How Can God Justify The Wicked?

The Gospel Saves From Morality

Praying At All Times - Ephesians 6:18-20

Revival

“What is needed is something that cannot be explained in human terms. What is needed is something that is so striking and so signal that it will arrest the attention of the whole world.

That is revival.

Now we of ourselves can never do anything like that. We can do a great deal, and we should do all we can. We can preach the truth, we can defend it, we can indulge in our apologetics, we can organize our campaigns, we can try to present a great front to the world. But you know, it does not impress the world. It leaves the world where it was. The need is for something which will be so overwhelming, so divine, so unusual that it will arrest the attention of the world...

‘Authenticate thy word. Lord God, let it be known, let it be known beyond a doubt, that we are thy people. Shake us!’ I do not ask him to shake the building, but I ask him to shake us. I ask him to do something that is so amazing, so astounding, so divine, that the whole world shall be compelled to look on and say, ‘What is this?’ as they said on the day of Pentecost.”

- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival, pages 183-185.

The Lord Bears With You Likewise...

“As you are likely to be engaged in controversy, and your love of truth is joined with a natural warmth of temper, my friendship makes me solicitous on your behalf...I would have you more than a conqueror and to triumph not only over your adversary but over yourself. If you cannot be vanquished, you may be wounded. To preserve you from such wounds as might give you cause of weeping over your conquests, I would present you with some considerations...

As to your opponent, I wish that before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him, and such a disposition will have a good influence on every page you write.

If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab concerning Absalom are very applicable: “Deal gently with him for my sake.” The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you should show tenderness to others from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven. He will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts. And though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever.

But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit), he is a more proper object of your compassion than of your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he does.” But if God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now, and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the gospel. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, not his.
Of all people who engage in controversy, we who are called Calvinists are most expressly bound by our own principles to the exercise of gentleness and moderation.”

- John Newton, writing to a young minister, The Works of John Newton, I:268-270.

Plant Churches - John Piper

Send Me! by Lecrae

Please listen to/read all the lyrics of this song regardless of whether or not you like this genre of music. Lecrae is not only a Christian artist but more importantly he is a man who travels the world preaching the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." - Matthew 24:14



Lecrae Teaching In Zambia

"Rejoice In The Lord"

"Not long ago it was common to see bumper stickers proclaiming every conceivable source for happiness. One said, "Happiness is being married." Another countered, "Happiness is being single." One cynical sticker read, "Happiness is impossible!"

For most people happiness is possible but it's also fickle, shallow, and fleeting. As the word itself implies, happiness is associated with happenings, happenstance, luck, and fortune. If circumstances are favorable, you're happy. If not, you're unhappy.
Christian joy, however, is directly related to God and is the firm confidence that all is well, regardless of your circumstances.

In Philippians 3:1 Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord" (emphasis added). The Lord is both the source and object of Christian joy. Knowing Him brings joy that transcends temporal circumstances. Obeying Him brings peace and assurance.

Joy is God's gift to every believer. It is the fruit that His Spirit produces within you (Gal. 5:22) from the moment you receive the gospel (John 15:11). It increases as you study and obey God's Word (1 John 1:4).

Even severe trials needn't rob your joy. James 1:2 says you should be joyful when you encounter various trials because trials produce spiritual endurance and maturity. They also prove that your faith is genuine, and a proven faith is the source of great joy (1 Pet. 1:6-8).

You live in a world corrupted by sin. But your hope is in a living God, not a dying world. He is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 24). That's your assurance of future glory and eternal joy! Until that time, don't neglect His Word, despise trials, or lose sight of your eternal reward. They are key ingredients of your present joy.

Suggestions for Prayer:

• Thank the Lord for any difficult circumstances you might be facing. Ask Him for continued grace to see them through His perspective and not lose heart (Gal. 6:9).

• Be aware of any sinful attitudes or actions on your part that might diminish your joy. Confess them immediately." - John MacArthur

Sacrifice - Howard Guinness

“Where are the young men and women of this generation who will hold their lives cheap and be faithful even unto death? Where are those who will lose their lives for Christ’s sake — flinging them away for love of him? Where are those who will live dangerously and be reckless in his service? Where are his lovers — those who love him and the souls of men more than their own reputations or comfort or very life?

Where are the men who say ‘no’ to self, who take up Christ’s cross to bear it after him, who are willing to be nailed to it in college or office, home or mission field, who are willing, if need be, to bleed, to suffer and to die on it?

Where are the adventurers, the explorers, the buccaneers for God, who count one human soul of far greater value than the rise or fall of an empire? Where are the men who are willing to pay the price of vision? Where are the men of prayer? Where are God’s men in this day of God’s power?” - Howard Guinness, Sacrifice, pages 59-60.

Is It A Sin To Dislike The Doctrine Of Election?

What I Believe About Election

I want to thank Derek from THEOparadox for pointing us to this article:

I was recently asked why I described myself as a moderate Calvinist. The "moderate" part reflects the fact that I understand the Scripture to teach that, in some sense, Christ died for everyone without exception. Christ provided the possibility of redemption for everyone, and an actual redemption is applied only to the elect -- those who are given the gift of faith. The logic problems that my five-point Calvinist brethren immediately raise don't sway me, since the only concern I choose to have is over what specific verses actually say in the original languages -- not how many logic syllogisms my view might seem to contradict, or how one escapes "double jeopardy", and so on. Those philosophical objections don't matter to the question, "what does this verse mean?" because, in the end, they are philosophical objections, not exegetical questions. Only exegetical principles matter when one is asking the question, "What does this verse mean?" The question, "How can I reconcile this with these other ideas over here" is a secondary, or even a tertiary, concern. Not a primary concern. Limited atonement does not survive consistent, thorough-going exegetical analysis. It's our job to iron out any wrinkles that the exegesis might create in the over-all fabric of our systematic theology.

But what about election to salvation?

It is impossible for God to elect anyone to salvation on the condition of foreseeing the sinner's willingness, or exercise of faith. This is because sinners are not capable of being willing, or of exercising faith, apart from the grace of God causing them to become so. Sinners are dead, not wounded. They have zero godly virtue in their hearts. All their righteousness is like filthy rags in the eyes of God. Lost people, that is, people who are still in their natural, Adamic condition, cannot exercise faith in Christ. An unregenerate person is incapable of accepting, welcoming, embracing the truths of God's Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12-14). It isn't just that the sinner will not accept them. He cannot accept them.

Unbelievers are spiritually blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4). They do not want to find God (Romans 3:11). They commit sins, not because of bad up-bringing, but because their hearts are hardened by sin (Ephesians 4:17-18). Their thoughts and actions are controlled by sinful lust, lusts of both body and mind, which are inflamed by the prince of the power of the air, Satan (Ephesians 2:3). Non-Christians have no ability to put faith in Christ (John 6:44, 65).

To affirm free will, as "free will" is commonly understood, is the same thing as denying the Bible's teachings about sin, and its effects on the human race.

God chose us to be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:13). He didn't choose for us to just have an opportunity to be saved, but to actually be saved. According to this text, the two-sided method God used was the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit (exerted on our hearts prior to faith) and our faith in the Gospel. God chose to do this for us prior to the creation of the universe. He could not foresee our faith, because we had no faith for Him to foresee, nor did we have any ability to have faith for Him to foresee. Any faith God might foresee was foreseen because He put it in our hearts. The ultimate goal of our salvation is to enable us to attain Christ's resurrection glory.

Read Jesus' words in John 6 carefully. Jesus was the most "Calvinistic" preacher around. Jesus said that sinners come to Him because the heavenly Father first gave them to Christ (John 6:37). It is impossible for anyone given to Christ by God not to come (John 6:37). The converting work of the Spirit cannot be successfully resisted. It is impossible for anyone who comes to Christ to fall away and be lost (John 6:39-40). God irresistibly draws the sinner to Christ by spiritually teaching him or her the truth of the Gospel (John 6:45).

God desires many things that never happen. God did not desire Joseph's brothers to sin against Joseph, because God hates sin, but He ordained that they should go ahead and sin against Joseph, for a higher purpose of His own intent (Genesis 50:20). God predetermined that Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Romans, and the people of Israel should reject Jesus, and crucify Him (Acts 4:27). He found displeasure in their sin, but preordained that they should act as they did, fully in obedience to their own wicked souls. God calls all men everywhere to repent, while at the same time knowing that all men everywhere will not repent. Even Arminians teach this, and don't charge God with insincerity. So we cannot charge God with insincerity in regards to election, either.

The affirmation of free will reflects a humanistic, anti-Biblical view of the spiritual condition of lost mankind. The Bible clearly teaches that everyone's heart is in bondage to Satan. You can baptize them until they drown, it won't save them. You can fill them with consecrated bread and wine until they can eat and drink no more, and it won't save them. You can strive to live a faithful Christian life until the day you die, and it doesn't save you. God, by Himself alone, saves you, from beginning to end.

Bad Hermeneutics

Does Everything That Happens Glorify God As Much As Possible?

John Piper - A Sweet And Bitter Providence

John Piper - The Silent Destruction Of The Unborn

John Piper - Sickened By The Ugliness Of Their Own Sinfulness

Scott Distler's Quote Contrasted By Francis Chan's Quote...

"First, the church needs to provide creative environments. Christianity is the most exciting thing to happen to the planet and the church has made it boring. Peter and John both wrote about this encounter on the mount of transfiguration in their later writings because it obviously marked them for life. It was a very unique and creative way to show Jesus to these three men. That is how church should be. The sermon actually begins in the parking lot as most visitors decide within 15 minutes maximum, before they have ever heard the pastor’s sermon, as to if they are going to return or not. We need to put people in an environment where they can hear about Jesus." - Scott Distler

http://folkslisten.blogspot.com/2007/03/go-for-it.html

"Last summer I came to a shocking realization that I had to share with my wife: If Jesus had a church in Simi Valley, mine would be bigger. People would leave His church to attend mine because I call for an easier commitment. I know better how to cater to people’s desires so they stick around. Jesus was never really good at that. He was the one who said, “He who loves father or mother…son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt. 10:37 NIV) I’m much more popular than Jesus.

Having come to that conclusion, I came back to the church with resolve to call people to the same commitment Christ called them to. I knew that people would leave, and they have. I found comfort in that because, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26 NIV) Over time though, the conviction can fade, and it gets tiresome seeing people leave. There is a constant pull to try to keep people around rather than truly lead the faithful who remain. When my church was started, I used to tell my wife that I didn’t care if we only had ten people, as long as they really loved God and desired to worship Him with all of their hearts. Where is that conviction now?" - Francis Chan

http://takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com/2010/01/people-leaving-your-church-might-be.html

The only reason "church" could be boring is because the Word is not central to worship.

Please watch this short, 2 minute clip:

John Piper - Call Out Prosperity Gospel Teachers By Name?

God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer! - Part 3 of 3

From daveblackonline:

- by Becky Lynn Black

In this last part to our series, let us consider the final reasons for suffering.

According to the Scriptures, as I understand them, there are four reasons for suffering. The first is the fall-out of the choice for independence made by the first man and woman. Since we are part of the human family, we all bear the consequences of their Fall. So our bodies age, our minds get befuddled, our relationships get tangled, etc. This is all a natural consequence of living this side of the Curse. But we do not bear this suffering in despair. The One who gave the Curse has promised to come Himself and make a new heaven and earth that is without the Curse. So as we suffer, we have an eye upon the Heavens, waiting patiently for Him to keep His promise.

The second reason we suffer is because the same independent streak displayed in the Garden is still being displayed today. As we ourselves, or those with whom we are associated, act like Adam and Eve (declaring independence of God and His way), then a ripple effect from the sin occurs. Many innocent people get caught by the ripple. All sin affects more than those who commit the sin; there are no isolated acts of disobedience. Much, much pain exists in the world because of our stubborn rebellion. We are, indeed, children of Adam and Eve!

But if we will confess the ripples we cause, and respond with forgiveness to those ripples caused by others, then a healing oil flows over the situation. And though there will be life-long scarring, we can choose to embrace that scarring and welcome the residual pain. For it is often that scarring and residual pain that helps us to consider our own future choices.

We must consider our goal in life. To live without pain and suffering is not a worthy goal. But to live a life growing in holiness, growing in intimacy with our Savior, growing in solidarity with His plan – this is worth every price! And if the Lord can use residual pain from acts of rebellion by ourselves or those associated with us, then let us welcome that pain and yield to its purifying results.

The third reason that suffering may be our experience is because of our association with Christ Jesus. Now, obviously, those whose lives have no mark of the Savior will not suffer because of Him! But those of us who are dedicated to Him and His kingdom will be hated, mocked, ridiculed, belittled and persecuted by those who do not love Him.

Jesus Himself warned His followers that this would happen. And the book of Acts, as well as many sections of the Epistles, tell the stories of this suffering.

Today it is no different from then, although the suffering might be in a slightly “more sophisticated” vein. Today, those in our country who identify with the Savior might not be promoted in the workplace, or might be mocked on the playground, or might be brushed off in conversations. (In other countries, like Ethiopia, they are still beaten, left for dead, homes burned, etc.)

If we are not sensing any opposition from non-believers, then we must examine ourselves to see if we are indeed following Jesus. His way goes in the opposite direction of Society. Where Society says “fight,” He says “surrender.” Where Society says “hold onto it,” He says “let go of it.” Where Society says “take revenge,” He says “love and forgive.”

If we are truly living His way, then we will at some time be in sharp contrast to those around us. And then they will begin to hate us, despise us, disdain us. It is the conflict of two world views, two laws, two roads. How can we travel together through Life with those around us, unless we are agreed in our direction and method of travel? If we follow Jesus, and they don’t, only conflict will result.

And that conflict brings suffering.

So how do we respond to this suffering? With patience, with sympathy, with kindness. We do not seek revenge. We do not seek justice. We do not fight for our “rights.” We respond to those without Christ with humility, remembering that once we were like them. And, but for the grace of God opening our eyes to the Savior, we would still be like them!

So our suffering is mingled with the joy that we are “found worthy” to suffer for His Name. There is a quiet, radiant, inner warmth of joy inside that cannot be squelched by the mockery, the prejudice, the accusations, the disdain of those who do not follow to Jesus.

The last reason for suffering that I have found in the Scriptures is that which is shown so clearly in the Book of Job, as well as other sections of the Epistles. Simply put, it is this: There is someone who will fight to the death to destroy the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. He has many names: Satan, the Evil One, the Father of Lies, the Angel of Light, the Wicked One, the Deceiver.

He has many names, but he has only one purpose. His sole purpose is to destroy all that the Lord God has created – to destroy physical things, to tear apart relationships, to squash spirits, to break hearts. Everywhere he goes, and whatever he does, his purpose is to destroy.

This Wicked One can bring us personal suffering as he targets us or those associated with us. His way is so insidious, so utterly wicked, so abhorrent, so deceptive! He will lie in wait until we least expect him, and then he will pounce. Sometimes he springs on us after we have experienced a fantastic spiritual victory and are “riding high” in the Lord. Sometimes he’ll capture us when hormones or fatigue or pain are wracking our minds and bodies. Sometimes he’ll set his trap when we are just going about the mundane duties of life.

Always, he and his servant demons are waiting to destroy. And his focus is upon those who are active in the Kingdom. His ultimate hatred is the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. So if we are dedicated to the Savior, we have the very special interest and hatred of the Evil One.

Does this frighten you? Does the reality of the Evil One make you want to run away from the Savior and His way in your life? Are you uneasy about obedience to the Lord, knowing that with that obedience will come suffering caused by the Evil One?

Let me reassure you. The Savior has already whipped him! And all we need to do is (1) remember that the Evil One exists to destroy the Savior’s Kingdom so we must be alert to him, and (2) practice the instructions of the Scriptures in how to “fight” him.

The Scriptures teach very clearly that the Evil One is already doomed, that the Lord Jesus is the one to fight him (not us), and that we must simply put on His armor to be protected from destruction by the Evil One. Ephesians 6 outlines the armor of the Lord Jesus: know the Truth, live in Righteousness, be busy with the Gospel work, respond with Faith, remember the way of Salvation, obey the Spirit as taught in the Scriptures, have a running conversation with the Lord about your situation, keep diligent, be connected to the other soldiers (the Body).

If we will develop a lifestyle of “warriorship,” Jesus-style, then the Evil One will have difficulty in getting to us. I do not know that Job ever knew that his troubles were because of Satan’s attempt to discredit the relationship of love and honor between Job and God. From Job’s perspective, his life had become one big Trouble! He suffered in every way possible! But his lifestyle before his troubles was one of humility towards God, and his lifestyle after his troubles began remained unchanged. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

Our lives must be the same. We must be fully surrendered to the Lord and His way. We must be bound to Truth, obedient to the Spirit in following the Truth, and completely trusting the One whose Name is Truth!

Job suffered greatly because he was dedicated to the glory of the living God. He lost his children, his health, his wealth; he was mocked by his closest friends and his wife; he suffered the greatest form of disgrace. Yet he “hid” in the reality of His God and the utter trustworthiness of that God. And in the end, Job survived the onslaught of Evil One and was restored to everything good. And today he stands as a testimony to the faithfulness of our God in defending His own.

For myself, as I look at this cancer, not knowing the future, looking at bleak human statistics, I have settled the matter. My life belongs to the Lord Jesus. He may do with me as He pleases. If this cancer is due to the Fall and the Curse, I look to Him to restore my body to one without the effects of the sin-curse. To my knowledge, there is no personal sin in me or in any I know that has resulted in this cancer; it is not due to personal sin. It is not a result of my identity with Christ, caused by the hatred and persecution of those who hate Him. It has been suggested that this is because the Evil One has targeted me, because of the great work that God is doing in Ethiopia. Perhaps this is so; I likely will not know until reaching heaven.

But regardless of the specific reason for this cancer, I know one thing: the solution to suffering is the Son. Only He, who was called “Man of Sorrows,” fully understands all suffering and can carry us with His own power through seasons of suffering.

And in the end, when all of Life is closed, it is He who gets the glory, as the One who redeemed His creation from the Evil One and sin. To Him be all the praise!!!

(Recommended readings: Job 1:1-22; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18; 1 Peter 1:3-16, 2:1-12 and 19-25, 3:14-4:6, 4:12-19, 5:6-11; Hebrews 12:1-4; Revelation 20:7-10.)

God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer! - Part 2 of 3

From daveblackonline:

- by Becky Lynn Black

In considering this assertion, we are forced back to our belief system, and how we have formed our beliefs over the years. We are forced to question the reliability of our belief system. Most of us have a belief system that is a combination of TV shows, talk radios, Sunday sermons, and talks with friends. All of these items change with time; each season brings its new advice. But there is a Truth that remains unchanged through all of Time; it flows from the heart of God Himself, who is changeless. Only His Truth can withstand Life and its sufferings. Only His Truth gives a correct understanding of Life, and that Truth is found only in the Scriptures, the writings of the true and living God, as taught by the Holy Spirit.

Over the past 8 months, I have thought much about this assertion made by a young man suffering in Ethiopia. And I have thought about the belief system from which it springs. In Part One, I shared how it is very important that we build our beliefs only from reliable sources. The only completely reliable source is the Scriptures, those words written through men by the Holy Spirit. And when we study those words, we must allow ourselves to be taught their meaning by the Holy Spirit, and we cannot be taught by Him unless we and our sinfulness are “covered” by the purity of the Lord Jesus.

Surgery is coming to me in only a few days, and I know that there will be much physical pain in the weeks following the surgery. Even in the past week, tears have been shed as I consider the possibility of parting with those I love here. Like most people who have lived to my age, this is not the first time pain has been experienced; there have been many, many times of physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual “pain.”

How can I make sense of why a loving God would allow such pain? I cannot gain assurance and confidence apart from the Scriptures. All other rational grounds are suspect, cracked with the flawed thinkings of Man. So, having covered myself with the perfection of the Lord Jesus, and yielding to the teaching of the Holy Spirit as we opened the Scriptures together, this is what I have learned about suffering in the Scriptures.

Suffering came into the world of human existence in the Garden of Eden in direct response to the declaration of independence made by the first man and the first woman. The anguish that immediately followed their act of independence has echoed through the centuries to us today. By reason of my connectedness to them, by my association within the human family, I am feeling that anguish. This is the first reason why we suffer.

The consequence of that first declaration of independence has spread to the whole universe! The Scriptures state that “all creation groans (suffers, agonizes)….” Much that we suffer is the fall-out of that decision made in the Garden. Our bodies age, we get exhausted, we have misunderstandings, infections overwhelm us, etc. These are a natural part of life, a normal suffering that falls to us because we are living this side of the Fall and the Curse.

And how do we handle this suffering? We cannot escape it. The suffering covers the whole universe! But we have hope…we look for the Savior to come!

You see, the Scriptures teach that one day the Lord Jesus will come and make a new Heaven and a new Earth. He will completely remove all traces of sin’s debt, and the Curse will be lifted. Until then, we suffer from the Fall, but we do not suffer in despair. We suffer with one eye upon our situation, and the other eye upon the Heavens, looking for the Promised One to return. His first coming was prophesied thousands (yes, thousands!) of years before He came. Just as those prophesies were fulfilled, so the prophesies about His second coming will be fulfilled.

I believe this Truth. If He has promised to wipe away all traces of sin, to make a new heaven and earth, then He will do it, because He cannot betray His character. He cannot lie. He cannot be unfaithful to His word. He cannot fail to save fully those whom He has promised to save.

So as I suffer the things that all persons of Humanity suffer, I sorrow for the rebellion of Adam and Eve, but I do not sorrow with despair. My eye is upon the Heavens, looking for the One who will return and repair all things in His Time.

The second reason we suffer is a personalization of the first reason. “That isn’t fair!” some cry out. “Why should I suffer because of what they did back in the Garden?!”

But let’s be honest. Isn’t there within each of us the same spirit of independence that was in Adam and Eve? I know there is in me. All I have to do is see a “line in the sand” that God has drawn (for my own good, by the way) and everything within me says “NO! I will be my own boss! I will run my own life!”

How foolish we are to think that we can question God, as Eve did, and not suffer. But daily, overtly or covertly, we declare our own little independence from Creator God. We refuse to come under His authority. And when we do, we suffer, just as those first rebels suffered. And like them, many suffer with us.

Our culture says that our private lives are our own. As long as we hurt only ourselves, it’s OK. And we’ve swallow the lie that sin (ANY sin) can be kept to ourselves; we believer that only the perpetrators of the sin will suffer from the sin. Our society says that as long as we are willing to “be adult” about it, and bear the consequences of it, then it’s OK. We’re told that as long as it won’t hurt anyone else, then it’s OK to sin.

What a lie! Since when did the consequences of sin stay to the one who did the sin? Name one single sin where there is not a ripple effect in its consequences. A “little white lie,” a “discrete affair,” an “alternative lifestyle,” a “fixing the books” – the consequences of all of these things are not limited to those who commit them.

We suffer, not only because of that first Fall, but also because of the repeated falls of ourselves and those around us! There is a price to be paid for that little spirit of independence, that heart of rebellion, that self-deception. And the price is often paid by the suffering of innocent parties.

Today, perhaps you are carrying in your heart or body the consequences of someone else’s sin – or perhaps your own. Just as that first choice for independence drove a wedge between Adam and Eve, so our choices drive wedges between us, and we suffer.

What do we do when we suffer for this reason? We confess and we forgive. The pain, the suffering is still there, but now healing oil has been added to the suffering. And it is no longer a suffering until death, but a suffering unto Life.

Sometimes we think that if we confess and forgive, then all pain is removed. Not so. For our own good the pain, the scar, remains. In my own life, I have asked the Lord, “Please, don’t remove the pain; don’t clear the scar. Keep it there, so that I will not be tempted to repeat that sin!”

My dear brothers and sisters, to live a pain-free existence is not the end all and be all of life! Holiness is the end-all and be-all of Life! Pain is very useful. And as long as residual pain from personal sins (ours or others) can help us grow in holiness, in purity of thought and choice, in greater dedication to submission to His way, then let us embrace that pain as our companion and our helper!

So the first reason for our suffering is the fall-out of what happened in the Garden; our identity with the human race causes us pain. But our suffering is borne without despair; we have an eye heavenward, looking for His return to erase the Curse.

And the second reason for our suffering is the fall-out of repetitions of the Garden in personal lives today – ours and others with whom we are associated. When this becomes our lot, we must confess our sin and forgive others’ their sin. In this way our suffering is blended with healing oil. And we must embrace the residual scar so as allow it to help us to grow in holiness, in deeper commitment to His way, in a firmer solidarity with His Person.

(Recommended readings: Genesis 1-3; Matthew 18:21-35; Romans 5:1-19 and 8:16-39; Hebrews 4:13-16 and 12:5-13; Titus 2:11-14; James 5:14-16; Revelation 21:1-5)

God Didn’t Make Me To Suffer! - Part 1 of 3

From daveblackonline:

- by Becky Lynn Black

Last fall these words came from the lips of a young Ethiopian man. We were sitting on the “front porch” outside my room. He had been working hard in the church, and Life was not as easy as he had expected it to be. His heart was full of bitterness, anger, disappointment; he felt betrayed by others and by God.

In the ensuing months, I decided to study the Scriptures on the issue of suffering. I had no idea that God would bring this cancer to me, and that I would be referring to my own research so quickly.

There are voices out there who say, “If you belong to Jesus, then you should expect a life of comfort, even luxury. After all, God delights to give good things to His children, and you are a child of the King!”

This is a false Gospel and wrong doctrine. Those who counsel and teach along these lines have excluded from their Bibles major portions of Paul’s life, even of Jesus’ life, and almost all the book of Acts, and of the Old Testament prophets. Where do they get this idea? It is a mixture of the American Dream, their own desires for a successful “ministry” (people will send money to preachers who tell them what they want to hear), and a few isolated verses taken out of context. It is certainly not the message of the whole of the Scriptures.

That which is taught in the Scriptures is Truth. Truth does not change from culture to culture, from generation to generation, or from continent to continent. It is timeless. It is not a fad that comes and goes. It is not a new way of thinking that some high-profile person is promoting on the talk shows! Truth is anchored deep in the heart of God Himself.

And that is why it is absolutely essential that we know the Truth, that we study the Scriptures under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, taking the whole of Scripture (not a verse here and a verse there as it suits us). We must not be satisfied with being spoon-fed by other people, who themselves are subject to error. It is not enough to sit for an hour in Sunday services and listen to 20 minutes of teaching. This is a spiritual starvation diet. It will do nothing to make us spiritually strong for the times of stress that will invariably come into each of our lives.

We must grapple with the Scriptures ourselves…reading, studying, meditating, digesting…looking always into the face of our Teacher, the Holy Spirit.

How can we look into the face of the Teacher? Only if we are clean in our spirit. He cannot abide sin. He cannot look at sin. And if we have sin in us, known or unknown, then He will close Himself away from us.

How can we possibly rid ourselves of sin? There is only one way: confession of our sinfulness and placement of ourselves under the blood of Jesus.

What a mouthful that is! Confession of our sinfulness is more than simply naming off sins; it is admitting, openly and honestly acknowledging, our propensity toward all that is against a holy God. Our thoughts, our desires, our dreams, even our “good works” have this streak of selfishness in them, this bent towards independence, this stubbornness of spirit.

We can confess to each other, or to a religious professional….but what good is that? The other person is in the same boat as we are! It’s like two people in a lifeboat, and one confesses to the other, “I’m lost. I’m going to die.” The voicing may ease the conscience a smidgeon, but not much of value is accomplished.

No, we must confess our sinfulness to Someone who can do something about it; we must confess this to the Lord Jesus.

And He has said, “He who comes to me, I promise you, I will not cast away.”

What a relief! What a comfort! He not only doesn’t cast us away, and He doesn’t request or demand a payment for His confessional services…..but He spreads Himself over us, covering our sinfulness with His own holy body, much like He covered the sinfulness of that first man and woman with the lamb that was slain for them. At the right time in history, Jesus left Heaven as God and became a man….the result was the one person in the history of the world who is a God-Man, capable of being a mediator between the holy God and the sinful man.

“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” When there is an international crisis, we cannot send just any old American citizen to represent our government in negotiations. Only the word of an Ambassador has the authority of our government. And so it is in dealing with God. We cannot send any old person to deal with Him; we must only send the Lord Jesus. Only He is Holy enough to be accepted by God. As holy God, Jesus became man, so that as a holy man he could represent sinful man. And as holy man, he offered himself to “negotiate” our spiritual release from sin. He took our sins on Himself, and died in our place the death of a criminal…the Just for the unjust, the Sinless for the sinner, the Perfect for the imperfect.

And in His covering of us, our sinfulness is removed from the sight of the holy God who wants to teach us the Scriptures, who wants to relate intimately and personally with us, who wants to heal us spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically.

So, before we can know Truth, we must have a Teacher of Truth…the Holy Spirit…and before we can have the Teacher, we must have our sinfulness covered by the Person of the Lord Jesus.

Only then can we understand suffering in Life.

(Recommended readings: 1 John 1:3-10, John 6:35-40; John 3: 13-21; 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Romans 5:1-21, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Romans 10:8-17.)

The Armor Of God Part 3 - Ephesians 6:14 - John MacArthur

The Bible Isn't Boring, Avatar Is Boring!

Integrity

He Chose Us To Receive His Mercy

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - Ephesians 4:1

"We didn’t choose God; He chose us.

What is “the calling with which [we] have been called”? It is simply the position we have now as Christians. Paul said the Christians at Corinth were “saints by calling” (1 Cor. 1:2). Peter instructed his readers to make certain about God’s calling and choosing them (2 Peter 1:10). Our calling is a high calling (Phil. 3:14), “a holy calling” (2 Tim. 1:9), and “a heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1). Who called us? Jesus has the answer: “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Jesus also said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (15:16). Those “whom [God] predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). God called out to us, we responded in faith, and He saved us.

Suppose after investigating all the different religions of the world, a person chose Christianity. If Christianity were nothing more than a simple, personal choice to be saved, this person would have a certain level of commitment—that is, “Since I’ve decided to do it, it’s worth doing.” But if I’m a Christian because before the world began, the sovereign God of the universe chose me to spend eternity in His presence, that creates a much greater level of commitment.

If a single woman approached a bachelor, told him he had characteristics she admired, and asked him if he would be interested in marrying her, there would be something missing in that courtship. But suppose he approaches this woman first and says, “I have gone from one end of the world to the other, and your character and beauty surpass all others. Will you marry me?” We know then that nothing is missing.

Magnify that illustration by considering God’s perspective. We didn’t ask God if we could get in on a salvation deal. Out of all the people in the world, He chose us to receive His mercy! That’s a high, holy, heavenly calling. Such a calling demands a response of commitment, doesn’t it?" - John MacArthur

The Lord Forgives

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

The Armor Of God Part 2 - Ephesians 6:14 - John MacArthur

God's Passion For His Glory By John Piper

Prayer: An Overflow From Confidence In Christ