Melancholy

"I am the subject of depressions of spirit so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to, but I always get back again by this-I know I trust Christ. I have no reliance but in him, and if he falls I shall fall with him, but if he does not, I shall not. Because he lives, I shall live also, and I spring to my legs again and fight with my depressions of spirit and my down castings, and get the victory through it; and so may you do, and so you must, for there is no other way of escaping from it. In your most depressed seasons you are to get joy and peace through believing."CH Spurgeon

Cross Centered Life

I loved this book recommendation from my pastor. Good stuff. Read and love the simple truth.

Gary North

I have been reading a bit of information from this Christian Economist (Of the Theonomy and Christian Reconstructionism variety). We are definitely different theologically, but at times have liked a few things he has writing as I am trying to understand economics. Some interesting stuff on his front page. Haven't subscribed yet though and mostly just read all of the free stuff.

http://www.garynorth.com/

Calculating Estimated Future Gas Prices

(Crude / 40) + $0.90

July 4th

Your Friend is Only Mostly Dead (Written about 6 years ago)

I was thinking about a movie called "The Princess Bride" awhile ago where Miracle Max is trying to give Westley a pill to bring him back to life.

He says, "It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between MOSTLY dead and ALL dead.... Now, mostly dead is slightly alive. Now, all dead...well, with all dead, there's usually only one thing that you can do. "

Now when I think of this movie I find some of it very humorous, but this week on vacation I was thinking about this movie in the context of how we as Christians sometimes think. I think for each of us as believers we tend to forget that before we came to Christ we were spiritually dead. Not slightly alive spiritually dead or spiritually sick, but really completely dead in our trespasses and sins. Sometimes we think non-believers are slightly alive when in fact they need God's perfect grace to even have any kind of faith in the One True God.

The scriptures clearly explain that He showed His perfect mercy and grace even while we were sinners, by nature children of wrath, and incapable of doing anything good to grant our salvation. Romans 3 even goes so far to say and teach us that "there is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable." The evidence of each of us not even seeking God in our natural state is hard for most of us to think of or imagine, but this is the way it is unless God takes our dead heart and gives us a new heart for Him. (Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”). That is why some people can know "facts" about God or Christ, but not really be born again. Each of us at one time never sought God in our natural state because of our sinfulness. Paul also writes that the gospel preached is to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.(1 Cor 1:23) But to those who are called, the gospel is the power and wisdom of God. The lost man, according the second chapter,cannot understand spiritual things, for they are foolishness to him.

As my friend Bob once said, "For the lost man is not almost dead in sin- he is completely and utterly dead, lying stone dead on the bottom of the sea, helpless until God picks him up. As the Spirit quickens, or makes alive, the heart of the lost man, he understands the grossness of his sin and the peril of his condition and cries out to God, acting upon the seed of faith that God has given him."

Steve Camp once wrote "Salvation is only found in the perfect, complete, once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ all the cross-plus or minus nothing. It is all of Him; it is all of Grace. All of our works-our own righteousness, are but dirty filthy rages. "The only thing," as Jonathan Edwards said, "That man brings to his salvation is the sin that makes it necessary" Christ Alone is our hope, our author and finisher of our faith and no man comes to the Father but through Him. He is our cornerstone."

I find it useful for us to realize it's all of Him.

Oh what amazing grace He has given us.The reason I think this is so utterly important to realize that we are not just slightly spiritual dead before we come to Christ is because it will change all aspects of your sharing the gospel. We know that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. I know that when I got saved it was from hearing the gospel message being preached through a radio drama on my own in the basement when I was 15. I had so much of God's Word being told to me that God used it in my life to change my cold dead heart to a heart after him.

The point is when you are sharing the gospel; realize that the Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation. God wants us to be clear about the message of the Cross and gospel.

Also this study also will give anyone a heart for the lost? I stand in awe of God's grace being worked out in people and realize how dead people really are without Christ and also how I once was. We stand in utter dependence on Christ for all things in our witnessing. I pray we all get the heart of Christ this week for those lost friends and familyaround us. That's my deepest prayer this week.

The Dark Guest - Valley Of Vision

O Lord,

Bend my hands and cut them off,for I have often struck thee with a wayward will,when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.

I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honour, wisdom, and esteem of others, for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.

Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself.

Give me to view a discovered sinfulness, to know that though my sins are crucified they are never wholly mortified.

Hatred, malice, ill-will,vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after man’s approval and applause, all are crucified, forgiven, but they rise again in my sinful heart.

O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness!
O my life-long damage and daily shame!
O my indwelling and besetting sins!
O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!

Destroy, O God, the dark guest within whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.

Yet thou hast not left me here without grace; The cross still stands and meets my needs in the deepest straits of the soul.

I thank thee that my remembrance of it is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword which preached forth thy deliverance.

The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls, bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.

There is no treasure so wonderful as that continuous experience of thy grace toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within:

Give me more of it.

Worship CD - Chris Tomlin

My friend at work told me about this album and let me listen to it. Wow I am really loving to Worship the Lord with this album. Thank God for those who still have a heart and passion for Christ and love to sing great lyrics in their worship of God.

Lord I pray today that you would keep me on my knees and standing praising and singing of your glory and grace.

"How Can I Keep From Singing"

"Made to Worship"

"Let God Arise"

"Everlasting God"

"Glory in the Highest"

"Awesome Is the Lord Most High"

"Glorious"

"Uncreated One"

"Rejoice"

"Let Your Mercy Rain"

"Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)"

Peace With God

Romans 5: 1 - 11 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame,because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Don't Shrink Back From Dependence on Christ - George Mueller

"Through our natural alienation from God we shrink from Him, and from eternal realities. This cleaves to us more or less even after our regeneration....We have the same shrinking from standing with God alone-- from depending upon Him alone--from looking to him alone-- and yet this is the very position we ought to be if we wish our faith to be strengthened. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith with reference to my body, my family, my service for the Lord, my business...the more shall I have the opportunity of seeing God's help and deliverence and every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will tend towards the increase of my faith"

Lord Teach Us To Pray

George Mueller

1805 - 1898

Charles Inglis, the well-known evangelist, relates the following remarkable incident:

“When I first came to America thirty-one years ago, I crossed the Atlantic with the captain of a steamer who was one of the most devoted men I ever knew; and when we were off the banks of Newfoundland he said to me: ‘Mr. Inglis, the last time I crossed there, five weeks ago, one of the most extraordinary things happened that has completely revolutionized the whole of my Christian life.

Up to that time I was one of your ordinary Christians.

We had a man of God on board, George Mueller, of Bristol. I had been on that bridge for twenty-two hours and never left it. I was startled by someone tapping me on the shoulder.

It was George Mueller. “‘Captain,’ said he, ‘I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.’ This was Wednesday. “‘It is impossible,’ I said. “‘Very well, if your ship can’t take me God will find some other means of locomotion to take me. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years.’ “‘I would willingly help you, but how can I? I am helpless.’

“‘Let us go down to the chart room and pray,’ he said.

“I looked at this man and I thought to myself, ‘What lunatic asylum could the man have come from? I never heard of such a thing.’

“‘Mr. Mueller,’ I said, ‘do you know how dense this fog is?’

“‘No,’ he replied, ‘my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.’

“‘He went down on his knees, and he prayed one of the most simple prayers. I thought to myself, ‘That would suit a children's class, where the children were not more than eight or nine years of age.’

The burden of his prayer was something like this: ‘O Lord, if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement You made for me in Quebec for Saturday. I believe it is Your will.’ “When he had finished, I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray.

“‘First,’ he said, ‘you do not believe God will do it; and, second, I believe He has done it. And there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.’

“I looked at him, and George Mueller said this: ‘Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day that I have failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door, and you will find the fog is gone.’

I got up, and the fog was gone. On Saturday afternoon George Mueller was in Quebec.”
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