Reformation Day!

"All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask. Yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask."

Martin Luther, (1483-1546).

Isaiah's Encounter With The LORD

"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'"  (Isaiah 6:1-7)

     "The seraph pressed the white-hot coal to the lips of the prophet and seared them. The lips are one of the most sensitive parts of human flesh, the meeting point of the kiss. Here Isaiah felt the holy flame burning his mouth. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils, but that sensation was dulled by the excruciating pain of the heat. This was a severe mercy, a painful act of cleansing. Isaiah's wound was being cauterized, the dirt in his mouth was being burned away. He was refined by holy fire.
     "In this divine act of cleansing, Isaiah experienced a forgiveness that went beyond the purification of his lips. He was cleansed throughout, forgiven to the core, but not without the awful pain of repentance. He went beyond cheap grace and the easy utterance "I'm sorry." He was in mourning for his sin, overcome with moral grief, and God sent an angel to heal him. His sin was taken away. His dignity remained intact. His guilt was removed, but his humanity was not insulted. The conviction that he felt was constructive. His was no cruel and unusual punishment. A second of burning flesh on the lips brought a healing that would extend to eternity. In a moment, the disintegrating prophet was whole again. His mouth was purged. He was clean."

R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, (Tyndale, 1998), p. 31.

Intellectualism?

"We are worldly when we, like the world around us, give ourselves to an entertainment mentality, when we amuse ourselves to death. We are still worldly, however, when we rightly reject the eye candy and froth of pop culture and then conclude that our problems are intellectual, and our solutions more learning. It was the enlightenment, not the Light of the World, that gave us education as its high and holy sacrament. What Jesus calls us to is to repent and believe the gospel. It is more important to us and our sheep that we would learn to believe more, than that we would find more to believe.

"That means first that when we prepare to serve in the ministry, we have to prepare to serve in the ministry. Our seminaries, if we must have them, should more reflect a training hospital than a university. Divinity is not a body of knowledge to be mastered like geology. The Bible is not a book to be dissected like Moby Dick. We go there, if we must go there, not to study the Word, but to begin to learn to have the Word study us. We go to pursue not advanced degrees but the fruit of the Spirit. We go to lose our reputations, not to gain them. We go not to be thought wise, but to learn what fools we are."

R.C. Sproul Jr., excerpt from the article Brothers, We Are Not Professors (http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/brothers-we-are-not-professors)

Throne of Grace

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. O you who hears prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” (Psalm 65:1-4)

Throne of Grace

by Shai Linne

The Atonement (Lamp Mode Recordings, 2008)

Heavenly Father, it’s in the name of Jesus I pray

He is the way- for His sake, please receive what I say

First things first, blessed be Your holy name

There’s none like You, You stand alone and you reign

Lord, You know my frame, You remember that I’m dust

Jesus, who overcame- it’s in Him I put my trust

No confidence in the flesh, it’s obvious I’m a mess

No doubt, much more a mess than what I can see manifest

I confess that I daily fall short of Your glory

I’ve failed so many times- my sin’s always before me

I take time to ponder the opportunities I’ve squandered

And how I’m prone to wander from here to yonder

My foolish, restless heart clings to dear idols

Which could never satisfy me- they’re mere trifles

Like David said, You hem me in behind and before

You convict me of the sin that I’ve been trying to ignore

Lord, you see my immaturity, You see my insecurity

You see all my impurity- how long will You endure with me?

My heart’s laid before You- stark naked, undressed

I pray that You would become greater and that I’d become less

Yes, when I see Jesus and His inherent loveliness

I’m reminded of my own comparative nothingness

And actually, I’m as primitive as can be

Compared to His magnificent, infinite majesty

You’ve shown me the glory of Christ, He’s so holy

My only hope is that You look upon the lowly

So I humble myself as I appear at Your throne

Not based on my righteousness, but Christ’s merits alone

I’m crying out for mercy as I magnify Your name

You amplified the pain of the Lamb of God who was slain

So truly, I only have one request that’ll suit me

Please open up my eyes to better behold His beauty

Christ: The Intercessor

"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me."  

Robert M. McCheyne, (1813–1843).

("The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." -Hebrews 7:23-25)

("Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." -Romans 8:34)

What Manner of Men Will They Be?

"Yea…that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more . . . raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ [preaching]. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives."

George Whitefield, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival by Arnold Dallimore, (Banner of Truth, 1970), p. 16.

Absolute Truth?

"Postmodernism is really a throwback to the era of the judges in Israel where 'every man did that which was right in his own eyes' (Judges 17:6). [The mindset is:] Tolerate everything, truth is whatever you want it to be, and be loyal to no one but yourself. Since there are no clear lines, all kinds of skirmishes can flare up anywhere, with challenges on all kinds of issues."

Nathan O. Osborne III, Just Let Me Preach (Regular Baptist Press, 2002), p. 130.

God Never Changes

"God cannot change for the better. Since He is perfectly holy, He has never been less holy than He is now and can never be holier than He has always been. Neither can God change for the worse. Any deterioration within the unspeakably holy nature of God is impossible. Indeed I believe it impossible even to think of such a thing, for the moment we attempt to do so, the object about which we are thinking is no longer God but something else and someone less than He. The one of whom we are thinking may be a great and awesome creature, but because he is a creature he cannot be the self-existent Creator."

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (HarperCollins, 1961), p. 49.

Trinitarian Proof

      "As God has shown himself more clearly in the coming of Christ, so he has made himself more widely understood as three persons. Of the many proofs, let this one be enough. Paul connects God, faith and baptism and reasons from one to another (Eph. 4:5). So because there is one faith, he infers that there is one God; and because there is one baptism, he infers there is one faith. Therefore, if by baptism we are initiated into the faith and worship of one God, we must, of course, believe that the one into whose name we are baptised is the true God. And there can be no doubt that our Saviour wanted to proclaim, in a most positive statement, that the full light of faith can be seen, when he said 'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matt. 28:19).
      "Since this is the same as being baptised into the name of the one God, who has been shown forth in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, so it is obvious that the three persons, by whom God is known, coexist in the divine nature. Because faith ought not to be dashing around in all directions but should hold fast to God alone, it is obvious that if there were varieties of faith, there would have to be a variety of gods. So, because baptism is a sacrament, its unity assures us of God's unity. Moreover, it is self-evident that we must only be baptised into one God, because we make profession of faith in him in whose name we are baptised. So what does our Saviour mean, when he commands that baptism should be administered in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if it is not that we are to be united in one faith in them? This is the same as stating that the Trinity is one God. So since we must believe that there is one God, and not more than one, we conclude that the Word and Spirit are of the very essence of God..."

John Calvin, The Institutes of Christian Religion (Baker Academic, 1987), p. 52-53.

Tongue Taming Trouble

"A sharp tongue invites a split lip." ~ Evelyn Zempke

      "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

      "How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." 

~ James 3: 1-12, English Standard Version.

"If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments."

The following is a observation of Dr. John Piper on his meditation of John 14: 15-24. Specifically verse 15, in which Jesus tells the disciples: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

"The first thing to notice is that loving Jesus is not the same as keeping his commandments. It precedes and gives rise to keeping the commandments. Keeping his word is the result of loving him, not the same as loving him. 

In short, loving Jesus is not a matter of doing excellent things. It’s a matter of delighting in an excellent Savior. Jesus says doing excellent things—keeping my word—is the result of delighting in the excellent Savior. 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.'"

A Glad View of Sovereignty

"Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. God's sovereignty has ever appeared to me, a great part of His glory. It has often been my delight to approach God, and adore Him as a sovereign God." ~Jonathan Edwards

"The Way of Love"

Photo by: Augustine Grace Photography (www.augustinegrace.com)

“The Way of Love”

(A poem based off 1 Corinthians 13:1-7)

If I have the most eloquent speech

And can recite and quote and read and teach

And can communicate on levels hard to reach

But I do not have love I am nothing

If I have all knowledge known to man

And can fathom all wonders at hand

And have all faith so as to remove the lands

But I do not have love I am nothing

If I sacrifice all that I own

And give up my body without a moan

And if they burn me deep all the way to the bone

But I do not have love I gain nothing

For love is always patient and kind

Not having an envy or boast in mind

Leaving pride and arrogance and rudeness behind

And it never insists to be selfish

Love does not rush to get quickly mad

Keeps no record of things one's done bad

And as love looks upon sin it is never glad

Yet it always rejoices in the truth

Love is strong and can bear all the weight

All things it trusts and is willing to wait

It entrusts all to the Creator of fate

Yes we know love will endure forever

 by: Cody Hancock

Preach The Gospel, Not About The Gospel

"Another way I can put that is to say that we are not called just to say things about the Gospel. I remember a type of preaching fifty years ago or more, which was often described as 'praising the Gospel'. The comment on the sermon and the preacher was that he had praised the Gospel. He had been saying wonderful things about it, or showing how wonderful it was. I suggest that that is wrong. the Gospel is wonderful, the Gospel is to be praised, but that is not the preacher's primary task. He is to 'present', to declare the Gospel. 

"Or let me put it like this. The business of the preacher is not to present the Gospel academically. This again is done frequently. The preacher can analyze it and who its parts and proportions, and show how excellent it is; but still he is saying things about the Gospel, whereas we are called to preach the Gospel, to convey it, and to bring it directly to the individuals who are listening to us, and to bring it to the whole man. So let us be clear that we are not talking about the Gospel as if it were something outside us. We are involved in it; we are not to look at it just as a subject, and to say things about it; it itself is being directly presented and conveyed to the congregation through us" (emphasis mine).

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching & Preachers (Zondervan, 2011), p. 78-79.

The Risk of Love

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” 

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963).

God's Hands

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."  

Martin Luther (1483–1546).

What Ships Are Built For...

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

William Shedd (1820-1894).

Advice On Discovering God's Will (part 5 of 5)

5) "And this being done, follow Providence so far as it agrees with the Word and no further. There is no use to be made of Providence against the Word, but in subservience to it." ~John Flavel

Advice On Discovering God's Will (part 4 of 5)

4) "Pray for illumination and direction in the way that you should go. Beg the Lord to guide you in straits and that he would not permit you to fall into sin. . ." ~John Flavel

Advice On Discovering God's Will (part 3 of 5)

3) "Reduce what you know into practice, and you shall know what is your duty to practice. 'If any man do his will he shall know of the doctrine' (John 7:17). 'A good understanding have all they that do his commandments' (Psalm 111:10)." ~John Flavel

Advice On Discovering God's Will (part 2 of 5)

2) "Study the Word more, and the concerns and interests of the world less. The Word is light to your feet (Psalm 119:105), that is, it has a discovering and directing usefulness as to all duties to be done and dangers to be avoided. . ." ~John Flavel

Advice On Discovering God's Will (part 1 of 5)

This will be a five-point mini-series on discovering the Will of God. All of the points come from John Flavel in his book The Mystery of Providence. 

1) "Get the true fear of God upon your hearts. Be really afraid of offending him. God will not hide his mind from such a soul. 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant' (Psalm 25:14)." ~John Flavel

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Photo by: Augustine Grace Photography (www.augustinegrace.com)

Today my little (big) brother is 16! Woohoo! 

In the spirit of your birthday, I've put together some quotes about brothers. Some remind me of me, some remind me of you, but they all remind me of us. Here we go...

• "Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~ Marc Brown

• "Sibling relationships--and 80 percent of Americans have at least one--outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust." ~ Erica E. Goode

• "It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea." ~ Dylan Thomas  

• "There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother." ~ Astrid Alauda 

• "Boom, boom, boom. Muffiiiiiins." ~ Shawn Spencer

Caleb, I love you very much and I am so proud of the man God is molding you into. Keep loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). Thanks for being the best brother ever. I can't wait to have more fun and memories with you as the years pass on. I love you, bro.

P.S. Drive safely. Please.

P.P.S. This made me think of you too.

God of All Good

The following is a Puritan communion prayer that I read last night in church for our monthly communion service.  

God of All Good

I bless thee for the means of grace;

   teach me to see in them thy loving purposes

   and the joy and strength of my soul.

Thou hast prepared for me a feast;

   and though I am unworthy to sit down as guest,

   I wholly rest on the merits of Jesus,

   and hide myself beneath his righteousness;

When I hear his tender invitation

   and see his wondrous grace,

I cannot hesitate, but must come to thee in love.

By thy Spirit enliven my faith rightly to discern

   and spiritually to apprehend the Saviour.

While I gaze upon the emblems of

   my Saviour's death,

may I ponder why he died, and hear him say,

     'I gave my life to purchase yours,

      presented myself an offering to expiate

       your sin,

     shed my blood to blot out your guilt,

     opened my side to make you clean,

     endured your curses to set you free,

     bore your condemnation to satisfy divine justice.'

O may I rightly grasp the breadth and length of this design,

draw near, obey, extend the hand,

take the bread, receive the cup,

eat and drink, testify before all men

   that I do for myself, gladly, in faith,

     reverence and love, receive my Lord,

   to be my life, strength, nourishment, joy, delight.

In the supper I remember his eternal love,

     boundless grace, infinite compassion,

     agony, cross, redemption,

   and receive assurance of pardon, adoption, life, glory.

As the outward elements nourish my body,

   so may thy indwelling Spirit invigorate my soul,

   until that day when I hunger and thirst no more,

   and sit with Jesus at his heavenly feast.