The Reason
Well, first and foremost: Plopsite ate my last website, no apparent reason; it was just gone.
Then I went to freeservers.com, where I was until my excellent web designer and great friend David Hepworth helped me put this one together. (Thanks David!!!!!)
The primary purpose of this webplace is to let folks get to know me a little, to understand a little better my beliefs, values, and other various and sundry things.
There is a secondary goal though, my hope and prayer is that the things you read on this site will encourage you to pursue Godliness. Mostly this site is intended for other young men like myself- working towards a deeper relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ. As such, I will post articles, by me and others, on topics related to the development of Godly character and biblical manhood, as well as including links to other websites that I feel work towards that same goal. That said, behold the customary disclaimer: I can't be responsible for the content of anything I link to, although I'll try to perform a thorough investigation of each site/article/etc. I post, however, what you read doesn't necessarily reflect my beliefs, values, or ideas. I leave what you view up to your own discretion.
Some Random Information About Me
(any apparent order or appearance of planning is purely coincidental, lol)
I am the oldest brother in a family of 13, I have 3 sisters and 7 brothers.
I grew up on a farm in north eastern North Dakota, where my Dad farmed up until about 1995.
I am now a veterinary student at Iowa State University pursuing my DVM. God has been so good to me, I can only say as Abraham's servant... "I being in the way the LORD led me"! I'm currently working as a veterinary assistant for the Production Animal Medicine department at ISU.
Some Information on What I Think is Important
(not an exhaustive list, grin)... sorry- bad joke.
I believe in the Bible (lol, how many have said these famous words!), every word is inherently inspired and preserved by God and, as per the words in Timothy, is suitable for doctrine, reproof, and instruction in Righteousness that the man of God may be complete, lacking nothing. I use the (old) King James Version, which I believe is the most accurate translation of God's Word for english speaking people (Among current translations it alone uses the Textus Receptus as it's Greek text, as I may write on sometime- I think this text has convincing evidence for Providential preservation).
I believe in a literal, six day creation, as per the words in Genesis 1.
I believe in salvation only through the shed blood and vicarious death of Jesus Christ, applied to our account when we believe the Gospel, at this point we are crucified, buried, risen, and will be glorified with Christ, being saved by faith in the finished work of Christ (read the book of Romans if you disagree with me).
I believe that we who are saved are complete in Christ (Galatians 1) and thus need no other (i.e. for regeneration, sanctification, or any other aspect of our Christian life). This has many implications, but I'll refrain from going into that here (maybe I'll write on it sometime).
I believe in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it is a group of saved, sanctified people, not a building or a series of meetings.
As such, I believe that the Church should function as an organism rather than an organization. (look at my article on the open church for more on this topic).
I believe in the family unit as the base of the Church, Government, and Society at large. God is a God of analogies; Christ as the "lamb" of God, the Church as the "body" of Christ, etc. Thus, as per Paul's words throughout the New Testament, the family is to function as does the relationship between God, His Son, and the Church. To bring this to more practical terms, a father should guide his family through servant leadership, laying down his life if necessary ("life" means more than just breathing vs. non-breathing- it refers to all of life: career, hobbies, desires, etc.). A man is the head of his household, thus it is his charge to see to the protection and provision for those under his authority, especially his wife and daughters (who are under his umbrella of protection until his death- be it physical in the sense of the wife, metaphorical, i.e. through marriage, in the sense of the daughter).
Based upon this fact, I believe that in the context of Godly authority and relationships, the "dating" concept is a perversion of God's plan; a God honoring (I Cor. 10:31), parent accountable, "heart guarding" (proverbs 4:23, Song of Sol 3:5, etc.) courtship/betrothal is the only biblically acceptable model.
I believe that "children are an heritage, and the fruit of the womb is his reward" (Psalm 127:1-5), thus to "refuse" children, is to refuse "an heritage" and "reward" (why on earth would I want to refuse blessings? How silly!), in other words- I don't tend to agree with birth control.
I believe that a Christian's life is the outworking of his theology ("as a man thinks in his heart, so he is").
I believe that God is in control of every aspect of our lives (Romans 8:28) and thus a Christian is called to obedience rather than worry.
I don't get too caught up in the whole "title" thing, but I consider my self to be a born again, Spirit filled, fundamentalist, literalistic, Biblical theistic (in other words there's one God; the God of the bible), Christian. (I can hear you muttering now: "boy, for a guy who doesn't get too caught up in the title thing...", ha ha, sorry.).
Anyway, I've talked enough. I'll leave you to figure out the rest through this site.
I am actively seeking articles, websites, etc. that would be edifying to my readership, if you have something that you think would fit well here, please don't hesitate to submit it to me for my consideration!
Thanks for reading, enjoy your stay!
~Ben