Carry Your Candle

2010-01-07T22:01:00.000-06:00

Contentment

2008-01-21T08:17:00.001-06:00

I am content. By God's grace, I am content. I have enough. I have Him and I have my family. I don't need to have a child to make me happy; I can be happy and am happy knowing that I have Christ. And He is all I need.

Prayer

2008-01-07T08:05:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday evenings, we had the opportunity to join with other believers and pray. I often thought, "Ugh, I don't really get much out of this. I can pray at home!" I knew my thinking was selfish, but I was busy. But of course, God corrected my thinking by leading me to a Piper sermon about why should we pray with other believers, and exhort them to pray for us:

2 Corinthians 1:11
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

So you mean, it's not about me? It's about God! We pray for others and tell others our requests so that when our prayers are answered many give thanks to God. So it is about His glory and Him receiving praise!!

Psalm 34:17-18

2007-12-18T12:17:00.001-06:00

"The righteous cry, and the LORD hears

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

My friend quoted this verse to me when I found out our insurance company does not cover InVitro Fertilization.

I guess it wasn't in the LORD's plans. At least, not now. I am feeling much more at peace about it thankfully, but I definitely went through a mourning period. Not a godly mourning, more of a selfish kind. But I am thankful today because Christ has softened my heart towards His will. And knowing that my life is under His great sovereignty and control is wonderful. How can I ask for more?

Applying the Gospel

2007-12-12T09:18:00.000-06:00

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for 3.5 years. It has been difficult, especially when I see moms with their kids, or families at church, women that are pregnant....it has definitely caused a great deal of sin in my heart.

If only I could be totally satisfied with Christ. I know I can be, and should be, but at times I feel so jipped. So many women today are getting abortions, or are terrible mothers, and here I am, a woman who has this godly desire to be pregnant, but God has not opened my womb! It makes me want to scream and throw myself on the floor.

I've tried bargaining with God too. "LORD, if you allow me to get pregnant, I promise I will train our child in godliness!"

"I'll be submissive! I'll read my bible everyday!"

"I'll be a better woman!"

How quickly I have forgotten the Gospel!!

In every situation, I've been exhorted to ask, "How can I apply the Gospel to this situation?"

Well, first and foremost, I deserve nothing but hell. For that reason alone, I should be rejoicing every single moment of every single day that God loved me with a great love, so great that He sent His Son to die for my sins! And not just some of my sins, but in fact, the very sin of desiring a baby more than Christ.

And for Christians, during these trials, we have so much more hope than the unregenerate man. Our inheritance is not here, where moth and rust destroy, but in heaven. And every time we are awakened to see our sin more clearly, we know that we can repent of it and turn our eyes back on Christ!

Praise God that His Spirit awakens me to see the corruption of my heart.

Don't Contextualize the Gospel

2007-12-07T12:32:00.001-06:00

You are greatly loved

2007-11-30T15:05:00.000-06:00

By John Piper

Would you not love to hear the angel Gabriel say to you, “You are greatly loved”? Three times this happened to Daniel.

“At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved” (Dan. 9:23)
“O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you” (Dan. 10:11)
“And he said, ‘O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage” (Dan. 10:19).

Take heart. If you have faith in Jesus, God himself says to you, “You are greatly loved.”

We were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:3-5, 8).

This is better than an angel's voice. If you are “alive” you are greatly loved.

The Life and Diary of David Brainerd

2007-11-28T08:01:00.000-06:00

I am almost finished reading, "The Life and Diary of David Brainerd" (Edited by Jonathan Edwards). It has given me such a desire after spirituality and true communion with God. The Excellency of Christ is made manifest in his writing, surely inspired by Christ Himself.

David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians. Despite a language barrier, David was able, by the grace of God, to preach to the Indians the Gospel, which brought many to true repentance and salvation. From what I read, it was a remarkable awakening, done only by the work of the Holy Spirit. Brainerd himself said, "God seemed to be building up that congregation for Himself."

Brainerd suffered for many years with an ailing sickness that often left him feeling "useless" for the sake of God's glory. However, the everyday struggles he went through, sometimes feeling "dejected, melancholy and weak in body" he still persevered onward, for the sake of advancing the kingdom of God. God blessed him often with a refreshed soul, although his body was sickly.

Some of the many, many quotes that have effected me were:

"Oh! one hour with God infinitely exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world."

"Yet after all my sorrows, I trust, through grace, this day and the exercises of it have been for my good, and taught me more of my corruption and weakness without Christ than I knew before."

"I wanted not the favor of man to lean upon; for I knew Christ's favor was infinitely better, and that it was no matter when, nor where, nor how Christ should send me, nor what trials He should still exercise with me, if I might be prepared for His work and will."

"I feel barren and empty, as though I could not live without more of God; I feel ashamed and guilty before Him. Oh! I see that "the law is spiritual, but I am carnal." I do not, I cannot live to God. Oh, for holiness! Oh, for more of God in my soul! Oh, this pleasing pain! It makes my soul press after God; the language of it is, "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness"(Psalm 17:15); but never, never before. Consequently I am engaged to "press towards the mark," day by day. Oh, that I may feel this continual hunger, and not be retarded, but rather animated by every cluster from Canaan to reach forward in the narrow way, for the full enjoyment and possession of the heavenly inheritance! Oh, that I may never loiter in my heavenly journey!"

Waiting

2007-11-26T07:11:00.000-06:00

"Waiting on God isn't about the suspension of meaning and purpose. It's part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into my life. Waiting on God isn't to be viewed as an obstruction in the way of the plan. Waiting is an essential part of the plan. For the child of God, waiting isn't simply about what I'll receive at the end of my wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient, and practical than that. Waiting is fundamentally about what I'll become as I wait. God is using the wait to do in and through me exactly what He's promised. Through the wait He's changing me. By means of the wait He's altering the fabric of my thoughts and desires. Through the wait He's causing me to see and experience new things about Him and His kingdom. And all of this sharpens me, enabling me to be a more useful tool in His redemptive hands."

Paul Tripp (Meditation on Psalm 27)

Romans 6:1-2

2007-11-20T08:29:00.000-06:00

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

The arguments against "Perseverance of the Saints" should all come to a halt after reading this verse. A true believer cannot and will not continue in sin because Christ lives in Him.

In a real sense, every believer has died. We've been buried in baptism with Christ, and raised up to walk in newness of life. We are no longer the same people we once were: dead, enjoying our trespasses, enemies of God, children of evil, a people of darkness....

Now, a new person has emerged! And this new person hates the things that God hates and loves the things that God loves. Our desires are of those that please God! And more importantly, we hate sin. Many opponents of eternal security make it sound as if a true believer would become lazy and start enjoying sin, thinking that "Well, if I am saved, no matter what I do, I'll still go to heaven." But this is a lie. As Paul says, "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Show me a man that continues in sin and loves it, and you'll have shown me an unregenerate person. Show me a man who sins, but hates his sin and runs to Christ for His strength, and you'll have shown me a true believer!

1 John 1:6-7
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

We can have security. And it is lovely to be known by God and to know Him. Once you have become a child of God, adopted into His family by Christ, then you can never, ever be separated from Him. As the days go by, I find myself enjoying God more and more. I am able to run to Him and say, "Abba! Father!" What a gift! What a privilege! What love!

Suffering and Consolation

2007-10-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

This is a very helpful article by one of my favorites, Charles Spurgeon. Emphasis added is mine.

As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so the consolations of Christ abound. Here is a blessed proportion. God always keeps a pair of scales—in this side He puts His people's trials and in that He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy; for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, even so shall consolation abound by Christ. This is a matter of pure experience. Oh, it is mysterious that, when the black clouds gather most, the light within us is always the brightest! When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the heavenly captain is always closest to His crew. It is a blessed thing, when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of Christ.

Trials make more room for consolation. There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a great trial. I always find that little, miserable people, whose hearts are about the size of a grain of mustard-seed, never have had much to try them. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for their fellows—who never weep for the sorrows of others—very seldom have had any woes of their own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart—He finds it full—He begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have.

I recollect walking with a ploughman, one day, a man who was deeply taught, although he was a ploughman—and really ploughmen would make a great deal better preachers than many college gentlemen—and he said to me, "Depend upon it, if you or I ever get one inch above the ground, we shall get just that inch too high." I believe it is true; for the lower we lie, the nearer to the ground we are—the more our troubles humble us—the more fit we are to receive comfort; and God always gives us comfort when we are most fit for it. That is one reason why consolations increase in the same ratio as our trials.

Then trouble exercises our graces, and the very exercise of our graces tends to make us more comfortable and happy. Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and wherever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts: full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God. O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone: they are dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by-and-by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone. Ah! no; though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah! no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He has forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope: for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late. (!!!!)

Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles is this—then we have the closest dealings with God. I speak from heart knowledge and real experience. We never have such close dealings with God, as when we are in tribulation. When the barn is full, man can live without God; when the purse is bursting with gold, we somehow can do without so much prayer. But once take your gourds away, you want your God; once cleanse away the idols out of the house, then you must go and honour Jehovah.

Some of you do not pray half as much as you ought. If you are the children of God, you will have the whip; and when you have that whip, you will run to your Father. It is a fine day, and the child walks before its father; but there is a lion in the road, now he comes and takes his father's hand. He could run half-a-mile before him when all was fine and fair; but once bring the lion, and it is "father! father!" as close as he can be. It is even so with the Christian. Let all be well, and he forgets God. Jeshurun waxes fat, and he begins to kick against God; but take away his hopes, blast his joys, let the infant lie in the coffin, let the crops be blasted, let the herd be cut off from the stall, let the husband's broad shoulder lie in the grave, let the children be fatherless—then it is that God is a God indeed. Oh, strip me naked; take from me all I have; make me poor, a beggar, penniless, helpless; dash that cistern in pieces; crush that hope; quench the stars; put out the sun; shroud the moon in darkness, and place me all alone in space, without a friend, without a helper; still, "Out of the depths will I cry unto thee, O God." There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for that is the way to be happy—to live near God. So that while troubles abound, they drive us to God, and then consolations abound.

Some people call troubles weights. Verily they are so. A ship that has large sails and a fair wind, needs ballast. Troubles are the ballast of a believer. The eyes are the pumps which fetch out the bilge-water of his soul, and keep him from sinking. But if trials be weights, I will tell you of a happy secret. There is such a thing as making a weight lift you. If I have a weight chained to me, it keeps me down; but give me pulleys and certain appliances, and I can make it lift me up. Yes, there is such a thing as making troubles raise me towards heaven. A gentleman once asked a friend, concerning a beautiful horse of his, feeding about in the pasture with a clog on its foot, "Why do you clog such a noble animal?" "Sir," said he, "I would a great deal sooner clog him than lose him: he is given to leap hedges." That is why God clogs His people. He would rather clog them than lose them; for if He did not clog them, they would leap the hedges and be gone. They want a tether to prevent their straying, and their God binds them with afflictions, to keep them near to Him, to preserve them, and have them in His presence. Blessed fact—as our troubles abound, our consolations also abound.

The LORD is my portion

2007-10-03T08:47:00.000-05:00

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him." (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Private Worship

2007-10-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

"I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word." Psalm 119:16

Every single day, I try to spend at least an hour singing spiritual songs, praying and meditating on God's word.

It's amazing to me, that when I miss a day or two, that the easier it is for me to miss three or four. It doesn't take long for my heart to become hardened. I even notice that in the hours following my private worship time, my heart seems to be less influenced by God's Spirit.

That is why it is essential, at least, essential to me, to be in God's Word as much as I possibly can. After all, the WORD of the LORD is:

"the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16)

"the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17)

Which helps us to:

"stand against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11)

And causes us to be:

"like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither." (Psalm 1:3)

How important is time with the LORD then? How could we even start to think that it is not essential to study His word each day of our lives? Please understand that I am not saying it is a condition of salvation, but instead a vital assurance that we are saved! If you have no desire to be in His Word and meditate on His precepts, then you

(a) need to confess this to the LORD and to other brethren, and also,

(b) ask the LORD to reveal to you if you are indeed saved to begin with.

In God's Word, He showed me the true condition of my heart. In God's Word, His Gospel was revealed to me. In His Word, I find comfort when trials come, I learn about His character, I am assured that He will never leave me nor forsake me. His WORD gives me hope for today and for the future He's prepared for me, and is preparing me for!

Believe me, I have days when the last thing I want to do is read any sort of scriptures. I'd rather watch T.V., or sleep, or read something different....there are always plenty of excuses. But the LORD has helped me to become disciplined in my daily routine. I try to not think of it as something that I'll do "if I have time", but instead, I think of it as a mystery. "I wonder where the LORD is going to lead me in His Word today? What will He reveal to me? What does He want me to remember about His character? About my character?"

Be encouraged friends! Even if you can only devote 10 minutes to reading, then be faithful in making those 10 minutes count. And ask the LORD to increase your desire for Him.

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, forthe living God." Psalm 42:1

Pretty cool, aren't they?

2007-09-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

Song of Solomon

2007-08-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

Is Song of Solomon written about the bride of Christ, or is it merely a story of Solomon and his lover?

Bishop urges Christians to call God 'Allah'

2007-08-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop.

Tiny Muskens, the bishop of Breda, told the Dutch TV program "Network" Monday night he believes God doesn't mind what he is called, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

The Almighty is above such "discussion and bickering," he insisted.

Muskens points to Indonesia, where he served 30 years ago, as an example for Dutch churches. Christians in the Middle East also use the term Allah for God.

"Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years," Muskens said. "In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can't we start doing that together?"

Muskens thinks it could take another 100 years, but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches, promoting rapprochement between the two religions, he said, according to Radio Netherlands.

However, a survey published today in the Netherlands' largest newspaper, De Telegraaf, showed 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled oppose the bishop's view, the Associated Press reported.

Some letters to the paper were filled with ridicule for the bishop.

"Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then call a church a mosque and pray five times a day. Ramadan sounds like fun," wrote Welmoet Koppenhol.

The chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Gerrit de Fijter, told the Dutch paper he welcomed any attempt to "create more dialogue," according to the AP. But he said, "Calling God 'Allah' does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it."

A Muslim spokesman, for Amsterdam's union of Moroccan mosques, said Muslims had not asked for such a gesture from Christians, the AP reported.

Tensions with the Netherlands' 1-million-strong Muslim community have been high since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim avenging a film critical of Islam.

Last week, politician Geert Wilders talked about banning the Quran, shortly after the head of a group of former Muslims, Ehsan Jami, compared Islam's prophet Muhammad with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Muskens made similar remarks several year ago about using the name of Allah, Radio Netherlands reported. He also suggested replacing the national Christian holiday Whit Monday – celebrated the day after Pentecost – with an Islamic religious day.

The bishop also has offended Muslims, saying in 2005 Islam was a religion without a future because it has too many violent aspects.

The fury of God's storm

2007-08-13T09:43:00.001-05:00

The thunderstorm we had early Saturday morning was amazing. It was a torrential downpour: complete with hail, winds as high as 65mph and cloud-to-ground lightning. I really thought I was going to see a tornado touch down at any moment.

I was terrified. All weekend, I kept thinking about this storm though. It was if the LORD was urging me to think on it. Suddenly what came to mind, is that if I was as terrified as I was at this storm, how much more should I be terrified of God's wrath? I wonder sometimes, if He doesn't cause storms and natural disasters to remind us of that? The weather is one thing that man cannot "control" (although God is always in control). Man is completely helpless with what the weather does. We can do our best to prepare, but we cannot stop hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami's, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, thunderstorms, etc. etc.

It's reminders like these that put praise on my lips, knowing that Christ is my hiding place; a safe cloak for the fury of God's storm.

Glory is certain

2007-08-07T08:23:00.000-05:00

Glory is certain
Henry Lyte (1793-1847) / David L. Ward

My rest is in heaven, my rest is not here,
Then why do I worry when trials are near!
Be hushed my dark spirit, the worst that can come
But shortens your journey, and hastens you home.

Chorus:
I have died to this world, and am hidden with Christ
So my mind will be set on this:
Glory is certain, for Christ is in me,
Glory is certain, for Christ is in me.

I dare not be seeking my comfort and bliss,
Or building my hopes in a place such as this;
I look for the city God promised and built,
Where Jesus has banished my sin and its guilt.

Afflictions may press me but cannot destroy,
One glimpse of His love turns them all into joy;
The tears of a lifetime will vanish away
When He stoops to dry them on that coming day.

So let Satan’s army assail me full force;
Their plans cannot help but to steady my course.
Come joys or come sorrows, whate’er may befall
An hour with my Savior will sweeten them all.

There is no greater portrait
Eric Schumacher & David L. Ward

There is no greater portrait
Of love and sacrifice
Than Jesus leaving glory
And laying down His life.
When I look on the sufferings
My Savior chose to bear,
It fills my heart with sorrow
To think I put Him there.

He ran the race before Him
Though it was filled with pain,
And walked the road to glory
In agony and shame.
Then for the joy before Him,
He chose to bear the cross,
Pursued His Father’s pleasure
And counted all else loss.

The Son of Man was lifted
Before creation’s eyes;
Was mocked and scorned by soldiers,
By kings and priests despised.
But now the Son is risen,
Ascended to the skies.
By angels He is worshiped;
By nations glorified.

O Savior, let this sinner
Be ransomed by the flood
Of mercy and forgiveness
Abundant in Your blood.
O Lord, be my salvation,
Your Holy Spirit send
To change my heart and cause me
To love You to the end.

2007-08-02T07:20:00.001-05:00

Bridge collapses over Mississippi River
Pastor John Piper: Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed

My thoughts and prayers are with all the people who lost loved ones last night. I pray that everyone who has been hurt would heal quickly and would all turn to Jesus for their salvation.

I am awaiting to see how God might be glorified in this tragedy.

If our hearts are not rocks

2007-08-01T08:37:00.001-05:00

(Thomas Watson, "Body of Divinity")

"And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:8

See here the astonishing humility of Christ. That Christ should clothe Himself with our flesh--a piece of that earth which we tread upon--oh infinite humility! For Christ to be made flesh, was more humility than for the angels to be made worms! He stripped Himself of the robes of His glory, and covered Himself with the rags of our humanity!

Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a poor condition; and His undergoing . . .the miseries of this life, the cursed death of the cross, and the wrath of God.

The prime cause of Christ's humiliation was free grace! Love was the intrinsic motive. Christ came to us, out of pity and love. Not our deserts--but our misery, caused Christ to humble Himself. This was a plot of free grace--a design of pure love! Christ incarnate, is nothing but 'love' covered with flesh! As Christ's assuming our human nature was a master-piece of wisdom, so it also was a monument of free grace!

Behold the infinite love of Christ! Had not He been made flesh--we would have been made a curse! Had He not been incarnate, we would have been incarcerate, and had been forever in the prison of hell.

Consider where Jesus came from. He came from heaven, and from the richest place in heaven--His Father's bosom, that hive of sweetness.

Consider for whom Jesus came. Was it to His friends? No! He came for sinful man--who had defaced His image, and abused His love, and rebelled against Him! Yet He came to man, resolving to conquer our obstinacy with His kindness.

If He would come to any, why not to the fallen angels? The angels are of a more noble origin, are more intelligent creatures, and more able for service! But behold the love of Christ--He did not come to the fallen angels--but to sinful mankind!

Among the several wonders of the magnet is that it will not draw gold or pearl--but despising these, it draws the iron to itself--one of the most inferior metals. Just so, Christ leaves angels, those noble spirits, the gold and the pearl--and comes to poor sinful man, and draws him into His embraces!

Consider in what manner Jesus came. He came not in the majesty of a king, attended with His royal retinue--but He came poor.

Consider the place Jesus was born in--a feeding trough was His cradle, the cobwebs were His curtains, the beasts were His companions!

Christ was so poor, that when He needed money, He had to work a miracle to obtain it. When He died, He made no will.

Consider why Jesus came. That He might take our sins upon Him--and so appease God's wrath for us, and bring us into His kingdom!

He was poor--that we might become rich! He was born of a virgin--that we might be born of God! He took our flesh--that we might have His Spirit! He lay in the feeding trough--that we might lie in paradise! He came down from heaven--that we might go up to heaven!

And what was all this, but love? If our hearts are not rocks, this love of Christ should affect us. "May you
experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!" Ephesians 3:19

There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood: Red Mountain Church

2007-07-31T09:31:00.001-05:00

Predestined us for adoption

2007-07-30T09:48:00.000-05:00

For a little over three years, my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant. I've been asking the LORD, "What are you trying to show me? What do you want me to learn from this trial?" I haven't figured it out yet...at least not completely, but I do know it is for my own good. Praise the LORD that He has given me this attitude (today) because I do spend a lot of my time sinning because I am impatient and want a child now. This is one thing that I cannot have any sort of control over, since it is the LORD who opens and closes the womb. (Believe me, I already know He is omnipotent, but still I sometimes think I can have the control).

Recently, however, I've been thinking more and more about adoption. The idea of was always a last resort to me. I had no desire or want of a child that was not my own. Selfishly, I told my husband, "If we can't have kids biologically, then I don't want them at all." But slowly, the LORD has been changing my heart. Some friend's at church reminded me that I've been adopted into Christ's family. " He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:4-6)

Amazing isn't it? Maybe He has closed my womb because He has a child waiting for us to adopt. Adopting doesn't mean we've given up, it means we could be a part of redeeming a child from a life without a family...the LORD has blessed us with becoming a part of His redemption plan!

I've learned so much these part few years. I cannot pinpoint the exact day of my salvation, but I believe I've only been saved for about 2 years. I've only had the assurance of my salvation for about 8 months. I cannot thank Him enough for leading me down paths of struggles, through joys and sorrows, into dark days and into the joy of the morning. He's taught me that He will not necessarily change every situation in the way I am wanting, but instead, change me in the midst of the situation! He's been a faithful husband, a perfect companion. I am truly blessed to be known by Him. I pray that He will continue to lead my heart down the path of adoption. I've been asking Him to show me what to do. It seems so overwhelming, but if it is His will, I know it will work out. After all, I am being lead by the Hand of my redeemer, why should I be afraid?

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John Piper: Adoption: The heart of the Gospel
(Sent to me by a dear friend who has seen God's work in her life through the adoption of their son from China)

2007-07-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

"I was thinking this week that if I could identify one single attitude biblically that would be the supreme...the most desirable attitude of all from God's viewpoint, it would be humility. That's one of the most beautiful virtues in the attitudinal sense-Humility. And if I were to identify one activity as being most desirable, it would be the activity of service. Combining the two, I would say the bible teaches then that the highest attitude is humility...the highest activity is service. And for a woman then to offer humble service is for her to have a head start on men in being able to reach the highest level of God's intention for His people." John MacArthur

"Did God make our bodies out of the dust, and that dust out of nothing? Let this keep down pride! When God would humble Adam, He uses this expression, "You were made from dust." Why are you proud, O dust and ashes? David says, "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Your being wonderfully made-- should make you thankful; your being made from the dust--should keep you humble. If you have beauty, it is but well-colored dirt! "For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return." Genesis 3:19" -Thomas Watson

"For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself." 1 Samuel 2:22

"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,and to listen than the fat of rams. " 1 Samuel 15:22

"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

"The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." Exodus 34:6

The Challenge

2007-07-25T08:28:00.001-05:00

I was listening to "FamilyLife Today" and they had an interesting idea: fast from T.V. for the month of August. I never listen to the program, but just happened to turn it on today (I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason).

So maybe I'll take this challenge. Maybe it will influence me to just give up T.V. for good! I really wouldn't mind. There are far better, edifying things to do and read that corrupt my mind with television. I'm one of those people that sits in front of the T.V., trying to find something to watch, but can't, and then flips for an hour or so before I give up. I promise you I would not give a bad book an hour, but T.V.? Yep. Ridiculous!

Yes, I think I will pray about this. If this will give me more time to read His Word and to fellowship with Him, then I say: HECK YEAH.

If you guys have any ideas of some good books that I could read for the month of August, please feel free to comment. So far, the only book I have in mind is "The Holiness of God" (Sproul).

I probably should preface this whole post to tell you that I am not doing this to get approval from God or anyone else. I do not plan on shouting this through the streets, claiming that I am more holy than you :) This is not a works-righteousness act, or a merit-based idea. Just something that might help me grow closer to Him.

And one last thing: Watching television is not a sin, unless you make it a sin. You know what I mean.

A sinful man's intercession

2007-07-24T10:42:00.001-05:00

Recently, I was speaking with my grandmother (who is Catholic) who is suffering from terrible foot pain. She said to me, "Too bad there isn't a Saint of foots!"

To which I replied, "I think God can certainly heal by Himself"

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe He needs our help. Maybe He needs the intercession of sinful men.

The Prayer of Love

2007-07-12T10:18:00.000-05:00

Gracious Lord,
Thy name is love,
in love receive my prayer.
My sins are more than the wide sea’s sand,
but where sin abounds,
there is grace more abundant.
Look to the cross of thy beloved Son,
and view the preciousness of his atoning blood;
Listen to his never-failing intercession,
and whisper to my heart, ‘Thy sins are forgiven,
be of good cheer, lie down in peace.’
Grace cataracts from heaven and flows for ever,
and mercy never wearies in bestowing benefits.
Grant me more and more
to prize the privilege of prayer,
to come to thee as a sin-soiled sinner,
to find pardon in thee,
to converse with thee;
to know thee in prayer as
the path in which my feet tread,
the latch upon the door of my lips,
the light that shines through my eyes,
the music of my ears,
the marrow of my understanding,
the strength of my will,
the power of my affection,
the sweetness of my memory.
May the matter of my prayer be always
wise, humble, submissive,
obedient, scriptural, Christ-like.
Give me unwavering faith
that supplications are never in vain,
that if I seem not to obtain my petitions
I shall have larger, richer answers,
surpassing all that I ask or think.
Unsought, thou hast given me
the greatest gift, the person of thy Son,
and in him thou wilt give me all I need.

-From the Valley of Vision

My lack of blogging

2007-07-10T08:12:00.000-05:00

I long to love God the way I see others love Him. Like Tozer said, "O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee,..."

I am so consumed with myself and worldly things lately, that I've really been struggling to let go of my sin. And I am reminded each day how wretched and filthy I am. I hate that I am so luke warm at times and so numb when I sin. I wish I hated it more! I wish I loved Him more.

Sometimes I leave church and I wonder how I can call myself a Christian? I'm always putting on an act or laughing at certain sins, when I should be falling on my knees in confession and weeping that it was I who put Christ on that Tree.

I don't know. I've just felt sad and lonely. I desperately want children and I don't know how to keep a positive attitude day after day. I find myself constantly wanting to buy this or that, because I want to fill that void and the pain of not having what I want. The thing is, I don't deserve anything I have, nor do I deserve children. And I cannot control these cravings, so I just indulge to make myself feel better. That's where I am at, at least at the moment, and why I cannot even think of a thing to write about.

I am praying that I would not only know He is sufficient, but would truly experience His sufficiency. I know the different attributes of God, but do I really believe them with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? I pray He will give me the feelings...the desires to love Him and glorify Him in all that I do and say, that He might be my only delight and joy.

Finding happiness in a miserable world

2007-07-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

(Gorham Abbott, "The Family at Home", 1833)

"A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15
"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these." 1 Timothy 6:8

A little simple food, and plain clothing, and humble shelter--this is all that man really needs. Outward things can neither make a man happy or miserable. Ahab was discontented on a king's throne. Paul and Silas were happy in a dungeon.

Nature is content with little;
grace is content with less.
Luxury is seldom satisfied;
lust is never satisfied.

If we have but little in this world, we may content ourselves with the reflection, that it is safer to have little than much. Many have been ruined by prosperity. Many have gone to hell splendidly clothed, and who lived each day in luxury!

Very wise was the prayer of Agur, "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." Proverbs 30:8

Christians should be content, because time is short; and if time is short, trouble cannot be long! "Weeping may endure for a night--but joy comes in the morning!" These light afflictions are but for a moment--and then comes an eternal weight of glory! The Christian is traveling down a rough and dirty piece of road; but he is going home--to his glorious heavenly home! This is the true secret of finding happiness in a miserable world.

The love of fine dress

2007-07-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

(Gorham Abbott, "The Family at Home", 1833)

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." 1 Tim. 2:9-10

To many young women, the love of fine dress is a great snare--which leads them into a series of mistakes.

A profusion of fine bows, feathers, necklaces, and earrings--is often the outward and visible sign of inward emptiness and vanity!

A minister, calling to visit a lady, was detained a long time while she was dressing. At length she made her appearance, bedecked in all the frippery of fashion and folly. The minister broke into tears. She demanded the cause of his grief; when he replied, "I weep, madam, to think that an immortal being should spend so much of that precious time which was given her to prepare for eternity--in thus vainly adorning that body which must so soon become a prey to worms!"

A lady once asked a minister whether a person might not be fond of fine dress and ornaments, without being proud. "Madam," replied the minister, "when you see the fox's tail peeping out of the hole--you may be sure the fox is within!"

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful." 1 Peter 3:3-5

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

Let your Kingdom Come

2007-07-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

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From Glory to Glory

2007-07-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

R_W_Glenn_Sermon_0...

This is an amazing sermon, one that really convicted me and showed me how desperately I need to remember the Gospel! I am so encouraged by this message, and I pray that you might be encouraged as well!

Suck out the sweetness

2007-07-02T09:51:00.001-05:00

(Thomas Watson, "The Christian Soldier" 1669)

Meditation is a holy exercise of the mind; whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance--and seriously ponder upon them and apply them to ourselves. It is a work which cannot be done in a crowd. A Christian must retire from the world, to have serious thinking upon God. It is not a few transient thoughts that are quickly gone;but a fixing and staying of the mind upon heavenly objects.

As the bee sucks the honey from the flower--so by meditation we suck out the sweetness of a truth. It is not the receiving of food into the mouth, but the digesting of it, which makes it nutritious. Just so, it is not the receiving of the most excellent truths in the ear, which nourishes our souls--but the digesting of them by meditation.

Satan does what he can to hinder this duty. He is an enemy of meditation. The devil does not care not how much we read--so long as we do not meditate on what we read. Reading begets knowledge--but meditation begets devotion. "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long." Psalm 119:97

Holy meditation quickens the affections. The reason why our affections are so cold to heavenly things--is
because we do not warm them at the fire of holy meditation. As the musing on worldly objects makes the fire of lust burn; and as the musing on injuries makes the fire of revenge burn; just so, meditating on the transcendent beauties of Christ, would make our love to Christ flame forth.

Meditation has a transforming power in it. The reading of the Word may affect us--but the meditating upon it transforms us. Meditation stamps the impression of divine truths upon our hearts. By meditating on God's holiness, we grow holy. While by meditation we look upon God's purity--we are changed into His likeness.

Meditation produces reformation. "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes." Psalm 119:59. If we would spend but one quarter of an hour every day in contemplating heavenly objects, it would leave a mighty impression upon us!

Excuse my profanity

2007-06-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

If you've stopped by my blog recently, you've probably noticed that it looked something like crap. Is crap a bad word?

All I was trying to do was to see what another template would "look" like and I ended up deleting tons of stuff! So now I have to go back, find the different blog rolls I was on and find their code....blah blah blah. So on top of this horribly bad thing (I know it's not horrible, but I was pretty mad) my car stalled on the freeway, I found out I had to change my work hours and we can't take the vacation I've been so excited to go on!

So I've been very angry. I've been mouthing off at work, having a bitter attitude with everyone I talk with, and I really wished I still smoked so I could just feel that nicotine calming me down. What's so difficult is that I know that everything I am describing is incredibly sinful. But while I know this, I just don't want to care. I want to say, "Screw it! Screw you! Screw everyone! I don't care about anything anymore!"

I was telling one of my sisters at church about this, and she said, "...sounds like you are angry at God, Samantha."

Huh?

It's hard for me to take rebuke, but indeed, I needed it. I was angry at God. In fact, I'm still confessing that anger to Him. I am angry at my circumstances...at the discipline He's been showering on me. I don't mean discipline like "You sinner, I am going to cause your car to break down because you are a bad, bad girl!" No, not that. Discipline as in shaping and molding me more and more like Christ THROUGH the difficult circumstances He's allowed. He could easily zap me with patience and love, but instead, He's chosen to refine me in the most loving way possible: by showing me how badly I need Him; how badly I need the Gospel....how badly I need a Savior! The greater a sinner I see myself, the more lovely I see Him and see my dependence of Him!

So right now, I praise the LORD that He brings strife and trials into my life. I know He loves me. And I pray that one of these days I'll believe that will all my heart.

The long walk down the aisle

2007-06-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

I remember walking down the aisle to my husband. He was the only one I saw. No one else mattered. Not how much the wedding was costing us, not if I was at my perfect weight, or had the perfect dress on...all that mattered was that Michael was going to be mine, and I was going to be his.

In the same way, I am on the same walk down the aisle to my Groom in heaven, Jesus Christ. He's given me the most beautiful dress, once soiled with sin, now washed in His blood to make it as white as snow. He's loved me far before I even knew Him. And as we speak, He is preparing for me a crown of glory and a great feast at His banqueting table.

He's asked me to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind. And how I want to love Him the way He loves me! But in my sin, I've committed adultery on Him many times. I'm a whore, whoring myself out to other idols and desires. And yet, He is always forgiving and always merciful. And He's promised me that nothing can separate us from our love: neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-40)

Quotable Friday

2007-06-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

I love quotes.

No one can truly say that Jesus is Lord, unless Thou take the veil away, and breathe the living word. Then only then, we feel our interest in His blood. -John Wesley

When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn. -John Wesley

Pray until you pray. -The Puritans

There are no shortcuts to holiness. There is no easy way to conquer the flesh. Christian character is a matter of growth, not of secrets or formulas. Growth takes time. It also takes the discipline of prayer, of study, of heart searching, of sensitivity to the Holy Ghost's pleading, and of consistent obedience. It must always begin with a renewed thankfulness for the never-ending grace of God, and a sense of being set free repeatedly to a life of holiness. -John White

I always observe inward trials prepare me for, and are certain forerunners of, fresh mercies. - George Whitefield

The renewal of our natures is a work of great importance. It is not to be done in a day. We have not only a new house to build up, but an old one to tear down. -George Whitefield

God's mercies are new every morning because each day has enough mercy in it only for that day. This is why we tend to despair when we think that we may have to bear tomorrow's load on today's resources. God wants us to know that we won't. Today's mercies are for today's troubles. Tomorrow's mercies are for tomorrow's troubles.--John Piper

The only time a woman can really succeed in changing a man is when he is a baby. - Natalie Wood (sorry, I had to put that one in)

2007-06-13T07:57:00.000-05:00

The other day in the mail, I got this letter that said something like, "God is going to bless you!" So I suspiciously opened the letter, and low and behold....a picture of Jesus with a penny (yes, a real penny) in each of His Hands!

This letter told me that Jesus wanted to bless me financially, and I should just put the pennies in each of my shoes and wait and see what happens the next day!

Had I known it was so simple to get blessed with money just by putting pennies in my shoes...well, I probably would have started doing it earlier in my life!

Actually, I'm kidding. As a matter of fact, I was pissed (yes, strong language...cover the children's eyes). This letter is like the 4th letter I've gotten that has told me this same message. First it was a prayer rug with Jesus' face on it, and they told me that if I starred at it for a long time, Jesus would open His eyes. I really don't remember what was supposed to happen then, but I know it was foolishness! I don't know how I got onto their mailing list.

This health and prosperity gospel is so dangerous. As Christians, we have been called to "forsake ourselves", "carry our cross", become "servants of Christ", not to "store up treasures on earth" but instead to "give to the poor" to find our treasure in heaven.

The LORD did not die to give us comfortable, stable lives. Like Christian, in "The Pilgrim's Progress" we have to travel through the valley of death, prepared for danger, for trials, for sorrows....for falling. We have to battle satan, battle the flesh, battle the world! The world tells us that being rich brings happiness, but how much more joy for the Christian to have nothing, yet have Christ? And Christ is enough. He is sufficient! He is better than any amount of money or material things we can obtain. These earthly treasures are but shadows of the true treasures we have in Christ! They are meant to draw us closer to Him; to see His beauty as far more brilliant than anything and anyone else!

"For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits." James 1:11

"That which cannot quiet the heart in a storm, cannot entitle a man to blessedness; earthly things accumulated, cannot rock the troubled heart quiet, therefore cannot make one blessed. When Saul was sore distressed, could all the jewels of his crown comfort him? 'They shall cast their silver in the streets...their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord." (Ezek. 7:19) --THOMAS WATSON

"Afflictions add to the saints' glory. The more the diamond is cut, the more it sparkles; the heavier the saints' cross is, the heavier will be their crown." - THOMAS WATSON

Repentance: Part 4

2007-06-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

According to Thomas Watson, in his book, "The Doctrine of Repentance." there are 6 ingredients that lead to genuine repentance. So far we've looked at:
Sight of Sin
Sorrow for Sin
Confession of sin

The next: Shame for sin.

Dictionary.com defines shame as: the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another.

What is dishonorable about sin? This question, while it may seem easily answerable, is actually one of the most important questions you should ask yourself when you are convicted of sin....it will tell you if you understand the Gospel. Shame for sin isn't because we should be ashamed for ourselves. Self pity is a sin,turning our eyes away from Christ and onto ourselves. This seems like a common theme in these last few posts, doesn't it? Looking at the cross should cause us to feel ashamed for our sin, but not because we are humiliated, not because our egos are bruised, but because our sin was against the GOD of Glory!!

"Sin hath the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages." --Thomas Watson

2007-06-08T07:11:00.000-05:00

Poor Wayfaring Stranger
Folk spiritual

I am a poor wayfaring stranger,
While traveling through this world of woe.
Yet there’s no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright world to which I go.
I’m going there to see my Father;
I’m going there no more to roam.

I’m only going over Jordan,
I’m only going over home.

I know dark clouds will gather round me;
I know my way is rough and steep.
But golden fields lie out before me
Where God’s redeemed shall ever sleep.
I’m going there to see my mother,
She said she’d meet me when I come.

I’ll soon be free from every trial,
My body sleep in the churchyard;
I’ll drop the cross of self denial
And enter on my great reward.
I’m going there to see my Savior,
To sing His praise forevermore.

Repentance: Part 3

2007-06-07T07:25:00.000-05:00

Continued from yesterday's post and yesterday's yesterday post. Did that make sense?

Next up in the 6 ingredients to true Repentance: Confession.

The heavy burden of guilt lays heavy on my heart. It's one of the most difficult sins to overcome. While sorrow for sin is necessary...and even guilt necessary for a time, these can cause us to turn from our Savior and onto ourselves. There are seasons for these emotions, but like every weather pattern, things must change in order for us to see our new life in Christ.

That is why confession is such a relief, isn't it?

1 Timothy 2:5-6 "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."

We can boldly come to Christ and acknowledge our need for Him. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We no longer have to be afraid to approach Christ. We can know that when we confess our sins to Him, He has forgiven us and "cleansed us from all unrighteousness." He has applied HIS righteousness to our account. We have no reason to be fearful that He will condemn us. He has already done the work, nailing our sins to Himself on the cross, and bearing the Just wrath of God on our behalf. This should cause us to run TO HIM every time: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16).

So let's not wallow in self pity and guilt! Let us tear off that burden and confess it to the LORD! Some of my best times of confession have been with my brethren. Exposing my sin causes me to say, "What can satan do to me? How can he accuse me, when I've allowed my sin to be exposed?" Did the LORD give us a spirit of fear? No! "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!""

We are His. We can confidently draw near to Him, confessing our sins, and continuously being cleansed and drawn back to Him. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39

And that is truly amazing. At least, I think it is.

Repentance: Part 2

2007-06-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

Continued from yesterday's post....

So far, out of our six ingredients of genuine repentance (check yesterday's post), we've looked at "sight of sin." We become aware of our sin through the knowledge of God's Law. This knowledge that shows us how we truly are in the sight of God, naturally (or maybe I should say, graciously) leads us into our next study: sorrow for sin.

There are many different sorrows, but only one that leads to godliness: Christ and Him crucified. The sight of Jesus hanging on the cross, on behalf of filthy sinners like us, is truly awakening. The cost of our redemption was paid with His precious blood... and that is a very great price.

Oh that we would weep for our vileness. How great a God to send His Son to die for the ungodly? While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Do you get that? Does that seep into your soul and drive you to tears? It should! We should spend our lives in great weeping! But the amazing thing, is that He has forgiven us and accepted us. Not because of anything we could do, but because of everything He did for us! Shouldn't this drive us to the cross? Shouldn't our hearts break when we see that every single little sin, as small as we might think it is, is a sin that was nailed to the flesh of Christ?

I have never wept like I wept a couple of weeks ago. I didn't think I could contain myself. What a gift from God to see our sins, to give us the knowledge of who we really are, and also, to have great sorrow because of it. Like Christian from the Pilgrim's Progress, we use to carry a great burden, but at the cross, Christ invites us to take it off! Sin is no longer our master, instead, it is Christ! But only from great sorrow, do we see Christ's love more vividly. Just as faith is a gift from God, so is sorrow. The next time the Lord drives you to tears, then let them flow! It is a gift from Him. Remember, this life is a paradox. The way up is the way down. It is only out of great sorrow, that He lifts us up to see His brilliant, shining face!

Psalm 56:8: You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

Repentance: Part 1

2007-06-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

Repentance is one of the first signs of a genuine believer. In his book, "The Doctrine of Repentance" Thomas Watson helps us to see what true, biblical repentance really is. I thought it might be helpful to relay what I have learned thus far, so as to help edify and sanctify us all.

Mr. Watson gives us 6 ingredients to genuine repentance:

1) Sight of sin
2) Sorrow for sin
3) Confession of sin
4) Shame for sin
5) Hatred of sin
6) Turning from sin

Since getting into all 6 of these today might make for a long post, I'll start with the first one: Sight of sin.

A beautiful thought that I loved from Watson, was the reminder that the first creation in the world was light. Without the light, we all just stumble around, completely unaware of what we truly look like.

Scripture tells us that once we walked in darkness. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined" (Isaiah 9:2). Without the light, our eyes are veiled. As Newton says, "I once was lost, but now am found, twas blind, but now I see." What does he see? He sees his sin. It was veiled before his conversion. "Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:15-18).

That is the reason for the law; the law is like God's mirror, showing us how we've broken His law. The law gives us knowledge of the standards God requires of us, showing us our need for a Savior. We see it is impossible to keep even one of the commandments, knowing that we've broken every single one of them.

The sight of sin leads us on the pathway to God's Truth. Seeing ourselves the way God see's us, as vile, wretched, and filthy sinners, is the first step to life in Christ.

2007-06-01T07:16:00.000-05:00

"I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." Isaiah 45:5-7

Such amazing verses on the sovereignty of God!

"....God, as He is our Creator, Preserver, and sovereign Lord--has an absolute power both over our persons, lives, estates, and habitations: and when we have transgressed His righteous laws, He may do with us, and all we have--as He pleases. He may turn us out of house and home, and burn up all our comforts round about us--and yet do us no wrong. "Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him." Psalm 115:3. "The Lord does whatever pleases Him--in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths." Psalm 135:6

Those things which seem accidental and chance to us--are ordered by the wise counsel, power, and providence of God. Instruments can no more stir until God gives them a commission--than the axe or the knife can cut by itself, without a hand. God makes use of whatever second causes He pleases, for the execution of His pleasure. And many times He makes the worst of men the rod of His indignation to chastise His people with! All inferior or subordinate causes--are but God's tools and instruments, which He rules and guides according to His own will, power, and providence.

Job eyed God in the fire which fell from heaven, and in all the fiery trials which befell him. And therefore,
he does not say, "The Lord gave--and the devil took away!" Nor, "The Lord gave--and the Chaldeans and
Sabeans took away!" But "The Lord gave--and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord
be praised!" Job 1:20-21

Certainly without the cognizance and concurrence of a wise, omniscient, and omnipotent God--no creatures can move. Without His foresight and permission--no event can befall any person, city or country. Whatever the means or instruments of our misery are--the hand is God's! It behooves us, in every judgment, to see the hand of the Lord, and to look through visible means to an invisible God! "The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me!" Ruth 1:21

"The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends
poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts!"1 Samuel 2:6-7"

Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations"

My apologies

2007-05-31T08:05:00.000-05:00

Since I publicly rebuked someone, intending it to be for their own good, I must also apologize publicly since it did not come off in a way of love. So Sillie Lizzie, I am sorry. Honestly, I am. I didn't think I would make you so angry. So I'm going to try again, in love, to comprehend to you what I was meaning by my comment:

My comment (which now I see has been erased) was in reference to this picture and caption:

"Finally, I have found the perfect WANTED poster for the "gay marriage" between the ENEMY WITHIN and the ENEMY WITHOUT. May they live unhappily ever after, or repent of their political,moral, and spiritual idolatry."

While I think it's a very witty and funny comment, it seems very...cruel. At least, from my stand point. However true it may be, it is not a loving way to convict another person of their sin. Homosexuality is sinful. It is wrong. But imagine as a gay man or woman, to see another Christian who supposedly possesses Christ in their hearts, walking around with that picture on a sign. What sort of light does that show of Christ? How do they see that they need to repent of homosexuality by being mocked?

It seems to me, that very often we forget our former state. We were once lying, murdering, stealing, adulterous filthy whores in the sight of God. The only reason we didn't drop into hell as we deserved was because of His awesome grace and mercy....that reason being Christ.

We have to be careful not to fall into the trap of worldly mocking, as well as hypocritical judgments. This picture of Rosie should not make us hate her, or hate homosexuals, laugh at her or other homosexuals, nor should we feel angry toward her or other homosexuals. Her sins should cause us to desperately pray that Christ reveals Himself to her, for the sake of His glory and excellence. It should cause us to pity her, remembering what we've been saved from. If anything, it should bring us closer to the cross.

If you still think I am being unloving Sillie Lizzie, then I at least pray you'll forgive my inadequacy to display the correct love of Christ to you. Hey, at least I linked you. That's another 3 views from my page :)

Sincerely,

Samantha (Ephesians 4:29)

An illustration

2007-05-30T07:37:00.001-05:00

An interesting parallel, isn't it? This is something our Pastor illustrated to us on Sunday. (The passage on the cross is Exodus 34:6-7)

We know that God is Just, yet we know He is forgiving, merciful, patient, kind, loving.....

He cannot overlook our sins, which is why He so graciously sent His Son to us to die in our place.
Romans 5:8 "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly."

All other ground is sinking sand

2007-05-29T10:03:00.000-05:00

I have felt undeserving of God's mercy these past two weeks. Why would God want to hear my pleas, when I've been sinning against Him so grievously? Trying to repent of lust and greed and vanity....how could I possibly think that God would allow me to approach His mercy seat?

I didn't want to read my bible. I didn't want to pray. I didn't want to go to church or try this "Christianity" thing any longer. "It's just too hard!" I thought. I looked at other Christians and thought, "I'm not like them. I don't have the strength to fight these sins any longer."

And just as I was ready to give up, I heard Sunday's sermon, where God shattered my heart. The Gospel. The Gospel! How easily I forgot. I remembered that I couldn't do anything to make myself right with God. That was the work of Christ on the cross. I couldn't be perfect, that is why Christ had to come. My righteousness was filthy and ragged, which is why I needed Christ's righteousness applied to mine.

It is so easy to be deceived, isn't it? We say we do not believe in works-righteousness, but we walk around feeling guilty when we feel like we've sinned more than we usually do. Should we not feel just as wretched by telling one lie, than telling four? Our understanding of sin needs to be cross-centered. The realities of it is that every single sin is against Christ. When we sin, it reminds us of why we need a Savior. And while it may be easy to feel guilty and mope around, we need to remember that when we are saved, every sin....past, present and future has been forgiven. We now have the ability to live for Him! We can immediately confess our sins and turn back to Him! We are now always forgiven, always accepted....not by our own doing, but by His!

Isn't that amazing?

Always Forgiven: JonRyan

I don’t deserve to be Your servant
And how much less to be Your child
Anger and wrath, sure condemnation
Should be my portion, my just reward
Never have seen it, never will know it
Your loving kindness enfolds my life

All You have shown me is
Grace, love and mercy
Now and forever I am Your child
Freely You pour out
Your loving kindness
Father of grace
You welcome me in

All of the sin I have committed
Was placed upon Your righteous Son
And now You see me through His perfection
As if I’d never done any wrong
Always forgiven, always accepted
No fear of judgment before Your throne

I have a confession

2007-05-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I've been struggling with lust. The trouble with this sin is that it is one that has haunted me for some time, and it deceives me more than any other sin I've faced. I remember when I was first converted, I would barely drive up to the church and suddenly my thoughts would become great iniquities. I try to "take captive" these thoughts, but I'm not really sure what that even means. I wish I could just physically grab them and burn them in unquenchable fire for all eternity.

All of our sins are deceitful. The flesh cries out for them. My flesh enjoys lusting, but my nature in Christ hates it. The only comfort is knowing that I am battling the temptations to lust, rather than sit and enjoy my thoughts. Remember that part in the last movie of Lord of the Rings, when Frodo is about to throw the ring into the fire, but then the temptation to keep it starts to overcome him? We wonder, "After all he's been through, how could fail now?" And I wonder that same thought myself. After all that Christ has redeemed me for, how can I so easily fall? How can I so easily decide to desire my sin more than Christ?

The only thing that is getting me through this trial is constant confession. But I'm starting to feel that overcoming this sin is hopeless. I'm opening my comments back up for any insight on how to battle this sin. Of course, I've been praying about it, but I know that God has a way of answering prayers through the brethren. So if you have any wisdom, please do share.

Rejoice in Him even when you don’t feel like it

2007-05-22T17:12:00.001-05:00

We are called to pray to God.

"Arise, cry aloud in the night at the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord; lift up your hands to Him.” Lamentations 2:18-20

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thess 5:16-18)

Rejoice in Him even when you don’t feel like it.

Prayer is our response to God as He communicates to us in His Word and in our circumstances. Just as talking and sharing things with a close friend is key to deepening the friendship, so is talking to God in prayer. It is the divine vehicle for communing with the living God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:8)
Prayer is our opportunity to pour our hearts out to God. Go through yesterday’s conversations and occurrences. We know that God orchestrates every detail, event, conversation. Things don’t just accidentally happen to you. The Lord is always working on our behalf. And what He is working out? He is designing everything in our day to transform us to look more and more like Himself and to bring about His fame.

Prayer expresses a spirit of neediness for God. But in His wisdom, there are times when He sends humbling circumstances due to our spirit of independence. He knows what we need to be humbled and what we need to be made aware of our independent spirit. A spirit that acts independently of Him doesn’t see the need to pray and call out to God. This spirit of independence is something the Lord hates. We see this in Psalm 53:4, “Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge, who eat up My people as though they ate bread and have not called upon God?” These people who have “not called upon God” are called “workers of wickedness.” This is also seen in Psalm 52:7, “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire." This kind of independent spirit says, “I don’t need you God. I don’t need you to be my refuge. I can handle this on my own. I don’t want to need you. I want to be self sufficient. Praying about everything, though, is the opposite of an independent spirit. It says, “I need you God. I am not complete in myself. You have the power to change things.”

Lay it all before Him in prayer

We can rejoice that God has perfect knowledge of each of us already. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Even if try to pretend that something isn’t bothering us or avoid the discussion of a painful topic, our hearts are already laid bare before Him. Hebrews 4:12-13 says that, “the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Since He already knows us, we ought to lay it all before Him in our prayers. Talk to Him about everything throughout your day. Did you think a terrible thought? Don’t stop at telling yourself, “don’t think that horrid thing!” Talk about it with the Lord. “Father, what are you showing me about what is in my heart? I feel awful that those kinds of thoughts are even in my heart. Thank you for showing me how wicked I really am. You only are my good. I am prone to wander from You. Please rescue me from my own ugliness and cleanse me.” You might think, why should I bother saying it to the Lord if He already knows what I’m thinking? Well it helps you as you verbalize it to the Lord. Just like He already knows if our hearts are praising Him but He commands us to declare His wonders, to tell and speak His praises. We see this in Psalm 9:1, “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.”

Talk to the Lord about the circumstances that took place today or yesterday. “Lord what are you showing me about myself through the painful conversation. Or that disappointing scenario? I know You are sovereign over every detail. You wanted me to have to go through that. What do I need to see? In the book of Exodus, the Lord reveals His purpose for His people in allowing them to struggle--that they would know what is in their hearts. As you live your life talking to the Lord about everything and ask Him to communicate with you through the events that He orchestrates in your life, You will experience a real friendship with the Lord.

“Pouring out my heart to God in prayer is like taking the garbage out. I can pour all my disappointments and concerns and hopes into Him and leave no stone unturned, no opportunity for some unnoticed sin to fester. As we pour out our hearts to God, we need to stay there until we sincerely and genuinely make ourselves known to God. He already knows it all, but He calls us to come to Him with everything as a child.
This is what the psalmists did. Consider Psalm 88. There is no hope proclaimed at the close of the prayer. It is just an honest outpouring of the heart. God lets us do this. Though we shouldn’t stay angry and discontented, we need to keep praying prayers of surrender, begging Him to change our hearts, telling Him our honest responses. The Puritans said it this way: “Pray until you pray.” Stay there in prayer until you have really prayed.” (The Battle for Joy. Glenn, Gayle p 22)

Our adultery, God's faithfulness

2007-05-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

Ezekiel 36

Again the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

"And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

"When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.

"But you trusted in your beauty and played the whorebecause of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. Also my bread that I gave you--I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey--you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD. And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

"And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord GOD), you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

"How lovesick is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

"Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. "Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

"Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: 'Like mother, like daughter.' You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

"I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.

The LORD's Everlasting Covenant

"For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD."

They poured out a prayer

2007-05-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

(Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

The greatest antidote against all the troubles of
this life, is fervent prayer.

"Lord, in trouble have they visited you; they
poured out a prayer when Your chastening
was upon them." Isaiah 26:16

"They poured out a prayer." Before, they would
say a prayer--but now, they poured out a prayer.

Saints never visit God more with their prayers
--than when He visits them most with His rod.
Saints never pray with . . .
that seriousness,
that spiritualness,
that heavenliness,
that humbleness,
that brokenness,
that fervency,
that frequency--as they do, when they are
under the mighty chastening hand of God!

A sincere Christian never prays so sweetly--as
when under God's rod. When a Christian is in
trouble--then prayer is his food and drink.

Oh, what a spirit of prayer was . . .
upon Jonah--when he was in the whale's belly; and
upon Daniel--when he was among the lions; and
upon David--when fleeing in the wilderness; and
upon the dying thief--when he was on the cross; and
upon Jacob--when his brother Esau came to meet him
with four hundred bloody cut-throats at his heels!

When a Christian is under great troubles, deep distresses,
and most extreme dangers; he should pray . . .
more for the sanctification of affliction--than its removal;
more to get off his sins--than to get off his chains;
more to get good by the rod--than to get free from the rod;
that his afflictions may be a purifying and refining fire,
that his heart may be low and his graces high,
that he may be more weaned from this world,
that he be more ripe for eternal glory.

2007-05-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

"We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by study or by the intellect. Your first duty is to begin by prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you, of His great mercy, the true understanding of His Word. There is no other interpreter of the Word of God than the Author of this Word, as He Himself has said, "They shall be all taught of God" (John 6:45). Hope for nothing from your own labors, from your own understanding: trust solely in God, and in the influence of His Spirit. Believe this on the word of a man who has experience."

Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)

The fool who forgets what he looks like

2007-05-18T09:58:00.000-05:00

James 1:22-25
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

How often do you look into the mirror, walk away, and forgot what you look like? Seems foolish, doesn't it?

Now, how often do you read scripture and meditate on the Gospel, and then still try and work for your salvation? Or consider yourself more righteous on certain days that the LORD has granted you victory in some sins?

Every single day, I am that idiot who looks into the mirror of the Law, walks away, and forgets the grace and mercy of my salvation in Christ. I start to act prideful, doubtful, self-sufficient, faithless, foolish...I constantly need reminding of who I am in Christ.

Thankfully, the LORD has provided many brothers and sisters in Christ who have reminded me what I really look like. And I must say, it is humbling!

Simplicity of life: Jelly filled hearts

2007-05-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

Michael's mom

This is a poem by my husband. I love reading it because it reminds me how lovely it is to have the heart of a child. Don't take the time correct grammar mistakes (for example, I know funnest is not a word, but who cares? :D), instead, let this poem remind you that despite the difficulties of life, we can remember that we are children of God, and striving to enjoy the simple parts of life that God has given us is glorifying to Him! Spending an hour watching the birds fly, watching the ants scurry, eating a popsicle and not worrying about the calories...but in everything, glorifying God...that is life. Isn't it?

The most funnest, important, crazy, heart wrenching, warming,
and awesome responsibility in the whole entire world

Is to fill even the smallest spot in the heart of a little boy or girl.
And maybe in that venture we'll find something God intended
Motives that are pure in faith not tweaked, twisted or bended
Prick your ears up to the echoed laughter in neighborhood corners
And gaze into the bliss of dancing that exact emotion and anywhere you like
Enjoy a jump in a puddle, a teddy bear cuddle then fly a homemade kite and even wheelies on your bike.
Blindly parade your busy-bee life into a jar of honey
and lets not forget life's intricate treasures like feeding a carrot to a bunny
Lets reminisce of caught memories that were monstrous in a moment and forgotten in a wisp of mom's cooking tugging at your jelly filled heart; and deliberate why we couldn't stop laughing when grandma let out a fart
What about cool rocks and mud layered socks, reckless shooting stars and empty cookie jars.
Those playful pet frogs and 20 foot dogs, a mudpuddle sea and a bike rides' scraped knee
Why can't our lives still be:
G.I. Joe, that royal front seat, hugs after a stubbed toe, and a DQ treat
Remember when:
Sister Did it, Brother Hid it, Dog ate it and the squirm of Hooks Baited
The calm of picnic shade and warmth of cookies made, playing catch and dogs to fetch
I consider we leave time afar for no allotted time and let your troubles blur for just long enough
to listen to the glisten of the wonder of what could be
If you could simplify your life into the mystery of that crazy bird perched up on that tree
Dreams build steam in a ray moonbeam
and Gigantor Esteems has lead me astray from a fairy tale theme
Fearlessly setting sail allegiance on seas of trust
Then come bullies in the schoolyard and at the back of the bus
Something missing in one hurting another's fun
King's and Queen's of the Sandbox drop their faded crowns
Tears only temporarily remedied with the wit of life's clowns
We hope that when they are older their wrinkles reflect...
will reflect their smiles and not their frowns
Near perfect acts of popular excellence may bring crowds into a dome
But the faith of a child will always lead you home
If one thing I believed was true in everything I've learned thus far
This same dilemma we find in playgrounds may find our thoughts today
So look for little versions of us and still I nobly say,
The most funnest, important, crazy, heart wrenching, warming, and awesome responsibility in the whole entire world
Is the fill even the smallest spot in the heart of a little boy or girl.

~by Michael - Inspired by the departure his Mother

2007-05-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

Flea's can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air.

The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.

The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.

The Atlantic Giant Squid's eye can be as large as 15.75 inches (40 centimeters) wide.

The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee.

The female Tarantula Hawk wasp paralyzes a large spider with her sting. She then lays her eggs on the motionless body so that her developing young have a fresh supply of spider meat to feed on.

Starfish don't have brains.

Shrimp's hearts are in their heads.

Porcupines float in water.

An iguana can stay under water for twenty-eight minutes.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

Hummingbirds are the only animals able to fly backwards.

Armadillos can walk underwater.

The human brain is 80% water.

There are more living organisms on the skin of a single human being than there are human beings on the surface of the earth. (CRAZY!!)

Moths have no stomach.

A starfish can turn its stomach inside out.

Sharks are immune to cancer.

Cheetah's can accelerate from 0 to 70 km/h in 3 seconds.

Shark's teeth are literally as hard as steel.

Elephants have been known to remain standing after they die.

Ants do not sleep.

"It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me." -Jeremiah 27:5

This is the very knife which cut the throat of your child!

2007-05-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

This is the very knife which cut the throat of your child!

(Brooks, "The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures")

"Suppose a man should come to his dinner table, and there
should be a knife laid down, and it should be told him, "This
is the very knife which cut the throat of your child!" If
the man would use this knife as a common knife, would not
everyone say, "Surely this man had but very little love to his
child, who can use this bloody knife as a common knife!"

Just so, when you meet with any temptation to sin, oh, then
say, "This is the very knife which cut the throat of Jesus,
and pierced His sides! This very knife was the cause of His
sufferings, and made Christ to be a curse!" Ah, how should
Christians look upon sin as that accursed thing, which made
Christ a curse--and accordingly to abhor it! Oh, with what
detestation should every Christian fling away his sins! "Sin,
you have slain my Lord--and poured out His heart's blood!
You have been the only cause of the death of my Savior!"

Look upon the cross on which Christ was crucified, and the
pains He suffered thereon--and the seeming sweetness which
is in sin will quickly vanish. When you are solicited to sin,
cast your eye upon Christ's cross; remember His astonishing
sufferings for your sin, and sin will soon grow distasteful to
your soul. How can sin not be hateful to us--if we seriously
consider how hurtful it was to Jesus Christ?"

Grace Gems (choice electronic books, sermons & quotes)

Sovereign Grace Treasures (choice printed books)

Esther Burr

2007-05-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

I heard an awesome sermon this weekend by Piper, "Holy women who hoped in God." The LORD has been ministering to me by the lives of so many godly women. So this week my hope is to share my study with you.

"There are countless women to serve as examples for us, both in the Scriptures and since those days. Esther was the second daughter of Jonathan Edwards—he had eight! She married Aaron Burr, who became President of Princeton College. She had learned her father's piety and put her hope in God, not man.

Her journals were just published in 1984 and you can read there about her fight of faith. For example, in 1754 she gave birth to a little girl named Sarah and discovered that she had what they called a "crooked neck." Esther humbled herself before God and wrote, "Perhaps God foresaw that we should be too proud of her, and so has sent this calamity to mortify us and her."

Three years later on September 24, 1757, Esther's husband died in the pursuit of his duties at the College. She does not gloss over her pain. She calls it a "deep wound." And says that "God only can know and to him alone would I carry my complaint." But then within two weeks she writes to her mother,

"God has seemed sensibly near, in such a supporting and comfortable manner that I think I have never experienced the like . . . Request earnestly of the Lord that I may never . . . faint under this his severe stroke . . . O I am afraid I shall conduct myself so as to bring dishonour on . . . the religion which I profess."

What is the one thing that a woman who hopes in God fears? She fears bringing dishonor on God. She fears that she may fail to glorify God under the rod of his hard providence. And how does she quiet her heart in the midst of that fear? She preaches herself a sermon about the character of God. Esther Burr wrote,

At night when retired felt calmed with the thought that God would be Glorified . . . The ever blessed God will lose none of his glory, let men or Devils do their worst."

Holy women who hoped in God: John Piper

Run that you may obtain the prize

2007-05-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

I am starting a new blog here. If you are bored, send me some encouragement while I train for the Twin Cities marathon alone! :D

The Holiness of God

2007-05-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

Romans 8:28

2007-05-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

I remember in 10th grade when Mike, my best friend, was killed in a car accident, I took one look at Christ and hate welled up in my heart. People told me to "seek comfort in the arms of Christ." What foolishness had gotten a hold of these people? How dare they bring up God , when it was Him who took my friend away?

At that time, I was certainly not saved. So Romans 8:28 did not apply to me whatsoever. However, what was so awesome is how Christ transformed me by Mike's death. About a year after he died, his parents decided to adopt 3 children from Albania. And even my unregenerate heart was humbled. As I spoke blasphemies at Christ, He showered love on Mike's family and those 3 kids; He showered love on me. He showed me that out of deep pain, love could still win. Without Mike's death, 3 little kids would be without a home. Without Mike's death, I wouldn't have seen now how Romans 8:28 is indeed true!

And more importantly, the most sanctified part of my life has been remembering my great sin in hating God, and knowing that that very sin is one that has been washed away by His blood. While I was sinning, Christ died for me. While I blasphemed His Name, He gave up His life for me. He loved me, not because I loved Him, but because He chose to love me despite my sins....because of the righteousness of Christ.

That is marvelous indeed. Isn't it?

2007-05-08T09:24:00.000-05:00

"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet like the deer's;
He makes me tread on my high places."

(Habakkuk 3:17-19)

The Excellent Wife

2007-05-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

"God's will for every Christian wife is that her most important ministry be to her husband (Genesis 2:18). After a wife's own personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing else should have a greater priority. Her husband should be the primary benefactor of his wife's time and energy, not the recipient of what may be left over at the end of the day. Whether her husband is a faithful Christian man, or an unbeliever, God wants every Christian woman to be a godly wife-an excellent wife." -Martha Peace

A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna

2007-05-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

Links: Voice of the Sheep
ASSIST News Service

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

SMYRNA, TURKEY (ANS) -- Smyrna is an ancient city (today known as Izmir in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.

It was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the book of Revelation. Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey. Due to the fact that the port city of Izmir houses the second largest population in Turkey today, the site of ancient Smyrna has been little excavated. Excepting the agora, theater, and sections of the Roman aqueduct, little remains of the ancient city.

But there is a protestant church in there that calls itself "The Protestant Church of Smyrna" and it has issued the following letter to the Global Church which was sent to ANS.

Here it is in its entirety:

Dear friends,
This past week has been filled with much sorrow. Many of you have heard by now of our devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
On Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007, 46 year old German missionary and father of three Tilman Geske prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye taking a moment to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, “Goodbye, son. I love you.”
Tilman rented an office space from Zirve Publishing where he was preparing notes for the new Turkish Study Bible. Zirve was also the location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office. A ministry of the church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey. In another area of town, 35 year old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife, leaving for the office as well. They had a morning Bible Study and prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be attending. Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study.
None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them in the Lord’s presence.
On the other side of town, ten young men all under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels who they felt undermined Islam.
On Resurrection Sunday, five of these men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.” No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story.
These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected here; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university entrance exams.
The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10 o’clock.
They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began. Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours*

[Details of the torture--
* Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated.]

Neighbors in workplaces near the print house said later they had heard yelling, but assumed the owners were having a domestic argument so they did not respond.

Meanwhile, another believer Gokhan and his wife had a leisurely morning. He slept in till 10, ate a long breakfast and finally around 12:30 he and his wife arrived at the office. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside. He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. “We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,” he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a strange snarling sound.

He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan. The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene.

Tilman and Necati had been slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear to ear. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive.

Three assailants in front of the policeman dropped their weapons.

Meanwhile Gokhan heard a sound of yelling in the street. Someone had fallen from their third story office. Running down, he found a man on the ground, whom he later recognized, named Emre Gunaydin. He had massive head trauma and, strangely, was snarling. He had tried to climb down the drainpipe to escape, and losing his balance had plummeted to the ground. It seems that he was the main leader of the attackers. Another assailant was found hiding on a lower balcony.

To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April 2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu) began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism. Statements made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators have fueled a hatred against missionaries who they claim bribe young people to change their religion.

After that decision in 2001, attacks and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways Christians are being targeted. Most significant is the use of media propaganda.

From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit, historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession began a campaign to bring the public’s attention to the looming threat of Christians who sought to “buy their children’s souls”. Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity.

In an official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers. Amid public outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with the same message, “We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here.”

It appears that this was an organized attack initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader. As in the Hrant Dink murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents of these children are in favor of the acts. The mother of the 16 year old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the cameras as her son was going to prison and said, “He will serve time for Allah.”

The young men involved in the killing are currently in custody. Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and his contacts and they say will fall apart if he does not recover.

The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media.

When Susanne Tilman expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya, the Governor tried to stop it, and when he realized he could not stop it, a rumor was spread that “it is a sin to dig a grave for a Christian.” In the end, in an undertaking that should be remembered in Christian history forever, the men from the church in Adana (near Tarsus), grabbed shovels and dug a grave for their slain brother in an un-tended hundred year old Armenian graveyard.

Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiancé watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for.

Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light. Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.

Necati’s funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, “His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.”

Boldly the believers took their stand at Necati’s funeral, facing the risks of being seen publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their future use. The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Izmir.

Two assistant Governors of Izmir were there solemnly watching the event from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral had on those watching? This is the beginning of their story as well. Pray for them.

In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Susanne Tilman in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34).

In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.”

The missionaries in Malatya will most likely move out, as their families and children have become publicly identified as targets to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding. What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11)

When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir, categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical churches in Izmir. The darkness does not understand the light. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6)

Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverance,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek.

The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness.

This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus.

Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the un-subduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ.

We don’t know the details. We don’t know the kind of justice that will or will not be served on this earth.

But we pray-- and urge you to pray-- that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church.

Time may change me, but I can't change time

2007-05-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

I have to confess, I often spend too much time editing, rewriting and reviewing my blog. No, this is not necessarily a sin, but the time I spend doing it is while I am at work. That is a sin.

SO. My plan is to stop blogging, and to only publish the things that have edified me. I tend to read a lot and very often can't remember where I read it. So I'll publish it here for your benefit as well.

So I'll still be around, just not writing as much. That doesn't mean you can't stop by and say "hi" though!

So this is the last change (template) I'll download for awhile (hopefully). I just wanted something that could show the links easily. :D

1 Peter 1:3-9
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Not again!

2007-05-02T12:24:00.001-05:00

Yes. I changed my template again. What can I say? I'm crazy!

Purification (from Valley of Vision)

2007-05-02T07:38:00.000-05:00

Lord Jesus, I sin. Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable, to live for Thee and not for self, to copy Thy words, acts, spirit, to be transformed into Thy likeness, to be consecrated wholly to Thee, to live entirely to Thy glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things unclean, from wrong associations, from the predominance of evil passions, from the sugar of sin as well as its gap; that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching I may come to Thee, cast myself on Thee, trust in Thee, cry to Thee, be delivered by Thee.

O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but Thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but Thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but Thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but Thou art wisdom.

If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it, but do Thou sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that nothing be lost. If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace take away my mourning and give me music; remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty; still my sighs and fill my mouth with song, then give me summer weather as a Christian.

The importance of confession

2007-05-01T07:52:00.001-05:00

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Somehow, I missed the confession part of the Gospel. Every time I'd sin, the first thing I'd do is feel sad and guilt-stricken, thinking, "Well, God's mercy is new every morning." I haven't the slightest idea how I missed that while God's mercy is indeed new every morning, it's also available at every moment.

From the time of God's saving grace in my life, I've been forgiven for every single sin I've committed and will commit. And forgetting to confess it is another sin covered by His blood. But even though my sins have been covered by Jesus' sacrifice, that does not null the importance of confession.

I'd been having the hardest time falling asleep because of anxiety issues. This has been an ongoing problem for more than year (of course, the problem that I'm highly addicted to caffeine doesn't help either). A couple weeks ago, I shared with a sister in Christ this problem, and she said, "Samantha, have you been confessing your anxiety?"

Really. What an idiot I can be. I had not realized it was a sin at all. In fact, I would sit and cry all night wondering why God wouldn't take away my anxiety. I would pray and pray and pray, but never actually confessing that my fear was actually a lack of trust in Christ.

I love how the LORD works. Even though it took a year to find this out, it taught me a great lesson. And the amazing thing is that that night I confessed my fear to Him, I fell asleep without the aide of sleeping medicine. And He also healed my anxiety.

So now, I'm a confessing machine. That stupid comment I said? I confess it. My road rage? I confess it. My OCD problems? I confess it. Confession! Ah, what a breath of fresh air! The LORD transforms us in all these situations and the best way to learn is to actually be put through trials. That is where we grow. That is where we see the Hand of the LORD. And I am glad to be in His fold. Praise the LORD.

A quote from my Pastor

2007-04-29T20:45:00.000-05:00

"You will never lack what you need to glorify Christ."
-Pastor R.W. Glenn (I hope I quoted that right!)

Question

2007-04-27T07:43:00.000-05:00

2 Timothy 4:1-2
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

Just wondering something sort of obvious....but when Paul says that Christ is the judge of the living and the dead, would he be classifying believers as being the living, and the unregenerate as the dead?

Mr. McLaren

2007-04-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

"I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts … rather than resolving the paradox via pronouncements on the eternal destiny of people more convinced by or loyal to other religions than ours, we simply move on … To help Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and everyone else experience life to the full in the way of Jesus (while learning it better myself), I would gladly become one of them (whoever they are), to whatever degree I can, to embrace them, to join them, to enter into their world without judgment but with saving love as mine has been entered by the Lord." (Brain McLaren: A Generous Orthodoxy, 260, 262, 264).

Yes, let's love them all the way to hell. That is all this sort of mindset will accomplish.

Decisional Regeneration

2007-04-25T15:21:00.001-05:00

Thank you Wednesday

2007-04-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

Our pastor reminds us that Christ has died for our every moment.

...Sitting in church daydreaming
...gossiping about that co-worker
...having lustful thoughts
...stealing the pen from the welcome folder at church
...corrupting talk
...impatience
...unrighteous anger....

Every single moment. I could not fellowship with believers were it not for Christ. Nor could I pray, worship, confess, find hope....not without the sacrificial blood of the Lamb.

This, I am thankful for. "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

So they are without excuse

2007-04-24T08:27:00.000-05:00

"Somewhere, and I can't find where, I read about an Eskimo hunter who asked the local missionary priest,
"If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?"

"No" said the priest, "not if you did not know."

"Then why," asked the Eskimo earnestly, "did you tell me?" -Annie Dillard

Maybe the priest forgot to read Romans 1:18-23.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

According to Paul, we do not have an excuse.

I know it doesn't seem fair that someone should go to hell just because they haven't heard of Christ. But I think Paul was anticipating this response, which is why he says in Romans 10:14-18:

"But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

"Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

God's justice is not man-made. God doesn't "cut people a little slack" because they did not trust in the cleansing power of Christ's blood. After all, what would be the point of Christ's death? His blood shed for His people, so that the unregenerate men who refuse to believe can be accepted into heaven?

Where's the justice in that?

The lovely thing is, God's purposes in salvation will indeed come to pass. Those whom He's elected to be saved will indeed be saved! They will hear the Gospel. Thankfully He's not waiting for us to act, because if He were, He'd still be waiting.

The Blank Bible

2007-04-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

Building a Blank Bible

What an excellent idea! I would really love LOVE to buy Jonathan Edward's blank bible, but it runs at about $100 used to $200 new.

My reading list for the next few months:

1) The Excellent Wife (Martha Peace) ...Reading....
2) Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (John Murray)
3) Instruments in the Redeemers Hands (Paul David Tripp)
4) Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin (John Piper)
5) Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

At least, that's what I'm thinking. Any thoughts? Any books you would recommend?

Ephesians 4:29-30

2007-04-23T07:04:00.000-05:00

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Recommended book: Humility: True Greatness
Author: C.J. Mahaney

Thank you Wednesday

2007-04-18T07:11:00.000-05:00

Praise God that "salvation belongs to the LORD!" I'd be in a miserable state if it depended on men.

"If God would have painted a yellow stripe on the backs of the elect I would go around lifting shirts. But since He didn't I must preach `whosoever will' and when`whosoever' believes I know he is one of the elect."
-Charles Spurgeon

Silence of the Monks

2007-04-16T06:25:00.000-05:00

There is an order of Christian (likely Catholic) monks that have taken a vow of silence. Their goal? To get closer to God.

On the surface, this seems like an excellent idea: get away from the world, concentrate on prayer and scripture, limit worldly temptations and influences...yes, many "benefits." But I wonder, is this really what God has asked of us? After all, our Teacher did not live in complete solitude from man. In fact, He made His home among men. And if we are to be like Him, shouldn't we imitate His life as well?

Jesus has called us to be light in this dark world. I don't know how we can be light if we hide ourselves up in mountains. How can the world see Christ if we've vowed to not preach Him? Faith comes from hearing. How can the world hear the Gospel if we refuse to commune with lost souls?

A vow of silence not only inhibits the preaching of the Gospel, but also in the sanctification of our own souls. God is wise and has created a brethren...a family of believers for us. I have been richly blessed by my brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing in their sorrows, they in mine, sharing in public worship, prayer, fellowship....the benefits of being a part of Christ's living, breathing church is amazing. Like my friend once said,

"Ever see a film of lions in Africa hunting? What they do is try to find the "outlyer", the one who is outside the herd. If they can find a wildebeast, for instance, all by itself, they have a sure meal. Why? The animals they hunt weren't designed to be alone, so when they are, they are weaker and vulnerable. Oh! How odd! God says the same thing about us. "It is not good for man to be alone."Christians were designed to be "herd animals". We aren't called "the finger of Christ" - we are called "the Body of Christ". That's because we're designed to work as a group. That means that we receive the most when we are in a group. That also means that we are most able to exercise our gifts when we are in a group. All believers are called on to be ministers."

Amen to that!

Letter on Free-will

2007-04-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

LETTER ON FREE-WILL, J. N. Darby
Elberfeld, October 23, 1861.

Very Dear Brother,

I had a little lost sight of an important subject of your last letter but one, solely through the multitude of my occupations. This fresh breaking out of the doctrine of free-will helps on the doctrine of the natural man's pretension not to be entirely lost, for that is really what it amounts to. All men who have never been deeply convinced of sin, all persons with whom this conviction is based upon gross and outward sins, believe more or less in free-will. You know that it is the dogma of the Wesleyans, of all reasoners, of all philosophers. But this idea completely changes all the idea of Christianity and entirely perverts it.

If Christ has come to save that which is lost, free-will has no longer any place. Not that God hinders man from receiving Christ — far from it. But even when God employs all possible motives, everything which is capable of influencing the heart of man, it only serves to demonstrate that man will have none of it, that his heart is so corrupted and his will so decided not to submit to God (whatever may be the truth of the devil's encouraging him in sin), that nothing can induce him to receive the Lord and to abandon sin. If, by liberty of man, it is meant that no one obliges him to reject the Lord, this liberty exists fully. But if it is meant that, because of the dominion of sin to which he is a slave, and willingly a slave, he cannot escape from his state and choose good (while acknowledging that it is good, and approving it), then he has no liberty whatever. He is not subject to the law, neither indeed can be; so that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

And here is where we touch more closely upon the bottom of the question. Is it the old man that is changed, instructed, and sanctified? or do we receive, in order to be saved, a new nature? The universal character of the unbelief of these times is this — not the formally denying Christianity, as heretofore, or the rejection of Christ openly, but the receiving Him as a person, it will be even said divine, inspired (but as a matter of degree), who re-establishes man in his position of a child of God. Where Wesleyans are taught of God, faith makes them feel that without Christ they are lost, and that it is a question of salvation. Only their fright with regard to pure grace, their desire to gain men, a mixture of charity and of the spirit of man, in a word, their confidence in their own powers, makes them have a confused teaching and not recognize the total fall of man.

For myself, I see in the word, and I recognize in myself, the total ruin of man. I see that the cross is the end of all the means that God had employed for gaining the heart of man, and therefore proves that the thing was impossible. God has exhausted all His resources, and man has shewn that he was wicked, without remedy, and the cross of Christ condemns man — sin in the flesh. But this condemnation having been manifested in another's having undergone it, it is the absolute salvation of those who believe; for condemnation, the judgment of sin, is behind us; life was the issue of it in the resurrection. We are dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Redemption, the very word, loses its force when one entertains these ideas of the old man. It becomes an amelioration, a practical deliverance from a moral state, not a redeeming by the accomplished work of another person. Christianity teaches the death of the old man and his just condemnation, then redemption accomplished by Christ, and a new life, eternal life, come down from heaven in His person, and which is communicated to us when Christ enters us by the word. Arminianism, or rather Pelagianism, pretends that man can choose, and that thus the old man is ameliorated by the thing it has accepted. The first step is made without grace, and it is the first step which costs truly in this case.

I believe we ought to hold to the word; but, philosophically and morally speaking, free-will is a false and absurd theory. Freewill is a state of sin. Man ought not to have to choose, as being outside good. Why is he in this state? He ought not to have a will, any choice to make. He ought to obey and enjoy in peace. If he ought to choose good, then he has not got it yet. He is without what is good in himself, any way, since he has not made his decision. But, in fact, man is disposed to follow that which is evil. What cruelty to propose a duty to man who has already turned to evil! Moreover, philosophically speaking, he must be indifferent; otherwise he has already chosen as to his will — he must then be absolutely indifferent. But if he is absolutely indifferent, what is to decide his choice? A creature must have a motive; but he has none, since he is indifferent; if he is not, he has chosen.

Finally, it is not at all thus: man has a conscience; but he has a will and lusts, and they lead him. Man was free in Paradise, but then he enjoyed what was good. He used his free choice, and therefore he is a sinner. To leave him to his free choice, now that he is disposed to do evil, would be a cruelty. God has presented the choice to him, but it was to convince the conscience of the fact, that in no case did man want either good or God.

I have been somewhat oppressed with sleep while writing to you, but I think you will understand me. That people should believe that God loves the world — this is very well; but that they should not believe that man is in himself wicked, without remedy (and in spite of the remedy), is very bad. One does not know oneself and one does not know God.

. . . The Lord is coming, dear brother; the time for the world is departing. What a blessing! May God find us watching and thinking only of one thing — the One of whom He thinks — Jesus our precious Saviour. Salute the brethren.

Your very affectionate brother,
J. N. D.

Understanding Calvinism

2007-04-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

In response to this comment (I am commenting on this publicly since it was posted on my blog publicly):

"...But in wanting the truth to be spoken, I will let you know that Calvinism is very Jehovah's Witness. They believe that only 144,000 people will be allowed in to heaven. The elect. Jesus died for all. Not just some. Being a believer and a servant of God should be enough on its own, without being made into an exclusive club that was decided before the world began. If that was the case, God would have never formed the Levities as the missionary priests of the Israelites. He is powerful enough to have his elect taken care of without going out to the world. Missionaries would be worthless, whoever convinced you to understand grace, was not needed. God doesn't need our help. He does it his way, as it pleases him. It pleased him to forgive, love, and give everyone a chance."

1) Calvinism is very JW's

I'm not sure what to even say about this. Every Calvinist belief depends solely on the grace of God, solely on the sovereignty of God, solely on Jesus Christ. JW's, on the other hand, base much of their beliefs on heretical teachings, slandering Jesus Christ's divinity and base their salvation on a gospel of works. They don't believe in hell or even believe in the Christ of scripture. Calvinists and JW's are not alike in any respect.

2) Jesus died for all. Not just some: I think Piper puts it best:

"For whom did Christ die?" But behind the question of the extent of the atonement lies the equally important question about the nature of the atonement. What did Christ actually achieve on the cross for those for whom he died?

If you say that he died for every human being in the same way, then you have to define the nature of the atonement very differently than you would if you believed that Christ only died for those who actually believe. In the first case you would believe that the death of Christ did not actually save anybody; it only made all men savable. It did not actually remove God's punitive wrath from anyone, but instead created a place where people could come and find mercy—IF they could accomplish their own new birth and bring themselves to faith without the irresistible grace of God.

For if Christ died for all men in the same way then he did not purchase regenerating grace for those who are saved. They must regenerate themselves and bring themselves to faith. Then and only then do they become partakers of the benefits of the cross.

In other words if you believe that Christ died for all men in the same way, then the benefits of the cross cannot include the mercy by which we are brought to faith, because then all men would be brought to faith, but they aren't. But if the mercy by which we are brought to faith (irresistible grace) is not part of what Christ purchased on the cross, then we are left to save ourselves from the bondage of sin, the hardness of heart, the blindness of corruption, and the wrath of God.

Therefore it becomes evident that it is not the Calvinist who limits the atonement. It is the Arminian, because he denies that the atoning death of Christ accomplishes what we most desperately need—namely, salvation from the condition of deadness and hardness and blindness under the wrath of God. The Arminian limits the nature and value and effectiveness of the atonement so that he can say that it was accomplished even for those who die in unbelief and are condemned. In order to say that Christ died for all men in the same way, the Arminian must limit the atonement to a powerless opportunity for men to save themselves from their terrible plight of depravity.

On the other hand we do not limit the power and effectiveness of the atonement. We simply say that in the cross God had in view the actual redemption of his children. And we affirm that when Christ died for these, he did not just create the opportunity for them to save themselves, but really purchased for them all that was necessary to get them saved, including the grace of regeneration and the gift of faith.

We do not deny that all men are the intended beneficiaries of the cross in some sense. 1 Timothy 4:10 says that Christ is "the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." What we deny is that all men are intended as the beneficiaries of the death of Christ in the same way. All of God's mercy toward unbelievers—from the rising sun (Matthew 5:45) to the worldwide preaching of the gospel (John 3:16)—is made possible because of the cross.

This is the implication of Romans 3:25 where the cross is presented as the basis of God's righteousness in passing over sins. Every breath that an unbeliever takes is an act of God's mercy withholding judgment (Romans 2:4). Every time the gospel is preached to unbelievers it is the mercy of God that gives this opportunity for salvation.

Whence does this mercy flow to sinners? How is God just to withhold judgment from sinners who deserve to be immediately cast into hell? The answer is that Christ's death so clearly demonstrates God's just abhorrence of sin that he is free to treat the world with mercy without compromising his righteousness. In this sense Christ is the savior of all men.

But he is especially the Savior of those who believe. He did not die for all men in the same sense. The intention of the death of Christ for the children of God was that it purchase far more than the rising sun and the opportunity to be saved. The death of Christ actually saves from ALL evil those for whom Christ died "especially."

3) Missionaries would be worthless, whoever convinced you to understand grace, was not needed. God doesn't need our help. He does it his way, as it pleases him.

I would like you to find 1 true, converted Calvinist who claims that preaching the Gospel is unnecessary. I highly doubt you'd find one. Faith comes from hearing the Gospel, and we've been commanded to preach it. So we do.

But here we do agree. God doesn't need our help. But He's chosen to make us instruments in spreading the Gospel. And yes, He does it His way, according to His will, according to His pleasure.

4) It pleased him to forgive, love, and give everyone a chance.

It pleases God to forgive us and love us because of His Son. It's not that we have any worth on our own. The only worth we have is in Him, who was crucified for us.

No one deserves a chance. Every single person on this earth deserves to burn in hell for all eternity. It's is amazing grace that the LORD has even saved one, single person. Amazing, amazing grace.

Thank You Wednesday

2007-04-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start something new here. Every Wednesday, I will post
on my blessings. Too often, I forget to thank God for the marvelous things He's done in my life....in trials, in rebuking and discipline, in my brethren....etc. etc. I thought this might be a good way for us all to remember that not only can we come to God with our requests, but also our praise.

So this week..... I am thankful for my puppy: K.C. [Kind Companion]

Meet K.C. He's my black lab/springer mix. His favorite toys are tennis balls and his blanket. He drags around his blanket all over our apartment....puts it around my foot to play tug of war, he eats it (yes, I find it in his poop :) and he wrestles with it, putting it over his face and attacking is viciously. He also likes to put 3, yes, 3 tennis balls in his mouth at one time. He's a bit on the selfish side with his toys, but I don't think he realizes that Michael and I don't really care to fight him for them! What I am most thankful for with K.C. though, is his companionship.

I remember when we first got him. He was a tiny, little puppy, very naughty and stubborn. I thought it was a bad idea that we had him. I was only 19 at the time and I could barely take care of myself, let alone a dog! But God's providence is so wise. When Michael got his job, he started out working nights. I worked 8am-5pm, and he worked 4pm-12am. I never saw him. I was so lonely and sad, but praise be to God that He gave me K.C. He did whatever I wanted. If I wanted to go on a 3 mile walk, he obediently walked beside me. If I cried, he'd give me his toys, hoping to cheer me up a little (at least, that's what I think). He brought a lot of joy to my lonely heart.

Even now, he is one of my greatest joys. He's like my child. I don't want to think of the day that he's gone....even now I feel the tears welling up. God is so loving to give me a little piece of joy like my doggy, and I do not thank Him enough for him. So thank you God for showing me what companionship means through K.C. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be faithful and learning how to enjoy simple things....like grass, sticks, chasing birds, running in fields, rolling in mud....thank you for sanctifying me in my relationship with K.C.

You will be hated by all?

2007-04-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

I was reading an interview with Billy Graham, and was surprised to read that, "the Gallup Poll named him among the 10 most admired men in the world -- a 50th time for him on that list."

Before I go on, let me state that I love Billy Graham, his ministry, and his passion to spreading the Gospel.

What's bothering me though, is that he is among the most "admired men in the world." In Matthew 10:22, Jesus says:

"...you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Hated. Not loved, but hated. Isn't there a problem with this? When Jesus came into the world, men hated him. Why did they hate him? Because the Truth breaks pride, breaks strength, breaks self sufficiency. The Truth of the Gospel puts man at the bottom and God on top. The Truth of God's commandments show us how sinful we are. There is no room for "unity" in sin....if you are gay, repent. If you are living in sin (I am speaking specifically to lust), repent. If you lie, repent. If you are an alcoholic, repent. If you steal, repent. If you love the world, REPENT.

Do you see this? The Truth will always divide because it must! The LORD is separating His elect from the rest of the world. The world should not love us. And I don't mean that they should not love us because we are mean, but because we love God more than the world! Unregenerate men LOVE the world and love their sin. But they do not love God. And can we expect them to love us if they do not love God?

So I'm just wondering....what is it that makes Billy Graham "loved"?

That being said, before you all attack me....I'm just thinking this through. Your thoughts?

Here is something I remember reading....an interview with Billy Graham on Larry King. If you read it, it might explain why I am having such an issue with this!

Paul Washer

2007-04-10T10:25:00.001-05:00

This (I think) is a shorter version of a sermon I posted awhile ago. Nevertheless, it is always good to "test yourselves" to make sure you are in the faith. This is worth a re-listen.

Resurrection

2007-04-08T07:52:00.000-05:00

O GOD OF MY EXODUS,
Great was the joy of Israel's sons
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy
when the redeemer's foe lay crushed in the dust.
Jesus strides forth as the victor,
conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might;
He bursts the bands of death,
tramples the powers of darkness down,
and lives forever.
He, my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment of my debt,
comes forth from the prison house of the grave
Free and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.
Show me herein the proof that His vicarious offering is accepted,
that the claims of justice are satisfied,
that the devil's sceptre is shivered,
that his wrongful throne is levelled.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died, in Him I rise,
in His life I live, in His victory I triumph,
in His ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who was a man of sorrows wast crowned with thorns,
art now as LORD of life wreathed in glory.
Once, no shame more deep than thine,
no agony more bitter, no death more cruel.
Now, now exaltation more high,
no life more glorious, no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive thine enemies behind thee.
What more could be done than thou has done!
Thy death is my life, thy resurrection my peace,
thy ascension my hope, thy prayers my comfort.
-The Valley of Vision

Gospel Opportunity

2007-04-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

How would you answer this question if posed by a non-believer?

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

(I ask because next Wednesday I am going to lunch with a co-worker who was in Vietnam. He is bitter and says that he doesn't understand why God would allow the war to happen, people to die....etc. etc. I told him we should discuss it over coffee and he's actually taking me up on it! But I'm scared and I can't even think of a way to answer the question biblically.)

ps: Could you keep me in your prayers, asking God to grant me wisdom and boldness in speaking the Truth of the Gospel? And that I would do it in a way that shows Christ's love?

And with the crowd, we viciously cheered, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

2007-04-03T07:15:00.000-05:00

As I finish reading through the Gospels, I always think, "How could these people be so cruel to Jesus?" And I find it hard to believe that I would act in the same way.

But now that I know the Truth, I understand that I, yes, I would have yelled with the people, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" The state of my soul without Christ is just as evil and vile as the people were in His day.

This week, meditate on this very fact: Christ died for the ungodly. The ungodly being YOU and ME. While we cheered for His crucifixion, it was our souls that He was saving.

Think on these things. I pray that our hearts would be softened and that we would marvel at how very gracious and merciful Jesus Christ truly is.

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Some things to marvel at

2007-03-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

I love learning about God's awesome creation:

The horseshoe crab has sky-blue blood.

The pouch on a pelican's beak can hold up to 2 gallons of water.

A freshly hatched crocodile is three times longer than the egg it came from.

The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.

Frogs have an ear drum on the outside of their head.

Polar bears look white, but they actually have black skin.

Crickets have ears on their front legs.

A blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant.

A cockroach can survive 9 days without its head before it starves to death.

Some frogs squirt blood from their eyes when they are angry

As John Piper says in His sermon, The Pleasures of God in His Creation,

"What is this universe but the lavish demonstration of the incredible, incomparable, unimaginable exuberance and wisdom and power and greatness of God! And what a God He must be! What a God He must be!

Which brings me to the final statement.

God rejoices in the works of creation because they point us beyond themselves to God Himself.

God means for us to be stunned and awed by His work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us always to look at His creation and say: If the work of His hands is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in Himself!!

These are but the backside of His glory seen through a glass darkly. What will it be to see the Creator Himself! Not His works! Not even a billion galaxies will satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul's end."

Praise the LORD

2007-03-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

The LORD has given me 2 days and 8 hours without a cigarette....with minimal cravings!!

Praise the LORD!

Thank you for your prayers.

Right Now Counts Forever by R.C. Sproul

2007-03-27T08:45:00.000-05:00

REGENERATION PRECEDES FAITH. This assertion that captures the heart of the distinctive theology of historic Augustinian and Reformed thought is the watershed assertion that distinguishes that theology from all forms of semi-Pelagianism.

The semi-Pelagian would argue that despite the ravages of the fall, man still has an island of righteousness left in his soul, by which he still can accept or reject God’s offer of grace. This view, so widely held in evangelical circles, argues that one must believe in Christ in order to be born again, and so the order of salvation is reversed in this view by maintaining that faith precedes regeneration.

However, when we consider the teaching on this issue as found in John’s record of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus, we see the emphasis that Jesus places on regeneration as a necessary condition, a sine qua non, for believing in Him. He says to Nicodemus in John 3:3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The must-ness of regeneration of which Jesus speaks is necessary for a person to see even the Kingdom of God, let alone to enter it.

The weakness of all semi-Pelagianism is that it invests in the fallen, corrupt flesh of man the power to exercise faith. Here, fallen man is able to come to Christ without regeneration, that is, before regeneration. On the other hand, the axiom that regeneration precedes faith gets to the very heart of the historic issue between Augustinianism and semi-Pelagianism.

In the Augustinian and Reformation view, regeneration is seen first of all as a supernatural work of God. Regeneration is the divine work of God the Holy Spirit upon the minds and souls of fallen people, by which the Spirit quickens those who are spiritually dead and makes them spiritually alive. This supernatural work rescues that person from his bondage to sin and his moral inability to incline himself towards the things of God.

Secondly, regeneration is a monergistic work. “Monergistic” means that it is the work of one person who exercises his power. In the case of regeneration, it is God alone who is able, and it is God alone who performs the work of regenerating the human soul. The work of regeneration is not a joint venture between the fallen person and the divine Spirit; it is solely the work of God.

Thirdly, the monergistic work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit is an immediate work. It is immediate with respect to time, and it is immediate with respect to the principle of operating without intervening means. The Holy Spirit does not use something apart from His own power to bring a person from spiritual death to spiritual life, and when that work is accomplished, it is accomplished instantaneously.

Fourthly, the work of regeneration is effectual. That is, when the Holy Spirit regenerates a human soul, the purpose of that regeneration is to bring that person to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Regeneration is more than giving a person the possibility of having faith, it gives him the certainty of possessing that saving faith.

The result of our regeneration is first of all faith, which then results in justification and adoption into the family of God. Nobody is born into this world a child of the family of God. We are born as children of wrath. The only way we enter into the family of God is by adoption, and that adoption occurs when we are united to God’s only begotten Son by faith.

Finally, it’s important to see that regeneration is a gift that God disposes sovereignly to all of those whom He determines to bring into His family.

Struggles

2007-03-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

I confess that I am struggling a lot with trying to quit smoking. If you know me, you won't be too surprised with it. I realize that it's not necessarily a "sin" to smoke, but for me, it is. At least, that is what the LORD has revealed to me. I've made smoking my idol. I've made it my comfort when things get stressful. And every time I have one, I feel guilty and ashamed. And anyway, we are trying to get pregnant! So I need to be healthy!!

I'm tired of quitting, then starting, then quitting again. I pray about it often, but I have yet to overcome this. If you are dropping by and reading this, could you say a quick prayer for me?

I hate to ask, but I'm starting to feel hopeless.

Please email me anytime if you'd like prayer. It's a privilege for me to be able to pray for you, in whatever circumstances or sins that you might be facing.

For His Glory

IDFLI syndrome

2007-03-20T07:04:00.000-05:00

I Don't Feel Like It syndrome.

It's a hard one to get over, especially when you are constantly allowing feelings to be your spiritual guide. Certainly there are "emotions" that come with being a Christian (joy of our salvation, love for our Savior, sorrow over our sin) but let's not forget that everyday we are battling our flesh. And everyday we have to fight to believe God's Truths and not let our "feelings" be our deciding factor.

I don't always "feel" like being nice. And I certainly do not always "feel" like praying, or reading my bible, or fellowshipping with my brothers and sisters, or being submissive to my husband. But that doesn't matter, does it? I cannot solely base everything on each emotion I feel.

I believe godly emotions are a gift. We read scripture. We ask God to reveal to us His Truth. When we face temptations, the Holy Spirit reminds us of what God's Truth is. If I don't "feel" like obeying His Word in that moment, does that give me license to sin? If I don't "feel" like fighting off my temptation, should I just sin?

Of course not. With time, however, I do believe that as we grow with Christ, His "emotions" will manifest themselves in our hearts. We will start to "feel" like going to church and "feel" like fighting off sin. We will love scripture and love prayer. And even though we will still fight off those sinful emotions to disobey, His Spirit will always be victorious! I do not mean that we will not sin, but that even if we do, His Spirit will convict us and cause us to repent. And that is a victory!

The fruit of conviction

2007-03-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

My soul has been downcast. I've been sorrowful because I see the great sickness of my soul: sin. I do not fear the LORD as I should. My sin is not as horrible to me as I know it is to God.

If I saw who God truly was, every sin against Him should cause me to fall into the pits of despair! I should fall at His feet and weep. I should weep that I caused His crown of thorns, His scourging, His mocking, His nails, His enduring of God's righteous wrath. And yet, I walk around like a ridiculous sinner, ungrateful for the salvation God has so graciously blessed me with!

Oh, if only I was like the great Puritans, who boldly recognized the depravity of their souls, their need of a Savior!

I find that the more I know Christ, the more sinful I see myself. I feel like my hands are stained with blood and filth. How can I walk up to Christ and ask Him to cleanse me? How can I approach His mercy seat when it is His blood that is on my hands?

How sinful we all truly are! How arrogant, boastful, prideful, filthy wretches we all are! How Great a Savior! How great a love He has lavished on such unworthy people as we.

If only it was enough. If only this Truth was enough to cause us to forsake all sin and to grasp tightly the cross that was meant for us. If only we saw with new eyes the seriousness of each sin. None of it small. None of it will be forgotten! For only a righteousness not our own will cause us to see the Glory of God. Praise the Lord, the God of my salvation, the lover of my soul, the perfecter of my heart.

"Infinite upon infinite ... Infinite upon infinite!" - Jonathan Edwards

The Love of God and the Non-Elect

2007-03-14T10:14:00.001-05:00

The Love of God and the Non-Elect

Does God love only the elect and hate the non-elect?

By John MacArthur

The fact that some sinners are not elected to salvation is no proof that God’s attitude toward them is utterly devoid of sincere love. We know from Scripture that God is compassionate, kind, generous, and good even to the most stubborn sinners. Who can deny that these mercies flow out of God’s boundless love? Yet it is evident that they are showered even on unrepentant sinners.

It must be acknowledged, however, that explaining God’s love toward the reprobate is not as simple as most modern evangelicals want to make it. Clearly there is a sense in which the psalmist’s expression, “I hate the assembly of evildoers” (Ps. 26:5) is a reflection of the mind of God. “Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee? I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies” (Ps. 139:21-22). Such hatred as the psalmist expressed is a virtue, and we have every reason to conclude that it is a hatred God Himself shares. After all, He did say, “I have hated Esau” (Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13). The context reveals God was speaking of a whole race of wicked people. So there is a true and real sense in which Scripture teaches that God hates the wicked.

So an important distinction must be made. God loves believers with a particular love. It is a family love, the ultimate love of an eternal Father for His children. It is the consummate love of a Bridegroom for His bride. It is an eternal love that guarantees their salvation from sin and its ghastly penalty. That special love is reserved for believers alone.

However, limiting this saving, everlasting love to His chosen ones does not render God’s compassion, mercy, goodness, and love for the rest of mankind insincere or meaningless. When God invites sinners to repent and receive forgiveness (Isa. 1:18; Matt. 11:28-30), His pleading is from a sincere heart of genuine love. “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11). Clearly God does love even those who spurn His tender mercy, but it is a different quality of love, and different in degree from His love for His own.

A hymn a day keeps satan away....? Day 5

2007-03-02T08:40:00.000-06:00

Thou Lovely Source of True Delight

By: Anne Steele

1. Thou lovely source of true delight
Whom I unseen adore
Unveil Thy beauties to my sight
That I might love Thee more,
Oh that I might love Thee more.

2. Thy glory o’er creation shines
But in Thy sacred Word
I read in fairer, brighter lines
My bleeding, dying Lord,
See my bleeding, dying Lord

3. ’Tis here, whene’er my comforts droop
And sin and sorrow rise
Thy love with cheering beams of hope
My fainting heart supplies,
My fainting heart’s supplied

4. But ah! Too soon the pleasing scene
Is clouded o’er with pain
My gloomy fears rise dark between
And I again complain,
Oh and I again complain

5. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my light
Oh come with blissful ray
Break radiant through the shades of night
And chase my fears away,
Won’t You chase my fears away

6. Then shall my soul with rapture trace
The wonders of Thy love
But the full glories of Thy face
Are only known above,
They are only known above

A hymn a day keeps satan away....? Day 4

2007-03-01T07:20:00.000-06:00

Adelaide Pollard had a yearning in her heart to bring the Gospel to Africa. As her missionary trip grew closer, however, the funding fell through, and she was left feeling alone and discouraged. But God reminded her of Jeremiah 18:3-4:

"So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do."

She said, "Perhaps my questioning of God's will shows a flaw in life, so God has decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern."

The hymn, "Have thine own way, LORD" was written from that lesson. And she did eventually become a missionary to Africa. But she had to be patient. It was in the LORD's time, not hers. A good reminder for us all today!

Have Thine own way, Lord
Have Thine own way, Lord! have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter then snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power - all power- surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

Have Thine own way, Lord! have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

A hymn a day keeps satan away....? Day 3

2007-02-28T07:17:00.000-06:00

Last night and this morning I read this same verse in 2 different places of the bible, " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news!" (in Jeremiah and in Isaiah. And if I'm not mistaken, Paul quotes this same verse in Romans)

This morning I sat down and read my favorite chapter of the bible, Isaiah 53. I was thinking that it would be awesome to write a song from this chapter. And guess what? I opened my church hymnal to pick my, "hymn-a-day" and guess what? I opened to this song:

"Our God Reigns" by Lenny Smith

How lovely on the mountains
are the feet of him
Who bring good news, good news:
Announcing peace,
Proclaiming news of happiness.
Our God reigns, our God reigns!

(Chorus)
Our God reigns! Our God reigns!
Our God reigns! Our God reigns!

He had no stately form, He had no majesty
That we should be drawn to Him.
He was despised and we took no account of Him,
Yet now He reigns with the Most High.

Our God reigns! Our God reigns!
Our God reigns! Our God reigns!

It was our sin and guilt
That bruised and wounded Him.
It was our sin that brought Him down.
When we like sheep had gone astray
Our Shepherd came
And on His shoulders bore our shame.

Our God reigns! Our God reigns!
Our God reigns! Our God reigns!

Meek as a lamb that's led out to the slaughterhouse,
Dumb as a sheep before its shearer,
His life ran down upon the ground like pouring rain
That we might be born again.

Our God reigns! Our God reigns!
Our God reigns! Our God reigns!

Out of the tomb He came with grace and majesty;
He is alive, He is alive.
God loves us so, see here His hands, His feet, His side.
Yes, we know He is alive.

Do you recognize these verses? They are from Isaiah 53! And the first verse is the verse that's been popping out everywhere I turn. I wonder what the LORD is trying to tell me? :D

A hymn a day keeps satan away....? Day 2

2007-02-27T07:10:00.000-06:00

This past January, I felt the lowest of low. I lost interest in my favorite things, I was wishing I could end my life, and more seriously, I lost my hope in Christ. The difficult thing is when you know the Truth, and yet, even so, you don't believe that Truth. I didn't believe that Christ could take away my sins or wash away my guilt. I didn't believe He was sanctifying me. I lost my hope in Him; I lost my focus of the cross.

Praise God that my depression has lifted considerably. I'm feeling much more hopeful and have not entertained those sinful thoughts. But there are many, many lessons I learned from my depression. And I know God used that time for the benefit of my sanctification. After all, when we are in the lowest valleys, the power of Christ is seen even more clearly! Remember what the LORD told Paul about his thorn, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And Paul rejoices, saying, "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

This depression brought a fruitful of opportunities to cling closer to Christ, as it did in the life of William Cowper. William Cowper is the famous hymn writer of such wonderful hymns such as, "There is a fountain filled with blood" and "God moves in a mysterious way." Cowper spent most of his life suffering from depression. He tried to kill himself a number of times. Never once did he succeed:

"As the time drew nigh, his agony became more and more intense; he hoped and believed that madness would come to relieve him; he attempted also to make up his mind to commit suicide, though his conscience bore stern testimony against it; he could not by any argument persuade himself that it was right, but this desperation prevailed, and he procured from an apothecary the means of self-destruction. On the day before his public appearance was to be made, he happened to notice a letter in the newspaper, which to his disordered mind seemed like a malignant libel on himself. He immediately threw down the paper and rushed into the fields, determined to die in a ditch, but the thought struck him that he might escape from the country. With the same violence he proceeded to make hasty preparations for his flight; but while he was engaged in packing his portmanteau his mind changed, and he threw himself into a coach, ordering the man to drive to the Tower wharf, intending to throw himself into the river, and not reflecting that it would be impossible to accomplish his purpose in that public spot. On approaching the water, he found a porter seated upon some goods: he then returned to the coach and was conveyed to his lodgings at the Temple. On the way he attempted to drink the laudanum, but as often as he raised it, a convulsive agitation of his frame prevented it from reaching his lips; and thus, regretting the loss of the opportunity, but unable to avail himself of it, he arrived, half dead with anguish, at his apartment. He then shut the doors and threw himself upon the bed with the laudanum near him, trying to lash himself up to the deed; but a voice within seemed constantly to forbid it, and as often as he extended his hand to the poison, his fingers were contracted and held back by spasms.

At this time one of the inmates of the place came in, but he concealed his agitation, and as soon as he was left alone, a change came over him, and so detestable did the deed appear, that he threw away the laudanum and dashed the vial to pieces. The rest of the day was spent in heavy insensibility, and at night he slept as usual; but on waking at three in the morning, he took his penknife and lay with his weight upon it, the point toward his heart. It was broken and would not penetrate. At day break he arose, and passing a strong garter around his neck, fastened it to the frame of his bed: this gave way with his weight, but on securing it to the door, he was more successful, and remained suspended till he had lost all consciousness of existence. After a time the garter broke and he fell to the floor, so that his life was saved.; but the conflict had been greater than his reason could endure. He felt for himself a contempt not to be expressed or imagined; whenever he went into the street, it seemed as if every eye flashed upon him with indignation and scorn; he felt as if he had offended God so deeply that his guilt could never be forgiven, and his whole heart was filled with tumultuous pangs of despair. Madness was not far off, or rather madness was already come."

It was after these incidents that Cowper wrote my most favorite hymn, "There is a fountain filled with blood:"

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

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

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

In the midst of depression, Cowper was able to see that Christ could remove his guilt; that Christ's death was sufficient to cleanse him from all of his sins.

I hope that for all of you that might be suffering from depression, that you can see God's Hand in your depression. Nothing in this world happens by chance. If the LORD permits you to have depression, than ask Him to show you what He's teaching you. Be patient, and wait for the LORD. He is sufficient. He is enough.

A hymn a day keeps satan away....? Day 1

2007-02-26T07:17:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to eliminate the word "accident" from my vocabulary. Sure, I do things "accidentally" and sometimes things happen that cause "accidents" but knowing God's sovereignty and providence, I can no longer conclude that things happen "by accident." God is in control....nothing happens without His doing or permission.

Horatio Spafford understood that providence. His 4 daughters were killed when a ship collided with theirs while they were sailing on the Atlantic to Europe. This tragic "accident" inspired him to write the now famous hymn, "It is well with my soul:"

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Can you say these words during your trials? Can you see God's Hand during your sorrows? Praise be to God that there are no such things as accidents! This song has blessed me and has caused me to realize that the LORD sanctifies as He see's fit. And often, that sanctification causes a lot of pain. But God's mercy is new every morning. And because He loves us (believers) He trims the dead branches that hinder His face from view. Because of Spafford's loss, this hymn has comforted many in their losses. I pray that like Spafford, we can all say during our sorrows, "Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!" The LORD is enough! He alone is sufficient.

Not having a righteousness of my own

2007-02-22T08:56:00.000-06:00

"When I speak of growth in grace, I do not for a moment mean that a believer's interest in Christ can grow. I do not mean that he can grow in safety, acceptance with God or security. I do not mean that he can ever be more justified, more pardoned, more forgiven, more at peace with God, than he is the first moment he believes. I hold firmly that the justification of a believer is a finished, perfect and complete work; and that the weakest saint, though he may not know and feel it, is as completely justified as the strongest. I hold firmly that our election, calling, and standing in Christ admit of no degrees, increase or diminution....I would go to the stake, God helping me, for the glorious truth, that in the matter of justification before God every believer is complete in Christ (Col. 2:10)........When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this -- that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual-mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace...." - J. C. Ryle, 'Holiness'

Amen to that!

You know what I am noticing? As I grow to know Christ each day, the more vile and wretched I see myself. I am convicted over and over again of how sinful I am and how badly I need a Savior. But like John Bunyan rejoiced, I can too, "My righteousness is in Christ!"

I just love that.

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying

2007-02-21T07:44:00.000-06:00

"God told me to do it"

This is probably the most heretical line we could say...UNLESS IT LINES UP WITH SCRIPTURE.

There have been many, many, many people who claim that God told them to do something. "God told me to tell you ______" , "God told me that I shouldn't do ___________" or "God said_________"

It is SO dangerous, so, so, so, so, so, so dangerous to utter these words unless they match up entirely with scripture! And if scripture is silent on whatever it may be that you claim "God" has told you, I plead with you to not attribute it to God!

Great article on the subject: "God told me" by Mark Dever

Sanctified Tuesday

2007-02-20T07:07:00.000-06:00

Since today is the day that most people try and cram in as much sin as they possibly can (uh, makes me sick) I was hoping to change the mood and remind us what we are living for: Jesus Christ. I cannot believe how many GREAT books I've read in the past month. I really hope you might consider some of these for the sake of your edification and sanctification!!

Living the Cross Centered Life: C.J. Mahaney
You can read an excerpt of it here

This is seriously an amazing book. I'm not quite finished with it, but thus far, it has changed me. Al Mohler does the forward in this book and he says, "This book you now hold in your hands is nothing less than a manifesto for turning your world upside down" and that it certainly has. I am convicted and even more appalled and disgusted with my sin. There is a whole new meaning for me when I sing, "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross." I'm not going to go into detail, because I cannot even explain how much I love it.

Please read the excerpt!!
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Amazing Grace in the life of William Wilberforce: John Piper

Did you know you can print out a bunch of Piper books for FREE? Amazing, isn't it? Well, let me recommend printing out "Amazing Grace in the life of William Wilberforce." It is such an awesome biography. William Wilberforce lived his life trying to abolish slavery. Piper does a phenomenal job of telling Wilberforce's story...and guess what? THEY ARE MAKING IT INTO A MOVIE! I cannot believe it! I'm so excited! And apparently Piper had something to do with it, so you know it'll be good.

Great quote: "If we would....rejoice in [Christ] as triumphantly as the first Christians did; we must learn, like them to repose our entire trust in Him and to adopt the language of the apostle, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ...Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" -Wilberforce
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The Hidden Smile of God: John Piper
People often say how difficult it is to read Piper. I use to feel that way too, but since reading his biographies, I am beginning to understand him more. In "The Hidden Smile of God" Piper bio's John Bunyan, William Cowper and David Brainerd. This book, unfortunately, is not a free online book, but it's worth the $11.00 price tag. I believe Piper's ministry has a "whatever you can afford" policy, so there is no excuse not to read this!!

"John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd suffered in the midst of their kingdom labors. For Bunyan it was prison and danger for preaching the gospel. For Cowper it was life-long depression and suicidal darkness. For Brainerd it was tuberculosis and the "howling darkness" of American forests. In these three biographies, John Piper explains how their steadfastness through trial sweetened and intensified their song of faith. The stories of how they suffered, how they endured, and how their affliction bore fruit will ignite radical Christian living, God-centered worship, and Christ-exalting mission. Consider their stories and be encouraged that no labor and no suffering in the path of Christian obedience is ever in vain. As Cowper wrote, "Behind a frowning providence God hides a smiling face." -desiringgod.org
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Valley of Vision: Arthur G. Bennett

Beautiful, beautiful collection of Puritan prayers! This is not a "prayer book" but a book that can help us learn how to pray. With authors such as Spurgeon and Newton, these prayers are jam packed with scriptural truth. Very humbling and so rich in wisdom. I love them.

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Valley of Vision: Sovereign Grace Ministries

This, like the book of prayers, is just as beautiful. Bob Kauflin (as well as other composers) of Sovereign Grace Ministries has adapted the "Valley of Vision" prayers into music. You can hear song samples here.

"The Precious Blood"

Before the cross I kneel and see
The measure of my sin

Here You became a curse for me
Though You were innocent
The magnitude of Your great love
Was shown in full degree
When righteous blood, the crimson spill
Rained down from Calvary

Oh, the precious blood
That flowed from Mercy’s side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Savior died
Oh, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified

And who am I that I should know
This treasure of such worth
My Savior’s pure atoning blood
Shed for the wrath I’d earned
For sin has stained my every deed
My every word and thought
What wondrous love that makes me one
Your priceless blood has bought

A crown of thorns, pierced hands and feet
A body bruised, and Mercy’s plea

I pray that you all might be edified by these books and music! The LORD is magnificent! I pray we can all see that and say it in TRUTH!

Double Predestination

2007-02-19T07:28:00.000-06:00

The Double-Predestination Distortion

The distortion of double predestination looks like this: There is a symmetry that exists between election and reprobation. God WORKS in the same way and same manner with respect to the elect and to the reprobate. That is to say, from all eternity God decreed some to election and by divine initiative works faith in their hearts and brings them actively to salvation. By the same token, from all eternity God decrees some to sin and damnation (destinare ad peccatum) and actively intervenes to work sin in their lives, bringing them to damnation by divine initiative. In the case of the elect, regeneration is the monergistic work of God. In the case of the reprobate, sin and degeneration are the monergistic work of God. Stated another way, we can establish a parallelism of foreordination and predestination by means of a positive symmetry. We can call this a positive-positive view of predestination. This is, God positively and actively intervenes in the lives of the elect to bring them to salvation. In the same way God positively and actively intervenes in the life of the reprobate to bring him to sin.
This distortion of positive-positive predestination clearly makes God the author of sin who punishes a person for doing what God monergistically and irresistibly coerces man to do. Such a view is indeed a monstrous assault on the integrity of God. This is not the Reformed view of predestination, but a gross and inexcusable caricature of the doctrine. Such a view may be identified with what is often loosely described as hyper-Calvinism and involves a radical form of supralapsarianism. Such a view of predestination has been virtually universally and monolithically rejected by Reformed thinkers.

The Reformed View of Predestination

In sharp contrast to the caricature of double predestination seen in the positive-positive schema is the classic position of Reformed theology on predestination. In this view predestination is double in that it involves both election and reprobation but is not symmetrical with respect to the mode of divine activity. A strict parallelism of operation is denied. Rather we view predestination in terms of a positive-negative relationship.
In the Reformed view God from all eternity decrees some to election and positively intervenes in their lives to work regeneration and faith by a monergistic work of grace. To the non-elect God withholds this monergistic work of grace, passing them by and leaving them to themselves. He does not monergistically work sin or unbelief in their lives. Even in the case of the "hardening" of the sinners' already recalcitrant hearts, God does not, as Luther stated, "work evil in us (for hardening is working evil) by creating fresh evil in us."² Luther continued:

When men hear us say that God works both good and evil in us, and that we are subject to God's working by mere passive necessity, they seem to imagine a man who is in himself good, and not evil, having an evil work wrought in him by God; for they do not sufficiently bear in mind how incessantly active God is in all His creatures, allowing none of them to keep holiday. He who would understand these matters, however, should think thus: God works evil in us (that is, by means of us) not through God's own fault, but by reason of our own defect. We being evil by nature, and God being good, when He impels us to act by His own acting upon us according to the nature of His omnipotence, good though He is in Himself, He cannot but do evil by our evil instrumentality; although, according to His wisdom, He makes good use of this evil for His own glory and for our salvation.²

Thus, the mode of operation in the lives of the elect is not parallel with that operation in the lives of the reprobate. God works regeneration monergistically but never sin. Sin falls within the category of providential concurrence.

Another significant difference between the activity of God with respect to the elect and the reprobate concerns God's justice. The decree and fulfillment of election provide mercy for the elect while the efficacy of reprobation provides justice for the reprobate. God shows mercy sovereignly and unconditionally to some, and gives justice to those passed over in election. That is to say, God grants the mercy of election to some and justice to others. No one is the victim of injustice. To fail to receive mercy is not to be treated unjustly. God is under no obligation to grant mercy to all — in fact He is under no obligation to grant mercy to any. He says, "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy" (Rom. 9). The divine prerogative to grant mercy voluntarily cannot be faulted. If God is required by some cosmic law apart from Himself to be merciful to all men, then we would have to conclude that justice demands mercy. If that is so, then mercy is no longer voluntary, but required. If mercy is required, it is no longer mercy, but justice. What God does not do is sin by visiting injustice upon the reprobate. Only by considering election and reprobation as being asymmetrical in terms of a positive-negative schema can God be exonerated from injustice.

Taken from "Double Predestination" by R.C. Sproul

He does whatever He pleases

2007-02-14T09:06:00.001-06:00

"Ah, my reader, the God of Scripture is no make-believe monarch, no mere imaginary sovereign; but King of kings, and Lord of lords! To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown.

The god of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ, than does the dim flickering of a candle, the glory of the midday sun! The god who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible conferences, is the figment of human imagination, an invention of mushy sentimentality!

The heathen outside of the pale of Christendom form gods out of wood and stone; while the millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a god out of their own carnal mind! In reality, they are but atheists, for there is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all. A god whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity; and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nothing but contempt!

"Our God is in heaven and does whatever He pleases." Psalm 115:3

"I know that You can do anything, and no plan of Yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

"The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths." Psalm 135:6

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!" Revelation 19:6"

(Arthur Pink, "The Attributes of God")