Category Archives: the gospel

Practice

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John 3:21 mentions those who “practice“ the truth. In our vocabulary practicing means pretty much taking a stab at something. “Well I hope this works out.” But there are quite a few different meanings to the word practice that are worth examining. Let the readers decide for themselves which words best reflect God‘s intention. The numbers after each word or how many times they occur in the Bible.

accomplished (1), act (4), acted (3), acting (1), acts (2), appointed (3), away* (1), bear (5), bearing (1), bears (3), become (1), bore (1), bring (1), bring…to pass (1), bring about (2), bringing (1), brings forth (1), call (1), carried (1), carries (1), carry (1), cause (3), causes (2), causing (1), commit (2), commits (2), committed (4), composed (1), consider (1), created things (1), dealt (1), did (33), did…do (2), do (170), does (16), does…do (1), doing (38), done (43), establishing (1), execute (4), exercises (1), expose* (1), formed (1), formed a conspiracy (1), forms (1), gave (4), give (4), gives (1), giving (1), have (2), have kept (1), having (1), held (1), indulging (1), keep (3), keeps (1), kept (1), made (38), make (47), makes (7), making (9), observe (2), offer (1), offering (1), perform (4), performed (8), performing (7), performs (1), practice (5), practices (11), practicing (1), present (1), proceeding (1), produce (3), produced (1), produces (2), producing (1), provide (1), put (1), satisfy* (1), setting (1), show (2), showed (1), shown (1), spend (1), spent (4), took (1), treat (6), treated (1), weaker (1), worked (1), working (1).

Give?

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Is it possible that the best thing we can do for the children of the world is to give them what they want? They want freedom to be godless. They want freedom for the pursuit of pleasure. They want a certain legality for all their miss guided desires. They want to imagine there is no heaven or hell. They desire that there is no consequence to a godless people‘s existence. They want to be their own gods.

God tells us the world will certainly gain all it has desired and fought against him to keep. The deep-seated hatred for all that is true and good will eventually consume the people.

It will happen. It will come to pass that the world will be immersed in the worship of demons. Here is the question: does the beginning of that immersion begin today?

Personally, I think the beginning of that immersion is when Christ’s people are taken from this world. See how the stage is being built.

For now we stand against them by doing and saying the things of our God, Christ Jesus. See how vigorously they fight against righteousness, self discipline, purity and godly justice.

They will eventually get what they want. They will be ecstatic when they win full release. Though we can say with confidence they will rue the day of their “success”.

Above Our Ability

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Christianity is singular. Meaning by necessity it has to stand apart from everything on earth. Just as everything on earth has a beginning (a threshold) to its place. As you approach, it is not then all of a sudden it is. So what is the threshold of Christ in us?

Spurgeon points at it with this:

“Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature’s garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature’s thorns never produced a single fig. ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh.’”

Be Thou Use Filled

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When Jesus is lifted up in his Church, his presence is the Church’s power—the shout of a king is in the midst of her. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” Let us go out this morning on our work of soul fishing, looking up in faith, and around us in solemn anxiety. Let us toil till night comes, and we shall not labour in vain, for he who bids us let down the net, will fill it with fishes.

Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.

Superior

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Here is a fact.

Every religion on earth has a limit. Every man, whom the people have elevated, is still nothing more than a man. Every rite, every ordinance, every prescribed ritual, and every perception of holy in these religions, are limited to the mind of man. They are established by man. They cannot help but be faulty and full of limit.

But the majesty of Christ spawns its own personal religion in the ones he chooses to embrace. Over the centuries man has tried to bridal that faith in Christ. But God has chosen his High Priest, Jesus. And the response of his people is a direct result of his interaction with them. He teaches them to listen. He teaches them to obey. And as every man is his own nation, customs and language, the language Christ speaks to his people is that people’s language.

There is no limit in Christ.

Another proof that the religions of this world are not from God is the platitude of them. While Christ is one, man cannot help but be many (with endless vagaries, I might add).

If you would prove that this is true, believe in Christ alone. The religions of this world mimic opinion. While Christ is the exact representation of the living God himself.

Man can only speak about God. Christ speaks from God.

Think

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Hellfire and brimstone, words we hate to hear. So we search out the softer thoughts. As if our searching nullifies God’s words.

Truth and purity, two more ideas we really can’t get used to. So we search out some kind of compromise. As if, in our searching, we change the nature of life.

Do you know what the topic will be in the valley of judgment? Hellfire, brimstone, truth, and purity.

I know we don’t want to listen to this. Do you think somehow our desire for compromise will disappear when we stand before the face of the living God?

Compromise only creates more forks in a meandering road that goes nowhere in particular. The only thing compromise has in common with the narrow road Jesus spoke of, is that it is a road. Let’s have enough common sense to ask, “where does this lead”.