Are we worshiping ourselves or Christ?

I have been noticing more and more lately how much many of our contemporary christian songs are really more exalting of ourselves or the people singing them than they are of Christ. Not all of them but a lot of them.

“God is for us…“

“He will never fail us…”

“God is on our side…”

So wait a minute, God is on our side? I was under the impression that we are working for Him. Paul titled himself a slave of Christ which differs dramatically with the common christian mentality that has become so prominent in America. Don’t get me wrong, we should thank God daily for all that He has done for us but it seems that the attention and the awe filled worship which belongs to Him has shifted to the gifts and desires that He has so graciously fulfilled in our lives rather than remaining upon the Lord Himself. It is intoxicating people and keeping them from true worship and in reality true contentment in Christ. There is infinitely more joy to be had in Christ Himself than there is in any one of the gifts which we are given here on earth. It seems as though there is an alarming increase in people “coming to Christ” for riches and services or to fix their life, like he is some kind of butler or perhaps a psychiatrist rather than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that He truly is.

What do you think that Paul was saying in Philippians 1:21 when filled with the Holy Spirit he said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” ? Was he saying that for him to live is to be comfortable and bask in material things and then to die is to go and spend eternity in heaven where he would be content if Christ wasn’t there when he got there? By no means! Our purpose in life on this earth is glorify Christ in all that we do and death is gain in that we get the privilege of serving and enjoying Christ for all of eternity. John Piper puts my point into beautiful and wise words when he says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” IN HIM! Not in gifts, not in prosperity, but in Him.

I cannot say that I am not guilty of subconsciously partaking in this shallow and selfish rubbish, but the Lord has laid the issue deeply upon my heart and others need to hear it. C.S. Lewis provided a wonderful illustration of this issue as well in this quote, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Lord, let us go on no longer worshiping ourselves. I pray that you would allow us to love you more. Oh my soul pleads with you to replace our selfish and temporal desires with the desire to know you more deeply! I praise you for who you are and for even allowing us to be a part of glorifying you. Let us be in your word and serve you with all of our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our strength that we may please you. Lord let us not go on making mud pies in this world but fix our eyes on the eternal and that of what actually matters, you, your will, and your glory. It is in the name of Christ that I make these requests, amen.

Predestination

Predestination, what an incredibly difficult concept to try to grasp! Though there is only one (existing in three) that can fully understand it’s reality, the last thing that we as believers should EVER do is to try to disregard it as nonexistent. There are too many believers who look at predestination as a falsehood. Fellow disciples of Christ, there are many examples of and references to predestination within the bible. If the bible is the infallible word of God, then to disregard or ridicule anything from it as false would be to strip the entire bible of its inerrancy. I will now provide some examples from the very breathed words of our Lord regarding this topic:

• Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

• Acts 4:28 “to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

• Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

• Ephesians 1:4-6 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

• Ephesians 1:11-12 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”

These passages of scripture clearly display the fact that God has ordained circumstances and occurrences before they have actually taken place. In addition to this evidence straight from scripture, for someone to say that predestination does not exist puts the very sovereignty of God into question. If God were to lack knowledge of anything past, present, or future, he would cease to be all knowing.  That would mean that the bible is fallible and that we would draw absolutely no certainty as to whether anything said within it is truth or not! To take away God’s knowledge and sovereignty of the future, his control in the outcome of all things, would cause God to cease to be God. God is an infinite being, outside of time because he created it. We are finite beings who yes, have free will, but only within the will of God. We can will ourselves all day long to sprout wings and fly but it will not happen because that is not God’s design, it is not within his will (at least not at this point in time, whether or not he decides to allow that in the future is his decision and only he knows(attempt at humor)). Many people do not like the idea of predestination because they feel that it reduces them to a puppet, but that is not the case. We are given free will but that does not mean that God did not know before the beginning of time what our destiny would be. I believe that the reason all people are not saved is because of the fact that God does not force people to accept and follow our Lord Jesus Christ, but he does call them and knows before he ever even creates them whether or not we will accept him. Is this unfair? No! It is not unfair! If we got what was fair we would ALL end up burning in hell because God is not obligated to save ANYONE! God is eternally perfect in every way and we have sinned against him so we deserve an eternal separation from him. Thank him that he is perfect in love AS WELL as justice and that he sent his son Jesus to take upon himself the sins of man and grant salvation to all who choose to believe in him! I think that people often times forget that we are the creation not the creator. We can’t tell God what to do, and we should praise him for that! Think about what would happen if God (hypothetically speaking) did not know the outcome of all things. We would have assurance of nothing from the bible. Though this a very mind boggling and tough concept to grasp, we must accept it as part of truth and reality and stop trying make everything about us and how we FEEL. Let God be God and accept the fact that our finite minds cannot now or ever comprehend all the things of God. If they could then we would be equal with God and we know that is not the case. If you are a believer in Christ, thank the Lord that you were called, that you received him, and that you can have assurance of salvation because of sovereignty and the inerrancy of his word! If you do not know Christ, my soul pleads with our Lord Jesus that you would answer his call, that you would turn from your ways and turn toward him. I pray that he would act upon your heart in a way that breaks it and is only able to be healed by the acceptance of him. I am in no way trying to claim that I know everything or even close to everything about the things predetermined by God, but I do know that he has given us plenty of evidence within his word to know that he is totally sovereign over everything past, present, and future. I also DO know that we will never comprehend all the things of God. We as believers must humbly accept this fact and take comfort in that the Lord loves us and does know all things.

• Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

• Job 11:6-8 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven–what can you do? Deeper than Sheol–what can you do?”
• Isaiah 40:13 “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his councel?”

• 1 Corinthians 2:14-20 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are not spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

I pray that the Lord would bless you all richly and that what I have written here may be of some help or insight to anyone who reads it. I pray that you would be thankful and exult in the fact that before the foundation of the world the Lord had already put in place his plan to send Jesus to die for us and  incorporated our prayers and supplications to him into his willed plan. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Remember the Cross

Oh how great is my worthiness of death! But how much greater is Your love for me! Jesus, willingly and undeservingly, you gently pulled me aside and in my place were stripped of all clothing and dignity in the eyes of Your own creation. Oh how they mocked You and maliciously clothed you in scarlet with a crown of agony upon your glorious head. You sustained every blow that of which I deserved. You bore the weight of the tree, measured out to bear the sins of me and my fellow man. Not only did You bear its great weight but You, out of Your infinite love and grace hung upon it in our place and bore the penalty which we are so deserving of. Oh but how my soul exults in that You did not stop there! My debt You paid and my curse You took, but it was not enough to hold You down, You rose and live! You in Your humility hung on my cross. Your perfect love paid my debt. Your divine gift of salvation rose victorious in place of the occurrence of my eternal damnation. How great is your mercy beautiful Jesus! How could I place anything above You? Lord, how is it that I deliberately sin as if I could crucify You all over again? Oh how I hate my flesh which would mutilate You, the son of God and my savior, if given its chance! Endless is my need of your mercy. My flesh may fail but You do not. I am weak but You are infinitely strong. Jesus that you would choose to dwell within me through Your Holy Spirit is such amazing grace that I did nothing to earn. My Lord, please draw me further in. Strengthen my spirit and supress my flesh so that You may be glorified in me. Humble me and exalt Yourself in all that I do. How I long for the day that I will sin against You no more but until then let me faithfully abide in You and serve You here. Lord do not forsake me in any circumstance but hold me tightly. Teach me, continue to grant me the grace of a repentant heart for without You acting upon my heart how would a sinful man such as myself choose to repent? Let me not forget the mocking and reviling that you endured for me. Let me not forget the cross which you bore for me. Let me not forget that you rose. Let me not forget that salvation has been granted upon my believing in You as the Son of God. Let me not forget that You paid the price and there is nothing that I can do to earn favor in Your eyes through my works. Let me not forget that You God are Your greatest gift to me. Jesus please fulfill your promise in granting these things in Your holy and righteous name.

May all who read this remember the cross and that You hung in their place as well. Open the eyes of those blind to the truth Lord! Amen and hallelujah You live, as do I because of Your love!

Prayer

Psalm 50:15 says:

“and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

In this passage above the Lord tells us not to fend for ourselves in times of adversity, not to fight in our own strength, not to give ourselves over to evil, but to call upon him our times of trouble! He follows with a promise, “I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” All that he asks is that we cry out to him through our trials and in return he WILL deliver us and be glorified. What a promise, a promise that unfortunately is not trusted many times. For some reason there are times when we assume behavior of God that we would be ashamed to display ourselves. It goes against God’s very character to break a promise. Why is it that though we know scripture to be God’s perfect word containing his promises it is not trusted? Why are there christians who pray faithlessly though claiming that they trust in the Lord? If I were to be inquired by a friend in a way such as this, “Hey Logan, I honestly do not believe that you are kind enough or willing to help me with this task but I am going to request of you your help.” I would probably respond in the same way that our God does when one prays to him with no faith, doubting in his love and willingness to lend his help to them. Do you believe in who God says that he is? If so know this, for him a being so great and holy, to bestow any sort of blessing upon us is as meager in labor to him as a crumb that has dropped unnoticed from the table of a master to a dog. Oh my soul pleads with our only Master and Lord Jesus that his word, his promises, would be trusted in their totality!

Matthew 6:7-13

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

What a remarkable gift of grace that our Savior Jesus Christ whom is and was one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit would teach us to pray. The one who sees to the very depths of a soul, deep down, further than an individual even knows to exist instructs us regarding how to make a genuine appeal to the Father through prayer. This, is an awesome thing.

Our Father, our creator and Lord, may your name be honored as holy among us and all of creation. Though your kingdom will surely come, please let it come soon. Let your will be done here on this earth, though fallen and drowning in the depravity of mankind, as it is done in heaven. Lord allow to us the provisions necessary to be sustained for our time being here. Please forgive our transgressions against you as we forgive those who have transgressed against us. By your grace keep us from temptation, but if you do allow it, let us not succumb to it. Deliver us from the evil one and keep us from stumbling.

The Lord calls us to pray, to look to him. He desires for us to rely on him and acknowledge his blessings, to love him and be in intimate relation with him. Only a fool could turn down such an offer of fellowship. Let us all run to our Father and Savior who loves us more than we could fathom, through every difficulty and circumstance. Let us relate to him, the infinitely strong, loving, kind, and just Father and creator of all, as the helpless children that we are in a dark and evil world. What a gift to be able to call the almighty author and Lord of the universe Daddy.

First Post!

Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours for ever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate Him as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’s staff, the father’s rod, the captain’s sword, the priest’s mitre, the prince’s sceptre, the prophet’s mantle, all are ours. Jesus hath no dignity which He will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which He will not exercise for our defence. His fulness of Godhead is our unfailing, inexhaustible treasure-house.

His manhood also, which He took upon Him for us, is ours in all its perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us He gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us He bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service. He makes the unsullied garment of His life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of His character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of His death our boast and glory. He bequeaths us His manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and His Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us. He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as His heavenly legacy the full results of all the labours of His life. He is now as much ours as heretofore; and He blushes not to acknowledge Himself “our Lord Jesus Christ,” though He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ everywhere and every way is our Christ, for ever and ever most richly to enjoy. O my soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit! call Him this morning, “thy Redeemer.”

-Charles H. Spurgeon