Skip to main content

this week 5/1



"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins..."  (Luke 1:76-77 ESV)

"And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."  (Jeremiah 31:34 ESV)

There is no true, saving knowledge of God apart from personally experiencing the forgiveness of our sins.  The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah foretold that knowing the Lord -- knowing, as in trusting, loving, and obeying him -- would come about only when sins were forgiven.  The priest Zechariah (Luke 1) prophesied of his son, John the Baptist, that he would give people the knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of sins

Forgiveness.  There is surely more to knowing the Lord than being forgiven, such as learning of his ways, studying his attributes, obeying his commands, and giving thanks for his providence over us.  But it is never less than forgiveness, and we cannot really know him until we realize our rebellion and lostness, and turn to his Son, the Lord Jesus, for the forgiveness he purchased at great price upon the cross.  We must be humbled to know ourselves and our need before we can see God clearly.  No amount of knowledge, of good behavior, of prayer, of earnestness, of education, of virtue will reconcile us to God that we might truly know him apart from forgiveness.  It will all amount to self-righteousness or despair in the end.  We must know his forgiveness, first and always.   Of this we shall always be reminded, for the Lord Jesus will forever bear his scars in the new creation.
    
There is no true knowledge of God apart from knowing the forgiveness of sin.  

================ 

Media.  "Each of us must learn to preserve higher pleasures by revolting against lesser indulgences."  (Tony Reinke)  It's not just the bad stuff, but stuff in general.   You may know some of these dangers, but perhaps not all:  
Read 10 Things You Should Know about the Danger of Media

Vitro babies.  "We have not yet considered the hidden costs of our desperate pursuit of children through artificial reproductive technologies."  This is a topic that a young wife recently reached out to me about.  She and her husband were devastated by the process of IVF.  It's a discussion that needs to be heard

Currently...

ReadingThe Abolition of Man, by C. S. Lewis. (I've read this before, but I have found that it is better to read good books more than once, rather than merely reading more books.)  
Audio-bookHow Should We Then Live, by Francis Schaeffer.
Music: Hymns, Vol. 1, and Hymns Live, by Shane and Shane. 
Writing with:  Franklin Christoph FC-03 Iterum + Pelikan Blue-Black ink.  
Journal: Artist's Loft black lined, $5 at Michaels.  (Well-made, excellent paper for fountain pens.)
  
Do you know Nathan W. Pyle?  I so enjoy his cartoons.  




Quotes.  

"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way."  (Booker T. Washington)


"The cross of Christ triumphs only in the hearts of believers over the devil and the flesh, over sin and wickedness, when they lift their eyes to behold the power of the resurrection."   (John Calvin, A Little Book



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90.  This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3.  Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I.   Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews.  Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews.  Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches.  Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos.  The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90:    CHAPTER 36  ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ,  the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

bible reading july 5-6

Bible reading for July 5 -- 6 July 5 -- Jeremiah 1 and Matthew 15 July 6 -- Jeremiah 2 and Matthew 16 ================    HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, July 4! Throughout the years I have felt varying degrees of loyalty to this nation. The more I have studied history, however, and have observed God's working in it, the more deeply I have come to appreciate the founding principles of this country. In practice this nation has allowed a greater freedom for the gospel to go forth and for the church to flourish than any other nation. Along with the UK the US has been the sending base for thousands of missionaries around the world. The freedoms we have are not to be treated lightly. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." ( The Declaration of Independence ) ================    "...my people have committed t...