Jonathan Carl: 03/01/2009

Interesting Bible Stats

From www.gotquestions.org Question: "What are some interesting facts & stats about the Bible?" Answer: Books in the Bible: 66 Books in the Old Testament: 39 Books in the New Testament: 27 Shortest book in the Bible: 2 John Longest book in the Bible: Psalms Chapters in the Bible: 1189 Chapters in the Old Testament: 929 Chapters in the New Testament: 260 Middle chapter of the Bible: Psalm 117 Shortest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 117 Longest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 119 Verses in the Bible: 31,173 Verses in the Old Testament: 23,214 Verses in the New Testament: 7,959 Shortest verse in the Bible: John 11:35 Longest verse in the Bible: Esther 8:9 Words in the Bible: 773,692 Words in the Old Testament: 592,439 Words in the New Testament: 181,253

John 9:4 "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." Psalm 144:12 "May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown,our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace"

Quote - St. Ambrose

"I call on you to repent. You can only atone for your sin by tears, by penitence, by humbling your soul before God. You are a man, and as you have sinned as a man so you must repent. No angel, no archangel can forgive you. God alone can forgive you, and He forgives only those who repent." Letter to a friend by St. Ambrose

Does Satan Exist? - ABC Nightline Faceoff

ABC Nightline produced a televised debate last night titled "Does Satan Exist?" The two most well-known debaters are Mark Driscoll, pastor of The Mars Hill Church, and Dr. Deepak Chopra a medical doctor and New Age/Thought leader/writer. It is worthwhile to watch the arguments develop and to hear both sides of the debate. If you haven't heard or engaged the philosophizing garbage that comes out of the New Age/Thought movement as well as the pluralistic/relativistic arguments, beware the deception. It is helpful to keep your Bible alongside as you watch/listen as well as to be willing to hit "pause" and explore the issues. Gotquestions.org is a great resource as well to quickly counter some of the arguments you hear and to test the teachings against the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4 "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

1 John 5:18-20 "18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

Quotes About the Devil

"The devil can cite scripture for his purpose." William Shakespeare "The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still." A.W. Tozer "The devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked." Thomas More

Biblical Gender Roles in the Church & the Family - A Controversial Question

How does God define gender roles within His Word? Is it a cultural issue of the day and time in which the Bible was written? Or are the command and descriptions of gender roles rooted in the created order as God intended? Dr. Al Mohler's recent article, "A 'Stained-Glass Ceiling?' A Clarifying Look at a Controversial Question" helpfully deals with a long-debated issue concerning women's roles in ministry within the church. He engages a recently published op-ed column of USA Today, showing the fallacies underlying such a secular, feminist viewpoint. Some excerpts:

"Completely missing from her analysis is any concession that God might actually have ordered this pattern of leadership restriction for our good and His glory. Her perspective on the issue is fundamentally secular in approach. In this view, where men alone can hold positions of authority and responsibility, prejudice must be the cause and access to these positions for women must be the solution."
"Those who believe that the Bible is indeed the inerrant and infallible written revelation of God are obligated to perpetuate and honor the pattern of leadership ordered within the text of Scripture. Furthermore, we must see this pattern, not as evidence of human prejudice, but as God's revelation to us -- a revelation by grace that is for the good of both men and women and the pattern by which God brings glory to himself."

If you ever want to dive into this issue for a better understanding of the biblical texts and theology of biblical manhood and womanhood, here are some resources to check out: The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - proclaiming God's glorious design for men and women

"The mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, because these teachings are essential for obedience to Scripture and for the health of the family and the church."

What's at stake in considering this issue?

The authority of Scripture
The health of the home
The health of the church
Our worship
Bible translations
The advance of the Gospel

Core Beliefs: The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood The "Danvers Statement" summarizes the need for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) and serves as an overview of our core beliefs.

Some excerpts:

"Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse."
"In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands' authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands' leadership (Eph 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Pet 3:1-7). "
"In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:11-15)."

FREE BOOKS ONLINE.... Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth by Wayne Grudem

Fifty Crucial Questions: An Overview of Central Concerns About Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem

"Fifty Crucial Questions is a booklet adapted from chapter two of Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem.

It offers an overview of the vision of manhood and womanhood presented in the larger volume by giving cogent summary responses to the most common objections to that vision. Because every effort to answer one question (on this important issue) begets new questions, the list of questions here is not exhaustive. Nonetheless, we hope to give enough trajectories that readers can track the flight of our intention to its appointed target: the good of the Church, global mission, and the glory of God. "

Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism Edited by John Piper & Wayne Grudem

Here are the chapter titles and authors of this book.... For Single Men and Women (and the Rest of Us) John Piper A Vision of Biblical Complementarity John Piper An Overview of Central Concerns John Piper and Wayne Grudem Male-Female Equality and Male Headship Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. Women in the Life and Teachings of Jesus James A. Borland Head Coverings, Prophecies, and the Trinity Thomas R. Schreiner "Silent in the Churches" D. A. Carson Role Distinctions in the Church S. Lewis Johnson Jr. Husbands and Wives as Analogues of Christ and the Church George W. Knight III What Does It Mean Not to Teach or Have Authority Over Men? Douglas Moo Wives Like Sarah, and the Husbands Who Honor Them Wayne Grudem The Valuable Ministries of Women in the Context of Male Leadership Thomas R. Schreiner Men and Women in the Image of God John M. Frame The Church as Family Vern S. Poythress The Meaning of Authority in the Local Church Paige Patterson Women in the History of the Church William Weinrich The Biological Basis for Gender-Specific Behavior Gregg Johnson Psychological Foundations for Rearing Masculine Boys and Feminine Girls George Alan Rekers The Inevitability of Failure: The Assumptions and Implementations of Modern Feminism David J. Ayers Is It Legal for Religious Organizations to Make Distinctions on the Basis of Sex? Donald A. Balasa The Family and the Church George W. Knight III Principles to Use in Establishing Women in Ministry H. Wayne House The High Calling of Wife and Mother in Biblical Perspective Dorothy Kelley Patterson Where's Dad?: A Call for Fathers Weldon Hardenbrook Women in Society: The Challenge and the Call Dee Jepsen The Essence of Femininity Elisabeth Elliot Charity, Clarity, and Hope John Piper and Wayne Grudem The Meaning of "Head": A Response to Recent Studies Wayne Grudem

May the Lord raise up more godly men to lead and teach their wives, children, and churches.

Quote - Thomas Watson

"The right manner of growth is to grow less in one's own eyes." Thomas Watson

Quote - Matthew Henry

"Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and piety, and neither will excuse us from the other." Matthew Henry

Cell Phone Monitoring - My Mobile Watchdog

Are you concerned about your child's use of their cell phone? Would you like to be able to better monitor their phone activity and text messaging habits in order to better protect and teach your teenager? Check out http://www.mymobilewatchdog.com/ How it works... Families setup safe contact lists online that help protect your children. The phone call contacts and durations are monitored. Most helpfully, all text messages are recorded and shared with the parents to help the parents monitor and protect their teenagers. There are also many other helpful features included.

From their website:

Why can’t I use my child’s existing phone with My Mobile Watchdog? Purchasing a My Mobile Watchdog phone is the leading solution for real-time monitoring and keeping your child safe. A special phone is required. In many cases we can get you a My Mobile Watchdog enabled phone at little to no cost. Call (800) 341-8385 today to find out if you qualify.

Can I keep my existing phone service? My Mobile Watchdog works on most US and Canadian carriers. Most people won't need to switch phone service. What if I'm not happy with My Mobile Watchdog? My Mobile Watchdog comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. You can cancel anytime within the first 30 days for a full refund of the setup and monthly service fees. How much does it cost? My Mobile Watchdog costs $9.95 per month with an initial setup fee of $25.

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Christian Quotes - The Church - Part 2

"The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it." William Tyndale "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't." John Piper "Princes, kings, and other rulers of the world have used all their strength and cunning against the Church, yet it continues to endure and hold its own." John Foxe "Today's church wants to be raptured from responsibility." Leonard Ravenhill "A good example is like a bell that calls many to church." Author Unknown "Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults." John Calvin "The church is the great lost and found department." Robert Short "I believe there are too many practitioners in the church who are not believers." C.S. Lewis "The coziness between church and state is good for the state and bad for the church." G.K. Chesterton "As a fresh start, the church should give away all her endowments to the poor and needy." Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Everyone that hangs around the court does not speak with the king." Thomas Watson From: http://christianquotes.org

Quote - C.S. Lewis

"The enemy will not see you vanish into God's company without an effort to reclaim you." C.S. Lewis

Christian Missions, Evangelism, Service, and Volunteer Opportunities

Want to find missions, evangelism, service, and volunteer opportunities in the United States and across the world?

Check out:

The Task - This website is run by the International Missions Board of the SBC and is an interactive wesbite. It is especially geared towards projects for teenagers, youth groups, college students, and seminary students. It also helpfully connects people with the process of becoming a SBC missionary.

The International Missions Board - This website has a plethora of resources. One of the best is its search feature for adult groups of volunteers. It also explains the different mid and long-term options for adults willing to serve in the mission field.

The Bridge - This website, run by the North American Missions Board of the SBC, seeks to connect churches, groups, and individuals to mission trips and volunteer needs across North America. It also has a special section listing "urgent needs."

ChristianVolunteering.org - works like a job search site, only it is for volunteer opportunities across the U.S. and the world!

SEE - the need! Check out resources such as the "Global Status of Evangelical Christianity," "Explore People Groups in Google Earth," "Unengaged, Unreached People Groups," and "The Light of the World"

Pray - Can't go? Pray!

Deuteronomy 29:29

Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Quote - George Herbert

"The devil divides the world between atheism and superstition." George Herbert

A Christian Search Engine - www.seekfind.org

Are you ever concerned about what will pop up when you do a search on a computer search engine? Have you ever wanted to limit your search to trustworthy Christian resources? Check out http://www.seekfind.org/

Here is a little about it from its own website:

"The mission of SeekFind.org is to provide God-honoring, biblically-based, and theologically-sound Christian search engine results in a highly accurate and well-organized format."

"SeekFind.org is a unique “Christian-content-only” search engine. The major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask Jeeves often produce quality results for searches related to Christian terms. However, mixed in with these search results will be results from pages attacking the Christian faith and/or presenting unbiblical views. For example, a search for “Jesus Christ” at Google will result in page 1 listings from the Mormon church, a genealogical service, and a secular history of views about Jesus.

There are several Christian Search Engines on the internet as well. Good examples are ChristianStart, CrossSearch, and ChristSites. While these are good websites with some great tools – they are not as discerning as they should be in regards to what kind of content they allow in their listings. Further, most Christian Search Engines only index the front page of a website. As a result, all of the great content on inside pages of websites gets missed entirely.

SeekFind.org avoids these problems by only indexing websites that are Biblically-based, theologically-sound, and in agreement with our Statement of Faith. That way, you can have confidence that you will find content which will be God-honoring and spiritually encouraging. Further, the SeekFind.org “spider” crawls every page of the websites in our index – giving you the most complete and most accurate results possible."

Christian Quotes - The Church - Part 1

"The bible knows nothing of solitary religion." John Wesley "Church attendance is a vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man." D.L. Moody "One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always." A.W. Tozer "The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil." Leonard Ravenhill “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life." A.W. Tozer From: http://christianquotes.org

Quote - Owen Feltham

"All men will be Peters in their bragging tongue, and most men will be Peters in their base denial; but few men will be Peters in their quick repentance." Owen Feltham

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Ecclesiastes 5:2 "Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few."

Christians & Pornography - A Growing Problem

How big of a problem is pornography in America? Among Christians? The below statistics are unsettling: Some statistics from the North American Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention:

Sixty percent of Christian men have sought out some form of pornography.
At one Promise Keepers event, 50% of those in attendance said they had checked out pornographic material within the past week.
Fifty-nine percent of married Christian men regularly fantasize about sexual relations with someone other than their spouse.
Ninety-one percent of men raised in Christian homes were exposed to pornography while growing up (compared to 98% of those not raised in a Christian home).
Fifty-one percent of pastors admit that pornography is a possible temptation
Thirty-seven percent of pastors say that pornography is a struggle
A survey conducted by Christianity Today of its readership in August 2000 revealed that…33% of clergy have visited a sexually explicit Internet site at least once within the past year, of which 53% have done so “a few times.”
A survey conducted by Leadership magazine in 2000, showed that 40% of pastors have visited a pornographic Internet site, with over 33% doing so within the last 12 months. According to a study done by MSNBC…
as many as 25 million Americans spend 1-10 hours per week viewing Internet pornography
as many as 4.7 million people spend over 11 hours per week viewing Internet pornography
Sixty percent of websites visited on the Internet are sexual in nature.
Seventy percent of Internet porn traffic occurs during normal work hours (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.).
There are more outlets for hard-core pornography in the United States than McDonald's restaurants.

Mores stats from Top 10 Reviews: Internet Filters as compiled by XXXChurch.com

Men admitting to accessing pornography at work-20%
U.S. adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites-40 million
Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home-47%
Internet Pornography Sales-$4.9 billion
Daily pornographic search engine requests-68 million (25% of total search engine requests)
Internet users who view porn-42.7%
89% of porn is created in the U.S.
$2.84 billion in revenue was generated from U.S. porn sites in 2006
Over $3k a second is spent on porn worldwide
72% of porn viewers are men.
260 new porn sites go online daily

Here are some helpful articles for parents:

10 Signs Your Child Is Breaking the Rules Online

Internet Monitoring Family Game Plan

Uplugging Pornography: Helping Your Teen Break the Trap by Jeffrey Dean, author of The Fight of Your Life: Why Your Teen is at Risk and What You Can Do About It

Marc Driscoll the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington is sometimes criticized for his pointedness and mature level of issues dealt with within his sermons and church meetings. At the same time, he deals with and confronts many of the issues and sins of the day that the majority of churches and pastors choose to leave alone. In his on-line, FREE, short & easy-to read book, Porn-Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography & Masturbation, Marc Driscoll biblically confronts sins that regularly impact over 50% of the male population each week.

This book is written explicitly for adults and is immersed with Scriptural texts that rebuke and confront a sin that is all-too often tolerated and justified today. If you are a man who has struggled with these sins, or know men who have, you NEED to read this book. Especially helpful are some direct self-evaluation questions on page 21, some Q&A throughout, and an interview transcript between James Dobson and Ted Bundy. If you are a man, you need to read this book and share it with others. If you are a married woman, it may be helpful to you as well if this is something your husband struggles with.

Job 31:1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl."

Romans 6:15-23 "15What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Quote - Augustine

"God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination." Augustine

Anyone Suprised? America is Growing More Secular

It made national news today...some seemed surprised, but for many, the statistics simply confirmed what is so clearly evidenced in many aspects of American society today: America is becoming more secular by the day. Some concerning statistics from the American Religious Identification Survey of 2008:

"the percentage of Americans claiming no religion, which jumped from 8.2 in 1990 to 14.2 in 2001, has now increased to 15 percent"
"Baptists, who constitute the largest non-Catholic Christian tradition, have increased their numbers by two million since 2001, but continue to decline as a proportion of the population"
"Mormons have increased in numbers enough to hold their own proportionally, at 1.4 percent of the population"
"The Muslim proportion of the population continues to grow, from .3 percent in 1990 to .5 percent in 2001 to .6 percent in 2008"
"Only1.6 percent of Americans call themselves atheist or agnostic. But based on stated beliefs, 12 percent are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unsure), while 12 percent more are deistic (believe in a higher power but not a personal God)"
"The number of outright atheists has nearly doubled since 2001, from 900 thousand to 1.6 million"
"Twenty-seven percent of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death"
"Adherents of New Religious movements, including Wiccans and self-described pagans, have grown faster this decade than in the 1990s"

What these statistics don't show could even be more concerning. How many of those claiming to be "Christian" in this survey are only classified as such because they were raised that way? Or because it is more culturally acceptable?

It is a clear reminder that we have plenty of people around us who are in dire need of hearing the Gospel message and accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Isaiah 1:2-4 "2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.3The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib,but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.' 4Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged."

1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. "

Quote - Blaise Pascal

"Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it." Blaise Pascal

Quote - Mary Booth

"How we have prayed for a Revival - we did not care whether it was old-fashioned or not - what we asked for was that it should be such that would cleanse and revive His children and set them on fire to win others." Mary Booth

Quote - Jonathan Edwards

"The devil can counterfeit all the saving operations and graces of the Spirit of God." Jonathan Edwards

Quote - Matthew Henry

"Some people do not like to hear much of repentance; but I think it is so necessary that if I should die in the pulpit, I would desire to die preaching repentance, and if out of the pulpit I would desire to die practicing it." Matthew Henry

BiblePlaces.com

Although I am partial to all of the Israel photos and videos I will share in the weeks ahead (I took them), the best catalog of photos and resources that I have found is BiblePlaces.com. It has specific descriptions for all of the sites along with amazing photography. They sell their photos as well through several packages, to include labeled photos to assist in using them for teaching purposes. They also have a great blog that keeps up to date with some of the latest biblical archaeology discoveries. They also have an additional site, http://www.lifeintheholyland.com/ that focuses more on photographs from the 19th and the 20th centuries.

About the photographer:

"Todd Bolen is currently on study leave from his position as Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at the Israel Bible Extension campus of The Master’s College. Since 1996, he has lived in Israel and taught college and seminary students about the biblical sites and history. His passion for teaching and photography led him to develop the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. Todd’sphotographs have been published in hundreds of books and magazines and featured on CNN and NationalGeographic.com."

Jonathan Carl

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Interesting Bible Stats

Quote - St. Ambrose

Does Satan Exist? - ABC Nightline Faceoff

Quotes About the Devil

Biblical Gender Roles in the Church & the Family - A Controversial Question

Quote - Thomas Watson

Quote - Matthew Henry

Cell Phone Monitoring - My Mobile Watchdog

Christian Quotes - The Church - Part 2

Quote - C.S. Lewis

Christian Missions, Evangelism, Service, and Volunteer Opportunities

Deuteronomy 29:29

Quote - George Herbert

A Christian Search Engine - www.seekfind.org

Christian Quotes - The Church - Part 1

Quote - Owen Feltham

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Christians & Pornography - A Growing Problem

Quote - Augustine

Anyone Suprised? America is Growing More Secular

Quote - Blaise Pascal

Quote - Mary Booth

Quote - Jonathan Edwards

Quote - Matthew Henry

BiblePlaces.com

Brittney’s Seizure - Urgent Prayers Please! - 11/5/24

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