Bryant Cornett's Blog

     Crowdfunding Resources for CLI Prison Ministries

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink ... I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ... When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?
Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. —Matthew 25

Full Porch Press has an incredible opportunity to share much needed resources throughout 1,300 prisions in America. 

The below details the opportunities and rewards for this exciting opportunity in conjunction with CLI Prison Ministries.

Come and see . . .

Are you social? If so, the below photos are yours to do with as you wish (just right click and save as), but don't forget to link to this campaign at http://bit.ly/lightupthedarkness.

Want more? There'll be new ones every week. We've got tons of great designs. Look for them on our Twitter and Facebook feeds. 

     YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
     TO PRAY AT THE PRISON GATE

I was in prison, and you came to Me. ... When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? ... The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ —Matthew 25

Some of you have been helping me to get more focus in this ministry and then I go off in a whole new path. I know. Sorry.

But God has opened a door here and I just have to check out what's inside.

We have two exciting opportunities this Christmas Season (the Light Up the Darkness campaign to share the Gospel Story in over 1,300 prisons throughout America and the Prayer at the Atlanta Prison Gate event on Friday, December 19 at 11:30am at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary). Click those links for more details; we're very excited to have you join us in one or both.

But in preparing for these two opportunities, I found some incredible statistics. Did you know that . . . 

America has over 7,000 correctional institutions (1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails), and
America's prisons hold over 2.4M prisoners, and
Americans spend $75B annually on prisons.
95% of prisoners are eventually released (that's about 700,000 annually), but that still means that
3% of children have an incarcerated father.
Once released, the unemployment rate for ex-inmates is 60-75% and
2 of 3 prisoners will reoffend, but
Prisoner participation in Bible study reduces recividism by 66 percent.

But it's not all about the outside. Inside:

Nearly half of all jail suicides (48%) take place in the first week of custody.
Prisons experience 90 assaults per day (or 3.7 per hour), but 
33.5% of all assaults in prisons and jails are committed by inmates against staff meaning that 
A 20-year career Correctional Officer will be seriously assaulted at least twice.
Correctional Officers (CO’s) have the second highest mortality rate of any occupation and a
Correctional Officers' life expectancy is 59 years (compared with 77 for the U.S. population overall).
Federal Labor statistics report that the State of Mississippi employs 6,630 Correctional Officers (that's more per capita than any other state), and
The State of Mississippi pays a Correctional Officer an average of $13.05 per hour.

What is my call? What are we to do with a system and world so broken? Men in Parchman have done bad things. No doubt. But I've done bad things. 

Scripture is clearer on this than I am. We're to remember the prisoners as if we were with them (Hebrews 13:3) because God doesn't hate them (Psalm 69:33) and I'm the bearer of the Good News (Isaiah 61:1). Darkness will exist (Isaiah 42:7) but I/you/we bring light (Isaiah 42:6) and trust that God preserves those destined for death (Psalm 79:11)-even when it feels like me.

Standing on either side of the prison gate, there there is no answer or option for reconciliation. But on my knees, God provides a way.

Holy Spirit, come upon us. In even this, give us peace to walk with You. Let us see that despite these intractable circumstances, You have come to guide us through. Jesus brought salvation, but He left us a gift, You. Let us when we're lulled by luxury and us when we're awakened by the cold come together and seek Your kingdom, here, now, today. We pour resources into punishing and end up punishing those paid to serve. How is that of You? How can One so great as You allow that to continue, Great Spirit? Only You know. But today, Lord, fill others with Your blessed fruit. Show us Your hand and let us see the Father's face in this moment of weakness. There is no earthly answer here, Lord. These men and women who will always be known as prisoners, their children, the wardens who are over them, the correctional officers who serve and the victims who shoulder the burden all need Your peace and great Spirit. How else can these dry bones live? How else can the lion lie down with the lamb? In You, Lord all things are possible. Show us Your way and let us/let me be on the field when the clock winds down. I refuse to watch from home or even the stands. I want to be on the field, Lord, Your field and filled with You. Who can be weaker than these, Lord? You love the downtrodden, Lord and You work through the weak. In these, Lord, show us Your glory. I love you.

Thank you and I hope that you'll share with us in this season:

Your prayers for these prisoners, in Mississippi and elsewhere. You can pray on your own or share a prayer in the space below.
Your presence at our event on Friday, December 19, 2014 at 11:30am, members of our Atlanta community will gather at the gates of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary (601 McDonough Blvd, SE, Atlanta, GA 30315). RSVP for lunch on Facebook, Google+, or at www.prayerattheprisongate.com. Each of those links have details.
Your gifts to share the Gospel Story with inmates in our  Light Up The Darkness Campaign .

See you soon and, as always, I love you. 

Prayers for brings prayer to some need in our community. I'd encourage you to add your own prayer, below, and if you would like to get these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already), click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

 

 

Coming in... Countdown

     YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
     TO PRAY AT THE PRISON GATE

I was in prison, and you came to Me. ... When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? ... The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ —Matthew 25

On Friday, December 19, 2014 at 11:30am, members of our Atlanta community will gather at the gates of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary (601 McDonough Blvd, SE, Atlanta, GA 30315) to pray for:
the prisoners,
the warden,

the employees and
the victims.

We'll sing a few carols, pray and then relocate to Community Grounds (1297 Jonesboro Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30315) for lunch and fellowship provided by Full Porch Press. You'll be done and back on the road by 1:15.

There is no cost for this event (lunch will be free) and all are welcome to attend, so please spread the word. If you cannot attend this event, we would covet a personal prayer or one in the space below for the above list and this event. To estimate the crowd, please let us know that you are attending by...

...RSVP'ing at one of the below:

Prayers at the Prison Gate Facebook,
Prayers at the Prison Gate Google+, or
Leaving a comment below.

This event has been sponsored by Full Porch Press and CLI Prison Ministries (see the informational video linked, below or here). CLI has selected A Rooster Once Crowed to be distributed to thousands of prisons throughout the country. Look for more on this exciting opportunity in the weeks to come. If you're a part of our Christians for Atlanta group that meets that third Friday of each month at Trinity House, this will take the place of that meeting this month ONLY. We'll be back at Trinity House January 16 to kick off our fourth year praying for unity in our great city.

I love you. 

Prayers for is a new series focusing on prayer for something in our community. I'd encourage you to add your own prayer on the website, below, too. If you would like to get these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already), click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

     From Ron Charles, State of Christianity in Egypt
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.  —Hebrews 13

Lord Jesus,

We come to you with open arms. Not holding anything tightly, but seeking your love and care. As I look around this room, I see things that I've purchased, gifts, books, monitors, Bibles, posters, crumpled up notes, keepsakes, kid's art, posters, plastic, wood, paper, metal, rock . . . Every single item here will return to You, Lord. Men gave their lives for these things. Some literally gave blood (for Scripture, the copy of the Declaration of Independence, the governments won) but others sacrificed more slowly-one missed dinner or soccer game at a time-to bring together this motley collection of junk.

Someday, whether through death or disaster or carelessness or time, each of these Bibles and things will pass from my grasp.

But where do they go, Lord? You know. You've always known. Not a turned leaf escapes your gaze. You account for each and every piece of your creation. You know our way before we know it. You know where I'll fall and where I'll rise. You know, Lord.

I come to you with nothing to trade. In fact . . .

. . . I've been wrong. I've sought glory for myself. I've failed to live up to the gifts you've given me. I've spoken harshly and I've squandered Your great resources. I bring you nothing but the smallest of offerings, a veritable two turtledoves (Leviticus 12:8).

But there is something, Lord, so in need of Your care that I cannot let my weakness and poverty prevent me from entering Your presence. You know them, Lord, surely by name. We'd call them the Zabbaleen, but you know them as dearly as a child, don't you, Lord?

They're in peril, Lord. They have no place in this world. They have Your joy, Lord, but they're forced to live among the garbage. They find sustenance on what we have discarded. They feed themselves and even others on what I discard. And so, I ask You these six things, Lord:

Give me one more day. Even today, I have no promise of finishing it. With one more day, I can affect change in this world to bring about Your great kingdom. I pray that one day I'll be able to see how this, even this is your great plan.
Let me forgive those who have wronged me. I have released but still hold these things closely. I have had no injustice in comparison to others, but I still feel the sting. I release that.
Let me share You with just one other person today. In relative ease, I might forget or put it off. We work hard to build bigger gates and longer driveways, but what if the Zabaleen's desperation is the catalyst to their greatness? What if my relative ease is my downfall. I beg for Your heart, Lord, to care for what you love and to prefer what is excellent (Philippians 1:10).
Give the Zabbaleen one more day. Despite dirty water, being pushed off their land, removal of the sustenance they've developed, miserable conditions they have asked for one more day. We all see your coming, Lord, but give them just one more day to bring Your kingdom here. Because one day, we will no longer have that opportunity. One more day, Lord. And make that day the day when one more person reads this, Lord. I have nothing to offer you, but nevertheless, I request one more day.
Let the Zabbaleen forgive those that have wronged them. Just like You, they have been taken outside the city and onto the garbage dump. They have been bound and hoisted, prodded and mocked. They feel that we are close to You because of blessing in our country, but how far am I away from You? I sit inside the city. My garbage is carried away. I am unbound, unhoisted, barely proded and only mildly mocked. Lord, just as You forgave those when You were outside the city (Luke 23:34), let these that walk Your walk forgive, too.
Let the Zabbaleen share You with just one more person before they die. They have been set apart to walk the road You walked. How many people saw You carrying Your cross and believed? How many people saw You die and believed? Lord, this one, I offer thanks for an answered prayer, already. I have known you better because of the Zabbaleen. Each person reading this has had an experience with You because of their struggle. The Zabbaleen sought to share their witness, but their perseverance is a reminder to me that I must press on. Every single person with whom I share Jesus from here shall strengthened and more deeply known because I've now seen You not from the window of the tower within the city, but as One who came home, to the garbage pit to die. Thank you.

I love You, Lord. Amen.

 

Prayers for is a new series I'm starting where I will begin a prayer for something in our community. I'd encourage you to add your own prayer on the website, below, too. This prayer was born out of a talk that Dr. Ron Charles, founder of the Cubit Foundation, gave to our Family Ties PRUMC Sunday school class. If you'd like more information on this group of Christians that are in peril, reach out to Ron through of the Cubit Foundation website and listen to the audio lesson on the player, below or linked here-The State of Christianity in Egypt. They have an incredible ministry sharing Jesus with widows in Egypt that would certainly covet your prayers and support. As always, if you'd like to get these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already), click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

Thanks, and l love you. 

     From Is Scripture True? Audio
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  —Judges 21

How do Christians handle parts of the Bible that seem inconsistent with God? The winds are abuzz reviving an old solution. "Dismiss it." Even preachers are encouraging us saying, "Those parts couldn't possibly be from God," or "You don't understand what that meant. It's actually the opposite of what it appears to say."

#whatLINE is about making sure that you, your small group, and those you love recognize the line between belief in Scripture and unbelief. The arguments that attempt to shred just a bit of Scripture are slick and alluring, but what happens if we just throw it all away? What happens if we disregard Scripture altogether?

Arthur Leff, an unbeliever, in Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural Law for the Duke Law Journal laid out an examined case of law without a higher power. The problem is that without God, "we are able to locate nothing more attractive, or more final, than ourselves."

That sounds reasonable. Without God, then we'll just decide. Leff goes into a lot of detail in his short paper, so if you have questions, read the article linked above, but his conclusion is that without God, without a higher standard, "it is impossible to say that anyting ought or ought not to be." 

Scoff at this at your peril. Murder is wrong? Well, I happen to agree, except under certain circumstances like, say, self defence or military combat. But there's 19 guys a couple years ago who felt murder was wrong, except in other/different circumstances, so they flew three airplanes into buildings. Without God, there can be no normative standard for the law.

I've shared this previously in the post Liberty and the Standards of Jesus (and that post was excerpted from A Rooster Once Crowed: A Commentary on the Greatest Story Ever Told, Chapter 9—Tune into Life’s Belief, pgs. 130-134), but Flannery O'Connor's character, The Misfit, in A Good Man Is Hard to Find grasps this issue cleanly. He said:

If [Jesus] did what He said, then it’s nothing for you to do but throw away everything and follow Him, and if He didn’t, then it’s nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can—by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness,” he said and his voice had become almost a snarl.

In the absence of God, eventually, ethics must choose between personal liberty and community peace. As Leff puts it, without a higher standard of normative law, we must choose between "nothing but rights" or "no rights."

I can hear you now, "So an academic journal and a piece of southern gothic fiction? Is that the best you can do?"

Czeslaw Milosz was a Polish poet, Nobel Prize winner and survivor of Stalinist and Nazi regimes. He grew up under governments where men decided what ought and ought not. In a short piece for The New York Review of Books called The Discreet Charm of Nihilism, Milsoz wrote:

Religion, opium for the people. To those suffering pain, humiliation, illness, and serfdom, it promised a reward in an afterlife. And now we are witnessing a transformation. A true opium for the people is a belief in nothingness after death—the huge solace of thinking that for our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders we are not going to be judged.

The absence of God means the absence of judgement. When that is removed, then men tend toward governments that act with impunity.

But this isn't us, right? We haven't gassed anyone or violated anyone's civil rights, right?

Well, what was the standard that Jesus set? If you've looked on another with lust, you've committed adultry (Matthew 5:27-28) and if you've been angry with your brother, you've committed murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Why wouldn't God look at denial of small pieces of Scripture as denial of Him? 

As Christians, we're called to read, follow and struggle with Scripture. This doesn't mean leaving my brain at the door, but when I come to a difficult or incongruous or personally challenging passage, it's the difference in asking:

I don't know how that can possibly be true, but I'm going to keep searching for how it is. Lord, show me how this is You, why You've laid this here for me and how I can use this, or
My 21st-century, western (or eastern), _________ educated outlook has prepared me to determine what should and shouldn't have been included in Scripture and this is not the God I know."

This is not without precidence in Scirpture. The brutality and bad decision making in the Book of Judges is regularly cited by non-believers as the book that proves God is either inhumane or isn't behind Scripture. But Judges isn't meant to reflect how God wants things to be. Judges reflects how far afield man gets when he does what is right in his own eyes.

I'm of sound mind and reasonably educated. I've reviewed the facts and have a track record of (mostly) good decisions. And I'm unfit. I cannot determine how I should react (much less mankind) to the myriad of situations in culture. But God shared Himself through Scripture in a way so perfectly that I've found no better guide for my life, my house, my country and my planet. Don't discard God. Wrestle with Him. He'll respect you for that.

l love you. 

This is the second post in a series titled #whatLINE where we're considering whether we can trust Scripture. Essentially, is Scripture true? I've drawn heavily from various Tim Keller sermons, but I don't remember which ones. These have just become part of my knowing. To hear an audio of a lesson associated with this post, click the player below, or #whatLINE - Is Scripture True? audio, linked here (it'll stream from a mobile device). If you'd like to get these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already), click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

     From Nothing but the Blood Audio
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.  —Isaiah 53

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.  —Luke 22

If you’re following along, we’ve covered a lot of ground, but we still haven’t answered the questions we sought to answer:

Why did God choose blood as the currency to redeem us?
How can I trust One who would give up His only Son like that?

To get there . . .

. . . let’s review the evidence that we’ve collected.

From just after the beginning, we saw that blood was required to return to a right relationship with God, but that it wasn’t the quantity of blood that God required, but a heart. Then, through Noah, God messaged that even the righteous fall short, but that He stands in the gap. God told us that One, the right One, could cover for everyone and the He, Himself would provide the One. And because that wasn’t easy to assemble, God put this all together reminding us that when we show the blood, judgement passes over.

But then we skipped over to the New Testament and examined the results of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We saw that the blood of Jesus redeemed our treasure from the hock we’d put it into and that it provided a forgiveness for our mistakes. It justified our accounts with God as if there had never been a debt and it ws a sacrifice so great that the blood of Jesus reconciled the animosity built up between God and me/you/us. The blood of Jesus made us feel clean enough to enter back into a relationship with God and it granted us peace to move out into the world with an evidence of God’s love. If you don’t remember any of those twelve, then click back through and familiarize yourself with them again. They each provide an important ingredient to answering the first question.

In Gethsamane, Jesus sweat blood (Luke 22:44). To do such would have made him unclean as to the Law. This condition, Hematidrosis, is connected with extreme stress and, based on the narrative in Luke 22 and Matthew 26, likely begins the separation between God, the father, and Jesus, the son.

Leviticus 17:11 is the pivotal verse here. We haven’t talked much about it, but it says:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.

There’s some controversy here as to whether it is the life of the sacrifice that makes atonement or the blood of the sacrifice that makes atonement for the life of the one making the sacrifice. But based on what we’ve seen, and the path that we’ve walked, what do you think? Was the blood that Jesus shed in Gethsemane insufficient for God or was it insufficient for me/you/us?

Watch as much of this video as you can stand (the video is imbedded on the site or linked here): 

In light of this and the emotions running through you right now, is it more likely that God demanded the blood of His Son, or that I did? If you’re God and you not only want to pay the debt, but win the debtor—really show them the depths of your love—you can’t pay it easily. You can’t pay it with the change in your front pocket.

I believe that God chose blood as the currency to redeem us, from the beginning, because He knew that only something big would provide me/you/us the peace of knowing, still, almost two thousand years later, that He loved us even when we hated him. Who were you in that crowd in the video? Who were you ten years ago? Who were you as a teenager?

I’ve been every single person in that video. I’ve been the soldier standing stiffly by as my friends shredded Jesus. I’ve been the members of the Sanhedrin looking on assured that I was on God’s side. I’ve been the mother of Christ, shredded so much that I can barely stand to watch. And I’ve been the one doing the shredding.

And so we come to the last question. How can I trust One who would give up His only Son like that?

Some will read this from a different perspective. Without traveling the path we’ve traveled and like Adam and Eve, they’ll look upon the carnage presented and feel they have a full grasp of the facts.

But knowing that God crushed His greatest love, putting His own holiness onto an altar for me, is a constant reminder that He crossed the universe, moved the heavens, blotted out the sun (Luke 23:44-45) and crushed His non-negotiable (Isaiah 53:5) for just one narrow chance (Matthew 7:14) to walk again in the cool of the day and not have to hide (Genesis 3:8). I can trust God because of all He did to walk with me.

And so we return to this list that we’ve seen these last few times because:

God didn’t impose blood on me, my non-negotiable sinful nature required it of God (Romans 3:23), so
I was destined to live forever apart from Him (Romans 6:23), so
God brought salvation within my grasp (John 3:3) and
God established a Way for me to return into relationship with Him (John 14:6).
This Way is within the reach of a child, a stolen girl or a dying soldier but can be elusive to giants, kings and the gifted (Romans 10:9-11), but
God came to me/you/us. He is coming. He has come. And He continues to come. (Revelation 3:20).

Come. Eat. Drink. Rest. Home is here, for you, in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

l love you.          

This is the eighteenth and final part in a multi-part post expanding on an exceptional talk Billy Graham gave at the University of Cambridge in 1955 with influences from Tim Keller's sermon series Christ: Our Treasury (The Book of Hebrews). To hear an overview of this material, consider listening to the original Nothing but the Blood audio, linked here (it'll stream from a mobile device), read all the posts to date by clicking #nothingbuttheblood, or hear the most recent version of the Nothing but the Blood talk by streaming it on the player, below. If you'd like to get these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already), click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

If you'd like to see where this series began, Part 1. Billy Graham at Great St. Mary's in Cambridge is available by clicking here.

     From Is Scripture True? Audio
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness  —2 Timothy 3

If you make my word your home, you will indeed be My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. —John 8

If you're in the flow of American politics, the discourse right now is on mid-term elections. If you're in the flow of College Football, the talk is student NCAA violations and the BCS playoff system. But if you're listening to discussions on Christianity, they're asking, "Is Scripture true?" Click the player, below, (or here) to stream the lesson wherever you are:

That seems like a strange thing for Christians to debate, but this nuclear option is an age old answer to a persistent problem. When you don't like something, blow it up just enough to be able to rebuild something on it later.

You'll hear that it comes up almost immediately in this lesson, but you'll have to listen to understand what this decade's unpopular issue is. It'll be . . . 

. . . something different next decade, for sure. 

In the meantime, if you're unable to listen to this lesson now, or want to listen to it later, here's an overview of a few of the highpoints:

Professionals hit shots that have a chance to score, but put them in the best postion for the next shot. How can we use that professional thinking in the biggest life choices?
Pacal's Wager had four possiblitlies: I believe and God exists, I believe and God doesn't exist, I don't believe, and God exsits, I don't believe and God doesn't exist. This cuts an issue cleanly, but what if I believe AND God exists? Within that box, exists a number of perspectives on the truth of Scripture. 
A Brief History of the Bible. The Bible is 66 books written by 40 different authors of varying different backgrounds. They were shepherds, sons of Kings, judges, priests, Pharisees, doctors and tax collectors. It was written in 3 languages over 1,500 years and of all the 27 books considered to be divinely inspired, it is the only one to contain specific, fulfilled prophesey. But to me, the two greatest proofs that Scripture is what it says it is are a) that men died for it, and b) despite the authors and the languages and time (what do you have in common with someone living in 514 A.D.), it is written with One voice.
So why ask the question now? Well, three answers:The arguments for overlooking or denying Scripture are slick. I reviewed one of them here, but as that book has continued to surface at my church and others are on the way, it's important that we all recognize the line between standing up for Scripture (even when we don't understand it) and making ourselves into god-deciding what is and isn't really about Him.
The verdict on this decision comes very quickly. Juries are convened to be rational, impartial deciders of the facts. They use the standard of reasonable doubt to decide. Applying Pascal's wager to this, where should we put the burdon of proof? If you didn't recognize how quickly things turned in this very talk, I give the example of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester to show how quickly you'll need to rely on the decision-which side of the line you stand.
The entirety of Scripture confirms that we worship a God who holds us accountable for what we believe. Some of that Scripture is linked here and more of it is listed in Chapter 10 - Tune Into Life's Belief in  A Rooster Once Crowed , but there will come a day when the most important thing about me/you/us is what we believe.

So what's the professional shot? This lesson can be streamed by clicking here. I'd love to hear what you think.

l love you.          

We're not quite done with our #nothingbuttheblood series, so stick around for another post or two on it and look forward to our new series, Prayers For. I hope you'll continue to come along with this ministry. You can hear this IS THE BIBLE TRUE? lesson on the player, below, or make sure that you get all these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already). Just click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness  —2 Timothy 3

If you make my word your home, you will indeed be My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. —John 8

If you're in the flow of American politics, the discourse right now is on mid-term elections. If you're in the flow of College Football, the talk is student NCAA violations and the BCS playoff system. But if you're listening to discussions on Christianity, they're asking, "Is Scripture true?"

That seems like a strange thing for Christians to debate, but this nuclear option is an age old answer to a persistent problem. When you don't like something, blow it up just enough to be able to rebuild something on it later.

You'll hear that it comes up almost immediately in this lesson, but you'll have to listen to understand what this decade's unpopular issue is. It'll be something different next decade, for sure. 

In the meantime, if you're unable to listen to this lesson now, or want to listen to it later, here's an overview of a few of the highpoints:

Professionals hit shots that have a chance to score, but put them in the best postion for the next shot. How can we use that professional thinking in the biggest life choices?
Pacal's Wager had four possiblitlies: I believe and God exists, I believe and God doesn't exist, I don't believe, and God exsits, I don't believe and God doesn't exist. This cuts an issue cleanly, but what if I believe AND God exists? Within that box, exists a number of perspectives on the truth of Scripture. 
A Brief History of the Bible. The Bible is 66 books written by 40 different authors of varying different backgrounds. They were shepherds, sons of Kings, judges, priests, Pharisees, doctors and tax collectors. It was written in 3 languages over 1,500 years and of all the 27 books considered to be divinely inspired, it is the only one to contain specific, fulfilled prophesey. But to me, the two greatest proofs that Scripture is what it says it is are a) that men died for it, and b) despite the authors and the languages and time (what do you have in common with someone living in 514 A.D.), it is written with One voice.
So why ask the question now? Well, three answers:The arguments for overlooking or denying Scripture are slick. I reviewed one of them here, but as that book has continued to surface at my church and others are on the way, it's important that we all recognize the line between standing up for Scripture (even when we don't understand it) and making ourselves into god-deciding what is and isn't really about Him.
The verdict on this decision comes very quickly. Juries are convened to be rational, impartial deciders of the facts. They use the standard of reasonable doubt to decide. Applying Pascal's wager to this, where should we put the burdon of proof? If you didn't recognize how quickly things turned in this very talk, I give the example of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester to show how quickly you'll need to rely on the decision-which side of the line you stand.
The entirety of Scripture confirms that we worship a God who holds us accountable for what we believe. Some of that Scripture is linked here and more of it is listed in Chapter 10 - Tune Into Life's Belief in  A Rooster Once Crowed , but there will come a day when the most important thing about me/you/us is what we believe.

So what's the professional shot? This lesson can be streamed by clicking here. I'd love to hear what you think.

l love you.          

We're not quite done with our #nothingbuttheblood series, so stick around for another post or two on it and look forward to our new series, Prayers For. I hope you'll continue to come along with this ministry. You can hear this IS THE BIBLE TRUE? lesson on the player, below, or make sure that you get all these posts sent to you via email (and you're not already). Just click here to register and make sure to tell us that you're a Back Porch Friend.