Happy Easter

Over the last several years I’ve heard of this wonderful concept called resurrection eggs. I heard of them both by people saying how cool they are and also by those making fun of them. Until 2 weeks ago I had never actually seen them though. Personally I think that they are good tools to use as long as the gospel is presented well and the toys/symbols are not a distraction. As I walked through the story of the resurrection with my group that night it started to sink in how close Easter was fastly approaching which has lately been met with preparation by reading the Gospel of Matthew.

Now after reading the Lords supper passages it has brought me to looking over some sermons on the subject and I found one by John Piper that intrigued me entitled The Lords Supper as Worship. He say’s in it “The essence of worship is the inner experience of treasuring the true beauty and worth of God. And the outward forms of worship are the acts that show how much we treasure the beauty and worth of God. Therefore God created all of life as worship because he has told us, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Do everything you do in a way that expresses your treasuring of God.”

The base scripture of the sermon was 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. In this Paul covers alot about the Corinthians and needs that they have but he warns of the seriousness of taking the Lords Supper. It is not to be taken lightly. But I do believe that it is also to cause us to worship through remembering, acknowledging, and proclaiming the gospel and all that it entails. Especially with the cross and the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God in mind.

Happy Easter!
Grace and peace

Considering Heaven: An Invitation

When we set our minds on things above and fill our minds with the Bible's teachings on Heaven, then there should be much blessing and motivation for our living in the present. Yet our meditation on Heaven should also spur us on in our proclamation of the Savior. If we are truly loving God and man, and truly excited about the New Heavens and the New Earth then we ought to be eager to extend the Gospel invitation to the world.

Consider these passages from the Word of God:

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."

- Revelation 22:17

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

- Matthew 11:28-30

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live..."

- Isaiah 55:1-3a

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst'."

- John 6:35

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

- John 3:16

Are we eager to declare the power of God for salvation? Are we eager to join Christ and say "come to find rest"? When we think about the glories of Heaven we should be all the more inspired to preach the message of these verses to the lost. For those who are hungry, thirsty, and heavy laden the invitation of the Gospel is there. Simply come. Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection have secured for us peace with God. When we think about Heaven and being able to worship in the presence of our Creator and Redeemer, satisfied, unstained, and restored for eternity, our passion for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ ought to be increased. When we meditate on the infinite majesty of our King and the reality that we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is, then we ought to more greatly desire to proclaim the Wedding Feast invitation!

Do we have a genuine desire that none should perish but that all should repent and find salvation in Jesus? Is that our passion? Do we want everyone to love our King and to experience the indescribable joy, glory, and peace of being in His majestic and loving presence in the New Heavens and the New Earth for eternity?

It is really quite a simple thought. If we consider how glorious, how beautiful, how joyous, how desirable, how breath-taking, how shockingly, mind-blowingly awesome it will be to forever be with the One who gave us life and breath and rescued us from sin and death, then we ought to be more eager to invite anyone and everyone to come to Christ that they might worship Him forever in the Kingdom of God. This is a convicting thought for me. May the Lord grace us with His love and strength that we might be empowered to preach the Gospel as we should. I believe that when we meditate on the glory and wonder of Heaven, then we will be more eager to extend the Gospel invitation to those who are lost.

A Reflection for "Holy Week"

"We’re now in the realm of the sublime and profound
With God at the helm it’s about to go down

The Father’s wrath precise will blast and slice
The priceless Master Christ as a sacrifice

Willingly, He’s under the curse
To be treated as if the Son was the worst scum of the earth

The scene is the craziest
Jesus being treated as if He is the shadiest atheist

How is it the Messiah is in the fiery pit
As if He was a wicked liar with twisted desires?

The One who’s sinless and just
Punished as if He was promiscuous and mischievous with vicious lust

The source of all godly pleasure
Tormented as if He was a foul investor or child molestor

How could He be bruised like He was a goodie two-shoes
who doesn’t think that she needs the good news?

He’s perfect in love and wisdom
But He’s suffering as if He constructed the corrupt justice system

We should mourn at the backdrop
Jesus torn like He’s on the corner with crack rock with porn on His laptop

What is this, kid? His gifts are infinite
But He’s hit with licks for religious hypocrites

He’s the Light, but being treated like
He’s the seedy type who likes to beat His wife

He’s treated like a rapist, treated like a slanderer
Treated like a racist or maybe a philanderer

Jesus being penalized like He had sin inside
Filled with inner pride while committing genocide

I could write for a billion years and still can’t name
All of the sins placed on the Lamb slain

But know this: the main thing the cross demonstrated
The glory and the holiness of God vindicated"

"So forever will I tell
In three hours, Christ suffered more than any sinner ever will in hell"

-Shai Linne The Cross (3 hours) verse 2 and bridge.

New Experiences

Yesterday i got to experience something new. I got off work and i spent some time outside soaking up the beginning of spring. There was a nice breeze outside, birds were singing...all around me was life, accept for the place i was at. Spring is nothing new for me, but praying at an abortion clinic is.

Yesterday some church members and i were able to take place in the 40 days for life campaign. All across the United States people are going to abortion clinics (well across from them or on the sidewalk) and praying from 7am to 7pm for the right of life. We prayed silently to ourselves and quietly in small groups. We prayed for the doctors, staff, the mothers, the men (fathers, husbands, boyfriends, etc) who desire the women in their lives to have abortions, the babies, the mothers who have gone through this procedure, our government and its leadership to put an end to ending life. Its weird being in a place like this knowing that its so dark and untouched, but we know that darkness cannot hide from God. It is humbling and once again a tremendous reminder of the grace that we have through faith in Jesus because i know that at one time i too have been just as depraved and hateful towards God, deserving death.

This campaign is almost over but they (the arkansas branch? try to do it in the fall every other year or so and the national one occurs at the start of lent). Here is a link for more information:

http://www.40daysforlife.com/splash.cfm

I know that people who go through something like this may be hard to reach, but nothing is impossible with God. All of us are sinners and need to be covered by Christ.

Grace and Peace
sarah

Remember Grace

Considering Heaven: A Motivation

We have already looked at the fact that meditating on Heaven brings blessing. What I would like to think about in this post is the idea that meditating on Heaven brings motivation. I do believe that when we spend time thinking about, reading about, meditating on, and singing about Heaven we will find motivation to seek to be who our Father has called us to be. If we set our minds on things above, then I believe that our hearts will experience motivation for obedience, love, and sacrifice.

We have been commanded to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16). Jesus said that the pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Though we do not obey God's law in order to earn salvation, we do seek to obey His word because we love Him and we want to live lives of worship. When, by faith, we meditate through the Scriptures upon the glorious perfection and the infinite purity of our King on His throne, then the impurities of the world seem all the more vile and repulsive. When our minds biblically picture our Savior reigning in the New Heavens and the New Earth, where the old things have faded, where newness and restoration abound, where sin has no place, then our desires for the fleeting pleasures of sin are weakened. If we could realize and think about the beautiful purity of our future home, would it not fill our hearts with zeal in our preparation for it? We ought to begin pursuing and enjoying this purity and righteousness all the more today so "that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming"(1 John 2:28). We ought to find motivation for obedience when we meditate on the pure, spotless, and perfect place to which we are going.

God has called His children to love. Jesus summarizes the commandments by saying we ought to love God and love God's image-bearers (Matthew 22:37-40). We are on our way to the Kingdom of love. When we think about the beautiful, tender, affectionate love that rules in Heaven, we ought to be motivated all the more to love others! What a love God lavishes upon us! God will be with us and we will be His people in His presence. God's love is so indescribably astounding. In the gospels we see God wiping away dirt from people's feet; in Revelation we see God wiping away tears from people's eyes. The thought of God dwelling with His people is breath-takingly stunning enough, yet He also wipes away the tears of His children! The holy Maker of all things brushes away the tears from the faces of the people that He created, loved, and adopted as His children. What a lavish, affectionate, and motivating love! Jesus went to prepare a place for us. God is getting ready to welcome us home to a place that is filled with infinite, matchless, and majestic love. How much should we love others in light of the love God has shown us and will show us? We should even love our enemies in light of the reward. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High" (Luke 6:35). Reminding our souls of the glorious Kingdom where love is so brilliantly shining should bring motivation for us to love God and love people.

To meditate upon Heaven is to meditate upon sacrifice. When we read through Revelation it can be surprising to see the songs of violence that are sung.

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" -Revelation 5:12
The only reason we can have hope of Heaven is because of sacrifice. The only reason that we can meditate upon Heaven is because of sacrifice, so we aren't meditating on Heaven biblically if we don't think about the Lamb that was slain. The Author of life, our precious Christ, was murdered that "he might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus Christ was killed and raised up so that we could know God and have everlasting life. How could we not now make any sacrifice necessary for Him? He laid down His life that we might know an abundant and eternal life. When we reflect upon Heaven's song of sacrifice, we ought to be driven to give up whatever needs to be given so that our worship might be holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). When we gaze upon the picture in Revelation of the lamb that was slain we ought to find motivation to make any physical, mental, spiritual, philosophical, or financial sacrifice that needs to be made that we might glorify our Savior.

Filling our minds with thoughts of Heaven not only brings blessing but it also brings motivation. We ought to be stirring up in our souls and in the souls of others excitement about our future dwelling place with our King. When we increase in Heavenly-mindedness then we will have fewer worldly distractions and our hearts will desire greater things for our Lord. If we set our minds on things above, then I believe, by God's grace, we will be more motivated to pursue obedience, love, and sacrifice for the sake of our great and awesome Creator.

How Much Does God Love His Children?

If you belong to Jesus Christ, he is speaking of you; for says he, “I know
my sheep”. “I know them”; what does that mean? Why, he knows their number, he
knows their names, he knows every one for whom he died; and if there were to be
one missing for whom Christ died, God the Father would send him down again from
heaven to fetch him. -George Whitfield

Praise to Jesus Christ

So every month, our worship team introduces a new song to our youth group. Last month's song was called "Praise to Jesus Christ" by Chasing Cadence.This week I'm going to post the lyrics because they are great.

You were left, despised, forsaken
man of sorrows, grief unspoken
to the cross our sins you carried
struck by God so it was finished there

Pierced alone for our transgressions
crushed for our iniquities
we like sheep have gone astray
for our debt the price you paid

Chorus:
Praise to Jesus Christ in heaven
you in love for us were given
God's great mercy coming through you
Lamb of God who takes away our sins

Holy God was pleased to crush you
as the guiltless sacrifice
raised in power you give salvation
God's good pleasure prospers in your hand

Final Lord of all creation
heaven and earth will sing your praises
Lion of Judah, lamb of slaughter
of your worthy name we'll always sing

I just want to mention one thing about the chorus that Jason Lapp (our worship leader) mentioned to us. Notice that it says "God's great mercy coming through you." This implies the position of Christ being our Mediator, which is an extremely big deal. To see why, look at my older posts on mediation: Part 1 and Part 2

Taught to be Hot?... gimme a break

I was given a link to a website about Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood yesterday. In fact i will give it to you now: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=128389 (this link may not work...i had to type it in here).

As i read the article i was absolutely appauled by planned parenthoods agenda (which i shouldn't have been surprised) and the girl scouts willingness to allow this. We have yet another attempt of society to teach girls about sex. You may think "well kids are going learn about it at some point" but do you really want your 10-14 year old daughter learning that its ok to experiment sexually with different partners and that you should try masterbation to find out things that they like? We as christians have GOT to start teaching our kids about purity and modesty. That a young lady's goal should not be "i want to be hot and sexy" but rather "Christ, make me Godly and help me to save myself for my spouse". We shouldn't teach our kids to explore themselves sexually but that doing so is sin and out of Gods plan for sex.

please please please do not become a victim of worldliness and a post-modern society that says "everything is ok!" Everything is not ok, in fact A LOT of things are sinful and take our focus off the cross. Be bold in your stand for Christ and quick to realize when sin is taking control of your heart.

grace and peace.
sarah b.

O Lord, We Praise Thee

“O Lord, We Praise Thee” by Martin Luther

1. O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flouish:
O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:
O Lord, have mercy!

2. Thy holy body into death was given,
Life to win for us in heaven.
No greater love than this to Thee could bind us;
May this feast thereof remind us!
O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee
That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.
All our debt Thou hast paid;
Peace with God once more is made:
O Lord, have mercy.

3. May God bestow on us His grace and favor
To please Him with our behavior
And live as brethren here in love and union
Nor repent this blest Communion!
O Lord, have mercy!
Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us;
Grant that heavenly-minded He make us;
Give Thy Church, Lord, to see
Days of peace and unity:
O Lord, have mercy!

Considering Heaven: A Blessing

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near". --Revelation 1:1-3

"And he said to me, " These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book". --Revelation 22:6-7

There is much good to be received from meditating on the promises of God. The Lord has told us in His writings, that for those who read, hear, and keep the words concerning the future of all things will be blessing. The followers of Christ who meditate upon Heaven have the Father's promise of blessing. What does this mean? What is this blessing? I believe the blessing can be different things, but I definitely think that some elements of this blessing are hope, joy, and peace for the here and now.

To state the obvious, we live in a fallen world. The curse has touched and tarnished virtually everything that we see and feel. There are bitter, terrible, nightmarish trials and temptations that rack the souls and bodies of the faithful and the faithless alike. For those who do not cling to Christ for salvation, there is utterly no hope. They will suffer their way through a life plagued with sin, temptation, pain, trial, sadness, questions, no answers, and tears; and then they will die and enter into the wrath of God that will hold them in eternal torment for their rebellion. This is a bleak and painful picture that is difficult to look at. Yet this seems to be the teaching of the Bible.

However... the child of God has a hope, joy, and peace beyond words! Christ has purchased for us an everlasting salvation! Jesus said, "I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am". (John 14:2-3)

Yes we will walk through our time on earth and experience much affliction. We will be tempted. We will sin. We will hurt. Yet look at what's on the other side! Set your mind on the things that are on the other side! God will restore all things to Himself. One day we will walk on a New Earth, with restored bodies and we will suffer no more. No longer will we do that which we hated yet kept doing (Romans 7:15-25). Sin, temptation, tears, death, and pain will be abolished from the eternal, pure, radiant Kingdom of our Creator. Thinking thoughts like this will bless us with hope, joy, and peace even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. When we remember, consider, and believe that we have a better and abiding possession and a great reward waiting for us; then our hearts will experience these blessings (Hebrews 10:34-35).

Consider this quote from Steve Lawson: "God's glory will fill and permeate the entire new Heaven, not just one centralized place. Thus, where ever we go in Heaven, we will be in the immediate presence of the full glory of God. Wherever we go, we will enjoy the complete manifestation of God's presence. Throughout all eternity, we will never be separated from direct, unhindered fellowship with God".

Jonathan Edwards said this, "God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean". These thoughts are amazing and definitely worth meditating on! These ideas based out of Scripture are meant to bless the hearts of Christ-followers. Here are three simple thoughts about meditating on Heaven:

1. When we meditate on what God is preparing for us we can be blessed with hope even though there is pain because we know that this pain is not eternal.

2. When we think about spending eternity with the Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us we can be blessed with peace even though we are being afflicted with temptation because we know that no unclean thing will enter into our future destination: the matchless city of our God.

3. When we set our minds on things above we can be blessed with joy even though we are walking through a difficult trial because we know that He is coming soon.

If we lift our eyes from the difficulties of this world and set them upon the vision of Heaven as shown in the Scriptures, then our perspective on everything begins to align more with our Father's. I believe that we can experience hope, joy, and peace simply from consistently directing our heart's gaze to the Promised land of joyous love and glorious light. May the Lord help us to read, hear, and keep the words in our Bible concerning Heaven that we may receive His blessing and glorify His name.

High Five- Sola Fide

Today continues our series on the 5 solas of the reformation. Click the following links for parts 1, 2, and 3. This week I have asked Jason Lapp to post in my place. I have written a guest post on his blog www.jrldailythoughts.blogspot.com. Also, if you have any interest in looking more into the seeming contradiction between James and Paul on this issue of justification by faith alone you can see my old post here.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Forsaking All I Trust Him

Let’s first look at a biblical definition of faith. Hebrews 11 is the best place I know to go to see a clear definition: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (1). Assurance and conviction are the two key words in the definition of faith. Assurance indicates this faith is not a blind faith but rather a given faith to see the realities of life and the reality of life eternal. We have the promises of God in his word to cling to as our hope. Conviction is our clinging to those promises. We hold fast to them because God has opened our eyes to see the truth about him from his word. The ESV Study Bible says, “Biblical faith is a confident trust in the eternal God who is all-powerful, infinitely wise, eternally trustworthy.”

Faith is an imparted gift from God to us so that we may see the reality of Jesus Christ and his accomplished work on our behalf at the cross. “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). We are saved by grace alone (which we looked at last week) through faith alone in Christ alone. Grace is a gift given to us from God (Eph. 2:8-9). But we must remember faith is also a gift given to us from God. In this text in Galatians we read that we are “justified…through faith in Jesus Christ.” We read of God’s beautiful work of justification in Romans 5:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (6-9).

God can justify (declare us righteous) because of the work of his Son on the cross. He is able to turn his wrath away from us because he poured it out on Jesus. Faith is the assurance and conviction that Christ’s work on our behalf is sufficient. Only the Spirit’s work of opening our eyes to this truth are we able to cling to this promise. Faith is a great gift given to us.

If we can now look at another passage that has some confused about faith because of the teaching that faith is granted by our works. I also want to look at this text because it is a great way for those who claim to have put their faith in Christ to see whether they genuinely love Christ or not. James 2 says:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (14-18).

Here is where we visible see faith worked out. Our lives completely change. If you are under the impression that works will save you then you are in dire need of Christ. No man will ever be declared right in the sight of a holy God for his own actions. Only the work of Christ can bridge that huge canyon.

But for those who have submitted by faith to Christ’s finished work it is impossible to go on with life as it was. We have been made new creatures in Christ. The old is passed away and all things are made new. Our faith will pour out in our service and love for others as we strive to magnify the Savior. The whole point of the justified life in Christ is to bring his name the glory. All of the believer’s conviction and assurance is found in trusting Christ’s work on our behalf. If you don’t know Christ I plead with you to repent and trust in him. Look at his promise that while you and I were weak, at the right time, he sent is Son to die in our place. The Father’s love is so great that he sent his only Son to bear the wrath we rightfully deserve. The text says he died for his enemies! None of us were seeking God yet he saves.

Grace upon grace,
JRL

Seeing the Cross and Counting It Joy

I just finished reading C.J.Mahaney's "Christ Our Mediator". I have already blogged about two of the chapters called "The Divine Dilemma" and "The Divine Rescue." To read these posts, click here.

Today I would just like to give some quotes about seeing your sin for what it truly is, and then through seeing your sin looking at the cross for the ultimate joy.

"Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don;t really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross."

"In making this point, my ultimate purpose is not to convict you of sin, but to convince you of grace. Unless you're deeply aware of your sin, and of what affront it is to God's holiness, and of how impossible it is for Him to respond to this sin with anything other than furious wrath - you'll never appreciate grace, and it will never be amazing to you. Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace."

"The distractions that turn us away from the cross are so incessant and so numerous. But failing to focus on the right spot has serious consequences. So here's my question for you: In the last week, what was your primary preoccupation in your life? What was your spiritual focus? Was it on that spot where God most reveals His personal love for you - the cross?

Or was it on your own circumstances, your own condition, your own concerns? Was your preoccupation with your personal pursuit of godliness? Growth in godliness must be pursued, but never apart from joyful gratitude for the cross."

"And the inevitable result of preaching the gospel to yourself will be a pronounced joy,an infectious joy, a consistent joy.

Like Nothing else, the gospel creates joy; it's both the source and the object of our joy. The gospel alone allows us to obey the biblical directive to 'serve the Lord with gladness.' Joy is a command. You may be working hard and serving the Lord faithfully, but if you aren't serving with gladness, you aren't serving Him appropriately or representing Him accurately."

"Are you someone who's consistently joyful and continually aware that the joy of the Lord is your strength? Or do you normally appear to others to be someone who's burdened, busy, and easily bothered?"

Lord, we praise you for your Son's sacrifice, and thank you for your continued grace towards us. Lord, as I read these quotes and questions, I see how much glory I take away from you and try to give to myself. There are times where I don't think about the price you paid, or I take for granted your grace, or I diminish your holiness and view of sin.

I pray that you would give me wisdom to understand these things and to be affected by your cross. Lord, through you I know I can do anything. Lord,help me to count all things as joy. Amen

For the Love of God

I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to say that the love of God changes us. His spirit gives us eyes to see that our lives are not holy and the ability to live our lives for christ once we are saved. This love changes our passions and desires and especially our ability to love others.

I am selfish. Sometimes i don't even like people, much less love them. Most of the time my time is precious to me and i would much rather read a book than do laudry or make an acquaitance become more like a friend. So i know that it has to be the work of christ in me to give up a perfectly good tuesday night to hang out with some junior high kids whose names i still have trouble pronouncing. But as time has progressed i have gotten to know the sweetest little girl and on a weekly basis i get to tell her who jesus is and what he has done on the cross for her, and she actually listens (most of the time). It baffles me that a kid who was a stranger to me is actually someone that i love and care very much about, and it is all Christ compelling me to love.

My love is weak and selfish and conditional, but with Christ as my savior his love is now my love and more perfect and pure and strong than anything that i could ever offer. Hopefully this love will work its way into my life to the point that i can actually love strangers and acquaintances more and be intentional in getting to know them, im still a work in progress, but i know that God completes his work and will be glorified.

Grace and Peace
Sarah b.

Through childs eyes (marriage)

Like in a resent post I have been at STEP Ministries with my “STEP Kid” who recently told me a little more about his home life. Its funny how on one night a week you can discover simple ways to see the world. One of the other kids was talking to us about his parents and how they live in separate houses and my mentie couldn't understand that. It just boggles his mind to think of divorce. Living in the world we do and going to public school its amazing to see a child who doesn't think that its even an option to split up a marriage.
His thought process is that marriage is what you do when you love someone and you don't ever want to be away from them. When asked if sometimes married people argue he said “yes they do but that doesn't mean that they do not love each other”. I'm not sure how his home life is but its pretty cool to see a child untainted by the world of separation.

This all came to mind after time at STEP and reading 1 Peter 3:1-7.

Considering Heaven

How often do we meditate upon and consider Heaven? Is it common for us to let our imaginations run wild, within the Biblical parameters, in regard to that blessed, hope-inspiring, joy filled reality that awaits us? Are we filled with a holy longing for this place? Or do we consider meditating on Heaven to be unimportant and only to be a pursuit of kids and baby Christians when they are first exposed to the truth of God?

This is something that I need to pursue more: meditating upon Heaven. So, I'd like to have a few posts on this blog considering Heaven. I would like to look at the blessing for those who meditate on Heaven, the motivation that comes from thinking about Heaven, and the eagerness that we should have in participating in the invitation to the Wedding Feast.

The Bible has much to say about this glorious topic! Admittedly, there are many thoughts about Heaven in the Word that are difficult to understand. There are many confusing verses that we must wrestle with; but we are called to "seek the things that are above" and "to set our minds on things above, not on things that are on earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). This command, as any command given by our King, is for our joy and good and God's joy and glory. We are given the liberating command to aim our minds upward. Our affections, imaginations, and dreams are to be targeted upon the heavenly realm. Matthew Henry stated that "we must mind the concerns of another world more than the concerns of this".

When I was a kid (or a younger kid I guess), I would think about Heaven quite a bit. In fact, I can even remember having dreams about Heaven. As a child, my thoughts and imaginations about Heaven were scattered and not all that well guided; but they were exiting!
As children of God we should, in a sense, let our curiousities, imaginations, and longings "get the best of us" in a Spirit-guided, Biblically-driven way about what is ahead for us. I believe we should be growing in exitement about Heaven!

Why? We already observed Colossians 3:1-2 where are we are instructed to. Yet the Bible also commands us "to long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it we may grow up to salvation" (1 Peter 2:2) and "to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). We are commanded to grow, and growth does not happen apart from the Word of God (Psalm 1). To overlook studying, considering, and meditating upon Heaven is to essentially overlook a good portion of God's Word that is meant for our blessing and hope. One of the reasons we must study and meditate on Heaven, is for our growth in the Christian life. I plan to spend time in future posts addressing this.

And I don't mean meditating on a "pie in the sky", super-spiritual, harps and halos, everlasting sunday school. I mean considering and getting exited about the picture of Heaven that God paints in His Word. This Heaven is a physical place where we will work and play in restored, perfected bodies; where the dwelling place of God is with men; where all our tears will be wiped away; where death is no more; where crying is no more; where former things are passed away; where all things are made new; where there is no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb; where there is no need for sun and moon for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb; where the gates will never be shut by day; where there will be no unclean thing; and where there will be no night!

This is a place that should stir up exitement, hope, joy, and a passion for proclaiming the Gospel in the here and now. To worship in the presence of the gracious, merciful, mighty, just, faithful, true, holy, and glorious King of kings and Lord of lords who spoke the universe into being, formed us from dust, conquered sin and death spilling out redemption upon the world, and who promises to restore and renew all things to Himself is a hope that should transform the way we think, speak, and act! I hope that through thinking thoughts about Heaven we will be encouraged to live lives of hopeful, joyous, and obedient worship to our Savior and Lord.

High Five- Sola Gratia

This is a continuation of a series on the five “solas” of the reformation. Feel free to check out last week's post: Sola Scriptura and the introduction.

Sola Gratia

Salvation is by grace alone.

This week I want to take a look at Sola Gratia; that is, salvation is by grace alone. This idea comes straight out of Ephesians 2:8-9:

…by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Because of clear passages like this no confessing Christian of any stripe (whether orthodox or not) claims that salvation is not by grace alone (pardon the double negative). The real question comes down to what grace really is and how God really saves. Does grace alone mean that God has provided a sacramental system by which one works their way to heaven as Roman Catholics claim? Does it make all men merely savable as some evangelicals claim? Or does it mean that salvation is 100% of God as the reformed tradition claims?

In order to understand where the reformers were coming from it is important to know something of what they were up against. Martin Luther famously opposed the Catholic concept of indulgences by which a person could buy a loved one’s way out of purgatory. The saying of Johann Tetzel went like this “when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs” a phrase as poetical as it is heretical. Many Roman Catholics would now say that it was right for Martin Luther to oppose this act. Perhaps the medieval church went too far in allowing people to buy their way out of purgatory.

What I want to point out, however, is that the assumption of the concept of indulgences is actually one of the proofs that the Roman Catholic works-righteousness system is not sola gratia, namely, purgatory. To say that one must go to a place before heaven to atone for their own remaining sin is the opposite of what Ephesians 2 teaches. The grace taught here is apparently that Christ’s death achieved very little (especially when considering the concept of the Eucharist which considered a continual sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ).

Unfortunately the debate on this issue doesn’t stop at Catholic vs. Protestant. Within Protestantism are synergists and monergists. Synergists believe that salvation involves the cooperation of two wills: God and man for salvation. Even if you believe this is 99% God and 1% man you are a synergist. Monergists, on the other hand, believe that only one agent, God, is at work in salvation and the exercise of man’s will is an outworking of what God has done in them. When discounting the extremes of these two views they are both considered orthodox, though only one of them can be correct.

My personal belief is that Scripture teaches a monergistic salvation. I believe that when I was saved I put my trust in Christ because the Holy Spirit opened my heart to believe the gospel. This seems to be what Ephesians 2:1-7 teaches. Man is dead in sin which is defined as following our own desires led by Satan. But God saves us out of this by making us alive in Christ. Then in 2:8 Paul says that “this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” The question is, “what is the gift of God?” A synergist would say that Paul is simply speaking of salvation. This is because the way the sentence is constructed “this” can not point specifically to what we might consider the most natural word, “faith”. However, those with much more knowledge of Greek than myself (that’s not hard to do) point to this as an example of a word being used to sum up the entirety of the preceding phrase. In other words, when Paul says “this…is the gift of God” he means grace, salvation, and faith. If that is the way Paul meant his words there is very little doubt left that the monergist understanding of salvation is correct.

I don’t go into this much depth to confuse people or to be overly technical but to show that (1) the fact that there is this much to debate between the two protestant sides shows just how far off the Roman Catholic understanding is. (2) It seems clear that salvation by grace alone means that God saves man rather than merely making man savable. (3) How great is this grace which we encounter daily, mostly without realizing it or being thankful for it.

Salvation by grace alone is surely a wonderful doctrine which we should seek to understand at greater depths. Next week we will look at sola fide, the understanding that justification is by faith alone (Galatians 2:16). Or is it? (James 2:24)

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Philemon

I recently listened to two sermons by Beau Hughes from the Village Church on Philemon. Philemon is one of the smallest of the thirteen letters sent by Paul and is different from all the other letters. It is a very personal letter and it's message is simple yet very powerful. Before reading this post I would encourage you to read the chapter here.

The context is this: Paul is in prison and somehow he meets Onesimus, one of Philemon's slaves, who has stolen from his master and run away. Paul uses this encounter to share the gospel with Onesimus and he becomes a believer.

One of the first things that Beau pointed out was how different slaves were treated in that day compare to that of the Civil War days. Slaves in Christian households were treated kindly and justly (which is part of the reason Christ says we have been made slaves to Him). They weren't abused, but treated in a godly manner.

One of the coolest things about this book is Paul's role. Paul is giving us a human example of what Christ does for us. Paul is mediating for Onesimus to Philemon, sort of like Jesus mediates for us to God. Paul has seen Onesimus' conversion, he has seen fruit for Christ and he sends this letter to Philemon saying recieve this man back, not as a disobedient slave, but as a fellow brother in Christ.

Another thing is that Paul usually gives commands. He shows the churches what they are doing wrong and corrects them sternly and then encourages them, but here he is giving Philemon friendly counsel. He says I know he has sinned against you, but I want you to recieve him as you would recieve me, with the same amount of joy same enthusiasm, because he is now a brother.

Paul sent the letter back with Onesimus, so this was a hard thing for Philemon. Here comes this man, who has wronged and Philemon, with a letter and Philemon reads this out loud and immediately has a decision to make; to except Onesimus back or to reject him.

Beau said that he believed that Philemon excepted him because otherwise we wouldn't have the letter and also look at verse 21,

"Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say."

Paul was confident in Philemon, not because he would say, ok Paul I'll do it because you said so, but because Philemon had a heart for the Lord. Paul was confident of Philemon's obedience to God. That requires great trust in God and obedience. I would not have wanted to do that. Philemon could have justly had him arrested, but he forgave him.

This is a vague reflection of our relationship with God and Christ. We have wronged God, like Onesimus wronged Philemon. But Christ came down and died, taking away our punishment and now he mediates between us, so that we may have a relationship with the Father.

And the Father accepts us, not grudgingly, but lovingly. That is a forgiveness that should make us cry from sorrow and burst for joy at the same time, because though we are wretched and we screw up all the time, Christ continues to forgive and mediate and God continues to love us.

Normal?

I think it would be safe to say that my life has calmed down since last year. Ive been married for a year, which i know isn't much but A LOT went on mainly in the sanctification area and it wasn't pretty. Life lately has just been kinda normal and calm which is weird but nice. I kind of like that there isn't any kind of major sin that the Holy Spirit has revealed and is getting out of my life and i really like that mine and my husbands schedule has slowed down or at least we can keep up with the pace. Nothing really hard or challenging is going on but nothing really great and exciting is going on.

so i find that in this time the biggest struggle is having a strong desire for God. Theres nothing pressing me to constantly seek him and no apparent sin that im struggling with to keep me constantly praying, but nothing real great to keep me praising him and constantly in worship. Theres no "dry" time, its just life as it should be. Im thankful that nothing really hard is going on, but miss that strong desire and desperation for Him in my life.

Does anybody else go through this? When life reaches a normal, steady pace desire and desperation for seeking God go out the window? Its like "ok God you got me through that one, I'll take it from here" and yet i know that is so foolish and unwise. I need encouragement in that area and want to encourage others reading that when life reaches its norm to keep seeking God with al that you have and don't allow a time like this to make you complacent, apathetic, or make a good breeding ground for sin. I don't want to have to hit a major high or major low just to be closer to God, I want that all the time, shouldn't we all?

Grace and Peace

sarah b.

O Worship the King

Psalm 104
O worship the king is a wonderful song that I'm currently teaching to a guitar student that I have.
As we are learning the song I wanted to make sure that we know the hymn inside and out lyrically while we were learning the music.

Sir Robert Grant grew up with the role model his Father, an Anglican Christian man named Charles Grant who was a parliament member and British Statesman. Robert Attended Cambridge college, was a Kings Sargent in the court of the Dutchy of Lancaster and a member of Parliament as well.
His song writing for the song O worship the King came from studying Psalm 104 and comparing the greatness of the King of kings with the majesty of British royalty.

Thats the quick summary, but it gives new perspective to the song when you read through it.


O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!
While angels delight to worship Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

Love of Every Love the Best

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. --Ephesians 2:1-10


O the Deep, Deep, Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!


O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!


O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

--S. Trevor Francis

High Five- Sola Scriptura

Just in way of reminder, the purpose of this post is to put the ideas expressed in the 5 solas of the reformation in front of us in way of reminder of just how important these truths are. To read my introduction from last week click the link here.

Sola Scriptura

Scripture Alone is the sole standard for doctrine and the Christian life.

The primary text referred to on this point is 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be
competent, equipped for every good work.

The most important thing to note here is that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” When you think of the inspiration of Scripture be careful not think of it as coming from men who were merely enlightened or motivated. Though the Bible certainly reflects the personality, writing style, and motives of the human author it is ultimately from the Holy Spirit. This should be all we need to know about Scripture to understand the concept of Sola Scriptura. Because God is omniscient, omnibenevolent, and cannot lie (Titus 1:2) His word is trustworthy.

Of course we should note some things in way of qualification that many people don’t understand when it comes to the sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture.

1. The Bible is sufficient in all that it teaches.
You will not find a direct answer to the question “Does my Islamic friend truly know God?” in the Bible. This is mostly due to the fact that Islam came about after the canon of Scripture was closed. But there are plenty of biblical principles to guide you answering important questions.

2. The Bible does not claim 100% scientific precision.
The Bible is written to communicate to people in the way that people communicate. So when you read about the Sun rising you don’t have to assume that God doesn’t understand that the Earth revolves around the Sun anymore than when your local weatherman talks about the Sun rising. This also means that biblical measurements will not give you the exact number for pi and that round numbers are often used. (Ever notice that Jesus never spoke to a crowd of 4,322 people?)

3. Claims of sufficiency, infallibility, and inerrancy are in specific reference to the original manuscripts of Scripture, not necessarily your version.
Whether or not we can trust that we posses an accurate witness to what was originally written is another subject (I believe we do). But we have to remember that behind the English words in your NIV, NASB, ESV, and even KJV are translators, textual critics, and scribes who have worked hard to make what you read the most accurate reflection of what was originally written. These are imperfect sciences helping you access a perfect document.

The good news about this text is that it doesn’t stop at telling us that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” It continues to help us understand that Scripture is for the full equipping of the saints. We read that Scripture does all of this “that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” When I played baseball I went to a Sport’s shop to get my glove and cleats, a uniform shop for my jersey, and my cap was special ordered somewhere. Not only that but I had coaches to help me play better and none of them were located at those places where I bought my equipment, I had to go to various fields to practice. The baseball player knows nothing of one stop shopping if they want to be both equipped and competent for their trade. The man of God is able to go to the word of God in order to be equipped.

The point might be made, however, that this point diminishes the role of the church in the life of the believer. Does this not contradict Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”? Perhaps it would contradict the biblical role of the church in the life of the believer if Paul did not continue by showing the powerful role of the word in the church through preaching.

Just a few verses later in 4:2 Paul encourages Timothy, the pastor of the church at Ephesus, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” So the word of God is sufficient to equip a person in their daily individual life as well as the life of the corporate assembly of believers.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen