Below is a link to Fox News. It tells of the killing of a Christian woman for distributing bibles. We need to pray folks! At the end of the article it speaks of the 30,000 Christians the worship and hold services in private. Just wanted to pass this along and encourage The Church to pray!
Report: North Korea Publicly Executes Christian Woman for Distributing Bible - International News News of the World Middle East News Europe News - FOXNews.com
This article reminded me strongly of Alcorns book, ''Safely Home''. Its a great read if you have not read it!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Spurgeon
I have decided to read 1 Spergeon sermon a day. That is my goal anyway. If those of you that know me would hold me to this I would dearly appreciate it! That being said I would like to share with you a bit of this mornings reading.
''Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown you cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea, be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial. as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.''
Amen and amen!
Later in the same sermon Spurgeon states:
[You] ''SHALL BE DAMNED. O terrific thought! How dare I utter it? But I must. Ye must be warned, sirs, lest ye also come into this place of torment. Ye must be told rough things; for if Gods gospel in not a rough thing & the law is a rough thing; Mount Sinai is a rough thing. Woe unto the watchman that warns not the ungodly! God is unchanging in his threatenings. Beware, O sinner, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.''
''Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown you cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea, be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial. as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.''
Amen and amen!
Later in the same sermon Spurgeon states:
[You] ''SHALL BE DAMNED. O terrific thought! How dare I utter it? But I must. Ye must be warned, sirs, lest ye also come into this place of torment. Ye must be told rough things; for if Gods gospel in not a rough thing & the law is a rough thing; Mount Sinai is a rough thing. Woe unto the watchman that warns not the ungodly! God is unchanging in his threatenings. Beware, O sinner, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.''
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Together we stand....
I remember as a kid watching movies about knights and kings, fair maidens and sinister villains. There always seemed to be a common theme in these movies. The good guys would be hard pressed, on the brink of udder destruction at which time the hero would give one of those encouraging butt kickin speeches that would undoubtedly end with, ''Together we stand! Divided we fall!''. This speech would unite and excite the troops, there would be a mighty battle and the good guys would be victorious. Ps 86:11 really caught my eye the other day, it reads:
Teach me your way, O Lord,that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
I know that I have a battle waging in my heart. O how strong are the desires of my flesh! How often I fall to the desires of my heart! I read this verse the other day my heart lept. To me this was the butt kickin speech that I needed! For I am very aware that I cannot stand with a divided heart. My heart can only have one master. Father, unite my heart to fear your name! I know that I can not win the battle on my own. It is by the grace of the Sovereign alone that sin can be dealt with and beaten! My battle cry? ''Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name!'' OK, not really a battle cry, but my cry to my King.
Teach me your way, O Lord,that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
I know that I have a battle waging in my heart. O how strong are the desires of my flesh! How often I fall to the desires of my heart! I read this verse the other day my heart lept. To me this was the butt kickin speech that I needed! For I am very aware that I cannot stand with a divided heart. My heart can only have one master. Father, unite my heart to fear your name! I know that I can not win the battle on my own. It is by the grace of the Sovereign alone that sin can be dealt with and beaten! My battle cry? ''Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name!'' OK, not really a battle cry, but my cry to my King.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Grace!
I had to repost this! Its called ''Look Ever to Jesus''. I am very thankful to God for puting this godly man in my path! He has a blog called ''The tells of Tim''. I believe I have a link to it on the right. Thanks for this Tim! Just had to ''steal'' it!
…through faith we overcome.
How could it be that this ’faith’ is our own? No. Go back and look again if this is your disposition. You don’t have faith…never had it… never will, except by the grace of God. You belong to the Devil by man’s own doing, until God makes you his own.
Faith is a gift… something given to us… that we don’t possess or exert or produce. It is not that the Holy Spirit comes alongside and encourages our faith… He produces faith!! Faith is a gift…. no boasting… no ‘free will’… God saves… period. I know we believe this, but let’s quit with the foolishness that our decision directs the will of God. Are we above Jesus Christ, who submitted ALWAYS to his father’s will? Ever since you came into this world you have not had any choice but to respond in accordance with your desperately wicked heart… yes the wicked heart of a newborn…enmity with God from the womb. Why? Because of the curse of sin. We do not have any ability…inclination to draw near to a Holy God. NONE.
and yes… at the moment I am standing on my soapbox! It has been a wretched day and the only hope I have is in the God who saved me. This is not an emotional outcry… it is my clinging to the Rock that Hannah praised in her prayer in 1 Samuel as I read this morning. God is Good. God is SOVEREIGN (yeah, you’re hearing my emphasis) FREE… FREE.. FREE. NOTHING in this world has ever been free, nothing. Everything is indebted… owing. BUT not God… He is FREE to will and act according to His good pleasure (and His pleasure is always good). I cannot plan or perform or ordain as He does. His way is perfect… and I don’t always like His perfection. Difficulties… they’re difficult! Pain is no fun. Not knowing stuff.. is challenging at the least for a pitifully finite mind like my own.
The point is… again, that its all about God and He is the One worth looking to.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8-9
If I’m honest and willing to think about and practice these things… I am not looking at me, what my life is like, what I’m struggling with, what kind of bad hair day I’ve had… I’m focused on, submitted to, worshipping the Holy One of Israel… the Rock that Hannah praises… the Savior and LORD who accomplished everything to reach down and save me by His unquestionable authority and power and choosing.
… And all this from an old hymn that was called to my attention this evening… I think it is entitled ‘Yield Not to Temptation”, though I would title it ”Look Ever to Jesus”
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/y/i/yieldnot.htm
Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;Each victory will help you some other to win;Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue,Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
Refrain
Ask the Savior to help you,Comfort, strengthen and keep you;He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through.
Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain;Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true,Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
Refrain
To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown;Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down;He Who is our Savior our strength will renew;Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
manfully?… if endeavored in light of looking ever to Jesus, then yes.. manfully! Fight… Run… Obey… Rejoice!
…through faith we overcome.
How could it be that this ’faith’ is our own? No. Go back and look again if this is your disposition. You don’t have faith…never had it… never will, except by the grace of God. You belong to the Devil by man’s own doing, until God makes you his own.
Faith is a gift… something given to us… that we don’t possess or exert or produce. It is not that the Holy Spirit comes alongside and encourages our faith… He produces faith!! Faith is a gift…. no boasting… no ‘free will’… God saves… period. I know we believe this, but let’s quit with the foolishness that our decision directs the will of God. Are we above Jesus Christ, who submitted ALWAYS to his father’s will? Ever since you came into this world you have not had any choice but to respond in accordance with your desperately wicked heart… yes the wicked heart of a newborn…enmity with God from the womb. Why? Because of the curse of sin. We do not have any ability…inclination to draw near to a Holy God. NONE.
and yes… at the moment I am standing on my soapbox! It has been a wretched day and the only hope I have is in the God who saved me. This is not an emotional outcry… it is my clinging to the Rock that Hannah praised in her prayer in 1 Samuel as I read this morning. God is Good. God is SOVEREIGN (yeah, you’re hearing my emphasis) FREE… FREE.. FREE. NOTHING in this world has ever been free, nothing. Everything is indebted… owing. BUT not God… He is FREE to will and act according to His good pleasure (and His pleasure is always good). I cannot plan or perform or ordain as He does. His way is perfect… and I don’t always like His perfection. Difficulties… they’re difficult! Pain is no fun. Not knowing stuff.. is challenging at the least for a pitifully finite mind like my own.
The point is… again, that its all about God and He is the One worth looking to.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8-9
If I’m honest and willing to think about and practice these things… I am not looking at me, what my life is like, what I’m struggling with, what kind of bad hair day I’ve had… I’m focused on, submitted to, worshipping the Holy One of Israel… the Rock that Hannah praises… the Savior and LORD who accomplished everything to reach down and save me by His unquestionable authority and power and choosing.
… And all this from an old hymn that was called to my attention this evening… I think it is entitled ‘Yield Not to Temptation”, though I would title it ”Look Ever to Jesus”
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/y/i/yieldnot.htm
Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;Each victory will help you some other to win;Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue,Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
Refrain
Ask the Savior to help you,Comfort, strengthen and keep you;He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through.
Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain;Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true,Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
Refrain
To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown;Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down;He Who is our Savior our strength will renew;Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
manfully?… if endeavored in light of looking ever to Jesus, then yes.. manfully! Fight… Run… Obey… Rejoice!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Time well spent
I have been a busy boy! I had a wonderful week in the back country fishing! I had a great opportunity to work with Northern Frontier (a Christian Service Brigade Camp) as a co-counselor (along with my brother Al) for a group of 7 young men. We spent a week with these kids sharing the love of Christ with them in our great Gods wonderful creation!! Many fish were caught and many memories were made. More importantly the gospel was faithfully presented! I pray that many seeds were planted as some of the attributes of God were taught. It was time well spent. I praise God for this opportunity!
I also had the chance again this year to work with a week long soccer clinic that our church puts together each summer. I would say that on average we had 18 to 20 kids each night. Pretty good considering the size of our community! The gospel was clearly spelled out each night. I pray that lives are changed! Again, time well spent.
It is safe to say that much of my life in the past 2 weeks was devoted to sharing the love of Christ with teenagers. It is indeed very humbling for me to think that our Holy God would choose to use a filthy sinner such as myself to accomplish his will here on this helpless planet. Please pray with me that the relationships that were started during these two weeks would be God glorifying and that the seeds that were sown would grow to be maturity.
This has proven to be a reminder to me that I need to live each day in the spirit of ministry not just on those special occasions like Brigade or VBS or youth group. I am a Christian. As a Christian, by Gods grace each day needs to be lived in ministry.
I also had the chance again this year to work with a week long soccer clinic that our church puts together each summer. I would say that on average we had 18 to 20 kids each night. Pretty good considering the size of our community! The gospel was clearly spelled out each night. I pray that lives are changed! Again, time well spent.
It is safe to say that much of my life in the past 2 weeks was devoted to sharing the love of Christ with teenagers. It is indeed very humbling for me to think that our Holy God would choose to use a filthy sinner such as myself to accomplish his will here on this helpless planet. Please pray with me that the relationships that were started during these two weeks would be God glorifying and that the seeds that were sown would grow to be maturity.
This has proven to be a reminder to me that I need to live each day in the spirit of ministry not just on those special occasions like Brigade or VBS or youth group. I am a Christian. As a Christian, by Gods grace each day needs to be lived in ministry.
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