If you can't say anything nice ...

Sometimes the best answer is to say nothing at all ...

• Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. Proverbs 17:27-28
• When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Proverbs 10:19
• Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19
  

Christ at Work! Unlocking the "Mystery" of the Bible

In May, Dan Pentimone taught a Bible Study at the BSG in which he gave an overview of the entire Bible in 3 lessons! This was one of our most successful studies to date! Dan was really bringing the Word and the Spirit was pleased to use him! If you can take a listen to these messages and look over the powerpoints and handout, I guarantee you will walk away with a 'big picture' view of this Great Story (of which we are a part!) and a fresh sense of wonder at the God who authored it!

• Part 1 * PPT1 * AUDIO1
  
• Part 2 * PPT2 * AUDIO2
• Part 3 * PPT3 * AUDIO3

Here is the handout that pulls it all together.

God is our Secret Place and Hiding Place

On this theme of God as the believer's Hiding Place/Secret Place, here are two resources:

1) Fantastic sermon called the Secret Place by Fred Juhnke on Psalm 91
2) Download Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place, based on Psalm 119:13-14*

*Hurry on this, I think it is only for April!

Celebrate the Creator and Sustainer of the Earth!

Thought it would be fun since tomorrow is 'Earth Day' to list a sample of passages in the Psalms that include the word 'earth'. I am thankful that Jesus Christ created the earth, and further that He came to it in order to give me life and a future when I die!

Enjoy!

Psalm 24:1
The EARTH is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,

Psalm 33:8
Let all the EARTH fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

Psalm 33:8
Let all the EARTH fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!


Psalm 65:9
You visit the EARTH and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.

Psalm 72:19
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole EARTH be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

Psalm 74:17
You have fixed all the boundaries of the EARTH;
you have made summer and winter.

Psalm 77:18
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the EARTH trembled and shook.

Psalm 83:18
that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the EARTH.

Psalm 89:11
The heavens are yours; the EARTH also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the EARTH and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Psalm 104:14
You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the EARTH


Psalm 119:90
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the EARTH, and it stands fast.

Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and EARTH.


Psalm 135:6
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
in heaven and on EARTH,
in the seas and all deeps.

Read the New Testament before year end! New Excel Tool

Ever read through the New Testament? If not, or if it's been a while, ... it's now easier than ever! In fact, CCW has a reading plan that will take you through it in 90 days!

I thought it would be cool to put this 90-day plan in a spreadsheet (CLICK HERE) with the following features:

• Input a start date and all dates auto-populate so you know what to read on what date
• Check-boxes (for you 'box-checkers') so you know what passages you have read*.
  

Download this file (Microsoft Excel) today! If you get started by October 3rd you can have the New Testament read by the end of the year!

Soli Deo Gloria!

*Note: checked boxes are not meritorious toward salvation (i.e. Titus 3:5, Eph 2:8-9), however the Scripture is God's chosen instrument for revealing Himself to sinners (Rom 10:17) and causing growth in the believer (2 Tim 3:16)!

Is Purgatory a Biblical Doctrine? Part 3

Scripture Against Purgatory

Having defined Purgatory, and examined the Scriptures used by Roman Catholicism to justify a belief in Purgatory, we now turn to consider the Biblical evidence against it. There are primarily three arguments used by the Reformers to clearly demonstrate that purgatory is not only absent from Scripture, but is contradictory to it.

1) Only two soul-states are given in Scripture (Heaven/Hell)

Consider this quote: “The Bible always describes the state of the dead in terms of two conditions not three. The Bible knows of heaven and hell, the place of the righteous and of the wicked after death, bliss and torment, but of no third place. In the Lord's parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16, again the beggar is in paradise and the rich man in torment. This is the alternative. If there is a third it is astonishing that the Bible never says anything about it.”

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' (Luke 16:19-31)

2) Death is described anticipated in glorious good news, not a passageway into suffering and torment.

Scripture clearly teaches that when the believer dies, they are in the immediate presence of Christ. “The apostle Paul said, ‘I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better’ (Philippians 1:23). Paul is saying that the very moment after physical death occurs, he will be with Christ. … Moreover, for believers ‘to be absent from the body’ is to be ‘at home with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:6-8) (Rhodes, p 239)”

“The Bible often openly and emphatically asserts the glorification of the Christian's soul at the moment of death. (Phil 1:23, 2 Tim 4:7,8; 1 Cor 15:55) Could Paul possibly have meant that Christ has removed the sting of death, but that death ushers the believer into perhaps centuries of suffering for his sin? (Rayburn)”

Consider also this line of reasoning by Ron Rhodes (p 237)

“Consider what Roman Catholics are saying in regard to the doctrine of purgatory. Let’s say you are a good-hearted Catholic, and you do all the things required of your Church throughout life. You regularly attend Mass, you work hard to maintain sanctifying grace in your soul by being faithful, and you confess your sins to a priest when you do wrong. You are always careful to participate in the sacrament of penance after committing what you think may be a mortal sin. … You do all this and more, in keeping with what your Church tells you. When you die, you will likely still have to go to purgatory before being granted entrance into heaven. Throughout someone’s lifetime he or she could attend over a thousand Masses and still die not fully purified from sin. Protestants respond that this hardly seems like the “good news” of the gospel (Ephesians 2:8,9).

So we have seen that the Scriptures describe two places in the afterlife, heaven and hell. We have seen that in the Bible, death for the believer is described as a glorious passageway into the presence of Jesus, not a portal to suffering. But most importantly, this belief that we can suffer to pay for our own sins in this life or in purgatory, is an affront to the Gospel of the blood of Christ, which is sufficient to cleanse us from our sin.

3) Purgatory is a rejection of the sufficiency of Christ’s complete and perfect work on the Cross for our sins.

From a scriptural perspective, when Jesus died on the cross He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus completed the work of redemption at the cross. No purgatory is needed for those who trust in Christ. In His high priestly prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4 NIV, emphasis added). First John 1:7 (NIV) says, “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (emphasis added). Romans 8:1 (NIV) says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (emphasis added).

We are cleansed not by some alleged fire of purgatory but by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14). Jesus “Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). It is through Jesus’ work on the cross that we are made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). The apostle Paul spoke of this life as “not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9). It is through this wonderful work of Christ on the cross that believers are “blameless,” and hence are in no need of some alleged purgatory (Jude 1:24; see also Ephesians 1:4).

Rhodes then points to a key verse to share with Roman Catholics who argue for purgatory.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

“In other words, no further purging is necessary because Christ has perfected ‘for all time’ those who have believed in Him. That which is already perfect ‘for all time’ needs no further purging. There is no need for purgatory for those who have truly trusted in Christ as Savior. (Rhodes, 239)”

Our sins are cleansed in the blood of Christ at the moment He died for us, absorbing the Father’s wrath on our behalf. As the Reformers point out, “The notion that we must satisfy for our sins by paying the price for them, enduring punishment for them, was an insult to the perfection of the redemption of Christ, of his sufferings for our sins, and assumed the fundamentally erroneous notion that we could pay for our sins -- even their temporal penalties -- if we had to.” Rayburn continues, “It is crucial to the entire biblical teaching of salvation and of Christ's redeeming work to understand that for the man or woman who is in Christ by faith, "there is, therefore, now no condemnation." As the author of Hebrews puts it in 1:3, "After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the Right Hand of the Majesty in heaven!" The work was finished. Or, as the same author has it later, "Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." [Heb 10:13-14]

As the Scripture says it in a hundred different ways, we are healed by his stripes, not ours; the chastisement of our sin fell on him, not us. There is no sense in which the afflictions of believers, in this life, "pay" for their sins in the sense that they remove the guilt or penalty of those sins. They are only chastisements by which we are taught to love and fear God. They are discipline not satisfaction. They have no virtue to remove guilt or to remit penalty. Christ alone, the infinite and infinitely perfect sacrifice, can do that!

This is not just a doctrine where the Protestants disagree with Roman Catholics. It hits at the very center of the Gospel. As Sauer puts it, “purgatory must lead men away from God because it leads men away from the cross.”

We must put our complete and total trust in the Perfect Work of Jesus Christ on the cross, as the only basis for our entrance into Heaven. Purgatory does not exist. If it did, the Holy Spirit would have been sure to include it in the Scriptures.

We have seen how the few Scriptures that are used in support of purgatory do not hold up in light of Scripture as a whole. We have seen also, that there are many passages which contradict the concept of Purgatory (Romans 8:1, Hebrews 10:13-14, Hebrews 1:3). Finally, we have seen that the idea of Scripture denies the sufficiency of the Perfect, once for all cleansing from sin that Christ’s death on the Cross brings to the believer. Please listen to this plea by Joe Mizzi.

Perhaps up till now you have hoped to go to a place of suffering to undergo cleansing from sin. The opportunity to experience purification and complete forgiveness is now, while you are still living. God is compassionate and He really forgives and cancels the debt of all those who turn to Him by faith. Look to Jesus the Deliverer, whose death on Calvary is a full and adequate payment for the sins of His people. His blood was not shed in vain; it actually purifies the soul from all defilement. Do you believe in purgatory? I hope you will affirm, 'Yes, I believe in God's purgatory. My purgatory is the Lord Jesus Christ!"

I close with the words of the great hymn, Jesus Paid it All:

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)”

Sources
-Rev. Dr. Robert S. Rayburn, Roman Catholicism: Purgatory (Sermon preached at Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) on March 15, 1998
-Dr Joe Mizzi; Purgatory http://www.justforcatholics.org/00.11.pdf

Is Purgatory a Biblical Doctrine? Part 2

Today we consider our look at the Roman Catholic (RC) doctrine of Purgatory, and whether it is a Scriptural concept. We will consider a few of the main texts used to establish the text as Scriptural.

Matthew 12:31-32

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32 ESV, emphasis mine)

The Catholic Church focuses in on this last phrase, “either in this age or in the age to come” as evidence for the case for purgatory. “Roman Catholics sometimes reason that if certain sins like blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven in the 'age to come,' then other sins may be forgiven in the 'age to come.' The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. (Rhodes, 247-8)"

I was happy to hear this verse came up in our discussion, because there is a rather simple response. Rhodes summarizes:

When this text says that the sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come, this is simply a Jewish idiomatic way of saying that the sin will never be forgiven. This becomes clear in the parallel account in Mark 3:29: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (emphasis added). Hence, there is no support for the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory to be found in these verses. (Rhodes, 248)

James White adds, “Jesus is not, then, referring to the possibility of cleansing in the future, but is instead speaking of an "eternal sin," one that has no forgiveness whatsoever. If the Roman interpretation of Matthew 12 is valid, *then Mark's rendition is not.* Obviously, this cannot be, hence, it is the Roman interpretation that must be rejected. (White, Online Debate).”

Luke 12:59

I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.

This same concept is also found in the parallel passage in Matthew 5:26. “Some Roman Catholic theologians such as Ludwig Ott believe this parable lends support to the doctrine of purgatory, teaching a “time-limited condition of punishment in the other world.”

Rhodes’ response is given here (p 249-50): “The Roman Catholic interpretation is completely foreign to the context. That Jesus is referring to a physical prison during earthly life and not a spiritual prison in the afterlife is clear from the previous verse: “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison” (Matthew 5:25) Jesus is simply giving a practical teaching about reconciliation of human conflicts and the avoidance of situations that naturally lead to anger and personal injury (see Matthew 5:21-26).”

So this passage is referring to a physical prison, not a spiritual one after death. Not only that, but the idea of a prison-like purgatory, Rhodes points out, is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture that Christ on the cross paid for all the consequences of our sins. We will see many passages in the next section.

For now, let us look at the next verse used in support of the RC idea of purgatory.

Revelation 21:27

But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

RCs interpret this as supporting the doctrine of purgatory, for “only completely pure souls [can] be assumed into Heaven (Apoc. 21:27).” (Rhodes, 252)

We see again that purgatory is being read into the passage when it is not there. “It is true that “nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into” God’s kingdom, but that does not thereby mean that purgatory is the instrument through which people become purged of uncleanness. … our cleansing and purging from sin is based entirely on the finished work of Christ (1 John 1:7, Rom 8:1). (Rhodes, p 252)

1 Cor 3:10-15

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Ludwig Ott tells us that the Latin fathers took 1 Corinthians 3:15 “To mean a transient purification punishment in the other world” Vatican II described purgatory as a place where the souls of the dead make expiation “in the next life through fire and torments or purifying punishments.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes purgatory as a place of “cleansing fire.” (Rhodes, 244)

James White offers this excellent resource on the passage we’re now considering. In it, he gives a thorough exegesis of the passage. Then he gives several reasons why it cannot be used in support of purgatory. Finally, he responds to the misuse of the passage by many leading RC apologists, especially Robert Sungenis. Here is the section listing the arguments against purgatory in 1 Corinthians 3.

First, the passage is about Christian workers, not all the Christian faithful.

Next, the passage says nothing about the purification of individuals. Works are tested in this passage. Rome teaches souls are purified from the temporal punishment of sins by suffering satispassio in purgatory: but there is nothing about temporal punishments, satispassio, or suffering of individuals for their sins, in this passage. All these are extraneous to the text itself.

Further, the insertion of the Roman concepts into the passage turns it on its head. Remember, those with works of gold, silver, and precious stones (i.e., Christian workers who had godly motivations) appear in this passage: their works are subject to the same testing as the others. If this “fire” is relevant to purgatory, then are we to assume that even those with godly motives “suffer”? Are there no saints involved in building upon the foundation?

But most telling is this: the fire of which Paul speaks reveals. It does not purge. If this were the fire of Rome's purgatory, it would not simply demonstrate that gold is, in fact, gold, or hay is truly hay. The sufferings of purgatory are supposed to sanctify and change a person’s soul, enabling them to enter into the very presence of God! If this passage supported Rome's position, it would speak of purifying the gold, making it more pure, spotless, precious, and ready for God's presence. It would speak of the fire removing wood or other "impurities" from a person's soul, not simply telling us that the works a Christian minister did were or were not done with God's sole glory in mind. But the text speaks of a revelation of the quality of a man's work, which is wholly incompatible with Rome's use of the passage.

Modern Roman Catholics have started to move away from the term “fire” (though this was, inarguably, what attracted the attention of Rome to the passage in the first place), and seek to focus more upon the suffering of a loss, so that only the second group is seen as being relevant to purgatory. Of course, this is made possible by the constant repetition of the assertion, “Rome has never officially declared the meaning of this passage, nor that there is fire in purgatory, nor that purgatory is a place, nor that we experience time in purgatory...” etc and etc. The fact that one can go into history and determine with great clarity what was taught and believed only a few centuries ago does not seem to matter.

Finally, it should be noted that in Roman Catholic theology, a person sent to purgatory has already been judged to be in need of further purging (sanctification) before entering into the presence of God. Yet, there is no mention of such a judgment here; in fact, most RC interpretations see this as the judgment itself. (White, 1Cor3)

There are several other obscure passages (i.e. 2 Tim 1:18, Col 1:24) used in defense of purgatory, however most are again ‘read into’ the passage as we have seen, so no space will be given for them here. We will instead turn to the passages which contradict the idea of suffering in a transitional state so that a ‘saved’ child of God can be purged of sin before being accepted into Heaven.

Tomorrow we will turn the to the Scriptures which contradict the idea of Purgatory.

Sources
-White, James; An online debate http://vintage.aomin.org/ChanDeb1.html
-White, James; 1 Cor 3:10-15: Exegesis and Rebuttal of Roman Catholic Misuse http://vintage.aomin.org/1Cor3.html

Is America God's Chosen Covenant Nation?

Nothing very profound this morning. Was just reading Jeremiah and thinking about how many people look at America as God's chosen covenant nation and apply many of the passages meant for Israel to the United States (i.e. 2 Chron 7:14).

These lines are to me striking. If God judged His own covenant people of Israel, how much more will He severely judge America, that has so much sin!

“How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
and have sworn by those who are no gods.
When I fed them to the full,
they committed adultery
and trooped to the houses of whores.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
each neighing for his neighbor's wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
Jeremiah 5:7-9

They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.
They set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
Jer 5:24-29

America is not God's covenant people. Certainly there are a few that He has chosen out of Her, but we cannot expect the blessing of God because some of our founders were God fearing men (though many were deists and Universalists). Tim Juhnke preached a helpful message on this topic, and John MacArthur of course has written 'Can God Bless America?'

The point of this is that we should not set our hope in America, but in Christ who alone can save us from the thing that is most fearful: the wrath of God against sin. God's chosen nation is His church (1 Peter 2:9).

God provides salvation

This morning, I am once again amazed at the unity of Scripture: God has provided a way of salvation to a people He has chosen in His mercy and grace. We all are guilty of His divine wrath, which will one day be poured out in a terrible display of cosmos-shaking destruction. But the passages I am looking at this morning shout the glorious praises of the One who provides shelter from His wrath.

King David, who lived one thousand years before Christ, looked forward to the Gate of Righteousness:

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:19-24)

How would a holy and just God overlook our sin and forgive us while still remaining just and righteous? Three centuries later, the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the Suffering Servant, who would be crushed on our behalf.

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Isa 52:13-53:12

So when David said, "Open to me the gates of righteousness, ... This is the gate of the Lord" he was referring to Jesus Christ, who said of Himself:

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 10:9, 14:6)

Another passage I read was in the very last book of the Bible, Revelation 22:14:

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

How are these robes washed? Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps? Self-improvement? Impossible.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 13:23)

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

We are cleansed only by the blood of the Lamb, who was slain! As the opening verses of Revelation proclaim, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. (Rev 1:5)

Finally, the first chapter of Matthew announces His coming to Joseph, and the angel instructs him:

"You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)”

As we heard about in a sobering 'Father's Day Message' the Universe will one day be utterly destroyed (not by global warming or a nuclear holocaust). In an absolute dissolution, de-creation, the cosmos will shake as the Day of the Lord comes crashing out of Heaven. Read Matthew 24:29-31 and Revelation 6:12-17.

Do you know the One who alone can protect against this day of Judgment? Repent and believe the Gospel!

Look to Christ not your circumstances

I love God's Word and the tapestry that is woven throughout every book. Numbers 21 contains a short story (Numbers 21:4-9) that Jesus refers to thousands of years later (John 3:14), to illustrate faith in Himself. D.A. Carson has this to say about this passage in Numbers.

THE BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE BRONZE SNAKE (Num. 21:4-9) is probably better known than other Old Testament accounts of similar brevity, owing to the fact that it is referred to by Jesus himself in John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” What is the nature of the parallel that Jesus is drawing?

In the Numbers account, we are told that as the people continue their God-directed route through the desert, they “grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses” (21:4-5). They even whine against the food that God has been providing for them, the daily provision of manna: “We detest this miserable food” (21:5). In consequence the Lord sends judgment in the form of a plague of venomous snakes. Many die. Under the lash of punishment, the people confess to Moses, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you” (21:7). They beg Moses to intercede with God. God instructs Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole; “anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (21:8). So Moses casts a bronze snake and places it on a pole, and it has just the effect that God had ordained.

So here we have an ungrateful people, standing in judgment of what God has done, questioning their leader. They face the judgment of God, and the only release from that judgment is a provision that God himself makes, which they receive by simply looking to the bronze serpent.

The situation of Nicodemus is not so very different in John 3. His opening remarks suggest that he sees himself as capable of standing in judgment of Jesus (John 3:1-2), when in fact he really has very little understanding of what Jesus is talking about (3:4, 10). The world is condemned and perishing. Its only hope is in the provision that God makes — in something else that is lifted up on a pole, or more precisely, in someone who is lifted up on a cross. This is the first occurrence of “lifted up” in John’s gospel. As the chapters unwind, it becomes almost a technical expression for Jesus’ crucifixion. The only remedy, the only escape from God’s judgment, depends on looking to this provision God has made: We must believe in the Son of Man who is “lifted up” if we are to have eternal life.

That word still comes to us. Massive muttering is a sign of culpable unbelief. Sooner or later we will answer to God for it. Our only hope is to look to the One who was hoisted on a pole.

For the Love of God, May 12th

This passage is not for 'seekers' only, but for every Christian. Do you find yourself grumbling and complaining due to life's circumstances (as I find myself doing this morning?) Repent of your lack of faith and look to Christ, who has provided salvation for us! Look to Him for the answers to all your problems and you will never be without a certain hope!

...looking to 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 12:2)

Can we see God?

I do not recall Exodus 24:9-11 jumping out at me the way it did this morning. I was confused by what it said about some men who, with Moses, 'saw God'. Elsewhere the Bible says that 'the soul who sees God will die', right? D.A. Carson explains this apparent contradiction...

To strengthen the allegiance of the covenantal community, God graciously discloses himself not only to Moses but to Aaron and his sons, and to seventy elders. Whenever Old Testament writers say that certain people “saw God” (24:10-11) or the like, inevitably there are qualifications, for as this book says elsewhere, no one can look on the face of God and live (33:20). Thus when we are told that the elders saw the God of Israel, the only description is “something like” a pavement “under his feet” (24:10). God remains distanced. Yet this is a glorious display, graciously given to deepen allegiance, while a special mediating role is preserved for Moses, who alone goes all the way up the mountain. (FTLG)

It is shocking to think about what Jesus said to those living in his time over a thousand years later. He said that in seeing Him they have seen God! He claimed to be God! John Blanchard, in my new favorite book (Right with God) discusses the 'I Am' passages in the Gospel of John (John 6:35; John 8:12; John 10:9; John 11:25-26; John 14:6; John 15:1).

In the plainest way, Jesus claimed that there had never been his equal in the history of the world, nor would such a person ever appear again. He was unique, and every other person in history would need to assess his life in the context of his person, life, work and teaching. (p. 66)

Quite arrogant for anyone other than God! Later Blanchard discusses my favorite passage dealing with the deity of Christ.

One one occasion, Jewish leaders, angry at the extravagant claims Jesus made, asked Him, ''Are you greater than our father Abraham? (John 8:53) and went on, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!' (John 8:57). Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM!' (John 8:58). The two words in capitals are most important. If Jesus was only claiming to have been older than Abraham - and that would have been amazing enough! - he would have said 'Before Abraham was, I was'. Instead, he deliberately used the words 'I AM'. To discover why, we must go back to the Old Testament. When called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses asked by what name he should identify God to the children of Israel. God's answer is recorded in Exodus 3:14, 'God said to Moses, "I am who I am." This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you."' To the devout Jew, this remained one of God's distinctive names, and to hear Jesus (who was also a Jew and knew its meaning perfectly well) using it as his own was too much. It was blasphemy, and demanded death by stoning, 'they picked up stones to stone him' (John 8:59). It is obvious from this that both Jesus and the Jews knew the implication - Jesus claimed the right to use God's Name as his own, as he did again in John 13:13 and John 18:5. (p 67-68)

Blanchard went on to say that Jesus often claimed to be equal with God (Mark 9:37; John 5:23; John 8:19; John 10:30; John 12:44; John 12:45; John 14:7,9,11; John 14:23), and that other Bible authors claimed the same thing of Him (John 1:1,14; Romans 9:5; Col 1:15, 2:9; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 Tim 6:14, 15).

The Bible says that God no longer reveals Himself through the terrifying smoke and fire of His manifestation on Mount Sinai. He no longer speaks to us merely through the words of His prophets. He has now revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. ³The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1:1-3b)

So no one has seen God and lived to tell about it. Not even Moses when He went up to the Mountain to receive the Law, saw God in all his glory, but rather just a glimpse of the background of His glory (Exodus 33:18). Yet, Jesus Christ is God in human form, and we can see God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, as He is revealed in the Scriptures! This verse sums it up so well.

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1:18)

While many claim that the God of the New Testament is a 'kindler/gentler' God who is passive and inept, please do not make the same mistake. Consider that Hell is discussed much more than Heaven in the New Testament, and the pages of Scripture are full of warnings to repent and fall on the mercy of Christ before it is too late. I invite you to bow to His authority and worship Him today!


There will come a day, described in 2 Thessalonians, "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power ¹⁰on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. (2 Thes 1:7b-10)"

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30)

Fab Friday sale - Vine's Bible study tool only $10!

This tool is on sale today at Christianbook.com. To get this book for $10 bucks is a steal! Here is what you're getting (from the website) ...

This convenient one volume combines Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words and Unger and White's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament. This book allows you to easily access the alphabetized English equivalents of the Greek or Hebrew words from which they are translated. Throughout the text the most significant biblical words are illustrated by Scripture passages, comments, cross-references, ancient and modern meanings, precise etymologies, historical notes, and clearly defined technical information. Each original language is indexed, and the addition of a topical index allows you to access all the dictionary entries pertinent to specific New Testament ideas and teachings.Keyed to Strong's.

To whom much is given, much will be required! I've just heaped a good dose of condemnation on myself if this thing sits on my shelf!

Good works: public or private?

Martyn Lloyd Jones settles an apparent contradiction between Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 6:1 ...

The Christian life is always a matter of balance and poise. It is a life that gives the impression of being self-contradictory. ... We read the Sermon on the Mount and we come across something like this: 'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' Then we read, 'Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father which is in heaven.' And a man looking at that says, 'Well, what am I to do? If I am to do all these things in secret ... how can men know I am doing these things, and how can they possibly see this light which is shining in me?'

But, of course, this is only a superficial contradiction ... we are called to do both these things at one and the same time. The Christian is to live in such a way that men looking at him, and seeing the quality of his life, will glorify God. He must always remember at the same time that he is not to do things in order that he may attract attention to himself. He must not desire to be seen of men, he is never to be self-conscious. But, clearly, this balance is a fine and delicate one; so often we tend to go to one extreme or the other. ... But here we are called to avoid both extremes. It is a delicate life, it is a sensitive life; but if we approach it in the right way, and under the leading of the Holy Spirit, the balance can be maintained. ... Let us never forget this, the Christian at one and the same time is to be attracting attention to himself, and yet not attracting attention to himself.

From Daily Readings with Martyn Lloyd Jones (Jan 19th)

Opening Eyes by Joni Eareckson Tada

My wife forwarded this to me. Great reminder to cherish God's Word ...

Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
November 12, 2009
Opening Eyes

"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the earsof the deaf
unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb
shout for joy"-- Isaiah 35:5-6

Dale stepped up to the pulpit and heaved onto it an incredibly large bookwith thick pages. As an elder lowered the microphone for him, Dale flipped toa section in the middle of the book. He adjusted his black glasses as if hecould see and began to read: "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the kneesthat give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear;your God will come.'"

I immediately recognized the familiar passage from Isaiah 35. Dale's huge andcumbersome book was the Bible written in Braille. But not the entire Bible.The volume from which he read that morning represented only several booksfrom the Old Testament. He had left most of his Bible at home because hecouldn't carry the entire thing!

The blind man continued his reading, with his hands placed squarely on thepage and fingers constantly moving over the bumps and points. He read withfirm authority. Every once in a while he paused while his fingers encountereda staple in the page (his way of underlining a verse).

Dale looked so small behind the big book and the even bigger pulpit. But inmy eyes, he seemed so large. The Bible must be incredibly precious to Dale, seeing that it requires such effort to read it, to underline a verse, and to even cart it around! I glanced at my Bible on my lap. I knew, after that day, I would never look at it quite the same.

How precious is your Bible to you? Is it time for you to see the Bible afresh as the Word of God, a cherished communication from our heavenly Father? Read the entire chapter of Isaiah 35 today and relish in the truth and hope which is the Word of God.

* * * * *

Heavenly Father, thank You that You loved us enough to reveal Yourself to usthrough the Word. Help me to read it with a fresh vision today.

Blessings,

Joni and Friends Taken from More Precious Than Silver.
Copyright © 1998 by Joni Eareckson Tada. Used by permission. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

116 Video - To Live is Christ by Trip Lee

As a follow up to Dan's Christ-exalting "Yes!" for God's Gift of Music post, here's a video from 116 (as in Romans 1:16) about Philippians. It's great to see the lyrics because I must admit I can't always follow all the great content being poured into these great rhymes! Enjoy this exposition of Philippians by Trip Lee ...



HT: RR

Is God asleep in the cockpit?

Is God asleep in the cockpit? Sometimes it seems that way when we suffer, or see sin go unpunished and natural disasters claim lives. But is God aloof and uncaring? Is He asleep?

Jesus’ disciples said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? (Mark 4:38) while he slept in their boat. A boat which was filling with water from the crashing waves. But he calmly got up and rebuked the wind and the raging sea and all was still, like glass. The response? “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him? (Mark 4:41)”

So, in a sense, yes. He is asleep when we go through rough waters. Yet He is so sovereign over the events of history (to the minutest detail) that nothing happens apart from His intimate knowledge and providence. So to us He appears to be asleep ... clueless. But unlike the two pilots who played on their laptops while flying 150 miles past their desination, the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed holding all things together (Col 1:17). But it is no effort for Him to do so and this lack of effort can easily be misunderstood by weak-faithed creatures like us.

So Christ provides for the safety of His elect. What about food? In America it is hard to comprehend what it is like to go hungry, to wonder where the next meal will come from. Every American is richer than most everyone else in the world. But still we worry about our finances. Should we? Is Christ asleep or indifferent?

Mark paints a picture of Christ that is larger than life. He is actively going about healing lepers (Mark 1:40-45) and the blind (Mark 8:22-25) and the deaf (Mark 7:31-37) and even the dead (Mark 5:35-42). He walks on water (Mark 6:45-52) and casts out powerful demons (Mark 5:1-13) and multiplies food to feed the five thousand (Mark 6:39-44) and later, the four thousand (Mark 8:6-9). The word ‘immediately’ is all over the place in this real life action drama!

But Mark takes time to record the teaching that complements all these miracles. Jesus is alive and to be trusted. He has conquered sin and death and therefore Christians can trust Him to provide. Jesus Himself gives the answer to those who worry about their finances, and gets to the heart of that worry. It is a lack of faith and a wrong focus.

"Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20"And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." 21And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand? (Mark 8:17-21)”

Matthew 6:25-34 is perhaps the most famous passage about not worrying and is a great one to read when we find ourselves worrying about finances. But the point I want to make is that before we can stop worrying, we need to study the Person and the works of Christ so that we can fully understand why it is we’re not to worry.

Only when we read about Jesus in the Gospels, and His constant provision for His disciples and powerful display over Creation. Only when we have this fresh in our minds, can we fully trust the One who has done all these things, and therefore be encouraged by Matthew 6 and not worry about our life and our finances.

In fact, we will not only find relief from our anxiety about money and safety, but we’ll find ourselves taking up our cross in ways we never thought possible! Peter didn’t understand when Jesus told the disciples that He would be killed on the cross. He tried to rebuke the Master for talking like that. His problem was a wrong focus.

“Get behind me, Satain!” Jesus said to the one who had just confessed Him as the Christ in a most profound way (Mark 8:29-30). The answer to our lack of faith? “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. (Mark 8:34)”

Parable of the Sower and Take up your cross

I read a couple of passages in the Gospel of Mark this morning that have sunk beneath the surface of my mind, and hopefully heart. I’m praying this morning that these will be in the forefront of my mind as I lead my family and make important decisions.

First, the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4.

And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3"Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." 9And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
"they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven."
13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
Mark 4:2-20 (ESV)

Lord, please let me be the one sown on the good soil. Let me “hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:20)”

Later, I read this.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Mark 8:31-39 (ESV)

Lord, let me not be ashamed of you. Let me deny myself and take up my cross and follow you. Let me lose my life for you and for the Gospel. May Christ be my treasure.

How to Get the Most from Reading your Bible

A friend sent me this very helpful article. I'll post here so you can check out the Scripture by moving your mouse over the references.

How to Get the Most from Reading your Bible by Thomas Watson
Abridged and Modernised by Matthew Vogan

---

1. Remove hindrances. (a) remove the love of every sin (b) remove the distracting concerns of this world, especially covetousness [Matt. 13:22] (c) Don't make jokes with and out of Scripture.

2. Prepare your heart. [1 Sam. 7:3] Do this by: (a) collecting your thoughts (b) purging unclean affections and desires (c) not coming to it rashly or carelessly.

3. Read it with reverence, considering that each line is God speaking directly to you.

4. Read the books of the Bible in order.

5. Get a true understanding of Scripture. [Ps. 119:73] This is best achieved by comparing relevant parts of Scripture with each other.

6. Read with seriousness. [Deut. 32:47] The Christian life is to be taken seriously since it requires striving [Luke 13:24] and not falling short [Heb. 4:1].

7. Persevere in remembering what you read. [Ps. 119:52] Don't let it be stolen from you [Matt. 13:4,19]. If it doesn't stay in your memory it is unlikely to be much benefit to you.

8. Meditate on what you read. [Ps. 119:15] The Hebrew word for meditate' means to be intense in the mind'. Meditation without reading is wrong and bound to err; reading without meditation is barren and fruitless. It means to stir the affections, to be warmed by the fire of meditation [Ps. 39:3].

9. Read with a humble heart. Acknowledge that you are unworthy that God should reveal himself to you [James 4:6]

10. Believe it all to be God's Holy Word. [2 Tim 3:16] We know that no sinner could have written it because of the way it describes sin. No saint could blaspheme God by pretending his own Word was God's. No angel could have written it for the same reason. [Heb 4:2]

11. Prize the Bible highly. [Ps. 119:72] It is your lifeline; you were born by it [James 1:18] you need to grow by it [1 Pet 2:2] [cf. Job 23:12].

12. Love the Bible ardently [Ps. 119:159].

13. Come to read it with an honest heart. [Luke 8:15] (a) Willing to know the entire and complete will of God (b) reading in order to be changed and made better by it [John 17:17].

14. Apply to yourself everything that you read, take every word as spoken to yourself. Its condemnation of sins as the condemnation of your own sin; the duty that it requires as the duty God would require from you [2 Kings 22:11].

15. Pay close attention to the commands of the Word as much as the promises. Think of how you need direction just as much as you need comfort.

16. Don't get carried away with the minor details, rather make sure to pay closest attention to the great things [Hosea 8:12].

17. Compare yourself with the Word. How do you compare? Is your heart something of a transcript of it, or not?

18. Pay special attention to those passages that speak to your individual, particular and present situation. e.g. (a) Affliction -- [Heb. 12:7, Isaiah 27:9, John 16:20, 2 Cor 4:17. (b) Sense of Christ's presence and smile withdrawn -- [Isaiah 54:8, Isaiah 57:16, Ps. 97:11] (c) Sin -- [Gal 5:24, James 1:15, 1 Peter 2:11, Prov 7:10&22-23, Prov 22:14] (d) Unbelief -- [Isaiah 26:3, 2 Sam 22:31, John 3:15, 1 John 5:10, John 3:36]

19. Pay special attention to the examples and lives of people in the Bible as living sermons. (a) Punishments [Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, Num 25:3-4&9, 1 Kings 14:9-10, Acts 5:5,10, 1 Cor 10:11, Jude 7] (b) mercies and deliverances [Daniel, Jeremiah, the 3 youths in the fiery furnace]

20. Don't stop reading the Bible until you find your heart warmed. [Ps 119:93] Let it not only inform you but also inflame you [Jer 23:29, Luke 24:32].

21. Put into practice what you read [Ps 119:66, Ps 119:105, Deut 17:19].

22. Christ is for us Prophet, Priest and King. Make use of His office as a Prophet [Rev 5:5, John 8:12, Ps 119:102-103]. Get Christ not only to open the Scriptures up to you, but to open up your mind and understanding [Luke 24:45]

23. Make sure to put yourself under a true ministry of the Word, faithfully and thoroughly expounding the Word [Prov 8:34] be earnest and eager in waiting on it.

24. Pray that you will profit from reading [Isaiah 48:17, Ps 119:18, Nehemiah 9:20].

Natural obstacles You may still be able to profit from reading even though:

1. You don't seem to profit as much as others do. Remember the different yields [Matt 13:8] though the yield isn't as much as others it is still a true and fruitful yield.

2. You may feel slow of understanding [Luke 9:45, Heb 5:11].

3. Your memory is bad (a) remember you are still able to have a good heart despite this (b) you may still remember the most important things even if you cannot remember everything, be encouraged by John 14:26.

HT: Ryan

Great email on God's Word and the Science of Human Bones

A good friend shared this email, had to pass on:

An excerpt from something I was reading today:

“Bone is built of two basic components: flexible fibers of collagen and brittle chains of the calcium-rich mineral hydroxyapatite. But those relatively simple ingredients, the springy and the salty, are woven together into such a complex cat’s cradle of interdigitating layers that the result is an engineering masterpiece of tensile, compressive and elastic strength. “We only wish we could mimic it,” Dr. Ritchie said.

The full article can be found here. Just goes to show how marvelously and fearfully we are made. Job 10:11 says:

clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?

Goes to show how accurate the Word of God is, even regarding the words it chooses to describe us. I am positive the author of this verse did not know any biology, but wrote down words revealed to him by God.

Just had to share this humbling moment.

HT: Amol

Great Bible-Reading Plan

I joined this group on Facebook. It explains a Bible reading plan that sounds real exciting! Prof Horner gave me permission to post. If you 'facebook', please join his group and try this reading plan...

Professor Grant Horner's unusual, challenging, and life-changing Bible-Reading System is unlike any other you have ever seen. Try it for ONE MONTH and find out for yourself! You will never be the same.

Photo of my Bible of 26 years, open to I Samuel 17, and laying in the dry streambed of the brook Elah.
Not a giant in sight...>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>


Who is Professor Grant Horner?
I am an Associate Professor at The Master's College north of Los Angeles, where I specialize in the Renaissance and Reformation, and I am also Chair of Humanities at Trinity Classical Academy:
http://www.masters.edu/academics/profiles.asp?depname=6
http://www.trinityclassicalacademy.com/

"I have more wisdom than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation." Psalm 119:99, right-hand page, left-hand column, dead center of page. Many people ask me how it is that I know precisely where virtually *everything* is in my Bible. The answer: this system. I began in 1983 (adapting and tweaking the basic design of another system) as a brand-new convert; within 3 years I knew the text of my Bible very well. Twenty-five years later it is essentially imprinted on my mind and heart. I have been all over the country and have taught this system in many churches. I have done open-microphone Q&As on Bible and theology -- with 1200 people in the audience -- as well as cultural-analysis live radio shows where you have to think fast -- and it has been the "imprinting" value of this system that has helped me provide quick, clear, heavily contextualized scriptural answers (I Peter 3:15; right-hand page, right hand column, 1/3rd way down). I have no Seminary degrees, no Bible-college or Christian school education -- hey, I never even went to Sunday School (the first church I went to, just months after my conversion, threw me into Sunday School-- to teach!!! *BIG* mistake, by the way...) All I DID have was a chair, a lamp ... and my Bible.

This is *not* merely a speed-reading program, nor is it a 'study' system. Read the 1-page description provided here to see how it works. (I'd also recommend you look at my first few posts in the Discussion Board 'Starting Up' below as well, for more thoughts.) DO NOT be intimidated! I was a college drop-out, ex-heavy-druggie when I started it. If I can do it -- so can you!

TRY IT FOR A MONTH. Then tell me what is happening!

Join if you wish to try it; stay if you keep it up for one month! And make posts about your struggles, the effects it is having on your biblical understanding and discernment, and to encourage others.

HERE IT IS:

* PROFESSOR GRANT HORNER'S 'TEN LISTS BIBLE READING SYSTEM'*

Each day you will read one chapter from each list, in order. THAT'S RIGHT -- *TEN CHAPTERS PER DAY*!!! Use ten bookmarks or sticky notes with the individual lists on them to keep track of your locations. On day one, you read Matthew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and so forth. On day 2, read Matthew 2, Genesis 2, etc. On day 29, you will have just finished Matthew, so go to Mark 1 on the Gospel list; you’ll also be almost to the end of 2nd Corinthians and Proverbs, you’ll be reading Psalm 29 and Genesis 29, and so forth. When you reach the last chapter of the last book in a list – start over again. Rotate all the way through all the Scriptures constantly. Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same set of ten chapters together again! Every year you’ll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History and prophetic books about 1 ½ times. Since the interweaving is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible commenting *on itself* in constantly changing ways -- the Reformer's principle of 'scriptura interpretans scripturam' -- 'scripture interpreting scripture' IN ACTION!

After you’ve read any particular book once or twice, your speed in that book usually *doubles or triples* because you’re familiar with it and can move quickly and confidently -- because you are no longer merely decoding the text but thinking it through in the context of all of the scripture! Acts 20:27. Even an ‘average’ reader, if focusing on moving through the text, rather than trying to figure everything out, can usually do this in about an hour a day – 5-6 minutes per chapter. If it is taking you longer, then you are ‘reading wrong’ – stay relaxed, focus, and just keep it moving. Moderate but consistent speed is the key. This is "gross anatomy" -- looking at the whole body; you're *not* closely studying organs or systems or tissues or cells -- it is *not* microbiology. BUT
-- microbiology and the study or organs makes more sense when you know what the *whole* structure of the human body is like, and how all the parts, large and small, relate in perfect interdependence. After just a few days the reading gets *much* easier; in a month it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And then -- you'll tell others to start the system!

I began in 1983 as a new Christian and have now read (most of) the Bible hundreds and hundreds of times. You also need to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you learn where everything is. I’ve had the same Bible since 1983 and I know it intimately. If you keep switching Bibles, you ‘lose’ this intimacy with the text. Find a translation and format you like and stick with it. THIS IS CRUCIAL.

When I was flown out by Masters for a 3-day interview/theological-grilling process, the culmination was of course being ushered in to Dr. John MacArthur's private study, which is where he asked me this one question: "Can I see your Bible?" I thought he would be horrified, because it looked like it had been through a typhoon -- it looked unloved and neglected. Something from a dumpster. It was unbound, with stringy mess and paper debris hanging out. I was so embarrassed. I thought he would chastise me and recommend I get a new study Bible if I was serious about the Word. (No doubt which study Bible he would recommend!!!) He flipped through it and handed it to his wife and said "If your Bible is falling apart, you probably aren't." I was basically hired on the spot.

Your Bible is the only thing on Earth that, as you wear it out, will actually work better and better.

THE TEN LISTS:
List 1 (89 days)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

List 2 (187 days)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

List 3 (78 days)
Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews

List 4 (65 days)
I&II Thess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter, I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation

List 5 (62 days)
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

List 6 (150 days)
Psalms

List 7 (31 days)
Proverbs

List 8 (249 days)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

List 9 (250 days)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

List 10 (28 days)
Acts

If you are wondering why you should read Acts (or Proverbs) all the way through *every single month* then
-- you've just shown that you NEED to read them that much!

*Put these instructions in your Bible and review them from time to time*

SECRETS TO SUCCESS WITH THIS SYTEM:

• Read one chapter from each list each day, in one sitting or two. At the end of a book, go to the next book. At the end of the list – start it again. Do it in the order given above.
• Read quickly (without “speedreading”) in order to get the overall sense. Read as fast as you comfortably can with moderate retention. You’re not studying deeply or memorizing; shoot for 5-6 minutes per chapter. At the end of a chapter, move immediately to the next list.
• GET THROUGH THE TEXT – no dawdling, back-reading, looking up cross-references!
• There are different ‘kinds’ of reading: super-quick skimming, careful moderate-paced, studying the text, deep meditation. You should be between the first and second kind.
• Most people decrease their time spent and increase their retention after just two-three weeks! I now read and retain the entire text of Matthew in 35 minutes, Romans in 20, Genesis in *one hour*!
• Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get through the text!
• If you miss a day or two – ok, get over it, then keep going. Don’t cover yourself in sackcloth and ashes and quit! Move the bookmarks along, to find your place(s) quickly next day.
Heb 4:12&5:11-14; Eph 5:26&6:17; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; Ps 119; Ezra 8; Prov 3: 1-2, 10:14; Dan 1

*PLEASE* INVITE ALL THE CHRISTIANS YOU KNOW TO LOOK AT THIS GROUP -- AS WELL AS ANYONE ELSE WHO'S THINKING ABOUT READING THE BIBLE, EVEN FOR THE FIRST TIME!

The goal of this sytem is simple, and twofold: To know scripture, and to love and obey God more!

SOLI DEO GLORIA