When I Stand Before the Throne

“When I stand before the throne 

Dressed in beauty not my own; 

When I see thee as thou art, 

Love thee with unsinning heart; 

Then, Lord, shall I fully know 

Not till then how much I owe.”

Another Project

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Finished:

The Righteousness of God and Redemption in Christ

Romans 3:21-28

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

The Necessity of the Spirit and the Failure of Patriarchy

"I am absolutely convinced that the thing we need in our families more than anything else are men and women who are putting on the new man in the power of God - men that are living by faith, women that are living lives looking to Christ, full of the Spirit, full of the power of God, full of joy. I really believe that this is the heart and soul of healthy families. That's why I don't believe brethren that I've strayed at all. Last week, as I've been progressing through Ephesians chapter 4, I came to that verse there in 4:30 that has to do with grieving the Spirit. well from there, I jumped back into Ephesians 3 simply because one of the main operations of the Spirit is described there. And if we grieve the Spirit, then we quench such operations. So it's key! If we live in families where the spirit of God is quenched - true Christians though you may be - you cannot survive spiritually without the power of God. Jesus said it: Without me, you can do nothing." 

Tim Conway

Why has patriarchy failed to bring us to the promised land? Why are so many of our youth in patriarchal homes unsaved? Why do our young men love sport and game more than the ministry of the Word? Because the central teaching of Patriarchy is not Christ  and the necessity of the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit. It is the teaching of go and do, but it fails to maintain that without Christ you can do nothing and no amount of deeds done will produce a nice beautiful home without sin and distress. If you walk in the Spirit you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, but if you live after the flesh, you will die. Patriarchy as a whole is bound to be an utter failure until it recognizes the truth of Christ's words, "Without me, you can do nothing." When the basis of patriarchy is the filling of the Holy Ghost, the power of the gospel, and intimate relationship with Christ on a day to day basis, then the fruit of the gospel will be born in our homes - but not before then. 

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1-4

"Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."

Why I am Not a Modern Day Calvinist

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,' 'DO NOT MURDER,' 'DO NOT STEAL,' 'DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,' 'Do not defraud,' 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" (Mar 10:17-23)

Modern day Calvinism has no place for the non-elect to be loved by Christ, going so far as to redefine the plain text of Scripture - such as the word world in John 3:16 in order to deny that God loves even those who will burn forever. Yet this passage presents us with a case of a man who did not get saved - and yet Christ loved Him. May we have this heart to love those who are lost, even those who are self righteous claiming to have done all the commandments. Truly Christ is the "Savior of all men", even the non-elect, and "specially of those who believe."

Share the love of Christ with someone today!

My Yoke Is Easy

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

End of Day

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Back in Business

I have just a moment - I really ought to be sleeping, but my best friend just left (my preaching partner from church) so we are running late - so here is a really quick update. Since my last round of posts, I have two business I have been working on. The one which I posted about earlier is not nearly as far along as I would like, but at least it is more on its way to making money. I have my local business license and a retail office space set up. I am just in the long wait for Federal approval...

The other business was sort of an impromptu idea that the Lord arranged by making the remodel company I was planning on working for go out of business. I decided I might as well start my own. Here are a couple things I've been doing since getting up and running:

Drywall: My first job was a drywall job, made necessary by a builder not getting the insulation inspected. I had to cut open the drywall all over the house for the inspection. The Lord was very good to me in having me build my apartment - that's where I learned how to do the work that is now providing my living... And honestly, I never had anyone teach me how to do drywall. I learned watching youtube videos. So if you need work and all else fails, take some free job training off of youtube and you might be able to start a business! - just be sure to pay close attention to detail.

The repainted wall:

 

After repainting:

  

Repainted wall:

All told, there were over 30 panels I had to cut out and redo. 

My next project was a small landing and stairway: 

Now, I am working on a screened porch. The porch has 6 6x6 posts which I am replacing with 4x4 posts, railing and screen:

I ran into an issue of a short ladder and needing to reach the top of the posts so I rigged myself up a quick scaffold. OSHA might not have appreciated my design but it is good and sturdy...: 

I hope to have all four remaining posts cut out and replaced and the rails built by the end of the day tomorrow. We shall see if the Lord so blesses my labors.

The sky one day while I was working:

The Lord is good; His mercy endures forever!