QUICKENED

The word quickened is rarely used in our modern language any more. The Geneva and King James versions of the Holy Bible did however, along with great Theologians such as Calvin, Sproul, Packer, and Spurgeon. Unfortunately, newer Bible versions do not include the word. I have listed the definition of the word, along with a few of my favorite scriptures that include it:

quick’ened, pp.
1. Made alive; revived; vivified; reinvigorated.
2. Accelerated; hastened.
3. Stimulated; incited.
(Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Ephesians 2:1
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Ephesians 2:5
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved);

Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.

COLUMBINE: 10 YEARS LATER

Ten years ago this past Monday was the 10th anniversary of the “Columbine Massacre.”

I remember that day very well, as I was living in another suburb (Aurora) very close to Littleton, right outside of Denver, CO.  I have a morbid curiosity, and am strangely drawn to tragedy and things macabre, so this event has been a source of intrigue for me.

I was working as the Commercial Sales Manager for Lowe’s, and was at home that day due to sickness.  I remember watching the coverage of the event on local stations as the event unfolded live.  I find it interesting how much we think we know during these times, and when the dust settles, after the bodies are buried and they hype is over, we find out that everything wasn’t as it appeared to be, via media reports and speculations….  imagine that.

The two teenagers who killed 13 people and themselves at Littleton’s Columbine High School 10 years ago this past Monday weren’t in the “Trenchcoat Mafia,” or desensitized videogamers. The killings ignited a national debate over bullying, but the record now shows Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold hadn’t been bullied — in fact, they had bragged in diaries about picking on freshmen and “fags.”  They were bullies.

What is now beyond dispute — largely from their journals, which have been released over the past few years, is this: Harris and Klebold killed 13 and wounded 24, but they had hoped to kill thousands.

The two planned the attacks for more than a year, building 100 bombs and persuading friends to buy them guns. Just after 11 a.m. on April 20, they lugged a pair of duffel bags containing propane-tank bombs into Columbine’s crowded cafeteria and another into the kitchen, then stepped outside and waited.

Had the bombs exploded, they’d have killed virtually everyone eating lunch and brought the school’s second-story library down atop the cafeteria, police say. Armed with a pistol, a rifle and two sawed-off shotguns, the pair planned to pick off confused survivors who did not die in the explosions.

As a last terrorist act, a pair of gasoline bombs planted in Harris’ Honda and Klebold’s BMW had been rigged apparently to kill police, rescue teams, journalists and parents who rushed to the school — long after the pair expected they would be dead.

Dylan and Eric had parked the cars about 100 yards apart in the student lot. The bombs didn’t go off.

License to Sin?

Does the doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints” translate to “once saved always saved?” This thinking has been popular in recent years, but has never been a true representation of the doctrine, or the Word of God.

“Once saved always saved” has proven to be a dangerous misunderstanding of the Father’s ability to preserve. For it teaches that man can be saved by Christ and then sin habitually, do whatever he wants, and then still “persevere to the end”. This is false.

Perseverance of the Saints teaches that once God has renewed the heart of a sinner through the application of the redemption wrought by Christ upon the cross, he will continue to be saved and show forth the fruits of that salvation. The sinner perseveres because of Christ, but he continually shows himself as one who has been changed by Christ. God has saved the individual and will sanctify him until the end when he is ultimately glorified, and in heaven.

It does not mean man has a license to sin. Those who think they have a license to sin are not changed and saved by grace. They are still in sin. Those who are saved by grace and changed, desire to show forth the fruits of that salvation. God enables the heart to good work, and continues that good work to the end.

Total Depravity

Total Depravity is the extensive ruin of man’s nature. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. Both the body and soul are corrupted because of the fall. This does not mean that people are as a bad as they can be, but rather, that the effects of the Fall have completely ruined the total being of man.

It is not just that man’s mind is ruined, or that just his body is ruined, or that just his soul ruined. It means the whole man is corrupted with sin. This would mean that man cannot fundamentally do anything to please God. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

This depravity begins at conception. It does not begin when we do something bad. We are not sinners because we sin, rather, we sin because we are sinners. Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Depravity of the heart is completely extensive so that the creature (us), cannot will to do any good. All we do is evil. All we love is ourselves. We suppress God, and exalt ourselves. We are totally depraved.

The Confederate Battle Flag

The Confederate battle flag was designed with deep religious meaning by Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, a slavery abolitionist.

The colors represent the following: red represents the blood of Christ; the white border represents the protection of God; and the blue “X” represents the Christian cross of St. Andrew, the first disciple of Jesus. The 13 stars represent the 13 Southern states of secession.

Robert E. Lee on Slavery

“So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that Slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interest of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this that I would have cheerfully lost all that I have lost by the war, and have suffered all that I have suffered to have this object attained.” – Robert E. Lee

THEOLOGY

the·ol·o·gy
Pronunciation: \thē-ˈä-lə-jē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English theologie, from Anglo-French, from Latin theologia, from Greek, from the- + -logia -logy
Date: 14th century

The study of religious faith, practice, and experience ; especially : the study of God and of God’s relation to the world.

Jalapeno’s vs. Tanning Lotion

A friend of mine told me of a time he applied spray on tanning lotion to his face before a date.  While on this date, he ordered a dish containing jalapeno’s.  As he ate the spicy goodness, his face began to sweat.  Needless to say, the tanning lotion was no match for the perspiration. His date was mortified, he was embarrassed, and I have an awesome mental picture and story to tell.

SPIT PARADE

I spit on you,
You kept walking.

I spit on you I was not your friend.
I spit on you I was not your friend.

I crushed the wind from your brittle chest;
You kept walking,
You just kept walking.

I spit on you I was not your friend.
I spit on you I was not your friend.

I scoffed while we bled your bones.

Forgive.

ON:  “First Offering” (EP)
BY:  Mangled Carpenter