Remembered

Ray Ortlund post:  The good Shepherd

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd.”  Isaiah 40:11

“Jesus, the good shepherd, will not travel at such a rate as to overdrive the lambs.  He has tender consideration for the poor and needy.  Kings usually look to the interests of the great and the rich, but in the kingdom of our Great Shepherd he cares most for the poor. . . . The weaklings and the sickly of the flock are the special objects of the Savior’s care. . . . You think, dear heart, that you are forgotten, because of your nothingness and weakness and poverty.  This is the very reason you are remembered.”

C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of the Old Testament (London, n.d.), III:575-576.

Fascination v. Force

Excerpt from Tullian Tchividjian post:  No Utopia Now

Contrary to what some have concluded, a transformational approach to culture does not assume an unrealistic optimism about what’s possible in our fallen world. Because the world will remain sinful until Christ returns, we know we can never achieve any utopia here and now. “Heaven on earth” will become a universal reality only when Christ comes back.

In this regard, it’s been helpful for me to understand the distinction Abraham Kuyper made between “persuasion” and “coercion.” For Kuyper, persuasion is the Christian’s role and responsibility toward culture here and now—seeking to influence every sphere of society (such as the family, government, education) for Christ and bringing the standards of God’s Word to bear on every dimension of human culture. Coercion, on the other hand, is the role and responsibility of Christ, not Christians. Jesus alone possesses the right and power to “coerce,” or force, culture in a Godward direction, and this is a right he will fully exercise only when he returns to make “all things new” (Revelation 21:5). It’s helpful to remember that as far as our role is concerned, Christianity has historically spread best through fascination, not force. Understanding the difference between persuasion and coercion—between our role and Christ’s role—helps us serve God with realistic expectations.

...

Converge

Ray Ortlund post:  Gospel doctrine, gospel culture

Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrines of grace create a culture of grace, healing, revival, because Jesus himself touches us through his truths. Without the doctrines, the culture alone is fragile. Without the culture, the doctrines alone appear pointless.

The doctrine of regeneration creates a culture of humility (Ephesians 2:1-9).

The doctrine of justification creates a culture of inclusion (Galatians 2:11-16).

The doctrine of reconciliation creates a culture of peace (Ephesians 2:14-16).

The doctrine of sanctification creates a culture of life (Romans 6:20-23).

The doctrine of glorification creates a culture of hope (Romans 5:2).

If we want this culture to thrive, we can’t take doctrinal short cuts. If we want this doctrine to be credible, we can’t disregard the culture. But churches where the doctrine and culture converge bear living witness to the power of Jesus.

Appetites

Mark Batterson post:  A Bowl of Stew

I've been coming to Catalyst for ten years and I honestly think Andy Stanley's session may have been the best ever! Talked about Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of stew. We read that story and think: seriously? How could you make that trade? A birthright was worth a double portion of the inheritance! And you're going to trade it for a bowl of stew? You'll be hungry again in three hours! If ever there was a bad trade, that's it. But isn't that what we do when we obey our sinful appetites?

Sin is trading your birthright for a bowl of stew. We trade our future to satisfy an insatiable appetite. Here's the deal when it comes to appetites. They are never fully and finally satisfied. And whatever you get you will want more of. What we need to do is reframe our appetites in light of God's plan for our lives. Think about this: it should have been "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau." But Esau forfeited his place in the plan of God for a bowl of stew. He didn't have a clear and compelling vision for his future. So he traded it for a bowl of stew!

What is your bowl of stew?

Doing Good

Post from What's Best Next summary of Tim Keller's The Gospel and the Poor

This is a very helpful article by Tim Keller on The Gospel and the Poor.

Here is the introduction:

The original question I was asked to address was “How does our commitment to the primacy of the gospel tie into our obligation to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith, to serve as salt and light in the world, to do good to the city?” I will divide this question into two parts: (1) If we are committed to the primacy of the gospel, does the gospel itself serve as the basis and motivation for ministry to the poor? (2) If so, how then does that ministry relate to the proclamation of the gospel?

And here’s some of what Keller has to say on the relationship between evangelism and the preaching of the gospel:

(1) Evangelism is distinct.
The modernist church of the early twentieth century reduced gospel ministry to social ethics and social action. The quaint saying “preach the gospel; use words if necessary” fits in with this idea that the gospel is basically “a way of life” and that gospel ministry is “making a better world.” But this not only contradicts the Bible’s teaching that the gospel must be verbally proclaimed and responded to in repentance and faith. It essentially denies the gospel of grace through God’s saving acts in history and replaces it with good works and moral improvement.
. . .

(2) Evangelism is more basic than ministry to the poor.
Evangelism has to be seen as the “leading edge” of a church’s ministry in the world. It must be given a priority in the church’s ministry. It stands to reason that, while saving a lost soul and feeding a hungry stomach are both acts of love, one has an infinitely greater effect than the other. In 2 Cor 4:16–18, Paul speaks of the importance of strengthening the “inner man” even as the outer, physical nature is aging and decaying. Evangelism is the most basic and radical ministry possible to a human being. This is true, not because the “spiritual” is more important than the physical (we must be careful not to fall into a Greek-style dualism!), but because the eternal is more important than the temporal (Matt 11:1–6; John 17:18; 1 John 3:17–18).

(3) But ministry to the poor is inseparably connected to evangelism.
We all know the dictum: “we are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone.” Faith is what saves us, and yet faith is inseparably connected with good works. We saw in Jas 2 that this is also the case with the gospel of justification by faith and mercy to the poor. The gospel of justification has the priority; it is what saves us. But just as good works are inseparable from faith in the life of the believer, so caring for the poor is inseparable from the work of evangelism and the ministry of the Word. In Jesus’ ministry, healing the sick and feeding the hungry was inseparable from evangelism (John 9:1–7, 35–41). His miracles were not simply naked displays of power designed to prove his supernatural status, but were signs of the coming kingdom (Matt 11:2–5.).
. . .

(4) Inseparable does not mean a rigid, temporal order.
What do we mean by “inseparable”? Ministry to the poor may precede the sharing of the gospel as in Jesus’ ministry to the blind man. Though the deed-ministry led to the blind man’s spiritual illumination, there is no indication that Jesus gave the aid conditionally. He did not press him to believe as he healed him; he just told him to “go and wash” (John 9:7). Even so when Jesus spoke of giving money and clothing to those who ask, he insisted that we should give without expecting anything in return (Luke 6:32–35). We should not give aid only because the person is open to the gospel, nor should we withdraw it if he or she does not become spiritually receptive. However, it should always be clear that the motivation for our aid is our Christian faith, and pains should be taken to find non-artificial and non-exploitative ways to keep ministries of the Word and gatherings for teaching and fellowship closely connected to ministries of aid.

Whole Heart

He Wants It All:  Forever Jones

A Great God

For the LORD is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.

Ps 95:3

A Revelation of His Holiness

Mark Batterson post: Jesus isn't your Homeboy

Remember the story of Aaron’s two sons, Nabad and Abihu, offering "strange fire" and being stuck down by the Lord? Scholars wrestle with exactly what that "strange fire" referred to, but there is a consensus that they didn’t respect the holiness of God.

Can I just make an observation?

I think there is a lot of "strange fire" in our culture. I'm not the kind of guy that takes potshots at our culture from the comfortable confines of the Christian subculture. I believe in criticizing by creating. But just to make a point, indulge me. I remember seeing a t-shirt a few years ago with a portrait of Jesus on it that said: Jesus is my homeboy. On one level, that could be considered funny or creative or relevant. But Jesus Christ isn't your homeboy. He's the sinless Son of God who suffered brutal torture and crucifixion on a Roman cross. His blood was shed to pay the sin debt that you owed. And that makes Him more than your homeboy. He is the sovereign Savior who is seated on His Throne and the earth is his footstool.

What we so desperately need is a revelation of His holiness. Like Isaiah who saw the Lord seated on the throne, high and lifted up. And he cried out: “Woe is me. I am undone. For I am a man of unclean lips.”

Until we have a revelation of the holiness of God, we’ll keep making the same mistake that Nadab and Abihu made. And we’re playing with fire. And if you play with fire long enough, you might eventually get burned. It’s the holiness of God that engenders the fear of God. And the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. Or to flip the coin, our lack of fear is the beginning of foolishness.

Nothing is more dangerous than under-estimating and under-appreciating the holiness of God. Why? When we under-estimate the holiness of God we under-estimate the mercy of God. We cheapen God's grace because we don't comprehend His holiness. And the foundation of salvation begins to crumble.

Faith Engagement

Ed Stetzer post:  Barna on Diversity of Faith in US Cities

America is anything but "secular." We are a religious, mystical, "spiritual" country. But how does this differ from city to city, and region to region? The Barna Group did a "study of regional and city-level expressions of faith [that] both confirms and rejects many popular stereotypes about faith and religion in America." Head over to their website for the details. I'll share a few highlights below.

The cities with the highest percentage of residents who describe themselves as Christian are in the South. Shocking, I know. They include: Shreveport (98%), Birmingham (96%), Charlotte (96%), Nashville (95%), Greenville, SC / Asheville, NC (94%), New Orleans (94%), Indianapolis (93%), Lexington (93%), Roanoke-Lynchburg (93%), Little Rock (92%), and Memphis (92%).

The cities with the lowest percentage of self-identified Christians were in: San Francisco (68%), Portland, Oregon (71%), Portland, Maine (72%), Seattle (73%), Sacramento (73%), New York (73%), San Diego (75%), Los Angeles (75%), Boston (76%), Phoenix (78%), Miami (78%), Las Vegas (78%), and Denver (78%). Barna points out that even in these cities that's roughly 3 out of every four people aligning with Christianity.

One of the interesting findings is that some markets have a much higher percentage of skeptics. In both Portland, Maine and Seattle, WA 19% of the population identify as being atheist or agnostic. It drops to 16% in Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, CA, and Spokane, WA. Compare this with those cities that have a high proportion of faiths other than Christianity. For example, New York (one of the cities with the lowest representation of self-identifying Christians) reports 12% of the population shares a religious faith other than Christianity.

The article summarizes one aspect of the findings, stating, "Nearly three out of four people call themselves Christians, even among the least 'Christianized' cities. Furthermore, a majority of U.S. residents, regardless of location, engage in a church at some level in a typical six-month period."

There is much more in the article touching on politics and outreach, so head over there and read the whole thing. The come back here to talk about it.

Soul Food

Jon Bloom (DG) post:  What Do Our Souls Eat?

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4)

When our bodies need energy, we know that we need to eat. So we eat a variety of foods, some better and some worse sources of energy (and bodily health, but more on that in my next post). Our body then digests these foods and converts them into energy and we can keep going. No food, no energy. No energy, no going on.

This physical phenomenon mirrors a spiritual reality. Our souls also run on a kind of energy, and so require a sort of food that they convert into that energy.

So what do our souls eat?

Before we answer that question, let’s first ask this: what is the energy that animates the soul? Answer: hope.

Our souls are hope machines. We consume hope every day. And when we run low on hope we start feeling discouraged, even desperate.

All the wonderful things that have happened to us in the past will not fuel our hope if our future looks bleak. We can be grateful for the past. But we must have hope for the future in order to keep going.

But what about faith? Isn’t faith what keeps us going? Well, yes, because you really can’t have hope without faith. They are inextricably linked. But faith is distinct from hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith is the confidence we have that our source of hope is trustworthy (Hebrews 11:1). Hope is the energy of the soul.

When we’re hopeful, the world is full of wonder and possibilities. We have drive and curiosity. We don’t want to waste our lives. We take on challenges and see adversity as something to be overcome.
But when we run low on hope, the world becomes a fearful, threatening place, full of chaotic futility.

Hopelessness saps us of desire and drive. It robs us of interest and appetite. We just want to curl up and protect our souls.

Today, we call this experience depression. The Bible diagnoses it as hopelessness. Note the psalmist’s prescription for his depression:

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

Hope in God. Okay, so how do we do that? If our souls run on the energy of hope, then what do we feed our souls in order to hope in God? We feed them promises.

A promise is a pledge of a good or better future for us. God’s promises are what he pledges to be for us, do for us, and provide for us. That is what the writer of Psalm 43 is exhorting himself to do: remember and believe (eat) God’s promises. Here is a powerful example of a promise God uses to feed his saints:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

The Bible is a book of promises—a storehouse of soul food—as well as stories of God making and keeping promises.

But as we’ll read in the next post, God has provided a soul food, one particular source of hope, that will sustain his people eternally.

Deliverer

I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
   my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Ps 18:1-2

Commitment

Excerpt from LifeToday Houses But Not Homes

Because so many of our friends and viewers of LIFE Today have asked to hear more from Betty, let me assure you in the book Living in Love, you will hear from this truly beautiful, very meek, yielded-to-God wife, mother and best friend a man could ever have. Let me share a few thoughts from Betty in the very first part of the book under the sub-heading, “Commitment pushes us beyond fear and frustration”:

• True commitment also involves stretching. As imperfect people, we get the wrong idea about commitment, and in order to protect ourselves, we commit only so far. Instead of giving everything we have, we hold back, afraid to give ourselves fully because we run the risk of getting hurt. Instead of completely engaging with our mate, we back off and hope to avoid what I call “ugly stuff”...
• The truth is this: you cannot have a harmonious, God-honoring relationship without making a firm, daily decision to honor each other and to stay attuned to each other’s thoughts and feelings, no matter what. Otherwise, you won’t be living, you’ll simply be existing. And you won’t even be existing together but rather operating in separate worlds. You may share the same physical space, the same room, but you’ll be in different emotional and mental places.
• You can come to a place in your relationship where you are strangers, wondering how you ever got along in the first place and unable to recognize or remember the love you once had for each other. It could be compared to the distance you may sense between yourself and God when you don’t communicate with Him. Of course, God never leaves us or forsakes us, and that’s the level of commitment a husband and wife need to have with each other.
• Sadly, over the years James and I have observed many couples living as though they have no common focus or interests. In a way it’s as if they are held captive within prison walls they have allowed to be built in their relationship. This is not what God intends! If you are living in this bleak world, you must – with God’s help – break free.
• When you try to operate in a separate, commitment-free zone, you only do damage to your relationship--possibly far more damage than you realize. A lack of dedication to each other is insidious in the way it begins to harden your heart and your attitudes. If you allow a lack of commitment to creep into your life, you’ll find yourself becoming more and more calloused to your spouse’s feelings and needs as well as to your own...
• People come to marriage with a commitment to the person they think they see in their spouse. And everyone comes into marriage with a commitment to her or his own self-interests and dreams. James and I want you to understand that the path to your own self-interest lies squarely through the territory of your spouse’s best interests and the best interests of your relationship.

Hope

Ray Ortlund post:  Now may the God of hope ...

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

Who is God?  He is the God of hope.  Hope for us is deep inside who God is.

What does God do?  He fills us with all joy and peace, so that we abound in hope.

How does God do that?  Our part: in believing.  His part: by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with all joy and peace, so that we abound in hope — that’s what a Romans-taught Christian looks like.  Not a tense, dogmatic person but someone filled with all joy and peace, abounding in hope.  Romans 1:1-15:12 is calculated to produce believers like this, churches like this.  Romans chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, and so on — it all funnels down to our being filled with all joy and peace, so that we abound in hope, and thus prove who God really is.

Those Very Same People

Excerpt from Perry Noble post: "Oh Crap, They Got Me" -- Part Two

#2 – As a Christian it is incredibly easy to look down on people who are far from God…not understanding that we used to be those very same people. 

Ephesians 2:1 has been rocking my world lately…seriously…read it…Ephesians 2:1.

“YOU WERE DEAD…”  AND…keep in mind that the Apostle Paul was writing this to people INSIDE the church…church people…Bible study people…deacons…elders…reminding them that THEY WERE ALL DEAD!

I was DEAD…not suffering from bad habits, not caught up in destructive patters, not trapped in a system of making bad mistakes, not addicted, not unfocused…BUT DEAD!!!

BUT…Ephesians 2:4-5 tells me that GOD MADE ME ALIVE IN CHRIST!

So…I was dead…God made me alive…so…that transaction had EVERYTHING to do with HIS effort and not my own!  (Because dead people can’t decide to be better people…because…THEY’RE FREAKIN DEAD!!!)

God saved me by HIS grace…not because I am great but because HE IS GREAT!

BUT…as Christians we forget that fact.  We forget that salvation was (and is) and gift…quite often because we slip into a system of legalism that allows us to be defined by what we do and do not do rather than the finished work that Christ has done for us.

We get angry at spiritually dead people for…well…acting spiritually dead.  So…we protest them, we picket them, we yell at them and damn them to hell…completely forgetting that if it were not for the amazing grace of God we would be the very people that we try to isolate ourselves from!

It is incredibly difficult to look down on someone when you realize that you WERE that person…and God brought you out of that death by HIS SON and not your effort!

The church is not called to condem the world (John 3:17) but to reach and impact the world…and that will NEVER be accomplished until those IN the church realize the reality of the Gospel…and instead of using the cross to beat people with we simply kneel at the foot of it and began to declare that there is still room for those who are far from God.

We can’t forget what it was like to be lost…

And we can’t yell at people who are the very people we would be if it were not for God’s grace.

I believe the grasp of those two concepts could CHANGE our churches…and through that would eventually CHANGE our world!

Know More Thoroughly the Anointed One

[For my concern is] that their hearts may be braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love, that they may come to have all the abounding wealth and blessings of assured conviction of understanding, and that they may become progressively more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, [which is] Christ (the Anointed One).  [Amplified Bible]

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."  [Message, v2-4]

Col 2:2

Ever Growing Revelation of Jesus Christ

Excerpts from Ed Stetzer post:  Leadership Book Interview: Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola on Jesus Manifesto

ES: What do you believe is the dominant view of Jesus in the evangelical church, and what is wrong with it?

LS: Myron Augsburger, former President of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, has said it best for me:

I believe in justice, but I am not a preacher of the gospel of justice, but the Gospel of Christ who calls us to justice.

I believe in love, but I am not a preacher of the gospel of love, but the Gospel of Christ who calls us to love.

I am committed to peace, but I am not a preacher of the gospel of peace, but the Gospel of Christ who calls us to peace.

I believe in the value of the simple life, but I am not the preacher of the simple life, but of the Gospel of Christ that calls us to the simple life.

For Augsburger, evangelicals have too often been guilty of the ultimate plagiarism: "borrowing some great concepts from Jesus then, running off proclaiming these concepts and not sharing the Christ that empowers these concepts."

FV: At best, Jesus is Savior and Lord, but not much more. So He gets routinely short-changed and limited. At worse, Jesus is a slogan, a banner, a logo, or a footnote to the gospel and the many "things" that Christians enthusiastically chase after today, whether they be the gifts of the Holy Spirit, leadership principles, apologetics, healing, miracles, the "five-fold ministry," helping the poor, social justice, personal holiness, memorizing Bible verses, a certain theological system, end-time theology, the coming revival, etc.

The problem is that Christians can chase these things, pursue them, major in them, and leave Jesus Christ out in the cold. I've met many evangelical Christians who were jazzed about a host of religious and spiritual "its" and "things" I was also at one time yet when Jesus Himself is brought up, they are disinterested. One of the reasons for this, I think, is that many believers have been given a very small Christ. By contrast, our book seeks to unveil His stunning greatness.

In short, if our eyes are opened to catch even a glimpse of the glory, the beauty, the majesty, the "otherness," and the amazing greatness of Christ, it would blow our circuitry. Everything else would turn into plain yogurt, and our hearts would be stolen for Him alone. That experience is the "Game-Changer" beyond all game-changers in my view.

Let me add one more word in this connection: Guilt is the greatest motivator on the planet. Psychologists tell us that guilt is a stronger motivating force than sex or money. That said, guilt is often used by contemporary preachers to get God's people to do certain things and stop doing other things.

But instead of being placed under a pile of guilt, what God's people need more than anything else (I believe) is an ever-growing revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. For out of that flows everything else. The words of a classic hymn explain this better than I can:

What has stript the seeming beauty
From the idols of the earth?
Not a sense of right or duty,
But the sight of peerless worth.

The look that melted Peter
The face that Stephen saw
The heart that wept with Mary
Can alone from idols draw

This touches evangelism too. Not long ago I was talking to a young man who was a leader in a very large para-church organization that's known for its evangelism. After observing some intensely Christ-centered gatherings where every member present was participating and sharing the riches and depths of Jesus Christ, the young man said to me:

"I just got back from one of our leadership conferences and the more they talked about saving the lost, the more disinterested I was. I come to these meetings here and while nothing is said about evangelism, I'm so excited about my Lord that I want to share Him with others. There's no guilt or duty in it at all. I'm fired up about Him."

In short, we all need a fresh unveiling of our Lord. And that's what Len and I have set out to do in Jesus Manifesto.

Decency and Respect

Ray Ortlund post:  ... or we are all undone

“We may please ourselves with the prospect of free and popular governments. But there is great danger that those governments will not make us happy. God grant they may. But I fear that in every assembly, members will obtain influence by noise, not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls. . . . There is one thing, my dear sir, that must be attempted and most sacredly observed or we are all undone. There must be decency and respect, and veneration introduced for persons of authority of every rank, or we are undone. In a popular government, this is our only way.”

John Adams, writing to James Warren, quoted in David McCullough, John Adams (New York, 2001), page 106.

Have Learned

Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.  [Message]

Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.  [Amplified Bible]

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  [ESV]

Phil 4:11


------------
Learn = Manthano <3129>

Definition:
1) to learn, be appraised
1a) to increase one's knowledge, to be increased in knowledge
1b) to hear, be informed
1c) to learn by use and practice
1c1) to be in the habit of, accustomed to

Power Witness

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

HOW POWERFUL IS THE CROSS FOR ME?
 
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  Romans 1:28

Paul writes to the Christians in Rome who were in no way naïve and sheltered from their culture.  They were first century Romans.  Life was barbaric, sexually deviant, and politically cut throat.  One could see about anything in broad daylight, even in the so-called temples of the day.  The blood of people and animals ran down walls like water. 

What happened to a person when God gave them up to do whatever their hearts desired was on full display.  One didn't have to go to the bad side of town to see it.  There were no corners of Rome where life was provincial, where behavior looked righteous but sin was under the surface.  A God-ward conscience was a rare thing.  The behavior of the majority of the population was described by Paul.  They were a people "filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness." 

If you were rich in ancient Rome, you were privileged to live on a large piece of land outside the stench of the city.  Opulence reigned but the danger of political alliances plagued you day and night.  If you were poor and lived inside the city, gangs ruled and life was physically dangerous.  Whether rich or poor, sin - the likes of what we can only begin to imagine, was encouraged and displayed.  Talks of being impaled on a pole for petty crimes were commonplace around dinner tables.

It was out of this that Paul was converted.  It was out of this that the Roman church was born.  The power of the cross to change lives from such debauchery to godliness was the Christian's witness.  Each one, treasuring Jesus, lived in such a way as to provide a stark contrast between one who worshipped Roman gods and one who followed Christ.

The implications for me are staggering.  As I tend to become discouraged over the places where sin still has a hold over me, I remind myself of Calvary.  Christ died for my sins, died to make me a daughter in a new kingdom, and powerful life change will be the result when I treasure Jesus today more than I treasure doing the things which come so easily for me but dishonor my Savior.

I pray that You will let my heart and mind live in first century Rome as I read Paul's words.  Don't let me get used to 'cross' talk without being profoundly moved.  Amen

Farewell Forever

Ray Ortlund post:  First step

“Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression?  The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past.  Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ.  Never look back at your sins again.  Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the blood of Christ.’  That is your first step.  Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression (Grand Rapids, 1965), page 35.