Pressing On

God's Lovingkindness in Psalm 119

2012-01-31T14:34:00.000-08:00

Lovingkindness, hesed in the Hebrew, is one of my favorite words in the Scriptures. It is part of the Lord's self-revelatory declaration in Exodus 34:6, where not only does the Lord declare that He possesses it, but that He abounds in it. It is a vastly rich and nuanced word, and has a depth of meaning and a breadth of application as you can see through its use in the OT. Read through its definition in the Word Study or Vines dictionaries and you will see what I mean.

What makes it this way, though, is pretty simple when we boil it down to its essence. Lovingkindness is God's love in action. It is His love exhibited in and through His actions towards His own. It is His strength, mercy, compassion, grace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, steadfastness, commitment, gentleness, benevolence, truthfulness, and favor towards His children, those with whom He is in covenant. We see it expressed in the command in I John 3:18, "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth." God loves in deed and in truth...His love in action...and we are to love as He loves; in other words, we are to express His love through our actions. We also see an example of this in Ephesians 2:4-5, "But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ." His love for us moved Him to be merciful to us and make us alive in Christ, despite our sinfulness. So we see His lovingkindness toward us in His saving us. His love was put into action to bring about our salvation, and His love was expressed through His mercy toward us.

The Psalms, especially Psalm 136 are replete with the use of lovingkindness. It is also used seven times in Psalm 119, and I want us to go through those and see how it relates to the Word of God.

Psalm 119:41...God's lovingkindnesses (notice the plural) come to us in salvation, and that salvation according to His Word.

Psalm 119:64...The earth is full, overflowing with the lovingkindness of God. God has built His lovingkindness into the earth and all it contains, and all that is available to man in and through His creation. The knowledge of the Word helps us understand and appreciate all He has provided for us in this world. Reminds me of I Timothy 6:17...God supplies us with all things richly to enjoy, and He does this through His creation, and it is part of His lovingkindness towards us.

Psalm 119:76...The comfort that His Word brings to us, in any and all circumstances, is part of His lovingkindness to us. God wants us to be comforted and has provided that through His Word of truth.

Psalm 119:88...God's lovingkindness renews, refreshes, and revitalizes us so that we will be strengthened to keep His word.

Psalm 119:124...Not only does God deal with us according to His Word (Psalm 119:65), but dealing with us according to His Word is also dealing with us according to His lovingkindness; and in His dealings with us, He teaches us His Word. His teaching us His Word, the taking of the Word and making it part of the fabric of our life, is His love in action towards us. Psalm 51:6 tells us that God desires truth in our innermost being and as part of His lovingkindness towards us He takes His truth and makes it a part of us. Wow! What a blessing! What a God!

Psalm 119:149...His hearing our voice is due to His lovingkindness towards us. In another Psalm it tells us that He inclines His ear to hear our prayer. God's response to our prayer is in accord with His lovingkindness, and in accordance with His Word through which we are refreshed, renewed, and revitalized.

Psalm 119:159...Here the Psalmist is saying, "Lord, in the exercise of Your love for me, take into account my love for Your Word, and deal with me accordingly." What great faith and confidence the Psalmist has in the lovingkindness of God towards him. This is a man who knows and trusts his God. A great example for us.

In Psalm 34:8 we are exhorted to taste and see that the Lord is good. In Psalm 119:68 we see that the Lord is good and does good. His goodness is expressed toward us in His acts of lovingkindness, in other words, His lovingkindness is good, and He does not withhold it from us, but lavishes it upon us. This begins with our salvation, and will be continued in the ages to come as He shows the surpassing (which means it is more than we can comprehend) riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).

Father, help us to know and understand Your lovingkindnesses toward us. Cause us to see them. Help us to not take them for granted. May we be grateful now and for all eternity for Your active love for us.

According to His Word...Psalm 119

2012-01-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

Pslam 119 is a wonderfully rich Psalm, with its main theme being the Word of God. Throughout this Psalm we are shown the benefits, the power, the richness, the faithfulness, the insight, the holiness, the value, and the significance of the Word of God in the life of the believer. One of the key phrases in this Psalm is "according to Your Word" (or according to...one of the synonyms for the Word). In this post we want to look at what we have "according to His Word."

119:9...His Word keeps our way pure.
Not only does it clean us when we believe (John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26) but it keeps our life pure when we obey it.

119:25...His word revives our soul.
When we are in dust spiritually, His Word renews, restores, and revitalizes our soul, and lifts us out of spiritual oppression and depression.

119:28...His word is a bulwark in times of grief.
His word is what gives strength to our soul in our times of spiritual grief, the spiritual grief that comes because of sin. (Please note that the issue in vs 25-32 is the consequence of sin; and the Word is the balm that not only heals and restores the Psalmist spiritually, but is also what puts him back on the right path.)

Psalm 119:41...His Word brings salvation.
God's lovingkindnesses are bound up in salvation, and His word is the means through which we receive the bountiful blessings of salvation. (Romans 10:17, II Timothy 3:15)

Psalm 119:58...His Word reveals His favor to us.
God is gracious to us according to His word, and we see and understand the favor He bestows upon us through that same Word.

Psalm 119:65...His Word gives us understanding of how He deals with us.
God dealings with us are always in accordance with His Word, and always for our good. (Micah 2:7)

Psalm119:76...His Word brings comfort to us.
True comfort of the soul can only come from the Word of God, and through His word we learn of His lovingkindnesses.

Psalm 119:89-91...Creations stands each day according to His command.
His Word is in command of all things, both seen and unseen. (Hebrews 1:3)

Psalm 119:107...His Word comes to our aid in time of affliction.
His Word keeps us alive, lifts us up, and strengthens us anew in times of great afflicition.

Psalm 119:116...His word sustains us.
We have hope in this life and for the life to come, because of His Word.

Psalm 119:149...God responds to our prayers according to His Word.
Spiritual renewal and rescue are granted in accordance with His word.

Psalm 119:156...His mercies are revealed through His Word.
He is the Father of mercy and God of all comfort (II Corinthians 1:3), and we learn of the greatness and innumerable number of His mercies through His Word.

Psalm 119:170...His Word is Word of deliverance.
God, who cannot lie, has given us the promise of deliverance from darkness, sink, and death; and we find this promise in His Word. (Psalm 121:7, I Peter 1:5, Matthew 10:28)

Lord, you have given us so much in Your Word, and You act in accordance with Your Word. Help us, no, cause us, to believe it, to stand on it, to live it; and to those of us to whom You have given the charge to preach and teach Your word, may we do so with clarity, precision, and conviction.

Our Great Delight

2012-01-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

Our great delight is knowing God.

Repentance, Confession, and Forgiveness

2012-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

I John 1:9 gives us a tremendous and really marvelous promise, and it is that when we confess our sins, our heavenly Father is willing and able to forgive our sins, and in that forgiveness comes a cleansing from all unrighteousness.

However, the catch here is our confessing our sins. For to be able to really and truly confess our sins, we must also be willing to repent of our sins. True confession is always accompanied by appropriate repentance. And for us to truly repent of our sins we must be willing and wanting to turn away from that sin, to forsake that sin, and to put ourselves as far away as possible from that sin.

Confession without true repentance is merely saying to God, "Oops, I messed up, please clean up my mess while I go about making it again." Confession without true repentance is wanting to have the consequences or our sin done away with, without wanting to do away with the sin itself.

True confession is seeing your sin, thinking about your sin, and talking about your sin the same way God would. It is having the mind of God concerning your sin, and saying the same thing about it that God would. In fact, until we truly see our sin as God sees it, we will never have victory over it.

The promise of forgiveness and cleansing in I John 1:9 is true, as is every promise of God. Let us not make light of this promise, but let us come to our God in reverence, awe, and true repentance to receive the blessing of being clean before Him. For in our salvation we have been made clean, all we must do now is wash what is dirty through repentance and confession.

Made Worthy

2012-01-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

We have been made worthy of heaven;

not by anything we have done, but by

the accomplishments of Christ.

When we are baptized into Christ, His

accomplishments become ours and

we are deemed worthy because

we are united with Him.

The Cross, God's Righteousness in Salvation and Forgiveness

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

No explanation is adequate which does not see God as shown to be just or righteous, legally in the right, in the way in which He provides salvation for sinners....the way God saves sinful man accords with what is right. God is just, not only in saving, but in the way He saves....The cross demonstrates the righteousness, the justice of God. In the very act by which sin is put away decisively, the death of Christ on the cross, God is seen to be just.. It is not the fact that God forgives that shows Him to be righteous, but the fact that He forgives in a certain way, the way of the cross. It is the cross that shows God to be righteous in the very act of forgiveness...

...God forgives in a way which accords with right. God does not set aside the moral law when He forgives. It can never be said that He forgives simply because He is too strong for the devil. That would mean that in the end with God might is right. The language of justification is a perpetual protest against any such view. It provides an emphasis on the truth that our God is just, is righteous, that He has regard to moral considerations even when He saves people who do not deserve salvation. God saves in a way which is not only powerful but which is right.

Leon Morris
The Atonement
Pages 194-195

Accepted by God

2012-01-17T08:00:00.001-08:00

We are accepted by God on the basis of Christ's merits,

not on the basis of our own; and by placing us into Christ,

God has guaranteed His acceptance of us.

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I've Ever Read

2012-01-16T08:00:00.001-08:00

This is exceptional!

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I’ve Ever Read

The Bible, Sex, and Pastoral Counseling

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

In regards to Mark Driscoll's latest book on sex, and Ed Young's sexploitation/exhibition, there has been much written by those more erudite and better communicators than me. This is not the first foray into the arena of sex for either of these two pastors; and I call them pastors, because that is the position they hold. This is Mark's fourth book on sex, and Ed has preached a series on sex from a bed on his stage and issued a seven day sex challenge to those in his congregation, so they are not neophytes in this area.  But let's go a little deeper into the reasons they have openly stated are behind their books and sermons....their people are coming to them with questions concerning sex, what's taboo and what's not, how much is enough or too much, what does the bible say about these issues? However, I do want to address the topic, and address it from a more foundational level than I have seen addressed, yet.

The heart of the matter is that many who profess to be Christians are too sex obsessed. You see, the world, not just our culture, but the world is sex obsessed; and if you are paying any attention at all you can see it is not just an American cultural issue but a world wide issue. I John 2:16 tells us that all temptation falls under the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Sex has its roots deeply in all three of these categories, and as a result is one of the most appealing and controlling sins...maybe the most appealling and controlling.

My point is this. As pastors, instead of answering the questions above, instead of playing sex therapist, instead of giving in to the world's influence in this area, shouldn't we look to and bring to light the root of the issue? Should we not first tell our people that sex is not the most important thing in the world, that maybe they need to take a step back and realize they are not to be preoccupied with it, it is not to dominate their thinking, and they should not be mastered by it. Shouldn't we have them take a good look at themselves and ask themselves if because of their background, television and movie choices, books and magazines they read, internet habits, music they listen to, emails they share or pass along, or conversations they participate in, that they might have a spiritual stronghold in this area. And maybe perform this same spiritual check-up on ourselves, so that we can be sure our own attitude and thinking in regards to this area has not been colored by the world.

In dealing with this issue, many people want to quote I Corinthians 6:12...the part about all things are lawful for me...but leave out the part about I will not be mastered by anything. The context of this verse is Paul dealing with the issue of food, and sex both outside the marriage and inside the marriage. Paul also tells us in Romans 6:12-19 that we are slaves of what we obey...and ends this section talking about the weakness of our flesh. Christ gave the admonition to watch and pray that we would not enter into temptation, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So it is obvious that even for Christians we can have ongoing issues because of the filthiness and wickedness (James 1:21) that is inherent in our flesh. Pastorally we need to realize that this pre-occupation with sex is a hold over from our life before Christ, or, in some instances, an indication that they have never truly received Christ; and we should not respond in a way that panders to their natural fleshly inclinations, but respond in a way that sheds light on the true spiritual issue that is at its root.

The church has been too quick to give in the mind-set of the world; and I think that it is most pronounced in the area of sex.  Pastors, we need to take a stand against the mind-set of the world and tell our people and counsel our people that they are not to be sex-obessed like the world which has no control over its lusts, and is, in fact, controlled by those same lusts and indulges in the desires on both the flesh and the mind; and tell our people that this sex-obsession is not from the Lord, but from the world. For knowing the truth is the key for them to be set free from the sex-obession that controls the world.

A Good Thing to Keep in Mind

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

As pastors, we cannot live the spiritual lives of our flock for them.

As parents, we cannot live the spiritual lives of our children for them.

But, however, we can model the spiritual life for them, so that

they can know what it is supposed to look like.

Wisdom from John Newton

2012-01-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

Newton regarded it as of first importance for ministers to understand that grace matures slowly. Few lessons were repeated more often to fellow ministers than this one. It comes up repeatedly:

"God works powerfully, but for the most part gently and gradually."

"He does not teach all at once, but by degree."

"A Christian is not of hasty growth, like a mushroom, but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but in time becomes a great deep-rooted tree."

....For Newton, God's great patience in His people's slow progress in grace and truth was a lesson that ministers must ever remember. Preachers are to teach, but they do not control the pace at which grace develops in their hearers. They cannot give the experience that prepares a Christian for fuller light. He concluded that it is a dangerous thing to hurry young believers into an acceptance of teaching they are not ready to receive....If pastors do not observe this principle and lack wisdom and gentleness in presenting the truth, they ought not to be surprised at bringing trouble into their churches.

Heroes
Ian Murray
Pages 101-103

The Essentials of a Gospel Ministry

2012-01-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

This is a repost from January 2008.

In Colossians 1:24 -2:5 Paul bares his heart with the Colossians concerning the ministry given to him by God. And in the middle of this section, in verses 1:28-29, he distills the gospel ministry down to its essential elements.

"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom , so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me."

So in these two verses we see the five essential elements of a gospel ministry. They are passion, preaching, purpose, perspiration, and power. If you look at Acts and the other Pauline epistles you will see these elements in the life and ministry of Paul. Let us look a little closer at these essentials.

Passion

In these verses we see Paul's passion for the person of Christ and for the people of God. We see his passion for Christ in that it is Christ, and Christ alone, that he is proclaiming, and it is Christ likeness that is his goal for every Christian. We also see his passion for Christ in this section of Scripture dealing with his ministry as Christ is the mystery which he seeks to manifest in his fully carrying out the preaching of the Word; and that his desire is for all to have the full assurance that comes from the true knowledge of Christ, Himself. This certainly fits in with what we see in I Corinthians 2:1-2 where he speaks of proclaiming the testimony of God and that he was determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. We also see how this fits with his own personal spiritual goal as revealed in Philippians 3:7-12 as he counts all things to be loss, to be rubbish compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord; and he presses on to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, so that He may lay hold of that for which he was laid hold of by Christ.

Here we also see his passion for the people of God, individually, as he uses the phrase every man three times in verse 28. Paul's main concern was not for the church universal, the corporate body, but for the individuals that make up that corporate body. His passion was to present every man, not the church, but, every man, before God as complete (fully mature) in Christ. It is not the church as an institution that Paul cares about, but the church comprised of individual members. We also see this laid out more fully in I Corinthians chapter 12 as Paul talks about the corporate body being made up of the individual members, which he gives particular emphasis to in verses 14 and 27. There is an old adage among us as pastors that if we pay attention to the depth of our ministry that God will take care of the breadth of our ministry. I believe that you can apply that same principle here. If we will take care of the individuals in our own flocks, having a passion for presenting each and every person under our charge as spiritually mature before God, then God will work through them to take care of, shape, and build the church corporately. We see this principle presented more fully in Ephesians 4:11-16.

So we see that the pastor must have a personal passion for Christ, must seek to have Christ at the center of his preaching, and must have conformity to Christ as the goal of his preaching. His concern must be focused on the individuals of the church rather than the church corporately. And we see that Paul's spiritual goal was the same for those he was ministering to as his personal spiritual goal. Shouldn't it be the same for those of us who are pastoring today?

One of the things that has bothered me about the Church Growth movement has been the emphasis on the church as an institution. Church Growth conferences and seminars deal with the strategies, techniques, and methods to grow the church corporately, but that is never the emphasis given in the Scriptures. The emphasis in the Scriptures is always on the spiritual growth, the growth in salvation of the individual, his Christ likeness, his conformity to Christ, his growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his understanding of the will of God for his life. When the emphasis is put on the growth of the church rather than the growth of the individual, then the individual becomes a replaceable cog in the wheel, part of the means to the end, and his only value is related to his ability to help the church reach its goal; and when he is no longer deemed useful he is discarded and someone else is plugged in to take his place; and when this takes place spiritual growth grinds to a standstill.

Preaching

Everywhere that Paul went he followed much the same pattern in his preaching, which was proclaiming Christ, admonishing, and teaching. The word proclaim means to declare or to announce aloud, to make known publicly. Paul always publicly declared the truth, the facts about the person of Christ and the work of Christ in order to make Christ known. We see this in Acts 17 as Paul was in Thessalonica and was saying "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." Later in Acts 17 as he was preaching to the Athenians he spoke of Christ and His resurrection. In Acts 13 :14-41 Paul preached the story of Jesus and proclaimed forgiveness of sins in His name. In I Corinthians 15:1-8 Paul makes known the gospel which he preached to them and this gospel centers around the person of Christ. In the epistles Paul talks about our position in Christ, our identity in Christ, our conformity to Christ, our reconciliation in Christ, our inheritance with Christ, our walk in Christ, our baptism into Christ, our freedom in Christ, our salvation in Christ, our righteousness in Christ, our redemption in Christ, our justification in Christ, our peace in Christ, our sanctification in Christ, our obligation to Christ, our relationship to Christ, our strength in Christ, our growth in Christ, our marriage to Christ, our hope in Christ, our faith in Christ, the love of Christ, the work of Christ, the person of Christ, the power of Christ, Christ our wisdom, Christ the living Word, the glory of Christ, the beauty of Christ, the headship of Christ, God's purpose in Christ, and we could go on, but in all of this we see the power of God unto salvation, in all its fullness, in the preaching of Christ. Paul determined to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified, so that He alone would be the focus of our faith, not only for salvation, but for daily living as well.

Along with his proclaiming Christ Paul also admonished and taught. These two terms are really the two sides of the same coin. To admonish means to put into the head, to warn by instructing. It is to say don't do this because this is what will happen if you do. We see an example of this in I Corinthians 10:1-13 as Paul uses the example of God's dealing with the Israelites and the consequences of their sin as a warning to the Corinthians, and to us as well. In I Thessalonians 4:2-8 we see another admonishment, this concerning sexual immorality. In Paul's presentation of the gospel to the Athenians in Acts 17 he warns them of the day of judgement to come. In Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul admonishes the Ephesians by telling them to be careful about how they walk and to not be foolish, but to understand what the will of the Lord is. Admonishment puts sense into the head where it is needed.

The word for teaching means to instruct or to explain. It is telling someone what to do, how to do it, when to do it, why it should be done, and the basis or foundation for doing it. We see Paul instructing and explaining in the verses immediately following this section in Colossians where he bares his heart. We see his instruction in I Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. In Romans 12 he tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, giving our bodies as a living sacrifice so that we may prove what the will of God is; that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. The pattern in all of Paul's letters was to lay the doctrinal foundation first, then move to application, with both being instructional, which follows the pattern given in this section of Colossians....proclaiming Christ, admonishing, and teaching. Should we not follow the same pattern in our preaching as well?

Purpose

As I mentioned earlier Paul had the same spiritual goal for those he ministered to as he had for himself and this was his purpose, his chief aim, in his ministry, to present every man before God complete (fully mature) in Christ. Notice, it was not to build a big church, to have a certain number of baptisms, to get them plugged into the life of the church, or merely about getting them saved, but it was about them becoming complete (fully mature) in Christ, and for them to stand before God in that mature state. This was the chief aim of the greatest evangelist/missionary of the New Testament. This is the fullness of the making of a disciple.

Why is this important to Paul? Why is it the purpose in his ministry? Because this is God's plan and purpose for each and every person! We see this purpose in Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. We have this promise in Philippians 1:6 ...that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. And we see a picture of its fulfillment in I John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Paul knew and understood the heart of God and the purpose of God for us as His children, and he did not waver and was not deterred from this purpose in his own ministry. Look at what he told the Galatians in 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.

You see, when we are presented to God, and stand before God, how will God measure us, what will be the standard He will use? It will be Christ, the God-man, the perfect man, the man who fulfilled all righteous, the man who was absolute in His obedience, the One who was heard in the time of His tears because of His piety, the One who was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. He is the One who is holy, undefiled, separated from sinners, exalted in the heavens, and is sitting at the right hand of the One before whom we must appear.

If this is God's purpose and, as such, Paul's purpose, should it not be our purpose as shepherds of God's flock and caretakers of His purchase? Are we given another purpose in Scripture? Is this not fulfilling His command to make disciples? Think about it! What could give more glory to God than for all of His children, all of us who have been purchased out of the slave market of sin, to be like Him? And the more we are like Him the more glory we bring Him. So, what is the focus of your ministry? What is the purpose in your preaching, in your vision-casting, in your day to day activities? Is this what drives you, and is it the spiritual completeness of your flock when they stand before God for which you are laboring and striving? Is it for you or for them that you labor and strive?

Perspiration

Speaking of laboring and striving, that is exactly what Paul was doing to accomplish the purpose of God. The word for labor is kopiao, which means to weary one's self with labor or toil. It pictures the bone deep fatigue that comes from relentless hard labor. The word for striving is agonizomai, which means to strain to the uttermost, and we see a picture of this in an athlete straining with every muscle to win a race. The word here is in the present tense, so we see that this working and striving is a continued state in which Paul lives. We see that the working toward presenting every man complete in Christ is an endeavor in which Paul is continually active and a goal for which he is relentless. Let's not kid ourselves, being involved in a gospel ministry is hard work, should be hard work, and we should not only expect to work hard, but endeavor to work hard. In
I Corinthians 15:10 Paul talks again about his own hard work. We see his expectation of this same hard work in others in I Thessalonians 5:12-13 But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor (kopiao) among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. In his first letter to Timothy, in 4:10, he uses the words labor and strive to describe the effort they were to make in their ministry. This labor and striving was not confined to the physical demands and hours involved in the gospel ministry, but as we see in I Timothy 5:17 The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard (kopiao) at preaching and teaching. It takes continuous labor and striving, it is hard work and agonizing, to preach the word in season and out.

Preaching and teaching is meant to be hard work, and coupled with the other demands and concerns that go along with a gospel ministry along with the demands of being a husband and father, and you can see how it can be wearisome and taxing. If a pastor is working to the point of weariness and fatigue then where does His strength to accomplish all of this come from? Which leads to the last, but most essential of the essentials of a gospel ministry.

Power

Paul does not continuously labor and strive in his own strength and ability. Because if he did he would have collapsed under the load and or would have been burned out (see II Corinthians 11:23-29). His own labor was in accordance with the power, the strength of God. The word for power is dunamis, which means mighty power, strength, or ability. It is the word from which we get our word dynamite. Paul's power was in accordance with God's power, and his ability was in accordance to God's ability, and this power or ability was working within Paul himself. It was Christ in Him, working in him and through him that gave Paul the power to do that which God had given him to do. Paul's obedience to the will of God lit the fuse that unleashed the power of God in his life and ministry. There is a distinct correlation between our obedience to His will, our effort to accomplish His will, and his empowering us to perform His will. Paul speaks to this in I Corinthians 15:10 By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

We see a parallel to this regarding our own sanctification in Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. As preachers and ministers of the gospel, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, God unleashes His power within us to accomplish His will through us as we work and strive to do our part in accomplishing His purpose of Christ likeness in those whom He has put under our care and our charge. When His purpose becomes our purpose then we are empowered by His power through His Holy Spirit who indwells us.

We are never spiritually self-sufficient. Christ tells us so in John 15 when He says apart from Me you can do nothing. We are told in Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Paul understood this and understood this well as he asks the question in II Corinthians 2:16 And who is adequate for these things? Then he goes on to answer his own question in 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. His power will empower us as we seek to perform His purpose in our ministry, which is the perfecting of the saints who will appear before Him.

Yes, these are the five essentials of a gospel ministry. We see them in the life and work of Paul, and because of them we see the spiritual effectiveness of his ministry not only then, but as it continues now through his letters. Let us who have been called into the gospel ministry, and have been made stewards of the grace of God, seek to have these essentials be such a part of us that they automatically flow out of our life and ministry; and may we, like Paul, be spiritually effective, eternally effective, in our gospel ministry.

Becoming Like Christ

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

In becoming mature or complete in Christ,
as we become conformed into His image,

what is true about Him becomes true about us.

What Our View of the Wrath of God Tells Us

2012-01-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

Are we feeling like a multitude of people who have nothing but scorn for any ideas about hell and everlasting punishment? Do we consider the wrath of God as a primitive or obscene concept? Is the very notion of hell an insult to us? If so, it is clear that the God we worship is not a holy God: Indeed He is not God at all. If we despise the justice of God, we are not Christians....If we hate the wrath of God, it is because we hate God Himself. We may protest vehemently against these charges, but our vehemence only confirms our hostility toward God. We may say emphatically, "No, it is not God I hate....God is altogether sweet to me. My God is a God of love." But a loving God who has no wrath is not God. He is an idol of our own making as much as if we carved Him out of stone.

R. C. Sproul
The Holiness of God
Page 176

The Responsibility of the Pew

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Nearly every Christian wants their church to be healthy.

But few Christians have contemplated their part in

making their local church family spiritually strong and vibrant.

...overall there exists a desire for healthy churches

but not enough thinking about the pews’ responsibility for it. 

Thabiti Anyabwile

2011

True Obedience

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

True obedience is an active submission to the

will of God, which is expressed in the

Word of God, which keeps you in the

way of God.

The Key to Freedom

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

...just as truth is in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:21

Through the knowledge of the truth

we are set free and kept free.

Pastoral Leadership

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing

mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having

so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased

to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also

our own lives, because you had become very dear

to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship,

how working night and day so as not to be a burden to

any of you we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and

uprightly we behaved toward you believers; just as you

know how we were exhorting and encouraging and

imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.

...For this reason we also constantly thank God that when

you received the word of God which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it

really is, the word of God, which also performs its work

in you who believe.

I Thessalonians 2:7-11, 13

italics and underlining mine

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God

to you; and considering the result of their conduct,

imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

italics and underlining mine

There is much said and written about pastoral leadership and all that is required, even conferences and seminars dealing with this issue. I think understanding leadership and its principles is good, and even helpful; but when dealing with pastoral leadership there is a paradigm shift from the leadership model that is touted in our corporate and sports world, and unfortunately this model is what is suggested most often in the context of pastoral leadership.

I find it interesting that the Bible does not go into all the areas that the modern seminars do in talking about pastors as leaders, but what is does do is to lay out the basics for a pastor, which assume the pastor will be leading a group of people. The core requirements in the Scriptures are contained in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and revolve around demonstrated character, demonstrated management of his own home, and an ability to teach that comes with a knowledge of and proficiency with the Scriptures. The reason for these requirements, and how they flesh out in the pastor's leadership is demonstrated in the Scriptures above. The pastor is to lead with the Word and by example.

Notice how many times the gospel/word of God is used in the section of I Thessalonians. Notice the leaders who were to be remembered and imitated in Hebrews....those who spoke the word of God. These, of course, fit in with the Lord's instruction to Peter to feed his sheep. The pastor must lead his flock with the word of God. After all the word of the Lord is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Our first priority must be to lead our people with the word of God.

Then,we must be leading our people by our example. To do this we must also be leading ourselves with the word of God. Again, listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man (or older man for that matter) keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word." It is the pure way, the Lord's way,that when lived out by the pastor is the example to his people....the example that is to be imitated.

Why did the people in Thessalonica receive the Word as the word of God, and not the word of men? Because they saw it lived out in the lives of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Look at the underlined words above...they proved themselves, they imparted their lives, they behaved in a devout and upright manner. And this did not happen in a vacuum...the Thessalonians were witnesses, knew personally what Paul and crew had done, and were to recall these very facts. Also, we see that the Hebrews were to remember the result of the conduct of their leaders, in other words, the fruit born out of their lives, and then to imitate their faith.

The lives of the pastors give weight and credence to the words that they preach and teach. In essence you should not be able to separate the man from his message, they should be the same. This is the way that God has designed it, so that His people could be sure about both the message and the man. So when we think about our pastoral leadership, let's make first things first....let's put first things first....let's emphasize in our ministry what the Lord emphasizes, our handling of the Word and the life that we live. These should be the foundation of our pastoral leadership, and will provide a firm foundation for all else that goes with it.

Action and Confirmation

2011-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Our actions will either confirm our unbelief,

or confirm the validity our faith.

The Gospel and Good Works

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

What is the relationship between the Gospel and good works/social justice ministries/mercy ministries? This is one of the current intramural debates among Christians. Paul actually addresses this issue in his epistle to Titus. The phrase good deed(s) is used six times in this short letter, and after dealing with the issue of establishing order-appointing elders-refuting and silencing false teachers (yes, they all go together), he emphasizes the role of good deeds in the life of the believer and therefore the life of the church.

In 1:16 we see that there are those who profess Christ but whose deeds deny him, and Paul calls them detestable, and worthless for any good deed.

In 2:7-8 Paul exhorts Titus, as the spiritual leader, to be an example of good deeds, which along with purity of doctrine, dignity, and soundness of speech, will put the opponents of the gospel to shame and give them no reason to malign Christians.

In 2:14 we see that Christ redeemed us from every lawless deed so that His people would be zealous for good deeds.

In 3:1 we see that we are to be in a state of readiness/preparedness for every good deed.

In 3:8 we see that we, as Christians, are to exercise thought in engaging in good deeds, and that these deeds are good and profitable for men.

In 3:14 we see that we must be in the habit of/accustomed to engaging in good deeds that meet pressing needs, so that as Christians we will not be unfruitful.

It is obvious that engaging in good deeds is a key theme in this book, something that Paul, speaking on behalf of the Lord, views as important. And if you follow the flow of thought concerning good deeds (from 1:16-3:14) you will see that deeds will either be contrary to and therefore contradict our doctrine and profession, or they (good deeds) will concur with and therefore confirm our doctrine and confession.

In reading this epistle we see that those who are not Christians are worthless for any (truly) good deed. We see that for Christians good deeds adorn the doctrine we preach, put the opponents of the gospel to shame and causes their maligning to fall flat. We see that, as Christians, we are to have a passion for goods deeds, to be always ready and prepared for good deeds, and are to thoughtfully engage in good deeds. These good deeds are beneficial to men, not just Christians but to men in general; and in performing these good deeds pressing needs will be met, and we will not be unfruitful (in other words, God will take them and use them for His glory...compare with John 15:1-11). As Martin Luther said, "Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

Paul doesn't define what these good deeds are...probably because He knows that Christians who have a heart for good deeds and give careful thought as to when, where, why, and how, will not only be guided by the Holy Spirit in their endeavors; but through the Spirit will also be given the opportunities for them as well, as the Lord always matches God-given desires with God-given opportunities (see Psalm 37:3-6).

I don't think there is a tension between good deeds and Gospel proclamation...they do go together. How can you love someone enough to give them the gospel to meet their spiritual need, and not be moved to provide for their physical needs, or vice-versa? Doing one without doing the other tears the heart right out of the Gospel.

As is always the case, the Scriptures give us the mind of God concerning these issues. So instead of debating one another, let's get busy and stay busy doing all that the Scriptures tell us to do.

Faith and Conformity

2011-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

True faith always produces real conformity to Christ.

R. C. Sproul

The Holiness of God

Page 165

Pressing On and Taking Hold

2011-12-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

Not that I have already obtained it

or have already become perfect,

but I press on so that I may lay hold

of that for which also I was laid hold

of by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

"It is the Word of Christ, loved, lived in,

abiding in us, becoming through obedience

and action part of our being, that makes us

one with Christ, that fits us spiritually for

touching, for taking hold of God."

Andrew Murray

quoted in

Transforming Prayer

by Daniel Henderson

Page 110

It is also this same abiding in the Word of Christ that is the foundation behind the promise found in Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." A heart that delights itself in the Lord is a heart that delights itself in His Word. If you do not delight yourself in His written word, you will not delight yourself in His Living Word...the Word that became flesh, the embodiment of the Word.

It is only to the extent that we abide in His written word that we also abide in Him. Jeremiah 15:16a tells us this, "Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart..." The Lord tells us in John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."

We press on and take hold by abiding in His word. If we are abiding in His word, then we automatically will be living in obedience to that word. This is the key to the abudant spiritual life, to the close fellowship with the Father and the Son, and is a marker of our love for Him; as we see in John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." It is those who love and obey to whom Jesus will disclose Himself; and it is when we press on in loving and obeying that we touch and take hold of God.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Father, today in Your church, from the rising

of the sun to its setting, make Your praise

glorious. Give us lips and lives that will

will not only praise You, but will bring praise

to You. Give us no other desire today than

to bring You praise, than to bring honor

to You in accordance with the greatness of

Your name. Today, in Your church,

be glorified.

Amen.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

As we go forth this day, O Lord, may the

meditations of our hearts be acceptable in

Your sight. Cleanse us as we begin this day,

and keep us clean throughout the day. Guard

our hearts and minds with what is true, right,

honorable, beautiful, pure, lovely, and

praiseworthy; so that what comes out of

us in word and deed manifests the sweet aroma

of Jesus Christ. Work out through us what You

have worked within us for the display of the

greatness of the glory of Your grace.

Amen

For His Glory Today

2011-12-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

As the Psalmist says, "Not to us, O Lord,

not to us, but to Your name give glory."

Use us today to fulfill the purpose for

which You have made us. And in fulfilling

that purpose may we bring You great glory.

Manifest Your life through us. Manifest Your

love through us. Manifest Your righteousness

through us. Manifest Your mercy and compassion

through us. Cause the radiance of Your glory to

be seen in us as we live as Christ would live.

Amen.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Father, apart from glorifying You, apart from being

agents of Your glory and for Your glory, we have

no reason to exist. Keep us mindful today, that

whether we eat or drink, whatever it is we do,

should be done for Your glory. Today, use Your

church, Your living body, to manifest Your glory

throughout this world. Make Your matchless

worth to be seen through us, so that all the world

around us can truly say, "God has been in this place."

May it be so wherever we are in this world, so that

the world may be keenly aware of Your Divine glory.

Amen.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today, O Lord, work in us that which is

pleasing in Your sight, so that we may

bring You glory. Today, cause our salt

to be salty, our light to burn bright, so that

we might bring You glory in each and every

circumstance of our day. Shine forth the

beauty of Your holiness in us, so that Your

glory may shine brightly round about us.

Let us, Your servants, be and do, so that

our very lives shout, "Glory to God, glory

to God, glory to God!"

Amen.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Father, may all that we say today, every word

that is on our tongue, every word that passes

through our lips, bring glory to You. Make us

cognizant this day of bringing you glory by what we say.

Let no careless word, let no unwholesome word,

proceed from our mouth, but only that which gives

grace to those who hear; so that whether they are

a believer or an unbeliever You will be glorified

in their presence by our speech. This day, make us,

Your children, a people of purified lips. Glorify Yourself

through what we say, and how we say it.

Amen.

For His Glory Today

2011-12-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Today, let Jesus Christ be magnified wherever

a breath is taken, to the glory of God the Father.

The Seducing Spirit of Our Age

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

Following my last post on Francis Schaffer's quotes from The Great Evangelical Disaster, I thought I would repost this with a few updates. This was originally posted in November 2006.

There is a seduction and deception going on in churchdom in America today. It is reminiscent of the admonition that Paul gave the Corinthians in II Corinthians 11:3-4. This seduction is to be relevant to the culture, to be radical or primal to win people to Christ. While these may sound good on the surface the reality is that the church is being deceived into accepting another gospel. Without going into all the ways this other gospel is being perpetrated on the church I want to give some keys so that people can recognize when their church, pastor, or leadership is succumbing to the seduction of this spirit of our new age.

1. When "evangelism" is put over theology
2. When confrontation is traded for comfort
3. When results are more important than truth
4. When sin becomes poor choices, bad decisions, falling down, failure,
     or having problems
5. When requiring commitment is exchanged for providing convenience
6. When preaching/teaching becomes speaking or conversation
7. When pastorisms are substituted for Scripture
8. When doing it because it is right is replaced by doing it because it works
9. When research and response dictate the church service instead of Scripture
10. When fellowship becomes community
11. When the sacred becomes like the secular
12. When being relevant is more important than being righteous
14. When being distinct gives way to blending in with the culture
14. When books are studied instead of the Bible
15. When it becomes all about life change instead of becoming like Christ
16. When worship becomes man-centered entertainment instead of
      God-focused exaltation
17. When offending the saints is okay, but offending the sinner is not
18. When the church corporate is put ahead of the church as a body
19. When individual Christians are deemed expendable for the sake of the
      church corporate
20. When sin is ignored or tolerated among church members by its leadership
21. When more emphasis is put on telling people that God loves and accepts
      them like they are, instead of telling them that Christ died because of their sin
22. When video clips of movies, television shows, or youtube spots are used to
      make a point in the sermon instead of the Scriptures, therefore elevating secular
      entertainment to being equal with Scripture
23. When secular songs are used as worship music
24. When attendance numbers are used to justify what is being done or to bless
      what is being done
25. When there is an attitude of good riddance when people leave, instead of remorse
26. When there is no thought about God liking what is happening, but every care
      given to the seeker/unchurched/community liking what is happening
27. When the staff/leadership substitutes pleasing God with pleasing men

The thing that is disturbing is that all of this is being done in the name of Christ while He is being denied His rightful place of preeminence.

A Word from Francis Schaffer

2011-11-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

If you have not read any of Francis Schaffer, you should. He was probably the greatest prophetic voice in evangelicalism in the last century. Even though he has been with the Lord for a number of years, his is still a prescient voice today...maybe because he had his finger on the humanness of evangelicals and its weaknesses, but nevertheless his voice still rings true, and issues he pointed out are still with us today.

I read his last book, The Great Evangelical Disaster, in 1984, the year he went home. It was one of the defining books that I have read, and I have been re-reading it the last few weeks. I am going to quote some of it as he draws the book to a conclusion, as it hits the church where it lives today.

"We need a revolutionary message in the midst of today's relativistic thinking. By revolutionary or radical, I mean standing against the all-pervasive form which the world spirit has taken in our day. This is the real meaning of radical....We need a young generation and others who will be willing to stand in loving confrontation, but real confrontation, in contrast to the mentality of constant accommodation with the current forms of the world spirit as they surround us today, and in contrast to the way in which so much of evangelicalism has developed the automatic mentality of accommodation at each successive point.....the evangelical accommodation has constantly been in one direction--that is, to accommodate with whatever is in vogue with the form of the world spirit which is dominant today. It is the same world spirit which is destroying both church and society. Balance must be considered constantly. But the accommodation we have been speaking of has constantly taken the form of giving in to the humanistic, secular consensus which is the dominant destructive force of our day.'

'It does seem to me that evangelical leaders, and every evangelical Christian, have a very special responsibility not to just go along with the "blue-jean syndrome" of not noticing that their attempts to be "with it" so often take the same forms as those who deny the existence or holiness of the living God. Accommodation leads to accommodation--which leads to accommodation..."

A true prophetic voice is timeless. This was written in 1984, but we see the same issue alive and well in the church today. As Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." We see the same accommodation today, as so many pastors/churches/Christians have fallen into the "we must be relevant to the culture" trap. The pursuit of relevance has led to accommodation. It is only when we are truly counter cultural, truly radical to the culture that we have any true impact. We are not salt and light by accommodating the world spirit of our times, but only when we are stopping the corruption of the world spirit, and exposing the corruption of the world spirit can we call ourselves truly radical; and you cannot be relevant and radical at the same time.

I would recommend that you read this book. Think about what Francis Schaffer has to say, and see how he recaptures the true meaning of living the radical Christian life.

Making the World a Better Place

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

I think it is safe to say that wanting the world to be a better place would be common sentiment the world over. In many places it is even a popular sentiment. And we see great efforts from many quarters of society to achieve this goal, from breast cancer awareness, to clean water initiatives, to homeless shelters, to aids research and education, to disaster relief, to famine relief, to refugee aid, to save the whales, to anti-abortion measures, to racism awareness, to anti-poverty campaigns, to enviromental concerns, to soil conservation, to water conservation, to energy conservation, to operation Christmas child, to no child left behind, to school drop-out initiatives, to Unicef, to UN peace keeping, to Mid-East diplomacy, to anti-terrorist measures, to social justice concerns, to mercy ministries, to the Salvation Army, to food banks, to welfare, to...whew, the list goes on and on.

All of us, who inhabit this world, want it to be a cleaner, safer, nicer, peaceful, friendly, beautiful, and even loving place to live. But, alas, it is a sentiment doomed to failure, and a desire that will never come to fruition. Why, you might ask? Because the root issue of all of the problems in this world, sin, is ignored by the world; and all the attempts that those in the world make to make the world a better place to live, treat the symptoms, not the disease.

Man is a slave to sin, he is blinded by his sin, he is deceived in his sin, he loves his sin, he is an inventor of sin, he is an encourager of sin, he flaunts his sin, he feeds his sin, he exalts his sin, he is incapable of not sinning, he excuses his sin, he justifies his sin, he promotes sin, he uses sin to accomplish his purposes, he won't give up his sin, he cherishes his sin, he worships his sin, he speaks sin, he thinks sin, he acts sin; in other words he is thoroughly permeated and dominated by sin. He is born in sin, and sin is inescapable.

The earth is cursed because of sin. All creation groans because of sin. The world and all that is in it is passing away because of sin. Man is condemned because of sin. Since man rules over the world and sin rules over man, therefore sin is the ruling and guiding force in this world.

Enter the church, the greatest sin-fighting agent in the world; and not the corporate or organized church, but the church as the body of Christ, the church as represented by each individual Christian as they live out the life of Christ in their daily affairs. Christ told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are salt and light. Salt stops the corruption of sin in its tracks (Matthew 5:13), light exposes sin and causes it to flee (John 3:18-21, Ephesians 5:8-13). In addition to this, through the church the gospel is proclaimed; and it is the gospel, the living Word of the living God, that brings cleansing to sinful man (John 13:8-10, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:25-27).

The church has been given the mandate to go into all the world and make disciples, and the church does that by preaching and sharing the gospel, the Word of God. It is the gospel that cleanses man from sin, it is the Word of God that keeps man's way pure, and keeps him from sinning (Psalm 119:9, 11). True believers do not practice sin, but practice holiness (I John 3:7-10), and as they do they are salt and light in the world. It is the gospel that deals with the sin that dominates and controls man; first by cleansing him from sin and freeing him from the bondage to sin, and then by empowering him to have victory over ongoing sin as he is obedient to the Word of God.

So, what is the most important thing the church must do to make the world a better place? What is its mandate from its head, the Lord Jesus Christ? It is to preach, teach, and live the gospel. So as we the living body of the living Lord go about our daily affairs, sharing the gospel and living the gospel, the world is made a better place, literally one Christian at a time. But if all of God's people, those that are truly His, would make this their focus; we would see the world become a better place, not a perfect place...that is yet to come (Revelation 21-22). So as we minister to those around us, our neighbor, let us make their world a better place by introducing them to the One who has overcome the world and all of its sin, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gauging Our Worship

2011-11-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

I Chronicles 16:

7 Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and

his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

8 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples.

9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

10 Glory (boast) in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

11 Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,

His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, 

13 O seed of Israel His servant,

Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,

And His oath to Isaac.

17 He also confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,

To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Cannan,

As the portion of your inheritance."

19 When they were only a few in number,

Very few, and strangers in it,

20 And they wandered about from nation to nation,

And from one kingdom to another people,

21 He permitted no man to oppress them,

And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,

22 "Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do my prophets no harm."

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

24 Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

He also is to be feared above all gods.

26 For the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and joy are in His place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come before Him;

Worship the Lord in holy array (the splendor of holiness)

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

And let them say among the nations,

"The Lord reigns."

32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy

before the Lord;

For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 O give thinks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

35 The say, "Save us, O God of our salvation,

And gather us and deliver us from the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

And glory in Your praise."

36 Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

When you gather for worship each Sunday, is this what you are doing? Is this what is accomplished during the time of your gathering that you call praise and worship? Does what you do and what you sing about elevate the Lord as this does, or do you find yourself singing songs to yourself, about yourself ? Do you sing of His mighty deeds, the greatness of His salvation, the wonder of His majesty, the glory of His name? Does what you call worship boast in Him? Does what you do on Sunday bless the Lord, or is it designed to bless you? Can you really be blessed if you are not blessing the Lord? Would you call your gathering a holy array? Do your people come to present themselves before the Lord, and have that sense of trembling before Him? Are you ascribing to the Lord the glory due His name? Does what you do bring glory to His name? Does your worship time cause the people attending to say, "Amen," and praise the Lord.?

Just asking.....But God has given us the means, by His word, to gauge our corporate worship. Hopefully, this is how you are gauging your worship; to know if it is acceptable in His sight, and a pleasing fragrance and soothing aroma to Him.

Impediments to Spiritual Growth--Fear

2011-11-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is a repost of #4 in a series.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity,

but of power and love and discipline.

II Timothy 1:7

Those of you who learned this from the King James would substitute the word fear for timidity, and, of course, both words are correct. The Greek word used here is deilia, and it is the only time it is used in the New Testament. The normal word for fear that is used in the NT is phobeo, from which we get our word phobia; and it usually conveys being frightened. The word deilia conveys more the result, the condition of the psyche because of the fear; and, as such, is most literally translated cowardice. If you read the book of II Timothy you understand that Paul is telling Timothy not to be a coward in light of the persecution, suffering, and hardship he is facing. Fear was causing Timothy to retreat from the ministry to which God had called him, and Paul is encouraging Timothy to rekindle the gift God had given him and to stand firm in preaching the word amidst all obstacles.

Fear is one of the great weapons of the enemy, and all of us have our fears; and if I were to list them all, this would be the longest post in history. Fear is a great controller and most of us let our fears, whether rational or irrational, control us; which is just what the enemy wants. And it can be the biggest impediment to our spiritual growth and progress in Christlikeness. You notice that I said, "Let our fears control us." because fear only has the power over us that we allow it to have. What then is the antidote to fear? How do we combat it? How do we control it, versus letting it control us?

We need to understand how to handle fear, our fear(s), because we all have them. The question then is not do we have fear, but how do we handle fear when it comes up and puts its grip on us. Courage is not the absence of fear, but doing what needs to be done, doing what is right, in spite of the fear. So how do we appropriate spiritual courage?

Paul gives us both general and specific remedies for fear in this letter to Timothy. The general remedy is found in II Timothy 2:1 as he tells Timothy, "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." And in II Timothy 1:7 we see what God, by His grace, has specifically supplied to all of us to combat fear/spiritual cowardice, and that is power, love, and discipline. In fact, what the verse tells us is that spiritual timidity is not from the Lord, He has not given it to us; but instead has given us the opposite. Power, love, and discipline are the elements of spiritual courage, and God by His grace has supplied them to us. So let's see how they aid us in our battle against fear.

Power Overcomes Fear

In essence, power overpowers fear, and God has given us a spirit of power, or spiritual power. It is not our power, but His power in us, working in us and through us. Listen to these verses from Ephesians:

1:18-20 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know...what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

3:16, 20 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man...Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us..

Where does God's power reside, His resurrection power? Within you, in your inner man, through the indwelling person and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. I John 4:4 tells us this, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that resides in you, and God's power in Christ, in all its greatness and magnificence, is directed toward you like a laser beam.

How do we access this power? We do so by humbling ourselves in obedience to Him. James 4:7 tells us, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." In Isaiah 66:2 God tells us this, "But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." We have the perfect example of humility and its corresponding obedience in Christ. Philippians 2:8 tells us this, "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." When we are confronted by fear, we are to look obediently to Him, and be obedient to Him; and in our obedience His power will be supplied to us, and in our obedience we will overcome the fear. Our focus on Him and being obedient to Him will take our focus off of the fear.

Love Casts Out Fear

Where there is love there is no room for fear. Sounds almost too simple doesn't it? We must understand that fear is a great motivator, and most of us, really all of us, are motivated by fear. In other words, the reason we do what we do is because of fear. However, as great a motivator as fear is, there is a greater motivator, really the greatest motivator, and that is love. Our love of God and love of others should always be the reason we do what we do.

I John 4:18 tells us, "There is no fear in love; but perfect (mature) love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment (retribution/consequences we don't want), and the one who fears is not perfected (mature) in love." Also, in II Corinthians 5:14-15 we learn, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." If you are living for yourself, concentrating on yourself, worrying about yourself, then fear will always control you. When you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; love your neighbor as your self and love the brethren as Christ loved them; then you aren't preoccupied with yourself and it is the love of Christ that is controlling you, and fear has been moved out of the driver's seat and to the back of the bus. When it is our love for God that is motiviating us we will be like Paul, who suffered the loss of all things and considered them but rubbish because he had gained Christ.

Discipline Controls Fear

The Greek word for discipline is sophronismos, and means a sound mind, sound judgment, literally a mind under control. It is a rational mind in contrast to the irrationality of fear. It is a mind controlled by the truth, thoughts that are guided by the truth, thinking that is permeated with the truth. Proverbs 3:25 tells us, "Do not be afraid of sudden fear." This speaks to the terror that irrationality, those irrational fears, bring upon us. We are not to be gripped and controlled by such fear. In John 8:32 we see that when we know the truth, the truth will make us free. In other words the knowledge of the truth releases us from bondage. Knowing the truth breaks the grip that fear has on our life and controls our thoughts instead of fear. It does not let fear in the driver's seat of our mind.

Philippians 4:8 tells us what our minds are to dwell upon, and these attributes serve as filters to keep fear in its proper place, under control. First, we are to think only on what is true. If it is not true, totally true, we are to reject it. Fear always dwells around the borders of the truth, and will always skew the truth or be based on partial truth. Secondly, even if it is true, if it's not honorable we are not to dwell on it. Thirdly, it must be right, the right thing to think about, something that causes and promotes right thoughts...right about God, right about others, right about ourselves, and right about the situation (It is amazing how fear promotes thoughts that are not right or true about God, others and ourselves, dishonoring all; and causes us to blow the situation out of proportion). Next, it must be pure, promoting holiness in our thinking, not rottenness. This is to be followed by thinking about what is lovely and is of good repute. Thoughts based on fear are never lovely. And, interestingly, the word for good repute means words of good omen. Fear never brings about words of good omen, but always the opposite...doom, gloom, and tragedy. Finally, we are to have our minds dwell on those things which are excellent and praiseworthy. When we allow ourselves to think upon and dwell upon what is less than the best, thoughts that are worthy only of the gutter, we are supplying fear with rich fertile soul from which to grow. Fear always assumes the worst and dwells upon all that is bad.

So when fear assails you remember it is not from the Lord, but from the enemy, through our flesh. God has given through His Spirit and by His grace, all that we need to combat fear so that it is not the victor; and thanks be to God that He always leads us in triumph in Christ. (II Corthians 2:14, I Corthians 15:57) Our victory was achieved by Christ on the cross. Christ tells us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have tribulation (which is the truth), but to take courage (literally, to be of good cheer) because He has overcome (subdued, prevailed, conquered, achieved the victory). So let us live in light of that victory, ever mindful of the power, love, and sound mind that is ours in Christas the result of Him abiding in us and us abiding in Him.

The Crushing Weight of Glory

2011-11-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

An excellent post by Tim Challies on having an eternal perspective on suffering.

http://www.challies.com/christian-living/the-crushing-weight-of-glory#more

Confident Patience

2011-11-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

This is a repost of #3 in a series

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait.

And in His word do I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

More than the watchman for the morning;

Indeed, more than the watchman for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6

After Psalm 119, the longest Psalm and longest chapter in the Bible, there is a group of short Psalms from Psalm 120-Psalm 134. Each of these short Psalms contains great and profound truths, and this is a great section of the Scriptures to read and mediate upon.

In my last post I talked about impatience being an impediment to spirutual growth, and how the Lord is at work instilling patience in us. In Psalm 130 we see a wonderful example of patience, and the Psalmist paints a picture for us of someone who is not only patient, but confidently patient. In these verses we see three keys to this confident patience.

The object of our patience. The object of our patience, the One on whom we are waiting is the Lord. Our realization must be that the Lord is sovereign and in control, and will work our situation out according to His timing. He is neither too early nor too late. We know that when the fullness of time came He sent forth His Son (Galatians 4:4), and at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6) We see that the timing of the most important event in the history of mankind was under the control of God. It is the Lord whom we wait upon and His timing is always perfect. It is perfect in completing His plan and pupose for us. So if our desire is for His will to be done in our life, we can be content and wait for the unfolding of His will for our life. This kind of waiting is an active submission to the Lord's will and plan for our life, and puts our will in its proper place.
The ground of our patience. The ground of our patience is the word of God. The word of God is yay and amen. His yes is always yes, and His no is always no. In Jeremiah 1:12 He tells us that He stands over His word to perform it. So we know that we can stand on whatever He says, for He will fulfill it. His word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. It does guide us and is our ground to stand on when we are having to be patient and wait for the Lord. His word literally guides us into patience, and aids us and strengthens us to remain in that state of patience that looks unto the Lord.
The confidence of our patience. I really love the picture of confident patience the Psalmist paints here. His soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman waits for the morning. How does the watchman wait for the morning? Confidently, very confidently, because he knows that the morning absolutely will come. In fact, the morning cannot be stopped from coming...at the exact time it should come. The Psalmist is saying that He is more confident in the Lord, and has a better ground of confidence than the watchman who knows the dawn is coming. In the darkness of the night, the watchman may not know how much longer before the dawn, but he knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is approaching nearer with every beat of his heart. His is a knowing anticipation of the dawn breaking no matter how long or dark the night. This is a firm ground of confidence. Our confidence should be greater and more secure than this watchman's because it is the Lord we are waiting upon, and we have His word as our guarantee.

This is faith in action, faith being put to the test and being strengthened and refined. This is the faith the Lord wants to develop in you. This is faith that is willing to wait for the Lord no matter how dark or long the night because it knows the breaking of the dawn is certain. This is the faith that endures as seeing Him who is unseen.

Let us wait upon the Lord with confidence in His care and concern for us, and the knowledge that His plan is always the best plan.

Impediments to Spiritual Growth--Impatience

2011-11-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is a repost of #2 in a series

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea,to go around
the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.

The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up
out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water,
and we loathe this miserable food."

Numbers 21:4-5

Have you ever noticed that in almost every situation that the Lord allows or brings about patience is required? Somehow God never seems to work on our timetable, and His timetable always seems much longer than we think is necessary. But, you know, He knows ultimately and eternally what is necessary. So if patience...much patience... is required, then for some reason, usually unknown to us at the time, patience is necessary. Personally, I think patience is required so often because it may be the hardest virtue to develop; and out of patience and through patience many other virtues are developed.

Patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and we receive the fruit of the Spirit the minute we are born again and the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in our heart (Romans 8:9). But although the fruit is given, it must be developed and cultivated, which is part of our working out our salvation (Philippians 2:13). So, in His divine providence, situations arise that require patience, sometimes mega patience.

In the example of the Israelites in Numbers 21 they became impatient, not with the journey, but because of the journey. It was hard and long. They were meeting with opposition, they were subsisting only on manna, and every day was the same thing with no end, no relief, and no promised land in sight. So they lost it and became impatient, not with the journey, but with the Lord because of the journey. The word impatient in Numbers 21:4 literally means short. They were short with the Lord. Have you ever been short with someone? Did you act in an unbecoming way toward them? Were your words, harsh, mean, or demeaning? Did you lose your temper with them? Were you exasperated with them? Get the picture? The Israelites were stomping their collective feet and telling the Lord, in no uncertain terms, that they had had enough.

How often we are tempted to do that...to be short with the Lord because of our journey, especially if it is hard and long with no end in our sight. Many times there are trials to be endured and seen through to their completed end, or sometimes the main trial is being patient. When we become impatient because of the journey it severs and ends the lesson(s) we were learning, and the qualities of Christ that the Lord was building in us are left incomplete. In other words, our growth was cut short or stunted. What will the Lord, as the wise master builder, do? He will begin all over again, usually using the consequences of our impatience to not only discipline us for our impatience, but also to train us anew.

What are some keys for us to not become impatient with the Lord and short-circuit our growth?

Understand I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape so that you will be able to endure it. (Italics mine) In the Greek, the word for temptation and trial are the same and are translated according to the context. It does present us with a great play on words, because in every trial there is an accompanying temptation, and in each temptation a trial is involved. What is this verse saying to us? It is telling us that in our trial and its accompanying temptation that we should not seek our way of escape, but be patient and seek the way of escape the Lord provides. But unless we are patient we won't see the Lord's way of escape, and those early exits stop what God was accomplishing in us through the trial.
Trust Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not get weary. What a great picture of the grace of God; its strength for us and its sustaining power. What is the key to obtaining this grace, this power that carries us on eagles wings? It is a patient trust...waiting for the Lord...not being impatient because of the journey, but trusting the Lord in the journey. This is the power that undergirds us so that we may endure the trial and temptation. Our patient trusting in Him which leads us to our humbling ourselves before God, is the key to appropriating His grace and all that it brings.
Realize I Kings 19:11-13 So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here Elijah?" God works through ordinary means. We all want that great miracle where the sea parts, and the sun stops in its steps; but most usually the Lord works through the order He has already established. In other words, God works at the speed of life and at the pace of people. God is patiently working, invisibly working, and we must be patient with His work. After all, it is for our eternal good and His eternal glory.

Finally, I know a man who went through a ten year trial. He will tell you that he was tempted to become impatient because of the journey, but that he trusted the Lord and the Lord was true to His word and was true to him. There were times during this trial that the grace of God was so real and so present he could almost cut it with a knife, and God used this trial to grow him spiritually and bring him to where he is now. Where would he be now if he had become impatient because of the journey, stopped trusting in the Lord, and had taken an early exit of his own making?

How about you, my friends? Are you being tempted to become impatient because of the journey? Don't be! Call out to the Lord for His strength, the strength necessary to wait for Him and His way of escape. Trust Him to provide all that you need to wait for Him. For in doing so your growth will not be impaired, but enhanced; and Christ will shine more brightly in you.

Living God, consuming fire,

burn the sin from my life.

Make Your will my desire.

Take my life in Your hands.

Purify me with Your love,

till I shine far brighter than purest gold

in Your light.
Amen and Amen!

Impediments to Spiritual Growth--Pain

2011-11-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

This is a repost of # 1 in a series.

There is an old adage, probably derived from sports, it is, "No pain, no gain." I heard that many times growing up, as I was active in sports and faced the pain of training as I pushed myself to new levels of strength, fitness, toughness, speed, and endurance. Why does someone push himself/herself like that, out of comfort into pain and exhaustion..time and time again? It is because they have a goal in mind, a prize to be won, a victory to be achieved. The goal, or prize, or victory is considered valuable enough, important enough, precious enough, to be worth the price of the pain paid for its achievment. All for what? A temporal prize that will fade away with time, soon to be forgotten, if not by the individual, then by those who come after; a faded ribbon, a rusted trophy, a yellowed and crumbling newspaper clipping, or an obsolete CD or DVD; a prize that will be burned up along with the rest of this world when God destroys this universe to make way for the new heavens and new earth.

But many gifted athletes are not willing to push themselves to that point of pain and exhaustion, they are not willing to become uncomfortable, and are willing to take what they can get without the sacrifice. These are the ones who had such great potential, but never lived up to it. Their goal was not worth the pain involved for its achievment.

Spiritual growth, spiritual maturity is much the same. It does take sacrifice, and is at times painful and exhausting. In Chrisitianity all of us have the potential to become like Christ, in fact God promises in Philippians 1:6 that He Himself will complete that work He began in us until the day of Christ Jesus, but we have our part to play which is why we are to work out our salvation while God is at work in us. So effort and striving are still required of us for us to continue down the path of Christlikeness, and Paul uses the metaphors of the athlete and the hard working farmer in II Timothy 2 to give us an example of the discipline and effort required to advance and grow in our Christian maturity.

Unfortunately, just as many athletes are not willing to push through the pain and endure the exhaustion, so many Christians are not willing to undergo pain and endure weariness to become more like Christ. Mark Dever has made the statement that we, in our culture, are addicted to comfort. It is this addiction to comfort and its corresponding aversion to pain that are one of the impediments to our growth in Christian maturity. It cripples our discipline and hampers our efforts.

Chrisitian growth, spiritual growth, growth in Christlikeness, the continual conformation into His image is often painful; not necessarily physically painful, but mentally, spiritually,and emotionally painful. Confronting our own sins, shortcomings, foibles, and weaknesses is uncomfortable for us; and only if we view the goal of being more like our Blessed Savior as worthwhile, as desirable above all else, as precious to us, will we engage the pain and endure the weariness that is required for confronting these things about ourselves and achieving victory over them.

Let's face it, none of us likes pain, none of us wants to be weary, but the reality is that pain is necessary and is useful in perfecting us. It is when we seek to avoid the pain of self-examination and self-confrontation, and refuse to be wearied by enduring that battle that our Christian growth is stunted or stopped. In seeking to make our lives more comfortable, we make our lives less glorious. Yes, it is true for those of us in Christ, that if there is no pain there is no gain; but we must remember that He Himself is our gain, He is our very great reward. In words of Paul "To live is Christ, to die is gain."

Is our Lord's eternal pleasure more important to us than our temporal comfort? Is our desire to hear Him say, "Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master." greater than our desire for personal comfort? Let's pray that it is, and ask Him to make it so.

Great Last Words

2011-11-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

"I am going to the three Persons, with whom I have had communion...My bow abides in strength. Is Christ divided? No, I have the whole of His righteousness; I am found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God, , which is by faith of Jesus Christ, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me. Christ cannot love me better than He doth. I think I cannot love Christ better than I do; I am swallowed up in God...Now I shall be ever with the Lord.

These are the last words of Thomas Goodwin
Banner of Truth
November 2011
Page 3

In our final hour, may we all have this confidence spawned from a life that has experienced the fullness of communion with the triune God. May we all be swallowed up in God.

Preaching and Relevance

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

...we have to face the fact that the pursuit of relevance as being constantly timely is a mirage. When relevance is invoked as self-authenticating concept, it becomes meaningless and dangerous because it begs the questions, Relevance for what? Relevance to whom?

Such questions are commonly ignored in today's headlong rush after the unholy trinity of the powerful, the practical, and the profitable. But if we don't ask them, the constant appeal to relevance becomes an idol, a way of riding slipshod over truth, and a means of coralling opinion deceptively. Until, that is, we finally deceive ourselves.

The fact is that nothing is finally relevant except in relation to the true and the eternal....Only truth and eternity give relevance to "relevance." To think or do anything simply "because it is relevant" will always prove to be irrational, dangerous, and a sure road to burnout. It may tast like unpleasant medicine to our practical modern thinking, but in fact it's a powerful antidote to perpetual folly.....God has broken into our silence. He has spoken and has come down Himself. And in His written and living Word we are given truth from outside our situation, truth that throws light on our little lives and our little world. This word of God is the only true Archimedean point to gain the leverage to raise us above the forces of gravity in our human condition.

Os Guiness
Prophetic Untimeliness
Pages 106-107

Preaching the Gospel

2011-11-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

People are brought to faith in Jesus Christ

not because a preacher happens to be exceptionally

dynamic one Sunday morning, or because he finishes

his sermon with a spellbinding story. Rather, in a

mysterious work that is both sovereign in expression

and divine in origin, the power of God unites with the

proclamation of the word of God and produces effects

that are in keeping with the purposes of God.

Arturo Azurdia III

Spirit Empowered Preaching

Page 44

Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well,

for I am watching over My word to perform it."

Jeremiah 1:12

The God of Forgiveness

2011-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is a repost.

One of the things I have noticed over the last few years is the spiritual insecurity of so many Christians. One of the ways this insecurity is manifested is in the area of forgiveness. This seems to be an area of faith where many people are struggling and where a great deal of insecurity resides. Again, in a time when the thrust of most preaching and church life is "all about you" and how God loves you and accepts you for who you are, you would think that people would not be wrestling with this. But when the teaching, preaching, and small group discussion fails to address the basic foundations of our faith because they don't think doctrine is relevant to the lives of the people, how would the people, the flock, have any basis from which to understand forgiveness, much less be able to know they are forgiven? When I was teaching in Dallas in the mid eighties the Minister of Education told me that I was teaching too much doctrine and that I needed to have more application lessons. My response to him was, "Bill, they can not apply what they do not know." This attitude that the ME had has only become more prevalent over the last 20 years. In addition to this, if you teach or preach on forgiveness you must deal with the sin that needs to be forgiven and many churches won't do that because it might make the people feel bad about themselves or offend them.

To get a handle on forgiveness you first must understand the nature and character of God and then understand what He has done so that we can be forgiven. So the rest of this post will be about the nature and character of God as it relates to forgiveness.

The best place to start is with Exodus 33:17-34:7. This section of Scripture relates the story of Moses asking God to show me your glory. I find God's response to this prayer/request intriguing as He tells Moses I will make all my goodness pass before you and proclaim My name, the name of the Lord before you. So we see that God's glory is inextricably linked with His goodness and His name. His goodness is His glory and His name is representative of His glory. So God reveals that He is good and in the revelation of His goodness His glory shines forth and is displayed. As God passes by Moses and reveals Himself and His goodness listen to what He says, "The Lord, The Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished..." So we see here that forgiveness comes forth from the goodness of God, and is as much a part of His goodness as His compassion, His grace, His longsuffering, His lovingkindness, and His truth. God forgives because God is good, and His forgiveness of our sins is an extension of His goodness to us. Since His glory is displayed through His goodness, He is glorified in the forgiving of our sins. This alone is reason enough to fall on our knees as grateful beneficiaries of His goodness, which He has chosen not to withhold from us. Being forgiven is the result of the Lord lavishly bestowing His goodness upon us.

Psalm 130:4 states, "But there is forgiveness with You, that you may be feared." Here we see that His forgiveness is one of the pillars for our holy awe and reverence for the Lord. Understanding His forgiveness, experiencing His forgiveness, reveling in the fact that we are forgiven and that God has not dealt with us according to our sins, but according to His goodness and compassion as He is ever mindful that we are but dust, should bring forth in us an unmatched reverence and a heart that bows low in worship. God magnanimously bestows forgiveness upon His people and in the magnitude of His forgiveness He is glorified and exalted; and we see His worthiness of our reverence and stand in awe of His goodness because deep in our soul we know the depth of our own sin and see that for which we have been forgiven, that which no one knows but us and God.

In Nehemiah 9:17 we see that He is a God of forgiveness and in Psalm 86:5 we see that He is good, ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness for all who call upon Him. What does this mean for us? We can see that since He is a God of forgiveness that forgiveness flows from Him to us. He does not have to be coerced into forgiving us, and it is not something that He must struggle to do or something that He begrudgingly doles out like a scrooge at Christmas. In fact, it is just the opposite as we see that He is ready to forgive, He is poised to forgive, He longs to forgive so that we can be brought into right relationship with Him, and thereby enjoy sweet fellowship and communion with Him. These verses, along with I John 1:9, show us that we do not have to go to great lengths, do great penance, or go through great machinations to be forgiven, but we simply call upon Him and confess to Him our sin and it is forgiven; and we are made clean before Him, not just for that sin, but from all our unrighteousness. This, my friends, is goodness, great goodness, goodness worthy of abundant praise and worship out of a heart that has experienced gladness, true gladness, through forgiveness and cleansing.

Yes, forgiveness is ours because it flows from God to us and He is ready and waiting to forgive, not because of us, but because of His goodness. He forgives us on the basis of who He is and what He has done so that we can be forgiven. Have you asked for the forgiveness of God....so that you can come to Him and be saved, so that you can fellowship with Him, so that you can be cleansed and find rest and comfort for your soul? If not, ask Him today, confess to Him today, and in His goodness He will not refuse.

O Lord, how truly good You are, good beyond the scope of our ability to comprehend and good beyond our ability to measure. May praise and honor be heaped upon You and Your name be exalted this day because of Your goodness and forgiveness. Thank you for Your forgiveness, its availability, and its abundance. You are good and You do good. Great is the Lord and blessed be Your name. Amen.

Being Boudreau

2011-10-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

This is a repost.

As you can tell, Boudreau is a Cajun name. Boudreau lived in southern Louisiana, close to the coast, near New Orleans. When hurricane Katrina was approaching, being a good Christian, Boudreau started praying to the Lord and asking for protection and deliverance from the storm. In his spirit Boudreau sensed the comfort and confirmation that the Lord had heard His prayers and he would be delivered from the storm. As the storm grew closer, the tide began to rise, the rain was falling hard, and the area near his home started to flood. At that time the county sheriff came by in his Jeep and told Boudreau to get in and he would take him to a higher area, safe from the storm. Boudreau told the sheriff no thanks, for the Lord would deliver him safely from the storm. Several hours later the storm was stronger and not only was the area near Boudreau's home flooded, but the waters had entered his house, causing Boudreau to climb up on his roof. At this time the sheriff came by in a boat, and asked Boudreau to get in, but Boudreau refused, telling the sheriff that the Lord would indeed deliver him from the storm. The storm became so severe and the water so high and powerful, that Boudreau was swept off of his roof and was being taken by the waters down toward the bayou when he was able to grab hold of the top of a tree. Once again, the sheriff came by, this time in a helicopter, and yelling over the storm, told Boudreau to seize the rope he had thrown down to him. Boudreau again declined, telling the sheriff the Lord would indeed deliver him. A few minutes later, when the sheriff could no longer stay over him and had left, Boudreau was swept off of the tree by the raging waters and went under.

Suddenly, Boudreau was absent from his body and present with the Lord. He gazed at the Lord in astonishment, and said to Him, "Lord, you promised to deliver me from the storm, what happened?" To which the Lord responded, "Boudreau, I sent you a Jeep, a boat, and a helicopter. All you had to do was get in."

Many times, probably too many times, Christians are like Boudreau. We have prayed for guidance, for deliverance, for wisdom, and God's answer to that prayer is right in front of us; but we are waiting for that dramatic deliverance, the hand writing on the wall, or the skies to part and the Lord's voice to sound, instead of looking at what he has given us through ordinary means to answer our prayer.

Are you being Boudreau, having prayed to the Lord, but ignoring the facts right in front of your face because they are not how you expect or want the Lord to answer your prayer? Are you afraid to step out in faith on the obvious? Are you holding on to something you should not be holding on to, waiting for the Lord to pick you up and put you where you should be? Are you letting the things of your flesh stand in your way hoping the Lord will "miraculously" give you what you prayed for? Are you afraid of the difficulty, the rejection, the pain or discomfort you might suffer and, as such, are waiting for the Lord just to make it happen so that you will not have to pay the price of obedience? Is it going to take some spiritual gumption on your part, and you are not willing to step up to the plate? Are you more afraid of man than you are of God?

My friends, look at the obvious, look at the facts, look at your situation, consider the actions and attitudes of others. God may have already answered your prayer, and be waiting for you to follow Him.

Making the Main Thing the Main Thing

2011-10-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Biblical preaching must always occupy the leading place of influence in the life of any church. At the core of any healthy congregation is a vibrant exposition of God's Word. Unfortunately, though, many pastors are turning away from the central role of expository preaching and doctrinal teaching. But in so doing, they fail to realize that new converts, first and foremost, need to be taught God's truth. As a result, many other things are competing with--and even replacing--the primary role of biblical preaching in the church. Christrian concerts, drama, pageants, festivals, musicals, talk shows, and religious movies are establishing a greater foothold in the life of the contemporary church. Some of these activities may have a place in the church, but they must never compete with nor overshadow the Spirit-energized proclamation of God's Word within a church.

In diagnosing the ills of emphasis on these auxiliary methods, Martyn Lloyd-Jones lamented, "All this at best is secondary, very often, not even secondary, often not worthy of a place at all...The primary task of the Church and of the Christian minister is the preaching of the Word of God." He echoed the words of the chief pastoral voice of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards, who declared, "The primary importance of the pastor is to be an expository preacher."

Evangelical churches desperately need to retrun to the primacy of the apostles' teaching. Preaching is the foremost responsibility of the preacher and the church.

Steve Lawson
Famine in the Land
Pages 33-34

The Most Profound Change in the World

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

The most profound change in the world, is the change in a man or woman because they have been born again.

They go from being dead to being made alive in Christ.

They go from being children of the devil to children of God.

They go from hating God to loving God.

They go from reveling in sin to hating sin.

They go from being held captive to being made free.

They go from dwelling in darkness to being light in the Lord.

They go from being of the world to being aliens in this world.

They go from being mastered by sin to overcoming sin.

They go from being enemies of God to being friends of God.

They go from practicing evil to practicing righteousness.

They go from desiring to please themselves to desiring to please God.

They go from having a hard heart to having a soft heart.

They go from following their own ways to following God's ways.

They experience of all this because of the rebirth of the soul, as a new man has been born within them and they can no longer remain the same. Yes, they may look the same, but they are different. They are no longer the person they used to be as old things have passed away, and new things have come.

Have you experienced the new birth? Have you had the life transforming rebirth of the soul? Are you somehow different in your inner man? If you claim to be a Christian, and yet have not been changed, then you have not truly been born again and are still lost in your sins, still under judgment, and still a child of wrath as the rest who do not know Him.

Ask God today to save you, to have mercy upon you, to be compassionate to you, and turn from your ways and your sin, and turn to Him with all your heart. Seek Him and He will let you find Him, and He will restore your soul and make you whole.

Thought for the Day

2011-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

We must practice truth,

not just speak about it.

Francis Schaeffer

The Great Evangelical Disaster

Page 81

Holiness

2011-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Holiness, God and God alone possesses it. God and God alone is holy. Holiness is His most Divine attribute. It is what sets God apart from all of His creation. It is what makes Him distinctly God. It is the power inherent in His presence.

It is safe to say holiness is God's most defining attribute. It embodies all that He is and all that He does. It is intricately woven into all His other attributes, and as such separates them from the carnal, the corrupt, and the mundane. If we think of His attributes as a crown of jewels, holiness would be the most brilliant of all the jewels in the crown, and we would see it reflected in the lustre of all the others. It is the outshining of holiness through each of the other jewels that provides the brilliance and purity of their color.

We cannot truly understand God apart from understanding His holiness. The place to start in knowing God is His holiness. Understanding His holiness is the springboard of the knowledge of God, it is the platform from which we must start. It is the platform for our understanding of all His other attributes, His actions, His motives; and is the backdrop against which we should view them.

The holiness of God is the least known, least understood, least appreciated, and therefore the least valued of all His attributes; but, yet, it is His most important attribute. God always acts in accordance with His holiness; and how often is that overlooked or misunderstood.

The foundation of our reverence for God is our understanding of His holiness. We revere (or fear) Him to the extent that we view Him as holy. We only understand the sinfulness of our sin in light of our understanding of His holiness. The issue of man's separation from God is due to the fact that He is holy and we are not, and it is God's requirement for man (Leviticus 11:44, I Peter 1:15-16, Psalm 5:4-7).

Oh, the abounding grace of God, that we would be made clean through the washing of water by the word, and clothed in the perfect righteousness of His Son. Though our sins are as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool...all through the blood of the Lamb.

Father, show us your holiness, so that we will treat You as holy. Show us Your holiness so that we may properly revere You and Your name. Give us understanding, O Lord, so that we may appropriately order our lives. Teach us about Your holiness, O Lord, so that we may worship You as You and You alone deserve. Amen.

The Church

2011-10-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Church should not accommodate man,

it should, however, accommodate God.

Understanding the Gospel

2011-10-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

For people to know when they hear another gospel they must first know and understand the true gospel. For us as pastors, that means we need to be preaching the gospel well enough, often enough, and thoroughly enough so that our people will be grounded in the gospel. As Hebrews 5:14 indicates, it is the knowledge and practice of the truth that gives discernment.

The gospel is the message of salvation, what God has done in the person of Christ to provide for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to men. The gospel is not having our problems fixed, dealing successfully with stress, being a better _______, overcoming addictions, or overcoming our past; it has nothing to do with health or wealth, prosperity or poverty, unleashing the champion inside every person, thinking positive thoughts, or feeling better about ourselves; and it does not include anything that man can, must, or should do to add to what God has accomplished through Christ.

Overcoming addictions does not save. Being a better _________, does not save. Feeling better about yourself does not save. Making peace with your past does not save. Only one thing saves, and that is placing the entirety of your trust on what God has already done in Christ as complete and sufficient for the salvation of your soul. Anything less does not save, and anything more does not save.

The Scriptures are saturated with the gospel. Preach and teach through them, in context, and the gospel in all its richness and fullness will be presented; and your people will come to know, understand, and appreciate it. People who know and understand the gospel are the ones most likely to share it, and they will be rooted and grounded in their own spiritual life.

Redeeming the Time

2011-10-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

How then do we redeem time, and how are we redeemed from time? On the one hand, we rdeem the time by living out our lives according to our gifts and callings, thus serving God's purposes in our generation. Those who live out their lives in this way do justice to the best of their time; and they live before all time because they live before God.

On the other hand, we redeem time by trusting the end of our time to the Lord and redeemer of time. Ultimately, we redeem the time and are redeemed from time only through the One who is the redeemer of everything--He who is, the God who is the Lord of time and history and yet is "the same yesterday today, and forever."

In St Augustine's description, God relates to us in time in ways that are "once for all [semel], all at one [simul], and always [semper]." He is before our time, outside our time, and at the end of our time. We can therefore each pray Augustine's celebrated prayer, which applies to time as much as any part of life: "You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

Thus until the day of our homecoming arrives, we continually trust that the Lord of time will redeem us at the end of time. And in the meantime that is our lies, we live out our callings in the thick of things, and so set about redeeming time actively though imperfectly, as timely as untimely people can ever be.

Os Guiness
Prophetic Untimeliness
Pgs 118-119

A Little Weekend Humor

2011-10-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

This lady reminds me of my grandmother on my Mother's side. Pulls no punches. A little fuzzy, but worth the read.

The Aim of Our Preaching

2011-10-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

But the goal of our instruction is

love from a pure heart and a

good conscience and a sincere faith.

I Timothy 1:6

Is the goal of your preaching to give the shallow

feel-good that is fleeting at best; or is it to bring

the conviciton of sin, righteousness, and judgment,

that leads to the deeper feel-good which is permanent?

There is a preaching that promotes the feel-good of the flesh,

which is primarily emotional, and as such is a 'passing pleasure'.

There is also a preaching that produces the feel-good of the spirit,

the peaceful fruit of righteousness, that comes about from being right

with God, because the true issues of the soul have been dealt with.

Means of Sanctification

2011-10-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Sanctification, again, is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of scriptural means. When I speak of 'means', I have in view Bible reading, private prayer, regular attendance in public worship, regular hearing of God's Word, and regular reception of the Lord's supper. I lay it down as a simple matter of fact, that no one who careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress n sanctification. I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them. they are appointed channels through which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to the soul, and strengthens the work which He has begun in the inward man. Let men call this legal doctrine if they please, but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no "spiritual gains without pains'. I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness, who was not diligent about his Bible reading, his prayers and the use of his Sundays. Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.

J. C. Ryle
Holiness
page 20

Preaching Jesus

2011-09-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

We must not underpreach Christ,

but we can never overpreach Him.

Al Mohler

Expositor's Conference

2011

The Value of Christ

2011-09-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46

Jesus, the One thing worth everything!

Preaching Consecutively and Expositionally

2011-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

My first exposure to Bible teaching after I became a Christian was through our Sunday School teacher who taught through the Bible, book by book and verse by verse; even though the pastor preached topically. My greatest anticipation each Sunday was not the service, but the Sunday School class, because I knew I would hear from God through His word.

This experience, and listening to other expository preachers and comparing their sermons against the topical kind, led me to my personal conviction about following a consecutive exposition format in my own preaching and teaching. Yes, I occasionally preach a topical message or even a topical series, but the overwhelming majority of the time I preach expositionally. Attached below is a link to a post on why to preach consecutive expositions, and the author explains each point well.

http://thegoodbookblog.com/2011/sep/07/7-reasons-in-support-of-consecutive-exposition-of-/

The Cross and The Resurrection

2011-09-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Because of the resurrection:

The Cross is not a symbol of grief, but a symbol of joy.
The Cross is not a symbol of defeat, but a symbol of victory.
The Cross is not a symbol of despair, but a symbol of hope.

Gospel Tears

2011-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

One of the great themes running through the Scriptures is joy. The words joy, rejoice, and rejoicing are used 349 times in the Bible. This theme of joy, as all other themes, is subservient to and draws its life from the greatest theme in the Scriptures, the redemption of unworthy men and women by God, through Christ. It is the reflecting upon this greatest theme and understanding this greatest theme that should bring us joy. There are occasions when our reflection and understanding bring about such a profound appreciation and joy that we are moved to tears, tears of joy and celebration and thanksgiving.

Also, in considering the greatest theme, we should be moved to compassion, compassion for the lost, the other men and women with whom we have shared that lost condition that is common to every person ever born on the planet. In considering their lostness in light of the understanding of our salvation we are moved to tears; tears of compassion that move us to plead with God...them too, Lord, them too. I was once as vile they, once as wicked as they, once as much a God-hater as they, once as much a sin-reveler as they; so in having mercy upon me, have mercy upon them.

May we all reflect upon our great salvation, the greatness of our Savior, and be moved to gospel tears.

The Oversight of Souls

2011-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Of this church I was made a minister according

to the stewardship from God bestowed on me

for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out

the preaching of the word of God.

(And how does he fully carry out the preaching

of the word of God, that stewardship?)

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man

and teaching every man with all wisdom,

so that we may present every man complete

in Christ. For this purpose also I labor,

striving according to His power, which

mightily works in me.

Colossians 1:25, 28-29

If pastoral ministry is going to thrive in our churches we need to regain an understanding of the centrality of the oversight of souls. In fact, I will argue that the heart of pastoral ministry is this attentive care of souls....The renewed emphasis on substantive preaching in many quarters is to be celebrated, but preaching is not the heart of pastoral ministry; rather, preaching is an outflow of oversight. We do not guard souls in order to preach. Rather we preach as one means of guarding souls.

Our central task is not managing good programs, drawing large crowds, or even delivering powerful messages ( to these I would add, even vision-casting). Our central task is shepherding souls as they depart the City of Destruction and hazard their way toward the Celestial City.

It is so easy to forget this or to miss it altogether. When we do, all else is skewed. Ministry to masses can overshadow the needs of individuals, programs can replace people, and sermons can become lightweight pep talks or, even when soundly biblical, they can end up abstract lectures which fail to provide real guidance for people as they struggle with sin, self, and Satan.

Ray Van Neste

The Care for Souls:

Reconsidering Pastoral Ministry in Southern Baptists and Evangelical Contexts

Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism

Pages 114-115

As preachers we can preach in order to pastor, or we can be a pastor in order to preach. There is a substantive difference in the two, both in focus, and in outcome. We must focus on preaching and teaching pastorally, with an outcome that is focused on the individual souls that God has put under our care. The quality of our sermons will ultimately be manifested and measured by the completeness in Christ likeness of the souls under our charge. So are we preaching to preach, or our we preaching to pastor? A good question for us all.

All Italics Mine

The Great Revealer

2011-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage

that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper

will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

And He, when He comes, will convict the world

concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment;

concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.

John 16:7-9

...but that the proclamation of Christ is the great revealer of sin, the great distinguisher of men. When Christ is preached, the touchstone is applied, and men are convicted of being sinners and of the depths and hideousness of their sin by their exhibited attitude toward the Son of God....There is no revelation of character so accurate, so powerful, so unmistakable, so inevitable, as that wrapped up in the simple question, "What think ye of Christ?" ...And all who come not are demonstrated to be sinners, and the depth of their sin is thus revealed.

Benjamin B. Warfield
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Page 20

The Gospel-the Message of Evangelism and Discipleship

2011-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

...we should recall that Paul did not write any evangelistic works. He addressed all his writing to Christians who already believed the gospel. He did not write to make converts, but to teach disciples who already believed. Each church had a different set of issues. Groups within churches had different issues. Whether the issues involved worship, doctrine, leadership, ethics, stewardship, spiritual gifts, marriage or anything else, Paul always rooted his teaching in the gospel. The gospel is not only the message of how to be saved, it is also the message of how to be saved. It is the message of both evangelism and discipleship. All Christian doctrine and practice have their basis in the gospel. Practices and beliefs of Christians that are not rooted in the gospel are not Christian. They may be cultural or personal, but all Christian belief and practice comes as an implication of the gospel.

Harry L. Poe
Recovering the Gospel for the Twenty-first Century
Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism
Page 157

An Established Purpose

2011-09-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Remember this, and be assured;

recall it to mind, you transgressors.

Remember the former things long past,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

declaring the end from the beginning,

and from ancient times things which

have not been done, saying,

"My purpose will be established,

and I will accomplish all My good pleasure."

Isaiah 46:8-10

If God has declared the end from the beginning,

then He must be working all things together

toward that end.

Hatred of Christ

2011-08-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

He who hates Me hates My Father also.

...but now they have both seen and hated

Me and My Father as well. But they have

done this to fulfill the word that was written

in their Law, "They hated Me without a cause."

John 15:23-25

Nowhere is the awful depravity of fallen man

more evidenced than in his hatred of that which

is pure, lovely, good, and holy.

A. W. Pink

Our Focus for Daily Living

2011-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Is Christ the focus of your faith, not just

for salvation, but for daily living as well.?

Being Justified

2011-08-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

We can never be more justified

than what we have been declared

to be by God. There is nothing we

can do to make ourselves more justified

in His sight, nothing we can do to add

to our justification. 

Being Fulfilled

2011-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our spiritual lives will not be fulfilling

unless we are consistently overcoming sin.

The Gospel and Sanctification

2011-08-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

A clear understanding and appropriation of

the gospel, which give freedom from sin's

guilt and sins grip, is, in the hands of the

Holy Spirit, a chief means of sanctification.

Jerry Bridges

The Discipline of Grace

Page 110

Making a Disciple

2011-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Training up a disciple is imparting--molding--developing.

It has to do with character, knowledge, attitude, desires,

.....a way of thinking and viewing life.

Speaking the Gospel

2011-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

For our people to be able to speak

the gospel, they must know the gospel;

and to really know the gospel, they must

consistently hear the gospel.

The Emphasis in Church Planting

2011-08-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus did not command His church to go plant churches--

even biblically sound ones; He commanded us to make

disciples and teach them to observe all that He has

commanded. Certainly, planting churches is a natural

part of the process, but the emphasis is on making

disciples and teaching them.

David Sills

Reaching and Teaching

Page 149

Contextualization or Marketing?

2011-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Some people mistaknely believe that contextualization means changing aspects of Christianity to make it look like the culture, but contextualization is simply the process of making the gospel understood. To ensure that our hearers understand the gospel, we must use their language rather than our own, if ours is nonsense to them. However, this does not mean that mimicking the profane vocabulary or lifestyles of the unchurched is an appropriate use of contextualization. The only reason to communicate in this way would be if the local culture communicated so much in this manner that no message would make sense otherwise. Television programs without such inapproprate language would require subtitles for them so people could understand the message. Of course, there is no culture where this is the case. In fact, much of what many call contextualization is simply an effort to be trendy and edgy. It may be effective, it may even attract a hearing among a certain demographic, and it may not be offensive to all hearers, but that is not contextualizing the gospel; that it marketing.

David Sills
Reaching and Teaching
Page 195

A Thought on Prayer

2011-08-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

What is prevalent in our thinking,

will be prevalent in our praying.

Matthew 6:25-34

No Joy in that Day

2011-08-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

In the book of Revelation, the word joy never occurs. However, the word wrath is used eleven times.

The Heart of Lostness

2011-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

What we must constantly remember is that this human inability to understand spiritual things is a culpable inability. It is not that God makes us constitutionally unable to understand Him, and then toys with us for His own amusement. Rather, He has made us for Himself, but we have run from Him. The heart of our lostness is our profound self-focus. We do not want to know Him, if knowing Him is on His terms. We are happy to have a God we can more or less manipulate; we do not want a God to whom we admit that we are rebels in heart and mind, that we do not deserve His favor, and that our only hope is in His pardoning and transforming grace. We certainly cannot fathom a powerful Creator who takes the place of an odious criminal in order to save us from the judgment we deserve.

Don Carson
The Cross and Christian Ministry
Page 58

Presenting the Gospel

2011-08-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

In presenting the gospel, if we leave out all that

God has done in effecting and securing our

salvation, then salvation becomes a work of

man--something man does on his own.
(Thus a man-centered gospel)

Saving faith is not having confidence and

dependence on something we have done as

if something we do is the genesis of salvation;
but saving faith is an active acquiescing to, and an
active acceptance of, what God has done in Christ.

So when presenting the gospel we must present

what God has done, what God has accomplished,

as the object of faith. The object of saving faith is

not what we can do, but is what God has wrought
(brought to completion) in Christ.
(Thus a God-centered gospel)

Understanding the Cross

2011-08-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

"We cannot get a glimmering of an understanding

of what the New Testament understands by

Christ's atoning work unless we see that God

is hostile to every evil thing and every evil person."

Leon Morris

The Atonement

Its Meaning and Significance

Page 138

Peace and Unity

2011-08-06T10:00:00.001-07:00

This is another repost.

As believers we are to "Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts," (Colossians 3:15). So often we see this verse either ignored or misapplied, and it is because of a misunderstanding or a false assumption of what this peace is. So let's see if we can garner a better, a correct understanding of what the peace of Christ is and how it is manifested in our lives.

First off, this verse is in the middle of a section where Paul is talking about our common ground in Christ because He is all and is in all (3:11), and how this is manifested in our life in the church in how we treat and respond to one another in the body. So its primary application is for believers in the context of church life. So this peace of Christ is to rule, act as arbiter or umpire, in our dealings and interactions with other believers, especially those in our local body.

Secondly, what is this peace that Christ has, that is to be the umpire of our hearts, and how did we come to possess it? In John 14:27 Christ says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." So we see that it is Christ, Himself, that has given us His peace, and we have this peace because He has come and taken up residence in our heart; and we have become partakers of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). The peace of Christ is the peace between Him and the Father. There was no enmity between the Father and the Son because Jesus always did the things that were pleasing to the Father (John 4:34, 5:30, 8:28-29, 8:42, 12:49, 14:10, 17:4, Matthew 3:17). Because of His perfect obedience to the Father there was unity and harmony between them with peace being the by-product of that unity and harmony. Christ had the same unity and harmony with the Father in His life here upon the earth that He had with the Father in eternity past. This is why Jesus could say, "I and the Father are One." (John 10:30, 17:11, 22-23). The body of Christ is to have and manifest the same unity and harmony within itself that exists between Christ and the Father (John 17:20-23).

Before salvation we were at enmity with God, we were His very enemies (Romans 5:10), but God reconciled us to Himself through His Son (Romans 5:10, II Corinthians 5:18-19). The Father and the Son were at perfect peace, so that, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:29). So when we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts it means that we are not to do anything that would disrupt our peace with our heavenly Father. Our peace with Him should guide our decision making and govern our responses. Within the context of this section of Colossians we see this worked out in our compassion, gentleness, kindness, humility, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love within the body of Christ. We have peace with God and one another as we practice these Christian graces mentioned here; and it should then be a part of our life so that, "As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18).

However, this peace, the peace of Christ, is not a peace at the expense of righteousness, or peace at the expense of the truth. It does not compromise righteousness or truth, but instead it is a peace at the expense of the self, at the expense of personal "rights", at the expense of personal desires, at the expense of personal comfort. It is a peace at the expense of personal ambitions, personal glory, at the expense of personal achievements, or personal recognition. It is peace because we have given up ourselves, and is part of taking up our cross daily and following after (living in like manner) Him, who gave Himself up.

So, first, be sure that you are at peace with God through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for establishing peace with you, His enemy, and reconciling you to Himself through the blood of the cross. Now live a life of peace with God through how you live your life with others in the body, and in the world; but not at the expense of righteousness or the truth.

Love and Unity

2011-08-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is a repost.

Biblical love is far deeper than a love dependent merely on feelings and emotions. Rather, it is a love that flows from the very soul and character of the individual. It comes from the person's decision to love, not from his feelings. In fact, many times the decision to love will run contrary to the feelings one possesses. Biblical love is the love of God that has been poured out into the heart, and then given from that heart to others.

This kind of love is the basis of unity as true unity does not come from a denial of differences, but from a forebearing with one another in spite of the differences. It is the love that gives, that covers, that bears, that endures, that believes. This is the love that overwhelmingly conquers. This love then enables us to be united one with another; not due to a common cause, but because of a common love.

Ephesians 4:1-3

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk

in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, showing forebearance to one another

in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Spiritual Fruit--Part II

2011-08-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing in our examination of what is spiritual fruit.

It is the fruit of the Light

Ephesians 5:8-9 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth).

Goodness, righteousness, and truth all go together, they walk hand in hand. So when our light is shining before men, our walk (manner of life/way of life) will be characterized by all three. The goodness here is not a passive or meek goodness, but an active goodness, a desire for goodness that compels one to action. It is also the zeal behind righteous indignation. This is the zeal behind Christ driving out the moneychangers, in order to protect the righteousness of His Father's house. It is goodness in action, and it is a prevailing goodness. It is an infectious goodness that influences others around it. This kind of lifestyle is one that brings glory to God, for it is obvious that God is the power, and it will point men to Him.

It is righteousness

Philippians 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (See also James 3:18, Hebrews 12:11)

In I John 2:1 our Lord is called Jesus Christ, the Righteous. So the fruit we bear will be righteous as He is righteous. In fact, it is His righteousness that we are producing, not our own. It is the righteousness whose foundation is faith in Christ. Faith in all that He is and all He has done to secure our salvation. We are most righteous when we are living as Christ would live (Again, referring back to the obedience of faith).

It is Godly wisdom

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

It is the mind of Christ (which all true Christian's have) applied to the situations and circumstances of life in the world, and life in the church. It comes from a knowledge of the Scriptures, it comes from prayer, it is the result of knowing Christ, and comes out of a desire to be like Him in all of life.

It is caring for the brethren

Romans 15:26, 28 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem....Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

We also see this in the letter to the Philippians as Paul commends them for their support for him over the years (approximately 11 years); in II Corinthians as well, as Paul talks about fully supplying the needs of the saints.

The Scriptures tell us to do good and be ready to share, and we are to be particularly sensitive to the needs of those within the family of God, our brethren in Christ. This sensitivity to, and desire to, provide for the needs of the saints is a particular fruit of the Spirit, and gives testimony to the world of God's love and care for His own.

It is the outworking of the three Divine distinctives

I Corinthians 13:13 But faith, hope, and love, abide these three....

We should see these three distinctives manifested in not only the lives of the individuals, but also in the life of each church. If you look at the letters to the churches in Revelation, they are commended for their manifestation of these distinctives or rebuked for their lack of them. The church at Thessalonica was commended for their work of faith, their labor of love, and the steadfastness of their hope. For the church at Colossae; the object of their faith was Jesus Christ, their love was directed towards all the saints, and their hope was laid up in heaven.

Again, as the people go, so goes the church. So each church will manifest fruit in relation to the fruit produced by its people; and to the extent that faith, hope, and love are manifested in the lives of its members, it will be manifested in the life in that church. This is what makes the churches at Thessalonica and Colossae stand out. So the question for all of us is how much of faith, hope, and love do we bring to our church?

It is the result of our conduct

Hebrews 13:7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct (the outcome of their way of life), imitate their faith.

Remember, Jesus said we shall know them by their fruit, or, in other words, you personally will be known by your fruit. You know, you really do live what you believe. Therefore your life will bear out what is actually on the inside. God has constructed life in such a way that our fruit is made known/evident through what life brings about. We see this fruit, not only in the behavior itself, but also in its consequences. This is true for all of us whether a believer or a non-believer, but is particularly crucial for leaders in the church. God's hand of blessing will be on the life of someone who is truly His, and it will be evident for all to see. Again, it is not about talking a good game, but it is about the totality of our life.

It is the life of Christ lived out in us

Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.
Galatians 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--
Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

Since Christ is the vine from which the branches draw their life and sustenance, it is His life that will be reproduced in and through the branch. It is Christ who is our life, and therefore His life is being lived out through us. The essence of Christianity is not becoming a better person, but becoming more and more like Christ. He lived the life that we were supposed to live, but could not; and now lives that life out through each and every one who is truly a Christian.

So when we bear fruit, that fruit is a manifestation of Christ, His character and His attributes. This gives a richer meaning to the term Christlike. As we mature, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, we will become more like Him; and in becoming more like Him we will not only produce more fruit, but the fruit we produce will be richer and sweeter and more luxurious. It will be pleasing to the eye, flavorful to the taste, and give off an aromatic smell. It will be a delight and appealing to the spiritual senses of those who are true Christians, but will be the odor of death, and therefore offensive, to those who are not.

Our bearing fruit, and much of it, will prove out our discipleship; and in the proving to be true disciples, God will be glorified. So, let us focus on becoming more like Christ, for in doing so we will bear much rich fruit, our Father and God will be glorified, and we will have truly done something on this earth that is not only worthwhile, but will count for eternity.

Doing Church

2011-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

When how we do church is culturally determined

rather than biblically prescribed, we will tend to

depend on the rightness of our methodology

instead of the righteousness of our lives.

The Book

2011-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

For you to truly master the Scriptures,

they must first master you.

Prayer for Today

2011-07-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Blessed be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ;

and our God and Father--the God Most High.

You are the Most High as Your throne is

standing in the heavens and the train of Your

robe fills the temple. Majestic in Holiness,

there is none like You. Amen.

Spiritual Fruit--Part I

2011-07-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

One of the most poignant metaphors to describe the life of a true Christian, and therefore describing a true Christian, is bearing fruit. This metaphor is used by John the Baptist to describe true repentance. This metaphor is used by Christ throughout his ministry and therefore is used throughout the synoptic gospels. It is also used by Christ with His disciples in John 15 in his final discourse only a few hours before His crucifixion.

In the synoptic gospels, Christ tells us this in regard to false teachers, "You shall know them by their fruit." In regards to the difference between professors of Christ and possessors of Christ He says, "Good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit." In the parable of the four soils, He tells us that only the good soil produces fruit, and that the other three don't. Immediately following we have a parable concerning the kingdom of heaven, in which Christ tells us that there will be tares sown among the wheat by the enemy. What is the difference between a tare and a stalk of wheat? The wheat produces the fruit of the grain, the tare does not. Later He curses a fig tree because it should be producing figs and is not...it only looks the part. He goes on to tell the Jews, "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing the fruit of it."
See (Matthew 7:15-20; 13:3-8, 18-23, 24-30; 21:19, 41-43), and there are parallel passages in Mark and Luke.

In John 15 Jesus tells His disciples that bearing much fruit proves that they are His disciples and brings glory to God. That the Father prunes the true believer so that He will bear much fruit. He tells us that it is only those that abide in Him who can bear fruit, and that those who truly abide in Him will bear much fruit.

Of those who do not bear fruit, here is what is said about them: they shall be cut down, they shall be taken away, they shall be gathered together and burned, they are cursed, they are workers of lawlessness (bad fruit), He has never known them, and they shall not be part of the kingdom of God.

Wow, pretty telling isn't it? Christ isn't waffling here when He uses this metaphor. There is no salvation shuffle going on, just plain and to the point, in language that paints a picture that we can understand. Why? Because salvation is at stake! So there should not be any waffling or shuffling going on when eternal destiny in on the line. Just as Christ does throughout the gospels, He draws a distinct line in the sand so that we can see which side we are standing on. And as blunt as it seems, and is, it is the grace of God to be this direct and this black and white. As I have said to the people in my church many times, "A proper presentation of the gospel should always leave people with the understanding of which side of the fence they are on."

The questions, though, that would be logical here are: Okay, what is spiritual fruit? What does it look like? How would I know it if I saw it, and how do I know if I am producing it?

Fortunately, as is always the case with spiritual questions, the answers are in the Scriptures. Let's take a look at what the Bible tells us about spiritual fruit.

It is the result of the gospel, and is the obedience of faith.

Colossians 1:5-6 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth.

The key here is that the gospel is constantly, consistently, bearing fruit and increasing. And this is taking place in the life of the believer. Remember the parable of the seeds in Matthew 13. The seeds represented the word of God (the gospel) and when the seeds fell in the good soil they produced fruit...some thirty, some sixty, some one hundred fold. The word of God is the seed from which spiritual fruit is born.

Romans 1:5-6, 13 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ...I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

What is this fruit that Paul is wanting to obtain among the church at Rome. It is the obedience of faith. The umbrella that all spiritual fruit fall under is the obedience of faith. All spiritual fruit is a result of obedience. So when we as believers grieve or quench the Spirit, we are not producing spiritual fruit. Being obedient to the faith is being obedient to the revealed word of God, and out of this obedience comes spiritual fruit. See also (Isaiah 55:10-11; James 1:18,20; Mark 4:26-29)

It is the fruit of the indwelling Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

Notice how each aspect, each facet, of the fruit of the Spirit is an inner quality, a settled disposition of the soul. Each of these facets will manifest themselves in a myriad of ways as we go about our daily lives (See Luke 6:43-45). They stand in sharp contrast to the claims of those who are clamoring to get into heaven in Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who say to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter (remember the obedience of faith). Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,' did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' " It is easy to get caught up in what people do for the Lord, versus being mindful of who people are for the Lord; but it is the manifestation and working out of who people are for the Lord in which we see true spirutal fruit.

It is the opposite of deeds of the flesh.

We can get a more complete picture of spiritual fruit by knowing what it is not, and obviously what is listed here would be considered bad fruit.

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these...(so this is not a complete list). But Paul adds to that list in Ephesians 4. They are: greediness lusts of deceit, falsehood, stealing, unwholesome words, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice.

And these verses still do not contain an entire list, but are enough to give us a picture of what bad fruit looks like. And who produces bad fruit? Not the good tree.

It is born out of the dynamic qualities of faith.

II Peter 2:5-8 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your fiath supply moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing , they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So if these qualities are ours and we are growing in them, maturing in them, then we will be fruitful in our Christian life. We will be bearing mature fruit, rich fruit, and more fruit; just as a mature tree produces more and better fruit than a young tree.

It is good works

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip (katartizo--to render fit, to fully train, to furnish completely) in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Colossians 1:9-10 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Remember, in John 15 we learn that our producing much fruit proves we are Christ's disciples, but is also brings glory to God the Father. So following the logic in the verses above....

God has prepared beforehand good works for us to do.
He equips us to do these good things that please Him.
In these good works, good things, fruit is born...manifested.
In the working out of all of this God is glorified.

Follow the trail of good deeds in Titus 1:16, 2:7, 2:14, 3:1 3:5 3:8...to verse 3:14 where we learn "Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful." Good deeds, deeds that bear spiritual fruit, are important to God, and they should be important to us. This epistle is a slam on our self-centered, self-seeking, self-pleasing modern church culture, for these good deeds are not for us, but for others.

To be continued....italics mine for emphasis.

Whose You Are

2011-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Speaking of God

2011-07-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

We can speak no better of God,

than He has spoken of Himself.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are My ways higher than your ways

and My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from

heaven, and do not return there without watering

the earth and making it bear and sprout, and

furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

it will not return to Me empty without accomplishing

what I desire, and without succeding in the matter

for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:8-11

Christian Maturity

2011-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Those who have the Spirit, and who therefore come to grips with the message of the cross (I Cor.2), are expected to mature rapidly. Such maturation will disclose itself in a growing ability to take in more and more Christian truth (3.2). It will also show itself in a large-hearted attitude that avoids quarreling and jealousy, and refuses to sink into narrow factionalism. If some who have the Spirit are slow to display this rising maturity, the kindest interpretation is that they are "worldly." In these matters they are acting like "mere men" instead of like Christian men and women, men and women empowered by the Spirit of God. They are wretchedly, unacceptably, spiritually immature.

Don Carson
The Cross and Christian Ministry
Pages 74-75

Speaking of God

2011-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

We can speak no better of God,

than He has spoken of Himself.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,

but to Your name give glory

because of Your lovingkindness,

because of Your truth.

Psalm 115:1

Speaking of God

2011-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

We can speak no better of God,

than He has spoken of Himself.

Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible,

the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.

Amen.

I Timothy 1:17

Whom Shall I Please?

2011-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Those who are servants of Christ, those who are entrusted with the secret things of God, do not see themselves winning popularity contests--not even within the church's borders....There is only one Person whose "Well Done!" on the last day means anything. In comparison, the approval or disapproval of the church means nothing.

It is not even your own estimate of your service that is important. Feeling good about your ministry may have some limited utility somewhere, but surely it has no ultimate significance. You may think more highly of your service than God does; you may think less of your service than God does. But if you are constantly trying to please yourself, to make self-esteem your ultimate goal, then you are forgetting whose servant you are, whom you must strive to please.

Don Carson

The Cross and Christian Ministry

Page 97

Galatians 1:10

For am I now seeking the favor of men,
or of God? If I were still trying to please
men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
(This includes seeking to please ourselves)

A Christian's Devotion

2011-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

As Christians, our devotion to Christ

must come before our devotion to our

church or our denomination. We must

not substitute devotion to church or devotion

to denomination for devotion to Christ; nor

should we assume that devotion to these is

the same as devotion to Christ.

This should be particularly true for pastors.

Making Sunday the focus of Your Church Meetings

2011-07-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

See the attached post by Derek Thomas. Good food for thought.

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2011/07/on-the-multiplication-of-extra.php

Compassion

2011-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Active compassion is birthed out of the union of love and mercy.

Who Me?

2011-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

"God chooses whom He chooses in order that

He might receive the glory. He chooses weak

instruments so that no one will attribute the

power to human instruments rather than to God,

who wields those instruments."

John MacArthur

Twelve Ordinary Men

Page 13

Yes, you!

Our Fears and the Adequacy of God

2011-07-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Whence comes the nervous, dithery, take-no-risks mood that mars so much of our discipleship?...

One reason, it seems, is that in our heart of hearts we are afraid of the consequence of going the whole way into the Christian life. We shrink from accepting burdens of responsibility for others because we fear we should not have strength to bear them. We shrink from accepting a way of life in which we forfeit material security because we are afraid of being left stranded. We shrink from being meek because we are afraid that if we do not stand up for ourselves we shall be trodden down and victimized, and end up among life's casualties and failures. We shrink from breaking with social conventions in order to serve Christ because we fear that if we did, the established structure of our life would collapse all around us, leaving us without a footing anywhere.

It is these half-conscious fears, this dread of insecurity, rather than any deliberate refusal to face the cost of following Christ, which make us hold back. We feel that the risks of out-and-out discipleship are too great for us to take. In other words we are not persuaded of the adequacy of God to provide for all the needs of those who launch out wholeheartedly on the deep sea of unconventional living in obedience to the call of Christ....This, at bottom seems to be what is wrong with us. We are afraid to go all the way in accepting the authority of God, because of our secret uncertainty as to his adequacy to look after us if we do.

J.I. Packer
Knowing God
Pgs 269-270

Speaking of God

2011-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

We can speak no better of God

than He has spoken of Himself.

I, even I, am the one who wipes out

your transgressions for My own sake,

and I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 43:25

Let the wicked forsake his way

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

and let him return to the Lord,

and He will have compassion on him,

And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah 55:7

Hunger and Satisfaction

2011-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

God is, at once, our continual hunger and our complete satisfaction.

Steady Love

2011-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

We need not suppose that God's love for us

is as fickle and undependable as our own emotions.

Numbers 23:19, Malachi 3:16, James 1:17

Dying for Certainty

2011-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Without election there is only the potential for salvation,

not the certainty of salvation. So would Christ die for

those who might possibly be saved, or would He die

for those whom He knew for certain would be saved?

If He died for all to be saved, and all are not saved,

then His dying on the cross for their sin was a failure.

If He suffered for their sin, and they are not saved,

then His suffering for them was in vain. And if
God is omniscient, then why would He impose the penalty
of sin upon Christ for those whom He knew would not come to faith?

II Thessalonians 2:13, I Peter 1:1-2, Isaiah 53:10-11

Seeing the Measure

2011-07-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

We see the measure of love in what it gives.

We see the measure of mercy in what it withholds.

In salvation, love and mercy are inextricably linked.

Romans 5:8, I John 4:10, Ephesians 2:4, Isaiah 53:4-11

Why NOT the NIV

2011-07-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

As many know, I have had a long bias against the NIV, as I feel it has dumbed the Scriptures down, and numbed the reader from the punch that is provided in the Greek language. Yes, I know for some it is easier to read, but making something easier to read should not be the litmus test for any translation of the Scriptures. Accuracy and communicating as close as possible what the author really said should be the litmus test for any and all translations. And that is the problem with the dynamic equivalency method of translation.

Dr. Jim Hamilton gives a wonderful example of the difference between the dynamic equivalency and the formal equivalency methods, and why the dynamic equivalency is inferior. See the link below.

http://jimhamilton.info/2011/06/29/dynamic-equivalence-the-method-is-the-problem/