The Faces of my Daddy

This video is from our church's break-fast, not to be confused with breakfast. We fasted together and broke it that evening. It was a good time of wonderful fellowship. The many faces of my father! LOL Travis I hope you see this and get a kick out of it. My goodness to download this one video it took like an hour!!! No lie!

Spurgeon

I was reading a Charles Spurgeon sermon today called "The Warning Neglected." The sermon was on Ezekiel 33:5 "He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him." It was an extremely insightful and sobering text. Gods wrath is on the wicked, but how much more unbelievers who hear the truth of God and reject it. Spurgeon made the point that those who hear it and reject it once are condemned how much greater those who hear it all the time and reject it over and over again. Spurgeon said:

"Oh, sirs, if a man had but once poured out his heart before you concerning your eternal interests, and if he had spoken to you earnestly, and you had rejected his message, then, even then, ye had been guilty. But what shall we say to you upon whom the shafts of the Almighty have been exhausted?" http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0165.htm

Thinking of the truth that I am taught in Grace Bible Church, I am sobered heavily knowing that because of this teaching I am held to a high standard. We will all be held accountable to our actions, but even more to us who know the truth. I am a christian and can never be under Gods wrath, Christ has sealed that for me. But do I want to stand before my loving Father with unrepentant sin on judgement, when I knew what I was doing was showing hatred to Him? In a different context but still true, the words of Paul, "May it never be!"

Spurgeon went on to discuss how so many people reject the truth of the Gospel because of the messenger. They may have a problem with the person bringing the message. I'm paraphrasing what he said about it. He gave two examples. The first talked about a burning building, and that one was inside the building and one outside. The one outside the burning building was yelling "Fire! Fire!" Spurgeon asked, would the man in the building begin to say, "I don't like his tone so I'm not going to listen to him. He's saying that very rude and mean. He's yelling at me!" There's no way the man inside would say that! The second example he gave was of a man thrown overboard on a ship, another man tossed him a rope. Spurgeon asked, would the man being to say, "I don't like this rope, it hasn't been made at the best manufactures, and besides that it's got tar all over it! And I don't like the sailor who tossed it to me." Spurgeon then explained that as the men gurgled and when sinking into the water people would say of him, "Fool! His blood is on his own head." And rightfully so.

Well it's the same with the Gospel or any divine truth someone brings you. Just because you do not like the messenger doesn't make a difference. It doesn't matter what the messenger does with his time if he is reproving you on yours. If what he is saying is true, you need to do what is right before God and repent. What he does is between him and God. If later you have gotten the log out of your eye and feel need to approach him, by all means do. But never pridefully reject truth because you have beef with the person bringing it. As Christians, I have often thought, we even have need to listen to unbelievers if they bring merited accusations against us! Humbly repent, because we will stand before God, and we must give an account. Do not grieve the spirit of God! But have him smile down on what you are doing saying, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." And in the end, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master."

Power of Prayer!

I woke up this morning and began my day a little later than usual. I didn't put much thought to the things of the Lord when I awoke. I took the dog out and went through the tasks of my morning without even looking to the Lord. I got ready, took the dog out, and then got in my truck and cranked it to warm it up. As I was sitting there I began to pray to the Lord, telling Him that I loved Him, wanted to serve Him, and glorify Him throughout the day. Then I began to thank Him for Christ...and this is where my heart really began to turn, all on the basis of, "Oh my God, thank You for Jesus Christ, thank You for His suffering. You turned Your back on Him, poured out Your wrath on Him, allowed the world to hurl abuse at Him, even to death, the perfect holy Lamb. All this making me able to say this prayer to You, and stand HOLY AND PERFECT in Your sight. All on the basis of Jesus' righteousness." My heart was changed for the morning then. Just from talking to the Lord and meditating on some truths He has put in my heart. Then I found myself taking joys in usual annoyances, and praying for trials, so that I could have opportunity to make my God smile and be a light to His creation. And not show the world Lance, but show them who God is, who Christ is. History has shown if I would not have spent those short little ten minutes out in my driveway praying to God, all of those little annoyances on the way to work (transmission slipping, not making the green light-mundane things) would have been dealt with wickedly. Much like...-transmission's slipping- "I'm tired of this, I want a new vehicle, and I don't want to wait. I don't want to wait for God's timing, I WANT it now!" That's what my morning would have sounded like, but instead through prayer, and agreeing with God, that happened, and my heart was, "Lord let it break down and still I will praise You. The world will see that You are God over me, and "my" possessions really belong to You." What a difference! A wonderful quote I heard one time was in a movie about C.S. Lewis, starring Anthony Hopkins as Lewis. C.S. Lewis' wife had cancer, and a certain reporter was asking about why he prayed (I can't remember the exact context I believe it had to do with the sovereignty of God), and Mr. Lewis answered back, "Prayer doesn't change God sir. It changes me." That is a perfect representation of what prayer is doing. I do not pray to change God's mind or heart. I pray to agree with God, and then I no longer look at a situation through carnal eyes, but through the perception of God. "Wait," someone might think, "I can have the perception of the God of universe?" Absolutely, christian! That's what Christ did!!! He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit which gives us the mind of God! Now I see God of the universe, and a little truck, or an empty stomach doesn't seem so big anymore. So go before God, not complaining about circumstances, but praising Him for who He is! Praise be to the Lord of our salvation for all eternity!!!

Fleeing the World

There are so many things in the world that beg and plea for my attention. I go on the Internet as a single man and am hit over and over with all kinds of singles websites. Even on perfectly pure websites the ads are there. And they are generally posted with a pretty woman in some kind of revealing dress. Aside from even the Internet, there are people in my life that say sick things expecting me to laugh at what they are saying, or bend to their form of speech. The world plea's over and over again for me to follow it's lusts. I say if what is begging my attention doesn't give me Christ I want nothing to do with it. If it doesn't point me to God most high, "leave me!" No world I do not want to laugh at your jokes. My God hates them! No world I do not want your women. My God died so that I could be pure! No world I will not say your words. My God has commanded my tongue to speak praise to Him! So if you do not give me Christ leave me oh wicked world, I want nothing to do with you. I hate sin. I love my God, and I want to see Him glorified in all things.

Brilliance

The sun shines on all the earth. On whom does its ray not extend? Every man of every nation feels it. If one dares to behold the beauty of it for too long, it will burn the light from his eyes forever.

But, there the sun stands, immovable. What could make such an amazing wonder? For though it is many millions of miles away, it heats deserts and kills men! What could make such an amazing wonder!

The sun puts mans attempts at creation to shame. Oh man, are you even wiser than the magnificent One who created the sun? If you are, then replicate it. Make one yourself oh man; if you are so powerful. Go ahead, if you know better than God. Not even! If you know just, as much as God; do it!

Oh man, from where does your pride come? God made hundreds times hundreds of thousands of these suns, and you cannot fathom just one. Be humble you man, and take awe in the God who created the sun!

He saved me.

My life before Christ was all wicked. I was dead in my trespasses and sins. There was nothing good in me. I was an enemy of God. Worse, I blasphemed His sacrifice and spit in the face of the Lord. If by now you are thinking, "Wow, he's a bad guy." then good that is what you need to be thinking. I would seek my own selfish lusts leaving in my wake a mangled path of carnage, debris, and my families tears. All for the calling of selfishness. So this brings me to the question, how can a holy and just God look past all of that wickedness? Two words, He can't. God must punish the wicked or He isn't just. I fall under the category of wicked. So he cannot look past it. If he looks past sin and refuses to punish it He is then a liar! And we all know God is not a liar.

So God in His infinite wisdom made a way. Someone had to take the wrath of the almighty God in our stead. And it couldn't be someone who has sinned, because they would have deserved the wrath and it wouldn't change a thing. If any man was ever to be saved there had to be a perfect innocent sacrifice made. This sacrifice could not be just a man, He had to be FULLY man, but not JUST man. The sacrifice had to be God Himself, because if God poured His wrath out on an innocent man it would be unjust of God, but if it's God incarnate as a man He can give up His own life.

And so it happened God did come to earth and live as a man. He lived a life pleasing to the Father. He did not sin once He lived PERFECTLY never once doing ANYTHING wrong, from birth on up. God the Father loved Jesus the Son. He was His Son and He was well pleasing in the sight of God. The Father loved everything the Son did. God said to Him once "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And again "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him." The Son drew His life from the Father, and trusted the Father with His whole life. The Son receieved from the Father everything He asked and the Father graciously gave it in abundance.

Well it happened while the Son loved the Father and the Father loved the Son, the Father crushed the Son and poured all of His wrath and anger out on the Son. All of the anger reserved for sin, all of the hate, and wrath God had for it, He poured it out in full on His Son. And turned His back on His Holy innocent Son. And the Son cried "Abba! (father) Abba! Why have you forsaken me!!!" Can you see it? The Son who has had perfect communion with God up until now, done nothing wrong, now in His greatest hour of need, suffering a Roman Crucifix, had is father abandon Him. I see a Son weeping for communion with His Father, but His Father lashing out in anger! This is the cup the Son asked the night before to pass from Him, but He said, "Not my will, but Yours." He was willing to do the Fathers will even past death. He did the Fathers will even though it ment seperation from Him.

Now this holy One has been slain, He drank the full cup of the wrath of the Almighty. He died on a cross and then rose again three days later so now I can walk in newness of life. God has chosen some to be forgiven. And on those He no longer looks at their wicked sinful lives, He looks at the holy innocent lamb, and he takes all of that righteousness and rests it on them. I fall under that category, God has saved me. He no longer looks at my sin, He looks at His Son, as if I have lived that life. And the riches that Jesus Christ deserved are given to me. And the Father will never forsake me as He did His Son. All the righteousness that was in Christ is credited to me as if I lived it!!! He saved me!!! It was of no works of my own. He saved me!!! The innocent lamb has taken the full blunt of the wrath of God, and HE SAVED ME!