Category Archives: Uncategorized

Free Tools For Serious Bible Study


I have a software recommendation for all Christian believers who take seriously the Apostle Paul’s admonition to ‘Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.’ (2Ti 2:15) I imagine for most Berean types, their adventures in Cyberspace have probably already landed them on the piece of virtual real estate known as E-sword.net. For those who may not be in the know, I cannot recommend this website enough. It is an incredible resource for serious Christian study. E-Sword is a bible software program that is remarkably diverse. You can download a multitude of various components; everything from commentaries and devotions to bible translations and dictionaries. The best part of it all… it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! Well, most of it is free. Some components will cost you a handful of change, but there are so many free resources available, you just won’t have time to enjoy it all anyway. The program was created by a gentleman named Rick Meyers. He has done a magnificent work in helping to further the kingdom of God. It is apparent his driving motivation is not monetary profit but spiritual profit for the Body of Christ.

Permit me to insert a discernment warning, however. Many resources are available for your study but perhaps not all of them are beneficial. Before downloading components from teachers you aren’t familiar with, do a Google search and investigate the orthodoxy of their teachings. Although I realize on the internet every single teacher and preacher of God’s word is labeled a heretic or an apostate by some, please make the effort to plow through the rhetoric to verify the reliability of your sources. Keep your discernment radar active at all times! Continue reading →

My Thanksgiving Prayer


In a couple of hours we will be serving Thanksgiving dinner at our home. I have quickly written this little prayer that I will pray over our food.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today so very thankful for all the blessings you have poured out on us. We give thanks to you for this holiday season, for bringing family and friends together to enjoy this wonderful dinner. We are thankful for every good thing we have and for all the good times we have experienced. But we are also thankful for our trials and tribulations that we learn not to lean on our own strength or our own understanding but to trust in you and your holy word for everything. Most of all, we are thankful to you, Heavenly Father for giving us your Son, Jesus Christ, who died our death so that we may live.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

A Happy a blessed Thanksgiving to all!

A Brief Discourse on the Heart of the Gospel


lighthouse.jpgBut God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom 5:8-10)

I have two student workers who help me out a couple of days during the week, doing various technology related tasks. They are generally enthusiastic and energetic workers. They are also neither one Christians. One is a sort of agnostic who is considering Judaism. (I don’t get it either.) The other is a practicing Hindu. I have spent the last year witnessing to these young gentlemen. I have sat down with them and taken them systematically through the full scope of the gospel message, from law to grace, from hell to heaven, from death to life, from the depravity of man to the glory of God. As of yet, neither has put their faith in Christ. One has hardened himself against the message and generally mocks God and his word. The other is more respectful and appears to have a general interest in what I have to say.

So I keep teaching. One tool I frequently utilize is the white board I have in my office. Every week I put up a few scripture verses. When they come in to work, I often take a moment to quickly expound the text for their edification. The student who actually pays attention to me has come to eagerly await a new nugget of wisdom from God’s word every week. He is quick to rebuke me whenever I fail to post a new scripture. I can sense that he is digesting the milk I am feeding him. Encouraged by his hunger for knowledge, I keep at it, praying that God will cause the seed I have planted to take root. My hope is that someday it shall sprout into a tree of life.

Last week as I searched for a scripture to display I came across the text from Romans posted above. As I read through it I realized the Apostle Paul here succinctly summarizes the core of the gospel message in these three short verses. I will attempt to expound these verses just as plainly as I explained them to my student workers a few days ago. Continue reading →

Preachers In the Pulpit: Paul Washer


I feel compelled to spotlight a preacher of God’s word that the world probably knows little about. He doesn’t have a large church congregation, nor has he written any Christian bestsellers. He doesn’t ooze with charm and charisma nor does he have a pleasantly melodious voice. What he does do extremely well is passionately preach Christ and him crucified. He has become quite well known throughout the Reformed and discernment spheres of Christian blogdem, and I want to dedicate this post to the outstanding work of God he is laboring hard for each and everyday. His name is Paul Washer and he is the founder and director of HeartCry Missionary Society. He also serves as an itinerant preacher and speaks at churches all over the country. You can read a brief biography of his life and ministry here.

I first became aware of Paul Washer through a message he preached to a youth gathering a couple of years ago. The sermon blazed like wildfire through the blogosphere and I listened to it from a link at Slice of Laodicea. I couldn’t believe my ears. He broke every rule of seeker sensitivity without blinking an eye. He shattered the myths of easy-believism ‘I said a prayer’ evangelicalism without mercy. He preached the hard message of the gospel; that of dying to self, taking up the cross and following Christ. He didn’t promise the kids health, wealth and prosperity. He spoke from experience the true reality of facing death on a daily basis for the cause of the gospel while working as a missionary in the jungles of Peru. He then rebuked the youth for thinking a radical Christian as someone who wears a Christian t-shirt! Continue reading →

Changing the Heart of Worship


I’ve observed a trend over my 12 years as a member of Christ’s body that has increasingly raised my ire. Worship leaders have been exercising their freedom to change hymn and praise & worship song lyrics that they don’t care for. For example, I recently heard of one such worship leader who didn’t like a particular verse in the popular song ‘The Heart of Worship.’ Here is the offending verse:

King of endless worth, no one could express

How much You deserve

Though I’m weak and poor, all I have is Yours

Every single breath

The worship leader bristled at the thought that people are weak and poor, so he desired to alter the lyrics a bit to reflect a more positive, self-affirming view of fallen man. He wanted to change the line to: Continue reading →

Blogger’s Block


I apologize for the lack of posting recently. The strange thing is, I have no shortage of topics to write about. In fact I have over 20 drafts awaiting my attention! However, I can’t seem to string two coherent sentences together.  I hear this is a common malady for writers and bloggers, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about it. I may know the root cause of it all – and will share that with you if it does in fact prove to be the case -but until then be patient and don’t abandon me. I will be back – for better or worse for all of blogdem. Please pray that this too shall pass.

God Bless

Brandon L.

Another New Look


Ok, I promise this is the last theme I will play around with – for now.

I’ll let my readers be the final judge on this. Which theme should I keep?

A.) Original theme with Bunyan pic and contrasting black, white and red.

B.) The clean and elegant (but Bunyan-less) blue-gray theme I have used for the past three days

C.) The current theme

Vote now in the comment section.

A New Look


Well, give it to me straight, is my new theme a thumbs up or thumbs down in your opinion? Tell me the truth, I can take it! And I’m not too full of pride to humble myself and revert to my old tried and true theme if public opinion should so necessitate.

Is Free Will God’s Greatest Gift?


I had lunch the other day with a good Christian friend. He brought up the issue of free will, a subject that had weighed heavily on his mind recently. He confided with me that he thought he heard the voice of God speak to him one day.

This is what the Lord supposedly told him.

“Free will is the greatest gift I have given to man.” – Or something close to that.

My friend did a remarkable thing after hearing the word of the Lord, something I see very few Christians do when they supposedly hear God speak to them.

He discerned the message.

He rightly divided the word of truth. He questioned the scriptural integrity of those words. He did as Spurgeon advised; judged the right from the almost right.

See, the words ‘free will is God’s greatest gift’ may sound good, right and true on the surface, especially in the midst of a doctrinally confused generation of semi-Pelagians dominating the face of evangelicalism.

But is the notion scriptural? Continue reading →