"All through our lives, God's promises lift our aspirations higher. On our own, we would be content with some happy relationships; God wants for us union with the Son of God. We aspire for earthly success; He intends for us heavenly glory. We would settle for health and wealth; He has in store life everlasting." Richard Phillips
"If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ. May God help us to judge ourselves by the eternities that separate the Aucas from a comprehension of Christmas and Him, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor so that we might, through His poverty, be made rich."
"All the gifts which we possess have been bestowed by God and entrusted to us on condition that they be distributed for our neighbors' benefit." john calvin
"Many people wonder why it is necessary to have qualifications for a pastor. They might think, 'If someone wants to be a pastor, should he not have that right, regardless of whether he meets a list of criteria?'... The truth, however, is that all of us see the need for criteria in other professions. No one would board a plane if they knew that the 'pilot' loved planes but didn't have a pilot's license. No one would want to be operated on by a 'surgeon' whose primary credential was that his father was a doctor. A young couple would not entrust the design of their dream home to an 'architect' whose portfolio was the back of a Lincoln Logs box. Qualifications are important in every job, and the more important the job, the more important the need for stringent qualifications."
Q: How are you right with God?- Heidelberg Catechism Question #60
A: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ as if I had never sinned or been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart.
"the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb. moreover, by them is Your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."Psalm 19:7-11
"if we know the characteristic sins of the age, we can guess its foolish and fashionable assumptions - that morality is simply a matter of personal taste, that all silences need to be filled up with human chatter or background music, that 760 percent of the american people are victims, that it is better to feel than to think, that rights are more important than responsibilities, that even for children the right to choose supersedes all other rights, that real liberty can be enjoyed without virtue, that self-reproach is for fogies, that God is a chum or even a gofer whose job is to make us rich or happy or religiously excited, that it is more satisfying to be envied than respected, that it is better for politicians and preachers to be cheerful than truthful, that Christian worship fails unless it is fun." cornelius plantinga jr. as quoted by d.a. carsoncarson follows up that quotation with this great assertion: "what ought to make worship delightful to us is not, in the first instance, its novelty or its aesthetic beauty, but its object: God himself is delightfully wonderful, and we learn to delight in him."
"Paul replied, 'Short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.'" Acts 26:29i was telling e about it, and he remembered what it was right when i got to the end. we used to speak it very dramatically while standing on a chair in the fellowship hall... EXCEPT FOR THESE CHAINS!!!! we figured out that it has been 26 years since we memorized that verse. what a blessing Bible quizzing has been to my life ever since then. Praise God for His Word and the way He has used it in my life and in the lives of so many around me.
the context of the verse also encourages me and leads me to pray for opportunities... paul is receiving a hearing before festus, agrippa and bernice while awaiting his extradition to rome. he shares his testimony and the truth of the gospel (forgiveness of sins through Christ's suffering and resurrection), and then calls on agrippa to believe since he is familiar with the truth of the old testament. agrippa asks paul the question, "in a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"
paul's boldness for the gospel took place in the midst of his imprisonment! may the Lord give me open doors and boldness to share no matter what my circumstances! (Colossians 3:3-4; Ephesians 6:19)
Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A: That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in life and in death - to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called by His own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:1-3
cursed Man upon the tree
the curse He bore was
the curse He bore for me
now i'm alive eternally
for from the curse i've been set free
lifted up i'm forced to see
the weight of my sin
its dreadful gravity
my rebellion in Jesus' pain
His greatest loss, my greatest gain...
"all the saving events and all the saving blessings of the gospel are means of getting obstacles out of the way so that we might know and enjoy God most fully. propitiation, redemption, forgiveness, imputation, sanctification, liberation, healing, heaven - none of these is good news except for one reason: they bring us to God for our everlasting enjoyment of Him. if we believe all these things have happened to us, but do not embrace them for the sake of getting to God, they have not happened to us. Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. and people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. the gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. if we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel." john piper
"i am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends for the morrow or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a new book, when suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens serious disease, or a headline in the newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. at first i am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. then, slowly and reluctantly, bit by bit, i try to bring myself into the frame of mind that i should be in at all times. i remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is in another world and my only real treasure is Christ." c.s. lewisquoted by mark talbot
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!
You have commanded Your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments.
I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules.
I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
i've practicing on the guitar after watching the indelible grace documentary with ryan and sarah... the quote
the pastor closed his sermon with on sunday evening... the amazing testimony of a pakastani government official gunned down for his faith... may my life match the song!Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.
Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.
Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o'er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father's smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.
Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven's eternal days before thee,
God's own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. The glory that You have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them even as You loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that You have given me because You loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent me. I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
"remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. for He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing hostility. and He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. for through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. in Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Ephesians 2:12-22
"we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20
