Give Credit to Where Credit Is Due

There are many times that I take credit for what the Lord is doing in my life; this should not be so. Even though some of the things seem like they are in my control, I humbly recognize that it is the Lord who is working in me and doing the work in me. As you will see, the following text reveals how Peter was able to give glory to God even in the midst of persecutors. He realized that the Lord was using him and that he did not do any work in and of himself. Let us learn from his example.

In Acts 3-4 Peter healed a lame man by the temple which made all of the people go into shock because this guy had been lame for 40 years. Then, "the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them (4:1) and they were put into custody.

"And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" (4:5-7).

"let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole" (4:10).

Throughout these two chapters, Peter is always giving the glory and credit to God for doing the work of healing the lame man. The healed man and the observing people didn't praise Peter, they praised God (3:8-9). We need to give credit to God when he works in and through us to accomplish His will. A great work of the Lord will result in the people praising God rather than elevating a person.

Ok, ok, I know. Not too many of us have healed someone who was lame for 40 years. But practically, every good gift is from above (James 1:17), so we should give the Lord the credit for the good that is in our lives. Of course, we all fail at this and we have unthankful hearts many times, but it will be a great benefit to us if we realize that every good gift is from the Lord. So instead of taking credit for the things that happen in our lives, we, like Peter, should give the Lord the credit for what He is doing. Whether it is healing a lame man, receiving a promotion, or accomplishing a great task, let us give the Lord the credit.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Notice: the glory does not go to us, but to the Father.

One Truth

My professor was asked tonight, "Will Jehovah's Witnesses go to hell because they don't believe in the Trinity?"

Needless to say, the teacher tried answering it without offending anyone, which I respect in a professional classroom, but the answer came out in a somewhat relativistic way. But the truthfulness of the answer does not need to be disregarded. Ultimately, we know that they do not have the right view of God and of salvation, so how can it be obtained if they have false information? It just seems like we (Christians) have a hard time of explaining why people who "believe" in some type of Jesus are not going to heaven (cults).

People seem to want the heaven of the Bible, without having the God of the Bible. Hence the questions, "Can so and so go to heaven without believing in Jesus?" Or in other words, "Can so and so go to the heaven of the Bible without believing in the God of the Bible?" The answer is no.

The logic is simple:

If you have a false Jesus, a false Spirit, and a false gospel (II Cor. 11:4), then you have a false salvation. If the biblical gospel is not accepted (Galatians 1:6-9) then the result is to have a false gospel that does not provide salvation; there is no saving power in it.

Yes, it is a hard truth to admit and explain, but I think the easiest way (and most logical) is:

False Jesus + False Gospel = False Salvation

Swear on the Bible, What Does That Mean?

(In order to understand the purpose of this blog, you must watch the short video)

THIS IS NOT AN OBAMA BASH.

I have read several different blogs concerning our new President. I agree with all that we need to pray for him and our country and also show respect. But, we ultimately need to show respect to God and follow his word.

Anyways, I have been thinking a lot about how Obama was sworn in on Abraham Lincoln's Bible. My thought has been, "Why would you swear on something that you don't even believe in?"




Please watch this video to understand our President's view of Scripture.

I am not talking about any policies he has or what may be changed, I am focusing on how he is supposed to be an honorable man, but yet he is swearing his presidential oath on something he doesn't even believe in. Where is the honesty at? Why swear on it when he admits it is not authoritative? Does this discredit the honesty of his oath?




This is not an Obama bash. I do give him respect as our Commander and Chief, I am just thinking critically and trying to honor the true "Commander and Chief," our King Jesus. His word is above all, yet it is mocked at by the same person who swears by it?


A side note, this is a wonderful day in American history as logical diversity (as in ethnicity and skin color) can finally be celebrated. Amen.

This not only applies to Obama, but to many of our past Presidents and other government officials. Something to think about.

Reality Check

Ron McClelland, the bass player for Story Side B, died this weekend while playing basketball on a cruise ship. He collapsed from a heart attack and was not able to be revived. I read an article that stated that he was a youth pastor before he joined the band. It is so crazy to think about how he is dead; he was just simply playing basketball on a cruise ship. I played basketball today at the gym and the thought of death never crossed my mind. He played at Harvest on New Years and I was working the merchandise stand. I crossed eyes several times with him and he even talked to me for a small bit.

This guy was huge! He was stinkin' buff. It is just crazy to think that he died while playing basketball on a cruise ship, even while being in good shape. This is just a fresh reminder that our days our numbered and that death can strike at any time, even while playing a basketball game on a cruise ship. The Lord be with his friends and family.

My Brain Hurts, But My Heart Is Edified

I had a great weekend because I had the opportunity to listen to several distinguished and prominent speakers. There was a lot to take in, so good thing I took notes! The Lord blessed it and everything was free. This is what I went to:

1) Friday night in Costa Mesa, Ravi Zacharias spoke on "Need God? What If I Don't?"

2) Saturday morning and afternoon in Diamond Bar, the topic of an Apologetics Seminar was "The Challenge to the Church in the Last Days."

Chuck Smith - Matthew 24

Ron Rhodes - Ezekiel 38-39

Norman Geisler - Islam

Charlie Campbell - The Emergent Church

Raul Ries - Ephesians 5

3) Sunday Night in Costa Mesa, Norman Geisler spoke on "The Innerancy of the Bible."

There was a lot of great information presented that was informative, challenging, and encouraging.

To sum it all up, we need to be educated in the Word of God, redeem the time, and let biblical truth influence the world as we accurately represent Jesus Christ.


I was able to "meet" Ravi Zacharias after he spoke. In other words, I shook his hand, said hi, and took a picture with him. He is very inspiring.

Volition

Volition (n): The act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing.

People are willfully choosing to strip human rights away from helpless people. In the past, African American slaves were so horribly dealt with, then Nazis tried to extinguish the Jewish race, and now abortion runs wild in America, deliberately killings millions of babies.

This movie, "Volition," is a great short film (15 minutes) that ties African American slavery, Nazi Germany, and abortion all in one. It is an amazing film. I highly recommend it! Please watch it and let it stir up your emotions and touch your heart, motivating us to love on others in a Christlike manner and view them as He does.

Go to http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/Volition/

Or, CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE

The movie will load automatically. It is a high quality video as well!

The Treasure Principle

I finished Randy Alcorn's small book The Treasure Principle. It was such a great book that really challenged me on the topic of giving and storing my treasure in heaven. I strongly recommend the book! If you would like one, I have extra that you can have! Just let me know! Here is a quick summary of the book:

Treasure Principle

You can’t take it with you–but you can send it on ahead.

T r e a s u r e P r i n c i p l e K e y s

God owns everything. I’m His money manager.

We are the managers of the assets God has

entrusted—not given—to us.

____________

My heart always goes where I put God’s money.

Watch what happens when you reallocate your money

from temporal things to eternal things.

____________

Heaven, not earth, is my home.

We are citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one”

(Hebrews 11:16).

____________

I should live not for the dot but for the line.

From the dot—our present life on earth—extends a line

that goes on forever, which is eternity in heaven.

____________

Giving is the only antidote to materialism.

Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and

a greater agenda. It dethrones me and exalts Him.

____________

God prospers me not to raise my standard

of living, but to raise my standard of giving.

God gives us more money than we need

so we can give—generously.

The end of the book concludes with a challenging giving covenant:

M y G i v i n g C o v e n a n t

1. I affirm God’s full ownership of me and everything entrusted to me.

2. I set aside the firstfruits—at least 10 percent—of every wage and gift I receive as holy and belonging exclusively to the Lord.

3. Out of the remaining treasures God entrusts to me, I seek to make generous freewill gifts.

4. I ask God to teach me to give sacrificially to His purposes, including helping the poor and reaching the lost.

5. Recognizing that I cannot take earthly treasures from this world, I determine to lay them up as heavenly treasures—for Christ’s glory and the eternal good of others and myself.

6. I ask God to show me how to lead others to the present joy and future reward of the Treasure Principle.

Signed: ______________________________________

Witness: _____________________________________

Date: ________________________________________

This is a wonderful book that will greatly impact your life! Plus, it is really short!

I Won!

I received a pleasant e-mail today from Abraham Piper, who is John Piper's son. The e-mail said:

Congratulations! You were among those drawn for the 3rd prize in our recent giveaway.

That means we want to send you a John Piper Logos Sermon Manuscript Library.

Please respond with the name and address that you would like us to mail your prize to.

Thanks a lot for reading the DG Blog and participating in this giveaway!

Abraham Piper
Web Content Editor
Desiring God

What a blessing! I am getting the John Piper Logos Sermon Manuscript Library for free! It is a computer software that has 1,125 John Piper sermon manuscripts that have been preached over the last 27 years. All I had to do was leave a comment on the Desiring God blog to enter their giveaway. It has an $80 value! Sweet!

A Great Blessing

As many of you know, Phil is the student that I work with at my work. Of course, he is much more than just someone I work with, he is truly one of my best friends. He has been such a blessing to my life as I get to spend so much time with him. The other day I asked him why I am his best friend and he told me it was because:

1) I am cool.
2) I am fun.
3) I love Jesus.

What a great guy! I was so blessed by that. I hope that the Lord brings someone in your life to greatly impact you the way that Phil has impacted me.

Content In Christ

I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting a family this morning that is many difficult hardships. I know the two brothers from the basketball ministry and their dad has cancer. Only the mother would come to the basketball games, so I never met the father. When I met him today he was very friendly and full of joy, but he was also full of pain. The cancer enlarged his stomach and it became very evident that he had a large amount of fluid that made his stomach a large, odd shape.

What blessed me so much was seeing this man content in Christ. He told the Lord that he was content with either being healed or going to heaven; he knew he was going to see his Savior. Through the midst of such pain this man was trusting in the saving grace of Jesus; you could see it in his face. My brother and I had the great privileged of anointing him with oil and praying for him and his family. What a great example he was to me.

You see, only the believer has the hope of being with the King. His death could come very soon, and although he may be sad for his family, his face was singing "soon and very soon, I am going to see the King." It was great to also see his family being so supportive of him, especially his wife who has just been trying to help him through all of this.

There is true contentment in Christ, even if you have cancer and are approaching death. To live is Christ and to die is gain.

Throughout the entire time, I was thinking about how the situation could apply to my life and I kept thinking about Ecclesiastes 12:1, which says:

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come.

Power

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:18).

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

The message of the cross is the power of God and the gospel is also described as being the power of God. The message of the cross is the gospel, which is the power of God.

Isn't amazing to think that we have the power of God? Not that we have the power in and of ourselves, but the power is in the message we contain.

The power is in the message, not the messenger.

This message is powerful!

Good Days, Bad Days, and Grace

"Your worse days are never so bad that you're beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you're beyond the need of God's grace." — Jerry Bridges.

This is so true. We will never be beyond the reach of God's grace and we will never be beyond the need of God's grace. It doesn't matter how good or bad of a day we are having, we will always need His grace.