Would We

The leaders of the Shouwang Church in Beijing have a simple explanation for why they’d rather relinquish their freedom than abandon their church services: “Sunday worship is the most basic necessity for Christians in their life of faith.”

That conclusion led church members to gather outside for a Sunday morning service on April 10, which ended with police detaining more than 160 Christians armed with Bibles and hymn sheets.

Authorities have since released all of the worshippers—though at least two church leaders remain under house arrest—but police may face round two this Sunday: The Christians—who say government officials have cut off access to their indoor meeting place—declare they’ll meet outside for worship again, even if it means facing detention or arrest. And they insist that Chinese authorities should let them worship freely, even if their church isn’t registered with the government.   World Magazine   April 13/2011

So as we gather tomorrow to worship in the west , would we if we knew that persecution , detention or worse, faced us just by openly gathering to lift up our Lord . We have been spoiled for a long time in western culture that we have taken our freedom to gather together and worship for granted. We also forget that each Lord's day , many of our brothers and sisters in Christ do not enter into a Church without the possibility of persecution.It will come to our shores ,in fact if you never face any form of persecution , maybe you and I need to look at ourselves in the mirror . With that thought in mind , read the verse for the day . It says all ,not some. 


Verse Of The Day  :   [12] Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)

  

We Will Rise - Another great song from Sovereign Grace Music

We easter fast approaching , this great song reminds us of the hope we have in Christ even when faced with death. He has risen and that changes everything.Amen.

Verse Of The Day  :    [4] and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
(Romans 1:4 ESV)

Catechism Friday

Heidelberg Catechism (1576 A.D.)

60. Q. How are you righteous before God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.[1] Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,[2] and am still inclined to all evil,[3] yet God, without any merit of my own,[4] out of mere grace,[5] imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.[6] He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,[7] if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.[8]

[1] Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11. [2] Rom. 3:9, 10. [3] Rom. 7:23. [4] Deut. 9:6; Ezek. 36:22;Tit. 3:4, 5. [5] Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8. [6] Rom. 4:3-5; II Cor. 5:17-19; I John 2:1, 2. [7] Rom. 4:24, 25; II Cor. 5:21. [8] John 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom. 3:22.

61. Q. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?

A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God.[1] I can receive this righteousness and make it mine my own by faith only.[2]

[1] I Cor. 1:30, 31; 2:2. [2] Rom. 10:10; I John 5:10-12.

62. Q. But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

A. Because the righteousness which can stand before God's judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God,[1] whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.[2]

[1] Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10. [2] Is. 64:6.

63. Q. But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next?

A. This reward is not earned[1]; it is a gift of grace.[2]

[1] Matt. 5:12; Heb. 11:6. [2] Luke 17:10; II Tim. 4:7, 8.

64. Q. Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked?

A. No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.[1]

[1] Matt. 7:18; Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5.

65. Q. Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all His benefits, where does this faith come from?

A. From the Holy Spirit,[1] who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel,[2] and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.[3]

[1] John 3:5; I Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29. [2] Rom. 10:17; I Pet. 1:23-25. [3] Matt. 28:19, 20; I Cor. 10:16.

66. Q. What are the sacraments?

A. The sacraments are holy, visible signs and seals.  They were instituted by God so that by their use He might the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel.[1] And this is the promise: that God graciously grants us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life because of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross.[2]

[1] Gen. 17:11; Deut. 30:6; Rom. 4:11 [2] Matt. 26:27, 28; Acts 2:38; Heb. 10:10.

67. Q. Are both the Word and the sacraments then intended to focus our faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation?

A. Yes, indeed.  The Holy Spirit teaches us in the gospel and assures us by the sacraments that our entire salvation rests on Christ's one sacrifice for us on the cross.[1]

[1] Rom. 6:3; I Cor. 11:26; Gal. 3:27.

Neutral News

With the fervor over Rob Bell's book Love Wins dying down a little bit and having read much about Bell's view of hell , I have to wonder how he can proclaim the gospel with any clarity or urgency ? The answer is he cannot. He might say he must but then again the gospel he chats about with his cool rimmed glasses and hip hair cut, resembles little of the orthodox gospel of classic true evangelical history.

The gospel is the a proclamation of good news. Now in order for  it to be good news , one has to have some bad news as well to deliver . Bell really doesn't have bad news or even some kinda unpleasant news to bring because its all good in the end. In reality what Bell brings is a kinda of neutral news . Its great if you get on the Jesus train in this life , but hey ,eventually you will get on the ride sooner or later. The problem is it doesn't gel with the Bible unless you do what Bell does , cheery pick and reinterpret many passages. Check out Pastor Kevin DeYoung's excellent critique at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/03/14/rob-bell-love-wins-review/ to see how Bell manipulates scripture.

The truth is one cannot read the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus and not see clearly that unless we repent and trust in Jesus , we will face a holy God in judgement. If there is no real hell other than the one we make for ourselves , the life ,death and resurrection of Jesus makes  no sense . Just read the words of Jesus and see if you can find any hint of a second chance or the idea of hell eventually being empty. You cannot. The same with the rest of the New Testament . Unless you do some crazy gymnastics , the Bible clearly states that God's wrath and eternal judgement rest on all who die  without Jesus Christ .

Bells views lowers the cross , dumbs down the work of Christ and makes light of the seriousness of sin , the holiness of God and the real truth of hell . To be honest ,if I held the same view of Bell , I would be like , well why should I worry about my family , neighbor or missions if its all good in the end. But that is not the truth , there is really tragic , horrible news but there is also amazing, tremendous , grace filled news in the gospel of Jesus Christ . That is good , good news.

Verse Of The Day  :    [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:10-11 ESV)

A Little Nostalgia

I thought just for fun I would tell anyone who is interested a few of my favorite foods growing up . It always seemed to be a big deal when I was allowed to pick a couple food items each grocery night , which was Friday. I usually knew exactly what I would be looking for .

FrankenBerry -  This one was a Strawberry flavored cereal that was a delight to eat as a kid. No it wasn't the healthiest choice but who cared , I was a kid and I played a lot . The fact this is not still available in Canada anyway , makes me sad. 

Crunch Berries - A version of Captain Crunch but with berry flavored round cereal bites thrown in for flavor. Absolutely loved this cereal .

Lipton Cowboy Soup - This was a cool soup . It has cowboys noodle symbols like boots,guns and stirrups. It had a hearty taste and I ate a ton . Sad to say its no longer in production. 

Glow Monster Heads - Now these aren't food but they came inside a cereal , which one I cannot recall but I had them. They glowed a faint green in the dark and were so cool.They featured the biggies like Dracula, Frankenstein ,Wolfman and the Mummy. 

So for whatever reason I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today. Hope you got a chuckle out of my childhood food fancies and odd collecting habits. 

Just A Little Laugh to Start the Week

One of the memories I have of Monty Python was watching it with my uncle Basil. He was a very quiet man , I never really got  to talk to him much till later years in his life but on a Saturday night , when I was around 10 or so , I recall watching Python with him and laughing . A simple memory but a nice one . I was a pall bearer at his funeral. I know when the Pastor visited him when his cancer went terminal , he shared Christ with him .I truly pray he received the Lord into his life. So here is to those Saturday nights with a little Python.

I'm That Thief

When I see my heart, my sin , I'm undone. The only hope , the Cross were my Saviour hung ,nailed and died. I am as  guilty as the thief , my only hope is to cry out ,Jesus remember me. Nuff said.

Verse Of The Day  :  [7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 
(Revelation 1:7 ESV)