Wednesday, December 31, 2014
What It Means To Preach The Gospel
I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach
justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the
sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the
electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah;
nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the
special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which
Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which
lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children
of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed
in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.
"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day."
If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me for ever. (Charles Spurgeon)
"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day."
If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me for ever. (Charles Spurgeon)
Monday, December 29, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
Good News "It Is Finished!"
“If
today you feel that sin is hateful to you, believe in Him who has said,
‘It is finished.’ Let me link your hand in mine. Let us come
together, both of us, and say, ‘Here are two poor naked souls, good
Lord; we cannot clothe ourselves,’ and He will give us a robe, for ‘it
is finished.’ . . . ‘But must we not add tears to it?’ ‘No,’ says He,
‘no, it is finished, there is enough.’
Child of God, will you have Christ’s finished righteousness this morning, and will you rejoice in it more than you ever have before?”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of the New Testament
Child of God, will you have Christ’s finished righteousness this morning, and will you rejoice in it more than you ever have before?”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of the New Testament
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
No Reason But Grace Alone
I would have to agree with Spurgeon when he said, "I cannot
understand the reason why I am saved, except upon the ground that God
would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any
kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Divine grace. If I
am not at this moment without Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus
would have his will with me, and that will was that I should be with him
where he is, and should share his glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of him whose mighty grace has saved me from going down into the pit." Charles Spurgeon
All I can say is amen I cannot give any reason why God should have
saved me except the words of the Apostle Paul, Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" Nothing in my
hands I bring simply to thy cross I cling, oh lamb of God I come.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Lions Coach Jim Caldwell Quotes Theologian Charles Hodge
Lions coach Jim Caldwell in today's interview quotes theologian Charles
Hodge principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878
"There's a guy named Charles Hodge who is actually a great theologian,
but he made this statement- ‘You have to be able to exalt men without
inflating them' and the other part of it is, ‘and humble men without
debasing them.' So, that's kind of a balancing act for us. We have to
make certain that we make them feel good about what they're
doing, but not to the point where they feel overconfident. We have to
make certain, obviously, that we tell them the truth about things
they've done wrong, but we don't have to dog-cuss them and tear them
down. So, it's a delicate balancing act trying to kind of keep a team on
even keel all across the board, never too high never too low."
How nice to have a well read Lions coach who even knows who Charles Hodge is. I'm sure most of the reporters didn't have a clue.
How nice to have a well read Lions coach who even knows who Charles Hodge is. I'm sure most of the reporters didn't have a clue.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
How Does the Holy Spirit Actually Produce Change in Us?
"Dwelling in the elect, the Spirit does not slumber, nor does He keep
an eternal Sabbath, in idleness shutting Himself up in their hearts;
but as divine Worker He seeks from within to fill their individual
persons, pouring the stream of His divine brightness through every
space.
But we should not imagine that every believer is instantly filled and permeated. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit finds him filled with all manner of evil and treachery. . . . His method of procedure is not with divine power to force a man as though he were a stock or block, but by the power of love and compassion so to influence and energize the impulses of the feeble will that it feels the effect, is inclined, and finally consents to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. . . .
But we should not imagine that every believer is instantly filled and permeated. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit finds him filled with all manner of evil and treachery. . . . His method of procedure is not with divine power to force a man as though he were a stock or block, but by the power of love and compassion so to influence and energize the impulses of the feeble will that it feels the effect, is inclined, and finally consents to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. . . .
This operation is different in each person. In one it proceeds with
marvelous rapidity; in another, progress is exceedingly slow, being
checked by serious reaction which in some rare cases is overcome only
with the last breath. There are scarcely two men in whom this gracious
operation is completely the same.
It may not be denied that the Holy Spirit often meets serious opposition on the part of the saint. . . . And the Holy Spirit bears all this resistance with infinite pity, and overcomes it and casts it out with eternal mercy.
Who that is not a stranger to his own heart does not remember how many years it took before he would yield a certain point of resistance; how he always avoided facing it; restlessly opposed it, at last thought to end the matter by arranging for a sort of modus vivendi between himself and the Holy Spirit? But the Holy Spirit did not cease, gave him no rest; again and again that familiar knock was heard, the calling in his heart of that familiar voice. And after years of resistance he could not but yield in the end."
--Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit (trans. Henri De Vries; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 529–30
It may not be denied that the Holy Spirit often meets serious opposition on the part of the saint. . . . And the Holy Spirit bears all this resistance with infinite pity, and overcomes it and casts it out with eternal mercy.
Who that is not a stranger to his own heart does not remember how many years it took before he would yield a certain point of resistance; how he always avoided facing it; restlessly opposed it, at last thought to end the matter by arranging for a sort of modus vivendi between himself and the Holy Spirit? But the Holy Spirit did not cease, gave him no rest; again and again that familiar knock was heard, the calling in his heart of that familiar voice. And after years of resistance he could not but yield in the end."
--Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit (trans. Henri De Vries; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 529–30
Monday, December 8, 2014
The Knowledge Of God
How can we describe God’s knowledge? Arthur Pink in his book
“Gleanings in the Godhead” wrote, “God is omniscient, he knows
everything; everything possible, everything actual; all events all
creatures, of the past, the present and the future. He is perfectly
acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in
earth, and in hell . . . nothing escapes His notice, nothing can be
hidden from Him, nothing is forgotten by Him. . . He never errs, never
changes, never overlooks anything”
(pg.19). A.W. Tozer in his book The Knowledge of the Holy expands this
description by adding negatives: “God has never learned from anyone. God
cannot learn. Could God at any time or in any manner receive into his
mind knowledge that he did not possess and had not processed from
eternity, He would be imperfect and less than himself. To think of a God
who must sit at the feet of a teacher, even though that teacher be an
archangel or a seraph, is to think of someone other than the most high
God, maker of heaven and earth. . .
These are awesome thoughts that will help you stand in awe of God.
These are awesome thoughts that will help you stand in awe of God.
Friday, December 5, 2014
The Power Of Transforming Grace
"The unrelenting power of transforming grace is greater than the
unyielding idolatry of your wandering heart."
I completely believe this, it is gospel truth. If I didn't believe that the power of transforming grace was greater than the idolatry of my wandering heart I would have no hope of salvation and I would never experience the security of my salvation. This is the reason so many Christians struggle with assurance they have more confidence in their wandering heart than they do in God's transforming grace. When are you going to give up on yourself? When are you going to realize that your salvation does not and can not depend on you. Salvation depends on Christ alone, by grace alone period, end of story.
I completely believe this, it is gospel truth. If I didn't believe that the power of transforming grace was greater than the idolatry of my wandering heart I would have no hope of salvation and I would never experience the security of my salvation. This is the reason so many Christians struggle with assurance they have more confidence in their wandering heart than they do in God's transforming grace. When are you going to give up on yourself? When are you going to realize that your salvation does not and can not depend on you. Salvation depends on Christ alone, by grace alone period, end of story.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Where I would Be Without God's Grace
"Apart from God's grace I would be in the center of my world, I would
make up my own laws, worship the creation, and live for my comfort"
Do you realize the absolute truth of this statement? The only thing restraining you from doing all these things is God's grace. Grace teaches you that you are not the center of the world Christ is. Grace teaches you to obey God's word to worship the creator and to live for him. Wow I need grace!
Do you realize the absolute truth of this statement? The only thing restraining you from doing all these things is God's grace. Grace teaches you that you are not the center of the world Christ is. Grace teaches you to obey God's word to worship the creator and to live for him. Wow I need grace!
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Man Or Rabbit?
"Christianity will do you good--a great deal more good than you ever
wanted or expected. And the first bit of good it will do you is to
hammer into your head (you won't enjoy that!) the fact that what you
have hitherto called 'good'--all that about 'leading a decent life' and
'being kind'--isn't quite the magnificent and all-important affair you
supposed. It will teach you that in fact you can't be 'good' (not for 24
hours) on your own moral efforts. And then it will teach you
that even if you were, you still wouldn't have achieved the purpose for
which you were created. Mere morality is not the end of your life. You
were made for something quite different than that. . . . Confucius
simply didn't know what life is about. The people who keep on asking if
they can't lead a decent life without Christ, don't know what life is
about. . . .
"Morality is
indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which
calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be
swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to
disappear--the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the
cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls
of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all
a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son
of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy."
--C. S. Lewis, "Man or Rabbit?" in God in the Dock pg. 112
You need to let this sink in. Lewis said Christianity "will teach you that in fact you can't be 'good' (not for 24 hours) on your own moral efforts." I love the phrase "All the rabbit in us will disappear" God is doing something far greater than having us lead a decent life he is changing us to be children of God made like his son.
--C. S. Lewis, "Man or Rabbit?" in God in the Dock pg. 112
You need to let this sink in. Lewis said Christianity "will teach you that in fact you can't be 'good' (not for 24 hours) on your own moral efforts." I love the phrase "All the rabbit in us will disappear" God is doing something far greater than having us lead a decent life he is changing us to be children of God made like his son.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Milt Jackson - People Make The World Go Round
One of my all time favorite songs. This has a great piano solo by Herbie Hancock
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
The Great Exchange
“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
“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
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Resting On Christ Alone
“We can put it this way: the man who has faith is the man who is no
longer looking at himself and no longer looking to himself. He no longer
looks at anything he once was. He does not look at what he is now. He
does not even look at what he hopes to be as the result of his own
efforts. He looks entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished
work, and rests on that alone. He has ceased to say, "Ah yes, I used to
commit terrible sins but I have done this and that." He stops
saying that. If he goes on saying that, he has not got faith. Faith
speaks in an entirely different manner and makes a man say, "Yes I have
sinned grievously, I have lived a life of sin, yet I know that I am a
child of God because I am not resting on any righteousness of my own; my
righteousness is in Jesus Christ and God has put that to my account.”
― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Is this truth settled in your heart? I have received the free gift of
righteousness and I have been adopted into God's family and I am
eternally secure in Christ.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
We Are Far Too Easily Pleased
“It
would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too
weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex
and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who
wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what
is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily
pleased.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses
We think just the opposite. We think our sinful desires are so strong that we can't reach for the joy God offers but that makes us like an ignorant child who is easily pleased. Instead of reaching for the joy we settle for the mud in the slum, that's why were half-hearted creatures who are content with the mud. We settle for weak desires instead of going for the higher desires to know God and to be filled with his joy.
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses
We think just the opposite. We think our sinful desires are so strong that we can't reach for the joy God offers but that makes us like an ignorant child who is easily pleased. Instead of reaching for the joy we settle for the mud in the slum, that's why were half-hearted creatures who are content with the mud. We settle for weak desires instead of going for the higher desires to know God and to be filled with his joy.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Friday, November 7, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
The Problem With Doubting Everything
“But the new rebel is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust
anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a
revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his
way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a
moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not
only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he
denounces it. . . . As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste
of life, and then, as a philosopher,
that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a
policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest
philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. .
. . The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he
complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes
his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he
proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern
revolutionist, being an infinite skeptic, is always engaged in
undermining his own mind. In his book on politics he attacks men for
trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for
trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become
practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against
everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
And here we are in America. Everyone revolting against something while
tolerating things they should revolt against. What a mess this world
is. As the apostle Paul said "If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to
those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded
the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the
gospel." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) And as Bob Dylan sang in Saved, "I was
blinded by the devil, Born already ruined, Stone cold dead as I steeped
out of the womb. By his grace I have been touched, By his word I have
been healed, By his hand I've been delivered, By his Spirit I've been
sealed. I've been saved, By the blood of the lamb."
Man I love that lyric.
Man I love that lyric.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Imagine Yourself As A Living House
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that
house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is
getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on;
you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But
presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts
abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up
to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house
from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on
an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought
you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a
palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
I love this quote from Lewis. As you get older you start feeling that
most of the work has been done on your house (yourself) and you can take
it easy and all of a sudden God's building a new wing and its quite
upsetting. I find that I am more engaged in learning and growing in my
faith more involved in other peoples lives and more involved with my
grown children and their children there is no time to back off and think
of myself. What a waste of time that is. I do know some people who as
they have gotten older are more withdrawn, concerned only for themselves
and have put up a sign "no new construction here" How sad for them.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Cream bassist Jack Bruce dies, aged 71
Jack Bruce, bassist from 1960s band Cream, has died aged 71, his publicist confirms.
Legendary supergroup Cream, which also included Eric Clapton
and Ginger Baker, are now considered one of the most important bands in
rock history.They sold 35 million albums in just over two years and were given the first ever platinum disc for Wheels of Fire.
Bruce wrote and sang most of the songs, including "I Feel Free" and "Sunshine Of Your Love".
Born in the Glasgow suburb of Bishopbriggs in 1943, his parents travelled extensively in Canada and the USA and the young Jack attended 14 different schools.
He finished his formal education at Bellahouston Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, to which he won a scholarship for cello and composition.
He left the academy and Scotland at the age of 16 and eventually found his way to London where he became a member of the influential Alexis Korner's Blues Inc, where Charlie Watts, later to join the Rolling Stones, was the drummer.
Cream split in November 1968 at the height of their popularity, with Bruce feeling he had strayed too far from his ideals.
Bruce never again reached the commercial heights he did with Cream but his reputation as one of the best bass guitarists in the business grew throughout the subsequent decades.
In May 2005, he reunited with his former Cream bandmates for a series of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Jack Bruce (left) with Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in Cream in the mid-1960s
She said: "He died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family."
A statement from his family said: "It is with great sadness that we, Jack's family, announce the passing of our beloved Jack: husband, father and granddad and all-round legend.
"The world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts."
Friday, October 24, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Derek Zoolander - The Notre Dame Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good
Great Zoolander pic at College Gameday this past Saturday in Tallahassee. This made me laugh because I really don't like Notre Dame. Plus they lost the game at Florida State.
ERIC CLAPTON at the White House for the concert of the century 23rd oct 1999 - Three Songs
1. Eric Clapton - Rambling on my mind
2. Eric Clapton & Lenny Kravitz - All along the watchtower
3. Eric Clapton & B.B. King - The thrill is gone
Friday, October 17, 2014
Why Should Mankind Be Perceived As Special?
“If man is not made in the image of God, nothing then stands in the
way of inhumanity. There is no good reason why mankind should be
perceived as special. Human life is cheapened. We can see this in many
of the major issues being debated in our society today: abortion,
infanticide, euthanasia, the increase of child abuse and violence of all
kinds, pornography ... , the routine torture of political prisoners in
many parts of the world, the crime explosion, and the random violence which surrounds us.”
― Francis August Schaeffer, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?
― Francis August Schaeffer, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?
When people say "I don't believe there is a God" and they talk about
man's value, man's rights they are speaking in a contradiction. Man
cannot have happened my mere chance and then have a special value that
we must protect. Society today speaks in all kinds of double talk and
sees no problem in saying contradictory things.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
It Is Finished
The gospel is: It’s finished. Christ has lived perfectly in your place.
Christ died shamefully in your place, and He has risen in power for you.
That’s the message people need to hear. Here was the message recently
taught to a very large group of christian students: "Figure out what you
are really good at. Be the best at it in the world, and then people
will listen to you when you want to talk about Christ." No, that's not
the gospel that’s the message of the world, which is: "You have to be
good to gain a hearing." The message of the gospel is: We’re sinners. We
need a Savior and there is a Christ who has bought forgiveness for you.
Live in the light of that. There is nothing more difficult to accept
than the truth that you bring nothing to the table except your sin, and
He has to bring everything else.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The True God
God is a God of outsiders because the true God is a God of grace. The
true God offers His salvation regardless of merit, race, pedigree,
gender or class. (The early church grew among the poor, the slaves, the
oppressed)
The gods of religions and even the god of people who think they’re following the God of the Bible are gods who basically work with you on the basis of your performance and your spiritual attainment. If you pray enough, sacrifice enough, if you’re active enough in church, if you read the Bible enough, if you do the right thing, if you live morally good enough, then this God will work with you. But that’s not the true God!
The gods of religions and even the god of people who think they’re following the God of the Bible are gods who basically work with you on the basis of your performance and your spiritual attainment. If you pray enough, sacrifice enough, if you’re active enough in church, if you read the Bible enough, if you do the right thing, if you live morally good enough, then this God will work with you. But that’s not the true God!
Monday, October 6, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
God's Grace Is Here If You Will Receive It
What God did at Calvary was grace. Jesus didn’t die for his friends,
he died for his enemies, and he died for us. That’s grace. That’s going
beyond the ordinary or what’s expected. All the human race can expect is
divine wrath but God comes and says, “I’m going to give you grace
instead of wrath because of my Son”.
The grace of God is here for the human race. Christ died on the cross for them. But the human race says, “No, I’m doing it my own way”. Jeremiah says, “That’s bad news because it’s not in you to direct your steps, to lead your own life”. This is the issue in man’s rebellion against God. Man thinks I can come up with my own way to save myself, I don’t have to believe in Jesus or all that Bible stuff, I can do it my own way. God says there is only one way. Jesus is the only door, he is not one of many doors. This is the struggle— the struggle for control.
The grace of God is here for the human race. Christ died on the cross for them. But the human race says, “No, I’m doing it my own way”. Jeremiah says, “That’s bad news because it’s not in you to direct your steps, to lead your own life”. This is the issue in man’s rebellion against God. Man thinks I can come up with my own way to save myself, I don’t have to believe in Jesus or all that Bible stuff, I can do it my own way. God says there is only one way. Jesus is the only door, he is not one of many doors. This is the struggle— the struggle for control.
You must understand this is the battle we face in presenting the
gospel. To accept Christ man has to give up the control he thinks he has
(which is an illusion anyway) he has to repent and believe the gospel.
This issue of control is at the heart of all our struggles and still
must be dealt with even after you come to Christ.
This is from the message "The Need For Brokenness And Correction"
This is from the message "The Need For Brokenness And Correction"
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Real Jesus
A January 1959 letter from C. S. Lewis to Edward Lofstrom. At one
point Lewis responds to something Lofstrom had asked him about by
saying--
'Gentle Jesus', my elbow! The most striking thing about Our Lord is the union of great ferocity with extreme tenderness. (Remember Pascal? 'I do not admire the extreme of one virtue unless you show me at the same time the extreme of the opposite virtue. One shows one's greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between')
'Gentle Jesus', my elbow! The most striking thing about Our Lord is the union of great ferocity with extreme tenderness. (Remember Pascal? 'I do not admire the extreme of one virtue unless you show me at the same time the extreme of the opposite virtue. One shows one's greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between')
Add to this that He is also a supreme ironist, dialectician, and
(occasionally) humorist. So go on! You are on the right track now:
getting to the real Man behind all the plaster dolls that have been
substituted for Him. This is the appearance in Human form of the God who
made the Tiger and the Lamb, the avalanche and the rose. He'll frighten
and puzzle you: but the real Christ can be loved and admired as the
doll can't.
--Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, 3:1011
This is the real Jesus not the religious Jesus, not the fake Jesus or the weak Jesus. I will worship the real Jesus.
--Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, 3:1011
This is the real Jesus not the religious Jesus, not the fake Jesus or the weak Jesus. I will worship the real Jesus.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
What Wisdom! This Is Why I Love Luther
"If
there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God. But if
it is a gift of God, then it is entirely a debt one owes to love, that
is, to the law of Christ. And if it is a debt owed to love, then I must
serve others with it, not myself.
Thus my learning is not my own; it belongs to the unlearned and is the debt I owe them...My wisdom belongs to the foolish, my power to the oppressed. Thus my wealth belongs to the poor, my righteousness to the sinners...
It is with all these qualities that we must stand before God and intervene on behalf of those who do not have them, as though clothed with someone else's garment...But even before men we must, with the same love, render them service against their detractors and those who are violent toward them; for this is what Christ did for us.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works Lectures on Galatians/Chapters 5-6 Chapters 1-6
Here is how grace is manifest in the Christian's life, this is true freedom. This is what the church needs to teach and live. I must say this refreshed my weary soul and I hope it does for your soul also.
Thus my learning is not my own; it belongs to the unlearned and is the debt I owe them...My wisdom belongs to the foolish, my power to the oppressed. Thus my wealth belongs to the poor, my righteousness to the sinners...
It is with all these qualities that we must stand before God and intervene on behalf of those who do not have them, as though clothed with someone else's garment...But even before men we must, with the same love, render them service against their detractors and those who are violent toward them; for this is what Christ did for us.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works Lectures on Galatians/Chapters 5-6 Chapters 1-6
Here is how grace is manifest in the Christian's life, this is true freedom. This is what the church needs to teach and live. I must say this refreshed my weary soul and I hope it does for your soul also.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
God Uses The Weak
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring--
'I do really wish to destroy it!' cried Frodo. 'Or, well, to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?'
'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.'
'But I have so little of any of those things!'
God choose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what Is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27)
God uses the foolish and the weak, the low and the despised even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are. Why does God do this? "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor 1:29)
Have you ever felt like Frodo? That's actually a good place to be its the place where God can use you.
'I do really wish to destroy it!' cried Frodo. 'Or, well, to have it destroyed. I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?'
'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess: not for power or wisdom, at any rate. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.'
'But I have so little of any of those things!'
God choose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what Is weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27)
God uses the foolish and the weak, the low and the despised even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are. Why does God do this? "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor 1:29)
Have you ever felt like Frodo? That's actually a good place to be its the place where God can use you.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Released in 1970, Layla is one of the most known and loved rock songs of all time. Originally a ballad composed by Clapton with an added piano coda by Jim Gordon, Duane Allman signed on to the project, turning the ballad into the riff-driven rocker that it is today. It was released on the album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," Derek and the Dominos' sole album
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on What a Christian Under the Cross Can Offer that a Secular Therapist Cannot
Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Life Together:
Whoever lives beneath the cross of Jesus, and has discerned in the cross of Jesus the utter ungodliness of all people and of their own hearts, will find there is no sin that can ever be unfamiliar.
Whoever has once been appalled by the horror of their own sin, which nailed Jesus to the cross, will no longer be appalled by even the most serious sin of another Christian; rather they know the human heart from the cross of Jesus.
Such persons know how totally lost is the human heart in sin and weakness, how it goes astray in the ways of sin—and know too that this same heart is accepted in grace and mercy.
Only another Christian who is under the cross can hear my confession. It is not experience with life but experience of the cross that makes one suited to hear confession. The most experienced judge of character knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the cross of Jesus.
The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot comprehend this one thing: what sin is. Psychological wisdom knows what need and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the ugliness of the human being. And so it also does not know that human beings are ruined only by their sin and are healed only by forgiveness. The Christian alone knows this. In the presence of a psychologist I can only be sick; in the presence of another Christian I can be a sinner.
The psychologist must first search my heart, and yet can never probe its innermost recesses. Another Christian recognizes just this: here comes a sinner like myself, a godless person who wants to confess and longs for God’s forgiveness.
The psychologist views me as if there were no God. Another believer views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the cross of Jesus Christ.
When we are so pitiful and incapable of hearing the confession of one another, it is not due to a lack of psychological knowledge, but a lack of love for the crucified Jesus Christ.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 114-16.
Are you living beneath the Cross of Jesus? Have you been appalled by your own sin?
Whoever lives beneath the cross of Jesus, and has discerned in the cross of Jesus the utter ungodliness of all people and of their own hearts, will find there is no sin that can ever be unfamiliar.
Whoever has once been appalled by the horror of their own sin, which nailed Jesus to the cross, will no longer be appalled by even the most serious sin of another Christian; rather they know the human heart from the cross of Jesus.
Such persons know how totally lost is the human heart in sin and weakness, how it goes astray in the ways of sin—and know too that this same heart is accepted in grace and mercy.
Only another Christian who is under the cross can hear my confession. It is not experience with life but experience of the cross that makes one suited to hear confession. The most experienced judge of character knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the cross of Jesus.
The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot comprehend this one thing: what sin is. Psychological wisdom knows what need and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the ugliness of the human being. And so it also does not know that human beings are ruined only by their sin and are healed only by forgiveness. The Christian alone knows this. In the presence of a psychologist I can only be sick; in the presence of another Christian I can be a sinner.
The psychologist must first search my heart, and yet can never probe its innermost recesses. Another Christian recognizes just this: here comes a sinner like myself, a godless person who wants to confess and longs for God’s forgiveness.
The psychologist views me as if there were no God. Another believer views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the cross of Jesus Christ.
When we are so pitiful and incapable of hearing the confession of one another, it is not due to a lack of psychological knowledge, but a lack of love for the crucified Jesus Christ.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 114-16.
Are you living beneath the Cross of Jesus? Have you been appalled by your own sin?
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Remembering 9/11
Sunday night around 10 pm on 9/9/01 I was standing on Queens Blvd in Queens NYC admiring the twin towers as I looked into Manhattan. What a sight! I had no earthly idea what was about to happen on 9/11. I flew home to Detroit late that night and remember coming to the office Tuesday morning listening to the radio around 9 am. A breaking news report came on saying a plane had flown into one of the towers. When I arrived at the office I told Sally to turn on the TV and we sat there and watched as a second plane flew into the second tower. We were stunned
As soon as the ban on flying was lifted Mike Osminski and I flew back to NYC. Wilson Caimares Pastor of The Iglesia Misionera de Jesucristo Mike and I went down to ground zero and walked around the entire site. I remember how quiet everyone was walking around with a dazed look. At every corner a makeshift memorial was set up with signs "Have you seen this person?" We saw the beams that fell and stuck into the ground in the form of a cross. Lines of dump trucks were single file going into the site to remove rubble. The dust the destruction the sadness the grief hung in the air there was nothing to say but walk silently and pray. I will never forget those days and I pray that people will never forget them either.
Only Two Options
If
you desire to be justified before God, you must either bring to him a
perfect righteousness of your own, and wholly renounce Christ; or else
you must bring the perfect righteousness of Christ, and wholly renounce
your own.
Edward Fisher, The Marrow of Modern Divinity (Christian Focus, 2009), 111
This is clear and simple
Edward Fisher, The Marrow of Modern Divinity (Christian Focus, 2009), 111
This is clear and simple
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Despair of Overcoming Chronic Temptations.
C. S. Lewis, letter to Mary Neylan, January 20, 1942:
I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations.
It is not serious provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience etc doesn't get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are airing in the cupboard.
The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of His presence.
--The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 2 (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 507; emphasis original
I find this extremely encouraging. Have you noticed the dirt on you? Or do you just pretend its not there. We all have "chronic temptations" that lead us to despair but we need to take hope in the fact that "no amount of falls will really undo us" God will completely clean us up once we leave this earth "the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out and the clean clothes are airing in the cupboard" Thank you Jesus for your amazing grace.
I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations.
It is not serious provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience etc doesn't get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are airing in the cupboard.
The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of His presence.
--The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 2 (Cambridge University Press, 2004), 507; emphasis original
I find this extremely encouraging. Have you noticed the dirt on you? Or do you just pretend its not there. We all have "chronic temptations" that lead us to despair but we need to take hope in the fact that "no amount of falls will really undo us" God will completely clean us up once we leave this earth "the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out and the clean clothes are airing in the cupboard" Thank you Jesus for your amazing grace.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Bill Cosby responds to Victoria Osteen
Victoria doesn't have a clue about the bible and this is really funny.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The Right To Become A Child Of God
In John 1:12,
the apostle writes that 'to all who received him, who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God.' On August 25, 1537,
Martin Luther entered a pulpit in Denmark to fill in for a friend and
preached on this text.
No man, no matter, who he may be, can ponder the magnificence sufficiently or express it adequately in words. We poor mortals, who are condemned and miserable sinners through our first birth from Adam, are singled out for such great honor and nobility that the eternal and almighty God is our Father and we are His children. Christ is our Brother, and we are His fellow heirs (Rom 8:17). And the dear angels, such as Michael and Gabriel, are not to be our masters but our brothers and servants. . . .
This is a grand and overpowering thought! Whoever really reflects on it--the children of the world will not, but Christians will, although not all of them either--will be so startled and frightened by the thought that he will be prompted to ask: 'My dear, can this really be possible and true?'
. . . [T]he world rates it a much higher honor and privilege to be the son and heir of a prince, a king, or a count than to be the possessor of God's spiritual goods, although by comparison all these are nothing but poor bags of worms and their glory sheer stench. Just compare all this with the ineffable dignity and nobility of which the evangelist speaks. . . . If we really believed with all our heart, firmly and unflinchingly, that the eternal God, Creator and Ruler of the world, is our Father, with whom we have an everlasting abode as children and heirs, not of this transitory wicked world but of all God's imperishable, heavenly, and inexpressible treasures, then we would, indeed, concern ourselves but little with all that the world prizes so highly; much less would we covet it and strive after it.
Indeed, we would regard the world's riches, treasures, glories, splendor, and might--compared with the dignity and honor due us as the children and heirs, not of a mortal emperor but of the eternal and almighty God--as trifling, paltry, vile, leprous, yes, as stinking filth and poison.
--Luther, preaching on John 1:12, in LW 22:87-89
No man, no matter, who he may be, can ponder the magnificence sufficiently or express it adequately in words. We poor mortals, who are condemned and miserable sinners through our first birth from Adam, are singled out for such great honor and nobility that the eternal and almighty God is our Father and we are His children. Christ is our Brother, and we are His fellow heirs (Rom 8:17). And the dear angels, such as Michael and Gabriel, are not to be our masters but our brothers and servants. . . .
This is a grand and overpowering thought! Whoever really reflects on it--the children of the world will not, but Christians will, although not all of them either--will be so startled and frightened by the thought that he will be prompted to ask: 'My dear, can this really be possible and true?'
. . . [T]he world rates it a much higher honor and privilege to be the son and heir of a prince, a king, or a count than to be the possessor of God's spiritual goods, although by comparison all these are nothing but poor bags of worms and their glory sheer stench. Just compare all this with the ineffable dignity and nobility of which the evangelist speaks. . . . If we really believed with all our heart, firmly and unflinchingly, that the eternal God, Creator and Ruler of the world, is our Father, with whom we have an everlasting abode as children and heirs, not of this transitory wicked world but of all God's imperishable, heavenly, and inexpressible treasures, then we would, indeed, concern ourselves but little with all that the world prizes so highly; much less would we covet it and strive after it.
Indeed, we would regard the world's riches, treasures, glories, splendor, and might--compared with the dignity and honor due us as the children and heirs, not of a mortal emperor but of the eternal and almighty God--as trifling, paltry, vile, leprous, yes, as stinking filth and poison.
--Luther, preaching on John 1:12, in LW 22:87-89
Friday, August 22, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Completely Surprised and Amazed That God Saved Someone Like Me
Helmut Thielicke (1908-1986), German pastor and author:
[The gospel] comes into our life as an amazing surprise. That there should be someone like Jesus, that he should gain the Father's heart for us, that he should rescue us, from the frustration of our personal lives and snatch us away from this horrible vegetating on the edge of the void--all this is indeed a tremendous surprise.
--The Waiting Father: Sermons on the Parables of Jesus, 36
Are you surprised that the gospel came into your life? Have you ever been amazed that there is someone like Jesus? Jesus who rescued us from the frustration of our personal lives. Who rescued us from living on the edge of the void which we would surely have fallen into if not for Jesus. Are you really surprised that God saved someone like you? You should be! I know I am.
[The gospel] comes into our life as an amazing surprise. That there should be someone like Jesus, that he should gain the Father's heart for us, that he should rescue us, from the frustration of our personal lives and snatch us away from this horrible vegetating on the edge of the void--all this is indeed a tremendous surprise.
--The Waiting Father: Sermons on the Parables of Jesus, 36
Are you surprised that the gospel came into your life? Have you ever been amazed that there is someone like Jesus? Jesus who rescued us from the frustration of our personal lives. Who rescued us from living on the edge of the void which we would surely have fallen into if not for Jesus. Are you really surprised that God saved someone like you? You should be! I know I am.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Law or Gospel?
“The Law terrorizes the conscience. The Law reveals the wrath and
judgment of God. The Gospel does not threaten. The Gospel announces that
Christ is come to forgive the sins of the world. The Gospel conveys to
us the inestimable treasures of God.”
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
Friday, August 15, 2014
The Christian Life Simplified
"14
Dear brothers, warn those who are lazy, comfort those who are
frightened, take tender care of those who are weak, and be patient with
everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to
do good to each other and to everyone else. 16 Always be joyful. 17
Always keep on praying. 18 No matter what happens, always be thankful,
for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 Living Bible
Warn or admonish those who are lazy or are out of line, or are disorderly, you know the loafers. So people who are disorderly need to be admonished, or rebuked or counseled to get to work and be productive. No comfort here.
Comfort or encourage those who are frightened or timid or fainthearted. This means to soothe, console, or reassure, or give support, confidence, or hope to someone who is showing a lack of courage or confidence.
Take tender care of those who are weak or help and give your support to the weak souls, You know people who are weak in their soul and need to be supported.
Be patient with them all. Whether they are lazy or disorderly, or timid or frightened or weak be patient.
No revenge is allowed! No evil for evil or wrong for wrong instead show kindness and good to others.
Always be joyful which means feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness. Be happy in your faith and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually.
Pray without ceasing or always keep on praying. Don't know what to do? Pray, ask God for help always.
No matter what happens, always be thankful. Thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances may be, and give thanks. Quit complaining and be thankful.
For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. This is God's will for every person who belongs to Jesus Christ.
There it is in simple and easy to understand words. This is God's will for you. Don't argue with it dismiss it as to simple or say "but you don't understand my problems." Remember the Apostle Paul wrote this inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is the Word of God. My advice is to print this out meditate on it read it daily and allow it to sink into your heart and mind.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 Living Bible
Warn or admonish those who are lazy or are out of line, or are disorderly, you know the loafers. So people who are disorderly need to be admonished, or rebuked or counseled to get to work and be productive. No comfort here.
Comfort or encourage those who are frightened or timid or fainthearted. This means to soothe, console, or reassure, or give support, confidence, or hope to someone who is showing a lack of courage or confidence.
Take tender care of those who are weak or help and give your support to the weak souls, You know people who are weak in their soul and need to be supported.
Be patient with them all. Whether they are lazy or disorderly, or timid or frightened or weak be patient.
No revenge is allowed! No evil for evil or wrong for wrong instead show kindness and good to others.
Always be joyful which means feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness. Be happy in your faith and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually.
Pray without ceasing or always keep on praying. Don't know what to do? Pray, ask God for help always.
No matter what happens, always be thankful. Thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances may be, and give thanks. Quit complaining and be thankful.
For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. This is God's will for every person who belongs to Jesus Christ.
There it is in simple and easy to understand words. This is God's will for you. Don't argue with it dismiss it as to simple or say "but you don't understand my problems." Remember the Apostle Paul wrote this inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is the Word of God. My advice is to print this out meditate on it read it daily and allow it to sink into your heart and mind.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
"Burnt Out Town" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from Hypnotic Eye
This song sounds like it was written about Detroit under Kwame
How The Gospel Is Lost
“When
the offense of the Cross ceases, when the rage of the enemies of the
Cross abates, when everything is quiet, it is a sign that the devil is
the door-keeper of the Church and that the pure doctrine of God's Word
has been lost.”
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
Paul said, "If I still preach circumcision why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed." Paul is saying if I was still preaching the law why would people persecute me? There is no offense in the law or rules or standards of conduct. When the church stops preaching the cross stops preaching the gospel the devil moves into the church and the word of God is lost.
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians
Paul said, "If I still preach circumcision why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed." Paul is saying if I was still preaching the law why would people persecute me? There is no offense in the law or rules or standards of conduct. When the church stops preaching the cross stops preaching the gospel the devil moves into the church and the word of God is lost.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Our Fatal Love Affair With The Law
Grace
cannot prevail until law is dead, until moralizing is out of the game .
. . until our fatal love affair with the law is over--until, finally
and for good, our lifelong certainty that someone is keeping score has
run out of steam and collapsed. As long as we leave, in our
dramatizations of grace, one single hope of a moral reckoning, one
possible recourse to salvation by bookkeeping, our freedom-dreading hearts will clutch it to themselves.
Restore to us, Preacher, the comfort of merit and demerit. Prove for us that there is at least something we can do, that we are still, at whatever dim recess of our nature, the masters of our relationships. Tell us, Prophet, that in spite of all our nights of losing, there will yet be one redeeming card of our very own. . . . But do not preach us grace. It will not do to split the pot evenly at 4 a.m. and break out the Chivas Regal. We insist on being reckoned with. Give us something, anything; but spare us the indignity of this indiscriminate acceptance.
Lord, let your servants depart in the peace of their responsibility. If it is not too much to ask, send us to bed with some few shreds of self-respect to congratulate ourselves upon. But if that is too hard, leave us at least the consolation of our self-loathing. Only do not force us free. What have we ever done but try as best we could? How have we so hurt you, even by failing, that you should now turn on us and say that none of it makes any difference, not even our sacred guilt? We have played this game of yours, and it has cost us.
Where do you get off suggesting a drink at a time like this?
--Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Eerdmans 1997), 7; italics original
Restore to us, Preacher, the comfort of merit and demerit. Prove for us that there is at least something we can do, that we are still, at whatever dim recess of our nature, the masters of our relationships. Tell us, Prophet, that in spite of all our nights of losing, there will yet be one redeeming card of our very own. . . . But do not preach us grace. It will not do to split the pot evenly at 4 a.m. and break out the Chivas Regal. We insist on being reckoned with. Give us something, anything; but spare us the indignity of this indiscriminate acceptance.
Lord, let your servants depart in the peace of their responsibility. If it is not too much to ask, send us to bed with some few shreds of self-respect to congratulate ourselves upon. But if that is too hard, leave us at least the consolation of our self-loathing. Only do not force us free. What have we ever done but try as best we could? How have we so hurt you, even by failing, that you should now turn on us and say that none of it makes any difference, not even our sacred guilt? We have played this game of yours, and it has cost us.
Where do you get off suggesting a drink at a time like this?
--Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace (Eerdmans 1997), 7; italics original
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Nothing To Boast About
Spurgeon, writing reflectively on Ephesians 2:8-9--
What does faith exclude? Well, I am sure it excludes boasting. 'He that believeth is not condemned' (John 3:18). Oh, if it said, 'He that works is not condemned,' then you and I might boast in unlimited quantity. . . .
No, Lord, if I am not condemned, it is Your free grace, for I have deserved to be condemned a thousand times since I sat down to write this. When I am on my knees and I am not condemned, I am sure it must be sovereign grace, for even when I am praying, I deserve to be condemned. Even when we are repenting, we are sinning, and adding to our sins while we are repenting of them. . . .
Our best performances are so stained with sin that it is hard to know whether they are good works or bad works. . . . Ah, then, we cannot boast! Be gone, pride! Be gone! Quit boasting, Christian. Live humbly before your God, and never let a word of self-congratulation escape your lips.
--Charles Spurgeon, Faith (Whitaker House 1995), 88
I have nothing to boast about except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
What does faith exclude? Well, I am sure it excludes boasting. 'He that believeth is not condemned' (John 3:18). Oh, if it said, 'He that works is not condemned,' then you and I might boast in unlimited quantity. . . .
No, Lord, if I am not condemned, it is Your free grace, for I have deserved to be condemned a thousand times since I sat down to write this. When I am on my knees and I am not condemned, I am sure it must be sovereign grace, for even when I am praying, I deserve to be condemned. Even when we are repenting, we are sinning, and adding to our sins while we are repenting of them. . . .
Our best performances are so stained with sin that it is hard to know whether they are good works or bad works. . . . Ah, then, we cannot boast! Be gone, pride! Be gone! Quit boasting, Christian. Live humbly before your God, and never let a word of self-congratulation escape your lips.
--Charles Spurgeon, Faith (Whitaker House 1995), 88
I have nothing to boast about except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Thursday, July 31, 2014
The Devil Can Kiss My Backside
“It is the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of the gospel. If I can hold on to the distinction between law and gospel, I can say to him any and every time that he should kiss my backside. Even if I sinned I would say, ‘Should I deny the gospel on this account?’ . . . Once I debate about what I have done and left undone, I am finished. But if I reply on the basis of the gospel, ‘The forgiveness of sins covers it all,’ I have won.” ( Martin Luther).
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