The Glorious Power of Christ (Part 1)

This week I'm going to post part of the lyrics to the song "Joyful Noise" by Flame(feat. Lecrae and John Reilly) and Hebrews 1:2-4, 8-12. I know it's a lot of reading, but it's good stuff. Next week I will share another passage and talk about the connections.

Joyful Noise
Verse 1:
Your boy's been a Christian, quite a few years
Victory and faith, but I failed in my fears
I heard a lot of words that have tickled many ears
That's why I praise God for the Word that we adhere
The Word became flesh, lived for thirty years
Died at 33, but after days reappeared
Jesus Christ anointed one ascended in the air

Or you can say the air where the Father made Him heir
Of all things the throne know it's more than a chair
But after our redemption yes He did take a chair
Greater than the angels name superior to theirs
This is Hebrews Chapter 1 if you cared

I'm leaning to the right
The light is where I'm running
I thought I wanted life, drunk, sexed out and blunted
But all I really wanted was the One who really won it
Fought death, beat it gave His life to the public
I love it!

Chorus:
Angels surrounding His throne and
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
The whole earth is full of His glory
All nations bow to His name
His majesty fills the Heavens
Our hearts give thunderous praise
Declare the Lord is forever
Make a joyful noise in this place

Verse 2:
Man I'm trying to lift Him high
Higher than the stars
I am not of this world like I'm from the planet mars
I love to preach Jesus you can read it in my bars
I'm pretty straight forward when I'm speaking bout my Lord

He paid the sin price being beat by Roman guards
But when He resurrected gave us life free of charge
Now me and my boys need to be in the psych ward
Cause we went crazy for God our lives was scarred

Now in the Book of Life, our names have been written down
We're casting our crowns before His feet on the ground
It's such a holy melody and a heavenly sound
Hearing holy holy holy coming out of the mouth
Of the four living creatures by His throne all around
Can you picture the scene this this is how it's going down
You just need a little faith and a new set of eyes and a telescopic lens to look in and see God
I love it!

Hebrews 1:2-4, 8-12

"But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

But of the Son he says,

'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.'

And, 'You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.'”

Back to Life...Back to Reality

So ive been reading through a John Piper book called Future Grace. And up till now i have really enjoyed this book, then i got to the chapter Loving Ministry More Than Life. Just reading the title made me cringe a little because when i read the title it makes me think that i am going to be reading about how i need to put my husband and someday children and sanity and all my energy into ministry until the point that im exhausted. Needless to say i was apprehensive, but ohh Mr. Piper you have done it again. God has used this man to once again break my selfish heart and help me realize that ministry truly is more important than life. It makes me think of that verse in psalms "because your life is better than life, my lips will glorify you."

God has equiped all who are his to do ministry, that may not mean everyone preaches, but we all have different ways that God uses us to minister to others. Piper quotes Henry Martyn who said, "if God has work for me to do I cannot die." I know that sounds extreme until you start to think about it. God does have an appointed purpose for us and until that is fulfilled were aliens in a foreign land. Now im sure that doesn't mean go and do all kinds of risky things that put your life in danger and it probably doesn' t mean that you will never suffer or do things you don't want to do, but if we try to save our lives so that we can do ministry we've got it wrong. We should lose our lives for Christ and all that He has done for us. So lets get back to life and back to reality.

Context

This weeks blog is inspired from my reading a good friend Jason Lapps post on seeking your own agenda in the scriptures. If you don't read his stuff then you should start today.

We serve a God who has revealed Himself through scripture to us. There is only mystery in the areas where God has chosen not to reveal. This is not to be mistaken for the times where disputes on interpretation come in to play. Most often when we see out right non biblical statements made it is most often from those seeking an agenda (whether they realize it or not). I used to find it very easy to word search the most relevant word in my topic of interest so that I would have a passage to back up my statements. Thats like searching for your spouse by holding up a picture of a magazine photo just hoping that you find the person that matches the image you want. It makes you completely miss whats actually out there for something that is not.

If you take scripture and use it to see who God has revealed Himself to be, in a continuous life long pursuit. Then out of context verses are as offensive to you as it would be to my wife if I told her she has beautiful brown eyes (my wife actually has gorgeous green eyes).
I'm not perfect by any means at this. Trust me. But our goal is to fix our eyes on the words of the bible and let it tell us who He is and not us trying to find what we want to see.

Psalm 119 97-112
Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word!
Accept my free will offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever,to the end.

We are Absolutely Safe with Jesus

I have been very blessed in reading J. R. Miller's thoughts on various passages recently through "Grace Gems". These particular thoughts are very encouraging to me. Christ knows all that is in a person, yet if that person is His, then His love still covers us.

"Having loved His own who were in the world--He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

"A friend is one who loves--and does not cease to love. Christ having loved His people--loves them unto the end. One quality of true friendship, is trust.

What could be more sacred than this comfort of feeling safe with a person, absolutely safe? That is the kind of friend Jesus is. You may always feel safe with Him.

You may confess all your sins to Him. You may tell Him all your faults and your failures--how you denied Him the other night, how you failed to be true to Him, and all the evil thoughts of your heart; and He will be just as tender and gracious--as if you never had sinned!

He loves unto the end!

None of us would want to have our hearts photographed, and the picture held up before the eyes of our neighbors! We would not want even our best friends to see a full transcript of our secret life--what goes on within us: the jealousies, the envyings, the bitter feelings, the impure thoughts, the meannesses, the selfishnesses, the suspicions, the doubts and fears!

Yet Christ sees all this unworthy inner life--He knows the worst that is in us--and loves us still!

We do not need to hide our weaknesses from Him. He never withdraws His love. We may trust Him absolutely and forever!"


"Having loved His own who were in the world--He loved them unto the end!" John 13:1

Arise, My Soul, Arise

Today my pastor recited for us the lyrics to this great hymn. I had listened to it many times before but- as is typical with hymns- reading the lyrics gave me the opportunity to see the beauty expressed in poetic form in this song. Enjoy.

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our sins*,
His blood atoned for all our sins*,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

-Charles Wesley

*Note- Author's original word is "race" but for theological reasons I made the wording more agreeable across theological lines.

The Lion's Call

In my last post I mentioned C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair. After hearing the sermon that I referenced in that post, I decided to listen to the audio version of this book. I love how Lewis incorporates great truths of scripture into his stories, and I heard one that I wanted to mention, because we have been studying it in youth group as well.

The doctrine of election can be a rather overwhelming topic and a hard one to get your mind around (that's why I will relate what Tim Senn has taught us instead of making it up on my own).

1 Peter 1:1-2 - "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you."

Election is basically being chosen by God. God chooses those who will and do believe in Him. Tim gave three realities of divine election (4 Parts of Tim's teaching on the "Chosen by God" series can be found on the BCLR ROC blog). They were: The Source of Election, The Goal of Election, and the Results of Election. I just want to share a few points from the first reality.

In 1 Peter 1:2, we can see that the source of election is the Trinity. Each member of the trinity has a part. There is the foreknowledge of God(the Father), the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the sprinkled blood of Christ.

All of the parts fit together like a puzzle and it is really cool. God the Father "foreknew"(which Tim pointed out means He knew us personally, instead of factually) those who He was going to save. God the Spirit caused us to be born again at the space and time that we did. God the Son provided the means by which we could be saved by dying on the cross.

The scene in The Silver Chair that I was talking about is towards the beginning of the book. Eustace and Jill have both gotten into Narnia after asking Aslan, but Eustace has fallen off a cliff and been blown to Narnia by the Lion. Aslan is talking with Jill about everything that happened, and mentions a task that he called her and Eustace out of their own world to do.

Jill says that their must be a mistake, because no one called them. They asked someone to let them come to Narnia and they just got in. Aslan responds,

"You would not have called to me, unless I had been calling to you."

This is a wonderful truth, because we don't have to do the work. If we didn't believe this, we would be relying on our sinful human will, instead of our choice through God's call. Another reason it is wonderful is because all the glory is given to God. We can not try to take the glory, because God is the one who chose that we would be saved. Praise God for this perfect plan that He has orchestrated and thank Christ for His sacrifice to make this plan possible!

Morality?

I was reading in john pipers "future grace" today and came across something really good that i haven't thought about in a while. It was talking about true faith and then a works based faith or religious or morality based faith. This is such a huge problem in the world today especially in our churches. It is interesting that some people really do try to be "religious" and they think that is what true faith in Jesus is, while others have the "I don't believe I organized religion" or their just downright opposed to the gospel kind of attitude, yet they still try to be moral and live by some kind of self made standard. In both cases you have a person that is trying to earn their salvation apart from he gospel, which we all know or should know is not in any way possible.

the piper quote goes like this, "In its religious form, works accepts the challenge of morality, conquers its obstacles through great exertion, and offers the victory to God as a payment for his approval and recompense. Faith, too, accepts the challenge of morality, but only as an occasion to become the instrument of God's power. And when the victory comes, faith rejoices that all the glory and thanks belong to God." (future grace, 279)

the bible says it like this in Titus 3:4-7, "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his won mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Their is no way we can earn our salvation apart from Christ, our works are filthy to him and any kind of morality that we have will always be way off compared to Gods standard. We need Christ so desperately because He did what we could never do. So we need to stop trying to be moral and be Christs!

grace and peace
sarah B.

Spurgeon on the mind

Mr. Spurgeon either some how tapped into something that we, in 2010, need to hear. Or this has always been an issue (I think its the second one personally).

Sin! From your fruitful womb what myriads of ills proceeded! What countless hosts of evils are the fruits of sin! How many are the sins themselves! Sins of thought–rebellious thoughts, proud thoughts, blasphemous thoughts, atheistic thoughts, covetous thoughts, lustful thoughts, impatient thoughts, cruel thoughts, false thoughts, thoughts of ill memory, and dreams of an unholy future; what swarms are there! However, the omission of thoughts, which should have been such as thoughts of repentance, gratitude, reverence, faith, and the like–these are equally numerous. With the double list, my roll is written within and without with a hideous catalogue. As the gnats that swarm the air at eventide, so numerous are the transgressions of the mind.- Charles Spurgeon

Meditate upon Heaven

Here are some wonderful thoughts from James Meikle about Heaven.

"All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss, a spacious sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable delights, and transported with the raptures of seraphic harmony!

While all His saints rejoice in His excellent glory--what ardor glows in every soul--what rapture swells in every song! O the adorable displays of His perfections--the manifestations of His goodness--the outlettings of His love! Here we received out of His fullness--grace upon grace and glory upon glory. Our possession is worthy of our liberal Giver.

We have . . .
a kingdom which cannot be moved,
an undefiled inheritance, which does not fade away,
a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God,
garments of glory,
a crown of righteousness,
the tree of life to feed upon,
the fountain of life to drink of,
the garden of God to walk in,
life above the reach of death,
health secured from sickness,
pleasure without pain.

Our bodies are immortal,
our souls immaculate,
our senses sanctified,
our conceptions spiritualized,
our faculties enlarged,
and our whole soul replenished by divinity.

Our past bliss is with us in the sweet remembrance, our present bliss entrances in the enjoyment, and our future bliss is present with us in the full assurance of our eternal felicity. Thus we are forever blessed to the highest degree. We are above all fear, beyond anxiety and doubt, and fixed above all change.

Our service is sincere,
our adorations ardent,
our knowledge profound and satisfying.

Rapture rushes in at every part! Our eyes are ravished with seeing the King in His beauty;our ears are ravished with hearing the songs of the inner temple;our nostrils are ravished with the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, the plant of renown; our feet are ravished with standing in His holy place; our hands are ravished with handling of the word of life; and our mouths are ravished with the wine of our Beloved, which goes down sweetly, causing our souls to shout aloud, and the lips to sing, and never cease.


Our experience of His fullness, our vision of His perfections and glory--constitute our most exalted bliss, and are the heaven of heavens! O what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne into our souls!

O the pleasure that is in His presence!

O the exuberant rivers of joy that flow at His right hand! O love! never to be forgotten--which has brought me safely through so many winding labyrinths and crooked paths, in sight of so many enemies--in spite of . . . a tempting devil, the accusations of my sins, the rebellion of my lusts, the carnality of my affections, and the weakness of all my graces--to dwell at last forever in heavenly bliss!O eternity! once the comfort of our longing expectations--now the transport of our enlarged souls!

For we are . . .
forever with the Lord, seeing His unclouded face,
wearing His divine name,
drinking at the streams of His pleasures,
eating of His hidden manna,
sitting beneath the Tree of life,
basking under the beams of the Sun of righteousness,
singing hallelujahs to Him who loved us, who washed us from our sins in His blood, and brought us here to be with Him forever!

O state of complete happiness and consummate bliss!"

Please Accept My Apologies

I'm finally continuing my series on apologetics. Here's the link to Part 1.

Don’t memorize arguments, understand your faith and competing worldviews.

1. Not every pro-Christian argument is biblical or God honoring.

“…we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2)

First let me clear up that by argument I don’t mean a disagreement or debate. Dictionary.com (the world’s most convenient dictionary) defines an argument as “4. a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point: ‘This is a strong argument in favor of her theory.’” And, “5. an address or composition intended to convince or persuade; persuasive discourse."

When I refer to a “pro-Christian argument” I am not saying that the argument is inherently Christian- that would make my point a contradiction- I am saying that the argument is attempting to defend the Christian faith.

It is easy for anyone to fall into the trap of using anything that seemingly helps their point against those who disagree. But when seeking to evangelize it is important to remember that God does the saving, we simply need to be faithful to the message.

I suggest that when you hear an argument for the Christian faith, analyze it and consider whether or not it is consistent with what you understand from the Bible. If it isn’t, go to the Bible and try to get a better understanding of where the conflict between you and the person from whom you heard the argument lies.

A good practice for this is to listen to debates between Christians and non-Christians. Listen to the arguments of both sides and see how you would respond to the non-Christian if you were in the debate. (One good resource for these is the Unbelievable Radio Program which features weekly debate between Christians and non-Christians. Free audio can be found here.)

More on this topic soon...

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Laziness

Today I listened to a sermon by Joshua Harris called "Do Not Be Slothful in Zeal." He started out by sharing a story from the Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.

The story is about a boy named Eustace and a girl named Jill, who meet up with a creature called a marsh-wiggle, whose name is Puddleglum. Their story is about the adventures they have on their way to save Prince Rilian from a witch. This witch is the ruler of a colony that lives underground.

Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum had finally made it into the underground city and had freed the prince, when the witch comes in and catches them. She lights a magic fire on the ground and begins to play a harp. While playing, she begins to speak to them and tell them things that weaken their hearts. She tells them that there is no other world above the ground. That there is no hope.

When everything seems lost, Puddleglum the faithful companion musters all the strength he has and marches over to the fire and, with his bare feet, stamps it out.

Puddleglum is a great example of fighting the temptation of laziness in zeal. They had rescued the prince, the job that Aslan had sent them to do, but then they were tempted to give up. They were tempted to lose their hope and faith in Aslan. But Puddleglum fought. He gave everything he had to fight against this temptation. This act showed his reliance on and hope in Aslan.

So often this can happen in our own lives. We are passionate for God. We want to serve Him. We want to love Him. But then we are tempted to slack in our quiet times. To zone out on Sunday mornings. To forget God throughout the day. Satan wants us to forget God. But the reality is that we cannot survive without God; just like Puddleglum knew he could not live without Aslan. He saw the dangers of those lies and he did whatever it took to destroy them, even at the cost of burning his feet.

Christ is another example; the ultimate example. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He knows what it is like to live without God when He died for our sins, and yet he still did it because he loved us. He paid the worst price to destroy sin forever. Sin is dangerous. It's dangerous, because it tries to lure us away from God.

And maybe the temptations aren't sinful. Joshua mentioned things like spending too much time with earthly things instead of heavenly. How much time do I spend on facebook compared to God's word? What is slowly working its way up on my priorities list? Is it reading my Bible or hours of Halo? How do I spend my time?

2 Timothy 4:1-5 - "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

We must be alert!We must preach to ourselves!Temptation is everywhere and it never takes a break, so we must never take a break from teaching ourselves. We cannot let the world take away our zeal for serving God and the only way we can do that is through God's help.

I know that I am terrible at this. I want to relax and enjoy life, but I can't live that life anymore. I want to serve God, but I am constantly tempted to be lazy.

Dear Lord, I pray that you would make me more faithful to you. Protect me when I am tempted to forget about the reason that I live. Be my sheild when I am tempt to relax in my service to you. Lord, I pray that I would fight to the last breathe to avoid temptation. I pray that I wouldn't just see temptation ahead and keep going and kinda shuffle around it. Lord, I pray that I would turn around and run as fast as I can in the opposite direction. I can only do this through your strength, and because you have saved me and called me your own. Thank you. Amen.

Miracle of Life

So im a girl...obviously. Which means that i get excited about decorating, and pedicures, but especially babies! Now ill get myself in the clear right now by saying that i am not pregnant, but a dear friend of mine recently found that she was and im so excited for her, her husband, and their son joshua who is about 2 1/2 years old. She has asked for some prayers for this baby and the pregnancy because she had some neurological complications with her first pregnancy. So today as i have been pondering babies and pregnancy i can't help but think about the miracle of life and the amazing process of it all and how smart God is. And then when i think about that i think about the sanctity of life and how important it is to stop things like abortion.

Rather than getting hyped up on politics i would like to keep the post more focused on Gods glory and the fact that he does care about babies still in the womb and that he is over the whole process. I can't think of a better way to that than pointing to Psalm 139:13-16.

"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for i am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my sould knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when i was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them."

This scripture is so beautiful because it shows that this isn't just some fetus that can't feel anything and that has no delicacies, no this is a baby -a person from the moment of conception, God knows our days even before we didn't have any. I love words like "intricately woven" and "your eyes saw my unformed substance" God is so present and partaking in His creation even today. It didn't stop in Eden, God still crafts together a perfect human being in His image placing ears and eyes and toes exactly where they need to go.

So, thank you God for your continued creation and being a part of our lives. Thank you for babies and the wonderful way that you knit and weave together all the different cells and organs and tissues that we need. You are amazing and deserving of glory.

in jesus' name. amen.

Computer Church

With so much technology around us its difficult at times to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality. It would be really easy for me to say that I’m good friends with someone like Abraham piper or Frank Turk (two guys that are bloggers with lots of readers) simply because I have had a few “conversations” with them on twitter where I spoke and they responded. Now simply by using my phone I can see what my good friends in Texas are saying while I’m having lunch in the park in Arkansas.

With these thoughts in mind I can also get online at home (in Little Rock Arkansas) to listen to Matt Chandler (lead preaching pastor at the Village Church in Texas) preach to his church, tweet Michael Bleecker the worship pastor on the wonderful song choice, and encourage Josh Patterson (an elder at the Village Church) because he wrote a great blog post this week. This can all be done from home and give me the impression that I am just as much of a member as anyone at the Village Church as many of the covenanting members. The unfortunate part of this is that I’m the only one under this dilution. The members at the Village have no knowledge of me, I have not covenanted with the church, and I’m not having fellowship with any of them.

Ed Stetzer posted on twitter a blog post that quoted him when the writer was talking about the resent fad of internet churches and social media. There are some out there that try to bring church to those who won’t go (this is not referring to those who are unable to go for health or physical reasons other than the early morning weekend blues). These have made it so that all the things you would want in a church are supplied from worship and preaching to the message boards allowing for conversation.

Ed said this in the blog post “there is no such thing as an internet church.” Those who regard the church in this manner and participate only by the live streaming of the worship service and “conversing on message boards are short circuiting the fellowship of the saints and their own spiritual growth.”
The writer of the blog states that Stetzer used “classic text” of Hebrews 10:25. http://baptistmessenger.com/the-rise-of-social-media/

So for myself and all of you I pray that we never fall into the trap of watching a monitor instead of communing with our brothers and sisters. I have seen a few friends fall victim to this mentality. I at times have even lingered far to long on the thought of how much easier things would be if I watched the sermon at home and then led a devotion and worship with my family instead of attending. Gas may not be cheap and humans may be hard to get along with. But the sacrifice of covenanting with a local church could be devastating to our walk in Christ.

An Iron Cage

Reading through the "Pilgrim's Progress" once again has been a very helpful thing for me. Here is a very chilling passage from where Christian is in the Interpreter's house.

"Christian: Now, let me go hence.
Interpreter: Nay, stay, until I have shown thee a little more, and after that thou shalt go thy way.

So he took him by the hand again, and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage. Now the man, to look on, seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his heart.

Chr: What means this?

At which the Interpreter bid him talk with the man.

Chr: What art thou?
Man: I am what I was not once.
Chr: What wast thou once?
Man: I was once a fair and flourishing professor (Luke 8:13), both in mine own eyes, and also in the eyes of others. I was once, as I thought, fair for the Celestial City, and had even joy at the thoughts that I should get thither.
Chr: Well, but what art thou now?
Man: I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out. Oh, now I cannot!
Chr: But how camest thou into this condition?
Man: I left off to watch and be sober. I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts. I sinned against the light of the Word, and the goodness of God. I have grieved the Spirit, and He is gone. I tempted the Devil, and he is come to me. I have so hardened my heart that I cannot repent.
Chr: For what did you bring yourself into this condition?
Man: For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did then promise myself much delight; but now every one of those things also bit me, and gnaw me, like a burning worm.
Interpreter: Let this man's misery be remembered by thee, and be an everlasting caution to thee."

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. -Proverbs 29:1

Things to Learn from Brit Hume

I do want to get back to the series on apologetics eventually but please allow me to go on a different topic for yet another week. It is rare for a respected person in the media to speak as boldly as Brit Hume in the above clips. Yes there are examples such as Tim Tebow and Stephen Baldwin but often times they simply become new faces of the Christian sub-culture. I don’t want to take anything away from these men, especially Tebow for whom I have much respect despite him being an SEC rival of my beloved Hogs. However, they are both known more because of what they do as an expression of coming from a Christian sub-culture (conservative politics, John 3:16 eye black, the term “God bless”, etc…) whereas Brit Hume addressed a man’s need for a savior and expressed his belief that Christianity is the only religion with a genuine offer of that savior.

I am grateful for what Mr. Hume did and for what appears to be fruit in his life. I only hope that he doesn’t become the next evangelical celebrity. I hope he isn’t asked to speak on the topic of boldness at Liberty, go on TBC, or have a daily segment on K-Love. I hope we don’t try to turn him into an expert in theology or apologetics. Most of all, I hope production hasn’t already started on a line of “Brit Hume is my homeboy” T-shirts.

The fact is that this is that Brit Hume is a man who can serve Christians as an example. He is an example of a man who gave up a good career so he could have more time pursuing his faith. In addition to his desire to spend more time with family, he wanted to spend more time in God’s word. Furthermore, he is applying the things he has learned to his new job as an analyst. I hope he realizes that his expertise in politics gives him a rare opportunity to bring Christ to the lost.

So instead of making Brit Hume into one more evangelical celebrity, let’s follow his example. Personally, I am convicted of my own desire to study Scripture. Would I leave such a well paying, respectable career to pursue my faith? Would I then give up the rest of the world’s respect for me to proclaim that Christ is the only savior of the world? I hope so, but I am grateful to Mr. Hume for making me think about it.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Love

In the past few days, I realized that God has been constantly bringing the certain subject of love up over the holidays. As I look back, it is really cool, because I can see times where God was trying to show me what it really means to love.

I had the opportunity to attend Chris and Anna Kay's wedding last monday, and Douglas and Cammie Allison's last month. Tim Senn performed both ceremony's and he used it as a time to share the gospel in a unique way.

First, Tim described the duties of the Christian husband and wife. Here are a few attributes of each: A husband is to forsake all others. He is supposed to be the protector and, while he should lead and make decisions, listen to the advice of his wife. A wife is supposed to honor her husband by submitting to his authority. She is to only intoxicate her husband and no other.

Ephesians 5:23-24 - "For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands."

God used this example (the love between husband and wife) as a representation of Christ's love for the church. This love isn't a romantic giddiness, but rather the devoted love that a husband has for his wife. Relationships aren't always perfect. Love isn't just a feeling. If it was there would be very few married people left.

Love, rather, is forsaking your own desires in order to put another's desires or needs first. I'm not married so I don't know from experience the intensity of that kind of love, but I am getting a better idea of love day by day.

I am currently reading a book called "Relationships" written by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp. The book starts by giving examples of the difficulties of relationships. Basically two people both wanting their own way, but it seems fair in their own eyes. They take this and run, showing the reader everything that is wrong on their side of the relationship. But instead of it being an extremely depressing book by only showing you all your failures, it encourages you with the sacrifices Christ made for us and the love that he showed us.

These things made me stop and think, first, about the sacrifice made and love shown by Christ to me, and, second, my love for Christ and others around me. It's overwhelming when you think about the love Christ has shown. His love and grace is our salvation! His love is unconditional. No matter how bad we mess up, he still loves us. And I don't love nearly as well as I should, but I thank God for his mercy and I use his example as fuel for my struggle to love as he did and does.

Thank you, Jesus, for the love and grace that you showed on the cross. I pray that you would help me to love others, even when they hurt and wrong me, as you loved me, a wretched sinner, who spit and mocked you. And may the glory of any love that comes from me by given to you, who made salvation possible. Amen.

Yet I Sin

I love how God works in the hearts of sinners for His glory. The revelation of a broken, bent to sin heart that is desperate and dirty is such a wonderful grace to behold. God is so merciful to show us our sin and then allows us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to change our desires and conform more to Him. Oh the beauty of sanctification and workings of Christ in us.

I had been thinking of a song that talks about our sinful condition and our need for God and that led me to a book i have called the Valley of Vision which is a collection of Puritan Prayers. This prayer that i am about to type is so sweet to describe the goodness and holiness of God and our sinful state, i just couldn't resist typing it for all to see.

Enjoy.
sarah B.

Yet I Sin

Eternal Father,
Thou art good beyond all thought,
But i am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;
My lips are ready to confess, but my heart is slow to feel, and my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee;
break it, would it, bend it, mold it.
Unmask to me sin's deformity, that i may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.
My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against thee;
as a rebel i have misused my strength, and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.
Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly, grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard, that evil paths are wretched paths, that to depart from thee is to lose all good.
I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law, the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns, the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls, yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.
Thy loving Spirit strives within me, brings me Scripture warnings, speaks in starling providences, allures by secret whispers, yet i choose devices and desires to my own hurt, impiously resent, grieve, and provoke him to abandon me.
All these sins i mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon.
Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears, yet ever trusts and loves, which i ever powerful, and ever confident;
Grant that through the tears of repentance i may see more clearly the brightness and glories of the saving cross.

Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott

This week I wanted to share a song that I have grown to love over the last year or two written by Martin Luther. It has been stuck in my head for the last two days since I heard this song at Passion with same title even though its a totally different song.

A mighty fortress is our God (Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott)

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

I'm happy that such a passionate man for God had such a love for music. He expressed his love for music in a book forward once.

“Next to the word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits... A person who... does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God... Does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and dying hogs” - Martin Luther

Absolute Reality

I just recently reread the "Holiness of God" by Sproul. Again, I was very blessed by this book's teaching on the Scriptures. I am always stunned when I review the stories about Moses, Jacob, Isaiah, or Ezekiel when they encountered the holiness of our God. This is definately a book that I would recommend for reading and rereading! Here is a thought from the chapter "Holy Space and Holy Time":

"Our contact with the holy is not merely an encounter with a different dimension of reality;
it is the meeting with Absolute Reality. Christianity is not about involvement with religious
experience as a tangent. It involves a meeting with a holy God, who forms the center, or core, of human existence.
The Christian faith is theocentric.

God is not at the edge of Christians' lives but at the very center.

God defines our entire life and worldview"

Ramblings on a New Decade

It's 2010 and- despite all technicalities- every major media outlet has made their best attempt at putting a nice bow on the first decade of the new millennium. I am a sports fan who watches a lot of ESPN so of course I have heard my share of how this was the decade of the Red Sox, Patriots, and (especially recently) Tiger Woods. However, we all know that as far as sports goes it was the decade of Albert Pujols.

All of that aside, it isn't the greatness of Albert Pujols that I want write about because I doubt knowing who the best athlete of the decade was will give you much help in your walk with Christ (though it should be noted that Albert loves Jesus). Personally, I don't think there is much question as to what we will remember most about this decade. I can think of four things and one still trumps the rest. The hated two-term Presidency of George W. Bush, the first minority President (Barack Obama), Napoleon Dynamite, and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

I can understand why many people will remember Obama's election more. My reason for not giving it more attention is that I am opposed to his political views in almost every area, I am not myself a minority and don't fully understand the magnitude of finally having a President who looks somewhat like me (they always did), and I was born after the major civil rights wars ended. When President Obama was elected I was watching the movie Get Smart, the event didn't take me by surprise at all. However, 9/11 was beyond my comprehension.

It is 9/11 that I want to talk about because it is the most important landmark event of my lifetime (the Berlin Wall fell when I was 2). I grew up being told that I should appreciate the freedom of living in the United States. I can remember as a child pondering the fact that I had no idea what that meant. Did other kids have to wear chains or something? Do kids in China only get one Christmas present and nothing on their birthday? I simply had no idea. It wasn't until 2001 that I began to grasp the value of freedom in this world.

We are always caught by surprise when these things happen. Nobody expected JFK to be assasinated (ok, almost nobody), the Oklahoma City bombing, or the tsunami of 2004. These things always shake our worldview, turn our thoughts to divine purpose, and sometimes they even change the way a nation operates. But sometimes you have to wonder just how long we can keep this up. I mean, we can prepare for shoe bombers on airplanes but there is no way we can prepare for the recent underwear bomber and maintain freedom.

The decade of 9/11 should tell us that there is no guarantee that the United States project will continue until 2020, especially not as it always has. We should remember that God is sovereign over nations, holding the heart of the king in his hand (Proverbs 21:1) and when he decides America's time is over it will be over.

9/11 should also remind us of God's sovereignty over evil and suffering. Events like this should challenge your view of God. It is right for people to ask the question, "if God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and truly loves people, why would He allow this to happen?" For this reason many wrongfully reject God. Others try to rescue Him from this question by attributing to Him a respect for free-will. Instead we should remember the words of Jesus when asked about suffering from both natural and sinful events:

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:2-3)

There is no need to rescue God from this problem. What God permits to happen in this world is (at the very least) a passive decree for it to happen with a purpose. You might say that purpose is to maintain free will but verses such as Genesis 50:20 (which summarizes God's purpose in the story of Joseph), Acts 4:27-28 (which summarizes God's purpose in the death of Christ), and Romans 8:28 (which summarizes God's purpose in everything) tell us that His hand is actively moving in history.

Who knows what this new decade will bring. At the start of the last one chances are you knew all the words to at least one Britney Spears song and now you're probably a little surprised she is still alive. At the start of the last one Bill Clinton was considered the "first black President" but now we know what it is like to have a real one. But one thing hasn't changed, Jesus Christ is still the savior of the world.

Perhaps this will be the decade in which the U.S. crumbles (I cringe to think of that), or the MP3/Ipod is replaced by something we haven't even thought of yet. It will most certainly be a huge decade for scientific advacement as we continue to reap the benefits of the Human Genome Project, but what specifically? A cure for cancer? A new theory that replaces evolution to explain human origins (it won't be biblical creationism)?

For some it will be the decade in which God saves them. Perhaps it will be the decade in which Christ returns. Let us pray to that end and expect the unexpected.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Resolutions

As we start the new year, I just want to say a few things. I was reading J Bean's post on Wednesday, and was kinda shocked. Jonathan Edwards was only twenty, and he had some very high goals. Some that I know that I will break tomorrow. As I consider the goals to make I try to keep two things in mind. First I want my resolutions to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and, second, I have to remember that they can't save me (Galatians 2:16) .

For a Christian, resolutions should be a way that we can glorify God and show others that we are different from the world because of what Christ did. We were under bondage to sin but Romans 6:18 says,

"and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves to righteousness."

We are saved through Christ's righteousness, not our own. Our resolutions should not be our way to "get right with God." No one can do that for themselves, because, first, we are not perfect, and, second, Christ has already done it!

Christ did what we could not! He became the sacrifice for our sins, and gave us the credit, so that God now looks at us and says that we are righteous (Romans 5:19). He doesn't say, "oh you'll do." He considers us as righteous as his Son! How could we ever be as righteous as that? We can't, but Christ is for us.

All that being said, the resolutions should not be just a set of rules that we follow mindlessly. If we know this truth of Christ's sacrificial payment, that should make us want to please God in everything we do. Resolutions are reminders of our goal to be holy as Christ is holy (1 Peter 1:5). you can not try to be holy if your just following a set of rules. We have to want to be holy, which isn't always easy, but it is what God commands, and it will bring you closer to Him.