Marveling at the Incarnation, Marveling at the Cross

Just came across this wonderful excerpt from Dr. MacArthur's sermon entitled: "The Incarnation of the Triune God," taken from Philippians 2:6-11, and thought I should share it:

"Humility is the theme of Christmas...humility. St. Augustine wrote so beautifully of His humility, so beautifully. 'The word of the Father," he said, "by whom all time was created was made flesh and born in time for us. He without whose divine permission no day completes its course, wished to have one of those days for His human birth. In the bosom of His Father He existed before all the cycles of the ages. Born of an earthly mother, He entered on the course of the years on that very day. The maker of man became man that He ruler of the stars might be nourished at the breast, that He the bread might be hungry, that He the fountain might thirst, that He the light might sleep, that He the way might be wearied in the journey, that He the truth might be accused by false witnesses, that He the judge of the living and the dead might be brought to trial by a mortal judge, that He justice itself might be condemned by the unjust, that He discipline personified might be scourged with a whip, that He the foundation might be suspended on a cross, that He courage incarnate might be weak, and He security itself might be wounded, and He life itself might die.' "
(taken from: http://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/m2003.htm. Copyright by John MacArthur, 1997, Grace to You).

May we all take time this Christmas to marvel at the incarnation of the Son of God and remember and cherish the PURPOSE of it all.

Let us not simply stop at the manger but recall the cross...Once your enemies, now seated at your table, THANK YOU JESUS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

The Wedded Poor

Similar to a few other Talians here, I’ve recently married a person who loves the King of kings. My wife and I became “wife and I” in October. Prior to that, we (like others) ran around for weeks getting various errands finished before our wedding day. One errand in particular brought an interesting thought to mind.

First, let’s talk about the season we’re in: Christmas. We’re celebrating the Son of God who came to Earth by way of a virgin birth. He was born a baby and grew up to accomplish the Father’s work, which encompassed and accomplished much in His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

I’d like to touch on just one accomplishment for the time being: Christ’s calling of His church. One reason Jesus became a man was to begin and establish His church, His future bride. His coming, accomplishing power over sin, and ascending to the Father sealed forever a redemption and reconciliation of sinners to God. These sinners would be His church, His future bride. Christ’s coming was, in part, a beginning of His own wedding preparations.

Revelation 19:7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

My own wedding had a lot of preparations, and the one that struck a note with me in particular was when we went to get our marriage certificate. It was a simple process, but what stood out was the cost: $90. We had no problem paying for the simple piece of paper, but it seemed a notable expense, especially for those with great financial difficulty. Ever wonder what Della and Jim would have done?

It made me think of God’s merciful call to those who thirst... who hunger... who are poor.

Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

Christ’s bride is poor. Penniless. And yet He chose us... those who have no money, no standing, no worth... no righteousness. We can’t afford a wedding. We certainly can’t afford Christ as our bridegroom. But that’s ok, but He’s paying. Notice the important key in Isaiah:

“... you who have no money come, buy and eat... without money and without cost.”

How can we, with no money, still buy? How can we make a purchase when we have nothing? Because Christ purchased. He came to Earth, born as a man to redeem men. Living perfectly to fulfill the needed righteous life that we needed to live. He purchased with His blood, that we might be His bride, without any cost to us... without any price further needed. His righteousness is what seals us as His bride.

From our standpoint, broken and poor, we could never hope to afford a marriage, let alone a wedding feast. We simply can’t afford it. Our righteousness is as filthy rags before the most holy God. But joy breaks in on our position, just as our Lord said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We were poor in spirit, with no merit before God. But He, in His infinite mercy and grace, sent forth His excellent, worthy Son to be born of a woman, that He would redeem sinners whom He chose... and then marry them, clothing them with His righteousness.

We are the wedded poor. Brought in from the streets and filth, cleaned up by His work and love, to be expert worshipers of Him. I hope this Christmas will be filled with worship, seeing the Lamb, our bridegroom, and not just a baby pictured in a manger, as we prepare ourselves for the feast and joys to come!

Our bridegroom is at the door. Where are we?

Empty Words

What am I doing with my life? Who am I really living for? Does my theology in action (my day to day choices/actions) match up with the theology that I say I believe in?

I've been reading through Matthew lately and thinking about "empty words." That just as someday, individuals will declare: 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' And He will answer, 'Depart from me, I never KNEW you,' so too is it EMPTY for us to claim that Christ is our Treasure, when our lives declare otherwise.


A prayer of repentance:

Father, I need your help. I cannot walk faithfully on my own. I ask for your grace and your Spirit's empowerment to live a life that is worthy of and that validates the Gospel. Give me more of you, and less of me, Jesus. Help me to mortify my pride and give me humility- help me to talk less about being faithful, and actually be faithful- by being in your Word, communicating with you through prayer, and keeping my eyes fixed on the prize. Remind me that YOU are the Author and Perfector of my faith, and that I am completely dependent upon you. Lord may you TRULY be All in All to me, and may the way that I live provoke curiosity and opportunities that would be for the glory of your name and the futherance of your kingdom, Amen.

A Call To Gratitude

I’ve been inspired.

Through my good friend Alyssa, I sovereignly “stumbled” upon the blog of a woman name Ann Voskamp, and a new journey upon which I am about to embark.

On her blog, Ann has been listing gifts from God that she sees in her life.
She states:

” I am one waking from slumber … from the stupor of indifference and ignorance. Too often I miss Him, oblivious, blind. I don’t see all the good things that He is giving me, gracing me with, brushing my life with.”

I am one who can completely relate. In a culture where I have so much.. too much, I miss so much. Regretfully my eyes are so clouded by self, that the grace of God goes unnoticed hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.

And so, this is the start of an effort to refocus my vision and to give thanks for the evidences of grace that are currently being missed.

I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to focus on the gifts of grace that God has given uniquely to you. Let us give the Giver of all good things the gratitude He so deserves.
Psalm 118:28
“You are my God, and I will give thanks to you..”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***The following is the beginning of my list of One Thousand Gifts***

1) A hotel room to rest in while my husband is at work.

2) The jolting of my laptop brought about by kicks coming from inside my tummy.

3) The new pink journal that awaits the listing of many more gifts.

4) The stirring in my heart from the Spirit to pray for an orphan I know, who is under the effects of national devastation.

5) The heat that is keeping me warm as it rains outside.

6) The calming sound of the rain.

7) An ultrasound picture that shows my little boy, Alistair's, face, and represents the comforting news that he was okay.

Pursuant Love

This past Monday for chapel (at The Master's College) our provost spoke, and the message was labeled "pursuant love." His main passage was 1 John 4:7 which simply states:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

So what is “pursuant love” and what does it look like?

The very reason we desire to pursue people and desire for people to pursue us is because God in Christ pursued us! He did this for us “while we were yet sinners” so this tells us that this kind of love is not performance based. I think often we live our lives day to day with an underlying fear or unrest that our friendships are at risk. We’re constantly worried at the prospect of not being funny enough, or athletic enough, or even spiritual enough to keep our friends around. But there is peace with pursuant love.

1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us to “pursue love.” It’s active. It also isn’t always easy if you have to pursue it. We can’t ever manipulate our character enough to transform our friendships into pursuant love kind of friendships on our own. It is only when we live at the foot of the cross, realizing that God sought us out when we hated Him, that we can love people without condition.

Another thing Tatlock said was “don’t wait around your entire life for someone to pursue you. You’re wasting time. Be the pursuer.” If this love truly is unconditional then we can love even when we are not, knowing that the love of Christ is perfect and fully satisfying. The result is unity in the body which exemplifies Christ’s love and gives glory to God.

Pastors, Stop For A Moment...

When you preach from the Old Testament does it resemble the way the Apostles preached from the Old Testament? You might think that your preaching is Biblical because you use the Bible, but Biblical preaching from the Old Testament hones in on Christ and the redemptive story--sin and the gospel.

Your sermons are to be Christian, not moralistic or therapuetic. I plead with you to help God's people get their eyes off of themselves and on to something much more grand. Not many of you should want to be teachers of God's Word because the Lord will hold you accountable for aptly teaching His Word or mishandling it. Rightly divide it.

Please stop being selective in preaching only from the New Testament passages of Scripture that address familial life, duty to government and our employers. In context, all of those passages are rooted in the gospel and can only be properly addressed when Christ is front and center. If you're going to teach from a New Testament letter, might I humbly suggest that you teach from the beginning of the letter to the end of it to see how the doctrines of the gospel are to shape our life in Christ. The Apostles admonished the church to live holy lives only after bringing redemption into high definition so that the church would be motivated to honor Christ in the mundane and ordinary moments of life.

In the words of theologians....indicative first, imperative second. Or orthodoxy before orthopraxy. Get them aligned in the gospel before you send them back to the law for obedience. If all you do is lay down the LAW (do this, don't do that) on them you will lay a heavy yoke upon them and they will fail to remember that Christ lived the perfect life for them and died in their place for all their acts of disobedience--even the ones you command them to do in your sermons but they fail to do again and again.

Scripture is not a manual for living. Although there are guidelines for holy living, it is self-declaration of God's work in a fallen world and all that He does through Christ, the Spirit and His Word to effectively change things for His glory. I beg of you to read the beginning of Genesis and see that the story of redemption starts immediately after sin enters the picture and a Savior is promised. Then go to the end of Revelation and see Christ there as well. Everything in between those pages falls within this amazing story. Love it. It is our only hope of ever being delivered from these wretched and sinful bodies. It is our only hope of ever being delivered from the wrath of God. It is our only hope for eternal joy in the presence of God's glorious might.

Authorial Intent And "Christian" Music

I enjoy newly written songs that express the Christian faith. Every now and then you stumble across a song that musically is easy to learn and easy to sing. As the pastor of our church, I also enjoy introducing new songs to our congregation. Introducing new songs not only encourages the congregation to grow musically, but it also keeps them aware of "what" they are singing. There are times when singing an "oldie but goodie" that we go on auto-pilot and forget the meaning of the lyrics and gospel message. But great care must be administered when selecting songs (newer or older) to introduce to the church because not all songs express the Christian faith clearly and some songs are contrary to the Christian faith even if they carry the label "Christian."

For example, the following lyrics were written by a "Christian" musician.

Oh, how could it be
That my God would welcome me
Into this mystery
Say take this bread, take this wine
Now the simple made divine
For any to receive

This musicians songs are sung in a large portion of churches today. But when you discover the background of the worship leader, you discover that his theology is Catholic. And while it could be true that many of his songs express true Christian doctrine, one should expect some songs to carry theology that is distinctly Catholic.

Knowing that this musician is Catholic, I have to wonder what he meant when he penned the lyrics "now the simple made divine." The song, being about communion, would seem to work musically and lyrically. But when put it up to a doctrinal test, it would seem that it fails the test of true doctrine--if I correctly understand the author's intent. In Catholic theology, the view of communion is that the elements of bread and wine become the true body and blood of Christ--transubstantiation. In the words of the musician, the "simple [is] made divine." If that is what the author intended to say, then this should not be a song sung in Protestant churches. If the Catholic author intented to say something else, then his lyrics are ambiguous at best.

Unfortunately, most musicians don't offer a commentary on all of their songs and indeed it seems that many might even allow a vast array of interprations of their songs as long as it encouraged others in the "faith" and in their "walk with God." What the songs "meant to you" and what it "did for you" can in no way be the means of authenticating it's message. As always Scripture alone is the rule of belief and practice. And if one is writing a song to express Christian doctrine, then one should be clear in what he/she is intending to say. In this case, the message seems clear enough and thus the song would not pass the test of right doctrine.

A word of caution would be helpful for all of us. Just because someone writes one or two theological correct songs, doesn't mean that all of their songs are given a free pass. Always be discerning and remember that is the habit of Satan to subtly introduce heresy into the church.

every single thing.

Every single thing that happens to us expresses God's love to us, and comes to us for the furthering of God's purpose for us. Thus so far as we are concerned, God is love to us--holy, omnipotent love--at every moment and in every event of every day's life. Even when we cannot see the why and the wherefore of God's dealings, we know that there is love in and behind them, and so we can rejoice always, even when, humanly speaking, things are going wrong. We know that the true story of our life, when known, will prove to be, as the hymn says, "mercy from first to last" -- and we are content.

_j.i. packer, Knowing God, page 123

Meet The Puritans.

On this day (August 24th) in 1662, English Parliament/The Church of England banished the puritans from the churches and schools in England. The decree was known as "The Uniformity Act of 1662" or "The Great Ejection." Puritans didn't let that stop them from preaching God's word. They ended up preaching in fields, barns, or wherever possible. In 1664, The Conventicle Act was passed. This banned all "non-conformists" from preaching in fields or conducting services in secret. In 1665 the Five Mile Act was passed and outlawed puritans from coming within five miles of their former churches or any city or town.

Although Puritans were barred, it didn't silence them. They continued to preach God's word and write many incredible God-exalting books.

The reason for such hostility against the Puritans was for their fervent dedication to God and scripture, that provoked them to speak up about the problems within the Church of England. The church began to become weak on scripture, which led to much compromise in teaching, church leadership, obedience, and truth. Some major goals/focuses of the Puritans were:

1. Dedication to search and study the truths/doctrines of scripture and apply them to their lives. They believed doctrine and life-change went hand in hand.

2. A fascination with the character of God and His work in their lives (but not on the experience itself) to give all glory to God for any work done in one's life. Their high view of God was also evidenced also by their strong reformed theology. (High view of God/Low view of Man.)

3. A passion for love.

"It is unusual today to find books that feed the mind with solid biblical substance and move the heart with affectionate warmth, but the puritans do both. They reason with the mind, confront the conscience, and appeal to the heart. They write out of love for God's Word, love for the glory of God, and love for the souls of readers. They set forth Christ in His loveliness, moving us to yearn to know Him better and live wholly for Him."

-Meet The Puritans (Joel R. Beek & Randall J. Pederson)

4. In the same mind as the Reformers, they sought for change within the church that called for the church to conform to the instruction of Scripture on all matters of doctrine, leadersip, and fellowship.

5. Focused on personal evangelism by proclaiming God's word/the gospel.

There is so much more I can write about these men and women. They were/are my heroes.

(much of the information that i got for this post was summarized from what I read in the book "Meet The Puritans")

Biblical Principles Can't Sanctify You

Studying the great Romans 7 debate, I have come across some beautiful gems of Gospel truth. One of them, once again, points out the inadequacy of relying on Biblical "do's" for sanctifying work. These Biblical principles that we all have a tendency to cling to in our Bible reading are no more than the "law" as described in Romans 2,3,4,5,6,7 and so forth.

Romans 7:4

"Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God."

Doug Moo:

"[in Romans 7], Paul argues that a person's bondage to the law must be severed in order that he or she may be put into a new relationship with Christ (7:1-6)... Despite [the law's] divine origin, the law can neither justify nor sanctify."

We are quick to say that the law will not justify us (save us), but after we are "in", we quickly hug the law as our sanctifying tool. Instead, we should use the law in the same way it was used to show us our need for Christ for justification - As unregenerate sinners we only bring sin to the table. But as believer's we STILL only bring sin to the table. We can't depend on our ability to "love God and love others" but we need complete reliance on the cross. The righteousness of Christ is our only righteousness. So instead of "do" we rely on His "did".

why pray?

Hebrews 4:16

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Psalm 27:7
"Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me."

"You say, “Well what is the point in talking to God like that? I mean, if you know God is sovereign and you know God is all wise and all powerful and all knowing and has purposed everything from the beginning to the end and all the way through the middle, what in the world is the point of praying?” And the answer is because God has not only ordained the end, He has ordained the means to the end. And I don’t know about you but I’d rather be a part of God’s means than anything else."

-John MacArthur

Memorial Service For Floyd McKeehan

My good friend and dear brother passed into glory a few days ago. I've joyfully wept and cried many times knowing full well that he is with Christ. I was humbled and privileged that, prior to his death, he and his family asked me to preach at his memorial service. It was an honor to know this man who led me to be more godly. He made me want to be a better dad, husband, pastor and lover of Christ. It was a pleasure to honor him by honoring Christ and proclaiming the gospel of His glorious death, burial and resurrection. This message was preached to several hundred people, many of which were unbelievers. I pray that God was glorified in the exaltation of His Son, Jesus Christ.

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR FLOYD MCKEEHAN, JULY 31, 2010

For those of us that are Christians and knew Floyd well in this capacity, we knew that his heart grieved over the condition of the American church. It grieved him to see pastors delivering soft and sugar-coated self-help messages to people who are lovers of self and despisers of God. It pained him to see the true message of Scripture watered down and diluted. He would often comment on how some of the older songs written about God contained more theology and food for the soul than the so-called sermons preached from plastic pulpits. You see, Floyd was one who loved God immensely because of the deep and soul-satisfying treasures found in Scripture. It was in the Scripture that Floyd found and came to know the treasure of the crucified, risen and now reigning Jesus Christ. And it was this Christ that Floyd wanted pastors and Christians to proclaim. As so today, you will not, indeed you should not hear a message that will be of no eternal benefit to you. The message from Scripture, from Jesus Himself, that I will share with you is intended, on purpose, to awaken you from your spiritual slumber, if need be. It is meant to be helpful for you for all eternity. I pray that you would receive it as such.

Loved ones and friends of Floyd, I stand before you today as friend of Floyd’s, as a pastor, but more importantly, as a servant of the most High God, Jesus Christ. And I come to bring you great news from God in this time of bereavement, mourning and loss. But before you can appreciate and receive and cherish this good news, this message of hope, I must share with you the flip side of the coin—that is, the bad news.

In Luke 13:4-5, Jesus poses a most amazing question to the crowds He has been teaching. It is startling when you hear the answer He gives to His own question. For those that think that Jesus’ teachings were nothing more that tidbits of information for wholesome living or that He only spoke on love, you will be surprised at what He says and I think it ties in perfectly for today.

Jesus had been teaching the crowds and His disciples and some people came up to Him and informed Him about a Roman ruler who had just slaughtered and killed some people. It was an atrocious act. Death was in the air. Jesus, knowing the way humans think, poses this question to the crowd: “Do you think that these people were worse sinners, were more wicked, were more evil than others because they were slaughtered and suffered in this way?” In others words, “Do you think that bad things like this only happen to bad people—to people who deserve it?” Jesus gives an answer and then He poses a 2nd and similar question and then gives the same answer to the first question.

Luke 13:4-5 Or [What about] those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

So that’s Jesus 2nd question. There was a tower in Siloam that fell over and killed 18 people—a random tragedy if you will. Do you think that they were worse offenders, worse sinners before God than all the other people who lived in Jerusalem? Do you think God judged them for their sin and brought the building down on them? Some people have died, a tragedy has taken place and Jesus brings up the issue of sin and judgment and our standing before God. That is the nature of Christ. Always saying the unexpected…always taking people where they don’t want to go…always leading them to consider what matters most in life.

Now I want you to listen to the answer Jesus gives to these two questions…it is the same answer. Were the people murdered and slaughtered more wicked that the others who lives around them? Were the people killed by the falling tower more wicked than those who lived around them? Jesus says,

5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

That is a statement that calls for us to pause and reflect. No! He says. They were not more wicked—in fact, it appears that from a human standpoint they were less evil. Death happens to wicked people. Death happens to people who appear to be good from a human standpoint. But unless you repent, you will all die. And when Jesus speaks of death here, he means eternal judgment from God in hell. Notice that Jesus doesn’t answer the questions that you and I may have? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there evil in the world? Those are legitimate questions but I think secondary to what matters most. If the answers to these questions mattered more, Jesus would have given those answers. But Jesus doesn’t answer those questions and in fact, He takes them to a more important issue—that of our individual deaths and eternal damnation before God.

Let me put it to you like this. It really doesn’t matter how you die, whether it be in a collapsing building, whether you are murdered, whether you die of old age or whether you die of cancer. We all have an appointment with death. People who seem to be good die and so do people who have an outer appearance of greater wickedness. Everyone dies. The day is coming when others will give my eulogy, when others will eulogize you and the person next to you. We all have a date with death, with a casket or with an urn, and there is nothing, absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. We can take vitamins and exercise to put it off a few more years. We can seek medical attention when sick to stall it just a little bit longer, but everyone dies. So the issue of how you die is really secondary to the fact that you will die and that judgment from God takes place upon death. Death is the more important issue that Christ brings to these people’s attention and it happens to good and bad people.

Right now, you’re probably thinking, “Hey, dude, I thought you said you had great news?” I do, but remember that I said that before you can appreciate, receive, desire and cherish the good news you must hear the bad news. A person who is unknowingly sick and feels well has no desire to take any physician recommended medicines or treatment. The medicine is not good news to him when he does not feel sick or see evidence of his sickness. The medicine is but a nuisance. So it is with the sinner. The good news God has for you is a nuisance to you, an inconvenience. You will not want it, desire it, or take it unless you see how serious your condition of coming death is.

Death is serious and it comes from God and is a result of sin. Sin is disobedience to God and His commandments. Sin is loving other things more than God. You and I are great sinners. There is not a good person in this room. Sure, you may be good compared to the person next you, I mean, “come on, you’re way better than them, right?” And therein lies the problem preventing you from ever accepting the good news God has for you. It’s called self-righteousness. People are naturally self-righteous. They think they are righteous or good. They think they are well or healthy before God. They don’t consider themselves to be bad people or sinners that deserve the judgment of God. That is what I mean when I say that an unknowingly sick person will never take a cure for a sickness they are not convinced they have and see no evidence of. You have a sin condition that you may be denying because you don’t feel sinful and you don’t see evidence of your sin. But just as the doctor is there to show a sick person their sickness so that they’ll desire the cure, take it and be healed, so too, there is the pastor and Christian in your life to help you see your souls true condition so that you’ll desire the cure for your deadly condition, take it and receive eternal life. This cure is the good news we all need and will desire when our need for it is exposed.

You must be convinced of your badness, of your sinfulness, of the judgment due you, IF you are to ever understand and embrace God’s love for you. You see, God says there is none good but Him. The standard of goodness that God compares you to is not the person next to you or the criminal on death row or the registered sex offender. We are not judged on a curve. The standard of goodness that God compares you to is God Himself. He is gloriously perfect and we fall way short of that glory. If we want to know if we are truly sinners then God has given us His Law, His commands to see whether or not we fail. God’s commandments and God’s law are reflections of His character and nature. And to violate them is to fail to be like God, it is to fail to love God, it is to be a sinner. And the souls that sins will surely die. The penalty and wage and compensation due all of us for our sin is death in hell. So have you sinned? Indeed, all of us have.

God is a God of truth and commands us not to lie. That is something we are all guilty of countless times. God is a giving God and has given to us and commands us not to take from others. Yet I would say that all of us have taken things from others that do not belong to us. The value of the stolen object does not determine whether stealing is bad. If I took two dollars from your wallet or purse you’d know that was wrong and you’d be angry. But it’s only $2. No. It’s stealing. God commands us to honor our father’s and mother’s. Christ, the Son of God, honored His Father perfectly and so to fail to honor and obey our parents is to fail to be like the perfect Son of God. If we’ve ever used God’s name flippantly or as a cuss word, we’ve taken the name of God in vain and have committed blasphemy. If we have loved other things more than God then we are idol worshippers. Think about it. Many of us have gone camping, or to the snow, or to a lake or beach and have enjoyed God’s creation without ever giving thanks to Him. We’ve enjoyed food without gratitude. We’ve slept many pain-free nights and never expressed gratitude to God. We can be such ungrateful people who take for granted every good gift that God has given us. We love His gifts but not Him so much. I am merely touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sins we commit. But hopefully you can see with just the few mentioned, that indeed we all are sinners before God. These are serious offensives to God. Do not kid yourself and think that sin is trivial.

Let us go back to Jesus’ words. Unless you repent, you will likewise perish or die. Jesus doesn’t mean that if you repent of sin, or stop sinning that you’re never going to die a physical death. Here He’s referencing the eternal death in hell that awaits those who do not turn from their sin and come to Christ who is the Savior from sin, death and hell. We all have an appointment with death. What matters is this: How will God judge you? Will He judge you as a sinner or as a perfectly obedient, law-keeping, God-loving person? If you’re honest with yourself, you will hopefully see that all of us should be condemned as sinners. This is the bad news that awaits us all at death. We will all perish apart from God, according to Jesus, unless….Unless what? Unless we repent. The word repent means to change the way you live and to change the way you think. It means to abandon and forsake your sin…stop loving what God detests. Stop thinking in a way that is contrary to God’s thinking. Stop thinking you’re a good person. Start realizing you’re a sinner. Come to grips with the fact that you need someone to rescue you. You need a Savior. Let go of all that is taking you to hell and cling to the One who will bring you to God for all eternity in order that you might have everlasting joy in knowing Him.

The good news is that you can be rescued by God from the judgment of God in order to be with God in heaven. How is it that God accomplishes this for you—this rescuing, this salvation? He accomplishes all this through the life and work of Jesus Christ. The Father sent the Son to live the perfect life that you and I have utterly failed to live. Jesus is the only one who has ever obeyed God’s commandments perfectly. Jesus did everything that the Father required of Him. In Him was no sin. He was the only good person to have ever lived and thus the only one to deserve eternal life with the Father. Understand that first. That was part of what Christ came to do.

Secondly, understand that when Jesus died on the cross, He was dying in the place of those who repent of their sin and trust that He alone can save them. He came to be our substitute in death. We deserve to die. He paid the penalty and fine for us and suffered the wrath of the Father in our place. We deserve the wrath of God. On the cross Jesus absorbed and took the wrath of God upon Himself so that it can be diverted from us.

So here’s what happens when we repent of our sin and come to Christ for eternal salvation, for eternal life with God. When we turn from sin and turn to Christ, when we believe that He alone can save us and that there’s nothing we can do to save ourselves, when we put our faith in Him, two wonderful things happens. (1). We can know that Christ has taken away our sin and removed it from us. Where did the sin go? That sin was placed on Him when He died on the cross so that when He died, He was being treated as a law-breaker even though He was not. He was suffering for my sins, my crimes against God and the crimes and sins of all those who would believe or trust in Him. Our sin gets put into His account, so that He was treated as a sinner and thus suffered the wrath of God in our place. (2). When we repent of our sin and believe in Christ, His perfect obedience and righteousness, His perfect commandment keeping gets transferred to my account, so that God will treat me as if I had never sinned. Even though I am a sinner, God will treat me as the perfect Son of God and I can be with God forever. Christ treated as sinful me. I can be treated as the perfect Christ. This is the work of Christ. This is what He came to do. And only those who repent of their sin and believe that He is the Savior have this wonderful gift of forgiveness…these same believers have this great gift of righteousness.

This is why those of us that knew Floyd can rejoice today. While our hearts miss him. We are confident that he is with God right now. Not because he was a good person…because Floyd was a sinner too. We are confident that he is with God right now because Floyd recognized his sin and Floyd came to Christ seeking forgiveness, seeking the perfect righteousness of Christ, seeking salvation…and God gave that to Floyd when Floyd repented and put His faith in Christ. Floyd knew that the cross of Christ was where the justice and mercy of God met in a beautiful display. And Scripture says that if Christ is our Savior, then death has lost its sting. The grave has no more victory of us. Though we die a physical death, that death has be transformed into a passageway that leads Christians into the very presence of God where our joy will be taken to infinite levels. To see a Christian family rejoice when a loved one has gone to be with Christ is a most comforting and encouraging thing. God has turned our mourning into dancing through Christ.

For those that reject the Savior, then the words of Jesus still remain waiting for you to come to terms with. Unless you repent, you will likewise perish. Those are words that should make your heart pound. We live in a world were we are amused to death. The radio is loud. The food smells good. The movies are great. The clubs are bouncing. The text messages are constantly going off. And unfortunately it takes moments like this, days like today, to get us to stop for a moment and realize that we are all but a breath away from meeting our Maker. Do not be so distracted by the entertainments of life that you never stop to consider what really matters. Satan would love for you to be preoccupied the trivial. Really, he would.

In the time that I knew Floyd I can say that he wanted his life to matter. And right now and I know he is with God and he wants his death to matter. His death would be a waste if we did not share this vital message with you. God appointed this day, the memorial service of Floyd, to be the day that you would hear the good news of salvation. So what is left for you to do? Do what Christ said and taught through His ministry. Repent of your sin and believe that He died, was buried and rose again in order to bring you to God for all eternity. The answer isn’t to look within. The answer is to look outside of yourself. Look to the cross. Look to Christ. Look to the empty tomb and you will not perish. Though you die, you will live forever with God. And that is great news.

"The Love of Christ"

by William Gadsby

The love of Christ is rich and free;
Fixed on His own eternally;
Nor earth, nor hell, can it remove;
Long as He lives, His own He’ll love.

His loving heart engaged to be
Their everlasting Surety;
’Twas love that took their cause in hand,
And love maintains it to the end.

Chorus: Love cannot from its post withdraw;
Nor death, nor hell, nor sin, nor law,
Can turn the Surety’s heart away;
He’ll love His own to endless day.

Love has redeemed His sheep with blood;
And love will bring them safe to God;
Love calls them all from death to life;
And love will finish all their strife.

He loves through every changing scene,
Nor aught from Him can Zion wean;
Not all the wanderings of her heart
Can make His love for her depart.

At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;
In endless bliss, His own shall prove
The blazing glory of that love
Which never could from them remove.

Indelible Grace did an awesome rendition of this by putting this old hymn to new music. Listen here > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufTrN4dTSac&feature=related

Prone To Wander, Lord I Feel It...

It's interesting how much of the day can go by in the monotony of life and not have a single thought about Christ or His work. Often I will cling to the cross in reliance, knowing that every step of obedience is a result of the cross. However I somehow will manage to sleepwalk away from the cross and then wake up only to find myself miles away from it.

I decided to set an alarm clock to wake myself up from this sleepwalking tendency. For some reason I happen to coincidentally look at the clock or an address or a receipt where there is a repeating number - very often. For example: 3:33pm, 222 San Jose Ave, $7.77, etc. I seem to see this about 3-5 times a day. Since it happens so often I decided to use it. Each time I see a repeating digit, I will thank God for an aspect of the gospel.

For example:

"Thank you Father, that because of the gospel, you have adopted me."

"Thank you Jesus for fully relying on the Father's will on my behalf."

"Lord, I am thankful that because of the gospel, this earth will be made new."

"Thank you God for vindicating your glory through the gospel."

It has been a blessing lately. I get excited dwell on these realities at random times unexpectedly throughout the day.

Our Journey, Our Song, Our Story: Not Taking for Granted the Gospel

If you were at Resolved Conference two weekends ago, the lyrics below will not be unfamiliar to you. The words were penned by Jordan Kauflin, son of Bob Kauflin, a well-known and faithful worship leader, the director of Sovereign Grace Music and the author of "Worship Matters."

I love this song, not only because the melody is rich and beautiful, but because the words are loaded with doctrine and portray an accurate Gospel-centered view (which sadly is becoming more and more of an anomaly in Christian music, thanks to the highly self-centered, shallow, and sappy evangelical environment of the twenty-first century).

When I sing this song, I am reminded of the prodigal son and of the reality that while I grew up in a Christian home and have attended church all of my life, this song about the prodigal son's journey, is MY JOURNEY, MY SONG, AND MY STORY as well! "I once was lost in darkest night Yet thought I knew the way...But as I ran my hell-bound race Indifferent to the cost You looked upon my helpless state And led me to the cross."

If you have been on the go this summer, busy while on vacation, at work, or even with ministry, or if you have been in the faith and in the church for so long, the Gospel message is second-nature to you, I would encourage you to Youtube or purchase "All I Have Is Christ" by Jordan Kauflin on iTunes, then to play it and stop to reflect upon the words.

If you belong to Christ, whether you were saved out of a background of drugs and premarital sex, or you were saved from sitting on a pew bench and singing about the glorious realities of the Gospel, without them having ANY effect upon your heart or life, remember that this is YOUR JOURNEY, YOUR SONG, AND YOUR STORY as well...then get on your knees and thank our great Lord and Savior and ask for His grace so that you never take His substitutionary work on your behalf for granted again!

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

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

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

Learning to Be Content

"Paul had come to learn this great truth by working out a great argument. Let me give you some of the steps of the argument which you can work out for yourself. I think that the apostle's logic was something like this. He said to himself:

1. Conditions are always changing, therefore I must obviously not be dependent upon conditions.

2. What matters supremely and vitally is my soul and my relationship to God--that is the first thing.

3. God is concerned about me as my Father, and nothing happens to me apart from God. Even the very hairs of my head are all numbered. I must never forget that.

4. God's will and God's ways are a great mystery, but I know that whatever He wills or permits is of necessity for my good.

5. Every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God's love and goodness. Therefore my business is to look for this peculiar manifestation of God's goodness and kindness and to be prepared for surprises and blessings because 'His ways are not my ways, neither His thoughts my thoughts'. What, for example, is the great lesson that Paul learned in the matter of the thorn in the flesh? It is that: 'When I am weak then am I strong'. Paul was taught through physical weakness this manifestation of God's grace.

6. I must regard circumstances and conditions, not in and of themselves therefore, but as a part of God's dealings with me in the work of perfecting my soul and bringing me to final perfection.

7. Whatever my conditions may be at this present moment they are only temporary, they are only passing, and they can never rob me of the joy and the glory that ultimately await me with Christ."

....

"The big principle that emerges clearly is that he had learned to find his pleasure and his satisfaction in Christ and always in Christ. That is the positive aspect of the matter. We must learn to depend upon Him and in order to do that we must learn to know Him, we must learn to have communion with Him, we must learn to find our pleasure in Him. Let me put it plainly--the danger with some of us is to spend far too much of our time even in reading about Him. The day may come, indeed will some, when we shall not be able to read. Then comes the test. Will you still be happy? Do you know Him so well that though you become deaf or blond this fount still be open? Do you know Him so well that you can talk to Him and listen to Him and enjoy Him always? ...That was the apostle's condition. His intimacy with Christ was so deep and so great that he had become independent of everything else."

_D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, pg 284-285

---------

such a good book. if you haven't read it, and you have the time, it will (Lord-willing) transform the way you live your life and deal with feelings, circumstances, trials, and regrets.

Only What's Done for Christ Will Last

Been reading 1 Corinthians 3, about the Bemacy, the judgment seat where believers' lives will be evaluated and where they will be rewarded for their faithfulness. The passage talks about building on the foundation (Christ) works of gold, silver, and precious metals as well as works of hay, wood, and straw! It is sobering to reevaluate your life and to ask yourself, is my life's trajectory *truly* *fully* and *completely* aimed towards Christ and His glory?


Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, "twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

-C.T. Studd


"Are the things you're living for worth Christ dying for?" ~epitaph of Leonard Ravenhill

Questions and Answers with John MacArthur

On April 18, 2010, at Grace Community Church there was a night of Q & A.  This night particular was awesome, because of a certain question asked.  I decided to share this question and answer that hit home for me, as I use to be Catholic.  In August 2006, I was saved by faith in Christ alone.  

QUESTION: Hi, I’m a Catholic. I’ve been a Catholic all of my life, that’s 75 years. The question I’m going to ask is a very, very basic and has been bothering me for many, many years of my adult life. To the billions of non-Christian denominations, I’m talking about the Jewish, the Buddhists, the Profuciests, Mormons and so forth that truly believe in their faith, that lived a very good life according to their faith. My question is, is there salvation...a heaven for them? Or all they all condemned to hell?

JOHN: Yeah, that’s a very good question. What’s your name?

CHARLIE: Charlie...........Simmons

JOHN: Hi, Charlie. That’s a very good question, Charlie.
The answer to that from the Word of God is they will all perish in hell because there is only one way to go to heaven. There’s no salvation in any other name than the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus said “You will die in your sins,” to the Jewish leaders, “because you believe not on Me...because you believe not on Me.” “God, that familiar John 3:16, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish.”

There’s only one heaven and there’s only one way into heaven and that is through faith in Christ. It is the only hope, that is why we are told to go to the ends of the earth, preach the gospel to every creature. So all who perish without the knowledge of Christ, die in their sins and go everlastingly to hell.

Now the degree of punishment in hell will vary. But what makes it vary is not the goodness of the person because no person is good before God, no person. Only God is good and Jesus said that. No person is good, no person is good enough to earn heaven. The only difference in hell will be that the people who heard about Jesus Christ and rejected Him will have a greater punishment than the people who didn’t hear about Him. They will all be punished, but those who knew about Christ and didn’t receive Christ will have the greater punishment. That’s Hebrews, “How much sorer, or greater will be the punishment of those who trampled underfoot the blood of the covenant and counted the work of Christ, as it were, an unholy thing, rejected Christ.”

Now the other thing to say is this, that even if you believe in Christ, even if you believe in Christ as God and Christ dying on the cross and Christ being raised from the dead and Christ being Lord, and all those things, that may not be enough to get you into heaven either because in Matthew 7 it says, “Many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we did this in Your name and that in Your name.’ And He’ll say, ‘Depart from Me, I never knew you.’” So you can know about Christ and you can know that He lived a holy life and was born of a virgin and that He died on the cross and He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven and reigns and is returning and not go to heaven.

But here’s the key. You must trust Christ for your salvation alone and reject any works of your own as having any contribution to your salvation.

JOHN: It doesn’t matter how many times you went to church, it doesn’t matter how many humanly good deeds you did, it doesn’t matter how many times you took the Mass, for example, in a Catholic situation, it doesn’t matter how many times you went to Confession, it doesn’t matter how bad you felt about the sins that you did, it doesn’t matter how many rosaries you said, it doesn’t matter any of those things...none of those things individually and all of those things collectively cannot save a person. A person will be saved by faith in Christ alone, recognizing that in my flesh dwells no good thing, by the deeds of the Law will not flesh be justified. You can’t earn your way in by being good. You can only receive salvation when you know you’re not good enough and you cry out to be forgiven of your sin by the sheer grace of God based upon the death and provision of Christ on the cross. Okay?

CHARLIE: Oh one last thing, I meant to add this. I am leaving the Catholic Church and hope to join this church.

JOHN: We welcome you. (Applause) Now you folks over there, you folks over there need to open your arms to Charlie, right? Let him know we love having him here.

You understand the gospel, right? The way I explained it? All right, Charlie, never too late, right? You’re the youngest-looking 75. What happened to me? I don’t get it. Okay. Alright.

[This has been taken from the Grace To You website.]

Our Great High Priest

Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”

Hebrews 10:19-23 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

“Once for all” [Hebrews 9:12]…what does this mean? When you find yourself committing that sin that you swore yesterday you would stay away from, that sin has already been paid for. You don’t have to go pay some sort of penance because Christ paid that for you. “It is finished” [John 19:30]. We’re always tempted to think “now I’ve really done it. That was the last straw” and Satan wants you to think that, but you have a Great High Priest who has paid for your sins past, present, and future. “You are perfect forever” [Hebrews 10:14] …you can’t screw up your perfection because Jesus already saved you. As our Great High Priest, Christ is seated at the right hand of God interceding and offering perfect prayer for us. Why does Jesus still intercede for us if His work on the cross is already finished? Christ lives to plead the settled-ness of His finished work on the cross. It’s not as if God forgets about that sacrifice and needs His Son to constantly remind him, no, He preserves us in the faith. Think of when Jesus spoke to Peter and told him “Satan has asked for you, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…” [Luke 22:32] Our Great High Priest will preserve us and keep us until the end.

-Based on a Sermon by David Balzer

It's All About Love...No, It's All About Christ

Since the inception of our church I have tried to impress upon my brothers and sisters that all of Scripture is about Christ. To hear a sermon from the Old Testament or New Testament and to not have Christ as the aim or focal point is to have a Christless sermon—a non-Christian sermon really. The substance and essence of all Scripture is Jesus Christ Himself. He said so and taught accordingly.

John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

And so in some way, we must always head to Christ from whatever passage we preach from. It was Charles Spurgeon who said, “I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross.” So whether the passage shows us our sin and utter depravity and need for the Savior like in Genesis 3…or whether the passage shows God’s faithfulness in presevering the people through whom Christ would be born like in Genesis 50…or whether the passage gives a prophecy of the work and person of Christ like in Isaiah 55…or whether the passage shows us a type of Christ like Jonah…or whether the passage gives us the wisdom of Christ as in Proverbs…or whether the passage points to the judgment of Christ as in Joel…IT’S ALL ABOUT CHRIST.

My aim in the past three and a half years has been to build this truth into my family and into our church. Naturally, you can understand my joy when my daughter and I had this conversation last night after she read her Bible.

“Macy, what did you read in your Bible?”

She replied, “Dad, I’m a little nervous to tell you.”

“Why? It’s ok if you forget a little. Just pick up your Bible and show me some of the things you learned. Was it about soccer? What is about food? Was it about Jesus?”

”Dad! All Bible stories are about Jesus,” she replied as if I didn’t know and that it should have been obvious to me.

She went on, “Dad. It was hard to understand. I’m not sure if I got it.”

I replied, “Well, it looks like God gave something to Moses. Did he give him some fish? Did he give him a high-five? What did He give him?”

“Commandments,” she said.

The Bible she reads from has some lessons that are designed to teach her essential truths of the faith. This lesson focused on the fact that we can’t know God unless He reveals Himself to us. Thus we see God speaking His Word. Scripture, which is God-breathed, shows us what God is like and what He expects of us.

Our conversation then went on to explaining the point of why God gave us His Law: to show His perfection and our sin, thus our need for Christ’s perfect obedience and His salvation. We had a good chat as she snuggled up into my arms and I told her the gospel story once again from Exodus.

Calvin's Commentary Set

They're coming in the mail. I thought I'd just let somebody know.

I'm a little giddy. My bookshelf is getting a makeover. And my heart and brain will be getting some tutelage.

Gospel Realities in the Barnyard

I love how in just a few short words, Christ can teach us of mercy and judgment. On one hand, if we come to Christ, we receive mercy. On the other hand, if we reject Him via rejecting His messengers, we are damned.

Matthew 23:37-38 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate.

In this passage, Christ uses a tender metaphor to teach Jerusalem, the Scribes and the Pharisees what He intends to accomplish for repentant sinners. Christ explains that the gospel work He came to accomplish is like that of a hen tucking her chicks under her wings. A hen will do this to provide protection for her little precious ones. Protection from what? From foxes, from hawks or from whatever dangerous predators may lurk out there. In the event that an animal comes to attack the chicks, the hens wings will be the first line of defense. Whatever wounds are meant to come upon the chicks will indeed be inflicted upon the hen. In may even be that the hen gives her life for her chicks in order for them to live.

Thus it is with Christ, as He says. "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" Sinners need protection under the wings of Christ. Protection from what? From foxes? From hawks? From what? From God. God and sinners are opposed to each other. As a just God, God will punish and inflict judgment and eternal death upon sinners. Violating God's holy nature is that serious, that offensive, that ugly. Yet our God is a merciful God. The Father, Son and Spirit had an eternally existing plan that was meant to provide protection for sinners. This plan entailed our coming under the wings of Christ so that when God comes to strike us down for our sin, our Christ edures the pain, the stripes, the punishment, the death blow.

We are safe from eternal danger because Christ is to us what a mother hen is to her chicks. Those outside the wings are Christ will be stricken, smitten and afflicted by God. They will be left desolate just as Jerusalem was.

Isaiah 53:4-12 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Christ alone

Let me put it plainly, I will not make my boast, I will not glory, even in my orthodoxy, for even that can be a snare if I make a god of it. I will glory only in that Blessed Person Himself by whom this great thing has been done, with whom I died, with whom I have been buried, with whom i am dead to sin and alive unto God, with whom I have risen, with whom I am seated in the heavenly places, by whom and by whom alone the world is crucified unto me and I am crucified unto the world. Anything that wants to come into the centre instead of Him, anything that wants to add itself on to Him, I shall reject. Knowing the apostolic message concerning Jesus Christ in all it's directness, its simplicity and it's glory, God forbid that any one of us should add anything to it. Let us rejoice in him in all His fullness and in Him alone.

_d.m.lloyd-jones, "Spiritual Depression"

The Blog Every Christian Should Read

I recently read someone's post / blog who wrote about a sermon that was available for free download. They said, "This is a sermon every Christian needs to hear." I forget who said it really, but I might as well post my name to that.... mostly because I've said that before. C.J. Mahaney's message at the Resolved Conference in 2008 from Galatians 4, "God as Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption", is a sermon I've heart about 4 or 5 times; and I've said more times than that, "Dude, you have to listen to this." What can I say... it was a great message.

When I see or hear something great, I usually want to share that with people I know. Sometimes I get really excited about it...
"You have to watch this movie!"
"You need to buy this CD."
"You've gotta listen to this sermon!"
"Dude! You need this thing that adds to the Bible! You just have to!"

My dad is someone who I look up to a lot (not literally though). I remember a time not too long ago where he was talking about a word I use pretty much every day... "awesome!". He was talking to a mutual friend about how he chooses to reserve that word for God alone, just as a personal choice of reverence to the Lord (because ultimately, only God is awesome... not God and my burrito). It's not something that he expects to be a governing point in everyone else's life, but he wanted to shepherd his heart to love God as being a holy (uniquely set apart) God. It's nice to set apart certain things to only certain people. I've never told a girl "I love you", which will be nice someday when I can say that to my future fiancée / wife (and yes, I have told my mom, grandmothers, and aunts... doesn't count).

There's something about our hearts, though, that wants to go beyond straightforward communication with each other, and it's called pride. When I experience something you haven't, like say.... the newest Pixar short, I want to share that with you so that you watch it too. For me, what usually happens is I let my pride get in the mix, and I go from "Pixar has a new short, you need to see it!" to "I've seen something you haven't and I'm now going to be the one to share it with you because I'm privileged in my experience and knowledge in a way that you can enjoy what I'm already ahead of you in." Did you catch that? It was kinda subtle... which is the point really. What we say may or may not divulge our pride. Sometimes it's noticeable; sometimes it's hidden. Sometimes it's not even there... we just genuinely want someone else to be blessed too. But pride is kinda tricky, so best to watch for it.

Circling back around, there's nothing wrong with saying "You need to listen to this message!", but there is something wrong when I say that out of a foundation of pride. Let me tell you, it's hard... because Pride is one of my 'closest' friends. I hate Pride, but he's with me almost all the time. One of the clearest miscalculations we make in our speech is when we qualify exponentially or universally. "Everyone", "must", "need", etc. Let's go back to what I've probably said a few times before: "Every Christian needs to hear this sermon." Um... really? So... the new born believer in Argentina needs to hear this? Obviously, the statement doesn't intend to qualify in this way... we're just trying to strongly encourage others to experience what we've experienced. But are those cases really "needs"?

I need Jesus Christ and I need His spoken Word. Jesus is my chief need and His Word is how He teaches me about Himself. A sermon is just a way to point to Him and His Word. Sometimes we get overly excited about a specific, available tool that God can use and forget about the tool's craftsman. I don't need to listen to every ground breaking sermon that Piper, MacArthur, Mahaney, or... Joe Smith has preached... I need the One who breaks the hard soil. I don't need to go to every great conference or hear every amazing song or read every articulate book. God is great, amazing, and articulate.

Again, there isn't anything wrong with getting excited about a conference, message, book, or Christ exalting song... those are great! I tell people all the time that they "need to listen to this"! I just need to check my heart more often than I do. Because my pride often underlies the root of those qualifiers in a way that might try to steal glory from my God. It might make me think that I'm privileged in experience or information. Or it might make my brother or sister feel "left out" on God's grace because they haven't read a certain book, or even just very many books at all. Grace flows onto the one who dwells on the love of Jesus Christ and His glory... not me with my stack of books, iPod full of Piper, four sermons a week, Mr. I-Can-Find-Galatians-Faster-Than-You-Can "accomplishments". Be encouraged by the brother who spends a quarter of the sermon flipping through the Bible as he tries to find the text... he's thirsty for the Word. Pray for him; don't do what I do and think, "Just go to the index already, bro! It's right there!".

If a book, sermon, song, or conference was something that "every Christian" should read / hear / listen to / attend, God would have put it in His Word.

Watch out for our pride when we seek to share or encourage, and love Jesus Christ instead.

Abide With Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

- Henry F. Lyte

i hear the words of love

I hear the words of love,
I gaze upon the blood,
I see the mighty sacrifice,
And I have peace with God.

’Tis everlasting peace,
Sure as Jehovah’s Name;
’Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

The clouds may go and come,
And storms may sweep my sky;
This blood-sealed friendship changes not,
The cross is ever nigh.

I change—He changes not;
The Christ can never die;
His love, not mine, the resting-place;
His truth, not mine, the tie.

My love is oftimes low,
My joy still ebbs and flows;
But peace with Him remains the same,
No change Jehovah knows.

_h.bonar

Gubment & Powerpoint

This article makes and interesting point concerning Powerpoint in the military. Here are two excerpts from the article.

"Commanders say that behind all the PowerPoint jokes are serious concerns that the program stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making. Not least, it ties up junior officers — referred to as PowerPoint Rangers — in the daily preparation of slides, be it for a Joint Staff meeting in Washington or for a platoon leader’s pre-mission combat briefing in a remote pocket of Afghanistan."

"In a daytime telephone conversation, he estimated that he spent an hour each day making PowerPoint slides. In an initial e-mail message responding to the request for an interview, he wrote, 'I would be free tonight, but unfortunately, I work kind of late (sadly enough, making PPT slides).'"

Not that I am against the use of Powerpoint in a sermon, but this article got me thinking about the rampant use of Powerpoint in our worship services. I wonder if the church has the same problems. Are we spending much valuable time and resources on diagrams and bullet points...and not enough time with people or in sermon preparation or in evangelism? Would our families be healthier if we dropped the 30 slide presentation and spent more time with them? Can Powerpoint reduce critical thinking or stifle discussion? Can Powerpoint give the mistaken notion that Biblical matters, sin issues and doctrinal issues can be reduced to bullets?

Again, I don't want to dismiss the use of PPT, but surely an overuse can trivialize or pollute or blurr the message of Scripture. On Sunday, will the focus be on Christ or on a slide presentation? If the PPT show towers above Christ then it's time for it to go.

the same Spirit.

'God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts' -- the Spirit of His own Son. Do we realize that we have within us the self-same Holy Spirit that was in the Son of God when He was here on earth?...The Spirit that enabled Him will enable us.

_d.m.lloyd-jones, 'spiritual depression'

The Solid Rock

Does our life declare that we are clinging onto this truth?


"He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken."
Psalm 62:6


On Christ the solid Rock I stand, *all other ground* is sinking sand...

The Lord Provides

I have to take a minute and share God's goodness to me and my family. If God never did anything but show me gospel grace, I would always have to say that God is good. Yet in God's ever-gracious giving, He gives physical, material and daily blessings. We are taught by Christ Himself to ask the Lord for our daily needs and thus we thank God when He does provide.

For those that do not know, I sell cars for a living. This is the same job that the Lord provided for me when I moved back to Victorville to plant a church near the end of 2006, beginning of 2007. Since 1996 this is the only job I've held outside of a church (aside from the 2 years I worked part-time at a local high school to meet and evangelize students). Instead of making tents, I sell cars to support my family while we plug away at part-time ministry. It's been a blessing to recieve no salary from the ones I get to minister with. At the same time it has been a struggle to make a living selling cars.

My first year in the business was a tough one. The economy was fine, but learning about cars and learning the ropes for a new career was tough. I held my own and managed to keep the job. Thank you, Lord.

My second year was a lot better. I had a little more knowledge and experience. And although the economy struggled and sales dipped, I was able to make more of an income that second year because of the knowledge I had gained. God was good to our family financially and I was able to pay off all my credit cards and one of my cars. On top of all that I was still able to put about 4 months of income in savings. It took nearly two years to save that much. It was great because in my entire adult life (I'm now 36) I've never had more than a couple hundred bucks in savings. In 2008 I felt like the harvest came and I put away some grain in the storehouse.

Then came 2009. We began to see drastic changes near the end of 2008, but it hit like a hailstorm in 2009.

1. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. We were in the news constantly! Customers were rude to us every chance they got. They expected us to sell cars for 10-15 thousand dollar losses. They rejoiced that we were hurting and they let us know it.

2. The banks had received their bail-out money but they were being stingy with the money. People with credit scores in the 700's and even 800's were having a hard time getting loans if the banks parameters didn't line up perfectly. It's like the banks didn't want to make money by loaning it out.

3. With Chrsyler out of bankruptcy, they had to elimate dealerships that were not performing well. We survived the cut, but they took suspended the flooring plan for all dealership. Our flooring plan is the line of credit we get to order new vehicles and keep them on the lot. Without it we have to pay for the vehicles with the owner's own money. Seeing that a dealership can easily have $10-20 million dollars of inventory, there was no way this was happening. So we continued to sell what little cars we had and watched our inventory rapidly deplete

4. The factories also shut down for several months. And we thought things couldn't get worse. What this meant was that even when our flooring plan was cleared, it would be several months after that before we'd start seeing a steady flow of new inventory come in. It looked bleak.

5. Cash for clunkers then came around. If you read the newspaper, watched television or read online, it may have appeared like this went over really well. But consider the previous things I just mentioned and you'll see that the program wasn't so hot. The factories were shut down, our flooring plan was suspended...on top of that our inventory levels were already extremely lean to try and prevent an outrageous monthly overhead cost. So when cash for clunkers came, it sucked up our inventory like a dry sponge. At one point we were about down to 7 new cars. Our lot was empty! No new cars could be ordered because the factories were closed...and even if we could order cars we had no flooring plan. Then came more customers attacks...."You guys are going out of business. Where's the two for one cars! You guys are done!" Constantly hearing things like this can really tear down your morale.


It's hard to sell cars with these constraintes. At one point our bosses and owners told us that our dealership might not make it. We might be forced to close because our hands were tied. The few people that were left vowed to "go down with the ship." I was blessed to be one of those. It was a brutal year. It was hard for me to smile most days. I often felt like bitterness and synicism was becoming a daily ritual for me. Yet I had the gospel to keep me grounded. Thank the Lord for that. I struggled many days to show others that my true treasure lay in Christ, not success or money.

I will remember 2009 as the year that our hands were tied, our mouth was gagged, our ears and eyes were covered and we still had to sell cars. My income for 2009 was nearly cut by 50%. Our savings account was bleeding to death and at one point I told our church that I might need monthly financial support to remain being their pastor. If I couldn't pay my bills I would have to pack up and move somewhere (in with the in-laws). Thankfully, we never needed the help. My wife and I cut back on anything and everything...and when we couldn't cut back anymore, we cut back some more. There were times when my asking my wife to watch the spending sent her into tears. She was already trying so hard and I was asking to her try harder. It breaks my heart to recall those moments.

It was an exhausting year. And I thank God for it. God taught me the value of being debt free. God taught me to depend upon Him for daily provisions. God taught me to be more content. God helped me to treasure Christ above all and to look forward to redemption day--how I long for Christ to return. God allowed me on many occassions to rejoice in the midst of frustrating circumstances. Although I have failed and sinned on many accounts, the Lord permitted me to grow a few inches in each of these (and many more) areas.

With the grain in my storehouse all but wiped-out I have tried and tried to use it as slowly as possible. Who knows how much longer we'll struggle through this economy and if a time like this will ever come again. Yet even in the midst of this, God has done something amazing for me and my family. This past month I had a great month and was paid several bonuses. This month I won a couple of contests: one in California and one for the West Business Center. On top of this I am having another great month in sales....AND for the first time in years I am getting some money refunded from my taxes. The short of it is this: what I saved during 2007-2008 was nearly depleted in 2009 and the beginning of 2010. From what I can tell, within a four week time period, God will have restored to us all that we lost in 2009. I'm speechless. That amazes me. God's blessing confounds me. What took 2 years to gain, 1 year to lose, has now been given back in 1 month.

It's like having rain in the middle of a drought. It's like having food in a starving belly. I say this with a grateful heart and yet I feel some sort of embarrassment for having been frustrated knowing that others have suffered way worse than I will probably ever suffer. Persecuted Christians, earthquake victims, flood ravaged cities...and the list goes on.

At the same time, I do not want to deprive God of His glory and praise for having provided for my family. He is good. And throughout life we all experience different degrees of hardship, frustrations, and calamities. Sometimes they're physical, sometimes mental or sometimes spiritual. This funky economy messed with me in all three areas and God has sustained me. Here I am...alive...still preaching...still with my family...still saved....still blessed. Indeed I have always been blessed and will always be blessed in Christ. So whether the Lord gives or takes away, we ought to bless His name. And right now it is my time to bless Him for giving. The Lord took away and He taught me to be better at praising Him in loss. But now my cup overflows. Thank you, Father.