God Has Been Gracious

On By BrianIn Miscellaneous1 Comment

I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant. – Genesis 32:10

God has dealt graciously with me. – Genesis 33:11

…the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.  – Genesis 35:3

This is Jacob’s testimony. 
Looking at his life, it is clear Jacob was not worthy,
and yet God dealt graciously with him.

Is this not our testimony as well?
Looking at our lives, we are not worthy either,
but God has dealt graciously with us.

He showers us with his steadfast love.
He remains faithful to us.
He answers our prayers.
He is always with us.

Sure, we will have difficult days.  Jacob did too.
And yet we can see God’s grace in the trials
as well as in the blessings.

Truly, God has dealt graciously with us!

Cleaning His House

On By BrianIn Book of Luke1 Comment

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold.
 – Luke 19:45

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body.  
 – 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Jesus came to his temple and found what should not have been there,
so he began to drive those things out.

You are his temple today. 
When he comes to his temple, does he find what should not be there?
Are there common sins he wants to drive out?
Are there idols he wants to drive out?
Are there wrong priorities he wants to drive out?
Will you cooperate with him in driving those things out?

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

A few years back I started going book by book through the Old Testament looking for examples of grace.  I only got through I Samuel.  This week I found this post by Dane Ortland who gives us a brief summary of how each book of the Bible shows forth God’s grace.

Mike Bullmore tells us from the Bible what we should expect from the Bible.  Do we come to the Bible with these expectations?

Finally, Tim Chester has been posting a number of Apologetic Sound Bites to help us answer skeptics who ask the following questions:
How can you claim there’s only one true religion?
Why do you want to force your opinion on me?
Why does God allow so much suffering?
Why doesn’t God reveal himself more clearly?

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day hearing the Word preached in your local church!

Thorns?

On By BrianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.  
 – Matthew 13:7-9

Are there thorns in your life seeking to choke you
and keep you from being fruitful?

Maybe it’s time to pull some weeds….

Our Treasure and Our Pearl

On By BrianIn All About Love, Heart

 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
– Matthew 13:44-46

Is Jesus the treasure and pearl for whom you would give all,
or is he merely an add-on to your life?

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts on loving others:

5 Love Languages of Leviticus – Leviticus 19:9-18 commands that we love our neighbor as ourself. What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?

3 Reasons to Prioritize Your Marriage Over Your Children – There is sometimes a tendency to prioritize our children to the neglect of our marriage. There are at least three reasons that make prioritizing our children over our marriage both foolish and dangerous….

Parents and the Image of God – They [children] are image bear­ers.  They are crea­tures, made by God and for God.  They are given glory and honor by God.  They have inher­ent value, of greater worth than ani­mals.  How we treat the image of God is how we treat God.  The dig­nity of humans is built into the Law and the Prophets and the Gospel.  And we must see our chil­dren as image bearers.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord as you love your fellow image-bearers.

Pray For Your Pastor

On By BrianIn Church Life, Habit of Prayer

You ought to pray for those whom the Holy Spirit has made overseers over you.  This is what Saint Paul begs again and again of the churches to whom he writes…surely, if the great Saint Paul, that chosen vessel, that favorite of heaven, needed the most importunate prayers of his Christian converts, much more do the ordinary ministers of the gospel stand in need of the intercession of their respective flocks.

– George Whitefield
(Taken from George Whitefield Daily Readings edited by Randall J. Pederson)

Top Books from 2011

On By BrianIn Book Look

I love to read.  Here are the top five books I read in 2011 that I’d recommend to you:

Redemption by Mike Wilkerson
The subtitle sums it up well: “Freed by Jesus from the Idols We Worship and the Wounds We Carry.”  Using the book of Exodus, Wilkerson shows us how we can be redeemed from our idols and wounds.  Biblical, challenging, and applicable.  Highly recommended.

Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden
I have been reading biographies on Jonathan Edwards.  This one is 640 pages.  If you want to learn about Edwards, this is the place to go.

Fresh Encounters by Daniel Henderson
This book transformed my view of corporate prayer and gave me a burden to see more prayer in the church.  Prayer meetings don’t have to be boring laundry lists.  Prayer meetings should be fresh encounters with God.  Read this book, and then pass it on.

Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave by Edward T. Welch
I read this book for a sermon series I was doing.  It is filled with good gospel-powered teaching.  If you are struggling with an addiction, get a friend and work through this book together.  If you are not struggling with an addiction, read this book to help others, and to help immunize yourself.

Redeeming Singleness by Barry Danylak
I read this book for another sermon series.  Danylak traces singleness throughout the Bible.  It is a fascinating Biblical study.  Recommended for anyone who is single or knows someone who is single.  You may never look at singleness in the same way again.

Scripture Memory Cards

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture3 Comments

One of my new year’s resolutions is to refocus on Scripture memory.  In the past I made verse cards which can take a bit of time to do.  I recently found a website that makes verse cards for you.  All you do is put the references in, choose your preferences, click the button, and print your cards.  Check it out at http://www.mcscott.org/index.html

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading – all on the topic of worship and idolatry:

Why I John Ends With A Command – John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart: Has something or someone besides Jesus the Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear and delight?

The Idolatry of Spiritual Laziness – Laziness is idolatry. It is closely related to its opposite—workaholism. Both the sins of laziness and workaholism are sins of self-worship. The behavior looks different, but the root idolatry is the same.

Worship Distorted – The root of idolatry is pride….  Pride is seen as detestable to God precisely because it steals from God’s glory and his preeminence. Pride is rebellion, but it is much more than rebellion against God’s authority. Pride is self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. A proud heart sees itself as central and God as the one who must find his place of orbit in the proud heart’s universe.

Why Do You Worship – Worship is not first an outward act; it is an inner spiritual treasuring of the character and the ways of God in Christ.  It is a cherishing of Christ, a being satisfied with all that God is for us in Christ.  When these things are missing, there is no worship, no matter what forms or expressions are present.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God with your local church!