Spurgeon's Challenge

Here is one of my favourite quotes from the prince of preachers. A real challenge for the complacent Christian. We really should be concerned to distraction for those around us who have no relationship with Christ. We should pray to God that He burden us so...

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Thoughts On Wisdom

Scripture ties the fear of the Lord to wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7 -
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:29 -
since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.

Job 28:28 -
And he said to the human race,
The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom

Proverbs 2:5 -
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

And so, since true wisdom is to fear the Lord, what then is fear of the Lord? What does it mean to fear God? The wise person would want to know this. Here are two scriptures that not only drive home the point so well summarised in Proverbs 1:7 above, but also begins to show what fear of God is …

Proverbs 8:12-13 -
“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil;"

And it would seem obvious that we must hate evil – even those who do not know God or believe in a false god hate evil. So what hatred of evil is fear of the Lord? In the next scripture we will see that the evil which we must hate most and which the hatred thereof is the fear of God – is the evil within ourselves! That is where wisdom (and the Gospel) begins …

Proverbs 9:10 -
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

This is the key verse!

And look at what word is used here to describe Him whom we are to fear? The Holy One. The conclusion is that if we come to understand the holiness of God we will see our own unholiness and become aware of our unworthiness to be with Him in his presence. We will begin to feel the gulf between us and our inability to cross it.

Take an extremely holy man and present him with the holiness of God and watch his reaction. There are few who can claim to be as righteous as Isaiah - as holy men go he is in the top ten. Yet when he saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple in a vision what did he say?

Isaiah 6:5 -
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

The true beginning of true wisdom is becoming realistically aware of the difference between our perfect, holy, consistent and loving creator and ourselves – we who are NOT perfect, NOT holy, INconsistent and UNloving at the core. From that very uncomfortable realisation flows four thoughts (and these thoughts are the beginnings of wisdom):

One: That we need to somehow bridge the gap, somehow be reconciled, somehow be justified.

Two: That we are too inconsistent, too selfish and too imperfect to bridge the gap.

Three: That only God is infinitely able to bridge such an infinite gap.

Four: That God is loving enough to do so.

In the Old Testament the men and women of faith trusted that God would do this amazing thing and in the New Testament, from the cross onwards, we who have faith, trust that He has done such a thing - in His Son. This is true wisdom.

Now all this is not to say that human wisdom isn't wisdom. I mean it is clearly wise for me to, for example, pay attention to the small talk of my wife or to get my car regularly serviced or to occasionally turn my computer off and actually talk to people. The wisdom of the great minds of humanity is certainly valid in our daily lives. DO strike while the iron is hot and a bird in the hand IS better than two in the bush etc. But the best that human wisdom  can achieve is to give you a good life in this world and make you more effective in your home and in society.

But then you die.

Where will any human proverb get you after that? Will knowing anything that is in this world - any fact or witty saying help? Will the ability to speak different languages aid you? How about mathematical skill, or music talent or philosophical dexterity? What of any of even the finest endeavours of human thought will help you after you die? Not one.
 
The scripture tell us that after we die we will face God. At that point the only wisdom that will count will be the kind that allows us to know first how holy He is, second how unholy we are and third that He has done something about it. The only wisdom that counts is the knowledge of Jesus and the Gospel; the knowledge of our rescuer and the reason why we needed rescuing; the knowledge of an already established and lived-in relationship with God! That is true wisdom. All else - wise though it may seem - is in comparison sheer folly. Get wisdom therefore and fear the holy God and trust in the saving Lord and come to know Him. I pray that you do.

Rescue

   After the crash the survivors were thrown into the heaving freezing Atlantic water. Jet fuel floated on the surface blinding them. The sound of the wind howling deafened them. The icy water numbed them and their flailing limbs grew weak – too weak to grasp each other or any of the floating debris that surrounded them. Their pitiful voices grew faint and icy death began to come to them all.

   Then a hand, strong, sure and pierced reach out from a rescue boat and with unimaginable strength plucked them from the sea. The rescuer wrapped each one in a blanket and fed them warm liquids. He massaged their limbs and encouraged them saying: “Be of good cheer, I AM here”.

   But their struggle to live was now even more pronounced. In the water they had moved with the water, but now sitting huddled in the boat they were thrown back and forth and against the hard wooden sides and seats by the violence of the waves. Their weak muscles and disoriented minds unable to steady themselves from the wild motion, they were battered and bruised in the seeming unending pummelling and buffeting of the storm. Now that they were out of the water the wind plucked at their blankets seeking gaps to freeze ankles and hands. Frostbite was a deadly maiming possibility. When they were in the water they had given up hope and did not even believe in the possibility of a rescuer. In the boat however they now had a hope of life and so they grew the more terrified of losing it. Despair at the thought of coming so close to salvation and then dying in agony surged through their thoughts.

   But their rescuer was wise. He constantly monitored the survivors and ministered what was needed. He grouped the weak with the strong and gave the strong advice on how to look after their charges.

   Even so he still visited each person constantly. With great assurance warmth and love he said:

I AM here

Do not despair nor fear

Be of good cheer

The harbour is near

I know the course and I steer

Be of good cheer

I AM here.

The Lion And The Lamb

When we think of Jesus we must hold in our minds both the humble carpenter’s son from Nazareth AND the eternal King from Heaven. We must keep before us the horror and shame of Christ on the cross AND the power of His resurrection from the grave, the magnificence of His ascension to the throne of God and the sure promise of His imminent return. He is and always will be the sacrificial lamb – he will always bear the wounds of his love – but he is also the Lion – the rider on the white horse with blazing eyes and a two-edged sword. Never take him for granted, but trust him utterly and love him ultimately – anything else is folly.

That's My King (Original Song)

Chorus:

[F] That’s my [C] king

[F] Do you [C]know him

[F]That’s my [G]king

[F]I want to [C]describe him

[F]That’s my [C]king

[F]The lion and the [C]lamb

[F]That’s my [G]king

[F]Yeah – and [C]amen

He’s the [Dm] maker of the land

And the [G] filler of the sea

With a [Dm] word he made the stars

From their [G] dust made you and me

He owns [Dm]every breath you take

every [G] meal you eat he grew

though you [Dm] only know him know

he has [G] always known you

[Chorus]

We were [Dm] lost and did not know

[G] Blind and would not see

[Dm] Deadto life numb to wrath

And [G] thinking we were free

But he came [Dm]down from heaven high

Was [G]tested and found true

[Dm]Jesus died, and rose to life

And [G] purchased me and you

Bridge (1):

I want to [Dm] stand upon the rooftop

and [G]in my joy to sing

O [Dm] taste and see the [F]Lord is good

And [C]you an trust in [G] him

[Chorus]

Even [Dm]now the angels marshall

The [G]church will soon be home

He is [Dm] standing up to break the seals

And [G]gather to his throne

O [Dm]bring the shining horse

To the de [G]feater of the grave

[Dm]Alone you own the harvest Lord

For [G] you alone can save

Bridge (2):

I want to [Dm] stand upon the rooftop

and [G]in my joy to sing

[Dm] Holy holy [F]holy God

[C]you are the king of [G] kings

[Chorus]

Scientists Agree ....

Yet again I have had someone telling me that science and Christianity are at odds with each other – that science has disproved the existence of God – that no true scientist believes in God. But this is simply untrue. Not withstanding that science doesn't actually work this way, the fact is that the biggest names in scientific history were either believers in God and the supernatural or they were specifically Christian (some of them preachers and pastors). Here, in this meme I have made, are the big hitters in scientific history. 
Please be encouraged dear reader, that you don’t have to be stupid to be a believer in miracles, the supernatural, the resurrection nor do you have to be ignorant to have faith and to believe in and love the Lord Jesus. Please share this meme around.

Yours in Christ

Jason

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The Wall (part 6) - (an original poem)

Walls are not just bricks and cement
They are the things we say and mean and yet

Regretting the true words spoken in jest
Alone we feel safe from all of the rest
Bricks are little but they add up and grow
And nothing else can, within their shadow.
We keep out the riff-raff with all our labours
Frost said: “good walls make good neighbours”.
Emerging occasionally from our narrow doorway
It is not “how” but “who are you?” we say.
Our efforts keep out all the unknown dangers
But turn potential friends into perpetual strangers
Alone we’re safe but alone we cower
And our sad walls grow tall to become our tower.

I am Gomer (an original poem)

I am Gomer

 I wish I was not

  Self serving as Sampson

   Disobedient as Lot

I am David

 Staring from the rooftop

  Lying like Abraham

   Why won’t I stop?

I wish I was Daniel

 Nathan or Paul

  But they too had thorns

   Flesh were they all

Oh Jesus – My Hosea

Forgive me - draw me near.

Cosmic Irony

    The more I submit to God and the more I want to live by his Word - the more FREE I feel! I was a slave to sin, a slave to my fragile intellect and knowledge, a slave to a future not worth contemplating on any real level, a slave to others and a slave to ambition and money - a slave to living for the fleeting and quickly passing moment we call life - a slave to my future death. Now I know the ultimate truth: that I am chosen, I am loved, I am so unworthy but yet still given uncomprehendable worth, that I am saved and in my future Heaven's gates are open wide. The truth is, Jesus is my Lord - He really did rise from the dead and I will one day meet him. He is my redeemer, He is my truth - and the truth has set me free!

That...

That ...

...Christ should come from the eternal presence of his Father to a region of sorrow and death; that God should be manifested in the flesh, the Creator made into a creature; that he who was clothed with inapproachable light should be wrapped with rags of flesh; that he who filled heaven and earth with his glory should be cradled in a manger - an animal feed bin; that the one with the power of almighty God should flee from the weak man Herod, that the God of Israel should have to run away back into Egypt; that the God of the law – the very one who wrote it -  should be subject to the law; that the God who prescribed circumcision was to be circumcised on the eighth day after he was born; that the God that crafted the heavens was to be found working at Joseph’s homely trade; that he who binds the devil in chains should be tempted by that same devil; that he, who owns the whole world and all its bountiful produce, that he should hunger and thirst; that he who owns the cattle on a thousand hills had to borrow a coin to make a sermon illustration, that the God of strength should become weary and sleep in the boat; that the Judge of all flesh should be condemned to public execution; that the God of life be put to death; that he who has always been one with his Father should cry out in misery, ‘My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?’; that he who has the keys of hell and death in his hand should lie imprisoned in the grave of a man, that he who prepares a room for us in his father's house of many dwelling places should have in his lifetime nowhere to lay his head; that he before whom the angels and elders will gladly cast down their crowns, should be crowned with spiteful mocking thorns; that his gentle piercing eyes, which have seen all things be closed in death; that his ears, which will hear the hallelujahs of saints and angels for eternity, which heard the breaking of the first wave and the song of the first bird,  that those very ears had to hear the blasphemies and hatred of the multitude; that his face, which is fairer than the sons of men, was spat on by the fickle crowd; that his mouth and tongue, which spoke such truths and tender love, which said 'talitha koum' to a dead little girl and brought her back, the same mouth which said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." and the countless other life changing things besides which he said, that his same mouth was accused of uttering blasphemy; that those calloused strong hands, hands that blessed and healed and held rightfully the sceptre of heaven were nailed to the cross; that those feet, 'like unto fine brass,’ feet that walked for miles to reach one lost person, were peirced through with heavy roman nails; that each of his senses were ravaged until the point of agony: his sense of touch wracked with a fists, thorns, the whip, rough wood, nails and the spear; his sense of smell drowning with the stench of rot on Golgotha; his sense of taste soured with vinegar and gall; his sense of hearing deafened with insults and taunts, and his sense of sight filled with scornful faces and raised fists and there too the sadness of his mother and the scared faithless disciples already mourning him; that his soul and body, comfortless and forsaken on every level - broken for you and me, might now be ... ignored? might now be doubted? mitigated? re-imagined? rendered unnecessary? lumped in with other religious 'truths'? added to? called insufficient or ineffectual or not enduring?

That ...

...He went through all of this for you - and that Satan or your own selfish flesh or the darkening world then tries to teach you that sin is not that bad, that you can still have a little peccadillo here and there in your life, that Christ's blood was either so generously spent that you can still live it up in this life without consequence or the devil tries to shame you into believing that Christ's blood was not enough to cover all your sins. Either you are shown by that cunning snake and father of lies that you can go on sinning and purposefully living a self absorbed life or that your sins are too much and there is no forgiveness for you. Either sin all you want, you are fine, or you have sinned too much and you must despair.

But what does the Word of God say?

That…

...you must instead determine to trust you are forgiven by the one who went through all of this suffering and then determine to sin no more as he taught during in his ministry.

That…

As the author of Hebrews (12:1-3) put it:

…we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

(A partial rewrite of 'Precious Remedies for Satan's devices' - Thomas Brookes.)

The blessed square of infinity verses worldly idolatry.

There is nothing in this world more valuable than the smallest part of Heaven. God is infinitely beautiful and lovely, and so by definition a mere glimpse of Him is an infinite blessing. But - for those pure of heart, adopted by God and washed by the blood of the Lamb, there is not just a brief glimpse to be had - but an eternity in His glorious presence! Such a blessing is therefore the square of infinity! An infinite amount of time to worship and enjoy a being of infinite quality.

Now, since we have so vast a future glory, what hold can any good thing have on us in this life? All the money in the world? Perfect health? The admiration, love and respect of a multitude of friends? If you lived a long life and this world gave you every good thing it had to give, but then you died and missed eternal God, is it not true that you would have lived in abject hopeless poverty because next to the infinite the finite, however large, becomes - nothing. Any value next to endless value tends to zero in value by comparison. Therefore let the poor rejoice in their future wealth and not despair; and let the rich not trust their present wealth but share it. Let nothing in this world stand between you and that bright endless glory

We do well to obey the command of God and it is written:

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21)

and also -

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15 - 17)

Be content and pray with the wise:

"...give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8-9)

Amen

Original song: When The Perfect Comes

[F] No rust nor theif [Em7] [Am] nor moth destroys [Em7] [F]

No loss nor tears [Em7] [Am] and no regret [Em7] [F]

The crookedstraight - the dark eye li - [A#]- ight [F]

He healed the family and paid the de -[A#] -ebt [F]

[C] The thirst is conquered and all things [G] done

[F] When the perfect [C] comes

We’ll see the King who makes us one [G]

[F] When the perfect [C] comes  …[C]

[F] No doubt nor quarrel [Em7] [Am] endless debate [Em7] [F]

No us and them [Em7] [Am] all reconciled [Em7] [F]

The lion and the lamb lie down toge -[A#] - ther[F]

The meek emboldened – the zealot is mi -[A#] ld[F]

[C] The fighting ceases – no-one is wro -[G] -ong

[F] When the perfect [C] comes

[C] We’ll know the king who makes us one[G]

[F] When the perfect [C] comes …[C]

[F] No eye has seen [Em7] [Am]nor ear has heard [Em7] [F]

Nor has occurred[Em7] [Am] to the heart of man [Em7] [F]

The things our God has put be -[A#] hind [F]

The mystery glass of his glorious pla -[A#] an[F]

[C] So sing for joy oh daughter and son[G]

[F] until the perfect [C]comes

[C] Embrace the mystery of the three in one[G]

[F] until the perfect [C] comes … [C]

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] I will see God in the [A] light

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] He will be my true de-[A] -light

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] I will rise with the trumpet [A] call

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] He will be my all in [A] all

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] no more tears – the former is [A] gone

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

[D] every knee bows to the [A] Son

[G] When the perfect [D] comes

Why Didn't You Go To The Mountains Lot? (an original poem)

Why didn't you go to the mountains Lot?
The Lord commanded you so.
He spared you from sulphur, fire and salt,
yet still you would not go.

What did you fear in the mountains Lot
that was worse than wrathful rain?
He singled you out for salvation -
did you doubt He would do it again?

Why did you flee to the village Lot,
to gather provisions and wine?
Would He abandon you to starve in the hills?
Would you limit his love divine?

Were you consumed with grief o Lot,
Blind to your daughters' need?
Abraham was near - you knew it Lot -
Your good friend's sons had seed.

Why did you settle for a cave Lot,
for a legacy of shame and derision?
All because you limited God's great love
and doubted his on-going provision.

Why didn't you go to the mountains Lot?
The Lord commanded you so.
May we all learn from your mistake o Lot
and go when God says go.

Tweet the Gospel Challenge

 As Christians we know that there are times when we can come alongside the unsaved and lovingly serve them and take time to present the Gospel with detail and clairity, to answer their questions and pray for them over months and years. This is wonderful and right, but often not practically the case. Sometimes we will only have a day with another person or family (maybe you set up next to them on the beach and strike up a conversation) or maybe you only have a couple of hours (perhaps at a friend’s barbeque) or perhaps only ten minutes (sitting in a waiting room) or two minutes (on a train) … and so on. We need to be able to present the gospel with great clarity in various sized ‘packages’ – from the delux: “I’m going to live with you and share with you for years” package to the: “since we have a few moments, I wonder how you feel about the claims that Jesus made” sized package. I was once challenged in church to present the Gospel from the pulpit in under two minutes.

I want to now extend that challenge to you – and make it even harder.

There are a lot of things we may want to include in a Gospel presentation but as the size of the “package” shrinks we are forced to consider what is really vital. So I got to thinking: how about a tweet?

FYI: Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets"

My challenge to you, dear reader, is to render the Gospel as clearly as you can in 140 characters or less. Enter your attempt in the comments below (and include your character count in brackets at the end - spaces and punctuation counts by the way) and then, if you have a twitter account tweet it as well.

(Don’t cheat by first reading other’s tweets to get ideas. Rather pray, sit with your word processor and try various drafts while watching the character count.)

Saved Thus Far (an original poem)

Thank you God – but I’ve got it from here,
You’ve set the course – now let me steer.
You saved me, yes, I know that story,
   But let me grasp some of the glory
And so say that I have also saved
My worthy self from the grave
And then I won’t owe you my all
   Because I stood up from the Fall
You can save me almost all the way
But let me step into Judgement Day
Because your creature must be free
   And I must owe some of Heaven to me…
                                            … says the fool.
Oh my sins and weakness make my spirit groan
   You Lord must save me – and you alone
                                      … says the child of God.


an original poem. 

Screwtape’s Masterpiece

“And so Wormwood – I trust my letters were helpful?”

The two demons walked unseen along the high street of a British town. Wormwood nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes uncle. I have made much headway in this place. Many converts for the Master.”

“Well, it is pathetically easy these days, so do not become too bloated with self-congratulation dear nephew. In my day, before I was promoted, I dare say it was much more difficult to turn a client away from the Enemy.”

“Yes uncle”

“Many converts you say? Go on boy, show me your best work.”

Wormwood then lead his diabolical uncle to a side street where, next to a dumpster, covered in vomit stained rags, a figure lay snoring in the midday sun.

“There is my masterpiece, uncle. He was a decent family man but I lead him to drink and despair. His wife left him and he lost his job. He blames everybody but himself …and he blames the Enemy the most. He is safely in our Master’s hands.”

“You call that a masterpiece?? Oh Wormwood, I see that I wasted my time writing to you. Proud foolish imp! Let me show you a true masterpiece!”

Screwtape then clapped his hands together and the two demons vanished with an inaudible thunderclap. When Wormwood opened his eyes he could not believe where his uncle had taken him. They were in a huge church. The brightly lit stage was grandly decked out with flowers and on the back wall hung a giant backlit cross. At the podium a man stood in a suit with a perfect hairstyle and a ten-megawatt smile. He was carefully looking into one of many television cameras and pointing dramatically to the ceiling. Wormwood looked around at hundreds upon hundreds of eager hungry faces – well-fed and happy. Some were scribbling down notes and others had their hands raised in the air in blissful worship. The imp heard the man at the podium say the name of the Enemy and he shuddered.

“Where is he uncle Screwtape? Where is your masterpiece?”

“Hush Wormwood and listen…”

The man at the podium spoke for twenty more minutes and ended with a prayer. The congregation gave him a huge round of applause and then sang a beautiful hymn. After that they filed out and the stage lights were turned off. Soon the two demons sat in an empty padded pew seat in the silent darkened hall. Wormwood was speechless.

His uncle looked at him and grinned.

“That is a masterpiece! I got an award for turning him several years back”

“But – but he told them about things in the Bible …”

“Yes he did," Screwtape grinned, "wasn’t it great!?”

“But he told them about the – the Enemy.”

Screwtape waved a dismissive hand, “Well yes – after a fashion.”

“But they sang to the enemy!”

“Did they … really?”

“They said his name in the lyrics.”

“Hmmm, and I suppose that is important, Wormwood?”

“Isn’t it?”

“How is it important? … I can call Hell a paradise but does it make it one?”

“But this is a church!”

“No, this is a building – a television studio to be exact.”

“But he gave a sermon…”

“Did you listen to it? Did you hear the accursed Gospel being preached?”

“No, but it was about … about … loving and stuff.”

“NO! It was about themselves. He spent all that time telling them how to be better, to live better – to have their best life in this life. Tell me – did he mention sin even once?”

“No”

“Did he warn them of the coming wrath and judgement of the Enemy?”

“No”

“Did he remind them of how the Enemy has paid the price for their transgressions?”

“No”

“What did he essentially tell them?”

“That – er – that the Enemy loves them?”

“Yes, dear Wormwood, the enemy loooooorves them and would never ever judge them. They are okay to just be themselves and to prosper and be blessed. Tell me – what did the preacher actually ask them to do?”

“Uh, to buy his latest book and bring more people to the next meeting?”

“Exactly, anything about repentance?”

“No”

“Anything about persecution and taking up their own cross?”

“No”

“You see now boy? A Masterpiece! Your pathetic drunk in the gutter may be safely within our master’s grasp, but this one man is bringing thousands to kneel at their own altars and thus really worship the master. Your pathetic drunk in the gutter actually runs against the master’s designs because other humans will see his self-inflicted suffering and be warned against the dangers of drugs and alcohol. But my clean-cut preacher with his jet, his collection of cars, his gleaming wife and children all shot in soft focus and bathed in delightful gentle piano arpeggios, his immaculate suit and winsome smile, his mansions and his connections, his life affirming pronouncements and guilt-free religion – he is a saviour. He is a winner of souls. His delightful message attracts and keeps safe those who want what he wants.”

“Which - is – practically - everybody…”

“Exactly – now you see it.”

“How can I – How did you – turn a man of the Enemy camp into such a creature?”

“It is far easier than you think.”

“I want to try uncle Screwtape.”

“I’ll write you some more letters then.”

Pearl (an original poem)

Pearl.

As the swine disregards the pearl

and blithely chews the stale corn
so the best that man can boast
is blind to the truth until reborn.
What can be seen through a fish's scales?
Even the mud of Christ is clear.
That which is whispered after the storm,
may He grant us an ear to hear.
For at best we are walking trees,
oh, the blind man saw it so true.
We cry "free-will" and shake our chains
old wine-skins wanting new.
A passing thought, a morning mist,
calling super nature a delusion
but the emptiness of matter and space
make our world an electric illusion.
'Time,' men say, 'goes forever on -
live today for tomorrow we die.
The fife is played, the dirge is sung
and we, the market children, cry.'
Shrewd as snakes but without the dove
a generation of dry bones lying,
thinking not of the Maker or Redeemer,
too busy living to see the dying.
And the swine still ignores the pearl;
the prodigal son desires the pods.
The Day of the Lord approaches swiftly
and the world wants other gods.


Oh the woeful condition of the dying,darkening world. The boiling frog syndrome that civilsation wallows in. The compromise of the church and the rise of the false world system. The death of nature and the realisation of the finite resources being demanded by the infinite human tide. Friend if you cannot feel history winding up - if you cannot percieve the end swiftly coming - then your head is in the sand. The news cannot be trusted and the net is full of misinformation. There is but one rock of refuge, of truth, of warning and of hope - only one authority left in a world  - a world which is without honour, full of desperation and despair, rumour and lies. That one hope and truth is the Word of God. READ IT!

 

Book review: ‘Your Adversary The Devil’ - J Dwight Pentecost

The book I am currently reading is about Satan – the Devil – Lucifer. His story and ways are certainly a topic I’m sure most Christians avoid even more than they do talking about Hell. And here’s the rub – I think the devil likes it that way. He likes us not to know him – to be ignorant or misinformed about him – to make assumptions about him – to ignore him as he works backstage. Either that or he likes us to become obsessed with him – charmed by him. It is just as unhealthy either way. But  I believe it is a responsibility of any disciple of Christ to know the enemy – not what the world would have us know of him – not the world’s red-hooved, horned king of hell caricature – for he is the god of this world (note small g), and he has no doubt fostered the images people collectively assume. No. Our duty as the Church is to study the whole counsel of God and find what the Holy Spirit has revealed about the Enemy in the scripture. With this conviction settled I began to search for a suitable book on the topic. After reading several reviews, ‘Your Adversary The Devil’, first published in 1969, kept coming up as the best authority. It has not disappointed. Please don’t be thrown by Dwight’s name – he was not a Pentecostal Christian. He was an important figure in the formation of the Dallas Theological Seminary – the Emeritus Professor of Bible Exposition no less! And his deep respect for scripture is richly evident in his writing.

The book finds every scripture pertaining to Lucifer – the Devil – and paints an accurate picture of the creature who hates us with his whole being. You may think that the subject matter would be dark, and at times this is unavoidable, but Pentecost soaks each chapter with the gospel. In fact there is a  lovely rhythm to the book where he starts with a target scripture (for example Ezekiel 28:11-27) unpacks it, links it to other parts  of the Bible, shows how this teaches us about Satan or the way He works and then at the end of each chapter he exhorts the believer and shows us how to practically use the information in the chapter to defeat the enemy’s whiles. Finally he closes the chapter with a gospel presentation relevant to the chapter’s theme but levelled squarely at the unbelieving reader.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to be better informed and better armed against the Enemy. At just 191 pages it is not a vast book to consume and is well worth your time. Not since I read ‘Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices’ by Thomas Brooks (a book I may review as well for you later) have I found anything quite so arming outside of scripture.

Go in peace to serve the King!

J

Welcome to my new blog! I am Jason Horsler - otherwise known as Nutha Jason in cyberspace. I am a disciple of Jesus the Christ.


Only in living as a person in debt to and saved by and eagerly awaiting the Lord Jesus have I found any meaning in my life and a deep wellspring for the love and forgiveness of others. From my wife and children I have seen earthly grace - a significant but pale reflection of the grace I see freely given to me from the Father through the Son. Jesus the Christ was foretold of the prophets, born of a virgin, taught the words of life, died on the cross, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven AND WILL RETURN AGAIN.
The most painful thing I experience everyday is not the destruction of the world or the suffering of people in it - though these things hurt -
no, the most painful thing is watching people pacing through their lives without loving Christ and dying without hope of eternal life - Hell is as real to me as Heaven. I wish anyone reading this would go and read the book of John or Matthew in the New Testament and find out for themselves who Jesus was and is. Taste and see that the Lord is good.


 Know and live out Scripture
Pray without ceasing
Be humble and loving
To God's eternal glory
Repenting and rejoicing;
Until Christ comes again


I will attempt to post something short and new here every day.


to learn more about me search for me on google or facebook or  youtube.


Serve our eternal King

J