Being that C. J. Mahaney has become one of my favorite preacher/writers lately I thought I’d share his testimony with you all… God’s grace is so wonderful! Hope you enjoy this… It’s worth the 7 minutes…
Archive for September, 2008
C. J. Mahaney’s Testimony
Posted: 09/30/2008 in VideosTags: C. J. Mahaney, Drugs, Effectual Calling, Grace, LSD, Marijuana, Testimony
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Reality Check!
Posted: 09/27/2008 in Articles, Quote of the dayTags: C. S. Lewis, Christianity, Doctrine, Theology
So last night I picked up a collection of C. S. Lewis’ writings that I’ve had for approximately 200,000 years… (give or take a year or so)… Anyway, I thought that I’d share a paragraph from The Buisness of Heaven that made me think a little bit.
“The Theologians Danger”
“There have been men… who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing of God Himself… as if the good Lord had nothing better to do but exist! There have been some who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. Man! Ye see it in smaller matters. Did ye never know a lover of books that with all his first editions and signed copies had lost the power to read them? An organizer of charities that had lost all love for the poor? It is the subtlest of all snares.” – C. S. Lewis
Oh how true it is that we can become lovers of theology, doctrine etc. and become so wrapped up in our ideas and systems that we lose our love for God and the pleasure of understanding Him. Of course I am not saying to stop studying the great truths of Scripture. God forbid! But we must beware of falling into this danger of which Lewis speaks.
O God, amaze us daily with Your grace. May we grow in our love for You and those around us. Truly Your mercies are new every morning. Great is your Faithfulness O Lord! Satisfy us by revealing Yourself to us more and more. Amen.
J. C. Hahne
Quote of the Day #19 – R. C. Sproul
Posted: 09/26/2008 in Quote of the dayTags: Ephesians, Grace, Merit, R. C. Sproul, Salvation, Worship
“As long as we entertain delusions of our own merit or compliment ourselves on our own contributions to salvation, we block our hearts from pure worship.”
R. C. Sproul
Now of course you have to add Ephesians 2:8-9 as it magnifies God’s grace and shows that in us there really is nothing to boast about. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Princes Shminces…
Posted: 09/25/2008 in DevotionsTags: Confidence, Faith, Isaiah, Malachi, Princes, Psalms, Trust, Unchanging
It is better to trust in the LORD
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the LORD
Than to put confidence in princes.
Psalm 118:8-9
Oh how easy it is to put our confidence in men; in those who appear to be mighty or wise. We are often short-sighted, and can’t see beyond what is visible. God grant us faith that our eyes would see above and beyond, for man is like the flower. He fades and withers. His beauty and strength are for but a season, and then he fails. However, the LORD our God is a rock; solid and sure. There is no changing in His appearance or in His words. “For I am the LORD, I do not change” Malachi 3:6. Therefore cast your eyes upon Him. Be of good cheer. Trust in Him, for He shall not fail.
“…Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40: 7-8
J. C. Hahne
Tethered to Your Word
Posted: 09/18/2008 in ArticlesTags: Bible, Calvin, Desiring God, John Piper, Preaching, Scripture
This morning I was reading on the Desiring God site John Piper’s newest “Taste and See” article “In Honor of Tethered Preaching”, where he discusses the difference between Bible centered preaching and Entertainment centered preaching… The highlights of the article for me were Calvin’s attitude toward preaching and Piper’s closing prayer. Calvin is quoted in a letter of his to Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto as saying:
“O Lord, you have enlightened me with the brightness of your Spirit. You have put your Word as a lamp to my feet. The clouds which before now veiled your glory have been dispelled by it, and the blessings of your Anointed have shone clearly upon my eyes. What I have learnt from your mouth (that is to say, from your Word) I will distribute faithfully to your church.”
What a wonderful God glorifying attitude. By His grace His Word became a lamp unto his feet, and Calvin’s life was dedicated to faithfully proclaiming the truths of Holy Scripture… Pastor John Piper closes his article with a prayer which I pray will be true for myself as well as all of God’s servants.
“Lord, tether us to your mighty word. Cause me and all preachers to show the people that our word is powerless and insignificant in comparison with yours. Grant us to stand before our people as messengers sent with God’s message to God’s people in God’s name by God’s Spirit. Grant us to tremble at this responsibility. Protect us from trifling with this holy moment before your people.”
AMEN
Your Daily Dose of Gospel #4
Posted: 09/17/2008 in Daily DosageTags: 1 John, Gospel, Holiness, Justice, Sacrifice
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
1 John 1:8-9
The truth is that the more we comprehend the perfections of God’s holiness and justice, the more we will see the miserable state of our sinfulness. Yes, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. On the other hand we were born in sin; in darkness and deparvity. We were slaves to sin…
But God who is rich in mercy, gave us Christ the redeemer as a perfect, everlasting sacrifice for our sins, so that He could justly forgive us and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. Oh what beauty there is to be found in this gospel truth! He is faithfull and just to forgive for Christ suffered the wrath that we deserved!
J. C. Hahne
Quote of the Day #18 – John Stott on the Gospel
Posted: 09/12/2008 in Quote of the dayTags: Atonement, Gospel, John Stott, Salvation, Substitution
I found this great definition of the gospel over at William Anderson’s blog God’s Will. I thought I’d share it with you all as well advertise his blog a little bit… He’s got lots of good Gospel centered stuff so check it out.
“The Biblical gospel of atonement is the good news of God satisfying himself by substituting himself for us. The concept of substitution may be said then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation…For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God; while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone”
John Stott, The Cross of Christ
Daily Dose of Gospel #3 – Ephesians 1:7
Posted: 09/05/2008 in Daily DosageTags: Enmity, God's glory, Gospel, Grace, Redemption
Here’s your daily does of what you need… Gospel!!!
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” – Ephesians 1:7
Rejoice for you have forgiveness and redemption by his blood through the riches of His grace. It is not by works lest any man should boast. Just think that the enmity between you and God has been done away with. No longer are we at war with one another but we are friends because Christ spilled His blood. All by Grace! All for His glory!
J. C. Hahne
Quote of the Day #17
Posted: 09/02/2008 in Pictures, Quote of the dayTags: Good News, Gospel, Quotes
“The gospel is the good news that because God did not spare Christ, He will not spare any omnipotent effort to give us everything that is good for us.”
-John Piper (God is the Gospel, pg. 36)
The verse that obviously inspired this quote is Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” If God did the hard thing in bruising His own Son, will He not do all the lesser things in taking care of those whom He redeemed?
I love the words in this quote, “He will not spare any omnipotent effort to give us everything that is good for us. Truly God is for us! Christ was victorious! He is almighty and nothing can thwart His will.
J. C. Hahne
Daily Dose of Gospel #2 – Romans 4:7-8
Posted: 09/01/2008 in Daily DosageTags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Gospel, Lawlessness, Romans
“ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”
-Romans 4:7-8
The good news is that the blessed man described here, is not one who has striven, overcome, and lives in perfect holiness. No, The blessing comes upon one who has practiced lawlessness, one who really does have sin in his account. However, the key words here in these verses are “Forgiven” and “Covered”.
Who is righteous? Who can stand? No one, no not one! We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but in Jesus Christ we have redemption! His atoning death covers our lawless deeds and sins. Furthermore His righteousness was imputed to us as Christ bore God’s holy wrath against our sins, and thus the blessing is upon us! We are His children, His beloved bride. We are blessed more than all peoples!
J. C. Hahne
“Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”
-Proverbe 30:5
Take courage Christian brother, for His words are pure, He does not lie nor change. Every word He has pronounced, every promise He has promised is a shield for us in the midst of war. Rejoice and put you trust in Him!
J. C. Hahne
It's All By Grace! 