In Christ Alone

by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! Who took on flesh,
fulness of God in helpless babe!
This Gift of love and righteousness,
scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
the wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid;
here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day,
up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine,
bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life no fear in death,
this is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home,
here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

Grace, God's Grace

"The promises of God's grace provide the power that makes the demands of God's holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear. Peter described the freeing power of God's promises like this: 'Through [His precious and very great promises] you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire' (2 Peter 1:4). In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption by the power of a superior promise.

Therefore we should pray for each other the way Jesus prays for us in John 17:17: 'Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth'. There is no abiding joy without holiness, for the Scripture says, 'Strive...for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord' (Hebrews 12:14). How important, then, is the truth that sanctifies! How crucial is the Word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the Word of God! 'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path' (Psalm 119:105). 'I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you' (v. 11; cf. v. 9).

John Piper - Desiring God pp. 149-150

Spurgeon on the Circus Church

HAT TIP: Lane's Blog

Hirelings

The professing church is brimming with hirelings. What is a "hireling" you might ask, and how is it relevant to the question of the condition of today's church? I'm glad you asked. Let's see what the Lord Jesus has to say of the hireling:

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. (John 10:11-13)

As you can see, the Lord isn't impressed with the hireling, in fact He disdains him and heaps contempt upon him. So what does it say about the state of the church when today's denominational pipelines and seminaries are cranking out hirelings nearly as fast as Mattel cranks out Ken and Barbie? And isn't there a parallel here between the plastic Christianity of these hirelings and their plastic toy counterparts? Why yes, yes there is; they're both platicized, fake, and without true life.

True life is the life imputed by the Lord of Hosts and is a thing which no man can attain to, it is the gift of God lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet today's plastic Christian leadership - equipped with their plastic crosses - shill a plastic gospel that is bloodless, powerless, and ineffectual for salvation. These blind leaders of the blind send countless myriads of deceived followers home each week singing of a heaven they'll never see apart from the change of heart, submission, and faithful obedience to Christ that are foundational to true salvation.

But believer beware! These hirelings become simultaneously defensive and aggressive when their meal-ticket is threatened. If one dares question the status quo of their Nicolaitane constructs, rest assured that the poisoned darts of false accusations and ad hominem are sure to fly his way. All bets are off and all the stops are pulled when these spiritual cockroaches are exposed to the light of scripture. As they quickly scurry from the light they hurl baseless accusations, twist scripture, and resort to absurd claims of spiritual authority in their desperate attempts to maintain their deception at all costs. Not unlike the miserable, feeble old man hiding behind the curtain while pretending to be "The Great and Powerful Oz", the spiritual charlatan will attempt continue his masquerade even when the truth is standing there staring him squarely in the face.

Of the hireling Tozer well said:

A Hireling; No True Shepherd
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

It is doubtful whether we can be Christian in anything unless we are Christian in everything. To obey Christ in one or two or ten instances and then in fear of consequences to back away and refuse to obey in another is to cloud our life with the suspicion that we are only fair-weather followers and not true believers at all. To obey when it costs us nothing and refuse when the results are costly is to convict ourselves of moral trifling and gross insincerity….

Again, the pastor when facing his congregation on Sunday morning, dare not think of the effect his sermon may have on his job, his salary or his future relation to the church. Let him but worry about tomorrow and he becomes a hireling and no true shepherd of the sheep. No man is a good preacher who is not willing to lay his future on the line every time he expounds the Word. He must let his job and his reputation ride on each and every sermon or he has no right to think that he stands in the prophetic tradition. SIZ, 146-147.
(A.W. Tozer, Tozer on Christian Leadership)

A prayer: Give me grace to follow, Lord–especially when it really does cost me something. Amen.

May the hirelings quickly find themselves either out of work or broken and repentant before the One True and Living God, the infinite Creator and Judge of the universe.

Praise Him!

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Oh Lord, how can I express my thankfulness to You? How can I be thankful enough? For with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm you pulled me from the devourer's jaws. You loved me before I loved You. You knew me before the world began.

Oh Lord, how can I express my thankfulness for You? How can I be thankful enough? You called me by name and opened my eyes. Like Lazarus I heard Your voice and came to You. You've hidden me in the cleft of the Rock and sheltered me beneath the shadow of Your wings.

Oh Lord, how can I express my thankfulness? You are God alone! There is none like you! Who is like the Lord? There is no one! May all praise and glory and power and honor and strength and wisdom and riches be unto the name of the Lord forever and ever more! May Your hands of healing and protection rest upon Your children. May You keep us from evil and rebuke the devourer for our sakes. May the vain imaginings of the enemy bear no fruit against us, but rather may his plans be utterly confounded and of none effect.

Oh Lord, fill me with Your holy presence! Draw close to me, and draw me close to You! Write Your statutes upon the tables of my heart that Your Word would never depart from my lips. Cause me oh Lord to be the man You've called me to be! By Your power alone may I be the husband, the father, the brother, the son, the friend, the disciple, the servant, the child of the Living God that You've called me to be. Mortify my flesh oh Lord that it would be in subjection to Your Holy Spirit. Cause me oh Lord to walk in the very center of Your perfect will, turning neither to the right hand, nor the left. Oh Lord may I walk only upon the path You've set before me.

Oh Lord, direct my mind according to Your awesome power! Cause me oh Lord to think Your thoughts after You. Give me oh Lord the desires of my heart, that I would desire only that which You desire! May my every thought be captive to Christ!

Embolden me oh Lord that I would speak forth Your truth in love with a humble boldness that testifies to Your eternal Godhead and Gospel! Shape me, use me, mold me, make me that vessel which seems good and right in Your eyes.

Satisfy me oh Lord within Your presence. May I long for nothing more than to dwell within Your Holy place where there is fulness of joy! Set my heart aflame oh Lord that Your Word would burn as a fire within my bones that I may speak forth the eternal truth of Christ crucified, the hinge upon which all of history turns!

Break me oh Lord as a potter shatters the clay. May I decrease as You increase within me. Renew me oh Lord that I may be found worthy of the high calling of Christ Jesus. Purge me oh Lord of sin and iniquity. Forgive me oh Lord for my sinful pride. May I make my boast only in the Lord and His everlasting mercies.

Thank You Lord for this day. Thank You for the life You've given me. Thank You for the family You've given me. Thank You for the many blessings in my life that I take for granted. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for the cross. Thank You for the blood You shed on Calvary. Thank You for setting aside Your throne of eternal glory and becoming a man. Thank You for taking my sin and shame upon Yourself. Thank You for Your love that is better than life. Thank You for Your Word that is sharper than a two-edged sword. Thank You for being unchanging and unchangeable in nature, purpose, perfection, works and knowledge.

Thank You for being The Great I AM, Yahweh Elohim Shaddai, Jehovah, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Creator and Judge, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the King of Glory, the Rock of our salvation, the suffering servant, our kinsman Redeemer, the Ancient of Days, God Almighty, the One True Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ forevermore.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:8)

The Eternal Existence of Christ

This important study succinctly breaks down the the oft ignored subject of Christology in the light of inerrant scripture:

INTRODUCTION

Our modern world is decidedly confused. On the one hand, the rationalistic, humanistic viewpoint dominates within our public education system. We are now taught to question the validity of anything that can be called "supernatural." The very idea that someone might believe in miracles, revelation, etc., is opened up to direct ridicule. At the same time, in a direct reaction against this kind of dry humanism, many people are fleeing for refuge into every kind of spiritistic group imaginable. "Channeling" (a fancy way of saying a spirit medium) is very popular, and the Eastern ideas of reincarnation and mysticism are drawing converts from every walk of life.

In the midst of all of this confusion we find the Bible, continuing to proclaim the timeless message of Jesus Christ. Yet even the Lord Jesus has come in for modern "updating" in many men's writings. After a century of "searching for the historical Jesus" men (hopefully) have discovered that outside of the inspired writings of the apostles in the New Testament, we will not find much information on who Jesus was. Indeed, unless we see that it is illogical and irrational to reject the Scriptures for what they claim to be we will never have much to say to our world.

Continue reading "The Pre-existence of Christ In Scripture, Patristics and Creed" here

He Is Risen

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; (Matthew 28:6-7)

He is risen indeed!