Such a beautiful song!! Acoustic version. Incredible. Jon Foreman “Your love is strong”
So funny! His pants are pretty great. Almost as great as the woman at the beginning.
I am currently reading “Instruments in the Redeemers Hands” by Paul David Tripp. It is an incredible read that I highly recommend. Here is a little part from the book that really hit me about the horribleness of sin/idolatry.
“An idol is anything that rules me other than God
At its core, sin is moral thievery. It steals the worship that rightly belongs to God and gives it to someone or something else. It robs the Trinity to purchase the creation. Every sinner is in some way a worship thief.
At its center, sin is also spiritual adultery. It takes the love that belongs to God alone and gives it to someone or something else. It is a life shaped by the satisfaction of cravings, rather than by heartfelt commitment and faithfulness. Every sinner is in some way a spiritual adulterer.
The deepest issues of life are issues of worship. Worship is more fundamental to our essential nature than the pain, pressures, or pleasures of our experiences. What we worship determines our responses to our experiences. Sin is much more than doing the wrong thing. It begins with loving, worshiping, and serving the wrong thing.”
Our response to this idolatry is said beautifully by the writer of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” when he says:
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be;
let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander-Lord, I feel it-prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”
This is the article that JD posted on Monday following the death of Osama. I was so thankful for it because my initial reaction was sinful in rejoicing, but then the sadness of him being eternally separating from God really hit in. So this was a great article explaining the biblical response that we should have to the death of Obama.
“I’ve been thinking today about what it means to love our enemies. Osama Bin Laden has been brought to justice, and for that we can and should be glad. At the same time, Proverbs tells us explicitly (24:17) to not rejoice when our enemy falls, unless the Lord’s displeasure turn from them and onto us. The prophet Ezekiel says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. If He does not, then neither should we.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t work for justice, or even support the execution of it by lethal force. Romans 13 says that God has appointed even secular powers for the preservation of justice, and their “sword” is His instrument. When they are acting within the principles of justice, they are doing His will. We can and should rejoice that a terrible wrong has been righted, justice has been served in the temporal realm, and the world is safer.
At the same time, a believer in Jesus can’t help in anyone’s death but think of how God has saved us from our own deserved death. Our sin made us no less deserving of eternal death (Romand 6:23), and the perfect Son of God absorbed it in our place. That means we ache for the soul of Osama bin Laden, and all of his misguided followers, praying that God will show them the same mercy He has shown to us, and plead that He, in His goodness, will bring them to the repentance and knowledge of the salvation that is in Jesus (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:1-4).
This is not meant to be a downer on what is a great day for justice. I just want you, Summit Church, to make sure you think about these things through the lens of the Gospel. Jesus said to love our enemies, and died for us when we were His enemies. Osama bin Laden’s passion was “serve God and kill.” Jesus’ passion was “serve God and die.” One took life; the other laid down His life. When we hate our enemies, we are more like Osama than we are Jesus. That’s why Paul told the Ephesians (4:32) to be kind and tenderhearted toward others for Christ’s sake, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us.
Jesus loves the Muslim world, both the peaceful and non-peaceful elements of it. Let us pray and work for their salvation as He worked for ours.
In addition to the massive loss of life caused by Osama, my primary regret is that I did not pray for him more while he was alive.”
Okay, so one month from tomorrow I will moving across the country to Denver, Colorado to help with Summit in Denver!! There are two main emotions flowing through me right now. Excitement, first and mostly. I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do with me in Denver, and in the community! In Ephesians 2:10 says “We are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Secondly, I am a little apprehensive with thinking about this transition. I don’t have a job or a house, but I do have a Father who says “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7. This peace of God really does surpass all understanding, because without Christ this would be crazy to pick up and move across the country but because of the love that Christ has lavished on me everyday, I want to share that with people who have no hope without Him. And this nervousness leads me to complete trust in my Savior who is the author of ALL parts of life, so why wouldn’t I completely trust Him with ALL things, including every part of this move!
All-in-all this is going to be a huge transition that I am pumped to venture into trusting completely, knowing that God is in control of all things!
The chapel speaker yesterday said something that really struck me. He said when we look at the cross we should see two people: Jesus and ourselves. It should have been us on that cross. Our side that should have pierced. Our hands that should have been nailed. Jesus took ALL of this for us. He was the ultimate sacrifice for us! Jesus took our place for God’s wrath. God turned completely away from Jesus, and Jesus did this for us! This should make us fall to our knees in humble adoration!! The lyrics that say “Ill never know how much it costs to see my sin upon that cross” have such new meaning!
Words cannot even begin to describe the gratitude that we have for Jesus, but here are the lyrics to the song “Worthy is the Lamb”.
Thank you for the cross Lord
Thank you for the price You paid
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love You came
And gave amazing grace
Thank you for this love Lord
Thank you for the nail pierced hands
Washed me in Your cleansing flow
Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace
Worthy is the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Crown You now with many crown
You reign victorious
High and lifted up
Jesus Son of God
The Darling of Heaven crucified
Worthy is the Lamb
“Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.
Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”
Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.
Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.
The Bible’s really not about you—it’s about him.”
This is from Tim Keller. It such a great reminder that Jesus is so much better and that he took our place when we were far from deserving of any kind of redemption!
Hysterical! This is what we do in small group :)
Ty Lawson is the man! Look at him setting a new NBA record! And where did he play college ball again!?!
“You are the greatest love story ever told.” Check out this incredible poem about singleness.
