We are all poor beggars

Christians are never more than poor beggars telling other poor beggars where there is bread. This humble tone ought to characterize all Christian witness, all Christian missionary endeavor.

D. A. Carson, “Editorial: Take up Your Cross and Follow Me,” Themelios 37, no. 1 (2012): 2.

Gratia sola and Unity in Christ

Gratia sola: The Gift of Salvation

According to Paul, there is “no distinction; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified [dikaioumenoi] by his grace as a gift, through the redemption [apolytrōseōs] that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation [mercy seat; hilastērion], by his own blood, through faith (dia pisteōs)” (Romans 3:22b–25a AT)

Una ecclesia sancta: Unity in Christ

If none of us has any standing before God save on the basis of God’s justice and mercy, what does that say about our relationships with each other, within the fellowship of faith? Paul’s discourse to the Romans did not take only the form of a protreptic, but also that of a “family letter.” Why? Because he regarded those whom he addressed not merely as individuals, but also as a household, God’s household, and therefore unavoidably bound to each other, even if they disagreed with or disliked each other.

Christopher Bryan, “Romans,” in Theological Interpretation of the New Testament: A Book-by-Book Survey, ed. Kevin J. Vanhoozer (Grand Rapids, MI; London: Baker Academic; SPCK, 2008), 92-94.

No other foundation!

         There can be no other foundation beyond that which is already laid; I mean Jesus Christ himself.

         1 CORINTHIANS 3:11 NEB

September 14

September 14

  I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye

        Ps. 32:8

When God does the directing, our life is useful and full of promise, whatever it is doing; and discipline has its perfecting work.

H. E. Cobb

You are dog!

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. (Phil. 3:1–3)

Who are the dogs? They are the ones who want to mark their faith in Christ by what they do or do not do. And they want to get a list of things that they do well. They want to say, “I’m not as bad as I was in college. I’m not as bad as I was when I first got married. I’m not as bad as you.” And they want to use that as some sort of evidence of their superior spirituality, their higher-quality goodness, their unassailable morality. They are in fact scattered in the imaginations of their prideful hearts.

Matt Chandler and Jared C. Wilson, To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013), 89–90.

Some good sentences

Aim to live a wild, generous, full, exciting life—blessing those around you and seeing the good in all.

Build people up.

Remember the verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

Cheerfulness in adversity is a key character trait in the game of life.

Understand that failure is an essential stepping-stone on the road to success.

Always keep the big picture in mind—you are greatly loved by Jesus and your job is to love Him and others in return. The rest is detail.

Compliment people—kind words can change lives, and people rarely forget.

Remember that how you speak about others speaks loudest about yourself.

If you want to see the real man, give him power over people and see what he does. Remember this in how you treat people.

Be gentle.

Consider others better than yourself.

Be especially kind, thoughtful, and generous to those who are overlooked in life—this is the measure of a real man.

Be kind to those whom others neglect.

Sometimes it is worth losing a battle to win the war.

No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Pride comes before a fall—so don’t be too proud to let others win. There is room for everyone to do well!

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. (This rule is Not from John Calvin)

Bear Grylls, To My Sons: Lessons for the Wild Adventure Called Life (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2012).

The Truth shall make you free

“And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” (2 Cor 13:8). Amen.

  Jesus will rule this wartorn earth with peace for a thousand years.

   And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)

Timothy Tow, Truth Will Make You See, n.d.

Don’t go to battle unless it is absolutely necessary—to turn the other cheek takes great strength and courage.

Bear Grylls, To My Sons: Lessons for the Wild Adventure Called Life (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2012).

Love Your Enemies (Luke 6:27–36)

It is hard to return good actions for evil ones, and yet this is what the Christian is called to do: ‘Do good to them which hate you,’ Jesus said. It is easy to do good to those who love us, who hold us in high regard; but to be kind, generous and thoughtful to those whom we know despise us, requires all the grace that the human soul can bear.

Jesus goes on, ‘Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you’ (6:28, NASB). Now Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything foolish here. He is not asking us to pray that our enemies would prosper above all people, or that they would have their way in everything they do. David, in his psalms, prayed some very difficult prayers; he asked that God would vindicate his saints and bring the wicked to ruin. He also declared, ‘I hate my enemies with perfect hatred’ (Psalm 139:22, NASB). A perfect hatred would seem to mean an unbridled hatred, a hatred that has no let up. But that is not what David meant. A perfect hatred is a hatred that has nothing but contempt for the wickedness of the perpetrator. It is a complete hatred, but, at the same time, it does not carry with it an ultimate desire for the total ruination of the soul of the evil-doer. Christ prayed for his own enemies. He didn’t pray that they would be successful in their evil, but he prayed that their hearts would be changed, that they would be spared the final confrontation with the wrath of God, that they were moving towards. He prayed that their ways would be changed, that they may be redeemed.

R. C. Sproul, A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 116–117.

Learn the Art of Love

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Learn the Art of Love

Today, you will learn the art of love, and you’ll go beyond yesterday’s ability to love.

First Corinthians 13:1–2 is read at virtually every wedding and every service that wants God’s perspective on love to be reclaimed. The passage says that if we speak with human excellence or with divine language, if we can reveal mysteries and move mountains but do not have limitless, selfless giving and compassionate motives at our center, we are simply making noise.

We all know people whose generosity of spirit is so great it gives us pause. Mother Teresa quieted even the atheistic world not with her profound words but with her weighty life of love. When she was asked about her life’s work lifting up the dying in the gutters of Calcutta, she said “Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand.”

Today, you will learn the art of love by selflessly giving your time and energy to one person at a time. When you speak to people, they will leave with a greater sense of God’s nearness and their own stature in His sight rather than being impressed with you. Today, love deeply, generously, and without reserve.

Prayer:

Lord of love, my time is precious to me, yet You made an entire lifestyle out of the interruptions that love welcomes. Give me the grace today to see the one, to see the few, to see the many who are waiting for me to live in love.

Dan Wilt, A Well-Worn Path: Thirty-One Daily Reflections for the Worshipping Heart (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013).

Question 105

Q. 105. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?

A. In the fifth petition (which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors) we pray, That God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.



Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 427.

Elder... Who?

Elder describes a person who is mature. It does not necessarily mean a person in this leadership role has to be old chronologically, but he does need to be “grown up” spiritually. Overseer describes the function or the kind of service this person renders.

Knofel Staton, Timothy–Philemon: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1988), 67–68.

THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Phil. 3:7)


           So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
           beholding your power and glory.
           Because your steadfast love is better than life,
           my lips will praise you.
           So I will bless you as long as I live;
           in your name I will lift up my hands.
           My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
           and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. (vv. 2–5)

For David, God is not some distant grandfather type or some ethereal idea to noodle around with intellectually. God is all-consuming.



Matt Chandler and Jared C. Wilson, To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013), 86–87.