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Long ago, God, in many different ways, revealed himself to us through many different people, who like us were mere men.
But in these last days, He has spoken to use in a special way, using a personal messenger. He has spoken to us through His Son.
His Son is the heir and inheritor of the entire world, because through HIS POWER the world was created.
He IS the radiance of God's glory.
He is not just a reflection of God; He is the EXACT IMPRINT OF GOD.
He UPHOLDS THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, which He created and will inherit, by THE WORD OF HIS POWER.
"After making purification for sins..."
after taking the form of a slave,
after taking on mere humanity,
after submitting Himself to serve those whom He created,
after surrendering to their humiliation of Him,
after suffering in His human body in the cruelest means of death,
after suffering through utter separation from THE FATHER,
after making Himself the scapegoat for OUR SIN,
He sat down.
He, being God, being All-Powerful, completed that which we could never do.
He paid the debt for our sin, took our well-deserved punishment, then ascended back to the heights of HIS GLORY : THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD : The Ultimate Seat of Power, Authority, and Blessing!

And we are IN CHRIST. We are united with Him in His death, and in His Resurrection, and someday...
WE ARE TO SHARE IN HIS GLORY.

Day 2: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.


Wow!  Short but so powerful!  
In this sweet Christmas hymn, Jesus is exalted as our Savior, our Source of rest, our Strength, our Consolation, our Hope, our Joy, and our King--deserving of all our adoration, praise, and submission! Don't you long for THIS WONDERFUL PRINCE OF PEACE to RULE in your heart, both today and forever??? 
He is our ALL SUFFICIENT MERIT--we have none of our own and have no need of it since His righteousness is credited to our account! 
Let us find our rest in Him today, the desire and joy of our longing hearts!

Before the Throne

This song is so powerful and such a blessing to my heart!  Especially verse two...

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Words: Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863.

People will always fail you...

...BUT GOD NEVER WILL!

It seems like I am learning this at least once a week. Do I expect too much of people? Do I not give them enough slack? Do I expect them to be perfect?

Yeah, I think I do sometimes. I think it comes from my desire for perfection. My desire to be perfect someday! When I fail, I am discouraged. Will I never learn?

I am such a sinner! I realize it anew every day! I cannot do right on my own! The things I want to do I do not do, and the things I despise I do (to paraphrase Paul in Romans 7). Without God I can do no good, like it says in Psalm 14:1-3, "there is none who does good, no not one."

And yet, why do I expect others to be better than I?

I expect the other kids in my youth group to be responsible, sincere and attentive.

I expect my parents to have ALL the answers and always have it together.

I expect my little siblings to always obey, with a cheerful smile.

I expect my friends on facebook to always say something that reflects the Lord's work in their lives.

I expect everyone I meet to greet me with a smile and a kind word.

Alas, I expect perfect people and a perfect world, whereas I live in quite the opposite.

Not to say that those things I expect do not happen ever, they do at times. But I should consider that a blessing, not normal.

I'm so grateful for the Lord's work in my life and in those around me, because without Him I would never be blessed by anyone or anything. As in Genesis 6:5, in which "every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually."

But now, in Christ Jesus, we who were utterly depraved and dead in our wicked works, are now His workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

If I look to people for joy, for encouragement, for blessings, I will be disappointed.

But if I look to MY GOD, Who is always faithful, always loving, always comforting, always holy, always good, always sovereign, always gentle, always just, always merciful, always all-powerful, always all-knowing, always in control....I will never be disappointed.

In Him we all consist and have our being. In Him alone we can do good and bless those around us. In Him we are new creatures, "zealous for good works." In Him we are capable of doing what was impossible before: pleasing Him.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

our sin and the mercy of God

I realize that it’s been a while since I’ve posted. It might be another long while before I post again. My summer schedule is such that when I’m actually home (not working at camp, or on missions trip, etc), I need to spend time with my family.



What will God teach me this summer? I’m excited to find out! Getting out of normal routine and evaluating my heart and life in the light of the Word, not my circumstances, always reveals flaws in myself and calls me to cling more tightly to the Cross!

Last night at church, we were studying Martin Luther. He had a very great awareness of his depravity, but was not ashamed of it. Instead, he declared it boldly, because then he was closer to realizing how great is the love and mercy of Christ!

What he meant by that was not, “Let us sin that grace may abound!” But rather, “May the knowledge of our great sin help us to stand in awe of His great grace!”

He once said to a friend, “Sin boldly.” Also a confusing statement! Was he really advising his friend to sin?????? Certainly not! But he was urging him, that when he sinned, he should admit it, because why should the Holy One die for people who are not sinners?

We are all fallen, missing the mark, completely depraved. There is none righteous, no not one. When Adam sinned, he “polluted” the human race, as it were. We are now born sinners, deserving of eternal death and separation from God.

But now, we have the CROSS OF CHRIST! Now the fallen, dead sinners are lifted up (Eph 2:5 “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”).

Our sinfulness reveals the mercy of God as so great, beyond imagining!

Please understand that I am NOT telling you to sin with all your might! Not at all!

On the contrary, the Cross of Christ is our motivation to live a holy life! “Be holy as I am holy.” (I Pet. 1:16)

Since He has been so loving, so gracious, so merciful, so forgiving, we strive to, by His Spirit’s power, become like Him, and when we sin, we repent and then rejoice that we don’t have to pay the punishment. Jesus already has!

And so, this summer, if I don’t make it on here to post soon,

SIN BOLDLY! :) Declare yourself to be sinful, redeemed, and forgiven! And this summer, may God change us into a more perfect reflection of Himself, no matter what pruning, refining and purging it may take! Bring it on!

AGAIN?????

“When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD.” Judges 4:1

“Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, so Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.” Judges 6:1,6

“So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.” Judges 8:33-35


I’m studying the book of Judges in my personal worship time, and every time I read a verse like these, my heart sags. Not literally, of course, but you know the feeling! Again??? When will they get it? Can’t they see all He’s done for them? Is their memory that bad? Why don’t they understand that God is so much better than any other god?


Then I am filled with shame. Who am I to speak? When will I get it? Why do I often follow after “the pleasures of sin for a moment”? Can’t I see all that He has done for me? Is my memory that bad? Why don’t I understand that God is so much better than any other thing I set up in my heart as a god?

Even greater is my shame than those of the people of Israel. I have even more to remember. I, who deserved eternal punishment, and was not one of the chosen people of Israel, have been grafted into the family of God by His grace and His Son’s death on the cross. I, an enemy of God, was brought near and redeemed by no merit of my own. And NOW, after all this, His Spirit lives in me, guiding me, convicting me, illumining me, and giving me strength to live as Christ showed me how to live. AND Jesus is preparing an eternal home for me, where I shall dwell forever with Him!

And yet, I still sin.  Though I am a sinner, I cannot use that as a cop-out answer.


Romans 6:11 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


Romans 6:13 “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”


Romans 7:3 “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”


Romans 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

As a believer, I am dead to sin. Dead.  So now, every time I sin, it is a choice to follow the flesh. It’s not that I can’t help it, but that I choose to do it.


I want my sin to bother me as much as the Israelite’s sin bothers me in the book of Judges. May I see it for what it is: direct rebellion against God, choosing another God, missing the mark of God’s holiness.

It is my desire that my life be characterized by Judges 10:16 (“So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD.”) instead of Judges 10:6 (“Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals … and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”)


May my memory of Christ’s sacrifice compel me to serve Him and not to sin.

Eleven years ago...

....I was 6 years old, a stubborn little sinner who knew alot about Christ, but didn't really know Him.  I was one of those know-it-all little kids who memorized easily, loved facts, loved knowing more than other people (especially those older than me) and facts about Christ were just that: facts.

Then on April 2, 1999, Good Friday, my family and I went to an Easter drama at a local church.  I sat there stunned as I watched a gruesome (at least it seemed that way to me) reenactment of Christ's rejection, suffering, death, and burial.  I had known that Jesus died, but never did I understand what He went through because He loved me.   I was overcome with the realization: Christ died for me!  Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I was definitely a sinner, there was no question about that!  I wasn't one of those little kids who make people question whether people are born sinners: I confirmed it!  I was rebellious, disobedient, stubborn, deceitful, angry, resentful, jealous...among many things.  I was on my way to a Christless eternity in hell.  Though I was young, I was old enough to understand. 

It was in that moment, that I understood.  Christ suffered so much because He loved me and wanted me to be His child, and yet, what was I going to do about it?  That night, I humbled myself and admitted that I was a sinner in need of salvation.  I thanked Christ for dying, and rising for me and asked Him to save me from my sin, from death.

I ran forward at the invitation, yes, at age six, without my parents, and joined a line of a hundred or so people  for counseling.  I had been in line for a while when my parents realized that I was gone, and I decided that I didn't want to wait in line, or go in a back room with a stranger by myself, and so I ran back down the middle aisle!

When my family and I got home, my parents took me back to their bedroom and talked about what salvation was, making sure I understood.  I prayed with them, and we called relatives and friends telling them the good news. 

Some may question the validity of a decision made at a young age.  Some may belittle the fact that I had not done many terrible things.  Some may think my story sounds normal and not "exciting." I am not ashamed of being saved at a young age: I am grateful.  As a missionary who came to our church said, "I was not saved out of a life of terrible sin, but I was saved from a life of sin." I am so grateful, for if that day, I had not become a child of God, who knows where I would be today?

Eph 2:4-10 "But God, ( I love those two words!) who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." 

I have nothing to boast in, no righteousness of my own to hold up and exalt.  I was lost, but Jesus found me, and did everything possible and everything necessary that I might be justified (declared righteous) in His sight.

The next verse in Ephesians 2 goes on to say: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

My response to what Christ did must be to be faithful in what He has prepared for me, and to live my life to glorify Him.  Luke 9:23 "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"

This is the part I'm in now, denying myself, taking up my cross and following, wherever my Savior leads.  After all, He did so much for me, how can I but love Him and serve Him with all my life?

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Thoughts on Death and Life

"What the world calls virtue, without Christ, is a name and a dream. The foundation of all human excellence must be laid deep in the blood of the Redeemer's cross and in the power of His resurrection." -Robertson

We must realize that without Christ, we are nothing. Even our righteousness is filthy rags before Him. When we excel, and we do not do it for Him and His glory, then we have done nothing.  It is only when we die to ourselves and our desires, that we can really excel, because He is glorified when our flesh is swallowed up in His Spirit. (1Co 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.)

When we, knowing that Christ died and rose again to make it possible that we can live a life that truly means something, decide instead to live for ourselves....we are denying that His death and resurrection means anything. 
Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."
Eph 2:1 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,"
Eph 2:4-6  "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"
 
I love this passage in Colossians about what Christ did for us on the cross!
Col 2:13 "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."
 
What should our reponse be since Christ has made us alive? 
 
Galatians 2:20-21 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Col 3:2,4a "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God....therefore put to death your members which are on the earth."

1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed." "That we might live for rightoeusness!"
It is  my prayer that I never "get away" from the cross, may it loom ever before me, reminding me of His sacrifice, which is the reason for my daily sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2).  The Christian life is one of daily death and resurrection, putting to death (mortifying) even wicked thought and action, that it becomes "not I, but Christ who lives in me."

2Co 5:14-15 "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."

May we all die today, that we may truly live!

Think on this today...
It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him. --Lincoln