How Deep

Here is one of my favorite modern hymns, written by Stephen Altrogge from Sovereign Grace Ministries. Enjoy thinking about the depths of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus and have a blessed Lord’s Day (Tomorrow, look for the prayer that this song is based on from the Valley of Vision).

You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing

How to Live the Christian Life

Here is some great advice for us from the “doctor” Martin Lloyd Jones about how we are to live the Christian life. I encourage you to take some time and consider this “prescription.”

“There is nothing that is so calculated to promote holiness as the realization that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, that our destiny is certain and secure, that nothing can prevent it. Realizing that, we purify ourselves even as He is pure, and we feel that there is no time to waste. That is the way to live the Christian life!

The Mediator

Here is a prayer from the Valley of Vision that should encourage and uplift you in the midst of this week.

Everlasting Creator-Father,

I have destroyed myself,

my nature is defiled,

the powers of my soul are degraded;

I am vile, miserable, strengthless,

but my hope is in thee.

Our Sins have been Punished

In lieu of having time to write a longer post, I came across this quote by J.I. Packer that I thought would be great to share with you. Take some to time to read and meditate on the the awesome thought that “our sins have been punished…but on Jesus.” Have a great day.

“Our sins have been punished; the wheel of retribution has turned; judgment has been inflicted for our ungodliness – but on Jesus, the lamb of God, standing in our place. In this way God is just – and the justifier of those who put faith in Jesus, who ‘was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification’ (Romans 4:25).”

How Great Thou Art

Here is an old favorite. I especially love the third stanza. Take some time and meditate on that one and have a blessed Lord’s day!

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Friday Funnies

After a long couple of weeks, I feel that we could all use a good laugh. Again, I will turn to Tim Hawkins who I was introduced to through Kevin DeYoung’s blog. My father-in-law told me about this one and if you haven’t see it yet, it is worth the 3 minutes. Enjoy! Have a great weekend.

Christ is the Gospel; Christians aren’t

About a year ago or more, I made my way over to an older woman in my church and tried to establish a relationship with her.  I began by asking her how she was doing.   All I can say is ,wow, did she ever tell me!  Her short answer was, “Not very well.”  The long answer she actually gave me is way, way too long to post here, but I’ll try to summarize: her husband was difficult to put up with and she didn’t know if she could stand him anymore, her health was bad, her finances were bad, her life was bad, she was depressed and bored and so on and so on…  And I am by no means able to do justice to the tone of voice and attitude in which she conveyed this to me.  I was totally shocked.  There was no reference to God in her conversation with respect to her circumstances at all.  How could this older woman, who had been a Christian for over thirty years talk like this? 

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

I have never actually heard this hymn before, but I figured in honor of John Calvin and the fact that we just attended one of the many conferences celebrating the grace of God in his life and work that I would post the words to this hymn he wrote. Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Savior of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.

The Joy of Discovering a New Author

First, I have to add to John’s post that the Bolton Conference was a tremendous spiritual blessing to me this year.  It was definitely used of God to grow me in grace and knowledge.  Perhaps I’ll post some more about it some other time.

Next, I must express my child-like excitement and delight in all the brand, new books that John and I have bought or received in the last week.  It’s been like Christmas!  Actually it’s been better than Christmas, because at Christmas I inevitably get something I could care less about, like a sweater that doesn’t fit or a kitchen appliance I will never use.  But books!  Ahh!  

Calvin, the Reformer

I apologize to any who may be tired of hearing about the life of Calvin as it seems every time you turn around someone is doing a conference, releasing a book, or writing a blog post about him this year. Yet that is what the Bolton Conference was on this year as well. So please bear with us a little bit as we share some of the things that caught our attention from the various sessions we heard.

The first session of the recent Bolton Conference was more of a lecture on who Calvin was. One of the things that is most interesting in all of this talk of John Calvin this year, in celebration of his 500th birthday, is that he would have hated the attention.