Contradiction in Terms

Spied this church in Raleigh, NC a few weeks ago:

Open Door Chapel....

And on the front door:

Hmmm... :-)

A New Record...

Greetings in the name of Christ from Goshen, IN.

My longest straight through drive was from San Antonio to Raleigh back in 2010. I was alone and driving a old RV that had a hard time going over 55. The distance was around 1400 miles and it took me about 36 hours.

On Thursday, I set a new record: I left Wake Forest, North Carolina at 7:30 PM after a full day of work. I made my first stop near Bellefontaine, OH... 9 hours/530 miles later (my car can drive about 550 miles on a full tank, highway miles). So while it wasn't my longest straight through drive, it was definitely the longest nonstop leg I have ever done. My trip ended a couple hours later here in Goshen, IN for a total overnight trip of just over 700 miles.

Thunderstorm

Snapped with my cell phone on the way home from work today. 

A severe storm was just ahead with a goodly amount of lightning and rain.

Grace

Grace! 'Tis the charming sound which turned the world upside down!
Grace! Saved the sinner's soul which, bound for hell, was almost drowned!

Grace! The sweet and blessed wind which upon the sheep doth blow!
Grace! The cleansing wave which washes o'r them which dwell below.

- - - - -

When at the end I must my breathe my last, 

When I must meet with death's dark blast,
'Tis grace which shines the glorious light,
Carries me home to heaven bright.

There, I see Him now! 'Tis grace personified!
I now by grace behold the Lamb who for me was crucified!
Oh wandering, dying sinner, don't you see?
'Tis grace that saves by faith alone and grace will set you free!

Behold the Man!

If there be one place where our Lord Jesus most fully becomes the joy and comfort of his people,it is where he plunged deepest into the depths of woe. Come hither,gracious souls, and behold the man in the garden of Gethsemane; behold his heart so brimming with love that he cannot hold it in so full of sorrow that it must find a vent. Behold the bloody sweat as it distils from every pore of his body,and falls upon the ground. Behold the man as they drive the nails into his hands and feet. Look up,repenting sinners,and see the sorrowful image of your suffering Lord. Mark him,as the ruby drops stand on the thorn-crown,and adorn with priceless gems the diadem of the King of Misery. Behold the man when all his bones are out of joint,and he is poured out like water and brought into the dust of death; God hath forsaken him,and hell compasseth him about. Behold and see,was there ever sorrow like unto his sorrow that is done unto him? All ye that pass by draw near and look upon this spectacle of grief, unique,unparalleled,a wonder to men and angels,a prodigy unmatched. Behold the Emperor of Woe who had no equal or rival in his agonies! Gaze upon him,ye mourners,for if there be not consolation in a crucified Christ there is no joy in earth or heaven. If in the ransom price of his blood there be not hope,ye harps of heaven,there is no joy in you,and the right hand of God shall know no pleasures for evermore. We have only to sit more continually at the cross foot to be less troubled with our doubts and woes. We have but to see his sorrows,and our sorrows we shall be ashamed to mention. We have but to gaze into his wounds and heal our own. If we would live aright it must be by the contemplation of his death; if we would rise to dignity,it must be by considering his humiliation and his sorrow.

Charles Spurgeon

He Is Our Praise

Deuteronomy 10:12-18, 20-21 KJV

And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

The Life You Live Today Is the Beginning of Eternity

Master forgive, 

and inspire us anew.

Banish our worldliness, 

help us to ever live with eternity's values in view.

We'll hardly get our feet out of time into eternity and gaze on eternity, that we bow our heads in shame and humiliation and say: "My God, look at all the riches in Jesus Christ, and I come to the Judgment Seat almost a pauper." - A. W. Tozer

I believe that the church of Jesus Christ needs a new revelation of the majesty of God! We're all going to stand one day - can you imagine it? - at the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for the deeds done in the body. This is what - this is the King of kings and He's the Judge of judges and its the tribunal of tribunals and there's no court of appeal after it. The verdict is final... When you see Jesus, you will be almost paralyzed with fear unless you have a glorified body and a glorified mind... The most shattering thought I have ever had is my personal accountability to God one day...When I see the church in the New Testament, they didn't have stately buildings, they didn't have paid evangelists, they didn't have a lot of money, they didn't have organization, they couldn't get on TV and beg, but I'll tell you what they did  - they turned the world upside down! And I am embarrassed to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ today because I believe it is an embarrassment to a holy God. Most of our joy is clapping our hands and having a good time, and then afterwords we're talking all the dribble of the world. Oh to be lost in Him! To be consumed in Him! [Do] you get so near to the heart of God, that you share His grief over a world and over a backslidden church that we have today?... The only thing that will tie me in victory continually through the blood of  Christ is my personal devotion to Him, the Son of God. ... Do you know why the world is poor and sick outside? Because we really don't know how to pray, That's why. ... If we cannot live as a different breed of people on this earth, we have no right to live here. And if we get back to a people who are really baptized with obedience, submissive to the total will of God, not concerned about human opinion, not asking for more to spend prodigally on ourselves, ... as James says, - we shall not be ashamed of His appearing. - Leonard Ravenhill

Awake, Thou that Sleepest

The Church today is like a big bedroom filled with sleepy Christians and they are all sleeping. And they are saying, "Please! Don't wake me up!" But you can't sleep in the Church when the Spirit of God moves among the people.

"Awake, awake, put on strength." Wake it up you sleepy Christians! Awake, thou that sleepest! Arise for the dead! And Christ will give thee light.

Oh God, sovereign Lord of all the earth, send revival! The bar is high Lord. You have said that no man putting his hand to te plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom. Wake us up Lord! Have mercy on your people.

The Reward of His Suffering

Why do we witness to others? Why do we share the good news of Jesus Christ? Do we go forth bearing precious seed with the end being souls saved? Do we desire an end of a better, happier life for those who are living in darkness? What then is the focus of this? The focus of such an end is man! It is a motivation of humanism! Why must we witness? That the Lamb of God may receive the reward of His suffering! Have ye not read, he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His names sake? Yes the path of righteousness leads to eternal happiness for man, but that is not the end of the road. Christ deserves the worship and service of those for whom he died and for His sake we call men to come to Him and be reconciled to God. Evangelism exists because there are places where the worship of God does not. Oh that we would remove our humanistic mindset and be set on fire for the Lamb who was slain and who is worthy to receive blessing and honor, and power for ever and ever. Christ has loved those who deserve hell and we must operate for the sake of Him who died and not solely for the sake of the dying.

Preach the cross friends! The Lamb is risen and is calling His sheep from the four corners of the earth. Today is the day of salvation; now is the acceptable year of our Lord. May the power of Christ be with you all. Amen

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

Before:

Process:

After:

Process:

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!