Reaching Herd Immunity

It was about a year ago that our retirement center here in Florida implemented COVID-19 protocols. Our Assisted Living Facilities began following state regulations which included restricting access to that building. Since our chapel is part of that structure, for the last year we have not had any live meetings in there. However, we have had a virtual online chapel once a week.

The administrator of our retirement center arranged with local health services to host COVID-19 vaccinations on our property so that residents and staff could be vaccinated. Many of our folks received the two COVID-19 vaccinations. As a result, our retirement community here on our property will soon reach “herd immunity.” That means that many of the restrictions that we have been operating under for the last year will be relaxed.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to be vaccinated because I had a recent flu shot. So, I am one of those in the herd that does not have immunity. I guess that means that I still need to mind my P’s & Q’s.

Our Caffeinated Conversation group continues to meet once a week virtually. We should be able to start meeting in person once again as soon as the herd has reached immunity. I will make sure to keep my distance from the other members of the herd and be sure not to drink from the same caffeine trough.

While the northern states have been experiencing freezing weather, the temperatures here for the last month have been nice. I have been enjoying fresh produce from my garden on a daily basis. I have been harvesting, tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, lettuce, swiss chard, bok choy, basil and dill weed. Florida winters are really nice!

I did have to cover my plants a few weeks ago when the nighttime temperature dropped down to 36 degrees. There was frost on the ground in the morning, but my plants survived just fine.

Blessings,

Bob

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Our Creator and Savior
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

Our glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom we have trusted our eternal souls, is more than just a great religious teacher who was martyred for His faith long ago. He is alive on His throne in heaven, having defeated death forever. He was our great Creator, our sin-bearing Savior and will be our eternal Lord and King.

 

Coffee & Brats

Some things seem to go well together—ham & cheese, peanut butter & jelly, cake & ice cream, etc. Have you ever considered the combination of coffee & brats? Honestly, I think that I prefer having a soft drink with brats. However, recently I have come to appreciate the link between a brat and a cup of java. The journey to my coffee-brat interest began many years ago.

In the 1990’s I attended a 6-week seminar at the New Tribes Bible college in Michigan. At that time, I was introduced to Butch Bennett and Caffeinated Conversation. Butch was one of the Bible teachers at the school. He invited several fellows over to his house to watch basketball and eat pizza. We had a great time. I think that I enjoyed talking about “theology” with Butch more than watching the game. Butch told us about a group of staff and students who met once a week at a local coffee shop to talk about theological issues. They called their coffee shop discussion group “Caffeinated Conversation.” It sounded like an interesting concept.

A few years later, one of the students from that Bible college introduced Caffeinated Conversation to our Missionary Training Center in Missouri. We enjoyed talking about various passages of Scripture or theological issues that were of a concern at the time.

When I moved to Florida, several men joined me in starting a Caffeinated Conversation group here. We have an amazing time of fellowship once a week as we look at the Word of God and discuss questions that we have.

In December, Butch and Pat Bennett moved here to Florida. Butch has also joined our Caffeinated Conversation group.

By now you are probably picturing a group of guys sitting around a BBQ grill, sipping coffee, eating brats, and talking about the Bible. Well, that is not quite the connection between coffee & brats that I had in mind.

Technically, Butch has retired, but I don’t think anyone “truly” retires in Ethnos360. He was asked to head up a new department that would field questions and give guidance about various theological issues. Our Caffeinated Conversation group seemed like a natural fit to help with this new department. What is the name of this department? Drumroll please! It is the Biblical Research And Theological department—BRAT. To be clear, BRAT is pronounced “brät” as in the sausage. It is not pronounced “brat” as in an ill-mannered child!

And that explains my newfound appreciation for brats & coffee.

It seems like there has been an uptick in the number of COVID cases here in our area. A few of our folks here have had COVID in recent days. At least 1 required some time in the hospital. We do appreciate your prayers for God’s hand of protection on us.

Blessings,

Bob

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Fence Sitting Is Not an Option

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18:21)

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

—C.S. Lewis

 

Let us press on to maturity!

The "teaching team" at Sanford Bible Church decided to do a series on the book of Hebrews. I volunteered to teach on the 5 warning passages in Hebrews. It has been a great study. Right now I am working on the warning found in Hebrews 6.

Verse 1 of chapter 6 begins with: "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection (maturity)…"

The author of Hebrews is basically saying that it is time to leave the lessons dealing with the A-B-C's of the gospel and go on to maturity. That little phrase "let us go on (NKJV)" or "let us press on" (NASB) is interesting. It comes from the Greek word φέρω [pherō] which literally means "to carry." However, it is in the passive voice, so the idea is "to be carried" (by someone or something). As the Holy Spirit ministers the Word of God to our hearts and minds, He is the One who carries us on to maturity.

Warren Wiersbe wrote: "As we grow in the Word, we learn to use it in daily life. As we apply the Word, we exercise our 'spiritual senses' and develop spiritual discernment. It is a characteristic of little children that they lack discernment. A baby will put anything into its mouth. An immature believer will listen to any preacher on the radio or television and not be able to identify whether or not he is true to the Scriptures."

Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesus that they "should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14)."

As I look at the state of Christianity in America today, I am dismayed at how many church goers are being carried about by distorted doctrinal winds. Biblical illiteracy is rampant in our society in general and in our churches in particular. We should be light and salt to a lost and dying world. However, it seems like the light is growing dim and the salt is losing its saltiness. The warnings of Hebrews are certainly fitting for the age that we are living in today.

I appreciate your prayers as we launch this series of messages on the book of Hebrews and as I prepare to teach the warning passages.

Blessings,

Bob

* * *

Doctrinal Errors

When you come together as a church I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must in fact be divisions among you, so that those of you who are approved may be evident. 1 Cor. 11:18

"It is often said that the divided condition of Christendom is an evil, and so it is. But the evil consists in the existence of the errors which cause the divisions and not at all in the recognition of those errors when once they exist." ― J. Gresham Machen

 

No grass growing!

I have been listening to a series of messages on the Book of Daniel by Dr. Andy Woods. Dr. Woods said:

The fact of the matter is as long as there is breath in your lungs God wants to use you. Is anybody here dead? Well, if you’re not dead you’re useable; the reason you’re not dead is God has you here to use. And people say well, Andy, you don’t understand, I’m retired. Show me the word “retirement” in the Bible. You know what retirement is? Heaven is retirement; you can rest when you get to heaven but in the meantime God wants to use you. Retirement, what does that mean? That means you’re leaving one job which gives you more financial freedom so God can use you somewhere else; that’s what it means. God always wants to use us as long as there’s breath in this body.

Although I am “officially” retired, I seem to be as busy as ever! There does not seem to be any grass growing under my feet these days.

When moving to Florida, I volunteered to work on a project to update doctrinal papers for the mission. There are 22 papers covering a wide range of topics from Calvinism to Open Theism. Several fellows have been helping me with this project and I am happy to say that the revisions have now been completed.

Another task that we have been assigned is to develop topical categories by which these papers can be organized. Many of these papers could be arranged nicely into the chapter headings of a standard textbook on theology—soteriology, eschatology, ecclesiology, etc. But some of the papers do not fit quite as well into such a scheme. For example, one of the papers is on “Evangelical Feminism.” I do not recall seeing that topic in any standard textbook on theology. We certainly could use wisdom as we consider a scheme for organizing these papers.

BTW, I really enjoy the teaching of Dr. Andy Woods. You can find him online in a number of locations. Here’s a few:

• https://www.youtube.com/c/AndyWoodsBibleStudy/playlists
• https://slbc.org/media/sermon-archives/

Blessings,

Bob

* * *

The Proper Attitude of Man under Grace
by William R. Newell

1.   To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.

2.   To refuse to make “resolutions” and “vows”; for that, is to trust in the flesh.

3.   To expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth.

4.   To testify of God’s goodness, at all times.

5.   To be certain of God’s future favor; yet to be ever more tender in conscience toward Him.

6.   To rely on God’s chastening hand as a mark of His kindness.

7.         A man under grace, if like Paul, has no burden regarding himself; but many about others.

Hurricane Isaias

It is Friday afternoon and I wanted to get this blog post out just in case we lose power like we did with Hurricane Irma.

The last few days, I have been in hurricane preparation mode. That meant hauling all my plants into my screened in porch. I have been using grow bags with handles which makes it much easier to move plants. One of my tomato plants is about 4’ tall which made it interesting to carry.

We are in Central Florida and at this time it does not look like the winds will be as bad as Irma. But you never know for sure what path the hurricane will take.

Hopefully we won’t lose power. Summertime in Florida with no A/C is not fun. Hurricane Irma demonstrated that to me all too well!

Blessings,

Bob

* * *

The Place of Man under Grace
by William R. Newell

1.   He has been accepted in Christ, who is his standing!

2.   He is not “on probation.”

3.   As to his life past, it does not exist before God: he died at the Cross, and Christ is his life.

4.   Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all the human exigencies (needs) beforehand: His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them.

5.   The failure of devotion does not cause the withdraw of bestowed grace (as it would under law). For example: the man in I Cor. 5.1-5; and also those in 11.30-32, who did not “judge” themselves, and so were “judged by the Lord, -- that they might not be condemned with the world”!

 

Bob’s COVID-19 Update #4

Well it is time for another "COVID-19" update.

The good news is that no one here at The Homes of Ethnos360 has contracted the virus. The bad news is that the number of daily new cases in Florida continues to rise dramatically.

As a result, Florida is walking back some of their reopening regulations.

Seminole County just imposed a new order requiring everyone to wear face masks while in public places. There are some exemptions such as exercising outdoors.

These new developments certainly make life interesting. For example, the last few days I have been asked to help several folks out with computer issues. In some cases, I can simply work on their computer in another room and practice social distancing. But in other cases, I need to show the person how to do something on their computer. It is difficult to "social distance" with someone sitting right next to you while giving them instructions as to what they need to do. Such is life in this "new normal" that we are coping with.

In the last few weeks, we have started having a "virtual chapel" service for our folks here. That has been quite interesting to say the least. You know what they say about trying to teach an old dog new tricks. The same can be said for teaching seniors how to navigate software for doing "virtual chapels."

Stay safe!

In Christ,

Bob

* * *

The Nature of Grace
by William R. Newell

1.   Grace is God acting freely, according to His own nature -- as Love; with no promises or obligations to fulfill; and acting of course, righteously -- in view of the cross.

2.   Grace, therefore, is uncaused in the recipient: its cause lies wholly in the GIVER, in GOD.

3.   Grace, also is sovereign. Not having debts to pay, or fulfilled conditions on man's part to wait for, it can act toward whom, and how, it pleases. It can, and does, often, place the worst deservers in the highest favors.

4.   Grace cannot act where there is either desert or ability: Grace does not help -- it is absolute, it does all.

5.   There being no cause in the creature why Grace should be shown, the creature must be brought off from trying to give cause to God for His Grace.

6.   The discovery by the creature that he is truly the object of Divine grace, works the utmost humility: for the receiver of grace is brought to know his own absolute unworthiness, and his complete inability to attain worthiness: yet he finds himself blessed -- on another principle, outside of himself!

7.   Therefore, flesh has no place in the plan of Grace. This is the great reason why Grace is hated by the proud natural mind of man. But for this very reason, the true believer rejoices! For he knows that "in him, that is, in his flesh, is no good thing"; and yet he finds God glad to bless him, just as he is!

 

Bob’s COVID-19 Update #3

I can't believe that a month has gone by since I sent out my last "COVID-19 Report."

So far, no one here at The Homes of Ethnos360 has contracted CV-19. Last week the staff and residents in our assisted living facility were tested. I believe that they are still waiting on the results. But to my knowledge, no one here has tested positive.

As far as those residing in our apartment complex goes, we are complying with Florida's Phase 1 Reopening. That means practicing social distancing and avoiding large group gatherings.

On a positive note, Sanford Bible Church reopened yesterday following the guidelines of Seminole County's Social Distancing Order. Considering that our congregation is older and have a higher risk of infection, we had a good turnout. I spoke on "COVID-19 and Bible Prophecy." There were a lot of positive comments after the message.

A number of friends told me that they would like to hear that message. So I posted the audio on the website of Sanford Bible Church. If you are interested, you can find it here:

http://sanfordbiblechurch.org/

Just scroll down to "Past Messages."

I ended the message with the following thought.

As we look at the world around us, it seems as if things are falling apart. But as we put things into perspective and consider God's prophetic Word, things are actually falling together. The next event on God's prophetic timetable is the rapture of the church. As we see the direct hand of God at work in history, we know that our day is a great and opportune time to be alive! There are signs of the time, which indicate that we could be near the end of the church age. Stage-setting events are casting a shadow in our day. But before the curtain rises on that period of time known as the tribulation, the church will first rise into the air at the rapture. As believers in the Lord, we are not looking for the Antichrist. We are looking for Jesus Christ. Or as Paul said: "Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).".

Stay safe!

In Christ,

Bob

* * *

A call ... for Christian discernment must now be extended; for truly, the battle for the Gospel of the grace of God has come upon us once again. New attention must be paid on the part of individual Christians to sound doctrine and good theology. The beginning of this attention must surely be on the question "what must I do to be saved?" The resounding answer must always and ever be no more and no less than the stunning and surprisingly simple truth "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31) —Dave Breese