IN HIM WE LIVE

I'm still Alive! :)

2011-10-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been ages since I have been on here!.....I am still alive and well!.....I have just been occupied with other things and have let the blogosphere slide for awhile.
I hope that you all are doing well and that the Lord is blessing your families and your labors!
Wintertime will be upon us soon, so maybe I can get back into the groove of posting again.
Please continue to pray for us in the new church work that we are pressing forward in, here in Lewisburg, TN. Pray that the Lord would continue to guide and enable us for His glory and our good!
We have begun setting up a website for the church if you want to take a peek. There is more info that we need to add, but it is a start. So, please tell me what you think!......Suggestions welcome!
The web address is: rbflewisburg.weebly.com

"More Love to Thee"

2011-07-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Really.....How precious is the Lord Jesus Christ to us?....Some have given, and are giving, all!!

"In 1974, a North Korean newspaper article proclaimed the government had finally killed off the last remnant of Christian believers in the country. The article claimed the last remnant was a group of twenty-nine people who literally lived under the ground. These brave believers would sleep underground during the day. At night they would leave their hiding place to collect tree roots and other things they could eat.
In 1972, it was announced that Kim Il Sung would visit a certain village, near the hiding place of these courageous Christians. Because the "Great Leader" was afraid of heights and didn't like to fly, he would need to travel by car; therefore, village leaders began to work on making a new, top-quality road for Kim to drive on.
During construction, they uncovered the hiding place of the underground Christians.
When the leaders determined that the people they had found were followers of "the God of heaven," four of them were immediately hanged. The rest were told to lie down on the road, and the officials ordered a steamroller to run over the prostrate Christians. To maximize the pain, the steamroller started by rolling over their feet and then upward toward their heads.
As the Christians awaited their death, one of them began to sing. Soon the others joined their voices. The song they sang in Korean was one familiar to American Christians: "More Love to Thee."

"More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ to
Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ
to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O
Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O
Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

"These brave Christians had lived underground for almost two decades, choosing to follow Christ instead of a man who said he was a god. One can only imagine the thoughts of Korean officials who watched them die with such courage and dignity, and the welcome these believers must have received in eternity!"

(Taken from the book: "Restricted Nations/North Korea/ Voice of the Martyrs)

"Shades of Gray"

2011-06-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."(Prov.17:22)

There is a pain that X-Rays can't detect, that blood tests can't reveal. There is a pain that an aspirin cannot aleviate, that ointments cannot soothe.

There is a pain that cannot be truly understood by onlookers unless it is experienced, in all it's foul character.

I am speaking of the pain and struggle of depression. To those who have been or are chronically affected by this tenacious foe, physical pain would be a welcome exchange! It is an enemy that is relentless in it's attacks!.....It is an enemy that paints the world of the afflicted in "shades of gray".

It is an enemy that has afflicted many well known figures, both in the secular realm and the Spirtual realm, throughout history.

This malady is also referred to as "Melancholy". We have all probably heard of persons as being of a "melancholy temperment", that is, they tend to experience seasons of gloom and down-heartedness throughout their lives and they seem to undergo these transformations without warning, or for no visible reason.

Melancholy is defined as: "a gloomy state of mind/ gloomy and depressed/ downcast,glum"

And so it is!!......That is, if words can adequately define and describe it!

This "gloomy state of mind" effects the sufferer not only emotionally and mentally, but as the Proverb states above, it "drieth the bones", that is, there are physical manifestations as well. The stress of it effects the entirety of our mortal frame, and seems to pull at every tendon and put every nerve on high alert!!

It is an adversary whose appetite is never satisfied, and which seeks to consume its victim body and soul!

I have known this "stubborn darkness" in some degree for most of my earthly life, sometimes more intimately than others, but never completely void of its foul influences and insinuations.

This inward companion taints every facet of life, indeed it does paint all in "shades of gray". It is a insatiable leach that sucks the life out of all things and continually cries in the mind, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity!"

Life and this world becomes something to be avoided. Most things seem to be wearisome tasks that must be done in order to just "make it through the day".
There is an overwhelming sense of futility that permeates all things, even those things which once brought a measure of joy and satisfaction.

This cruel disease also manifests itself in anxiety/panic attacks as it pushes and pulls at every fiber and chemical balance in the body. Obsessive thoughts often intrude. For the Christian there is morbid introspection. "Have I pleased God today? Have I done enough? Do I truly bear the marks of a Christian, or am I self-deceived?"
On and on these thoughts go as they drive the afflicted deeper and deeper into despair!

There is a desperate desire to climb out of this dark hole, but seemingly the walls are smooth and oiled, and every attempt to climb out is met with failure and the continuing vicious cycle of defeat and condemnation of mind!
Others try to help, they remind the sufferer of all the "good things" in life. Bible verses are quoted and the person is told to "cheer up"!

I don't doubt the sincerity of these encouragers, but I do certainly question their ability to really understand what this person is actually struggling with!

When you have walked through this world of "stubborn darkness", you become very sensitive and compassionate toward those who are walking that same path! Then, and only then, can you truly feel their pain and enter into their journey through the "valley of the shadow of death!"

For the Christian, there is an invisible hand that holds us up when we feel as if we cannot go on, when we feel as if this will always be my lot in life and that there is no hope!
For the Christian there is One who stands in the "fiery furnace" of affliction with us and assures us that there is indeed a better day coming and that He has endured and borne all of our afflictions and sicknesses on the cross!

For the Christian, there is a "city of refuge", a place of repose, where the battle weary soul can flee and cry with the Psalmist, "Have mercy upon me, o LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies sake."
(Psa.6:2-4)

Yes, depression is a horrible malady, a persistent enemy, but God is our strength in the midst of the whelming flood and uses even these struggles for our good and His glory!.......Do I understand the ramifications of it all?...No, but this I do believe and stand upon, God doeth all things well and He makes no mistakes, and if He is for us and has delivered up His own beloved Son on our behalf, how can we not have a hope that looks beyond these present tribulations, to that day when "the former things will not be remembered anymore!"

Depression is indeed a most "stubborn darkness", but there is a Savior who has conquered this world and all it's temporal maladies!!......So, whatever the path He calls us to trod, whether gloomy or bright, He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us and to safely bring us home!!....To Him be all glory!

Greetings and Salutations!!

2011-06-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I have been away forever from the "blogosphere"!....I sometimes feel like the busiest man in the world!....God has truly been blessing me in manifold ways. My job is going well and the new church planting work is progressing by His grace and provision. I hope to write a few lines in coming days, as time permits, with regards to the widespread struggles in our day with "melancholy" and various other outworkings of depression that afflict so many in this land of "plenty".
Though it is certainly a land of "plenty" with regards to material "stuff", it is a land of great dearth with regards to true purpose, hope, and meaning!
The problem of depression has become epidemic in our nation and I desire to contemplate it in more detail if the Lord allows!
Please pray that He will guide my thoughts in this desire to express some personal thoughts and experiences concerning this common malady.

Still Here!!

2011-03-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!.....I am still here. I've just been a busy fellow since being called back to work and beginning the church planting work as Pastor of Reformed Baptist Fellowship of Lewisburg!......The Lord has already blessed us abundantly!....His grace and provident care never cease to amaze me!

Hopefully soon I will have time to post something that is laid upon my heart.

Grace & Peace to you all!

Tom

Boasting in Christ Alone

2011-02-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal.6:14)

This is quite an astounding statement when one considers the confidence that this man had placed in his own righteousness and the pride that he had in his Jewish heritage and lineage!

O how he rested in his supposed right standing before God! No doubt he often reflected on the merits of his person and work!

Recall his enumeration of these grounds of boasting in Philippians 3:5-6...."Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless,"

Like Paul, we "glory" in many things. We glory in our accomplishments, we glory in our family tree, we glory in our health and our outward appearance, we glory in our educations and our occupations, we glory in possessions. But, most tragically, we glory in our own supposed goodness as we compare ourselves with others and take comfort that "we are not like them"!

But how quickly this foundation collapses when we see God's perfect standard, when we see the Son, who always did those things that were pleasing to the Father, loving righteousness and hating iniquity in every thought, word, and deed.
As one stands in the piercing light of Holiness and purity they are utterly undone and can only cry out with Isaiah, "Woe is me"!

BUT GOD!!.......Revealed His righteousness.....He revealed His Son! He did not reveal Him as a standard for us to measure up to....He revealed Him as the standard to flee to! And, as our very source and place of righteousness!

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Rom.5:17)

Paul says it this way in 1Cor.1:30..."But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:"

In Christ I stand before God complete, accepted, righteous, reconcilled, perfected!

No wonder Paul continues on in Philippians 3:7-9....."But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

Truly, where is boasting then? What do we have that we have not received? He made us and He bought us! If any man glories, let him glory in the Lord!

Christ is our Life (Col.3:4).....He is our all in all.....He is our salvation and our standing before a Holy God who demands that man be Holy as He is Holy!

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness"!!

The Battle for the Mind

2011-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to repost this once again as a new year begins. Realizing that the onslaught and the battle for the mind has not decreased, but instead, has intensified, I felt the need to once again focus on the "front lines" of the fight.
Our society is gravely ill and in a wretched condition. On every hand, every day, we are awash in depravity, the images and words that feed the lusts of the flesh and turn the mind away from Godliness! Satan knows us well, he knows that if he can conquer and direct the mind, he has the victory.

My prayer in this new year is that our minds will be dedicated to our Lord in adoration and service and that the destroyer will find no place in them to establish a stronghold!

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Mat.22:37)

A Battle rages! The Battlefield is the mind. The objective of this battle is to conquer and occupy the part of us that is to be wholly devoted to the love of God and His glory.

It appears, many times, that this battle is very one sided. The losses seem to far outnumber the wins. Since the fall of man, the mind has become a willing sympathizer with the invading thoughts and attitudes of ungodliness.
The "carnal mind" is fertile ground for the seeds of the adversaries! (Rom.8:7)

We are bombarded daily by attacks on our eyes and ears that call to us and say..."look here" or "listen to me" or "think about this."
These subtle, and sometimes not so subtle calls, seek to draw us away from the source of peace and bring us into captivity and defeat! (Isa.26:3)

They relentlessly work to overthrow that which we have received as the regenerated people of God. That is, a renewed, holy mind that delights in the law and righteousness of God.
According to Paul we have been given a "sound mind"! (2Tim.1:7) What a contrast this is in comparison to the madness and negativity of the world and it's corruptible offerings!

This battle is wearisome and exhausting and the saints are often found groaning within themselves as the onslaught never ceases in this life. But there is a safe haven, a city of refuge! God has given us this place of peace in the midst of our fight.
What is it? Is it not the exhortation, that is not only found in Isa. 26:3 but also in the words of Phil.4:6-8?

Here I find my tower and bulwark of protection from the enemy.

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

And when I meditate upon Christ in an attitude of love and thanfulness all of the above are comprehended!

This is War!!

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Rom.8:22)

We live in bodies, in an environment, in a world, at war!

Since the fall, war has raged in every part of the created order that was affected by Adam's rebellion.

From volcanoes and hurricanes that are great visible illustrations of something terribly amiss to that which is not even visible to the naked eye. Physically, we can be quickly and devastatingly affected by germs, viruses, and diseases that, though indiscernable to the human eye, wreak havoc in our bodies. Our immune system quickly responds to this foreign invasion! There is war going on at the microscopic level!

But there is also war going on where microscopes, regardless of their magnification power, avail nothing. This is the spiritual "front" in this world of war. In this battle the opposing forces clash with relentless and determined ferocity as they seek dominion over the great object of the struggle.....the very heart of the Christian in this war torn world!

"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Rom.7:23)

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal.5:17)

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" (James 4:1)

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;" (1Pet.2:11)

Think of it! Every aspect of this world, both physically and spiritually, is and has been at war since sin entered the world!

Individuals and nations rise against each other, storms and droughts ravage the earth, diseases attack the body, wild animals struggle for survival, and the flesh wars against the Spirit!

If this present world were all that I had to hope in.....I would have no hope.......I would be sorrowful, even unto death!

But, my hope is not in this warring world and this vulnerable body, no, my hope is in God's promise through His Son, that one day all of creation will be at perfect peace!

Now, think of this! No more war in nature, in our bodies, among men, or in our spirits!
This war torn life does have an end. What a day that will be when that last enemy....death, will be destroyed and the Prince of Peace reigns forever and the former wars will be remembered no more!

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom.8:18-21)

"Perilous Times"

2010-12-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

In recent months I have found myself more and more aware of the rapid decay of our nation. It is not only evident that we have departed from our basic governmental foundations and under-pinnings, but we have also allowed ourselves to be swept away by the currents of our compromising, God-less culture.

Now, let me clarify, I do not mean to insinuate that we have jettisoned religion, even religion that many call Christianity. What I mean to say is that we have left, in large measure, "the faith once delivered to the Saints", that is, biblical Christianity!!
We are a nation of "comfort-lovers", a nation of apathetic "self-seekers"! We give lip-service to God and His word, but, in reality we love ourselves and our temporal things far more than God and vital holiness.

Pauls' words to Timothy come to mind: "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power." (2Tim.3:1-5)

Does this not describe the day in which we live with great accuracy? We are a nation of organizations, of political groups, of churches, of individuals, that have been "rocked to sleep" by the music of self-indulgence and greedy pragmatism!

God is simply a means to an end, a heavenly "vending machine", a celestial genie who we use when needed and forget about when all of our present desires for "health, wealth, and prosperity" are met.

Tragically though, this is not the Holy God of scripture! This is not the Sovereign God who commands all men every where to repent or perish, no, this is the God of men's fallen and depraved imagination, a God made in man's "image", rather than the true God that is declared to "hold our breath in His hand", and testifies to us that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord"! This is the Creator and Sustainer of all things that warns: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psa.9:17)

We are doing despite to the matchless grace and long-suffering of God and we are daily, as a nation, and as individuals, rebelling against His precepts, and rejecting the way of life so that we might continue to fulfill our own evil desires for autonomy and fleshly gratification!

I cry in my heart with the prophet Jeremiah: "....turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God." (Jer.31:18)

Our only hope as a nation is that God would "make His arm bare" and send forth His quickening Spirit to turn us from our race to destruction, to awaken us from our drunken stupor and our lethargy!

Brothers and Sisters, may our God grant us hearts of discernment and compassion so that we might not be content to "lay in our beds" and entertain ourselves with the "pleasures of sin for a season" while men and women, and our nation devolve into greater and greater darkness and misery!!

I pray that I and you who read this are not as those in the days of the prophet Ezekiel when the LORD lamented, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found NONE." (Ezek. 22:30)

"Being Conformed"

2010-12-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Rom.8:29)

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil.3:10)

What does it mean to be "conformed" to his image? What does it mean to be "made conformable to His death"?

This is how a dictionary defines "Conform": (to make similar in form or character/to bring into harmony)

I do believe we have a problem!......"similar in form or character", "To bring into harmony".....With Christ!!

This will take a radical work of "conforming"!! Christ is holy and ever walks in the way of the Father in perfect obedience and complete faithfulness. I am unholy and I walk after my own wants and desires and am found to be most faithful, not to Him, but to myself! If such a "conformity" is ever to be achieved, God must do it. He alone can bring to pass such a radical transformation! I also know that this work will not be comfortable or appealing to the flesh, on the contrary, the flesh will resist it and strive to run away from it.

There are other words and phrases that desribe the ordained plan and purpose of God for the believer, such as, "Pruning", "Purging", "Refining"........Crucifying!

None of these words conjure up images of ease or pleasantness. Instead they bring to mind discomfort and suffering. But if One is to be "conformed" into the "similar form and character" of the Son, and brought into "harmony" with Him,.....there is no other way.

O' I wish there were! I have no innate desire for the way of struggle, the way of suffering, the way of constriction and narrowness that presses so hard on all that my flesh holds dear!....But, if I am to be "conformed", I must follow Him to Calvary!

This is the calling of every true believer. This is the aim and purposed end of the Father for us.....To "conform" us to the image of His dear Son. And, in order for this image to replace what I have inherited from Adam....I MUST die!

I must be "made conformable to his death".....I must, "take up my cross and follow him"!

There is no easy, flesh gratifying way to be "conformed", to be pruned, or purged, or refined.

No wonder Jesus said, "If anyone will follow me, let him sit down and count the cost." I recall a statement that was attributed to Bonhoeffer: "When Christ bids a man follow Him, He bids him to come and die."

Christianity is costly....It is costly indeed!.....But, consider the cost from this perspective: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:18)

In contrast, we can seek to save our lives and preserve our comforts here, and in the end, lose both!

Yes, being "conformed" is an arduous and hard road.....yet, it yields true life, eternal comfort, and what every true believer so earnestly desires....To be like Him!!

"The Tyranny of Fear"

2010-12-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:8-10)

In this post it is my aim to briefly consider "Fear". The fear that I wish to deal with is not that "noble fear" that the scripture declares to be "the beginning of wisdom", or that proper and reverent awe and circumspection that is to be present as we contemplate the Holy character of God. No, the fear that I have in mind is that fear that began with our first parents at the Fall. This "fear" is a servile fear, that fear that brings seperation and enmity, that fear that I believe is summed up well in the word, "condemnation".

The account from Genesis that I noted above is such a stark contrast to what previously had been the experience of the man and the woman in Eden. What once was a place of sweet fellowship, harmony, and peacful co-existence with their creator was now a place that simply afforded them foilage and cover in their effort to hide from the One who should have been their chief joy!!

Now we, as their progeny, feel the weight of their terrible choice. We bow our faces toward the ground as we sense the displeasure of God toward our rebellious thoughts, words, and deeds!
We are creatures now that know fear intimately and deeply. We are tyrannized by it!

If I were to ask the question, "What are you afraid of?", or if you were to pose that same question to me, I have no doubt that we could quickly reply with a vast number of particular fears that we have. We are afraid of so many things, both animate and inanimate.
We fear the prospect of failing health. We fear the rejection of other people. We fear the loss of jobs or of economic security. We fear loneliness. We fear other people. We fear crime. We fear violent weather. We fear not being prepared for exams and questions that confront us. We fear the darkness and the unknown noises of the night. We fear to stand in front of others to speak or to just simply be there before their searching eyes. We fear the death of loved ones. We fear our own death!
We fear God! We fear His Just judgement against our own painfully perceived guilt and sin.

We are most miserable in our fears. It is bondage! It is a pitiless tyrant who hounds all those of Adam's race and dominates much of their daily motives and activities. We are indeed, moved by our fears!

Just ask yourself the question, "How many things do I do on a daily basis that are motivated by some sort of fear?" I would assert that fear taints many of our decisions and our actions!
How many of our "doings" and our "stresses" are directly related to the "fear of man" or, to the "fear of God"?

We are driven by an uneasiness, a feeling of uncertainty about people, places, and things, and most especially, the Holy gaze of God. We so desire certainty and acceptance, but alas, it seems so allusive!

I believe that I can say confidently, it's a scary world out there! It is, many times, an extremely inhospitable place. Also, we are ever aware of our failures and shortcomings with regard to our Creator's Holy standards and precepts!

O' wretched man that I am!!! Is there any hope for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, or is it our destiny to pine away our days in trepidation and dread? Must we live this life in constant uncertainty and, even worse, contemplate the terrors to come when we stand before the righteous Judge who will "by no means clear the guilty"?

Is there any hope? For, if there is not, I would shout unapologetically, It would have been better to have never been born!!

But God!! He has not left us to our just desserts! He has not abandoned us to our self-imposed bondage, and the cruelity of sin's dominion!
He sent forth His Beloved! He sent forth the Son who lay in His bosom! He sent forth the One who was hated and despised by those whom He had made, and the One whom supplies our every breath!
He sent us HOPE and said to us FEAR NOT!!

The Son who had known no fear before the ever approving eye of the Father, must now bear our fears. The Son who had ever enjoyed the sweet fellowship that we threw away in the garden must know the crushing hell of fear fully realized......utter forsakeness by God!!

O' the depths of the riches of the mercy and grace of God! There is hope for our fear enslaved race!! May we all be enabled to look to the bearer of our fears and our condemnation, to Him who drank every last drop from the cup of God's just wrath, and may you and I hear these words afresh, each time fear seeks to dominate us once again, "FEAR NOT"!!!

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb.2:14-15)

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1John4:18)

"He Loves Me :)........He Loves Me Not :("

2010-12-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

My life-long struggle is not unique to me...it is apparently the lot of many who name the name of Christ. What I am referring to is the matter of doubt, that
nagging uncertainty that relentlessly plagues the minds of those who are
naturally self-conscious and introspective.

Does He love me?, or, does He loathe me? Am I really His, or, am I self-deceived? Have I experienced true saving faith and repentence?

It is a cruel foe, a pitiless task-master that never seems to tire in its assaults upon the minds and emotions of its victims!

I am an accomplished doubter...I am extremely adept at finding fault and failure within myself. I have wrestled and do wrestle with this vicious adversary on a daily basis....as I said above, it is a relentless opponent!

I also asserted above that I am not alone in this fight.....In talking and listening to others over the years it has become painfully evident that this particular malady is very wide spread and prevelant among professed believers.

Yes, I know full well what the scripture says concerning the atoning work of Christ, and the finished transaction of Calvary...and so do others, but, I also know of the scriptures that speak of self-deception and a false belief that one is under the salvific merits of the Lord Jesus.
The accusations come.....do you measure up here?....have you neglected to do that there?.......Where are the fruits and the evidences in you that are to characterize one who claims to be born from above?

So, the battle rages. On the one hand there is the clear declaration that Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself....a declaration that serves as an anchor and a bright light of hope that bursts forth upon the soul and mind of the guilty, and the despairing.
But soon, without fail, the doubts are resurrected in all their foul vitality and fury! Yes, they argue, the redeeming work of Christ is indeed true and real......but.....that awful word.....BUT!
But?......The accusing thoughts say......How do you know that these accomplishments of the Son are applied to you and are reckoned to your account?....How do you know that?.....If it were so, the thoughts continue like a room full of prosecuting attorneys, would not your life reflect more of the evidences of the New Birth?

There, in the midst of these conflicting thoughts, many, including myself, find ourselves regularly!

What is the remedy? Where is relief to be found? These charges ring true!....Does not the scripture declare again and again that the regenerate are a people that are known by their holy character and fruits?
I cannot answer these charges!....I cannot deny my guilt!.....I cannot find a reason, a righteousness, a feeling, or a ground of confidence when I look at myself!

I am a sinner!...I am wretched!....I am hopeless on my own!.....I have no plea...BUT CHRIST!!!

This is not a cop-out.....this is not a mind game......this is my only refuge from the Just Wrath of a Holy God!!
So, as I continue to be charged, as I continue to be accused, as the battle continues to assault me......I WILL PLEAD THE MERITS OF THE SAVIOR'S BLOOD!!

Here I Stand, I can do no other!! God Help Me!!

"The Journey"

2010-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jer. 10:23)

Life on this earth is often described as a Journey, the walking of a path that winds and turns as we live out our alotted time here. This Journey is sometimes pleasant and there is laughter and smiles, there is good news that comes and accomplishments that are achieved. This Journey is also marked by struggles,unfulfilled dreams, by sorrow and tears, by unwelcome tidings and failures of various kinds.
This Journey is often confusing and mysterious and it causes questions to arise in our hearts and minds, such as, "What is my purpose?", "What difference am I making in this world?", or ultimately, "Why am I here at all?"
This Journey is too great for us and often leaves us bewildered and feeling very small, insignificant, and alone!
This Journey is an opportunity for us to come to know ourselves as we come to know God, our Maker and Redeemer.
The aquired knowledge that is gained in this Journey concerning ourselves is, many times, grievous and causes us to groan within and to desire to quit or to turn aside in an effort to find a more pleasant and smooth way, but, as by an Invisible Hand, we are constrained to persevere and to take one more step and to Journey one more day.
This Journey has proven clearly to me that I am not equipped for the rugged terrain or the often harsh elements, and that I desperately need a guide, a Wise Counselor, a Shepherd to lead me in the way!
In this Journey I have experienced His direction, His care. He has often brought those into the path with me whom I needed for that very hour and struggle! He has often illuminated a verse of scripture that spoke to my present dilemma.
He has also, graciously hemmed in my way when I sought to turn down a side path that would have led to destruction and misery!
He has chastened me as a loving Father that I might be a partaker of His holiness.
When I reflect on this Journey I am humbled, I am moved to tears, I am ashamed of my, too often, cold and unthankful heart, and conversely, I am amazed at His longsuffering and faithfulness!
I don't know what lies around the next turn or over the next rise, but this thing I do know and am convinced of, if I acknowledge Him in all my ways, He shall direct my paths.
These paths will, no doubt often, be rough and hard, nevertheless, I have this promise, that He walks with me by His Spirit and ministers to me through His people and by His Word!
I stand upon the declaration of His Word which assures me that He completes what He begins.
This life is indeed a Journey, a pathway that stretches before us, sometimes bright and cheerful, sometimes dark and foreboding, but in this Journey I take consolation in this, that One has gone before to provide life now, and at the end of this Journey, and has been, and can be toucned with the feelings of my infirmities and ever liveth to make intercession for me!
Because of these exceeding great and precious promises I will continue to walk by His grace and hope for the coming day when I no longer "see through a glass darkly", but instead, I will behold Him face to face! Then I will know as I am known and the path I have trod and the Journey I have taken will be seen for the glorious "working together for good" that God had ordained for me before this world of paths and Journeys was!

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov.4:18)

"Reflections and Anticipations"

2010-11-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well, after a rather long hiatus, I am going to attempt to write a few lines and simply share from my experiences over the past several months.
First of all, this year, in many respects has been like no other that I have ever experienced. It has been a season of struggle,to say the least! I have felt a sense of heaviness and depression at times like I have never known before, and anxious periods have often seemed more than I could bear. Various reasons could be identified as catalysts for these "dark nights of the soul", a Father's serious and life threatning illness, a layoff from a long time job, and a reoccuring sense of my own failure in what I perceive, I "ought" to be doing for my Lord.
I am naturally introspective and prone to see my areas of weakness and defeat rather than the manifold blessings that God has graciously bestowed upon me throughout my life.
I wrestle regularly with the weightiness of guilt and accusation with regards to what I am here for, and am I fulfilling that purpose.
It is hard sometimes to discern "how we should then live". In particular, how should I go about pursuing service to my Savior. That is to say, am I doing what He would have me to do and am I adequately utilizing what He has committed into my hands?
I see such need on all sides and in every direction.....I, many times, feel so heavy and useless in the great and evident causes that surround me!
The question comes that David asked as Goliath withstood the armies of Israel, "Is there not a Cause?" Yes, I respond, there is most certainly a cause!....but, it seems to me, that it goes no further than the repeated acknowledgement that "there is a cause!!"
Through all of these strivings of heart and mind I cling to the Sovereignty of God and I run back for refuge to the truth of His governance of all things and times. I also am humbled and stirrred to praise when I think of God's tender care for me in this past year through the compassion and encouragement of brother's and sister's in Christ!! Apart from this, I would have been cast down in despair many times! I have been held up and strengthened innumerable times by believers, some of which I have never met face to face. I have no doubt that God brought them into my path for "such a time as this". His mercies are new every morning!!! He loves the unlovely!!
Many questions still flood my mind, but, I find solace in His provisions. I ask for your fervent and earnest prayers on my behalf as I seek to know when to be still and when to move!
I am convinced that God doeth all things well and that He enrolls us in the "courses" that will teach us what we do not yet understand as we ought, nevertheless, I am often a slow learner!!
So, again, I would ask that you bring my cause before the Throne of Grace and intercede on my behalf to the one who loved us and gave Himself for us!

Were It Not for Grace

2010-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

This is a song that has ever spoken powerfully to my heart and tells me afresh of my only resting place

"He Maketh No Mistake"

2010-10-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

My Father's way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I'm glad I know,
He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hope may fade away,
But still I'll trust my Lord to lead,
For He doth know the way.

Tho' night be dark and it may seem,
That day will never break;
I'll pin my faith, my all in Him.
He maketh no mistake.

There's so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight's far too dim;
But come what may, I'll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

And by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He'll make.
Through all the way, tho' dark to me,
He made not one mistake

(A.M. Overton)

"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted" by Fernando Ortega

2010-10-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Looking to our Great Savior!!

Before the Throne of God Above

2010-10-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

This Song has really beena great blessing to me!!!

Through the Precious Blood by Sovereign Grace Music

2010-10-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

"Look and Live"

2010-09-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

"Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."
(Num. 21:6-9)

The people desire the serpents to be removed, but instead the serpents and their bites remain and God says look and live.
Look at the the very image of your suffering. Look and live.

In this life we groan and desire the removal of our sin and suffering and the deadly bite of the serpent, but God says, Look and live.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in him may have eternal life."
(John 3:14)

Look to your suffering substitute. Look to Him who was made sin for you. Look to the very image of your suffering poured out upon Him as He hangs there upon the tree. Look and live!

"Reflections"

2010-08-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Rom.12:12)

"A Christian is a person who decides to face and live through suffering. If we do not make that decision, we are endangered on every side. A man or woman of faith who fails to acknowledge and deal with suffering becomes, at last, either a cynic or a melancholic or a suicide...the Gospel offers a different view of suffering: in suffering we enter the depths; we are at the heart of things; we are near to where Christ was on the cross."

(Eugene Peterson/A Long Obedience in the Same Direction)

"The Master of the Sea"

2010-08-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

How often I have felt overwhelmed in various storms and tempests......But God!

In the whelming flood.....He is there!

He is an ever present help in time of need who brings us to the haven of rest!

When I take my eyes off of Him, I sink in despair. He hears my cry of fear and graciously reaches forth His hand to lift me up.

This "hand" is often one of His children, who gives an edifying word in due season, a cool drink of water to a weary soul......He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother!

"For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits end.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." (Psa.107:25-30)

"When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I, do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going." (John 6:16-21)

"Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee."

"All I Have is Christ"

2010-08-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,....." (Phil.3:7-8)

I once was lost in darkest night,
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life,
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that you would own,
A rebel to your will.
And if you had not loved me first,
I would refuse you still.

But as I ran my hell bound race,
Indifferent to the cost.
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God's love displayed,
You suffered in my place.
You bore the wrath reserved for me,
Now all I know is grace.

CHORUS
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

Now Lord I would be yours alone,
And live so all might see,
The strength to follow your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father use my ransomed life
In any way you choose;
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

(Words and music by Jordan Kauflin)

"The Rock of My Refuge"

2010-08-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

"Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law.......When I thought, my foot slips, your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.......But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."
(Psa.94:12,18-19,22)

How grateful I am, an need to be more, for the gracious hand of God as He "Father's" me through this journey! He is faithful in love to bruise us when necessary, and to heal us when it is time. He is a true friend that ever speaks to us the truth and kindly encourages us with hope when we are cast down.......by turning our focus back to Calvary and in that still, small voice saying, "Behold your Surety and the Rock of your salvation"!

"Who are We trying to Please?"

2010-08-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

"among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." (Eph.2:3)

We are, by nature, pleasure seekers. That is, our own pleasure. We live in a society that sanctions and applauds self-gratification at any cost or regardless of it's offensiveness to the God who holds our breath in His hand!

We live for what tastes good, looks good, sounds good, smells good, feels good......etc.

Sadly, the most prevelant way of life is the way of self and "the fleeting pleasures of sin." (Heb.11:25)

We are the measure and end of all things......or are we?

Why am I here? Why did God create all things, including you and I?

"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." (Psa.115:3)

It is all for His pleasure. It is all for His glory and purposes.

I am here for Him!

"but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." (Psa.147:11)

There was such a Man who lived such a selfless, God-pleasing life......"And he who sent me is with me, He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." (John 8:29)

But, it is evident, that I cannot say this of myself......."I am carnal, sold under sin." I realize that, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom.7:14/8:8)

I will never be able to make this flesh pleasing to Him or acceptable in His sight....I must look away to the One who is ever and always pleasing, for "without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Heb.11:6)

By faith in the God who is declared to be able to conform me to the image of His Son and that is working in me, "both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Phil.2:13), I can desire to please Him rather than myself!

Paul says of his own desire, "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." (2Cor.5:9)
and....."but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts." (1Thes.2:4)

He also exhorts his readers and us, "Finally, then brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do more and more." (1Thes.4:1)

and finally, in his words to Timothy, he gives this council....."No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him".
(2Tim.2:4)

How contrary is the believers calling from what we are by nature and from what this fallen world espouses!!

We are His, the work of His hands, and the redeemed of the Lord........Lord, grant me a heart and a mind that desires to please you, regardless of whether my flesh is pleased or not!

May it never be said of us that claim the name of Christian that we were, ".......lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God....." (2Tim.3:4)

"Our Questioning God"

2010-08-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today of one of the ways that God has dealt with humanity throughout history. He asks them questions. I know that He is omniscient and isn't looking for new, unknown information, so, why does He do it?

I believe it is to confront the individual with themselves! When we have questions posed to us, we are forced to stop and consider our state, our attitude, our motives, etc.

We are brought face to face with causes and realities that, are many times, unpleasant to face, but, if we are to be healed and furthered along in God's purposes, we must face them, and answer them honestly.

I recalled a few examples of such questioning by God in scripture:

"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
(Gen.3:9)

"And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shall rule over him."
(Gen.4:6-7)

"And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here Elijah?"
1 Kings 19:9)

"And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"
(Jonah 4:9-11)

"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"
(Mat.16:15)

".......Why reason ye these things in your hearts?"
(Mark 2:8)

"Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?...."
(John 21:5)

and finally.....

"......Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"
"......Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"
"......Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"
(John 21:15-17)

So, the "question" is.......What question is God asking us today?

"Where to Look"!

2010-07-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

An encouraging Brother sent this Spurgeon quote to me and I just wanted to pass it on. Thanks much Scott!

LOOKING TO JESUS. – HEBREWS 12:2

It is always the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus. But Satan’s work is just the opposite; he is constantly trying to make us look at ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is everything. Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits. Therefore, do not look so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ as to Christ; do not look to your hope but to Jesus, the source of your hope; do not look to your faith, but to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our deeds, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we are to overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking to Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession be fresh upon your mind. When you waken in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Do not let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

The Entrance and Exit of Fear"

2010-07-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Where did fear come from? Where does it find it's beginning?

"But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."(Gen.3:9-10/ESV)

By the first man came sin, and by it, FEAR!! Ever since, man has cowered when confronted with the Holy prescence of God. We feel our unworthiness and our deserved condemnation!

I recall Peter's words on the Sea of Galilee after Jesus provides a miraculous catch of fish, "depart from me, for I am a sinful man."

We are undone in His prescence, just as Isaiah was in Isaiah 6.

Our live's are dominated by the fear of His justice and wrath!

But, there is a "second Adam", the last man from heaven, who has come to free us from this lifelong bondage to fear and death!

In 1 John 4:18 it says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."(ESV)

Amazing! The first man plunged the whole human race into a life of fear and bondage, whereas the last man, set us free to have life and to have it more abundantly in love. We no longer have to live in fear, but by the Spirit, as we cry out Abba Father!

Oh, what a Redeemer and Friend!!

Your thoughts and comments please!

"And Can It Be......."

2010-06-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

I never cease to be amazed at the grace of God. Each time that I am reminded of His unmerited favor toward one such as myself, a rebel, a proud, self-focused sinner, I am staggered and brought to ask, "And Can It Be?"

I am always stirred by the words of that hymn that includes the question, "And can it be, that I should gain, an interest in the Saviors blood?"

A lofty thought indeed, for a rebel against God, to realize that a Holy God who is light and in whom there is no darkness at all would tolerate me enough to let me breath, much less, would deliver up His delightful, sinless Son to rescue me!

I feel that I must respond like Mephibosheth did when confronted with the unmerited favor of King David, "And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" (2 Sam.9:8)

A "dead dog" in truth!! What do I have that would win such lavish treatment? Why am I not consumed? How can I begin to fathom such depths of kindness and love?

I am left in silent awe! Lord, what would you have me to do? Can there be any other response?

Yes, I am left to wonder and muse upon the love of Christ that passeth all knowledge, I am left to desire that I might know it more, in it's depth, and length, and breadth, and height!

I am left to ask in joyous contemplation, "And Can It Be.....?"

The Way of Escape

2010-06-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Christian and Hopeful,after having been confined and tormented by Giant Despair in Doubting Castle.....

"Now, a little before it was Day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech; What a Fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will I am persuaded open any lock in Doubting-Castle. Then said Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try.
Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt (as he turned the Key) gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the castle-yard, and with his key opened that door also. After he went to the Iron Gate, for that must be opened too, but that lock went very hard, yet the Key did open it. Then they thrust open the gate to make their escape with speed; but that gate as it opened made such a creaking, that it waked Giant Despair, who hastily rising to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail, for his fits took him again, so that he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the King's Highway again, and so were safe, because they were out of his jurisdiction."
(John Bunyan, "The Pilgrim's Progress")

Remember God's sure, unfailing Promises when Giant Despair and Doubting-Castle are your portion!

"Wait for the LORD"

2010-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

"Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take
courage;
wait for the LORD!"
(Psa.27:14)

In this Psalm of David there is strength and solace to be found.....Yet, I will readily admit, waiting is not one of my strong points!

Maybe it's in my genes or maybe I have been influenced by our "instant gratification" society. Maybe it's a little of both.

To wait on the LORD is hard for us finite creatures. Time is of the essence....please God, can't you do this right now?.....is often my plea.

How easy it is to affirm our belief in the declarations of scripture when all is smooth....but how hard it becomes to rest and wait when the trials and needs come!

But God, throughout scripture instructs us to "wait" and trust.

I think of Abraham and Sarah....."you shall have a son"....but it would be 25yrs of waiting! A wait that was broken by an attempt to expedite the fulfillment.

This attempt, as usual, brought trouble and sorrow, and it was again proven that God is always right on time and faithful...if we will but wait.

In the wilderness, the children of Israel were instructed to move when the pillar of cloud moved, and when it stood still, they were to abide in their tents....they were to wait on God.

God's ways and times are not ours, and they do not conform to our plans and our preconceived answers to our requests.

Nevertheless, we are told to wait and trust that His ways and times are perfect and that they will be for His glory and our good.

So, I must learn again and again this principle of waiting on the LORD, not with idleness or a wandering heart.....on the contrary, I am to "be strong" and "let my heart take courage" as I actively look to Him by faith and gaze with great anticipation toward what He has in store!

If I am to find strength and courage of heart, I must learn to "stand still and see the salvation of the LORD". I must sit at His feet as Mary did and be quiet and listen.....Wait on the LORD.......The Wait is always worth it!

Some Thoughts.......

2010-05-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello to all,

I haven't posted in a few days so I thought that I would just share some things that are bouncing around in my head!

First of all I am daily amazed at the goodness of God and His mercy toward me. He sheds abundant provision on me for my every need. He is worthy of all praise and honor, even if I had never received one good thing from His Holy hand!

Secondly, I am hunbled and stirred in heart when I think of the precious brothers and sisters that the Lord has brought into my life over the years. These dear Saints have many times refreshed my weary soul with their words of wisdom and encouragement.

Where would I be without the faith and strength that flows from the Head and through the other members of the body to nourish my heart and mind?

As I have mentioned in a previous post, the last several months have been some of the most trying of my life as I have dealt with anxiety issues and just a general sense of nervousness and depression. I will freely admit, this has been the toughest ordeal that I have ever endured, and am stil battling!

But God, who is rich in mercy, interposes daily on my behalf through His word, His Spirit, and His children!

I, like you, don't understand many of the experiences of this life, but I am convinced that God is good all the time and that He is working all things for His glory and our profit!

Let me offer my deepest expressions of heart felt thanks for your intercessions for me before the throne of grace, and I continue to covet your prayers on my behalf as I seek to keep my eyes fixed on the gospel and the beauties of Christ!

A Fellow Pilgrim,

Tom

Flood Relief

2010-05-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have had the privilege this week to work with the Red Cross in their flood relief efforts in the Nashville area and it has truly been a blessing!

It is very fulfilling to help alleviate the burden these folks are going through in whatever small way that we can.

I was moved by the sincere gratitude of many of the recipients of what we had to give and their expressions of thankfulness and "God bless you's" were certainly uplifting as we worked to supply their needs with what we had to give.

How wonderful it is to see God's good that He brings out of such destruction and loss! What an opportunity we have to live out the gospel in times like these and to show forth just a small portion of the abundant grace that Christ has poured on us every day of our lives!

Missional, practical Christianity is most definately a tiring and a strengthening experience all at the same time.

Thanks be to God for His work of mercy to us and through us in this world!

"IT IS FINISHED"

2010-05-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
(1Cor.1:30-31)

My heart can rehearse this truth that will ring through eternity, "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things."

To God be the glory, great things He hath done!!

Lord, whom do I have in heaven or earth but thee?

My prayer......Lord Jesus, let me only boast in you!

Keep Running!!

2010-04-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering perseverance lately. In my ponderings I have considered the fact that Christian perseverance cannot be based upon feelings, experiences, or any other subjective thing.
No, our persevering in the faith must find it's foundation in the indicatives of Holy Scripture.
The unchanging word of God must be our refuge in good times and hard times, in victories and in defeats.
When the flesh or the world or the devil comes knocking, I have only one recourse, "It is written."

How precious is the word in this spiritual battleground! In comfort or discomfort the word of God is forever settled in heaven!

The blood-bought child of God finds in it, inexhaustable strength and solace as we run the race that is set before us. Let us press on regardless of ups or downs and continue to look to the author and finisher of our Faith who has gone before us and ever lives to intercede for us! How do I know this?..... "It is written"!!

[Screwtape warns Wormwood]"Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's [God's] will, looks around upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."
(C.S. Lewis/ The Screwtape Letters)

All of Grace!

2010-04-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

In the Face of Jesus Christ

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

It is written: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (II Cor. 4:6-7)

The Apostle Paul lays out a parallel in this passage of the account of creation in Genesis chapter one and the salvation of man. Creation was without form, void, and in darkness; but the Spirit of God moved upon it and God commanded, “Let there be light: and there was light.” Man is void, in darkness, and dead in trespasses and sins; but in the sovereign grace and purpose of God, the Holy Spirit moves at the command of God and breaks forth with the true Light in the dark abyss of sinners’ hearts. Creation could not create itself. It required the sovereign act of God to create something from nothing. So to, man cannot self-create a new creature within himself. It requires the sovereign act of God to create life in deadness, to give the true Light in the utter darkness of a sinful heart.

This true Light is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews the description of Jesus’ relation to the Father is: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…” (Heb. 1:3) The Almighty Eternal God has purposed to reveal the glory of His majesty by His amazing grace through Jesus Christ. It is in and through Jesus Christ that the saints of God are made to know the glory of the Father. If God did not command the Light to shine in the dark deadness of men’s hearts in the face of Jesus Christ, men would forever be doomed, adrift in the condemnation of their sins. Jesus is the Beacon that gives the Light of the glory of God, beaming out GRACE, GRACE, ALL OF GRACE.

Those who have gone through the new birth are truly able to sing, “I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.” In the face of the Lord Jesus is taught the knowledge of the glory of the Father, and the believer has this “treasure in earthen vessels.” In the believer’s frail body of the flesh, there is found the awesome eternal treasure of the glory of God. It is this treasure that the saints of God give witness to in the face of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Great Things He Hath Done".......Boasting in the Lord!

2010-03-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

"And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel." (Mark 5:18-20)

In this account of the demoniac of Gadara who was delivered and set free by Jesus, I am confronted with the mandate for the recipients of God's amazing grace.

It is certainly understandable that this man who had previously lived such a nightmare existence would want to cleave to Jesus, his rescuer and deliverer, but this was not to be his calling at this time.

No, Jesus would have this one whom He had shown such mercy to testify to the mighty act of a gracious God on his behalf.

His instructions were simple.....Go and tell how great things the Lord hath done for thee.

What of us? Do we not have the same charge? Has God not done inummerable great things for us and has He not not shown unspeakable compassion to us?

We tend to make our calling as followers of Christ a complicated matter instead of simply boasting in the person and work of Jesus in our stead.

As believers we have so much in Christ to glory in and brag on! It is my desire and prayer that my mouth might be full of the testimony of the great things He hath done for me and His daily compassions toward me, and in so doing, see men marvel!

"Awe and Admiration"

2010-03-10T21:17:00.001-08:00

We have so much to meditate on and glory in with regards to the majesty of Christ!

In my current readings I came across these contrasts that reveal the beauty of the person of our Savior. We are able to behold some of the many facets of God manifested in the flesh.

*"we admire him for his glory, but even more because his glory is mingled with humility;
*we admire him for his transcendence, but even more because his transcendence is accompanied by condescension;
*we admire him for his uncompromising justice, but even more because it is tempered with mercy;
*we admire him for his majesty, but even more because it is a majesty in meekness;
*we admire him because of his equality with God, but even more because as God's equal he nevertheless has a deep reverance for God;
*we admire him because of how worthy he was of all good, but even more because this was accompanied by an amazing patience to suffer evil;
*we admire him because of his sovereign dominion over the world, but even more because this dominion was clothed with a spirit of obedience and submission;
*we love the way he stumped the proud scribes with his wisdom, and we love it even more because he could be simple enough to like children and spend time with them;
*and we admire him because he could still the storm, but even more because he refused to use that power to strike the Samaritans with lightning(Luke 9:54-55) and he refused to use it to get himself down from the cross."

"The list could go on and on. But this is enough to illustrate that beauty and excellency in Christ is not a simple thing. It is complex. It is a coming together in one person of the perfect balance and proportion of extremely diverse qualities. And that's what makes Jesus Christ uniquely glorious, excellent, and admirable. The human heart was made to stand in awe of such ultimate excellence. We were made to admire Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
(excerpt from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper)

Our Great Salvation

2010-03-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

I never grow weary of being reminded of the great salvation that we have in Christ as he condescended to our low estate!

"The brazen serpent was not lifted up because of gnats, but because of the stinging of fiery serpents. And Christ came to save not only the least of sinners, but the chief of sinners. Christ brought no petty cures, but such as physicians could not do, as we see in the case of the woman with the issue of blood and the man's son whom the disciples could not cure (Matthew 9 and 17). Where sin abounds, Christ's righteousness is ordained to superabound. The way is opened to Christ for all sinners who come weary and burdened to Him. He bids none of them stand back. "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). There is more danger of their missing this righteousness who have something of their own to trust in than of theirs who have nothing. Christ sends the rich away empty. Fewer scribes and Pharisees believed on Christ than publicans and sinners (Luke 1)"
(Obadiah Grew)

"In the Potters Hands"

2010-02-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

"I do not believe that any suffering is ultimately absurd or pointless, although it is often difficult to go on convincing oneself of this. At first, we react with incredulity, anger and despair. Yet the value of suffering does not lie in the pain of it,...but in what the sufferer makes of it....It is in sorrow that we discover the things which really matter, in sorrow that we discover ourselves."
(Mary Craig)

How I love and prefer comfort! But, this is not the way of the cross. The way to glory is the way of suffering. The way to being conformed to the image of Christ is the way of pressure.

The love of the Father for His children is just as vividly displayed in His dark providences as it is in the bright light of His comforts.

He is dealing with us as with children! What an unspeakable blessing to consider in the midst of the victories and the struggles of our pilgrimage.

How rich we are to be in the potters hands and to be pruned by the master husbandman!

God is working and bringing to pass in His perfect way and in His perfect time a glorious work of new creation.

So, to all of my brothers and sisters, we have these great words of consolation from the scriptures, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom.8:18)

Reconcilliation......Past Tense!

2010-02-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

"The work of reconcilliation, in the sense of the New Testament, is a work which is finished, and which we must conceive to be finished, before the gospel is preached....Reconcilliation...is not something which is being done; it is something which is done. No doubt there is a work of Christ which is in process, but it has as its basis a finished work of Christ. It is in virtue of something already consummated on his cross that Christ is able to make the appeal to us which he does, and to win the response in which we receive the reconcilliation."
(James Denney)

"God was in Christ reconcilling," actually reconcilling, finishing the work. It was not a tentative, preliminary affair....Reconcilliation was finished in Christ's death. Paul did not preach a gradual reconcilliation. He preached what the old divines used to call the finished work....He preached something done once for all-a reconcilliation which is the base of every soul's reconcilement, not an invitation only."
(P.T. Forsyth)

How glorious to consider that we have been reconcilled to God! His just wrath toward sinners has been fully satisfied in Christ! Peace has been declared and we are told to lay hold of this glorious peace and Christ-wrought, completed, reconcilliation by faith. Truly, it is finished, the battle is over! Let us rejoice in our great salvation and reconcilliation.

The Purpose of Affliction

2010-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Let me just open this post by acknowledging that I am, by nature, a person that is very prone to nervousness and "taking things to heart". This has caused me much angst over the years and has recently manifested itself in terrible anxiety attacks and, because of their severity, an overall since of dispair. But! thanks be to God, that He purposes even these times of severe turmoil for our growth in grace! In this vein I wanted to share a portion from Milton Vincent's "A Gospel Primer", in which he deals with God's ongoing work of conforming us to the gospel.

"Perspective in Trials"

"More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ.
Preaching the gospel to myself each day provides a lens through which I can view my trials in this way and see the true cause for rejoicing that exists in them. I can then embrace trials as friends and allow them to do God's good work in me."

Anxiety and Rest

2010-01-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

I recently found this article by Paul Tripp to be very helpful in regards to the believer and the battle with worry and anxiety. Below is an excerpt from the article.

"I am deeply persuaded that real, lasting personal rest of heart is never to be found in ease of circumstances. Even in the best of situations in this fallen world your heart will be able to find reasons for worry.
Inner rest of soul and lasting peace of heart are only ever found when Jesus and His kingdom are your highest and deepest treasures. When you place your identity in His never-changing hands, when you find your meaning and purpose in the unstoppable work of His kingdom, and when you place your inner sense of well-being on the sure foundation of His promise to meet your every need, you will be able to rest even when the situations and relationships around you are broken.

Defeating worry is not about hoping that tomorrow will be better. No, defeating worry is about being a good soldier in this deeper war for the heart. It is about fighting the temptation to attach the peace of your heart to things that, by their very nature are temporary and, therefore, are not organically designed to give you lasting peace (see Mat.6:19). It is about daily feeding your soul on the promises and provisions of your heavenly Father.
It is about taking special care before you name something a need. And it is about living for something bigger than you. It is about giving the love and concern of your heart to the King and His kingdom and fighting the instinct to construct a Lilliputian kingdom of your own. The kingdom of self will never give you rest because it does not have the capacity to satisfy the cravings of your heart.

In the cave, David had it right when he said, "For you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psa.4:8). It's as if David is saying, "My peace isn't found in locations, relationships, or circumstances; it is found in the Lord.
Because it is, I am as free of worry here in this cave as I was in the palace!"
Yes, David was grieved as any father would be, and no, he did not know how things were going to turn out; but in the middle of his questions and in the throes of his grief he was a man with a heart at rest, so much so that he was able to sleep.
Worry and rest always reveal the true treasures of our hearts, and in this battle we are not alone because the King we are called to serve is also Emmanuel. He is ever with us and battles for us by His grace."

(Taken from the article, "Thinking Biblically about Worry" by Paul David Tripp)

"Take Up Your Cross"

2010-01-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

"To deny ourselves is to behave toward ourselves as Peter did toward Jesus when he denied him three times. The verb is the same (aparneomai). He disowned him, repudiated him, turned his back on him. Self-denial is not denying to ourselves luxuries such as chocolates, cakes, cigerettes and cocktails (though it might include this); it is actually denying or disowning ourselves, renouncing our supposed right to go our own way."
(John Stott)

Soul Concerns

2010-01-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

I, for one, am convicted by the truth of this Pastor's statements!

For the Love of Souls

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

It is written: “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” (Psalm 142:4)

It is a sad truth; nevertheless it is truth, man cares little for the souls around him. Every day folks go about their affairs with only one thought in mind - “ME! ME! ME! And no one else but ME!” “Self” has become the number one priority in the lives of most people. They are so busy with their own desires that they have lost sight of the poor lost souls around them. Now, we expect this attitude amongst the lost but prevailing in CHRISTIANS? How dare it to be so in our midst? Honest Christianity is not about “self” or the big “I.”

Self-esteem has replaced Spiritualism. The harsh reality is that we must “die to self,” or we will never be able to gaze beyond “ME” to behold the multitudes lost with no hope, leaving few to care for their eternal souls. The reason the witness of Christ has grown so cold is that there is no passion for souls in the hearts of those who are only concerned about “SELF.” Caring about souls requires compassion.

It is also written: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:5-6)

Why do you suppose one goes and sows with weeping? Honest tears are a language of the heart. I realize some folk can shed tears at the blink of an eye, but I’m speaking of true tears that come forth because the spiritual burdens of the heart are so overwhelming. When the burden of lost souls begins to weigh down the heart and mind of the saints, the overflow comes through the eyes, being revealed in tears. The heavenly burden upon the heart forces out laborers into the fields sowing precious seed and weeping over the insurmountable numbers of lost souls. Oh, that they could see what we see and hear what we hear of the Redeemer of men’s souls, the Lamb of God. If only they could be covered by the blood of the blessed Savior by the gracious sovereign act of our God, they would know someone cares. Is there a real burden in you that overflows the eyes with tears? Pray for holy tears, brethren! WEEP FOR THE SOULS OF MEN!!!

"A Thankful Heart"

2009-12-31T14:40:00.000-08:00

"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." (Rom.14:19)

In this post, on the first day of 2010, please allow me to wax sentimental for a moment!

I just wanted to express my thankfulness for each one of you whose blog posts I read and enjoy. I am greatly profited by each one! I also am truly grateful for all of the encouraging and helpful comments.

It is a blessing beyond words to know you all, even those whom I have never seen face to face, and to consider together, the unsearchable riches of Christ!

I look forward to the coming days and the food for the soul that I am sure is to come!

Blessed beyond measure!
Tom

"The Mercy Seat"

2009-12-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

I am currently pondering the Mercy Seat, which was the covering lid on the Ark of the Covenant, and has so much to tell us in regards to the person and work of Christ.
This "Seat" or place of "propitiation" was the place where the gaze of the Cherubim was fixed and where the blood was spinkled on the Day of Atonement.
It is the place where God had told Moses: "And there I will meet with thee, and I will comune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." (Ex.25:22)

What a vivid foreshadowing of Christ as the one by whom and through whom God reveals Himself to us, and by which we are able to come into His holy presence!

A study of the these shadows and types under the old covenant make it plain that God has a prescribed way and means of entering in before Him and communing with Him, and that no other way is acceptable.......That way is the Christ, His own Son, "the propitiation for our sins" (1John 4:9-10) .

Paul says....."Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forebearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Rom.3:24-26)

Any other approach is denied and condemned. To circumvent God's way to life and the way of acceptance with Him is to place oneself under the wrath of the law. I believe this is illustrated well in 1Samuel 6 where it is written...."And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?"

When the "mercy seat" is bypassed, all that is left to behold is the Holy Law of God which pronounces death on the sinner!

The blood of the Lamb must be interposed between the eyes of God and the demands of the law. We must be propitiated for and covered with that blood which alone can make the foulest clean.

He communes with us in Christ and because of His righteousness, and in no other way can I come to Him.

As Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

And, as the writer to the Hebrews declares, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
And having an high priest over the house of God;
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
(Heb.10:19-22)

Christ is our Mercy Seat which ensures for us entrance into the holiest of all! Not only now, but for eternity!

"The Three Mountains of God"

2009-12-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

In this post I would like to share word pictures that appeared to my mind some time ago as I was meditating on the Law, the Gospel, and the destiny of God's pilgrim people.

A thought arose in my mind that I had never considered before in a connected way, that is, the prominence of Three Mountains in the redemptive history recorded in scripture.

They are, of course, Mt.Sinai....Mt.Calvary....and Mt.Zion

The word pictures in my own mind begin with this question:

"What do we experience as we approach Mt.Sinai?"

"From a distance we see a dark foreboding cloud that overshadows the mount, then we begin to see exceeding bright flashes of lightning shoot forth in every direction. The thunder claps are so loud that human speech cannot be heard and every mouth is stopped and all the world becomes guilty before God!
The voice of a schoolmaster calls out with stern authority...Do this and live, for the soul that sinneth shall die! And....cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the law to do them!
Suddenly, I see a smoke arising that seems to ascend forever and ever, as the smoke from the bottomless pit. This smoke rises from the burning of the fiery indignation and wrath of Almighty God!
Quickly, in my mind, I reply....All that the Lord hath said, I will observe and do, but, close on its heels, comes this thought....When I would do good, evil is present with me!
Then, this question, Why?
The reply speedily comes like one of those lightning bolts....The carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be!
OH the Despair!
I strain to see if maybe there is some way around it, but, to no avail, for it fills the horizon in front of me and I dare not take one step closer, lest I be consumed!

Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

But Wait!
A heavenly light breaks through my dark hopelessness. It is that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world! I now hear these words... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world!
Oh, how I desire to be clean! But, how can this be? Then come these words...Without the shedding of blood is no remission.

Immediately now, before my eyes, appears another mountain. I am struck with the terrible appearance of it because of its resemblance to a skull and I shrink back again in dismay.
I hear these words....Even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. I feel constrained to move closer to this mount, even to climb up its rocky heights and survey what is there.
I proceed, and as I reach the summit of this mount called Golgotha, I am horrified by the scene that fills my view. Before me are three men suspended between heaven and earth on cruel crosses!
My horrrified gaze is drawn to Him in the midst, and I hear these words....Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared me, and....This is the blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

I also hear loudly declared....Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. And....The Just shall live by faith.

The light of this truth bursts into my very soul and I feel joy unspeakable and full of glory as I hear these words....There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus!

I walk from Calvary in silent awe and contemplation, when, suddenly, this fiery dart pierces my inner joy. This question is raised...He is dead, on what grounds do you account your debt paid before a Holy God?

For three days my mind is tormented with these thoughts. I must go to the place where they laid Him, but wait, the stone is rolled away and the most glorious words that have fallen on my ears since beginning this journey break through my doubts and fears....He is not here, He is risen! And then, it seems as if I am witnessing the very crushing of the serpents head as I hear....He was raised again for our justification!

Oh to dwell in this place of joyous reconcilliation and cleansing, Oh to bask in the light of those words...."NO CONDEMNATION"!

But, again, a voice speaks, come and I will show you another Mountain....."For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.....But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Home at Last!!

"How Should We Then Live?"

2009-12-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

As I consider the present state of our nation and this world, as I consider the turmoil in so many lives, the cancers, the sorrows, the upheavel, I am once again confronted with the reality that things are terribly awry on this earth.

I was reminded of the title of a Francis Schaeffer book that I read some time ago which asked the question: "How should we then live?" In this book Schaeffer deals with the decline of western civilization through the centuries as they move from one form of "leaning to their own understanding" to another rather than looking unto the one in "whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge". (Col.2:3)

This self, man-centered direction has led to misery and chaos rather than the promised utopia that was thought to be at the end of man's self created rainbow.

We are a people who have listened to the arch liar and have spurned the God of truth!

So, I am either, brought to the place of despair and gloom, or I am brought to once again gaze upon my Savior's face and live with the joyous anticipation that sorrow, sickness, turmoil, and death do not have the final word.

These things have an appointed end, and I relish the thought of being delivered from the bonds of corruption in full, and dwelling in the new heavens and earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness!

How am I to spend this "vapor" of a life? What am I to be about? How should I then live?

I believe the word that God has revealed to us makes it plain.

For example, I recalled these passages: "For our converstaion is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Phil.3:20-21)

and: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Col.3:1-4)

also: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14)

These passages declare clearly to me that, in the midst of the darkness and distress of the present age, I am to live with great expectation and anticipation of my coming glorified state when I will forever be united to Him who is my life!

And, in the mean time, while I await His coming and the glorious marraige supper of the lamb, I must be about my Father's business, redeeming the time and laboring in His heavenly labors.

What a privelege, to look beyond the outward forms of things that are perishing, and to look into the face of Him who lives forever more! And, because He lives, I live!

"Count Your Blessings"

2009-12-05T09:57:00.001-08:00

Here is another reminder of God's great mercy and provision for us. What cause we have for His praise to be continually on our lips!

My God will supply every need of yours.
Philippians 4:19

"The ways of God's providence direct us into the calling and employment that is ordered for us in this world. To have an honest, lawful employment in which you do not dishonour God is no small mercy. If it is suited also to your genius and strength, this is a double mercy. If you have less toil than others and more time for heavenly exercises, ascribe this benefit to the special care of providence for you. How strangely are things wheeled about by providence! David followed the sheep and likely never raised his thoughts to higher things, but God made him the royal shepherd. Some have work, but not enough strength. Others have strength, but no employment. If God blesses your labour and gives you and yours necessary support and comfort in the world, it is a choice providence and should be acknowledged with all thankfulness. If you find yourself scarcely able to provide for the necessities of life, consider: though you have a small portion of the world, if you are godly, he has promised never to forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Provdence has ordered the condition that is really best for your eternal good. If you had more of the world you might not be able to mnage it to your advantage. We are directed to be content with food and clothing, and the little that the righteous has is better than the riches of many wicked (Psa. 37:16). If providence has so disposed you that you cannot only eat your own bread but have enough for works of mercy upon others, and all this is brought to pass in a way you did not expect, let God be honoured in this providence. Remember that the success of your callings and earthly employments is by divine blessing and not human diligence alone. Be well satisfied in the station and employment where you have been placed. God is wise and seeks your eternal good."

John Flavel, Works, IV:387-391

"Rejoice in the Lord Always"

2009-11-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

"In everything give thanks"

"See what cause the saints have to be frequent in the work of thanksgiving. In this Christians are defective; though they are much in supplication, yet little in gratulation. The apostle says. "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5.18). Why so? Because God makes everything work for our good. We thank the physician, though he gives us a bitter medicine which makes us sick, because it is to make us well; we thank any man who does us a good turn; and shall we not be thankful to God, who makes everything work for good to us? God loves a thankful Christian. Job thanked God when he took all away: "The Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1.21). Many will thank God when He gives; Job thanks Him when He takes away, because he knew that God would work good out of it. We read of saints with harps in their hands (Rev. 14.2), an emblem of praise. We meet many Christians who have tears in their eyes, and complaints in their mouths; but there are few with their harps in their hands, who praise God in affliction. To be thankful in affliction is a work peculiar to a saint. Every bird can sing in spring, but some birds will sing in the dead of winter. Everyone, almost, can be thankful in prosperity, but a true saint can be thankful in adversity. A good Christian will bless God, not only at sun-rise, but at sun-set. Well may we, in the worst that befalls us, have a psalm of thankfulness, because all things work for good. Oh, be much in blessing of God: we will thank Him that doth befriend us."

Taken from Banner of Truth's Puritan Paperback, "All Things for Good," by Thomas Watson, pp 62-63.

"Survival of the Fittest"?

2009-11-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

Truth and Consequences
Social Darwinism
by Gene Edward Veith

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was never just about biology. Nor were its consequences just about religion. Rather, the origins and effects of Darwinism were largely cultural and moral.

Darwin’s Origin of Species was published in 1859, which was at the height of the Industrial Revolution and the Capitalist Revolution. The dynamic free market economy, characterized by intense competition in which weak companies went broke and the strong companies thrived, had brought unparalleled economic and technological progress. It was a small step to speculate that animal species compete and progress in a similar way. What Darwin did was to apply the principles of free market capitalism to biology.

Immediately after Darwin’s theories were published, people were relating his biological theories back to economics and, more importantly, to ethics. Herbert Spencer, the great popularizer of Darwinism, coined the phrase “survival of the fittest,” applying it not only to animals but to human society.

In the very works in which he explained Darwin’s scientific theories to the world, Spencer formulated what would be called “Social Darwinism.” To achieve social progress, according to Spencer, the fittest must survive and the unfit must die out. Efforts to help the “unfit” — charity for the poor, mental hospitals, government programs for the disadvantaged — actually interfere with social evolution and should be stopped. Meanwhile, unfettered economic and social competition will favor the “fittest,” who will usher in the next stage of human evolution.

At the same time, Darwin’s own cousin, Francis Galton, was arguing that natural selection had to do with who was able to reproduce. The “unfit,” he said, should not be allowed to breed. Only the “fittest” should be allowed to have children. Furthermore, it should be possible to breed these fit human beings for desirable traits, just as we breed domesticated animals. By sterilizing the unfit and selectively breeding the fittest, we can usher in the next stage of human evolution. Darwin’s cousin was the founder of the eugenics movement.

Friedrich Nietzsche took Darwinist moral ideas even further. Whereas Marx believed that Christianity was a way for the strong to keep the weak under control (the “opiate of the masses”) Nietzsche believed the opposite — that Christianity with its teachings of love and compassion enabled the weak to control the strong. Christianity made the strong feel guilty and manipulated them into supporting those who would otherwise die out. As Nietzsche writes in The Twilight of the Gods, Christianity upheld “the poor and base,” representing “the general revolt of all the downtrodden, the wretched, the failures, the less favored.”

Now that “God is dead,” Nietzsche said, mankind can evolve into the “Superman.” His virtue will not be compassion but cruelty. “It is not sufficient for him to be capable of cruelty merely at the sight of much suffering, perishing, and destruction: such a man must be capable of himself creating pain and suffering and experience pleasure in so doing, he must be cruel in hand and deed (and not merely with the eyes of the spirit).”

Whereas the Social Darwinism of Spencer, Galton, and Nietzsche applied mainly to individuals, other thinkers, noting that Darwin was talking about species and not just individual animals, applied natural selection to various kinds of human groups. Marxists believed social evolution would emerge from the conflict between economic classes. A new movement of nationalist scholars focused on the conflict between nations. The new “race scientists,” claiming to be more Darwinian by concentrating on biology, focused on the conflict between races.

In our own time, Margaret Sanger combined eugenics with racism, seeking birth control and sterilization for “inferior races,” becoming the founder of Planned Parenthood. Ayn Rand, the libertarian guru, embraced Spencer’s socio-economic program along with Nietzsche’s critique of Christian compassion with her “virtue of selfishness.”

But the most thoroughgoing Social Darwinist of all was Adolf Hitler, whose Nazi party carried racial theory, nationalism, eugenics, and Nietzsche to their logical conclusion and put them into practice.

As I document in my book Modern Fascism, the Nazi regime practiced both “positive eugenics” (breeding for positive characteristics) and “negative eugenics” (eliminating undesirables from the gene pool). In the former, couples with positive “Aryan” racial characteristics were mated outside of marriage. In the latter, a third of a million of the “unfit” were sterilized.

And then began the euthanasia program. In the so-called T4 program, disabled children, the mentally ill, the incurably sick, and the residents of nursing homes were euthanized. Portable gas chambers were engineered for the project. Larger models were installed in the concentration camps. At first, only prisoners who were “unfit” to work went into the gas chambers. Then the gas chambers were used on a larger scale to eliminate an entire “inferior” race.

All of this was for the Darwinist purpose of ushering in the next stage of human evolution.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith is academic dean of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, and author of God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.
The aim of Truth and Consequences is to help readers understand the broader cultural and historical implications of every theme Tabletalk magazine chooses to cover. Noted commentator Dr. Gene Edward Veith lends his talents to this column each month.
© Tabletalk magazine

From Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine.
Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk. Email: tabletalk@ligonier.org.
Toll free: 1-800-435-4343 1-800-435-4343.

"God in the Wasteland" continued.......

2009-11-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

I continue to be challenged by David Wells as he writes concerning the effects of modernity on our society and our churches. I wanted to share some more excerpts from the book that were particularly striking and current.
In these excerpts, Wells takes up the issue of the modern consciousness, or lack thereof, of God. He titled the chapter, "The Weightlessness of God", he deals with our modern distractions and our self-absorption which have had a dramatic impact on, not only on the unchurched, but also on professing believers.

"It is one of the defining marks of Our Time that God is now weightless. I do not mean by this that he is ethereal but rather that he has become unimportant. He rests upon the world so inconsequentially as not to be noticeable. He has lost his saliency for human life. Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God's existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, his command less authoritative than their appetites for afluence and influence, his judgement no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, and his truth less compelling than the advertisers sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness. It is a condition we have assigned him after having nudged him out to the periphery of our secularized life. His truth is no longer welcome in our public discourse. The engine of modernity rumbles on, and he is but a speck in its path.

Few would deny that this is the case in our modernized society; it is less clear to many that it may also be the case, albeit in less blatant and obvious ways, in the church. Why is this so? One of the reasons is that it is always more difficult to perceive a pattern of which we ourselves are a part. We need the advantage of a little distance to grasp the meaning of complex events. We experience our own time as such a rich and intense confusion that it is not always easy to distinguish vices from virtues. The untrue appears true, the bad passes itself off as good, and often the trivial masquerades as important. This perennial difficulty is only compounded by the effects of modernity. The faster pace of life and the relentless roar of the media only heighten the confusion, and the unprecedented wealth of goods, conveniences, and opportunities with which modernity has showered us constitute a powerful incentive not to look to closely at its liabilities and biases.

God has not disappeared in the sense that he has been abducted or overwhelmed. He is not like a child snatched away while its parents were momentarily distracted. No, God is more like a child that has been abandoned within a family, still accorded a place in the house, but not in the home. Because the doctrine is professed, perhaps even routinely in creed or confession, it seems as if all is well. But it is like a house that gives no outward signs of decay even though termites have rendered it structurally unsound.

The growing weightlessness of God is an affliction that is neither peculiarly Protestant nor peculiarly Catholic but is the common form in which modernity rearranges all belief in God. It is an illness that has entered the bones of religious liberals and conservatives alike. Weightlessness is a condition, a cognitive and psychological dispostion. It can sweep through all doctrinal defenses because it is not itself perceived to be a doctrine. It can evade the best ecclesiastical defenses, sidestep the best intentions, and survive the most efficacious spiritual techniques because it is not recognized as a kind of belief. Although this weightlessness is not itself a doctrine, it has the power to hobble all doctrines; although it is not an ecclesiology, it can render all ecclesiologies impotent; although it is not itself a spirituality, all spiritualities are withered by its presence. Weightlessness tells us nothing about God but everything about ourselves, about our condition, about our psychological disposition to exclude God from our reality."

Corrie Ten Boom

2009-11-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest. Corrie Ten Boom, Nazi camp survivor"

(Below, an excerpt from Corrie's encounter with a man, at one of her speaking engagements, who was among the brutal guards at the concentration camp where she and her sister were held. This man told her he had become a Christian and desired her forgiveness.)

"Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself."

(More quotes from Corrie)

"There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans."

"Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you."

Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way . . . God can give us the perfect way."

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."

"Of The World"

2009-10-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading a book by David F. Wells entitled, "God in the Wasteland".
In this book Wells discusses the weakening effects of modernism on the church.
He asserts that the "cultural corruption" of the church has led to a departure from the fundamentals of God's sovereignty and holiness.
He speaks of evangelicals as having become "heavily invested in the mindset of modernity, a mindset that Wells correlates with the biblical concept of the "world."

Below is an excerpt from the book:

"It is one of the remarkable features of contemporary church life that so many are attempting to heal the church by tinkering with its structures, its services, its public face. This is clear evidence that modernity has successfully palmed off one of its great deceits on us, convincing us that God himself is secondary to organization and image, that the church's health lies in its flow charts, its convenience, and its offerings rather than in its inner life, its spiritual authenticity, the toughness of its moral intentions, its understanding of what it means to have God's word in this world.
Those who do not see this are out of touch with the deep realities of life, mistaking changes on the surface for changes in the deep waters that flow beneath.
An inspired group of marketers might find a way of reviving a flagging business by modifying its image and offerings, but the matters of the heart, the matters of God, are not susceptible to such cosmetic alteration.
The world's business and God's business are two differant things.

The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is not inadequate technique, insufficient organization, or antiquated music, and those who want to squander the church's resources bandaging these scratches will do nothing to stanch the flow of blood that is spilling from its true wounds.
The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the church. His truth is too distant, his grace is too ordinary, his judgement is too benign, his gospel is too easy, and his Christ is too common."

"Possessor of Heaven and Earth"

2009-10-15T21:15:00.001-07:00

"A man who knows that he owns a tree and thanks you for the use he has of it, even though he does not know its exact height or the width of its spread, is better than another who measures it and counts all its branches, but neither owns it nor knows and loves its Creator. In just the same way, a man who has faith in you owns all the wealth of the world, for if he clings to you, whom all things serve, though he has nothing yet he owns them all. It would be foolish to doubt that such a man, though he may not know the track of the Great Bear, is altogether better than another who measures the sky and counts the stars and weighs the elements, but neglects you who allot to all things their size, their number, and their weight."
(Augustine)

The observations of Augustine remind me again that our God, who has made all things and sustains all things for His own glory, has not vacated the throne and is still the owner and disposer of it all! As the hymn writer asked: "Why should I be discouraged?" The response of an enlightened heart came: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

"Practical Atheism"

2009-10-10T17:58:00.001-07:00

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." (Psa.14:1)

There is much talk today of Atheism. I hear concern expressed with regards to such things as atheistic phrases on the sides of buses and billboards around the world.

These are certainly disturbing trends, nevertheless, I must respond to these concerns with a question: "Are these expressions of atheistic philosophy in word contrary to the overall human condition in practice?

In other words, is not man a practical atheist from birth? Does not the Bible describe the natural man as one alienated from the life of God and at enmity with Him?

The scriptures describe him as one who does not even want to retain the knowledge of God in his mind and when exposed to the truth seeks to suppress it.

Does not the above verse from the Psalms speak to us of man's evil heart? Out of this evil, atheistic heart flows the issues of life. So, what is it that flows from such an unbelieving heart?
Here it is declared that the outworkings of atheism are "abominable works" that show forth his unbelieving hatred of God.

Therefore, when we consider practical living, how many lives display what they profess to believe, that is, that there is a God who has given us life, who has given us direction for that life, and who rules over all things?

"And why call ye me, Lord,Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
(Luke6:46)

With this in view, is Atheism a minority report? Or, is it the testimony of the many, even among professed believers?

Is a phrase on the side of a bus really the issue, or is this simply a diversion that keeps us from facing our own "foolish" hearts and their outworkings of practical atheism?

My prayer is this: "I want faith in God to be expressed not just in my words, but also in my deeds! O' for grace to not display the attributes of a practical atheist!"

"No Greater Love"!

2009-10-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

"What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom.8:31-32)

What can one add to such profound questions as these? What can the flesh, the world, or the Devil do to seperate me from the grace of God by which I stand. I am captured by His unspeakable love and mercy that sought me and bought me and will never leave me nor forsake me!

We have every reason to be glad with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

A Dichotomy?

2009-09-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

In this post I want to share some ponderings of mine concerning the declarations of scripture that pertain to the believer and sometimes appear to be contradictory.

I first acknowledge and assert that I am convinced that there are no such contradictions in God's perfect and Holy word and that the difficulty lies in my lack of clarity and diligence.

Specifically, what I am referring to are particular statements that speak of "completed", "past tense" acts of God on behalf of the Christian which seem to stand in contrast to other statements that speak of these same acts as contingent on the believers actions.

For instance, Paul speaks of us as having been (past tense) crucified with Christ in various places in his letters: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." (Rom.6:6) And: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Gal.5:24) Also: "I am crucified with Christ...." (Gal.2:20)

But then, we have statements that Paul gives as his own testimony that speak of him "dying daily" and believers are exhorted to:
"...mortify the deeds of the body..." (Rom.8:13) And to: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;....." (Col.3:5) Then, just a few verses below this statement he again asserts a completed act: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:" (Col.3:9-10)

So, what am I then? Have I been crucified with Christ, put on the new man, been translated from darkness to light or am I laboring to attain these things?

The answer is YES to both!

I see in these declarations, "already and not yet" statements. What I mean is, we have described for us in scripture our "position" and our "walk", our "standing" and our "experience". That is, we are a completed work in Christ, yet we are striving to "walk" and "experience" these God wrought attributes in our earthly pilgrimage.
(Consider Paul's desire to "experience" the resurrection life in his earthly walk, Phil.3:10-11)

They are not automatically active. I think of some examples: "....work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil.2:12-13) There is a concurrence or confluence here that is going on between the working of God and the desire and efforts of the quickened, no longer dead in sins believer. God calls us to "fight the good fight of faith" and to "work out" what He has "worked in"! If it hasn't first been worked in it can't be worked out. As I heard someone say in the past: "You have to have a garden before you can work it out." God has given us an abundant "garden" of spiritual enablement and fruit!

Also note: (Phil.3:10-15) Here, Paul speaks in one verse of not having attained perfection and then shortly thereafter speaks of being perfect. Again, "walk" and "position".

There are many examples and illustrations of this in the epistles and I am reminded of another that we have been looking at in our Sunday night Bible study. It is found in 2Peter 1:3,5-7. Peter declares in verse 3 that: "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" then he goes on to exhort his readers to: ".....add to your faith virtue......"

Therefore, I am again confronted with a statement of God's "past tense" empowering and completed work and the Christian's responsibility to "walk" in it by faith.

Paul says in Romans 8:9, "....Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." And he reveals to us in Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the indwelling Spirit. This fruit includes "temperance" which Peter says in the above mentioned passage that we need to "add to faith"!

So, this begs the question, if we are believers, who are indwelt by the Spirit, who is the source of this attribute, then why isn't it just there when we get up in the morning?

How many times have I wished that were so! But, it is certain, that this is not whats best according to God's purposes for His children. He has ordained that we "feel" the "experience" of sanctificaton in this earthly journey, even though in Christ, we are fully sanctified.(1Cor.1:2/6:11/Heb.10:14) We are allowed to struggle in the fight and by this struggle we are driven to the word and prayer and to the acknowledgement of our need of other believers.

Yes, it is hard, but it is also good, and is evidently doing something for us that the instant experience of these attributes would not accomplish.

I will admit that many times I have desired more power, more faith, etc.,etc. But, I must now acknowledge the correction that the word has given me in Peter's second epistle: "According as his divine power hat given unto us ALL things that pertain unto life and godliness,...."

We have been told plainly that we have everything we need to live unto God and now I need to heed the words of Paul in Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Your observations please!

"Service with a Smile"

2009-09-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Only Our Duty

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

In the parable of a good servant, Jesus said: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” (Lk. 17:10)

Human nature, being what it is, demands recognition, even if its deeds are evil. This is a marked defining line between the carnal and the spiritual. The carnal nature of man starves for self-glorification, while the heaven born spiritual nature strives to glorify God and the Lord Jesus Christ. One who must constantly be fed recognition to continue in the way of righteousness steals that which does not belong to him. All real glory belongs to God; “self” must be lost in giving glory to God. Honest obedience to the Word and the will of God is done with the thought of “it’s only our duty, for only He is worthy.” The believer gives himself to faithful service so that the Master might be glorified and find no more motivation than love for duty.

If one’s life is spent in the service of the Lord and Master, it is merely spent in doing his just duties. Duty to the Father demands no special acknowledgments. Doing one’s duty is expected of faithful servants. To serve as a living sacrifice that is acceptable unto God is no more and no less than the believer’s reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1) Not to do so is to be unreasonable, and it is to be an evil servant. To do what is commanded is to do one’s duty. Perhaps the atmosphere in the assembly of saints would change if “serving hidden personal agendas” would change to the fulfilling of one’s duty unto the LORD. Being king of the mountain is so insignificant in the shadow of the King of kings upon Mt. Zion. There is only one King in the kingdom.

Duty can either be slavery in the darkest of dungeons because of the lustful pride of the heart, or it can be a celebration of joys because of the love of the heart for the Master. Burdens become menial tasks when yoked with heavenly love. Duty is a matter of the heart! The greater love one has for the King of kings, the greater celebration of joys he has for every opportunity to faithfully complete his duty in fullness of glory to the LORD! Duty with honor is always the mark of a good and faithful servant. To some, “duty” is a harsh demanding word; but for those in love with Jesus, it is a blessed opportunity.

This Pastor's comments confronted me again with a dose of reality with regards to who we are, whose we are, and how we got there!

Prayer Changes Us

2009-09-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

The Power And Purpose Of Prayer

We've been taught that prayer changes things. In view of God's sovereignty, what is the role of prayer in a Christian's life?

First of all, we need to establish that it is the sovereign God who not only invites us but commands us to pray. Prayer is a duty, and as we perform that duty, one thing for sure is going to be changed, and that is us. To live a life of prayer is to live a life of obedience to God.

Also, we must understand that there is more to prayer than intercession and supplication. When the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray,” they saw a connection between the power of Jesus and the impact of his ministry and the time he spent in prayer. Obviously, the Son of God felt that prayer was a very valuable enterprise because he gave himself to it so deeply and passionately. But I was surprised that he answered the question by saying, “Here’s how you ought to pray,” and gave them the Lord’s Prayer. I would have expected Jesus to answer that question a different way: “You want to know how to pray? Read the Psalms,” because there you see inspired prayer. The Spirit himself, who helps us to pray, inspired the prayers that are recorded in the Psalms. When I read the Psalms, I read intercession and I read supplication, but overwhelmingly what I read is a preoccupation with adoration, with thanksgiving, and with confession. Take those elements of prayer, and what happens to a person who learns how to adore God? That person is changed. What happens to a person who learns how to express his gratitude to God? That person will now become more and more aware of the hand of Providence in his life and will grow in his sense of gratitude toward God. What happens to the person who spends time confessing his sins? He keeps in front of his mind the holiness of God and the necessity of keeping short accounts with God.

But can our requests change God’s sovereign plan? Of course not. When God sovereignly declares that he is going to do something, all of the prayers in the world aren’t going to change God’s mind. But God not only ordains ends, he also ordains means to those ends, and part of the process he uses to bring his sovereign will to pass are the prayers of his people. And so we are to pray.

©1996 by
R.C. Sproul. Used by permission of Tyndale.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. ©1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"...Christ who is our Life..."

2009-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
(Col.3:1-4)

GOOD NEWS! GLAD TIDINGS! THE GOSPEL!

Because He lives, I live also!

In the beginning....

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
(Gen.2:7)

But then....

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Rom.5:12)

Mankind was plunged into darkness and alienation from the life of God! (Eph.4:18)

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."
(John 1:4-5,10)

Therefore, is there any hope of life?

Jesus says: "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Mat.4:4)

and when questioned concerning the requirements to attain unto eternal life He responds: "....but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Mat.19:17)

But we know, for the children of Adam, these words serve to dash our hopes!

"And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death."
(Rom.7:10)
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom.3:20)

But God, who is rich in mercy..... HOPE RESTORED!

by... the "promise of life which is in Christ Jesus," and the bringing to light life and immortality through the gospel.
(2Tim.1:1,10)

by the revelation of another law.... "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom.8:2)

we have been.... "begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," (1Pet.1:3)

Our gaze is now drawn and directed to Christ, who is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, by our "schoolmaster".

"For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light." (Psa.36:9)

The "life" has come...."I am the resurrection and the life:.../"I am the way, the truth, and the life:..../Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 11:25,14:6,19)

"For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;"(1John1:2)

We no longer abide in death--we abide in the life and light of the Son and He abides in us!

"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." (Rom.14:8)

We are His Holy dwelling place...."....for ye are the temple of the living God;..."(2Cor.6:16)

and..."He that hath the Son hath life;" (1John 5:12)

Behold, old things have passed away: Self- preservation has passed away: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." (John 12:25)
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself,...." (Acts 20:24)
"...and they loved not heir lives unto the death."
(Rev. 12:11)

So then we must confess with Paul...."I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."(Gal.2:20)

We are a "new creation", a people who live by the Spirit..."But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit." (1Cor.6:17)
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Gal.5:25)

and we can say with confidence..."For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
(Phil.1:21)

We have been given boldness to enter into the Holiest of all! How?

"By a new and living way,..." (Heb.10:20)

and also, we have been given the glorious privilege of testifying to this "Life".

"Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life."
(Acts 5:20)
"Holding forth the word of life;...." (Phil.2:16)

Truly, God has spoken to us and made plain that: "In him we live, and move, and have our being;"!

The Genuine Article

2009-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Jesus speaks of an attribute of His disciples that would set them apart as truly being His followers.
This attribute would be their sacrificial love for one another.
This is that "family resemblence" that cannot be mimicked or counterfeited by Satan like most other religious "doings" because he knows nothing about it.

This is supernatural, an indwelling of the Spirit of Christ, that makes Christianity shine above all of man's religious practice and devotion.

This must be the foundation of true faith, that is, "faith that worketh by love."

This is the first thing to fall by the wayside or to be absent when dead orthodoxy takes over.

This is the characteristic of biblical Christianity that Satan cannot abide!

If such love is missing then all our efforts are certainly paltry imitations at best.

As Paul writes:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. (cold,dead noise)
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. (empty religious motions)
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." (charity without charity)
(1Cor.13:1-3)

Such a love makes evident and plain that a radical transformation has taken place. All the religious ceremony and intellect in the world cannot compare to this!

"The Perfect Human Trap"

2009-08-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
(Gen.3:6)

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
(1John2:16)

There is a perfect trap available. This trap works wonderfully and if one uses this trap they are guaranteed success!
This trap is not a new invention, it is of old, from ancient times.
Also, we need to understand that this trap is not engineered to catch four legged critters, no,it is much more advanced and is capable of snaring the most intelligent class of homo sapien!
This trap never needs to be hidden, nor does the bait ever have to be changed, it works for both the male and the female prey!

Isn't it amazing what easy prey we are in the flesh? This trap worked so well on our first parents who were in a state of innocence, how much better will it work on a race that is now at enmity with God and full of self-love?

This world operates and thrives on these three "baits". They all cater to our falleness and appeal to our never satisfied appetites for self-gratification and exaltation.

Where would be without the one who "sets the captives free"?
Where would we be without the renewing of our minds?
Where would we be without a faithful Father who again and again corrects us and brings us back into the safe path?
Without God's prevenient grace I would have no hope!

Satan truly, has the "perfect human trap", but the Lord Jesus is infinitely stronger than this strong trapper of men!

I must constantly be reminded, as I walk through this trap infested world, of the words of our Lord, who did not please Himself, but instead, ever sought to honor and glorify the Father, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mat.26:41)

Also, Paul's words to the Ephesians apply here: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
(Eph.5:15-16)

May we walk by the Spirit and watch our steps, lest we place our foot in one of the many traps that surround us and even abide in our own hearts!

Without Him I can do nothing!

"Gifts of the Spirit"

2009-08-20T08:47:00.001-07:00

In this post my desire is to invite discussion on the subject of "gifts of the Spirit". Specifically, what are commonly referred to as "sign gifts", that is, the gifts of tongues, healing abilities, etc.
So, my focus will be limited to these particular kinds of gifts and not such gifts as teaching and the like.
I am throwing this together in a hurry and I do not intend for this initial post of mine to be exhaustive but intend for it to simply spur a fellowship of discussion. I will start with the gift of tongues.

Let me begin by asking some opening questions and giving my understanding of these gifts at this point in my life:

1.)What are "tongues"? (a language/Acts 2:4-11, 1 Cor.12:28,13:1)

2.)What were they for? (a sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit/ Mark 16:17, Acts 10:44-46,19:6)
(a sign to the Jew/ of blessing when spoken by a Jew: Acts 2:4-11/ of judgement when spoken by a gentile: Deut.28:49,Isa.28:11,Acts 10:44-46,1Cor.14:21-22)
(for the purpose of declaring the gospel/ Acts 2:4-11)
(for establishing doctrine/ 1Cor. 14:6)

3.)Who used them? (Apostles/1Cor.13:1,14:6,14-15,18)
(some early believers/ Mark 16:17,Acts 10:44-46,19:6,1Cor.12:10,30)

4.)How were they used? (in an orderly manner/ 1Cor.14:13,26-28/ with need of an interpreter)

5.) What was said about them? (Temporary/1Cor.13:8)(a sign to the Jew/1Cor.14:21-22)
(prophesy was better because it edified others/ 1Cor.14:1,3-5,23-25)
(words that could be understood were better and edified the church/ 1Cor.14:9,11-12,14-17,19)

One thing that I have also noted about the "sign gifts" is their apparent focus on Israel and The Jew. The Jews were a "sign nation", that is, their history was one marked by requiring "signs" in order to believe. (1Cor.1:22)
They had begun as a nation under the deliverance of Moses to expect such "proofs"
(Ex.4:1-9)Recall their regular request of signs in the gospels.
It appears to me that in the "early church" period in which the Corinthian letters would fall these "sign gifts" were still in operation and had as their main end a testimony and witness to the Jew as long as priority was still being given to them ("to the Jew first").

Hopefully, this is enough to get the conversation going! As I said, I am seeking input on this subject and have included the discussion starters above for that purpose.

So, I await your thoughts, observations, additions, subtractions, etc!

No Tongue Can Express

2009-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

"When I am told that God became man, I can follow the idea, but I just do not understand what it means. For what man, if left to his natural promptings, if he were God, would humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang upon a cross? God laid upon Christ the iniquities of us all.

This is that ineffible and infinite mercy of God which the slender capacity of man's heart cannot comprehend and much less utter--that unfathomable depth and burning zeal of God's love toward us. And truly the magnitude of God's mercy engenders in us not only a hardness to believe but also incredulity itself.
For I hear not only that the omnipotent God, the creator and maker of all things, is good and merciful, but also that the Supreme Majesty was so concerned for me, a lost sinner, a son of wrath and of everlasting death, that he spared not his own Son but delivered him to the most ignominious death, that, hanging between two thieves, he might be made a curse and sin for me, a cursed sinner, that I might be made just, blessed, a son and heir of God.
Who can sufficiently declare this exceeding great goodness of God? Therefore the holy Scripture speaks of far other than philosophical or political matters, namely of the unspeakable and utterly divine gifts, which far surpass the capacity both of men and of angels."
(Martin Luther)

Luther at Worms

2009-08-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Prayer of Luther at Diet of Worms

Luther at Worms, before the second day at trial:

"O Almighty and Everlasting God! How terrible is this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth to swallow me up, and I have so little trust in Thee! . . . How weak is the flesh, and how powerful is Satan! If it is in the strength of this world only that I must put my trust, all is over! My last hour is come, my condemnation has been pronounced! O God! O God! . . . O God! do Thou help me against all the wisdom of the world! Do this; Thou shouldest do this. . . . Thou alone . . . for this is not my work, but Thine. I have nothing to do here, nothing to contend for with these great ones of the world! I should desire to see my days flow on peaceful and happy. But the cause is Thine . . . and it is a righteous and eternal cause. O Lord! help me! Faithful and unchangeable God! In no man do I place my trust. It would be vain! All that is of man is uncertain; all that cometh of man fails. . . . O God! my God, hearest Thou me not? . . . My God, art Thou dead? . . . No! Thou canst not die! Thou hidest Thyself only! Thou has chosen me for this work. I know it well! . . . Act, then, O God . . . stand at my side, for the sake of Thy well-beloved Jesus Christ, who is my defense, my shield, and my strong tower. — Lord! where stayest Thou? O my God! where art Thou? . Come! come! I am ready! I am ready to lay down my life for Thy truth . . . patient as a lamb. For it is the cause of justice – it is Thine! . . . I will never separate myself from Thee, neither now nor through eternity! . . . And though the world should be filled with devils, – though my body, which is still the work of Thy hands, should be slain, be stretched upon the pavement, be cut in pieces . . . reduced to ashes . . . my soul is Thine! . . . Yes! I have the assurance of Thy Word. My soul belongs to Thee! It shall abide forever with Thee. . . . Amen! . . . O God! help me! . . . Amen”

Truly, in our day also, the battle is the LORD's! He is our mighty fortress!

Apathy Considered

2009-07-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

Who Cares?

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” (Psalm 142:5) To the Laodicean church Jesus said: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16)

David hounded by King Saul found himself trapped in the midst of overwhelming odds. As he looked around he could see no one to trust, and no one who really cared if he lived or died. His words were: “no one cared for my soul.” Saul cared; that is why he hunted him, to kill him. God cared; that is why He rescued him from a state of no hope. Those who were apathetic did not care one way or the other; they were “neither cold nor hot.” If he lived or died was his own problem; after all, we have our own lives to live and things to do!

That is the point about apathy; it cannot look beyond itself, and “sufficient for me is all I need.” Apathy is unconcerned about others. Apathy lacks interest and attention in spiritual matters. Apathy is unresponsive to the preaching of the Word of God. Apathy is unmoved by the multitudes dying condemned to an eternity in the Lake of Fire. Apathy is uncommitted to the witness of Jesus, to the study of the Word of God, and to a prayer life filled with a burden for the salvation of others. Apathy is void of all spiritual zeal. It has a “ho-hum” attitude. Apathy cares for no one but “self.”

“Apathetic” describes the character of most churches today. Their interest in heavenly matters is all but non-existent. At the preaching of “thus saith the Lord,” there is hardly anyone responding. Hearts are unmoved, tears have vanished away, and consciences are void of feelings. The common attitude is “it has nothing to do with me.” If souls are lost for all eternity, “what is that to me”? Apathy in the churches makes the Lord Jesus want to vomit!!!! It is better for a church that is refusing to be made hot in the zeal of God for the witness of Jesus Christ to close its doors than to remain self-righteously indifferent in His sovereign truth. Perhaps, if the ax were laid to the root of dead churches, others would pray for a rekindling of that Spirit-filled fire of the witness of Christ. CARE and LIVE!!!

A Takeover by Birth

2009-07-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Some Startling Statistics!

Hope is.....

2009-07-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Our Lord Jesus Christ:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;" (1Tim.1:1)

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" (Titus 2:13)

What a sure hope we have as believers! In Christ there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION! This is the sure hope that enabled Paul and Silas to sing in the prison at midnight even after being severly beaten.
This is the sure hope that enables Christian martyrs in the past and in the present to face death with the assurance and unwavering resolve which stirs them to declare:

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom.8:18)

How wonderful to contemplate the day when this faith and hope become sight!

He is Near

2009-07-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

I was reading a quote from Calvin last night and was reminded again of God's abundant goodness to us. He truly sheds His grace upon us in manifold ways.

Calvin says: "When the church has good and faithful teachers and others that labor to show us the way of salvation, it is a sign that our Lord Jesus Christ has not left us, nor forgotten us, but that he is present with us, and watches for our salvation."

Isn't it wonderful beyond description to know that when one of God's people speaks His word to us or ministers to us, it is Christ who is present speaking and ministering!

As Peter declares: "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen
(1Pet.4:10-11)

Geneva

2009-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

"Ever since in the creation of the universe he brought forth those insignia whereby he shows his glory to us, whenever and wherever we cast our gaze...And since the glory of his power and wisdom shine more brightly above, heaven is often called his palace. Yet...wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory."
(John Calvin/Institutes 1.5.1)

Here are some of the photos that were taken in Geneva at St. Pierre Cathedral:

1.)R.C. preaching in the Cathedral of St.Pierrre where Calvin preached.
2.)The Bell towers of the church.
3.)Me and Calvin's chair!
4.)The front entrance to the church.(the massiveness of which is not really captured by pictures!)

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2009-07-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

I receive these brief devotionals on a regular basis from this pastor and here is another that spoke to my heart.

Forsaken by All

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

By heaven’s eternal decree, Jesus came into the world for the ultimate purpose of dying upon the cross. When He was working miracles, multitudes flocked to Him. When He fed the multitudes, they gladly took all they could from Him. However, when Jesus began to teach hard things, the multitudes dwindled to the few. When Jesus was determined to do the will of the Father and to finish the work for which He was sent, it is written: “And they all forsook him, and fled.” (Mk. 14:50) Jesus was left alone to fulfill the will of the Father. Forsaken by all, Jesus finished the work for which He was sent. The Sacrificial Lamb of God died upon the cross, forsaken by all.

When Paul the Apostle stood to give his defense in the judgment hall, he said: “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me...” In Paul’s determination to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences, he found himself abandoned by man, especially when it came to the heaviest yoke of the calling. Yet, in contrast to the Lord, Paul wrote: “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me...” (II Tim. 4:16,17) Man forsook him, but God did not; God ever remained his Comforter.

When Joshua was commissioned by God after the death of Moses, God told him: “...as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage...” (Josh. 1:5,6) In his calling he would be alone to fulfill his duty, but God promised not to forsake him, and He never did.

King David wrote: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. ... For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever...” (Ps. 37:25,28) God never forsakes the righteous!

The heavenly calling of God frequently brings one to journey through the valley forsaken by all men. No man can tell you how to fulfill the purpose of God for your life. Those closest to Jesus tried to stop Him from going to the cross. Those closest to Paul tried to stop him from fulfilling his destiny. The hardest part of God’s calling is when those closest to you THINK they know what the purpose of God is for you, even better than you know what it is. Do what God has called YOU to do, and He will never leave you standing alone!

Experiential Knowledge

2009-07-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

To Know the Love of Christ

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

It is written: “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”(Eph. 3:19)

Three things need to be noticed in this passage:

First, - TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST - It is one thing to hear about the love of Jesus Christ but quite another to know intimately the love of Christ. Folks may hear about the love my wife and I have for each other, and they may even witness the evidence of it; but they do not know it intimately because this love is not directed towards any outsider. It is the breadth and length the depth and height of our personal relationship that makes it peculiar to us. No one knows the quintessential of this love but we. So it is with knowing through a personal relationship the love of Jesus Christ. Religionists are mere wishful thinkers, outsiders, and “Peeping Toms” lusting for what they do not have. Yet, to know Christ is to know the love of the Christ. Only true salvation can bring this intimate relationship.

Second, - THE LOVE OF CHRIST PASSES KNOWLEDGE - It is amazing how the unregenerate know exactly what the love of Christ ought to be; but in truth they know absolutely nothing. According to the Holy Scriptures, the love of Christ surpasses the knowledge of man. Those who have in fact experienced the saving grace of God and the love of Christ that was responsible for purchasing their salvation know they do not fully comprehend what kind of love this is or what prompted such great love towards them.

Third, - THE LOVE OF CHRIST FILLS ONE WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD - How does one fathom all the fullness of God filling up the knower (not hearer) by the love of Jesus Christ? Yet, as it is written, to comprehend with all saints the breadth and length, the depth and height, and to know the love of Christ fills one with all the fullness of God. It has its beginning in the heavenly birth, and it grows by an interactive loving and knowing relationship with Jesus which opens the reservoirs of the soul to be flooded with the fullness of God. The saints have yet to even scratch the surface of the wonders of it all. To know the love of Christ is the fueling energy of one’s rejoicing in the spirit with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

"After Darkness Light"

2009-07-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some scenes from Wittenberg. This is that well known place of the posting of the 95 Theses and it is also where Martin Luther and Philip Melancthon spent most of their time teaching and preaching.
In this first post I have included a picture of an original copy of the aforementioned 95 Theses.
Second, there is a view of the inside of the "Castle Church" where Luther nailed the Theses (written in Latin) to the door in order to elicit academic discussion. (and we know the rest of the story! The Theses was instead taken and translated into German and spread far and wide.)
Thirdly, there is a picture of the room and table where the famous "table talks" would take place. While these theological discussions were occuring students were able to sit around the walls of the room which were equipped with benches and glean from the learned conversations.
Fourth, the towers of St. Marys church are seen. This is where Luther and Melancthon preached and held services for the town.

More to come!

Reformation Needed Again

2009-06-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

We are back from an experience of Sixteenth century Reformation history. It was thrilling to stand in some of the places that played such an important role in the recovery of Gospel light. The sights of ancient churches and documents relating to these years of struggle were truly inspiring.
We were blessed by the teaching of R.C. Sproul during our tours and we especially counted it a privilege to hear him preach in the churches where Calvin and Luther preached in Geneva and Wittenberg.
There was though, and is, sadness in the midst of all of this enjoyment. The sadness springs from the present spiritual state of the European countries where such great light shown forth in times past.
These nations that have been so blessed have now seemingly fallen back into spiritual apathy and darkness once again. Moral looseness is evident everywhere.
There appears to be no comprehension of spiritual or eternal things. Life is about this present world and fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
How tragic to see churches that were once places where the power of the gospel was boldly declared standing now as mere museums and memorials!
This is the case in both Catholic and Protestant churches!
On a train ride to Berlin I had the opportunity to speak with an elderly German woman who seemed to be quite surprised that we in America were there because of interest in the Reformation. She made it clear that most people in that country were no longer interested in these things or, for that matter, the things of God in general.
I was able to share with this lady, who had been raised in Catholicism, some of the truths regarding how we are justified and the issues that the Reformation revolved around. (I pray God will give the increase in her life!)
She seemed to be genuinely interested in what I was telling her.
My heart cried out inside because she is one of millions abiding in this same hopelessness!
One of the famous statements made with regard to the reformation in the sixteenth century was, "AFTER DARKNESS LIGHT"
Once again we need such light because, once again, darkness has enveloped the lands of our Forebearers!
There is certainly a famine in the land, not of bread or of material things, but of hearing the word of God and of being changed by the Spirit.
My burden is for God's light to once again shine forth and dispell the darkness that is taking soul after soul into a Christless eternity, not just for Europe but for our nation as well.

Brave Soldiers

2009-06-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

This quote is taken from a sermon given by Charles Spurgeon at the time of the "Down Grade Controversy".

"We must never hide our colors. There are times when we must dash to the front and court the encounter, when we see that our Captain's honor demands it. Let us never be either ashamed or afraid. Our Lord Jesus deserves that we should yield ourselves as willing sacrifices in defense of His faith. Ease, reputation, life itself, must go for the name and faith of Jesus. If in the heat of the battle our good name or our life must be risked to win the victory, then let us say, "In this battle some of us must fall; why should not I? I will take part and lot with my Master and bear reproach for His sake. Only brave soldiers are worthy of our great Lord. Those who sneak into the rear, that they may be comfortable, are not worthy of the kingdom...
Brethren, we must be willing to bear ridicule for Christ's sake, even that peculiarly envenomed ridicule which "the cultured" are so apt to pour upon us. We must be, willing to be thought great fools for Jesus sake... For my part I am willing to be ten thousand fools in one for my dear Lord and Master, and count it to be the highest honor that can be put upon me to be stripped of every honor and loaded with every censure for the sake of the grand old truth which is written on my very heart...
Before I could quit my faith I should have to be ground to powder, and every seperate atom transformed."

Let us pray for strength to stand and contend always for the faith once delivered to the Saints!!

The Justice of God

2009-05-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

"I greatly longed to understand Paul's epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, "the justice of God," because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust.
My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him.
Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant.

Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that "the just shall live by his faith." Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the "justice of God" had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven....

If you have a true faith that Christ is your Saviour, then at once you have a gracious God, for faith leads you in and opens up God's heart and will, that you should see pure grace and overflowing love. This it is to behold God in faith that you should look upon his fatherly, friendly heart, in which there is no anger nor ungraciousness. He who sees God as angry does not see him rightly but looks only on a curtain, as if a dark cloud had been drawn across his face."

--MARTIN LUTHER--

"Symptoms"

2009-05-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

When considering the lack of evangelical zeal in our day I would have to confess that the following quote, in large part, captures the heart of the problem.

"Nothing shuts the mouth, seals the lips, ties the tongue, like the poverty of our own spiritual experience."
(John R. Stott)

"...and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13)

Stand Fast

2009-05-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

"It is today as it was in the time of the Reformation: decision is needed. Here is the day for the man, where is the man for the day? We who have had the gospel passed to us by martyr's hands dare not trifle with it, nor sit by and hear it denied by traitors, who pretend to love it, but inwardly abhor every line of it. The faith I hold bears upon it the marks of the blood of my ancestors. Shall I deny their faith, for which they left their native land to sojourn here? Shall we cast away the treasure which was handed to us through the bars of prisons, or came to us charred with the flames of those burned at Smithfield? Personally, when my bones have been tortured with rheumatism, I have remembered Job Spurgeon, doubtless of my own stock, who in Chelmsford Jail was allowed a chair, because he could not lie down by reason of rheumatic pain. That Quaker's broad-brim over shadows my brow. Perhaps I inherited his rheumatism; but that I do not regret if I have his stubborn faith, which will not let me yield a syllable of the truth of God. When I think of how others have suffered for the faith, a little scorn or unkindness seems a mere trifle not worthy of mention. Having so many ancestors who were lovers of the faith before us, ought to be a great plea with us to ourselves abide by the Lord God of our Fathers, and the faith in, which they lived. As for me, I must hold the old gospel: I can do no other. God helping me, I will endure the consequences of what men think in obstinacy. Look you, sirs, there are ages yet to come. If the Lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation, and another, and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and to His truth today. We have come to a turning point in the road. If we turn to the right, perhaps our children and our children's children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His word. I charge you, not only by your ancestry, but by your posterity (on behalf of your children...and your children's children), that you seek to win the commendation of your master, that though you dwell where Satan's seat is, you yet hold fast His name, and do not deny His faith. God grant us faithfulness, for the sake of the souls around us! How is the world to be saved if the church is false to her Lord? How are we to lift the masses if our fulcrum is removed? If our gospel is uncertain, what remains but increasing misery and despair? Stand fast, my beloved, in the name of God! I, your brother in Christ, entreat you to abide in the truth. Handle yourselves like men! Be strong! And may the Lord sustain you....Amen"
(C.H.Spurgeon)

Book Quotes

2009-05-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spingtime."
(Martin Luther)

"By reading the Scriptures, I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet."
(Thomas Merton)

"No book is worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond."
(C.S.Lewis)

"When I get a little money, I buy books; and if there is any left, I buy food and clothes."
(Desiderius Erasmus)

(The last quote is especially aimed toward Mr. David Smithey!)

Times of Refreshing

2009-05-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

My heart is always blessed and stirred whenever I read the accounts of past Spiritual Awakenings and revivings of God's work on the earth.
Many times throughout human history God has been pleased to "make bare His arm" and to send forth in extraordinary measure His grace and power.
I was reminded again of this "special" and "mysterious" work of God as I read the observation of J.Fordyce in regards to the character of the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century.

Fordyce writes,

"These preachers did not care much to argue much about the existence of God, the probabilities connected with a future life, or the reasonableness of Christianity.
To them Christ was a real Being, and His Gospel a real salvation; to them this salvation was not a future prospect, but a present and conscious possession; to them the Bible did not merely contain things of high value - it was the word of the living God, the full and final word on all matters connected with man's highest life here and hereafter.
Believing all this with intensity of faith, they spoke out of full hearts, and their word was with power; their gospel became the 'power of God unto salvation' to many thousands.
Hence the new life and quickening experienced far and wide; hence the crowds that gathered round these new preachers, wherever they stood up to speak.
Men who could see nothing in the logic of Berkeley or the ethics of Butler, for whom Paley's twelve men had no message, saw before them, felt within them, new manifestations of Divine power.
God not only lived somewhere and somehow: He was actually present among them.
The triumphs of Christianity and the living power of Christ were not merely found in the records of early history, in the thousands of Pentecost, or the heroes and martyrs of a later age; they were to be seen and felt in every city, town, and village of old England.
Thus without any reasoning, with but little argument, the Deistic position was completely undermined, and the walls of the proud Jericho of eighteenth-century unbelief fell flat before the blasts of the new evangel."

May the Lord of the Harvest stir our hearts afresh to the present reality of our Savior and our salvation!

"......and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Mat.28:20b)

"After the Counsel of His Own Will"

2009-04-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:" (Eph.1:11)

When the matter of God's sovereignty arises in a discussion it is usually not long before the question of God's role in regards to evil comes up.
Is God truly in control of all things? Is He also sovereign over evil? If so, what is the purpose of evil being allowed and used by God in His creation?
I believe it is evident in scripture that God is God all the time. He is sovereign over evil as well as good. He has no co-regent in heaven or earth and there is nothing that happens or unfolds apart from His purpose and will.
So if one asserts that God is truly in control at all times, then concerning the matter of evil, what could possibly be the redeeming value and purpose of this ordained evil? Certainly, in and of itself, as an end in itself, evil might be looked upon as having no legitimate place in God's creation. But what if it is not seen or purposed as an end in itself?

While recently reading "Desiring God" by John Piper I was helped to see this very thing. One of the appendixes of this book concerns the topic of God's ordaining of evil and its good purpose.
Piper quotes Jonathan Edwards in this portion and I believe Edward's insight on the "problem of evil" gives much light on this subject. Light that will enable the believer to come to the place of a confident rest in God no matter the outward or inward circumstances.
Piper refers to it as being brought to the place of a "God-entranced world-view."

Edwards comments, "It is a proper and excellant thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God's glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent, that the beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested, and another not at all.....
Thus it is necessary, that God's awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God's glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all.
If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God's holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference, in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God's grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired....
So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature's happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect."

"Through the Blood of His Cross"

2009-04-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven." (Col.1:19-20)

"The chief aim of the enemy's assaults is to get rid of Christ, to get rid of the atonement, to get rid of his suffering in the place of men. Some say they can embrace the rest of the gospel. But what "rest" is there? What is there left? A bloodless, Christless gospel is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill. It neither honors God nor converts men." (C.H. Spurgeon)

Shining Faces

2009-04-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how the presence, the indwelling Spirit, and the word and wisdom of God make the faces of His people shine!

"And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
And when Aaron and all the chidren of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh unto him." (Ex.34:29-30)

"Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed."
(Eccl.8:1)

"Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business....
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,....(Acts 6:3,5)

But the people could not bear this Holy boldness and the light that shone from this man who was full of God's Spirit, so they brought him before their council....

"And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." (Acts 6:15)

May we all stand before this present evil world with shining faces that witness to the fact that we are the Lord's people and are the temples of the Holy Ghost!

"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"
(Phil.2:15)

"IS THERE NOT A CAUSE?"

2009-04-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Brothers and Sisters, Is there not a cause in our land today?

I recalled the response of David to his brother as Israel cowered before Goliath, "And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" (1Sam.17:28-29)

We face giants today that seem to be looked upon with apathy and little concern by most professed Christianity! Our nation is running headlong into destruction and for the most part we continue just plodding along in our day to day activities. Is there no man to stand in the gap?
Where are the Davids, the Elijahs? Where are the Whitefields, the Rowlands and the many other valiant soldiers of the cross? Have we all become statues of stone? Do we not see the degradation, the mockery of God and His word? Where is the holy boldness that filled those in the early church? Where are the preachers in the open fields, the heralds of God who walk the highways and byways of our land thundering out the word of God unapologetically? Is there not a cause?
Are we afraid of the naysayers or of the opposition of this world? Do we fear men more than God? David was accused falsely and belittled by his own brother, nevertheless, he boldly confessed and was willing to stand in the power of the God of Israel! Are we?

Brothers and Sisters, please pray that God would say unto His Elijahs, Arise!

Brothers and Sisters, THERE IS A CAUSE!

Beholding His Glory

2009-04-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

There is a Glory that could not be looked upon by sinful man....

"And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.... Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." (Ex.33:18,20)

If man looks upon the unveiled face and glory of the righteous lawgiver he will surely die!

There is a Glory which sinful man must look upon....

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John1:14)

"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them..... For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2Cor.4:4,6)

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" (Heb.1:3)

If man looks upon the face and glory of God manifested in flesh, the Savior full of grace and truth, he shall surely live!

Not only will he live, but he will be changed into the same glorious image!

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
(2Cor.3:18)

What a joyous truth! We are being conformed to the image of the Son! Though often not perceived by us, we are being wrought upon by the Holy Spirit and are being transformed. And, one day soon this transformation will be consummated and complete.... "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1John3:2)

"OMNIPOTENCE"

2009-04-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

"And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." (Gen.18:13-14)

"Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah saying,
Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"
(Jer.32:26-27)

Our God truly reigns! The declarations in scripture of God's infinite power have often been my refuge in times of gloom and discouragement.
When one looks around today at the state of our world and more specifically the state of our nation it is easy to be overwhelmed with a sense of despair.
But, is anything too hard for the LORD?

This question calls me to gaze to the maker of all things, the creator who spoke and it was done!
Our nation is certainly in a grave state. But, is anything too hard for the LORD?

I see rampant immorality on every hand and a disdain for God and His word, even among those who claim to believe in God. But, is anything too hard for the LORD?

I must admit, I am often guilty of forgetting this truth about God and of leaning to my own understanding. Many times I project, by my demeanor and thoughts, that things are too hard for the LORD.

Can God bring awakening and revival to America? Is anything too hard for the LORD?

Absolutely not! He is the God of all flesh, His arm is not shortened that He cannot save and He rules in heaven and on earth!

I pray to my Almighty God for my nation this prayer: "O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." (Hab.3:2)

God can revive us and turn us from death unto life! Is anything too hard for the LORD?

"Hath God Said?"

2009-04-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share todays post from Albert Mohler's Blog in which he writes concerning an article that continues the relentless attack on the word of God.

Fighting Words about the Bible?

The Monday "On Religion" feature in USA Today is consistently interesting, even if often exasperating. That is what should be expected of an opinion column -- strong opinions in both the column and the reaction it prompts. Well, get ready to form your own opinion about today's feature, for it is likely to make a lot of waves.
Tom Krattenmaker, a Portland, Oregon based member of the paper's Board of Contributors, levels a broadside attack on the unity, inspiration, and veracity of the Bible as the Word of God in his column, "Fightin' Words".

Krattenmaker first celebrates what he describes as "a year of retreat and retrench" for conservative Christianity. Now, he says, "here come more challenges to traditionalist views of the Bible and Christian faith from a lineup of big-name, liberal-leaning scholars and theologians."

First up on Krattenmaker's list is Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina. As Krattenmaker explains, Ehrman "mounts evidence against literalist conceptions of the Bible as factual history and a divinely transmitted testament to an afterlife-focused religion called Christianity."

Further:
If the Bible is the literal word of God, Ehrman asks, how could it be inconsistent on so many details large and small? Let's start with an example appropriate to the just-concluded Easter season marking the Savior's death and resurrection: As Jesus was dying on the cross, was he in agony, questioning why God had forsaken him? Or was he serene, praying for his executioners? It depends, Ehrman points out, on whether you're reading the Gospel of Mark or Luke. Regarding Jesus' birthplace of Bethlehem, had his parents traveled there for a census (Luke's version) or is it where they happened to live (Matthew's version)? Did Jesus speak of himself as God? (Yes, in John; no, in Matthew.)

Bart Ehrman has established himself as the media's go-to professor in terms of denying the truthfulness and unity of the Bible, especially the New Testament. Ehrman, who has written several best-selling books seeking to debunk and discredit the New Testament and classical Christianity, is a popularizer for many accusations long alleged against the Bible. He takes passages (such as the passion passages from Mark and Luke) and sees contradictions where the church has always seen complimentary accounts. Christ did indeed utter the cry of God-forsakenness recounted by Mark, but this was itself a citation of the Psalms that points to a much different purpose and meaning than Ehrman implies. Which is the true account, Mark or Luke? It takes very little imagination to understand that, in the crucible of the crucifixion event, Jesus experienced both the agony of the God-forsakenness he experienced (and knew He was meant to experience on behalf of sinners) and the serenity that He also experienced, given his faith in the Father's purposes and power to raise him from the dead.

Of course, if you are coming to the Bible from the perspective of one who has rejected Christianity, you are likely to see the kind of pattern Ehrman alleges. Of course, if he did see the Bible as the perfect and completely truthful Word of God, he would not remain a rejecter of the Christian Gospel.

No one comes to the Bible without presuppositions and a basic intellectual disposition. That is true for Bart Ehrman, and it is no less true for the evangelical believer. In both cases, the presuppositions assign the way each will read the Bible. Krattenmaker simplistically cites Ehrman as his authority for suggesting that Jesus spoke of himself as God in John's gospel but not in Matthew. But this facile assertion, offered without any supporting argument, does not take in to account that throughout the Gospel of Matthew Jesus speaks and acts as God. When Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, He cites Scripture with the formula, "you have heard it said." When Jesus then continues by saying, "but I say unto you," He speaks as God in a way that any first-century Jewish person would have readily understood. Nature obeys his command, and he performs miracles (even bringing the dead back to life) that show his providential control over the created order.

The believing church has always understood that we need all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in order to understand all that we need to know about Jesus, his words, and the events of his earthly life and ministry. What sets the church apart from Bart Ehrman (and others who make such arguments) is that the church sees these four witnesses as complimentary and mutually supportive. Where we have difficulty understanding how one gospel relates to another we face a basic question -- one tied to the presuppositions we bring to our reading of the Bible. We will see the problem as lying either in our inability to understand the Bible or in the Bible's inability to offer a consistent and consistently truthful message.
The crux of Krattenmaker's argument comes here:

Ehrman's book has met with a fierce reaction from some quarters, which is understandable. Who among us isn't inclined to fight back when our deepest, most cherished beliefs are challenged? But there is no need to demonize him as a "wolf" on the prowl against the church, as one critic has. His ideas, like so many other new thoughts and new insights that keep coming around with the surety of the seasons, need not be regarded as insults against God or bids to prove the Bible false.

Krattenmaker argues that Ehrman's efforts to debunk the New Testament, along with other "new thoughts and new insights," "need not be regarded as insults against God or bids to prove the Bible false."

This claim makes sense if, and only if, Krattenmaker does not believe that "false" is the opposite of "true." Ehman openly and extensively makes his claim that the Bible is filled with error -- false information. Krattenmaker may wish to use euphemisms ("varying perspectives and changing interpretations"), but there is no way to reconcile Bart Ehrman's proposals with any claim that the Bible is, in any meaningful sense, true. Just in case anyone missed this point, Krattenmaker circles back to assert that "there is no denying the inconsistencies [Ehrman] surfaces between the various Gospels and letters that form the New Testament."

Krattenmaker also warns that defenders of "the conservative faith" face yet more -- including a new book by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. Again, Krattenmaker signals his glib affirmation of the argument put forth by Borg and Crossan by stating that the authors "point out that Paul didn't really write the more conservative teachings attributed to him." Point out? This is the kind of expression appropriate for some settings ( such as "Professor Smith pointed out that deceased people are dead") but not to the simple assertion that these two authors -- both of whom reject classical Christianity -- "point out" that Paul didn't write many of the letters assigned to him.

Borg and Crossan don't like what Paul writes in his letters about the roles of men and women, about homosexuality, and any number of issues. So, they propose that Paul actually didn't write those letters, and that a conservative conspiracy within the early church successfully changed Paul into a conservative himself. Like the infamous Jesus Seminar did with Jesus, Borg and Crossan do with Paul -- they create him in their own image, ready for tenure review at the local college's religious studies faculty.

The agenda of the biblical revisionists is clear. If the Bible is a collection of merely human documents that are internally contradictory, indicating an underlying diversity of conflicting interpretations of Christ and the Gospel, we are left with no authority for knowing what Christianity is. Accordingly, we can now make it in our own image.

USA Today bills the "On Religion" column as a means of "illuminating the national conversation." Well, Tom Krattenmaker's column is certainly illuminating. But what it illuminates is what Tom Krattenmaker, Bart Ehrman, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan believe about the Bible, and thus about Christianity. Consider yourself illuminated.

www.AlbertMohler.com

"Because He Lives"

2009-04-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19)

"The divinity of Christ finds its surest proof in his resurrection (Rom.1:4). Christ's sovereignty also depends on his resurrection (Rom.14:9). Again, our justification hangs on Christ's resurrection (Rom.4:25). Our very regeneration depends on his resurrection (1Pet.1:3). And most certainly our ultimate resurrection rests here (Rom.8:11). The silver thread of resurrection runs through all the blessings, from regeneration onward to our eternal glory, and binds them together."

(C.H. Spurgeon)

Grasping for the World

2009-04-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

In reading the "Memoir and Remains of R.M. M'CHEYNE" I was struck by the vivid imagery and concern that is found in a poem that he wrote upon hearing that a family friend had said, "that she was determined to keep by the world".

"She has chosen the world,
And its paltry crowd;
She has chosen the world,
And its endless shroud!
She has chosen the world,
With its misnamed pleasures;
She has chosen the world,
Before heaven's own treasures.

She hath launched her boat
On life's giddy sea,
And her all is afloat
For eternity.
But Bethlehem's star
Is not in her view;
And her aim is far
From the harbour true.

When the storm descends
From an angry sky,
Ah! where from the winds
Shall the vessel fly?
When stars are concealed,
And rudder gone,
And heaven is sealed
To the wandering one.

The whirlpool opes
For the gallant prize;
And, with all her hopes,
To the deep she hies!
But who may tell
Of the place of woe,
Where the wicked dwell,
Where the worldlings go?

For the human heart
Can ne'er conceive
What joys are the part
Of them who believe
Nor can justly think
Of the cup of death
Which all must drink
Who despise the faith.

Away, then-oh, fly
From the joys of earth!
Her smile is a lie-
There's a sting in her mirth.
Come, leave the dreams
Of this transient night,
And bask in the beams
Of an endless light.

Truly, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

Blessing and Cursing

2009-03-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

We are blessed....

"And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;" (Gen.26:4)

....because He was cursed

"And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." (Deut. 21:22-23)

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree:
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 3:13-14)

"Christ died, not for one sinner, but tens of thousands, for multitudes whom no man can number. Think, then, what must have been the crushing blows which Jehovah laid on him when those strokes were inflicted to satisfy divine justice for the sins, the crimes, the transgressions of ten thousand times ten thousand of those for whom he died." (C.H. Spurgeon)

"Oh, down, down, down with everything else, but up, up, up with the cross of Christ! Down with your baptism and your masses and your sacraments! Down with your priestcraft and your rituals and your liturgies! Down with your fine music and your pomp and your robes and your garments and all your ceremonials. But up, up, up with the doctrine of the naked cross and the expiring Savior!" (C.H. Spurgeon)

Signs of Conformity

2009-03-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

Why is there so little Christian persecution in America?

Yes, I know there are verbal and print attacks from time to time. What I am speaking of is an anger and hatred that mirrors what the early church in Biblical times and afterwards suffered.
Could the reason be in our own willingness to stay in "our place" and remain in our religious comfort zone?
Or, could it be that we have, in large part, strayed from the "whole council of God" and replaced it with that which is more suited to our own Americanized tastes?
Do the lives of most professed Christians demonstrate a "newness of life", a radical transformation?
Where, for the most part, is practical Godliness?

Considering the present state of our nation and her churches, how can there be agreement between them and Biblical Christianity?

Would not one expect that this strong disagreement would produce hostility in those who are still at war with God?

Have we conformed, in many ways, without realizing it? Or, do we realize more than we are willing to admit?

A question I must certainly answer!

"when the cross is abolished, and the rage of tyrants and heretics ceases on the one side, and all things are in peace, this is a sure token that the pure doctrine of God's Word is taken away." (Martin Luther)

"Go to the Ant"

2009-03-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today I took Solomon's advice and considered the Ant. While on a walk in the woods I came upon a large fire ant mound, a mound that was probably at least 2 feet in diameter. Noticing a flurry of movement on the surface of the mound, I stooped (at a safe distance) to take a closer look. Ants were everywhere, going in differant directions in what seemed like mass confusion. But, on closer examination it was evident that I was not beholding a scene of disorder but instead a scene of orderly construction.
As I continued to observe (still hoping that they were not ranging out far enough to give me a first hand experience of how they got their name) I saw the common aim in all this activity. They were leaving the mound and gathering cedar needles and other small pieces of plant material that had fallen on the surrounding ground. They then proceeded to carry these pieces back to the mound, to some specific place such as a small hole or low spot and they then placed it in this depression so as to fill it in.
In this process I noticed the ants bumping into each other and on occasion they would momentarily block one anothers progress by crashing into each others load.
Yet, in all this, they didn't drop their load to fight or argue with the other ant that had hindered them, instead they tenaciously held on to their piece of needle and marched toward the desired goal.
I noted that sometimes if a piece was too large for one ant that two would labor together at the task to move it into place in this massive building project.
I saw no envy when one ant passed another which was carrying a bigger piece of needle. I saw no disdain for one ant by another if the other was carrying a smaller piece.
I simply saw this, a multitude of ants working toward the same goal, which was, building and strengthening the mound.
I was reminded of some things as I stooped in God's classroom of nature. First, I thought of the differances between ants and humanity. We have a great work that has been given us by God and yet our self-centered ways take the preeminate place in our lives. We lose sight of the real reason that we are here.
Second, I began to recall some verses of scripture that speak to the fact that God truly does have a time for all things and part of that time is a time for doing His work.

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"(Eccl.3:1)

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing then in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:" (Mat. 28:19)

"I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise." (Rom 1:14)

What if Christians were like ants in this great work of the Lord?

Do we know what time it is?

There is a Saviour and an Empty Tomb!

2009-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

THE SAVIOUR

"THOU GOD OF ALL GRACE,

Thou hast given me a Saviour,
produce in me a faith to live by him,
to make him all my desire,
all my hope,
all my glory.
May I enter him as my refuge,
build on him as my foundation,
walk in him as my way,
follow him as my guide,
conform to him as my example,
receive his instructions as my prophet,
rely on his intercession as my high priest,
obey him as my king.
May I never be ashamed of him or his words,
but joyfully bear his reproach,
never displease him by unholy or imprudent conduct,
never count it a glory if I take it patiently
when buffeted for a fault,
never make the multitude my model,
never delay when thy word invites me to advance.
May the dear Son preserve me from this present
evil world,
so that its smiles never allure,
nor its frowns terrify,
nor its vices defile,
nor its errors delude me.
May I feel that I am a stranger and a pilgrim
on earth,
declaring plainly that I seek a country,
my title to it becoming daily more clear,
my meetness for it more perfect,
my foretastes of it more abundant;
and whatsoever I do may it be done
in the Saviour's name."

(from "The Valley of Vision")

I was once again am challenged by the desires expressed in this prayer. I see afresh that true, vital Christianity has Christ as its source and Christ as its goal. He is our life and reason for living. He is our strength for fighting the good fight of faith! I pray that I would walk worthy of the vocation to which I am called and never bring reproach on the name of Christ.

"The Delectable Mountains"

2009-03-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

"They went then till they came to the Delectable Mountains; which mountains belong to the Lord of that Hill, of which we have spoken before; so they went up to the mountains, to behold the Gardens and Orchards, the Vineyards, and Fountains of water; where also they drank and washed themselves, and did freely eat of the vineyards. Now there was on the tops of those mountains, Shepherds feeding their Flocks, and they stood by the highway side. The Pilgrims therefore went to them, leaning upon their staves, (as is common with weary pilgrims, when they stand to talk with any by the way) they asked, Whose Delectable Mountains are these? And whose be the Sheep that feed upon them?

Shepherd. These mountains are Emmanuel's Land, and they are within sight of his City; and the Sheep also are his, and he laid down his Life for them.

Christian. Is this the way to the Celestial City?

Shepherd. You are just in your Way.

Christian. How far is it thither?

Shepherd. Too far for any, but those that shall get thither indeed.

Christian. Is the Way safe or dangerous?

Shepherd. Safe for those for whom it is to be safe, but transgressors shall fall therein.

Christian. Is there in this place any Relief, for Pilgrims that are weary, and faint in the Way?

Shepherd. The Lord of these mountains hath given us Charge not to be forgetful to entertain stangers, therefore the Good of the place is even before you.

I saw also in my dream, That when the Shepherds perceived they were Way-faring men, they also put questions to them, (to which they made answer as in other places) as, Whence came you? And how got you into the Way? And by what Means have you so persevered therein? For, but few of them that begin to come hither, do shew their face on these mountains. But when the Shepherds heard their answers, being pleased therewith, they looked very lovingly upon them, and said, Welcome to the Delectable Mountains."

(excerpt from "The Pilgrims Progress")

The Father's Shepherd

2009-03-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Some wonderful words from the prophets and the lips of Jesus concerning our great "seeking" God who knoweth His own and draws them to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls so that there may be one fold and one Shepherd.

"Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold it is I." (Isa.52:6)

"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."
(John 10:14)

"The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him." (Isa.56:8)

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
(John 10:16)

He is not "trying" to bring this gathering to pass, it "shall" be done!

The Atonement

2009-03-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

"If our Lord's bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach. Brethren, I have befooled you these thirty-five years if this is not the gospel. I am a lost man, if this is not the gospel, for I have no hope beneath the canopy of heaven, neither in time nor in eternity, save only in this belief--that Jesus Christ, in my place, bore both my punishment and sin."

(C.H. Spurgeon)

"Precious in the Eyes of the Lord"

2009-03-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

(An account from Dr. A.T. Pierson concerning the graveside service of C.H. Spurgeon)

"While we gathered around the grave, a little patch of blue sky appeared, just over our heads, as if to remind us of the glory-land above; and while Mr. Brown was speaking, a dove flew from the direction of the Tabernacle toward the tomb, and, wheeling in its flight over the crowd, almost seemed to pause. In ancient days, it would have been an augury: to us, it spoke only peace. As the service proceeded, a little robin poured forth its liquid note all the while from a neighbouring tombstone; the redbreast made appropriate music, fabled as it was to have had its crimson coat ever since it picked a thorn from the Saviour's bleeding brow. Well, we do not believe that; but we believe what we sang at the grave, the truth that Mr. Spurgeon lived to preach, and died to defend,-

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more"

How beautiful heaven must be! Truly, the home of the happy and free!

"Holy Bible, Book Divine"

2009-03-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

"For nearly half a century have I anxiously and critically studied that invaluable treasure [the Bible];and I still scarcely ever take it up that I do not find something new - that I do not receive some valuable addition to my stock of knowledge or perceive some instructive fact never observed before.
In short, were you to ask me to recommend the most valuable book in the world, I should fix on the Bible as the most instructive both to the wise and ignorant.
Were you to ask me for one affording the most rational and pleasing entertainment to the inquiring mind, I should repeat, it is the Bible; and should you renew the inquiry for the best philosophy or the most interesting history, I should still urge you to look into your Bible. I would make it, in short, the Alpha and Omega of knowledge.

"(Elias Boudinot, President of Congress, Framer of the Bill of Rights)