Man of Sorrows, What a Name....

 This is taken from 'Desiring God Blog' posted by Jonathan Parnell.

"Jesus is Our All-Sufficient Comforter"

Richard Sibbes:

The sighs of a bruised heart carry in them a report, both of our affection to Christ, and of His care to us. The eyes of our souls cannot be towards Him unless He has cast a gracious look upon us first. The least love we have to Him is but a reflection of his love first shining upon us.

As Christ did, in His example to us, whatever He charges us to do, so He suffered in His own person whatever He calls us to suffer, so that He might the better learn to relieve and pity us in our sufferings. . . .

But our comfort is that Christ drank the dregs of the cup for us, and will succour us, so that our spirits may not utterly fail under that little taste of his displeasure which we may feel. He became not only a man but a curse, a man of sorrows, for us. He was broken that we should not be broken; he was troubled, that we should not be desperately troubled; he became a curse, that we should not be accursed. Whatever may be wished for in an all-sufficient comforter is all to be found in Christ.

The Bruised Reed, 1630, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2008), 66.

Patience is a Virtue

If you are patient, you are rich indeed!! Why do I say that? What's so great about being patient? This is one question, I always ask myself again and again. Now, check this Wikepedia meaning of patience!

Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

Wow!! That's a lengthy definition. But, seriously, patience is not breaking under......any strain or any stress.....

I have realized something that patience and suffering go hand in hand. Coz, when you are patient (with a person, circumstance, injury.....) you actually suffer. No wonder, we cower from being patient!

One of my favorite verses in the Bible on patience is James 5:7-11. Here, God calls us to be patient and points to the farmer for us to emulate. The farmer patiently waits for the precious fruit of the earth. Then, we are called to look to the suffering prophets and finally to Job!!

I love the end of verse 11, "You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

Hence, I will conclude that it is good to be patient and wait expectantly under the Lord's hand.

Are you content?

In the past few months I have been reading books on contentment. One from Jeremiah Burroughs-Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment and the other by Stephen Altrogge- The Greener Grass Conspiracy...You must be thinking aint this an overdose on learning the art of contentment?? Nope, our hearts are very deceitful and we need to be steered to the truth every single waking moment of our lives.

Its been a while now, almost over 6 months since i have been reading these books. I struggled with discontentment when i did not have a job and I struggle today when I do have one... So what is the main cause for discontentment.

The answer:The disposition of our heart.

Our heart is very wicked and is never satisfied with anything  that we have. It will always seem less. It is a lie that we believe that If I have more I will be happy. One of the ways in which we can battle discontentment is by thanking the Lord for the immense blessings He has showered on us. The following Puritan prayer summarizes  it in the following words:

O Lord I am astonished at the difference

between by receivings and my deservings,

between the state I am now and my past gracelessness

between the Heaven I am bound for and the hell  I merit...

O that a crown should fit the head of such a sinner!

such high advancement be for an unfruitful person!

such joys for so vile a rebel! ( "The Mover")

May this prayer always remind us of our blessings! 

A video to help you understand the true state of our heart:)

Seek God's Wisdom

 

 

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

"What a friend we have in Jesus" is one of my favorite hymns. It was written by Joseph Scriven who came to believe in Jesus Christ after losing his bride-to-be on the eye of their marriage. She was drowned a couple of hours before she became his bride. We can never imagine his pain and anguish. But isn't it amazing that he found true peace and rest in the arms of His Savior Jesus Christ. Please read the lyrics of this song keeping in mind Joseph who lost his beloved!!

 What a friend we have in Jesus, 
 all our sins and griefs to bear! 
 What a privilege to carry 
 everything to God in prayer! 
 O what peace we often forfeit,
 O what needless pain we bear, 
 all because we do not carry 
 everything to God in prayer. 

 Have we trials and temptations? 
 Is there trouble anywhere? 
 We should never be discouraged; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 
 Can we find a friend so faithful 
 who will all our sorrows share? 
 Jesus knows our every weakness; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 

 Are we weak and heavy laden, 
 cumbered with a load of care? 
 Precious Savior, still our refuge; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 
 Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? 
 Take it to the Lord in prayer! 
 In his arms he'll take and shield thee; 
 thou wilt find a solace there.

A Careless Word

We need to be so careful with our words, a lesson I am still learning the hard way. Every word reveals the true intention of our heart. There is no such thing as 'I was just kidding' or 'I didn't really mean that'. Every word we speak tells something about the condition of our hearts. True!! Words can either heal or kill. How often we slay people with our words, not realizing we will eat its fruit.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:1 (NASB)
"When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent." Proverbs 10:19 (ESV)

Reason for Existence

"What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself." - J. I. Packer

In Pursuit of Happiness

It was through John Piper's writings that I came across the word, "hedonism". What does hedonism mean? According to the Oxford dictionary it means-doctrine that pleasure is the only proper aim. Ok, I'm getting to it, but when John Piper talked about Christian Hedonism, I was a bit confused.....I have a small excerpt below adapted from Piper's article, "Christian Hedonism: Forgive the Label, but Don't Miss the Truth"...Read it.....

"What Is Christian Hedonism?

 

My shortest summary of Christian Hedonism is: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

We all make a god out of what we take the most pleasure in. Christian Hedonists want to make God their God by seeking after the greatest pleasure—pleasure in Him.

By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God.
 

The Difference Between Worldly and Christian Hedonism

 

Some people are inclined to believe that Christians are supposed to seek God’s will as opposed to pursuing their own pleasure. But what makes Biblical morality different than worldly hedonism is not that Biblical morality is disinterested and duty-driven, but that it is interested in vastly greater and purer things. Christian Hedonism is Biblical morality because it recognizes that obeying God is the only route to final and lasting happiness. Here are some examples of this from the Bible: 

Luke 6:35 says, "Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great." It is clear when Jesus says “expect nothing in return” that we should not be motivated by worldly aggrandizement, but we are given strength to suffer loss by the promise of a future reward.

 

Again, in Luke 14:12-14: "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor . . . and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." That is, don't do good deeds for worldly advantage; rather, do them for spiritual, heavenly benefits."

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

For more click here

This has set me thinking alrite!

Come and Praise!

Gracious and loving Heavenly Father, I bless Your Holy Name and rejoice in You. Your works are great, studied by those who delight in them. You do all things in accordance to Your will and it gives You perfect pleasure.

It was Your will to send Your Only Son to this world as the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. Through Him, You offered pardon, forgiveness, cleansing, redemption and reconciliation. What a great mystery You have unveiled before my eyes, things which angels long to look into.

Truly, no one, absolutely no one can know You except through Your Son. I thank You Jesus for revealing God the Father. I bless You and rejoice that my eyes has 'seen' wonderful and marvelous things.

I worship You, LORD Jesus, for You are the Anointed One, the Righteous Judge. All things belong to You and in all things, You are the Preeminent One.

Thank You, O God the Spirit for opening my eyes to behold wondrous things out of Your law. I rejoice and my heart is glad. I have tasted and seen that the LORD is good.

Truly, salvation belongs to Our God.

Worthy are You, O God to receive honor, glory and power. All things come from You and of Your own do we give unto You. Amen.

Song for Every Season

There are times where I am hurting for several reasons-could be a severe trial or a genuine remorse for a repeated sin before my Holy God. And I am without words as the burden is too heavy to bear. At times like this, a song can be such a balm to your soul as it lifts up your spirits.

One such song that lifted me up during that time was, “It is well with my soul”

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

I love the chorus!! “It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

“...I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” Philippians 4:11b

Of Grace under Trials

On Sunday morning, while waiting for my church service to begin, I noticed a guy walk into church with the help of a walking crutch. For a minute, I couldn’t place the guy in my memory, but then I recalled he was the same person who had met with a severe accident couple of months ago. 

Watching him walk across the room with the crutch, released a flood of memories in my mind. I immediately recalled the phase when I walked about with the help of an elbow crutch. Of course, mine was a minor accident compared to his, just torn ligaments in my ankle and badly bruised bones. It took me a couple of months to get back on my feet. Literally!! 

Those days constantly reminded me of my frailty and how much grace I needed to go through it alone. The day I met with the accident was the day I got confirmed in my new job. Looking at the severity of my injury, I knew instantly, I had lost my job. I was job hunting those days so I knew what I had lost. And six months earlier, I had undergone two dental surgeries back to back within a span of two months. That put a considerable toll on my health. 

Now, with the ankle injury, I was battling a lot of emotions. I was confused wondering what went wrong. But praise God for His word. Truly, it is a light unto your path. James clearly says that we will face trials of all kinds and this is to only to build up my faith. (James 1:2-4) He calls us to have an attitude of joy! Christ has promised that His grace is always sufficient in any trial we go through. (2 Corinthians 12:9a)

Paul experienced that promise when he suffered under a great trial of having the thorn in his flesh. He prayed thrice to God to have it removed, but Christ only said, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor.12:9)

I always marvel at Paul’s response to this promise of Christ, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor.12:9c). This is true grace manifested in our weak bodies! 

I have known believers who have survived a car wreck and underwent several operations. I have seen their godly response to such deep suffering. I have seen Christ’s grace manifested not just in their attitude towards suffering but in the humble acceptance in what God in His immense wisdom has allowed to pass. I saw this same attitude in the person I mentioned in the beginning of this post. 

I am humbled and at the same time marvel at God’s ways. This in my sight is truly a miracle!!

Christ the Giver of All Things.

I have been going through 2 Samuel in my daily reading and as I came across one line, it made me stop and think. I was reading Chapter 8 that talk about David’s victories. Verse 6b says, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went” It could have been framed any other way like, “David was victorious” or “David had victory wherever he went”. But scripture is specific and gives credit to God. So did David as we see in verse 11.

So do we give credit to when we have victories? It could be an exam done well, or an appraisal at work based on your hard work or even the ability to understand the Word and apply in your life. Let us not forget the giver of all things.

The Psalm that comes to my mind right now is Ps 127:1-2

“Unless the LORD builds the house,

Those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city ,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early and

Go late to rest,

Eating the bread of anxious toil;

For He gives to His beloved sleep.

So have you thanked the Lord for all your victories?

Where do you stand today in your Christian Walk?

I am always freaked out when I need to get an evaluation done. Whether it was for education, sports or health. An evaluation is the revelation of truth. I always know that the results will show me where I exactly stand. Sometimes it is good, other times not that great. But how ever disappointing an evaluation can be, I would know my weak areas and thus be able to work on it.

It’s the same with our Christian walk. We need to evaluate ourselves with the word of God and see where we stand. Are we still babies in the Christian faith, or have we grown? Do we daily delight in spending time studying His word and in prayer? Any specific sin areas in your life you have asked the Lord to help you conquer?

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” Eph 5 : 15

Therefore let us be careful of how we live our life as we are living it unto the Lord. There will be a lot of hard questions we might have to ask ourselves to really figure out where we stand in our Christian walk. But that is the only way we can move forward in the faith.