Gleanings of Wheat

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:4-5) Perhaps what is most interesting to me right now, is the hope...the basis for our santification does not begin and end with Christ's atoning work on the Cross. Oh, it most certainly starts there! But it continues on through His resurrection. Christ is not in that tomb, rather He is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us - and it is that fact that should give us our hope for today. We come boldly because our King bids us come. We cry "Daddy" because our Savior is risen. We make war because we have armor and strength that is not our own. We have hope because of an empty tomb! When I feel as though I will never have victory over my sin I can...

I just finished reading through Helen Roseveare's " Enough " (very brief book, easy to read, encouraging) and as I read chapter 6 it occurred to me how shallow my trust is. Even though I know God is huge, and powerful, and endlesslessly merciful, somehow I still manage to have this poor view of God's sufficiency for me in Christ. As I read the chapter (really the whole book, but it clicked particularly in this chapter) I realized that when I hear the word "enough" I think of it as something like "skimping through, enough to get by...but barely" rather than what Ephesians 3:20 says: Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think , according to the power at work within us, Immeasurably more than I could ever imagine. Enough. That's what Christ is for me. He Giveth More Grace He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength as our labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth...

Belief is not merely an agreement with facts in the head; it is also an appetite for God in the heart, which fastens on Jesus for satisfaction. (pg 86) Pride does not like the sovereignty of God. Therefore pride does not like the existence of God, because God is sovereign. It might express this by saying, "There is no God." Or it might express it by saying, "I am driving to Atlanta for Christmas." James says, "Don't be so sure." Instead say, "if the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall get to Atlanta for Christmas." James point is that God rules over whether we get to Atlanta, and whether you live to the end of this page . (pg 92-93) [The] happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither [self-regard and self-approval] but have everything else (God, our fellow humans, animals, the garden and the sky) instead... (pg 93, quoting C.S. Lewis) Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the resp...

Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: ...

I'd like to direct you over to my left side bar - if you're reading this via RSS or on an imported Facebook note, please click over, it's worth it. There you'll find the RSS feed for my church's sermons , always good biblical stuff over there, but in particular I'd like to point you over to our Family Life Seminar 2010 series. Really good stuff. If you want to be challenged, check it out. Oldest to newest in the series w/ a brief description when needed: Portraits of Glory: A Wedding Picture - How marriage can help you see and treasure Christ that you'd otherwise miss as a single Picking Fights: Knowing when to Confront and when to Overlook Respectful Love: The Role of the Husband Nothing More than Feelings: Living by What is Real vs What You Feel - Aimed particularly at women, an examination of how the inner man can effect how we think, feel, & act A Father's Love A look at how being a parent can help you see how the Father relates to us a...

You know, when I decided to start enjoying Christmas I really didn't expect it to be a huge change. Honestly, I didn't. I knew thought things might be a bit different, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it. I guess that's me thinking God doesn't do big things, I guess that was me (unknowingly) believing a lie. It started small, when I'd hear "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" for the 100th time that day I just wanted to be able to grin and bare it while out in public. Now, I'm not saying I like hearing it - or anything - 100 times a day (and I swear, I doubt that's much of an exaggeration) but I'm honestly not just gritting my teeth trying not to complain anymore . Confession time? I've been having a bad few months, spiritually. Not gonna go into detail other than to say I've been struggling not struggling as much as I should be with certain areas of sin in my life. I've had these moments where I know God breaks thro...

The days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: (Jer. 31:31)

“Outside of Christ we are slaves, the best of us are all slaves. In Christ, the lowest of all is a free man and a king.” - Richard Sibbes, Glorious Freedom, 28 From here . Today I'm thankful for this truth! Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:9-11) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:...

On Sunday my pastor was continuing our study in Luke and preached a sermon entitled " Watch Yourselves " on about how we ought to live in light of the glorious promise of Christ's return. Today I'm thankful that this good news is true and faithful, our King is coming - how should that impact me today?

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. (Isaiah 45:8)

I got Respectable Sins with a gift card from Christmas. I purposefully didn't read it all in one sitting...or even in one week...like I normally do. I'd heard wonderful things about it and wanted to take my time in it. I am glad I did. Some parts were more challenging/ convicting than others for me, but I got something out of each and every chapter. I don't know that Jerry Bridges said anything I hadn't already heard, but somehow I feel like I was more apt to receive it as I've been becoming more aware of my tendency to tolerate certain sins in my life. This coupled with my church walking through C.J. Mahaney's book, Worldliness , has brought on even more self examination in light of Biblical standards - and that is a great thing. Now that I'm done with that, what should I read?

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God , being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18) In my church's Wednesday night small group thing (I don't actually know what they call it) the pastor spent some time pulling out different things in this verse. At one point he wanted us to focus on the "that he might bring us to God" part of the verse. He referenced John Piper's "God is the Gospel" (I haven't read it) and how in it Piper makes the argument that the ultimate goal of the Gospel was that we might get God, that He would be our treasure, that we would have a relationship with our Father. As he was talking about this the parable of prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) came to mind, as I reflected upon the son's return to his father's home I could see what my pastor was saying was true. The son comes back, repents, and his father throws a party - but at the end o...

I thought it'd be interesting to give a basic overview of the laws that outline what is a Kosher diet with what was sent to the Gentile believers of Acts 15. I got the following chart from Religious Facts. Kosher (permitted ) Ritually slaughtered beef, sheep, goats and deer with no flaws or diseases Chicken, turkey, quail, geese Salmon, tuna, carp, herring, cod Meat eaten separately from dairy Wine or grape juice made under Jewish supervision Soft cheese and kosher hard cheese Trayf (forbidden) Crab, lobster, octopus, clam, swordfish, sturgeon Meat with dairy (e.g., cheeseburger, burger with milkshake, chicken cordon bleu, wiener schnitzel, etc.)** Eagle, hawk, vulture Any other wine and grape juice Most hard cheese **This requirement is not actually found in Scripture, rather is an interpretation that has been handed down in the Talmud. Exodus 23:19b says "Thou shalt not seeth a kid in his mother's milk," tradition imposed even more strict standards on top of what G...

If you have read, are currently reading, or are going to be reading Owen's fine work on the mortification of sin and would like to interact a bit with some other people I would encourage you to head on over to my church's forum as we're just kicking things off and I'm hoping for some interesting and encouraging discussion. Calvary Baptist Forums

As I mentioned previously, I received two books for Christmas. Truth be told I purchased this one without really looking into it further than to see that it was John Piper's new book. From the moment I cracked open the pages I was challenged and encouraged. I don't mean for this to be a proper book review, but mearly a pointing out of a great resource. If you do read this book I would encourage you to not skip over the introduction because it gives a clear glimpse of Piper's hopes and intentions for the book. If you wonder how God can truly be sovereign over all in light of the seeming chaos that surrounds us, this would be a good book for you. If you wonder why God, if He is sovereign - and we know He is - would allow terrorists to fly planes into the Twin Towers, or bridges to collapse, or tsunamis to hit islands, or any other number of things then this is a great book to start with. An encouraging book. Piper exhorts us to not settle for wimpy theology because it makes w...

So, I'm working on memorizing the 8th chapter of Romans - not really sure why I didn't just start at the beginning and memorize the entire book, but we all know I'm a little...off. Anyway, Romans is being interspersed with the following books I got for Christmas: I'm more than a little entertained by the fact that both books were written by men named John and have the word "sin" in the title. I'm beginning to think I have a thing for the name John - I was already a fan of Piper, Edwards, and MacArthur and I think Owen is going to be added to the list as well.

I purchased The Nativity Story on dvd through Amazon last week and it came yesterday, so I popped it in last night after the kids went to bed. There just aren't words for how much I love this movie. As I was watching it I was thinking about the anticipation of Christ's return and about a zillion other things when my brother interrupted my thoughts. It was the scene where Herod was transferring his sins to the bull and then it cuts out as the animal is about to be sacrificed and he asked what they were doing. I told him that they were sacrificing the animal and he replied that he didn't think God would approve of such behavior. Boy was he caught off guard when I informed him that the sacrifice of animals back then was not only approved but ordained by God, and that sin requires death...I thought his response to the news was more profound than he probably realized at the time, "I have too many sins for that to work, I have to many sins in my life." I was caught...

Really, I do. Last night I had the great pleasure of loading my kids up and driving out to my deacon's home to have dinner with his wife and children - he was supposed to be there too, but got stuck behind an accident and ended up not getting home until dinner was over with. Anyway - I had a wonderful time. His wife and I got the birth stories done before he got home, you know, because you can't have two women together alone for the first time an not end up sharing birth stories. At least that's how it goes with me. We bond over shared experiences of pain, striving, and great joy. It is like loving the same movie, but in real life . ;) With that taken care of we spent hours just talking about God. How he delivered us from churches with very bad theology and a low view of God, how we found our current church, how He changed our views on His sovereignty, and about a zillion other things. I cannot begin to tell you how I enjoyed myself. The kids had lots of fun, and I feel so...

A post on a message board I frequent has me thinking on faith, specifically on drifting away from it. This person says that they are drifting towards agnosticism and today it struck me that this is a very interesting way of looking at it. I doubt this person would say they have run from God, rather I get the feeling from reading their posts that they simply stopped running to God. This got me thinking about my faith and the times when I feel most distant from Him. I'm fairly certain that most (if not all) of those seasons have come not from me consciously saying "I'm going to ignore Him and turn my back on Him," instead they often come simply from me saying "I've worked hard enough, I'm OK where I am at, I'm just going to relax for a bit." I grow lazy, I grow complacent about my sinfulness, and while I may not deny Him with my outward actions my heart reveals its own inherent sinfulness. I put what I want to do, or not do, before what God has c...

I haven't posted one of these in so long! I'm still working my way through the Old Testament at a snails pace (usually one long chapter or two short chapters a day) so I'm only in 1 Samuel right now. I did take a break for a couple weeks and hopped around the New Testament before starting Judges, though. Anyway, I read Ruth a couple days ago. Have I mentioned that I love Ruth? She's my favorite woman in the whole Bible, and besides Christ and Paul she's my favorite person in the Bible. I read her story at least twice a year, and am reminded of it even more than that. My familiarity with her story, however, does not keep me from learning new things in it. I'm grateful that even after digging into her story so many times God is still showing me new things, still teaching me. Here are a few things that struck me this time around: When Naomi decides she is going to return from Moab to Bethleheme she tells her daughters in law to "return each to her mother's...