"Quicken me after Thy lovingkindness;
so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth."
(Psalm 119:88)
so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth."
(Psalm 119:88)
Recently the publishers of this blog (Lynn & Sarah Leslie) had an opportunity to share some of our personal testimony at the Community Church of Devore in Devore, California. Our friend Pastor Marco Quintana asked us to do a question and answer session with him for their Palm Sunday morning church service. Readers of the Herescope blog might enjoy listening to a few of our stories about the early history of the Discernment Research Group.
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| Watch HERE or HERE |
This testimony is available on the church's YouTube channel HERE or it can also be accessed at the church's website HERE. We hope that by sharing a few of our stories our readers will be blessed and encouraged to remain faithful and continue standing strong in the Lord.
"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,
nor of me His prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel
according to the power of God;"
(Paul, 2 Timothy 1:8)
nor of me His prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel
according to the power of God;"
(Paul, 2 Timothy 1:8)
"Presenting an issue sharply
is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time;
there are many who prefer to fight their intellectual battles
in... a "condition of low visibility."
Clear-cut definition of terms in religious matters,
bold facing of the logical implications of religious views,
is by many persons regarded as an impious proceeding.
May it not discourage contribution to mission boards?
May it not hinder the progress of consolidation,
and produce a poor showing in columns of Church statistics?
But with such persons,
we cannot possibly bring ourselves to agree.
Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder,
but it is always beneficial in the end.
The type of religion
which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases,
regardless of their meanings,
or shrinks from "controversial" matters,
will never stand amid the shocks of life.
In the sphere of religion,
as in other spheres,
the things about which men are agreed
are apt to be the things that are least worth holding;
the really important things
are the things about which men will fight."
is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time;
there are many who prefer to fight their intellectual battles
in... a "condition of low visibility."
Clear-cut definition of terms in religious matters,
bold facing of the logical implications of religious views,
is by many persons regarded as an impious proceeding.
May it not discourage contribution to mission boards?
May it not hinder the progress of consolidation,
and produce a poor showing in columns of Church statistics?
But with such persons,
we cannot possibly bring ourselves to agree.
Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder,
but it is always beneficial in the end.
The type of religion
which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases,
regardless of their meanings,
or shrinks from "controversial" matters,
will never stand amid the shocks of life.
In the sphere of religion,
as in other spheres,
the things about which men are agreed
are apt to be the things that are least worth holding;
the really important things
are the things about which men will fight."
- J. Gresham Machan, "Christianity and Liberalism," Introduction.
For further reading:
- Reference was made to a portion of our testimony which is published on Berit Kjos's website crossroad.to. For those who are interested, see "Homeschooling Under Fire." https://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/homeschooling_under_fire.htm
- The late Ed Tarkowski, and his 1990s formation of an Internet discernment group, was credited several times in our talk. His research files and writings can be accessed HERE.
- Bill and Joyce Priebnow are mentioned as the older couple who helped us with discerning early in our Christian walk. See the Herescope article "Joyce the Discerner" for this story.
- Some of the story of Pastor Bob Cutbirth, who we mentioned was discipled by A.W. Tozer, and who discipled us during a time in our lives when we were learning to stand, is contained in the Herescope article "'Another Jesus' Calling." We would go on to plant an inner city mission church with him in the mid-1980s.