Video HT: CCEF.org
Quote: "It's a basic human desire to be part of something bigger. I was actually hard-wired for Glory. The danger is Satan is selling something that is way, way less as if it is something that's way, way more. And I think that goes on every day."
Is God shrunk down to the size of my own kingdom?
A must watch. This could be the post to end all posts from me. Could be.
(ht: Of First Importance)
“The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope — at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.”
- Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.
Hebrews 12:22 "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the
city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they
refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for
our "God is a consuming fire."
"Made perfect."
- Hebrews 12:23.
Recollect that there are two kinds of perfection which the Christian needs—the perfection of justification in the person of Jesus, and the perfection of sanctification wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. At present, corruption yet remains even in the breasts of the regenerate—experience soon teaches us this. Within us are still lusts and evil imaginations. But I rejoice to know that the day is coming when God shall finish the work which He has begun; and He shall present my soul, not only perfect in Christ, but perfect through the Spirit, without spot or blemish, or any such thing. Can it be true that this poor sinful heart of mine is to become holy even as God is holy? Can it be that this spirit, which often cries, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this sin and death?" shall get rid of sin and death—that I shall have no evil things to vex my ears, and no unholy thoughts to disturb my peace? Oh, happy hour! may it be hastened! When I cross the Jordan, the work of sanctification will be finished; but not till that moment shall I even claim perfection in myself.
Then my spirit shall have its last baptism in the Holy Spirit's fire. Methinks I long to die to receive that last and final purification which shall usher me into heaven. Not an angel more pure than I shall be, for I shall be able to say, in a double sense, "I am clean," through Jesus' blood, and through the Spirit's work. Oh, how should we extol the power of the Holy Ghost in thus making us fit to stand before our Father in heaven! Yet let not the hope of perfection hereafter make us content with imperfection now. If it does this, our hope cannot be genuine; for a good hope is a purifying thing, even now. The work of grace must be abiding in us now or it cannot be perfected then. Let us pray to "be filled with the Spirit," that we may bring forth increasingly the fruits of righteousness.
- From "Morning and Evening: Evening Devotional" by C. H. Spurgeon
"Our sin is rooted not only in a lack of reverence for God's holiness, but also in a profoundly insufficient understanding of his love. God is love, SO God hates sin. We are loved with a holy love that cries "No!" again and again to the things that destroy us. We are part of an epic love story, and what we all need desperately is to know the Author better."
An amazing paper by Richard B.Gaffin, Jr., Westminster Theological Seminary:
Pentecost: Before and After
When one of my co-workers mentioned that her church celebrated Pentecost this past Sunday, I felt that I had really missed something by not celebrating it or be reminded of its significance. With that being said, I decided to do a little searching and found the aforementioned article thru Monergism.com at "The Online Journal of Biblical Theology."
Here is a quote from his conclusion:
"The blessings of salvation that the New Testament believer enjoys—regeneration, justification and all the rest—flow from and are tied to union with the exalted Christ. That cannot be said of Abraham and the rest of the remnant according to grace during their pilgrimage on earth. Our union-privilege, I take it, is at the heart of the "something better" planned by God for old as well as new covenant believers, "so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Heb. 11:40)."
Quote of the day, from Sean Michael Lucas:
"At the end of it all, the Spirit must use his word of gospel grace every day to
confront my heart, to kill this sin of pride that manifests itself as self-pity
and boasting, and to silence the voices. Only then, only then, will I hear the
sweet voice of the Spirit say, "You are not a deserving servant; you are a
beloved son. Rest in that and find in me the satisfaction, security, and
significance for which your heart longs."
This is absolutely fascinating. Interestingly, I've read that Darwin once wrote that his whole theory hinged upon the assumption that life originated from a "Simple Cell." Molecular biology shows that there has never been such a thing as "simple" cell. Watch this video. It's awesome.
