tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56666474296735062142024-02-20T18:32:34.631-08:00Repentant FaithA Blog of Life, Death, Faith, and Politics (and other non-controversial issues of the day)MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-83240856530589298002021-07-02T02:57:00.000-07:002021-07-02T02:57:17.755-07:00Rejoicing Always — All by Jesus<p> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.66666603088379px; font-style: italic; text-align: right;">"Our heart shall rejoice in Him."</span></p><div class="right" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.66666603088379px; text-align: right;"><span class="bold" style="font-weight: bold;">Psalm 33:21</span></div><br style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.66666603088379px;" /><div id="content" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.66666603088379px;"><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">Blessed is the fact that Christians can rejoice even in the deepest distress; although trouble may surround them, they still sing; and, like many birds, they sing best in their cages. The waves may roll over them, but their souls soon rise to the surface and see the light of God's countenance; they have a buoyancy about them which keeps their head always above the water, and helps them to sing amid the tempest, "God is with me still." </div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">To whom shall the glory be given? Oh! to Jesus—it is all by Jesus. Trouble does not necessarily bring consolation with it to the believer, but the presence of the Son of God in the fiery furnace with him fills his heart with joy. </div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">He is sick and suffering, but Jesus visits him and makes his bed for him. He is dying, and the cold chilly waters of Jordan are gathering about him up to the neck, but Jesus puts His arms around him, and cries, "Fear not, beloved; to die is to be blessed; the waters of death have their fountain-head in heaven; they are not bitter, they are sweet as nectar, for they flow from the throne of God." As the departing saint wades through the stream, and the billows gather around him, and heart and flesh fail him, the same voice sounds in his ears, "Fear not; I am with thee; be not dismayed; I am thy God." As he nears the borders of the infinite unknown, and is almost affrighted to enter the realm of shades, Jesus says, "Fear not, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." </div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">Thus strengthened and consoled, the believer is not afraid to die; nay, he is even willing to depart, for since he has seen Jesus as the morning star, he longs to gaze upon Him as the sun in his strength. Truly, the presence of Jesus is all the heaven we desire. He is at once </div><div class="quote"><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">"The glory of our brightest days;</div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">The comfort of our nights."</div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning & Evening</div></div></div>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-11146848665155456812016-08-14T07:23:00.002-07:002016-08-14T07:28:04.165-07:005 Steps to Political EpiphanyFirst off... My apologies for not posting anything for months! I am going to blame it on a combination of laziness and depression.<br />
<br />
The latter excuse is not the clinical type. It is definitely situational, given the state of our country and this presidential election cycle.<br />
<br />
I had poured my heart and soul into helping Senator Ted Cruz win the GOP nomination, including driving nearly 1700 miles round-trip to Iowa to try to help him win that state's caucus. He won. But in the end, the Hand of Providence worked things out differently than what I had hoped nation-wide.<br />
<br />
So I finally shook off my mild indolence and sadness, and I finally came across something that I deemed worthy enough to deserve a new post!<br />
<br />
<b>"5 Steps to Political Epiphany"</b><br />
<br />
The word "epiphany" is defined as "a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way." If you have about an hour to kill, the series of short animated videos from Rev. Cary K. Gordon would most likely be well worth your time.<br />
<br />
Grab a cup of coffee and a comfy chair, click the link below, and I think you will be entertained... enlightened... and empowered! Do not let anyone tell you that your vote "will be wasted" if you vote for this candidate or that candidate. Let God guide your conscience.<br />
<br />
http://stepstopoliticalepiphany.comMLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-47827994691115373022016-04-04T15:57:00.002-07:002016-04-04T15:57:25.442-07:00Jesus, the Great Scapegoat<div>
<img alt="https://integralkhora.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/webb_sending_out_the_scapegoat.jpg" src="https://integralkhora.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/webb_sending_out_the_scapegoat.jpg" /></div>
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<em>John 19:16</em></div>
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<b><em>"They took Jesus, and led Him away."</em></b></div>
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</div>
<div>
He had been all night in agony, He had spent the early morning at the
hall of Caiaphas, He had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from
Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; He had, therefore,
but little strength left, and yet neither refreshment nor rest were
permitted Him. They were eager for His blood, and therefore led Him out
to die, loaded with the cross. O dolorous procession! Well may Salem's
daughters weep. My soul, do thou weep also. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
What learn we here as we see
our blessed Lord led forth? Do we not perceive that truth which was set
forth in shadow by the scapegoat? Did not the high-priest bring the
scapegoat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of
the people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat, and cease
from the people? Then the goat was led away by a fit man into the
wilderness, and it carried away the sins of the people, so that if they
were sought for they could not be found. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now we see Jesus brought before
the priests and rulers, who pronounce Him guilty; God Himself imputes
our sins to Him, "the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all;" "He
was made sin for us;" and, as the substitute for our guilt, bearing our
sin upon His shoulders, represented by the cross; we see the great
Scapegoat led away by the appointed officers of justice. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>Beloved, can
you feel assured that He carried <u>your</u> sin?</b> As you look at the cross upon
His shoulders, does it represent <u>your</u> sin? There is one way by which
you can tell whether He carried your sin or not. <b>Have you laid your hand
upon His head, confessed your sin, and trusted in Him?</b> Then your sin
lies ...not ...on ...you; it has <u>all</u> been transferred by blessed imputation to <b>
Christ</b>, and He bears it on His shoulder as a load heavier than the
cross. </div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Let not the picture vanish till you have rejoiced in your own
deliverance, and adored the loving Redeemer upon whom <u>your</u> iniquities
were laid.</span></div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div>
<i>- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, M&E, April 3 </i></div>
MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-15163202701273101972016-01-18T18:22:00.002-08:002021-06-30T11:33:15.206-07:00The Cords of Death<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
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I confess... Sometimes I doubt. Even as a child, sometimes when I lay my head on my pillow at night, I doubt God... even his very existence. I wonder... What if when you die, you just no longer exist? You are no more? These thoughts rarely creep in these days, now that I am older. But still, occasionally, they do. And since I've debated a few atheists, and read their literature, some of their thinking occasionally becomes mine, and it grieves me. The Bible says to confess our sins, and take every thought captive to the word of God... so that's what I try to do.</div>
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Often out of the blue, I send a simple text to my daughters. "I love you, Ellise Virginia." "I love you, Sarah Grace." (My other daughter is somewhat estranged now, per her wish, but that is another story.) Last Tuesday afternoon I did that. Ellise responded shortly thereafter, but Grace did not. She does not keep her phone nearby as Ellise does, since she works.</div>
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As I laid down last <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://1" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Tuesday night, around 11pm</a>, for some reason, those awful thoughts returned. As usual, I curled up in the fetal position, hoping the thoughts would go away, and I would just fall asleep. But this time, I thought... I guess I should pray.</div>
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I rolled over on my back, looked at the darkened ceiling in my airport sleep room, closed my eyes, and began to cry and pray:</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Dear God... You know all my thoughts. You know my fears. Sometimes I don't much like myself... but I love living.... even with all life's trials, disappointments, and failures. I do not want to die. I want to live. I love life...</i> </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>... I love my daughters..."</i></blockquote>
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At that very moment, my cell phone vibrated with a text message. It was from my daughter Grace, with this simple reply: </div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Love you too!"</i></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "uictfonttextstylebody"; font-size: 17px;">I laughed a little. I cried a little more. And I thanked God for his gracious Providence! The fears fled, and I soon fell asleep.</span><br />
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The Psalmist says:</div>
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<blockquote style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" type="cite">
<b>The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; </b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" type="cite">
<b>the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. </b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" type="cite">
<b>In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.</b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" type="cite">
<b> - Psalm 18:4-6</b></blockquote>
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Just wanted to confess... and share. :)</div>
MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-72956735789512528622015-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:002015-12-30T05:51:02.352-08:00Called To Be Holy<b>"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth."</b><br />
<b>- Deuteronomy 7:6</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."</b><br />
<b>- 2 Timothy 2:20-21</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.' And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."</b><br />
<b>- 1 Peter 1:13-21</b><br />
<br />
<br />
I have always been one to make at least one or two new year's resolutions. As a Christian, I believe it would be wise to look to God's Word to see what kind of resolutions would be blessed by the Lord, for without Him, we can do nothing.<br />
<br />
My new year's resolution for 2016? I want to be holy in all my conduct, for His glory.<br />
<br />
Will you join me?MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-37674630551580340582015-11-17T13:23:00.000-08:002015-11-18T13:29:35.997-08:00Convention of StatesDo you believe the federal government has too much power? Do you agree the national debt is out of control? Are you convinced Washington will never reign in itself?<br />
<br />
As a District Captain (TN Legislative District 63) for <a href="http://www.conventionofstates.com/" target="_blank">Convention of States</a>, I urge ALL to sign the petition to call for an Article V convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Our goal is to <i>"...[restore] constitutional republicanism and [preserve] the civil society from the growing authoritarianism of a federal Leviathon"</i> (Mark Levin, THE LIBERTY AMENDMENTS).<br />
<br />
I believe THIS is our best hope and last civil recourse!<br />
<br />
You can sign the petition here:<br />
<a href="http://www.cosaction.com/?recruiter_id=1368267" target="_blank">SIGN PETITION</a><br />
<br />
This is how it WILL work!<br />
<br />
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<br />MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-62944119540872143482015-09-28T06:56:00.002-07:002015-09-28T06:56:16.147-07:00Never to Wander More<div class="right" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">
<span class="italic" style="font-style: italic;">"My Beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him."</span><br /><span class="bold" style="font-weight: bold;">Song of Solomon 5:4</span></div>
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Knocking was not enough, for my heart was too full of sleep, too cold and ungrateful to arise and open the door, but the touch of his effectual grace has made my soul bestir itself. Oh, the longsuffering of my Beloved, to tarry when he found himself shut out, and me asleep upon the bed of sloth! Oh, the greatness of his patience, to knock and knock again, and to add his voice to his knockings, beseeching me to open to him! How could I have refused him! Base heart, blush and be confounded! But what greatest kindness of all is this, that he becomes his own porter and unbars the door himself. Thrice blessed is the hand which condescends to lift the latch and turn the key. Now I see that nothing but my Lord's own power can save such a naughty mass of wickedness as I am; ordinances fail, even the gospel has no effect upon me, till his hand is stretched out. Now, also, I perceive that his hand is good where all else is unsuccessful, he can open when nothing else will. Blessed be his name, I feel his gracious presence even now. Well may my bowels move for him, when I think of all that he has suffered for me, and of my ungenerous return. I have allowed my affections to wander. I have set up rivals. I have grieved him. Sweetest and dearest of all beloveds, I have treated thee as an unfaithful wife treats her husband. Oh, my cruel sins, my cruel self. What can I do? Tears are a poor show of my repentance, my whole heart boils with indignation at myself. Wretch that I am, to treat my Lord, my All in All, my exceeding great joy, as though he were a stranger. Jesus, thou forgivest freely, but this is not enough, prevent my unfaithfulness in the future. Kiss away these tears, and then purge my heart and bind it with sevenfold cords to thyself, never to wander more.</div>
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MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-23472127008328656752015-08-15T08:54:00.001-07:002015-08-15T08:54:17.308-07:00Concomitant Accretion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
"In modern America, the unraveling of the civil society had been subtly persistent but it is now intensifying. Evidence of rising utopian system - the allure of political demagogues and self-appointed masterminds peddling abstractions and fantasies in pursuit of a nonexistent paradoxical society, and the concomitant accretion of governmental power in an increasingly authoritarian and centralized federal Leviathan - abounds."<br />
<br />
- Mark R. Levin, PLUNDER AND DECEITMLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-82256365210919884492015-07-22T16:22:00.002-07:002015-07-23T19:56:04.416-07:00Subjugation<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">"Every man should endeavor to understand the meaning of subjugation before it is too late… It means the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be trained by Northern schoolteachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the war; will be impressed by the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, and our maimed veterans as fit objects for derision… It is said slavery is all we are fighting for, and if we give it up we give up all. Even if this were true, which we deny, slavery is not all our enemies are fighting for. It is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties.” </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: #3f4549; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">--- Confederate Maj. General Patrick R. Cleburne, CSA, January 1864</span><br />
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MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-21042294841241680072015-07-10T09:12:00.001-07:002015-07-10T11:44:18.575-07:00Sovereign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-82043451442624654402015-06-13T04:59:00.001-07:002015-06-13T04:59:29.057-07:00Unremitting ThoughtI loathe myself.MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-24021081584436062452015-05-15T18:36:00.001-07:002015-05-15T18:36:10.613-07:00Learning Contentment<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">"...Christian contentment means that my satisfaction is independent of my circumstances.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">...</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">for Paul, contentment was rooted not in self-sufficiency but in Christ’s sufficiency (Phil. 4:13). Paul said that he could do all things—both being abased and abounding—in Christ... </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">...contentment is something we have to learn.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">And here is the crux of the matter: to learn it, we must enroll in the divine school in which we are instructed by biblical teaching and providential experience.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">...</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Christian contentment, therefore, is the direct fruit of having no higher ambition than to belong to the Lord and to be totally at His disposal in the place He appoints, at the time He chooses, with the provision He is pleased to make.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">...If I insist on knowing exactly what God is doing and what He plans to do with my future, if I demand to understand His ways with me in the past, I can never be content until I am equal with God.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">...</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">In our Augustinian tradition, it has often been said that the first sin was superbia, pride. But it was more complex than that; it included discontentment. A discontented spirit is both the fruit and the evidence of an ungodly heart."</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">- Sinclair Ferguson</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><a href="http://www.ligonier.org/blog/learning-contentment/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=ligonierministriesblog" target="_blank">Learning Contentment</a></span>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-51625439205691280592015-04-14T17:36:00.001-07:002015-04-14T17:36:24.354-07:00Few Saved“I will go as far as anyone in exalting God’s mercy in Christ, but I cannot shut my eyes against the fact that this mercy profits no man so long as it is wilfully refused.<br />
<br />
I see nothing wanting, on God’s part, for man’s salvation. I see room in heaven for the chief of sinners. I see willingness in Christ to receive the most ungodly. I see power in the Holy Ghost to renew the most ungodly.<br />
<br />
But I see, on the other hand, desperate unbelief in man: he will not believe what God tells him in the Bible. I see desperate pride in man: he will not bow his heart to receive the Gospel as a little child. I see desperate sloth in man: he will not take the trouble to arise and call upon God. I see desperate worldliness in man: he will not loose his hold on the poor perishable things of time, and consider eternity.<br />
<br />
In short, I see the words of our Lord continually verified: 'Ye will not come unto Me, that ye might have life' (John 5:40), and therefore I am driven to the sorrowful conclusion that few are likely to be saved.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Excerpt From: Ryle, J. C. “Old Paths.” iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-66364340446697802312015-03-04T17:16:00.002-08:002015-03-06T10:15:52.851-08:00The New "Leader of the Free World"The Prime Minister of Israel gave a historical speech this week before a joint session of Congress which was both inspiring and alarming.<br />
<br />
Benjamin Netanyahu is a leader. He speaks with moral clarity and manly boldness. I heard Mark Levin call him "the new leader of the free world," and regrettably I agree. Whittle also made the point:<br />
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<br />
<br />
Our current President pursues, among other things, a foreign policy of appeasement that weakens the security and strength of our nation. I believe this is intentional. He has proven himself lawless and untrustworthy. Now his administration is engaging in negotiations with a tyrannical government which is the world's leading sponsor of terror and is equally untrustworthy.<br />
<br />
The actors are in place. The circus is underway. The music is playing.<br />
<br />
I hope the negotiations crumble and dissolve. But I believe both sides will ultimately get what they want. And I fear for our nation, and the nation of Israel.<br />
<br />
Our world, as we know it, is crumbling before our eyes. Godlessness is prevalent. Christians are mocked, persecuted, raped, enslaved, and executed. And sadly within the borders of the two beacons of hope... the USA and Israel... the most innocent among us are a slain by the hundreds of thousands - legalized infanticide - often paid for by our taxpayer money. But I digress.<br />
<br />
I praise God for leaders like Netanyahu. And I pray for our nations. May God grant repentance, forgiveness, and reformation.<br />
<br />
Here is the speech. I hope you will watch it:<br />
<br />
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<br />MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-7696296272972542382015-02-28T20:11:00.000-08:002015-02-28T20:11:33.058-08:00The Life of the Justified“The life of the justified is one of <u>watchfulness</u>.<br />
<br />
...<i>Forgiveness</i> has altered all his circumstances and hopes. It has brought him into a new world, from which are shut out things he was formerly familiar with, and into which are introduced things which he knew not. He sees and hears what he never saw nor heard before; and he ceases to see and hear what but lately he delighted in. He expects changes, and wishes that they were come.<br />
<br />
...The present has become less to him, the future more; and in that future the one absorbing object is the reappearing of Him, whom not having seen he loves.<br />
<br />
...That the future should be a mere repetition of the present,--with a few scientific and political improvements,--is quite enough for the worldly man. But the man who, by his new connection with the cross, has been transported into a new region, is not content that it should be so.<br />
<br />
...He wants a better future, and a more congenial world; <b>he desires a state of things in which the new object of his love shall be all</b>.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-2203711635662607312015-02-12T15:36:00.001-08:002015-02-12T15:36:35.489-08:00Sacrificing Self“Self-sacrifice ought not to seem much to those for whom Christ has died, and whom He now represents upon the throne. Generous deeds and gifts and words ought to be as natural as they are becoming in those who have been so freely loved, so abundantly pardoned, and so eternally blest.”<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-60040152250006961962015-02-04T18:57:00.000-08:002015-02-04T20:18:11.230-08:00William Tyndale on Sovereign Election<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">"In Christ God loved us, His elect and chosen, before the world began, and reserved us unto the knowledge of his Son and of His holy gospel."</span><div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">"Why does God open one man’s eyes and not another’s? Paul (</span><a class="lbsBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Rom. 9" data-version="esv" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom.%209" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease; border: 0px; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; transition: color 0.3s ease; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rom. 9</a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">) forbids to ask why; for it is too deep for man’s capacity. God we see is honoured thereby, and His mercy set out and the more seen in the vessels of mercy. But the popish can suffer God to have no secret, hid to Himself. They have searched to come to the bottom of His bottomless wisdom: and because they cannot attain to that secret, and be too proud to let it alone, and to grant themselves ignorant, with the apostle, that knew no other than God’s glory in the elect; they go and set up free-will with the heathen philosophers, and say that a man’s free-will is the cause why God chooses one and not another, contrary unto all the Scripture."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">- From <a href="http://www.ligonier.org/blog/william-tyndale-gods-sovereign-election/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=ligonierministriesblog" target="_blank">Ligonier Ministries</a></span></div>
MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-19400900049125526152015-01-23T07:40:00.001-08:002015-01-23T07:41:12.165-08:00The FamilyO SOVEREIGN LORD,<br />
<br />
Thou art the Creator-Father of all men,<br />
for thou hast made and dost support them;<br />
Thou art the special Father of those who know, love, and honor thee,<br />
who find thy yoke easy, and thy burden light,<br />
thy work honourable, thy commandments glorious.<br />
<br />
But how little thy undeserved goodness has affected me!<br />
How imperfectly have I improved my religious privileges!<br />
How negligent have I been in doing good to others!<br />
<br />
I am before thee in my trespasses and sins,<br />
have mercy on me,<br />
and may thy goodness lead me to repentance.<br />
<br />
Help me to hate and forsake every false way,<br />
to be attentive to my condition and character,<br />
to bridle my tongue,<br />
to keep my heart with all diligence,<br />
to watch and pray against temptation,<br />
to mortify sin,<br />
to be concerned for the salvation of others.<br />
<br />
<b>O God, I cannot endure to see the destruction of my kindred.</b><br />
<b>Let those that are united to me in tender ties </b><br />
<b> be precious in thy sight and devoted to glory.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Sanctify<b> </b>and prosper my domestic devotion, instruction, discipline, example,<br />
that my house may be a nursery for heaven,<br />
my church the garden of the Lord,<br />
enriched with trees of righteousness of thy planting, for thy glory;<br />
Let not those of my family who are amiable, moral, attractive,<br />
fall short of heaven at last;<br />
Grant that the promising appearances of a tender conscience,<br />
soft heart, the alarms and delights of thy Word,<br />
be not finally blotted out,<br />
but bring forth judgment unto victory<br />
in all whom I love.<br />
<br />
<br />
- The Valley of Vision, A Collection of Puritan Prayers & DevotionsMLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-17458909417503557102015-01-14T10:44:00.003-08:002015-01-14T10:56:37.512-08:00Mighty To Save<div class="right" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">
<span class="italic" style="font-style: italic;">"Mighty to save."</span><br />
<span class="bold" style="font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 63:1</span></div>
<div class="" id="content" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px;">
<div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">
<i><br /></i>
<i>(The Holy Scriptures, and Spurgeon, lay waste to the contemporary prevailing view of human "free will" and tell us of One who is free to will and do as He pleases.)</i><br />
<br />
By the words "to save" we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are <span class="italic" style="font-style: italic;">multum in parro</span>: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. <b>Christ is not only "mighty to save" those who repent, but he is able to make men repent. </b>He will carry those to heaven who believe; but he is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of his name to bend the knee before him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by "the Mighty God." The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep his people holy after he has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ's might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but he who begins the good work carries it on; he who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is "mighty to save." You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for his strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is "mighty to save;" the best proof of which lies in the fact that he has saved <span class="italic" style="font-style: italic;">you</span>. What a thousand mercies that you have not found him mighty to destroy!"</div>
<div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p" style="padding: 5px;">
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning & Evening</div>
</div>
MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-60488325779340181522014-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:002014-12-31T15:57:25.106-08:00Peril & DisquietudeSOVEREIGN COMMANDER OF THE UNIVERSE,<br />
<br />
I am sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief, in a felt spiritual darkness.<br />
<br />
My heart is full of evil surmisings and disquietude, and I cannot act faith at all.<br />
My heavenly Pilot has disappeared, and I have lost my hold on the Rock of Ages;<br />
I sink into a deep mire beneath storms and waves, in horor and distress unutterable.<br />
<br />
Help me, O LORD,<br />
to throw myself absolutely and wholly on thee,<br />
for better, for worse, without comfort, and all but hopeless.<br />
<br />
Give me peace of soul, confidence, enlargement of mind,<br />
morning joy that comes after night heaviness;<br />
Water my soul richly with divine blessings;<br />
Grant that I may welcome thy humbling in private<br />
so that I might enjoy thee in public;<br />
Give me a mountain top as high as the valley is low.<br />
<br />
Thy grace can melt the worst sinner, and I am as vile as he;<br />
Yet thou hast made me a monument of mercy,<br />
a trophy of redeeming power;<br />
In my distress let me not forget this.<br />
<br />
All-wise God,<br />
Thy never failing providence orders every event, sweetens every fear,<br />
reveals evil's presence lurking in seeming good,<br />
brings real good out of seeming evil,<br />
makes unsatisfactory what I set my heart upon,<br />
to show me what a short-sighted creature I am,<br />
and to teach me to live by faith upon thy blessed self.<br />
<br />
Out of my sorrow and night<br />
give me the name Naphtali -<br />
'satisfied with favor' -<br />
help me to love thee as thy child,<br />
and to walk worthy of my heavenly pedigree.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>The Valley of Vision - A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-48088020520420246332014-12-22T17:01:00.000-08:002014-12-22T17:01:01.247-08:00Love Flows“Love to God, love to the brethren, love to the world, spring up within us as the heavenly love flows in.”<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-51342690471564051932014-12-18T10:57:00.001-08:002021-06-30T16:17:00.668-07:00The Value of the SoulAn 89-year-old grandmother just departed this world recently, and went home to be with her Savior. While her last days were filled with much physical pain, she expressed no distress over her impending death. She greatly cherished not only the presence of family by her bed, some singing hymns to her during her last days on this earth... but also most certainly, her assurance of where she was heading. She knew her soul was safe because of her faith in Jesus.<div><div>
<br />
But what of those without this peace?<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Does any reader of this paper wish to have some faint idea of the value of a soul? Then go and measure it by the opinions of dying people. The solemnity of the closing scene strips off the tinsel and pretence of things, and makes men see them as they really are. What would men do then for their souls? I have seen something of this, as a Christian minister. Seldom, very seldom, have I found people careless, thoughtless, and indifferent about the world to come, in the hour of death. The man who can tell good stories, and sing good songs to merry companions, turns very grave when he begins to feel that life is leaving his body. The boasting infidel at such a season has often cast aside his infidelity. Men like Paine and Voltaire have often shown that their vaunted philosophy breaks down when the grave is in sight. Tell me not what a man thinks about the soul when he is in the fullness of health; tell me rather what he thinks when the world is sinking beneath him, and death, judgment, and eternity loom in sight. The great realities of our being will then demand attention, and must be considered. The value of the soul in the light of time is one thing, but seen in the light of eternity it is quite another. Never does living man know the value of the soul so well as when he is dying, and can keep the world no longer.”</blockquote>
<br />
Excerpt From: Ryle, J. C. “Old Paths.” iBooks.<br />
This material may be protected by copyright.</div></div>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-68263932605945445002014-12-05T06:32:00.000-08:002014-12-05T06:32:27.912-08:00Condemnation or the Cross“Condemnation makes sin strike its roots deeper and deeper. No amount of terror can extirpate evil. No fear of wrath can make us holy. No gloomy uncertainty as to God's favour can subdue one lust, or correct our crookedness of will. But the free pardon of the cross uproots sin, and withers all its branches. The 'no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus' is the only effectual remedy for the deadly disease of an alienated heart and stubborn will.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-21599548549320461132014-11-25T10:15:00.001-08:002014-11-25T10:15:50.876-08:00Forgiving Love“Forgiveness is the mainspring of holiness. Love, as a motive, is far stronger than law; far more influential than fear of wrath or peril of hell. Terror may make a man crouch like a slave and obey a hard master, lest a worse thing come upon him; but only a sense of forgiving love can bring either heart or conscience into that state in which obedience is either pleasant to the soul or acceptable to God.”<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Excerpt From: Bonar, Horatius. “The Everlasting Righteousness.” Monergism Books, 2011-11-05T22:59:54.841000+00:00. iBooks. </i><br />
<i>This material may be protected by copyright.</i>MLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16175670673729943083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666647429673506214.post-90903817084015542032014-11-14T20:54:00.001-08:002014-11-14T21:05:33.272-08:00Love and Hell“I have no sympathy with those who prophesy <i><b>nothing but peace</b></i>, and keep back from men the awful fact, that they may lose their souls.<br />
<br />
...I am one of those old-fashioned ministers who believe <b><span style="font-size: large;">the whole Bible</span></b>, and everything that it contains. I can find no Scriptural foundation for that smooth-spoken theology, which pleases so many in these days, and according to which <i>everybody</i> will get to heaven at last.<br />
<br />
...I believe that there is <u>a real devil</u>. I believe that there is <u>a real hell</u>. I believe that it is not charity to keep back from men that <u>they may be lost</u>.<br />
<br />
...Charity! shall I call it? If you saw a brother drinking poison, would you hold your peace?<br />
<br />
...Charity! shall I call it? If you saw a blind man tottering towards a precipice, would you not cry out “Stop”?<br />
<br />
...Away with such false notions of charity! Let us not slander that blessed grace, by using its name in a false sense.<br />
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...<b>It is the <u>highest charity</u> to bring the <span style="font-size: large;">whole truth</span></b> before men. It is real charity to warn them plainly when they are in danger."<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"It is <u>charity</u> to impress upon them, that they may lose their own souls for ever in hell</span></i></b>.<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"</b></span><br />
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<i>Excerpt From: Ryle, J. C. “Old Paths.” iBooks. </i><br />
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