(1) Nothing short of Miraculous: Thank you to all who have been praying for my friend Jim. He was dead for a full 18 minutes last month after a heart attack (before being revived) and is due to leave the recovery care facility to come home in the next few days. We give thanks to God for prolonging Jim’s life (not many people have come back from such a condition) and yet we do covet your prayers for the remaining health issues to be resolved.

(2) India Outreach: I’ve been encouraged to repost this (below) to keep people aware of both the vision and the current need. I do so here as it is a very exciting project.

Romans 10: 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Its taken three weeks for my good friend, Indian Pastor Pappy Daniel to find the best possible deal, but as promised, here’s an update on the Gospel tract printing costs.

You may remember we provided 10,000 copies of the Gospel tract I wrote “The Thief on the Cross” in the Malayalam language which were handed out to people in the state of Kerala at Easter time. The response and feedback to this very clear gospel presentation has been so encouraging that we made a tentative inquiry to find out how much it would cost for 100,000 tracts to be printed.

Whereas the cost for 10,000 tracts was approximately $400 USA Dollars, the cost for 100,000 tracts will be $2,600.00. This is the full cost, which includes paper, printing, shipping and distribution handling costs. As you can see, there is a substantial savings (per tract) when there is a larger quantity being printed.

Perhaps this Gospel outreach is something you or your church might like to get behind and support. If so, just write to me and I will give you further details. I will keep this article updated to show the amount that has come in for this specific venture (below).

Goal: $2,600.00

Amount received (as of 7/29/11): $200.00

(3) Ligonier has some great deals today on some excellent material in this week’s $5 Friday sale starting at 8 am EST here. I especially recommend Dr. Sproul’s book “The Prayer of the Lord” in hardcover at the $5 price. Some might even think about ordering multiple copies to give away.

Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products as a reader of this blog by using the coupon code: EGRACE10

(4) Reformed charismatic? After pointing people towards one of my articles, someone wrote, “Personally, I think “Reformed Charismatic” is an oxymoron, something akin to “Jumbo Shrimp” or “Virtual Reality.”

I responded, “If Romans 9-11 and 1 Cor 12-14 are anything to go by, the Apostle Paul, speaking anachronistically and using today’s lingo, would have been considered a reformed charismatic. He believed in God’s sovereignty and he believed in the gifts of the Spirit – right? You happen to believe 1 Cor 12-14 no longer applies as all the gifts ceased some time back (and I would disagree, of course) but its fair to say that at least in his lifetime, Paul certainly saw no conflict between the two concepts.”

Something to think about at least.

For more of a discussion of these issues, you might wish to check out the pneumatology section of the site here.

(5) Concerning Creeds and Statements of Faith:

Dr. John Stott died earlier today at the age of 90. His preaching, teaching and writing ministry was hugely influential. He has left us a lasting legacy.

Warren Wiersbe is reported to have said, “if John Stott wrote a grocery list, I would buy it.” That is something of the measure of Stott’s gifting. He wrote more than 50 books, three of which have had a great impact on me: “Basic Christianity” which he wrote at the age of 37 and which has sold over 2.5 million copies, “the Cross of Christ,” about which J. I. Packer says, “No other treatment of this supreme subject says so much, so truly and so well” and his remarkable book on preaching, “Between Two Worlds.”

Regarding preaching, here is one of his quotes, ““It requires much study, as we shall see later, not only of God’s Word but of man’s nature and of the world in which he lives. The expository preacher is a bridge builder, seeking to span the gulf between the Word of God and the mind of man. He must do his utmost to interpret the Scripture so accurately and plainly, and to apply it so forcefully, that the truth crosses the bridge” (The Preacher’s Portrait, 28).

Its fair to say that I do lament Stott’s view on eternal punishment, yet today, I pause to say “thank you, Lord, for the life and legacy of John R. W. Stott – man of God and bridge builder.”

Teepeeing: The act of throwing rolls upon rolls of toilet paper over/around/in trees, on cars, over the house, and on the lawn. This is often done by minors towards their friends, neighbors, or acquaintances.

Yep, just spent the last hour in the hot Arizona sun taking down reams of toilet paper from the trees, the car, and the house.

Who did the dirty deed?

We don’t know but my son suspects it was a local Arminian trying to stop me blogging.

Two big clues: (1) No one else in the neighborhood was hit. Only the reformed guy’s house. (2) To get toilet paper that high (20-25 feet) into the trees requires a whole lot of synergism.

Didn’t Jesus say something about this? Like, “whoever leaves home or country or gets teepeed for My sake, His reward is GREAT in the kingdom of God.” He said something like that, right???

Whoever did it left behind two thirds of a roll in one of the trees, so in spite of the ordeal, the Lord has provided. 🙂