Thanks Be to God our Father!

Dear Gracious God our Father, 

We thank thee for the privilege of entering your presence in order to worship you our God. We give you thanks for being truly pleased and blessed as we hear your people cry, “Come, let us seek our God today!” With great haste and cheerful zeal we approach thee with open and humble hearts in order to give to you, O Father what is your due. So, we gladly and sincerely say to you this day;

Our Father in Heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil

(Matthew 6:9-13, ESV)

Saturdays with Spurgeon #014

"Blessed be His name that He has arranged that one Person of the Sacred Trinity should undertake the office of Comforter, for no man could ever perform its duties. We might as well hope to be the Savior as to be the Comforter of the heartbroken!"

--Charles H Spurgeon

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Happy 237th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!

A Prayer for Our Government and Governors

Thou, Lord and Master, hast given our rulers and governors the power of sovereignty through thine excellent and unspeakable might, that we, knowing the glory and honor which thou has given them, may submit ourselves unto them, in nothing resisting thy will. Grant unto them, therefore, O Lord, health, peace, concord (harmony or agreement), stability, that they may administer the government which thou hast given them without failure.

For Thou, O heavenly Master, King of the Ages, givest to sons of men glory and honor and power over all things that are upon the earth. Do thou, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in thy sight, that administering the power which thou has given them in peace and gentleness with godliness, they may obtain thy favor. O, thou, who alone art able to do these things, and things far more exceeding good than these for us, we praise thee through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ through whom be the glory and the majesty unto thee both now and for all generations, and for ever and ever, Amen!

(I Clement 61)

It Is Not Time for Churches to Get Political

Todays’ post is in response to an article in Zionica News dated November 5, 2012 by J. Matt Barber. His headline read, ‘Time for Churches to Get Political.’

I say that it is not time for churches to get political. The enemy would love nothing more than for congregations to “get political.” As a matter of fact our enemy most likely is very pleased when congregations are led astray in to distractions that are none of their business.

The body of Christ is not called to politics. The body already has a head in place. The head has already delegated leadership, responsibilities, gifts, and a commission. The body of Christ has one responsibility carried out by three means. The body is charged with the glorification and magnification of the character and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ through the means of the exaltation of the Sovereign, the edification of the Saints, and the evangelism of the sinner.

Did J. Matt Barber learn nothing from the debacle called the Moral Majority? Righteousness cannot be legislated. The body is not called to reform the political arena. We, the body of Christ must be about our Father’s business. Mr. Barber might do well to examine Christ’s ministry very closely and carefully. For over three years Jesus resisted the pressure to become involved in the political arena of his time. He came to do His Father’s will and he stated emphatically that he did just that.

As individual Americans we have the right and responsibility to vote for public officials. We have the right of redress. We have the right and opportunity to enact legislation. I would never discourage an American citizen from executing his or her constitutionally given rights. It is not the body’s place to do these things. Individual Americans may be called to become political, but not the body of Christ.

Do you know why the body of Christ is so ineffective in this country of ours? Do you know why the body of Christ has so little impact on our society? The answer is quite simple.

The body of Christ has left her first love. She is no longer in love with her head, her lover, her savior, her Lord, her Groom. She is in love with philosophy. She is enamored with the gods and goddesses of this world. She has lost her conviction that the Word of God is sufficient for every aspect of life. She has dabbled in vain philosophies; she has embraced the leaks and the garlics of Egypt. She has become entangled in ideologies.

It is not time for the church to become political. It is time for the church to return to her first love. It is time for the church to return to her responsibility of being a witness to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The body of Christ needs to preach the gospel to every creature and calling every creature to repentance.It is time to return to our Head.

The Election Is Over

The election is over. I am deeply grieved that I live in a country and am a member of society who would give men like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama a second term. But hey, I now live in a state where we legalized marijuana and where the approval of homosexual marriages seems to be winning. But, yippee, Longview residents won’t have to pay an additional twenty dollars tax; oops I meant fee for their car tabs.

 

But God, one of the most beautiful phrase or is it clause (heck it’s 4:00 AM PST) in the bible, is still on the throne. Hallelujah! He is still sovereign and He is still in control. He was not taken by surprise nor was His eternal decree altered in any way shape or form.

Now it is time to continue to be obedient to scripture and pray for all governing or ruling men, particularly for kings (presidents) and all who are in high positions. Why? I am glad you asked. Allow me to give you at least seven reasons:

…that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life characterized by godliness and fear

…that we may freely share the gospel and evangelize every creature

…that governing or ruling men might be a terror to the wicked and a blessing to the good

…that governing or ruling men might exercise the power which has been given them by God with the utmost of wisdom

…that governing or ruling men might be drawn to Christ and experience the blessing of salvation

…that we, as believers, would be thankful for God’s wisdom and provision of government and governing or ruling men

…that we, as believers, might trust God implicitly as He sovereignly works out His will through governments and governing or ruling men

No Longer Offended by Sin

Over the last forty (40) years I have written a number of quotes, comments, pithy sayings, and poems in the fly-leafs of my bibles. Each Tuesday I am going to share those various entries from my bibles with you. I hope they will be as much of blessing to you as they have been to me. Sometimes I will be able to give credit where credit is due and sometimes I won’t be able to credit the source. I apologize for this to each one who contributed these gems over the last forty (40) years.

TODAY'S TREASURE:

Many people's sins do not offend us,
the way that their sins offend God!

Timely Lessons

Five Things I Was Reminded of on Sunday

1.    Hypocrisy is a very serious sin with horrific consequences. (Matt 23:1-36)

2.    Sin is so ugly, deforming, and repulsive to God that He chose to teach us how ugly it is by representing it by leprosy

3.    As ugly as sin is and as horrible as leprosy can be, the residual of sin which dwells in my unredeemed flesh can lure and entice me to succumb to temptation

4.    God’s grace is absolutely unspeakable in its fullest expression

5.    The Lord’s Table is a very moving, comforting, and gracious expression of God’s kindness towards us who are so prone to forget the how, the why, the who, and the what of redemption.