Friday, November 28, 2008

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thankful For: Top 10

1) Christ Jesus -
"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." (Psalm 73:25)

2) The Scriptures -
"man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." (Deut. 8:3b)

3) My family -
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17)

4) Great friends - who pursue Christ and encourage me to do so
"A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 1:17)

5) Life - He did not have to make me
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:13-14)

6) Unbreakable Joy -
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3:17-18)

7) Hope -
"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2)

8) The Lord's protection -
"I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:2)

9) The Lord's abundant provision -
"Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven." (Psalm 78:23-24)

10) Overwhelming Grace -
"And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:16)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

4 Questions

How valuable is invaluable?

How big is infinite?

How old is eternal?

How pure is holy?


Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Isaiah 6:1-3
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"


Speechless...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Storm's Hope

Oh Lord I trust in You
You are my hope and my delight
Because of You I will rest peacefully in the midst of the storm

Though rivers may overflow
And hurricane force winds scream
I will take refuge in You my fortress

Though the treasures of the peoples lose their value
And the hearts of the peoples sink for lack of hope
I will not be shaken for You are my greatest treasure

Though the earth may tremble
And shake at it's fault lines
You are my Rock and my Foundation

Though society may rage
And though the peoples despair
I will not fear for You are my God

You have delivered You're people from the flames
You have saved in the heat of battle
Arrows cannot be let loose without Your permission

You have shut the mouths of lions
You have made a path through the midst of the sea
You have quenched the fury of the flames

You have said all things work out for the good of those who love You
And if You are for us who could be against us
And You have promised to never leave us


- A. B. Seal

Monday, November 24, 2008

A Future Read:

This looks to be a great book refocusing upon the true meaning of Christmas:

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas


Preview the preface and chapters 1 & 2 here.



HT: JT

Feasting or Fasting?

Dictionary.com's definition of sustenance:

sus⋅te⋅nance

[
suhs-tuh-nuhns]
–noun
1. means of sustaining life; nourishment.
2. means of livelihood.
3. the process of sustaining.
4. the state of being sustained.

What sustains you?

After eating a meal I feel full and the hunger sensation is no longer present. Spending time in the Scriptures also grants a sense of fullness. When I don't eat for a while I begin to get hungry, so also with reading the Scriptures. There is an almost tangible sense of satisfaction after having feasted on His Word.

Deuteronomy 8:3
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Matthew 4:4
But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

John 6:35
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

John 6:48-51
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."


Are you feasting or are you fasting?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Stinkin Irish...

Is it ever appropriate to renounce one's favorite college football team?

In my case the Fighting Irish have been my favorite football team since I was in grade school. But how in the world do you tolerate it when your team loses to a team called the orange men?

Apparently it was so bad that the fans were throwing snowballs at the Irish players. Maybe I'm not the only one considering a jump from the bandwagon.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Injustice of Neglect

When weapons of war are everywhere,
Why in this battle are they neglected?
Forgotten Scripture, and abandoned access to the Throne - from anywhere,
Teamwork with fellow soldiers not taught nor respected

Wasted access to an abundance of Christ-centered preaching
An overlooked profusion of books full of God-glorifying teaching
Friends with phone numbers unused
And liberty for entertainment abused

Means of grace all strewn around
The battlefield radio left upon a shelf
Unused and unconsidered mercies abound
As many succumb to a myopic focus upon self

This life is War!
We battle with that great whore
Of self, the world, and the enemy
Who, in the midst of war, neglects such a vast array of weaponry?

Why all the mess?
Why all this neglect?
When Christ has so blessed,
And when He deserves the utmost respect

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Grace in the Midst of a Storm

Today the Michiana area had it's first battle with the coming winter. Niles sustained a few inches of snow before I got off work at 11pm.

At about 9:30pm, after just handling a minor weather related traffic accident, I responded to the scene of a vehicle in the ditch on US12. My patrol car was parked on the shoulder of US12 with the emergency lights activated as I awaited a tow truck to remove the stranded vehicle. As I walked back to my patrol car I opened the driver side door and looked up to see a vehicle sliding out of control towards me. With no time to go anywhere else I jumped up and stood on the floorboard of my car and pressed against the car as tightly as possible. The sliding vehicle quickly brushed by me and smacked into my open door, pealing it backwards. Photos may follow later.

Needless to say the two motorists who lost control of their vehicles received citations for this lack of control. Contrary to popular opinion, poor weather conditions are not excuses for losing control of one's vehicle. Rather the loss of control is evidence of the fact that one was going too fast for the weather conditions. For some reason people find this unreasonable? The man who was stranded in the ditch, and who watched as I was nearly hit, questioned the receiving of such a citation as he cited the fact that the road was snowy and slippery. My reply, "Exactly, all the more reason to drive with much caution and with reduced speeds in order to maintain control of your vehicle."

As providence would have it the lady who almost hit me was driving on a suspended license. An interesting coincidence with the last time I was almost hit. 2 years ago again in the midst of a snow storm on I-94 a suspended driver of a semi-truck lost control of the truck and came within feet of striking my parked patrol car as it crashed into the median and into a vehicle I had stopped to assist.

Again I'm reminded of tremendous and sovereign grace. A matter of a few inches could have resulted in significantly different results. There is One who draws the lines between protection and devastation. Today, again, I'm glad to have been on this side of that line. There may come a time when I may be on the other side of that line, and if that time ever comes, this same One will have drawn that line, for He alone draws such lines.

Psalm 68:20 (NIV)
Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.

Wilberforce vs. Apathy

"No man has a right to be idol, there is so much misery to alleviate."

- William Wilberforce


HT:JP

Friday, November 14, 2008

Ever Memorize Scripture?

I've done a little bit of scripture memorization and I've never felt it to be a wasted effort. Although The passages I've previously endeavored to memorize, and did actually remember without help - at least for a short period of time, are no longer stored word for word in my faulty memory. The powerful truth of these passages, however, did remain with me.

For instance Isaiah 53 was once a memorization project of mine and although I cannot an longer recite the entire passage verbatim, I do recall the powerful Christ-centered message therein. I can no longer quote Romans 1 but I do remember the main points highlighted there. Psalm 91 was one of my memorization projects and it too is not retained entirely, yet I recall the theme of God's protection of His people.

I remember especially during the Romans 1 project that the more I recited this chapter repeatedly in an effort to lock it into memory, the more I was beginning to understand it. The memorization effort is a forced meditation, and as such greatly helps with understanding.

I've recently been attempting to commit to memory, what is in my opinion one of the greatest (if not the greatest chapter) in all of Scripture - Romans 8.

3 Verses down and 36 more to go.

On a similar note, my wife and I are teaching our 5 year old daughter to memorize verses. She has several verses committed to memory and it's quite amazing how fast she is able to memorize them.

What verses would you want your children to remember? Or what verses did you memorize as a child?

Do you memorize Scripture? What have portions of Scripture have you committed to memory? Or what portions would you recommend memorizing?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Who Wouldn't Want This?

Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Often times after having drank from that great Fountain of Living Waters, my soul does so overflow with peace, hope, and unbreakable joy. That He has made a way for us to come before Him whenever we want, and that He has given us His magnificent Word is simply astounding. That we may take part of Him, of knowing Him and enjoying Him is spectacular. I sometimes question myself as to why I don't press into His Word further and delay in His presence longer - this is mere foolishness and no doubt evidence of the frail condition of our human-ness.

This morning after meeting with Him, my heart is ravished and my soul is deeply satisfied. After tasting of such glories this question rings in my ears, "Who wouldn't want this?" Then I'm reminded of two things Jesus said:

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."

"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel."


Quenched


My thirst now quenched
And with Your presence drenched
My heart is now satisfied
Overflowing with joy when You are Glorified

Oh that we may know You
And enjoy Your intimate fellowship too
What a wonder to delight
In Your majesty and might

Trembling in the presence of so much glory
Heart pounding and mind overwhelmed with the story
Of Your fierce and intense pursuit of us
It births faith anew, and hope that is marvelous

- A.B. Seal

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Gratefully Diverse

Skin, bones, muscles, eyes, ears, fingers, elbows, and toes. How diverse one human being is. How diverse also the body of Christ is.

What a grace and an example of God’s spectacular creativity. We were not all pressed with the same cookie cutter. Each of us with unique voices, personalities, and even fingerprints. And this not by mistake, but by design.

How immensely I’ve benefited from being exposed to the variety in the body of Christ. I’ve benefited from those in the Charismatic camps as well as those of the not-so-charismatic camps. From those who are prone to an intellectual large mindedness and from those who are prone to a not-so-intellectual large heartedness. From those who see things differently than I do and from those who by all accounts are quite different from me in various ways.

How have you benefited from the diversity of Christ’s people?

Or have you missed out on this blessing because, whether by choice or by happenstance, you’ve been quite isolated in your particular corner of Christianity?

It's quite interesting how we gravitate towards those who are most like us. It's also interesting how we benefit from those who are not so much like us.

Though now it often seems we are given to an unusual and likely unnatural bent towards self-likeness we will see much fruit grow from the cross-pollination of growing into Christ-likeness as we become a part of the body that is tremendously larger than we are and notably more diverse.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Paul Washer: Preaching Repentance

I watched this message last night and was greatly moved. What a grace it is to have free access to so many great messages.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Behold the Lion...

Revelation 5:2-5 , 9
5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 5:3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 5:4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

5:5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

Switchfoot: This is Home

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Any Thoughts?



John 15:18
"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

John 15:20
Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

John 16:20-22
Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 16:22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

2 Timothy 3:12
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Matthew 24:37
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Romans 8:16-18
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

That's NOT the point...

Romans 1:24-25
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

The creation was never meant to become the recipient of worship. Rather it was created in such a way as to display the magnificence and excellence of the One who designed it. These are my thoughts after an unusual experience at work this evening.

"That's not the point..." I thought to myself as I pondered the condition of those who gathered in the small building to engage in severely misplaced worship. Thoughts of the end time reference to the "days of Noah" (Mat. 24:37) passed through my mind.

"That's not the point..." The creation was not meant to be an end in itself, but a means to the ultimate end - the worship of the Living God. Eternal majesty neglected for things infinitely less glorious and infinitely less satisfying.

At this point you're probably wondering what this unusual experience was. Suffice it to say that it was a vivid example of idolatry. A living illustration that will leave a lasting impression on me as to the folly of worshiping finite things and the evil of the wayward human heart. It would not be appropriate considering the focus of this blog to delve into further detail.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Scriptures to Consider on Voting Day

Daniel 4:35
all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"

Psalm 115:3
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Daniel 2:20-22
Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

1Samauel 8:4-9
8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 8:5 and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8:8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 8:9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Saturday, November 1, 2008

CD Giveaway: Behold the Lamb of God

This month I will having a CD giveaway instead of the usual book giveaway. Considering that the winner of the November Giveaway will be determined on the last day of November, right in midst of the Christmas season, I'll be giving away Andrew Peterson's excellent album (my favorite Christmas album) Behold the Lamb of God.

To enter for the November Giveaway just leave a comment on this post.

Here's a taste of two songs from this album:

Behold the Lamb


Labor of Love