The Law

"[W]e are saved from the punishment of breaking the law and the burden of the law, but not necessarily the law itself."(Comment by Longing for a Holiday at Sea)

I like this because I'm always trying to explain (mostly to myself, for the purposes of explaining to others) how the law is still applicable to us. I guess it means that we are not saved from the law (as in, it still applies and we still need to obey it), but that we are saved from the punishment of breaking the law and the burden of having to follow the law. The law is no longer a burden, yet we still have a responsibility to follow it.

Hmm. I wonder if that makes any sense at all.

Check out Longing for a Holiday at Sea's Blog--it looks really good!

Beautiful Puritan Prayer of Refuge

This is such an articulate, beautiful prayer! I've highlighted some of my favorite parts!

"O Lord, Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible, order things that they may neither hinder, nor discourage me, nor prove obstacles to the progress of Thy cause. Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall, no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments. May I follow duty and not any foolish device of my own. Permit me not to labour at work which Thou wilt not bless, that I may serve thee without disgrace or debt. Let me dwell in Thy most secret place under thy shadow, where is safe impenetrable protection from the arrow that flieth by day, the pestilence that walketh in darkness, the strife of tongues, the malice of ill-will, the hurt of unkind talk, the snares of company, the perils of youth, the temptations of middle life, the moumings of old age, the fear of death. I am entirely dependent upon Thee for support, counsel, consolation. Uphold me by Thy free Spirit, and may I not think it enough to be preserved from falling, but may I always go forward, always abounding in the work Thou givest me to do. Strengthen me by Thy Spirit in my inner self for every purpose of my Christian life. All my jewels I give to the shadow of the safety that is in Thee—my name anew in Christ, my body, soul, talents, character, my success, wife, children, friends, work, my present, my future, my end. Take them, they are Thine, and I am thine, now and for ever."

Puritan Prayer of Refuge

Talk to Yourself

Check out this liveblog synopsis of a message called The Troubled Soul: God’s Word and Our Feelings by CJ Mahaney. Here's a brief synopsis of the synopsis. : )

"C.J. highlighted that Psalm 42 is an opportunity to listen in on the internal conversation of the psalmist and to evaluate the content of the ongoing conversation we have with ourselves. This is critical to do, for, “You are more influenced by your internal conversation than anything else” and, “There is a direct relationship between this unending internal conversation and the state of your soul every day.”"

I actually do this when my soul is 'troubled' and it really helps! It really helps for me to talk to myself and remind myself of the promises and comfort of God. A lot of times, though, I let my 'troubled' soul take over. I have to make it a discipline to tell my 'troubled' soul to "hope in God" like the psalmist did.

FYI: There is a link on the liveblog to listen to the entire message.

O God of love, I approach thee

Tim at Challies.com posted the following prayer from The Valley of Vision. I thought it was so beautiful expression of God's greatness and truthful expression of man's inadequacy.

O God of love,
I approach thee with encouragements derived from thy character,
for I am not left to feel after thee in the darkness of my nature,
nor to worship thee as the unknown God.
I cannot find out thy perfections,
but I know thou art good,
ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy.
Thou hast displayed thy wisdom, power, and goodness in all thy works,
and hast revealed thy will in the Scripture of truth.
Thou hast caused it to be preserved, translated, published, multiplied,
so that all men may possess it and find thee in it.
Here I see thy greatness and thy grace,
thy pity and thy rectitude,
thy mercy and thy truth,
thy being and men’s hearts;
Through it thou hast magnified thy name,
and favoured mankind with the gospel.
Have mercy on me,
for I have ungratefully received thy benefits,
little improved my privileges,
made light of spiritual things,
disregarded thy messages,
contended with examples of the good,
rebukes of conscience, admonitions of friends, leadings of providence.
I deserve that thy kingdom be taken away from me.
Lord, I confess my sin with feeling, lamentation, a broken heart,
a contrite spirit, self-abhorrence, self-condemnation, self-despair.
Give me relief by Jesus my hope,
faith in his name of Saviour,
forgiveness by his blood,
strength by his presence,
holiness by his Spirit:
And let me love thee with all my heart.

If you don't know, The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. Sovereign Grace Ministries makes a worship CD based on the prayers and I really enjoy the rich lyrics. I also found some Puritan prayers here and really liked the prayer of purification.

Wish I Could Be There

New Attitude Conference 2008... Wish I could be there! This year's focus centers on the Word of God. I found a summary for the theme (that's in the conference handbook) from this post, and here it is:

“If the Bible really is God’s Word, Then we’re called to delight in it and obey it.”

“For the next four days we’ll explore the certainty, sufficiency, and relevance of Scripture by letting Scripture speak for itself. Our hope and prayer is that after this encounter with God’s Word, we’ll never read our Bibles the same way again.

“We want to come face to face with the words of God, dig into them, be humbled by them, and let them become our joy and delight. And when we leave here we want to take what we’ve learned back to our local churches.”

Since I couldn't make it, I guess I'll just have to make do with the liveblogging.

If you want to know more about New Attitude conference click here.

When Deaths Outnumber Births

...Americans should take a close look at the fact that in a handful of major metropolitan areas, deaths now outnumber births. In times past, this would have indicated a major catastrophe such as famine, plague, or war. But with regard to these cities, the causes include nothing to do with famine, plague, or war.... Read more at Albert Mohler's Blog.

Love this Blog

Check out Of First Importance, it's definitely worth a daily read. In their own words: 'Each day this blog will provide a thoughtful quote to help you remember what's "of first importance": the gospel of Jesus Christ.'