a journal about life in the shadow of the cross of Christ…

It is necessary for believers to understand the special nature of God’s love for them. ‘The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20), is not a statement that gives security to all. To deny the special love of God, and to believe that Christ loves all men equally, is to suppose that Christ has done no more for those the Father has given him than for mankind at large. But if Christians are no more loved than those who will finally be lost, the decisive factor in salvation becomes, not God’s grace and love, but something in them, and their perseverance becomes dependent upon themselves. To widen the atonement, and to speak of it only in terms of general love, is to take away its saving power. The believer in Christ needs to know that the love which embraces him is eternal, almighty, and immutable. It does not hang upon his faith for it went before faith.

— Iain H. Murray
The Cross: The Pulpit of God’s Love

“Devote yourselves to prayer…” (Colossians 4:2a)

I suspect that a chief reason for our apathy in prayer is not our lack of need but in our perceived lack of need.  Many of our prayer lives reflect shallowness and irregularity because we somehow have bought the lie that we are sovereign and not in need of help, glorious and not required to worship, and too busy and so not in need of the discipline of bending our hearts in submission to God through prayer.

Prayer is a humbling thing.  And failure to pray reveals as much about our prideful self-consumption as our misconceptions about self-sovereignty, divine power, and the glory of Christ.

We need a simple jagged command like this here to puncture our imaginations, flood our hearts with sacred truth and bring us into the reality of God-centered dependence.

Via: Erik Raymond

‘If I knew I were one of God’s elect, I would come to Christ; but I fear I am not.’  To you I answer: nobody ever came to Christ because he knew himself to be one of the elect. It is quite true that God has of His mere good pleasure elected some to everlasting life, but they never knew it until they believed in Christ. Christ nowhere commands the elect to come to him. He commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. The question for you is not, ‘Am I one of the elect?’ but ‘Am I a sinner?’ Christ came to save sinners.

—Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Via: Of First Importance

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

—C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity

Via: Tony Reinke

The gospel, by telling us Jesus died for us, is also really insulting. It tells us that we are so wicked that only the death of the Son of God could save us. This offends the modern cult of self-expression and the popular belief in the innate goodness of humanity.

—Timothy Keller
The Message of Romans

Via: Of First Importance

Another great post from the guys that manage Of First Importance

Justification is a presently experienced reality, assuming union with Christ by faith, which anticipates the final day of judgment.

The verdict of this final-day court has already been announced, although ensuing history continues. Justification is an end-time event in which the believer stands already, as if in an anticipative sense. Those united to Christ are justified from all guilt — past, present, and future. God’s final justifying action awaits the end of history, though the verdict is already known, and celebrated daily in Christian preaching and worship.

Justification on the last day consists of a declaration of righteousness, and an actual admission into glory. There are not two justifications, one by God and another confirmed by our obedience, nor one that occurs with faith, and a final justification that occurs at the end time dependent on our works. There is only one justification, and that is the one that occurs on the cross.

—Thomas Oden
The Justification Reader

Via: Of First Importance

We often feel as if grace had done its utmost when it has carried us safely through the desert, and set us down at the gate of the kingdom. We feel as if, when grace has landed us there, it has done all for us that we are to expect.

But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. He does exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. It is just when we reach the threshold of the prepared heavenly city, that grace meets us in new and more abundant measures, presenting us with the recompense of the reward.

The love that shall meet us then to bid us welcome to the many mansions, shall be love beyond what we were here able to comprehend; for then shall we fully realize, as if for the first time, the meaning of these words, ‘The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord;’ and then shall we have that prayer of Christ fulfilled in us, ‘That the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

It was grace which on earth said to us, ‘Come unto Me, and I will give you rest;’ and it will be grace, in all its exceeding riches, that will hereafter say to us, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’

—Horatius Bonar
The God of Grace

Via: Of First Importance

Another great post from The Blazing Center:

Thou Eternal God,
Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness; super-abundant grace
I can as soon count the sands of ocean’s lip
as number thy favours towards me;
I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise

—Divine Mercies
Valley of Vision

When was the last time you pressed the “pause” button of life and took stock of God’s mercies toward you? It’s so easy for us to become fixated on the one thing that’s “wrong” in our lives that we miss the staggering heaps of divine blessing strewn about us.

Try to make a list of God’s blessings toward you. Don’t forget to include:

• Your salvation. If this was the only thing on my list I would have reason to spend my entire life singing.

• Your health. Walking, breathing unaided, playing sports – all grace. Why can I do these things and others can’t?

• Your family. I get to spend every day with my best friend, my wife Jen. I have a daughter that’s cuter than a bucket of puppies.

• Your house. Every day I enjoy hot showers, warm covers, and three square meals.

• Your job. I’m not rich by American standards, but I make more money in a day than most of the world makes in a year.

• Your church. I can worship without fear of government assassination. I own at least five Bibles. My church meets in a building, not under a tree in the African plains.

The list could keep going for pages. I didn’t even mention friends, times my life has been saved, my pastor, my parents, my computer, my spiritual resources, the correction of the Holy Spirit, and ten-thousand other things. God has been kind, hasn’t he? I don’t want to stumble past mountains by staring at a grain of sand.

So what’s on your list?

Via: The Blazing Center

Christ, the Anointed Son, sits on a throne. His rule stretches to the corners of creation. Every trickle of authority in heaven and on earth is now under his rule. No one–no pharaoh, no king, no president, is outside his reign. The Sovereign authority of the Son encompasses all people—from every racial origin, from all the continents of the globe. All have been created to serve and worship and glorify Him, and to enjoy the rich blessings of an eternal kingdom.

The Anointed has cast his rope of authority over all men.

But man rages against God, thrusting knives at the ropes of authority—as if the chords were an ambush, like a net contracted around a trapped animal, hanging helplessly in the air for its hunter.

Man forms alliances to build strength against the Anointed.

The Lord in heaven laughs at man’s rage.

No less a rebel is the man who ignores God. He refuses to pursue God. The fool says in his heart that God is nothing, a phantom, an impotent and imagined delusion. God is to him an unnecessary distraction from the banquet of selfish desires (Ps. 10:4, 14:1-3, Rom. 3:11). The fool has become His enemy by intentional ignorance.

The Lord in heaven laughs at man’s delusions.

The kings of the world conspire together to murder the Anointed Son. False accusations, slander, violence, spit, lashes, nails–all reveal the hatred. Cold death descends with the darkness. But Christ’s murder breaks a pathway down into the ground that opens upward to enthroned exaltation. The throne is a reward for His death.

The Lord in heaven laughs at man’s wisdom.

The kings of the earth rage against the gospel, persecute believers, threaten violence, destroy families, kill, disband churches, imprison leaders, refuse the distribution of bibles, silence preachers.

The Lord laughs. The church grows. Convictions strengthen. The gospel spreads (Acts 4:19-31).

The Lord laughs because the Anointed is returning. Soon Christ will end the mutiny. He will step down from his throne with an iron scepter in his fist to shatter his enemies like glassware (Rev. 2:27). He will step back into this world to tread his enemies with the sole of His feet, thrusting down on his enemies the winepress of his wrath, crimson blood soaking the bottom of his white robe (Isa. 63:3).

This is the Jesus we never knew—or the Jesus many would like to forget. But this is the real Jesus, the anointed King who will return to fulfill thousands of years of expectations and anticipations of God’s people. He will fix every injustice, dry every tear, and remove the handcuffs of evil from his people and his world.

But before the Son returns with His scepter in his fist, He stretches out mercy in his hand. The Anointed bids sinners to come, to kiss the ring of His Lordship, to find refuge from the wrath.

The King’s heart throbs with love towards sinners. The Anointed takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather hopes that sinners turn and live.

Captured in Psalm 2 are life-shaping realities:

The only refuge from the wrath of the King is to find refuge in the King.

The day of wrath upon His enemies is also the day of deliverance for His people.

His return is meaningless for none.

Perhaps you kick violently against God’s authority, thrusting knives at the bonds of His authority. Perhaps you plug your ears, unwilling to pursue Him. Perhaps you find your heart somewhere in the middle. It matters little. The King’s return is imminent.

Kiss His hand. Bow under His rightful authority. Humbly and joyfully take up His yoke. And find in Him a place of refuge where sinners are given forgiveness in His blood, safety, justice, salvation, spiritual riches and eternal joy. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Via: Tony Reinke

Dr. Sproul was recently approached by Dr. Michael Youssef about participating on a satellite network broadcasting into the Arabic speaking world. Al Malakoot Sat (Kingdom Sat) will officially launch on March 2, 2009.

Ligonier along with several other ministries are sending video material to be translated and sub-titled into Arabic and we will be broadcasting several times a day, Lord willing. The broadcast footprint is astounding: 72 countries with a potential coverage of 121 million homes. We will begin by airing our well known “Dust to Glory” series, an overview of the Bible, with other of RC’s popular teaching series to follow later in the year.

There is a wonderful team of translators and administrators that have been assembled to undertake this mission work. Maged Atalla, Al Malakoot’s Executive Director, is a former producer for Trans World Radio, is fluent in 4 languages and has extensive knowledge of the classical Arabic language.

Response to the daily broadcast of “Dust to Glory” will be handled by phone centers in Paris, Amman, Minia (Egpyt) as well as with coordinators in Casablanca and Algiers. We will be providing additional resources, audio and Ligonier literature in Arabic to continue the theological education of those who call in from around the Middle East.

Websites have been set up here http://www.kingdomsat.com and here http://www.malakootsat.com for Arabic, English, and French languages. They will contain more daily information as the launch date arrives.

The potential for this new effort is exciting and overwhelming. We are privileged to be a part of spreading of the Gospel into this area of the world that so desperately needs Truth. As this is not an inexpensive undertaking, we are grateful for those who support us financially.

Renewing Your Mind on Kingdom Sat throughout the Middle East … until the whole world hears the message of God’s great salvation.

Via: Ligonier Ministries Blog