and the verdict was to be read at 4:45 p.m. I decided to go in the house and watch the live report. Sometime around 5:00 p.m. the court clerk finally read the jurors’ verdict and I along with the news media and maybe everyone else in the world were amazed to hear the jurors’ verdict of “Not Guilty” on all twelve counts against Jackson. The news media (I was watching FoxNews.) then explained what this verdict meant. The verdict of “Not Guilty” does not mean “Innocent” necessarily. It means that the prosecution did not convincingly prove their case against Jackson “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As I read the words “Not Guilty” on the television screen and heard the above explanation of the term legally, I recognized a deficiency in my own recent attempts to explain the Biblical doctrine of justification. I am preaching through the book of Romans on Sunday mornings at West Broadway Baptist Church in Lenoir City. I am currently in chapter 4 which is all about justification by faith alone. I have explained justification as God’s judicial declaration of the guilty sinner as “not guilty” but I now realize this analogy to be insufficient. While I had gone on to state the doctrine positively and more correctly as: “God’s act of declaring the guilty sinner righteous,” the court room language of “not guilty” was still an inaccurate representation of what actually happens when a sinner is justified.

When a sinner believes the gospel of Christ crucifed and resurrected, God credits the believing sinner with the righteousness of Christ. God has done for us what the court could not do for Michael Jackson yesterday: He has declared us to be righteous! We are innocent in the eyes of God and guiltless before Him! Michael Jackson escaped prison yesterday, but you and I as believers have escaped the eternal judgment of God in hell for our sins! Aren’t you glad we’ve been declared “righteous”, not merely “not guilty”?!?!

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A Preacher’s Prayer from the Puritans

Posted on June 13, 2005 by Steve Weaver

The following prayer is taken from The Valley of Vision which is a collection of Puritan prayers. I believe this is a very important devotional book to have in your library. God has often used these God-saturated prayers of the Puritans to revive my own dead, dry heart. This prayer is called “A Minister’s Preaching” on pp. 348-349 in my leather edition printed in 2002.

MY MASTER GOD,

I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertinent to my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.
Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and to set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached,
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,
and help me to use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ’s death, its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayersand Devotions (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975) Leather edition reprinted in 2002.

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