Bite. Taste. Chew. Swallow. Digest. (Repeat.)

"There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . ."

  — Charles H. Spurgeon

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Most Prideful Fortune Cookie Ever...

It says: "Your talents will bring you the highest status and prestige."

Now, what's wrong with that statement?

You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
  But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.

(Isaiah 14:13-15)

In case you're keeping score...

Holy Bible: 1 vs. Fortune Cookie: 0  

OUCH. 

[P.S. Yo, but that fortune cookie still tasted good] :)

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Is It Really That Serious?

So, I'd like to share one of the daily devotions I received from my sister in Christ, Dawn Washington. I thought it was powerful, sobering, and very true... and I pray it will cause you to examine yourselves again and again in light of a holy and perfect God (as it did for me). We all need to be reminded of what you're about to read -- and let it draw us to the cross in humility, brokenness, and genuine repentance.


Is It Really That Serious?
2 Corinthians 7:1
How often have you heard it said… “Is it that serious?”  That question is typically posed when we desire to downplay something that someone has said.  When it relates to the question of sin and pursuing holiness, the answer is a resounding YES!  Yes, it is that serious.  Leviticus 19:2 says, “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.”  I find that I spend more of my time these days lamenting over the state of the body of Christ.   My heart weeps at our indifference to sin and wickedness. The pursuit of holiness has become merely an admirable pursuit of a few.

God has beckoned and is beckoning all those who are His to be like Him… holy.  He has given us the power to do such an impossible feat through His son, Jesus Christ.  Today, I want to begin to take a stab at the idea of the believer pursuing holiness relentlessly.  Paul says to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” I want to walk through this passage.

We must first ask, what promises do we have?  Prior to chapter 7, Paul has been reaffirming all that we have in Christ and why we must not lose heart.  For the work of Calvary’s cross, the debt we owed and could not pay, the righteousness we have been given, the adoption into the family… based on these promises we should “cleanse ourselves from ALL defilement of flesh and spirit.” It should be our very good pleasure and earnest desire to please God by pursuing holiness.

All too often, we (I am myself included in times past), make light of being holy before God.  Our sins do not present a very real threat to our spiritual walk.  We count them as a ‘mere’ struggle that we are ‘working on.’  If this has ever been your thinking, join me a moment of repentance. Lord, forgive us for making light of the load of sins you carried to the cross for us.  Forgive us for allowing the complacency of our sin to allow our voices to be heard among the scoffers at the foot of the cross who cheered for your crucifixion.  Please forgive us.

God is calling us, every moment of every day, to purge ourselves from all sin and the appearance of sin. We are charged to give no place to the devil. Our continual motivation is found in 2 Corinthians 5:20-21. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” We owe God.  We are indebted to Him for His love to save us from sin.  So then shall we continue in it?  Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

God demands it so much that in Hebrews 12:14-17 He says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”

Please… I beg of you to hear my heart on this.  God wants holiness. Pursue it with everything you got. Counsel towards holiness. Shun even the appearance of evil. Don’t compromise Christ righteousness in you for anyone or anything.  Don’t play with sin.  Don’t play with circumstances that lead to sin.  I am a living, breathing witness that sin will make a fool of you and blaspheme the faith for which you stand!

My closing admonition comes from Hebrews 10:26-31. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

As always, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
(2 Peter 3:18 ESV)

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What is the Gospel?

If someone (right now in this moment!) were to ask you, "TELL ME... WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?" Would you know how to answer? Do you know what the true gospel is?  

Watch. :)

 

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How the Gospel Can Transform a Marriage

I read this on The Gospel Coalition blog and thought I'd share... isn't amazing to think that the gospel is a fully sufficient answer for all areas of life including marital matters?

Gary and Betsy Ricuchi, Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace (Crossway, 2006), pp. 22-23:

• Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define us, confine us, or determine our future.
• Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Therefore we can live free of all guilt and condemnation for every sin, and we can trust that God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.
• Because of the gospel, we can forgive, just as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Nothing done against us compares to our sin against God. Therefore all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.
• Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7). Therefore we are not dependent on a spouse for who we are or what we need.
• Because of the gospel, sin’s ruling power over us is broken (Romans 6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey all that God calls us to do in our marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.
• Because of the gospel, we have access to God through Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to the One who can do all things.
• Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). Therefore we can endure any marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering, with the assurance that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).
• Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by his Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
• Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining sin, which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19-21, 24-25; Galatians 5:16-17). This indwelling enemy represents the essence of what is called the doctrine of sin.

These are just a few of the ways the gospel can transform a marriage. Sometimes it’s not easy to live in the reality of these truths. But it is always possible—and not because of our strength or determination, but because of God’s empowering and enabling grace.

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Reverend Fun - A Few Comics

Well, I woke up early this morning with a few hours before church, and stumbled upon these. So I wanted to bless you all with a few comic strips from Reverend Fun... you can find more at www.reverendfun.com

(You can click them to view in full size)

Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com

Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com

 In case you're wondering, my personal favorite is the last one lol 

:)

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History of Redemption

This sermon is so amazing and so is the artwork... I love the scripture illustrations. Thank God for the gospel! :o)

God's Story, Illustrated

In November of 2007, Scripture from Genesis to Revelation was memorized and preached as a way of reminding God's people of the great story of their redemption.

The text from that sermon forms the text of this book and has now been brought to life through vivid artistry illustrating that great story.

The History of Redemption was designed as a tool for you to memorize the history of redemption and be reminded of God's great grace so that you might be compelled to share it with others.

Watch the sermon here (or order the book too!): 

History of Redemption

 

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Boasting

This is one of my favorite songs... 

"Boasting" - Lecrae (feat. Anthony Evans)

Album: Rehab

(1 Corinthians 1:31)

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Spine Sentiments

"Spine Sentiments" = will be posts about what I'm learning in the books I'm currently reading. For more detail, see #1 under My Theme & Purpose for this Blog. 

***P.S. The "spine" part of it refers to the spine of a book that holds its pages together. Spine Sentiments. Get it? Awesome :o) ***

At the moment, I'm trekking on a journey alongside Christian in John Bunyan's 1678 classic work, The Pilgrim's Progress. It's been an great read so far (I'm only about a third of the way in). I'm just amazed at this dude's Old-English writing style and use of imagination and allegory. In a nutshell, the book is an allegory of the soul's search for salvation, and each step along the way becomes a dramatic rendering of an inner state of the human psyche. So there ya have it. Pulled directly from the back cover. Oh! And the main character is named Christian (did you catch the allegory? hehe!) :o)

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Putting Things Back Into Perspective

This morning, I looked at my bible reading plan (I'm on a Chronological Reading Plan this time around), and was pleased to find out that early on I'd be camping out in the book of Job, a book that I love. 

As I was reading, I was thinking about how Job was described by God as a blameless and righteous man who had many possessions. He had seven sons and three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke oxen and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants so that he was the greatest of all the people of the east. Job even prayed and made offerings to God continually for his children because he feared that they may have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. (Job 1:1-4)

So all seemed well for Job... until something devastating happened. Within six verses, everything Job had was stripped away from him, literally, back to back in the same day. Oxen and donkeys? Gone. Sheep? Burned. Camels? Stolen. Servants? Killed. Children? Dead. (Job 1:13-19)

And then, Job reacts. How does he respond to all this? You'd think with anger, fury, hatred towards God, denial or disbelief. But listen to what he does (Job 1:20-22): 

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

This blows my mind! Wait, maybe you didn't catch that. God allowed all of his worldly possessions to be stripped away including ALL of his children and how does he respond? He falls on the ground and WORSHIPS GOD!  How many of us can honestly say we would have done the same thing? (I probably wouldn't have in that moment!) Job recognizes that God gives and he takes away, and in either scenario he is still good and worthy of praise! Many times, we do the very opposite and determine God's character based on how good or bad our lives appear to be going.

Think about the sun for minute. When we see the sun slowly hiding itself beyond the horizon, what do we say? "The sun is setting." In the early freshness of the morning when we see the sun peeking over the edge what do we say? "The sun is rising." But truthfully, the sun isn't setting nor is it rising. In fact, the sun isn't moving at all! The Earth is the one rotating on it's axis and orbiting around the sun! But because of our position, we perceive that the sun is shifting rather than the Earth we stand on. 

Such are our minds towards God all too often. Our nature (and folly) is to think about God subjectively rather than objectively -- based on what we think we see rather than what's really true. Scripture says that God is immutable, unchanging (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 102:25-27; Hebrews 13:8). This also means that God is always who he says he is and never anything different. But oftentimes, when he allows certain things to happen to us we think he's changed all the sudden. He's not good anymore. He's not loving anymore. He's not just anymore. We think his character has changed. But the truth is that WE are the ones who've changed. We are the ones whose thoughts have shifted from believing the truths about God to believing lies from Satan. God stays the same, but because we are bound to this position as humans, we tend to sinfully project our subjective feelings and opinions onto God as if they were true. In a natural sense, we are limited to what we can see. But that's why God requires us to have supernatural faith because faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). God is like the sun in my illustration. He's centered; his nature and character doesn't budge. We are like the Earth, constantly rotating and revolving around him. 

So when tragic or unfavorable things happen, let's not take things out of perspective because we can't see or understand it all. Let's look to scripture to be reminded of God's character instead. Let's remind ourselves of the objective truth. Let's remember that all things (yes, ALL) God works for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28). And let it lead us to worship our Redeemer as it did Job.

I'll end with a few scriptures to help us remember a few of God's attributes and his character: 

God is living and true (Jeremiah 10:10; John 17:17)

God is life (Psalm 36:9)

God is perfect in wisdom (Romans 11:33)

God is unchanging (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8)

God is Almighty (Genesis 17:1; Read Job chps. 38-41!)

God is all-knowing (Heb. 4:13; Psa. 147:5)

God is good (Psa. 119:68, 145:9)

God is holy (Psa. 99:9; Isaiah 6:3)

God is sovereign (Psa. 135:6; Isa. 14:24, 46:10)

God is just and fair (Psa. 119:137; Deut. 10:17-18)

God is love (1 John 4:16; John 3:16)

God is merciful (Psa. 103:17; Heb. 4:14-16)

God is gracious (Ephesians 2:5-7; Titus 2:11)

God is righteous (Jer. 9:24)

God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9)

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My Theme & Purpose for this Blog

.......well .......

Honestly, I haven't fully figured it out yet. See, I'm the kind of person who is typically super organized and has to have everything perfectly planned out before I do it. Some of my friends say I need a little more "spontaneity" in my pocket to spice things up. Unfortunately, I end up thinking about how I can be spontaneous, and once I plan out an idea, I kill the very definition of being spontaneous. Case in point.

So this is what I've decided to do. I've come up with a couple ideas that I'm going to start out with, and we'll see where it goes from there, shall we?

(1.) I'm an avid reader. Especially when it comes to Christian literature and biblically-themed books. So naturally, I'd like write posts about what the Lord is teaching me through whatever book I'm in. I'm not talking about a "formal-New-York-Times-caliber-I-like-to-use-big-words-to-sound-smart" book review. Actually, I'm not talking about a book review at all. Just straight gut. What is God teaching me through this book? How does it apply to my life? What's on my mind?  My heart?

(2.) I'd like to write about what the Lord is showing me in his Word. It may come in the form of a prayer, a (in)formal study, a devotion, posting scriptures that I'm meditating on, bangin' sermons, and such. My heart behind this is expressed by what the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:15-16, "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."

(3.) Since I'd like to consider myself to be somewhat creative and artistic, I also plan on posting any songs, videos, poems, artwork and photos that I just think are awesome. (Who knows, maybe I'll post some of my own pieces if I can build up enough courage!) :o)

(4.) <--- This number is just a placeholder for my so-called "spontaneity" should I one day possess any and decide to write or post something not listed above. ;o)

My ultimate prayer is that this blog might be edifying to its readers in some way or another... and even if no one reads it, may I find joy in simply reflecting on my beautiful Savior.

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Earwitness? Don't you mean "Eyewitness"?

Nope. Sure not. 

So, what exactly is an "earwitness"? 

Well, according to Merriam-Webster it means "one who gives a report on what has been heard."

Um, okay... So what does that have to do with anything? 

Great question! In Romans 10:17 it says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Saving faith comes to the soul by hearing the Word of God in the scriptures. Years ago, the Lord graciously opened up my eyes (and ears!) to have faith and belief in him through hearing his Word. I probably should add that the expression "from hearing", though in a literal sense means a vocal utterance of words (i.e. preaching the gospel), is meant to include in its spirit the reading of the Word of God. If you think about it, reading is a sort of hearing with the eyes and faith often comes while people are reading the Word of God for themselves, as in my case. Doubts may at times creep in to our lives, but through our hearing of the Word in corporate worship and personal devotions and study, we are strengthened by God's Spirit and spurred on to follow Christ all the more. As a living and active sword (Hebrews 4:12-13), Scripture clarifies our minds and reminds us of the Lord’s goodness, especially in times of doubt. Overall, I think Jesus said it best when he quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)

So on my journey as a believer in Christ, and as I study his Word, may he illuminate my mind to perceive its meaning, enable me to devour his teachings in times of flourishing faith and dragging doubt, and to give a report on what I have heard... as an earwitness. 

Ah, it all makes perfect sense now...

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