Getting Self Control

From ADDICTIONS, A Banquet in the Grace
by Ed Welch

The basic idea is that we must cultivate the skill of living a thoughtful, careful life in which we do what is right despite our desires. It is tested when we are alone or we feel unsatisfied. What do we do when no one is looking? What do we do when cravings feel so strong that they hurt? Who or what till rule you then? Your desires or your God? Self-control is the skill of saying “no” to sinful desires, even when it hurts. (p. 215)

Loving Much and Loving Little

My love for Christ has grown cold. My reading of his Word has become a duty and not a delight. so I read Luke 7

Luke 7

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.

My coldness is the onset of my drifting from my understanding of my own sin. I have forgotten that it is Jesus who took the punishment for my transgression. And I have forgotten that my transgressions are so, so many.

When I meditate on that, my appreciation grows, my gratefulness returns, my humility is renewed and my love for my savior is refreshed.

Martin Luther once said that we all walk around with the Jesus' nails in our pocket. I need to listen more closely for the jingling in my pocket.

President Obama, State of the Union, Health Care, Democrats, Republicans,

Lies, Deception and the Truth

From:
Addictions, A Banquet in the Grace
by Edward T. Welch

The bad new in this is that the light exposes our guilt and shame. The good news is that the fear of the Lord exposes us without leaving us shamed, forever guilty, and powerless to change. Rather it exposes us in order to cover our shame, cleanse the guilty conscience, give grace to change and restore fellowship with God and others. (p. 181-182)
...
Truth is a cornerstone in the kingdom of God. Think for a moment about the alternative. What if God lied at just one point? Even if it were just a small deception, everyone who puts his trust in Christ would be without hope. If he is not absolutely faithful and true, our faith is foolishness. Truth is essential in the way God relates to us. (P. 183)

How much is a billion

I'm not usually one to do this, but this was pretty impressive. I cleaned it up a bit:

This is too true to be funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

• A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
• A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
• A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
• A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain,let's take a look at New Orleans .. ...It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARSto rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number.What does it mean?

A. Well ... If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.
B. Or... If you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or.... If you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Here are some of the taxes we pay:

Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Dog License, Tax, Federal Income Tax, (Fed)Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Permit Tax, Gasoline Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax, (Truckers) Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax, (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax,

(And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes)

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago.

And our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt.

We had the largest middle class in the world

...and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Lost and Found

I once was lost. He found me. And there is someone very special to me who I want him to find. I worry, I cry, I get concerned. Can God get thru? Then I remember:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
2 Peter 1:3

His divine, heavenly, supernatural, majestic power can do it all. His power can move the largest stone, even if it covers a tomb. His power can staunch the greatest flood, or part a sea. His power can soften the hardest heart, just as Paul, or Onesimus...or me.

Here is the question: what is greater, God's power or man's will? I will put my money on God every time.

Sunday Morning

This looks to be a typical Sunday morning. I get up around 5:30a and start my devotional time. Because I don't have the time demands of the workweek, I can spend more time in devotions. I am reading thru the bible and will read 2-4 chapters per day, usually two on week days and four on Saturday and Sunday. Then I will pray thru my prayer calendar - starting with praying for me, then my wife and children. Then I have lists of people who get prayed for during the week. M&E, you are Tuesday, P&L you are Wednesday.

I will then journal or blog some idea, passage or thought that has made an impression on my during my reading or prayer time. That helps me slow my thinking down and meditate better on what the lord is saying. Sunday is different. It should be. I put an emphasis on listening for a word that He may want me to bring to church. I am also thinking about the service. I so look forward to getting to church to see the saints and to worship corporately with them.

Today is special. I get to man the North door. I don't know how to describe this duty to make someone else understand the great joy I get in this little job, but I find it so encouraging to stand at the door and watch the members of our church come thru the parking lot and head for church. I love watching the kids as they actually run to get inside church, to see their energy and anticipation. I am sometimes overwhelmed to see the joy of my brothers and sisters as the have taken time out of their day to come and worship.

How kind of God to give me a front row seat for this exhibition of his grace!

How can I not be moved...

How can I not be deeply affected when I consider the gospel? How can I not be undone when i look at the cross. Let me give one example.

As I re-read the account of the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, I come across this verse in Luke 23 --

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
Luke 23:35

But in truth, he could save himself. He could have just come down off that cross at any time. He could have called down legions of angels to destroy all how were opposing him that day. He could have called for a plague of worms to consume each person who, the night before, had cried out for Barabbas, and chanted "crucify him". He could have saved himself, but he could not have saved himself and saved us.

So he saved us.

And I ponder that. What, in me, was worth saving. What in me was worth the life of the one the angels cried, "Holy, Holy, Holy". My life, apart from God, is a shambles. Anything that I have done that is of lasting value, was done thru me by the Holy Spirit.

But he loved me anyway.

And again, I am undone.

John Piper, Albert Mohler, Charles Spurgeon

The Church is...

The genuine Christian Church is One.

We are the Bride of Christ, we are his purchased possession, we are one family, one body, born of one Spirit, we are under one covenant.

One man, Achan, took spoil from Jericho. But Scripture characterizes that, "the people of Israel broke faith" [Joshua 7:1}. And later, "Israel has sinned...they have taken some of the devoted things" [Joshua 7:11]

We are God's church. We are one. When one sins, we all suffer. When one falls, we all feel the loss. Let is pull together, encourage one another, pray for one another and bear each other's burdens.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

The church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain and cherish
Is with her to the end;
Though there be those that hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against or foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.