If it were possible for you to look into the holy of holies, to mount up to heaven to see the royal palace of our great King, and if you could know the satisfying joy, ravishing delight, the inconceivable pleasure which the spirits of just men made perfect have, and if you could see Him as He is, there visible in the glorified Redeemer, and really know Him as you are known, then reader, what would you think of this God for your portion?
What a poor view you would now have of the beggarly portion that you now admire! What dung, what dog's meat would the world be to you in comparison with God! You would leave the swine of earthly comforts, and the foolish children of disobedience who are paddling in the gutter of sensual waters, that you might have your portion among God's children and your heritage among his chosen ones. All your love would be too little, and labor would be too great for such an inestimable portion.
Lord, let me partake of your special mercy. Though others feed on husks, give me this bread of life. May you be the portion of my cup. Whatsoever you deny me, or however you deal with me, give me yourself, and it shall be enough. You are the true paradise of all pleasure, a living fountain of haziness, and the original and exact pattern of all perfections.
-- George Swinnock
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Lord's Day morning
Sunday should be (is!) a day of worship. Yet my mind & heart are mired. Perhaps this reflects on my selfish view of faith and the church. If it is all about me, I end up with idolatry. If it is all about serving others, I end up with religion. However, if it is about God and Christ and the power of the Spirit, then I am free to worship. Right now the Philips, Craig and Dean song is echoing in my head: “And I stand in awe of You.” Father give me, give us, a fuller view of who you are today. Help us to see, not just with our minds, but with the eyes of our hearts, the vastness of Christ’s sacrifice. Allow us to glimpse the multiple ways you Sprit is leading, guiding and protecting us today. And, help us to abandon ourselves today and worship you in all of your greatness, power and love. SDG
Considering Hell
I ran across an article by Tim Keller regarding the importance of grasping the reality of hell. Here are two quotes:
"Unless we come to grips with this terrible doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him, he was experiencing hell itself."
"It is only because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamation of grace and love are so brilliant and astounding."
The full article is at the link below. SDG
http://www3.dbu.edu/jeanhumphreys/DeathDying/preachinghell.htm
"Unless we come to grips with this terrible doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him, he was experiencing hell itself."
"It is only because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamation of grace and love are so brilliant and astounding."
The full article is at the link below. SDG
http://www3.dbu.edu/jeanhumphreys/DeathDying/preachinghell.htm
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
How easy
How easy is it to lose track of Christ has called us to? I can list just the common distractions in my own life: job family, activities. If those are not enough, I can add the sinful components: pride, envy, selfishness. The result is that following hard after Christ is never going to be easy. Living the Christian life will always be life walking a balance beam, trying avoid crashing into the abyss of sinful license on one side and sinful legalism on the other.
What provoked my writing today is a Spirit-prompted reminder that our church activities are not exempt from this reality. We are still tainted with sin and any enterprise we embark upon will also become tainted, if we lose focus on the One who called us to the task. Yet, it is so much more expedient to focus on the task, rather than on the God who has set us apart and on the Spirit who will empower us. How often to we stop to consider that God, who created everything by speaking it into existence and has sustained from the beginning until now, doesn't need us. Yet, He desires to use us as we work according to His power, plan and purposes.
Father, I confess I have been short-sighted in too many areas of my life. I have jumped to quickly to the solution in my mind rather than probing your Word and seeking the counsel of the Spirit. I humbly, yet boldly, ask that you help me and others who claim the name of Christ to raise our eyes off the footpath of our own journey and focus instead on the highway of the gospel of Jesus. And Lord, help me, help us to see that this is on just a "spiritual add-on", but a necessary component to every aspect of our lives. In Jesus name. Amen
What provoked my writing today is a Spirit-prompted reminder that our church activities are not exempt from this reality. We are still tainted with sin and any enterprise we embark upon will also become tainted, if we lose focus on the One who called us to the task. Yet, it is so much more expedient to focus on the task, rather than on the God who has set us apart and on the Spirit who will empower us. How often to we stop to consider that God, who created everything by speaking it into existence and has sustained from the beginning until now, doesn't need us. Yet, He desires to use us as we work according to His power, plan and purposes.
Father, I confess I have been short-sighted in too many areas of my life. I have jumped to quickly to the solution in my mind rather than probing your Word and seeking the counsel of the Spirit. I humbly, yet boldly, ask that you help me and others who claim the name of Christ to raise our eyes off the footpath of our own journey and focus instead on the highway of the gospel of Jesus. And Lord, help me, help us to see that this is on just a "spiritual add-on", but a necessary component to every aspect of our lives. In Jesus name. Amen
Saturday, September 4, 2010
I am the LORD your God
What a privilege to have God as our God! What a happy condition when nothing can hurt you! If one loses his name, it is written in the book of life. If he loses his liberty, his conscience is free. If he loses his estate, he owns the pearl of great price. If he meets a storm, he has a harbor; God is his God, and heaven is his heaven. If God is our God, our soul is safe. It is hidden in the promises, in the wounds of Christ, and in the decrees of God. If God is our God then all that is in God is ours. How happy is he who not only inherits the gifts of God but God himself! -- Thomas Watson
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A prayer
Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Your holy people held possession for a little while;
our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Your holy people held possession for a little while;
our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
- SDG
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Drowning Man
This is an excerpt from the article linked below. It is well worth the very short read, SDG
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/drowningman2.html
"The Bible plainly teaches that God would be perfectly just if he saved no one. Any good gift we have is better than we deserve, and is granted by sheer mercy, in spite of ourselves. We are not His children by nature (Eph 2:3) but are adopted as children by grace. God is in no way obligated to to cancel anyone's debt, but because He is loving and merciful Jesus paid the debt by absorbing the full wrath of God for those He came to save and applied salvation to them according to His sovereign good pleasure (Eph 1:4, 5). To those who are His children (Rom 9:7-8; Gen 21:10), He will do whatever it takes to make sure they are delivered from the jaws of death." - John Hendryx
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/drowningman2.html
"The Bible plainly teaches that God would be perfectly just if he saved no one. Any good gift we have is better than we deserve, and is granted by sheer mercy, in spite of ourselves. We are not His children by nature (Eph 2:3) but are adopted as children by grace. God is in no way obligated to to cancel anyone's debt, but because He is loving and merciful Jesus paid the debt by absorbing the full wrath of God for those He came to save and applied salvation to them according to His sovereign good pleasure (Eph 1:4, 5). To those who are His children (Rom 9:7-8; Gen 21:10), He will do whatever it takes to make sure they are delivered from the jaws of death." - John Hendryx
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