What?!

I didn't know John Piper wrote poetry too? I just read his poem about Mary Magdalene (part 1)… it's beautiful!

You Are Free Indeed

I was looking through old journals for questions (my little brother just had a "stump the cell group leaders" night, and it made me want to go back and look for all my old unanswered questions!), when I came across this section of my Bible study/prayer. I think it would benefit me to have this up here on the blog, kind of as a form of accountability, so that when I go back to look through blog posts and I see this, I remember what I want the cry of my heart to be. So bear with me as I selfishly use this blog for my own personal (spiritual) gain.

8/30/08

John 13:27, 30—Judas went out IMMEDIATELY to betray Jesus. I could have been that person that immediately went out to betray Jesus. But instead He SAVED ME, and I am set free from the lies, sin, and corruption and darkness of this world… now I am free to OBEY Him, SERVE Him, LOVE Him wholeheartedly, and immediately. Do I? No. Too often I go back, like a sick dog (Proverbs 26:11), to what I've been set free from. God, Lord Jesus, break me of my sin; help me to always be broken at the sight of the cross; to hate my own sin because of what it did, what it does to You. Then when I hate my own sin, when I understand what I've been freed from, I'll be able to glory in the cross all the more… THANK YOU FOR THE CROSS!

If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed! (John 8:36)

SINCE the Son has set ME free, I AM FREE indeed!

I hope this encourages you to journal if you don't, and I hope it encourages you to look back through your journal if you do keep one! And I'm not talking about a "Dear Diary" sort of thing—I mean keeping a journal of everything that you are learning, thinking, praying, enduring spiritually.

The Heavens Are Telling of the Glory of God

… And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." –Psalm 19:1, NASB

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. –Psalm 24:1-2

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. –Matthew 6:28-29

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. –Colossians 1:15-16

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself," –Isaiah 44:24

It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the heavens. –Jeremiah 10:12

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. –Psalm 104:24

"To sit long in one posture, pouring over a book, or driving a quill, is in itself a taxing of nature; but add to this a badly ventilated chamber, a body which has long been without muscular exercise, and a heart burdened with many cares, and we have all the elements for preparing a seething cauldron of despair, especially in the dim months of fog ... Nature outside his window is calling him to health and beckoning him to joy. He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood-pigeons in the forest, the song of the birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, needs not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy."—Charles Spurgeon's thoughts on enjoying the beauty of nature for the glory of God. (To see how thinking this way can help a believer, listen or read John Piper's sermon on the life of David Brainerd.)

"In this life, we catch glimpses of hell and we catch glimpses of heaven… This world is the closest the unbeliever will have to heaven; and this world is the closest the follower of Jesus Christ will ever have to hell." –Randy Alcorn's sermon on Revelation 21 from Resolved 2008 (session 2).

I really have nothing more to say—the beauty of the earth screams out to me the presence of a divine, loving, and personal Creator, and what better way to let my heart sing out of pure joy than to fill my soul with Scripture about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit's hand in creation?

What Does John Piper Believe?

If you have been on this blog a little, you'll notice that I quote certain pastors and post a lot of their resources a lot. Of course, my aim in doing this is NOT to exalt them, and I firmly believe that none of these men would be glad if my end-all was to glorify them. Yes, we can and should honor pastors (especially our own personal pastors, who pour countless unseen hours into the church and into their sermons and into our lives! Thank your pastors!), but the reason we should be grateful for them is because God has placed them in our lives and given them the boldness and clarity to preach the Truth of the Bible to our hearts and souls!

With all that being said, here is a short transcript on what John Piper preached at The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) on November 20, 2008. This is, in a nugget, what John Piper believes, and it is the foundation (at least from what I've heard and read so far) for everything he preaches and writes and studies. Check it out if you are curious to see who John Piper is, and don't forget—let's be Bereans (Acts 17:10-11)! Search the Bible yourself to see if these things are true; wisdom is worth nothing if it is not the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:20-21).

And, if you are intrigued by this and would like to study it in more depth, I would highly recommend that you read Desiring God (it is available for purchase at a very reasonable price, and available in pdf format online for free). I am only on chapter 3, but I am convicted, delighted, and mentally taxed by every sentence! Another great read, I have heard, is Don't Waste Your Life (it is also available for purchase as well as for free); it is based on the same principle as that of Desiring God, and I believe it is aimed at a more personal, applicational level. But, like I've said, I haven't read it, but people I know and respect have, and they've loved it! I myself would love to read it over Christmas break… along with about ten thousand other books! Hahaha.

Oldschool...

Colossians 3:2 says that we should be seeking the things that are above, and what better way to do that than through music that is glorifying to God and filled with the Truth! Not only that, but hiding God's Word in our hearts is going to help us in our spiritual battles, because we'll already have the ammunition and weapons we need ready, and we'll have been training in how to use them (Psalm 119:9-16, Ephesians 6:13-17)...

Check out this album, it has a bunch of the great hymns of Christianity. I know for a long time I resented hymns, because in my immaturity I thought they were boring and and slow and basically useless to my life. But, through having some great worship leaders throughout the years, I have been so blessed to have these songs reintroduced into my life, along with some new hymns like "In Christ Alone" and "Power of the Cross". Even if you don't happen to like the particular sound of these songs, it would benefit your soul so much to look up the lyrics online and think through what the songs are saying-- I just can't get over how full of TRUTH hymns are!

Preparing Our Hearts

In the church that I am a member of, our youth group has been going through John, week by week, month by month, slowly looking at each passage and slowly making progress through the book. Now, with only four chapters to go, we are nearing the cross. In his message, "The Suffering Servant," CJ Mahaney states: "Spurgeon said that this topic is worthy of an angel's tongue, that it needs Christ Himself to expound it… and this morning we are left with my tongue." When I realized that this is what we were going to be going through for a number of weeks, I felt the same way. How can I communicate to the junior high girls in my cell group, and to the rest of the world, how weighty, how important, how holy this topic is? Jesus Christ, fully man, fully God, DIED on a cross, crucified by His own creation, in order to pay the debt for MY sins? So in order to prepare my heart, I have been listening to "The Suffering Servant" over and over and over again, and I invite you to do the same. [Side note— see instructions at bottom of post on how to download sermons from the Resolved website]

Whenever I read through the gospels, especially when I get to the end and I read them all together in chronological order, I find it increasingly difficult to get through from the Lord's Supper to His resurrection without having to take an emotional break. The more I read the gospels, the more it brings a tumultuous mix of both sorrow and joy. I am sorrowful because every blow, every painful breath, every derision that Jesus endured was because of my sin. I am sorrowful that because of my sin, the Son of God had the wrath of God the Father poured out on Him, the wrath that I deserved to endure for all of eternity! And yet, those very same points bring me everlasting JOY! I pray that I would never be able to get through the gospels without being amazed at the love of Christ and the grace of God; I never want to read this account half-heartedly; I never want to read through this account, or even think about it, without shedding tears. If you have never read through the crucifixion of Christ, including all the events leading up to it, and all the events that occurred after it, I would encourage you to do so! This webpage gives a list of all the passages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (as well as some from Acts and other New Testament books when pertinent) in chronological order. You can print it out, or just write down the passages that you want to look at this week, and come back for the rest next week.

Here are some passages (besides those in the gospels) and other resources to help us all set our minds and hearts on the cross. I am praying for these next few weeks, that God would break my heart and your hearts, that the Holy Spirit would show us what we need to understand and apply in these passages, and that through these next couple weeks we would fall more in love with our precious Savior Jesus Christ.

Just a handful of passages about the cross:

• Isaiah 53:1-12
  
• Psalm 22:1-31
  
• Romans 8:1-39
  
• Ephesians 2:1-10
  
• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
  
• Romans 5:6-8
  
• Romans 9:25-26
  
• Galatians 2:20-21
  
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
  

Some more sermons about the cross:

• Resolved 2007. Yes, all of the messages! Come on now, there's only ten! Hahaha. In all reality though, you absolutely should download each of these sermons. The theme of Resolved 2007 was the cross! Each of these sermons discusses the cross, and/or what the cross means for us once we have been saved; in other words, how does the cross change our lives and shape our thinking?
  
• Resolved 2008. Again, all of the messages were fantastic. The theme for 2008 was heaven and hell; it is only because of the cross that we are saved from hell and brought into God's own kingdom. Sessions 1, 4, 8, 11, and 12 deal with the cross heavily. The rest of the messages will be beneficial to your soul as well, as it is essential to remember who we were before Christ, what Christ has saved us from in order to glorify Him and praise and thank Him in the way that He deserves. And as Colossians 3:1-4 states, thinking about heaven, where Christ is, is the very thing we should be doing since we have been raised with Christ!
  
• The Cry From the Cross, by CJ Mahaney. This is another link to message 11 of Resolved 2008, in case you want just a small sample before you commit to downloading them all!
  
• The Present Power of Christ Crucified, by John Piper
  
• Christ Died for Our Sins that We Might Die to Sin, John Piper
  
• Christ Crucified, Our Boast, John Piper
  
• The Pleasure of God in Bruising the Son, John Piper
  
• Condemned and Crucified, sermon series by John MacArthur (I suggest downloading the high-quality version of all the sermons on the Grace to You website)
  
• The Crucifixion and Resurrection, sermon series by John MacArthur
  
• The Precious Blood, John MacArthur
  
• Jesus on Trial, sermon series by John MacArthur
  
• The Murder of Jesus, sermon series by John MacArthur
  
• Mystery of the Resurrection, sermon series by John MacArthur
  
• Our Great Salvation, sermon series by John MacArthur
  
• The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, sermon series by John MacArthur
  

Other links:

• The Sufficiency of Christ's Obedience in His Life and Death, article by John Piper
  
• Did Christ Die for Us or For God?, article by John Piper
  
• The Cross of Christ—all of the blog posts that come up for the topic "The Cross of Christ" on SovereignGraceMinistries.org
  

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How to download sermons ("The Suffering Servant" in particular) from Resolved.org:

1. In order to download old sermons off the Resolved website, you have to create a free login. The login page is the pate that I have hyperlinked you to. It's fast, easy, and free!
   
2. Once you get into the Media Vault, click on "Resolved" in the leftmost column.
   
3. Click "Resolved 2007" in the second column.
   
4. Finally, find "The Suffering Servant" in the list below.
   
5. Click "Add to Cart" (don't worry, as you can see in the "Cost" column, it's completely free!)
   
6. Click here to download your media, or find the link at the top of the page in red that will direct you to your media you have chosen to download.
   
7. The sermon should show up on that page, just click "Download", and you're good to go!
   

I know this might look like a lot of work, but it's really very simple. I was just trying to be as precise and helpful as possible in the directions, so they are very detailed. Let me know if you have any further questions… As I said, it looks like a lot of work, but I believe that it's well worth it! By the way, since all the messages from Resolved 2007 and Resolved 2008 are free, why not download ALL the messages and just listen to them a little at a time? Just a thought!

Free Audiobook of the Month

Every month, ChristianAudio.com makes one of their audio books available for download for FREE. This month they have made available a book called Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers. It is a daily, short devotional book; one for the morning and one for the evening, for each day of the year. (Well, sort of—the book itself is for each day of the year, but this download includes 90 days… That's 3 free months though!) It's a quick read, and I know E-sword has Morning and Evening available for download for free… HOWEVER, it could be even easier to just listen to 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night! (Not in place of reading the Bible, of course, but in addition to it, as a way to get in more truth from the Bible!) I am thinking of cheating and looking ahead to see what Spurgeon has to say about Christmas Day… hmm…

Also, just a side note, the other free downloads I don't know much about. I do know John Piper is a great preacher, and I've heard good things about Dallas Willard, but (with my immense store of knowledge… NOT… lol) I haven't heard of the other author. But, as with anything and everything, as long as we search the Scriptures to see if what the world, our schools, and even our pastors are saying is TRUTH, we will not be led astray by believing lies! Let's be Bereans! (Acts 17:11)

God, I am thankful for who You are

"A Psalm for giving thanks.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100:1-5

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for God. I am grateful that He has revealed Himself to us in and through His Word. I am grateful for who God is, and that He is completely perfect and holy, and I am thankful that He will never change!

New Resources!

As of today, John MacArthur has made all his sermons free for download from his website, Grace To You. For those of you familiar with John MacArthur's teaching, you know that he is unswervingly dedicated to preaching the Truth. In a world of ambiguity, tolerance, and relativity, we should feel blessed by God that He has chosen to put MacArthur here on earth as a resource for us to learn more about the One true God, the God of the Bible. And for those of you who are not familiar with Macarthur's teaching, now you have no excuse! All his sermons are free now, not to mention the countless other resources that have been free. Check it out!

Here are some of the sermons I'm downloading first!

• A Tale of Two Sons, Parts 1-3. (Luke 15:11-32)
  
• The Believer's Armor, Parts 1-7 (Ephesians 6:14-6:17)
  
• Possibly Colossians (Volume 1 and Volume 2), because that's what we're going through in my college group!
  

That's over 30 sermons… So I think that will be good for now… lol! Maybe when Christmas rolls around I'll start collecting some Christmas sermons by MacArthur, Piper, and Mahaney. And of course, I can't wait until my pastors give their Christmas sermons!

What Spiritual Warfare Looks Like

Well, this is one example at least.

A few moments ago I came across this blog post John Piper had written many years ago; providentially, my college pastor just read us this quote from Piper's devotional book Pierced by the Word not more than a few weeks ago. The blog is about combating sexual sins of the mind before they come to any sort of fruition—but it is really applicable to any and all sins—with the image of Jesus on the cross. It is not for the faint of heart (which explains why I come nearer and nearer to tears the more intensely I read it), but I know if I can bring myself to practice this, to practice taking EVERY thought captive to the subjection of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-6), the joy that I will have knowing that the Holy Spirit has sustained me through yet another trial, and the joy knowing that God has granted me the power through the Holy Spirit to be victorious, will be literally everlasting, and truly sweet. As Paul says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not WORTHY to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us!" (Romans 8:18, NASB)

Music Is Vital to Your Soul.

A pastor of mine once said, "Music is vital to your soul," and went on to state that what you listen to will most certainly and undoubtedly impact how you think, feel, and act. So I guess if you kept on thinking about it, it would naturally follow that Christian music, especially if you're a Christian, is the best thing for your soul.

However, I've also heard the argument that Christian music doesn't really have anything to do with real life situations… I mean, what happens when you're just feeling down, or when something serious and life changing is really upsetting you; who is actually going to pop in a praise cd at that moment in time? Wouldn't it feel better to make a playlist of a bunch of songs written by lonely, tortured souls… they can relate so much better, right?

I think I've found the answer in the same sermon my pastor was preaching on; his main text for that Sunday morning was Psalm 42. His very fitting title, or thesis, for that sermon was "The Theology of Sorrow for the Glory of God"… I say that it is very fitting because once you read Psalm 42, it becomes apparent very quickly that this psalmist is in a deeply sorrowful, depressive state. He is being oppressed by not only his situation, but also by his enemies who stand by and mock him—his situation is so bad that it looks and feels as if God has abandoned this man, and he is fighting for hope. What does this have to do with music? Look at Psalm 42:4— "These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival" [emphasis added]. So in the psalmist's deepest bout of depression, he turns not to the world for comfort, but to his memory of praising God through music… and not just any music! Look closely… he talks about how he would "lead them in procession to the house of God"… He's talking about going to church and singing songs of worship! That absolutely blows my mind. He doesn't turn to the emptiness of the world, or even superficial "churchy" things like socialship (a fake form of fellowship); he holds dearest the worship of our Savior and King in the time of severe trial.

So this is my challenge to myself, and to you who have read this: Self, next time you are downcast, don't turn to the world for comfort when you personally know the source of all joy! Instead, turn to God's Word… preach to yourself through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Preach to yourself through Psalm 42. And Self, whatever you do, don't forget the cross!

Related links and info:

• For a sermon filled with the same Truth and Biblical principles on sorrow and, by extension, on music, download C. J. Mahaney's sermon on Psalm 42 for free at the Sovereign Grace Ministries website.
  
• Looking around for some good Christian music? Not just for something superficial that has a good sound, but for something that you like the sound of AND is filled with sound Biblical doctrine that makes you want to draw closer to God? Try Chasing Cadence's album Awake O' Sleeper (available on iTunes), or Enfield's album "O For That Day". Also, check out the Sovereign Grace Ministries website for good worship music (and lots of other great resources, lots of them free!)… right now, they have a free song called "Praise the Lord" available for download.
  

"Praise the Lord" Lyrics:

Praise the Lord, Oh praise His name
From the heights of heav'n He reigns
Seated in the highest place
Surrounded by unending praise

Praise Him for His mighty deeds
Awesome in His majesty
Praise Him now with trumpet sound
Lift your voice and dance around

Everything that has breath, praise the Lord
Everything that's in us, praise Him
Everything that has breath, praise the Lord

Praise the Lord with instruments
Praise Him for His excellence
Look at what He's done for us
Bore our sins upon the cross

Praise the Lord with all you are
Mind and soul and will and heart
From His hand comes everything
He alone is God and King

P.S.—Are you up for another challenge? Try to find out which Psalm(s) this song is from! Check out the links on the left hand column of the blog for some useful tools you can use in Scripture search and study… Tell me if you find it ;-)

Light of the World

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

When I saw this picture, it instantly reminded me of this passage. I love how brilliantly the light stands out, how sharp the contrast is between light and dark. I think it's a beautiful analogy of what our lives as Christians should be like… And it makes me wonder: Is my life this different, this radical, compared to the rest of a dark, lost, and dying world?

Another amazing quality about light is that it has the ability to penetrate into the darkest recesses of a room (or heart!). A single match can light up an entire room, transforming what was once utter darkness into light. Of course, a light makes more of a difference when it is bigger, brighter, and more concentrated. Which makes me wonder what kind of a light I am…

Just food for thought :-)

Why?

Why is a very good question, despite the misgivings of some moms when that's the only question their two-year-olds seem to know. What I'd like to talk about is WHY—Why seek His face? Why write this blog? Why seek His face through writing this blog?

Seek His Face

Psalm 27:8 says, "You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, LORD, do I seek'." I wish, like David, I could say that this is the cry of my heart, simply and wholly and solely to seek God's face, to know Him in a personal and intimate way. Although I can see the evidence that God is in the process of sanctifying me, of making me more and more like Christ each day, there are still times that I seek out sin rather than the holy and glorious face of God. So I want it to be my life's goal to worship and glorify God by enjoying Him forever, and I know the only way I can truly enjoy Him is through seeking His face… which translates into a love of God's Word because of what He reveals about Himself in it.

Blogging…

I actually didn't notice the date until today, but on my birthday John Piper wrote a blog called "6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog".

Well I know I'm not a pastor, nor will I ever be one, nor do I ever desire to be one (1 Cor 14:33-36)… But when I read this, it really helped to solidify in my mind a subtle desire to start blogging. Besides, why should our pastors be the only ones that get to have the joy of meditating over Scripture day in and day out as they prepare for their messages? I don't see this principle in the Bible anywhere, and I'm positive that every Bible believing, Bible teaching pastor would love to know that the individuals in their congregation are seeking out ways to meditate on Scripture day and night! So this blog is just one of the means by which you and I can regurgitate what we have been learning throughout the week; to keep God's Word continually on our minds, in our hearts, and on our lips; and to set our thoughts on things above. (Deut 6:6-9, Deut 11:18-19; Josh 1:8; Ps 1:2, 19:7-13, Psa 119:11-16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 107, 103, 113, 127, 129, 131,159, 162, 167, 171; Eph 4:29; Col 3:2)

My Real Hope & Intent

My real hope and intent is that you will not only be encouraged by but also involved in this blog. I want to encourage you to live a life wholly devoted to the one true God, the One from whom we derive all our hope, and all our JOY. (Jeremiah 2 and Matthew 13 both have a lot to say about drawing our joy, our pleasure, from God… but that's a topic for another blog perhaps) I want you to give me feedback on how the posts either do or don't apply to your life, how they would be more helpful, and maybe even a little further down the line we could do something like a Q&A month, where you could post as many comments and questions as you like, and then I can try to respond to as many as possible!

Most of all, I want this to be a blog that honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, one that exalts Him. And I want this to be a tool that many people (including myself!) can use to talk about what God is teaching us in His Word, to have true Christian fellowship, to edify and exhort each other to grow closer to Christ in our personal relationships with Him, and even at times to discuss current issues and trends in the light of God's Word. At the root of all this will be love for Christ, passion for the Truth of His Word, and conviction to follow up on that love and passion with long-lasting fruit; all of which boiling down to the purpose for which EVERYTHING was created, including you and me—to glorify God, by enjoying Him forever. I pray that I would never stray from that path in this blog, or in my life, and I call on you for your help and accountability to let me know if I ever do!

So now you know how I purpose to seek the face of God through the writings of this blog.