All sin is a rejection of God's Kingship and an assertion of our own. We rebel against His rule and seek to reign over our own lives. We say to Him, "You do not know what's best. I do. You are not my King. I am." How is that working out for you? Probably as well as it worked for Adam and Eve and for every human since them. We somehow forget that not only is God the King of Everything, but He is also the Best King. He is a Holy King. This means that every do not from God is for our best and every do is too. All of His Words are saturated in love and are for our good and His glory. I recently shared with my friends at Trace Crossing that I'm not sure exactly how much time I've spent on sin in my life, but I do know these two things: 1) It's been a lot 2) It's all been wasted. In Hebrews 3, we are told to exhort each other every day not to be deceived by sin. What if the Church took this teaching seriously? What if each morning Dads would remind Moms and then their children, "Look to Christ today! Don't be fooled by sin today. Sin never provides what it promises but Christ always does" - wouldn't this revolutionize our homes and our congregations? What if our teenagers would encourage each other to pursue Christ and not sin each day at school?
Father, please produce these types of Dads and Moms and students at Trace Crossing (and all other churches). Please help us to purse Christ and find in Him such satisfaction that the temptations of the flesh, world, and devil can be seen for what they really are. Please help us to live your Word by being intentional to remind each other daily of Christ's greatness and sin's deceitfulness. Please help us to quit wasting so much time on sin. In Christ's name, Amen.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
5 Reasons for Practicing Corrective Church Discipline
This list is taken from Mark Dever's "What is a Healthy Church?"
Practicing Corrective Church Discipline shows love for:
1. the good of the disciplined individual;
2. other Christians as they see the danger of sin;
3. the health of the church as a whole;
4. the corporate witness of the church and, therefore, non-Christians in the community;
5. and the glory of God. Our holiness should reflects God's holiness.
Practicing Corrective Church Discipline shows love for:
1. the good of the disciplined individual;
2. other Christians as they see the danger of sin;
3. the health of the church as a whole;
4. the corporate witness of the church and, therefore, non-Christians in the community;
5. and the glory of God. Our holiness should reflects God's holiness.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thinking on Lent
I did not grow up in a church that engaged the Lenten Season. As a matter of fact, I used to think it was strictly a Catholic practice and having grown up as a protestant in Louisiana, we didn't do much that our Catholic friends did. I've since learned that Lent is for protestants too! Lent is a great season to ponder the cross and our need for daily reliance upon Christ and turning from sin. Below are my 3 main reasons for participating in Lent:
#1. Easter is too important to let it "sneak up on me" without giving much thought to Christ's substitutionary atonement.
#2. I want the Spirit to show me anything or anyone I am choosing more than Christ. Is every area yielded to Him?
#3. I want to rest in the completed work of Christ rather than think my work earns righteousness.
If you would like to lead your family through a weekly reading that will help them think on Easter and our need for Christ, I would recommend Lenten Lights by Noel Piper and here is the URL where the resource can be found:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/lenten-lights
#1. Easter is too important to let it "sneak up on me" without giving much thought to Christ's substitutionary atonement.
#2. I want the Spirit to show me anything or anyone I am choosing more than Christ. Is every area yielded to Him?
#3. I want to rest in the completed work of Christ rather than think my work earns righteousness.
If you would like to lead your family through a weekly reading that will help them think on Easter and our need for Christ, I would recommend Lenten Lights by Noel Piper and here is the URL where the resource can be found:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/lenten-lights
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Verses for Evangelism
The Gospel – 4 main components – God, man, Christ, response
GOD
Psalm 95:3-6 “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”
Isaiah 40:21-25 “Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.”
Acts 17:29-31 “Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
1 Peter 1:16 “since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
MAN
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying our the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Romans 8:6-8 “To set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
CHRIST
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
2 Cor. 5:18-19; 21 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. . . . For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Colossians 1:19-22 “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”
Hebrews 9:14 “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
1 John 4:9-10 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
RESPONSE
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”
2 Cor. 5:20 “…We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
GOD
Psalm 95:3-6 “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”
Isaiah 40:21-25 “Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.”
Acts 17:29-31 “Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
1 Peter 1:16 “since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
MAN
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying our the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Romans 8:6-8 “To set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
CHRIST
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
2 Cor. 5:18-19; 21 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. . . . For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Colossians 1:19-22 “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”
Hebrews 9:14 “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
1 John 4:9-10 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
RESPONSE
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”
2 Cor. 5:20 “…We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanksgiving
Should the Lord give us this Thursday, it will be the first Thanksgiving that my wife and I will celebrate without our grandmothers. My grandmother, Mary, and her grandmother, Lucile, both are experiencing the "far better" with Christ (Phil. 1:23). On top of my grandmother's absence this year is the selling of her home. While I'm thankful for a buyer, I realize that as the ink dries on the purchase agreement, I will not step foot in my grandmother's home again. A chapter that has been so sweet is swiftly drawing to a close. I will not bore you with all of my memories, but I'm thankful for each one of them. I'm thankful for the year she let my family live with her when we were transitioning back to Louisiana. I'm thankful for every Saturday lunch she made through the years. I'm thankful for all of the Thanksgiving breakfasts, lunches, afternoon snacks, and dinners. I'm thankful for the gumbo lunches on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all the Christmas Eve gatherings, the finger foods & sherbet punch, and opening presents with my cousins. I'm thankful for the memories of watching football games together. I'm thankful for the hall closet full of jellies and pickles she had canned. I'm thankful for all the long nights of laughing and playing games with my cousins around Maw-Maw's dining room table. I'm thankful for every morning that I woke up to the smell of bacon, biscuits, and scrambled eggs (and for the secret place she kept the kind of syrup that I liked). I'm thankful for all of the 3:00pm coffee conversations that happened around her kitchen table and the intense games of dominoes. I'm thankful for the memories of playing Uno, Rummy, and Hungry Hippos together. I'm thankful for her proud displaying of all of her grandchildren's art projects (including the cow I painted blue in the nativity scene). I'm thankful for all the kind words I heard her share. I'm thankful for all of the food I watched her prepare and then take to others who did not have any. I'm thankful for every time she said "Let's pray together before you leave." Yes, the selling of my grandmother's home will be bitter sweet. A chapter that is full of more memories than I can record will be closed. But new chapters begin. New memories are to be shared with our 3 little ones and the little one on the way. There has never been a day in my life that I was not grateful to be placed in the family of Mary Graham. I'm so thankful for the Lord's providence and graciousness. I'm also thankful for the resurrection of Christ. For even now, my grandmother lives. And One Day, we will share a place that will never be sold and make memories that will never end.
Friday, November 18, 2011
A Word for Elders
I read this verse yesterday:
Acts 20:28 "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."
There is a sermon in this one verse.
Don't miss the charge: "pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock"
Don't forget how you became an elder: "the Holy Spirit has made you overseers"
Don't neglect our duty: "to care for the church"
Don't forget who the church belongs to: "church of God"
Don't forget what He paid: "which he obtained with his own blood"
To be an elder is both sobering and rewarding. It is both joyous and sorrowful. May we be those like Paul who do "not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears" (Acts 20:31). May we never take lightly the calling we have received. May we never forget the reckoning that is coming for our stewardship.
Heb. 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."
Heb. 13:7 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."
Acts 20:28 "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood."
There is a sermon in this one verse.
Don't miss the charge: "pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock"
Don't forget how you became an elder: "the Holy Spirit has made you overseers"
Don't neglect our duty: "to care for the church"
Don't forget who the church belongs to: "church of God"
Don't forget what He paid: "which he obtained with his own blood"
To be an elder is both sobering and rewarding. It is both joyous and sorrowful. May we be those like Paul who do "not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears" (Acts 20:31). May we never take lightly the calling we have received. May we never forget the reckoning that is coming for our stewardship.
Heb. 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."
Heb. 13:7 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."
Friday, November 11, 2011
Mountain Dew Mess
Today for lunch, Barton and I decided to visit Papa V's. For those of you not in Tupelo, this is one of the coolest gas stations in town. I know, I know! You should never feed your face where you feed you car, but you've never seen Papa V's. Their lunch line is busy everyday because of their bbq and downhome cooking. Arriving earlier than Barton, I picked out my food and then picked out a place for us to sit. It was a high-top for two. In the course of taking my first bite, I knocked over my 32 oz. cup of Mountain Dew. Some may see this as God saving me from my own stupid choices, but nevertheless, a waterfall of yellow drink cascaded off the table onto the chair in front of me and all over the floor. Two men close-by immediately looked at me, so I quickly offered the ancient expression: "My bad!" As I surveyed the mess, I reached for the container of "tiny napkins" on the table. While I love Papa V's food, I do not love Papa V's napkins. They would be perfect if I was a Smurf, but they are far from the lumber jack Brawny man. It was evident the resources I had would not be sufficient to clean up this mess. Fortunately, one of the Papa V's workers was close by and wiping down tables. I tapped him on the shoulder and offered the astute phrase: "I spilled my drink." He immediately used the towel in his hands and began the first phase of clean-up. By the time all was said and done, he made four trips to the table with towels, a bucket, and a mop. When he was finished, the table was restored to its original condition and I had a cap on my new drink (which I would later drop again next to Barton's foot - but the cap held!!)
Even in this simple experience, I was reminded of the Gospel. More than a physical mess, I've made a spiritual mess but do not have the sufficient resources to clean up the problem. I need Another who is both willing and able to help me. I need One who will deal with the mess and who is not afraid of the necessary clean up work. I need One who will one day restore everything as it was originally intended. Thankfully, there is One. One who saw the most wretched aspects of my mess but was willing to have them charged to His account. One who in the clean up process experienced forsakenness, wrath, and abandonment. One who had all the required resources of holiness and righteousness. One who has removed the penalty of my sin, broken the power of sin, and will one day remove the presence of sin. Maybe you didn't spill your drink today friend, but if you've disobeyed the Good Words of our Good King you are in a mess. Good News! The King has taken your place in the mess that you might set your feet on solid ground. Look to Him. Yield your life to Him. If you do not, you will find your "tiny napkins of righteousness" will not be enough to clean up your mess on the day the Great King returns.
Thank you God for reminding me of the Gospel today in the spilling of my mountain dew. Thank you for reminding me that I do not have the resources necessary to clean up my mistakes. Thank you for reminding me that I need Christ to clean what I cannot. Thank you for rescue, regeneration, and reconciliation. Thanks for cleaning up my mess. Thanks also for giving someone wisdom to create tops for drinks...and straws.
Even in this simple experience, I was reminded of the Gospel. More than a physical mess, I've made a spiritual mess but do not have the sufficient resources to clean up the problem. I need Another who is both willing and able to help me. I need One who will deal with the mess and who is not afraid of the necessary clean up work. I need One who will one day restore everything as it was originally intended. Thankfully, there is One. One who saw the most wretched aspects of my mess but was willing to have them charged to His account. One who in the clean up process experienced forsakenness, wrath, and abandonment. One who had all the required resources of holiness and righteousness. One who has removed the penalty of my sin, broken the power of sin, and will one day remove the presence of sin. Maybe you didn't spill your drink today friend, but if you've disobeyed the Good Words of our Good King you are in a mess. Good News! The King has taken your place in the mess that you might set your feet on solid ground. Look to Him. Yield your life to Him. If you do not, you will find your "tiny napkins of righteousness" will not be enough to clean up your mess on the day the Great King returns.
Thank you God for reminding me of the Gospel today in the spilling of my mountain dew. Thank you for reminding me that I do not have the resources necessary to clean up my mistakes. Thank you for reminding me that I need Christ to clean what I cannot. Thank you for rescue, regeneration, and reconciliation. Thanks for cleaning up my mess. Thanks also for giving someone wisdom to create tops for drinks...and straws.
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