Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Bruised and Fainting

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.
– Isaiah 42:3

This verse about the Servant of the Lord is quoted in Matthew 12 in reference to Jesus.

Jesus will not break a bruised reed.
Jesus will not quench a faintly burning wick.

Jesus came not to break, but to bind up.
Jesus came not to snuff out, but to save.
Jesus came not to harm, but to heal.

Perhaps you are bruised this morning.

You may be bruised by your own sinful actions.  Jesus invites you to come to Him and find mercy, forgiveness, cleansing.

You may be bruised by chasing idols that have left you empty, without meaning, without hope. Jesus invites you to come to Him and find a new life with a new meaning and a new hope.

You may be bruised by what others have done. Jesus invites you to come to Him and find refuge, rest, comfort, and peace.

Perhaps you are a faintly burning wick this morning.

Faint and weary, you may be flickering, smoldering – and you are not sure you can go on. Jesus invites you to come to Him and relight your flickering wick in the flame of his fire. He invites you to look to Him to renew your strength.

Are you bruised? Are you faint? Jesus invites you to draw near to Him.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Heaven Will Never Be Boring – Dave Radford (DG)
Because God is infinite, he can be infinitely enjoyed. Jesus Christ is not concerned about running out of ways to keep up with your ever-increasing ability to enjoy him. His character is endlessly deep, unsearchable, and inexhaustible. Imagine the scope of the entire universe: trillions of shining stars, burning brighter than the sun; magnificent constellations; billions of spinning galaxies, all magnificent and vast, colorful and mysterious. Yet, they are finite. Brilliant, though they are, they fall utterly short in comparison to the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ. His love, grace, kindness, wisdom, power, and mercy each stand as never-ending, infinite universes for all your affections to delight in. 

All Of Us Need A Friend Like Martin Luther Once In A While – Justin Taylor
All of us need a Martin Luther in our lives now and then—a friend who is not afraid to stand on gospel promises and get in our face with gospel truth when we would rather wallow in self-pity.

Why the Church Needs Intergenerational Friendships – Joseph Rhea (TGC) Intergenerational community is part of God’s vision for the church (see Titus 2). It’s a beautiful one, and friendship is the key. When individual Christians believe it’s worth sacrificing for, our churches will begin reflecting that multigenerational beauty.

5 Reasons to Pray for Other Churches – Eric Bancroft (Ligonier)
When natural disasters take place, churches act lovingly to care for other affected churches. But why must we wait until problems strike and only help in physical ways? I propose that we act now with the greatest resource we have and for the greatest goal: that churches reflect the character of God.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day in fellowship with God’s people of all ages as you gather to worship our great Lord!

From Stealing To Giving

On By BrianIn Ten Commandments

TenCommandsThe Eighth Commandment tells us not to steal. We must not shoplift, take items from work, waste time while on the clock, lie on our expense accounts, or cheat on our taxes. We must not kidnap, embezzle, or commit fraud. We must not cheat on a test or plagiarize someone’s work. We must not rob someone of their reputation, or steal glory from God. We must not steal.

Instead we must work to provide for our needs in an honest way. We must earn what we have. And yet, God calls us to go further. We must work so that we can give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).

Instead of stealing, our lives are to be marked by giving. Instead of hands that grab what belongs to another, we are to have open hands that share with others. God is a giving God, and we, who are made in his image and are being conformed back into his image, should be a giving people.

Is your life characterized by giving?

Sermon Songs: Isaiah 41

On By BrianIn Isaiah Hymns

MusicNotes

Behold our God rules over all
He cares and helps us lest we fall
Be not dismayed and do not fear
For our God knows the future year

Fear not, our God will be with you
In your weakness, he’ll strengthen you
Our God will help and uphold you
For he has called and chosen you

– From a sermon on Isaiah 41
(To the tune of the “Doxology”)

Behold Our God In 2015

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, God & His Glory

Perhaps our greatest need as we begin a new year is to behold our God – to be reminded of who he is. Isaiah 41 gives us just the glimpse we need:

Our God Rules Over All (v1-7) – God raised up Cyrus to end the Babylonian empire and usher in the Persian empire so the people of Israel could return to their land. Indeed he rules over each generation that comes along – he is the first and the last. And our God will rule over this year. God has a plan for 2015, and he will fulfill his plan. He has a purpose for your life this year.

Our God Cares About Us and Helps Us (v8-20) – God has chosen his people to be his servants, and he will be with us in 2015. He will strengthen us in our weakness. He will help us in our trials. He will uphold us in our need.

Our God Knows The Future (v21-29) – The gods of the nations cannot tell the future – they are nothing, a delusion, empty wind. But our God predicted the coming of Cyrus about 200 years before he came onto the scene. Our God knows the future. He knows what will happen in 2015. Nothing this year will take him by surprise.

Our God rules over the coming year. He knows what the coming year will bring. He cares about us and will help us this year. So let us set our gaze upon him, and trust him with the 2015.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are two FREE devotionals you might find useful for the coming year:

Morning and Evening – Charles Spurgeon (audio)

TableTalk – January only (e-book)

And then here are a couple of good posts for your weekend reading:

Ten Practical Ways to Control Spending and Wisely Manage God’s Money – Randy Alcorn

Three Reasons to Attend Corporate Worship – Matthew Westerholm (DG)

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day in corporate worship with your local church!

New Years Collection

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Collections

Here are some good posts to consider as we enter the new year:

How To Make A New Year’s Resolution That Sticks – Tim Challies

10 Questions To Ask at the Start of a New Year – Donald Whitney

3 Reminders as You Enter the New Year 2015 – Brian Najapfour

A Holy and Happy 2015 To You – David Murray

Planning for the New Year – (My collection of new year links from last year)

Declaring The Glory

On By BrianIn Declaring the Glory

Fam2012 042

Near my home

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
– Psalm 19:1

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
– Romans 1:20

Bible Reading Plans

On By BrianIn Holidays

The new year is a great time to commit to start reading through the Bible.  There are many plans out there, and Tim Challies gives us a good list of options.

The one I tend to use can be found in the menu bar above.  It gives you one chapter from the New Testament for 5 days each week, and one Psalm and 2-3 chapter from the Old Testament for 6 days each week.  That gives you one day each week to catch up or review what you learned during the week.

Another approach is to focus on a specific book of the Bible for an extended time by reading it over and over again until you really know the book.  Joe Carter explains this approach here.

Whatever you do, I hope that the coming year will be a year of growth for you in knowing and living out the Word of our Lord!