Jesus is better

I was reading through Hebrews 6-10 today, and was struck with awe and gladness at the repeated superiority of Jesus over every alternative belief and value. Starting in chapter 6, the author of Hebrews uses the word "better" an astounding TEN times (not to mention all the times in the first six chapters when he says Jesus is "greater" or "worthy of more honor"). Clearly, Jesus is pretty freakin awesome. So here are 7 reasons from Hebrews why Jesus is better:

Jesus is a better hope. "A better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." ~7:19

Jesus guarantees a better covenant. "This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant." ~7:22

Jesus offers better promises. "The covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." ~8:6

Jesus was a better sacrifice. "It was necessary... to purify the heavenly things with better sacrifices than these." ~9:23

Jesus is a better possession. "You yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one." ~10:34

Jesus is King of a better country. "They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one." ~11:16

Jesus offers a better life with Him. "...so that they might rise again to a better life." ~11:35

The Epistle to Diognetus

Today I had the incredible experience and blessing of reading the short "Epistle to Diognetus," the earliest example of Christian apologetics.  The only thing we know about the author is that he claims to be "a disciple of the Apostles."  It was written to Diognetus, a Gentile interested in the claims of these strange Christians he had heard about.  It was probably written in the early 2nd century-- somewhere between 100 and 160 AD.  That makes it one of the earliest extra-biblical Christian writings we have.

What I love about this epistle is its presentation of the gospel.  I was so encouraged to see that the gospel of substitutionary atonement and justification by faith we preach today is the same one being heralded 1,900 years ago.  I've copied chapter 9 of the epistle below.  By the time I was done with it, I was practically weeping.  It's definitely worth taking a few minutes to read:



Having planned everything already in His mind with His Son, He permitted us during the former time to be borne along by disorderly impulses as we desired, led astray by pleasures and lusts, not at all because He took delight in our sins, but because He bore with us.

And He bore with us not because He approved of the past season of iniquity, but because He was creating the present season of righteousness, so that, being convicted in the past time by our own deeds as unworthy of life, we might now be made deserving by the goodness of God, and having made clear our inability to enter into the kingdom of God of ourselves, might be enabled by the ability of God.

And when our iniquity had been fully accomplished, and it had been made perfectly manifest that punishment and death were expected as its recompense, and the season came which God had ordained, when from that time on He should manifest His goodness and power (O the exceeding great kindness and love of God!), He did not hate us, neither rejected us, nor bore us malice, but was long-suffering and patient, and in pity for us took upon Himself our sins, and Himself parted with His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy for the lawless, the guileless for the evil, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal.

For what else but His righteousness would have covered our sins? In whom was it possible for us lawless and ungodly men to have been justified, save only in the Son of God? O the sweet exchange, O the inscrutable creation, O the unexpected benefits; that the iniquity of many should be concealed in One Righteous Man, and the righteousness of One should justify many that are iniquitous!

Having then in the former time demonstrated the inability of our nature to obtain life, and having now revealed a Savior able to save even creatures which have no ability, He willed that for both reasons we should believe in His goodness and should regard Him as nourisher, father, teacher, counselor, physician, mind, light, honor, glory, strength and life.

The Gospel of the Grace of God

A new poem I wrote today:

The gospel of the grace of God
Was planned for Jesus Christ's applause;
The end of grace, the end of sin
Is sinners making much of Him.

Unblinding light, a death that saves,
Immortal placed inside a grave;
Wisdom that confounds the wise
And opens doors to Paradise.

The brilliance of a plan so bright
Alone could shatter evil's night
And wake the deadened sinner's heart,
A view of glory to impart

The sun in all its radiance shines
Barely a glimmer next to Thine
Whose glory outranks honor, fame
Of every earthly favored name

The gospel of glory divine
Makes grace forever, always mine
To join with countless, freed from sin,
Enjoying making much of Him.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

In 1717, Alexander Pope wrote a poem, "Eloisa to Abelard."  In the poem, Eloisa mourns over her lost love Abelard, finally coming to the realization that the love of God is sweeter than the love of Abelard.  Even still, she struggles to let go, and looks forward to heaven.  It's an amazing poem, and I commend it to you.  Here is the turning point of the poem, where Eloisa realizes that experiencing God's forgiveness and knowing the certainty of heaven is the highest of all joys.


Oh come! oh teach me nature to subdue,
Renounce my love, my life, myself-- and you.
Fill my fond heart with God alone, for He
Alone can rival, can succeed to thee.


How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each prayer accepted, and each wish resigned;
Labor and rest, that equal periods keep;
"Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;"
Desires composed, affections ever even
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heaven.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whispering angels prompt her golden dreams.
For her the unfading rose of Eden blooms,
And wings of seraphs shed divine perfumes,
For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring,
For her white virgins hymeneals sing,
To sounds of heavenly harps she dies away
And melts in visions of eternal day.


What happiness and joy it is to know the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, a conscience cleansed by the blood of Jesus!  For me the heavenly Bridegroom prepares the bridal ring, for me the unfading rose of Eden blooms, for me there is pardon and rest and accepted prayer.

Thinking Lightly

I've been slowly getting back into translating Romans from Greek to English, and recently my work in Romans 2 jumped out at me.  Here is my literal translation of Romans 2:4-

"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, being ignorant that the kindness of God leads you into repentance?"

Do you "think lightly" of God's kindness and forbearance and patience?  Is it a small thing to you, something that rests lightly on your mind and heart?  The truth of God's new-every-morning mercies in Christ is the most massive, weighty reality in the universe, a reality which should be daily, hourly crushing the sin out of our souls, taking our breath away, and bowing our hearts down before the throne of grace.

Yet too often in the church and in my experience, God's grace has been a small, light thing.  Too often I reckon "the riches of His kindness" to be more like a $5 bill and less like the inexhaustible, precious treasure that it really is.  Too many mornings, the patience of God is a small thing to me.  I rise with my alarm clock and go about my day, not stopping to realize in wonder and awe that God again caused the sun to rise this morning on millions of people-- myself included-- who deserved to die in their sleep and yet have another day of divine forbearance and mercy in front of them.  Think of it!  The sun rose this morning-- a testament to God's love for His enemies.  "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may  be sons of your Father who is in heaven.  For He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5:44-45)  And the same love for His enemies that the sunrise proclaimed this morning was also demonstrated, in an even more magnificently glorious way, on the cross.  "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." (Romans 5:10).  Every morning, we should be staggered by the sunrise!

O, that the weight of God's kindness and forbearance and patience would fall with sin-shattering, joy-maximizing implications on His people!  By His massive mercy, may we today find His kindness to be wealth beyond compare, His forbearance to be an unending fountain of hope, and His patience to be a firm foundation of peace.

Past, Present, and Future

O the sweetness of these words: "To Him who loves us"-  loves us!  That He would ever look with even a mere moment of love upon a sinner such as I is earth-shattering.  But that He loves me with a present tense, ongoing, ever-present passion is unfathomably staggering.  Who am I, that the God who "inhabits eternity" (Is. 57:15) would break into time to pursue me with a present tense love?

And in order to make my experience of His present tense reality eternally sure, He has grounded it in the objective past tense: "and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom."  God demonstrates (present tense) His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died (past tense) for us.  O, the marvelous assurance that this truth brings!  The foundation of His love is not my present-- my weak, wavering, sin-stained present; the immovable Rock of His affection is His own past-- His unchanging, faithful, eternally accomplished past!

Therefore my heart's deepest longing and desire is this: that every future tense of my life would be suffused with His praise, and an ever-increasing conformity to His precious likeness: "To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen!"


"To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen." ~Revelation 1:5-6

Alleluia, Sing To Jesus

We sang "Alleluia, Sing To Jesus" in chapel yesterday, and the third verse was exactly what I needed to hear:

Alleluia!  Bread of angels, Thou on earth, our food, our stay
Alleluia!  Here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day
Intercessor, Friend of sinners, earth's Redeemer, plead for me
Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea

Of First Importance

I will be preaching again, for the last time, at Center Presbyterian Church this Sunday.  My text will be 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, asking one basic question: "Why is Paul reminding Christians of the gospel?  Don't they already know it?"  The title of the sermon will be, "Of First Importance: Remembering the Most Important Thing."

Whenever I have the opportunity to preach on Sunday morning, I am keenly aware of my shortcomings, but never more so when I am preaching directly on the gospel.  Please pray for me, that the beauty and glory and truth of the message of salvation would be put clearly on display by the frail words I bring to the congregation this Sunday.

Good Friday

From the Valley of Vision:

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
cast off that I might be brought in,
trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,
surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best,
stripped that I might be clothed,
wounded that I might be healed,
athirst that I might drink,
tormented that I might be comforted,
made a shame that I might inherit glory,
entered darkness that I might have eternal light.
My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,
groaned that I might have endless song,
endured all pain that I might have unfading health,
bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem,
bowed his head that I might uplift mine,
experienced reproach that I might receive welcome,
closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,
expired that I might forever live.

The Gospel in Mark

I've just started the book of Mark in my Through-the-Bible reading plan, and I've noticed something. In the first chapter of Mark, the word "gospel" has appeared 3 times-- in verses 1, 14, and 15. I didn't remember seeing that word too much in Matthew, so I did a word search to find out. Sure enough, the word "gospel" appears 4 times in Matthew, 1 time in Luke, 0 times in John... but 8 times in Mark. Considering that Mark is much shorter than the three other accounts of Jesus' life, that's surprising. Just to get an idea of the big difference here, if we divide the number of times the word "gospel" is used by the number of chapters in each of those 4 books, we get these fractions:

The word "gospel" is found in:
4/28 (14%) of Matthew's chapters,
1/24 (4%) of Luke's chapters,
0/21 (0%) of John's chapters,
but a whopping 8/16 (50%) of Mark's chapters!

To put this in even more perspective, in the whole New Testament only Romans, 2 Corinthians, and Galatians use the word "gospel" more times than Mark. Now, this doesn't mean that there's no good news in Matthew, Luke, and John, or that the saving message of redemption somehow isn't found there as much... but there does appear to be a special focus on the gospel in Mark. I'm not sure what the significance of that is, but it's something I'm going to be thinking about and looking for while I'm reading Mark these next two months.

Does anyone have any insight?

Satisfied

This is a free verse poem I wrote yesterday, meditating on Isaiah 51:17 and 22. It was a really intense two hours for me as I struggled for words to describe the cross and the wrath of God, and all that those things mean. The poem is titled, "Satisfied."


~~~~~~

Stand up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD

the cup of His wrath,

who have drunk to the dregs

the bowl, the cup of staggering.

~Isaiah 51:17

~~~~~~

Stand up, people

Get on your feet

Move on, assemble:

Your Maker addresses you.

Your King has summoned you.

God Most High speaks.

From the hand of the LORD,

from the hand that opens to satisfy

the desires of every living thing--

from the hand that guides, fashions,

makes, creates--

from the hand of the LORD--

a cup.

But not a cup of blessing.

It’s a deserved cup,

an earned cup,

a cup we’ve worked for

and asked for.

And we haven’t deserved,

we haven’t earned,

we haven’t worked for,

we haven’t asked for

a cup of blessing.

This isn’t a wishy washy God who holds the cup,

this is no friendly God, “me-and-Jesus” God, safe God.

This is not a tame lion.

But oh, He is good.

Good beyond reckoning, beyond comprehension.

Absolutely, fully, completely, ever and always

good.

And that’s bad news.

Because I am bad.

Rotten to the core, corrupt in my

inmost thoughts and outmost deeds.

Shot through with lust and lies and vicious

pernicious mischievous strangling hold of sin.

And this is a deserved cup.

A cup of wrath.

Furious, lightning bolt anger,

white hot and ice cold

melting my heart and freezing my blood.

This is not displeasure, or bad mood,

or disappointment.

This is despair-of-your-life, run-to-the-hills, call-for-rocks-to-crush-your-skull,

nightmarish, vengeful, retributive,

blacklisting, hunting, holy hate--

a thousand million billion lifetimes of

concentrated apoplectic rage fermented

down to the dregs of well-deserved death.

This is my cup.

A cup of staggering

strangling

haunting

hellish sadness.

O my God, I cannot bear

to take this cup that I have bought

with a costly lifetime

of purposefully

willfully

skillfully

stealthily

boastfully

recklessly

misplaced love.

One drop of this potion

will send me staggering to an infinite death.

And in this cup I see a bottomless ocean of red,

each drop screaming for my blood.

O my God,

if You permit Justice’s sword to fall

upon my guilty guilty guilty head

I am undone

undone

undone.

Is there another way?

Remove this cup from me!

~~~~~~

Thus says your Lord, the LORD,

your God who pleads the cause of His people:

“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more.”

~Isaiah 51:22

~~~~~

Stand up sinner

Get on your feet

For your Maker, your Creator,

your Savior answers you.

From the hand of the LORD--

the hand strong enough to save,

to meet and arm-wrestle

and overcome justice and meet holiness’ demands--

from the hand of the LORD--

a cup.

It is my cup.

Taken from my hands,

and given to Another.

And this other hasn’t deserved

hasn’t earned,

hasn’t worked for,

hasn’t asked for

my cup.

And yet He takes it and in this moment we see:

This is not a wishy washy God who holds the cup.

He is not a tame lion.

But oh, He is good.

Good beyond reckoning, beyond all comprehension,

absolutely, fully, completely, ever and always

good.

And suddenly, spectacularly, surprisingly,

that’s good news.

Because He has my cup.

It is a cup of wrath, and watch, suddenly:

it tips, it hovers, He cries,

it spills, He drinks.

Furious lightning bolt anger nailing Him to a tree

until His heart bursts and blood flows like water.

Horrible, wretched, screaming, bloody agony

as the dregs of my death boil over,

a violent, gruesome, mangling grace.

“Is there another way?”

Stony silence.

“Remove this cup from me!”

Heaven closes its gate,

bars the door,

shuts the window.

And the prayer that from my lips

evoked the thunderous, resounding, earth-splitting

Amen of atonement--

on His lips, rejected.

“Why have You forsaken me?”

Forsaken Him?
Forsaken Him?

O my God-- You’ve forsaken Him?

But it’s my cup, not His--

my nightmare, my curse, my gore,

my horrible, wretched, screaming, bloody agony

on His lips

as He drinks my cup.

You’ve forsaken Him--

why in the world Him,

when You should have forsaken me?

And yet there He is

staggering under the weight

of doom

of malady

of grief

of death

of despair

of mourning, sickness, crying, pain,

rebellion, treason, murder, treachery,

of a cross.

See Him stagger under the cross!

O holiness--

terrible, frightening, demanding holiness

that blinds my eyes and burns my heart

and would require THIS as payment.

This is not a wishy washy God.

This is a God who would rather scream

under the mountainous, crushing, humiliating weight

of His own astronomical standard

than let one white lie

one lustful glance

one greedy thought

one moment of less-than-perfect love

go unpunished, unanswered, undrunk.

And so He punishes

He answers

He drinks it

Himself.

Trembling, terrified, broken,

I come to the cross,

to the cup--

my cup, my cross--

and behold, it is empty.

Down to the dregs, every last drop

of rancid, calamitous,

raging rebuke

has been swallowed, consumed, drunk, finished,

satisfied.

Satisfied.

Satisfied.

Justice, holiness, wrath and love--

oh sweet and tearful,

bitter and joyful,

mysterious, wondrous, glorious,

impossible, immutable, unchangeable,

availing, pleading, saving love--

satisfied.

Saved For Himself

I'm in Numbers on my Through-the-Bible-in-a-Year journey, and a peculiar verse in chapter 3 struck me today.

Numbers 3:13-- "On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my won all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast.  They shall be mine: I am the LORD."

Here is what the ESV Study Bible has to say about this verse: "In the last plague, every firstborn male Egyptian and every firstborn of their cattle died, but the firstborn Israelite boys and cattle were spared.  So after this, all Israelite firstborn boys and cattle were dedicated to God."

The significance of this verse hit me between the eyes.  What God is saying is this: "I spared them and saved them; therefore, they are now mine."  God doesn't save us so that we can continue living for ourselves; He saves us for Himself.  This is the purpose of the cross.  Titus 2 says that Christ "gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possessions who are zealous for good works."

That is why He saved the Israelites, and it's why He saved us: He saved us for Himself.

Another Book

Today in my Through-the-Bible reading, I was in Exodus 32, which recounts the story of the golden calf.  While Moses was up on the mountain talking to God, the Israelites got 'bored,' and had Aaron make a golden idol for them.  God was furious, and if not for Moses' intercession, He would have wiped them all out.  But even though He spared their lives, God still held their sin against them.  "But the LORD said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.'"

As soon as I read that, my mind jumped to Revelation 20, where we see God's book again: "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened... And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done."  This is a terrifying scene.  I know my heart, and I know that if I had been at Mt. Sinai, I probably would have been going right along with the idol worship.  Because I was once an idolater too, and even now, I am a saint who struggles with idolatry.  I know that if God kept a record of my sins, I could never stand.

But the scene in Revelation doesn't end there.  It continues: "Then another book was opened, which is the book of life."  Praise God, there is another book!  I will not be judged according to what I have done, because my name is in the book of life.  When I read that this morning, I was humbled and broken and awed.  Truly, it could only be amazing grace that would save a wretch like me and cover over my endless offenses in those other books.  My sins are stacked so high, ingrained so deeply in my soul, written so clearly in those books, that it took the death of the Son of God in my place to blot them out.  So instead of my name being blotted out of the book of life (which is what I deserve), I get my sins blotted out instead.

Praise God, there is another book!

The Iniquity of our Holy Things

I'm smack in the middle of Exodus in my Through-the-Bible reading, and today I was reading about the garments of the priests in Exodus 28.  Exodus can be a challenging book, but I know from Hebrews that the whole sacrificial system and priesthood pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice and priesthood of Christ.  So I've been on the lookout for connections.  Here's one that jumped out at me:

It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts.  It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.  ~Exodus 28:38

God is so holy, and the people so fundamentally corrupted, that even their holy gifts were stained with guilt that needed to be borne and atoned for.  What a humbling reminder this is!  We must remember, in our service to God, that even our holy things need to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.  John Owen writes,

"Believers obey Christ as the one by whom our obedience is accepted by God.  Believers know all their duties are weak, imperfect and unable to abide in God's presence.  Therefore they look to Christ as the one who bears the iniquity of their holy things, who adds incense to their prayers, gathers out all the weeds from their duties and makes them acceptable to God."

The Sinner's Hiding Place

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered...

You are a hiding place for me;

You preserve me from trouble;

You surround me with shouts of deliverance.

~Psalm 32:1,7

How precious is the Gospel!  The knowledge of God's costly grace, freely given to us, is blessing and joy and comfort beyond measure.  Blessed is the one whose sin has been covered-- but covered by what, and by whom?  Verse 7 gives the answer-- we are covered by God Himself, who becomes for us a hiding place from the ravages of sin and wrath.  The hymn "Hiding Place" grasps this sweet truth:

You know the vileness of my heart

So prone to act the rebel's part

And when You veil Your lovely face

How can I find a hiding place?

Lord Jesus, shine and then I can

Feel sweetness in salvation's plan

And as a sinner plead for grace

To Christ, the sinner's hiding place

"Christ, the sinner's hiding place."  What a precious, precious phrase!

God knows, and I know in glimpses, the deep vileness of my heart.  I know who I am and what I deserve, and I am grateful that God daily reminds me of this in His Word.  And even more, I am so thankful that as a sinner I can plead for grace to Christ, the sinner's hiding place.

Such As I

This is a poem I wrote early this last summer, after reading Charles Spurgeon's Evening devotion for May 27th.  The devotion is based on 2 Samuel 9:8- "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?"  Spurgeon writes, "If Mephibosheth was humbled by David's kindness, what shall we be in the presence of our gracious Lord?  The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity... At best, we are but clay, animated dust, but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed.  Let it be proclaimed in heaven as a wonder that the Lord Jesus should set His heart's love upon such as we are.  Dust and ashes though we be, we must and will 'magnify the exceeding greatness of His grace.'"  Pondering on that astounding and humbling truth, I wrote this poem called "Such As I."

Such as I, filthy unclean

One who cov'nants with the grave

Such as I, can You call me

Even I, condemned depraved

As one who cov'nants with the grave?

A worm and nothing more am I

And less, for I a sinner be

A rebel transgressed a thousand times

And all the curses fall on me

For I a cursed sinner be

How then can One so holy, pure

And set apart from mortal's death

Bear my curse and own my blame

Taking punishment from wrath,

Who stands apart from mortal's death?

Such as You, O Son of God

And gracious, incarnate Son of Man

Could e'er unite such great divide

And rescue me from Satan's hand

O gracious, incarnate Son of Man

Such as I, once stained with shame

Now spotless, blameless, faultless stand

Robed in white and washed in red

Before the holy Great I AM

I spotless, blameless, faultless stand

Some More Spectacular Calvin Quotes

Gosh, I love The Institutes.  No, I take that back.  I love the power and wisdom and beauty of God so clearly celebrated and expounded in The Institutes.  I spent 6 1/2 hours today reading all of Book II, which focuses on the work of Christ as our Redeemer, and covers topics like sin, depravity, free will, Law, grace, the Incarnation (which I recommend as a great Christmastime devotion!), the person of Christ, the atonement, etc.  By now my copy of The Institutes is all covered in highlighter, but below are a couple particular quotes which are so awesome in provoking worship that they deserve to be reproduced and pondered and celebrated.

"Our acquittal is in this-- that the guilt which made us liable to punishment was transferred to the head of the Son of God."  (Yes, we know this, but oh how sweet it is to hear it again and again, especially with such eloquence!)

"Christ crushed, broke, and scattered the whole force of death."

"For the good and safety of His people, God overrules all the creatures, even the devil himself, who, we see, dared not attempt anything against Job without His permission and command.  This knowledge is necessarily followed by gratitude in prosperity, patience in adversity, and incredible security for the time to come."

And perhaps my favorite, from the chapter on the Incarnation:

"It was His to swallow up death: who but Life could do so?  It was His to conquer sin: who could do so save Righteousness itself?  It was His to put to flight the powers of the devil and the world: who could do so but the mighty power superior to both?  But who possesses life and righteousness, and the dominion and government of heaven, but God alone?  Therefore God, in His infinite mercy, having determined to redeem us, became Himself our Redeemer in the person of His only begotten Son."

Praise, praise, praise the Redeemer!  Praise His infinite mercy!  Praise the One who "crushed, broke, and scattered" the whole force of death and rules all the universe for the benefit of His chosen people.  What a God we serve!

The Holy Spirit

I came across this quote by Spurgeon today.  It makes me wonder why I even bother to post my own thoughts here... I should just post quotes like this, from men who have gone much deeper with God than I have even imagined.  There is so much wisdom and power here.  This quote is a great example of that.

"Let us ever remember that Christ on the cross is of no value to us, apart from the Holy Spirit in us.  In vain that blood is flowing, unless the finger of the Spirit applies the blood to our conscience; in vain is that garment of righteousness wrought out, unless the Holy Spirit wraps it around us and arrays us in its costly folds.  The river of life cannot quench our thirst, till the Spirit presents the goblet and lifts it to our lips.  All the things which are in the paradise of God could never be blissful to us, so long as we are dead souls-- and dead we are, until that heavenly wind comes and breathes upon us, that we may live.  We do not hesitate to say that we owe as much to God the Holy Spirit as we do to God the Son."

Making it to the Cross

I came across an excellent blog post today entitled "Making It To The Cross," about how important it is to get a glimpse of the cross every time you open your Bible.

Here's the opening paragraph, to get you hooked:

"Today, whether you read a few chapters in Leviticus or Luke, Ezekiel or Ephesians, Proverbs or Philippians, you must make it to the cross.  If you don't make it to the cross, if you don't see the connection between a chapter in Proverbs and what Jesus accomplished on the cross, you'll miss the whole point of your regular Bible reading.  The whole point of reading through your Bible on a regular basis is to begin to see and celebrate that the whole Bible is about the cross-- about the gospel, about the good news of what Jesus has done for you."

Read the whole article here, and remember to make it to the cross.

How Christians Should Respond to the Election

So how should Christians respond to the election of Barack Obama, the most extreme pro-abortion member of the Senate (and now the President-Elect), the liberal Democrat, and the first African-American President in history?  Here are 8 responses from Scripture that should be expected of God's people:

1) Pray for our President.  Pray for our new President-Elect.  Pray for our country and its new leaders.  Pray for the cessation of injustice, the freedom of the Church, and the advance of the Gospel.  "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."(2 Chron. 7:14)  And do not think that, because you do not support President Obama or his policies, that you should not pray for him.  "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt. 5:44)  Pray especially that God will change his heart to save the lives of the millions of defenseless unborn who will otherwise die during his term.

2) Do not fear.  If the prospect of an Obama presidency scares you, you should take a good hard look at where you are placing your security.  We as Christians will almost certainly face more opposition in the next four years, and we will almost certainly face setbacks in the cause of justice.  But God is our security, heaven is our home, and we are not citizens of this world.  "He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'  So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?'" (Heb. 13:5-6).

3) Respect our President.  Regardless of how you voted, you are commanded by the Word of God to respect your new President.  "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (Rom. 13:1)  If Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, could write these words concerning the anti-Christian pagan emperor, how much more should Republicans submit to their Democratic leader!  Do not be like so many partisans who will drag the name of Christ through the mud tomorrow morning by the vindictive bitterness of their words.  Honor Christ in how you honor the President.

4) Rejoice at the demise of racism.  The election of the first African-American President, regardless of his political views, is a thrilling moment in American history, a decisive blow in the ages-long battle against bigotry, racism, and hatred.  Christians everywhere should rejoice in this triumph of justice-- justice that for centuries was denied to people created in the image of God for His glory.  Pray that God will use Barack Obama's presidency to further heal the divides of racism that still exist in this country.

5) Defend the defenseless.  With pro-choice Democrats now in control of the White House and Congress, the people of God must speak out with one voice against the horrific evil of abortion.  Pray earnestly, desperately, and faithfully that God will deliver us from this judgment and will renew this country's love for the sanctity of life.  "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.  If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay each man according to his work?" (Prov. 24:11-12)

6) Trust in God's sovereignty.  We must never let election outcomes cloud our view of God's sovereignty as revealed in Scripture.  "He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." (Daniel 2:20-21)  "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?'" (Daniel 4:34-35)  God is sovereign, and the outcome of this election was always in His hands.  If He has chosen to lose the restraints on evil and "give us over" to the fruition of abortion and homosexuality, His judgment is just.  Continue to pray for mercy for our nation and boldness for His people, but never cease to trust His unswerving allegiance to His Church and to His glory.

7) Thank God for His mercy.  Though God has "given us over" to a liberal, pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality President, in His great mercy He has not given us the leaders we deserve.  In our sin, we deserve anarchy and dictatorship and violent oppression, yet God in His goodness has seen it fit to preserve our political freedom.  This is the fruit of the Gospel; God continues to defend His church and extend incredible patience to rebels.

8) Remember our freedom.  Many Republicans will say that a liberal President means the end of liberty.  I disagree.  It may be true that Constitutional protections will be rolled back or ignored; it may be true that Big Government may take away economic and social and educational and familial choices that once were ours.  But President Obama cannot take away our freedom, for our freedom is found in Christ.  "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)Do not put too much stock in political freedom; after all, this world and everything in it is quickly passing away.  Christians in North Korea today are just as free before God as Christians in the USA.  Remember the benefits of the Gospel bought and applied to you by the Holy Spirit: you are free, forgiven, reconciled, a citizen of heaven, and no human government can take that away.