God chose the foolish, the weak, the low and the despised so that no human being might boast. And because of God we are in Christ Jesus who is our all, our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. What is there to boast of? "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord"
Based on 1 Cor 1:26-31
Friday, October 8, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Slighted In Community
"What does it matter if I suffer injustice [from others in the community]? Would I not have deserved even more severe punishment from God if God had not treated me with mercy? Is not justice done to me a thousand times over even in injustice? … Those who live by justification by grace are prepared to accept even insults and slights without protest, taking them as from God’s chastising and gracious hand."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith In Community (thanks to Vitamin Z)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith In Community (thanks to Vitamin Z)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Play The Man
"Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not such little children as to be cast down by what may happen in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel’s land, our hope is above the sky, and therefore, calm as the summer’s ocean; we will see the wreck of everything earth-born, and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation."
From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.
From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Firm In Faith
"If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all" Isa 7:9b
Though the context is a little different, the message is the same. When our faith is strong, we can be a pillar in the worst of storms. When our faith is weak, we sway in the lightest of breezes. Make my faith strong Lord.
Though the context is a little different, the message is the same. When our faith is strong, we can be a pillar in the worst of storms. When our faith is weak, we sway in the lightest of breezes. Make my faith strong Lord.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
True Worship
"Worship must have heart and worship must have head. Worship must engage your emotions and worship must engage your thought. Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full of unspiritual fighters. Emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates flaky people who reject the discipline of rigorous thought. True worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine." John Piper on John 4:23
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Don't Be A Fruitless Sap
This is quoted by Jonathan Edwards in Religious Affections:
“To profess to know much is easy; but to bring your affections into subjection, to wrestle with lusts, to cross your wills and yourselves, upon every occasion, this is hard. The Lord looketh, that in our lives we should be serviceable to him, and useful to men. That which is within, the Lord and our brethren are never better for it: but the outward obedience, flowing thence, glorifieth God and does good to men. The Lord will have this done. What else is the end of our planting and watering, but that the trees may be filled with sap? And what is the end of that sap, but that the trees may bring forth fruit? What careth the husbandman for leaves, and barren trees?” John Preston, The Church’s Carriage, The Golden Scepter with the Church’s Marriage and the Church’s Carriage in Three Treatises (London, 1638), pp.101-102
“To profess to know much is easy; but to bring your affections into subjection, to wrestle with lusts, to cross your wills and yourselves, upon every occasion, this is hard. The Lord looketh, that in our lives we should be serviceable to him, and useful to men. That which is within, the Lord and our brethren are never better for it: but the outward obedience, flowing thence, glorifieth God and does good to men. The Lord will have this done. What else is the end of our planting and watering, but that the trees may be filled with sap? And what is the end of that sap, but that the trees may bring forth fruit? What careth the husbandman for leaves, and barren trees?” John Preston, The Church’s Carriage, The Golden Scepter with the Church’s Marriage and the Church’s Carriage in Three Treatises (London, 1638), pp.101-102
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Praise God For Exposed Sin!
The exposing of hidden sin is a great thing for the life of the Christian. Something to even rejoice in! There are so many sins that lie dormant in our lives, but God in his work to sanctify us doesn’t allow them to remain. Praise God! In his love, many a times he brings us to our knees through trial or external pressure to reveal these hidden sins.
What are the benefits?
Repentance: We may go before the Lord humbly asking his forgiveness and rejoicing in the work of Christ on the cross and knowing peace with God.
Love: Our love for Christ grows as we realize more and more how undeserving we are of His love.
Humility: The exposure of our sin reminds us again that we are incapable of anything good outside of the work of Christ in us.
Dependence and Prayer: As we see our sin exposed and feel the pain of it, we find no strength over it other than going again to God, pleading for His continued work in us.
Love of Others: We are slower to judge harshly the sinfulness of others and more likely to love them and hurt for them.
The Word: Along with prayer, it drives us back to the promises in God’s Word. Seeking strength in knowing the truth. Seeking power over sin through the reading and meditation on it.
Pilgrim Perspective: Feeling the pain of sin and the weariness of the fight against it, we desire Christ’s return all the more and to be done with this world. We see that this is not our home nor do we want it to be. We move forward serving God more and ourselves less.
May we always be willing and regularly pray that God would expose our sin. May our hearts desire God and His glory more than our own. May we be willing to be weak, that his strength may be shown.
What are the benefits?
Repentance: We may go before the Lord humbly asking his forgiveness and rejoicing in the work of Christ on the cross and knowing peace with God.
Love: Our love for Christ grows as we realize more and more how undeserving we are of His love.
Humility: The exposure of our sin reminds us again that we are incapable of anything good outside of the work of Christ in us.
Dependence and Prayer: As we see our sin exposed and feel the pain of it, we find no strength over it other than going again to God, pleading for His continued work in us.
Love of Others: We are slower to judge harshly the sinfulness of others and more likely to love them and hurt for them.
The Word: Along with prayer, it drives us back to the promises in God’s Word. Seeking strength in knowing the truth. Seeking power over sin through the reading and meditation on it.
Pilgrim Perspective: Feeling the pain of sin and the weariness of the fight against it, we desire Christ’s return all the more and to be done with this world. We see that this is not our home nor do we want it to be. We move forward serving God more and ourselves less.
May we always be willing and regularly pray that God would expose our sin. May our hearts desire God and His glory more than our own. May we be willing to be weak, that his strength may be shown.
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