The Tulip Driven Life

By: Nathan Fox Introduction to the Book and the City As promised in my previous blog post, I have begun a personal study series into the book of Colossians and have thus decided to write for the next few weeks on little lessons that God is teaching me from the book. Before I dive into today’s blog content, I feel it very important that we have a somewhat firm knowledge of the background behind this Pauline epistle. Naturally, we would assume that this book was written to the people of Colosse, and we would be correct. Knowing this, there are several interesting characteristics to note about the city of Colosse. First of all, Colosse was a very influential city, and likewise was influenced by other cities. We know this because of some of the content from Paul in this letter. Several times Paul warns the people of Colosse to hold firm to true doctrine, and to not be swayed by false teachings such as Gnosticism (of which we will cover in greater detail in future blogs)...

In 1997, a group of Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland drafted a study document, outlining ways to deal with the sexual child abuse crisis which was becoming endemic in the Church. Under the new rules these bishops maintained that there would be mandatory reporting of offending priests and instant removal of the positions of those behind the abuse.  The Vatican shut these bishops' reforms down .  The letter the Vatican sent in response (linked to in orange) read, " In particular, the situation of 'mandatory reporting' gives rise to serious reservations  of... a canonical nature."[1] To make it more clear, the letter raised "particular" concern about mandatory reporting because of issues with canon law. WHAT IS CANON LAW? According to  The Catholic Encyclopedia , canon law is "the body of laws made or adopted by [the Roman Catholic Church] for the government of... its members."[2] Also, "The ultimate source of canon law is God...

Post by: Nathan Fox Our Topic I recently just finished a book study on the book of Acts, which indeed was very beneficial in not only my personal life but hopefully in the lives of those who have read my contributions to the blog within the last month and a half. It truly is a remarkable book, and one in which we can glean some very important points of living from. My next book that I have decided to study is the book of Colossians, which I will begin to unpack in next week’s blog. For this week I am taking a break from any specific book study and will instead focus on a topic that every Christian ought to be familiar with on a daily basis: Thankfulness. Why This Topic In all honesty, no topic is as prevalent in churches and individual lives as this one. Especially around the Christmas season, the topic of thankfulness is one that should be on the forefront of every believer’s mind. Pastors from pulpits everywhere should encourage thankfulness from their God-given p...

By: Thomas Fletcher Booher  I run through the meadow into the moon's gleam that trickles through the trees and splashes across the grass. And in the brightness all I see is you.   Your hair is illumined, your eyes green, your face round and delicate. You wear grey silk, like nightwear, and extend your hand to me, beckoning me to come.  I looked back but for a moment, and you were gone.  I cannot say why I turned. Perhaps I think it too wondrous to be real, to fanciful to be happening. And now that you're gone, I dread to think it all a dream. But then I approach where you stood, a strand of your radiant hair wafting in the gentle breeze, and as I involuntarily place my open palm beneath it, it rests upon it. I squeeze my hand- and my heart- around it. And that contact with you, was all it took to know you were real, to know I was not chasing shadows. So I searched. I journeyed through the forest, days without food. I slept in the cold, damp ...

By: Thomas Clayton Booher Galatians  5 : 13  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty Liberty is a concept that Americans easily identify with. Our  D eclaration  of Independence was a notice to the King of England that we, as colonists, claimed the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  The  declaration  lists the grievances against the King, which include “ Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us,” “protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States,” “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world,” “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent,” “depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury,” “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people . ” Mutually pledging to each other “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor,” the signees made the break by declaring ...

By: Nathan Fox The Wrong Way to Witness Several years ago as a freshman at N.C State I saw something (or should I say someone) that has changed my perception on how to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ. On that day as I was walking through the main courtyard on campus, I  heard  a middle-aged man  loudly blasting people as they passed by, all in “ the name of Jesus,” which were his own words. Intrigued by his yelling and ranting, I (along with a great crowd of people)  began to assemble around him to listen to what he had to say  to each of us . Looking back now I realize I wasted 20 minutes of my life that I can never get back. What he said  and how he said it  has still to this day been etched into my mind  in the most negative of ways . ​ As we were walking up, he was addressing a n African-American   male who just so happened to have dreadlocks. This “preacher” for Jesus told this dreadlocked student that he was ...

By: Thomas Clayton Booher (The Elder) Galatians 1:3-6 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--- J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937), was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1906-1929. In 1929, he led a conservative movement out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the new school Westminster Theological Seminary. Machen taught at Westminster in the same chair he held at Princeton until his death. Machen was unusually erudite in the original language of the New Testament. He wrote a beginner’s Grammar, which was used in my first year of Greek. I still have it – it brings ba...