CERTAIN CALUMNY

"The more prominent you are in Christ's service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny. I have long ago said farewell to my character. I lost it in the earlier days of my ministry by being a little more zealous than suited a slumbering age. And I have never been able to regain it except in the sight of him who judges all the earth, and in the hearts of those who love me for my work's and in the hearts of those who love me for my work's sake."

-- Charles Spurgeon.

SHARING

DEBASED MIND

To host a formal debate with an atheist is akin to hosting a formal debate with a serial rapist or serial killer, the mind is debased, and rational thought cannot be shared.

MAGNIFY GOD

"Do not Magnify your problems, Magnify your God"

CONTRIVED

John Calvin said of 2 Corinthians 4:12

“…it was unseemly that the Corinthians should live happily, and in accordance with their desire, and that they should, free from anxiety, take their ease, while in the mean time Paul was struggling with incessant hardships. Such an allotment would certainly have been exceedingly unreasonable. It was also necessary that the folly of the Corinthians should be reproved, inasmuch as they contrived to themselves a Christianity without the cross, and, not content with this, held in contempt the servants of Christ, because they were not so effeminate.”

ABASED

John Calvin said of 2 Corinthians 4:7

"...it is ordered by the special Providence of God, that there should be in ministers no appearance of excellence, lest any thing of distinction should throw the power of God into the shade. As, therefore, the abasement of ministers, and the outward contempt of their persons give occasion for glory accruing to God, that man acts a wicked part, who measures the dignity of the gospel by the person of the minister.”

NO SCAR

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?

BY AMY CARMICHAEL,

IRISH MISSIONARY TO INDIA FOR 55 YEARS

WE MIND NOT

We mind not the things seen, whether affliction or refreshment come, so as to be seduced by the latter, or deterred by the former

-- Chrysostom

ABANDONED TEXT

HAS GOD ABANDONED EVANGELICALISM?

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 26, 2009 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features

In his 2007 sermon A Nation Abandoned by God Dr. John MacArthur, one of the finest teachers of the Bible in our gelatinous generation, says:

One of the most tragic scenes in the Bible and yet one of the most familiar to us is the scene of the strongest man who ever lived, a man by the name of Samson, finding out he had no strength. Judges chapter 16 records this. “When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines saying, ‘Come up once more, for he’s told me all that is in his heart.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands and she made him sleep on her knees, called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him and his strength left him. And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson,” and he woke from his sleep and said, ‘I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.’” And here’s the telling line written by God the Holy Spirit. “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. So the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, brought him down to Gaza, bound him with bronze chains and he became a grinder in the prison.” Sad. He didn’t know that the Lord had departed from him. I can’t imagine anything worse than being abandoned by God.

To the sons of Israel earlier in the book of Judges in chapter 10, God said this, “You have forsaken me, you have served other gods, therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” This was God saying to Israel, “I’m done with you, abandoned by God.

Proverbs chapter 1 records a similar sentiment. “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out My hands and no one paid attention. You neglected all my counsel, you did not want my reproof, I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. When distress and anguish come on you, then they will call on Me but I will not answer. They will seek Me diligently, they will not find Me because they hated knowledge, did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would not accept My counsel, they spurned all My reproof, so they will eat of the fruit of their own way and be satisfied with their own devices.” Again being abandoned by God, turned over to the inevitable consequences of sinful choices.

A haunting line is found tucked away in the little prophecy of Hosea chapter 4 and verse 17, and it refers to Israel by the name Ephraim and it says this, “Ephraim is joined to idols,” so says God. The next line, “Leave him alone.” Sounds out of character for God, doesn’t it? “Ephraim is joined to idols, bring him back,” might sound a little more like God. “Let him alone?”

People and nations, even the covenant nation Israel can come to a point where they are abandoned by God. Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 15 when He confronted the Pharisees and then described them to the disciples. He said this, “They’re blind leaders of the blind. Let them alone.” When God lets you go, it’s serious. When Jesus pronounces over you abandonment, it’s serious.

Now I’m going to say something, you’re going to have to hold on to your seat a little bit. I’m convinced beyond doubt that in this same sense, God has abandoned America. (Online source)

taken from....http://apprising.org/2009/02/has-god-abandoned-evangelicalism/

UNITED BY FAITH

A Crucial Word from Machen's Mother

February 23, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

J. Gresham Machen, one of the great proclaimers and defenders of the Christian faith in the early 20th century, went through a season of fearful doubt on his way to solid confidence. Remarkably, it was his mother who spoke one of the decisive words of rescue. He tells the story:

The question is not merely whether we can rest in our faith, but whether we can rest in the doubt that is the necessary alternative of faith. We pass sometimes through periods of very low spiritual vitality. The wonderful gospel which formerly seemed to be so glorious comes to seem almost like an idle tale. Hosts of objections arise in our minds; the whole unseen world recedes in the dim distance, and we think for the moment that we have relinquished the Christian hope....

My mother [spoke to me] in those dark hours when the lamp burned dim, when I thought that faith was gone and shipwreck had been made of my soul. “Christ,” she used to say, “keeps firmer hold on us than we keep on him.”

My mother’s word meant...that salvation by faith does not mean that we are saved because we keep ourselves at every moment in an ideally perfect attitude of confidence in Christ. No, we are saved because having once been united to Christ by faith, we are his forever. Calvinism is a very comforting doctrine indeed. Without its comfort, I think I should have perished long ago in the castle of Giant Despair. (J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, 561)

taken from http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1646_A_Crucial_Word_from_Machens_Mother/

MOURNING

ARE YOU MOURNING AS CHRIST COMMANDS?

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Feb 21, 2009 in Devotions

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, NASB)

Two critical determinants will tell if you are mourning over sin as Jesus commands. First, you will have a true sensitivity to and sorrow for your sins. Your prayer concern will be how your sin detracts from God’s glory, not how its exposure might embarrass you or hurt your reputation.

The mock piety of hypocrites demonstrates no sensitivity to sin, only to their personal prestige and pride (cf. Matt. 6:1-18). Likewise, the mock gratitude of those like the Pharisees who think they are better than others (cf. Luke 18:11) certainly does not show mourning for sin. King Saul twice admitted he had sinned when he did not destroy King Agag and all the Amalekites, and even asked Samuel for pardon, but he was more concerned for his own honor than God’s (1 Sam. 15:10-35).

If your mourning is godly, you will lament the sins of other believers and the world, as well as your own. You will agree with the Psalmist, “My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Your law” (Psalm 119:136). You will weep over your own community as Jesus did over His (Luke 19:41).

The second way to know if you are mourning rightly is to check your sense of God’s forgiveness. Have you expected the sense of spiritual freedom and real release that comes with knowing your sins are forgiven? Can you point to true happiness, peace, and joy in your life that only God gives in response to mourning for sin (cf. Ps. 126:5-6)?

Ask Yourself

What is your main problem with sin—only that it gives you that sick feeling of guilt and hypocrisy? Only that it seems to expose you around those who know you best? Take all the personal inconveniences out of the equation, and be more gravely concerned that your sin offends the God you profess to serve. (John MacArthur, Daily readings from the Life of Christ, February 21)

taken from http://apprising.org/2009/02/are-you-mourning-as-christ-commands/

TEN THOUSAND YEARS

TOTAL PRAISE

ART AZURDIA SERMON JAM

MUTE CHRISTIAN

("The Mute Christian Under the Smarting Rod"
or, "The Silent Soul with Sovereign Antidotes"
by Thomas Brooks, 1659, London.)

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and
punishes every son whom He receives."
Hebrews 12:6

"Why should any living man complain--when
punished for his sins?" Lamentations 3:39

He who has deserved a hanging--has no
reason to charge the judge with cruelty--if
he escapes with a whipping!

And we who have deserved a damning--have
no reason to charge God for being too severe
--if we escape with a fatherly lashing!

"God disciplines us for our good---that we
may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10

PROPER QUESTION

DIVINE RETRIBUTION, Part 1

Instead of posting the entire series in one day I hope to just add one segment per day so one will not be tempted to skip a segment as feeling overwhelmed by too many videos.

LOOK GREAT

CAN IT BE

TO WORSHIP