My Online Faith Journal

    I intentionally try to stay away from mentioning politics or controversial issues on this blog because it is not my intention to focus on things like that.  I want to to write down rather my thoughts about the Bible.  Yet, at times the Bible seems to intersect with the news and events that are happening today.  In particular, I've been saddened by the hatred and violence coming out of the middle east, Syria and Gaza and Israel.  I thought about how long all of this hatred has been going on and its roots, which goes back to the book of Genesis.     In Genesis 15, God takes Abraham outside and tells him to count the stars if he can.  He tells him his descendants will be as numerous as those stars.  Now, at the time, Abrahma was called Abram and was already an old man and Sarai was also old.  So, Sarai realizes that she cannot bear children and decided to take things into her own hands and gives Abram her maid, who was Egyptian named Hagar.  It says that in Genesis 16:4 that Ha

   I have been reading recently John MacArthur's book "Hard to Believe".  He talks about the difference between the gospel that Jesus preached and what you hear in many name it and claim it seeker sensitive churches today.  In chapter two he states, "Perhaps the dominant myth in the evangelical church today is that the success of Christianity depends on how popular it is, and that the kingdom of God and the glory of Christ somehow advance on the back of public favor."  In a desperate attempt to try and get people into the church, many pastors and churches take the attitude that it is numbers that are importand and not substance.     We may forget that there were times in Jesus' ministry when he would say hard things that actually caused people to scatter from him.  He didn't have a big stage and fancy logo.  He had grace and truth.  Some people were attracted by it and some people were not.  But, the uncompromising message of the gospel has been and w