HAHAHAHA!!

Just a funny post…Phil Johnson is hillarious! Just got this post from him and rolled!!
One day I will be as funny as him…one day!!

“Voice of God”

Tim Challis posted this link today on his blog, about people claiming to hear the voice of God. I read a book a couple of months ago on this topic called “Finding the Will of God: A pagan notion”, and it really made me re-evaluate how i make decisons (usually BIG decisions)on issues with my life (job, marriage, church, car,etc). Here are some excerpts from the article by Gary Gilley.

The final court of appeals determining the identity of the voice of God, if it is such, must be the direct instructions or at least the examples found in Scripture. The Scriptures claim to be the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21). They are inspired, once for all, by the Holy Spirit, enabling prophets and apostles, using their own personalities, to write God’s words as He intended (Hebrews 1:1,2; 2:3,4; Acts 5:12; 2 Corinthians 12:12). I believe with the closure of Scripture, direct, infallible, authoritative revelation from God has ceased for this age (Revelation 22:18, 19; Ephesians 2:20; 3:5; Jude 3, 4; 2 Peter 3:2). It is instructive to note when Paul wrote his last epistle to pastor/friend Timothy about leading the church of God, he did not encourage Timothy to focus on new revelations, impressions, feelings or hunches. Rather, he continually turned him to the Word of God and the doctrines contained therein (2 Timothy 2:2-14, 15; 3:15-17; 4:2-4).

Of course, the current bent toward the subjective rather than the biblical is nothing new. In each age it seems there are pockets of God’s people (sometimes bigger pockets than others) who want to go beyond Scripture for their spiritual experiences.

This kind of problem has not faded into the past and is almost identical to the teachings found within various elements of the charismatic movement today. For example, compare what Jack Deere, a leading Vineyard theologian writes:

God can and does give personal words of direction to believers today that cannot be found in the Bible. I do not believe that he gives direction that contradicts the Bible, but direction that cannot be found in the Bible.

Noncharismatic evangelical Christianity has definitely taken on a mystical bent in recent days as well. While never denying the authority of Scripture as such, many, from people in the pew to key evangelical leaders, regularly point to mystical experiences as the basis for much of what they do and believe. We must be concerned that this weak view of the Scriptures will ultimately cause great harm in the body of Christ.

Abraham, for example, definitely heard the voice of God at times. God speaks to him in Genesis 15 and again in Genesis 17. But there was at least a 14 year gap between the two utterances from God and possibly 20 years or more (compare 16:16 with 17:1). It seems to us that God was talking to Abraham all the time but the fact is that many years would go by with no communication from God at all – even to Abraham the friend of God and father of the Jewish race. This leads to the next observation: when God did speak it was almost always to prophets and key players in the biblical story, not to the common man or woman. There may have been a few exceptions to this, but if so, it was rare. Yet, many today act as if God speaks to everyone all the time, and they attempt to prop up this view through biblical accounts. But the Scriptures simply do not support this idea.

This is a great article for alot of us today. We MUST run to scripture for our guidance and not on personal revelation or gut feelings. My feelings change from one moment to the next, but God’s Word has lasted thousands of years and will last till the end of the world.

This Sunday’s song list

I am playing for the first time in a long time this Sunday at church, so I have been practicing the song list. I thought I would post the lyrics to them and see what everyone thought. Even if you do not leave a comment, maybe you can think about the lyrics this week as you go about your daily errands and think of the power of the cross.

Jesus Cast a Look on Me

1. Jesus cast a look on me,
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low,
Seeking only Thee to know

2. All that feeds my busy pride,
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to Thine submit,
Lay me humbly at Thy feet

3. Make me like a little child,
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in Thy light,
Walking only in Thy might

4. Leaning on Thy loving breast,
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God,
Flowing from His precious blood

5. In this posture let me live,
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die,
And hosannas ever cry!

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2. O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

O Worship the King

1. O worship the King,
all glorious above,
And gratefully sing
His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender,
the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor,
and girded with praise.

2. O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
Whose canopy space,
Whose chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.

3. Thy bountiful care,
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.

4. Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender,
how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend.

The Church’s One Foundation

1. The church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.

2. Elect from every nation,
Yet one over all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.

3. Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

4. The church shall never perish,
Her dear Lord to defend
To guide, sustain and cherish,
Is with her to the end
Though there be those that hate her,
And false sons in her pale
Against a foe or traitor,
She ever shall prevail

5. Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace forevermore;
‘Til, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blessed,
And the great church victorious
Shall be the church at rest.

6. Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with Thee.

Jesus is not my girlfriend

For those that have talked to me in depth over the past year or so know that I have shifted in my view of modern praise choruses (or 7-11 songs) and towards more hymns.

Today a friend of mine sent me some lyrics to a praise song by the Vineyard church.
Read these lyrics

I can see You
You can teach me
I can feel You
When I am alone with You
Alone with You
I can be me
You can free me
I can know You
When I am alone with You
Alone with You

You are everything to me (You are everything to me) And in Your presence I a’m complete (There’’s nowhere else I’’d rather be) Than in this place alone with You (There’’s nothing else I’’d rather do) Than be right here alone with You

This sounds like something that would be sung on a wedding day, not to the Holy God!!

I was listening to another song the other day called “Draw me close” and again it sounded like something that would be sung at a wedding and not in a deep meaningful expression of gratitude and plea for forgiveness.

Draw me close to you
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear you say that I’’m your friend

You are my desire
No one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace
Help me find the way, bring me back to you

You’’re all I want You’’re all I’’ve ever needed You’’re all I want Help me know you are near

These are just two examples of a so called “Jesus is my girlfriend”” movement. Reading these lyrics makes me think more of my make out days than on the price my savior paid when he died on the cross.

We must realize that when we enter the sanctuary of God’’s holy temple we must come with reverence and humility, not as some teen age crush.

Our songs must be Cross centered and Christ glorifying. In a mode reverence and adoration

Valley of Vision

Covenant

Lord Jesus,
Grant me the favour of being led by thee,
under the directions of thy providence
and thy Word.

Grant me thy blessings with bitter things,
to brighten and quicken me,
not to depress and make me lifeless;

Grant me, like Gideon of old, way tokens,
by removing things that discourage me;

Grant me succour beneath the shadow
of thy sympathy when I am tempted.

Accept my unceasing thanks
that I am not cast off from thy hand
as a darkened star or a rudderless vessel.

Suffer not my life to extend beyond my usefulness;

Cast me not under the feet of
pride, injustice, riches, wordly greatness, selfish oppression of men;

Help me to wait patiently, silently upon thee,
not to be enraged or speak unadvisedly.
Let thy mercy follow me while I live,
and give me aid to resign myself to thy will.

Take my heart and hold it in thy hand;
write upon it reverence to thyself with an
inscription that time and eternity cannot erase.

To thy grace and the care if thy covenant
I commit myself, in sickness, and in health,
for thou has overcome the world,
fulfilled the law,
finished justifying righteousness,
swallowed up death in victory,
and taken all power everywhere.

Mark this covenant with thine own blood
in the court of forgiving mercy;
Attach unto it thy name in which I believe
for it is sealed by my unworthy mortal hand.

For the readers in the group…

Yesterday I mentioned the great website of Theopedia for anyone wanting definitions of for anything dealing with theology and Christianity in general.

But, today I wanted to mention a great website that goes more in depth with issues and trends. Monergism is almost a central hub for any of the reformed issues. The lay out is very easy to navigate and there are tons of articles for every subject.

There are a couple of “dead” links, but overall the URL’s are active (dead meaning the article being linked doesnt exist or has been deleted).

Monergism also has a great bookstore for those looking for solid doctrinal books and music. I have went into every Christian bookstore in Mobile, and can never find any of the books I am looking for. In fact I had to go to Barnes and Noble just to find Wayne Grudem’s “Systematic Theology”. MonergismBooks also carries music and dvd’s….They have the entire Indeliable grace series ( Indeliable Grace, Pilgrim Days, and For all the Saints), which takes older hymns and puts them to modern music.

So check Monergism and MonergismBooks out and be prepared to spend hours going through different subjects and issues.

Theopedia

There are alot of “big” words in the Bible ( White Horse Inn tackled alot of those words a couple of weeks ago). Not only words but doctrines and practices that may be a little hard to grasp.

Yesterday i found a website that helps out in these areas. It is called Theopedia. Theopedia is an online encyclopedia for theology/religion.

you can search for almost anything (even pastors or movements)

Propitiation

Limited Atonement

Transubstantiation

John Macarthur

R.C Sproul

Prosperity Gospel

The one thing to remember about Theopedia is that it is an always changing site. The information can come from anyone.

Looking at the Solas

Sometimes we just need to be reminded of key truths…..

There is no obscurity in the words, “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” – John Calvin (Institutes, 2.1.6).

i was looking up different thinks on Wikipedia and came across the 5 solas and thought I would share with you guys. I need to be reminded of these truths daily (honestly I probably need it hourly). I bring nothing to the table in my justification and sanctification…NOTHING!

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved –
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
-Eph 2:4-10

____________________________________________________________________

The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers’ basic beliefs and emphasis in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.

Sola fide (“by faith alone”)
Justification (that is, becoming right before God) comes through faith only, not good works, though in the classical protestant scheme, saving faith will always be accompanied by good works. This doctrine can be summarized with the formula “Faith yields justification and good works” and is contrasted with the Catholic formula “Faith and good works yield justification.” This doctrine is sometimes called the material cause of the Reformation because it was the central doctrinal issue for Martin Luther.

Sola scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)
The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God and is accessible to all (that is, perspicuous and self-interpreting). This doctrine is directly opposed to the teaching of the Catholic Church that scripture can only be authentically interpreted through Holy Apostolic Tradition by the Magisterium (that is, the Pope and bishops at church councils). This doctrine is sometimes called the formal cause of the Reformation because it was the underlying cause of disagreement over sola fide.

Solus Christus (“Christ alone”; sometimes Solo Christo, “by Christ alone”)
Christ is the exclusive mediator between God and man. Neither Mary, the saints, nor priests (other than Christ himself) can act as mediator in bringing salvation. This doctrine is contrasted with the Catholic doctrines of the intercession of saints and of the function of priests.

Sola gratia (“by grace alone”)
Salvation comes by grace only, not through any merit on the part of the sinner. Thus salvation is an unearned gift. This doctrine is a response to the Catholic doctrine of merit.

Soli Deo gloria (“Glory to God alone”)
All the glory is due to God alone, since he did all the work — not only the atonement on the Cross, but even granting the faith which allows men to be saved by that atonement. The Reformers believed that human beings (such as the Catholic saints and popes) and their organizations (the Church) were not worthy of the glory that was bestowed on them.

Challis Giveaway!!

Tim Challis is having his monthly giveaway…

you can click on the picture to sign up…

lil appetizer

Steve Camp had this quote by R.C Sproul on his blog and I have to say it fit me to a T (whatever that means)..

“Hyper-Calvinism is how most Arminians define Calvinism.”-R.C Sproul

Amazingly Sproul is right, because that is how I looked at Calvinism when I first heard about it.
“If God chooses who is saved, why witness?”

I think this is the knee-jerk thought when first presented with Calvinism.
But, if you really take time to study the issue you see that election is used far more than “free” will.
Because honestly how free is our will anyway?

Calviism does NOT excuse the redeem from evangelism, it takes a lot of pressure off since God does the work and not us (which ultimately means he gets the glory and not us).

Spurgeon said that he wished God would but a mark on teh backs of the elect so we would know who was chosen. But, he didnt so we must witness to them all as if they were….

Humility: True Greatness

I have finished reading the new book by C.J Mahaney and it was amazing!! As you can tell it took less than a week to read this book, but don’t let the size of the book fool you.
Within this book are a lot of practical and biblical information and application.

As I said in my last blog post the book is broken down into three parts

• Part one is the battle between humility and pride
• Part two is Christ as an example of humility
• Part three is humility in action.

Each chapter shows pride in everyday form (even in areas I had never thought about). The main area that impacted me was my words and how my words correlate either pride or humility. Reading this book I was constantly going “Oh yeah! I have done that!” or “Hey! That is me!”, and seeing areas I need to work on daily!

Some noteworthy quotes from the book

Through each and every interaction, however casual, however brief, I
want to impart grace through my words, for that’s God’s purpose in granting us
this gift of speech. And in effect we have God’s promise in this passage that
when our words are edifying and appropriate, they will give grace.

We watch our hearts and study our hearts in the
shadow of the cross as a means of protecting our hearts from the daily presence
and opposition of sin. If you don’t watch, you’ll inevitably weaken.

Regardless of the severity of suffering
we experience in this life, it will always be less than what we have deserved for
our sins.

The chapter on humility in suffering was probably the one chapter that affected me the most. I don’t know why since I am not suffering right now, but reading the story of his sister and brother in law really struck a chord with me. Even reading the quote again it is touching me.

I would highly recommend this book and even say it is a must read!

Why?

Because pride is one thing every person has to deal with DAILY! The dying of self is a constant battle and within this book are tools to help with combating with this enemy.

Humility: True Greatness review (Intro)

Over the next couple of days i will be giving a review of C.J Mahaney’s new book, “Humility: True Greatness” which should hit the bookstores sometime in October.

The subject of humility is a huge undertaking since most people consider you smug to think you have a handle on it. you know “I’m humble and proud of it” seems to be the cliche that goes through someone mind when the subject comes up.

Seems C.J understands this point as well…Right up front he says

Writing about humility is a humbling experience. Who wants to volunteer to
write on this subject? Not me. There’ve been countless times while completing
this book when I’ve been inspired to think, You idiot! Why did you agree to do this?
And I could entertain you for hours relating the comments and facial expressions
of those who discovered I was authoring a work with this title.

I understand their reaction. If I met someone presuming to have
something to say on humility, automatically I’d think him unqualified to speak
on the subject.

So instead of this book being a “I have overcome pride and you can too!” it becomes more of a “Even though we fall, we can get up and try again”.

The book is broken down into three parts

Part one is the battle between humility and pride
Part two is Christ as an example of humility
and Part three is humility in action.

I know my review will not come close to doing this book justice, but hopefully it will spark an interest.
Even before starting this book i know i am in deep need of its lessons, because humility tends to go against the humanist thought and my selfish thought.

My Only Hope

Church yesterday was great! We had a memorial service (originally for the tragedy of 9-11) for 9-11 and Katrina survivors. The theme of the day was “hope”, and everything was spot on.
I thought today I would just share a couple of hymns.

The first was in my head a lot yesterday with the theme of “Hope” resonating throughout the day. It is called “Dear refuge of my weary soul” by Anne Steele. I think I may have sent this out to some people a couple months ago, but for those that do not know her background Anne Steele was an invalid and lost her fiancé the day before her wedding.
Knowing that just adds so much weight to these comforting words…

1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,On Thee, when sorrows rise On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,My fainting hope relies To Thee I tell each rising grief,For Thou alone canst heal Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,For every pain I feel
2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,I fear to call Thee mine The springs of comfort seem to fail,And all my hopes declineYet gracious God, where shall I flee?Thou art my only trust And still my soul would cleave to Thee Though prostrate in the dust
3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face, And shall I seek in vain? And can the ear of sovereign grace, Be deaf when I complain?No still the ear of sovereign grace,Attends the mourner’s prayerOh may I ever find access,To breathe my sorrows there
4. Thy mercy seat is open still,Here let my soul retreat With humble hope attend Thy will,And wait beneath Thy feet, Thy mercy seat is open still,Here let my soul retreatWith humble hope attend Thy will,And wait beneath Thy feet.

The final hymn I want to share is “The Church’s One Foundation”. This has become one of my personal favorites. With the history of me and some church’s I have been apart of, this song rings so loud. But, louder still is that even though the church is tainted and dirty, I being apart of that church bring more filth and reproach than anyone else. I don’t care what Jesse Duplantis or Joyce Meyers say, I have been a poor miserable sinner, and will always be a poor miserable sinner. My only justification, my only sanctification, and my only glorification come from Christ and him alone!
So even though this hymn is about the church and it’s journey to sanctification, I believe it could also be applied to myself and my journey to sanctification (obtained when I reach Glory).

1. The church’s one foundationIs Jesus Christ her Lord,She is His new creation By water and the Word.From heaven He came and sought herTo be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died.
2. Elect from every nation, Yet one over all the earth;Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth;One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued.
3. Though with a scornful wonderMen see her sore oppressed,By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed, Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up, “How long?”And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.
4. The church shall never perish, Her dear Lord to defend To guide, sustain and cherish,Is with her to the endThough there be those that hate her,And false sons in her paleAgainst a foe or traitor, She ever shall prevail
5. Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war,She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore; ‘Til, with the vision glorious,Her longing eyes are blessed,And the great church victoriousShall be the church at rest.
6. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communionWith those whose rest is won.O happy ones and holy!Lord, give us grace that weLike them, the meek and lowly,On high may dwell with Thee.

One more step….

I dont think i even need to comment on this….

In-Souls™ inserts are designed to provide a tangible support to assist Christians to literally “walk in the word of the Lord.” Worn in the right shoe, each one provides a related scripture and affirmation. To enhance the spiritual walk with God, the inserts help one to “stand” on His Word, meditating on it day and night. Inserts may be alternated daily to help cultivate the word of God in your life. Look for other In-Souls sets to cover a variety of topics – from trust, obedience, patience and redemption to marriage, work and body image.

A Puritan Prayer…

I know i have already posted, but I just got word that a couple who are really close to Alaina and me will find out some life changing news tomm.

so for that reason i started praying and reading some puritan prayers from “Valley of Vision”. Here is one i wanted to share with him and anyone else that may need this prayer in their life…

O what blessedness accompanies devotion,
when under all the trials weary me,
the cares that corrode me,
the fears that disturb me,
the infirmities that oppress me,
I can come to the in my need and feel peace beyond understanding!
…
And here thy saint encourage my hope;
they were once poor and are now rich,
bound and are now free,
tried and now are victorious.
Every new duty calls for more grace than I now possess, but not more than is found in thee, the divine Treasury in whome all fullness dwells.
…
May I find thy grace sufficient for all my needs

“All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask. Yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.”-Martin Luther