Happy New Year!

In a matter of hours we will be celebrating the beginning of a new year. I am looking forward to celebrating with some good friends. Reading through tweets and posts, I see a lot of people hoping 2011 will be better than 2010. For some there's been heartache and losses. I have had my share of junk, but I have also remembered good. I have seen and rejoice in God's faithfulness in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I remember that while I've had a lot of failures this past year, God's faithfulness has remained and I have not frustrated his plans for me. His love for me all through the past year never shifted. So with the new year about to come in I pray this prayer for us all:

Heavenly Father, as I sit quietly before you on the eve of a New Year, I’ve got a healthy case of sad and glad going on inside of me. As I reflect over the past year, both of these emotions dance about, more like allies than enemies… for both are evidence the gospel is at work.

The glad? The highlights and headlines of the past twelve months compel me join the Psalmist, in praising you for your love and your faithfulness. Abba, as with each of your children, you loved me all year long with an everlasting, engaged, unwavering love…irrespective of anything I did or didn’t do. You didn’t love me more when I acted like your beloved child. You didn’t love me less when I acted like an orphaned fool.

You loved me every moment just as much as you love your Son, Jesus, for you’ve hidden my life in his. Thank you, for your steadfast love and fresh mercies that came every single day this past year… when I was aware of them and when I wasn’t. Great is your faithfulness. Concerning my life, you did everything this past year that pleases you. Not one of your plans devised for me was foiled or failed. This makes me very glad.

The sad? It’s precisely because you love your children so irrepressibly that I also feel grief in my breast. There were more than a few times this past year when I joined the nations in saying, “So where is your God?” You usually heard this complaint from me when you were busying doing what pleases you, and not what pleases me. When I wanted a butler you remained God. When I wanted a masseur you remained Master. Those were the times I began to look to my voiceless, sightless, senseless, powerless idols more than I trusted you. I own and grieve my foolishness.

Father, here’s where the gladness trumps the sadness. I will not always be a man in two minds with a divided heart. You will bring to completion the good gospel-work you’ve begun in each of your children. One Day we’ll no longer even be tempted to worship anything or anyone but you. Hasten that glad and glorious Day.

Until that Day, even on the eve of a New Year, prepare us for the next twelve new months of groaning and growing in grace. Bring much glory to yourself, as the gospel does its work in and though our lives. So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus’ faithful name.

(scotty smith)

"The church has waited long"

The Church has waited long,
Her absent Lord to see,
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
Age after age has gone,
Sun after sun has set,
And still in weeds of widowhood,
She weeps a mourner yet.

Saint after saint on earth
Has lived, and loved, and died;
And as they left us one by one,
We laid them side by side;
We laid them down to sleep,
But not in hope forlorn;
We laid them but to ripen there,
Till the last glorious morn.

The serpent’s brood increase,
The powers of hell grow bold,
The conflict thickens, faith is low,
And love is waxing cold.
How long, O Lord our God,
Holy, and true, and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering Church,
Her sighs, and tears, and blood?

We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.
Should not the loving bride
Her absent bridegroom mourn?
Should she not wear the signs of grief
Until her Lord return?

The whole creation groans,
And waits to hear that voice
That shall her comeliness restore,
And make her wastes rejoice.
Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.

- hymn by Horatius Bonar

The Better Country

"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city" (Hebrews 11:16)

This past Sunday my pastor preached on the topic of heaven. It started me thinking about being heavenly-minded, or in my case the lack thereof. I am very much obsessed with the future of a better country, but not the one that the heros of the faith in Hebrews 11 were looking for. I find myself seeing the job I want or marriage as the the "better country." Both very good things to think about but should not be made the end or goal of my life. The constant thinking about and looking towards this reveals much idolatry in my heart. I forget that God, the one who should be sending me to hell, has promised me a better place with a much better inhabitant. Himself. If you're a christian, God is preparing a place for you personally, imperishable and everlasting. We were not created for this world or anything in it but for the one who created us. So, what is your "Better Country"? what are you looking to, where are your eyes gazing? As we spend the little time we have here, let's adopt the mindset of those in Hebrews who were looking to the one who would truly satisfy there souls.


Soon and very soon i'll be going
to the place he has prepared for me
There my sin erased
my shame forgotten
soon and very soon

I will be with the one I love
With unveiled face I'll see him
there my soul
will be satisfied
soon and very soon

The Proper Fear of God

When you think of fear of the lord, what comes to your mind? The past couple of days I've noticed an unhealthy fear, one that is antithetical to that desired in scripture. When I start to think about the future and how I really want this to happen or that to work out, I get fearful and think "I shouldn't think about this, God will probably do something with my life that'll wreck me and I'll just be frustrated". I find I've got this view of God that portrays him as the giant anvil that hits the Wiley Coyote. I'm terrified when or how the anvil is gonna hit me. So my feeling is that I've got to bury these thoughts, plans, desires or God is gonna go all Tasmanian devil on me (I apologize for the loony toon references, for some reason I can't get em out of my head).

Do you feel this way? That sinking suspicion that God is gonna do something and its gonna be bad? I've been convicted that this is unbelief in who God says he is and it is not the fear of the lord desired in scripture. Granted, we should be afraid of God but that is not dominant element. We need to remember that as Christians we serve a God who promises to deny us NO GOOD THING. He proved that by giving up his son for us. I'm seeing that legitimate fear of the lord is the fear that sees God in all his holiness and majesty and us in our creatureliness and total sinfulness and then the fact that the very same God, gave his perfect son to suffer his just wrath so that you and me could be reconciled and made children of God. We should not be afraid of God in the sense that we are afraid of what he will do, this is fear couched in unbelief. In fact, we don't need to fear judgment because Christ experienced the full load. Let's remember that we do not come to a cruel divine ogre who crushes us and our desires cause we don't measure up. We come to a heavenly father who delights in his children. And when we feel the painful rod of his discipline, it's only meant to protect us from the deceitfulness of the idols that grab for our attention. If he denies us certain things, it's only because he has something better. Sinclair Ferguson describes legit fear of the Lord as:

"The indefinable mixture of reverence, fear, pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realize who God is and what he has done"

If you are a Christian you can come to God with those desires, but please surrender them. I need to, I need to believe he is for me. We should not be afraid because we serve a God who takes pleasure in doing good to his children.

"I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul."(Jeremiah 32:41)

Cultivating proper fear of the Lord involves thinking hard about who he is and what he has done. This same God who spoke creation into being, who wiped out nations, and abhors sin, crushed the apple of his eye, in order to wipe you and me clean and bring us to him to enjoy forever, righteous in Christ. Deep reflection of the cross and it's implications should evoke the fear that glorifies him and fuels our striving for godliness. Today rest in the fact that God is for you, he wants you to enjoy him and trust he has your good at heart.

The Uneasy Doctrine of Hell

This past Sunday my pastor preached a message on Hell. I'll admit I was a little uneasy at first, but the sermon was really challenging and definitely left me affected. In fact, I realized that Hell is a lot more important to daily Christian life than I thought: It shows us our depravity, God's holiness, and the mercy of the cross. As Christians, we have been spared from the stark reality of Hell.


Along with this realization, I also found myself encouraged to be at a church where the bible is the sole authority and have a pastor who is willing to preach hard truth, yet do it in love. The fact is that Hell is a subject that no one really wants to think about--its a problem, as even Christian apologists readily admit, i.e., the "problem of hell." Nevertheless, it is a reality that scripture teaches and one that is vital that we not neglect. In my experience, American churches today tend to two unhealthy extremes when it comes to the doctrine of Hell: (1) one in which churches preach nothing BUT hell and neglect the good news, or (2) those who simply deny it or twist it into something that scripture doesn't teach (i.e.annihilationism). Today people are very flippant about hell, dismissing it as nonsense. I thought of lyrics from a Billy Joel song (and no I don't listen to Billy Joel a lot!).



"[T]hey say there's a heaven for those who will wait

Some say its better but I say it ain't

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints

the sinners are much more fun"



What my pastor made clear (and more importantly what scripture makes clear) is that hell is definitely not an endless party for sinners but a place of torment from a holy, wrathful, and just God. Many would see this image as barbaric, but it is what scripture teaches and our consciences confirm: Hell is what each and every individual on this planet deserves. God would be 100% just to send me to hell. As my pastor pointed out, "For God to punish sin is completely just, in fact for him to not punish it would make him unjust." When we deny hell or candy coat it into something else we distort the gospel into a different message.


At the same time, the Scriptural position on Hell is stage-setting for God's merciful intervention through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to bear the wrath the we deserve. He endured hell for us. R.C. Sproul comments on the cry of Jesus on the cross: "[H]is cry was the cry of the damned FOR US." If you're not a christian you need to flee to Christ and trust in his atoning death for you. Everyone who calls upon his name, THEY WILL BE SAVED. God's love in preserving us from Hell is just as astonishing as his holiness is in requiring that there be a Hell. And the reality of this love demands a response. Like my pastor suggested, "We need to be asking, 'Why was I spared?'" Christian, have you marveled at this mercy? Before this past Sunday, I certainly hadn't! I need to! I am sure that considering the reality of Hell is linked to growth in compassion and joy. God has been more merciful to us than we can imagine, and we will spend eternity wondering why.





http://www.sgcsc.org/media/audio/e31397ba-c4a2-3034-2dfe-311da14a11bc.mp3

Misguided Prayer

I've found that I have a twisted mindset when it comes to prayer. Do you ever feel discouraged or stressed and think that if you don't pray the right way or for the adequate amount of time that God won't hear you? I get like this, especially in times when I have a friend who is going through some trial (physical pain, stress, anxiety, ect.) I feel like I need to get this right, or God won't answer or help this person. I know it's stupid, but it is seriously the mindset I adopt without even knowing it. The other night I read something by Charles Spurgeon that convicted and humbled me:

"The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer and moves that arm because the sinless one, the great mediator has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication."

I was reminded that evening, that nothing I say or do moves God. It is strictly and completely Christ. God not only sees HIS righteousness but he also hears and acts upon HIS prayers which filter my own. This takes a tremendous burden off of me, b/c I am forced to depend wholly on Jesus. I am a sinner through and through and even my best works, the bible say, are but filthy rags. I don't need to worry about getting my prayer right, I simply need to ask God and rejoice in the fact that Christ is praying for me and that the holy spirit is communicating with groans that words cannot express. Lets let that embolden us to come before God with anything. If you are in Christ, God delights for you to come to him with your requests, and this is only because of Christ.

The long frustrating road of sanctification

This past weekend my family came to Greenville so that we could spend some time together. While it was only a brief visit, it was a lot of fun--and this came as a surprise to me. I'm still wrestling through a lot of things when it comes to encouraging and engaging my family. My natural tendency (to be perfectly honest) is to be quiet and bitter, avoiding real interaction by playing on my phone. But on this last visit, God gave me a good attitude and helped me to be engaging and kind. And I found this really encouraging.

God spoke to me that evening in another way though. My youngest sister was born with cerebral palsy: Blood had leaked into her brain while she was still in the womb and, as a result, motor and speech functions have been impaired. She did not learn to walk by herself until she was 8, and it has taken her much longer to learn to speak than it usually does for other children. Still, I love my little sister she is truly a delight to be around. While at dinner with my mom and sisters, my mom pointed out how much she has grown. I agreed: My sister speaks so much more boldly and clearly than she used to and she is more independent than I have ever seen her. She has grown so much.

As I watched her that evening at dinner, I thought to myself how the long process of my sisters growth is similar to the (often) slow process of sanctification. Like my sister's maturing, sanctification is a process. Most of the time, I forget that--and I become frustrated and discouraged because it doesn't seem like I am making any headway in godliness. But feeling is often far from reality. Although it may be a while until I see complete victory over certain struggles in my life, nevertheless, because I am justified in Christ, and adopted, I know that I will have that victory nonetheless. One of the sweetest promises of Scripture is that God WILL complete his work of sanctification: If you are a Christian, you may be discouraged by the ugliness still in you, but be assured God and his promise are sure. It is long, it is tough, but the day will come when you will stand before him completely like Christ.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Accepted by God

I read this devotional by Spurgeon, very encouraging


"Accepted in the Beloved" Ephesians 1:6


What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term "acceptance" in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we are the objects of divine complacence, nay, even of divine delight. How marvellous that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of divine love! But it is only "in the beloved." Some Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively, and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the fear that they are no longer accepted. If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low despondencies do not really depress them in their Father's sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour! Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted "in the beloved." Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, "There is nothing acceptable here!" But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there. Thy sins trouble thee; but God has cast thy sins behind his back, and thou art accepted in the Righteous One. Thou hast to fight with corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already accepted in him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou art accepted in him who has broken Satan's head. Know by full assurance thy glorious standing. Even glorified souls are not more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven "in the beloved," and thou art even now accepted in Christ after the same manner.

The Discipline of the Lord

Ever have those "gulp moments" during bible study? You know those times when you'd rather skip over a passage because you'd rather read something "good" or "uplifting". I had that moment in my reading of Hebrews 12:5-11 this morning. I have a hard time stomaching verses about trials and discipline and I fear their coming. It reminds of times I had growing up, i would do some idiot thing and get spanked for it. I fear that the Lord's discipline will feel a lot like that: a cringing . . . before the blow. It's funny, I seem to get into my mind that I can be exempt from discipline and trial because I think of God as the kind of father who loves us so much that he is out to give us an easy life. But this view of God runs contradictory to the view of God in scripture.

Scripture says that if we are not disciplined we are illegitimate children. While we must never doubt that God's out for our good that he delights to shower us with blessings he has something grander in mind. Our sanctification. He does love us, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are. So, when your car breaks down, or you suffer some illness or things get taken from you unexpectedly, what should our response be? Surprise? Outrage? This passage teaches us that submission to the will of God is the correct attitude to have because God has a purpose for the pain: He does not arbitrarily bring these things into our life but they are proof that he is at work to grow us. For those of us who are adopted into his family, God is the true and better father who is all wise and perfect and desires us to share in his holiness and "yield the perfect fruit of righteousness."



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Paul's Big Secret

I think it's safe to say that discontent is one of the biggest struggle in the christian life. I have the hardest time with being content, and I write this as someone who is still struggling big time, not as someone whose passed it. Recently my discontent has hit me hard, i've seen anger turn to bitterness and I've seen it negatively affect those around me. What am I doing wrong? What was the "secret" that Paul had learned? How was he content "in plenty AND IN NEED". How are we to "get this secret," in times when we are angry with God and hating where we are at in life (singleness, sucky job, ect.) What God has been reminding be recently is that this secret is not as mystifying as I or Paul makes it out to be.

In my times of anger my mindset is usually I deserve better, at the core of our discontent is the conviction that we are not getting what we deserve. But the gospel answers this by saying "no you're not getting what you deserve and you can thank God for that!". You see this is the "secret" Paul talks about in phillipians, the gospel!! It wasn't searching for some new truth or practice it was the old message the one that is most crucial. When we see that our sins deserve the wrath and damnation of a holy and just God and that same God poured all that on his own beloved son so sinners like you and me could experience grace, adoption, and so many blood-bought gifts, the feelings of discontent start to lose their hold. In Christ we have eveything we need. God has been encouraging and convicting me with this truth and my prayer is that you who are struggling with discontent would stop and behold the cross where we truly see what we deserve and how much we have been given instead. When Paul says I have "learned" the secret to being content, I think this came from constant mediation on the gospel and sitting by the cross.

"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." (phlippians 4:12)


"if you don't have what you desire, you have more than what you deserve". Thomas Watson

The Gospel Song - An Animation

Imagery of Calvary

CJ Mahaney once said, "we can never think of that death too much". If you're struggling with condemnation, take time to linger at the cross, it's there that Jesus said it is finished. Those who trust In Christ have a solid hope. "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".



The face that Moses begged to see--- was forbidden to see--- was slapped bloody (exodus 33:19-20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth's rebellion now twisted around his own brow.

"on your back with you!". One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier's heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner's wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier's life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the son do "all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17). The victim wills that the soldier live on--- he grants the warrior's continued existence. The man swings.

As the man swings, the son recalls how he and the father first designed the medical nerve of the human forearm--- the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless--- the nerves perform exquisitely "up you go!". They lift the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breath.

But these pains are a mere warm up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor begins to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He FEELS dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being--- the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his father's eye turns brown with rot.

His father! He must face his father like this!
From heaven the father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the son seen the father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The son does not recognize these eyes.

"Son of man!". Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped--- murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten--- fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk- you who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, forment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list ever end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp--- buying politicians, practicing exhortation, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves--- relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, LOATHE these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?"

Of course the son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.
The father watches as his heart's treasure, the mirror image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah's stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.

"father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!"

But heaven stops it's ears. The son stares up at the one who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.

The trinity had planned it. The son endured it. The spirit enabled him. The father rejected the son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The rescue was accomplished.

(Section from "Boy meets Girl" by Josh Harris)

Do you pray when you read?

Does thinking about God lead you to talking to him? I was extremely convicted today by a quote from John Owen:


When we undertake thoughts and meditations of God, his excellencies, his properties, his glory, his majesty, his love, his goodness, let it be done in a way of speaking unto God, in a deep humiliation...in a way of prayer and praise -- speaking unto God

When I was at the NEXT 2010 conference, the speakers talked about the importance of theology and how right thinking ought to leads to a right response. However, my experience has proved to me how easy it is to leave right thinking as mere thought. Some theological doctrine (e.g., justification, substitutionary atonement, or the resurrection) might catch my attention as a read, but I tend to just leave it in my mind think: I'll be reading a theological book or even reading the bible and it'll just be to gather information. So often, my end is to know things about God, as opposed to knowing him and loving him.

One way I have come to notice that my desire is off target in my reading is my total lack of prayer during my reading or studying. But Psalm 63:5-6 makes it clear that thoughts about God demand a prayerful response, when it says, "My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, WHEN i remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night." So let me ask you: When you read J.I. Packer, or John Owen, or John Stott, or study God's Word, do you pray through what you are reading and thinking? Are you inviting him into your reflections or just musing to yourself? Are you pleading with God to help you understand, asking him to help you savor him and be satisfied in him alone? In short, do you find that you prize your knowledge about God above your relationship with him?

We must remind ourselves that Christ is our treasure, and that his word is designed to draw us into treasuring him. Don't miss the treasure because of your fascination with the treasure chest!

Remember His Love

This is the lyrics to a song on the new Reilly album that has been really encouraging to listen to. It challenges me to remember who God is and that he is faithful and good in all things, especially when I don't get what's going on with school stuff or why things aren't happening as I'd want them to. Maybe you are struggling with doubts and fears about the future, or a circumstance that is incredibly painful and you're wondering "what the junk is going on!?" Remember who God is and how he has been faithful in your past, remember the gospel and let that comfort you. He does love you, he has you in his hands and is working ALL things for your good.


I know you need arms around you
A place to rest to forget your troubles
Remember his grace, that's held you, Remember his love

I know you fear what you don't know
Can you choose faith without understanding
Remember his grace, that's held you
Remember his love

When nothing seems right and faith is weak
Listen for the voice that brings the hope you seek
He is the Lord
Just take a deep breath it won't be long
Just believe and sing a brand new song
He is the Lord

"wait"

I stole this from a good friend, so uber cool:)


Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate…
and the master so gently said, “wait.”
“Wait? You say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!”
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
“By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your word.
My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to wait?”
I’m needing a ‘yes’ a go-ahead sign.
Or even a ‘no,’ to which I’ll resign.
You promised, dear lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
as my master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, So I’m waiting…. For what?”
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine…
and He tenderly said “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
I could give all your seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.
You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.
You’d never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of my heart.
The glow of my comfort late into the night
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
from an infinite God who makes what you have last.
You’d never know would your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.
So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft my answers seem terribly late,
my most precious answer of all is still…. Wait
-Russell Keller 1933-2000


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The apostle Paul, an encouragement to us all

This morning my pastor preached on Colossians 1:24-2:5. While there is much I have yet to sift through and think about, there was something that God "beat me over the head" sort of speak. God has been revealing to me more and more over several weeks an attitude of smug superiority regarding my salvation and today i got convicted again. As I was pulling up into church this morning I happened to see a guy who I knew not to be a believer, and had spoken to him once before. My first reaction was surprise since I didn't expect to see him again. As my mind wandered I thought more about him. and then the all-too familiar thought creeped in: "I really don't see him becoming a Christian". What was I basing this on? Simply the way he looked, that he never listened, that his "brain wasn't wired that way".

My pastor began by talking about paul's background how this guy who was deeply educated in the law and Jewish tradition completely missed that Jesus WAS the messiah prophesied. Leaving for home I started to think what it was like for Christians who knew Paul when he was Saul. Who lived in fear of death by this man who made it his purpose in life to stamp out every christian from the face of the earth. It occurred to me how many people in that time period who were like "that Saul, I really don't see him becoming a Christian". I'm sure people prayed for him and I'm also sure there were people as cynical as me about him, and what happened? Saul encountered Jesus! The gospel penetrated his hard heart and he became one of the greatest missionaries ever, passionate for knowing Christ and shepherding the word.

It seems I have yet to get it through my thick arrogant heart that "it is by GRACE you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT YOUR DOING it is the gift of GOD". How many of us know someone that we are like "yea ____ can't become a Christian" ? We need to see this attitude as sin, because not only are we saying God is not mighty to save but implicit in this little nugget of cynicism is a positive belief that you were saved because there was something about you that turned God's desire. That you brought about the great change that's in you. Not God. Let's let Paul be an encouragement to us, to pray hard about ANYBODY and continue to preach the gospel. We are on an equal playing field in God's eyes. Let's be reasonable, none of us should should be saved at all, the fact that i am or you are saved is a ridiculous miracle. Let's remember that we serve a God who is mighty to save and it has nothing to do with us. It's all about him who has mercy.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad