The Bible Cannot Be a Merely Human Book

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Dana Dill

995453_10200383392529170_883928022_nArchibald Alexander:

If any man can bring himself, after an impartial examination of the Scriptures, to believe that they were written by unprincipled impostors, then he may believe that an untutored savage might construct a naval warship; that a child might have written the “Iliad” or “Paradise Lost;” or even that the starry sky was the work of mere creatures. No, it cannot be that this is a forgery. No man or set of men ever had sufficient talents and knowledge to forge such a book as the Bible.

It evidently transcends all human effort.

It has upon its face the impress of divinity.

It shines with a light, which by its clearness and its splendor shows itself to be heavenly.

It possesses the energy and penetrating influence which bespeak the omnipotence and omniscience of its author.

It has the effect of enlightening, elevating, purifying, directing, and comforting all those who cordially receive it.

Surely then it is the Word of God, and we hold it fast as the best blessing which God has vouchsafed to man. (From Evidences).

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5 Things Science Can’t Prove

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Dana Dill

I love this both for its clarity, concision, and hilarity.

When asked, somewhat condescendingly, “What can’t science prove?” William Lane Craig answers so:

If you didn’t catch the points, Amy Hall listed them as follows.

Logical and mathematical truths – science presupposes logic and math.

Metaphysical truths – e.g., the idea that the external world is real.

Ethical truths – e.g., you can’t prove by science that the Nazis were wrong to experiment on Jews.

Aesthetic truths – beauty can’t be scientifically proven.

Science itself – science can’t be justified by the scientific method.

HT: Amy Hall

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13 Reasons Why God Delights In You

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Dana Dill

delight-imageOne time, the prophet Zephaniah wrote this:

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

God’s people are precious to God. So much so that God says he exults over them with singing. Dear believer, do you believe that you are that precious to God? Do you believe He sings over you with delight?

You may ask, “How can I, with all my sin, be precious in God’s sight? Well, Mark Altrogge shares 13 reasons why those who believe in Jesus are precious to God.

Because he created you

Because he created you in his own image

Because he purchased you with the blood of his Son

Because he has washed away all your sins

Because he adopted you as his own child

Because he has joined you to Christ, made you one with his Son

Because you are part of his bride

Because he has put his own Spirit in you

Because he is transforming you more and more into the likeness of his Son

Because he is manifesting a fragrance of Christ through you to the world

Because he has imputed the very righteousness of Christ to you

Because he has plans and a purpose for you

Because you delight in his Son and desire to obey and glorify him

Dear believer, God has created you, recreated you in Christ, dwells in you by the Holy Spirit, and, yes, He even sings over you with delight. May you rest in the God who sings; may you bask in His delight.

Read Altrogge’s whole post here.

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What Our Marriage is Built Upon

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Dana Dill

221662_535882167449_1779997_nToday, my wife and I celebrate our six-year wedding anniversary. This marks 14 years knowing each other, 12 years dating, and 6 years marriage. Each year with her is a gift of which I am increasingly thankful for. Proverbs 18:22 has proven true with each anniversary, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.” Chawna is my good thing, a token of God’s favor toward me.

In our marriage, we have made a habit of reading through our wedding vows with each passing anniversary. Our vows are very special to us not only because they are the promises our marriage stands on, but also because they encapsulate our best understanding of what God calls us to be for one another. In creating our vows, Chawna and I did our best to scour the Scriptures for what God calls husbands to be and do for their wives and vice verse. Rereading our vows refreshes us in what God calls each of us to be.

So, this year, upon Chawna’s permission, I thought it would be fun to share our vows with whomever would like to read them. We hope they bless you as they do us.

My Vows to Chawna 

I, Dana take you, Chawna, to be my beautiful wedded wife and I promise before God, His Holy Church and all His Creation that…

I will make every effort to be used by God to make you more like His Great Son Jesus Christ, Our Savior and Lord.

I will labor to bring you happiness all the days of my life.

I will strive to lead our family to the heart of the Holy Trinity where there is unity undivided, peace undisturbed and love unsearchable.

I will sacrifice to put your needs before my own, honoring you as a daughter of the King.

I will protect you with all my might and power.

I will fight to provide all that you need even if it means I go without

I will love you with Christ as my example. As He has given Himself for you, so will I. As He has sought your growth in holiness, so will I. As He fights to protect you, so will I. As He cherishes and loves you, so will I.

Chawna’s Vows to Me

I, Chawna take you, Dana, to be my wedded husband and I promise before God, His Holy Church and all His Creation that…

I will be faithful to you all the days of my life.

I will respect you and keep an attitude of submission in everything as you submit to Christ.

I will strive to be the helper God has created me to be as I support, encourage, and serve you so you may be the man God has created you to be.

I will labor to bring you good and never harm as I walk beside you.

I will freely give of myself for your benefit all the days of my life.

I will labor to make our house a home; where peace is known, love is given, and Christ is honored.

I will love you with Christ as my example. As He has given Himself for you, so will I. As He has sought your growth in holiness, so will I. As He cherishes and loves you, so will I.

Six years ago we promised these things to each other. Six years later, they still guide, instruct, encourage, and correct us. These are the promises that fuel our love, guide our lives, and anchor our marriage. These are the vows our marriage is built upon.

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How Should I Talk With My Gay Friend About the Bible & Homosexuality?

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Dana Dill

Alan Shlemon gives a good, clear, and concise answer to a very relevant question.

For more resources on how we can love our homosexual friends and family, check this out.

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Becoming Those You Befriend

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Dana Dill

193549The Bible is chalk full of warnings about powerful influence others can have on us, for better or worse. For example:

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.'” 1 Corinthians 15:33

“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” 1 Corinthians 5:6. (For the non-bakers, this is referring to the leaven which is used to make bread rise. It only takes a little leaven to make the whole loaf of bread rise.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9

The Bible is clear: you will look like those you surround yourself with; you’ll become those you befriend.

Illustrating the truth even further, in her book on Introversion, entitled, Quiet, Susan Cain records the following experiment:

Between 1951 and 1956…a psychologist named Solomon Asch conducted a series of now-famous experiments on the dangers of group influence. Asch gathered student volunteers into groups and had them take a vision test. He showed them a picture of three lines of varying lengths and asked questions about how the lines compared with one another: which was longer, which one matched the length of a fourth line, and so on. His questions were so simple that 95 percent of students answered every question correctly.

But when Asch planted actors in the groups, and the actors confidently volunteered the same incorrect answer, the number of students who gave all correct answer plunged to 25 percent. That is, a staggering 75% of the participants went along with the group’s wrong answer to at least one question. (p. 90)

So powerful are the influences of those around us that they can press us to call a short line long or a long line short. If group influence is strong enough to make people wrong on such a simple, clear matter, how much easier would it be to steer us awry in others?

Who do you choose to surround yourself with? Are your friends fixing their eyes on Jesus or something else? Are they encouraging you to walk in holiness or luring you to run with the world? Do they push you closer to Christ or pull you away from Him? Does their influence make you more like Jesus or more like the world?

My friends, choose your friends carefully. They affect you more than you know.

For a great thought looking at why and how we should befriend those we may not want to become like, check this out.

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2 Things That Will Happen If You Think You’re Saved by Your Goodness

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Dana Dill

Carrying-Weight-2Tim Keller observes what do to the Law when we try to obey it to be saved.

If you are obeying the law in order to be saved, you must do one of two things:

Change the Law, making it easier to meet its requirements. You want your commands to be limited and achievable. You don’t want: “Love your neighbor as yourself;” you want: “Don’t drink alcohol or: Go to church.

Be crushed by the Law, because you know you cannot meet its requirements. You will either hate yourself for failing; or (as Luther did) you will come to hate God, because you cannot meet his requirements.

Whichever you do, you will nullify the Law! Only the gospel allows us to recognize and uphold the perfect standards of the Law, because we know that the Law matters enough to God for it to bring death; but we also know that it no longer means our death. (Taken from Romans 1-7 For You, p. 92)

If you think you are saved by your Law keeping, by your goodness before God, then you will inevitably ignore the true standards of the Law or give up all hope because it’s standard is impossible for you and I to meet. But, take heart because,

Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus… Romans 3:21-24

God promises to make us righteous through faith in Jesus. Amen.

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The Saturday Post(s)

Posted on July 23, 2016 by Dana Dill

Saturday Post

Our Society Should Not Stifle Religious Dissent. “Untouchable orthodoxies that are given official government sanction will treat any dissenting voice as an enemy to be vanquished. Secular progressivism isn’t only the enemy of religious liberty and civil society; it is the enemy of reason itself.”

The Perfect Spouse Will Not Complete You. “There is no perfect person on this earth waiting for you. Find me a potential spouse, and I’ll show you a sinner — because we are all sinners. And there is no matching or mixing of sins that leads to perfect blessedness, because that’s not what sin does. Sin is selfish, deceitful, and power-hungry. Marriages require us to be sacrificing, honest, and willing to serve. Your spouse may complement you, but he (or she) will never complete you. That’s the job of Christ.”

Should Your Church Build a Bigger Building. Our church is just about to begin building some new facilities on our campus and I thought this piece was pretty darn relevant. Good thoughts for all.

Trump is Not on the Side of Social Conservatives. Some commentary from Morning Joe nails it here. “It really speaks to Donald Trump’s worldview that he hasn’t really shown during the primary campaign… Social conservatives, if Trump is elected, duck because he’s not on your side on these issues… He does not care. He has a more open view, and certainly he’s more in line at least with millennial voters and with an awful lot of voters…”

Honest Parenting Haikus. Some funny to be had here. An example: “So many questions / You are a curious kid / That’s great. Go ask mom.”

Are You Ready for What’s Waiting for You at College? Stand to Reason has some great resources designed to help kids prepare for an inevitably hostile college culture.

7 Ways to Deal With Doubt. Michael Patton, someone who has long struggle through and with doubt, offers just that.

14 Tools to Avoid Distraction. Eat it up.

This is What You Deserve. Reaping what she sowed.

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Her Little Watching Eyes

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Dana Dill

Screen Shot 2016-07-14 at 9.45.45 AM

At breakfast the other day, my wife captured a picture (displayed on the right) of my daughter Daisy and I sitting, awaiting our food. For many, the picture is sweet. Daisy is cute as ever in her bow and stylish digs. Her smallness compared to my bigness is adorbz. Yea, the picture is delightful. Agreed.

But, for me, the picture isn’t only adorable, it’s also terrifying. How? The picture reminds me of my role in Daisy’s life. It captures the reality that my daughter is now, and will forever be, watching me. In my good moments and my bad moments, her little eyes will study me. She will watch my actions, examine my decisions, and observe my passions day after day after day. She will not only hear what I say, but she will watch how I live. Absolutely terrifying.

The Greatest Gift I Can Give My Daughter

Thinking of this, I was instantly reminded of Tim Challies’ words about the power of parental modeling. Reflecting on his own parents and their influence in his life, he writes,

Nothing can take the place of simply living as a Christian in view of my children. No amount of formal theological training, church attendance, or family devotions will make up for a general apathy about the things of the Lord. I can catechize my children all day and every day, but if I have no joy and no delight in the Lord, and if I am not living out my faith, my children will see it and know it.

For all the good things my parents did for me, I believe that the most important was simply living as Christians before me. I don’t think anything shaped or challenged me more than that. [1]

Of all the good and necessary things I must (and will) supply for my daughter, none of them compares with gift of having her see Christ in me. Of all the needs my daughter has (and will have), there are none greater than seeing her daddy love Jesus with all he’s got. My words can explain the preciousness of Christ, but it is my life that will prove it.

My Prayer

With these thoughts still kicking around in my mind, I have only one recourse: prayer for the grace and help I need to be the model Daisy needs.

Father,

Make me a Father like you so my little girl will not only hear of you through my words, but will see you, however dimly, through my life.

Keep my eyes on Jesus so, when she sees the direction of my eyes, she’ll look to Him as well.

Fill me with the Holy Spirit so I may be a living testimony to the goodness, value, and glory of Jesus.

All this, I ask, for the good of my Daisy and the glory of your Name.

Amen.

Parents, your kids are watching. Make sure they see you, above all else, savor the Savior.

—-

[1] http://www.challies.com/christian-living/the-most-important-thing-my-parents-did

 

 

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For Simpletons, Scholars, Lambs, & Elephants

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Dana Dill

Michael Barret635839860907786095688456977_b863e9fc35e96d0058f4bc39ce470b2b:

God has made enough of His Word so crystal clear that only blind and blatant disbelief will not understand.

He has made enough of His Word so deep that even the most faithful must depend on His enlightenment, rather than intellect. (Taken from Beginning at Moses, p. 5)

Or, as Gregory the Great once said:

The Bible is like a stream of running water in which a lamb may walk and an elephant may swim.

Praise God that His Word can be grasped by any simple student, but will never be exhausted by any studied scholar.

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