Gospel Living

4            The Lord is in his holy temple;             the Lord’s throne is in heaven;             his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 5            The Lord tests the righteous,             but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6            Let him rain coals on the wicked;             fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7            For the Lord is righteous;             he loves righteous deeds;     ...

In this Q&A Ligonier panel, John MacArthur stands out as a dispensationalist among covenant theologians.  If you don't know what those terms mean, simply put, they represent different views on the end times.  Yet, these are not the root issues at hand. How can these men sit together on a panel, then, and what can we learn from them in our own church contexts? When our church was going through First John, we looked at John's commitment to hard-edged, black-and-white issues of truth walking in harmony with his call to love.  One illustration we used was that, while  truth gives us the right notes to play, love fine-tunes our hearts. Churches must be concerned about doctrine, and discussions can get heated among those who all share a love for the truth of God.  That, by the way, should not be seen as wrong somehow.   Doctrine does divide (as Sproul says), and the church that doesn't care about doctrine is a dead church. Still, we all must guard...

So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. One of the trends within Evangelicalism of late is animal activism.  It’s true Scripture that teaches proper stewardship this world, and that those who lack empathy for other living creatures become cruel beasts themselves (cf. Pv 12:10).  Even so, we must also affirm the principle of the imago dei of man—that human beings bear the image of God universally and uniquely.  These principles come to bear in this account. Jesus knew that the spirits wanted to remain for their own nefarious purposes.   These wicked spirits begged Him in v. 10 not to send them out of the country, screeching with disrespect all the while.  So, their request to remain in the country and go into the herd of pigs would seem to indicate they sought to somehow further interfere with Christ’s wor...

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2  And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3  And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4  And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5  And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6  The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Jesus faithfully returns to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and a man with perhaps a physical handicap from birth sits there.  It’s possible that the Pharisees brought this man to the synagogue, setting up a trap for the Lord—as the text states that they sought opportunity to accuse the Lord.  Even so, we gain a...

40  And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41  Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42  And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43  And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44  and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Leprosy was feared for good reason.  The Romans and the Jews knew it to be incurable, deadly, and highly infectious.  So, in Leviticus 13:11, the leper was “unclean,” a social outcast not to be touched.  Throughout Scripture, this debilitating and life-consuming illness becomes a picture of our sin.  What learn about the Lord in His interaction with this leper? The Lord is willing to heal.  The leper approaches in faith that Christ can ...

8            Depart from me, all you workers of evil,             for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. 9            The LORD has heard my plea;             the LORD accepts my prayer. 10           All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;             they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. We don’t need to be told directly how the Lord answered David’s prayer, because David’s confident response to his enemies speaks volumes.  We only need to see here that the covenant-keeping LORD does hear and accept the prayers of those who truly worship Him.  David knows that God keeps His promises, and his heart is stirred to true fai...

4            Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;             save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5            For in death there is no remembrance of you;             in Sheol who will give you praise? 6            I am weary with my moaning;             every night I flood my bed with tears;             I drench my couch with my weeping. 7            My eye wastes away because of grief;             it grows weak because of all my foes. David’s current state makes it appear God left Him.  In...

7            But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,             will enter your house.             I will bow down toward your holy temple             in the fear of you. 8            Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness             because of my enemies;             make your way straight before me. David suddenly turns right, away from his enemies to himself.  The KJV and NASB translate his words, “But as for me.”  David sees a strong contrast between himself and other sinners, even though he had lied and killed many men.  This is because he places his confidence in the...

4            For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;             evil may not dwell with you. 5            The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;             you hate all evildoers. 6            You destroy those who speak lies;             the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. We know that God is love (1 John 4:8), so we sometimes struggle with the idea that He could “hate all evildoers.”  The problem is that we have a limited understanding of love, for it must have hatred.  If I love my wife, I must, by necessity, hate whatever does her harm.  As God loves His children, He must also hate those who hurt them.  ...

1 John 4:17-21 | Shaun Marksbury | Cornerstone Church of Savannah | 18 October, 2015 God’s love is at work in the heart of every true believer. Here are two points to keep in mind about that work of love today: 1.) God’s love confirms us, and 2.) God’s love compels us. www.cornerstonesavannah.org

1 John 4:7–12 | Pastor Shaun Marksbury | Cornerstone Church of Savannah | http://cornerstonesavannah.org/ | 4 October, 2015 John says here that because Christians have a true connection to God, we can love as we ought, even in the midst of spiritual confusion.  In fact, John will really spend the rest of this chapter on that thought.  So, we begin today to examine our motivations for loving one another.  Why should Christians love one another?  I. Love because you know the God of love (vv. 7–8)  II. Love because you know God’s demonstration of love (vv. 9–11)  III. Love because you know God better through love (v. 12)

I was having a conversation this week concerning whether the Calvinistic view teaches a forceful view of God's love.  Well, regardless of where you fall on that issue, here's a song that describes God's love in... vivid terms. "How He Loves" (originally by John Mark McMillan, David Crowder Band) He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me. Scorpions notwithstanding, His love will rock you like a hurricane.  Take cover, and don't forget about storm surge: If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I'm not sure how those lines work together: drowning, an abrupt kiss, and tachycardia.  It sounds like a panic attack as the Holy ...

While some churches do not, many seek to honor God by making accurate Bible teaching a priority.  However, it is possible even for sound, expositional churches to falter in fellowship; those who begin well sometimes finish poorly.  How can a church family to grow in its love for one another?  How can they experience more unity in Christ?  The Apostle Paul calls us back to basic gospel principles.  He reminds us that we must first have a proper understanding of where we stand in relation to Christ, in our shared past, present, and future.  In this way alone, we can avoid the prejudice and presumption that may otherwise poison true agape within the fellowship. This message was preached at Cornerstone Community Church on December 15, 2013, based on Ephesians 2:1–10. Listen to the MP3 download here .

Real love isn’t exposed in agreement. On the contrary, loving those who agree with us is really loving ourselves. There is no merit in that (Luke 6:32-36). It is a type of love which requires no effort, no lack of selfishness, no understanding of God’s love. --- from an article at Counseling Solutions,  a read which I recommend .

(HT: DGBlog ) From Pastor John's sermon, “ Songs that Shape the Heart and Mind ” (May 25, 2008): If you read the Psalms only for doctrine, you’re not reading them for what they are. They are psalms, songs, poetry. They’re musical, and the reason human beings express truth with music and poetry is to awaken and express emotions that fit the truth. One of the reasons the Psalms are deeply loved by so many Christians is that they give expression to an amazing array of emotions. Listen to this list of emotions I pulled together: Loneliness: “I am  lonely  and afflicted” ( Psalms 25:16 ). Love: “I  love  you, O Lord, my strength” ( Psalms 18:1 ). Awe: “Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in  awe  of him” ( Psalms 33:8 ). Sorrow: “My life is spent with  sorrow ” ( Psalms 31:10 ). Regret: “I am  sorry  for my sin” ( Psalms 38:18 ). Contrition: “A broken and  contrite  heart, O God, you will not despise” ( Psalms 51:1...

With all of the advice on dating, how can you guide young people through God's design for relationships?  Austin Duncan answers that question at the 2012 Shepherds' Conference: I Can't Find Dating in My Bible Austin Duncan Mar 9, 2012 Ministry:  Shepherds' Conference Media Type: Audio Download Download as: mp3 audio How to guide singles through the fog of romantic relationship The book recommendation he makes at the end is 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life: Defining Your Dating Style , featuring authors Lauren F. Winner, Douglas Wilson, Rick Holland, Alex Chediak, Jeramy Clark, Jerusha Clark.

A Funny Friday bonus for Valentine's Day: : Love Tap from Mike Goode on Vimeo .

HT to James White, who linked to this video with the simple words, " A Parody That Accomplishes Its Task ." Robbed Hell - C.A.S.T. Pearls Presents from Canon Wired on Vimeo . For those who are still unaware of the repackaged universalism that has hit the shelves, this video is a parody of heretic (not using the word lightly) Rob Bell's new book trailer: I love one of the comments on the parody page. Cindy Telisak wrote: God so loved the world, that he didn't leave us scratching our heads or gazing at our navels forever, wandering in circles until we fell down unconscious, while we collected royalty checks. As a closing note, check out the Irish Calvinist's comment on the one good point in Rob Bell's video .  In part: In this post my beef is not with Bell’s hell but the guy who found it necessary to drop a note on the art and let everyone know that Gandhi is in hell.  Here’s my issue: what does a note like that accomplish? What is the objectiv...

Three cards, cause I love you *this* much: For the rest of you, many of whom are not as cheap as I am and will actually buy their spouses the print editions, go ahead .  Some of us don't need paper to express our feelings.  We have chocolate. (HT: TheDailyWhat

For your Sunday reflection: We've Been Expecting You: Part I - Message 6 The Two Offerings Bible: Genesis 4; 1 John 3:1-12 Two sacrifices to God were made in the same chapter by two brothers, Cain and Abel. God alone determines what He will and will not accept. Cain brought the best he had; Abel brought what God required. This is one of the earliest examples of "religious substitution" replacing God's Word with man's design. God did not accept it then or now.