Head-dibs

Proof of the deity of Christ. "Jesus Christ ... declared to be the Son of God with power ... by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). An integral part of the gospel. " The gospel ... how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures " (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The seal of the finished work of Christ. " When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high " (Hebrews 1:3). Essential for salvation. " If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins " (1 Corinthians 15:17). " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved " (Romans 10:9). Evidence of the believer's justification. " Jesus our Lord ... was delivered for our offenses, and was raised ...

Celebrate, Ents everywhere! You know how it is--you just get all settled in, snug under the covers, sound asleep then the next thing you know, the alarm clock goes off. Just five more minutes. Just five more minutes. Just five more minutes, etc. The past few weeks have been unseasonably warm here and I can’t help but wonder if the trees have been thinking, “Really? Already? Just five more weeks.” Trees don’t have snooze alarms. Or do they . . .  ? Today marks the new year for trees, so if Ents celebrate, they do it slowly today. Actually, Tu B’shevat is the Jewish observance of this kind of new year, recognizing that trees begin waking from their winter naps and start blooming for fruit-bearing. Produce growers in the Holy Land separate out tithes from everything grown and the day is observed by eating fruit, specifically of the “seven kinds” described in the Torah (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates). Four thoughts and one question from God's unchanging W...

"As there is only one God so there can be only one Gospel. If God has really done something in Christ on which the salvation of the world depends, and if He has made it known, then it is a Christian's duty to be intolerant of everything which ignores, denies, or explains it away. The man who perverts it is the worst enemy of God and men; and it is not bad empter or narrow-mindedness in St. Paul which explains this vehement language (Gal. 1:8), it is the jealousy of God which has kindled in a soul redeemed by the death of Christ a corresponding jealousy for the Saviour. Intolerance like this is an essential element in the true religion. Intolerance in this sense has its counterpart in comprehension; it is when we have the only gospel, and not till then, that we have the gospel for all." "The Cross of Christ is man's only glory or it is his final stumbling block." --James Denney, (1856-1917) in "The Death of Christ."

July 2004 I went to Kenya, Africa to speak in two Pastor’s Conferences on the subject of Man, Sin and Salvation. At the end of each day I left just over an hour for questions (half the time were questions touching the subject of my lectures, and the other half for “open questions”; that is, people could ask anything). For the next few weeks, I will be sharing the questions that were asked of me, and my answers—and believe me when I say these people really know how to think! Question from Kenya #1: “Men and women who saw God in the Bible: Why did they not all die?” [“ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live! ’” (Exodus 33:20) was the basis of the student’s question]. Answer: First, consider those who did see God—how did they respond when they saw Him? They were instantly aware of their sinfulness, and God’s holiness and righteousness (to name a few. And notice also that each responded in an attitude of worship, bowing down): Abraham built altars, wors...

A vessel had been sailing near the northeastern coast of South America, when, due in part to miscalculation and in part to accident, the ship's crew had lost their bearings and did not know where they were. Soon after, they ran out of fresh water. Day after day they had drifted on under the scorching rays of a tropical sun until at last the exhausted sailors lay on the deck totally unable to guide the vessel. When hope had died out of every heart, the sail of a ship appeared on the horizon. It was seen by one of the sailors, who, with supreme effort, shouted "Water, water; give us water; we are dying of thirst!" Quickly and distinctly came back the answer, "Dip it up!" It seemed like a mockery, but they obeyed. The water was fresh! They had been drifting for days within the mouth of the Amazon where the ocean meets the fresh water. They had been dying of thirst while surrounded by fresh water on every side! The joy, and also the surprise, of these poor sailors b...

Isaiah 6:3 ; Revelation 1:8 ; Isaiah 43:25 ; 1 John 3:18-22 ; James 4:13-16 ; Micah 4:2 The Lord our God is enthroned on High, and we live in His world unstunned by His glory. The angels in God’s presence don’t dare to look or be uncovered in His sight; yet they dare not look at anything but Him nor do anything that is not pleasing to Him. They dare not say anything beyond calling out who He is. They are not merely overcome with astonishment, but are mobilized by the fear of who He is. Men live, move and have their being without guilt or shame, uncovered with high-handed sin in His sight. There is no fear of God before our eyes. If we did fear Him, He would receive much higher praise, louder and longer praise by all we say and do. “ Einstein had so little use for organized religion, although he strikes me as a basically very religious man. He must have looked at what the preachers said about God and felt that they were blaspheming. He had seen much more majesty than they had every imag...

“The message of salvation can be presented through means of the printed page. It never flinches, it never grows tired, never grows disheartened; it works while we sleep; it travels cheaply and requires no rented building; it never loses its temper; and it works long after we are dead. The printed page is a visitor which gets inside the home and stays there; it always catches a man in the right mood, for it speaks to him only when he is reading it; it always sticks to what it has said, and never answers back. The printed page is deathless: you can destroy one, but the press can reproduce millions. As often as it is martyred it is raised. It can enter doors locked to the evangelist; it preaches in the factory, the train, the kitchen; it visits the school and the jail; it whispers in the ear of the dying. The printed message can reach those whose religions forbid them to go to church. It can reach the student who, proud of his intellectualism, refuses to listen to the Gospel or relate him...

I was reading John Piper’s message, “ The Triumph of the Gospel in the New Heavens and the New Earth ” with Tchaikovsky’s “Suite from the Nutcracker” playing softly just within the threshold of my hearing. Outside, a bird in the tree is singing a melodious refrain (I would have thought the bird was actually part of the music had I not been paying attention). The pitch and volume of both bird and broadcast blended into a perfect concert. Imagine my escalating joy in Christ Jesus as I read the following with these rhythmic strains as background music: “Paul’s words in Romans 8:21 are a clear witness to the continuity between the old earth and the new earth: ‘ The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption .’ So he understands ‘ new ’ to mean ‘ renewed ,’ not replaced. It’s not like, ‘I got a new car.’ When something is set free, it doesn’t go out of existence or get abandoned. It may change, but it is still there, and free. So one of the things you say to that mom ...

Terri, you were loved deeply and will be missed greatly. ***************** "Love that is Greater" [a song of worship to Jesus] ( by Rick Cimino ) You came. You loved me, when I was nothing to love. You came. You bought me, When I was nothing to buy, Because Your love was greater, Than all of my sin and my shame. Your love was stronger Than all of the grief, and all of the pain, That you suffered to make me your own. Love that is greater, love that is stronger, Is the love of my Savior for me. Love that is greater, love that is stronger, Is the love of my Savior for me. Each day, You love me, When I’m unworthy of love. Each day, You’ve caught me, Whenever I fell from your love, Because Your love’s still greater, Than all of my sin and my shame. Your love’s still stronger Than all of the grief, and all of the pain, That you suffered to make me your own. Love that is greater, love that is stronger, Is the love of my Savior for me. Love that is greater, love that is stronger, Is ...