Kuyperian, Author at Kuyperian Commentary

On January 2, 2014 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Pastor attempts to walk on water and drowns

Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation that he was capable of reenacting the very miracles of Jesus Christ. He decided to make it clear through way of demonstration on Gabon’s beach in the capital city of Libreville.

Referencing Matthew 14:22-33, Kabele said that he received a revelation which told him that with enough faith he could achieve what Jesus was able to.

According to an eyewitness, Kabele took his congregation out to the beach. He told them that he would cross the Kombo estuary by foot, which is normally a 20 minute boat ride.

Sadly by the second step into the water Kabele found himself completely submerged. He never returned.

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On January 1, 2014 By Kuyperian In Books Like

Shameless Plug: The Trinitarian Father by Uri Brito

The word is out. My latest work, a booklet, entitled “The Trinitarian Father” is out!

Covenant Media Foundation is making each copy available for $8. The book has received wonderful endorsements. It took me several years to put it together. Though brief (only 55 pages), it provides a wonderful overview for how earthly fathers are called to imitate our heavenly father. This is a biblical theology of fatherhood.

“Someone has said that most evangelicals have ignored the reality of the Trinity so thoroughly, that they are, for all practical purposes, Unitarians. That is sadly true. And that makes this essay all the more important for the twenty-first century Christian. If we are created after the image of the Triune God, then we must understand ourselves and our responsibilities in life in light of that glorious and amazing fact. Pastor Brito helps us to see what God’s nature implies for us and requires of us as fathers. His essay is an excellent beginning to getting us into Trinitarian shape.” ―Steve Wilkins, Pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Louisiana

Here’s the special deal: As a reader of KC, I am selling each copy for $6 (S&H included) for a limited time. If you wish to order more than 5 copies, I can provide a better deal. Just e-mail me at uriesou@gmail.com.<>seo продвижение ов

On December 24, 2013 By Kuyperian In Culture, Theology Like

Christmas in the Tropics

by Marc Hays

As I write, I sit under an umbrella on the patio behind a house that I cannot afford. Somehow, my brother-in-law, Steve Griffin, a missionary with Daystar Baptist Missions, has connections that put us here for around the cost of a decent hotel. The villa where we’re staying could just as likely be found on the Mediterranean as the Caribbean, but I don’t know that it could be any more exotic. The sky is clear and blue; the sun is shining and warm; and palm trees are the norm. There’s always a chance of rain and never a chance of snow.

My brother-in-law and his family do not live in this town. They live about 15 minutes east in the city of San Pedro de Macoris. San Pedro is a city teeming with people – about 250,000 of them. It is dirty, and it is loud, like many cities. There must be 50 motorcycles for every car, and at least 4 people for every motorcycle. It is common to see a family of four riding down the street on the same motorcycle.

I like to drive, but I am glad I am not driving here. There are lines on some roads, but a painted line has never kept a car in it’s lane. There are lights at some intersections, but a light has never stopped a car, or a motorcycle, yet. I have not witnessed a traffic accident, but I have seen thousands of near-misses. It seems like every car or motorcycle you pass is a near-miss.

The buildings here are all made of concrete. They build a single-story house like we build sky-scrapers in the States. The support structure is made of steel reinforced, concrete columns. The walls are made of concrete blocks and finished with a layer of stucco. The floors are concrete. The ceilings are concrete. The roofs are concrete covered in tiles. Wood rots. Concrete doesn’t. They laugh at us for building houses with “sticks.” The termites and the humidity will not allow for stick-built homes here.

When you build a house in San Pedro, you need more blocks than just the ones for your house. You need blocks for the walls that encircle your house. Virtually every home is surrounded by a concrete wall, and entry to the property is secured by a steel gate. Due to the alarmingly high number of petty thefts, even the doors and windows of the house are covered in iron bars. The Dominicans have done well in adapting though. Many of the homes’ anti-theft protection is made of intricately woven patterns of iron and steel, painted in blacks and golds. The bars and gates are as beautiful as they are necessary.

But, oh, how the gospel could change all that. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Eph 4:28) Oh, how the gospel will change all that. The earth will be full of the knowledge and glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Is. 11:9; Hab. 2:14) A city with no need for walls may sound like some utopian ideal, but it’s not. It’s much simpler than that. It’s heaven on earth.

This Christmas, we remember that when Jesus began to grow inside the womb of Mary, heaven and earth overlapped. It was small at first, but God likes to start small. He starts with a trickle from under the altar. (Ezek 47) Jesus grew and the overlap grew with him. Kings murdered; demons railed; hypocrites pontificated; traitors kissed; witnesses lied; and soldiers nailed; but no one could stop the overlap from growing. The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed (Ps 2), but the water had already begun to flow out from under the altar. Immanuel, God with us, was here, and he was not returning to the Father unsatisfied. The Kingdom was his for the taking; all he had to do was die, and die he did. The veil was torn in two. The waters that flowed from under the altar had overflowed the threshold of the temple and were becoming a river.

But Jesus did not stay dead; for death had no power over him. He arose, and the river swelled deeper than the knees, the waist, the chest. The overlap between heaven and earth was ever growing. Jesus returned to the Father and the Holy Spirit was sent. The river from the temple made it all the way to the sea, and the salt waters were made fresh. Jews and Gentiles became brothers and sisters. The middle wall of partition was taken down, and the overlap grew.

But how will the Dominicans, or anyone else, know that Jesus came so that they could stop building walls? How will they learn that a poor man with a crust of bread that he bought is happier than a poor man with a stolen plasma screen? How did the people of Bethlehem find out that heaven was overlapping earth in a stable just outside of town? “When they (the shepherds) had seen this (Jesus in the manger), they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.” (Lk 2:17,18) How will they hear unless there’s a preacher? (Rom 10:14)

This Christmas, I’m happy to be in the tropics, meeting some fellow Gentiles that Jesus came to redeem. I’m glad I got to give my children the gift of seeing other Christians, other people, in other places. This Christmas, I’m glad that Jesus sent preachers into my life and is sending preachers into every nation until the overlap is complete – until the earth is as full of the knowledge and glory of God as the waters cover the sea through the Son of God, who is also the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Go to www.drvision.org to find out more about the mission organization that Steve and Julia are working with.

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On December 19, 2013 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Uri Brito: Some thoughts on the Phil Robertson War

Let me begin with a confession: I have seen the equivalent of 30 minutes of Duck Dynasty. This makes me uncommitted to the show. I have no intention of watching any more of it. At least, until Phil Robertson goes out and hits a home-run. A&E exercising their free speech called it a foul ball, and beyond that treated Phil as unprofessional. Rumors are that Phil has been looking for a reason to leave and he just found himself one. Read the Rest.<>рассылка объявлений копирайтинг украина

On December 19, 2013 By Kuyperian In Culture Like

GLAAD Is Not Happy, Happy, Happy

By Guest Joe Thacker

Unless you live under a rock, have been out duck hunting, or are not connected to social media, you have probably heard that the A&E Network has indefinitely suspended Phil Robertson for comments that he made in an interview for an upcoming edition of GQ Magazine. The comments drawing the greatest amount of ire from certain circles are these: “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

Mr. Robertson is right, it is not logical, nor is it natural. Paul, to the Church in Rome, writes, Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. ²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error (Romans 1:24-27). These words come under Paul’s description of what is involved when God’s wrath is revealed (Rom. 1:18).

Later, Phil goes on to say, “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine.” When asked, “What, in your mind, is sinful?”, he replies, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” Then citing part of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, he says: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.” Wilson Cruz, spokesman for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), stated, ”Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe.” My question to Mr. Cruz is simply, “What did Phil lie about? What untruth did he tell?” Ask any Christian saved out of the homosexual lifestyle, and they agree with the Apostle Paul that they needed to be redeemed from that life. What does Paul go on to say in 1 Corinthians 6:11? And that’s what some of you were, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the by the Spirit of our God (emphasis added). Note Paul’s use of the past tense. Some of his readers were that, but they are not that now.

So why is GLAAD so upset? Why the outrage from them, and other like-minded organizations and groups? Because they have been exposed. Because the truth has exposed their futile thinking, and foolish, darkened hearts (Rom. 1:21-22). Despite all of the attempts of the media, TV sit-coms, and movies to promote homosexuality as normal or just another natural expression of love, it is not. Phil Robertson has unmasked what is ugly and wicked. It is the spirit of the age. It is this same spirit that cloaks itself in the language of pro-choice and a woman’s freedom, when, in reality, abortion is the murder and dismemberment of living babies. Likewise, homosexuality may claim to be more than homosexual intercourse, but it is no less than that, and is, therefore, abhorrent and condemnable (see Romans 2).

Phil Robertson is a man who has been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. He knows and professes that homosexuals need the same. In making these statements he stands with the Apostle Paul. He stands with Jesus his King. He stands where all true Christians are called to stand: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:10-13).

Joe Thacker is the Pastor of St. Mark Reformed Church Brentwood, TN <>адвордс яндекс

On December 19, 2013 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Marc Hays: One Miracle of Speech

The following quote is from Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s The Origin of Speech, chapter 4 “The Conflict of Political Sense and Common Sense.” This is a conflict we have all felt, but probably haven’t expressed this way…

“The cry for peace and order is a desperate cry. Shouting for freedom and for regeneration of the good old days is of the utmost violence. The lullabies and sugar coating of common sense are not acceptable to crying, weeping, shouting, raging people. They must experience the miracle of seeing the dead come to life again, and foes become friends, and dissent become agreement, and shouts become new words. They must see and hear and touch before they believe. Formal speech produces exactly these miracles. The dead seem to come to life, shout becomes prayers, foes come to terms; inner dissent becomes harmonious song of strophe and antistrophe, of dialogue and chorus.

If speech did not produce these miracles for society, it would be unnecessary. As a “means of communication” it is only used by common sense. But 10,000 languages have been spoken over thousands of years just as often as means of excommunication as of communication. They have cursed the werewolf and the demon and the enemy just as often as they have blessed the child and invoked the spirit and obeyed the Lord and reconciled the enemy. Any tribe has been exposed to constant attack from within and without. It’s formal language has kept it in existence as a body politic through migrations over the earths and over decimatinons and ravages through time. Miraculously, it is anchored in an eternity and defies space and time. Speech is the political constitution of a group beyond the lifetime and living space of any individual, beyond common sense and physical sense.”

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On December 17, 2013 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

Harold Camping Dies at 92

According to ABC News:

The California preacher who used his evangelical radio network and thousands of billboards to broadcast the end of the world has died at age 92.

Family Radio Network marketing manager Nina Romero said Harold Camping died at his home on Sunday. She said he had been hospitalized after falling.

Camping was a retired civil engineer who first predicted the Rapture would happen in September 1994. When Judgment Day didn’t come to pass, he blamed it on a mathematical error.

After his second failed prediction in May 2011, the preacher again revised his prophecy, saying he had been off by five months.

Camping said he felt so terrible after the cataclysmic event didn’t occur in October 2011 either that he took refuge in a motel.

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On December 16, 2013 By Kuyperian In Scribblings Like

As I sit at an International Airport…

I am sitting at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport waiting to board a flight for the Dominican Republic. My wife’s sister is a missionary there, and we’re going to visit for a couple weeks. As I sit and watch people board, I am getting giddy about Christ’s Kingdom. There are people everywhere; more than I can count. They’re a field that is white unto harvest, and they’re mostly “brown.” Having 3 bi-racial children, we left the stereotypical, ethnic/racial verbiage behind us several years ago. God has a huge palette of colors, shades, and hues, and he is very creative with it: lots and lots of beautiful people.

Our temporary visit to Heaven, and our never-ending life on the new earth is going to look a lot like an International Airport: more beautiful people than there is sand on the seashore. We’ll turn around and see a multitude no man can count. Praise be to God for the international kingdom Jesus is building. Praise be for God for his mercy to the Hays Haus. May we be a blessing to God’s People (present and future) as we visit them in the Dominican Republic.<>odnomonster.com

On December 12, 2013 By Kuyperian In Interviews, Scribblings Like

Uri Brito: Interview with Jason Hood

Over at Trinity Talk Radio, I have an interview with Jason Hood, author of Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing the Biblical Pattern.<>

On December 12, 2013 By Kuyperian In Culture Like

Bloom Where You’re Planted, or Don’t

It must have been at least 1,000 times that well-meaning role models told me, “Bloom where you’re planted.” As soon as I started going to youth summer camps and youth retreats and youth groups, everybody and their brother had the same advice. “Bloom where you’re planted.”

Some phrases become cliché over time. This one was born that way, which doesn’t necessarily make it bad advice. It is biblical to compare people with plants. “He is like a tree planted by the streams of water.” (Ps. 1:3) “A good tree bears good fruit.” (Mt 7:17) ” Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2,3) And the list goes on and on. So, “bloom where you’re planted,” is not metaphorically defunct. The analogy is fine.

The content is fine, as well as the form. A flowering plant fulfills its role before its Creator by producing a flower. As children of God, we too ought to fulfill our purposes. As a matter of general principle, that about covers it, but there’s also a personal application that is beneficial for the Christian to remember: A rose doesn’t produce a tulip. God has given us our own personalities and gifts that are distinctive to each of us individually. As surely as a good tree doesn’t bear bad fruit, neither does a grape-vine produce jelly beans (although, that would be cool to see.) Those well-intended youth directors that exhorted us, over and over, to “bloom where we’re planted” are right; we should use our gifts and resources for God whether they be few or many. He’s happier with a devout widow and her mite, than he is with millions of dollars from someone who’s holding something back.

There’s another aspect where the adage makes a good point. We should not wait until a different situation arises to decide to get to work in Christ’s Kingdom. The “where you’re planted” part exhorts us to fulfill our callings presently, and not at some other time in some other place. If you’re always waiting for a better time to do something for God, then you’ll grow old and die without ever having done anything.

So, there are some pluses to this platitude; however, it cannot be considered a summary statement of the Christian life. First, flowers have roots, so that they are not able to move. They have to bloom where they’re planted; and secondly, they die every year. So, flowers have inherent restraints on their place, and they are born, mature, and perish within a single season. In other words, the analogy breaks down, as all analogies do at some point.

People are not restricted, by nature or decree, to one garden (Unless the universe is the “garden”, then you got me). It is true that if you are perpetually waiting for a better place before you “bloom,” then you’ll never bloom, but it is no less true that you can decide to go to a different garden, or if you’re ambitious, plant a new one. Human history began in a single garden, but God told Adam to “fill the earth and subdue it.” He was to gardenize the world. Don’t wait for God to pick you up and take you somewhere else to “bloom.” God may want you to pick up your own things, pack up the moving van, and go plant a garden for him somewhere other than where you are now. In other words, “Bloom where you’re planted,” may very well be short-sighted geographically.

Also, nature restricts flowers to a single growing season, but not people. A flower has to bloom and then start over from scratch with a new bud. It doesn’t “learn” how to grow a better flower the next time around. You, beloved, are not that way at all. Your heavenly father loves you waaaaay more than he loves the flowers of the field. (Mt. 6:25-33) You may have a meager bloom this season, but he is working in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phillipians 2:13) Since His Spirit abides in you, you will soon be bearing better fruit. In some ways, we’re more like trees than flowers. Whether a tender sapling or an old Ent, he wants us to mature. If you’ve got a shabby bloom this season, then learn from your mistakes, pray for wisdom, and bloom a better one next season.

By way of analogy, we are like flowers, but we are not flowers. We ought to bloom where we’re planted, and we ought to realize that simply blooming where we’re planted could be short-sighted, if we consider who we really are. We are temporal image-bearers of the eternal God. We are members of Christ’s body on earth. He does not want us to bury our talent in the ground and then wait for his return. He wants us to invest it. Take the risk, for any risks are temporal. He gives returns one hundred-fold. You have been made in God’s image and called by his name. So “bloom where you’re planted,” or don’t.<>реклама гугл цена