Blessed are the Merciful

Thanks to Josh Harris' blog for linking to this excellent post at Ordinary Mother (I've never read this blog before and it definitely looks worthy of being added to my blog-reading list). The post is called Merciful Mom and it's definitely worth a read! It's one those that you can really sink your teeth into. : ) Love the quote by D Martin Lloyd-Jones too. What great insights in to mercy!

Submit Your Thinking

"Submit your thinking to your spiritual authority." ~Manny Onos

A wise man in my church mentioned this in a Sunday School lesson once. I believe this is so important. Most sinful or erroneous actions, begin with sinful or erroneous thinking. Submitting your thinking to your spiritual authorities (parents, spouse's, pastors) can really help to stop sinful thinking before it becomes sinful action.

In my case whenever I think something, I always run it past my spiritual authorities to make sure I am having the right of the understanding of the situation. It provides me with a safety against making foolish or rash decisions.

Most Satisfied in Him

God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him. ~John Piper

I've read this a few times before, but the truth of it really struck me tonight. John Piper calls it Christian Hedonism. It's a great quote to think about... just being satisfied entirely in Him can bring God glory. May I be 'most satisified in Him'!

Human Will Liberated

I really enjoy the book reviews over at Discerning Reader and I enjoyed their review on Evangelistic Calvinism: Why the Doctrines of Grace Are Good News. I know it's kind of silly to quote from a review of a book without having read the book, but I thought this was a great a explanation of free will, evangelistic Calvinism and the doctrine of irresistible grace:

"....“God’s grace works in such a way as to guarantee the required response to the gospel’s call,” explains Benton. “The purpose of God’s irresistible grace is not to violate the human will but to liberate it from its bondage to sin…Indeed, no violence is done to the will at all. Rather, the moral direction of the sinner’s will is changed as a result of the new birth.” Some of the strongest practical applications of TULIP to evangelism arise from this doctrine, as difficult as that may be to fathom: “To the person who says, ‘I would love to have your faith – but I just can’t believe,’ encourage them to go to God and ask him to help them.” Supply them with the words of Mark 9:24, for a “sincere desire for faith is the beginning of faith.” The initiator of faith is, of course, the Holy Spirit, who provides an object of faith, Jesus Christ, for whom those who hear and respond to the gospel find themselves yearning."

(HT: Discerning Reader: A Review of Evangelistic Calvinism: Why the Doctrines of Grace are Good News)

Gospel-Hardened

“If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of ‘the plan of salvation’ in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airways and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved.” ~Paris Reidhead

(HT: Thideology)

Charity:water

"1.1 billion people don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s 1 in 6 people alive today. Jesus said, “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Matt. 10:42). These folks don’t have clean water, much less cold water."

I just found neat charity called Charity:water at DesiringGod.org. "Going overseas and personally handing out cups of clean water is not practical for most of us. It’s also not very efficient compared with digging wells and teaching sanitation and ecological techniques. But one thing we can all do is give a $20 bottle of charity. A $20 bottle of charity water can give a person in Africa clean, safe drinking water for 20 years. 100% goes to direct project costs."

(HT: DesiringGod.org)

Simultaneously Criticized and Affirmed

I think this is such a beautiful and true statement of the cross:

"The cross of Christ is simultaneously the greatest criticism and the greatest affirmation you could ever receive. The great criticism of the cross is that you are so sinful that God had to sacrifice his Son on the cross for your sins. The great affirmation of the cross is that you are so loved that God sacrificed his Son on the cross for your sins. The cross criticizes you, it reveals the extent of your sin. The cross simultaneously affirms you, it reveals the extent of God's sacrificial love for you through Jesus."

And, from the same author... This is why I don't like some emerging, seeker-sensitive churches. They lean to much in the direction of the following (insert emerging, seeker-senstive church leader in the blank):

"The cross that I heard ___ ____ speak of on Monday night was a cross full of affirmation, but void of criticism. My conviction is that you don't have a true cross unless you hold together the paradox of the cross--that what Jesus did on the cross is simultaneously a radical criticism of your sinfulness and a radical affirmation of your value to God. ___'s message left me with a lot of affirmation, but no criticism. ___ message left me with a big vision of myself and a small vision of God.

The gospel is BOTH criticism and affirmation. It makes God big and man small. The author continues...

"But when I survey the wondrous cross of the Bible I'm simultaneously criticized and affirmed, giving me a big vision of a very big, very good God and small vision of myself, a sinner saved by amazing grace. I experience joy, I give glory to God, and I am of help to my neighbor and my city when I have such a perspective."

I love his comment on the paradox of the cross. A paradox is "a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth". That's so neat!

(HT: Buzzard Blog)