"that (salvation) [is] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."
Before salvation, man worships at the altar of himself, deciding what is good or bad, true or false by his own sense of right and wrong. However consistently he may or may not live up to his own standard, there is yet the desperate hope that God will accept his attempts at goodness as sufficient for entrance into heaven in the end.
After all, he reasons, nobody's perfect. And God's in the forgiving business. Besides, everyone will eventually get to heaven anyway, right?
What is missed in this vain thinking is the eternal seriousness of sin's consequences in the light of God's absolute holiness.
Not comprehending (much less experiencing) God's perfect holiness, man simply ignores it, preferring to focus on a warped perception of His love, for hope. But this is whistling in the wind. For God is not mocked; neither does His holiness change.
Whatever man may wish, prefer, hope, or speculate, there is salvation in no one but the Lord Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, satisfied by His sinless life and atoning death the righteous requirement of God's holiness affronted. No human deeds, however noble, could possibly earn or deserve the salvation provided freely by the Lord Jesus. To even try is to insult His grace.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Isaiah 49:15,16
"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me."
Thank You, Father, for this needed Word. Regardless of feelings of being forsaken, of times when life just seems long, and when You seem distant, You have not forgotten.
My soul's enemy stresses my insignificance... You remind me that You remember.
The world cynically snears, and implies in a thousand ways that worth is wrapped up in power and paper... You know eternally better, that to be remembered by You is of infinitely more value than anything creaturely.
Praise to Your holy Name, my gracious Father! Who can truly express adequate gratitude for being remembered kindly by the omnipotent Creator of the universe? And possible only through the salvation given by Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, praise to His Name!
Amen.
Thank You, Father, for this needed Word. Regardless of feelings of being forsaken, of times when life just seems long, and when You seem distant, You have not forgotten.
My soul's enemy stresses my insignificance... You remind me that You remember.
The world cynically snears, and implies in a thousand ways that worth is wrapped up in power and paper... You know eternally better, that to be remembered by You is of infinitely more value than anything creaturely.
Praise to Your holy Name, my gracious Father! Who can truly express adequate gratitude for being remembered kindly by the omnipotent Creator of the universe? And possible only through the salvation given by Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, praise to His Name!
Amen.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Genesis 3:10
"The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground."
Confronted by God's absolute awareness of all things, Cain was in shock. What he wanted to accomplish in solitude was in fact enacted coram Deo "before God." All things are! (Hebrews 4:13) As his parents, Adam and Eve, discovered as well, there is no successful hiding from the living God. Humanity has been attempting it down to the present day, to no avail. And the blood of victims has been crying to Him who hears, without ceasing.
In particular I am thinking of more than fifty million victims, since the early 1970's, deliberately-taken lives, whose blood continually cries out to God. What America has done in secret will be made known in judgment. God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). Should the Freedom of Choice Act become law, nullifying all restrictions on abortion in America, this land will be storing up wrath for itself in terrible ways. The righteous Judge of all the earth will do right. He will act on behalf of the innocents.
"Father, it is only by Your great mercy and compassion, for the
sake of the remnant, that You have stayed Your hand thus far.
Our nation is so ripe for judgment, and Your church is so ripe
for Your woodshed. Forgive for Your children's dissatisfaction
with You, and what You provide. Forgive our greed. Call us
back to simplicity, to knowing You are enough.
Grieve our hearts over the killing, the ongoing killing... may we
never "get over" it.
In the Lord Jesus' Name,
Amen."
Confronted by God's absolute awareness of all things, Cain was in shock. What he wanted to accomplish in solitude was in fact enacted coram Deo "before God." All things are! (Hebrews 4:13) As his parents, Adam and Eve, discovered as well, there is no successful hiding from the living God. Humanity has been attempting it down to the present day, to no avail. And the blood of victims has been crying to Him who hears, without ceasing.
In particular I am thinking of more than fifty million victims, since the early 1970's, deliberately-taken lives, whose blood continually cries out to God. What America has done in secret will be made known in judgment. God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). Should the Freedom of Choice Act become law, nullifying all restrictions on abortion in America, this land will be storing up wrath for itself in terrible ways. The righteous Judge of all the earth will do right. He will act on behalf of the innocents.
"Father, it is only by Your great mercy and compassion, for the
sake of the remnant, that You have stayed Your hand thus far.
Our nation is so ripe for judgment, and Your church is so ripe
for Your woodshed. Forgive for Your children's dissatisfaction
with You, and what You provide. Forgive our greed. Call us
back to simplicity, to knowing You are enough.
Grieve our hearts over the killing, the ongoing killing... may we
never "get over" it.
In the Lord Jesus' Name,
Amen."
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Proverb 23:7a
"...as (a man) thinks within himself, so he is."
A.W. Tozer had it right when he said, “What comes to mind when you think of God is the most important thing about you.”
There is no more serious business in all this life than to think of God aright. For, to the extent that our concept of who He is varies from the truth, we are guilty of idolatry.
To think unworthy thoughts of God is to impugn His righteous character, besmirch His holy Name, and call into question His flawless faithfulness. It comes as no surprise when a lost and spiritually-blind world doubts the goodness of their Creator, but it is unutterably grievous to the LORD when His own blood-bought children do so. And how do unworthy thoughts manifest themselves?
Most often in our speech, since our mouth speaks from that which fills our heart (Luke 6:45). Unworthy thoughts produce unclean speech (Ephesians 4:29; 5:4). In the former we lose our joy of worship, in the latter our testimony among men.
Philippians 4:8 is vital, if we are to be restored in thought and speech. May the Holy Spirit increase our desire and determination to think on our God worthily.
A.W. Tozer had it right when he said, “What comes to mind when you think of God is the most important thing about you.”
There is no more serious business in all this life than to think of God aright. For, to the extent that our concept of who He is varies from the truth, we are guilty of idolatry.
To think unworthy thoughts of God is to impugn His righteous character, besmirch His holy Name, and call into question His flawless faithfulness. It comes as no surprise when a lost and spiritually-blind world doubts the goodness of their Creator, but it is unutterably grievous to the LORD when His own blood-bought children do so. And how do unworthy thoughts manifest themselves?
Most often in our speech, since our mouth speaks from that which fills our heart (Luke 6:45). Unworthy thoughts produce unclean speech (Ephesians 4:29; 5:4). In the former we lose our joy of worship, in the latter our testimony among men.
Philippians 4:8 is vital, if we are to be restored in thought and speech. May the Holy Spirit increase our desire and determination to think on our God worthily.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Ephesians 5:16
"making the most of your time, because the days are evil."
It's eerie to feel days slipping away, to be keenly aware of time's passing... knowing all the while the seconds can't be slowed, the minutes called back, nor the hours retrieved.
What to do? Listen. "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Listen, that you may live."
It's eerie to feel days slipping away, to be keenly aware of time's passing... knowing all the while the seconds can't be slowed, the minutes called back, nor the hours retrieved.
What to do? Listen. "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Listen, that you may live."
Jeremiah 32:17
" 'Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.' "
Interesting is the irony that, in this age when each one does what is right in his own eyes, the Lord providentially incorporates each one's most minute maneuverings into His sovereign design.
Without outward coercion, without violation of individual integrity, and without the slightest miscarriage of justice nor love, the living God fulfills His every purpose, proceeding precisely as He has declared in His Word to do, all in perfect consistency of character.
Only One who sees the end from the beginning, before Whom all things are open and laid bare, could there exist such supreme coordination of immeasurable complexities!
Interesting is the irony that, in this age when each one does what is right in his own eyes, the Lord providentially incorporates each one's most minute maneuverings into His sovereign design.
Without outward coercion, without violation of individual integrity, and without the slightest miscarriage of justice nor love, the living God fulfills His every purpose, proceeding precisely as He has declared in His Word to do, all in perfect consistency of character.
Only One who sees the end from the beginning, before Whom all things are open and laid bare, could there exist such supreme coordination of immeasurable complexities!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Psalm 103:1--5
"Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle."
Of the distinctives that mark the believer's life which can cause a watching world to sit up and take notice, attitude and perspective surely rank near the top. And of the passages of Scripture used by the Lord to warm our hearts, and elicit our adoring worship, this is among the choicest. It is a self-sermon, preached by David to his own soul, in which he exhorts himself to hold nothing back in praising the LORD. And notice a key shift he makes in this process of praise: he moves from the general to the specific-- from general adoration of His holy character, David contemplates specific gracious acts the LORD has accomplished on his soul's behalf. By so doing, intensity is added to his praise, his perspective is transformed more deeply than had he stayed general in his praise, and his attitude becomes worshipful in the process.
As we meditate on specifics represented by each of these phrases, we too will experience such change, to the praise of His Name!
Of the distinctives that mark the believer's life which can cause a watching world to sit up and take notice, attitude and perspective surely rank near the top. And of the passages of Scripture used by the Lord to warm our hearts, and elicit our adoring worship, this is among the choicest. It is a self-sermon, preached by David to his own soul, in which he exhorts himself to hold nothing back in praising the LORD. And notice a key shift he makes in this process of praise: he moves from the general to the specific-- from general adoration of His holy character, David contemplates specific gracious acts the LORD has accomplished on his soul's behalf. By so doing, intensity is added to his praise, his perspective is transformed more deeply than had he stayed general in his praise, and his attitude becomes worshipful in the process.
As we meditate on specifics represented by each of these phrases, we too will experience such change, to the praise of His Name!
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