Sunday, October 26, 2014

Humiliation & Clouds of Atheism

SOVEREIGN LORD,

When clouds of darkness, atheism, and unbelief come to me,
I see thy purpose of love
  in withdrawing the Spirit that I might prize him more,
  in chastening me for confidence in past successes, that my wounds of secret godlessness might be cured.

Help me to humble myself before thee
  by seeing the vanity of honour
    as a conceit of men's minds,
    as standing between me and thee;
  by seeing that thy will must alone be done,
    as much in denying as in giving spiritual enjoyments;
  by seeing that my heart is nothing but evil,
    mind, mouth, life void of thee;
  by seeing that sin and Satan are allowed power in me
    that I might know my sin, be humbled,
      and gain strength thereby;
  by seeing that unbelief shuts thee from me,
    so that I sense not thy majesty, power, mercy, or love.
Then possess me, for thou only art good and worthy.

Thou dost not play in convincing me of sin,
Satan does not play in tempting me to it,
I do not play when I sink in deep mire,
  for sin is no game, no toy, no bauble;
Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies
  not so much in the nature of the sin committed,
  as in the greatness of the Person sinned against.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me,
    by showing me
  that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch,
  but that in Christ I am reconciled, made alive, and satisfied;
  that I am feeble and unable to do any good,
  but that in him I can do all things;
  that what I now have in Christ is mine in part,
  but shortly I shall have it perfectly in heaven.


From The Valley of Vision - A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, "HUMILIATION"

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Christianity, Freedom, & Prosperity

If no video link is displayed, please visit this site and watch the linked video:

Loved by God

"For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our GOSPEL came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction."
- 1 Thessalonians 1:4,5


So... He is a choosing God.


Has the Gospel come to you in word?

Has the Gospel also come to you in power?

Has the Gospel also come to you in the Holy Spirit?

Has the Gospel also come to you with full conviction?


If you can answer with a resounding, "YES!" then the Apostle Paul says... that they KNOW... that God has chosen you.


God chose me. There is no more humbling truth than that.


Matthew Henry writes:

OBSERVE,
[1.] All those who in the fulness of time are effectually called and sanctified were from eternity elected and chosen to salvation.
[2.] The election of God is of his own good pleasure and mere grace, not for the sake of any merit in those who are chosen.
[3.] The election of God may be known by the fruits thereof.
[4.] Whenever we are giving thanks to God for his grace either to ourselves or others, we should run up the streams to the fountain, and give thanks to God for his electing love, by which we are made to differ.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Seeing from a Good Angle

"There was a sculptor once, so they say, who sculpted a statue of our Lord. And people came from great distances to see it. Christ in all his strength and tenderness. They would walk all around the statue, trying to grasp its splendour, looking at it now from this angle, now from that. Yet still its grandeur eluded them, until they consulted the sculptor himself. He would invariably reply. 'There's only one angle from which this statue can truly be seen. You must kneel.'"


Quoted from David Robertson's Magificent Obsession, who quotes from John Stott

Saturday, October 11, 2014

God and Me

What is God to me? This is the first question that rises up to an inquiring soul. And the second is like unto it,-What am I to God? On these two questions hang all religion, as well as all joy and life to the immortal spirit.

If God is for me, and I am for God, all is well. If God is not for me, and if I am not for God, all is ill (Rom 8:31). If He takes my side, and if I take His, there is nothing to fear, either in this world or in that which is to come. If He is not on my side, and if I am not on His, then what can I do but fear? Terror in such a case must be as natural and inevitable as in a burning house or a sinking vessel.”


Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. 
This material may be protected by copyright.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Yes on 1

The will for the people has been silenced. Please click on the link below and watch the new informational advertisement for the proposed Amendment 1 to the Tennessee State Constitution. And vote Yes on 1.

Yes on 1 Television Spot

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

What Was God Doing?

Skeptic: "What was God doing before He created the world?"

Augustine: "Creating hell for curious souls."


- Tradition holds the preceding conversation took place when a skeptic mocked Saint Augustine in regard to his doctrine of creation. For more on this, see...
Covenant of Redemption