my child, you are finally home

Martyrs Song – Todd Agnew

the ultimate devotional giveaway

Devotional Christian is offering an amazing giveaway to celebrate the relaunch of the site.  Just write a post on your site about Devotional Christian and enter your information here to be entered for a chance to win ALL of these 22 great books:

 

1. Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, Leather Gift Edition by Bennett, Arthur G.
2. Morning by Morning and Evening by Evening: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on the ESV Bible (SET)
3. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey (Hardcover) by Bridges, Jerry
4. Knowing God Devotional Journal: 365 Daily Readings (Paperback) by Packer, J. I.
5. Daily Light on the Daily Path: Devotional Book for Every Morning and Evening by Crossway Books
6. Golden Treasury of Puritan Devotion: Selections from the Writings of 13 Puritan by Di Gangi, Mariano
7. Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional (Hardcover) by Luther, Martin
8. Search the Scriptures: A Three Year Daily Devotional Guide to the Whole Bible
9. Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers (Hardcover) by Hudson, Christopher D.
10. Teach Us to Pray: 365 Prayers from the Bible (Paperback) by Beals, Timothy J.
11. Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters (Hardcover) by Keller, Timothy
12. The Fruitful Life: The Overflow of God’s Love Through You (Paperback) by Bridges, Jerry
13. In Christ Alone: Reflections on the Heart of the Gospel (Hardcover) by Sinclair Ferguson.
14. The Loveliness of Christ (Soft Gift Edition) by Rutherford, Samuel (foreword by Sinclair Ferguson)
15. The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians (Paperback) by Storms, C. Samuel
16. Lord and His Prayer by Wright, N. T.
17. Taste and See : Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life by Piper, John
18. Practice of Godliness by Kuyper, Abraham
19. Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine by Tozer, A. W.
20. Confessions by Augustine
21. A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works (Hardcover)
22. Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer, Dietrich

ransomed from fear and hatred

Jean Valjean, my brother,

you no longer belong to evil.

With this silver I have bought your soul.

I have ransomed you from fear and hatred

Now I give you back to God. (Victor Hugo)

she is ugly

Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth! that this most glorious Immanuel, the Prince of Peace, whom angels worship, and before whom the seraphim bow–should from all eternity engage to come and seek His Bride from this poor world, and claim her for His own!

Yet so it is!

But she is filthy and polluted! (Ezek. 16:6; Job 15:14-16; Isa. 64:6) Then His own precious veins shall pour forth the rich crimson flood to cleanse her, (Rev. 1:5) and His Spirit shall open the fountain to wash her from her sin and uncleanness. (Zech. 13:1)

But she is naked and bare! (Ezek. 16:22) Then He will cast His skirt over her, (Ezek. 16:8) and will for her, weave in the loom of the Law (Rom. 5:19) fine linen–clean and white–a robe in which she shall be fit to appear at His court!  Moreover the Spirit shall bring near the righteousness of Jesus, (Isa. 46:13) clothing her with “the garments of salvation,” and covering her with the “robe of righteousness,” “as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

But she is diseased! (Isa. 1:5, 6) She is a leper! (Ps. 51:5)  Yet will He bring her health and cure, for He says, “I am the Lord who heals you;” and He is actually made to be sin for her, (2 Cor. 5:21) that she might be made “the righteousness of God in Him.”  

But she has no personal charms—she is ugly!  Then He will put His loveliness upon her, and through it her beauty shall be perfect.

But she is poor! So He bestows Himself and His fullness upon her–and thus endows her with unsearchable riches!

But she is unwilling, and has no heart to the match, for she obeys a hostile prince! (Eph. 2:2,3) Her delights, too, are in the world and the flesh. A new heart will He give her, and a right spirit will He put within her. The Holy Spirit shall make her willing in the day of His power. “I will cause you to forget your images of Baal; even their names will no longer be spoken.” (Hosea 2:17) So that, prostrate at His feet, she shall say, “Lord, our God, other lords than You have ruled over us, but we remember Your name alone!”

And now that the Spirit has touched her heart, she feels she is diseased, and discovers her filthiness and nakedness, knows she is ugly and poor, and cannot think the Bridegroom’s heart is towards her, or that she can find favor in His eyes. And therefore she cries out, “I am black!” “Behold, I am vile! My loveliness has turned into corruption!” But He overwhelms her by responding, “You are all beautiful, my love, there is no spot in you!”

Then she exclaims, “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death!” He replies, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!”

Now she ventures, with a captivated heart, to declare, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His! He is the chief among ten thousand! He is altogether lovely!”

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it!” Ephesians 3:19

(“The Marvelous Riches of Savoring Christ, The letters of Ruth Bryan” October 31, 1849)

I need such a friend

Jesus knows all my wants and weaknesses; all my sin and misery. He knows the malice of my enemies, and the foolishness of my heart. He has power to subdue my whole nature to Himself, and to defeat the wiles and machinations of my foes.

His grace is all-sufficient.  His love is infinite.  His wisdom cannot be defeated.  His power cannot be resisted.  

He has all power and strength–and I am very weak. He has all the knowledge to understand my whole case, and all the wisdom necessary to direct everything concerning me. He makes no mistakes. He is never deceived. He is never outsmarted. He knows all things. He knows my weaknesses.  He knows my sorrows. He knows my heart. His wisdom never fails. He is never confounded or perplexed. He has as much mercy and kindness as I need. His loving-kindness is so great that we cannot fathom its top or the bottom–the length or the breadth of it. The ocean of the Divine love is boundless and inexhaustible! It is infinite!

I have no sorrow to which He is a stranger.  He sympathizes with me in all my sufferings and temptations.

I need just such a friend.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”   Hebrews 4:16

(William S. Plumer)

one thing i do…

“One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippinans 3:13-14).

when your sin stares you in the face

“Where sin abounded—grace did much more abound!” Romans 5:20

Heavenly Father,
Deepen in us this day, contrition for our vileness, as miserable sinners in Your sight. How often without resistance, have we floated down the stream of evil! We do not cloak our wretchedness. Our lips are ready to confess—but our hearts are slow to feel, and our feet are reluctant to amend our ways. We bring our hard hearts unto You. Break them by Your Spirit—and then bind them up by Your grace. Wound them to the core—and then pour in the Gospel-balm!

Such is the blindness of our fallen nature, that we cannot see sin’s deformity—except as You are pleased to unmask it. Such is our deadness, that we cannot hate sin—except as You shall graciously implant abhorrence. Such is our infirmity, that we cannot flee sin—except as Your strength enables. Conscious of our total inability—we come to You for light, for help, for strength, for blessing.

Our sins without number stare us in the face! They are piled as mountain upon mountain. Their height reaches unto the heavens! But their full extent is open only to Your omniscient eye. The burden of our known transgressions weighs us to the dust. But the burden is light, compared to the mass which the scales of Your justice hold. We see but little, because our light is partial and our sight is dim. How must we appear, as seen by You, before whom the very heavens are not clean! You charge Your holy angels with folly. What must be Your estimate of our polluted souls! Humbled for what we see and feel; fearful for what is known only unto You—we meekly cry, “Pardon all our sins—for Jesus’ sake!”

We smite upon our breasts, as utterly unworthy of the least of Your gracious and unfathomable mercies. Hear now our cry, and work in us by the omnipotence of Your Holy Spirit, more profound and abiding repentance. Give us more and more of that godly grief, which ever fears and trembles, and yet ever trusts and loves—which is ever watchful and prayerful, and yet is ever confident and hopeful. May the remembrance of the sad past—quicken us to walk in entire newness of life. Grant that through the tears of penitence, we may see more clearly—the brightness and the glories of the saving Cross!

Oh! blessed Jesus – we flee to You!  We cling to You. Our countless iniquities condemn us—but You will wash them all away!  Our tears of penitence cannot remove one blot—but Your blood has all cleansing merit. Our prayers can earn no pardon—but Your mercy says, “Your sins which are many—are all forgiven!” The more we loathe ourselves—the more we love You! Our vile demerits—commend Your glorious worth!

Henry Law

Devotional Christian

I mentioned last week that I began writing for a devotional blog.  The posts can be found at Devotional Christian. 

The site has many great resources and I’d encourage you to check it out.  There are links to many great online devotionals such as Spurgeon’s Daily Meditations,  the Valley of Vision, Our Daily Bread, and more

Also you can read original posts by various authors, including myself.

I pray that God uses these posts to encourage many and to point us all to the hope we have in Christ

Psalm 103

I will bless the Lord
He’s been so good to me
My heart will praise His holy name
His grace has set me free

 He crowns my life with good,
Directs and guides my ways
He changed my heart of stone to one
That loves to give Him praise.

I won’t forget all He has done
Forgiven, cleansed and changed
He satisfies my longings;
Has given me a new name.

His righteousness stands when I’m oppressed
His justice never fails
He guides through dark confusion
His mercy and grace prevails.

He does not give what I deserve
Or keep His anger hot
Through unendeing compassion and love
His forgiveness for me was bought.

He knows my weakness, that I am dust
And prone to turn astray
But His steadfast love and faithfulness
Guides me through every day.

He rules over all. He reigns supreme
And I will bless His name.
His Holy name controls my ways
I love to bring Him praise.

the happiest Christians

They are the happiest Christians, who have the lowest thoughts of themselves, and in whose eyes Jesus is most glorious and precious.   John Newton

“Unto you who believe He is precious.” 1 Peter 2:7