Shutter Elf is my daughter, Katie. Please check out her blog and encourage her to continue sharing her talent. If you like her photos, let her know.
Also, if you you have advice for her, like how she could make money with her photos, I’m sure she’d love to hear from you 😉 All I know is that she has an eye for taking pictures that is a pure gift from God. She can make trash look beautiful with just the click of a shutter.
Water
Filed under Uncategorized
We’re All Sinners. Selah.
“Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.” – Psalm 4:4
Selah. A musical notation calling us to pause, to rest for moment and consider what has just been said. In this verse we are told to “commune” with our own hearts upon our beds. What about? Let’s think about it.
How Long?
Before the previous selah in Psalm 4:2, David was asking the question “How long?” How long would those whom he had once trusted betray him? How long would his former friends treat him like an enemy. How long would they promote lies over truth, and turn his “glory into shame?”
You and I may not be kings in exile, or have former commanders in our personal guard out for our head. However, there may be people who lie about you; spread untruths about you at work; misrepresent you to your children; or withhold that little bit of evidence just to win their case against you. How long will they get away with it?
You observe the culture. You watch the news and see the movies. You shake your head with disgust as you witness sin and shame, practically every deviancy known to man, promoted like it was the new gospel. You narrow your eyes and grit your teeth and whisper under your breath, “They should be glad I’m not God.” How long will God let them get away with it?
Awful Angry
“Stand in awe, and sin not…” The Septuagint renders it “Be ye angry, and sin not…” The same is repeated by the Apostle Paul in Eph. 4:26 when he says, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” So why awe in one and angry in the other?
The word translated both as “awe” and “angry” is an interesting one. Consider Strong’s treatment of it:
רָגַז râgaz, raw-gaz’; a primitive root; to quiver (with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear):—be afraid, stand in awe, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake, rage, shake, tremble, trouble, be wroth.
So, when David is telling us to stand in “awe,” he is not telling us to do something like look up to the stars and go, “WOW!” No, David is giving us permission, as Paul did, to be angry; angry to the point of violently shaking, full of emotion and rage.
Just without sin.
Go to Bed?
So, just to make it clear, it’s OK to get angry, just as long as it’s a righteous anger (the last thing we want to be found guilty of is a lack of emotion when confronted with perversion and injustice; apathy is its own sin). But in an apparent contrast with the later writing of Paul, what does King David suggest we do?
Go to be and think about it? He said, “…commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.”
But wait! I thought the Apostle Paul said we shouldn’t go to bed angry? What’s the difference?
The difference is GRACE, pure and simple. And hallelujah for that!
Humble Communion
Go ahead, get angry at the sin of the world. Go ahead, tremble with indignant anger at the way the glory of God is impuned on a day-to-day basis. Go ahead, quiver and shake with anger over the way people have been treating you – you have that right. But there’s something else you need to do: Remember the grace of God.
No, David is not telling us to go to bed angry and stew on it; he is encouraging us to remember that we are sinners, also.
To “commune with your own heart” means to reflect on yourself and your own condition. And when we add to that the words “be still” (דָּמַם [dā·mǎm]), which according to some* carries with it the idea of wailing and lamenting, along with being silent, what we have is the suggestion to be angry, but to remember we are sinners, too.
When David was treated horribly, he got angry, but he also remembered that if it wasn’t for God’s mercy he would suffer the same fate as the wicked. So, although we should get angry, at times, it is important for us to remember that although God is righteous, He is also gracious and good.
Thank Him for His mercy as you commune with your soul, and let Him handle those other people. Selah.
*William Lee Holladay and Ludwig Köhler, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 72.
*James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Email Hacked? And You Clicked On It?
The Notification
“Anthony, your email has been hacked,” so said my wife when she called me. “Are you serious?” I replied in disgust. “Maybe you should reset your password,” she suggested.
Oh, I did…again! This wasn’t the first time I’ve received a notification that my email has been hacked (#*!%#@! Yahoo!). And, it’s not easy keeping up with new passwords, much less when you constantly have to change them after some boob has hacked your email! Dang it!!
(And in this case, when I say “dang it,” I really do mean what I can’t write.)
I might as well just give all of you my password right here and now. Why not? I mean, I’m going to have to change it tomorrow, anyway, right?
So, you get it… Some jerk (whether it be a person or a machine) found a way to send emails with my name attached. Somebody, posing as ME sent emails to my FRIENDS…as ME.
Why Would I?
But, honestly, all of this would be a non-issue if those people who get these hacked emails would just stop and think. I mean, seriously!
Why would I (the pastor, the preacher, the Christian author) send stuff like the following to people I know?
- Anthony Baker ………#1 way to boost your testosterone!
- Anthony Baker ………Hey hot stuff! Got plans for tonight?
- Anthony Baker ………Long time, long night! U R gonna LUV this!
- Anthony Baker ………Best DEAL EVER! Gotta check it out!
- Anthony Baker ………Happy w/ur job? Make Million$$ frm HOME!!
If you are stupid enough to click on any of the above emails supposedly from me, just unfriend me, don’t call me, and delete me from your contact list. If you seriously think I would send out trash like that…give me a break!
If nothing else, am I making millions from home? Hardly. So why would you take my advice? Or, you could be wanting to just see what kind of perversion I could be smeared with, right? Shame on you.
My Name
Seriously, folks, what bothers me most about this email fiasco is that some people would actually click on something vulgar, even with my name attached. Why?
When you see my name attached to an email, letter, tweet, Facebook message, or whatever, and it doesn’t fit my character, delete it!
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” – Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” – Ecclesiastes 7:1
My name and my reputation are important to me, and what I send out on the internet should be that which reflects a man of God. If it is trash, it’s not from me.
And, yes, I’m considering a new email provider.
Filed under current events, General Observations, Witnessing
Was John R. Rice a Heretic?
Back in 2011 I wrote what has been my #1 most visited post. As far as I know, I’ve never re-posted it…until today. Therefore, the following is a slightly updated rendition of the “classic.” Enjoy!
In the meantime, this morning (April 6, 2016) I’m going to be preaching to the student body of Bryan College, Dayton, TN. Prayers appreciated.
The Doctor
I would like to pose a question to my brothers and sisters who refuse to recognize any other translation: Was John R. Rice a heretic? If you don’t know of whom I am referring, let me give you a little background information.
Dr. John R. Rice
Dr. John R. Rice (d. 1980) was one of the most well-known fundamentalist writers and evangelists of the 20th century. He wrote more than 200 books and booklets which were published in many languages and sold all over the world. He condemned the compromise, liberalism, and apostasy being taught at major denominational colleges and seminaries, and fought for a return to holiness and the fundamentals of the Christian faith. But what I think he will always be remembered for is his founding of the weekly paper, the Sword of the Lord.
For the record, I highly respect Dr. Rice, and my personal library contains several of his works published back in the 1960’s. However, even though Dr. Rice was a great preacher and author, he was not flawless; he said some things back in the day that I have a hard time with. On the other hand, he also said some things that would shock the average reader of Sword of the Lord, especially those who believe the KJV is the one-and-only perfect, preserved text for the English-speaking world.
From 1611 to 1901
Unlike the Sword which continually decries any other translation as dangerous and confusing, Dr. Rice actually recommended the 1901 ASV. (OK, would somebody get a glass of water for the fainting KJV-only person on the floor?) Dr. John R. Rice, founder and editor of the Sword of the Lord newspaper, actually said that the…
“…American Standard Version, translated in 1901, is perhaps the most accurate of all versions… It takes advantage of the three great manuscripts – the Sinaiticus, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian manuscripts – which were not available when the King James Version was translated.” from, Dr. Rice, Here Is My Question (Wheaton: Sword of the Lord, 1962), p. 59.
As an overall explanation of his beliefs on the topic of multiple translations, Dr. Rice also stated:
“[There] are many, many translations. The differences in the translations are so minor, so insignificant, that we can be sure not a single doctrine, not a single statement of fact, not a single command or exhortation, has been missed in our translations. And where the Word of God is not perfectly translated in one instance, it is corrected in another translation. And if the Word of God is not perfectly portrayed in one translation, it is portrayed, surely, in the winnowed sum of them all… Have copyists passed on to us any major errors so that in any particular matter we miss the Word of God? There is abundant evidence that they have not. Do the various translations differ materially on any doctrine, any fact of history, any Christian duty, on the plan of salvation, or the Person of Christ, or any comfort or instruction? No, they do not! God has preserved His Scriptures. – from, Our God-Breathed Book, the Bible (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1969), p. 355.
Now, according to many legalists, at least to those who refuse to read or use any other translation of the Bible than the King James 1611, Dr. Rice, who had probably been one of their heroes, is now a liberal. What a shame! He did so much!
Original or Translation?
I believe that God inspired His Word (2 Timothy 3:16). I believe He gave it to us in the original autographs. I believe that He has preserved copies of those originals in the examples we have of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts. What I do not believe is that the King James Version was the one-and-only, forever-settled-as-pure-and-inspired translation. It is ONLY a translation. To say that no other English translation is the Word of God is to say that the Geneva Bible, 51 years older than the KJV, was just a book.
The Kings James Version of the Bible changed the world. We should all be grateful for it. I still use it many times when preaching, and especially when memorizing verses. But even though the KJV was and is a blessing of God, His Word is preserved in the ORIGINAL TEXTS. Anything other than the original languages, including the King James, is a translation.
Do No Harm
Our goal should be to use the best translations of the texts at our disposal when we are preaching and teaching, comparing them with each other and the originals, when possible, so that we can better understand how God’s Word should be understood in today’s language. After all, if you can’t understand it, doing you no good is the least of your worries – doing harm because of a faulty understanding based on a changed vocabulary is far worse. That is where the REAL heresy comes from.
But hey, it doesn’t matter which translation, if you are not reading it and studying it on your own, you might as well be reading Harry Potter and the Temple of Whatever.
READ your Bible. STUDY your Bible. Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you read and study. If you do, several wonderful things will happen: you won’t be ashamed in the end (2 Timothy 2:15); you will find light for your path (Psalm 119:105); and you will know how not to sin against God (Psalm 119:11). Even the ASV, ESV, HCSB, or the NIV will tell you that!
Right, Dr. Rice?
Filed under baptist, legalism, translations, Uncategorized
“TRAPPED LIKE A MISERABLE GOPHER” – April 2
This post by J.D. Blom is spot on. Using his gopher-hunting skills as an analogy, J.D. makes it chillingly obvious why Satan first goes after the young, then skillfully and patiently traps the mature. Well worth the read, if for no other reason than to learn how to catch a gopher.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:11-12
I am a ruler; a sovereign noble over more than nine acres of flora, fauna and terra firma. My kingdom produces a variety of produce including cheatgrass, kosher weed, thistle, white-top, knapweed, ragweed, stinkweed, milkweed, morning glory, hemlock, crabgrass, Russian olive, among other varieties of the unwanted. My kingdom is not a land of agricultural produce.
However, there is trouble in my kingdom. There is open rebellion to my rule. Not all the inhabitants of my lands are willing to subjugate their existence to my rule. The gophers have declared their independence. They have declared their…
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It’s Just an Alligator, Move Along
Remembering the Trip
Like I said all last week, my family (most of us) made the nearly 8-hour drive down to Charleston, S.C. to visit with our daughter Alicia and her husband Josh. We had a good time.
But one thing I noticed just blew me away: The casual attitude toward alligators in one’s backyard!
Seriously, my daughter lives in a fairly upscale neighborhood, not in a swamp. Yet, because it’s South Carolina, and because there’s lots of water in various places, the swamp critters have become accustomed to the upwardly mobile millennials. I guess they’re more afraid of the reality show crowd than the realtors.
So, as you can see from the picture below, it is not uncommon for the people in Alicia and Josh’s neighborhood to sit out and watch living cowboy boots and purses sun in their backyards. You can also tell by the quality of the picture that we decided to keep our distance.
Too Common
When we see things too often they become mundane. In the beginning one might scream, “There’s an alligator in our yard!!” Then, after only a few mortgage payments, one ends up telling her guests, “It’s just an alligator, Mom.”
Unfortunately, the way we view sin can be the same way. At first it shocks us and we cry out in disgust, “Did you see that??” But then a little later, after a few seasons… after a few dates… or after a few drinks, cries of shock morph into indignant apathy, “It’s just the way things are! Jeez! Quit being so dramatic.”
“And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” – Romans 1:28
“Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” – Ephesians 4:19
“…having their conscience seared with a hot iron…” 1 Timothy 4:2b
The danger of growing too accustomed to sin is that God will turn us over to it and let us be destroyed by what we have come to believe is harmless.
Be forewarned…an alligator is an alligator, and sin is still sin; both will bite in the end.
Filed under General Observations
De-Grandeurization of God
Proud Doubter
Last night I was scrolling through the Facebook posts of a friend. Actually, I wouldn’t exactly call the person a “friend” as much as a former acquaintance. The person I used to know as a young, vibrant Christian student, one who boldly proclaimed his faith, has now become proud doubter.
Look, let me be the first to say that moments of doubt are not uncommon, and far be it from me to cast judgment on those who do. I have had my moments of doubt, and there have been many times when I’ve had to pray, “Lord, help my unbelief.” But one thing I’ve never done is boast about my doubting. G0d forbid!
Yet, as I scrolled through the posts and the comments of my young friend of years gone by, what I saw was one who was proud of the fact that he felt free enough to doubt, even to allow his doubts to affect what he believed about God.
A Blown Mind
Come to find out, my young friend has been doing some study. He has become fascinated with astronomy, specifically the “Big Bang.” As many have done, he has proudly ditched the supposed illiterate belief in a Young Earth creation and taken off full bore down the road of “true” science. He has been blown away by the scientific “evidence” that led him not only to doubt his earlier beliefs, but to look forward to other areas in which his understanding of God may be changed.
In other words, because of what my young friend has now learned, he is looking forward to the de-grandeurization of his God.
Did God?
If you will remember, it was Satan, in the Garden of Eden, who posed the first doubt-inducing question, “Did God…?” This led to Eve questioning the motives of her Creator.
Unfortunately, developments in modern science have been used in the very same way to create doubt, to cause believers to question the abilities of their Creator. They look at the marvelous works of creation and ultimately conclude that it was natural forces which created what we now see, not God. By doing so, they unwittingly fall prey to the gradual undermining of their faith, going from one “enlightening” conclusion to another, saying: “Well, if what I believed there is not true, then what else about God is not true?”
They proudly march forward with a presupposition of doubt leading the way, redefining God and His creation.
The Declaration
Credit: NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University). Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)
But here’s the thing: Psalm 19:1 says that “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Even more, Psalm 97:6 says, “The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.”
Is the universe expanding? Yes, it is. But what does that necessarily mean about God? The universe is expanding, and men are made up of the same elements found in stars. Does this mean that believing God created the heavens, including man, “as is” is out of the realm of possibility?
The God I serve is so big, so powerful, so awesome, so grand that when He said, “Let there be…” it was. There’s no reason to doubt, even if it doesn’t all make sense.
After all, the grandeur of creation was created out of nothing. If God could do that, then nothing is impossible for Him. Science doesn’t have to disprove anything; it should be declaring.
I’m a proud believer.
Filed under Apologetics, Faith, God, World View
Spring Break Slide Show
The Story
Over the last few Saturdays I’ve shared my thoughts about the “selahs” in the Psalms. More will come in the weeks to follow. But for today I want to change pace.
This past week my wife and I, along with Haley, Freaya (our exchange student), and Jack (Haley’s dog) traveled to Charleston, S.C. to spend sometime with our daughter and son-in-law, Alicia and Josh. So, instead of writing a traditional post, I’m going to share some highlights with pictures.
Worth a Thousand Words, or so
For most of the trip I was driving eastward into the sun. smart me brought my sun glasses.
Cold and windy…no hat or jacket. But hey, it was the beach.
See Haley and Jack. See Jack smile. Don’t see Freaya (because Korean culture has some serious vanity issues).
See Haley try to convince Jack to go into the water. See Jack say, “Not even for a Scooby snack.”
What a beautiful place to worship!
The Angel Oak tree. One of the cool places one can visit for free.
Part of our family tree under a tree. The photo was taken by a nice girl from New Jersey. i returned the favor.
If you are going to visit a tree, why not visit the restaurant?
This was a really neat place. Low country charm.
It’s been a while since I’ve done food stories, but the food at Angel Oak was superb. Here I ordered their take on Shrimp and Grits, with sweet tea and a side of collard greens. Fantastic.
The faithful steed. Oil changed and new wipers. Outside washed. Ready to say goodbye to the palm trees, Fred Anderson Toyota, and Charleston, S.C. Tennesse here we come!
Not pictured are late-night card games, going to a movie, visiting a wonderful Bible study, and getting the oil changed in our van before heading home (correction: I just added the Saturday morning oil change). By the way, Fred Anderson Toyota in Charleston is a great place to buy a car.
Instead of a sunburn, I got some relaxing study time in while on this break. Now I’m just looking forward to preaching on Sunday!
Filed under Food, places, Relationships and Family, Vacation
The Recovering Legalist 