The Ibanez Family in Mexico

This is the Ibanez Family. They are missionaries in Mexico. God graciously and Providentially put this family in our lives. They were sent out by To Every Tribe. Their blog is Ibanez Family MEXICO. Check them out and please keep them in your prayers as they give their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
Que Dios Tè Bendiga

TJ to Nigeria

Pray for my friend TJ. TJ is going to Nigeria on a mission trip for over 3 months. We met TJ this summer witnessing on the streets of Helena. We were so encouraged to find someone else sharing the gospel on the street so we got together and have been sharing the gospel together in Helena ever since. His blog is Shining for Christ and he will be updating it when he can if you would like to follow him on this trip.

Wrestling Witnessing

Another cold and snowy day of witnessing. It snowed about a foot at my house and it was still snowing when I picked Jeremy R. up in Wolf Creek and drove to town. We met TJ, Peters, and Yoshi at the church. We prayed and headed over to Carroll College. We found out their was a wrestling tournament going on so we headed down the gym.

I witnessed to two girls coming out of the building. One was a Catholic and the other was nothing. We went through the law and gospel. The girl that was nothing said that God made Himself an idol because He wants people to worship him. I had to explain to the girl that God, the creator of everything, is the only One worthy to be worshiped and everything else made in man's image or by man's hands is an idol. They argued a little and they got cold and left.

Jeremy R. and I moved to the other end of the building where TJ and Peters were. Peters was witnessing to a family and TJ was handing out tracts to everyone that came out of the doors.

I saw a couple in their 40's smoking so I gave them a tract. It turns out they are from Butte. We got on the subject of evolution and the guy went crazy. He said evolution has been proven over and over in a court of law to be true. He said he believed in God and evolution. They were both Catholic, by tradition anyway. They never went to church, owned a Bible, or even believed the Bible was true. He also said he hated the Bible because of the way it treated women (He was very mis-informed). I told him I thought he was talking about the Koran. He said the Koran and the Bible were exactly the same and had the same god. I asked him if he as ever read the Bible or the Koran and he admitted that he never, which shot down his whole argument and he knew it. I used the topic of evolution as bait to start the conversation but soon switched to the law. We went through the commandments and they admitted breaking them all but justified themselves by saying everyone has. I explained God's justice and how He can't just let someone go and that He has to punish lawbreakers and His justice needs to be satisfied. The guy seemed very humbled because he admitted he would be in Hell. I shared the best news ever, that Jesus Christ went to the cross to pay his fine and satisfy God's divine justice and to reconcile him to God. I explained his only hope in this life was Christ and that to receive this free gift he needed to repent and put his trust in Jesus Christ to save him. He was very cold or very humbled. They asked about my testimony so I shared it and told them to look into the Bible, read it. They said they never had a bible so I called TJ over and we gave them one. Praise God for this providential encounter. Seeds planted. Pray for the Butte couple.

Emmy and Psalm 23

This is Emmy when she was 4 years old working on memorizing Psalm 23. I ran across it today so I thought I would post it. Praise God!
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4)

Theology 101, part 3

Total Inability

All people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath, unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in their sins, and slaves to sin; without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit they are neither willing nor able to return to God, to reform their distorted nature, or even to dispose themselves to such reform.

The Canons of Dort (1619), Third Point, Article 3

Theology 101, part 2

God's Eternal Decision

The fact that some receive from God the gift of faith within time, and that others do not, stems from his eternal decision. For "all His works are known to God from eternity" (Acts 15:18; Eph. 1:11). In accordance with this decision He graciously softens the hearts, however hard, of His chosen ones and inclines them to believe, but by His just judgment He leaves in their wickedness and hardness of heart those who have not been chosen. And in this especially is disclosed to us His act - unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just - of distinguishing between people equally lost. This is the well-known decision of election and reprobation revealed in God's Word. This decision the wicked, impure, and unstable distort to their own ruin, but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words.

The Canons of Dort (1619) First Main Point, Article 6

The Moravians

The Moravians began to pray and they didn’t stop. Twenty-four men and twenty-four women began praying one hour each day. They scheduled themselves so prayer would be on-going every minute of every day. That intercessory prayer group evolved into an around-the-clock, around-the-world prayer movement -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year -- which continued without interruption for more than 100 years!
In 1732, just five years into the 100 year prayer, the Lord stirred the hearts of two Moravian men for the suffering slaves of St. Thomas in the West Indies. Leonard Dober was a potter and David Nitschman was a carpenter. They decided the best way to win the slaves of St. Thomas for Christ was to voluntarily sell themselves into slavery. Leonard and David eagerly volunteered for this “open door” of ministry for the gospel. They boarded a Dutch ship on October 8, 1732. As the ship left the harbor, their friends and relatives onshore could hear them shouting from the lower deck over and over again: “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering . . . May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering.” Those were the last words heard from these brothers as the ship disappeared over the horizon. They simply believed the Lamb Jesus had purchased elect men for God with his blood from among every nation, tribe, and language group. Leonard and David recklessly went after some of them for Jesus. This became the rallying cry of the Moravians for more than a century as they led the way in the radical evangelization of hostile peoples, often enduring unbelievable hardship and horrific martyrdoms for the name of Christ.
The Moravian missionaries were fearless in their gospel exploits and suffered a tremendous loss of life. As quickly as they were killed off, others stepped forward to take their place. They really did not care if they were killed, and even prayed for the privilege of dying!
Do you know how the Moravians decided who got to go as missionaries when new opportunities arose? They cast lots for it . . . for it . . . not to avoid it! The attitude of the whole community was that they were all called to go and send. They might be called upon at any moment, so everyone lived in constant readiness. When the lots were thrown down, they eagerly gathered around, hoping for their name to be called out. It was like winning the lottery! When twelve missionaries died from disease on St. Thomas, the Moravian leadership in Herrnhut gathered the community together, threw down the lots, and chose twelve more to replace the ones who had died!
These people took the Great Commission seriously and personally. In just the first 15 years of the prayer revival, churches were established in the Virgin Islands, Greenland, Turkey, the Gold Coast of Africa, South Africa, Suriname, the Arctic, Algiers, Sri Lanka, Persia, Ethiopia, and among the Eskimos and Indians of North America.

Find out more at To Every Tribe

Theology 101

The Preaching of the Gospel
In order that people may be brought to faith, God mercifully sends proclaimers of this very joyful message to the people He wishes. By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. For "how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without someone preaching? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:14-15)

From the Canons of Dort (1619), First main point, Article 3

Who Takes the Blame for Haiti?

Rick Warren is wrong when he tweets that God does not judge the world through catastrophes (Romans 1:18).
Pat Robertson is wrong when he claims to know why the Haitian earthquake happened (Deut.29:29).
Perhaps these principles will help us figure out why tragedies happen and who is responsible.

God
God controls everything directly or indirectly by restraining His grace or allowing the devil a little more leash. Either way, God is sovereign over everything and happily accepts responsibility for both good and bad (but not sin).

The devil
The devil does not control the weather or rule the nations.

Humans
There are only two groups of people on the earth: pagans and Christians.

Why?
When God sends/allows disaster to the pagans, He does so for two reasons: as judgment or as a call to repentance. A disaster is not enough wrath for the pagans as it is merely a taste of God’s eternal punishment if they do not repent and trust the Savior.
When God sends/allows disaster to Christians, He does so for two reasons: to prune us or kill us and take us home. A disaster is never too much or too little for the Christian, the Pruner causes/allows just the right amount for our good and His glory.
While God may be sending judgment to an entire nation, each individual (pagan and Christian) should seek to determine why God caused/allowed himself to be hurt.
Christians are not victims of collateral damage. While there may be a primary reason God sends/allows a catastrophe, God orchestrates every detail in every situation.
Catastrophes happen to heathens as an act of God’s judgment, but they happen to Christians as an act of severe mercy.
God sends/causes a disaster for the onlookers to respond with apathy or kindness.

Biblical Support
Jesus gave us the definitive statement on catastrophes in Luke 13:1-5. Please take a moment to read that text and you will never make the mistake of Rick Warren or Pat Robertson.

Trick Question
God is not to blame for the earthquake as it was the exact right thing to do. While God gets the credit for the earthquake, He is never to blame for anything. Charles Wesley wrote a number of hymns thanking God for two earthquakes that rocked England in 1751; we should do the same.

The Bottom Line
While each individual should endeavor to learn the lesson that God has in the storm, there is an ultimate purpose (forty days or otherwise): God is endeavoring to glorify His Son. God sends a taste of His wrath to the heathens that they might look to the cross and be saved. God prunes Christians that we will live in greater gratitude for what Jesus has done to rescue us from eternal destruction.
Catastrophes, like everything, are about the cross.

I got this from Wretched

Open doors

I met TJ for an afternoon of sharing the gospel. We did our usual route from Carroll College through the walking mall to the library and back. Going through campus I spotted two cooks on their smoke break. I did a card trick for them and asked them what they thought it took to get to heaven. One said to believe in god and be a good person and the other one said to be a good person. I asked them how they were doing on that and they said fantastic. I asked them if they heard of the 10 commandments and if they have kept them. They both said they kept them all, that is until we went through them. They admitted to breaking them all and would be guilty before God. They said that God would send them to Hell. I explained the gospel and urged them to repent and believe. We talked about how short life is and that none of us are promised another day. I told them that their only hope was Jesus Christ. They seemed to agree. They went back to work and thanked me for the talk. I just hope they seriously consider the state of their soul, the need for a savior, and that the Holy Spirit will work faith in them.

We moved up to Hill park where I saw a guy by himself on a bench. I did a card trick for him and started asking him about the things of God. He was an American Indian, homeless, an alcoholic and at the very end of his rope. He was contemplating how to kill a man that robbed him when we walked up to him. I explained God's law and he knew he broke them all, in fact, he said he was going to Hell for sure. I didn't think there was a way out. I love when God puts these type of people in my path because they are so humbled and it is such a privilege to show them their way out, Jesus Christ. I proceeded to tell him about Jesus and what He did on the cross in his place. I compared what the thief that stole his stuff did to what he was doing to God. I told him to forget about the thief and get right with God while he is still alive. He told me about all the things that happened in his life where he should have died. He was in so many knife fights, jails, car wrecks, etc that it was amazing he is still alive. I told him that Jesus upholds his very life by the power of His word and that God was keeping him alive for a reason. He was giving him a chance to reconcile his whole life with God. I urged him to repent and seek God. TJ gave him a Bible and I gave him a small book about Jesus. The man told us that there was a reason we came up and talked with him today. I told him it was providence. Pray for Tim.

We witnessed to some people in the walking mall and gave out tracts. I ran into a girl that was a "very devout Catholic/Protestant/daoist(an eastern religion)." She was very arrogant and was sure she was right about everything. I told her that daoism completely contradicted Christianity. She told her boyfriend to give me back my million dollar bill and they stormed off.

I talked to a couple 15 year old or so boys by the carousel. They were the typical lost, immature, not able to carry out a serious conversation or think about anything serious, cell phone carrying, lost, teenager. They were very sarcastic and joking but after I took them through the law and explained God's justice to them they were humbled. I explained the cross and how short their life was and urged them to think about the things of God. Seeds planted.

Praise God! We thought we would have trouble finding people to witness to on the streets of Helena during the winter but God is faithful in providing open doors so abundantly.

Buddha and the Universalist

I was downtown in Helena yesterday and witnessed to a couple people. The girl was a self-proclaimed Buddhist and the boy was a self-proclaimed "Christian" that thought anyone who believed in any god was going to heaven. They were both lost so I took them through the Law, which they admitted to breaking all of them. The boy finally told me he would be in Hell for breaking God's law, after I had to explain justice. The Buddhist girl didn't believe any of it and was getting fired up. I explained the glorious cross and the gift of God in Jesus Christ. The girl mocked it and said it was.......well, a stream of cuss words. The guy heard it all before. The girl said that God had no right to judge her and that when God judges people it means He is sinning. She asked what right God had to judge her. I told her that He created her and everything else in the world and sustains it all by His word, therefore; He has every right to judge her. She adamantly refused to acknowledge that God is the creator and then went on a rant about lesbianism. I asked how she picked her religion and she said she does and believes what makes her happy. I said to her, "So basically you choose what to believe in subjectively. You believe whatever makes your sinful, wicked, selfish flesh happy with no regard to anyone else?" She disagreed to say the least. She was getting fired up now even more and said she has the right to be happy and doesn't have to follow rules. I asked if she was happy right now. She said, in a very angry, loud, voice that she was very happy. I told her it didn't seem like it. I went back to the boy, he was just standing there in lala land. I encouraged them to look into the things of God to see if they were true, to read the Bible. The boy said he would, the girl said she would never. Praise God! The seed was planted.

2010 Book Giveaway

If you already have an ESV and you know someone who might want one, put their name and address in the comment box or put your information in and give it to them if they are chosen. If there are questions or problems leaving a comment, contact me at scott_doherty@hotmail.com
To find out more about the ESV study Bible click here: ESV

How does the moon prove the Bible?

The moon is slowly moving away from the earth. As the moon orbits the earth, its gravity pulls on the earth's oceans, which causes tides. The tides actually "pull forward" on the moon, causing the moon to gradually spiral outward. So the moon moves about an inch and a half away from the earth every year. That means that the moon would have been closer to the earth in the past.

For example, 6000 years ago (which is about how old the earth is according to the Biblical genealogies), the moon would have been about 800 feet closer to the earth.

Evolutionists say the earth is billions of years old (taught in public schools as well). But if the earth and moon were over a billion years old then the moon would have been so close that it would actually have been touching the earth only 1.4 billion years ago. This problem suggests that the moon can't possible be as old as secular astronomers claim.

God's word proves true again. Praise God for His glorious creation.

I took this information from The New Answers Book 2, edited by Ken Ham.

Homeschool

Kim and I see more everyday that God, in His Providence, directs our paths. He brings us to one point and then moves us to the next. Lately, individually, unknown to the other, we have been thinking about Homeschooling our kids. To each of our surprise we came together last week with the same idea. As we talked about the abundant benefits that come with homeschooling, we both were more convinced. We didn't know anything about homeschooling so we got some information from some of our friends. I have been seeing more and more people homeschooling their kids and more Godly men promoting it. We made the decision and had so much peace and joy instantly. We are so excited to start. We will have to start next year but that is fine because we have a lot of curriculum research to do.

Here are some of the many benefits to Homeschooling:

-All learning will be Christ saturated.

-The Bible will be taught everyday as an actual class like it used to be before the government removed it from schools.

-We will spend a lot of time together as a family which will bring us closer together.

-We will be biblically fulfilling Deuteronomy 6:6-7
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
I think a biblical argument can be made that the responsibility of teaching children is the parents job, not the governments.

-The kids will be taught truth, unlike what is taught in a public school.

-They will get a better education. Homeschool kids on average score 15-30% higher than kids in public schools.

-More flexibility to choose what subjects the kids learn and when we teach them.

- You won't have to re-teach your kids everything anti-Christian, anti-Biblical, and anti-American they have pumped into their brains at a public school.

-The kids mentors and influences will be, for the most part, spiritually mature Christians instead of lost, depraved, wicked kids pressuring them into every form of darkness imaginable. The ideas that kids have about life are generally learned from their schoolmates rather than adults and the Bible.

Some of the common objections about Homeschooling from worldly people.

You are taking your kids out of the world and they will lack social skills.
In reality, what they are saying is: You are removing your kids from being pressured, tempted, brainwashed, and controlled by every form of wicked, depraved, wretched, worldly, God-hating, cursing, drinking, drugged out pagan that would spend 6-8 hours a day with your child. Your child will not be able to learn how to cuss, drink, do drugs, fornicate, blaspheme, lust, cheat, rebel against authority and hate their family.

You will not be able to give your kids a good education.
In reality, a parent loves their child more than any good hearted teacher could so a parent will put more time and energy into ensuring their kids learn. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. God will give a Christian parent the strength, ability and discernment to teach their kids. With hundreds of thousands of families homeschooling today, their are countless resources that will help teach your kids hard subjects. It has already been proven that on average homeschool kids do 15-30% better in academics.

How can your kids participate in sports.
In my opinion, sports are the lowest priority on my list. How does this matter in eternity? How will this conform kids to the image of Christ? Sports are something your kids think are very important at the time but after they grow up, sports are not that important. For the parents that think it is important for their kids to be involved in sports, there are many homeschool organizations in almost every major city that get together and form sports teams to compete with other schools.

We are very excited about this decision and can't wait to start! Praise God for his grace. All comments welcome.

Come Home

Providence and the Universalist

I met TJ for a few hours to share the gospel downtown. We met at Costco for a cheap lunch. In the parking lot I saw a man walking across the parking lot so I ran him down and gave him a tract and asked if he was a Christian. He said he thought he was. I asked what it took to get to heaven and he said he didn't know (goes to the foursquare church in town). I took him through the law and he was very convicted. He was in the pre-release program. I explained the gospel and his eyes lit up. I asked if it made sense and he said it did. This is where God's providence comes in. God's preserving and governing all His creatures and their actions. He looked at me and said, "It is very strange you stopped me, a complete stranger, in the middle of this parking lot and asked me these questions." He said, "I have been struggling with these questions for months and have been looking for these answers and then you stopped me and explained them all to me." I told them that God was after him and sets up appointments like these. We had a good talk for a while longer. I told him to go to Hyatt's church, Calvary Baptist. Praise God!

We moved downtown next. TJ started witnessing to a guy who said he studies the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons and Christians and that they were all the same. He told TJ all you have to do to get to heaven was believe in God. I asked him, "Believe just like the Devil does and your in?" He said that the Devil doesn't believe in God. So I asked him if he thought the Devil was an atheist. He eventually admitted his wrong. I took him through the commandments which he barely admitted to breaking and still said he was a great person, even though he broke God's law. He said God wouldn't send anyone to Hell because Hell doesn't exist. He was a Universalist. I told him that we get almost the entire doctrine of Hell from Jesus and His teachings. He said the Bible was wrong. I told him that Revelation 21:8 said all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. He got fired up himself. The conversation went south from here. I never even got to the gospel, which was fine because he wasn't humbled anyway.

We went up to the library and gave out tracts. There were a lot of people funneling in and out. Most willingly took the tracts except on big, tough guy, or so he thought. He asked us if we were giving out anything useful. TJ told him that we were giving out gospel tracts and asked if he wanted one. He got mad and said "no!" as he stormed off. As he walked away I said, "I take it your not a Christian". He said he certainly was. I asked him why he is so mad that we are giving out the gospel then. He piped with a lame answer. TJ told him he had a question for him. The tough guy said he had about 100 questions for us. We told him to start asking and he stormed off.

We met another kid in pre-release. He said he grew up Christian and is now with his grandma who takes him to the Catholic Church. He didn't know what it took to get to heaven but wanted to know. I took him through the law which he willingly admitted he broke. I explained the cross and it seemed to make sense to him. He wanted to know more. We told him to repent and trust in Jesus. He said he thought he did that. We talked about regeneration and told him to examine himself. We told him about a good church to go to, gave him our contact info, and told him that someone would pick him up for church if he wanted.

Great afternoon of sharing the Gospel. God answered our prayers of putting people in our path that he wanted us to talk to. Praise God!