Contentment

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short—then why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?— Richard Baxter (1615-91)

The Prince of Preachers, at his best

"It greatly tends to help faith when you can see the relation that exists between the Redeemer and yourself, for Jesus is your Covenant Head, and God has been pleased to give Himself and all His infinite riches to the Lord Jesus Christ as your federal Representative. And as your Covenant Head, the Lord Jesus assures you that the stores laid up in Him on your behalf are sufficient for you. Can you limit the mediatorial power of Christ? Don’t you know that God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him? Be you, then, assured that Christ’s Grace is sufficient for you!" - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

TOTALLY depraved, but saved

"God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one." - Psalm 53:2,3

The idea that all of mankind is totally depraved as part of our nature is a clearly biblical doctrine
Through passages such as these and the ones found in the book of Romans (1-3, 6 and 7), we can construct a clear idea from Scripture that man is in a very bad state indeed, unable to even help themselves in their fight to know God and experience His love and forgiveness.

Our deeds are as filthy rags before Him (Isaiah 64:6), whose standard is PERFECTION.
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and the Bible even goes as far as to say that we are all DEAD in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:1).

BUT (I love that word when it is used in the Bible!), GOD, "being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4)

"We are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope — at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you." - Timothy Keller

A false hope

"The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by it's great might it cannot rescue." - Psalm 33:13-17

From where does your hope for salvation come from?

From something of the world? From your religious fervour, your frequent church attendance or your high moral standards? Just like the king in this psalm, we far too often place our hope in our own strength or deeds from salvation.

The ONLY hope that we have for salvation is the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

"But he was wounded for our transgressions:
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon his was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed" - Isaiah 53:5

Give up on your own attempts to save yourself, and just rest at the foot of the cross.

A very subtle, and dangerous sin

“Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit.” -Timothy Keller

The tendency of our mind

"You’re going to roll out of bed tomorrow a functional Pharisee. The instincts beneath your instincts, the impulses way down deep inside you, are law, not gospel. A good night’s sleep, not a heretical sermon, is all it takes to forget the gospel of grace." - Dane Ortlund.

"How to" know false teaching - READ YOUR BIBLE

"Nothing supplies false prophets with followers so much as spiritual sloth under a cloak of humility." - J.C. Ryle


Ring true much?

When brothers (and sisters) in unity

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" - Psalm 133:1 (ESV)

As I sat in prayer with a couple of my brothers today, I thought to myself how blessed I am to have so many people in my life who love the Lord and desire to see Him glorified in their own lives and the lives of others.

There is nothing quite like sharing the knowledge and power of the gospel with others, rejoicing together in  the salvation that comes entirely from the Lord. If you don't have people like this in your life, to constantly remind you of the gospel and who you are in Christ, then I urge you to find some! There is nothing quite like it, I promise!

Consider this

"Whoever is wise, let him consider these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD" - Psalm 107:43

Spending some time in the Old Testament, one can't help but be amazed at how gracious and merciful God showed Himself to be to the people of Israel. The amazing work of salvation that the Lord worked through the freeing of the Jews from the bondage of Egypt, the patience and mercy in the desert, the faithfulness in obtaining the Promised Land, the faithfulness throughout the exile and the list goes on.

But we know what this list culminates in: the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Isaiah 9:6)

May we who have been blessed with the knowledge of the Lord's amazing grace through Christ, consider it always and share it with others, as we strive forward on our journeys to love God and others.

A fresh (and essential) look on discipleship

After listening to David Platt's fantastic sermon on what the gospel truly demands of our lives (http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/, please listen to this), I am convicted to the core about how I live my life with the Lord.


Am I pursuing comfort or a cross? (Luke 9:58)
Am I pursuing maintenance or mission? (Luke 9:60)
Do I have an indecisive mind or an undivided heart? (Luke 9:62)


Does the church truly believe the Word, and what it says about - following Jesus, the lost and the poor?


Lord, may you please give us the grace to live radical lives for the sake of your glory and gospel.