Friday, June 28, 2013
Tommy Emmanuel - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Live at Pepperdine University California 2-10-2010)
Turn this up sit back and let the music wash over your soul
When Eric Clapton Hit Bottom
When Eric Clapton hit bottom, he instinctively reached out for something beyond himself:
“At that moment, almost of their own accord, my legs gave way and I fell to my knees. In the privacy of my room I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether, I had nothing left to fight with. Then I remembered what I had heard about surrender, something I thought I could never do, my pride just wouldn’t allow it, but I knew that on my own I wasn't going to make it, so I asked for help, and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered.
Within a few days I realized that something had happened for me. An atheist would probably say it was just a change of attitude, and to a certain extent that’s true, but there was much more to it than that. I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do.”
Eric Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography (New York, 2007), pages 235-236.
To me, this is touching, and I mean that respectfully. And his prayers are humbler than some of mine, I am certain. And in a way, I could wish that a breakthrough to God could be this vague and yet still somehow conclusive.
But what God gives to us broken sinners is better. God gives a clear sight of Jesus through the gospel: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
It is one thing to despair of ourselves. We must. But it is something further to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. Startlingly honest experiences can help us. But only a miraculous sight of Jesus can transform us.
Why settle for sobriety, when God gives glory? (Ray Ortlund)
“At that moment, almost of their own accord, my legs gave way and I fell to my knees. In the privacy of my room I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether, I had nothing left to fight with. Then I remembered what I had heard about surrender, something I thought I could never do, my pride just wouldn’t allow it, but I knew that on my own I wasn't going to make it, so I asked for help, and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered.
Within a few days I realized that something had happened for me. An atheist would probably say it was just a change of attitude, and to a certain extent that’s true, but there was much more to it than that. I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do.”
Eric Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography (New York, 2007), pages 235-236.
To me, this is touching, and I mean that respectfully. And his prayers are humbler than some of mine, I am certain. And in a way, I could wish that a breakthrough to God could be this vague and yet still somehow conclusive.
But what God gives to us broken sinners is better. God gives a clear sight of Jesus through the gospel: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
It is one thing to despair of ourselves. We must. But it is something further to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. Startlingly honest experiences can help us. But only a miraculous sight of Jesus can transform us.
Why settle for sobriety, when God gives glory? (Ray Ortlund)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Up-close pics of famous 1960′s folksters by a teenage photojournalist - Bob Dylan, Son House, Mary Travers, Mississippi John Hurt
John Rudoff is a cardiologist in Portland, but long before he embarked
on that prestigious career he had aspirations to be a photographer. As a
teenager, he combined his burgeoning interest in photography and folk
music by snapping photos of the acts who played at the coffee shop he
worked at in Pennsylvania as well as photographing many of the acts at
several festivals he had the opportunity to attend.
It seems apparent from his photos that he had no qualms edging his way to the front to get the best shot he could.
Here are a few of his pictures. Visit his page on Flickr for well over a hundred more…
It seems apparent from his photos that he had no qualms edging his way to the front to get the best shot he could.
Here are a few of his pictures. Visit his page on Flickr for well over a hundred more…
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, 1963
Son House, 1964
Bob Dylan, 1964
Mary Travers with Mimi and Dick Farina, 1965
Son House, 1965
Mississippi John Hurt, 1965
Lightning Hopkins, 1965
Bob Dylan, 1965
The Proper Distinction Between Law And Gospel
“This
distinction [between law and gospel] must be observed all the more when
the Law wants to force me to abandon Christ and His Gospel boon. In
that emergency I must abandon the Law and say: Dear Law, if I have not
done the works I should have done, do them yourself. I will not, for
your sake, allow myself to be plagued to death, taken captive, and kept
under your thraldom and thus forget the Gospel.
Whether I have sinned, done wrong, or failed in any duty, let that be
your concern, O Law. Away with you and let my heart alone; I have no
room for you in my heart. But if you require me to lead a godly life
here on earth, that I shall gladly do. If, however, like a
housebreaker, you want to climb in where you do not belong, causing me
to lose what has been given me, I would rather not know you at all than
abandon my gift.”
Martin Luther, quoted in C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel (St. Louis, 1928), pages 46-47.
I will never abandon the gospel for the law. I will never allow myself to be brought under a law breaking legalist (there is no other kind because no one can keep the law) who wants me to bow to their misguided understanding of the scripture their personal condemnation guilt and fear that come out of their own unbelief of the gospel, I completely agree with Luther "I would rather not know you at all than abandon my gift."
Martin Luther, quoted in C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel (St. Louis, 1928), pages 46-47.
I will never abandon the gospel for the law. I will never allow myself to be brought under a law breaking legalist (there is no other kind because no one can keep the law) who wants me to bow to their misguided understanding of the scripture their personal condemnation guilt and fear that come out of their own unbelief of the gospel, I completely agree with Luther "I would rather not know you at all than abandon my gift."
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sending God back To School?
“We
have the idea that God could not reign if he did not have wise and
understanding people to help him. . . . [The wise and understanding] are
always exerting themselves; they do things in the Christian church the
way they want to themselves. Everything that God does they must improve,
so that there is no poorer, more insignificant and despised disciple on
earth than God; he must be everybody’s pupil,
everybody wants to be his teacher. . . . They are not satisfied with
what God has done and instituted, they cannot let things be as they were
ordained to be. . . . These are the real wiseacres, of whom Christ is
speaking here, who always have to have and do something special in order
that the people may say, ‘Ah, our pastor or preacher is nothing;
there’s the real man, he'll get things done!’ . . . Should God be so
greatly pleased with these fellows who are all too smart and wise for
him and are always wanting to send him back to school?”
Martin Luther, preaching his last sermon, on Matthew 11:25-30, quoted in Luther’s Works: Sermons I (Philadelphia, 1959), pages 383-384.
The scripture Luther is referring to is "I thank you Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes Father for such was your gracious will." These were the religious leaders of Jesus day that said John had a demon and Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard, well so much for what they knew. But Luther includes so many self appointed experts in the church that always know more than anyone else, especially the Pastor. These people submit to no one acting as if they know more than God himself.
Read all of chapter 11 to get the whole picture and read verse 27 "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Martin Luther, preaching his last sermon, on Matthew 11:25-30, quoted in Luther’s Works: Sermons I (Philadelphia, 1959), pages 383-384.
The scripture Luther is referring to is "I thank you Father Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes Father for such was your gracious will." These were the religious leaders of Jesus day that said John had a demon and Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard, well so much for what they knew. But Luther includes so many self appointed experts in the church that always know more than anyone else, especially the Pastor. These people submit to no one acting as if they know more than God himself.
Read all of chapter 11 to get the whole picture and read verse 27 "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Eric Clapton - Little Queen Of Spades - Prince's Trust Rock Gala 2010
Clapton still playing the blues and doing it well.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
What It Means To Magnify God
"But
there are two entirely different ways of magnifying God, one of which
exalts him and the other demeans him. First, you can magnify God the way
a microscope does by focusing on something quite small, most often
invisible to the naked eye, and causing it to look much, much, bigger
than it really is. this is magnification by distortion! This is not how
we are to magnify God! Tragically though, that's
how many Christians think of God and how they are to worship him. They
think that in their lives and in their prayers and in their praise they
are causing God to look bigger and greater and more glorious than he
really is, in and of himself. Worship is not like blowing up a balloon.
God is not honored by human inflation, as if the breath of our praise
enhances and expands his visibility and worth. To think that apart from
our praise God remains shrunken and shriveled is to dishonor him who
"gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:25).
But you can also magnify God the way a telescope would. A telescope helps people who are small and distant to see something indescribably huge and massive by making it to appear as it really and truly is. A telescope peers into the distant realms of our universe and displays before our eyes the massive, unfathomable, indescribable dimensions of what is there. Only in this latter sense are we called to magnify the Lord."
Sam Storms, For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. p.58
But you can also magnify God the way a telescope would. A telescope helps people who are small and distant to see something indescribably huge and massive by making it to appear as it really and truly is. A telescope peers into the distant realms of our universe and displays before our eyes the massive, unfathomable, indescribable dimensions of what is there. Only in this latter sense are we called to magnify the Lord."
Sam Storms, For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. p.58
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Only A Fool Trusts His Own Heart
“There
is no sin so much like the devil as this for secrecy and subtlety and
appearing in a great many shapes undiscerned and unsuspected, even
appearing as an angel of light. It takes occasion to arise from
everything, it perverts and abuses everything, even the exercises of
real grace and real humility. It is a sin that has, as it were, many
lives. If you kill it, it will live still. If you suppress
it in one shape, it rises in another. If you think it is all gone, it
is there still. Like the coats of an onion, if you pull one form of it
off, there is another underneath. We need therefore to have the greatest
watch imaginable over our hearts and to cry most earnestly to the great
Searcher of hearts for his help. He that trusts his own heart is a
fool.”
Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the New England Revival, page 155
Jonathan Edwards, Thoughts on the New England Revival, page 155
Friday, June 14, 2013
Cling only to Christ's Word and come to Him
“Christ says, ‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,’ and it
is as though he were saying: Just stick to me, hold on to my Word and
let everything else go. . . . For when you suffer for my sake, it is my
yoke and my burden which I lay upon you in grace, that you may know that
this your suffering is well pleasing to God and to me and that I myself
am helping you to carry it. . . . [May we] cling only to Christ’s Word
and come to him, as he so lovingly invites us to do, and say: You alone
are my beloved Lord and Master, I am your disciple.”
Martin Luther’s last sermon, in John W. Doberstein, editor, Luther’s Works, Volume 51 (Philadelphia, 1959), pages 391-392.
Martin Luther’s last sermon, in John W. Doberstein, editor, Luther’s Works, Volume 51 (Philadelphia, 1959), pages 391-392.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
“The Least of These”: An Example of the Right Doctrine from the Wrong Text
In Matthew 25:35-40,
Jesus says: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and
you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and
you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you
came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when
did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And
when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will
answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Craig Blomberg comments:
Craig Blomberg comments:
The majority perspective has understand Jesus’ ‘brothers’ in verse 40 to refer to spiritual kin, as the term (adelphoi) does elsewhere in Matthew in every instance in which biological siblings are not in view (see 5:22-24, 47; 7:3-5; 12:48-50; 18:15 twice, 21, 35; 23:8; 28:10).—Craig L. Blomberg, Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions, New Studies in Biblical Theology, ed. D. A. Carson (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000), 126; my emphasis.
The term ‘little ones’, of which ‘the least’ (25:40, 45) is the superlative form, also without exception in Matthew refers to disciples (10:42; 18:6, 10, 14; cf. also 5:19 and 11:11).
This makes the point of Jesus’ teaching closely parallel to Matthew 10:42: Jesus’ itinerant followers (today we might call them Christian missionaries) must be cared for by those to whom they minister. Affording material help to those who preach in the name of Jesus demonstrates acceptance of the missionaries’ message at the spiritual level . . . This view is almost certainly correct.
Today, however, the prevailing interpretation is that Jesus is teaching about the need to help the dispossessed whether or not they are Christian. . . .
This is obviously an important biblical theme, but is far less likely to be the focus of this particular passage, given the consistent meaning of the terms and the larger context of parables focusing on the disciples (24:43-25:46).
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
This Is What Makes My Soul Sing And Shout With Joy!
“This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us with it and fill us with it; and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them.”
“Learn Christ and him crucified. Learn to pray to him and, despairing of yourself, say, ‘Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, but I am thy sin. Thou hast taken upon thyself what is mine and hast given to me what is thine. Thou hast taken upon thyself what thou wast not and hast given to me what I was not.’”
Martin Luther, quoted in J. I. Packer and Mark Dever, In My Place Condemned He Stood (Wheaton, 2008), page 85, footnote 31.
Do you get it? Christ has given to me that which I was not or ever could be on my own. O Happy Day!
“Learn Christ and him crucified. Learn to pray to him and, despairing of yourself, say, ‘Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, but I am thy sin. Thou hast taken upon thyself what is mine and hast given to me what is thine. Thou hast taken upon thyself what thou wast not and hast given to me what I was not.’”
Martin Luther, quoted in J. I. Packer and Mark Dever, In My Place Condemned He Stood (Wheaton, 2008), page 85, footnote 31.
Do you get it? Christ has given to me that which I was not or ever could be on my own. O Happy Day!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
What You Get In A World Without God
In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.—Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (Basic Books, 1995), 95.
Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward must find a home.—Bertrand Russell, “A Free Man’s Worship” (1903); emphasis added.
That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving;
that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms;
that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave;
that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system,
and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins—
all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand.
Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.
Paul Butterfield Blues Band " BORN IN CHICAGO " Live
Live at The Newport Folk Festival July 26 1965
Paul Butterflied-vocal/harmonica/ Mike Bloomfield-guitar/ Elvin Bishop-guitar/ Jerome Arnold-bass/ Sam Lay-drums/ Bruce Langhorne-tamborine
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