Surprise!

So we went in for an ultrasound on Monday, to do a more in-depth ultrasound because the doctor saw something on his VERY low-resolution ultrasound equipment on Friday. We were a little disappointed on Friday because we wanted to go ahead and schedule the C-section because the baby was breech, but he wanted to schedule it on the next visit (which was to be today).

Well...we got into the appointment on Monday and while the ultrasound tech did NOT see what the doctor thought he saw, she did notice the fluid surrounding the baby was VERY low (it was about 3.4 and it should have been around 12 something). So we were not sure what that meant and then the doc comes in and says, we need to take the baby; so we say, "okay, well, he'll have to come this Friday instead of the 19th." Doc says, "no, I mean TODAY." Wha????

So, flash forward to Dan rushing home (while our midwife, thank goodness, stayed with my wife--she was a HUGE blessing and we could not have made it without her) and packing everything, taking the dog to the neighbors, making MANY phone calls to ask for prayer and informing work that he was NOT coming back today.

We had gotten to the hospital for what we thought was going to be a routine ultrasound about 1PM and Josiah was born a little after 9:22PM. He was 8 lbs, 3 oz. and 20 inches long. We're very blessed and beside ourselves with joy.

God has been very faithful to carry us through years of infertility to this point, where we hold our precious Josiah! God's love and mercy are unending; praise His name.

(Thank you all for your continued prayers!)

Songs and Meditations on Grace

I was getting ready for work this morning when a song popped into my head, Jaci Velasquez's God So Loved The World. The song is simple enough, but for some reason I thought about it and went to the next verse in Scripture, John 3:17:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The reason that this impacted me so much in thinking about this song and these verses was the correlation between salvation and the doctrine of election: Christ did come into the world to proclaim Truth and while He did state that this Truth would pit mother against daughter, and father against son, Christ came with the hope of the Gospel. Christ's entrance into the world was the ONLY way to save us from our path of destruction.

God had given His people, Israel, generations to attempt to obey His law; he would punish them, forgive them, then they would forsake him again. He could not leave redemption to chance or to our fickle nature--He sent Christ into the world to guarantee (not just make possible) the salvation that He would give.

When Christ speaks to Nicodemus in John 3 about being "born again," this is not the same as being educated on what car to buy or what college to attend and then making that choice. Because with most choices in our lives, if we really look deep down, we could see certain motivations that drive us to make those choices--even ones that on the outside appear good, moral and/or altruistic.

The radical nature of the "choice" of following Christ is one that is totally opposite of our thinking: we must "die" to self, giving up our desires to make His desires and will first. Think about that: we must submit to the will of someone else. Have you ever known yourself (or someone else) to purely want to do that, in any situation? Sure, on the outside, a person wouldn't let on that it rubs them a little wrong when they're asked to do something, but apart from Christ's indwelling, would you not act the same way? The Holy Spirit must move in our hearts, changing our hearts to be receptive to the Truth and to truly live for others rather than ourselves.

If the change in our hearts or choice to follow Christ is grounded in ourselves and our own power, rather than Christ, then is it not subject to the same weakness of foundation as all other choices?

I mean, I have a problem with "buyers remorse" sometimes--can you imagine if the salvation decision was as easily abandoned--would God do it that way? Would God, in His infinite wisdom, have Christ die for those who would not ultimately be saved simply because those people did not "choose" to? And this is election: that God not only ordained the vehicle for salvation (which is the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son Christ) but He ordained the method, means and timing of our justification, sanctification and our ultimate glorification.

I thank God that He holds me firm in His grip and my faith is bound up in Christ's faithfulness rather than my own, and that He drew me to Himself, knowing that Christ had already paid for my specific sins on the Cross.

Big Meeting

Today I invited my boss out to dinner since this Thursday marks two years with my law firm (amazing how time flies, isn't it?). We ate at Outback, which was great food, and it was a lot more relaxed than if we met at the office to discuss my standing with the firm.

I think it went pretty well, and I'm sure I may have showed my hand a little, but I prayed fervently before the meeting that God would grant favor with my boss and that God would be honored in it all.

For those that have prayed, thanks! Do continue to pray as everything hasn't been stated or ironed out yet, so we'll see where it ends up.

I'm just glad it's over!

God Does Not Forsake Us

Something struck me about what I read this morning in my daily Spurgeon reading and how it closely matched with the theme of the sermon that Pastor David preached this past Sunday. In his sermon, Pastor David, while reading through the end of Hebrews 10, said that oftentimes in our daily lives, we focus on the here and now, making the special grace of our salvation serve the common grace of every day blessings that God may bestow.

It is this backwards or reversed (and unbiblical) thinking that often causes us to feel abandoned by God in times of suffering.

Here's the reading from this morning:

Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

We here behold the Saviour in the depth of his sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which his cry rends the air—"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which he had to pass; and to make his grief culminate with emphasis, he suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of his Father's presence. This was the black midnight of his horror; then it was that he descended the abyss of suffering. No man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There are seasons when the brightness of our Father's smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ's case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father's love; but the real turning away of God's face from his Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him?

In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but art now in darkness, remember that he has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace; but since even the thought that he has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when he exclaimed, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

It is hard to imagine, hard to picture, but when Christ was on the Cross, in bearing our sins, he literally experienced a hell--separation from God. This is the same separation that will be experienced by those that will not call on the name of Christ and will not have their sins paid for. This image is the wrath of God borne by Christ with none of God's love, mercy or grace--it is an agony too hard to imagine.

When we measure our happiness and our life on the blessings and sufferings of this life, our faith has a foundation that is as firm as a sand dune, being blown and shaped by the wind. We have a season of blessing and then encounter a season of woe and suffering and we are swept away.

But we will NEVER have to experience the kind of separation that Christ endured on the cross because we as His chosen, His children, are His because Christ endured it for us, made sin for us. If we make the basis of our life--our faith--the special grace that we receive through salvation in Christ and make common grace serve this grace rather than vice-versa, then we will be further along to a peace that passes all understanding. Man was made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, meaning not just in this life but for eternity. God may ordain us to endure cancer for the last twenty years of our life, but He has just as sure ordained that we would praise Him when we pass into glory, forever and ever.

Purgatorio is Back!

I had thought that Marc over at Purgatorio might go on an extended or even permanent hiatus, but I recently heard that Purgatorio is up and running again.

The Divine Vinyl posts are as great as ever. Check 'em out.

(NOTE: for those who don't know about Purgatorio, it's a site that points out humor in evangelicalism, christian culture, etc.--it's great for a chuckle and in some ways an interesting commentary of the state of things)

UPDATE: The "commentary" that I spoke of is VERY evident in his most recent post, a video posted by someone on YouTube, about how that person abandoned the faith. Such a message should encourage us all to be steadfast, and guard our hearts as well as those of the faith that are near to us.

Ringing in 2008

So I stayed up to watch the ball drop last night (and for those who watched ABC, it's a little tough watching Dick Clark, right? But I'm glad he's still plugging on). Then we watched the fireworks from our porch and that was pretty neat.

I always try to convince myself on the eve of a holiday that I have to work the next day. Why do I do this? Because subconsciously my body reacts differently--yesterday morning, not only because I had just gotten back from a road trip to WV but because I had to work, I would have slept until 9 or 9:30 (yes, that's REALLY sleeping in for me). However, I went to bed at about 12:30 this morning and woke up at 7. Phooey.

So I was awake this morning and thinking of the topic of resolutions and whether to make them, and I thought that often it is what expectations we put on ourselves and the type of help that we use to implement them that causes us to fall short.

Making resolutions in general is similar to choosing what diet to use--a person can look at their weight and state that they are going to cut out several things from their diet only to buckle under the pressure because they have tried to do too much too soon. There is also power in numbers--if you have even ONE person who can do it with you, it can make it seem easier since you've got a friend along in the fight.

I've often made mistakes resolving to make grand changes in my personal devotions. I have bought huge commentaries or books that will help me only to fall from that after days or even weeks.

So, with all of this in mind, I will commit (rather than a more grand "resolve") to moving towards certain goals. Resolutions tend to ask for drastic change (not that sometimes drastic change is never called for). I think that looking at making changes more in the way that our own sanctification works in our walk with Christ can lead to them being more lasting and effective.

But such an attitude must be reinforced by others--no man (or woman) is an island, as John Donne penned. We need each other every day. One price of increased individualism is increased loneliness, depression and despair--every one alive today has (or had) a mother and likely uncles/aunts, grandparents, siblings, but we choose to ignore our resources. Even at church, many check in for service and then run out the minute the service is over! The Church is not a gas station for you to fill up with spiritual fuel and head out on your week! It is a buffet of resources and spiritual nourishment designed by God to help us through this life--Christ guaranteed that we would suffer for His name and that this life would NOT be easy. Is He not faithful to provide the means to endure it?

With all that said, I commit to the following (and I fully hope that anyone who reads this blog would ask me how I am doing):

1. To study (not just read) the Bible for 20 minutes each day, finding a consistent time for this and for prayer.

2. To make a concentrated effort to exercise more consistently throughout the week, not just on the weekend.

3. To spend quality time with my wife once a week (that doesn't involve the TV!)

4. To read one book a month.

And that's it. To me, it doesn't do to have a long list of resolutions and it doesn't help me to make drastic changes that set me up for failure. Any Christian should want to read the Bible more than they did a year ago, if they are progressing along in their sanctification, but even they might not be as consistent in it as they will be in 10 years time. Discipline is practiced and developed, not instantly made. I pray that the Spirit will move upon my heart and give me guidance as I work these out on a daily basis and that most of all that these would all be filtered through a desire to glorify God most of all. For as John Piper has said, He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

Happy New Year to all. May God send His blessings upon you this year.

The Birth of Grace

It's the Christmas season, and I love this season for so many reasons. One of them is the music--I LOVE Christmas songs and hymns (we honestly have at least 25 Christmas albums of some kind). I was on the road to court listening to one of my favorite albums, City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time and the song that Caedmon's Call sings on that album is "Babe in the Straw."

I had listened to the song several times, but when I was listening to it the other day, the words in the chorus struck me:

and if we lose sight of your sweet face
at the birth of grace, at the birth of grace
light of truth shine like Bethlehem's star
lead us to where you are, show us who you are

I've been reading a lot in the Old Testament for my nightly Bible reading (I just finished Ezekiel and if that doesn't put a fear of God into you, I don't know what will!). In Reformed doctrine, we often talk about the Old and New covenants and how God ordained the Savior to come as He did, and how Christ is the eternal priest before God and mediator on our behalf.

But there's something at work in the transition between the covenants as well--notice that before Christ the people of God had to continually make sacrifices to God that were of an appeasing nature but did not ultimately satisfy the holiness of God. God's attitude towards Israel--His own people--had to be one of mercy. Mercy is often defined as having leniency towards another when wrong has been done, in other words, on the receiving end, not getting what you really deserve when you wrong someone else. God, in His forbearance, showed mercy to the Israelites time and again, pulling them out of their slavery to other peoples and saving them on the battlefield.

But they would sin against the Lord and grieve Him, over and over. But He mercifully brought them back until ultimate salvation could be achieved--this was GRACE. That God sent His only Son to earth to be born of a virgin, live a perfect, sinless life, and die on the Cross for the sins of the elect, whom God had ordained to save. At the birth of Christ, grace prevailed--the Lord would no longer need to show His forbearance toward His people because Christ as Savior wore the mantle of God's Holy wrath against our sin on the Cross while at the same time being the perfect and eternal sacrifice that satisfied God's justice and holiness.

The Lord still shows mercy to whom He will show mercy, but not as much in the overarching way that He had to show forbearance to His people in the Old Testament. Grace now prevails in that it gives us what we cannot earn for ourselves--eternal salvation and righteous standing before the Father. And this was all guaranteed by the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.

So this Christmas season, celebrate the birth of Christ, for it was the birth of grace!

Smearing Our Brethren on the 'Net

I was reading my morning Spurgeon this morning, and he points out that we should not make it our business to "help the Devil dishonor the Church."

Spurgeon quotes from Leviticus 16:19, which states the following:

You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life [1] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

The KJV translation that Spurgeon quoted specifically states that we should not be a "tale-bearer," and it means that we should not go around spreading stories, true or not, that would damage the reputation of the person who is the subject of that story. Paul was very specific about those who gossip (see Romans 1:29-30).

The thing that has struck me most since I have been blogging and reading blogs on the internet is how easy it can be to vilify the individual (be that person a Christian or not) when telling a story about something that they have done or a belief that they hold to. Spurgeon goes on to state that we should most certainly rebuke sin, but this is to be done to his face (not to "rail" behind his back) so that you may restore that brother to Christ.

The internet provides a medium in which individuals can attack (and even appear to attack without meaning to) individuals personally rather than dealing with the sin or error itself (recent debates over doctrine on some blogs, I fear, have tried to rise to personal attacks and the medium is not personal so it easily lends itself to that).

Sin and error must be dealt with in the Church, but we must be careful in dealing with both that we do not take the extra step of trying to destroy the Body by our methods. We are the Body of Christ and they will know that we are Christians by our love for one another--this does not mean that we cede any essential doctrine or we water down the Gospel. May it never be.

Reproof and correction, at its base, should be motivated by a love and restoration for the other person, not a motivation to point out fault and claim "see, I told you he or she was [fill in the blank]!!!" Because we can all claim we are the greatest of sinners, and to smear another brother or sister in Christ in our blogging (and even worse, in more private conversations and emails) causes us to puff ourselves up and we do damage to our witness and the cause of Christ.

To echo Spurgeon, I would plead that our talk and actions be infused with the doctrine of the Gospel and our hearts be broken for those who commit sin and error. Make it a point that if someone tells you a tale or gossips about someone else, let it stop with you--glory in Christ and do not glory in pulling your brother down.

Doctrine-Infused Speech

I was reading my daily Spurgeon this morning when a particular line grabbed me:

We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man's conversation.

Wow. I have to ask myself, does the truth of Scripture grip me in this way, that my conversation shows my understanding of the Gospel? When I am pressed by the heat of situations or encounter others who struggle, do I promote the truths of the Gospel with my speech? I confess that I do not. Spurgeon also, in quoting 3 John 3, states that "doctrines simply held as creed are like bread in the hand," while if that bread is eaten and digested, it does nourishment (and so too with doctrine).

I've commented on this before, but what we feed on (intellectually and spiritually) determines what we produce with our mouths as well as how we act. We can be a tool of both reproof and encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ but also be a stumbling block and detriment to the Gospel in how we speak and act (see James 3:8).

What "secrets" does your conversation with others reveal? Are they the secret treasures of the Gospel or does your talk display something else? May our minds be permeated by the Gospel and its doctrines and may we hold them as dear as life.

A Christ-less Heaven

Today in church our pastor was in Hebrews 9 again and we were dealing with Christ entering into heaven itself and Pastor David pointed out what was right there in verse 23:

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

That's right. Christ died to purify not only the earthly manifestations of the "holy place" in which we would offer sacrifices, but also died to purify heaven itself. I have to be honest that that question had NEVER jumped out at me before.

It says just this in verse 24:

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Christ purified heaven itself--now, at first blush that would seem to say that there was something in God that needed to be purified, but remember: God made the heavens too. He is above it! And it is His presence that made the earthly copy of heavenly things holy! He was before time and before the heavens. 1 Peter mentions the promise of the new heavens and new earth that we look forward to in the time coming when Christ shall return--and Isaiah prophesies this in Ch. 65 and 66.

The union of Christ with the Father purified the heavens because perhaps in a way there was a peace--even an appeasement?--that occurred with Christ's entrance into the heavens. Christ was the Lamb who was slain for all time--taking away the iniquity once for all for God's people, whom He had chosen before time began. No longer did God have act as He did in the Old Testament time and again for His name's sake (due perhaps to the inferior nature of the sacrifices made and the unfaithfulness of His people)--Christ, His Son, offered Himself as a sacrifice once. And in this sacrifice, His work corresponds to the promise that God made in Ezekiel 36, when He speaks of putting a His spirit within us, giving us a new heart--this could not be done without Christ's sacrifice, because His holiness CANNOT be compromised (in the same chapter, several verses show God's concern for His holy name). Without Christ's sacrifice and the eternal effect of his life, death and resurrection, we would still be making continuous sacrifices.

Christ, in purifying the heavens, offers himself as sacrifice and as our mediator between us and the Father, forever interceding for us. Praise His Holy Name.

The other point that David also made is that we often may look to heaven as the end rather than Christ--when we are suffering and in a hard place, how often do we not say, "Lord, take me now!" But this type of escapism is exactly the attitude Christ does not want us to have, but rather we would say with Paul that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the future glory that is to be revealed to us. And this glory is Christ! Do you dream simply about the streets of gold and the absence of suffering rather than being with Christ, your Savior? Remember that heaven without Christ, to quote my pastor, is just another word for hell--separation from Christ is no heaven at all! The Trinity is 3 in 1! Christ's entrance into heaven made it the "promised land" for us, because without His sacrifice we have no audience or standing before the Father!

No matter the storm, flee to Christ and fling yourself at His feet, hearing His Word for your life today.

Emerging Church/Emerging Conversation

I won't pretend that I know all the distinctions/difference between the above terms, but I know there has been much going on in the blogosphere lately on the topic.

There are many leaders/speakers within this movement, but two of the folks in the conversation, Doug Pagitt and Brian McLaren, have made some suppositions/statements which I find somewhat disturbing.

To start, I have to say that the part of the movement which is probing what it means to be missional (however that is defined) is something that does interest me, insofar as it searches to find how the Gospel is to be practiced or lived out. It's when in trying to be missional that some folks redefine or reshape the Gospel that I have a HUGE problem.

You see, it's folks like Pagitt who state that John MacArthur preaches a perverted Gospel. Yes he said that--see this post.Pyromaniacs: Different Gospels

McLaren in a recent book, Everything Must Change casts the Gospel as a type of social gospel, where Christ came to establish His Kingdom here on earth, and the Gospel is meant to essentially cure social ills and the human condition. (see a great post by Tim Challies on McLaren's newest book here)

There's a sense in which they feel they have a new lease on the Gospel, that they are trying to invent a "new" way to be a Christian, but this social gospel has been preached before, and as Tim Challies mentions, it has been defeated.

McLaren and Pagitt want to leave behind "stuffy" Protestantism and orthodoxy, but if you do this in abandoning basic understandings of justification, atonement, etc, you have no Gospel at all. Jesus did not come to die so that we could have a better world--he died to save us from it and from the wrath of God!

Were the disciples preaching the Gospel to help create a better world? Did they die for that? Did Paul preach dying to oneself everyday because the people he was preaching to needed a better sense of community? NO! He preached to them because they were sinners, and they needed a savior! When Peter speaks in his letter about being prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have, he speaks of the hope in Christ that we have for our salvation, not some social interpretation of the gospel.

Helping and serving others should be a work that is an outflow of the grace that Christ has shown us--it should be a means, not an end of preaching the Gospel, and that's where I fear that the focus of this "conversation" is moving toward.

We have been told in the Gospel that there is one name by which we are saved, and that is through Christ--He said Himself that no one can come to the Father except through Him. If we begin to make the Gospel into a different focus other than the fact that each person needs to come to Christ for salvation, then the Gospel is not preached.

Our Bibles Are Not Antiques

I was in a Christian bookstore last weekend to purchase a concert ticket and I was noticing how many different types of Bibles there were available for purchase in the store; study bibles, devotional bibles, parallel bibles, children's bibles, and numerous translations. Next to the Bibles were the numerous ways to cover your bible, whether by fabric or by leather, zipper case or not.

It got me thinking about a few things--for starters, how many bibles I had in my house (close to six, I think). In addition, looking at the casings in the store, I thought that oftentimes we treat the physical Bible itself as an antique rather than something to be used. We don't mark it up or highlight in it, because it's the Word of God, after all! We put it back in its casing and are very careful to open and close it, because we wouldn't want to damage it--but have you ever seen the Christian with the Bible whose cover is worn and the pages marked up like it was a college textbook? That's how we ought to use it, for as Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, and for training in righteousness."

Now, notice the picture to the above right--it is an old Bible and not one that was preserved in glass or in pristine condition. Or this picture, which shows a Bible that has clearly been used.

When my wife and I got married, my dad gave us a table that had been in his family for a long time--it was a table that my parents and I used as a computer table while I was still living at home, but when it was given to us, it became our dining table. Now, we could have put it over in the corner and treated it as an antique, but we were given it so that we could use it.

So before you are quick to be overprotective of your copy of God's Word (notice that I'm not saying you should toss it around like you don't care about it), remember that it's been given to you by God for use and for your benefit.

We Are All Proclaiming Something

I went to men's prayer breakfast this morning and heard a WONDERFUL advocating of family worship. We read from Ephesians 5:22-6:4, a well known (and sometimes misinterpreted) passage of Scripture.

It speaks of the wife submitting to the husband and the husband loving the wife as Christ loves the Church; the visiting pastor (also named David and a pastor of a ARP Church in Blacksburg?) very correctly pointed out that the passage was NOT about the privilege that a man derives from that passage, but in fact the responsibility of men to their families. I am the first to say that I do not practice family worship as I should, and don't pray often enough with my wife--our pastor David pointed out that it takes a real intimacy to pray with your spouse, and this is something that has to be developed through the action of prayer.

The visiting pastor pointed out that there has been a real abdication of responsibility of men/families within the Church when it comes to spiritual instruction and family worship, and certain statistics were thrown out to show how many children leave the faith (being defined as not being a member of a local church) after a certain time subsequent to high school. The percentages were high and some objected to them bringing in examples of the prodigal son, that they don't tell the full story, etc. But focusing in on the numbers or their fallibility misses the point. The passage focuses on the responsibility of the man as head of the family to model and live out his faith by his instruction and discipline. We will be accountable for what WE do--focusing in on the complexity of the situation and other cultural factors will allow us, if we are not careful, to excuse our inaction when it comes to spiritual instruction to the family. We might say, "Johnny has strayed a little bit, but it's that city he's living in--it's too liberal" or "the college he chose doesn't have any good churches nearby" and so on.

But do we ignore the Psalms and Proverbs where it says "train up a child in the way he would go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it?" Do we not try?

I am of a younger generation, and though I do not have children, I am a product of the generation where youth functions and groups were designed to completely fill the gap created by the lack of instruction at home. As time has gone on, more and more "innovations" are put forth to pull more kids in--but if they don't see that lived out at home, there's a disconnect. The whole schematic is backwards. Home should be where the spiritual foundation is laid, and the church in its functions for youth should reinforce what is already or mostly known.

I agree with the visiting pastor--I don't have anything against youth groups--but it asks the youth leader to do more than he's able. If you abdicate your responsibility of spiritual discipline and instruction to the pastors of the local church, do you know what you're saying? "Hey Pastor Bob, would you raise my kids?" Because that's what it really amounts to! You can't shove the kid into youth group (at least the ideal) where the Word is preached and God's commands are advocated and then expect him to come home, see the exact opposite (or at least only apathy toward spiritual things) and be able to process the contradiction! It's like having two parents who have two completely different standards.

And this brings me to the title of this post--we all proclaim something with how we live our lives. Some will say, "I am not evangelist, I don't really know how to witness well" etc. But I would challenge you that are witnessing to people everyday, whether you know it or not--if they know you go to church, even that you are a Christian, you proclaim something. In your relationships, your work ethic, your temperament, and so on.

We as men will be held accountable for how we carry out the responsibility we have been given over our families, and it is something, when I think about it, that shakes me to the core because I know that I have failed miserably in it. But as someone so correctly pointed out this morning, it is not too late to start now.

Christ is not just a part of our life, he should BE our life, permeating our conversation and our thoughts, as well as our relationships with our family. This can only happen through immersion in the Word and gaining knowledge about our God, having His praises on our lips through song and through prayer. What did Paul desire? In 1 Cor. 2:2 he states, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Christ and Him crucified." Let that be our prayer today as we love and minister to those to whom we have been entrusted with, and let the Lord deal with us graciously, and not as he ought.

Wash Me Savior, or I Die

The above is a very memorable line from a great hymn, Rock of Ages. The full verse reads as follows:

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly,--
Wash me, Savior, or I die!

The verse is very powerful (as is the rest of the song) because of its imagery--a person acknowledging that he has nothing to bring to salvation and knows that he must cling to the Cross and that Christ must clothe him with His righteousness. But before this is obtained, a washing must take place in the fountain which is Christ's blood that was shed for us.

I have been meaning to post on this topic for a while, only because in C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (a book in the Chronicles of Narnia series) there is a amazing illustration of this. To set the background, in this book, Edmund and Lucy, two of the original Pevensie children who visited Narnia in The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe have returned to Narnia with their cousin, Eustace, who is most certainly a brat in the kindest sense of the word. He is self-centered and only concerned about what he can get out of Narnia. In this scene, Eustace has wandered off from the landing party and to a cave.

But as he got to the mouth of the cave, he saw what we would know as a dragon, which came to the edge of the lake to drink, twitched, giving one last breath and died. Edmund almost laughed out loud in relief, and went inside the cave when it began to rain. When he went in the cave, what did he find but loads of treasure--in fact he had found a bracelet which was too big for his wrist but slid it up past his elbow (since he thought he could take some of this treasure for himself). Then he went to sleep and a strange thing happened....

He awoke to a great pain in his arm, and he noticed that the pain had become strangely tight. He moved to take it off and was shocked at what he saw coming from his right and his left: dragon arms moved across his sight line as he moved his arms. Of course, he thought that he was now between two dragons that surrounded him as he slept, but he saw that smoke was coming out of his own nostrils: he had turned into a dragon.

Eustace, after realizing this, only now wanted his friends and felt bad for how he had treated them, resigning himself to the life of a dragon. And then one night he was visited by a lion (those reading the books would know him to be Aslan), and the lion prompted Eustace to follow him to a well:

But the lion told me that I must undress first...I was just going to say that I couldn't undress because I hadn't any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are the snaky sort of things and snakes can cast their skins...So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place...my whole skin peeled off beautifully...it was lying beside me, looking rather nasty.

Eustace tried this several times, but discovered each time as he went down to bathe in the well that each attempt to scratch the skin off had been unsuccessful. The lion soon spoke:

"You will have to let me undress you."

Fear ran fast through Eustace as the lion approached him with his claws, but Eustace's desperation won over his fear:

I was pretty afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but the I was pretty nearly desperate now. The very first tear he (the lion) made was so deep that I thought it had gone right through my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt...He peeled the beastly stuff off just as I thought I had done it myself the other three times, only it hadn't hurt--and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and knobbly-looking than the others had been.

The lion then grabbed Eustace and threw him into the water, waiting a few moments, then dressing Eustace in new clothes.
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What a great illustration this is of the concept of our rebirth in Christ! Before we come to Christ, we may be prompted by some sense of our own self-righteousness or morality to reform ourselves and then think ourselves better (such as Eustace trying to scrape his dragon skin off). But when we come to Christ, we realize that we are no different than we were in the innermost depths of our soul, and there is a washing that only Christ can do when he washes our hearts (in regeneration and justification), replacing a heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Christ sees our inner wickedness that must be redeemed that we cannot see (or choose not to see) in the mirror.

Without this washing by Christ, we are still under God's wrath and are justly condemned to die for our sins, just as the other dragon died in the story above that Eustace met before he became a dragon.

Christian, rejoice today in the new creation that you are and the new clothes that Christ has given you in the salvation that He has called you to!

Who Was Melchizedek, Part II

Last Sunday Pastor David explored verses 11-19 of Ch. 7, where the writer-preacher lays out the comparison between Jesus and Melchizedek, and which read as follows:

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,


“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Pastor David broke this section down into two parts, the first addressing the imperfections of the Levitical priesthood.

I. Imperfections of the Levitical Priesthood: vv. 11-14

1. The imperfect nature of the Levitical priesthood as established from Levi, the 3rd son of Jacob and Leah can be illustrated in two ways:
a. First, to give some background, Levi was one of the brothers who defended his sister's honor by going into the city to find the men that defiled her and killed all the males, not just some, but ALL. Does this sound like a priest?

It is important to note that the priesthood came from Levi because first, Moses, who was a to be a great deliverer of Israel (as Christ is the ultimate deliverer) was the son of a Levite. Thus, Aaron, as his brother and first of all priests was also a Levite. In addition, even though Jacob had essentially disinherited Jacob from any land when his other sons got land, God had a different plan. In Numbers 3, God sets the Levites apart as His, to be His servants and the Lord anointed them as priests. From that point on, the Levites were to be given 10 percent from the other tribes essentially in exchange (as a redemption price) for having ALL Levite sons being dedicated to the Lord, in place of dedicating all firstborn sons from all tribes in that fashion.

b. Second, the imperfections are quite evident and don't take long to show, as the most obvious would be when Aaron agrees to have a golden calf made from jewelry of the people while Moses is still on Mt. Sinai. Thus, the FIRST opportunity Aaron has to exert authority and minister to the people, he fails! But this should ever tell us that people are fallible, no matter their position, because they are sinners!

The most striking thing about the above example is what Moses says in response to Aaron and the Israelites when arriving and finding what they have done--he states that perhaps he can make atonement for their sins. He knows the God that He serves and His majesty, holiness and justice! He is a mere man and can only beg of God's mercy as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah--at that point there is no firm approaching of God as we have in Christ! So this is why the law needed to be changed--for while our disobedience can be radical, He pours out His grace even more to overcome it!

2. Changing the Mosaic Law (vv. 12-14)
As evidenced in the above example, the law could not save the Israelites--it only served to show God's standards, their sinfulness and their inability to keep that standard. Just as they could not do this, we cannot either--their faith in some ways was tied to their obedience because they had a law that could not be satisfied within themselves. Our faith is not predicated on a maybe or perhaps, but on a firm foundation.

II. Superiority of the New Priesthood
1. Jesus' priesthood is forever, and He is our Savior to the uttermost!
Christ lived the perfect life and became priest in this manner and not because
he descended from Levites.

2. Jesus is a better hope! Jesus, being perfect in every way, living the perfect
life, and being raised on the third day is a MUCH better hope than the
Israelites had in their priests (who made their own share of mistakes).

Pastor David concluded by looking to Isaiah 11 where it talks of Christ's coming and God speaks of what His priest will do and how peace will be illustrated by a lion laying down with a lamb. This is the work of Christ and the power of His salvation: that peace will reign in the hearts of men because He has saved them and has given them a new nature and new heart. This is the awesomeness and effectiveness of His priesthood. He is not a Levite priest who wails repentant prayers of atonement annually for the people hoping that a righteous and justly wrathful God will hopefully hear his prayers, but Jesus Christ, Word made flesh, who reigns on high with the Father in the Triune Godhead who was made sin for us that we might live and ever intercedes for us before the Father. Picture it, for this is your hope and salvation! Rest in the glorious grace of Christ.

Meditating on the Promises of God

After having pulled two 12-hour work days from 6AM to 6PM (I was actually on the road this morning to court by 20 minutes to 6), I'm quite tired, so blogging Pastor David's most excellent sermon from last Sunday will be up tomorrow.

In the meantime, I will turn once again to Spurgeon for something worth thinking about, this taken from my morning reading on Friday July 27th, where Spurgeon quotes 2 Peter 1:4 ("Exceeding great and precious promises"):

If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfilment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favour which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart.

But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, “If I were dealing with a man’s promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy—that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the promiser—that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, who speaks to thee. This word of his which thou art now considering is as true as his own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of his mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth he lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can he fail in wisdom as to the time when he will bestow the favours, for he knoweth when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise.” If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfilment.

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Christian, I will simply say that it is quite easy for us to read the Bible as we do any other book, as I myself often do, as if it is an assignment for a grade! But how often are we exhorted to meditate on the promises, to own them and know the God that made them! Read the promises of God and pause, considering the God who has made them in his wonder and glory, crying out at the same time, "wretched sinner that I am!" Yet, wonder in His infinite grace and know that you are His, bought with the blood of Christ! If he can achieve so great a salvation, can He not provide for you in EVERY other manner?

Worry and doubt are rooted in the ignorance (meaning, lack of knowledge) of Biblical principles--and that may offend some, but it is the truth. Why do you think that several writers in the New Testament are rebuking their hearers that they should have moved on to spiritual meat instead of being stuck on spiritual milk? Many of those even in Christendom would want to see signs or experience God in some sweeping emotional way when they have the Word of God right in front of them! He has revealed Himself to us in His Word so that we may know Him and believe, and with the help of His Spirit we can grow in knowledge of Him. We are called to be a sanctified people, set apart for Him--and in this sanctification, we grow in Him.

Christian, meditate deeply on the riches of Christ and the promises of God, and pray that the Holy Spirit lead you to the assurance that only God gives!

Serving in the Hindmost

As usual, Spurgeon's Morning reading for today was very thought-provoking:

The camp of Dan brought up the rear when the armies of Israel were on the march. The Danites occupied the hindmost place, but what mattered the position, since they were as truly part of the host as were the foremost tribes; they followed the same fiery cloudy pillar, they ate of the same manna, drank of the same spiritual rock, and journeyed to the same inheritance. Come, my heart, cheer up, though last and least; it is thy privilege to be in the army, and to fare as they fare who lead the van. Some one must be hindmost in honour and esteem, some one must do menial work for Jesus, and why should not I? In a poor village, among an ignorant peasantry; or in a back street, among degraded sinners, I will work on, and “go hindmost with my standard.”

The Danites occupied a very useful place. Stragglers have to be picked up upon the march, and lost property has to be gathered from the field. Fiery spirits may dash forward over untrodden paths to learn fresh truth, and win more souls to Jesus; but some of a more conservative spirit may be well engaged in reminding the church of her ancient faith, and restoring her fainting sons. Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.

The rear guard is a place of danger. There are foes behind us as well as before us. Attacks may come from any quarter. We read that Amalek fell upon Israel, and slew some of the hindmost of them. The experienced Christian will find much work for his weapons in aiding those poor doubting, desponding, wavering, souls, who are hindmost in faith, knowledge, and joy. These must not be left unaided, and therefore be it the business of well-taught saints to bear their standards among the hindmost. My soul, do thou tenderly watch to help the hindmost this day.

Very often we as Christians look to the Apostle Paul, Peter, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, even those of our day like Graham, Piper and so on and think, "wow, I wish I could do that or speak in that way!" But Spurgeon points something out here--there must be a rear guard, a servant among the lowly masses. Can Piper serve the neighbor across the street who has no family and doesn't know what love is? Sure, he can send him or her a book, but can he serve that person in the personal way YOU can? As Christians, we are all called to serve the Lord and in different ways. However, we oftentimes think if we cannot serve him in such great ways as a Piper or Graham in preaching to multitudes, we often think there is nothing to be done. But there is!

Note what Spurgeon says: Fiery spirits may dash forward over untrodden paths to learn fresh truth, and win more souls to Jesus; but some of a more conservative spirit may be well engaged in reminding the church of her ancient faith, and restoring her fainting sons. Every position has its duties, and the slowly moving children of God will find their peculiar state one in which they may be eminently a blessing to the whole host.

We may not be the "fiery spirits" but we may be involved in restoration and healing--and he notes too that the rear is a dangerous place, since dark forces will try to attack from the rear and lowly places. Do you think that Satan uses all his forces on a church with 10,000 members? I would say close to 90% of the churches in the country have less than 1,000 members and these have no notable Piper or Dever at the helm, and these are churches he would attack, creating factions and divisions. Pastors who have no help from their members in serving the church are doomed to become overworked and neglect their flock, if not becoming burned out and leaving that church (and maybe even the ministry). We must be on our guard, wherever we are called to serve, and bear the standard where we are, serving our Lord in grace and truth. As Spurgeon states, we should glory in the fact that we have the privilege of being in the army in the first place by God's saving grace.

Father help us to be content wherever we are called to serve, be it in the front, middle, or hindmost and proclaim your Gospel by what we do!

Are You Dull of Hearing?

Pastor David preached on the end of Hebrews 5, where the writer turns to his audience and in one sense rebukes them for not progressing in the faith:

"11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

Now this turning point in the writer-preacher's sermon is important because it illustrates the depth of what he has just said on how Jesus is our high priest. Many in that time who came to the faith identified and understood Jesus as their savior, but many were likely not understanding Christ's dual role as High Priest and the significance of that in relation to the Old Testament. An analogy can be made to those Christians today who claim they are saved (and may very well be so, by God's grace) but only hold to such knowledge at a very elementary level.

Pastor David also referenced Jesus explaining the parable of the sower to the disciples when speaking of those who have become dull of hearing:

"10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’


The term "dull of hearing" in the Greek means a type of lethargy, a listlessness that is not just physical, but spiritual. Oftentimes when we think of someone being lethargic, we identify it as a physical condition, not a mental or spiritual one--yet in that lies our downfall. The pleasures of this world gradually hinder our ability to hear and understand spiritual things, because it takes our focus off what is truly important.

A good analogy would be actual loss of hearing: ask anyone in their late 20s or 30s who has lost most of his or her hearing due to listening to music very loud when they were younger, and they will tell you that it didn't happen all at once. They would probably tell you that they listened louder and louder so that they could continue to hear it. So it is with us and the world--the world shows us pleasures and desires and we "turn it up" a little more with each passing instance, while discernment for spiritual things is neglected and our hearing/understanding for it is dulled.

This can happen gradually for us, as we let certain worldly influences and pleasures (TV, things we read, ambitions) desensitize us to our neglect of our walk with Christ. We should not be still on the milk of the faith, but we are, and have not moved on to the meat. In Isaiah 28:9, it says: “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? In the next verse it emphasizes how things are built concept upon concept--just like with any other idea structure in life. Theology must be studied to understand the depth and riches of the knowledge of Christ--to understand His salvation more fully, one must grasp the concepts of justification and sanctification and know the distinction.

In being encouraged to move from milk to meat, Pastor David brought out two points or two questions to ask ourselves in seeing whether we are dull of hearing:

1. Can we teach, can we defend the faith?

Now this certainly doesn't mean that we are to become apologists for the faith on a professional level, able to do battle with the fiercest haters of the faith, but it does mean that we should be able to give a reason for the hope that we have in a well thought out response. Does it need to have catch words or certain phrases--perhaps, but the understanding of it should be there--simply saying "God says so" or "that's just what I believe" will not cut it. And it shouldn't, since if we love God and His commandments we should say as David did in Psalm 1, his delight is in the law [2] of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.


2. Does your love of the world and its pleasures keep you from understanding the doctrines of grace?

Sometimes people will often identify the worst sins in the world and quickly think better of themselves than they should. What do I mean by that? Some Christian will say, well I don't murder, cheat on my spouse, etc, so I'm not sinning in such a way that I'm being kept from any understanding! But when did you look a little too long at something you shouldn't have? When did you watch that movie or read that book that degraded or cheapened the faith in your eyes, causing you unconsciously to deny the Gospel and become dull? Such influences and worldly pleasures can make us unable to discern good from evil--we can rationalize and say the entertainment or habit or activity wasn't THAT bad while each time we keep pushing the line we shouldn't cross further and further back.

In addition, such pleasures or desires don't have to be inherently sinful in and of themselves--I'll speak to men for a minute. Is the amount of time that you spend working on your car, your lawn, your job, or golf game stealing from the time you need to be devoting to the Word? There is nothing wrong with ANY of those things, but when we elevate ANYTHING above our desire for Christ, making those things the object of our most attention, we become dull of hearing because we are drawn away from the teaching of the Word to these things which occupy our thoughts.

There's a great line from the Caedmon's Call song (You Created)that goes like this:

"But You created nothing That gives me more pleasure than You"

And this is true! We may try to fill our lives with various things that we think will give us more pleasure, but in the end they will all disappoint--and these things draw us away from the Father and make us dull of His graces!

Now, one caveat to all of this about studying theology and the Word--knowledge can be a great and powerful thing to the believer, as the level of knowledge can directly correlate to the assurance a believer can have (for example, a deeper assurance might be had, by the grace of God, if one understands election). HOWEVER, knowledge cannot be pursued for its own sake--it MUST be couched in a love for the Father and His Son Christ. Apart from it, one may love the study of the object rather than the object of the study--one may look at some scientists who are so interested in researching various forms of cancer that they forget the REASON they are doing so, which is to find a cure.

Jesus is not content to leave us where we are--we were not saved to simply sit on Christ's laurels and wait for heaven, living as if nothing had changed--we are called to advance in the faith, in knowledge and in truth. We must attend to the Word, that by His work and grace we are called to grow in this knowledge and serve Him, not sit and home and watch TV that is at best "neutral" and at worst detrimental to our faith.

Pastor David concluded with Hebrews 6:11-12:

11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Christian, get up from your spiritual sluggishness, and hear the Word today!

Christ and Temptation

I really struggled with how to label this post, then I simply looked at the sermon notes and stole from the pastor (sorry David!).

Pastor David's sermon on this topic was fantastic, so I thought that I would blog on the topic. Very often we can be tempted into thinking that we somehow have it harder than those that came before us--whether it's our circumstances, our work, or in this case, the things we are tempted with. I mean, in the modern culture, we're traveling a mile and minute and have everything (good or bad) available at our fingertips (or computer screen)--so we have to have it worse, right?

The sermon broke down into two parts: the Three Objections people usually give when it is stated that Christ as our high priest is not only our mediator but sympathetic in our sufferings and temptations, and second, the importance of Christ sympathizing with us.

The first objection that one might pose is that Jesus was not really or truly human--Pastor David had a GREAT illustration--the character Data on Star Trek: Next Generation. (For those not familiar with the show or the character, he was an android/robot who looked totally human, but you would touch an arm or a part of his head and a panel would open to show he was truly a robot) Some would argue that Jesus may have seemed human, but wasn't really. But this is diametrically opposed to the theology of Jesus being fully human and fully God--he suffered, bled and died on the Cross. The illustration used was in Hebrews 2:17, where the writer-preacher stresses that "he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

The importance of Christ being fully human is this: being sacrificed on the Cross as fully human, he was the second Adam and enters the Holy of Holies as THE High Priest who can make propitiation for our sins.

The second objection (which we as Christians may allow in our own minds) is that Jesus doesn't really understand temptation. We may look at Christ and say, he's too good of a person, he's perfect, he's not really been tempted.

The third and final objection we may often find ourselves saying is, "well, but Christ didn't live in the 21st century--he didn't face drugs, pornography, internet, or TV!" But as Pastor David pointed us to in Matthew 4:1-11, Christ was tempted in the desert with three types of temptations: first, to put earthly desires above spiritual needs; second, to purposefully test the principles of God's Word; third, to compromise God's Word for apparent personal gain.

The first temptation is simply giving into the flesh or indulging your desires, whether it be food, sex, or buying _______ (fill in the blank). (Please note that any of the previous list may not be bad in and of itself but our motivations and attitudes in desiring it may make it so) When we do this to the detriment of our spiritual needs or even instead of them, we sin against God. Christ was tempted in the desert to turn bread into stone, so he was tempted to tend to His hunger but resisted by replying that we are called to live on the Word and not on bread alone. Just imagine it: he had not eaten for 40 days! And yet he resists the temptation--we cannot say that he has not been tempted to give into the flesh!

The second temptation is testing God's Word--it is VERY easy to be a "let's pull a verse out of the Bible" Christian. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, but it is bound together in a book made up of 66 different books. God, in His providence, wove it together in inspiring the men who wrote those words and it works together! We cannot pull out a verse which says that God loves us and promises us good things and then cry "unfair!" when we have not received a gift of this or that. We must go in the same Word and see that we are called to trials and suffering--and yet God does love us. This segment of Christ's temptation is very important, as with the first temptation, Satan is quoting truth from Scripture, but notice that Christ is quick to point out that while God does protect us with His angels, we are not to test Him by flinging ourself off a mountain or even taking our car and driving off one! (note that Satan does not come at the Lord Jesus with lies or deceit but truth misapplied--this is how he can tempt us in the next and final type of temptation)

The third temptation is compromising God's Word for apparent personal gain. We cannot again pull a verse out of the Bible to suit our desires. We cannot take one verse and twist it, thereby going against a principle in one part of His Word with some action on our part and yet say, "well, God loves me so I'll be fine," or "this is what this really means so this makes it okay." This is why understanding hermanuetics (how to read/interpret the Bible) is so important, and more than that, the importance of being in a church community with good teaching. Bible verses, like words/sentences in any other book, have to be read in context and there is an intent that the writer of those words uses, but that is another post. All this to say, Christ was offered the kingdoms of the world and all its power, but he quickly rejected Satan and stated that we are called to worship the Lord and Him alone. So, Christ was offered the world--I think that he can identify with our temptations.

Now, to the second part of the sermon--it is important for us to understand that Jesus sympathizes with us to let us know that we are not alone, that we can share it with him if we can't share it with anyone else. Our Savior had the weight of the elect's sins on His shoulders and before that was tempted with great things--He understands your suffering and your temptations!

So in understanding this, what should it cause us to do? Sympathize with our brother or sister and be REAL with one another--as Pastor David put quite well, to take off the Sunday face-mask. If we can't be real with our brothers and sisters in Christ, who can we be real with?

Being transparent is the last barrier to true Christian community and with it makes a bond that cannot be broken.

Praise our God and Savior who sympathizes with us in our temptations!

God's Immutable Nature

I have been endeavoring to read through books of the Old Testament for my reading each night before I go to bed, and right now I am on Jeremiah. In previous books, I would read several chapters at a time, but I have slowed to one chapter for this book, as it is very significant and at times quite terrible in its pronouncements to Israel.

However, in reading this book, I find a great truth. God is immutable, meaning that He has not changed. Webster more specifically defines it as "not capable or susceptible of change."

Why do I bring up this point in connection with Jeremiah? Because God's methods have not change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. There is a perception, perhaps even with some in evangelical circles, that after New Testament times, God is not the angry God of the Old Testament and is instead merciful and loving--like he has changed.

But the methods used by God through Christ in John 6 and in countless other places where the Word is preached by the Apostles, the same methods are used in Jeremiah!

Jeremiah 22:1, 4-6 "Thus says the LORD: 'Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, "Hear the Word of the LORD...For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the thrones of David...But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation." ESV

In Chapter 18, the imagery is much more stark, of the LORD asking them to turn from their ways, and they do not, over and over again.

To me this is a great reminder of grace in that we are ALL headed on the path to destruction, but in His grace He calls out to us, to take the exit off the road into safety. For those thinking that anyone on his or her human might or effort can come to Christ without a quickening or awakening move of the Holy Spirit--the nation of Israel were a chosen people and yet they forsaked the living God countless times. When Christ came humanity's heart was not instantly changed--remember it was them, in the hardness of their hearts, that crucified Him. Humanity still has the same hardness of heart as it always has. For true faith and repentance to be present as it was in Abraham and in apostles such as Paul and Peter, God must actively work, as He always has, and always will. Because He doesn't change.

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I hope to post a few other things I've been thinking on--one being on the importance of family, and the other on whether a crusade/cause can actually overshadow the importance of Scripture.