He came forward.

They came with lanterns.  Certain He was hiding himself in the darkest corners of the garden on this blackest of nights.  He had to know they were after His life.

They came with weapons.  Expecting inevitable resistance from His followers if not from Him. Their fingers itched to have Him bound and taken to trial.  Then He would see who was really in charge.

But how wonderfully they were mistaken.  They stopped dead in their tracks.

He did not hide. Even though He fully and perfectly knew all that was about to happen to Him.  Even though He had just moments before been near death itself as He stared into the cup He was about to drink.  Even though He cried to the Father two times for an alternative and heard nothing but silence from heaven.  The most agonizing night.  And the greatest agony to come in merely hours.

He did not flee.  He came forward.  Though He staggered in His soul, contemplating the work He had to do.  He perfectly obeyed His Father.  He loved Him.  He was faithful to do what He had to do in order to fulfill the plan of redemption They had made together before time began. He knew His hour had come. 

He came forward. Because He loved sinners.

He did not resist.  The obedient Son asked the soldiers who they were seeking.  When they shouted His name, He came forward and said He was the One they were looking for. They did not even have to search. 

Before the men could even seize Him, they fell to the ground.  Astonished.  What? Who IS this man?  His very words made them tremble.  They could not even remain standing.

Again, He asked them who they sought. Again told them that He was the One they were after.  Once the soldiers made it to their feet again, they bound Him and led Him to face it.  Man's greatest act of injustice in all of history.  Yet God's greatest display of justice and mercy for all the world for all of time.   The cross.

Who was this Man that willingly handed Himself over to certain death? Certain wrath? The greatest human suffering possible?  Unimaginable pain and separation?  The horror and shame of the cross?

Who was He?

The only Man who was stronger than death.  The Man who was God himself in the flesh. 

The Man who saw our need. And gave Himself to be our Savior. Died in weakness, rose again in power. To be our peace. Our righteousness. Our HOPE.

And the only One who can save me.  The only One who can save you.

He is Jesus Christ.

Let us worship and be amazed.

He was willing to go to the cross.  He is willing to save sinners still!

What a Savior!

repent of my repentance

Do you realize that our very acts of sorrow over sin and repentance before God are often in need of repenting of?  It can be very easy to find ourselves listening to the lie that we are doing what God desires when we repent - which is true in and of itself.  God does clearly command us all to repent of our sins, and it pleases Him when we come to Him seeking pardon.  But far too often, our motives for repenting are themselves ungodly.  

Examine your prayers of confession for a moment.  Do you have an overwhelming sense of the vileness and danger of sin, as John Owen puts it "as represented in the blood and cross of Christ", always abiding with you?  Is your motive a godly grief over sins that the Savior has spilt His blood to pardon - sins that He has already buried in the ocean of His mercy?

Or do you repent because you fear what God will do to you if you don't?  Fear what the consequences of your sins will be? Do you repent out of some sense of necessity, as if the work of repentance must be done continually in order to maintain your state of salvation? Or merely out of a desire to ease your bothered conscience, with little or no concern for Christ and the way your sins have slighted and grieved Him?  I think Tim Keller puts it best:

"Repentance out of mere fear is really sorrow for the consequences of sin, sorrow over the danger of sin — it bends the will away from sin, but the heart still clings. But repentance out of conviction over mercy is really sorrow over sin, sorrow over the grievousness of sin — it melts the heart away from sin. It makes the sin itself disgusting to us, so it loses its attractive power over us. We say, ‘this disgusting thing is an affront to the one who died for me. I'm continuing to stab him with it!"

You see what is being said here?  If our repentance is not done for the simple fact that we have seen what our Savior has done in His rich mercy, and are continually and humbly beholding our sins in the horror and offensiveness of the cross, we have not really repented!  "The heart still clings" to sin if we are merely sorry for our sin for any other reason.

So let us fix our eyes upon Jesus Christ - and leave them there.  Let us be in continual awareness of our sin and His grace as displayed on Calvary.  For how can there be any drop of arrogance, any self-centered prayer, any love for another, when we truly and rightly behold the beautiful Savior who died there for us?

And let us also behold this same Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.  For He did not stay on the cross. He rose again. And "ever lives above, for me to intercede"!  His perfect righteousness covers my every sin - yes, even those polluted prayers.  His blood speaks a better word.

May this be our prayer today:  (taken from the Valley of Vision)

O God of Grace,

Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute,

and hast imputed His righteousness to my soul,

clothing me with a bridegroom's robe,

decking me with jewels of holiness.

But in my Christian walk I am still in rags;

my best prayers are stained with sin;

my penitential tears are so many impurity;

my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin;

my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.

I need to repent of my repentance;

I need my tears to be washed;

I have no robe to bring to cover my sins,

no loom to weave my own righteousness;

I am always standing clothed in filthy garments,

and by grace am always receiving change of raiment.

for Thou dost always justify the ungodly.

I am always going into the far country,

and always returning home as a prodigal.

always saying, Father, forgive me,

and Thou art always bringing forth the best robe.

Every morning let me wear it,

every evening return in it,

go out to the day's work in it,

be married in it,

be wound in death in it,

stand before the great white throne in it,

enter heaven in it shining as the sun.

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin,

the exceeding righteousness of salvation,

the exceeding glory of Christ,

the exceeding beauty of holiness,

the exceeding wonder of grace.

what is your life?

The first thought I had of it came in church yesterday morning.  The congregation heard the account of a woman in the hospital who was given a maximum of two days to live. She wanted a chaplain to come and talk with her. In God's merciful providence, the hospital could not get a hold of the chaplain on call. So they called the deacon from our church.  He went in to see her, and the woman, barely able to talk, told him that she wanted her sins to be forgiven. "What does it mean to be a Christian?" she asked him. By God's grace, he told her the good news of Jesus Christ and prayed with her.  This woman found the rest she was searching for - in the Savior.  Merely hours before it happened... 

That afternoon, several families from our church went to visit the local nursing home.  As I played the piano and the children sang songs about the Gospel, my heart was filled with hope.  Here we were in a room filled with so many lonely people.  Those who did have family visiting were accompanied by their guests. Even staff members were present, or would peek their head in the room out of curiosity.  I don't think I had ever seen the room that full. I could barely make my way through the maze of wheelchairs and beds.  All of them were there eager and glad to hear our songs and the message of the Gospel.  What a glorious opportunity!  After we were through singing, I made my way around to say hello to some of the residents. As I held their frail hands, and gave them a smile and  a greeting, I felt an overwhelming sense of the eternal importance of what we were doing.  I had done this countless times before, but never felt such urgency, such joy in giving joy to others.  I prayed that their eyes would not just see cute children and kind people, but the beauty of Christ and the glory of the Gospel.  This could very well have been the last time I would have seen some of these familiar faces.  Praises be to God for the opportunity to show His love and sing of the hope of the Savior.  These dear people are soon to face it...

At home that evening, my family gathered in the living room to listen to an excellent message by CJ Mahaney. One of my sisters and I had heard it given a few weeks ago at Next, but it was the first time to hear it for the rest of the family.  Pastor Mahaney spoke on a topic of first importance, the death of Christ.  He quoted Charles Spurgeon: "We cannot think of that death too often." Then he went on to proclaim the glories of the forsaken Savior and what it meant for Him to be cut off from His Father, and be left to drink the cup of God's wrath alone. "He drained the cup dry, leaving us not a drop to drink. He experienced wrath so that we might experience grace. He was forsaken so that we might be forgiven by the Father... He screamed so that we might sing nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. He was forsaken so that we might never be forsaken."  What astounding mercy!

Then he spoke about the dying Savior.  And I was reminded again of this fact.  It comes to all men.  The repeated phrase in Genesis 5 "...and he died" will one day be said of every one of us. Will one day be said of me.  And because of the Savior's death, I need not fear death.  Why? Because when I die, "the next face [I will see], and the next voice [I will hear], will be the Savior's!" Because He drained the cup of God's wrath dry for me, I know that only grace remains.  All because of His... DEATH.

We do not know what our futures hold.  But there is one thing certain to happen to all of us... It is the one thing that happens to everyone. Yet it is the one thing we treat as if it will never happen.  Or something that is still a long way off.  Yet James tells us... "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." (James 4:14) What does this mean?  It doesn't matter if we live to be a hundred years old, or if we died this very day.  Our lives will be over before we know it.  

So then, the question remains...

"How then shall I live?"

Are we living and breathing to display the only true and lasting treasure - Jesus Christ?  Are we people who are constantly surveying and pointing others to His wondrous cross - His death that makes all the difference in this life and the one to come? Are we counting all earthly things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord?  Are we using our material blessings to show that these things are not our treasure - Christ is?  

Or are we storing up for ourselves treasures on earth? Things that may bring us temporary pleasure, but in the end mean nothing when we come to stand before God?

Don't waste your life!

Who Is This?

Who is this, so weak and helpless,
Child of lowly Hebrew maid,
Rudely in a stable sheltered,
Coldly in a manger laid?
’Tis the Lord of all creation,
Who this wondrous path has trod;
He is God from everlasting,
And to everlasting God.

Who is this, a Man of Sorrows,
Walking sadly life’s hard way,
Homeless, weary, sighing, weeping
Over sin and Satan’s sway?
’Tis our God, our glorious Savior,
Who above the starry sky
Is for us a place preparing,
Where no tear can dim the eye.

Who is this? Behold him shedding
Drops of blood upon the ground!
Who is this, despised, rejected,
Mocked, insulted, beaten, bound?
’Tis our God, Who gifts and graces
On His church is pouring down;
Who shall smite in holy vengeance
All His foes beneath His throne.

Who is this that hangs there dying
While the rude world scoffs and scorns,
Numbered with the malefactors,
Torn with nails, and crowned with thorns?
’Tis our God Who lives forever
’Mid the shining ones on high,
In the glorious golden city,
Reigning everlastingly.

-William How

Such a fitting reminder of the One we must fix our eyes on this Christmas and every day...

The Mercy Seat

The following description is found in James Montgomery Boice's excellent book Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?. The ladies of our church are reading through and discussing it together. This portion is found in the chapter called "Christ Alone" which we discussed on Wednesday night. It was such a wonderful time of sweet fellowship and worship of our great Savior. It is my hope that you too will be left standing in awe before the precious blood of Christ that covers us at the mercy seat.



"This brings us to one of the most beautiful pictures of the work of Christ in all of the Bible: the ark of the covenant, which was kept within the Most Holy Place of the Jewish wilderness tabernacle and was the focal point of Israel's worship.

The ark was a wooden box about a yard long, covered with gold, and made to contain the stone tables of the law that Moses had received on Mount Sinai. (The first set of tables had been broken, but a new set had been written.) This box had a cover called the mercy seat, and upon the mercy seat, at each end, facing each other, were statues of cherubim (angels) whose wings stretched upward and then outward, almost meeting directly over the ark. In a symbolic way, God was imagined to dwell above the ark, between or over the outstretched wings of the cherubim.

As it stands, the ark is a picture of judgment, intended to produce dread in the worshiper through a disclosure of his or her sin. For what does God see as He looks down upon earth from between the outstretched wings of the cherubim? Clearly, he sees the law of Moses which each of us has broken. He sees that he must act toward us in judgement. God cannot ignore sin; sin must be punished.

But this is where the mercy seat comes in, and this is why it is called the mercy seat. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the Jewish hight priest entered the Most Holy Place to make propitiation for the people's sins. Propitiation is the very word which (in Greek) was used to translate "mercy seat". Moments before, the high priest had offered (in the outer courtyard of the tabernacle) a sacrifice for his own sin and the sins of his family. Now he took the blood of a second animal, entered the Most Holy Place, and carefully sprinkled the blood of that sacrifice upon the mercy seat, which was the ark's covering. What is symbolized now? Now, as God looks down from between the outstretched wings of the cherubim, he sees not the law of Moses which we have broken but the blood of the innocent victim. He sees that the punishment has been meted out. Propitiation has been made, and his love goes out to save all who come to him through faith in that sacrifice.

Jesus told a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee; the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up to pray - as everyone would have agreed he should do: "Come here, Mr. Pharisee. Stand up where we can all hear you. Be quiet, everyone. The Pharisee is going to pray."

And pray he did. He prayed a magnificent prayer - about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like the other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." (Luke 18:11-12). The Pharisee was not lying. He really did give a tenth of his income to the temple. He really did fast twice a week. He was not a thief or an adulterer. Moreover, I am sure others would have concurred in this evaluation. Here was an outstanding man, a credit to his community. The point of Jesus' parable depends on recognizing that if anyone could hope to be accepted by God on the basis of his character or good works, it was the Pharisee.

Then there was the tax collector. He "stood at a distance" - where he belonged. Jesus said of him "He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner'" (v. 13). And why not? He was a sinner. He had plenty to beat his breast about.

It is had to imagine a greater contrast than the one between these two men: moral versus immoral; noble versus base; proud versus shameful; self-confident versus cringing. Yet when the Lord ended his story, he reversed the judgement every one of his hearers had been making and declared: "I tell you that this man [the tax collector], rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 14). No cinematic melodrama or dime-store novel ever had a more surprising ending than this parable.

Why did the tax-collector, rather than the Pharisee, go home justified? It is true that the Pharisee was a sinner. He was a sinner in spite of his self-righteousness. But so was the tax collector. The only differences between the two men were that the tax collector knew he was a sinner, while the Pharisee did not know it; and the tax collector approached God, not on the basis of his good works (which he did not have), but on the basis of God's provision, symbolized by the mercy seat and the propitiation that took place there. The tax collector's prayer literally reads, 'God, be "mercy-seated" to me, the sinner.'

The prayer is worth exploring. The first word of the prayer is 'God'; the last word is 'sinner'. This reflects what happens when a human being becomes aware of the true God. When a person becomes conscious of God, he does not proceed unchanged in his supposed 'righteousness', as the Pharisee did. Rather he becomes conscious of sin, and the more so the closer to God he comes. We know that the tax collector knew God because he knew he was - and did not hesitate to describe himself as - a sinner.

Then, between the beginning of the prayer ('God') and the end of it ('me, a sinner') are the words 'be mercy-seated to me.' This shows that the tax collector also understood propitiation. He knew that between the presence of the Holy God (who looked down in judgment upon the law which he had broken) and himself there had to come the blood of the sacrificial victim. He was coming to God on the basis of the mercy already provided by God through the sacrifice. The tax-collector was saying 'Treat me on the basis of the blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat.' No one can be saved without propitiation."

I Recommed These Blogs...

1 - (therebelution.com) The Rebelution by Alex and Brett Harris. If you have not yet checked out this amazing movement by 2 very godly young men committed to God's word, then you are surely missing out! They direct the main thrust of their message towards teens, but it is surely not just for teens! The material you will find on this site, whether written by the Harris twins or others, is excellent, gospel-centered, and will prove beneficial to people of any age. As a matter of fact, today marks Alex and Brett's 20th birthday. The most recent post, "Turning Twenty", was a great reminder that the Do Hard Things message does not end once you stop being a teenager. But rather, the struggle has only just begun. Brett's article contained some very encouraging words for those of us about to enter or just begin the twenty years.

2 - (firstimportance.org) - Of First Importance: Living Each Day in the Good of the Gospel. I recently stumbled across this neat blog run by three Christian men from BC. Each day is posted a cross-centered quote to help its readers "remember what's of first importance - the gospel of Jesus Christ". As their "About Us" page states, "We’ve all spent far too much time looking inward instead of upward (Col 3:1), only to futility and despair. This blog was born out of our own need to live each day in the good of the gospel." It does our souls good to be reminded every day of the blood of the Savior that was poured out for our salvation and redemption! Today's quote by Charles Spurgeon is particularly good.

3 - (theblazingcenter.com) - The Blazing Center: Connecting God's Truth With Real Life by Mark and Steven Altrogge. A truly wonderful blog by a father-son duo with a love for the gospel and the glory of God. Each post is good to feed and meditate upon, and no matter what the topic, it seems as if every post is consistently brought back to "the blazing center" (the Cross of Christ). The latest post - "5 Surefire Ways to Ruin Your Devotions" may be a bit humorous but it sure is convicting.



What blogs do you enjoy reading?

By Your Side

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away.

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go, child?
Tell me, where will you run?
To where will you run?

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life.
I want to give you life.

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.

Cause I, I love you.
I want you to know.
That I, I love you.
I'll never let you go.


- "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North -

I fell in love with this song before the first stanza ended. A truly beautiful picture of the Father's deep love and care for His wandering and wayward children. I love how the third verse so clearly points to the greatest display of God's love - the cross. Come, let us worship and bow down before Him!

His love will never let me go.

My Cup Runs Over

When was the last time you were truly thankful? As weak and selfish human beings, we are so prone to forget to give thanks unto the Giver of all good gifts. We are so quick to grumble and complain when things do not go the way we want them to. Rather than being thankful to God for providing abundant rain to water the thirsty ground, we grumble because we are getting wet or because we wanted to get some things done outside. Rather than praising the Lord for granting us senses and the ability to work and interact with people, we complain when we are asked to stay an hour later to help out. No matter what the situation, somehow we can always find something to complain about. This attitude springs from pride and arrogance.

A recently-read quote by C. J. Mahaney helps put things in their proper perspective:

"Let each of us recognize every day that whatever grace we receive from God is so much more than we're worthy of, and indescribably better than the hell we all deserve."

Even on those days when it seems like things could not go any worse, we must remember that we are already receiving so much more than we deserve. What we deserve as sinful, proud, ungrateful beings is nothing less than God's wrath. We deserve hell.

We must remind ourselves daily that the very fact that we are breathing should be ample cause for humble rejoicing and adoration at the great mercy of our Savior! Not only does our God richly supply us with temporal blessings, but he also grants us the greatest gift of all - the answer to our greatest need - grace and peace through Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross! What a marvelous gift!

I close with a portion of the Puritan prayer "Evening Praise" taken from The Valley of Vision.

I thank Thee for the temporal blessings of this world -
the refreshing air,
the light of the sun,
the food that renews strength,
the raiment that clothes,
the dwelling that shelters,
the sleep that gives rest,
the starry canopy of night,
the summer breeze,
the flowers' sweetness,
the music of flowing streams,
the happy endearments of family, kindred, friends,
Things animate, things inanimate, minister to my comfort.
My cup runs over.
Suffer me not to be insensible to these daily mercies.
Thy hand bestows blessings: Thy power averts evil.
I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces,
the full warmth of faith,
the cheering presence of Thy Spirit,
the strength of Thy restraining will,
the spiking of hell's artillery.

Blessed be my Sovereign Lord!"

Give us humble and thankful hearts, we pray, O God!

Unashamed

You were not ashamed to be
Emptied and poured out to death
Unashamed to give Your dying breath
You were not ashamed to bear
All of my reproach and sin
Jesus, You were such a faithful friend
So I will glory in the cross
And in the blood You shed for us
Glory in the gospel of Your grace

Let me be unashamed
Jesus, to speak Your name
For You were the one who came
The Savior of the world
Let me be unashamed
Jesus, to speak Your name
Let me be bold to claim
You as my Lord

You were not ashamed to give
Your body to a Roman lash
Unashamed to bear God's holy wrath
You were not ashamed to hang
Naked bleeding on a tree
Gladly You did all of this for me
So I will glory in the cross
And in the blood You shed for us
Glory in the gospel of Your grace!

Let me be unashamed
Jesus, to speak Your name
For You were the one who came
The Savior of the world
Let me be unashamed
Jesus, to speak Your name
Let me be bold to claim
You as my Lord!

-Mark Altrogge (from the Sovereign Grace album "All We Long to See)




Our Savior is not ashamed to call us his brothers! (Hebrews 2:11)

Are we ashamed to call Him our Lord?

Humility

As mentioned earlier, I have recently read C. J. Mahaney's excellent book Humility: True Greatness. This book was a great help and encouragement to me. I don't know about you, but for me, battling against the sin of pride is one of the hardest things I struggle with. Have I seen a decrease in the amount of pride in my life after reading this book? No. To the contrary, I am more aware of areas in my life where I harbor pride than ever before. The author himself mentions that it is necessary to be aware of our greatest enemy, pride, so that we might be faithful and active in waging war against it by pursuing humility.

The book provides many practical and helpful ways to help us do this on a daily and lifelong basis. It also mentions that the best (and only sure) way to truly cultivate humility in our lives is to "Reflect on the wonder of the cross of Christ."



C. J. Mahaney writes:

"To be truly serious and deliberate in mortifying pride and cultivating greatness, you must each day survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died.

'Fill your affections with the cross of Christ,' write John Owen, 'that there may be no room for sin.' And that includes no room for pride.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote the following about the surest way to pursue humility:

'There is only one thing I know of that crushes me to the ground and humiliates me to the dust, and that is to look at the Son of God, and especially contemplate the cross.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

Nothing else can do it. When I see that I am a sinner... that nothing but the Son of God on the cross can save me, I'm humbled to the dust....Nothing but the cross can give us this spirit of humility.'

John Stott helps us understand why the cross has this powerful effect:

'Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to be saying to us "I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying." Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.'"



Where can we go when guilty of pride and selfish living? Where can we run to find peace and forgiveness for "this sin of pride that God hates"? The cure is the cross! The only place where we can rightly view our nothingness in light of the glory and love of our merciful Savior! Flee to the cross of the only humble one!

Doing Hard Things... a Joy or a Burden?

A few weeks ago, my sister Emily and I attended the Rebelution Do Hard Things Conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was an incredible experience that I am sure we will not soon forget. At the conference, we both purchased really cool t-shirts. Mine is dark blue, with "Do Hard Things" written on the back. (Exactly like the picture shown). As I wore my shirt around the house a few days later, so excited and ready to do hard things, one of my other sisters, who is 9 years old, made a comment. She said something like this: "Do hard things? Who would want to do that? That shirt should say 'do easy things'!"

While the statement is funny and made me laugh, it also saddened me to see how she misunderstood it. And I also think that there are many, many others who would say the same thing. I mean, really? Why would you want to do something hard when there are so many easier and "fun" things you could do instead? I started saying something like: "No! Doing hard things is good! If you always do what's easy you will waste your life!" I wanted so bad for her to see and understand the foolishness of an easy life and how good it was to do hard things!

But lately, I have been thinking. So often we as Christians think along those same lines. We know that following Christ in this world will be hard. But far too often we give in to that temptation to do what the world and our own sinful nature tells us, which is to do the easy thing. We grow tired of fighting sin so quickly. We even try to rationalize sin by making excuses that are even more sinful.

Every moment of every day we as Christians ought to be resisting sin and striving after righteousness, holiness, and humility for the glory of God in our lives. John Piper wrote in his book What Jesus Demands from the World says that the "Greek word behind the English "strive" is recognizable in English transliteration agonizesthe. You can see the word "agonize" in that Greek word. The implication is that we must struggle, wrestle and exert ourselves." In other words, striving after righteousness and living for Christ is extremely hard.

While we are still on this earth, and still in this weak and fallen flesh, though we are redeemed by Christ's blood, we still must wage war against the powers of evil within and without us (Romans 7). We so often tend to think that the more we grow in godliness and holiness, the easier it will be to overcome sin. How we fail to realize the truth is the exact opposite. It only gets harder. John Owen writes in his book Sin and Temptation, "There is no duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater is its enmity to it. Thus, those who seek the most for God experience the strongest opposition."

The Lord Himself has called His children to take up their crosses and follow Him. Our merciful Savior Himself endured the greatest hardship and suffering that any human has ever known at the cross of Calvary. Who are we as His followers to think that we deserve an easier life?

Yes this Christian life is hard. And yes this fierce and daily battle will continue as long as we live on this earth. But there is hope and comfort in the Savior, who has promised at the end, to deliver His children from their bodies of death. What a glorious hope we have in Him!

Let us keep pressing on, rejoicing in the great privilege we have as God's children, to be followers of His Son, bearers of His cross, and those who count all earthly gain but loss for the sake of knowing Him! There indeed is nothing harder than living for the Savior in a world and hearts where sin is rampant. But there also nothing that brings greater joy!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto JESUS, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1

Why Do I Believe in the Doctrine of Election?

A few weeks ago, I had a rather interesting discussion/debate with two co-workers of mine on the doctrine of unconditional election. One of them was strongly opposed to the doctrine, while the other one had never heard of it and was simply interested in learning what it was all about. While I probably did not do a very good job of defending the Scriptural teaching on election in a loving manner, (actually, I think I may have confused my listeners quite a bit), I was thankful for the opportunity, and that the Lord gave me boldness to speak.

Needless to say, I have been thinking about this topic alot lately. I am reading an excellent book by C. J. Mahaney called "Humility: True Greatness" (which, Lord willing, I will post more about later). As I read the chapter on identifying evidences of grace in others, I came across this quote by Spurgeon. It really helped me to see the ultimate reason the doctrine of election stands firm, besides the fact (and I believe Spurgeon's veiwpoint is also based upon this truth) that God is the Sovereign Creator, therefore we should be silent and stand in awe at the mystery of His grace (Romans 9). If we should be asking anything, it ought not to be "Why does God send people to hell if they are just going to go there anyway?" but "Why should God save anyone, when we are all children of His wrath, bent on rebellion against and hatred for Him since the day of our birth?"




"I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I could never find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love."
-Charles H. Spurgeon




Praise the Savior for His Sovereign, saving grace given FREELY to us through the cross! Worship and adore Him and thank Him that our salvation IS a gift, and not something that we can come to on our own. We love only because He first loved us! He chose us, we did not and COULD not choose Him! For how can dead men grab hold of anything to give it life? He is dead! Indeed, we who were once dead in our sins are now alive in Christ by His sovereign electing grace! Soli Deo Gloria!

The Valley of Vision: The Broken Heart

O LORD,

No day of my life has passed that has not proved me guilty in Thy sight.

Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;

Praise has been often praiseless sound;

My best services are filthy rags.

Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds.

Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them!

Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell, thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.

All things in me call for my rejection,

All things in thee plead my acceptance.

I appeal from the throne of perfect justice to thy throne of boundless grace.

Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me:
that by thy stripes I am healed,
that thou wast bruised for my iniquities,
that thou has been made sin for me
that I might be righteous in thee,
that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven
buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood.

I am guilty, but pardoned,
lost, but saved,
wandering, but found,
sinning, but cleansed.

Give me perpetual broken-heartedness,

Keep me always clinging to thy cross,

Flood me every moment with descending grace,

Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,
sparkling like crystal,
flowing clear and unsullied
through my wilderness of life.

Amen.



The above prayer was taken from a book called The Valley of Vision, which is a collection of Puritan prayers. This book has been a great help to me in my private prayer time. The prayers are not only beautiful, but they draw your gaze directly to the cross of our Savior! I highly recommend that every Christian own this book and use it often.