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• Free Bible Book Introductions Online. IBS (International Bible Society) gives you free access to the full NIV Study Bible introductions for each book of the Bible.
• 8 Ways to Kill Clutter in 5 Minutes. Clutter taking over? Check out Lifehack’s eight ways to get in, get organized, and get out.
• The Light Bulb Showdown. Which is less expensive in the long run: a 34-cent incandescent bulb or a $120 LED bulb with equivalent light output? You may be surprised at the results.
• Le Roi S’Amuse. Michael Ward looks at the intricate rhyming pattern of one of my favorite C.S. Lewis poems, “Le Roi S’Amuse” (“The King Amuses Himself”) — a poem about God creating the world.

Indulgences are making a comeback in the Roman Catholic Church. An indulgence is supposed to reduce your punishment in Purgatory before entering Heaven. As you may recall from history, the selling of indulgences was one of the abuses that Martin Luther denounced in the Reformation. The Catholic Church is not selling indulgences per se but is making them available under certain conditions. From the New York Times:

According to church teaching, even after sinners are absolved in the confessional and say their Our Fathers or Hail Marys as penance, they still face punishment after death, in Purgatory, before they can enter heaven. In exchange for certain prayers, devotions or pilgrimages in special years, a Catholic can receive an indulgence, which reduces or erases that punishment instantly, with no formal ceremony or sacrament.

There are partial indulgences, which reduce purgatorial time by a certain number of days or years, and plenary indulgences, which eliminate all of it, until another sin is committed. You can get one for yourself, or for someone who is dead. You cannot buy one — the church outlawed the sale of indulgences in 1567 — but charitable contributions, combined with other acts, can help you earn one. There is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day.

As a Christian who believes that Jesus took the full punishment for my sins at the cross, I do not believe in Purgatory and so I find the whole idea of indulgences very odd. Also, do you see much of a distinction between “buying” or “earning” an indulgence as stated in the article?

Here are a few applicable verses from the New Testament to reflect on:

Day after day every priest [speaking of Old Testament priests] stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [speaking of Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:11-12)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Related article: Indulgences 101

As a pastor there are many reasons why I don’t want anyone to put me on a pedestal. William Mounce offers another reason that I hadn’t thought about before:

People want to place their pastors on a pedestal (sometimes so they can get a better shot at them).

HT: Koinonia

C. J. Mahaney offers some wise reflections on Michael Phelps, marijuana, and rest for restless souls.

The photograph of Phelps reminds me of myself prior to conversion, a competitive swimmer (of slightly lesser skill), a sinner (of greater degree), held captive by sin, pursuing the fleeting pleasures of this world. And sadly, in my case, pursuing sin with passion. So what was Phelps searching for in that bong pipe? What emptiness in his soul was he trying to satisfy? …

This is what I find so striking: A man whose chest has been covered with gold medals, has achieved international fame, showered with awards, and blessed with an incomprehensible amount of money, still feels compelled to press his face to a bong.

It was Augustine who said that the soul is restless until it finds its rest in God. So true. Only God can satisfy the soul. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ provides forgiveness of sin, and therefore it is here in this gospel that we find rest for our restless souls.

Study the unflattering picture of Michael Phelps to be reminded of the deceitfulness of sin and the superficiality of fame and money. But also study the picture to be reminded of the message of Christ and him crucified for restless sinners like you, and me, and Michael Phelps.

Related posts:

• C. J. Mahaney Goes to the Dentist
• C. J. Mahaney on Dissatisfaction in Preaching

Yesterday’s message in the Gospel of Mark series was called When Jesus Calls, taken from Mark 1:14-20. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. Jesus’ message (verses 14-15)
    A. The time has come; the kingdom of God is near.
    B. Repent and believe the good news.

II. Jesus’ call (verses 16-17)
    A. Come, follow me.
    B. I will make you fishers of men.

III. Our appropriate response (verses 18-20)
    A. Immediate obedience to Jesus’ call
    B. Leave everything else behind

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

In case you didn’t know, The Shack is a novel written by William P. Young that is selling like crazy and has been called everything from “wonderful” to “heretical” (and everything in between). I haven’t read it yet, but I have read quite a few reviews on it, so I thought I would share some links with you in case you were interested in learning more about it. And even though I haven’t read the book myself, here is the link to My Review of The Shack. (Note: I finally got around to reading it. Although there were some good things about the book, I thought the negatives outweighed the positives, and I would have a hard time recommending it.)

Tim Challies has written two reviews for The Shack. You can read his briefer review here or download his 17-page in-depth review here.

That The Shack is a dangerous book should be obvious from this review. The book’s subversive undertones seek to dismantle many aspects of the faith and these are subsequently replaced with doctrine that is just plain wrong. Error abounds. I urge you, the reader, to exercise care in reading and distributing this book. The Shack may be an engaging read but it is one that contains far too much error. Read it only with the utmost care and concern, critically evaluating the book against the unchanging standard of Scripture.

Mr. Dawn Treader reviews Tim Challies’ review and then adds his own thoughts on the book.

These are all valid theological soft spots in the book. Kudos to Challies for exposing them … Still, I found The Shack an interesting read and it challenged me to think about forgiveness more deeply, and for that, I am grateful. I look forward to getting into many great conversations about The Shack, particularly with my non-Christian friends.

Melinda at Stand to Reason offers a mixed review.

You’re going to be surprised. I was. I liked it. It does reveal some things about God well and things I’ve never really seen attempted in literature before. You’re not going to be surprised. I wasn’t. I didn’t like it. I have some serious concerns about it. I can’t recommend it. I can’t condemn it.

And finally, trinity scholar and comic-book artist Fred Sanders offers a mix of reviews from five different perspectives: 1) The Kids-Book Author, 2) The Naive Believer, 3) The Worried Theologian, 4) The Literary Snob, and 5) The Haiku Artist. Here is a sample from the Kids-Book Author review:

Did you like Mack’s Trinity?
Did you like Mack’s persons three?
Did you like how Jesus talked?
Did you like that water walk?

I did not like Mack’s Trinity.
I did not like Mack’s persons three.
I did not like how Jesus talked.
I did not like the water walk.

That Mack in Shack!
That Mack in Shack!
I do not like that Mack in Shack!

Oh, and did I mention My Review of The Shack here? What is your review of The Shack?

    1) He’s a really good player.
    2) He needs to work on his free throws.
    3) It’s too bad he and Kobe couldn’t get along better.

Related post: Okay, here are some real reviews on The Shack

With Congress debating the current trillion-dollar stimulus package, it might be good to stop and ask ourselves, “Just how big is a trillion?” Yes, it is a “1” followed by 12 zeros, (1,000,000,000,000), but how big is that in dollars? Here are some numbers from The Family Research Council:

• If you stack up $1,000 bills, $1 trillion would need a pile that is 80 miles high.
• $ 1 trillion is more than the combined gross revenues of Wal Mart, Exxon, General Motors and Ford Motors.

With a trillion dollars:

• We could pave the entire U.S. interstate highway system with 23.5-karat gold leaf.
• We could buy 16.6 million Habitat for Humanity houses
• We could hire 1.9 million additional teachers

Amanda Shaw notes the cost of other large items in our past:

* The Marshall Plan cost $12.7 billion ($115.3 billion, adjusted for inflation)
* The space race cost $36.4 billion ($237 billion with inflation)
* The Korean War cost $54 billion ($454 billion with inflation)
* The New Deal cost $32 billion (estimated; $500 billion with inflation)
* The invasion of Iraq cost $551 billion ($597 billion with inflation)
* The Vietnam War cost $111 billion ($698 billion with inflation)

So, the total cost of the Marshall Plan, the Korean War, and the New Deal—using all figures adjusted for inflation—is less than that of the current economic stimulus package. That’s how much $1.1 trillion is.

And Mary Rose Ryback points out that $1 trillion is more than $1 million spent every day since Christ’s birth.

So, yes I know we are in a time of economic trouble, but we should think very carefully about whether and how we are going to spend a trillion dollars that we don’t even have. What do you think?

HT: In Light of the Gospel

Related post: Bailing Out the Bailout

Open Doors has released its World Watch List for 2009 of the countries where Christians suffer the greatest persecution.

The WWL Top Ten Ranking

This year’s number one on the World Watch List is no stranger: North Korea has topped the list for seven years in a row. There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and relentless way. The Wahhabi kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds a solid second place, sharing the same amount of points with a country that’s also ruled by Sharia law: Iran.

Islam also is the official religion in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Maldives; the countries in the fourth, fifth and sixth position. Afghanistan rose from seventh to fourth place. The country moved up on the list as a result of increased pressure from the Taliban movement during 2008; the situation in the country is tense. On seventh place we come across Yemen, whose position changed from six to seven, but there was no major change in the lack of religious freedom for Christians in Yemen in 2008. There was no big change to the status of religious freedom in Laos; the country is still number eight on the list.

Two new countries have entered the top ten: Somalia and Eritrea. For Eritrea the total number of points did not change compared to last year, but other countries dropping off the ten made it go up. Nevertheless, the deplorable situation of Christians in this country very much justifies a position in the top ten. In Somalia the number of incidents against Christians increased dramatically in 2008, explaining its rise from twelve to five. For China and Bhutan, countries that dropped out of the top ten, an explanation is given in the section “Changes for the Better.’’ (Click here for a free copy of the complete and comprehensive World Watch List. )

Click here for more posts about persecution.

It’s that time of year again. The Christianity Today 2009 Book Awards are in. Here are the top books arranged by category.

• Apologetics/Evangelism – The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism; Timothy Keller (Penguin/Dutton)
• Biblical Studies – Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus; Klyne R. Snodgrass (Eerdmans)
• Christianity and Culture – Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling; Andy Crouch (InterVarsity)
• Christian Living – Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing; Emmanuel Katongole, Chris Rice (InterVarsity)
• The Church/ Pastoral Leadership – Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be); Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck (Moody)
• Fiction – Home: A Novel; Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
• History/Biography – Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ: The Renewal of Evangelicalism in Postwar America; John G. Turner (University of North Carolina)
• Missions/Global Affairs – Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change; Paul G. Hiebert (Baker Academic)
• Spirituality – The Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life; Kathleen Norris (Penguin/Riverhead)
• Theology/Ethics – People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology; Michael S. Horton (Westminster John Knox)

Awards of Merit

• Apologetics/Evangelism – To the Jew First The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History; Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser, Editors (Kregel Academic and Professional)
• Biblical Studies – Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings; Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, Editors (IVP Academic)
• Christianity and Culture – Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World; John G. Stackhouse Jr. (Oxford)
• Christian Living – Being Well When We’re Ill: Wholeness and Hope in Spite of Infirmity; Marva J. Dawn (Augsburg Fortress)
• The Church/Pastoral Leadership (tie) –
  • Who Stole My Church?: What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century; Gordon MacDonald (Thomas Nelson)
  • Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative; Robert E. Webber (Baker)
• Fiction – The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher; Rob Stennett (Zondervan)
• History/Biography – God and Race in American Politics: A Short History; Mark A. Noll (Princeton)
• Missions/Global Affairs – African Pentecostalism: An Introduction; Ogbu Kalu (Oxford)
• Spirituality – Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers; Eugene H. Peterson (Eerdmans)
• Theology/Ethics – Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church; N. T. Wright (HarperOne)

Did you have a favorite Christian book that you read this past year? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Related posts:

• The Christianity Today 2009 Book Awards
• The Christianity Today 2008 Book Awards
• The Christianity Today 2007 Book Awards

A new Gallup poll reports on the most and least religious states in the U.S. I found this especially interesting since I pastor a church in Massachusetts (which tied for third as the least religious state in the nation).

An analysis of more than 350,000 interviews conducted by Gallup in 2008 finds Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas to be the most religious states in the nation. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are the least religious states.

Gallup used the responses to a straightforward question that asked: “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” Here are the breakdowns for the top ten most and least religious states in the country.

According to the poll, overall, 65% of Americans say religion is an important part of their daily lives.

Related article: OK, There Really is a Bible Belt

I only just recently heard of Tommy Emmanuel, but I am already enjoying his music. Tommy is an Australian guitarist whose career spans more than four decades. He started playing guitar at age 4 (!) and was already working as a professional musican by the age of 6. Here’s a fun video where he explains and demonstrates his thumb technique on the acoustic guitar.

Tom’s Thumb Master Class (Video length: 4:17)

 

You can find a lot of his music on YouTube along with some “slowed-down video explanations” of the songs. In the meantime, check out his great version of Arthur Smith’s Guitar Boogie (with video explanation below).

Guitar Boogie (Video length: 3:52)

 

Guitar Boogie “Explanation” (Video length: 3:20)