working on my Job paper...

something I want to expound on that can be drawn from the book of Job:

Insufficient theology + insufficient doctrine on suffering => destructive counsel + destructive reaction to suffering => misrepresentation of the character and glory of God

Love

B3AR Fruit - Love

"For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."
- 1John 3:11-18


My pastor preached on this passage Sunday night...
"Biblical love is commitment evidenced by unconditional sacrifice," he said. 


Ah! I need the gospel...

Sudan

Sudan

"If Job..."

A response from Aja when I read her a paragraph from a commentary on the book of Job that was denying original sin and the depravity of all men (among other things)...

"If Job could jump through the pages, he would slap that man."

Lol.

Poem: Karin

to remember and thank God for His work in Karin...

Karin

I met her outside of Cooper Hall

            She just wanted a place to sit

            Didn’t realize God had made plans for her

            with Christ in heavenly places to sit

I heard her accent and asked her where she was from

            “Germany,” she said.

Another exchange student,

            One semester here to spend.

Exchanged numbers so she could meet

            my roommates and friends

            Hoping she’d see the love we have for one another

            That’s the way that Jesus planned

I didn’t know that I was working

            as just another hand

            in reaching out to her,

God had already ordained

that those who picked her up from the airport

            had the same Spirit in them

            had the same desire in them,

            to see the gospel spread,

They gave her a Bible in German,

            Martin Luther’s translation

So I mentioned Christ to her a couple of times

            when we met outside Cooper Hall again,

Then, fast-forward: I get a text,

            She says she’s been reading the Bible and

                        has seen amazing things,

            She has questions,

                        “Can we meet?”

So she comes over and it takes about three

            hours for me to share

            the good news of Christ with her

She has the right questions,

            “How can I be saved?”

I’m showing her the Scriptures,

            Amazed at God’s grace

She looks at me with tears in her eyes,

            and says she wants to trust

            the Christ she had read about,

So I tell her to repent of her sin and trust

            the gospel she just heard.

“Cry out to God to save you.”

            She’s broken,

            He says, “Come,” to those like her,

            weary and heavy-laden,

            He gives rest to the soul

“I believe,” “I believe,”

“But I have so much more to know,

“I want this faith to grow.”

I’m shaking in amazement,

            so I show her more and more

            God’s Word is doing the work,

            I get the privilege to point at it,

            Point at Him,

            Let the Spirit run the show

We pray,

            she confesses Christ to my roommates,

And the weeks that followed,

            she, the redeemed, said so

            She knew Christ saved her soul

Bore fruit of the Spirit

            Hungry, so

            ate through the four gospels, Romans, I think both Corinthians

            devoured Genesis and some of Exodus,

And she joined the fellowship,

Every Christian event she wanted to go to,

Came to Grace Bible and we got to know her more,

pointing her to more truth,

A lot of prayers, a lot of teaching and exhortation,

Got her a study Bible in German too…

It is true,

            She has much to sacrifice

            Luke 14:25-33 never seemed more real to me

She’ll be facing a spiritually dead country

            that once housed the birth of the Reformation,

            but is now atheist,

            and what’s crazy is,

            there’s no church in her city,

            no Christians she knows,

                        though we’ve contacted some ministries

                        that (maybe) found a church thirty minutes from her

She’ll be facing a spiritually dead family,

            “They will surely think I’m crazy,”

And a big decision to make about love, true love,

Her whole life will change,

I pray will change,

Lord,

Convince her of Your worth,

            over and over again,

That all she has known and loved

is rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of God the Son,

Jesus the Christ

Pearl of immeasurable price,

Worthy to die for…

Convince me of Your worth,

            over and over again

I did not have to give up so much,

            here in America to trust

            and follow You initially,

I’m convicted of my complacency,

Wondering, would I die for You?

I pray I trust this truth:

That You, Merciful King,

will save Your elect,

Your sovereign grace I praise!

You will get Your glory in the end,

            And now, and forevermore,

Let Your kingdom come,

And Your will be done

on earth, every nation,

as it is in heaven.

Yes, hear our prayers for her,

            and let Your will be done.

Amen.

Double Back - "one man down, two men down..."

Here's a song that's talking about how we as the Body should be lifting our brothers and sisters up when they fall into sin. We should be fighting for each other in prayer, accountability, encouragement, rebuke, and sacrifice because of what our Savior did for us. 


Galatians 6:1-2: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

John 13:35: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

"All of us are sinners / None of us deserve grace / but praise God for the slain Lamb / crucified in our place / brutalized in our place / So I must go repair / If my brother ridin' on a flat / let me be the spare" - Flame

Double Back - Flame

By: Flame and This'l on Flame's new album Captured

Poem: The Substance of Hope

for sufferers... 


The Substance of Hope (Hebrews 11-12)

There is nothing better in this life

                  than suffering with eyes fully fixed on Jesus—

                  the author and finisher of our faith—

                  Who suffered harder,

                                    and who in glory was then raised.

That you might repent of all self-righteous claims to rights,

                  and be cleansed of self-pity’s pride;

And in your heart smile with joy inexpressible

                  through the tears and lonely nights…

Because God has enlightened your eyes,

                  to see Him as the only true hope,

And He strengthens your faith to trust Him,

                  Until that Great Day…

When you finally see hope’s substance.

Journal Prayer: 11-10-10

Good Desire "The desire of the righteous ends only in good..." (Proverbs 11:23)

Good morning Jesus,

I give You praise with this lead pointing to the sheet of blankness, ready to be awakened with words that speak life into the spine of this thick journal. Your morning light softly seeps through our opened window blinds to shower this off-white page that will now be filled with praise. Yet, who can declare Your full praise? And who knows limits to Your glory? Who can understand the power of Your voice of thunder? And You whisper hope into our ears, like Elijah in hiding who heard Your still, small voice. Your whispers are as grand orchestras playing with skill and joy. Who can fathom how You've made the sun rise again, caused the breeze to move exactly how it did? Massive mountains are Your Word's doing, and even the sparrow is not hidden from Your sight. I just want to marvel, bask in it all, Your gracious beauty that even my naked eye can behold, and ear can hear, and hands can hold, and tongue can taste. And make my great delight in You, merciful Dad, forgiving Savior, perfect lover and friend.

Open my eyes, this heart, to see Your inexhaustible wonder again: Your Word. Because I long for more as I taste just some, for Your Word reaches down into the deepest seas of my soul, to bring peace, and light, and joy-filled hope in the face of Christ. Sweeter than my favorite hot chocolate, with caramel drizzles and a salted top, Your words warm my insides, and I feel at home again.

I come by the blood of the One who holds the universe together, who humbled Himself to become the object of Your wrath in the open for all to see ... You fulfilled Your justice by crushing Christ for the loveless, to show us true love, enabling us to love You. May I delight in You, then, and consider Your bidding for me to enter into Your holiest of holies with confidence in Christ's atoning purchase of my soul, as an offer from the King to feast freely at His table of delicacies, with every spiritual blessing already granted to me. May I not take this welcome for granted. "The desire of the righteous ends only in good..." You are my desire, Lord. Satisfy me with Your likeness.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.