"Lord, as formerly I lived without Thee in the world, so now let me live without the world in Thee. If we did but love God as well as a worldly man doth love his wealth and riches, we should be so taken up with the love of God as quite to forget the world; for the world makes them forget God"
- unknown Puritan
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
LOOK BEYOND
"We shall never be fit for service of God, if we look not beyond this fleeting life"-John Calvin
DISHONOR AND HONOR
In Christ you can't lose. You have the joy of losing your honor as you are scorned by scoffers, so that you can dispaly that the honor of Christ is the most important aim of your life.
(Dishonor me if you must, I am immaterial. Honor Christ, He is paramount. Dishonor me, I am expecting. The Cross of My Master, was a scorn to the world, and it is in His Cross I boast.)
Why do I (we) think the Christian will take up his cross, and yet be given esteem or attention or an audience by the world, media, government, society? How often does 'Regis and Kelly' host interviews on Charles Manson, when he is a person of scorn. How often do politicians make platforms and policies by quoting Charles Manson, when He is a person of scorn. The Cross was a place of Scorn. Christ was hated. He was not esteemed. Yet we are puzzled and boggled that the church is not given a proper voice in the nation and culture. Do not be surprised. (John 15 and 16 and Matthew 10)
Congregations stoop to absurd levels to make the cross appealing. Come to our skeet shooting event, the Cross will follow. Come to our ski trip, beach trip, mountain trip, lock-in, concert, cookout, barbeque, cowboy church, Race-track church, flip-flop church, bagel, cream cheese and coffee church....the Cross will follow.
(Dishonor me if you must, I am immaterial. Honor Christ, He is paramount. Dishonor me, I am expecting. The Cross of My Master, was a scorn to the world, and it is in His Cross I boast.)
Why do I (we) think the Christian will take up his cross, and yet be given esteem or attention or an audience by the world, media, government, society? How often does 'Regis and Kelly' host interviews on Charles Manson, when he is a person of scorn. How often do politicians make platforms and policies by quoting Charles Manson, when He is a person of scorn. The Cross was a place of Scorn. Christ was hated. He was not esteemed. Yet we are puzzled and boggled that the church is not given a proper voice in the nation and culture. Do not be surprised. (John 15 and 16 and Matthew 10)
Congregations stoop to absurd levels to make the cross appealing. Come to our skeet shooting event, the Cross will follow. Come to our ski trip, beach trip, mountain trip, lock-in, concert, cookout, barbeque, cowboy church, Race-track church, flip-flop church, bagel, cream cheese and coffee church....the Cross will follow.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
ALL HIS OFFSPRING
Romans 4:13-16 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be *guaranteed to all his offspring*--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all...
Does this not smack of particularity? I mean, the promise resting on grace as a GUARANTEE to ALL of Abraham's offspring? Hmmm :) Well, the particularity being seen more in that the promise is guaranteed to all his "offspring."
-- good point by good FB friend, Andrew Johnson
Does this not smack of particularity? I mean, the promise resting on grace as a GUARANTEE to ALL of Abraham's offspring? Hmmm :) Well, the particularity being seen more in that the promise is guaranteed to all his "offspring."
-- good point by good FB friend, Andrew Johnson
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
OT ATONEMENT SERIES PART 1
Neither God nor the Priests were waiting for the altar, house, or Holy Place to "exhibit faith" for the atonement itself to be "applied"; rather, it is conveyed that to make the atonement is to effect the atonement without being dependent on the faith of the altar, house or Holy Place.
1. ALTAR: Exodus 29:36-37 and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. [37] Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
2. ALTAR: Leviticus 8:15 And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it.
3. HOUSE: Leviticus 14:48-53 (KJV) And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. [49] And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: [50] And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: [51] And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: [52] And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: [53] But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.
4. and 5. HOLY PLACE AND ALTAR: Leviticus 16:16-18 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. [17] No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. [18] Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.
6. ALTAR: Ezekiel 43:20 (ESV) And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.
7. ALTAR: Ezekiel 43:26 (ESV) Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
8. This should be a clear example that the people were not in a state of "faith to God" while the atonement was made, applied, and effective in staying the plague.
******Numbers 16:46-50
And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun." [47] So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. [49] Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. [50] And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
1. ALTAR: Exodus 29:36-37 and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. [37] Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
2. ALTAR: Leviticus 8:15 And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it.
3. HOUSE: Leviticus 14:48-53 (KJV) And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. [49] And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: [50] And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: [51] And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: [52] And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: [53] But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.
4. and 5. HOLY PLACE AND ALTAR: Leviticus 16:16-18 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. [17] No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. [18] Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.
6. ALTAR: Ezekiel 43:20 (ESV) And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.
7. ALTAR: Ezekiel 43:26 (ESV) Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
8. This should be a clear example that the people were not in a state of "faith to God" while the atonement was made, applied, and effective in staying the plague.
******Numbers 16:46-50
And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun." [47] So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. [49] Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. [50] And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
FLESH WILL FAIL
The arm of flesh will fail you. In justification, sanctification, and regeneration. Ye dare not trust your own;
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
John 6:63 (KJV)
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 3:6 (ESV)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
John 6:63 (KJV)
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 3:6 (ESV)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
UTTER DESPAIR
For when man through repentance has come to the knowledge of himself, he finds nothing but utter despair. Hence, wholly distrusting himself, he is forced to take refuge in the mercy of God. But when he has begun to do that, justice makes him afraid. Then Christ appears, who has satisfied the divine justice for our trespasses. When once there is faith in Him, then salvation is found; for He is the infallible pledge of God’s mercy.
– Ulrich Zwingli
– Ulrich Zwingli
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Our first postulate is that because God is God,He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases; that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory; that He is the Supreme Being, and therefore Sovereign of the universe.
AW Pink. Sov. of God. page 13
AW Pink. Sov. of God. page 13
BLANK ATHEISM
How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern
Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today,
even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a
miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the
twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the
respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the
creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit
is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.f1 To say that
God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the
Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and
that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when,
as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of
our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to
say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied,
and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated.
We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is “trying His best” to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme
Being.
To declare that the Creator’s original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to
dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that
He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the
Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free
moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he
has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of
Omnipotence.
In a word, to deny the sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if
followed to its logical terminus, is ....to arrive at blank atheism.
AW Pink, Sov. of God. page 17
Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today,
even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a
miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the
twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the
respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the
creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit
is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.f1 To say that
God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the
Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and
that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when,
as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of
our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to
say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied,
and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated.
We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is “trying His best” to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme
Being.
To declare that the Creator’s original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to
dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that
He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the
Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free
moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he
has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of
Omnipotence.
In a word, to deny the sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if
followed to its logical terminus, is ....to arrive at blank atheism.
AW Pink, Sov. of God. page 17
YOUR CHILDREN
Matthew 23:37
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered YOUR CHILDREN together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
>>Arminians reword "your Children" to "you".
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered YOUR CHILDREN together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
>>Arminians reword "your Children" to "you".
Monday, November 22, 2010
FINE FREEDOM
Why all this boasting about free-will and the power of a man, about the natural ...light of reason? What is but blindness and darkness. Can it do anything than fight against the true faith and Gods word. This is why I reject and condemn as nothing but falsehood every doctrine that lauds our free will. For since apart from Christ, death and sin are our master and the devil is our god and prince, there can be neither power nor might neither wit or wisdom, by which we may prepare our selves for righteousness and life or search for them. On the contrary we are bound to be blinded captives of the devil and slaves to sin, to do and to think whatever our master satan wishes and is opposed to God with his commandments. Ah, what a fine freedom that is!
– Martin Luther
– Martin Luther
IDOL OF FREEDOM
Great quote, "My god was freedom, my God was not Christ; I made an idol out of freedom." The person continually failed in sanctification with this approach;;; {Seeking elusive freedom will not bring you to Christ, but being granted Christ will bring you to freedom.}
Friday, November 19, 2010
OBSCURITY
"The Church is always tempted toward a church of glory, whether that takes the form of grand buildings, political influence, global structures, charismatic personalities, or megachurches. But an approach to the church consistent with the gospel of Christ crucified and discipleship shaped by the gospel is an ecclesiology of the cross. That means power in weakness, wisdom in folly, and glory in shame. It means we must put our confidence in Christ's little flock and the sovereign rule of God. It means we must put our energies into the church of the cross even if that means obscurity."
Total Church by Chester and Timmis
Total Church by Chester and Timmis
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
VARIES NOT
"To know that while our feelings fluctuate, and our frames vary, and our experience ebbs and flows as the tide, yet our righteousness varies not, changes not, and that we are not justified one moment more really, more freely, more completely than another, is a mercy unspeakably great." ~ Octavius Winslow
THE BEST OF MY DUTIES
"Not only the worst of my sins but the best of my duties speak me a child of Adam." William Beveridge
FACE TO FACE
Make sure to face Jesus in His Word, prayer, and song, then go face the lions of this world.... via Greis Vllahu:
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
NO MAN
"The extent of man's fall is so great and extensive that no man by the exercise of his own will or understanding can ever save himself or become a Christian."
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Exposition of Ephesians
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Exposition of Ephesians
Friday, November 12, 2010
NEVER KNEW
"I never yet knew anybody repent who gloried in his power to repent; I never yet knew a man heart-broken for sin who boasted that he could break his own heart when and where he pleased."
~CH Spurgeon
~CH Spurgeon
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A FOE DWELLS
What a treacherous foe dwells in our bosom!
We live in a dangerous world--a world lying in wickedness!
And when we remember what a treacherous foe dwells in our bosom, ever prompting us to evil--we need to cry mightily to God to save us from Satan, and from our own selves! "Hold me up--and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117
I have lately had a very sweet humbling view of my own hateful self--and a soul-melting view of the wonderful and over-whelming goodness of God, in loving and saving one so vile! "Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6
(Mary Winslow, "Words of Loving Counsel and Sympathy")
We live in a dangerous world--a world lying in wickedness!
And when we remember what a treacherous foe dwells in our bosom, ever prompting us to evil--we need to cry mightily to God to save us from Satan, and from our own selves! "Hold me up--and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117
I have lately had a very sweet humbling view of my own hateful self--and a soul-melting view of the wonderful and over-whelming goodness of God, in loving and saving one so vile! "Christ died for the ungodly!" Romans 5:6
(Mary Winslow, "Words of Loving Counsel and Sympathy")
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
GIVE ME A HEART
"O for a better heart! O for a heart to love God more; to hate sin more; to walk more evenly with God. Lord! deny not to me such a heart; whatever thou deny me: give me a heart to fear thee, to love and delight in thee, if I beg my bread in desolate places." ~John Flavel
JOY OF THE ANGELS
If two angels were to receive at the same moment a commission from God,
one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the other to go and
sweep the streets of its meanest village, it would be a matter of entire
indifference to each which service fell to his lot, the post of ruler
or the post of scavenger; for the joy of the angels lies only in
obedience to God’s will. - E.M. Bounds
one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the other to go and
sweep the streets of its meanest village, it would be a matter of entire
indifference to each which service fell to his lot, the post of ruler
or the post of scavenger; for the joy of the angels lies only in
obedience to God’s will. - E.M. Bounds
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
EPHESIANS 1 v4
Our crooked tempers, fretful peevish minds, rebellious thoughts, coldness,
barrenness and death, our alienation from good, and headlong proneness
to evil, with the daily feeling that we get no better but rather worse,
make us think that God views us just as we view ourselves...
And this brings on great darkness of mind and bondage of spirit, until we seem to lose sight of our acceptance in Christ, and get into the miserable dregs of SELF, almost ready to quarrel with God because we are so vile, and only get worse as we get older.Now the more we get into these dregs of SELF, and the more we keep looking at the dreadful scenes of wreck and ruin which our heart presents to daily view, the farther do we get from the grace of the gospel, and the more do we lose sight of the only ground of our acceptance with God. It is "in the Beloved" alone, that we are accepted, and not for any good words, or good works, good thoughts, good hearts, or good intentions of our own.And a saving knowledge of our acceptance "in the Beloved," independent of everything in us either good or bad, is a firm foundation for our faith and hope, and will keep us from sinking altogether into despair.
~Philpot
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (all three via @Marissa)
barrenness and death, our alienation from good, and headlong proneness
to evil, with the daily feeling that we get no better but rather worse,
make us think that God views us just as we view ourselves...
And this brings on great darkness of mind and bondage of spirit, until we seem to lose sight of our acceptance in Christ, and get into the miserable dregs of SELF, almost ready to quarrel with God because we are so vile, and only get worse as we get older.Now the more we get into these dregs of SELF, and the more we keep looking at the dreadful scenes of wreck and ruin which our heart presents to daily view, the farther do we get from the grace of the gospel, and the more do we lose sight of the only ground of our acceptance with God. It is "in the Beloved" alone, that we are accepted, and not for any good words, or good works, good thoughts, good hearts, or good intentions of our own.And a saving knowledge of our acceptance "in the Beloved," independent of everything in us either good or bad, is a firm foundation for our faith and hope, and will keep us from sinking altogether into despair.
~Philpot
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (all three via @Marissa)
Monday, November 8, 2010
BUILT IN CHRIST FOREVER
Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining, and delight to be not only
chiseled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I
have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper
air, where I may be built in Christ forever.
~Valley of Vision
chiseled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I
have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper
air, where I may be built in Christ forever.
~Valley of Vision
1 Chronicles 29
1 Chron. 29:10-19 (ESV)
Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. [11] Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. [12] Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. [13] And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
[14] "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. [15] For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. [16] O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. [17] I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. [18] O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. [19] Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision."
Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. [11] Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. [12] Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. [13] And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
[14] "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. [15] For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. [16] O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. [17] I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. [18] O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. [19] Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision."
REJOICE ALREADY
Helpful note to self, (to follow): What will it take from God to make you praise Him and rejoice in Him, that He has not already done. (and by the way, our praise and rejoicing should be first in WHO HE IS, and moreover what he has done); faulty barriers follow:
Before you rejoice and praise God, It will take that God, either:
1. Save a sinner. (see external fruit in evangelism).
2. Mature the sheep. (see external fruit in discipleship).
3. Purge the goats. (see external fruit in discipline.)
4 Help you financially or occupationally?
5. Enlarge your congregation. (repeat #1).
How foolish am I to murmur against God or impose on God some task of my own petty mind; Nay, dear self, God is already worthy of your fullest praise and rejoicing because of who he his and because of that Scripture testifies to His work, grace, and glory.
Before you rejoice and praise God, It will take that God, either:
1. Save a sinner. (see external fruit in evangelism).
2. Mature the sheep. (see external fruit in discipleship).
3. Purge the goats. (see external fruit in discipline.)
4 Help you financially or occupationally?
5. Enlarge your congregation. (repeat #1).
How foolish am I to murmur against God or impose on God some task of my own petty mind; Nay, dear self, God is already worthy of your fullest praise and rejoicing because of who he his and because of that Scripture testifies to His work, grace, and glory.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
FRANKLY THEY CAN'T
The gospel commands dead men to rise, dead men to believe, dead men to
understand, dead men to repent. The gospel commands dead people to do
what frankly they can't do. John MacArthur
understand, dead men to repent. The gospel commands dead people to do
what frankly they can't do. John MacArthur
Thursday, November 4, 2010
ARMINIAN IDOL
If God knows every detail of the future with infallible certainty, then (by definition) the outcome of all things is already determined. And if things are predetermined but God did not ordain whatsoever comes to pass, then you have two choices:
1. A higher sovereignty belongs to some being (or beings) other than God. That is idolatry.
2. Some impersonal force did the determining. That is fatalism.
Therefore if the thinking Arminian wants to avoid both fatalism and idolatry, he or she must deny God's foreknowledge, thereby nullifying God's omnscience—in other words, they essentially undeify God. That is of course blasphemy. But that is precisely the road Open Theism takes.
1. A higher sovereignty belongs to some being (or beings) other than God. That is idolatry.
2. Some impersonal force did the determining. That is fatalism.
Therefore if the thinking Arminian wants to avoid both fatalism and idolatry, he or she must deny God's foreknowledge, thereby nullifying God's omnscience—in other words, they essentially undeify God. That is of course blasphemy. But that is precisely the road Open Theism takes.
WORD FAITH KIN
In large part, Altar-Call/Hand-Count Arminianism is just the Word-Faith movement with a focus on salvation instead of financial prosperity. via Lane Chaplin
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Valley of Vision
"There is no comfort in anything apart from enjoying thee and being engaged in thy service; Thou art All in all, and all enjoyments are what to me thou makest them, and no more."
~ Valley of Vision;
" Christian,
you have no King but Jesus. Do not place your hope in any leader or any
party, for they will perish, when the storm comes. Christ and Christ
alone is worthy to have your complete allegiance. So serve His Kingdom
as an exile on this earth, and realize that your true citizenship lies only in heaven." -- Aashik Rao
"All that Jesus does for lost sinners--He does freely, out
of pure pity, kindness, and love. Yet we are always looking for something in ourselves--to encourage us! On the other hand, we tend to look at some sin
...committed by us--which discourages us. Whereas we
should look only to Jesus."
-- James Smith;
~ Valley of Vision;
" Christian,
you have no King but Jesus. Do not place your hope in any leader or any
party, for they will perish, when the storm comes. Christ and Christ
alone is worthy to have your complete allegiance. So serve His Kingdom
as an exile on this earth, and realize that your true citizenship lies only in heaven." -- Aashik Rao
"All that Jesus does for lost sinners--He does freely, out
of pure pity, kindness, and love. Yet we are always looking for something in ourselves--to encourage us! On the other hand, we tend to look at some sin
...committed by us--which discourages us. Whereas we
should look only to Jesus."
-- James Smith;
Monday, November 1, 2010
BOETTNER
To mention predestination before some is like shaking the proverbial red flag before an enraged bull. It arouses the fiercest passions of their nature, and brings forth a torrent of abuse and calumny. But because men have fought against it, or because they hate it is no reasonable or logical cause why we should turn the doctrine adrift.
Loraine Boettner in "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination."
Loraine Boettner in "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination."
WHY ALL THIS
Why all this boasting about free-will and the power of a man, about the natural light of reason? What is but blindness and darkness. Can it do anything than fight against the true faith and Gods word. This is why I reject and condemn as nothing but falsehood every doctrine that lauds our free will. For since apart from Christ, death and sin are our master and the devil is our God and prince, there can be neither power nor might neither wit or wisdom, by which we may prepare our selves for righteousness and life or search for them. On the contrary we are bound to be blinded captives of the devil and slaves to sin, to do and to think whatever our master satan wishes and is opposed to God with his commandments. Ah, what a fine freedom that is!
~ Martin Luther
~ Martin Luther
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Exclusive, Constant, Exceedingly Great
God's Sovereignty is Exclusive...therefore...our faith must be....Exclusive, not in self.
God's Sovereignty is Constant...therefore...our faith must be (can be, should be)....Constant, not wavering.
God's Sovereignty is Exceedingly Great...therefore...our faith must be (can be, should be)....Exceedingly Great, not small.
God's Glory is Exclusive....therefore...our joy should be Exclusive in His Glory.
God's Glory is Constant....therefore...our joy should be Constant in His Glory.
God's Glory is Exceedingly Great....therefore...our joy should be Exceedingly Great.
God's Sovereignty is Constant...therefore...our faith must be (can be, should be)....Constant, not wavering.
God's Sovereignty is Exceedingly Great...therefore...our faith must be (can be, should be)....Exceedingly Great, not small.
God's Glory is Exclusive....therefore...our joy should be Exclusive in His Glory.
God's Glory is Constant....therefore...our joy should be Constant in His Glory.
God's Glory is Exceedingly Great....therefore...our joy should be Exceedingly Great.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
REST ASSURED
"If God has laid your sins upon the Son of His love, you may rest assured that He will never lay them a second time upon you; since, if Christ has borne them and atoned for them to Divine justice, they never again can be found."
- Octavius Winslow
- Octavius Winslow
HORTON QUOTE
The gospel transforms us in heart, mind, will, and actions precisely because it is not itself a message about our transformation. Nothing that I am or that I feel, choose, or do qualifies as Good News. On my best days, my experience of transformation is weak, but the gospel is an announcement of a certain state of affairs that exists because of something in God, not something in me; something that God has done, not something that I have done; the love in God’s heart which he has shown in his Son, not the love in my heart that I exhibit in my relationships. Precisely as the Good News of a completed, sufficient, and perfect work of God in Christ accomplished for me and outside of me in history, the gospel is ‘the power of God unto salvation’ not only at the beginning but throughout the Christian life.
– Michael Horton from The Gospel-Driven Life
– Michael Horton from The Gospel-Driven Life
Friday, October 29, 2010
SPEND TIME
"There are preachers, teachers, and bloggers beyond number, but the great need of the church is men and women who spend time alone with God" ~Paul Washer
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
IT IS CERTAIN
"Man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition; so much so that if a man believes his own mind it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain." (John Calvin)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
DEEPEST JOY
The exhibition of God’s glory and the deepest joy of the human soul are one thing.
– Jonathan Edwards
– Jonathan Edwards
DESPISED
"No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God
is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God
orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The
carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical
...teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal
decrees." - John MacArthur
is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God
orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The
carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical
...teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal
decrees." - John MacArthur
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
PRAYER
More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep and goats that nourish a blind life within the brain, if, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friend?~Tennyson
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
LOOK AT CHRIST
"Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning
from Christ to analyze your faith… Paradoxically, if we would experience
the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the
greatness of our Savior." - John Piper
from Christ to analyze your faith… Paradoxically, if we would experience
the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the
greatness of our Savior." - John Piper
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
NOT THY HOLD
It is not thy hold on Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not even thy faith in Christ, though that be the instrument; it is Christ’s blood and merit.
- Spurgeon
- Spurgeon
Friday, October 8, 2010
ENEMIES OF
So these truths are published for the sake of the elect, that they may be humbled and brought down to nothing, and so saved. The rest of men resist this humiliation; indeed, they condemn the teaching of self-despair; they want a little something left that they can do for themselves … and therefore enemies of the grace of God.
– Martin Luther
– Martin Luther
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
DOMINION; UNION
[Christ] is the head of the whole world by way of dominion, but a head to the Church by way of union... - Flavel
Saturday, October 2, 2010
JOY IN THE SOVEREIGN
Preach Christ Daily and Rejoice! God may purpose to draw them for His Glory; Rejoice! God may purpose to harden them for His Glory; Rejoice; either way God will use His word to accomplish His purpose, be it to draw, or be it harden; If your joy is based on the response of sinners, your joy is based on the sinner not the Sovereign;
If your joy is based on the response of sinners, your joy is based on the sinner not the Sovereign;
Evangelism is to be rooted in Joy for the Sovereign, not heartache for the rebel;
True, Philip. 3:18 says: ....I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
however, Pauls' tears where not the motivation of his Evangelism; This is indicated 3-4x in the preceding verses:
Philip. 3:8-14 (ESV)
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
[9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— [10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
[12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Rev. 18:20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"
Rev. 19:1-3 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying... out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, [2] for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants."
[3] Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever."
See Exodus 15 in light of Exodus 14 and Deuteronomy 9.
My point is that Paul wept in Phil 3:18 for the enemies of the Cross of Christ; but 3x before that verse Paul makes it clear that his evangelism was not grounded on a "broken heart for the dogs/lost" but rather grounded on "the joy of the suprassing Glory of Christ, and knowing Christ."
Our evangelism is not grounded on "tears" for the sinner and his response; but our evangelism is grounded on joy for the Sovereign and his reign; I am not suggesting we become smug, arrogant, or hateful, I am pointing the basis of preaching solely on the glory of God and purpose of God; even if that glory be connected to Romans 9...preparing vessels of wrath for destruction;
There is a time to shake the dust of our feet, not sit outside the house and cry and cry and cry and sob; instead he says, "let your peace return unto you." Matt 10:13, and that is my point too;
Finally Paul practiced this, Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. Acts 13:51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were FILLED WITH JOY and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4:23-31 has that same rejoicing and boldness in light of being rejected, not "oh boo-hoo the message has been rejected by those who are breaking our heart." They quote Psalm 2, which in it's entirety talks about God laughing and speaking in wrath; not depressed because rebels ignore his message;
Deut. 7:16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
Do we kill? No.
Do we show mercy and compassion? YES.
Do we proclaim Jesus in Joy? Yes.
Is this Joy contingent on if God draws or Hardens? No.
If your joy is based on the response of sinners, your joy is based on the sinner not the Sovereign;
Evangelism is to be rooted in Joy for the Sovereign, not heartache for the rebel;
True, Philip. 3:18 says: ....I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
however, Pauls' tears where not the motivation of his Evangelism; This is indicated 3-4x in the preceding verses:
Philip. 3:8-14 (ESV)
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
[9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— [10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
[12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Rev. 18:20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"
Rev. 19:1-3 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying... out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, [2] for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants."
[3] Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever."
See Exodus 15 in light of Exodus 14 and Deuteronomy 9.
My point is that Paul wept in Phil 3:18 for the enemies of the Cross of Christ; but 3x before that verse Paul makes it clear that his evangelism was not grounded on a "broken heart for the dogs/lost" but rather grounded on "the joy of the suprassing Glory of Christ, and knowing Christ."
Our evangelism is not grounded on "tears" for the sinner and his response; but our evangelism is grounded on joy for the Sovereign and his reign; I am not suggesting we become smug, arrogant, or hateful, I am pointing the basis of preaching solely on the glory of God and purpose of God; even if that glory be connected to Romans 9...preparing vessels of wrath for destruction;
There is a time to shake the dust of our feet, not sit outside the house and cry and cry and cry and sob; instead he says, "let your peace return unto you." Matt 10:13, and that is my point too;
Finally Paul practiced this, Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. Acts 13:51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were FILLED WITH JOY and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 4:23-31 has that same rejoicing and boldness in light of being rejected, not "oh boo-hoo the message has been rejected by those who are breaking our heart." They quote Psalm 2, which in it's entirety talks about God laughing and speaking in wrath; not depressed because rebels ignore his message;
Deut. 7:16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
Do we kill? No.
Do we show mercy and compassion? YES.
Do we proclaim Jesus in Joy? Yes.
Is this Joy contingent on if God draws or Hardens? No.
Friday, September 17, 2010
THEODICY
1. If a Surgeon is semi-power and semi-loving then semi-suffering cannot exist? What type of logic is that? Surgeons are semi-powerful and semi-loving and yet semi-suffering does exist.
2. The assertion that: "If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then suffering cannot exists" fails because the creature is claiming to be all-wise; but he is not; and because he is not is not able to know what an all-wise God knows, that: The all-loving and all-powerful God can allow suffering to exist--- then he will remain confused in his mind until he trust's the all-wise God with faith.
3. Assertion: "If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then evil and injustice cannot exist."
Response: a. According to God's Decreed will, evil and injustice do not exist, because He has purposed the death of His Son and the punishment of those who killed Him and broke the moral will of God. God is not evil for making vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. God is not unjust for making vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.
In regards to evil and injustice between one creature to another, the rebellious creature does not deserve 70 earthly years of breath, so God is already merciful to each creature (who is experiencing their so called "injustice" from another creature).
Someone says, "God is all-loving" ask, "Oh, so is God a drunk", they should say "no." then you say, "so does the drunkard love alcohol more than God?" They'll claim "they don't love it" Obviously if God is all-loving, then he cannot lov...e both telling the truth and telling a lie to the same extent; that is insanity; So the lie experiences a rejection that the truth does not experience; i.e, the creature will experience things that the creator will not experience; the drunkard, too;
2. The assertion that: "If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then suffering cannot exists" fails because the creature is claiming to be all-wise; but he is not; and because he is not is not able to know what an all-wise God knows, that: The all-loving and all-powerful God can allow suffering to exist--- then he will remain confused in his mind until he trust's the all-wise God with faith.
3. Assertion: "If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then evil and injustice cannot exist."
Response: a. According to God's Decreed will, evil and injustice do not exist, because He has purposed the death of His Son and the punishment of those who killed Him and broke the moral will of God. God is not evil for making vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. God is not unjust for making vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.
In regards to evil and injustice between one creature to another, the rebellious creature does not deserve 70 earthly years of breath, so God is already merciful to each creature (who is experiencing their so called "injustice" from another creature).
Someone says, "God is all-loving" ask, "Oh, so is God a drunk", they should say "no." then you say, "so does the drunkard love alcohol more than God?" They'll claim "they don't love it" Obviously if God is all-loving, then he cannot lov...e both telling the truth and telling a lie to the same extent; that is insanity; So the lie experiences a rejection that the truth does not experience; i.e, the creature will experience things that the creator will not experience; the drunkard, too;
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
MAGNIFIES MAN
"Free-will doctrine—what does it? It magnifies man into God. It declares God’s purposes a nullity, since they cannot be carried out unless men are willing. It makes God’s will a waiting servant to the will of man, and the whole covenant of grace dependent on human action. Denying election on the ground of injustice, it holds God to be a debtor to sinners."
-- Charles H. Spurgeon
-- Charles H. Spurgeon
Sunday, September 12, 2010
MERCY ME
Separated until the veil was torn
The moment that hope was born
and guilt was pardoned once and for all
Captivated but no longer bound by chains
left at an empty grave
the sinner and the sacred resolved
[chorus:]
and all of creation sing with me now
lift up your voice and lay your burden down
and all of creation sing with me now
fill up the heavens let his glory resound
Time has faded and we see him face to face
every doubt erased forever we will worhip the king
[repeat chorus]
ohh ah ohhh...ohh ah ohhh
the reason we breathe is to sing of his glory
and for all he has done praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one
[repeat chorus 2x]
and every knee will bow oh and every tongue praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one
The moment that hope was born
and guilt was pardoned once and for all
Captivated but no longer bound by chains
left at an empty grave
the sinner and the sacred resolved
[chorus:]
and all of creation sing with me now
lift up your voice and lay your burden down
and all of creation sing with me now
fill up the heavens let his glory resound
Time has faded and we see him face to face
every doubt erased forever we will worhip the king
[repeat chorus]
ohh ah ohhh...ohh ah ohhh
the reason we breathe is to sing of his glory
and for all he has done praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one
[repeat chorus 2x]
and every knee will bow oh and every tongue praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
LEARN THIS LESSON
Learn this lesson: not to trust Christ because you repent, but trust Christ to make you repent; not to come to Christ because you have a broken heart, but to come to Him that He may give you a broken heart; not to come to Him because you are fit to come, but to come to Him because you are unfit to come. Your fitness is your unfitness. Your qualification is your lack of qualification.
- C.H. Spurgeon
- C.H. Spurgeon
Monday, September 6, 2010
NEVER BECAUSE
Blessings at times come to us through our labors and at times without our labors, but never because of our labors, for God always gives them because of His undeserved mercy. - Martin Luther
NOT IN THE NEST
"God sends every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest: he gives us our daily bread, but it is through our own labour." - C.H. Spurgeon
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
ACCOMPLISH
The question, "Who did Christ die for" is best answered by asking first, "What did His death accomplish." If you answer that question first, the other question is so clear. What did the death of Christ accomplish? -- Paul Thomas (FB aquaintance)
(My Addition: Did the death of Jesus accomplish two degrees, one degree for all, and a separate degree for another; one degree for availability, a second degree, for efficacy? What did it accomplish for Peter that it did not accomplish for Goliath? If it accomplished the same for Goliath as it did for Peter and Goliath is in Hell, the what more did Goliath need to accomplish that the death of Christ did not?)
(My Addition: Did the death of Jesus accomplish two degrees, one degree for all, and a separate degree for another; one degree for availability, a second degree, for efficacy? What did it accomplish for Peter that it did not accomplish for Goliath? If it accomplished the same for Goliath as it did for Peter and Goliath is in Hell, the what more did Goliath need to accomplish that the death of Christ did not?)
ANGUISH
Gal 4:19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
DEATH TO
“If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God.... I think Arminianism is death to Christianity!” -R.C. Sproul
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
NEVER WILL
In short, natural reason never will direct men to Christ; and as to their being endued with prudence for regulating their lives, or born to cultivate the liberal arts and sciences, all this passes away without yielding any advantage. - John Calvin
Monday, August 16, 2010
TO IGNORE IS CONTEMPT
If I were driving 95 in a 65, and I had three cop cars behind me on my bumper, blaring their lights and sirens; they would be upset that I was ignoring their will; and yet mankind attempts to paint most of society as "nice folks" despite how glaringly they leave God out of everything. Nevermind the blatant attacks upon God as "indicative" of man's rebellion, merely observe the "gall to ignore" God as a guide to their hatred of Him.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40912
Swedish Driver Gets $1 Million Speeding Ticket By Kremena Krumova
Epoch Times Staff Created: Aug 13, 2010 Last Updated: Aug 13, 2010 . Facebook Digg
StumbleUpon Twitter | |
Related articles: World > Europe
The new concept car F800 Style by German carmaker Mercedes is displayed on March 3 during the third press day at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva. A 37 year-old Swede may pay the world's heaviest speeding fine for driving such a sports Mercedes at a speed of 186 mph. (Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images) A 37 year-old Swedish man who was caught driving his Mercedes SLS at a speed of 186 mph along the A12 highway stretching between Swiss Bern and Lausanne last Friday, may be fined the world’s biggest recorded speeding fine of over $1 million.
According to Swiss police, this is the fastest vehicle ever caught on the highway in Switzerland. Several cameras could not detect the speed of the luxurious limousine because their radar guns stop working at 125 mph.
Motorway fines in Switzerland are calculated based on the driver’s income and by how many miles he or she exceeded the maximum speed limit.
The previous biggest speeding offender was 44-year-old Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president of mobile giant Nokia. In 2001 he was made to pay almost $150,000 after driving his motorbike 47 mph in a 30 mph zone in Helsinki.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40912
Swedish Driver Gets $1 Million Speeding Ticket By Kremena Krumova
Epoch Times Staff Created: Aug 13, 2010 Last Updated: Aug 13, 2010 . Facebook Digg
StumbleUpon Twitter | |
Related articles: World > Europe
The new concept car F800 Style by German carmaker Mercedes is displayed on March 3 during the third press day at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva. A 37 year-old Swede may pay the world's heaviest speeding fine for driving such a sports Mercedes at a speed of 186 mph. (Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images) A 37 year-old Swedish man who was caught driving his Mercedes SLS at a speed of 186 mph along the A12 highway stretching between Swiss Bern and Lausanne last Friday, may be fined the world’s biggest recorded speeding fine of over $1 million.
According to Swiss police, this is the fastest vehicle ever caught on the highway in Switzerland. Several cameras could not detect the speed of the luxurious limousine because their radar guns stop working at 125 mph.
Motorway fines in Switzerland are calculated based on the driver’s income and by how many miles he or she exceeded the maximum speed limit.
The previous biggest speeding offender was 44-year-old Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president of mobile giant Nokia. In 2001 he was made to pay almost $150,000 after driving his motorbike 47 mph in a 30 mph zone in Helsinki.
Friday, August 13, 2010
DID MORE
The resurrection is proof that Jesus did more to death than death ever did to Jesus;
(via a friend Paul Crews)
(via a friend Paul Crews)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
FINGERS CROSSED
"I don't think we want to believe in a God who is a spectator in the
drama of redemption. Who sends a Christ to die on a cross and stands
there crossing his fingers hoping that someone will take advantage of it."~RC Sproul
drama of redemption. Who sends a Christ to die on a cross and stands
there crossing his fingers hoping that someone will take advantage of it."~RC Sproul
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
HE MOURNS
I believe the holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him. - C.H. Spurgeon
ORIGINAL LANGUAGES
Without the Holy Spirit teaching, the original languages are burdensome and boring, but don't blame that on the Holy Spirit nor the original languages; pray for grace to change your mind, heart, and appetite.
Some people do not like the original languages, but they like their own mind which supposes skill over them.
Some people do not like the original languages, but they like their own mind which supposes skill over them.
Monday, August 9, 2010
OPENLY PROCLAIMED
These things, therefore, are openly proclaimed for the sake of the Elect: that,
being by these means humbled and brought down to nothing, they might be
saved. The rest resist this humiliation; nay, they condemn the teaching of self
desperation; they wish to have left a little something that they may do
themselves. These secretly remain proud, and adversaries to the grace of God.
page 38 pdf. "Bondage of the Will" Martin Luther.
being by these means humbled and brought down to nothing, they might be
saved. The rest resist this humiliation; nay, they condemn the teaching of self
desperation; they wish to have left a little something that they may do
themselves. These secretly remain proud, and adversaries to the grace of God.
page 38 pdf. "Bondage of the Will" Martin Luther.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
MY HOPE
I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Monday, July 26, 2010
CONTRARY
"They go and set up free will with the heathen philosophers, and say that man's free will is the cause why God chooseth one and not the other, contrary unto all of Scripture." ~William Tyndale
Thursday, July 22, 2010
PRECARIOUS
"Worship is a holy expression before a holy God. To invite non-believers into such a holy process is a precarious thing, and to design worship in such a way to accommodate their secular mindset is not only ineffective evangelism but also severely compromised worship." - Bill Izard
Friday, July 16, 2010
Trample
"I pray God that I may never find my will again. Oh, that Christ would subject my will to His, and trample it under His feet." - Samuel Rutherford
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
UTTERLY BEYOND
God has surely promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those
who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly
humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own
powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the
will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another -- God alone.
- Martin Luther
who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly
humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own
powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the
will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another -- God alone.
- Martin Luther
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
SOONER
"Repentance and faith are distasteful to the unregenerate; they would
sooner repeat a thousand formal prayers than shed a solitary tear of
true repentance" ~Spurgeon
sooner repeat a thousand formal prayers than shed a solitary tear of
true repentance" ~Spurgeon
Undermines
"Preaching that downplays God's wrath does not enhance evangelism; it undermines it. The solemnity of the gospel and the fear of God are utterly trampled when the preacher denies the reality and severity of eternal punishment...The seriousness of sin is depreciated by this teaching. And therefore the gospel itself is subverted." -
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
CANNOT HAVE BEEN
It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free-will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that He gives both; that He is “Alpha and Omega” in the salvation
of men.--
Charles H. Spurgeon.
of men.--
Charles H. Spurgeon.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
SIX WAYS
(lifted entirely from http://bryanlopez.com/ )
Edwards identifies six points of how God does exercise His sovereignty in our salvation:
1. God exercises His sovereignty by calling a people or a nation, and giving them the opportunities of grace, and leaving others without them.
“According to the divine appointment, salvation is bestowed in connection with the provisions of grace. God may sometimes make use of very unlikely opportunities, and bestow salvation on men who are under very great disadvantages; but He does not bestow grace wholly without any means. But God exercises His sovereignty in bestowing those means. All nations are by nature in like circumstances towards God. Yet God greatly distinguishes some nations and peoples from others by the opportunities and advantages which He bestows upon them.”
2. God exercises His sovereignty in the advantages He bestows upon individual persons.
“Everyone needs salvation, and everyone is naturally, undeserving of it; but He gives some vastly greater advantages for salvation than others. To some He assigns their place in godly Christian families, where they may be well instructed and educated, and have Christian parents to dedicate them to God, and say many prayers for them. God places some under a more powerful ministry than others, and in places where there are more of the outpourings of the Spirit of God. To some He gives much more of the strivings and the awakening influences of the Spirit, than to others. It is according to His mere sovereign pleasure.”
3. God exercises His sovereignty in sometimes bestowing salvation on the lowly and poor, and denying it to the wise and great.
“Christ in His sovereignty passes by the gates of princes and nobles, and enters some cottage and dwells there, and has communion with its obscure inhabitants. God in His sovereignty withheld salvation from the rich man, who lived luxuriously every day, and bestowed it on poor Lazarus, who sat begging at his gate. God in this way pours out contempt on princes, and on all their glittering splendor. So God sometimes passes by wise men, men of great understanding, learned and great scholars, and bestows salvation on others of weak understanding, who only comprehend some of the plainer parts of Scripture, and the fundamental principles of the Christian religion. Yes, there seem to be fewer great men called, than others. And God in ordering it thus manifests His sovereignty.”
4. God exercises His sovereignty in bestowing salvation on some who have had very few advantages in life.
“Sometimes some, who have had obvious opportunities of grace, are rejected, and left to perish, and others, under far less advantages, are saved. Thus the scribes and Pharisees, who had so much light and knowledge of the Scriptures, were mostly rejected, and the poor ignorant tax collectors saved. The greater part of those, heard Christ preach many times, and saw Him work miracles from day after day, yet they were not chosen to receive salvation; and yet the woman of Samaria was chosen for eternal life, and many other Samaritans at the same time, who only heard Christ preach, as He occasionally passed through their city. So the woman of Canaan was elected for salvation, who was not of the country of the Jews, and only once saw Jesus Christ. So the Jews, who had seen and heard Christ, and saw His miracles, and with whom the apostles labored so much, were not saved. But the Gentiles, many of them, who, as it were, only briefly heard the good news of salvation, embraced those truths, and were converted.”
5. God exercises His sovereignty in calling some to salvation, who have been dreadfully wicked, and leaving others, who have been moral and religious persons.
“The Pharisees were a very strict sect among the Jews. Their religion was extraordinary. (Luke 18:11). They were not like other men, extortioners, unjust, or adulterers-that was their morality. They fasted twice a week, and gave tithes of all that they possessed-that was their religion. But yet, for the most part, they were rejected, and the tax collectors, and prostitutes, and openly vicious sorts of people, entered into the kingdom of God before them. (Matthew 21:31). The Apostle Paul describes his righteousness while he was a Pharisee, saying, “as for legalistic righteousness, I was faultless” (Philippians 3:6). The rich young man, who fell on his knees before Christ, saying, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”-this man was a moral person. When Christ told him keep the commandments, he said, with all sincerity, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” He had obviously been brought up in a good family, and was a youth of such agreeable manners and correct behavior, that it is said, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Still he was not chosen; while the thief on the cross, that was crucified with Christ, was chosen and called. God sometimes shows His sovereignty by showing mercy to the worst of sinners, on those who have been murderers, and blasphemers. And even when they are old, some are called at the eleventh hour. God sometimes shows the sovereignty of His grace by showing mercy to some, who have spent most of their lives in the service of Satan, and have little left to spend in the service of God.”
6. God exercises His sovereignty, in saving some of those who seek salvation, and not others.
“Some who seek salvation, as we know both from Scripture and observation, are quickly converted; while others seek for a long time, and do not obtain it. God helps some over the mountains and difficulties which are in the way; He subdues Satan, and delivers them from his temptations: but others are ruined by the temptations with which they meet. Some are never thoroughly awakened; while to others God is pleased to give thorough convictions. Some are left to backsliding hearts; others God causes to hold out to the end. Some are brought down from a confidence in their own righteousness; others never get over that obstruction in their way, as long as they live. And some are converted and saved, who never strived after salvation, as others who, in the end, perish.”
Edwards identifies six points of how God does exercise His sovereignty in our salvation:
1. God exercises His sovereignty by calling a people or a nation, and giving them the opportunities of grace, and leaving others without them.
“According to the divine appointment, salvation is bestowed in connection with the provisions of grace. God may sometimes make use of very unlikely opportunities, and bestow salvation on men who are under very great disadvantages; but He does not bestow grace wholly without any means. But God exercises His sovereignty in bestowing those means. All nations are by nature in like circumstances towards God. Yet God greatly distinguishes some nations and peoples from others by the opportunities and advantages which He bestows upon them.”
2. God exercises His sovereignty in the advantages He bestows upon individual persons.
“Everyone needs salvation, and everyone is naturally, undeserving of it; but He gives some vastly greater advantages for salvation than others. To some He assigns their place in godly Christian families, where they may be well instructed and educated, and have Christian parents to dedicate them to God, and say many prayers for them. God places some under a more powerful ministry than others, and in places where there are more of the outpourings of the Spirit of God. To some He gives much more of the strivings and the awakening influences of the Spirit, than to others. It is according to His mere sovereign pleasure.”
3. God exercises His sovereignty in sometimes bestowing salvation on the lowly and poor, and denying it to the wise and great.
“Christ in His sovereignty passes by the gates of princes and nobles, and enters some cottage and dwells there, and has communion with its obscure inhabitants. God in His sovereignty withheld salvation from the rich man, who lived luxuriously every day, and bestowed it on poor Lazarus, who sat begging at his gate. God in this way pours out contempt on princes, and on all their glittering splendor. So God sometimes passes by wise men, men of great understanding, learned and great scholars, and bestows salvation on others of weak understanding, who only comprehend some of the plainer parts of Scripture, and the fundamental principles of the Christian religion. Yes, there seem to be fewer great men called, than others. And God in ordering it thus manifests His sovereignty.”
4. God exercises His sovereignty in bestowing salvation on some who have had very few advantages in life.
“Sometimes some, who have had obvious opportunities of grace, are rejected, and left to perish, and others, under far less advantages, are saved. Thus the scribes and Pharisees, who had so much light and knowledge of the Scriptures, were mostly rejected, and the poor ignorant tax collectors saved. The greater part of those, heard Christ preach many times, and saw Him work miracles from day after day, yet they were not chosen to receive salvation; and yet the woman of Samaria was chosen for eternal life, and many other Samaritans at the same time, who only heard Christ preach, as He occasionally passed through their city. So the woman of Canaan was elected for salvation, who was not of the country of the Jews, and only once saw Jesus Christ. So the Jews, who had seen and heard Christ, and saw His miracles, and with whom the apostles labored so much, were not saved. But the Gentiles, many of them, who, as it were, only briefly heard the good news of salvation, embraced those truths, and were converted.”
5. God exercises His sovereignty in calling some to salvation, who have been dreadfully wicked, and leaving others, who have been moral and religious persons.
“The Pharisees were a very strict sect among the Jews. Their religion was extraordinary. (Luke 18:11). They were not like other men, extortioners, unjust, or adulterers-that was their morality. They fasted twice a week, and gave tithes of all that they possessed-that was their religion. But yet, for the most part, they were rejected, and the tax collectors, and prostitutes, and openly vicious sorts of people, entered into the kingdom of God before them. (Matthew 21:31). The Apostle Paul describes his righteousness while he was a Pharisee, saying, “as for legalistic righteousness, I was faultless” (Philippians 3:6). The rich young man, who fell on his knees before Christ, saying, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”-this man was a moral person. When Christ told him keep the commandments, he said, with all sincerity, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” He had obviously been brought up in a good family, and was a youth of such agreeable manners and correct behavior, that it is said, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Still he was not chosen; while the thief on the cross, that was crucified with Christ, was chosen and called. God sometimes shows His sovereignty by showing mercy to the worst of sinners, on those who have been murderers, and blasphemers. And even when they are old, some are called at the eleventh hour. God sometimes shows the sovereignty of His grace by showing mercy to some, who have spent most of their lives in the service of Satan, and have little left to spend in the service of God.”
6. God exercises His sovereignty, in saving some of those who seek salvation, and not others.
“Some who seek salvation, as we know both from Scripture and observation, are quickly converted; while others seek for a long time, and do not obtain it. God helps some over the mountains and difficulties which are in the way; He subdues Satan, and delivers them from his temptations: but others are ruined by the temptations with which they meet. Some are never thoroughly awakened; while to others God is pleased to give thorough convictions. Some are left to backsliding hearts; others God causes to hold out to the end. Some are brought down from a confidence in their own righteousness; others never get over that obstruction in their way, as long as they live. And some are converted and saved, who never strived after salvation, as others who, in the end, perish.”
DONE RIGHT
" . . . Somebody prayed the other day that I might see the reason why the Lord has lately afflicted me. I hope the brother will not pray that any more, for I do not want to know the Lord’s reasons—why should I? I know He has done right, and I will not dishonor Him by catechizing Him and wanting Him to explain Himself to a poor worm." ~ C.H.S
"But how easy it is, how easy it must be, for a man to be contented when he knows that God has promised to be with him in all circumstances and at all times!" ~ C.H.S
"But how easy it is, how easy it must be, for a man to be contented when he knows that God has promised to be with him in all circumstances and at all times!" ~ C.H.S
Thursday, May 27, 2010
GRIEVING
"it is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors'"
- A. W. Pink
Monergism Books
- A. W. Pink
Monergism Books
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
NEVER FORGET
We must never forget that there is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so elevated, as is the cross on which Christ has subdued death and the Devil. (via Kim Nejudne )
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
TWIST NOT
“People
tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not
scripture lest ye be like satan.”
-- Paul Washer
tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not
scripture lest ye be like satan.”
-- Paul Washer
Saturday, May 8, 2010
GROANS
"A Christian's sighs and groans are among his best evidences that he is regenerate....Often there is life where there is not strength. A child may breathe and cry, yet cannot talk or walk. If God is the object of your affection, if sin is the cause of your grief, if conformity to Christ is the longing of your heart, then a good work has begun in you (Phil 1:6)"
- A.W. Pink
- A.W. Pink
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
BECAUSE WE ARE REBORN
from monergism books.
"There has been so much emphasis upon decision, receiving, yielding, being willing, and giving ourselves that salvation is regarded almost exclusively in terms of our activity... [But] We do not give birth to ourselves, we are not reborn because we believe. We believe because we are reborn."
--Martin-Lloyd Jones.
"There has been so much emphasis upon decision, receiving, yielding, being willing, and giving ourselves that salvation is regarded almost exclusively in terms of our activity... [But] We do not give birth to ourselves, we are not reborn because we believe. We believe because we are reborn."
--Martin-Lloyd Jones.
OF HIMSELF
"Of himself, the fallen sinner can no more repent evangelically, believe in Christ savingly, come to Him effectually, than he can create a world. "With men it is impossible" [Mk 10:27] rules out of court all special pleading for the power of man's will. Nothing but a miracle of grace can lead to the saving of any sinner." - A.W. Pink
Oh, my reader, be not deceived on this vital matter; to mortify the lusts of the flesh, to be crucified unto the world, to overcome the Devil, to die daily unto sin and live unto righteousness, to be meek and lowly in heart, trustful and obedient, pious and patient, faithful and uncompromising, loving and gentle; in a word, to be a Christian, to be Christ-like, is a task far, far beyond the poor resources of fallen human nature."
- A.W. Pink,
Oh, my reader, be not deceived on this vital matter; to mortify the lusts of the flesh, to be crucified unto the world, to overcome the Devil, to die daily unto sin and live unto righteousness, to be meek and lowly in heart, trustful and obedient, pious and patient, faithful and uncompromising, loving and gentle; in a word, to be a Christian, to be Christ-like, is a task far, far beyond the poor resources of fallen human nature."
- A.W. Pink,
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
THE TRUE
But the true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it. Sin no longer pleases him, nor is it even a matter of indifference to him; it has become a horrible thing which he hates.
~~J.C. Ryle
~~J.C. Ryle
Sunday, April 11, 2010
SIRENS AND SMILES
Where one thousand are destroyed by the world's frowns, ten thousand are destroyed by the world's smiles. The world, siren-like, sings us and sinks us.
—Thomas Brooks
—Thomas Brooks
Saturday, April 10, 2010
SELF-DECEPTION
(lifted entirely from the monergism blog...)
A person may have well balanced theology, and his general views of truth would be considered evangelical and orthodox. And yet, thus far may he proceed in the deepest 'self deception'.
With all this "form of knowledge," this lodgment of the truth in the understanding, this subscription of the intellect to the doctrines of revelation, he is an utter stranger to that 'heart transformation', that inward illumination of the Holy Spirit, without which the soul is spiritually dead, the heart is unrenewed and unholy, and the whole man is unfit for the kingdom of heaven.
In short, we have here the case of one who, while his judgment assents to the truth, his heart entirely rejects it. The Gospel is to him a thing of intellectual subscription, and not of heart experience. Not a single truth of the Bible has become an element of life and holiness in his soul.
(From Octavius Winslow's, "The Coming of the Lord in its Relation to Nominal Christianity")
...
A person may have well balanced theology, and his general views of truth would be considered evangelical and orthodox. And yet, thus far may he proceed in the deepest 'self deception'.
With all this "form of knowledge," this lodgment of the truth in the understanding, this subscription of the intellect to the doctrines of revelation, he is an utter stranger to that 'heart transformation', that inward illumination of the Holy Spirit, without which the soul is spiritually dead, the heart is unrenewed and unholy, and the whole man is unfit for the kingdom of heaven.
In short, we have here the case of one who, while his judgment assents to the truth, his heart entirely rejects it. The Gospel is to him a thing of intellectual subscription, and not of heart experience. Not a single truth of the Bible has become an element of life and holiness in his soul.
(From Octavius Winslow's, "The Coming of the Lord in its Relation to Nominal Christianity")
...
LEAVE BEHIND
"When you come to Christ--you must leave behind you: all your own righteousness, all your own holiness, all your own sanctification, all your own duties, all your own tears, all your own repentings, etc. Oh, this is hard! You must bring nothing but your sins and miseries to Him. Otherwise, Christ is not fit for you--nor you for Christ!"
-- Thomas Wilcox
-- Thomas Wilcox
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
ALL GIFTS
"All gifts from God are intended by God to direct our attention to God & create fresh affections for God"- CJ Mahaney
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
FRESH
"The study of truth in its academic more than in its devotional form has robbed it of its freshness and power, engendering formality and coldness."
~ Horatius Bonar
~ Horatius Bonar
Monday, March 22, 2010
COMMUNE
"It is not sufficient to commune with the truth, for truth is impersonal. We must commune with the God of truth. It is not enough to study and ponder the contents of religious books, or even the Bible itself. We must actually address the Author of the Bible, in entreaties and petitions" ~W.G.T. Shedd
Saturday, March 20, 2010
DESTROYING
"No more soul-destroying doctrine could well be devised than the doctrine that sinners can regenerate themselves and repent and believe just when they please."
~ Charles Hodge (Systematic Theology, vol 2)
~ Charles Hodge (Systematic Theology, vol 2)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Remember
"Remember thy sins, & Christ's pardonings; thy hell-deservings, & Christ's merits; thy weakness, & Christ's strength; thy pride, & Christ's humility; thy many infirmities, & Christ's restorings; thy guilts, & Christ's new applications of His blood; thy fallings, & Christ's raisings-up; thy wants, & Christ's fullness;... thy temptations, & Christ's tenderness; thy vileness, & Christ's righteousness." -Wilcox-
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
OUR COMFORT
"He that hath Christ for his king and God, let him be assured he hath the devil for his enemy, who will work him much sorrow, and will plague him all the days of his life. But let this be our comfort and great glory, that we poor people have the Lord of life and of death, and of all creatures, clothed with our flesh and blood who ever liveth and maketh intercession for us, defendeth and protecteth us."
~ Martin Luther
~ Martin Luther
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
UNTIL MEN RECOGNIZE
"For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by His fatherly care, that He is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond Him — they will never yield Him willing service. Nay, unless they establish their complete happiness in Him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to Him."
-John Calvin
-John Calvin
Thursday, March 4, 2010
HIS SUFFERINGS
"God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man--suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized, finally dying a criminal's death--and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched."
J.B. Phillips, "Your God Is Too Small"
J.B. Phillips, "Your God Is Too Small"
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
AS FREE AS
"Your will is as free as a frog in a snakes belly."
Don Fortner.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=819071543340
Don Fortner.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=819071543340
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