As many of you know, I am away at the "Holiness of God" conference hosted by R.C Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Of course this means that I am currently in Orlando, Florida where it is approximately 80 degrees! But the best part of it, is that I do not have to go to Disney while I'm here!!
Anyway, back to the point of this post - I had considered trying to give some notes from the sessions but then I stumbled upon the Ligonier Ministries blog and realized that there is no way I could compete with Alex Chediak. So, I encourage you to go to Ligonier Ministries Blog (one of the links to the right of this post - listed as R.C. Sproul's blog) and check out what we have been learning about.
While all the sessions have been profitable, I will give you my top 3:
1. R.C. Sproul's kickoff address - "I am the Lord, there is no other"
2. Thabiti Anyabwile's message - "Cosmic Treason: Sin & the Holiness of God"
3. D.A Carson's talk - "A Holy Nation: The Church's High Calling"
The conference will conclude tomorrow at 1:00 pm with a final address from R.C Sproul
Btw, all of you that are reading this from Warren, Ohio...while down here I have been introduced to this big, yellow, round object in the sky...something I have never seen in "Always Partly Cloudy Warren, Ohio"...I will see if I can negotiate a deal where we can have this thing they call the "sun" visit us in Northeast Ohio once in a while!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Today is commonly referred to as St. Patrick's Day and all that most people seem to know about this day is that they are supposed to wear green!
So, to help us know a little more about St. Patrick, here is an excerpt from his confessions:
"For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name." ~ Excerpt from the Confession of Saint Patrick
If you would like to read more about St. Patrick, go to the following website:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.ii.html
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
So, to help us know a little more about St. Patrick, here is an excerpt from his confessions:
"For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name." ~ Excerpt from the Confession of Saint Patrick
If you would like to read more about St. Patrick, go to the following website:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.ii.html
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Lessons in Leviticus
As many of you know, I spend every Wednesday evening with a group of "college age students" and we are currently reading through the Bible and getting an overview of what the Bible is all about!
So, we are currently in Leviticus. This is not an easy book to study but we are finding that all of Scripture points us to Christ (just as Jesus said). The book deals so much with "holiness", "sacrifices", things that are "clean and unclean".
So, here is a quick summary of lessons we are learning from Leviticus:
1. We praise God that all those O.T sacrifices were just a "picture" of what would come and that Christ is the Fulfillment of all of those sacrifices. Hebrews 8:1-6 says, "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, 'see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.' But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises."
2. Leviticus also teaches us that God cares about how He is worshiped! Not just that we worship God, but "how" we worship. We cannot approach God however we please. It is a serious thing to worship God and we must come on His terms! Therefore, we better be serious about learning His Word because that is the place we get instructions on "who God is" and "how we are to approach Him". Not approaching God rightly is sin. And not knowing, or ignorance is no excuse for sin. So, we must take getting in His Word seriously so we know how to approach God and worship Him rightly!
3. Finally, we see that "everything" matters to God! When God calls us to live "holy", He means in "every area" of our lives. Every phase of our lives is to be lived in such a way that we are pleasing to Him.
So in conclusion, we challenged ourselves by asking this question:
- Does being a christian truly affect everything about my life? Do I have any areas (closets) that I exclude from God??
I hope that you have a plan for reading God's Word this year...and whatever it is, may I encourage you to stay with it and see how God will use it to help each of us grow in wisdom and godliness!
So, we are currently in Leviticus. This is not an easy book to study but we are finding that all of Scripture points us to Christ (just as Jesus said). The book deals so much with "holiness", "sacrifices", things that are "clean and unclean".
So, here is a quick summary of lessons we are learning from Leviticus:
1. We praise God that all those O.T sacrifices were just a "picture" of what would come and that Christ is the Fulfillment of all of those sacrifices. Hebrews 8:1-6 says, "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, 'see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.' But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises."
2. Leviticus also teaches us that God cares about how He is worshiped! Not just that we worship God, but "how" we worship. We cannot approach God however we please. It is a serious thing to worship God and we must come on His terms! Therefore, we better be serious about learning His Word because that is the place we get instructions on "who God is" and "how we are to approach Him". Not approaching God rightly is sin. And not knowing, or ignorance is no excuse for sin. So, we must take getting in His Word seriously so we know how to approach God and worship Him rightly!
3. Finally, we see that "everything" matters to God! When God calls us to live "holy", He means in "every area" of our lives. Every phase of our lives is to be lived in such a way that we are pleasing to Him.
So in conclusion, we challenged ourselves by asking this question:
- Does being a christian truly affect everything about my life? Do I have any areas (closets) that I exclude from God??
I hope that you have a plan for reading God's Word this year...and whatever it is, may I encourage you to stay with it and see how God will use it to help each of us grow in wisdom and godliness!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Our Sufficiency is in God Alone!
Well, I suppose a “congratulations” is in order for all the Pittsburgh Steelers fans out there. With another Super Bowl victory, the Steelers have separated themselves from the rest of the league with the most Super Bowl trophies (6). At least the Arizona Cardinals gave you a game and even had us all on the edge of our seats right down to the end.
As many of you know, I am definitely not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan! Growing up in this part of the country, you are typically a Browns or Steelers fan. In my home, we were brought up to cheer for the Cleveland Browns and therefore also cheer for anyone who is playing against the Steelers. At the age of 9, I left my first love (the Browns) and turned to the Miami Dolphins and I have been a Dolphins fan ever since. Although I did not remain a Browns fan, the part about not liking the Steelers has stuck with me throughout the years. But, I do have to admit that lately I have found myself “disliking” the Steelers less and less. Probably for 2 primary reasons:
1. Because of the Steelers style of play. Anyone who knows anything about football has to respect the way they play hard-nosed defense and good fundamental football.
2. But, the second reason is because of their head coach Mike Tomlin. When the Steelers hired Tomlin I knew all Steeler “haters” were in trouble. Sure he took over a very good football team with a lot of things already in place, but sometimes that is a more difficult situation to take over than starting something from scratch. I have observed and listened to Tomlin speak on many occasions and I have always gone away knowing that this guy “gets it” and will be very successful as a head coach.
Now stay with me, there is a point to all of this!
Immediately after the game, Tomlin was asked the question “did you have confidence that you could do this (win a championship) back when you were hired?” The question being asked referring to Tomlin’s age when hired (32) and only one other African-American coach having ever won a Super Bowl (Tony Dungy). And it was Tomlin’s answer to that question, that I have been considering ever since. The question opened the door for Tomlin to answer by saying “yes, I knew all along that I could do this”. Which certainly would have been a confident answer and maybe some would even consider it an arrogant answer. But Tomlin instead chose to answer it in this way – “I had faith in the Rooneys…I believed in the process…and that they knew what they were doing”.
In that answer, Tomlin did something that we as Christians can learn from. Tomlin acknowledged that his confidence did not ultimately lie within himself as much as those who were in authority over him and chose to put him in the place that they did.
I hope that you are getting the point of all of this!
You see we have been chosen by God. As Christians, it is God Himself who put a calling on our lives. He has called us to Himself and made us His followers. He has also called us into His service. And if we ever have questions of inferiority or inability, we must remind ourselves that our strength and ability and confidence does not (and should not) lie within ourselves.
Think of how many individuals portrayed this in God’s Word. When God called Moses to be the leader of the nation of Israel, Moses was not confident that he was the right man for the job. Jeremiah told the Lord that he was too young. Joseph when questioned about his ability to interpret dreams, responded by saying “not me, but the Lord”. We are constantly reminded that our sufficiency is not in and of ourselves. No, our sufficiency is in the Lord.
If we have questions of whether or not we are talented enough…smart enough…able enough…then we are in good company. In fact, I would dare say that if we think we are sufficient for these things than God cannot and will not use us! Why? First Corinthians chapter 1 deals much with the calling of God on our lives. Listen to how Paul the Apostle describes it:
“for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…so that no flesh should glory in His presence…therefore, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’”
Just recently in a bible study, we were looking at the life of Moses. Moses was a very unlikely character to be called by God and to be used in a mighty way. So, I stopped and asked our group “is Moses a likely character or unlikely character for God to use?” And both answers can be correct. According to the world, Moses is definitely an unlikely character but if you know God and you know how He works, then Moses is a likely character for God to put His hand upon and use in a mighty way for His own glory!
This is good news for you and me. We are “unlikely characters” as well…which makes us prime subjects for Him to use. So, like Tomlin, lets keep reminding ourselves that our sufficiency and confidence does not lie somewhere within ourselves but in the One who has chosen us and called us!
As many of you know, I am definitely not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan! Growing up in this part of the country, you are typically a Browns or Steelers fan. In my home, we were brought up to cheer for the Cleveland Browns and therefore also cheer for anyone who is playing against the Steelers. At the age of 9, I left my first love (the Browns) and turned to the Miami Dolphins and I have been a Dolphins fan ever since. Although I did not remain a Browns fan, the part about not liking the Steelers has stuck with me throughout the years. But, I do have to admit that lately I have found myself “disliking” the Steelers less and less. Probably for 2 primary reasons:
1. Because of the Steelers style of play. Anyone who knows anything about football has to respect the way they play hard-nosed defense and good fundamental football.
2. But, the second reason is because of their head coach Mike Tomlin. When the Steelers hired Tomlin I knew all Steeler “haters” were in trouble. Sure he took over a very good football team with a lot of things already in place, but sometimes that is a more difficult situation to take over than starting something from scratch. I have observed and listened to Tomlin speak on many occasions and I have always gone away knowing that this guy “gets it” and will be very successful as a head coach.
Now stay with me, there is a point to all of this!
Immediately after the game, Tomlin was asked the question “did you have confidence that you could do this (win a championship) back when you were hired?” The question being asked referring to Tomlin’s age when hired (32) and only one other African-American coach having ever won a Super Bowl (Tony Dungy). And it was Tomlin’s answer to that question, that I have been considering ever since. The question opened the door for Tomlin to answer by saying “yes, I knew all along that I could do this”. Which certainly would have been a confident answer and maybe some would even consider it an arrogant answer. But Tomlin instead chose to answer it in this way – “I had faith in the Rooneys…I believed in the process…and that they knew what they were doing”.
In that answer, Tomlin did something that we as Christians can learn from. Tomlin acknowledged that his confidence did not ultimately lie within himself as much as those who were in authority over him and chose to put him in the place that they did.
I hope that you are getting the point of all of this!
You see we have been chosen by God. As Christians, it is God Himself who put a calling on our lives. He has called us to Himself and made us His followers. He has also called us into His service. And if we ever have questions of inferiority or inability, we must remind ourselves that our strength and ability and confidence does not (and should not) lie within ourselves.
Think of how many individuals portrayed this in God’s Word. When God called Moses to be the leader of the nation of Israel, Moses was not confident that he was the right man for the job. Jeremiah told the Lord that he was too young. Joseph when questioned about his ability to interpret dreams, responded by saying “not me, but the Lord”. We are constantly reminded that our sufficiency is not in and of ourselves. No, our sufficiency is in the Lord.
If we have questions of whether or not we are talented enough…smart enough…able enough…then we are in good company. In fact, I would dare say that if we think we are sufficient for these things than God cannot and will not use us! Why? First Corinthians chapter 1 deals much with the calling of God on our lives. Listen to how Paul the Apostle describes it:
“for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…so that no flesh should glory in His presence…therefore, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’”
Just recently in a bible study, we were looking at the life of Moses. Moses was a very unlikely character to be called by God and to be used in a mighty way. So, I stopped and asked our group “is Moses a likely character or unlikely character for God to use?” And both answers can be correct. According to the world, Moses is definitely an unlikely character but if you know God and you know how He works, then Moses is a likely character for God to put His hand upon and use in a mighty way for His own glory!
This is good news for you and me. We are “unlikely characters” as well…which makes us prime subjects for Him to use. So, like Tomlin, lets keep reminding ourselves that our sufficiency and confidence does not lie somewhere within ourselves but in the One who has chosen us and called us!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
"We cannot Lord, Thy Purpose See"
Just a couple of weeks ago, my wife received an email that brought us both to tears! It comes from a parent who just lost her son. Obviously, that would be enough to stir any parent's emotions...but this goes much further than that. As you read, consider this woman's faith and trust in the Sovereignty of God. Notice how the gospel impacts the way she sees everything - even this great tragedy and loss. And last but not least, please be in prayer for this family!
Dear all,
It is with extreme sadness that I tell you that my 7 year old son, Rohan, was hit by a truck yesterday, and died. We were at a bike trail, but had to cross a highway to get back to the park where our car was. I checked the road to ensure it was clear before crossing, but there are two blind curves and well the elderly driver didn't see him. I had caught sight of the pickup as my dd9 and I cleared the pedestrian crossing, and I noticed my son was not right behind us. I yelled at him to stay put, but it was too late. His step-dad and my aunt were a few minutes behind us on the trail, as they were walking. My dd9 is pretty torn up, and it's hard not to play the "what-if" game. Last night was torturous, but this evening I finally napped on his bed, then my church brothers and sisters came over and I tell you, after they prayed with my family and I, I felt so much peace. The ME should release his body on Monday, then the funeral service will be on Friday.
Please pray for my family...my first husband passed away 6 years ago, when Rohan was 18 months and Bree was 3 1/2. Our younger daughter wasn't with us, but as she is 4, she doesn't quite understand the finality of it. I feel like my heart has been ripped right out of my chest, yet I know that God does not make mistakes, and I will see him again. Reminds me of that line,
"we cannot Lord, Thy purpose see,
but all is well, that is done by Thee."
He touched so many lives in his short time here, with a heart that was greater than his body. As I saw his broken body lying there on the side of the street, I couldn't help but recall the One whose body was broken for me, that I might have life!! There is pain, but there is also hope.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!
Blessings,
Shelly Wilson and family,
Zephyrhills, Fl
Dear all,
It is with extreme sadness that I tell you that my 7 year old son, Rohan, was hit by a truck yesterday, and died. We were at a bike trail, but had to cross a highway to get back to the park where our car was. I checked the road to ensure it was clear before crossing, but there are two blind curves and well the elderly driver didn't see him. I had caught sight of the pickup as my dd9 and I cleared the pedestrian crossing, and I noticed my son was not right behind us. I yelled at him to stay put, but it was too late. His step-dad and my aunt were a few minutes behind us on the trail, as they were walking. My dd9 is pretty torn up, and it's hard not to play the "what-if" game. Last night was torturous, but this evening I finally napped on his bed, then my church brothers and sisters came over and I tell you, after they prayed with my family and I, I felt so much peace. The ME should release his body on Monday, then the funeral service will be on Friday.
Please pray for my family...my first husband passed away 6 years ago, when Rohan was 18 months and Bree was 3 1/2. Our younger daughter wasn't with us, but as she is 4, she doesn't quite understand the finality of it. I feel like my heart has been ripped right out of my chest, yet I know that God does not make mistakes, and I will see him again. Reminds me of that line,
"we cannot Lord, Thy purpose see,
but all is well, that is done by Thee."
He touched so many lives in his short time here, with a heart that was greater than his body. As I saw his broken body lying there on the side of the street, I couldn't help but recall the One whose body was broken for me, that I might have life!! There is pain, but there is also hope.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!
Blessings,
Shelly Wilson and family,
Zephyrhills, Fl
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Bible Reading
This past Sunday Don Smith (who wears too many hats to list) led our Adult Bible Fellowship Class. As Don encouraged us to read God's Word this year, he mentioned a book by R.C Sproul entitled "5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow". This book focuses on the basics or fundamentals of the christian life. Sproul lists 5 main categories: 1) Prayer 2) Bible Study 3) Worship 4) Service 5) Stewardship.
I would like to encourage you as well to consider reading this book. I have attached below an interview with R.C Sproul regarding this book (if you are interested).
As Don finished his teaching, he mentioned Sproul's Bible reading plan for "First Timers". This reading plan is a little different than most and I would encourage you to give it a try. If you are interested in a different plan, Don gave us a plethora of Bible reading plans that can be used throughout 2009. Here are some choices:
a. First Timers (already mentioned)
b. Different Topics Plan
c. Bible Story Plan
d. OT and NT Reading Plan
e. The "Light" Reading Plan (NT, Psalms and Proverbs)
Obviously, the goal is to have a plan and then stick to it. Whichever plan you use, the bottom line is that each of us need to get in the Word so that the Word gets in us!
Our college class is working through the Bible one book at a time. We are doing an overview of the whole Bible - reading through a book on our own and then discussing it in our bible study each Wednesday. Thus far, we have completed Genesis and we are just beginning Exodus. If you would like more information regarding our reading through the Bible, feel free to post a comment or email at pastorcroyts@yahoo.com
Interview with R.C Sproul:
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
I would like to encourage you as well to consider reading this book. I have attached below an interview with R.C Sproul regarding this book (if you are interested).
As Don finished his teaching, he mentioned Sproul's Bible reading plan for "First Timers". This reading plan is a little different than most and I would encourage you to give it a try. If you are interested in a different plan, Don gave us a plethora of Bible reading plans that can be used throughout 2009. Here are some choices:
a. First Timers (already mentioned)
b. Different Topics Plan
c. Bible Story Plan
d. OT and NT Reading Plan
e. The "Light" Reading Plan (NT, Psalms and Proverbs)
Obviously, the goal is to have a plan and then stick to it. Whichever plan you use, the bottom line is that each of us need to get in the Word so that the Word gets in us!
Our college class is working through the Bible one book at a time. We are doing an overview of the whole Bible - reading through a book on our own and then discussing it in our bible study each Wednesday. Thus far, we have completed Genesis and we are just beginning Exodus. If you would like more information regarding our reading through the Bible, feel free to post a comment or email at pastorcroyts@yahoo.com
Interview with R.C Sproul:
1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Christmas Caroling!
Just a quick reminder, that this week our KidVenture program (tonight) and our Adults (Sunday night) will be Christmas Caroling to Shut-in's and Nursing homes.
Be in prayer tonight for the KidVenture children and workers who go out to be a blessing by singing some great Christmas Carols! I am so thankful for our KidVenture workers who look to teach and model to our children the value that it is more "blessed to give than receive". Pray that God will use them to encourage some who may be lonely or discouraged.
Also, Sunday night is our opportunity to do the same. Please plan on coming out Sunday night. We will be leaving the church at 6pm. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for those who would like to participate. Please sign-up so we can know how many to plan on and how many homes/nursing homes we can carol!
These have been some of my favorite experiences and memories since I have been here at First Baptist. I cannot ever recall caroling until just a few years ago. I am so thankful that my children will always have these memories of when our family and our church family would go and sing a few songs to be a blessing and to pass on the message of Christmas! If you have children, I greatly encourage you to be a part of this!
Be in prayer tonight for the KidVenture children and workers who go out to be a blessing by singing some great Christmas Carols! I am so thankful for our KidVenture workers who look to teach and model to our children the value that it is more "blessed to give than receive". Pray that God will use them to encourage some who may be lonely or discouraged.
Also, Sunday night is our opportunity to do the same. Please plan on coming out Sunday night. We will be leaving the church at 6pm. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for those who would like to participate. Please sign-up so we can know how many to plan on and how many homes/nursing homes we can carol!
These have been some of my favorite experiences and memories since I have been here at First Baptist. I cannot ever recall caroling until just a few years ago. I am so thankful that my children will always have these memories of when our family and our church family would go and sing a few songs to be a blessing and to pass on the message of Christmas! If you have children, I greatly encourage you to be a part of this!
God is Not Silent!
Here is my latest article for our church's newsletter:
I was very tempted to keep this newsletter article blank…for a couple of reasons. The first being that it wouldn’t have held up the newsletter from being sent out and therefore you not receiving it until a few days into December. The other reason would have been to send the message that I hope to accomplish with words!
The idea of a blank newsletter (maybe you can pick up a piece of blank paper and imagine) would make very little sense, right? Why would we send something that has nothing to say. Well, the reason I was considering it was to help us imagine what it would be like if we had nothing to say. More importantly, what would it be like if God had nothing to say to us. Could you imagine if we had no Bible? What if we had absolutely no Word from God to us. Sometimes, of course, we live as if we don’t have any Word from God. Many times going through life with very little if any thought about what God has said and why it matters.
Obviously we do have a word from God. From Genesis to Revelation is God’s inspired Word to us. It is within the pages of Scripture that we learn about the major topics of life:
a. who God is
b. who we are
c. how we are to live
d. why we are here
e. where we are going and how to get there…and of course, much more!
God preserved for us in His Word the things that He wanted us to know, the things that He knows that we cannot live without knowing. While Scripture is God’s gift of revelation to us…Scripture’s main point is to reveal to us who God is and what He is like. The main purpose of Scripture is to point us to God and more specifically to point us to the Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God has spoken in times past through many prophets…but His greatest message to us is in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. He has spoken fully and finally in Christ. So, when we see Christ we see the fulfillment of all that He has spoken and promised. This is the message of the Bible and may I take this moment to remind you that this is the message of Christmas.
You see most of our Bible (the old testament) was pointing to a time and place when One would come and be the answer to our greatest dilemma. You see the Bible makes it very clear that our greatest dilemma or problem is that we are sinners. Our sin is a problem because our Creator God is holy and perfect. And it is our sin that separates us from our Creator God. The only way we can have a relationship with God now and spend eternity with Him in Heaven forever is if we are like Him, perfect and without sin. Obviously not one of us can claim to have lived a perfect, sinless life. Therefore, we are all in trouble. But God’s plan (which was established even before the world began) has been unfolding down through history and it was leading to the answer to our dilemma. The Scriptures are always pointing to the One (Christ Jesus) who would come and live and give His life in our place.
One of the most amazing aspects of God’s Word is not only that it points to who Christ would be and what He would do, but that it does so hundreds of years before it happened. This is the internal test that proves that the Bible can be nothing less than the Word of God. Listen to some of these prophetic promises:
- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah promised that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who would conceive by a miracle.
- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Micah promised that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Hosea promised that Jesus’ family would flee as refugees to Egypt to save his young life.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Malachi promised that Jesus would enter the temple.
These are just a few of God’s prophetic promises in the Old Testament that we see fulfilled in the New. Why would God be so specific about the birth and life and death of Christ? God went to extraordinary lengths to make sure that we did not miss that Jesus is the One who has come as fulfillment of each and everyone of these promises. Remember our dilemma is sin and Christ came as the answer to our problem. Matthew tells us that this is the One who will “save His people from their sins”. He is the Savior that we all need!
This is what Christmas is all about. The great news of Christmas is that God does not expect us to do something to get to God or to attain favor with God. Instead, He came to us by sending His own Son in the form of a baby in manger.
Now aren’t you glad that God is not silent!!
May all the world rejoice for a Savior has been born!!
I was very tempted to keep this newsletter article blank…for a couple of reasons. The first being that it wouldn’t have held up the newsletter from being sent out and therefore you not receiving it until a few days into December. The other reason would have been to send the message that I hope to accomplish with words!
The idea of a blank newsletter (maybe you can pick up a piece of blank paper and imagine) would make very little sense, right? Why would we send something that has nothing to say. Well, the reason I was considering it was to help us imagine what it would be like if we had nothing to say. More importantly, what would it be like if God had nothing to say to us. Could you imagine if we had no Bible? What if we had absolutely no Word from God to us. Sometimes, of course, we live as if we don’t have any Word from God. Many times going through life with very little if any thought about what God has said and why it matters.
Obviously we do have a word from God. From Genesis to Revelation is God’s inspired Word to us. It is within the pages of Scripture that we learn about the major topics of life:
a. who God is
b. who we are
c. how we are to live
d. why we are here
e. where we are going and how to get there…and of course, much more!
God preserved for us in His Word the things that He wanted us to know, the things that He knows that we cannot live without knowing. While Scripture is God’s gift of revelation to us…Scripture’s main point is to reveal to us who God is and what He is like. The main purpose of Scripture is to point us to God and more specifically to point us to the Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God has spoken in times past through many prophets…but His greatest message to us is in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. He has spoken fully and finally in Christ. So, when we see Christ we see the fulfillment of all that He has spoken and promised. This is the message of the Bible and may I take this moment to remind you that this is the message of Christmas.
You see most of our Bible (the old testament) was pointing to a time and place when One would come and be the answer to our greatest dilemma. You see the Bible makes it very clear that our greatest dilemma or problem is that we are sinners. Our sin is a problem because our Creator God is holy and perfect. And it is our sin that separates us from our Creator God. The only way we can have a relationship with God now and spend eternity with Him in Heaven forever is if we are like Him, perfect and without sin. Obviously not one of us can claim to have lived a perfect, sinless life. Therefore, we are all in trouble. But God’s plan (which was established even before the world began) has been unfolding down through history and it was leading to the answer to our dilemma. The Scriptures are always pointing to the One (Christ Jesus) who would come and live and give His life in our place.
One of the most amazing aspects of God’s Word is not only that it points to who Christ would be and what He would do, but that it does so hundreds of years before it happened. This is the internal test that proves that the Bible can be nothing less than the Word of God. Listen to some of these prophetic promises:
- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah promised that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who would conceive by a miracle.
- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Micah promised that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Hosea promised that Jesus’ family would flee as refugees to Egypt to save his young life.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Malachi promised that Jesus would enter the temple.
These are just a few of God’s prophetic promises in the Old Testament that we see fulfilled in the New. Why would God be so specific about the birth and life and death of Christ? God went to extraordinary lengths to make sure that we did not miss that Jesus is the One who has come as fulfillment of each and everyone of these promises. Remember our dilemma is sin and Christ came as the answer to our problem. Matthew tells us that this is the One who will “save His people from their sins”. He is the Savior that we all need!
This is what Christmas is all about. The great news of Christmas is that God does not expect us to do something to get to God or to attain favor with God. Instead, He came to us by sending His own Son in the form of a baby in manger.
Now aren’t you glad that God is not silent!!
May all the world rejoice for a Savior has been born!!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, as many of you already know by now...our family has a new addition. His name is Jaxson Topher Croyts and he is one week old today! (Hopefully I will post a few pictures very soon!)
As I prepare for our Thanksgiving Communion service tonight and Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow, I am reminded once again of just how much I have to be thankful for!!
Obviously, first of all for the Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation that is made possible through His perfect life and sacrificial death. But, today I am thinking specifically of my family, friends, and congregation. But, not as something separate from God's work of grace in my life. It is so important for us all to remember that the gift of relationships is not so much about our "happiness" as it is about our "holiness". My marriage relationship, my relationship with my children, and every other relationship is first and foremost about God's sanctifying work in me and in them. Our relationships are what God uses the most to "try us", "break us", "mold us" and "conform us into the image of His Son". It is these relationships that put flesh on so much of what God's Word commands us to do. We are commanded to "love one another", to "forbear one another", to "forgive one another", to "encourage one another", to "stir one another up to do good works"...and these commands are only challenging when we actually live with one another and rub shoulders day in and day out. I am so thankful for the family and relationships that He has given me. They are for my good and for His glory. He uses them to chip away at my sinful, selfish nature. And nothing is capable of chipping away at our selfishness like parenting!
As I close this very simple but thankful post - I just want to mention how thankful I am for my wife who daily models this to our children and to myself. I know that if she was writing this, she would say that daily she battles thoughts and feelings of "selfishness"...which, to me, is what makes her behavior all that much more inspiring. It is not as if she doesnt have the same selfish, sinful thoughts and desires as I (or any of us) do sometimes...but to see her daily and even hourly put aside those feelings and thoughts to serve God and put Him first...often by serving her family...has a sanctifying effect in my life!
Obviously, as you read this...thoughts of family members, spouses, parents and even children come to our minds. The way God has used them to change us! Let's be sure and give thanks to God for His purpose in giving us the relationships that He has...and let's be sure and let them know at this Thanksgiving time, just how thankful we truly are for them!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Jerry
As I prepare for our Thanksgiving Communion service tonight and Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow, I am reminded once again of just how much I have to be thankful for!!
Obviously, first of all for the Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation that is made possible through His perfect life and sacrificial death. But, today I am thinking specifically of my family, friends, and congregation. But, not as something separate from God's work of grace in my life. It is so important for us all to remember that the gift of relationships is not so much about our "happiness" as it is about our "holiness". My marriage relationship, my relationship with my children, and every other relationship is first and foremost about God's sanctifying work in me and in them. Our relationships are what God uses the most to "try us", "break us", "mold us" and "conform us into the image of His Son". It is these relationships that put flesh on so much of what God's Word commands us to do. We are commanded to "love one another", to "forbear one another", to "forgive one another", to "encourage one another", to "stir one another up to do good works"...and these commands are only challenging when we actually live with one another and rub shoulders day in and day out. I am so thankful for the family and relationships that He has given me. They are for my good and for His glory. He uses them to chip away at my sinful, selfish nature. And nothing is capable of chipping away at our selfishness like parenting!
As I close this very simple but thankful post - I just want to mention how thankful I am for my wife who daily models this to our children and to myself. I know that if she was writing this, she would say that daily she battles thoughts and feelings of "selfishness"...which, to me, is what makes her behavior all that much more inspiring. It is not as if she doesnt have the same selfish, sinful thoughts and desires as I (or any of us) do sometimes...but to see her daily and even hourly put aside those feelings and thoughts to serve God and put Him first...often by serving her family...has a sanctifying effect in my life!
Obviously, as you read this...thoughts of family members, spouses, parents and even children come to our minds. The way God has used them to change us! Let's be sure and give thanks to God for His purpose in giving us the relationships that He has...and let's be sure and let them know at this Thanksgiving time, just how thankful we truly are for them!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Jerry
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Day After
Today, I am adding a post from another friend. This is from a member of our church who allowed me to share these thoughts that he sent in an email to a friend. Obviously, many questions are being asked the day after the election. I hope you find these words helpful!
"As a citizen and former political junkie, I am experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, considering our history of Black oppression the fact that a majority of Americans pulled the lever for a Black man is truly illustrative of our progress and tolerance. I think the Black community has every right to be proud and happy about this development as should all of us as fellow citizens. On the other hand, because I know 98% of what he believes and will pursue, along with Pelosi, Reid and big majorities in both bodies, is so repugnant to the constitution - the only thing that protects the citizenry from the ruling class - his first four years could be a disaster, so I regret his election on that basis. But as a Christian I temper that regret with the assurance that My Holy, Sovereign God is in total control and so I don't fear his election. I will do what we are commanded to do, by our Lord and His Word and that is to pray for Barak to fulfill all of God's purpose in His elevating him to power. Also to pray that Barak will come to see Christ for who he really is as opposed to what Jeremiah Wright (his pastor) taught him He is. I will pray for his salvation and that he will seek God's good counsel when he sits down to face what all presidents are faced with and that is the burden of leadership in a dangerous world. It's one thing to make promises on the stump but it is an entirely different thing to face the challenges of leading the lone superpower in the world once he takes his seat behind the desk in the Oval Office. He will need wisdom and temperance because now he is in the real world of governance not the fantasy world of campaigning, and for this the church must pray. He faces a war, economic crisis and political division - he will need wisdom to tread carefully and consider his choices carefully to resolve theses challenges. But the glory of America is that every four years we transfer power peacefully and without bloodshed and if we all as citizens remember the promise of America, the thing that brought our ancestors to this country, and if we work together we can make this country better and we will see another peaceful transfer in 4, 8, 12, 16 years etc... So my admonition to all my fellow believers is this:
HAVE NO FEAR FOR OUR CHRIST IS WITH US, PRAY AND SERVE HIM!
FOR HE WILL SEE TO HIS CHURCH AND THE PROSPERITY OF HIS GOSPEL,
NO MATTER WHO IS IN OFFICE !!!!!!
that is our hope and salvation!
no man or government can offer these to us."
"As a citizen and former political junkie, I am experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, considering our history of Black oppression the fact that a majority of Americans pulled the lever for a Black man is truly illustrative of our progress and tolerance. I think the Black community has every right to be proud and happy about this development as should all of us as fellow citizens. On the other hand, because I know 98% of what he believes and will pursue, along with Pelosi, Reid and big majorities in both bodies, is so repugnant to the constitution - the only thing that protects the citizenry from the ruling class - his first four years could be a disaster, so I regret his election on that basis. But as a Christian I temper that regret with the assurance that My Holy, Sovereign God is in total control and so I don't fear his election. I will do what we are commanded to do, by our Lord and His Word and that is to pray for Barak to fulfill all of God's purpose in His elevating him to power. Also to pray that Barak will come to see Christ for who he really is as opposed to what Jeremiah Wright (his pastor) taught him He is. I will pray for his salvation and that he will seek God's good counsel when he sits down to face what all presidents are faced with and that is the burden of leadership in a dangerous world. It's one thing to make promises on the stump but it is an entirely different thing to face the challenges of leading the lone superpower in the world once he takes his seat behind the desk in the Oval Office. He will need wisdom and temperance because now he is in the real world of governance not the fantasy world of campaigning, and for this the church must pray. He faces a war, economic crisis and political division - he will need wisdom to tread carefully and consider his choices carefully to resolve theses challenges. But the glory of America is that every four years we transfer power peacefully and without bloodshed and if we all as citizens remember the promise of America, the thing that brought our ancestors to this country, and if we work together we can make this country better and we will see another peaceful transfer in 4, 8, 12, 16 years etc... So my admonition to all my fellow believers is this:
HAVE NO FEAR FOR OUR CHRIST IS WITH US, PRAY AND SERVE HIM!
FOR HE WILL SEE TO HIS CHURCH AND THE PROSPERITY OF HIS GOSPEL,
NO MATTER WHO IS IN OFFICE !!!!!!
that is our hope and salvation!
no man or government can offer these to us."
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Grass is always Greener!
I have been spending the majority of my "devotional reading" time in the Psalms as of late. In fact, I am preaching out of the Psalms on Sunday evenings so I have been reading at least one Psalm a day. This past week I was reading in Psalm 23.
Obviously a very familiar Psalm to all of us. As I began to read the very first line of Psalm 23..."The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want"...I began to laugh as I remembered the very first time I read this Psalm. It was when I was only 16 years old and had just become a christian. I remember reading this phrase and not understanding the word "want". I thought the word "want" in this verse was referring back to the the first phrase...the Lord is my shepherd. So, I thought the connection went something like this - "the Lord is my shepherd that I do not want". I couldn't understand why the Psalmist David was saying that the Lord is His Shepherd that he really didn't want!! Obviously, that is not the meaning here.
What David is really saying is...The Lord is my Shepherd; (therefore) I shall not want or "lack"! Because I have a Shepherd (and it is the Lord Jesus Christ) I do not lack or need anything! This thought is repeated often in the Psalms, like in Psalm 84 where it says "the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly".
This is a very important truth that we must remember because it is the "lie" that the Evil One constantly tries to seduce us with. It is the very essence of Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden. And it is the essence of every temptation that comes our way. What was so tempting to Adam and Eve that they disobeyed God? It certainly wasn't that the fruit just looked so delicious! No, it was what the fruit stood for - wisdom, a wisdom that was unknown to Adam and Eve. A wisdom that would make them like God. So much so that they would no longer need to depend upon God. Since God created Adam and Eve, they were totally dependent upon Him. The created being cannot even make sense of why they were created unless the Creator gives them instruction. It is understood that the creation is totally dependent upon its Creator! But, they bought into the lie of the Evil One that God their Father was "holding out" on them. That their was something that was "good" for them that He was withholding and not allowing them to have. They believed the lie and it led them to "sin" and "misery" and "depression" and "isolation". The Evil One is always on the attack in this way. He is constantly bombarding us with the "lie" that we are not getting all that we could be getting and he usually takes it one more step - not only that we are not getting all that we could be getting, but that we are not getting all that we SHOULD be getting! Our sinful nature feasts upon this and turns something we do not have into a "need". We begin to "demand" that we must have whatever it is and believe the lie that we cannot truly live (and be happy) without it!
How sad it is when we find ourselves believing this lie and then behaving in a way that lines up with this thought. Not only is it wrong but it is nothing less than idolatry. We are worshiping something else other than God. Anytime we believe that we cannot live without something - we are worshiping it! And since GOD HIMSELF is truly the only thing that we cannot live without, it is idolatry because we have replaced God with something or someone else!
This is why Paul in Romans 8 reminds us that God did not spare His own Son! If He did not spare "sending" His Son and "crushing" His son and then "delivering" His Son FOR US than do we really think He is going to hold back from us anything that we truly need! No, He will graciously give us all things!
Too many of us Christians are still believing the lie that the "grass is always greener". But Psalm 23 shows us where the grass is truly always green! It is when the Lord is my Shepherd and He is in control of my path. It is when He makes (forces) me to lie down in GREEN PASTURES. It is when He leads (directs) me beside still waters. It is while He leads (orders my steps) in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake! Psalm 23 shows us that the "grass is always greener" when we are underneath our God's Sovereign care knowing that anything we have NEED of He will supply and anything that is not supplied, I must not NEED!
Let's rest in Psalm 23:1 - and agree with David as he speaks the truth - THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD - I SHALL NOT WANT!
Obviously a very familiar Psalm to all of us. As I began to read the very first line of Psalm 23..."The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want"...I began to laugh as I remembered the very first time I read this Psalm. It was when I was only 16 years old and had just become a christian. I remember reading this phrase and not understanding the word "want". I thought the word "want" in this verse was referring back to the the first phrase...the Lord is my shepherd. So, I thought the connection went something like this - "the Lord is my shepherd that I do not want". I couldn't understand why the Psalmist David was saying that the Lord is His Shepherd that he really didn't want!! Obviously, that is not the meaning here.
What David is really saying is...The Lord is my Shepherd; (therefore) I shall not want or "lack"! Because I have a Shepherd (and it is the Lord Jesus Christ) I do not lack or need anything! This thought is repeated often in the Psalms, like in Psalm 84 where it says "the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly".
This is a very important truth that we must remember because it is the "lie" that the Evil One constantly tries to seduce us with. It is the very essence of Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden. And it is the essence of every temptation that comes our way. What was so tempting to Adam and Eve that they disobeyed God? It certainly wasn't that the fruit just looked so delicious! No, it was what the fruit stood for - wisdom, a wisdom that was unknown to Adam and Eve. A wisdom that would make them like God. So much so that they would no longer need to depend upon God. Since God created Adam and Eve, they were totally dependent upon Him. The created being cannot even make sense of why they were created unless the Creator gives them instruction. It is understood that the creation is totally dependent upon its Creator! But, they bought into the lie of the Evil One that God their Father was "holding out" on them. That their was something that was "good" for them that He was withholding and not allowing them to have. They believed the lie and it led them to "sin" and "misery" and "depression" and "isolation". The Evil One is always on the attack in this way. He is constantly bombarding us with the "lie" that we are not getting all that we could be getting and he usually takes it one more step - not only that we are not getting all that we could be getting, but that we are not getting all that we SHOULD be getting! Our sinful nature feasts upon this and turns something we do not have into a "need". We begin to "demand" that we must have whatever it is and believe the lie that we cannot truly live (and be happy) without it!
How sad it is when we find ourselves believing this lie and then behaving in a way that lines up with this thought. Not only is it wrong but it is nothing less than idolatry. We are worshiping something else other than God. Anytime we believe that we cannot live without something - we are worshiping it! And since GOD HIMSELF is truly the only thing that we cannot live without, it is idolatry because we have replaced God with something or someone else!
This is why Paul in Romans 8 reminds us that God did not spare His own Son! If He did not spare "sending" His Son and "crushing" His son and then "delivering" His Son FOR US than do we really think He is going to hold back from us anything that we truly need! No, He will graciously give us all things!
Too many of us Christians are still believing the lie that the "grass is always greener". But Psalm 23 shows us where the grass is truly always green! It is when the Lord is my Shepherd and He is in control of my path. It is when He makes (forces) me to lie down in GREEN PASTURES. It is when He leads (directs) me beside still waters. It is while He leads (orders my steps) in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake! Psalm 23 shows us that the "grass is always greener" when we are underneath our God's Sovereign care knowing that anything we have NEED of He will supply and anything that is not supplied, I must not NEED!
Let's rest in Psalm 23:1 - and agree with David as he speaks the truth - THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD - I SHALL NOT WANT!
Friday, October 10, 2008
True Woman Conference
As many of you know, I am away with my wife in Schaumburg, Illinois as she attends the TRUE WOMAN CONFERENCE. I came for two reasons...one, to be with my wife...especially since she is about 6 weeks away from delivery of our 3rd child. Also, because I am volunteering today to help serve the lunch to over 6,000 women. I attend conferences every year - usually pastor's conferences - and I am always on the receiving end of such gracious servants, and usually it is women who are serving us. Even in my own church, this is typically the case. So, I took advantage of this opportunity to be on the other end. The Lord knows that I am a "prideful" man and it is good for me to intentionally put myself in positions of humility and servanthood. Because Jesus said that the ones who are really "great" are those who serve! So while I serve today, I will be thinking about the many who I know personally who "serve" day in and day out to be a blessing to others and often go unnoticed! You know who you are and I thank you for your example to me and to so many others...especially to the many children who watch your example.
One last thing...I considered blogging about the conference....but then I found out that Tim Challies is already doing it. There is no way I could compete with him...so if your interested, go to his website to read up on the conference.
http://www.challies.com/
One last thing...I considered blogging about the conference....but then I found out that Tim Challies is already doing it. There is no way I could compete with him...so if your interested, go to his website to read up on the conference.
http://www.challies.com/
Thursday, October 9, 2008
New Wednesday Night Ministries
As many of you know on Wednesday evenings we have combined forces with Walnut Creek Community Church and Pastor Brian Main. Last night was our first night with all the classes being offered and in place. Here is a quick rundown of the format:
KidVenture Program - children 3 years old and up to 6th grade
Youth Ministry - teenagers from 7th to 12th grade
College and Career - for those out of high school to late 20's
Leadership Study - for adults in any other stage of life
It is a great thing to see two churches coming together and maximizing our resources. I really enjoyed seeing the two local churches partnering together and focusing on what "unites" us - Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement!
That is what our college class was focused on last night - The Gospel - and our challenge is to always keep that first and foremost. We can sum it up in two short statements - "Admit our guilt, Admire God's grace" - they go together...we cant truly admire God's grace without first admitting our guilt! And we cant tell others about God's grace until we have told them about their guilt!
As we closed our time together, I shared words for a familiar hymn and then two quotes...if anyone is interested, here they are:
The hymn - "Man of Sorrows" - speaks of what our guilt and God's grace! Who He is and what He has done for us!
Man of Sorrow! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless, we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He.
Full atonement! can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Lifted up was He to die,
It is finished! was His cry;
Now in Heaven, exalted high:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
(P.P. Bliss)
And the two final quotes have to do with "our response" to our God and His glorious grace!
First, C.T Studd:
"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him"
Next, Charles Spurgeon:
"It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus Christ! We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed"
What a great privilege to come near the cross together with these college students...please pray for us to draw near and stay at "the foot of the cross".
Also, feel free to post a comment regarding any of the studies last night...please let Pastor Brian Main know how much you appreciated his teaching!
KidVenture Program - children 3 years old and up to 6th grade
Youth Ministry - teenagers from 7th to 12th grade
College and Career - for those out of high school to late 20's
Leadership Study - for adults in any other stage of life
It is a great thing to see two churches coming together and maximizing our resources. I really enjoyed seeing the two local churches partnering together and focusing on what "unites" us - Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement!
That is what our college class was focused on last night - The Gospel - and our challenge is to always keep that first and foremost. We can sum it up in two short statements - "Admit our guilt, Admire God's grace" - they go together...we cant truly admire God's grace without first admitting our guilt! And we cant tell others about God's grace until we have told them about their guilt!
As we closed our time together, I shared words for a familiar hymn and then two quotes...if anyone is interested, here they are:
The hymn - "Man of Sorrows" - speaks of what our guilt and God's grace! Who He is and what He has done for us!
Man of Sorrow! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless, we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He.
Full atonement! can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Lifted up was He to die,
It is finished! was His cry;
Now in Heaven, exalted high:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
(P.P. Bliss)
And the two final quotes have to do with "our response" to our God and His glorious grace!
First, C.T Studd:
"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him"
Next, Charles Spurgeon:
"It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus Christ! We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed"
What a great privilege to come near the cross together with these college students...please pray for us to draw near and stay at "the foot of the cross".
Also, feel free to post a comment regarding any of the studies last night...please let Pastor Brian Main know how much you appreciated his teaching!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Covenants and the nation of Israel
Here is another word from my friend who lives and studies in Israel and works with Jewish people. Obviously, the nation of Israel is near and dear to him and what he has to say here can help us understand a subject that has been often misunderstood.
Covenants· This was an interesting quote: " The basic premise of a covenant is that, while it can be broken, it cannot be altered. The terms of the relationship remain unalterable. Applying this to the marriage covenant, for example, we can see what this means. The marriage covenant can be broken by a variety of offenses, and hence God, who ordains marriage, provides for divorce whereby the brokenness is publicly declared. At the same time, the covenant requirements for marriage cannot be altered: they are always the same." -- by R.J. Rushdoony in his commentary on Deuteronomy.
This helps in understanding how God could make an everlasting covenant with the nation of Israel , and yet still "divorce" them when they broke the terms of the covenant by, among other things, crucifying Christ.
Dave in Israel
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Cross Centered Bible Reading
Here is an article I read recently titled "Cross Centered Bible Reading". Hope you find this helpful. It is a good reminder to us that the Bible has one theme throughout all of its books, pages, and words - the message of redemption found in the Christ of Calvary!
"In your regular reading of God's Word, are you regularly making it to the cross? 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.
Make it to the cross.
If you don't make it to the cross, if you read a few verses in Proverbs and a paragraph of commands in Philippians without detecting how these sentences connect to the blood-stained beam of wood where, "For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21), then consequences will follow.
If you don't make it to the cross, you'll make your Bible reading and your relationship with God about your performance rather than about Jesus' performance. You'll gravitate away from the gospel and towards religion. Anxiety and fear will take the place of confidence, joy, and rest. Legalism will replace freedom. If your eyes don't catch a glimpse of the cross as you turn the pages of Scripture, you're likely to spend much of your day staring at yourself, wallowing in endless introspection, rather than staring at your Savior, delighting in his costly love.
Cultivate the habit of making it to the cross every time you read your Bible.
If you need help with this habit, if, like me, you're prone to forget the wonder of the cross, you may want to establish for yourself some drastic reminders of the cross. You probably don't need to do anything as drastic as this former cross-forgetting Pharisee did. Eight years ago I tattooed a cross on my inside wrist so that every time I looked down at my open hands I'd be reminded of the outstretched hands of Jesus. When I read my Bible this morning, as I scanned the sentences in Psalm 40, I also looked down at the cross on my wrist which served as but one simple reminder for me of how the statements of deliverance in Psalm 40 point forward to the ultimate deliverance that Christ purchased for sinners on the cross.
You probably don't need a tattoo, but you probably do need to set up some sort of reminder that will help you make it to the cross in your Bible reading. Find your reminder, make it to the cross, and then you'll find that your Bible reading becomes a part of your day that you look forward to, that you can't do without. As you make it to the cross your Bible reading will become a time of great gladness, gratitude, and refreshment.
Today, I think for the first time, I'm praying for all of you who read this blog. I'm praying that you'll make it to the cross, find fresh joy in your Bible reading, and give God glory as you survey and savor the good news of the gospel."
I honestly cannot remember where I found this, so forgive me for not giving the source of this article!
"In your regular reading of God's Word, are you regularly making it to the cross? 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.
Make it to the cross.
If you don't make it to the cross, if you read a few verses in Proverbs and a paragraph of commands in Philippians without detecting how these sentences connect to the blood-stained beam of wood where, "For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21), then consequences will follow.
If you don't make it to the cross, you'll make your Bible reading and your relationship with God about your performance rather than about Jesus' performance. You'll gravitate away from the gospel and towards religion. Anxiety and fear will take the place of confidence, joy, and rest. Legalism will replace freedom. If your eyes don't catch a glimpse of the cross as you turn the pages of Scripture, you're likely to spend much of your day staring at yourself, wallowing in endless introspection, rather than staring at your Savior, delighting in his costly love.
Cultivate the habit of making it to the cross every time you read your Bible.
If you need help with this habit, if, like me, you're prone to forget the wonder of the cross, you may want to establish for yourself some drastic reminders of the cross. You probably don't need to do anything as drastic as this former cross-forgetting Pharisee did. Eight years ago I tattooed a cross on my inside wrist so that every time I looked down at my open hands I'd be reminded of the outstretched hands of Jesus. When I read my Bible this morning, as I scanned the sentences in Psalm 40, I also looked down at the cross on my wrist which served as but one simple reminder for me of how the statements of deliverance in Psalm 40 point forward to the ultimate deliverance that Christ purchased for sinners on the cross.
You probably don't need a tattoo, but you probably do need to set up some sort of reminder that will help you make it to the cross in your Bible reading. Find your reminder, make it to the cross, and then you'll find that your Bible reading becomes a part of your day that you look forward to, that you can't do without. As you make it to the cross your Bible reading will become a time of great gladness, gratitude, and refreshment.
Today, I think for the first time, I'm praying for all of you who read this blog. I'm praying that you'll make it to the cross, find fresh joy in your Bible reading, and give God glory as you survey and savor the good news of the gospel."
I honestly cannot remember where I found this, so forgive me for not giving the source of this article!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A Spurgeon Quote on "PRIDE"
"O believer, learn to reject pride. Remember that the more you have, the more you have received and therefore the more that you are indebt to God. And you should not be proud of that which renders you a debtor. Consider your origin...look back to what you were...consider what you would have been, but for Divine Grace! Look upon yourself as you are now...doesnt your conscience reproach you...doesnt your thousand wanderings stand before you and tell you that you are unworthy to be called His son or daughter. If He made you anything, arent you taught thereby that it is grace that made you to differ? O, you who are valiant for truth, you would have been valiant for error if grace had not laid hold of you!
Therefore, don't be proud!!
Though you have a large estate, a wide domain of grace...once you did not have a single thing to call your own except your sin and misery! O strange infatuation, that you who have borrowed everything should think of exalting yourself!"
These thoughts from Mr. Spurgeon come from one of his sermons on the text of 1 Cor. 4:7
"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"
Remember that the Corinthians were a "puffed up" people. So, Paul wrote these words to deflate the puffed up church. And the way that he did it was by speaking truth to them about the grace of God and how everything that they had came from the hand of their gracious God!
Since reading these reflections on humility being our greatest friend and pride being our greatest enemy, you may want to begin reading 1 Corinthians for more grace exalting and pride deflating exercises!
Therefore, don't be proud!!
Though you have a large estate, a wide domain of grace...once you did not have a single thing to call your own except your sin and misery! O strange infatuation, that you who have borrowed everything should think of exalting yourself!"
These thoughts from Mr. Spurgeon come from one of his sermons on the text of 1 Cor. 4:7
"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"
Remember that the Corinthians were a "puffed up" people. So, Paul wrote these words to deflate the puffed up church. And the way that he did it was by speaking truth to them about the grace of God and how everything that they had came from the hand of their gracious God!
Since reading these reflections on humility being our greatest friend and pride being our greatest enemy, you may want to begin reading 1 Corinthians for more grace exalting and pride deflating exercises!
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Potency of Pride and God's Merciful Warnings
To understand more of God's perspective on pride, we continue from this little chapter in C.J. Mahaney's book "True Humility":
"Jonathan Edwards called pride 'the worst viper that is in the heart and the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ'; he ranked pride as the most difficult sin to root out, and 'the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts.' Despite this thorough understanding of its ugliness, Edwards himself constantly battled his own pride (a fact which gives me hope, knowing I'm not alone in this struggle). 'What a foolish, silly, miserable, blind, deceived poor worm am I, when pride works', Edwards once wrote. In his sermons and in his vast writings he constantly warned against pride, especially spiritual pride, which he viewed as the greatest cause of the premature ending of the Great Awakening, the revival that had brought so much spiritual vitality to the church in Edwards's day. Pride also undemines unity and can ultimately divide a church. Show me a church where there's division, where there's quarreling, and I'll show you a church where there's pride. Pride also brings down leaders. 'Pride ruins pastors and churches more than any other thing,' Mike Renihan has written. 'It is more insidious in the church than radon in the home.' When you read about the next public figure to fall, remember Proverbs 16:18 - 'pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.' That person's situation might appear circumstantially complicated, but at root it's not complicated: Pride goes before a fall."
God's Merciful Warnings
"The Warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering. And they're an expression of God's mercy, intended for our good. God is merciful to warn us in this way. He's merciful in this act of revealing this sin to our hearts and in identifying its seriousness and potential consequences. He is merciful, and He intends to protect us. So throughout His Word, God exposes pride as our greatest enemy. By unmasking pride - as well as introducing us to humility, our greatest friend - God is laying out for us the path to true greatness, a path that we see most clearly in our Savior's life and death."
May we walk that path together as we follow Christ!
(Well, I am heading for Virginia Beach for a week's vacation...but I will be sharing a few more "odds and ends" things about the issue of pride being our "greatest enemy" and humility being our "greatest friend" in the next week or so)
I hope I wet your appetite enough for this great little book by C.J Mahaney that you may pick up a copy for yourself and read through it.
"Jonathan Edwards called pride 'the worst viper that is in the heart and the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ'; he ranked pride as the most difficult sin to root out, and 'the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts.' Despite this thorough understanding of its ugliness, Edwards himself constantly battled his own pride (a fact which gives me hope, knowing I'm not alone in this struggle). 'What a foolish, silly, miserable, blind, deceived poor worm am I, when pride works', Edwards once wrote. In his sermons and in his vast writings he constantly warned against pride, especially spiritual pride, which he viewed as the greatest cause of the premature ending of the Great Awakening, the revival that had brought so much spiritual vitality to the church in Edwards's day. Pride also undemines unity and can ultimately divide a church. Show me a church where there's division, where there's quarreling, and I'll show you a church where there's pride. Pride also brings down leaders. 'Pride ruins pastors and churches more than any other thing,' Mike Renihan has written. 'It is more insidious in the church than radon in the home.' When you read about the next public figure to fall, remember Proverbs 16:18 - 'pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.' That person's situation might appear circumstantially complicated, but at root it's not complicated: Pride goes before a fall."
God's Merciful Warnings
"The Warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering. And they're an expression of God's mercy, intended for our good. God is merciful to warn us in this way. He's merciful in this act of revealing this sin to our hearts and in identifying its seriousness and potential consequences. He is merciful, and He intends to protect us. So throughout His Word, God exposes pride as our greatest enemy. By unmasking pride - as well as introducing us to humility, our greatest friend - God is laying out for us the path to true greatness, a path that we see most clearly in our Savior's life and death."
May we walk that path together as we follow Christ!
(Well, I am heading for Virginia Beach for a week's vacation...but I will be sharing a few more "odds and ends" things about the issue of pride being our "greatest enemy" and humility being our "greatest friend" in the next week or so)
I hope I wet your appetite enough for this great little book by C.J Mahaney that you may pick up a copy for yourself and read through it.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
God is opposed to the proud!
So, it has been made clear to us that God hates pride and why He hates pride!
Now, let us ask ourselves: what do we hate?
Let's join C.J. Mahaney again on this subject:
"I'll tell you what I hate. I've got two lists. One is a silly list that begins with foods that I sometimes think must be products of the Fall. I detest meatloaf (remember this is C.J speaking, not me...I love meatloaf...ok, back to C.J.). I loathe sauerkraut. And I hate cottage cheese. I even hate it when anyone eats cottage cheese in my presence; it ruins my appetite. I also despise any and all professional sports teams from New York City - that's simply part of my heritage, being born and raised in the Washington DC area. That's just the beginning, a little sampling of my silly list of things I hate. But I also have a serious list of things I hate. I'm sure you have one, too.
I hate abortion. I hate child abuse. I hate racism. What do you hate? You and I hate nothing to the degree that God hates pride. His hatred for pride is pure, and His hatred is holy. John Calvin wrote, 'God cannot bear with seeing His glory appropriated by the creature in even the smallest degree, so intolerable to Him is the sacrilegious arrogance of those who, by praising themselves, obscure His glory as far as they can.' And because God cannot bear with this arrogance, He reveals Himself in Scripture as actively opposed to pride. Actively!!
'God opposes the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).' Opposes in this statement is an active, present-tense verb, showing us that God's opposition to pride is an immediate and constant activity. The proud will not indefinitely escape discipline."
We will stop here for today...but let's keep this thought in our minds - God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It is a very rare thing indeed for God's Word to speak of God's dispostion with us as "resisting" or "opposed"...and the thing that puts God in this posture is PRIDE!!
Let us be a humble people who know what it is to have God's grace at work in our lives!
Now, let us ask ourselves: what do we hate?
Let's join C.J. Mahaney again on this subject:
"I'll tell you what I hate. I've got two lists. One is a silly list that begins with foods that I sometimes think must be products of the Fall. I detest meatloaf (remember this is C.J speaking, not me...I love meatloaf...ok, back to C.J.). I loathe sauerkraut. And I hate cottage cheese. I even hate it when anyone eats cottage cheese in my presence; it ruins my appetite. I also despise any and all professional sports teams from New York City - that's simply part of my heritage, being born and raised in the Washington DC area. That's just the beginning, a little sampling of my silly list of things I hate. But I also have a serious list of things I hate. I'm sure you have one, too.
I hate abortion. I hate child abuse. I hate racism. What do you hate? You and I hate nothing to the degree that God hates pride. His hatred for pride is pure, and His hatred is holy. John Calvin wrote, 'God cannot bear with seeing His glory appropriated by the creature in even the smallest degree, so intolerable to Him is the sacrilegious arrogance of those who, by praising themselves, obscure His glory as far as they can.' And because God cannot bear with this arrogance, He reveals Himself in Scripture as actively opposed to pride. Actively!!
'God opposes the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).' Opposes in this statement is an active, present-tense verb, showing us that God's opposition to pride is an immediate and constant activity. The proud will not indefinitely escape discipline."
We will stop here for today...but let's keep this thought in our minds - God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It is a very rare thing indeed for God's Word to speak of God's dispostion with us as "resisting" or "opposed"...and the thing that puts God in this posture is PRIDE!!
Let us be a humble people who know what it is to have God's grace at work in our lives!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Pride: Contending for Supremacy
So, we pickup where we left off the other day.
Why does God hate pride so passionately?
Here's why:
"Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him. Charles Bridges once noted how pride lifts up one's heart against God and 'contends for supremacy' with Him. That's a keenly insightful and biblical definition of pride's essence: contending for supremacy with God, and lifting up our hearts against Him. For purposes of personal confession, I began adopting this definition of pride a few years ago after I came to realize that, to some degree, I'd grown unaffected by pride in my life. Though I was still confessing pride, I knew I wasn't sufficiently convicted of it. So rather than just confessing to God that 'I was proud in that situation' and appealing for His forgiveness, I learned to say instead, 'Lord, in that moment, with that attitude and that action, I was contending for supremacy with You. That's what it was all about. Forgive me.' And rather than confessing to another person, 'that statement was prideful on my part; will you please forgive me?' I began saying, 'what I just did was contending for supremacy with God,' and only then asking for the person's forgiveness. This practice increased a weight of conviction in my heart about the seriousness of this sin. Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking."
Why does God hate pride so passionately?
Here's why:
"Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him. Charles Bridges once noted how pride lifts up one's heart against God and 'contends for supremacy' with Him. That's a keenly insightful and biblical definition of pride's essence: contending for supremacy with God, and lifting up our hearts against Him. For purposes of personal confession, I began adopting this definition of pride a few years ago after I came to realize that, to some degree, I'd grown unaffected by pride in my life. Though I was still confessing pride, I knew I wasn't sufficiently convicted of it. So rather than just confessing to God that 'I was proud in that situation' and appealing for His forgiveness, I learned to say instead, 'Lord, in that moment, with that attitude and that action, I was contending for supremacy with You. That's what it was all about. Forgive me.' And rather than confessing to another person, 'that statement was prideful on my part; will you please forgive me?' I began saying, 'what I just did was contending for supremacy with God,' and only then asking for the person's forgiveness. This practice increased a weight of conviction in my heart about the seriousness of this sin. Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking."
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Humility: True Greatness
As many of you know, Ron Starcher has been preaching during our Sunday evening services. He has been walking us through the old testament book of Habakkuk. This past Sunday he spent some time on the issue of pride and arrogance and how God is directly opposed to pride. As he was preaching, I was convinced that I needed to pick up the little book by C.J. Mahaney entitled "Humility". So, this week I am reading this little book...in fact, I read most of it while waiting in the doctor's office.
I thought I would share with you some of his thoughts from chapter two which is called "The Perils of Pride". It will probably take about 4 or 5 posts to capture what I want to share with you...so look for these posts over the next week.
First, let me begin by quoting one of my favorite writers John Stott:
"at every stage of our christian development and in every sphere of our christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend".
And someone once said:
"humility is the jewel from which all other godly characteristics flow from".
The First Sin
"Pride has quite the history, one that precedes Adam and Eve. Pride, it seems, was the very first sin. Isaiah 14 records the downfall of a king, but not a mere earthly ruler. This king is the embodiment of God-defying arrogance, but the language used here apparently references the rebellion and fall of Satan himself. In Isaiah 14:13, the motivation behind Satan's rebellion is exposed: 'You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high'. Led by the prideful Lucifer, powerful angelic creatures possessing beauty and glory far beyond our comprehension arrogantly desired recognition and status equal to God Himself. In response, God swiftly and severely judged them. Pride not only appears to be the earliest sin, but it is at the core of all sin. 'Pride,' John Stott writes, 'is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin.' Indeed, from God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. From my study, I'm convinced there's nothing God hates more than this. God righteously hates all sin, of course, but biblical evidence abounds for the conclusion that there's no sin more offensive to Him than pride. When His Word reveals those things 'that the Lord hates' and 'that are an abomination to him', it's the proud man's 'haughty eyes' that head up the list (Prov. 6:16-17). When the personified wisdom of God speaks out, these clear words are emphasized: 'I hate pride and arrogance' (Prov. 8:13). And consider the divine perspective on pride revealed in Prov. 16:5: 'Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.' Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture."
Why is Scripture's language so strong against pride?? Why does God hate pride so passionately??
We will pickup here tomorrow!!
I thought I would share with you some of his thoughts from chapter two which is called "The Perils of Pride". It will probably take about 4 or 5 posts to capture what I want to share with you...so look for these posts over the next week.
First, let me begin by quoting one of my favorite writers John Stott:
"at every stage of our christian development and in every sphere of our christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend".
And someone once said:
"humility is the jewel from which all other godly characteristics flow from".
The First Sin
"Pride has quite the history, one that precedes Adam and Eve. Pride, it seems, was the very first sin. Isaiah 14 records the downfall of a king, but not a mere earthly ruler. This king is the embodiment of God-defying arrogance, but the language used here apparently references the rebellion and fall of Satan himself. In Isaiah 14:13, the motivation behind Satan's rebellion is exposed: 'You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high'. Led by the prideful Lucifer, powerful angelic creatures possessing beauty and glory far beyond our comprehension arrogantly desired recognition and status equal to God Himself. In response, God swiftly and severely judged them. Pride not only appears to be the earliest sin, but it is at the core of all sin. 'Pride,' John Stott writes, 'is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin.' Indeed, from God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. From my study, I'm convinced there's nothing God hates more than this. God righteously hates all sin, of course, but biblical evidence abounds for the conclusion that there's no sin more offensive to Him than pride. When His Word reveals those things 'that the Lord hates' and 'that are an abomination to him', it's the proud man's 'haughty eyes' that head up the list (Prov. 6:16-17). When the personified wisdom of God speaks out, these clear words are emphasized: 'I hate pride and arrogance' (Prov. 8:13). And consider the divine perspective on pride revealed in Prov. 16:5: 'Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.' Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture."
Why is Scripture's language so strong against pride?? Why does God hate pride so passionately??
We will pickup here tomorrow!!
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