http://www.theologynetwork.org/theology-of-everything/starting-out/how-to-spend-the-day-with-god.htm
These are some good thoughts on how to practically spend your day with God.
11.08.2010
Tabletalk Magazine
You can sign up for a free trial of this magazine offered by Ligonier Ministries. It's a devotional magazine with articles that cover a wide range of topics related to Christian Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy.
http://www.ligonier.org/tabletalk/
http://www.ligonier.org/tabletalk/
Let No One Deceive You - I John 3:7-10
"Little Children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning....Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. This is how God's children - and the Devil's children - are made evident." I John 3: 7-10
This passage of Scripture is crucial for the believer to understand. There are some within the realm of "Fundamentalism" who disregard this passage as having nothing to do with the believer or how the believer can have assurance of his salvation. I John 5:13 tells us that these words were written "so that you (believers) may know that you have eternal life." Could it be more clear?
The point is that the life of the true believer will not be characterized by a life that lives out practical atheism. One can profess to have accepted Christ and then go out and live their life as if nothing ever happened to them, but their life lived in sin only indicates that there was never a true conversion. One cannot be truely saved and live as if God had no control of their lives. When God saves a person He radically changes them so that they live a righteous life. That is not to say that they will never sin, but that their lives will not be characterized by sin. The true Christian will grow in Christ and God will complete the work that was begun.
The truth we must remember is that if our life has not been changed by the Gospel, then we need to go back and reevaluate our conversion. Do not be deceived; if we have not been transformed by the Word to live a righteous life then we have not truly been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
This passage of Scripture is crucial for the believer to understand. There are some within the realm of "Fundamentalism" who disregard this passage as having nothing to do with the believer or how the believer can have assurance of his salvation. I John 5:13 tells us that these words were written "so that you (believers) may know that you have eternal life." Could it be more clear?
The point is that the life of the true believer will not be characterized by a life that lives out practical atheism. One can profess to have accepted Christ and then go out and live their life as if nothing ever happened to them, but their life lived in sin only indicates that there was never a true conversion. One cannot be truely saved and live as if God had no control of their lives. When God saves a person He radically changes them so that they live a righteous life. That is not to say that they will never sin, but that their lives will not be characterized by sin. The true Christian will grow in Christ and God will complete the work that was begun.
The truth we must remember is that if our life has not been changed by the Gospel, then we need to go back and reevaluate our conversion. Do not be deceived; if we have not been transformed by the Word to live a righteous life then we have not truly been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
10.25.2010
The Wrath of God
Isaiah 53:10, "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;"
An aspect of the death of Christ that I do not consider quite enough is the fact that the wrath of God was displayed throughout the crucifiction. Often when I think of Christ's death I think of the love of God, the mercy of God, and the grace of God. All of these are great and awesome aspects of Christ's death, but that is not the complete picture. God is a holy God and any sin, no matter how small, is an offense to him. As a holy God he must judge sin appropriately. Therefore, when man sinned the wrath of God had to be poured out on sinful beings. His wrath had to be satisfied. That was the purpose of Christ's death. To stand in our place and to take the punishment of our sin while the wrath of God was poured out on Christ. Christ absorbed the wrath of God that was owed to you and to me. Through the death of Christ God's wrath has been justly satisfied. It is because of this truth of God's wrath that causes his love, mercy and grace to be all the more special and meaningful to me. That wrath was to be mine, but it was the will of God the Father to pour out his wrath on his own son, sparing me of that punishment that would have brought me death.
An aspect of the death of Christ that I do not consider quite enough is the fact that the wrath of God was displayed throughout the crucifiction. Often when I think of Christ's death I think of the love of God, the mercy of God, and the grace of God. All of these are great and awesome aspects of Christ's death, but that is not the complete picture. God is a holy God and any sin, no matter how small, is an offense to him. As a holy God he must judge sin appropriately. Therefore, when man sinned the wrath of God had to be poured out on sinful beings. His wrath had to be satisfied. That was the purpose of Christ's death. To stand in our place and to take the punishment of our sin while the wrath of God was poured out on Christ. Christ absorbed the wrath of God that was owed to you and to me. Through the death of Christ God's wrath has been justly satisfied. It is because of this truth of God's wrath that causes his love, mercy and grace to be all the more special and meaningful to me. That wrath was to be mine, but it was the will of God the Father to pour out his wrath on his own son, sparing me of that punishment that would have brought me death.
10.13.2010
Philippians 3:7-10
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--that I may know him (God) and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." (ESV, itallics added)
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