It Is Well With My Soul

My thanks to Erik Kowalker this:

For those of you not familiar with the background of this famous hymn “It is well with my soul” by Horatio Spafford, take the next three minutes to listen and view the severely traumatic events that led Spafford to pen this influential hymn in 1873 that has stood the test of time. May God bring this powerful hymn to your remembrance when difficult seasons in your Christian walk come your way.

Filed under: Christ our treasure, Christ-centred, Christian Hope, Death, Evangelical, God's goodness, Grace, Jesus Christ, Suffering, The Christian Life, The Gospel

How Do You Break Free from an Addiction to Entertainment?

John Piper answers this question, writing that “Recognizing [the problem] is a huge step in the right direction” and that ” ultimately it’s a gift of grace to feel the glory of God.” Here are some suggestions of what you should do:

1. Seek the Lord earnestly about it. Pray like crazy that God would open your eyes to see wondrous things out of his law.

2. Immerse yourself in the Bible, even when you don’t feel like it, pleading with God to open your eyes to see what’s really there.

3. Get in a group where you talk about serious things.

4. Begin to share your faith. One of the reasons we are not as moved by our own faith as we are is because we almost never talk about it to any unbeliever. It starts to feel like a kind of hothouse thing, and then it starts to have a feeling of unreality about it. And then the powers of entertainment have more sway in our life.

5. . . . [T]hink about your death. Think about your death a lot. Ask what you’d like to be doing in the season of life, or hours or days, leading up to meeting Christ. I do that a lot these days. I think about the impact of death, and what I would like to be found doing, and how I would prepare to meet him and give an account to him.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Filed under: Biblical disciplines, Death, Discernment, Discipleship, Evangelical, God centredness, Jesus Christ, John Piper, The Bible, The Gospel

‘Death is not dying’

From John Bloom at Desiring God:

Rachel Barkley is a 37 year-old wife and mother of two who is dying of cancer. She only has weeks to live.

On March 4, she addressed 600 women and in 55 minutes delivered one of the most God-centered, gospel-soaked, honest, moving, and beautiful messages I have heard. I don’t know that Rachel has read John’s article, Don’t Waste Your Cancer, but she is a beautiful example of every point John made.

Check out Rachel’s website where you can watch or download the video and audio. You will not regret the 55 minutes. Very little is more important than the things she says.

Filed under: Christ our treasure, Christ-centred, Death, Discipleship, Evangelical, Gospel-centred, Jesus Christ, Missional living, Suffering, The Bible, The Gospel

The Hopeless Dawn

My thanks to Ray Ortlund for posting this encouraging piece:

“The Hopeless Dawn” by Frank Bramley shows a young widow, who has just found out that her husband was lost at sea, being comforted by her godly mother-in-law. Notice the altar-like table, suggesting the Lord’s Supper. Notice the big open Bible on the seat by the window. The two suffering women are not alone. Christ is there.

Sooner or later every one of us is confronted with a hopeless dawn. Hopeless, as someone or something important to us is taken away forever. A dawn, because that very moment of overwhelming loss is the beginning of a new era. Christ is there.

I have met many men, in their 50s like me, who have simply lived long enough to get body-slammed by life in some unforeseeable, major way. Divorce, cancer, their business stolen out from underneath them, sued, a wayward child breaking their heart, and so forth. Previous successes make no difference and offer no protection. Sooner or later, the unimaginable comes and finds us. It’s just a matter of time.

What I am learning is that such a moment is not when I should say, “Okay, now I begin again.” Instead, it is when I can say, “Okay, now I begin.” Christ is there.

Filed under: Christian Hope, Death, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, God's mercy, Jesus Christ, Providence, Sanctification, Sovereignty of God, Suffering, The Bible, The Christian Life, The glory of Christ, The word of God

“…that I might be a flame for you”

Justin Childers posts some of his favourite Jim Elliot quotes:

“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”

“Father, let me be weak that I might loose my clutch on everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose the tension of the grasping hand.”

“I covenanted with the Father that He would do either of two things: either glorify Himself to the utmost in me or slay me. By His grace I shall not have His second best.”

“O Christ, let me know Thee–let me catch glimpses of Thyself, seated and expectant in glory, let me rest there despite all wrong surging round me. Lead me in the right path, I pray.”

“Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for that world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar.”

“God deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’ Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame for you.”

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Filed under: Christian Ministry, Communion with God, Death, Discipleship, Evangelical, God's Glory, God's worthiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Knowing God, Love for God, Missions, Quotes, Sanctification, The Christian Life, The Cross, Worship, Zeal

Reasons Believers in Christ Need Not Be Afraid

Adrian Warnock pointed me in the direction of this encouraging piece from John Piper:

1. We will not die apart from God’s gracious decree for his children.

James 4:14-15

“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Matthew 10:29-30

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Deuteronomy 32:39

“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” (See Job 1:21;1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7)

2. Curses and divination do not hold sway against God’s people.

Numbers 23:23

“There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel.”

3. The plans of terrorists and hostile nations do not succeed apart from our gracious God.

Psalm 33:10

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.”

Isaiah 8:9-10

“Take counsel together [you peoples], but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” (See 2 Samuel 7:14; Nehemiah 4:15)

4. Man cannot harm us beyond God’s gracious will for us.

Psalm 118:6

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 56:11

“In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

5. God promises to protect his own from all that is not finally good for them.

Psalm 91:14

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”

6. God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor him forever.

Matthew 6:31

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

7. God is never taken off guard.

Psalm 121:4

“Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

8. God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble.

Isaiah 41:10

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:13

“For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’”

9. Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish.

Luke 21:10-11, 18

“Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘. . . there will be terrors (!) and great signs from heaven. . . . and some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your head will perish.’”

10. Nothing befalls God’s own but in its appointed hour.

John 7:30

“So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” (See John 8:20; 10:18)

11. When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what he decrees.

Hebrews 13:6

“So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

Romans 8:31

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

12. God’s faithfulness is based on the firm value of his name, not the fickle measure of our obedience.

1 Samuel 12:20-22

“And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. . . . For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake.’”

13. The Lord, our protector, is great and awesome.

Nehemiah 4:14

“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.”

Trusting firm promises with you in fragile times,

Pastor John

Filed under: Attributes of God, Christian Hope, Communion with God, Death, Disaster, Discernment, Discipleship, Doctrine, Evangelical, Faith, God the Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Power of God, Providence, Sanctification, Sovereignty of God, The Bible, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God

The wrath of God is coming!

Filed under: Attributes of God, Death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Jesus Christ, John Piper, Justification by faith, Repentance, Salvation, Substitutionary Atonement, The Bible, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The glory of Christ

The Case Against Abortion: Medical Testimony

A New Human Being Comes Into Existence During the Process of Fertilization.

It is false to claim that no one knows when life begins and dishonest to argue that abortion does not kill a human being.

(HT: Desiring God blog)

Filed under: Creation, Culture, Death, God's Glory, News & Views, The Bible, The Christian Life, Truth

Something to Keep in Mind

I’ve just arrived home from taking the funeral of a neighbour of mine. I thought this post from John Piper seemed appropriate:

“You can be so interested in great theological and intellectual and philosophical problems that you tend to forget that you are going to die.”

-Martin Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, p. 193.

Filed under: Death, Discipleship, Evangelical, John Piper, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Sanctification, The Bible, The Christian Life, The Cross, The Gospel, The word of God, Truth