Mahaney On Adoption

Crazy week. Little time to write even my brief and elementary thoughts. So, until the dust settles a bit, I recommend listening to the following message from C. J. Mahaney on the doctrine of Adoption. It is moving and beautiful and stirs the soul to love God. Follow the link, download for free:

C. J. Mahaney - God As Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption in God's Word

Headline: Hell Burns, Church Sleeps

This isn't my favorite Steve Camp tune by a long shot (and that is merely a matter of taste, which is ever so objective), but it still contains a fantastic message.

Irrefutable Evidence

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you three irrefutable examples of sin:

Exhibit number one: CLICK HERE

Exhibit number two: CLICK HERE

Exhibit number three: CLICK HERE

Depravity saturates human nature. Men are twisted, bent, angry, murderous and full of lust. All are in need of repentance and grace, and I no less than any other.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 1 Peter 1:3,4

Newborn Wonder

What joy there is for the new believer when life is suddenly turned upside down (right-side up, actually) and the Holy Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures. I can remember the fascination I felt when I first dove into the Bible after the Lord saved me - what joy of discovery! What's more, decades after conversion, I still find the inspired Word fresh, alive, compelling and delightful (which is not to say that I don't have my moments when my heart and mind are dulled from the cynicism and selfishness to which I am prone).

The authors of "Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity", Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney hit the nail on the head in their description of this new-found joy:

"The existence that once had no center - or that had a destructive one - now revolves around the person of Jesus Christ, whose work suddenly leaps of every page of the Bible and pours into every corner of life, calling the Christian to experience the joyful process of conformity to the divine will."

Who Are We Fooling?

Always a sucker for a good love song, I've been falling in love with "Who Are We Fooling" by Brooke Fraser. This song was written by Brooke and performed as a duet with Matt Hales of Aqualung.

As Proverbs describes, the love between a man and a woman is a mysterious, beautiful thing - an earthly shadow of the love relationship between Christ and His Bride. There's powerful imagery and insight there...

At any rate, here are some elegant words entwined with a beautiful melody and careful harmony:

So we're back here again
Tip toeing round the edge of the end
Wondering who will be last to admit
That we're finally over

Turned twenty one on the day that we met
Terrible shoes, implausible dress
It's funny how sad the funny things get as you grow older

Better or worse
But what else can we do?
And better or worse
I am tethered to you
If it's not either of us
Tell me who are we fooling?

I love the art of biting my tongue
I'm tired of trying to guess what was wrong
Both agreed on where we should go
But not how to get there

We tried and tried to loosen the knots
Thinking once we're untangled we'll be better off
But it's these failures and faults that hold us together

Better or worse
But what else can we do?
And better or worse
I am tethered to you
If it's not either of us
Tell me who are we fooling?

This beautiful tangle that's bruising us blue
It's a beautiful knot that we just can't undo
Together we're one but apart tell me
Who are we fooling?

Cause real love
Is hard love
It's all we have
It's a break-neck
Train wreck
It's all we have

So we're back here again
Turning away from the edge of the end
Arm in arm

Better or worse
But what else can we do?
And better or worse
I am tethered to you
If it's not either of us
Tell me who are we fooling?

This beautiful tangle that's bruising us blue
It's a beautiful knot we just can't undo
If it's not either of us, tell me who are we fooling?

Together we're one, but apart tell me
Who are we fooling?

MacArthur's "Slave"

Servant or slave? There really is a fundamental difference between these two terms, and that difference impacts the way believers should understand their relationship to God. More than any other metaphor, the Bible uses the term "slave" (Greek doulos) to describe a follower of Jesus. In his 2010 book Slave, John MacArthur effectively argues that this interpretation of doulos is the correct one, over and above servant.

In the book, MacArthur systematically brings to light a critical understanding of what it truly means to be a slave of God. What is genuinely eye opening is the 1st century perspective on slavery and what it must have meant when the New Testament writers referred to believers as "slaves" at least 40 times.

To have a deeper understanding of the Bible's use of the term "slave" in relation to believers is to have a deeper understanding of the doctrines of grace, a deeper understanding of the sovereign grace of God, and a deeper love for our Heavenly Father who has adopted us into His family. And although the metaphors of slaves and sons are different, they are not, MacArthur says, mutually exclusive. We will forever be in God's glorious servitude and we will also forever be a part of His family, inasmuch as He has sought us and bought us according to His own power and will.

Pure Joy

Happiness is: the angelic, pristine joy on the face of the child I saw this morning in the grocery store parking lot, holding her mother's hand, taking three skipping steps for every one of her mother's strides, with her eyes closed, mouth wide open and little tongue reaching out to catch the falling snow.

When I witnessed her reaction to the snow as she hopped out of her car and grabbed her mom's hand, I instantly, involuntarily laughed for joy myself.

What wonder! What pleasure! What simplicity!

You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11