Posts Tagged ‘Christ’

“When He Has Come”

Posted: November 19, 2012 in Oswald Chambers
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.

http://utmost.org/when-he-has-come/

 

“We would see Jesus” (John xii. 21).

Posted: November 19, 2012 in O Christian.com
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

When any great blessing is awaiting us, the devil is sure to try and make it so disagreeable to us that we shall miss it.

It is a good thing to know him as a liar, and remember, when he is trying to prejudice us strongly against any cause, that very likely the greatest blessing of our life lies there.

Spurgeon once said that the best evidence that God was on our side is the devil’s growl, and we are generally pretty safe in following a thing according to Satan’s dislike for it. Beloved, take care, lest in the very line where your prejudices are setting you off from God’s people and God’s truth, you are missing the treasures of your life.

Take the treasures of heaven no matter how they come to you, even if it be as earthly treasures generally are, like the kernel inside the rough shell, or the gem in the bosom of the hard rock.

I have seen Jesus and my heart is dead to all beside,

I have seen Jesus, and my wants are all, in Him, supplied.

I have seen Jesus, and my heart, at last, is satisfied,

Since I’ve seen Jesus.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/a-b-simpson-devotional.shtml

 

Falling Short

Posted: November 19, 2012 in Our Daily Bread
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

One of the fads of 1970s America was the motorcycle jump. This trend reached its high (and low) point on September 8, 1974. Thousands of spectators gathered around the Snake River Canyon in Idaho to see if Evel Knievel could jump across the chasm in a specially designed “sky cycle.” In the end, however, it was unsuccessful. Knievel made it only part of the way across the gulf before his parachute deployed and he dropped to the canyon floor below. Some spectators asked, “How far across the canyon did he get?” But that wasn’t the point. He didn’t make it all the way across, so he fell short of his goal.

This scene is a good illustration of sin. The Bible talks about sin in Romans 3:23, where Paul declared, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is capable of bridging the gap between God and ourselves by our own efforts, but the Savior came to do just that on our behalf. Christ perfectly fulfilled God’s standards, then gave His life on the cross to pay for our failure and wrongdoing. Where we could only fall short, Christ’s work, offered in love, accomplished all that was needed.

Our response is to trust Him and receive this matchless gift of salvation.

There is no other name on earth By whom salvation’s given Save Jesus Christ the Lamb of God, God’s precious gift from heaven. —Stairs
The cross of Christ bridges the gap we could never cross on our own.

Tozer Devotional-Experiencing God Despite the Distractions

Posted: November 19, 2012 in A. W. Tozer
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Experiencing God Despite the Distractions

In the normal course of things a certain number of distractions are bound to come to each one of us; but if we learn to be inwardly still these can be rendered relatively harmless. It would not be hard to compile a long list of names of Christians who carried upon their shoulders the burden of state or the responsibilities of business and yet managed to live in great inward peace with the face of the Lord in full view. They have left us a precious legacy in the form of letters, journals, hymns and devotional books that witness to the ability of Christ to calm the troubled waters of the soul as He once calmed the waves on the Sea of Galilee. And today as always those who listen can hear His still, small voice above the earthquake and the whirlwind.

While the grace of God will enable us to overcome inevitable distractions, we dare not presume upon God’s aid and throw ourselves open to unnecessary ones. The roving imagination, an inquisitive interest in other people’s business, preoccupation with external affairs beyond what is absolutely necessary: these are certain to lead us into serious trouble sooner or later. The heart is like a garden and must be kept free from weeds and insects. To expect the fruits and flowers of Paradise to grow in an untended heart is to misunderstand completely the processes of grace and the ways of God with men. Only grief and disappointment can result from continued violation of the divine principles that underlie the spiritual life.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=738

Yearning for His Coming: Advent Is Soon Upon Us By Eric Metaxas , Christian Post Guest Columnist

Posted: November 18, 2012 in The Christian Post
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

You’ve no doubt heard of “Black Friday,” the day after  Thanksgiving that features, along with countless sales, the more-than-occasional  trampling of shoppers by their frenzied peers.

In many ways, “Black Friday” has become a bigger deal than Thanksgiving. So  much so that many major retailers have announced that they are opening their  doors on Thursday.

The hope is that the possibility of buying something you don’t really need  for a little less than you would pay a few weeks later will help people work off  the turkey and pumpkin pie and get down to some serious Christmas shopping.

The problem is that it isn’t Christmas yet-at least not for Christians.

The weeks leading up to Christmas day are properly called Advent in Western  Christianity, from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming.”[i]

Adventus was the Latin translation of the Greek word parousia, which the New  Testament most often used to refer to Jesus’ second coming. In antiquity,  parousia was usually associated with the arrival of royalty: the leaders of a  city went outside the city gates to meet the Emperor and escort him back into  the city.

Thus, for the Christian, Advent is about preparing to greet our King. And it  is a time for both looking back to Jesus’ first coming and looking forward to  His second coming in glory.

Like Lent, Advent is a penitential season, a time for reflection and  repentance. If we’re honest with ourselves, what Titus 2 calls “our blessed  hope-the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus  Christ,”-should provoke both joy and a bit of dread. It’s a time for asking  ourselves whether we truly are “a people that are [Christ’s] very own, eager to  do what is good.”

If this doesn’t put you in the mood for shopping, well, congratulations! You  are starting to “get” Advent.

The other emotion associated with Advent is yearning. Specifically, yearning  for God to fulfill His promises to His people and to set right what has gone  terribly wrong.

This yearning permeates perhaps the greatest of all Advent hymns, “O Come, O  Come Emmanuel.” It’s a paraphrase of parts of the liturgy dating back to at  least the Middle Ages. Each verse invokes biblical titles for Christ-Emmanuel,  Root of Jesse, Day Spring, etc.-and then rehearses why His people yearn for His  presence among them.

Another Advent hymn, “Creator of the Stars of Night,” which dates from the  seventh century, captures the season’s emphasis on both Christ’s first and  second comings. After expressing the yearning at the heart of the season, it  proclaims “Thou, grieving that the ancient curse, should doom to death a  universe, hast found the medicine, full of grace, to save and heal a ruined  race.”

It then goes on to say, “At whose dread Name, majestic now, all knees must  bend, all hearts must bow; and things celestial Thee shall own, and things  terrestrial Lord alone.”

There’s a lot going on in these hymns, which is why my colleague John  Stonestreet has produced a marvelous DVD and CD teaching series on the hymns of  Advent. It’s called “He Has Come,” and contains John’s “Two-Minute Warning”  videos, study guide by T. M. Moore, “BreakPoint” commentaries by Chuck Colson on  Advent, and a bonus CD with some of the great Advent hymns. We have it for you  at BreakPoint.org. I hope you get a copy for you and your family.

This year, Advent begins on Sunday, December 2nd. Embrace the season! But  whatever you do, do not let the culture define this most Christian of times for you.  That would be a truly black Friday.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/yearning-for-his-coming-advent-is-soon-upon-us-85076/#S1xpUUdKM7s7tWDs.99

Winning into Freedom

Posted: November 18, 2012 in Holy Land Moments
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed —John 8:36

If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.

God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, “I can’t do that.” God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our “arguments . . . and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)— we have to do it. Don’t say, “Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts.” Don’t suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.

“If the Son makes you free . . . .” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20  when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “. . . you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.

http://utmost.org/winning-into-freedom/

“And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.” Psalm 107:7

Posted: November 18, 2012 in O Christian.com
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

“He led them forth.” Forth out of the world–forth out of sin–forth out of a profession–forth out of a name to live–forth out of everything hateful to his holy and pure eyes. “To go to a city of habitation.” They had no city to dwell in here below; but they were journeying to a city of habitation above, whose walls and bulwarks are salvation, and whose gates are praise; where there are eternal realities to be enjoyed by the soul; where there is something stable and eternal; something to satisfy all the wants of a capacious and immortal spirit, and give it that rest which it never could find while wandering here below. If we have a city here, we want no city above; and if we have a city above, we want no city here.

This then must be our state and case; either to be pilgrims, journeying onwards, through troubles, to things above, or taking up our abode below; seeking heaven here, or heaven hereafter; resting upon the world, or resting upon the Lord; panting after the things of time, or panting after the things of eternity; satisfied in self, or satisfied only in Christ. One of the two must be our state and case. The Lord decide it clearly in the hearts of his people that they are on his side; and give us to know and feel that our very restlessness and inability to find food and shelter in the things of time and sense, are leading us more earnestly and believingly to seek after the things that have reality in them; that finding no city to dwell in here below, we may press forward to be manifestly enjoying testimonies of being citizens of that city which is above, “which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God!”

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/j-c-philpot-daily-portions.shtml

Tozer Devotional-Distractions! Distractions! Distractions!!

Posted: November 18, 2012 in A. W. Tozer
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Distractions!  Distractions!  Distractions!!

And what is the devotional mood? It is nothing else than constant awareness of God‘s enfolding presence, the holding of inward conversations with Christ and private worship of God in spirit and in truth. Public worship embraces the community of believers and is genuine only as the individuals who compose the company assemble in the mood of reverent devotion. Anything short of this is sheer formality and must surely be unacceptable to God.

Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us–that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given.

One thing is certain, however: we cannot turn the clock back to quieter times, neither can we hide from the persistent clamor of the 20th century. We must learn to live in such a world as this and be victorious over it.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=737

Song of Solomon 4:12 A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Posted: November 18, 2012 in Charles Spurgeon
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

In this metaphor, which has reference to the inner life of a believer, we have very plainly the idea of secrecy. It is a spring shut up: just as there were springs in the East, over which an edifice was built, so that none could reach them save those who knew the secret entrance; so is the heart of a believer when it is renewed by grace: there is a mysterious life within which no human skill can touch. It is a secret which no other man knoweth; nay, which the very man who is the possessor of it cannot tell to his neighbour. The text includes not only secrecy, but separation. It is not the common spring, of which every passer-by may drink, it is one kept and preserved from all others; it is a fountain bearing a particular mark-a king’s royal seal, so that all can perceive that it is not a common fountain, but a fountain owned by a proprietor, and placed specially by itself alone. So is it with the spiritual life. The chosen of God were separated in the eternal decree; they were separated by God in the day of r edemption; and they are separated by the possession of a life which others have not; and it is impossible for them to feel at home with the world, or to delight in its pleasures. There is also the idea of sacredness. The spring shut up is preserved for the use of some special person: and such is the Christian‘s heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God’s seal upon him-and he should be able to say with Paul, “From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Another idea is prominent-it is that of security. Oh! how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! If all the powers of earth and hell could combine against it, that immortal principle must still exist, for He who gave it pledged His life for its preservation. And who “is He that shall harm you,” when God is your protector?

http://www.crosswalkmail.com/ShareArticle.do?perform=view&articleID=edhbhzyzd&siteID=qsnpwhmfpnpmdfbvqrjyjmhdsqqdngmjwwb&recipID=526889780

Jesus in the Spin Zone

Posted: November 17, 2012 in Joe Stowell
Tags: , , , ,
1

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” Hebrews 13:8-9

After Rosie O’Donnell announced that she was “coming out of the closet,” I watched with interest as Bill O’Reilly interviewed her on his TV program, The O’Reilly Factor, during a feature that he affectionately dubs “The No Spin Zone.” He asked if she felt threatened by religious leaders who spoke out against the gay movement. “No,” she replied, because she knew that Jesus taught love, kindness, compassion and understanding. When O’Reilly asked Rosie if she thought God would judge her for her lifestyle, she calmly said no, because after all she had endured while growing up, Jesus would smile on the fact that she could love at all.

As I listened I thought, Wow, Jesus is being spun big time right here in the “no spin zone”!

But spinning Jesus is big sport these days. Not only do people twist Him to fit their agendas, but movie producers and authors reduce Him to a mere mortal, spinning Him in affairs with a prostitute and a marriage to Mary Magdalene. Muslims, while denying His deity, claim Him as one of their prophets. Politicians evoke His name when it might get them a few votes. And religious liberals defrock Him of His divine credentials, His miracle-working power, and His role as righteous Judge. Which relegates Him to the role of history’s leading Mr. Nice Guy. And He is nice, but if that’s all you have, then you don’t have Jesus. At least not the One who walked our planet 2,000 years ago.

When spin doctors go to work on Jesus, left on the editing room floor are facts like His judgment of the living and the dead, and that He will say things like, “Depart from me, you who are cursed” (Matthew 25:41).

Rosie is a classic example. She’s on the money when it comes to Jesus preaching love and compassion. Matthew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies.” If you have one of those cool Bibles with the red ink that shows the words of Christ, you could skim through the New Testament and find over a dozen places where Jesus instructed us to love both friends and enemies.

But Jesus is also the ultimate spiritual referee, as noted in John 5:27, where the text tells us that God has given Christ the authority to judge. For Jesus to fit into Rosie’s mold, He would have to deny   1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which says, “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral . . . nor homosexual offenders . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.” And it’s not just sexual sin, but it’s all the ways that we fall short of God’s holy standards that leave us in jeopardy before Jesus as Judge and King.

So, beware of any attempts to dish out Jesus as something less then He really is. Hebrews 13:8-9 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” A spin doctor’s clever quip about Jesus can’t change who He has always been and always will be. It would be a bad day to have lived as though there were no accountability for sin, only to find out too late that Jesus is the Judge!

But here’s the really good news. It’s also true that the Judge came to our planet to pay our penalty for sin and to become our Savior and friend (John 3:16-21). That’s something I’d like to tell Rosie—or anyone else for that matter!

YOUR JOURNEY…

  • Why do people want to put their own spin on Jesus? Have you ever done this, even if it has only been in your own mind?
  • This week, look for opportunities to keep Christ out of the “spin zone” by getting the truth out there. Post it on your blog; take out an ad in the newspaper; rent a billboard if you have to!
  • Memorize Colossians 1:15-20. When you are uncertain about what the world says about Christ, measure it against God’s Word.
  • Find a Bible that shows Jesus’ words in red letters. Take some time to read Jesus’ recorded words. In your journal, write down what His words reveal about the true Christ.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/jesus-in-the-spin-zone/

Older Entries