God's Grace Makes Much Of God

If there is one thing I love, it is the grace of God. And this grace was supremely revealed at the cross of Christ, where He was slain for the sinful. When I think about my salvation, I always like to put it in its proper context in order to make much of the grace of God. Grace pictured incorrectly diminishes God and makes grace look cheap. So, I don't picture myself standing at the gates of Heaven begging God to let me in. Then, God finally calls my name and I come sprinting through the gates of Heaven breaking the golden ribbon that was conveniently placed there to add drama to my entrance. Upon entrance there is a set of bleachers, you know the kind you see at a little league game, with a group of angels raising signs saying, "You made it," "Go you." No I don't picture my salvation like that, as flattering as it is. I don't picture myself playing a game of hide and go seek with God, one where God is hiding under my kitchen counter and I conveniently walk in as he sneezes alerting me to his position. Then, as I creep up to the counter doors I throw them open yelling, "FOUND YOU." No, when it comes to salvation God is definitely not the one hiding. I don't think either picture even comes close to touching the true reality and depth of the grace of God in a sinner's conversion like me. I like to picture my salvation like this: God is standing at the door of Heaven saying "Whosoever will, may come." But I am deaf to that call because I am running toward Hell with all the strength I can muster up all the while indulging myself in sinful passion along the way. But God overflowing in grace grabs me, turns me around, calls to my dead heart, "ARISE," and displays His infinite glory and worth to me. That is the way I picture my salvation and you should too, because apart from the grace of God you were deaf to God. And apart from the grace of God you were dead to God. Those who understand the reality of their deafness and deadness will picture their salvation like this, because it makes much of the grace of God. When I get to Heaven I am going to blame God for getting me there, because the same grace that grabs me is the same grace that guides me home. And that is how grace makes much of God.

Romans 9:16

"So then it depends not on human will and exertion

but on God who has mercy."

Photo Credit: Carissa Gallo

The Righteousness Of God - Upheld

"God does not compromise his righteousness by grading on a curve - rather he punctuates his righteousness by crushing his son on the cross."

-erik raymond (via twitter)

photo credit: Josh Sczebel

Because the Sinless Savior Died...

There is no more important thing to God than God’s glory; and there is no better display of God’s glory than the display of God’s glorious grace; and there is no better display of God’s glorious grace than the display of the gospel; and there is no better display of the gospel than the cross of Christ. If I am to live for God’s glory I must live next to the cross. If my passion for God is to line up with God’s passion for God then I must dwell by where His passion was manifested in this universe unlike any other point in history ever: I must dwell by the cross. If my mission for God is to line up with God’s mission for God, then I must labor in light of that most glorious manifestation of His mission for making much of Himself: I must labor in light of the cross. If I am to live admiring anything, if I am to live motivated by anything, if I am to live passionate about anything, if I am to live reflecting upon anything, if I am to live rejoicing in anything, if I am to boast in anything, if I am to live because of and for anything, let it be Christ and him crucified. Let it be the cross. If I am to live the gospel-centered life, I need to live the cross-centered life. I must get near enough to that blazing fire at which the flame of my love is kindled. I must get near the cross. As Spurgeon said, I must “abide hard by the cross and search the mysteries of his wounds.” This is where getting on board with God’s mission for Himself through the gospel of His Son begins. It begins with riveting my attention on One hanging on a tree. It begins with expending my energies admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ. It begins with surveying the wondrous cross on which the King of Glory died. It begins with because the sinless Savior died…

And it always comes back to because the sinless Savior died... It must come back to the cross. It must retain its central place- primary, of first importance. It cannot be displaced to the peripheral. It cannot be shifted even in the slightest degree. It cannot be moved even in the least by any other insights that come to take on far too much attention. We simply cannot take our gaze off it, nor let our eyes ever drift away from it. We cannot move away from it. We cannot move on from it. We can only ever strive to move nearer, to search closer, to inquire further. It is that blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We must draw near to that fire ever and always. We must stay close. Otherwise we will become cold- our affections cooled, our passion diminished, our hearts complacent, our focus distorted, and our Christianity nominal. We must, not simply because of it, but because of Him who hung on it. In our place condemned he stood. It was because of our transgressions Christ was wounded, for our iniquities he was crushed. It was because of our sin that he was so marred beyond human semblance. Why is the cross that central element of the gospel that cannot be forfeited even in the smallest degree? Because when we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by his marred appearance, when we see his languid eyes meet ours, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for he stood in our place.

It is this news, this good news, this amazing news, the news of salvation, the news of Christ and him crucified that fans into flame radical sacrificial, sold-out, supremely satisfied, crazy love for God. And it is with this that God is most glorified. Because it is with this that we are most satisfied in Him. Because when we sit next to the holy flame of God’s grace on the cross, we see God’s unfathomable love for us and are set ablaze by it. It is as this grips us, as this burns within us, we become holy torches. That everything we touch, everything we do, and every person we interact with may also be lit by our fire. And then they burn. And the fire spreads. And as it does that great glacier, this cold world itself begins to melt.

talia video

My friend Andrew at EBC sharing scripture.

lead.

Psalm 31:3b

"for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;"

I might have posted this verse before; but I think that often times I seek guidance from God selfishly. I want this to be my prayer:

Lord, lead me and guide me for YOUR NAME'S SAKE!

precious scripture.

Proverbs 2:1-5

My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

It would probably be best to not even make a comment about that verse. It's so powerful. However, I do want to say something in regards to "inclining your heart to understanding." Too often I read flippantly through scripture, even sharing scripture, without laboring over the dissection and in depth study of the passage. Recently, while studying passages in my Hermeneutics class, I have been humbled at how little I know scriptural background and context. God's word is precious, and I need to be "rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:16) When I search passionately for the truths of scripture then I will find the knowledge of God and I will fear him more. (Prov. 2:5) Remember what happened to Moses, Daniel, Ezekial, and Isaiah when they came to a better knowledge of God?

A lesson from Job.

I took my lunch break today by making a visit to 7-11, getting a bite and an energy drink, sat in a car, and read Job 1-2;38-42 (as suggested from a friend who knew what I was dealing with in my heart). I knew a little about this book; however I hadn't read it before today.

After work, I was able to sit down and take a few to read a few chapters of the dialog of Job and his 3 friends. This book is a great book to turn to in the time of confusion, pain or disillusionment. As seen in Job, God gives and He can take away whenever He pleases. Why? We might find out...we might not. However, knowing that whatever God does for us is ultimately bring glory to Himself, is great joy. There's two major things I picked up from this book; One being God's Sovereignty in our suffering, the other being God's purpose in our suffering.

First, God is aware of our past, current and future suffering and is in control of it all! I knew this...but I obviously needed to be reminded. God was there with Job during his suffering, He is the one that Satan gained permission from in order to invade Job's life to bring about pain. Because of this, I can be assured that when I am in pain and suffering, God not only is aware of it, He is in absolute control of it.

Second, God has a purpose my suffering and pain. God challenged Satan to take away Job's possessions and family. Satan thought that Job would curse God's name if he were take it all from Job. God challenged Satan to do all of this because He KNEW how Job would respond. God knew that Job would overcome it all and bring glory to Himself! Isn't that enough!!! Isn't it enough to know that my pain and suffering is being put upon me because in the end it brings glory to God!? Job was tried, tested, and approved. However, Job never knew why he suffered. I don't always know why things happen. Sometimes God makes it evident of the reasoning, but He has no obligation to. But I can trust that God does bring upon pain and suffering so His name will be praised and glory onto Himself. That is enough!

I post this not thinking this will be some new realization, but as a reminder; a reminder that this life isn't ours and it's not about us.

Christian Hardcore music has actual words?

Lyrics from Symphony in Peril's song Portrait....



we serve god in the image that we have painted.
honor and reverence has been filtered through the sifter of our minds.
cultural influenced thinking
and misspoken word have distorted the truth.
so many times we have taken a past experience
and allowed it to carry us to the future,
while new revelation is placed on the backburner.
then we wonder why illumination is so dim in our lives.
the more extensive our comprehension of god’s greatness,
the greater god can move upon the canvas of our lives,
to paint a portrait of honor....

This song pretty much speaks out to me because it is a good description of what American Christianity is like today. We choose to ignore what God's word has to say to listen to the opinions of our peers. Proverbs 14:12 as well as 16:25 both say:

There is a way that seems right unto a man, but its end is the way to death.

yeah, both those verses say the same thing so obviously they are of much importantance. I mean, the whole bible is important, but you get what im saying. We can't let other people tell what's right and what's wrong. It's up for us to go into the Word and look it up for ourselves.

It's important that we continually be in God's word because if we're not, then well never know who or how he is. Please pray for me, that I have more discipline in this area.

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.

Just like Mikey from the movie "Goonies" told the pirate One-Eyed Willie: "you were the first Goonie..." So I tell the Puritans: "you were the first Talians."

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

the God-centeredness of God.

It's easy as human beings to fall into the trap of attempting to make God man-centered. But thankfully God sets us straight and lets us know what focus has always been and will always be. Here are just a few verses that I looked up... There are plenty more throughout scripture...

Isaiah 43:25

"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake"

Exodus 9:16

(to pharoah)

"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Exodus 33:19

(to moses)

"And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

Psalm 106:8

"Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power."

Isaiah 42:8

"I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.'

Isaiah 43:7

"everyone who is called by my name,whom I created for my glory,whom I formed and made."

Isaiah 48:9

"For my name’s sake I defer my anger,for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,that I may not cut you off.

Ezekiel 20:44

"And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD."

Romans 1:5

"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."

Romans 3:24-26

"and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 9:11-22

"Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory"

Ephesians 1:4-6

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace."

1 John 2:12

"I am writing to you, little children,because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake."

Revelation 4:11

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God,to receive glory and honor and power,for you created all things,and by your will they existed and were created."

Revelation 5:12

"saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"

It's not what you do, but who you know...

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

the honor of suffering

"At thirty-two [John G.] Paton accepted the call to missionary service in the New Hebrides in the South Pacific. In March of 1858 he married Mary Ann Robson, and on April 16 they sailed together for the cannibal island of Tanna. In less than a year they had built a home and Mary had given birth to a son. But on March 3, 1859, one year after their marriage, Mary died of the fever, and in three weeks the infant son died. John Paton buried them alone, and wrote, "But for Jesus... I'd have gone mad and died beside that lonely grave."

One of the gifts that Jesus had given him to sustain him in those days were the words his wife spoke before her death. She did not murmur against God in her final sickness, or resent her husband bringing her to the New Hebrides. Rather she spoke these incredible words: 'I do not regret leaving home and friends. If I had it to do over, I would do it with more pleasure, yes, with all my heart.' "

- The Pleasures Of God (by John Piper)

Philippians 1:29

"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake..."

Mmmm...the sweet smell of victory

I read that last post on the "king of all fruit" and it caused me to think. A couple years ago God blessed me with the opportunity to preach on the church in Smyrna found in Revelation 2:8-11:


8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

This church was not admonished for their lack of love or for being lukewarm. Instead Jesus tells them that there are some tough times coming their way (and that is an understatement). Satan himself was bent on torturing and persecuting this church until they would renounce their faith. They must have been doing something right. Better yet they must have believed in Someone right.

Now how is that for irony? Imagine that you are dying daily to your self and following in the footsteps of Jesus. You are growing in your faith, loving God more and more, loving other people. Sounds awesome right? Jesus comes and says guess what you reward is for obeying Me and loving Me...well, you're going to be tested like no other time in your life, you will spend some time in prison, and there's a high probability of death. Gee...thanks for the uplifting message. However, there is some good news. If you remain faithful...you will receive the crown of life and not be hurt by the second death. That's a pretty good deal since our lives are but a vapor in the big picture of eternity.

So how does this relate to smell? Glad you asked. As I studied this I found that Smyrna means "myrrh", a sweet smelling perfume that people wore and a fragrance used to anoint dead bodies. In order to extract this sweet smell, you had to crush the plant it came from and it would produce an aroma pleasant to the nose. What a great metaphor for the church located in Smyrna. They would be crushed down in persecution, all the while giving off a sweet smelling aroma pleasing to the Lord.

It's not about us...it's about God and His glory!