CaseyJones1979

For those of you who do not know, Adoniram Judson was the first foreign missionary from America. He landed in Burma. He met William Carey and his group on the way over. He went from believing in infant baptism to believers baptism. He had several children that died on the field along with two wives. He was a Calvinist and held to Post-millenism. May this man's legacy live on in the life of America and the around the world. He was truly one of the great men of God who led in the cause of world missions. I salute you mister Judson. I truly hope that when I get to glory we will have great conversations while we worship our Lord.

Do you read? I mean of course you probably know how to read. But what do you read? Do you read the latest mystery novel? Or the New York Times #1 best-seller? Or do you read things that will profit your soul? Obviously the greatest book that has ever been written is the Bible hands down. I have read it over and over again. I still read it. Gleaning new truths for my life every time. I began reading books for growth about four years ago. I remember a friend saying I should read Jim Cymbala's "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire." He told me that if I picked it up I would never put down. Sure enough it took me only about two weeks to read that book. That was a mile stone because I HATE reading. I have to make myself read. Just recently I began reading John Piper's "A Godward Life". Towards the end Piper has a section called "The power of books, and how to use them." He describes how he took his staff one weekend and read through the Diary of David Brainerd as edited by Jonathan Edwards. He said that it cause him and his staff to spend a great deal of time in prayer. There have been times were I have had time reading the Bible and then reading a book such as "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer and just wanted to do nothing but pray. It is an awesome thing! Reading things of importance will enhance your spiritual life. When I refer to spiritual life I am meaning if you are a Christian. Read spiritual books written by spiritual people. "Real" spiritual people. Books that are saturated in the Bible. This will be a good investment of your time. You can't lose. So I challenge you today to pick up a good book. If you haven't started you can start with the Bible the greatest book ever written!

Jonathan Edwards said this when he was in his twenties,
"Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way that I can."

This past week I have spent my time back in the beautiful state of Alabama. I usually enjoy going home. Especially visiting some old friends. I mean there are people that a friendship has developed over the last six or seven years! But this visit I did not get to see two of my favorite people at all. I was so disappointed. I mean there is my friend Mike who I have been friends with since '97. I remember the first time I met that guy. He was a bouncer at the Crush in Birmingham. I had not been a believer very long when I ran into him. Mike was trying to keep people off of the stage where the bands would play. I asked him if I could help, he was like sure. Really I was just trying to get these two girls attention that were there. (imagine that!) Then a few weeks later I visited where he went to church. I saw him, I was like dude what are you doing here. Then, it was all she wrote after that. But the funny thing is I called him like ten times last semester and he never returned my calls. I have called him four times this week alone and he did not return my calls. Very depressing. Here I had this friend of a long time not returning my messages. What a shame. Then there is another friend of mine named Michelle. I have gotten to know her over the last three or four years. She is one of the most sweetest girls you would ever meet. I was supposed to see her last night but she wound up not coming over. After I accidently drove all the way to Jacksonville from Oxford, then going back to Dearmanville. That was about an hour of driving. What a bummer! I did hang out with my old roommate Tim and his wife and our buddy Dave some, so that was cool. I cultivated a friendship with a guy named Stephen who I am trying to talk into coming to Southwestern. So my trip home would have been a whole lot better if I would have been able to hang out with Mike and Michelle. Where are you Mike DisSpain??? Where are you Michelle Rait??? Has some alien snatched you two up and taken you away? (like I believe in Aliens) It is kind of like that age old question, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop?" 1, 2, 3, the world may never know! Only God knows what happened to my beloved brother and sister in Christ. I dearly miss their company. Maybe one day we will be reunited this side of heaven!

Is there a true Baptism? I mean what is it that cause so much trouble back in the days of our AnaBaptist forefathers? I have heard that there was more martyrs during the AnaBaptist movement than the early church. I was reading an article of retraction on www.apuritansmind.com. The brother said he was formerly a "Reformed Baptist". And that all because of his hermeneutic he had his theology wrong. Does this sound like Augustine anyone? I believe our Presbyterian brother are pretty solid as a whole but I believe they have Baptism wrong. In Mark it says that Jesus went down into the water and was Baptized. In Acts the eunuch was with Philip and saw a river and said "Behold! water What is keeping me from being baptized?" Why is this such a splitting issue? This will be another topic up for study. I will try to bring this up in future articles.

I trust everyone is doing well on this wonderful Friday night. Let me tell you about "Mr. T". His real name is Timothy Hunt Dickinson. I met Tim "Touchdown" Dickinson during the Spring of 2001. I saw this guy walking in the halls of the BCM one faithful January night. He was kinda strange. I just wasn't used to him yet. I got to where I would hang out with a few times. Then in the fall of '01 we got a place at Eagle Point Apartments in Jacksonville. We had some "good times" during those two semesters. We had our head butting moments in our friendship, but it all smoothed out. Tim was one of those dependable guys who would always be there for ya. He always wears a high and tight haircut. He claims I hooked him and his wife up. Melanie lived across the street thats another story. One of my favorite things about Tim was his genuinness. He is a guy with intergrity and character. As Cameron always says, "I appreciate your friendship" This is my tribute to Tim Dickinson. Hey Tim, you know what? They are still out there (P.O.W.s)

Does modern evangelical Christianity have the meaning of the cross right? This is the main issue of a sermon I listened to last night by a preacher by the name of Paul Washer. It was challenging. Many of the things he said were hard to listen to. Most people would have taken the cd out and ripped it apart. But what are we saved from? 1 John 2:2 says that Christ is the propitiation for our sins, not for our sins only but also for the whole world! What does this word propitiation mean? It simple means that Christ became the scapegoat. Because God is a holy and righteous God sin cannot enter into his presence. His purity DEMANDS punishment for the broken law. Because we have all broken the law we must pay for our sin. How does this fit in with evangelism? Most people say well, God loves you! They cram that down someone's throat all day long. I have heard people say, well I knew God always loved me. But this is not the cut and dry issue of salvation. Yes, God loves us. Of course he does. But the issue at hand is what about our problem? When comes to salvation we must understand more than just "I am saved from my sin" According to Washer we need to understand "Saved from what?" This is true. Christ had to die! Otherwise salvation would be impossible. If God did not come and die in our place and bear his own wrath, we would all be going to hell! And that is a clear and simple definition of propitiation. But fortunately we have this simple verse, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life." Do you know this truth? Do you really believe this? I mean does it change how you do everything because you have been Justified by Christ? Does knowing this make you fall on your knees and worship God for the work he has done? If it does not, then you have a lot of thinking to do. Who cares about hell? What is hell? Is it real? Yes it is. Hell is basically reserved for those not covered underneath the blood of Christ. Hell is the place where the full force of God's wrath is unleashed on all the impurties of time. This is the crux of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If it were not for his saving grace, we would all be destined for hell. Have you made Jesus your personal Savior? I hope this small post will help you understand the true meaning of your salvation. I think Washer had it right in his sermon. I know this teaching is not politically correct. But you know what? God is not politically correct. Yes, he is love, but he is also, HOlY, JUST, AND RIGHTEOUS. We must never forget these truths about the nature and demeanor of God. If you really understand the power of your salvation please do now. The cross is the greatest thing that has ever happened since peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There is nothing that can compare to its magnitude. I challenge all my brothers and sisters to dwell on the glory of their, justification, election, sanctification and perserverance. Do as 2 Peter 1 challenges us, make your calling and election sure. I mean when is the last time you meditated on what hell really is? I think Washer is right most people do not really understand the purpose of their salvation. Does this mean they are not saved? NO. But they do need to reflect and dwell on the real purpose of the cross. Then we will understand what Jesus really mean when he said in Luke 9:23, Pick up your cross and carry it daily.