CARM Newsletter 10-10-07

Mini Devotional The Deceitfulness of Sin
"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin," (Heb. 3:13).

There are people who think that they are smarter than sin.  There are those who believe that they can ignore their sin without consequence.  Some believe that if they leave their sin un-confessed, without repentance, then with time its pain and consequence will fade and that they will be fine.  But this is a lie that sin itself casts upon the deceived.  Sin is greater than we are, smarter than we are, stronger than we are.

Sin always has a consequence.  It always has an effect.  It is a deceitful and cunning adversary.  It abides in us, as part of us, and shows us it is alive all too frequently.  Only the fool thinks that his sin is not important, or that he can ignore it, not deal with it, or that it isn't that bad, or that it will just go away by itself.  It never does; at least, not on its own. We cannot outsmart sin.  We cannot outthink it, or be stronger than it, or be more enduring.  As soon as we have sinned we are its slave (John 8:34).  As soon as we have committed the act against God, we have insured judgment (Rom. 1:18-32), unless....

Unless, you come to the cross.  Praise be to God that  he has provided a way to be free from the deceitfulness of sin.  Only through the cross can we be cleansed of our sins, escape the judgment due to the one who commits it, and have the light of God's truth shed upon its deceitfulness so that we might not fall prey to its dark cunning again.  There is no other way.  There is no other hope than the cross of Jesus and only through it, can we be encouraged day after day, knowing that Christ continually cleanses us (1 John 1:7-9) and frees us frm its bondage.  To Christ be the glory.
Support for CARM Would you please consider supporting CARM?  Many of you already are and we are extremely appreciative of your support.  It is through your regular donations that we are able to keep me full time.  However, things are beginning to get very tight.  We don't know what's going on but our finances are slowly dwindling as sometimes happens this time of year.  I derive my salary from this ministry and an able to supply the needs for my family.  If I have to get a job, that's fine.  No complaints.  But, I thought I'd let people know and ask that they pray for the need.

If you'd like to support CARM please consider $5 a month.  You can go to http://www.carm.org/goods/donations.htm to set it up. 

Also, them many people sign up for five dollars a month, a lot of people sign up for the schools.  That way you can be getting something for your support.  Thanks.
Mississippi Debate There is the possibility of me flying to St. Louis, Missouri, meeting two guys from the area, and driving eight hours south with them to Summit, Mississippi for me to participate in two debates with a oneness pentecostal person at a large oneness church.  The first debate would be on the doctrine of the Trinity and the second would be on whether or not good works are necessary for salvation (he says you must do good works to be saved).   The goal is to videotape the debates (which is why the two guys would be going - to publish them on CARM) and then later I would return to Missouri with them and they would teach me how to do video camera work properly.  I would then go to St. Louis, take care of some things there, go to Kansas City, meet someone, and then fly back to Boise, ID.

The problem is that since the funds for CARM are pretty tight right now I can't afford the airfare (around $500 plus possible car rental).  Therefore I am asking for contributions to cover travel costs.  If you would be willing to help out, please e-mail me at [email protected]  You don't have to send anything yet.  Just let me know and if enough comes in, then if it does, I can go ahead and contact the contributors and make the necessary arrangements.  If there isn't enough support, then I won't go and I'll let the possible contributors know that as well.  Thanks.
CARM Home Page Cleanup If anyone  would like to take the CARM homepage and stylesheet, clean up the code, and send it back to me, I would greatly appreciate it.  The page has to work in IE 6, IE 7, Firefox, a PC and Macintosh.  I'd and do it myself, but I have so much other stuff to do I thought I would ask for help.
Emerging Church I am now continuing my research on the emerging church movement.  Therefore, I've arranged to have Doug Paget, a leading proponent of the emerging church on my radio show on Thursday, October 11.  If you're interested in tuning in, you can listen via the info found at www.carm.org/radio/radio.htm.
Programming help for CARM I'm looking for a volunteer programmer who can help me develop some code snippets for the CARM website.   I would like to enable people to sign into CARM, develop a personal favorites ability, etc.  If you're interested, please contact me at [email protected]
  • Hate Mail
    • you guys are awsome i dont know where you get your facts on some of this stuff u talk about on your web site but its soo funny! its like watching a child trying to act like he knows what hes talking about... good stuff good stuff.
  • Love Mail
    • A young man in my church asked me the other day if he could speak to me about his relationship with a girl who is a Mormon. I was able to download and print out valuable material from your website which was tremendously helpful in informing him of what Mormonism is all about. Now I can just pray he will make wise decisions. But I really want to thank you for an exceptionally helpful website. God bless you in your ministry.
    • I have started downloading your podcasts and really enjoy the way you teach with logic. It is a form of theological instruction I have never experienced before, things were always in the Bible and never mind the why. I was near to atheism when my brother told me about you, so thank you for helping me to see that reason and God are not mutually exclusive.
    • I, along with my wife, are former Mormons who have been happily involved in a Christian faith for the last 3 years. Your site is a great resource when I am confronted with the lies of Mormonism by former friends who have abandoned us as a result of our choice to leave that cult. Thanks for the work you do…
    • Matt, I just wanted to commend you for your awesome work on behalf of the Kingdom of God!  Don't let the hate mail get you down . . . remember that those without Christ cannot comprehend the things of God!


 

 

 

 
 
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