Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

-Charles Wesley


JE

Absolute Truth

Yesterday in one of my Bible classes, my professor made an unfortunate, and contradictory, claim. He said: "There is no absolute truth. I don't think you realize what you are saying when you say that there is absolute truth. You as a finite creature, cannot claim to know absolute truth... no more questions because I need to get through this material."

Of course, to say, "there is no absolute truth," is to make an absolute truth claim. I also think that this professor confused an important principle. He illustrated his point with the example of a pen: there are an infinite number of angles with which I can view a pen, and there is no way for me, a finite being, to view the pen from all the angles at the same time. This is true. However, I believe that he confused the idea of knowing all things with certainty with knowing some things with certainty. Sure, there is no way for me, a finite creature, to know and understand all things about God. But I can know some things based on His revelation of Himself. This revelation of absolute truth is found in the Bible.

Now, I don't share this so that I can show off and try to prove my professor wrong. I write it in order that you may be encouraged to "guard the treasure that has been entrusted to you." Satan would love the opportunity to convince Christians that there is no absolute truth. God's Word says differently... we have and know truth, which is found in the Bible.

JE

An Open Letter to North American Churches

The following is an excerpt of an article written by Rev. Fletcher Matandika in Modern Reformation, Volume 20, #2, March/April 2011:

I am writing to share a few things that I have been thinking about over time regarding the state of the church in North America and in the Western world, in light of the prevailing trends we are seeing as a result of the church's departure from the Scriptures, from historic Christianity and its pillars...Much of what I saw and experienced seemed shallow, subjective, and sentimental. It seemed more worldly than godly. This troubled me very much- it left a sour if not a bitter taste in my mouth and was often nauseating.However, I did not know what to do about it as I did not understand the root of the problem and, at times, I was unsure if my sentiments were right or wrong - but something just felt off balance...

... The church must strive by the grace of God to open the eyes of the blind by faithfully proclaiming and living by the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:1-6). I feel that many churches across North America are preaching a different kind of gospel, which the Lord through the apostle Paul condemns in Galatians 1:8-9. I plead with all who have been called to preach the gospel to follow the example of the apostle Paul and preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27) and contend for the historic Christian faith (Jude 3).

My main goal in writing this letter is to highlight what I consider to be the central problem that I have observed and experienced in the North American Church, which is the lack of faithful preaching of the Word of God... The pure and unadulterated gospel of God's grace is a nonnegotiable priority for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me just take a moment and address all of my brothers who have been called to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear brothers:

1. Remember that you have been given the highest calling that any mortal man can received from the Lord Jesus Christ. In His divine providence, the Lord has graciously chosen and called you to declare the whole counsel of God for the salvation of sinners and sanctification of his flock entrusted to you. Heed the divine instruction handed down to Timothy and to us through the pen of the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:2: "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

2. Remember, that souls of sinful men and women are at stake!

3. Remember, that the gospel needs no improvement!

And to my brothers and sisters in the pews:

1. Sincerely long for the Word of God.

2. Fight against the spirit of the age.

3. Seek to understand Christ's atoning work on the cross.

4. Let me encourage you to learn to appreciate the gospel and its necessity for the salvation of sinners.

5. Keep your ministers accountable, especially by praying for them.

Stop playing as the church and start being the church that the Lord Jesus Christ bought with His precious blood. Church is a serious business and so is the worship of God. We do not have the luxury of worshipping the Lord God in the way of our own choosing...

... There is hope in Jesus Christ. The battle is not lost! If you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, hold on to the faith. Keep fighting the good flight of faith. If you are a gospel minister, pray for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon America and keep preaching the gospel faithfully. It's not a lost cause. Preach Christ, the Son of the Living God, and Him crucified. Remember His own words, "On this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). Hold onto that promise and watch what He will do, and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will be found blameless.

JE

When the heart is cast indeed into the mold of the doctrine that the mind embraces - when the evidence and necessity of the truth abides in us - when not the sense of the words only is in our heads, but the sense of the thing abides in our hearts - when we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for - then shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the assaults of men. - John Owen

JE

Encouragement

A word of encouragement from Dr. Couser: "Every day is game day in that every day God is up to something. Somehow God is working in and through us... the condition of our hearts is a determining factor in how well this 'goes over.'"


JE

For the Love of God

How am I to love God?

Incorrect: "I put God first. First in all of my priorities, first in all of my relationships, first in my schedule, and first in my loves. I wake up early to spend time with God before I do anything else, even when I have a test that day. I place 'God things' in the 'jar of my life' before anything else." When I die, people will think of me and say, 'There was a man who prioritized God first, family second, etc.'"

"Correct: I put God only. Each of my priorities, relationships, schedules, and loves are just a reflection of my love for God. I love, protect, minister to, and provide for my family because that is what God has called me to do. I am devoted to my studies because that is what God has called me to do. I stand by and encourage my friends because that is what God has called me to do. And I minister to my enemies, for God has called me to this too."

Everything I think. Everything I say. Everything I do. For the love of God.

JE 

The Bible is God's Word... please be careful!

For reasons that should be clear to those who were in the Jeremiah Chapel on Thursday morning, I sense a need for someone to expound on a couple of key passages in James... I think I'll do it.With no disrespect meant for the chapel speaker on Thursday morning, the following are some key points of his message:

1. Partiality is sin
2. "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
3. The Bible says a lot about poverty (apparently there are lots of good books on the subject, too)

The Bible does say a lot about poverty, but please don't use James 1:26-27. Rather than poverty, these two verses alert Christians to what a religion of worth looks like:

1. A bridled tongue
2. Visiting orphans and widows in their distress
3. Remain unstained by the world

Unfortunately, many times preachers look at James 1:26-27 and set points one and three aside, and they focus on the "visitation of widows and orphans in their distress." Why is there so often such an emphasis on point two? I suppose there are different reasons for different preachers... some may think that Christians are already doing so well on bridling their tongues and remaining unstained by the world that little needs to be said (written with as much sarcasm as I can muster)!

Despite my alarm at "shortchanging" points one and three, I will acknowledge that it is essential to take a look at point two since it is certainly an important part of this passage. So, here is what I think James 1:26-27 has to say about poverty:

The New Testament teaches that the Christian is responsible for his/her own family (I Timothy 5). If I fail to provide for my parents when they are in need, then I am worse than an infidel. It is to my shame if the Church provides for my family, and I don't, despite my ability to do so. In this manner, the Bible does not allow for any member of the body of Christ to suffer with lack of provision. This principle is relevant to James 1:26-27 because I believe that it is significant that widows and orphans, who have no family, are listed as those who we must "visit." The Greek word that is translated as, "visit," literally has the idea of "to look after."

So, here is what I trust you "got out" of this post:
1. Don't approach a text of the Bible with preconceived ideas about what the text is going/supposed to say (e.g. "I'm looking for passages on poverty... oh, this looks like one!")
2. Beware to not extrapolate an individual verse in the Bible without first considering the Bible as a whole.
3. Take care of your family
4. The Church body must look out for those who do not have a family to provide for them (widows and orphans)

JE