Month: July 2008

  • NO OTHER FOUNDATION

    “The
    foundation of the true church was laid at a mighty cost. It needed that
    the Son of God should take our nature upon Him, and in that nature
    live, suffer and die, not for His own sins, but for ours. It needed
    that in that nature Christ should go to the grave, and rise again. In
    needed that in that nature Christ should go up to heaven, to sit at the
    right hand of God, having obtained eternal redemption for all His
    people. No other foundation could have met the necessities of lost,
    guilty, corrupt, weak, helpless sinners.

    The foundation, once obtained, is very strong. It can bear the
    weight of the sins of the world. It has borne the weight of all the
    sins of all the believers who have built on it. Sins of thought, sins
    of imagination, sins of the heart, sins of the head, sins which
    everyone has seen, and sins which no man knows, sins against God, and
    sins against man, sins of all kinds and descriptions — that mighty rock
    can bear the weight of all these sins, and not give way. The
    mediatorial office of Christ is a remedy sufficient for all the sins of
    all the world.”

    - J.C. Ryle, Holiness (Darlington, Co. Durham: Evangelical Press, 1991), 215.



  •

    For the Lord gives wisdom,

    And from His mouth comes knowledge and
    understanding.

    Proverbs 2:6

     

    Duh . . .Didn’t you know that dummy?  Duh has become a word in our
    vernacular that denotes cluelessness. 
    As a mother of an almost 11 year old girl, duh is a word I hear a
    lot these days!  “Duh . . . Mom don’t you think I already know that?”  Sometimes we sarcastically use
    duh to describe a temporary oversight or lapse into clueless behavior on
    our part.  At other times it is used
    to sarcastically tell others their questions or comments are irrelevant, out of
    place, redundant or unnecessary. 
    However it is used, duh is a derogatory word that indicates we are
    “dumb,” and without a clue about what is really happening.  When I began researching the word duh
    I actually found entire websites devoted to the duh comments of
    famous, and sometimes infamous, people who opened their mouth without
    considering their words!  My
    favorite duh comment was made during an anti-smoking campaign: “Smoking kills.
    If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.”  Another great duh quote, “We
    didn't send you to Washington to make intelligent decisions. We sent you to
    represent us.“ muttered by a disgruntled voter.  All of us have our favorite duh
    comments—and recollections of the times we were the ones who spoke before
    thinking.

     

    Yes, all of us have duh moments.  That’s part of being human.  However, a encourager sent
    me an e-mail about a new meaning for duh that we can apply every day with complete confidence we won’t be found
    clueless:  Don’t
    Underestimate Him.  Proverbs reminds us that it is the Lord
    who gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  When we hide His word in our heart, we
    will not be clueless.  We will
    always have a ready answer when we allow God to speak through us and rely on His
    wisdom instead of our own. 
    Scripture memory is one of the nine commitments of First Place.   God’s Word is the truth on which
    we can build a firm foundation. 
    Today it is my prayer that we will all adopt the acrostic
    DUH . . .Don’t Underestimate Him.  Yes, we may still say dumb things in the
    eyes of others, but we will not be truly clueless when base our lives on God’s
    Word, the source of all truth. 

     

    No question is so difficult to answer as that to
    which the answer is obvious.

    --George Bernard Shaw

                           

     


  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA

                                          HAPPY 4TH OF JULY  

                                                                           

  • NOW IS THE TIME

    by Hartson Dowd

    DO YOU HAVE A DREAM? "People have dreams. What is your dream?

    Let me introduce you to a word that has the potential to change your life.

    It's a small word, punchy in sound, sharp in taste - and rich in potential rewards.


    NOW. That's it, just three letters, N - O - W.
    Dictionary Meaning for the word NOW - Webster's New World Dictionary: -adverb-

    1. At the present time; at the moment; at once
    2. At the time referred to; then; next {now his joy began}
    3. At a time very close to the present; very recently.

    There may be many things you dream about - wealth, fame, health, a
    promotion, love, happiness, peace. But what you dream about, even
    desire, is elusive. You may get it; you may not. What you have is
    simply this: NOW.

    "Luke 12:34: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

    The time to enjoy your children is NOW. Yes it would be nice to dream
    about having a hot tub, a swimming pool, a vacation cabin at the lake,
    but if it means taking that extra job, leaving no time to see your
    children, think again. You may end up with an empty hot tub or swimming
    pool. Kids grow up, they grow away, they want you to love them and be
    interested in them: NOW.

    Take someone you love to lunch. No, not three weeks from now when there
    is a blank spot in your appointment book: NOW, when it is obvious they
    need you.

    Do you dream about having a perfect marriage, a wonderful friendship?
    One of the greatest things you can express to a loved one is the
    message, "I treasure you."...I am blessed with a wife that treasures me
    and I try to treasure her back.

    Letting your loved ones, whether wife, parents, children or friends,
    know that they are treasured is one of the greatest compliments and
    best affirmations of love - and one of the best ways to say, "I Iove
    you." Clear up any misunderstanding: NOW. Stop waiting for the perfect
    moment and the perfect place and the perfect atmosphere. Do it NOW,
    before the quarrel grows into a tangle of fears and pride and scar
    tissue.

    So what is the best way to let your loved one know that you treasure
    them? Quit dreaming about how you can get back together. Do it NOW!
    Here are three ways to get started in the right direction:

    1. Don't make the mistake of thinking your loved ones already knows how
    you feel about them - they may not. Your past actions may have shown
    them a different side of you.

    2. Be specific. If you like their jokes, their grin, their laughter, or
    their touch - tell them NOW....Instead of focusing on what's wrong with
    them, focus on their positive traits, habits, and behaviour - on what's
    right. Just doing this NOW will help you dismiss the imperfections and
    keep you from sweating the small things.

    3. Tell them. Tell them often. Just because you told them last month,
    they need to hear it again, and again. The love of your partner, your
    children, your friends is the greatest gift. Treasure them, and let
    them know you do, NOW.
    Visit that sick friend. Not tomorrow, not next weekend, NOW.  Take
    lunch with you to the hospital. Don't just dream about doing it. There
    may well be a special urgency about this NOW.

    Say thank you, NOW. If a writing friend has helped you with an article
    or a project and it was very well done, make a fuss. Don't wait till
    you get famous, do it NOW. Everyone's ego needs stroking and the time
    to do it is when the soul is still elated. If you are still employed
    and your boss has given you extra attention, guidance and time, say
    thanks, NOW.... Being a boss is difficult. It's pleasant to know that
    good "bossing" is appreciated. Bad "bossing" is certainly noticed fast
    enough.

    So you dream about changing your life? Do it NOW. Maybe your dreams
    won't come true right now, but you can make a start. Enroll in a
    course, join a fitness club, get involved in a volunteer group. Put
    your goals in writing; work out a plan to achieve your dreams. Start on
    it NOW.

    Sometimes I think we are all so determined to become happy, that we
    fail to enjoy the happiness we have. So fixed are we on the destination
    that we fail to enjoy the trip. There's a lot of happiness in your life
    this very moment, if you will relax enough to see it.

    Stephen Leacock observed: "Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of each day and hour."

    Stop your dreaming, your wishing. NOW: It's a beautiful word. It's an even more beautiful way of life.

    NOW: A short, sharp word that can enrich your life.

  • Union preserved through faith alone

    Our only hope for living the radical demands of the Christian life is that God is totally for us now and forever. Therefore, God has not ordained that living the Christian life should be the basis of our hope that God is for us. That basis is the death and righteousness of Christ, counted as ours through faith alone. On the cross Christ endured for us all the punishment required of us because of our sin. And in order that God, as our Father, might be completely for us and not against us forever, Christ has performed for us, in his perfect obedience to God, all that God required of us as the ground of his being totally for us forever. 

    This punishment and this obedience are completed and past. They can never change. Our union with Christ and the enjoyment of these benefits is secure forever. Through faith alone, God establishes our union with Christ. This union will never fail, because in Christ God is for us as an omnipotent Father who sustains our faith, and works all things together for our everlasting good. The one and only instrument through which God preserves our union with Christ is faith in Christ—the purely receiving act of the soul.”

    - John Piper, The Future of Justification (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 184.

  • TODAYS ALPHABET

    The “A-to-Z” of the Christian Life

    “The
    gospel shows us that our spiritual problem lies not only in failing to
    obey God, but also in relying on our obedience to make us fully
    acceptable to God, ourselves and others.

    Every kind of character flaw comes from this natural impulse to be
    our own savior through our performance and achievement. On the one
    hand, proud and disdainful personalities come from basing your identity
    on your performance and thinking you are succeeding. But on the other
    hand, discouraged and self-loathing personalities also come from basing
    your identity on your performance and thinking you are failing.

    Belief in the gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom of
    God; it is the way to address every obstacle and grow in every aspect.
    The gospel is not just the “ABCs” but the “A-to-Z” of the Christian
    life.

    The gospel is the way that anything is renewed and transformed by
    Christ — whether a heart, a relationship, a church, or a community. All
    our problems come from a lack of orientation to the gospel. Put
    positively, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our
    approach to absolutely everything.”

    - Timothy Keller, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Living in Line with the Truth of the Gospel (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.