A dangerous book to all who hold power

A dangerous book to all who hold power

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Our falls and bruises

“After conversion we need bruising, that reeds may know themselves to be reeds and not oaks. Even reeds need bruising by reason of the remainder of pride in our nature, and to let us see that we live by mercy. . . . Thus Peter was bruised when he wept bitterly. This reed, till he met with this bruise, had more wind in him than pith. ‘Though all forsake thee, I will not.’ The people of God cannot be without these examples. The heroic deeds of those great worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do.”

Richard Sibbes, “The Bruised Reed,” in Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:44. via Ray Ortlund's Blog.

Do not despair then, O faithful soul.

“Christ has been judged in order to free us from the judgment of God. He has been prosecuted as a criminal so that we criminals may be pardoned. He has been scourged by godless hands to take away from us the scourge of the devil. He called out in pain in order to save us from eternal wailing. He poured out tears so that he could wipe away our tears.

He has died for us to live. He felt the pains of hell through and through, so that we might never feel them. He was humiliated in order to bring forth the medicine for our pride; was crowned with thorns, in order to obtain for us the heavenly crown.

He has suffered at the hands of all so that he might furnish salvation for all. He was darkened in death so that we would live in the light of heavenly glory. He heard disgust and contempt so that we might hear the angelic jubilation in heaven.

Do not despair then, O faithful soul.”

—Johann Gerhard

More Than Conquerors

I love me some Romans 8. It is by far my favorite section of the Bible and it has brought me so much joy, peace and comfort through so many different situations. It is tattooed on my heart and runs through my brain all the time. One section that I have been meditating on lately is the verse 37. Let me give the verse in it's context:

Romans 8:31-37

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. How can one be MORE than a conqueror. A conqueror is one who is victorious, who defeats his or her enemy. But how is one more than that. In the verses preceding 37 Paul lists various trials, tribulations and hardships that Christians will face. The beauty here is that not only will these be defeated and conquered but there is more. In Christ we are more than conquerors because those trials and tribulations are not only defeated but they actually serve us. They strengthen our faith. They grow our love for Jesus. They increase our holiness. Those trials, though painful and often difficult, are actually working for us like captured prisoners or slaves of war! God uses those circumstances and trials to make us more like His Son. God bends even our own sin and foolish decisions in on themselves and uses them for our good, to teach us and to increase our love and appreciation of His grace and mercy. So as the trials and tribulations come let us remind ourselves that through Christ we are more than conquerors and these afflictions are actually serving us and conforming us to the image of our wonderful savior.

Christ's Heart

“Christ’s heart is a human heart, a sinless heart, a tender heart; a heart once the home of sorrow, once stricken with grief; once an aching, bleeding, mournful heart. Thus disciplined and trained, Jesus knows how to pity and to support those who are sorrowful and solitary. He loves to chase grief from the spirit, to bind up the broken heart, to staunch the bleeding wound, and to dry the weeping eye, to ‘comfort all that mourn.’ It is His delight to visit you in the dark night-season of your sorrow, and to come to you walking upon the tempestuous billows of your grief, breathing music and diffusing calmness over your scene of sadness and gloom.”

- Octavius Winslow

A Dependable Savior

We depend upon the Lord Jesus as God and as man. As God, he must be able to perform every promise, and to achieve every covenant engagement. We lean upon that divinity which bears up the pillars of the universe. Our dependence is upon the Almighty God, incarnate in human form, by whom all things were created, and by whom all things consist. We lean also upon Christ as man; we depend upon his generous human sympathies. Of a woman born, he is partaker of our flesh; he enters into our sicknesses and infirmities with a pitiful compassion, which he could not have felt if he had not been the Son of man. We depend upon the love of his humanity as well as upon the potency of his deity. We lean upon our beloved as God and man.

Ah! I have known times when I have felt that none but a God could bear me up; there are other seasons when, under a sense of sin, I have started back from God, and felt that none but the Man Christ Jesus could minister peace to my anguished heart. Taking Christ in the double nature as God and man, he becomes thus a suitable leaning place for our spirit, whatever may happen to be the state in which our mind is found

~Charles Spurgeon

All good things secured by Christ on the cross

“Everything that we know and appreciate and praise God for in all Christian experience both in this life and in the life to come springs from this bloody cross.

Do we have the gift of the Spirit? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we enjoy the fellowship of saints? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he give us comfort in life and death? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Does he watch over us faithfully, providentially, graciously, and covenantally? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we have hope of a heaven to come? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we anticipate resurrection bodies on the last day? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Is there a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness? Secured by Christ on the cross.

Do we now enjoy new identities, so that we are no longer to see ourselves as nothing but failures, moral pariahs, disappointments to our parents—but deeply loved, blood-bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself, owing to the fact that God himself presented his Son Jesus as the propitiation for our sins? All this is secured by Christ on the cross and granted to those who have faith in him.”

—D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus

The true cause of self righteousness

"What is the true cause of self-righteousness? How is it that such a poor, weak, erring creature as man can ever dream of deserving anything at God’s hands? It all arises from ignorance. The eyes of our understandings are naturally blinded. We see neither ourselves, nor our lives, nor God, nor the law of God, as we ought. Once let the light of grace shine into a man’s heart, and the reign of self-righteousness is over.

The roots of pride may remain, and often put forth bitter shoots. But the reign of pride is broken when the Spirit comes into the heart, and shows the man himself and God. The true Christian will never trust in his own goodness. He will say with Paul, “I am the chief of sinners.” (1 Tim. 1:15) “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 6:14.)

~ J.C. Ryle

Without the gospel everything is useless and vain

“Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.”

~John Calvin

Because he was made a curse for us...

"All that God can demand of a believing sinner, Christ has already paid, and there is no voice in earth or heaven that can henceforth accuse a soul that believes in Jesus. You were in debt, but a friend paid your debt; no writ can be served on you. It matters nothing that you did not pay it, it is paid, and you have the receipt. That is sufficient in any court of equity. So with all the penalty that was due to us, Christ has borne it. It is true I have not borne it; I have not been to hell and suffered the full wrath of God, but Christ has suffered that wrath for me, and I am as clear as if I had myself paid the debt to God and had myself suffered his wrath. Here is a glorious bottom to rest upon! Here is a rock upon which to lay the foundation of eternal comfort!" ~Spurgeon

They Devoted Themselves

“And they devoted themselves . . . .” Acts 2:42

"When the early believers converted to Christ, it never occurred to them to fit him into the margins of their busy lives. They redefined themselves around a new, immovable center. He was not an optional weekend activity, along with the kids’ soccer practices. They put him and his church and his cause first in their hearts, first in their schedules, first in their budgets, first in their reputations, first in their very lives. They devoted themselves.

Unmistakable evidence that the Holy Spirit was being poured out."

-Ray Ortlund

The Garden of Eden vs The Garden of Gethsemene

"The first Adam began life in a garden. Christ the second Adam, came at the end of his life to a garden
In Eden Adam sinned. In Gethsemane the Savior overcame sin.
In Eden Adam fell. In Gethsemane Jesus conquered.
In Eden Adam hid himself. In Gethsemane our Lord boldly presented himself.
In Eden the sword was drawn. In Gethsemane it was sheathed."

-R. Kent Hughes

How to live like Christ

“It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it — I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it — I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit could come into me, then I could live a life like his.”

- William Temple

Sent from Heaven

Psalm 57:1-3
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

Oh how we need mercy. When we look towards the cross we should be humbled to the dust, realizing that it was our sin, our selfishness, our rebellion that hung the most precious thing in the universe, God the Son himself on that heinous instrument of torture. But there is more, there is the beauty of the cross. As it humbles us, as we feel the crushing weight of our guilt and sin the cross also shows us something else, something so wonderful, so glorious it should lift our hearts to the ecstasy of heaven. It shows us the love, forgiveness and grace of our God! We may take refuge in our God, beneath the shadow of His wings, for He has sent from heaven to save us. He not only sent but came down from heaven to remove every barrier, everything that was standing in the way of a perfectly restored relationship with Him. God has sent His steadfast love and His faithfulness and He walked among us. Living the perfect life that we should have lived. Facing down and bearing the wrath of God and dying the death that we deserved to die. Look upon Jesus, God's sent one from heaven and proof of his love and faithfulness.

The Ladder of God’s Election

"The plain truth is, that God’s scheme of salvation is like a ladder let down from heaven to earth, to bring together the holy God, and the sinful creature, man. God is at the top of the ladder and man is at the bottom. The top of the ladder is far above, out of our sight, and we have no eyes to see it. There, at the top of that ladder, are God’s eternal purposes, – His everlasting covenant, His Election, His predestination of a people to be saved by Christ. From the top of that ladder comes down that full and rich provision of mercy for sinners which is revealed to us in the Gospel.

The bottom of that ladder is close to sinful man on earth, and consists of the simple steps of repentance and faith. By them he must begin to climb upwards. In the humble use of them he shall mount higher and higher every year, and get clearer glimpses of good things yet to come."

~ J.C. Ryle

Our sins sink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer’s blood

“God the Father takes the pen, dips it in the blood of his Son, crosses off the sinner’s accounts, and blots them out of his debt-book.

The sinner outside of Christ is bound over to the wrath of God; he is under an obligation in law to go to the prison of hell, and there to lie until he has paid the utmost farthing. But now, being united to Christ, God says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom!’ (Job 33:24). The sentence of condemnation is reversed, the believer is absolved, and set beyond the reach of the condemning law. His sins, which were set before the Lord (Psalm 90:8), so that they could not be hidden—God now takes and casts them all behind his back (Isaiah 38:17).

Yes, he casts them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). What falls into a brook may be retrieved—but what is cast into the sea cannot be recovered. But there are some shallow places in the sea; true—but their sins are not cast in there—but into the depths of the sea; and the depths of the sea are devouring depths, from whence they shall never come forth again. But what if they do not sink? He will cast them in with force, so that they shall go to the bottom, and sink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer’s blood.”

—Thomas Boston

An Exhortation

Hebrews 3:12-14
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

I wanted to take a brief moment to encourage every reader of this blog, I am praying for you. I am struggling alongside of you, fighting the deceitfulness of sin and fighting that the sovereign joy of God would be my true strength. Oh for those of you who have truly come to share in Christ, who have been born again, who are new creations, take heart! For we have a faithful and gracious high priest in Christ Jesus who has been tempted and suffered in every way as we have. He has faced the pain of rejection and loss. He has faced nights of loneliness and longing as he tread the dark roads of the creation that He made. He knows our frame, He knows our weaknesses, and He is for us. Praise God that He has given us the glorious gift of His Son, that God looks upon our weak, sinful, fallen frames with delight because of the finished work of our high priest Jesus. Praise God that we can rest...rest from all our striving, our incessant desire to earn the acceptance and approval of others and of our God. It has all been done on our behalf. As our Savior cried from the cross "it is finished". We are move loved, more accepted, more approved than we ever thought possible and it is all because of Christ Jesus. Be encouraged my friends!

The World Is Too Respectable

“The world picks up its skirt and passes by. It leaves you alone, it does not want to associate with you, you have gone down, you belong to the refuse and the gutters, and the world is too respectable to have any interest in you. Here is One who is ready to receive you and to accept you. . . . ‘Just as you are, I am ready to receive you. In your rags, in your filth, in your vileness. Rest.’”

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Cross (Westchester, 1986), page 170.

Via Ray Ortlund's Blog which is awesome!

Rejoicing In All Circumstances

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In his first epistle to the Thessalonians Paul makes what seems to be at best a very unrealistic request, to rejoice always and be thankful in ALL circumstances. Really Paul? In all circumstances? How can he say this? What about painful circumstances, trials, suffering, affliction? Are we to rejoice and be thankful in those circumstances as well? Yes! But how can this be, how can Paul say this and how can we live this way? I think the previous paragraph is enlightening, Paul writes:

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Here is a cause for great rejoicing regardless of circumstance. Those who have trusted in Christ have obtained salvation. We are no longer destined for the wrath we so deserved for the wicked, selfish, and sinful lives we have lived. No, we who have trusted in Christ have a far more glorious destiny ahead of us, life eternal in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Christ. I will admit I think about heaven far less than I should, but meditating on the glory that awaits can give us joy and hope for today regardless of how difficult our circumstances may be. Elsewhere Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

What an amazing statement. Here Paul goes so far as to call our afflictions light and momentary. How heavy, how massive, how overwhelming must the glory that awaits us to call all the pain, affliction, and suffering we go through in this life "light and momentary"!

Finally there is one last verse that has proven great comfort to me through many of the trials and tough times I have gone through in the past few years and it is the perhaps one of the most beloved verses in the Bible:

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Here is yet another reason we can actually rejoice in difficult circumstances. Though it may not feel that way, and though the pain, the frustration, the difficulty may be very real, for those who love God there is the great comfort that this present circumstance is not without cause and will actually be for our good. God is not primarily concerned with our temporal happiness, He is more concerned with our holiness and our growing to be like His Son Jesus. It is often through the most difficult of circumstances that we learn and grow those deep roots of faith in God that our savior displayed all of His life.

So let us along with Paul rejoice in all circumstances, giving thanks and praise and prayers to the God who is for us, who has saved us, and who is working all things together for our good.

A Love Without Boundary

He loved you without beginning. Before years, and centuries, and millenniums began to be counted, your name was on his heart. Eternal thoughts of love have been in God’s bosom towards you. He has loved you without a pause; there never was a minute in which he did not love you. Your name once engraved upon his hands has never been erased, nor has he ever blotted it out of the Book of Life. Since you have been in this world he has loved you most patiently. You have often provoked him; you have rebelled against him times without number, yet he has never stayed the outflow of his heart towards you; and, blessed be his name, he never will. You are his, and you always shall be his. Jesus saith, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” God’s love to you is without boundary. He could not love you more, for he loves you like a God; and he never will love you less. All his heart belongs to you. “As the Father hath loved me,” saith Jesus, “even so have I loved you.” -Charles Spurgeon

God's Medicine:Affliction

Affliction is one of God’s medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Health is a great blessing, but sanctified disease is a greater. Prosperity and worldly comfort, are what all naturally desire; but losses and crosses are far better for us, if they lead us to Christ. Thousands at the last day, will testify with David, and the nobleman before us, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” (Psalm. 119:71.)~ J.C. Ryle

Augustine On Gratefully Receiving God's Gifts

“He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee,
which he loves not for thy sake.”-Augustine

He illustrates: "Suppose, brethren, a man should make a ring for his betrothed, and she should love the ring more wholeheartedly than the betrothed who made it for her. ...Certainly, let her love his gift: but, if she should say, “The ring is enough. I do not want to see his face again” what would we say of her?...The pledge is given her by the betrothed just that, in his pledge, he himself may be loved. God, then, has given you all these things. Love Him who made them."

The Body Declares The Glory Of God, And The Cell Within Proclaims His Handiwork.

I am a bit of a science geek I will admit it. My degree is in molecular biology. I am fascinated but the processes that go on within the body at the chemical and molecular level. When I was an atheist and believed that evolution was the explanation for how all manner of life appeared on this planet the complexity of the human cell and it's physiology just blew my mind. The mere fact that millions of complex reactions involving all types of different molecules within the body are going on each second just so that we may draw breath simply left me in awe. The sheer amount of processes required to allow us to move our arm or get up out of our seat is astounding. But now I have such a greater appreciation of this because I know that it was not long periods of time and random chance that produced this complexity but an amazing, artistic, creative, and loving God. The beauty, and incredible design of the cell is a product of the same God who created the great galaxies, stars, and who also became a man and died on the cross for the sins of those people He chose to create. Colossians 1:15-17 says

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

It is Christ who holds all things together. What amazing love and care, each time a ribosome synthesizes a protein in just the right way Christ made that happen, and as a mitochondria is breaking down molecules to provide our cell with energy Christ is there guiding the process, holding things together and keeping it from failing. Oh the depth and the riches of the love of God seen in His creation, to Him be glory and praise and dominion forever, amen.

The School Of Christ

“It is then, we say, in the successive stages of his experience, that the believer sees more distinctly, and adores more profoundly, and grasps more firmly, the finished righteousness of Christ. And what is the school in which he learns his nothingness, his poverty, his utter destitution? The school of deep and sanctified affliction. In no other school is it learned, and under no other teacher but God. Here his high thoughts are brought low, and the Lord alone is exalted.”

- Octavius Winslow

Do You Want To Be Holy

Do you want to attain holiness? Do you feel this day a real hearty desire to be holy? Would you be a partaker of the Divine nature? Then go to Christ. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Linger not. Think not to make yourself ready. Go and say to Him, in the words of that beautiful hymn:

“Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, flee to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace.”

~ J.C. Ryle

The Trap of Paganism

"Do you ever have a day that runs something like this? You get up in the morning; it is drizzly and hot, and the air conditioner is broken. You reach for a clean, fresh pair of socks, and you can’t find two that match. You stub your toe on that nail sticking out of the wall that you knew you should have fixed about three years ago. You cut yourself while you are shaving. You stumble down to breakfast, and that day your wife is going out for a special meeting with her friends and has not done anything. You go out to the car, put your key in the ignition, and it will not start. You knew that you should have had the battery checked, and it is deader than a dodo. You get to work late, and people are saying rude things about you. Then your boss says, “Have you finished that report yet? You’re staying late tonight if you haven’t.” The whole day unfolds in one endless set of mini-irritants.
You have an opportunity to speak to some non-Christian friends—a neighbor, someone over the back fence, someone at the gas station—and you are already in such a sour frame that when they ask some dumb question about religion, you answer with a kind of curtness and condescending wit that leaves them shriveled up in a pile of embarrassment. You feel guilty, but you have done it now. Eventually you return home, and your wife has cooked this disgusting stew that your children like and that you detest. You cannot be civil to her, and she cannot be civil to you. The kids that night are really not behaving particularly well. Your wife wants you to do jobs, and you want to watch football.

Finally it is time for bed at the end of this long day, and your prayer runs something like this: “Dear God, this has been a rotten day. I’m not very proud of myself; I’m frankly ashamed. But I really don’t have anything to say. I’m sorry I have not done better. Forgive my sin. Bless everybody in the world. Your will be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

But then a few days later you wake up to find the air is refreshingly cool. The sun is shining, the windows are open, the fresh air is wafting through the screen, and you hear the birds singing. You smell something delightful: “Bacon! I can’t believe it! I wonder what the celebration is.” You get up and reach for clean socks and feel full of energy. You’re whistling as you wash in the bathroom and then have a wonderful quiet time with your spouse. You eat a hearty breakfast and then go out to your car, put the key in the ignition, and VROOM!—the car starts right up and takes off. You get to work early. Everybody commends your industriousness and intelligence in the way you discharge your duties. Your boss says, “Wonderful to see you today! Did I tell you that you are going to get a raise? You did such a great job on that contract.”

Now you come across that same person at the gas station, and wonder of wonders the poor brute actually asks another question. This time, however, you respond with wisdom, tact, gentleness, understanding, courtesy, insight, and kindness. Lo and behold, he promises to come to church with you this coming Sunday. Then you arrive home, and there is a joyous family dinner. The kids are behaving, and you have intimate conversation with your wife while the two of you clean up the kitchen.

Finally, at the end of that day you get down to pray, and your prayer goes something like this: “Eternal and matchless God, we bow in your glorious presence with brokenness and gratitude. We bless you that in your infinite mercies and great grace you have poured favor upon us. We are not worthy of the least of your mercies . . .” And now you go on and on and on in flowery theological language. You thank God for all the things in the day, and then you pray for missionaries and their children and first cousins twice removed. Then you start praying for everyone you can think of in your church, and then you meditate on all the names of Christ that you can think of in Scripture. An hour goes by, and you go to bed and instantly fall asleep. Indeed, you go to sleep—justified.

On which of these two occasions have you fallen into the dreadful trap of paganism? God help us: the sad reality is that both approaches to God are abominations. How dare you approach the mercy-seat of God on the basis of what kind of day you had, as if that were the basis for our entrance into the presence of the sovereign and holy God? No wonder we cannot beat the Devil. This is works theology. It has nothing to do with grace and the exclusive sufficiency of Christ.

Nothing.

Do you not understand that we overcome the accuser on the ground of the blood of Christ? Nothing more, nothing less. That is how we win. It is the only way we win. This is the only ground of our acceptance before God."

D.A. Carson, "Scandalous" pg 102-104

All Things For Good

“We know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“All the afflictions, and all the temptations, and all the oppressions, and all the oppositions, and all the persecutions which befall a godly man, shall work for his good. Every cross, and every loss, and every disease which befall the holy man, shall work for his good. Every device, every snare, every deceit, every stratagem, and every enterprise of Satan against the holy man, shall work for his good. Every prosperity and every adversity; every storm and every calm; every bitter and every sweet; every cross and every comfort—shall work for the holy man’s good.

When God gives a mercy—that shall work for his good. When God takes away a mercy—that shall work for his good.

O Christian! What though friends and relations frown upon you, what though enemies are plotting and conspiring against you, what though needs, like armed men, are breaking in upon you, what though men rage, and devils roar against you, what though sickness is devastating your family, what though death stands every day at your elbow—yet there is no reason for you to fear nor faint, because all these things shall work for your good!”

—Thomas Brooks, “The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, Holiness, the Only Way to Happiness“

A Christian lives in Christ and his neighbor

“We conclude, therefore, that a Christian lives not in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbor. Otherwise he is not a Christian. He lives in Christ through faith, in his neighbor through love. By faith he is caught up beyond himself into God. By love he descends beneath himself into his neighbor.”

- Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

Because it is awesome

Just ran across this picture and had to post it, my son rocks. Here is the tiny assassin age age 4

Collin's first Baseball game

Click here to see some pics of Collins first game!

Goodbye 174 Roanoke #50

Goodbye 174 Roanoke Rd #50,
Within your walls many tears were shed,
Cries of anguish uttered to my Savior,
Prayers asking for deliverance and mercy,
God showed Himself faithful.

Goodbye 174 Roanoke Rd #50
Within your walls hope was reignited,
Songs were sung to my Savior,
Prayers of praise and thanksgiving rang out,
God showed Himself faithful.

Goodbye 174 Roanoke Rd #50
Within your walls friendships grew,
Many discussions flowed about my Savior,
Prayers of need and intercession were shared,
God showed Himself faithful.

I am so grateful for my time at this apartment. It was a time of new beginnings. Some of the most painful days and nights were spent in this little place but also some of the most joy filled and amazing days of my life were also lived here. Friendships were strengthened and some of the most amazing friendships of my life began within these walls. I am so grateful to God and all of my friends who were with me through all the times spent here.

Comments

Hey Everyone,

For those of you not as familiar with the blog format as facebook, at the bottom of each post there is a link to comment. I would love for the blog to be more interactive and to hear your comments, thoughts and questions on many of the quotes and posts. Don't be shy :)

Regards,

El Mariachi

A Soldier's Life

2 Timothy 2:1-4
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Meeting with the Thomas last night we spoke of what it meant to be a soldier for Christ. One things that stuck with me as we spoke and read from Jeremiah Burroughs classic "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment" was that a soldiers life is not one of comfort. When a soldier is away at war he does not expect to have the same comforts and luxuries and peace that he has while he is at home. No comfy bed but a cot perhaps maybe even the hard ground. No sumptuous meals but bare rations, just enough to fuel the body. The soldier is not bitter, he know that he is at war and the sacrifices he makes are for that cause. So it is with those who follow Christ. We are at war. We are not at home for our home is in heaven with Christ. So as we live our lives here on earth make no mistake we are soldiers. We fight against our flesh, the world, and the great enemy Satan. Let us not be bitter at the little comforts we must give up for our cause is great, it is the glory of God and the gospel of His Son that we fight for. When comforts and joys do come our way let us praise and thank God for the refreshment and encouragement His blessings give. When we must part with those blessings let us remember what we are fighting for and that a good soldier of Christ Jesus will suffer, for our Savior, general, and King suffered for us as well and He is worthy to give up all for.

The Restoration of the Banished

“He spares not His Son, but sends Him in quest of the exiles. He comes into the land of banishment, lies in an exile’s cradle, becomes a banished man for them, lives a banished life, endures an exile’s shame, dies an exile’s death, is buried in an exile’s tomb. He takes our place of banishment that we may take His place of honor and glory in the home of His Father and our Father. Such is the exchange between the exile and the exile’s divine substitute. Though rich, for our sakes He becomes poor. Though at home, He comes into banishment, that we may not be expelled forever.”

—Horatius Bonar, “The Restoration of the Banished”

With a Holy Cheerfulness

“We come as children to our Father’s table and to sit there with Jesus Christ, our elder brother. Now a father does not love to have his child sitting in a sullen and dogged way at his table or to be crying, but would rather have the child sitting in comfort with a holy cheerfulness, with a holy freedom of spirit, not in a sullen way, but as a child in the presence of his father, and not as a servant with the master.”

Jeremiah Burroughs, Gospel Worship

The End Of Our Strength

"Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

"How strong is the snare of the things that are seen, and how necessary for God to keep us in the things that are unseen! If Peter is to walk on the water he must walk; if he is going to swim, he must swim, but he cannot do both. If the bird is going to fly it must keep away from fences and the trees, and trust to its buoyant wings. But if it tries to keep within easy reach of the ground, it will make poor work of flying.

God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength, and to let him see that in his own body he could do nothing. He had to consider his own body as good as dead, and then take God for the whole work; and when he looked away from himself, and trusted God alone, then he became fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform. That is what God is teaching us, and He has to keep away encouraging results until we learn to trust without them, and then He loves to make His Word real in fact as well as faith."-A. B. Simpson

Love based repentance

“In fear-based repentance, we don’t learn to hate the sin for itself, and it doesn’t lose its attractive power. We learn only to refrain from it for our own sake. But when we rejoice over God’s sacrificial, suffering love for us – seeing what it cost him to save us from sin – we learn to hate the sin for what it is. We see what the sin cost God. What most assures us of God’s unconditional love (Jesus’s costly death) is what most convicts us of the evil of sin. Fear-based repentance makes us hate ourselves. Joy-based repentance makes us hate the sin.”

- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Christ is Everything

“When you put your trust in Christ, the overpowering attraction of the world is broken. You are a corpse to the world, and the world is a corpse to you. Or to put it positively, you are a ‘new creation’ (Galatians 6:15). The old you is dead. A new you is alive — the you of faith in Christ. And what marks this faith is that it treasures Christ above everything in the world. The power of the world to woo your love away is dead.

Being dead to the world means that every legitimate pleasure in the world becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ’s love and an occasion of boasting in the cross. When our hearts run back along the beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything.”

- John Piper, The Passion of Jesus Christ

Spurgeon on Suffering

A child of God is not expected to be a stoic, for God's grace takes away a heart of stone. When we endure trials, we feel the pain. Do not ask to be made hard and callous, for this is not how grace works. Grace makes us strong to bear trials, but we still have to bear them. Grace gives us patience and submission, not stoicism. We feel, and we benefit by the feeling. ...

My dear friend, when grief presses you to the dust,

worship there!!

Remember David's words, "Pour out your heart." But do not stop there, finish the quotation. "Pour out your heart before Him." Turn your heart upside down, empty it, and let every drop run out. "Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us." (Ps. 62:8).

When you are bowed down beneath a heavy burden of sorrow, worship and adore God there. In full surrender to His divine will, say with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). This kind of worship subdues the will, arouses the affections, stirs the whole mind, and presents you to God in solemn consecration. This worship sweetens sorrow and takes away its sting.

Idolatry

I was reading the first Chapter of Paul's brilliant letter to the Church of Rome this morning and I was just overwhelmed with the ugliness and foolishness of idolatry, look at how Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit describes it:

Romans 1:18-25

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

That bolded line is what struck me, how we have all exchanged the truth of about God for a lie and have turned to lesser things, things God himself created and turned to worship them. How offensive must it be for the One who created us to love and adore Him, to lift our hearts to Him in worship, when He sees us totally enamored with the gifts He gives us to point us to Himself. Make no mistake we are wired for worship and we will worship something, if it is not God then it will be something else and usually it is ourselves. My prayer for myself and anyone who reads this post is that God would open our eyes to those idols that we have lifted to the place that God alone belongs, that God in His grace would reveal to us things that we are desiring more than Him and we would cast down those idols and devote more of our heart, mind, soul, and strength to our Savior and Creator who is blessed forever, amen.

Pictures from 2010

Here are most of the pictures this year that were up on facebook for anyone who would like to view them, Superbowl, dinners and all around merriment.

Click here to view web album

The wolfbeard after 2 weeks

Well here it is in all it's glory, the beard is in full effect after 2 weeks, only 5 months and some change to go, should be no problem right? I have made it through the excessively itchy phase which is nice, now it is mostly just really ugly :)

Keep me near the cross.

With Easter fast approaching I think we could all be reminded to really focus our gaze upon our Savior. Click on here for a free excerpt of book edited by Nancy Guthrie called Keep me near the cross. It has two beautiful sections, one by Martin Luther and one by John Piper...enjoy.

I wanna show you something...it's my shocked face.

Alright, there is just something about talking babies that brings a smile to my face, this is one of Collin and my favorite commercials. Click here to see it in all its glory ;)

Spurgeon on election and evangelism

I love this quote by Spurgeon and thought it would be helpful after the sermon on Saturday.

"A controversialist once said, “If I thought God had a chosen people, I should not preach.” That is the very reason why I do preach. What would make him inactive is the mainspring of my earnestness. If the Lord had not a people to be saved, I should have little to cheer me in the ministry.

I believe that God will save his own elect, and I also believe that, if I do not preach the gospel, the blood of men will be laid at my door.

Our Saviour has bidden us to preach the gospel to every creature; he has not said, “Preach it only to the elect;” and though that might seem to be the most logical thing for us to do, yet, since he has not been pleased to stamp the elect in their foreheads, or to put any distinctive mark upon them, it would be an impossible task for us to perform; whereas, when we preach the gospel to every creature, the gospel makes its own division, and Christ’s sheep hear his voice, and follow him."

The differences between the law and the gospel.

“The law requires works of human achievement; the gospel requires faith in Christ’s achievement. The law makes demands and bids us obey; the gospel brings promises and bids us believe.”

- John Stott

Christ's compassion to frail sinners.

Let us take comfort in the thought that the Lord Jesus does not cast off his believing people because of failures and imperfections. He knows what they are. He takes them, as the husband takes the wife, with all their blemishes and defects, and once joined to Him by faith, will never leave them. He is a merciful and compassionate High Priest.

He knew what they were before conversion – wicked, guilty, and defiled; yet He loved them. He knows what they will be after conversion – weak, erring, and frail; yet He loves them. He has undertaken to save them, notwithstanding all their shortcomings, and what He has undertaken He will perform.

~ J.C. Ryle

Contentment

Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

It will not be taken away from you.

Sorry for the double Ryle post but this was too good not to share!

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

“The true Christian’s portion is the grace of God. This is the ‘good part’ which he has chosen, and it is the only portion which really deserves the name of ‘good.’ It is the only good thing which is substantial, satisfying, real and lasting. It is good in sickness and good in health, good in youth and good in age, good in adversity and good in prosperity, good in life and good in death, good in time and good in eternity. . . .

The true Christian’s possession shall never be taken from him. He alone, of all mankind, shall never be stripped of his inheritance. Kings must one day leave their palaces. Rich men must one day leave their money and lands. They only hold them till they die. But the poorest saint on earth has a treasure of which he will never be deprived. The grace of God and the favor of Christ are riches which no man can take from him. They will go with him to the grave when he dies. They will rise with him in the resurrection morning, and be his to all eternity.”

J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, ad loc.

Focus on things that are above!

“The true Scriptural source of consolation, in the face of all that troubles us, is to keep steadily before our eyes the second coming of Christ.

We must grasp and realize the blessed fact that the rightful King of the world is returning soon, and shall have His own again; that He shall put down that old usurper, the devil, and take away the curse from off the earth.

Let us cultivate the habit of daily looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, the gathering together of the saints, the restitution of all things, the banishment of sorrow and sin, and the re-establishment of a new kingdom, of which the rule shall be righteousness.”

J.C. Ryle

No facebook so now what?

So I realized being off facebook would be a little more difficult than I thought! I run across so many great quotes in my reading and now I have no outlet to share them so I thought this blog would serve that purpose, plus I may throw a picture or two of the boy up for the fam. I hope that this little endeavor will help to point you to the beauty, sweetness and worth of Jesus and cause you to pause and consider with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)